Chapter 2087: Taizong Chronicles 29: Uprising in Shu

Acute social contradictions and brutal land exploitation had caused the people of Chuanshu to seethe with resentment, with the masses rallying together. But there was one extremely important reason why this Chuanshu peasant uprising, which broke out in the autumn of the first year of Yongxi, was able to succeed.

That was because the rebel leader Wang Xiaobo had put forward two slogans that shook the common folk of Chuanshu: first, "I resent the inequality of rich and poor; now I shall equalize it for you," and second, "Avenge Governor Pan."

The former needs no further elaboration—it was the fundamental conflict and overarching contradiction of Chuanshu society. As for the latter, one must mention Pan You, the Administration Commissioner of Jiannan, who had already been assassinated.

During his years in office in Jiannan, Pan You had essentially done two things: fought the powerful and the mighty, and resisted natural and man-made disasters. He had genuinely done much for the common people of Shu.

In tax reform, he implemented without compromise, unhesitatingly cutting flesh from the powerful and landlords. The backlash that occurred elsewhere, the various underhanded dealings—these existed in Jiannan as well, and in no small number, even more egregiously.

However, as Administration Commissioner, Pan You was a man who could not tolerate a grain of sand in his eye, and a man who took things seriously. Once he set his sights on something, there had to be a result. Armed with imperial authority and firmly committed to the tax reform position, the final outcomes were invariably unfavorable to the powerful.

As an experienced and pragmatic official, how could the tricks played by the aristocratic bureaucrats and powerful landlords escape Pan You's eyes? Even if they could deceive him for a moment, they could not deceive him forever.

And once he set his sights on them, the final result was loss of both land and wealth. When land disputes arose, under Pan You's direction, the final judgments always favored the small farmers and common folk. Usurious loans, disguised servitude, exploitation, various forms of coercion, threats, and contracts visibly lacking basic fairness—all were invalid in Governor Pan's office, could be directly abolished, and the perpetrators severely punished.

Pan You's "extremely biased" approach naturally made the vested interest groups of Shu deeply resentful, hating him to the bone. However, Pan You had power, reputation, and support from the court. For a time, they could not shake him.

Thus, for a long period, the political state of Jiannan was that Pan You, this dragon crossing the river, stirred up waves and kept attacking, while the local snakes kept resisting, achieving nothing, compromising, and retreating.

In the past few years, some chose to wait and endure, some caused trouble for Pan You at various levels and in various ways, and of course, those with great power tried to work through the court to see if they could have this "scourge" Pan You transferred away.

But one can imagine what the result was. Even in places like the capital region where the powerful were thick on the ground, Pan You dared to confront them and scrape a layer of fat off the powerful—let alone those people holed up in Jiannan.

Of course, there were still some powerful figures of consequence in Chuanshu, such as the two Wang families of Jiannan (Wang Quanbin and Wang Renshan), and the Cui and Shi families of eastern Sichuan (Cui Yanjin and Shi Yande). These were all meritorious officials from the conquest of Shu and the pacification of the south, who still wielded significant influence decades later, even occupying leadership positions within the aristocratic and bureaucratic collective.

However, although these forces were powerful and possessed some influence at court, they were not enough to make Pan You afraid. Facing attacks and criticism, he remained calm and composed, his attitude still tough, his methods still fierce.

Pan You knew that the vested interests had plenty of means to resist the court and the circuit administration, so he continuously dispatched trusted subordinates and aides to inspect various regions, even going so far as to violate taboos by seeking help from the Wude Office of Jiannan, throwing everything into the fight against the "reactionaries" of Jiannan.

At the same time, he set up a complaint box in front of the Chengdu circuit administration office, allowing all officials and commoners of Jiannan to report grievances. Whenever there was a problem, once verified, Pan You's heavy rod would come down immediately.

Throughout Pan You's entire tenure in Jiannan, the circuit remained in this state of direct and intense confrontation. The political situation was highly unstable, and the struggle was fierce. The vested interests of Jiannan were certainly exhausted and heavily damaged, but Pan You was equally worn out in the endless troubles, draining his heart's blood.

Although the opponents were stubborn and powerful, although troubles never ceased and problems piled up, although his followers dwindled day by day, although even the common folk he devoted himself to protecting sometimes failed to understand him, Pan You remained like a wedge, firmly nailed into Jiannan, safeguarding the faint glimmer of justice that rarely appeared there.

Some of Pan You's methods were in fact overly crude, with much room for debate, and even violated the court's principle of "rule of law," showing favoritism in certain judgments.

In the early period, due to various distortions, rumors, and slander, Pan You's reputation among the people of Shu was not good, because the man stirred up too much trouble and gave them no "peaceful" days.

However, although the common folk are easily misled and fooled, the tide of public sentiment still requires time to be tested. And after several years, no matter how many things Pan You had accomplished, his style of keeping the people in his heart and consistently speaking up for the common folk still moved many.

"Governor Pan is a good official, the 'blue sky' of the Jiannan people"—similar praise spread after a few years. Such a good reputation made others even more jealous.

Of course, the core of a good or bad reputation lies in how much benefit it brings to the common folk—take Wang Xiaobo of this uprising, for example. Pan You had carried out a major rectification and standardization of Jiannan's tea policy. Simply put, it was a redistribution of the tea industry's profits.

The tea market of Jiannan was only so big, and the profits were essentially fixed. Under the premise that the government's due share must be guaranteed, Pan You naturally cut flesh from the aristocrats, bureaucrats, and big tea merchants, giving back to the bottom-tier tea merchants and tea farmers. Not to say it solved the severe problem of wealth disparity, but at least it alleviated to some degree the livelihood pressures on tea merchants and tea farmers.

In the two major industries of well salt and silk, Pan You adopted similar approaches, sparing no effort to pry open the distorted vested interest system and distribute a portion of the profits to the bottom-tier merchants and commoners, so as to ease social contradictions.

It could be said that during Pan You's tenure, from land and tea to salt and silk, he challenged the vested interests on nearly every front. With the silent support of the court, he truly accomplished quite a lot.

If heaven had not been so unkind in the past few years, with disasters coming one after another, and if Emperor Shizu had held on for a few more years, giving Pan You more time, the reforms in Jiannan might have landed with a smoother result.

But heaven did not give him that chance. The empire's upheaval was too sudden—even many of the high-ranking powerful in the capital region were at a loss, let alone the remote Chuanshu.

In the past few years, the powerful and landlords of Chuanshu had used every trick in the book to deal with Pan You, deploying one scheme after another, even resorting to threats and causing who knows how many deaths. Yet in the end, they all failed. This man was simply too stubborn, too hard to deal with.

And so, the tragic scene of Governor Pan being stabbed by "rioters" during an inspection tour appeared. That people would resort to such means perhaps showed that some had exhausted all their options and had no other way—Pan You was too relentless when he had the upper hand.

When news of Pan You's death spread, countless people across western Sichuan mourned Governor Pan. When the authorities determined that Pan You had been assassinated by some "rioters" and the news spread, public sentiment boiled over. From top to bottom in Jiannan, there was fury and condemnation toward those ungrateful, heartless wretches.

However, the authorities' subsequent actions were baffling. The government posted notices everywhere proclaiming the matter, while dispatching yamen runners and constables—even some regular troops were mobilized—to arrest people on the pretext of capturing "assassins" and "murderers."

Especially targeted were the peddlers and small traders in the tea, salt, and silk industries who had been under Pan You's protection. And when the local authorities heard that Pan You was dead—never mind the landlords and magnates, even some officials were celebrating, clapping each other on the back. The plague god was finally gone—wasn't this the time for "us" to rise?

Thus, in some prefectures and counties, situations resembling "return-home legions" occurred, and the Chengdu Plain, under the counterattack and retaliation of aristocratic bureaucrats and powerful landlords, fell into a state of boiling chaos.

At this time, all of western Sichuan had yet to escape the effects of the spring drought. Large numbers of farmers were crying out for food, waiting for government support and relief. However, before the government's relief loans had materialized, the "loan agreements" of the worthy gentry were already placed before their eyes.

One can imagine, against such a backdrop, when someone raised his voice and issued that powerful cry of resistance from the bottom rungs of society, what a response it elicited across the land of Chuanshu.

Wang Xiaobo was short but vigorous. Driven by the government's pursuit and oppression, he initially gathered only a few hundred tea merchants and tea farmers. They first killed the government runners, then attacked the county seat, broke into the county office, took the heads of the County Magistrate, his deputy, and the constable, released the innocent people imprisoned in the jail, then plundered the wealthy households of the county, seizing their money and grain to distribute among the poor.

When the news spread, within a single day, the crowd swelled to over ten thousand. Liu Long, the Military Commander of Shu Prefecture, heard of this and hastily led troops to suppress it. But the affair had erupted suddenly, and he underestimated the rebels. Though his equipment was fine, his forces were weak, and in a single battle he was routed by Wang Xiaobo. Liu Long was captured, and his head was used to consecrate the banners.

A single victory washed away all timidity and hesitation. The shadow that the court had cast over every commoner who joined the uprising was completely dispelled by the frontal defeat of the government army.

After winning the "Battle of Qingcheng," Wang Xiaobo seized the momentum and led his army to sweep through the counties of Shu Prefecture, plundering bureaucrats, landlords, and wealthy households, relieving the poor, and putting into practice his slogan of "equalizing wealth and poverty." His appeal skyrocketed.

After completing the conquest of Shu Prefecture, the rebel army's numbers swelled rapidly. In less than ten days, they grew to over forty thousand. Tea farmers, salt workers, and tenant households from all over flocked to his banner, rising up one after another. The flames of rebellion quickly grew.

For the rebels, not only had their numbers increased, but they had also acquired a good deal of weapons and equipment, and cobbled together a main army with initial combat capability.

Seeing the rebellion suddenly surge and intensify, the upper echelons of Jiannan could no longer sit still. To take command and suppress, to defend the land and protect the state—that was the duty of the Chief Commander. Facing the uprising, none was more anxious than Shangguan Zheng, the Chief Commander of the Jiannan circuit.

Under his orders, four routes of troops from Qiong, Peng, Mei, and Jian prefectures, totaling over twenty thousand men, converged on Shu Prefecture, intending to annihilate the rebels. Facing the ferocious government army, Wang Xiaobo certainly felt great pressure, but having already gambled twice, a third time held nothing to fear.

"Let them come in four routes; I'll go in one." Under Wang Xiaobo's leadership, the rebel army, which had already surpassed fifty thousand, drove straight for Peng Prefecture. After a fierce assault, the government army was defeated with over two thousand dead. Wang Keng, the Military Commander of Peng Prefecture, hopelessly outnumbered, fled back to Peng Prefecture in panic.

Wang Xiaobo then pressed the advance, breaking through the three counties of Chongning, Daojiang, and Guankou in succession, killing the County Magistrates and officials, and plundering Peng Prefecture wholesale. After a period of rest, replenishing troops and weapons, he turned back toward Shu Prefecture and fought the three routes of the Han army from Qiong, Jia, and Jian that had come in pursuit. He first broke Zhu Tiao of Qiong Prefecture and executed him, then defeated Wang Yuanzhen of Jian Prefecture, killing over a thousand. Only Zhang Qi, the Military Commander of Mei Prefecture, seeing the situation was hopeless, gathered his defeated troops and retreated to hold Jinyuan County.

Wang Xiaobo gave no quarter, pursuing relentlessly and attacking Jinyuan. However, Zhang Qi was a capable man, constantly entangling with him. Though ultimately driven back to Mei Prefecture, he inflicted no small casualties on the rebel army.

Reviewing the battles between the government and rebel forces, the rebels stood out for their ferocious courage. Relying on fearlessness and a burning fury of vengeance, they used numerical superiority and heavy sacrifices to win several victories over the government army.

As for the government army, they had lost their professional discipline, arrogant and contemptuous of the enemy, constantly giving opportunities to be defeated piecemeal, and suffering enormous losses that allowed the rebel force to expand. This of course could not be blamed on the soldiers risking their lives below—the problem lay with the commanders above.

With the failure of the four-route encirclement strategy, this Chuanshu rebellion could no longer be concluded in a "dignified" manner, and the upper-class powerful of Jiannan finally "woke up," giving the highest priority to the rebellion raging in the heart of the heavenly land.

However, the first encirclement had ended in a hasty and disastrous defeat. To quickly organize a second was easier said than done. Jiannan had been at peace for too long, and faced with a rebellion of this scale, everyone from top to bottom was caught unprepared. Although Jiannan's border troops, local forces, and militias numbered over fifty thousand, they were spread too thin and could not concentrate their strength in time.

The expansion of the situation was inevitable. As news of Wang Xiaobo's uprising and his victories over the government army spread across the land of Chuanshu, the entire region erupted in uproar. In early October, rioters in Rong Prefecture, Fu Prefecture, and Rong Prefecture in the southeast of Jiannan rose in response, and the rebellion even spread from Jiannan to He Prefecture, Chang Prefecture, and Lu Prefecture in the eastern Sichuan circuit. In a flash, rebellions linked up across the region, wreaking havoc on prefectures and counties.

At this point, as far as the Jiannan circuit was concerned, other places could no longer be attended to—they were simply ordered to hold their own positions. Shangguan Zheng even issued a death order to all prefectures and counties: "Whoever loses territory shall be executed."

His sole focus was on exterminating the rebel Wang Xiaobo. Not only was he the chief instigator of the rebellion, but he was also active in the very heartland—the feeling was unbearable.

Shangguan Zheng was a veteran general who had long experienced battle. He had once been a subordinate of Duke Wang Quanbin, the Pacifier of the South, accompanying him in the conquest and destruction of Dali and the recovery of Yunnan. He later served in Yulin, distinguishing himself in the suppression of the Tangut rebellion, and was eventually promoted to Chief Commander of the Jiannan circuit, reaching the pinnacle of his official career.

Regarding the rebellion in Shu Prefecture, Shangguan Zheng undoubtedly bore the greatest pressure. Behind him were not only the powerful figures of Jiannan who held great sway urging him on, but also enormous pressure from the court in Luoyang. Several consecutive edicts of inquiry, censure, and command from the capital—every word and line showed the court's fury at the rebellion in Shu.

When reports of the rebellion in Shu and its development were successively submitted to Luoyang, one can imagine the shock that swept the court and the country, followed immediately by rage. Emperor Liu Yang lost his composure once again!

He had thought Pan You's assassination was already a momentous affair, but he never expected such a great calamity to follow. In that instant, Liu Yang could not help but feel a surge of violent emotion. Being emperor was too vexing—the first year of Yongxi was not yet over, and these "surprises" kept leaping before his eyes one after another.

However, no matter how furious he was, it was of no avail. When news of the four-route Han army's failed suppression reached the capital, Liu Yang finally realized clearly that the decay of Jiannan's military and political apparatus was probably more severe than he had imagined.

At the same time, at this point, though extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to focus his mind and energy on suppressing the rebellion. As for everything else—including the "death of Pan You" he had wanted to exploit, and even the causes and consequences of the rebellion—all had to be set aside for the moment. Priorities and urgency, what was most pressing—Liu Yang could still distinguish clearly.

Therefore, on the Luoyang court's side, despite harboring full fury, they took no major action regarding the military and civil affairs of Jiannan Circuit, merely ordering it to contain the scope of the rebellion, suppress the local unrest, pacify the rebels as quickly as possible, and restore peace to the people.

At the same time, they also appointed Duke Wen, Xiang Deming, as Administration Commissioner of Jiannan, sending him posthaste to Chengdu to assume office. As the rebellion developed, the court's struggle over the Jiannan Administration Commissioner post abruptly shifted from fierce to calm—consensus was easily reached: suppressing the rebellion took priority.

Back then, the pacification of Shu had been commanded by Xiang Xun. Although the Xiang clan was not as deeply rooted in the southwest as the Two Kings, as Xiang Xun's heir, Xiang Deming's departure for Chengdu could clearly exert tremendous influence. Moreover, as a former major figure in the Anxi Army, Xiang Deming was battle-hardened, versed in both letters and arms, and possessed ample capability and prestige.

On the other hand, Liu Yang also did not place all his hopes for suppressing the rebellion on Chuanshu resolving it itself. Back then, with strong armies and fierce generals all in Shu, pacifying the Shu rebellion had still taken considerable effort—let alone now.

Of course, what mattered more was that everything happening in Jiannan had caused Liu Yang to lose trust in its military and civil administration. Therefore, while urging Chuanshu to suppress the rebellion, Liu Yang simultaneously issued edicts to the four circuits of Jingxi, Hubei, Shannan, and Guanzhong to train their troops, allocate weapons and provisions, and assemble the imperial army to march west, ready at any moment to enter Shu and suppress the rebellion.

In this autumn and winter of the first year of Yongxi, the entire attention of the Great Han Empire was drawn to the great rebellion erupting in Chuanshu.

And in Jiannan, with pressures converging from all sides, Shangguan Zheng no longer dared to cling to his life. He mobilized troops and dispatched generals, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the rebels—he even ignored Wang Xiaobo's subsequent outward expansion and harassment.

However, while the government troops prepared, the righteous army did not halt its steps either. After thoroughly taking Shuzhou, Wang Xiaobo reorganized his subordinates and actively prepared for battle.

At the same time, he dispatched trusted confidants to contact righteous armies in various places to bolster his momentum. He also sent troops in all directions to attack prefectures and counties. Wherever they went, they absorbed large numbers of angry, oppressed poor commoners, and the righteous army's numbers swelled like a rolling snowball.

The Great Han was abundantly martial, which led to a proliferation of weapons among the people, and iron forging continued to advance. This also meant that many poor folk brought their own weapons when joining the righteous army—even if the quality was poor, they could still kill when swung at a neck.

Watching the bandit momentum grow daily, Shangguan Zheng gradually grew restless. But before he could make his move, the rebels came to attack on their own under Wang Xiaobo's leadership. Wang Xiaobo truly had no choice—with so many people, the grain obtained from Shuzhou and earlier plundering was simply not enough to eat. One should know that by November of the first year of Yongxi, rebels operating under Wang Xiaobo's banner across various regions had already exceeded two hundred thousand, and those under his direct command numbered as many as one hundred fifty thousand.

So many people, so many mouths to feed, forced Wang Xiaobo to keep expanding. And across the entire Chengdu Plain, the most suitable place to obtain provisions was undoubtedly Chengdu Prefecture.

Chengdu Prefecture was the cream of the Heavenly Province—the most grain, the densest population, the most powerful and wealthy households, and also more of the impoverished masses. Of course, the "reactionary" forces were also clustered there, with the strongest strength.

However, once Chengdu Prefecture could be taken, then grain, soldiers, and wealth would all be lacking nothing, and these people would thoroughly establish their momentum.

With such a mindset, Wang Xiaobo, who had already gambled and won several times before, raised the entire righteous army, advancing east from Jinyuan in Shuzhou toward Chengdu Prefecture, proclaiming "an army of three hundred thousand." For a time, Chuanshu was shaken.

Only this time, Wang Xiaobo lost his bet. They all knew the importance of Chengdu Prefecture. As a stubborn bastion of the exploiting class, when Chengdu Prefecture was threatened, how could those up and down sit idly by?

In short, facing the rebels' invasion, they gave men when men were needed, money when money was needed, grain when grain was needed—even weapons could be provided.

With the full support of the "eminent worthies and sages," Shangguan Zheng quickly organized an army of over seventy thousand in Chengdu Prefecture, with Jiannan government troops as the core, mixed with militia and "righteous soldiers," marching west to meet the rebels.

The two sides fought at Shuangliu—a battle that darkened heaven and earth, a fierce struggle lasting three days with countless dead and wounded, ending in the righteous army's defeat. The direct cause was Zhang Qi, who had been promoted to Patrol Inspector of the four prefectures of Mei, Qiong, Jia, and Ling, leading troops from those four prefectures to strike from the rear.

The fundamental cause was that the government troops were simply too strong—from top to bottom, from the front stage to behind the scenes, everyone was fighting desperately under the pressure of the righteous army, while possessing an organization and discipline the righteous army could hardly achieve.

Having numbers, bravery, and fearlessness could indeed achieve certain results. However, once the government troops weathered those first few axe blows, the only thing awaiting the righteous army was defeat and destruction.

As for Wang Xiaobo, though he had some ability and was brave, he was ultimately but a peddler and porter by origin with limited vision. Never mind one hundred fifty thousand men—even with the initial ten thousand righteous soldiers, he led and commanded only through a surge of blood courage and the prestige of being the first to raise the righteous banner.

In the Battle of Shuangliu, the righteous army was directly shattered, with sixty to seventy thousand dead. Wang Xiaobo also died in battle while covering his subordinates' retreat, and his severed head was presented before Commander-in-Chief Shangguan Zheng.

The righteous army scattered in all directions, while the government troops pursued the fleeing and routed, taking the opportunity to recover Shuzhou and the various occupied territories. Seeing that the general situation was settled and only mopping up remnants remained, Shangguan Zheng could not help but feel smug and complacent. He immediately sent men with the great victory at Shuangliu, along with the rebel leader Wang Xiaobo's severed head, flying by horse to Luoyang to report merit and announce the good news.

For Shangguan Zheng, although he had endured tremendous pressure before, the gains were also evident. With this merit of suppressing the rebellion, he not only completed his redemption for previous faults but might even advance further in his twilight years.

But clearly, he rejoiced too early. The accumulated ills of over thirty years in Chuanshu—the contradictions caused by the unbridled exploitation and oppression of the powerful and wealthy—were far from being resolved by this rebellion of less than two months, let alone by this single battle.