Chapter 250: The Day the Yellow Robe Is Put On, When Broken Troops Knock at the Gate

…

The southeast boasts beauty and superiority; the three Wu regions are its metropolis; Qiantang has been prosperous since ancient times!

This is a line from a Northern Song poet praising Hangzhou.

Indeed, Hangzhou's mountains and rivers are exquisite, its scenery like a painting, its people gifted and its land spiritually potent—it has long been the capital of the Two Zhe Road under the Zhao Song dynasty, the political, economic, and cultural center of the southeast.

Countless high officials, great landlords, and wealthy merchants regarded Hangzhou as their golden wasteland and haven of pleasure, flocking here to indulge in revelry.

These nobles not only adored Hangzhou in life but even desired to be buried here in this "magnificent and splendid Qiantang," as Cai Jing did when he interred his ancestors here.

They firmly believed they could forever linger here in endless music, dance, and merriment.

Thus, they shaped Hangzhou into the second richest city in the Zhao Song dynasty, second only to Dongjing Bianliang.

The terrain of Hangzhou slopes from northwest to southeast; its northern, western, and southern borders are encircled by mountains, forming a horseshoe-shaped barrier facing southeast, with lofty peaks and deep ravines in the northwest, and rolling hills and broad valleys in the southeast—naturally a defensible stronghold.

To ensure this wealthy capital became impregnable, the Zhao Song dynasty spent nearly two centuries building an impervious outer city around the former Hangzhou, stretching from Prince of the Blood Mountain, along the riverbank eastward to Jianggan, past Qiantang Lake, Huoshan, and Fanpu, encircling seventy li in circumference.

Within the city stood thousands of elite soldiers and mountains of grain supplies.

These were sufficient to ensure Hangzhou could hold out for a long time, awaiting reinforcements.

Yet Fang La's rebel army still overwhelmed Hangzhou through sheer numbers, slaughtering all officials, gentry, and landlords, burning down the government offices and mansions that had once tormented them, and even storming Linping Mountain to exhume the graves of Cai Jing's ancestors, exposing their bones and spitting curses upon them.

During that time, Fang La's soldiers were ecstatic—they tortured the officials, gentry, and landlords who had oppressed them, set fires everywhere, watched lanterns, feasted for days, celebrating Hangzhou's liberation and their great victory.

In their revelry, Fang La's men accidentally burned down Hangzhou's granaries—or perhaps the remnants of Hangzhou's officials, gentry, and landlords set them ablaze. Either way, due to Fang La's negligence, more than half of Hangzhou's grain stores were destroyed.

This was certainly a grave matter, but Fang La and his men, like newly rich braggarts, paid it no mind.

In Fang La's own words: "When the state falls and chaos reigns, it is the natural order."

This was also because Fang La and his followers were busy expanding their gains, recruiting followers everywhere, determined to make the flowers of rebellion bloom across all of Jiangnan.

Yes.

Fang La's goal had been achieved.

After Fang La raised the banner of rebellion, the Moni Sect followers in Xianju County, led by Lü Sinang, assembled a rebel army of over ten thousand in just a few days, annihilating the Xianju Song army commanded by County Commandant Xu Xu in their first battle, liberating Xianju and surrendering the city, then swiftly capturing Huangyan, TianTai, and other places, claiming a force of one hundred thousand, advancing straight toward Taizhou and terrifying Department Magistrate Zhao Yu into fleeing in panic.

Yet this was merely one branch of Fang La's rebel army—and not even the fastest-growing one.

The fastest-growing was Hong Zai from Chizhou.

Hong Zai first seized Longquan, then took Songyang, occupied Gongcheng, and split his forces to attack Suichang.

The local gentry Zhao Yu and Deng Ying organized landlord militias to resist Hong Zai's northern advance at Mengshan.

Hong Zai personally led over a hundred men by boat, circling behind Zhao Yu and Deng Ying, tying silk scarves around their heads and attaching mirrors to them, then suddenly clanging gongs and drums from the mountains of Longquan, descending southward with the current, crushing Zhao Yu and Deng Ying, causing officials, gentry, and landlords in nearby counties to flee in terror.

Hong Zai seized control of the entire Chizhou region, even absorbing the rebel forces of Huo Chengfu.

Then Hong Zai killed officials, gentry, and landlords, seized their wealth and grain to distribute among the poor, recruited more rebels, and rapidly expanded his forces, publicly claiming an army of four hundred thousand.

A quick tally showed Fang La's rebel forces, even in inflated numbers, neared two million; even the actual numbers exceeded one million.

Yet most of Fang La's rebel commanders were focused solely on their own expansion, adopting a posture of listening to orders but not to imperial summons.

Fang La summoned Bao Kang and Wang Gonglao and said to them: "The Song army is launching a massive southern campaign, and Song Jiang has accepted amnesty—our situation is unfavorable. I fear Seventh Brother and Little Sister cannot hold him back; if he advances, they will surely attack Hangzhou. We have only one hundred thousand troops here—how can we withstand a combined assault by the Song army and Song Jiang? Meanwhile, the heroes across the land ignore my commands and refuse to bring troops to aid us—what should we do?"

The difficulties Fang La described were objectively real.

Moreover, Fang La had not yet mentioned their greatest difficulty.

That difficulty was this: due to the burning of Hangzhou's granaries and Fang La's reckless distribution of grain without regard to reality, Fang La's rebel army was now running out of food.

In light of this, Lü Jiang proposed: "We cannot hold Hangzhou any longer—we must evacuate south immediately, preserve our strength, and unite with Lu Hufa, Qiu Hufa, Hong Yuanshuai, and other forces, then plan our next move gradually."

Lü Jiang's strategic vision was remarkably accurate.

He understood that if Fang La's rebels remained in Hangzhou, it would be certain suicide, so he urged Fang La to evacuate immediately.

Moreover, he pointed Fang La toward a clear path: seize command of the forces led by Lü Sinang, Qiu Daoren, Hong Zai, and others, then find a way to confront the Zhao Song dynasty.

Fang La firmly believed he would become Emperor and that Wuyue was his birthplace of imperial destiny—he did not wish to leave Hangzhou.

Yet he could not say this outright; instead, he said: "If we retreat south, the Song army and Song Jiang will follow us like shadows—where can we settle? Where can we negotiate with them?"

Lü Jiang fell silent for a moment, then said: "Only Fujian."

The moment Lü Jiang spoke these words, Fang La laughed bitterly.

Why?

Because Fujian had long been known as a "place where strategists never fight."

This phrase actually emerged during the War of Resistance.

But similar sentiments had existed in Chinese history long before.

This was primarily because Fujian was neither a grain-producing region, nor an economic hub, nor a military stronghold.

Over ninety percent of Fujian's terrain consists of hills and mountains, famously described as "eight parts mountain, one part water, one part field"—its arable land was extremely scarce.

Arable land determined economic development and population size; Fujian's unique topography ensured its economy and population remained unremarkable.

The Qing geographer Fan Zuyu once commented on Fujian: "If one seeks to contest the empire from Fujian, its manpower and grain will be insufficient to achieve this goal."

This could be considered an excellent summary of Fujian.

Fang La had spent so long in the southeast that he was certainly aware of Fujian's condition.

So when Lü Jiang suggested evacuating to Fujian, Fang La thought Lü Jiang was trying to trick him.

Yet Lü Jiang had his own reasoning.

Fujian is surrounded by mountains on three sides and borders the sea to the east; since the Qin and Han dynasties, it had been one of the most difficult places to reach by land, so for a long time, only Fuzhou—accessible by sea—was a remote outpost under central authority.

After Qin and Han, land-based warfare in Fujian often centered on the Wuyi Mountains in the northwest, where three critical passes stood: Shan Pass, Fen Shui Pass, and Xianxia Pass.

Once these three passes were sealed, outsiders could hardly enter Fujian by land.

If Fang La's rebel army seized Fujian, they could, in dire straits, carve out a separate domain there and develop a powerful navy.

This would allow them to defend themselves and sever the Zhao Song dynasty's maritime trade, cutting off its economic lifeline.

Crucially, Lü Jiang did not say that Fang La's rebels must abandon their other territories.

As long as they control Fujian, Fang La's rebel army gains the strategic advantage of being able to advance or retreat, greatly increasing their overall strategic depth.

Imagine if the Song army advances southward and Fang La's forces are truly outmatched—Fang La could simply retreat with his army to Fujian, hold the mountain passes, then gradually reclaim lost territory.

In the Two Zhe region, apart from the Yangtze River to the north, there is virtually no natural defense; once Fang La's army occupies Fujian, the Song army cannot hold Two Zhe unless it maintains absolute numerical superiority there at all times.

Put another way, as long as Fujian remains in Fang La's hands, even if the Zhao Song dynasty recovers Two Zhe, it will be useless—eventually, Fang La's army will retake it.

Moreover, Quanzhou in Fujian is the largest port city in the East.

From Quanzhou, via Guangzhou, one can reach Champa, Zhenla, Borneo, Java, and Sanfoqi, and further west, reach Tianzhu, Dashi, and other lands.

In terms of the geographical names from Zhao Yu's previous life world, one could sail directly from Quanzhou to Middle Eastern countries; given the geographical relationship between the Middle East and Europe, one could even say that from Quanzhou, one could reach Europe.

Historically, Zhao Gou once said the most objective remark: "The profits from maritime trade are the greatest; if managed properly, the gains can reach millions."

As long as Fang La's army occupies Fujian and blocks the Taiwan Strait, how could they possibly lack funds?

Feeding an army and waging war have always been the most expensive endeavors.

Fang La's army can't rely on plundering for survival forever, can they?

Seen this way, although Fujian is not a land of imperial ascension, it is still highly suitable for Fang La's army to grow and strengthen.

Of course, this is the most advantageous advice Lü Jiang could offer, based on the current situation.

Besides, Lü Jiang never told Fang La's army to permanently retreat to Fujian—he merely advised them to temporarily leverage Fujian's terrain to hold out for a while, avoiding annihilation by the Song army.

First survive, then develop.

Yet Fang La had no intention of leaving Hangzhou, the capital of Two Zhe, the political, economic, and cultural center of the southeast, "his land of imperial ascension."

So, without even learning about Fujian, he said: "How could Fujian possibly help? Nonsense!"

Before Lü Jiang could explain, Fang La, eager to change the subject, dismissed his advice outright: "To hold Hangzhou is better than conquering ten prefectures. When the people see us seize Hangzhou, they will rise up in unison to join us. If we abandon Hangzhou, our uprising will be crippled—where then will our path to survival lie?"

Here, Fang La wished to appear as one who values talent, so he turned to Lü Jiang and said: "Holding Hangzhou is indeed difficult, but for the sake of our great uprising, how can we retreat because of hardship? I regard Hangzhou as my heart and core—the very foundation of our rebel army. In ancient times, Gaozu held Guanzhong to dominate the realm; Guangwu relied on Henei to stabilize the cosmos—all because their core territories were secure, enabling them to pursue the four directions. Though I am unworthy, I too wish to emulate the sages, using Hangzhou as my base to radiate influence and achieve an immortal legacy."

Upon hearing this, Lü Jiang sighed inwardly, yet understood Fang La's resolve was firm and unshakable. He knew well that Fang La's attachment to Hangzhou stemmed not only from viewing it as the uprising's foundation, but also from its prosperity, wealth, and concentration of culture—truly a strategic prize. Yet strategic obsession often leads to tactical error, and Lü Jiang could not help but worry for the future of Fang La's army.

Fang La cast an unobtrusive glance at Fang Fei.

Fang Fei understood and said: "In my view, if the name is not right, the words lack legitimacy. The reason they disobey the Thirteenth's orders is because we have not yet changed dynasties. If the Thirteenth ascends the throne and bestows titles of kings, marquises, generals, and ministers upon them, they will surely bring their armies to claim their rewards. Once I gather a million troops, what are Song Jiang and the Song army to us?"

Listen to the words, hear the drumbeats.

Everyone immediately understood: Fang La wanted to become emperor.

Originally, they had not raised the rebel flag mainly because they still harbored hopes of being pardoned and incorporated into the imperial fold.

But now, it seemed the court had no intention of pardoning them.

Worse still, the court had clearly prepared to annihilate them.

If this were truly the case, whether they rebelled or not made no real difference.

No.

One should say that if they openly raised the rebel flag, it would boost morale and unify hearts, making the people of the realm aware of their determination and attracting more like-minded men to join them.

Moreover, they risked their lives in this uprising precisely for fame, fortune, and power—otherwise, who would undertake such a nine-deaths-one-life venture?

Thus, many supported Fang La's desire to become emperor.

Yet clever men like Bao Kang, Chen Gutong, and Lü Jiang believed Fang La was digging his own grave.

They knew well that Zhao Yu had not yet offered amnesty to Fang La because the mess Fang La had created was simply too vast—a rebel army of over a million men; how could the court possibly afford to feed them?

Therefore, even if Zhao Yu wished to grant amnesty to Fang La, he would have to wait until Fang La's army and Song Jiang's army, along with the Song army, had worn each other down.

Otherwise, the already overburdened Zhao Song dynasty would bear an even heavier load.

The prerequisite, however, was that Fang La not seek to overthrow the dynasty—like Song Jiang, he should obediently help the court exterminate gentry landlords and assist in implementing the New Policies.

Conversely, once Fang La took this step of rebellion, there would be no doubt: Zhao Yu would surely execute him, with no room for compromise.

Bao Kang and others wanted to urge Fang La not to do something foolish.

But first, too many people wished to ride the rising tide with Fang La; opposing him would inevitably offend those hoping to become kings, marquises, generals, and ministers.

Second, Fang La was not entirely wrong—Lü Shinang and others disobeyed his orders because his identity as head of the Moni Sect Sect was still insufficient to command these rebel leaders, especially those not from the Moni Sect Sect.

Third, the current situation was indeed dire: if Fang Qifu and others failed to halt the advance of the Song army and Song Jiang's rebels, Hangzhou would be in danger; and if Fang La granted titles like king to Lü Shinang and others, perhaps they would indeed bring troops to reinforce Hangzhou.

Most crucially, the true core figure of the Moni Sect Sect, Wang Gonglao, supported Fang La's ascension to emperor.

With no alternative, Bao Kang and others could only withhold their opinions and watch helplessly as Fang La walked further down the path to self-destruction.

On the twenty-eighth day of the first month of Hongwu Ninth Year, Fang La ascended the throne in Hangzhou, proclaiming himself "Sheng Gong," changing the era name to Yongle; he appointed his wife Shao Shi as Empress, his eldest son Fang Ding as Crown Prince, his second son Fang Hao as Second Crown Prince, Fang Fei as Chancellor, Fang Baihua as Princess, and so on.

In short, Fang La established a full array of civil and military offices, provincial and court officials, inner ministers and outer generals—all high-ranking ministers received titles and rewards.

The members of Fang La's rebel army prepared to celebrate this occasion lavishly.

But before Fang La had even settled on the throne, news arrived that Fang Qifu and others had been defeated.

Soon, Fang Qifu returned to Hangzhou with his shattered remnants, like a dog fleeing its home…

…

(End of Chapter)