“The revolutionary war is a war of the masses; only mobilizing the masses and relying on them can wage it”
* Be Concerned with the Well Being of the Masses, Pay Attention to Methods of Work
The rumour of the dying daughter of the Xu family has only been popular in the city of Xuchang, and later the imperial capital, in fact, much of the Great Sui Dynasty had never heard of this, instead, there had been a much more popular rumour.
Concubine Hu, quite possibly the most powerful woman in the entire history of the Great Sui Dynasty, was actually, in an allegiance to their Northern neighbour, who the empire had countless border skirmishes with, this rumour was most widely spread throughout the common masses, unlike the daughter of the Xu family, who had been primarily the topic of gossip among nobles and wealthy elites.
The Northern portion of the Great Sui Dynasty, who had constantly felt the effects of raids by their Northern neighbours, was particularly bitter about this rumour, with many calling Concubine Hu a seductress who had become a disease of the heart for the prosperous empire.
This was certainly not without basis, as Concubine Hu had been actively building up her own faction, containing many nobles and bureaucrats of the Central Plains as well as her homeland in the South and while others are not aware of it, had played an active part in the madness of the emperor.
The main opposition against her faction is led by Xu Jin, who had the support of much of the military, and himself in possession of Changtian province, whose prosperity matches those experienced by the Central Plains.
While nearly all corners of the empire are engaging in factional conflict, the north had stayed primarily neutral, except for the city of Bingjiang. This was why Xu Jin had been particularly supportive of Ling Ping becoming the new governor.
Regardless, the factional difference between Xu Jin and Concubine Hu would not last long, as the Great Sui Dynasty would soon face a great crisis.
Li Ming is rather satisfied with her new plan, written on a bamboo slip, it details how she will repel Xu Jin’s army of forty thousand while expanding her control over the villages.
The bamboo slip itself details several points in her campaign, detailing how she will use the rumour of Concubine Hu to her advantage, as the Northern part of the empire had long despised their Northern neighbours, she could easily use patriotism to encourage them to revolt.
Naturally, patriotism alone is not enough to make men revolt, their personal grievances must be addressed as well, through exploiting the anger of the masses towards the incompetence of governance that had led to the recent famine, they would soften up towards Li Ming’s idea of the republic.
Her army had already been instructed to carefully observe the social and economic situation of the villages they will enter, and begin to distribute grain, sponsorship of local events, and forming casual conversation to recruit a small dedicated following.
Afterwards, the nucleus would be used to further her support. If her plans are acted in a successful manner, a village that had once acted in the logistic system of Xu Jin’s army would turn hostile, beginning to field guerilla groups after receiving training, and have their old system of governance replace in flavour of a democratic model to further increase the village’s support against the empire’s bureaucracy.
Li Ming and her army during this time would too grow, her professional army would require far more training than those of guerilla whose primary goal was to harass and seize supplies, for that, she had set up organisations within Bingjiang who will train soldiers, under the disguise of charity services which will distribute grain.
Those soldiers would receive the same amount of training as her current army, despite the rush in their deployment, they will gain experience as more battles occur.
Li Ming herself feels no pity for the possible loss of countless lives, perhaps due to her experiences in nation x, she had long grown numb, yet Xu Xiaomeng is inexperienced in war and had grown attached to these rowdy soldiers.
As Li Ming put away the bamboo slip, she proceeds towards a wooden tub, to clean herself from the mud on her body she had acquired during her time in the tunnel.
Perhaps Li Ming’s earlier days as a rich young master had made her numb to seeing a female body, yet her actions as she cleans herself appear completely natural.
Xu Xiaomeng herself doesn’t seem to mind, perhaps she had felt a little uncomfortable the first time Li Ming had cleaned her body, yet she had become accustomed to it. Instead, she seemed distracted on another matter.
“Sir, what if father discovers our activities in the village, and use brutal means to suppress it,” Xu Xiaomeng asked, her voice appearing slightly fearful.
“Then it would be beneficial to us, displays of violence would only further bring the masses to our side,” Li Ming, still maintaining her typical smile said.
“Sir, that would result in deaths,” Xu Xiaomeng, raising her voice rejected.
“Of course, this is war. When I had been in nation x, it was far worse, carpet bombing and use of chemical weapons were rampant. Fortunately, these weapons of mass destruction had not been invented yet, lady, you should be grateful that this world is one where these things do not exist,” Li Ming, using a voice that displayed a degree of tiredness and wisdom, lectured Xu Xiaomeng.
Naturally, Xu Xiaomeng does not know these terms, ultimately, Li Ming gave off a slight chuckle before she explained to Xu Xiaomeng.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Xu Xiaomeng, sounding rather desolate, still persisted,” Sir, just because fewer people die do not mean it is justified.”
“Lady, it is not that I care not for their deaths, but it is that, through their deaths, we would achieve one where people live better lives, currently, commoners die at the age of forty, if we manage to establish institutions like healthcare, they would live much longer. Yet we cannot, not yet anyway,” coughing a little, Li Ming continued,” essentially, what I’m saying is, as long as the good outweighs the bad, it is something I would do.”
Laughing at herself, Li Ming said to herself,” that sounds like Consequentialism .”
Xu Xiaomeng made a sound of confusion, yet Li Ming did not explain.
Ultimately, Li Ming remained in the bath for far too long, exchanging her dirty clothes for another similar working clothes, she reappeared outside her tent.
The sun had just risen. Just as it surpasses the hill, the sound of a horn could be heard.
The soldiers, upon hearing the sound, awaken from their slumber and begin to pack up the camp, before preparing for their breakfast.
Li Ming had formed her soldiers in platoons of 60 for the soldiers to form close links as well as to promote healthy rivalry, seeing the men and women preparing food, she begins to pack up her own tent.
As she proceeded to load the luggage onto carriages carried by mules, Xu Xiaomeng suddenly sighed.
“Sir, would it be possible to spare my father if you capture him?” Xu Xiaomeng asked.
“Lady, I despise unnecessary loss of life, if I can ensure the general will not begin to launch a coup, I will certainly allow him to live,” Li Ming answered as she continues to load her baggage onto the carriage.
“Many thanks, sir,” Xu Xiaomeng returned, despite her father’s plan to send her as an offering to the emperor, she still has some attachment to him as his daughter.
Taking a platoon along with her, Li Ming begins to march.
Soon, the platoon journeyed through the forest, arriving at a village of around two thousand, situated at the supply line of Xu Jin’s army.
Xu Jin’s army now is actually closer to Bingjiang then Li Ming, however, Xu Jin is currently recovering from his previous loss, and is currently encamped along with his army. This situation has certainly turned out flavorful for Li Ming
The village had been ravaged by the recent famine, many of the houses lay empty, while the remaining peasants appear incredibly malnourished as they attempt to replant their lost crop.
The platoon, begin unpacking several large pots from the mules, cooking some rather basic porridge, yet to these people who had not eaten for days, it appeared infinitely appetising, yet they resisted their urge to approach the army.
Suddenly, a soldier stepped in front of the porridge, at this point, many of the peasants had their faces lit up.
“It’s Xiao Wang, Xiao Wang had returned from the city” one of the children shouted, despite their appearance as nothing more than skin and bones, it seemed as if they have a boundless enemy.
The soldier called Xiao Wang smiled, and beginning handing bowls of porridge out, while casually making small talks with his fellow villagers.
Eventually, the large pot was empty, and the villagers had been fed, looking visibly more healthy, ultimately, many of them approached Xiao Wang, and now with their hunger satisfied, begin to ask questions.
“Xiao Wang, how come you came back, I thought you vowed to never return to the village after you parents died recently,” a middle-aged woman asked.
“Of course he came back to bring food for us,” another middle-aged woman replied, the two women seemed similar, despite their haggard look.
“Who is that pretty lady,” one of the children asked. Xiao Wang appeared a little surprised, before whispering into the child’s ear, after he returned, the kid looked at Li Ming with brimming curiosity, to which Li Ming returned with a slight wave of her hand.
Soon enough, the day has ended, despite not much being achieved, a sense of accomplishment was felt after seeing their positive effects on the village.
This continued, until one day Xiao Wang had mentioned the recent rumour regarding Concubine Hu to one of the young men within the army.
The young men slapped his thigh, before complaining about the current dynasty, but did nothing more, yet Xiao Wang had smiled.
A few days passed eventually, Xiao Wang and this man continued this conversation, until finally, the man seemed to be brimming with anger at the Sui Dynasty.
“To think the Sui Dynasty had degraded to this degree,” the men said,” I swear I will fight until my last breathe unless that vixen had been disposed of, come, Xiao Wang, let us go march to the capital.”
“Good brother, that is too rash,” Xiao Wang replied with a sigh,” For now, why don’t you help us by disrupting their army so we can remove the empire’s influence from the North.”
The men paused for a moment, before slapping Xiao Wang’s back,” That is indeed a good idea, come brother, let’s go recruit more men to oppose the tyranny of Concubine Hu.”
This process continued for nearly a month, and soon, the village that serves as a vital part of Xu Jin’s supply line had become completely hostile.
This process has been repeated countless times, with each platoon delegated to convert a different village, with different variants of success, ultimately. Nearly ninety villages had become hostile to the empire, while the seeds of discontent had been planted in the others.
Furthermore, they had spread collectivisation throughout the villages, which will increase the production of food, partially alleviating the famine, while they had occasionally forced down or had outright killed the official guilty of hoarding grain, which worsen the effects of the famine, much like what Li Ming had done in Bingjiang.
After each platoon left their respective villages, they regrouped at Bingjiang, by then, four thousand fresh troops from the city had been freshly deployed, making her army forces thousand men strong, not including the militias from the villages.
“Excellent work everyone,” Li Ming congratulated the soldiers, before giving out instructions to each platoon leader,” the next month, I will have you repeat the process, however, the month afterwards, we will gather at the Beixi bridge, which connects the Northern territories to the Central Plains, in particular, the province of Huxi, there, we will expand our influence.”
Returning to the soldiers who appeared to be in high spirits, they proceeded to follow their commander toward a new village.
Naturally, as the Great Sui Dynasty has four hundred million inhabitants, living in nearly two hundred thousand villages, even in the relatively sparsely populated Northern territories of the empire, it is impossible to influence every village, however, Li Ming only needs continue this until Xu Jin has retreated, which by her estimates, would be after this month, which is the beginning of a new year, bringing winter along with her, during this time, armies would stop campaigning and return to their camp, furthermore, Xu Jin’s supplies are under danger as the villages continue to turn hostile.
Looking at the crumbling city walls of Bingjiang, which still had not been repaired, Li Ming sighed, forming condensation.
Xu Jin had been under enormous pressure for the last month, not only had their defeat resulted in several thousand dead, but his army’s morale had been destroyed, after all, how are they meant to fight an army they could not be seen.
His valiant brows formed curves when suddenly Si Yan entered his study room.
“My lord, I have come bearing bad news,” Si Yan spoke, with sweat visibly appearing on his brows.
“Speak,” Xu Jin commanded, his brows forming curves even deeper.
“Our supply, which was meant to be transported in wagons had been destroyed, supposedly by a bandit group, yet suspiciously, they burnt the entire stock instead of looting, we now only have enough for thirty days if we remain encamped here,” Si Yan answered.
Xu Jin slammed his fist against the table, scattering his paper, abrupt standing up, his armour hit against each other.
“However, we have captured twenty men, while killing forty in one of our skirmishes, through torture, we have managed to receive information of their movement towards Beixi bridge, we can ambush their troops.”
“Furthermore, we can remove the planks on the bridge, as it is the only major bridge that connects the Northern empire to the Central Plains, they would have no other options.”
“What if they refuse to cross?” Xu Jin asked,
Giving off a light chuckle, Si Yan gave his idea,” My lord, we can station our elite cavalry to attack them from the rear, they would have to cross if they were to avoid being completely surrounded.”
“And what if they disappear once again,” Xu Jin further questioned.
“The area surrounding Beixi composed of entire plains, worry not my lord, it is impossible,” Si Yan answered.
After a moment of consideration, Xu Jin responded
“Very well, bring me my horse, we shall end their rebellion at Beixi bridge,” Xu Jin ruthlessly said.
“My lord is wise,” Si Yan answered.