Chapter 379: Pacification of Southern Chu
The combat effectiveness of Jingxiang's current soldiers is completely not on the same level as Lai Zhen's soldiers. The only thing they can rely on is water and geographical advantages.

Lai Zhen used the tactic of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west to launch a surprise attack on the city of Xiangzhou. When the soldiers of both sides met, the situation on the battlefield became basically one-sided.

The key to fighting a war, after all, is to use your own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses. Lai Zhen is well aware of the essence of this and applies it flexibly.

The shouting and screaming outside were getting closer and closer. Cao Jie hurriedly advised Kang Chuyuan, "Your Majesty, the situation is hopeless now. Let's escape quickly!"

Kang Chuyuan asked blankly: "Where to escape to?"

Cao Jie said: "Lai Zhen leads all the elite troops. If we lose Xiangyang and go to Jingzhou, we will not be able to defend it. It is better for us to become bandits or go out to sea as pirates."

"Well!" Kang Chuyuan agreed with Cao Jie's proposal and said, "Take the treasure and leave immediately."

After Kang Chuyuan finished speaking, he led his guards to the warehouse.

But when they were halfway there, they encountered Nan Jiyun who had rushed into the city.

It was too dark at night and the torches could not illuminate far. Nan Jiyun could not identify who the enemy was. He just followed his habit and ordered the archers to fire a volley of bows and crossbows first, and then followed up with the infantry to surround and kill them.

Most of Kang Chuyuan's personal guards were killed or wounded in the first wave of arrows from the government army. Those who survived, just as they reacted, saw the government army's sword and shield soldiers in front and spear soldiers behind, surrounding them.

Just from this one encounter, Kang Chuyuan knew how big the difference was between his soldiers and Lai Chen's elite troops.

Nan Jiyun gradually approached Kang Chuyuan and finally saw the person in front of him clearly. He shouted, "Kang Chuyuan, come forward and die!"

Cao Jie was used to flattering Kang Chuyuan, so he interrupted, "How dare you address the Overlord of Southern Chu by his name!"

"The Overlord of Southern Chu?" Nan Jiyun couldn't help laughing and said, "Those who dare to claim to be the Overlord are all braver than ten thousand men. Kang Chuyuan, I'll give you a chance to fight me."

Kang Chuyuan was furious when he saw Nan Jiyun looking down on him, and said, "Well, since you are seeking your own death, you can't blame me!"

Kang Chuyuan said this and stood out with a lance in his hand, while Nan Jiyun also stepped out with a lance in his hand.

The two men looked at each other coldly, shouted at each other, and started fighting.

But after three rounds, Nan Jiyun knocked out Kang Chuyuan's spear with one spear, and the tip of the spear pointed directly at Kang Chuyuan's face.

Nan Jiyun sneered and said, "The Overlord of Southern Chu is simply a joke!"

After saying that, he had Kang Chuyuan arrested.

Xiangyang was captured overnight.

After taking Xiangyang, Lai Zhen ordered Nan Jiyun to hunt down the remnants of the Xiangzhou rebels and sent Zhang Xun to attack Jingzhou.

At the same time, people were ordered to check the accounts, rosters, documents, etc. of Xiangzhou and to take inventory of the warehouses of the "Southern Chu State".

A few days later, Liu Yuan, the household officer of Xiangzhou, reported the results of the inventory to Lai Zhen, saying, "General, the inventory of Kang Chuyuan's property in the Xiangzhou warehouse has been completed. If converted into cash, it is about 1.6 million strings of cash."

"How much?" Lai Chen was very surprised.

Liu Yuan repeated, "About 1.6 million strings of cash."

"Fuck!" Lai Zhen reacted and ran to the storehouse quickly. After a look, he said in surprise, "The annual fiscal revenue of the Tang Dynasty is only 10 million guan. It has only been a short time since Kang Chuyuan occupied Jingxiang, but he has collected so much treasure. It seems that Jingxiang is really rich. These powerful families are willing to spend money to stop the two-tax system."

Lei Wanchun, who was in charge of the inventory, heard Lai Zhen's words and joked, "General Jie, why don't we divide the money!"

"Go!" Lai Zhen kicked Lei Wanchun in the buttocks. "This is not a joke. Do you know how many soldiers this money can support? Seal them all and report them to the court. Only the rewards from His Majesty are what we can take."

"Yes." Lei Wanchun accepted the order.

Lai Zhen walked out of the warehouse and saw Nan Jiyun waiting anxiously. He asked, "General Nan, what happened?" Nan Jiyun said, "The civilians learned that the government troops were searching for rebels and took the initiative to help."

Lai Zhen said: "Isn't this a good thing?"

Nan Jiyun said: "They went there with weapons, and engaged in a fierce battle with the powerful families in the city. They fought and robbed each other, and hundreds of people were killed or injured on both sides."

"Didn't the soldiers maintain order?" Lai Chen asked.

Nan Jiyun hesitated for a moment and said, "You know the situation of the soldiers. They also can't stand the tyrants and are happy to watch the fun from the sidelines."

In the early Tang Dynasty, before the collapse of the military system, the soldier group did not tend to be lower-class civilians.

Because in the early Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty divided each household into nine levels according to their financial status. Among them, the lower three levels had no money and no power and were not qualified to serve in the army. Only the upper, middle and sixth levels could serve in the army.

Therefore, the government soldiers in the early Tang Dynasty were considered to be property owners.

However, after the collapse of the military conscription system, the country adopted a recruitment system, and the soldiers recruited by the recruitment system, especially the border troops, were mostly lower-class proletarians.

This is also one of the reasons why the Yabing was able to gain support from the lower-class civilians after the secession of the three towns of Heshuo, because the Yabing, to some extent, represented the interests of the lower-class civilians.

The Yabing came from the lower civilian class. They were like cattle and horses before the rebellion and they were still cattle and horses after the rebellion. Wasn't the rebellion in vain?

It can't be!

So he often went to Luoyang with a sword.

If a military governor surrendered to the Tang court, he would be killed; if an official was corrupt, he would be killed; if a powerful person oppressed the people, he would be killed.

With their swords and votes, the guards fought their way out of the three towns of Heshuo and created a clean and peaceful society. Later, the guards themselves became corrupt and powerful, and everything became a completely different place again.

Lai Zhen didn't know about Ya Bing, but he could feel that his brothers had gone a little too far. If he allowed things to continue, he would be in big trouble.

Lai Zhen said hurriedly: "Hurry up and issue a notice. No one except government officials is allowed to arrest Kang Chuyuan for treason. They can only provide information to the government. Those who provide information will be rewarded. Those who arrest without permission will be treated as traitors. Also, gather the soldiers, I want to give them a lecture!"

"Yes." Nan Jiyun accepted the order.

……

Gao Xianzhi was stationed in Luoyang. When he received Li Heng's order to quell the rebellion, he led the troops personally. In less than a month, he put down the rebellions in Chenliu and Bianzhou.

During the process of suppressing the rebellion, Gao Xianzhi also discovered that Li Xian, the governor of Chenliu, was tyrannical and cruel. He accepted bribes from the Chenliu clans and falsely reported land and population for the powerful clans.

After Gao Xianzhi verified that everything was correct, he reported the matter to Li Heng and requested that Li Xian be executed to uphold the law. Li Heng agreed.

The matter should have ended here, but the Bianzhou governor Liu Zhan had a close relationship with Li Xin. Liu Zhan was good at commanding the army, but he was stubborn and had a bad temper. When he was checking the land and population, he offended many people.

Among them were the aristocratic families who dared not rebel.

When the aristocratic families who were offended by Liu Zhan saw Li Xin being killed, they felt that they had found an opportunity and advised Gao Xianzhi that Liu Zhan had also accepted bribes from the aristocratic families.

Gao Xianzhi sent people to check and found that nothing had happened, so he did not pursue the matter.

However, the aristocratic families with ulterior motives were unwilling to give up and found another excuse for Gao Xianzhi.

At that time, there was a nursery rhyme among the people that went something like "Holding a golden sword and rising in the east", and the "Liu" in Liu Zhan's name means golden sword, and Bianzhou is to the east of Chang'an. So these people said that this nursery rhyme was about Liu Zhan, and that Liu Zhan was going to rebel in the east.

(End of this chapter)