Chapter 149

Time flies, and more than a year has passed in a flash,

In the past year or so, Su Xuan's strength in all aspects has developed rapidly.

Jiangling City has also become more and more magnificent and prosperous.

Looking at the entire Great Han, this past year or so has also been very lively.

October, 184 AD, which was shortly after Su Xuan married Xun Cai.

Beigong Beigong Boyu, Han Sui, and Bian Zhang of Liangzhou launched a rebellion; for a time, the rebel army swept through most of the Yong and Liang regions, and the momentum of the rebel army was overwhelming.

After the Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, received the news, he was furious.

"Bastards! Damn it! They truly deserve to die!"

"The Yellow Turban bandits have only just been pacified, and now a rebellion has broken out in Xiliang. Are they afraid that I've been living too comfortably?"

"Pass on my order: immediately dispatch General Huangfu Song to Chang'an to take command and suppress the rebellion!"

"Yes!"

Originally, Liu Hong had assumed that with the likes of General Huangfu Song and Sun Sun Jian, the rebel army in Xiliang would be suppressed very quickly.

However, the reality was the exact opposite.

First, General Huangfu Song offended the eunuchs because he impeached the middle regular attendant Zhao Zhong for building a residence in his hometown that exceeded the allowed specifications.

Then, he offended Zhang Rang by refusing his demand for a bribe of ten million.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong colluded to frame him, claiming he had achieved nothing despite repeated battles and was merely wasting money and grain. The Son of Heaven stripped him of his command, recalled him to Luoyang, confiscated his seal and ribbon as General of the Left Chariots and Cavalry, and reduced his fief by 6, 00 households, reassigning him as Marquis of Duxiang with a fief of 2, 00 households.

For a moment, even Su Xuan could not help but sigh: "I never expected that even General General Huangfu Song would be done in by Zhang Rang and his lot!"

"He once advised me to keep my distance from the eunuchs and not to offend them to the point of no return."

"In the end, when it came to it, he completely forgot that point himself. Was it because his position and power had risen, and he got carried away? Did he stop taking the eunuchs seriously?"

He himself had once said that eunuchs, being such petty people, were the most capable of ruining things.

Yet, General Huangfu Song still went and offended Zhang Rang and the others; there was simply no one else like him.

Of course, Zhang Rang had also gone too far.

To actually demand a bribe of ten million from General Huangfu Song—given General Huangfu Song's power and status, it was truly impossible for him to bow down and pay it.

Otherwise, how could he maintain his standing among the literati?

This problem was simply unsolvable.

From the moment he offended Zhao Zhong, it was hard to avoid.

Unless General Huangfu Song had been highly effective in the war.

After General Huangfu Song was removed, Zhang Wen was put in charge of the war in Yong and Liang, but the campaign did not go smoothly at all.

It dragged on for more than half a year before they finally annihilated Beigong Beigong Boyu and Bian Zhang, and offered amnesty to Han Sui, temporarily pacifying the rebellion.

During this period, Dong Zhuo, with the help of He Jin and the Lord Yuan family, successfully regained command of troops and participated in the suppression.

He earned quite a few merits during this time and was appointed as the Administrator of Xiliang, enfeoffed as Marquis of Dixiang with a fief of 1, 00 households.

For a time, Dong Zhuo was immensely glorious and began to develop rapidly in Xiliang.

"Tsk tsk! So Fatty Dong has risen after all! Soon, there will be a good show to watch!"

"Raising a tiger only to invite disaster—that is exactly what this is. He Jin and the Lord Yuan family will live to regret this!"

Upon receiving the report from the secret guards in Xiliang regarding Dong Zhuo's development there, Su Xuan could not help but sneer.

Both the Lord Yuan family and He Jin thought they could control Dong Zhuo, this jackal. Unfortunately, they overestimated themselves and severely underestimated Dong Zhuo's cruelty and audacity.

However, Su Xuan was happy to see this happen and had no intention of stopping it.

In 185 AD, a fire broke out in the Southern Palace. To rebuild it, the Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, further intensified his extortion and exploitation, leaving the common people, who were already struggling to survive, unable to catch their breath.

In an instant, countless people chose to take risks and launched uprisings.

Within a month, peasant uprisings emerged everywhere, making the Great Han increasingly precarious.

Against this backdrop, time arrived at the beginning of 186 AD.

Zhao Ci, serving as the Commandant of Jiangxia, watched as uprisings broke out everywhere. Coupled with the hatred for Qin Jie that had been accumulating in his heart for years, he suddenly let evil take hold of his courage and directly led his troops to mutiny, rising in rebellion against the Han.

Catching the Administrator of Jiangxia off guard, his subordinates killed the Administrator, occupied the capital of Jiangxia, Xiling City, and seized countless supplies.

Soon, he expanded his forces and raised an army of 50, 00.

Afterward, he marched triumphantly, capturing Anlu at top speed and advancing toward Nanyang.

Upon entering Nanyang, he took the bridgehead of Suixian. Zhao Ci originally intended to capture Dengxian, then march north to take Xinye, and finally capture Wancheng.

But considering that the Magistrate of Dengxian was Su Lie, the father of Su Xuan, he was very wary of Su Xuan.

He did not want to create complications for the time being; taking Wancheng was the priority.

In the end, he abandoned the idea of attacking Dengxian, bypassed it, used Caiyang as a transit point, easily took Xinye, and marched directly to the gates of Wancheng.

The entire process took no more than two or three days.

Because it was so rapid and Zhao Ci focused on blocking news, Qin Jie had received no prior warning.

By the time he learned of it, Zhao Ci had already led over 50, 00 troops to the city gates.

At this point, it was already too late for Qin Jie to gather troops to defend the city and counterattack.

That very day, Wancheng was breached by Zhao Ci, and Qin Jie was captured alive and dragged before him.

Looking at Qin Jie, who was bound and kneeling on the ground, Zhao Ci asked with a sinister, triumphant grin: "Qin Jie, when you sabotaged my merits and kicked me aside, did you ever think you would have a day like this?"

Qin Jie looked up at Zhao Ci and cursed indignantly: "Zhao Ci, you dog thief, when did I ever sabotage you?"

"I have already explained it many times: your transfer to Jiangxia was not my doing at all, but an appointment by His Majesty. Why won't you believe me?"

"Besides, you and I have worked together for many years. Do you really want to continue making mistake after mistake?"

"Don't you know that rebelling against the Han is a dead end?"

"Stop now, surrender, and you might still have a chance to live. Otherwise, once the imperial court reacts and sends a large army to surround and annihilate you, you will surely die."

At this moment, Qin Jie was also panicking. He only hoped that Zhao Ci had not completely lost his mind and could still listen to reason.

Otherwise, he feared his life would be lost today.

At the same time, Qin Jie felt deeply aggrieved!

He truly had never targeted or sabotaged Zhao Ci!

Zhao Ci's appointment as Commandant of Jiangxia was truly the Emperor's decision; what did it have to do with him?

Because of this matter, his relationship with Zhao Ci had been extremely hostile for the past two years.

He had thought about improving it and had explained himself many times, but it was useless; Zhao Ci simply did not believe him.

What could he do?

"Hahaha!"

However, hearing Qin Jie's words, Zhao Ci could not help but throw his head back and laugh wildly. Looking at Qin Jie with mockery, he said: "The imperial court? You still count on the imperial court?"

"Who doesn't know that the entire Great Han is now in revolt because of the court's extortion and exploitation to build that ridiculous Southern Palace for the Son of Heaven?"

"The court is busy sending troops everywhere to suppress rebellions; how could they possibly spare any attention for me?"

"By the time they actually react, I will have already completely annexed the whole of Nanyang and even Jingzhou, and perhaps even marched into Sili, taken Luoyang, and cut off that dog Emperor's head."

"By then, the entire world will belong to me, Zhao Ci. What would I have to worry about from the court?"

"It's simply laughable!"

At this moment, because everything had gone so smoothly, Zhao Ci was completely inflated.

He no longer took the Great Han seriously, let alone the advice of a mere Qin Jie.

Qin Jie was also stunned by Zhao Ci's treasonous words.

This really was a madman!

He actually thought about taking the entire Jingzhou, taking Sili and Luoyang, beheading the Son of Heaven, and changing the dynasty?

What a naive thought!

Did he not know that Sili still had tens of thousands of elite troops under the Grand General?

"You are truly insane!"

Qin Jie cursed and threatened: "Have you forgotten about the General Who Pacifies the South, Su Xuan, in Nanjun?"

"He has at least 20, 00 elites under his command. Do you think you can defeat him?"

"Have you forgotten the terror of his Black Armor Army?"

Never mind 20, 00; even if Su Xuan still only had those 3, 00 Black Armor cavalrymen, Qin Jie did not believe that Zhao Ci could defeat him with his 50, 00 rabble.

50, 00? Zhang Zhang Mancheng had over 100, 00 troops back then, didn't he?

And wasn't he still easily defeated by Su Xuan and had his head cut off?

"Huh?"

Hearing this, Zhao Ci looked at Qin Jie with a mix of astonishment and disdain: "You still want to count on Su Xuan?"

"Yes! I admit he is indeed very capable, but I haven't been idle these past few years either."

"I have 8, 00 elites under my command that I have painstakingly trained for two years—a true elite force."

"I believe they are no less capable than Su Xuan's Black Armor Army back then."

"Plus my remaining 40, 00 troops, that's more than twice the number of Su Xuan's men. Do you think I can't deal with a mere Su Xuan?"

"Don't take him too seriously!"

"How he defeated Zhang Zhang Mancheng back then, you and I both know very well!"

"It was nothing more than relying on being prepared, and the Yellow Turban Army being too trashy, allowing him to succeed through a sneak attack to breach the city."