In fact, Sun Shitai had always been hiding a sense of unwillingness in his heart.
Sun Shitai was born in the holy land of literati in Zhejiang Yuyao. He had been influenced by culture since he was young and was well-read. He was well-versed in astronomy and geography. He admired sages and regarded Wang Yangming, who was from his hometown, as his grandmaster.
However, his family's fortunes had declined and he was unable to establish a foothold in the village. With no other choice, he could only rely on his relatives and friends and travel to the distant capital city. He enrolled in Wu Qing County of Shun Tian Province and 'became a member of the Guang Sheng School'. He took the imperial examinations to earn a living and sought an official career.
Unexpectedly, he, who was too talented and didn't know how to curry favor with others, was secretly informed. The Shun Tian Fu School refused to allow him to participate in the examination on the grounds that he was an impostor and humiliated him. Left with nowhere to go, he was stranded in the capital. In his despair, he even had thoughts of suicide.
After he came to Bozhou, in order to please Yang Yinglong, he once told Yang Yinglong that he came to Bozhou because he observed the sky at night and discovered that there was a 'guest star attacking Ziwei' in the southwest. When Yang Yinglong's people came to recruit him, he happily went to Bozhou to assist a wise ruler in his plans to conquer the world.
This made Yang Yinglong very happy. He immediately acknowledged him as the chief military advisor and was treated very well.
However, he knew that this was just an excuse.
Observing the celestial phenomena at night, the guest star attacking Zi Wei, these were all excuses. If one could understand the trend of the world by observing the celestial phenomena, then the emperors of each dynasty would not have made one mistake after another, which led to the destruction of their countries. These were all fake.
If he could really predict the future by observing the sky at night, why couldn't he predict his own future?
He was just a poor and dejected man. Because his military talent was not valued by the people in the capital, he was discovered and recruited by Yang Yinglong. Under these circumstances, in order to find a way out and not be humiliated and looked down upon by the people in the capital, he angrily went to the remote Bozhou.
However, as a traditional scholar, although he received generous treatment from Yang Yinglong, he witnessed everything that Yang Yinglong did. How could he not know what Yang Yinglong was thinking?
How could he not guess that if this continued, his future would be bleak?
What would be the future of a well-read scholar who followed such a chieftain?
Was he really happy? Did he really think he got what he wanted?
Whether it was because he had met a wise master and got what he wanted, or because he had no other choice but to cast his pearls before swine, only he himself knew.
But could he say it?
Not only that, but he couldn't even show it. He had to show that he could get along well with Yang Yinglong and appreciate each other. That was how a chief strategist should act.
He was once a proud and arrogant scholar who had set Wang Yangming as his goal. Yet, he had actually walked to the point where he had to drag out an ignoble existence. How many times had he dreamed about it? How much pain did Sun Shitai feel in his heart?
Under such circumstances, Yang Yinglong continued to court disaster and create trouble. Sun Shitai felt that the situation was getting more and more wrong. In the end, he confirmed that the Ming Court would make a move against Yang Yinglong. He told Yang Yinglong to prepare for war in case of emergency.
In the end, the situation changed. Shen Yicheng rebelled, Xiao Ruxun went on a northern expedition, and the Ming Qin changed the world. The Daqin took over the Central Plains and replaced the Daming dynasty. The new emperor, Xiao Ruxun, suppressed the world.
Sun Shitai had heard of Xiao Ruxun's name more than once.
He was known as the number one general of the Daming dynasty. In the battles of Ningxia, Korea, Dongwu, and the northern grasslands, he won all four battles and killed millions of enemies. He could be said to be a god of war who stood on a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
It was said that his fame was enough to stop the children of the grasslands from crying at night. The Northern Barbarians feared him so much that they didn't even dare to go near the Great Wall. They were afraid that their heads would be chopped off. Now that he had become the second Zhao Kuangyin, the fighting power of the army under him was not something the local army of the Ming Court could compare to.
The army he left behind in Guizhou during the northern expedition must have been prepared to frighten the chieftains and warn them not to act recklessly.
This emperor was not simple. Compared to the Wanli Emperor and his court, his killing power and deterrence were many times greater.
This was an emperor who had relied on military exploits to ascend to the throne. He had also relied on the army to forcibly overthrow the rule of the Ming Dynasty on the northern expedition. He had spent his entire life on expeditions and was extremely good at using troops. He had never lost in hundreds of battles. If he were to face off against Yang Yinglong, Yang Yinglong would probably be doomed.
But Yang Yinglong actually felt that the new emperor would be busy for a long time after ascending to the throne. He would have a lot of time to do whatever he wanted. So he did not listen to Sun Shitai's suggestion to immediately organize the army for war. Instead, he continued to lead his subordinates out to happily plunder.
Sun Shitai had no choice but to continue paying close attention to the development of the situation.
In the following months, the development of events was as Sun Shitai had predicted.
Xiao Ruxun was definitely not someone who would abandon the southwest in order to stabilize his position. His vision was extremely ruthless and his desire for power was strong. The troops stationed in Jiangnan had not yet been moved, but the one hundred thousand troops left in Jiangnan were advancing westward step by step. As they established local rule, they entered Huguang and Jiangxi to suppress Guizhou.
The Governor of Guizhou and the Governor of Sichuan were changed one after another. The Sichuan army was reorganized and the new army was trained. The famous Chieftain of Sichuan, Ma Qiancheng, was favored, and used his prestige to temporarily resolve the chaotic situation in Sichuan.
Sichuan was temporarily stabilized. The new Governor Wang Xiangqian and Ma Qiancheng worked together to continuously train the troops. They continuously conducted census of the population and land in various places, and constantly stirred up trouble.
This was clearly not something that the former Ming officials who pursued a policy of not doing anything could compare to. The newly born Daqin officials were all filled with the determination to do business. They were very dissatisfied with everything that was happening in front of them. Even if there was nothing to do, they would still stir up some trouble.
What was even more frightening was that Sun Shitai also heard from a large merchant who had fled from Hangzhou to Bozhou and had business dealings with Xiao Ruxun in Hangzhou and the entire southeast.
He incited the ignorant people to kill the families of the rich and powerful, causing them to be exterminated. He divided up their land and wealth, established a township government, and bribed the poor scholars who could not eat to serve him. He sent officials to the villages and established an organization called the Farmers' Association. The farmers in the villages all listened to the arrangements of the Farmers' Association.
Sun Shitai was well-versed in poetry and books. He was proficient in astronomy and geography, and he also had a certain understanding of history. He immediately thought of the Pre-Qin Dynasty! He thought of imperial power in the countryside!
He felt that the Qin of the new dynasty was not any other Qin, but the Qin of the Pre-Qin Dynasty!
Xiao Ruxun clearly understood the situation of the local government having no influence at all. He directly used the most direct and most frightening method.
He killed all the local gentry and uprooted them.
He planted the power of the government in the local area and controlled it from the village level. It was equivalent to controlling the local area from the roots. He controlled the manpower, material resources, and all the resources. With one word, he could mobilize all the resources of the entire area.
Once this frightening grasp was established, it would take shape and grow. Once there was a war, it would become a world-destroying mobilizing force. It was unstoppable.
He had kidnapped all the commoners and all the commoners had boarded his chariot. They had become a community of interests. Now that he had become the Emperor, all the commoners were proud of him. Their cohesiveness had increased. His Qin's control over the local area had completely exceeded Sun Shitai's imagination.
This was a devastating blow to any enemy.
What was even funnier was Yang Yinglong. It was the people of the four chieftains, including him, who did not realize what Xiao Ruxun had done during this period of time, what he had done, and what changes he had made to the local area.
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