Chapter 208: The Rebel Army and the White Lotus Sect
Since the Southern Song Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect has always been a thorn in the side of the imperial court, regardless of the Yuan, Ming or Qing dynasties.

The imperial courts of all dynasties only thought about how to wipe out the White Lotus Sect, but never thought about the real reason why the White Lotus Sect existed.

Some people may have thought about it, or even know why the White Lotus Sect continues to persist despite repeated bans, but no one has ever thought about truly solving the problem.

The fundamental reason why the White Lotus Sect could persist despite repeated bans and grew stronger after a period of time was that it was simply the last cry of ordinary people who could no longer bear too much suffering.

If we want to fundamentally solve the problem of the White Lotus Sect, we must first solve the survival problem of ordinary people.

For example, now that Chen the Executor has distributed land to everyone, many lower-level White Lotus members have voluntarily left the sect and returned to their hometowns to live a peaceful life.

At this time, the power of the White Lotus had been greatly reduced, but its leader still led some loyal members. Especially when Chen Gui defeated the imperial court, the White Lotus took the opportunity to occupy several counties.

To the east of Bazhong, there are three counties: Pingchang, Taiping and Dongxiang, which were the main bases of the White Lotus Sect at that time. The three counties all belong to the Daba Mountain Range, and there are many mountains with an altitude of thousands of meters in the area.

It took Lao Nian a long time to wander around and finally arrive outside the county seat of Pingchang County.

As both were anti-Qing forces, they should have been natural allies, but the White Lotus Sect had no good feelings towards Chen Gu's so-called Huaxia tribe.

Because Chen Gu not only killed all of Fobao's White Lotus followers, but also did not care about the White Lotus followers in other places during his subsequent attack on Sichuan.

However, as Chen Gu's power grew faster and faster, the White Lotus lost the courage to retaliate. In addition, the imperial court needed to deal with Chen Gu, which exposed its weaknesses in eastern Sichuan. The White Lotus took the opportunity to develop its own strength, and the two sides have never had any intersection since then.

Now that the dust has settled in Sichuan, it is time for the two families to meet.

According to Chen Gu's opinion, it is better to talk first. No matter what, they are all anti-Qing forces. If they attack without asking any questions, it will probably cause the underworld forces in various places to develop a rebellious mentality.

"Who is coming?"

Lao Nian only brought two followers with him, but because they were riding horses, they were stopped by the rebel soldiers before they could enter the city.

"Lao Nian, the head of the Intelligence Department of the Huaxia Department, has come to pay his respects to the two leaders of the Rebel Army."

In fact, the rebel army that occupied the three counties could not be considered the real White Lotus Sect. They were just acting in the name of the White Lotus Sect. However, after it became powerful, the White Lotus Sect did send people to join the rebel army.

The White Lotus Sect members could bewitch people, practice medicine, perform rituals to exorcise evil spirits, and do all sorts of other things, which helped to rally the military's morale and encourage ignorant people to join the rebel army, so the rebel army naturally welcomed the White Lotus Sect's joining.

After all, these rebel forces were just a group of peasants who couldn't make a living. Their organizational structure was not as rigorous as that of the Huaxia tribe. They couldn't even form an organizational structure. It was only natural that they were invaded by the White Lotus.

This group of rebels had two leaders named Gou Wenming and Xian Dachuan. Unlike Chen Gu's low-key leader, although they only occupied three counties in a remote and poor place like eastern Sichuan, they had already called themselves kings.

"Director of the Intelligence Department of the Chinese Ministry?" The rebel soldiers looked at Lao Nian in surprise, left a word "wait" and ran away.

However, Lao Nian didn't have to wait long. After a while, someone came out on horseback and took Lao Nian into the city.

At the county government office, Lao Nian saw two so-called great kings. What made Lao Nian frown was that the two great kings sat in the subordinate positions, while someone else sat in the main seat. The person who led Lao Nian in first introduced Xian Dachuan and Gou Wenming, and finally introduced: "This is Qi Zhenshan, the leader of our White Lotus Sect."

"I'm Lao Nian from the Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Huaxia. Nice to meet you three!" Lao Nian bowed.

Qi Zhenshan frowned and shouted, "Why don't you kneel when you see me?"

Lao Nian was speechless, shook his head, and said with a smile: "There is no kneeling ceremony in my Huaxia tribe. Even if we see the leader, we just bow and salute."

Qi Zhenshan sneered, "Heh, Chen Jue, why did he send you here?"

Lao Nian couldn't help but frowned, but he still said directly: "What the leader meant was that the various rebel armies rose up to resist corrupt officials and the court because they could no longer make ends meet.

Now that Sichuan has been pacified, the people can all get land and live and work in peace. In this case, the rebel armies in various places should also have a destination. What do you think?"

"Destination? What destination?" Qi Zhenshan sneered, "To him, Chen the Assassin?"

"The leader has no intention of forcing you to join him. You have several options. You can go home and divide the land to live a stable life, or you can join our army for training and then enlist. If you have any ideas, then take your people and leave Sichuan!" Lao Nian said bluntly.

"Is this the choice Chen Gu gave everyone?" Qi Zhenshan raised his eyebrows and asked, "What if I say neither?"

"Then we have no choice but to fight, but why bother?" Lao Nian advised, "Tens of thousands of troops of the imperial court have been wiped out, and now Lao Piao has occupied Guangyuan and pushed the battle line to Hanzhong.

If Song Jun had not led an army of more than 20,000 to defend the city, Lao Piao would have probably captured Hanzhong.

To be frank, although the three of you occupy the three counties in eastern Sichuan, you are nothing but a mantis trying to stop a chariot in front of our army.

What's more, the people who provided you with arms in the past have now joined our Huaxia tribe. If the two armies go to war, not only will your strength be greatly disparate, but even your arms will be inadequate. Why bother to fight in vain?"

Lao Nian really didn't think the other party would have any chance. If Chen Gu hadn't said that he wanted to talk first, given Lao Piao's temper, he would have sent a detachment to recapture the three counties long ago.

Lao Nian also made the trip in person out of respect for the other party's strength.

"Haha~, Chen Ju is indeed powerful, but now he only occupies a small corner of Sichuan. How can he compare to the imperial court that controls the whole country?"

Qi Zhenshan smiled disdainfully, and then said: "When we had nothing in the face of the imperial court, we dared to fight. Now that we have occupied three counties, how could we be afraid of him, Chen Ju?"

Lao Nian couldn't help but be stunned. Is this comparable?

Rebelling against the imperial court was a choice made out of necessity, as people could no longer survive.

You are indeed not afraid of the imperial court that controls the whole country, but you are being chased around like rabbits. If it weren't for the support of Han Yuanxiao and others, you would have run out of ammunition and food and been wiped out long ago.

(End of this chapter)