Jin Se

Chapter 46

The plague of locusts in the northwest sparked an exodus of refugees, who then ignited massive peasant uprisings. The court tried to suppress them once but to no avail. On the contrary, the bloodthirsty shovel-wielding army managed to take over thirty-six commanderies.

During that time, the nomadic tribes outside the borders also took advantage of the disorder. It was a vexing problem. The Puqing Emperor sent reinforcements three times, yet the situation was still precarious. With no other choice, he had to once again muster troops from every region to buttress the northwestern front.

Thus, the civil and military officials of the "Great Country of Dongyue" once again smugly returned to court. Their tenth emperor had just ascended and changed the reign name for the tenth time. The pitiful ninth emperor had only held office for four days. Even the "important cabinet officials" didn't remember what the reign name was supposed to be anymore.

Gu Huaiyang had been preparing his troops for years already. He decided, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the full-moon night of the mid-autumn, to send Li Rushuang and three thousand cavalries to launch a surprise attack on their northern neighbor, the Huainan Commandery.

Huainan was Gu Huaiyang's ancestral home. It wasn't far from Haining, and it had once been infested with bandits. Ever since the court had conferred some bullshit general's title to him, Gu Huaiyang had diligently wiped out all his former bandit buddies, people he'd once chummed and shared drinks with, in and around Haining.

There was a lot of commerce between Huainan and Haining, even before Shi Wuduan started plying Huainan's inspector-general with various benefits. Every time the inspector-general met Gu Huaiyang, he'd greet him tearfully and wholeheartedly as if they'd grown up in the same village.

Every time they drank together, they got along like a house on fire. Such that, when trouble arose in Huainan, Haining could hardly just "sit by and watch." Soon enough, at the instigation of "clever" people, Huainan's inspector-general pleaded for Haining's assistance in restoring order to the region. And just like that, General Gu was managing the defenses of two commanderies.

Li Rushuang and her three thousand cavalries entered Huainan like it was their own backyard. That pitiful inspector-general had his head lopped off in the middle of the night, completely unaware that, for years, he'd been digging his own grave. They also robbed the man's mansion clean - when one ate someone else's food, they'd have to spit it out eventually.

Beyond Huainan, was Bianxi. The Redscarf Army descended on a small town in the southern region of Bianxi, Changjing City as swiftly as if they'd dropped out of the sky. Before the city guard could even blink, there was already an army at his walls. He stood dumbly on the walls and viciously slapped himself twice. The scorching pain confirmed that he was indeed awake. Immediately afterward, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted right on the spot.

After Changjing City, rumors spread everywhere. All sorts of urban legends circled among the peasants, enormously exaggerating the Redscarf Army's reputation. According to rumor, they were invincible; every soldier had three heads and six arms, and skin that was impervious to swords.

Bianxi had been peaceful for too long. Not long after Changjing City, another eighteen cities fell in succession, one after the other. Three months later, Meng Zhongyong led troops to Li Rushuang's aid. The rich, fertile lands of Bianxi, Huainan, and Haining were now all within the palm of Gu Huaiyang's hand.