[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers":3,"chapter-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-59":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Restoring the Mountains and Rivers",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364328,4623,"Chapter 59: Siege of the City","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-59",59,"\u003Cp>“Commandant, what brings you here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the suddenly appearing Marquis Wuyang, Li Mu asked in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even for a patrol, you should have come at a different time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rebel forces have just appeared; even the most careless garrison commander would climb the wall to observe the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I felt uneasy, so I came out to take a walk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have those Yangzhou soldiers been behaving themselves these days?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis Wuyang said with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The faint worry in his brow betrayed his inner unease—he clearly disliked warfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ve uncovered several soldiers with suspicious behavior, but haven’t had time to interrogate them yet; they’re likely connected to the detained officers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu didn’t hold back in laying the blame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Official positions are always one radish, one hole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone wants to serve in wealthy Jiangnan; these local officers are the biggest obstacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blocking someone’s path in officialdom is the greatest sin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among ambitious noble youths, an unspoken agreement has formed: remove the stumbling blocks in their way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The detention of Yangzhou’s local officers was a demand made strongly by all of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outer-kin faction, led by the Marquis Wuyang, never initially intended to act against them—but the noble youths kept insisting these men were colluding with the rebels and could not be trusted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evidence is hard to find for now, but it’s certain some of these officers have been bribed by the salt merchant syndicate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every year, vast quantities of illicit salt flow out of the Two Huai regions; without protection from local military commanders, this could never happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These bastards have their hands stretched too far!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis Wuyang couldn’t help but curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smuggling and rebellion are not the same thing; officers who participated in salt smuggling aren’t necessarily going to join the rebels in revolt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as long as suspicion exists, they must be guarded against.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mistakenly detaining them doesn’t matter—they’re only under house arrest; after the fact, if they’re cleared, their innocence can be restored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if we let a fish slip through and give the enemy an opening, leading to Yangzhou’s fall, that’s a grave crime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the outer kin can’t bear such a heavy responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Commandant, please calm down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not worth damaging your health over a few rebels.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“While observing the enemy just now, I’ve devised a plan to defeat them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The enemy is still unsteady; tonight is the perfect time for a surprise attack.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just mobilize our elite troops to surge out from all gates—we’ll throw their formation into chaos!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu urged enthusiastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rebel forces outside the city clearly looked easy to crush—the perfect target for training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By dawn, when the officers lead their retainers out to charge, they’ll surely cause the enemy considerable trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If fortune favors us and triggers a mutiny in their camp, we’ll strike it rich.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s a good plan, but we lack cavalry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we had ten thousand cavalry, I’d gladly give you this chance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the Marquis Wuyang’s words, Li Mu forcibly swallowed his retort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was ridiculous—if he had ten thousand cavalry, he’d have already ridden out to slaughter the rebels far and wide; why would he stay here guarding the city?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need ten thousand—even a thousand would have been enough to launch a campaign to suppress the rebellion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the commander refuses to take risks, nothing you say matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu wasn’t brave enough to lead a raid alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in poor condition, the rebels still had tens of thousands of troops, many of them elite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charging with a few hundred infantry would risk being surrounded—if caught, the entire force could be wiped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brief incident ended; the ramparts fell quiet again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming the rebels wouldn’t attack tonight, Li Mu decisively chose to return and rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His intuition told him that in the coming days, a good night’s sleep would be hard to come by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dawn, the first rays of sunlight fell upon the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rebel camp, where cooking fires had been lit, suddenly erupted into noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General Huang, Yangzhou’s walls are too strong to scale directly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“While the various righteous armies are still en route, we should begin constructing siege equipment!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Guangtai, with dark circles under his eyes, urgently proposed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had stayed awake all night, pondering the righteous army’s path forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After exhausting his efforts, he concluded: the rebels’ combat effectiveness was too poor to let him fully deploy his intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brilliant strategies, when handed to these men, always ended in utter disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless, since they’d stepped onto this irreversible path, they must push forward with all their might.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The greater the chaos and the longer the turmoil, the safer his own family would be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking advantage of the uprising, the younger generation of the Zong family had secretly relocated, mostly gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some chose to flee overseas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others forged new identities and vanished into other provinces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some entered the mountains to become bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The principle was simple: don’t put all your eggs in one basket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as one person survived, the Zong lineage endured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who remained with the righteous army were those unwilling to surrender, clinging to one final gamble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Zong speaks wisely. This task is entrusted to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Huang Renlong’s words, Zong Guangtai stood frozen in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Constructing siege equipment—such crafty, technical work—how could a scholar like him possibly know how?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he himself had suggested it; he couldn’t now admit he couldn’t accomplish it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were so many men in the army—surely a few knew the craft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General, rest assured—I will see this done!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Guangtai said helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the moment he accepted the order, the hierarchy between them had reversed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Huang Renlong had been relying on the Zong family for survival; now, this Zong family scion had become his subordinate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Similar scenes played out repeatedly among the various righteous armies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the rebellion spread, the Seven Families’ control over the armies plummeted sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from a few armies still directly controlled by the Seven Families, most had become mere allies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Internal clashes over command authority were not uncommon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a time, the Two Huai region became a boiling mess, as countless righteous armies spread chaotically in all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Appeals for aid from prefectures along the way rained down like snowflakes toward the Two Capitals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing atop the city gate tower, seeing the enemy remain motionless, Li Mu grew increasingly agitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waiting in uncertainty was the most anxiety-inducing thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enemy’s prolonged inaction, as if preparing some grand scheme, placed unbearable pressure on the new recruits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Adjust the cannons—aim at the enemy banners. Fire two rounds first!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he gave the order, Li Mu swiftly moved away from the artillery platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These heavy guns were older than his late grandfather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could strike the enemy—but they could just as easily kill their own men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Great Yu army, cannon explosions due to poor quality were no longer rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boom… boom…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a thunderous roar, the rebel camp’s banners still stood tall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shells landed a hundred meters ahead of the commander’s tent; shrapnel exploded past Huang Renlong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Order an immediate assault!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell the soldiers: the first to scale the wall gets promoted five ranks and rewarded three thousand taels of silver!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After Yangzhou falls, three days of unrestricted plunder!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The insult was unbearable—just barely missing death, he’d nearly joined the groaning soldiers on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1234,"2026-06-21T08:09:02.410Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","38f67fbb1f3607bedd5e8cde571194228c1007cb8234e852a29690f5914e94c4","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-60","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-58",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frestoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-cover.jpg"]