Chapter 1087: Problems in Sichuan
At Gu Yanwu's words, Bai Yuan chuckled. "Brother Gu, you might as well write this as a movie script. Let His Royal Highness the Prince of Tang be the lead, telling his true story. Just tweak the ending: instead of him being rescued by us, have him arrange for his own loyalists to free him, then he wanders the mountains and forests, living as a happy commoner. What do you think?"
Gu Yanwu's eyes widened. "Oh? That story sounds rather good."
Bai Yuan beamed. "Right? The biggest villain in this film would be the Emperor. Get Chen Qianhu to play him, and he's sure to nail it."
Gu Yanwu burst out laughing. "Having someone portray the Emperor? We'd all be guilty of treason, practically. No, no, that won't do."
Bai Yuan mused, "Then we won't have the Emperor appear. We'll cast an evil Jinyiwei centurion as the main villain. The whole film will be about how he hunts down His Royal Highness the Prince of Tang... and how the Prince ingeniously escapes to safety. That would definitely be thrilling."
Gu Yanwu nodded. "Now that *does* sound promising. I'll have to mull it over."
In just a few words, the two of them had brainstormed a complete script.
Zhu Yujian, listening nearby, was utterly bewildered. "What's going on?"
Zhu Piaoling, feeling a little miffed, piped up, "Hey, I've known you both for so long, and you've never written a story for *me*. Zhu Yujian arrives, and suddenly you're creating a movie based on him? I'm not happy about it. I want someone to write my biography too!"
Suddenly, the gold-embroidered Heavenly Lord statue on Bai Yuan's chest spoke, "Prepare yourselves. Many refugees will be arriving by train shortly."
Everyone bowed. "Greetings, Heavenly Lord."
Zhu Yujian gasped, "Ah, ah, ah, the embroidery is talking!"
Bai Yuan exclaimed, "Refugees by train? That's unusual! The train runs from Xi'an to Xiaolangdi, right? Aren't the refugees being settled near Xi'an? Why bring them all the way to Xiaolangdi specifically?"
The gold-embroidered Heavenly Lord statue instructed, "These refugees are all from Nanyang, Henan. Due to the great drought, they fled to Sichuan. We found them in Lingwu Cave, Sichuan, and are sending them back to Henan by a large train. After all, it's best for refugees to be resettled in their hometowns."
Bai Yuan acknowledged, "I understand. We'll find them some work and settle them in the vicinity of Xiaolangdi, Xin'an County, Hejin County, and Luoyang City. Once the bandits in Nanyang are suppressed, we'll send them back to their original homes."
The gold-embroidered Heavenly Lord statue nodded, then fell silent once more.
Bai Yuan's spirits lifted. "You all keep chatting; I'm off to prepare for the refugees."
With that, he quickly departed.
But Zhu Yujian was still staring blankly, utterly flummoxed.
Zhu Piaoling pulled him by the arm. "Come on, let's go watch the commotion too!"
Zhu Yujian muttered, "The embroidery is talking."
Zhu Piaoling insisted, "Let's go! These are refugees from Nanyang. Don't you want to see the people from your own domain?"
Zhu Yujian repeated, "Ah, the embroidery is talking."
Zhu Piaoling gave Zhu Yujian a resounding smack across the head...
Only after delivering the blow did she remember that he was two generations her senior, making her act a textbook example of assaulting an elder—
Leading his troops out of Daning, Cheng Xu finally arrived in Kuizhou.
This was a strategic stronghold in eastern Sichuan, where Zhuge Liang himself, in the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, once deployed his Eight Trigrams Formation to repel Lu Xun. The renowned Baidi City also lay within Kuizhou's territory.
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It was an essential passage into Sichuan.
Yet, at this very moment, this strategic town in eastern Sichuan had been reduced to ruins.
Kuizhou City's walls had been leveled by bandits. The local populace had long since either perished or fled. The scenes once witnessed in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan now reappeared in Sichuan, once again confronting the Gao Family Village Militia.
Cheng Xu let out a soft sigh.
Padi Tu, however, clenched his fists tightly.
"Ah, you're finally here!" A White Pole Soldier, sent as a liaison, had been waiting in the ruins of Kuizhou City for the militia for a long time. The moment he saw the vibrant banner of the Heavenly Lord, he enthusiastically rushed forward. "Instructor He, I hope you've been well."
This White Pole Soldier had once followed Ma Xianglin in Shanxi, fighting bandits. He had even fought alongside the Gao Family Village Militia and tasted their luncheon meat. Now, seeing the vibrant banner of the Heavenly Lord, he felt an immediate sense of familiarity and warmth.
"General Qin sent me here to meet you," he announced.
Cheng Xu asked, "Things in Sichuan must be quite difficult right now, wouldn't you say?"
The White Pole Soldier nodded. "After the Sichuan Commander, Hou Liangzhu, was killed in battle, the government forces basically collapsed. The Governor is a useless official, only hiding in Chengdu, trembling. The rebel forces have already captured thirty-eight prefectures and counties in Sichuan, and Kuizhou City is just one of them."
"Thirty-eight?" Cheng Xu was startled. "So many places have fallen?"
He had known the situation here was urgent before arriving, but he hadn't expected it to be even more critical than he'd imagined.
Cheng Xu questioned, "The Sichuan army is clearly a capable fighting force, a renowned elite army. Why did Sichuan's defenses collapse faster than Henan's after the bandits started their incursions?"
The White Pole Soldier couldn't answer that question.
But at that moment, the mass-produced Heavenly Lord avatar sat up from the transport vehicle and sighed softly. "There are three reasons. First, the terrain: the mountainous landscape benefits the rebel forces' movements. Second, the economy: apart from the small Chengdu Plain, the rest of Sichuan is very poor, making it easier for the rebels to coerce the common people. And the third reason... that's the issue of separatist forces."
Because Sichuan is largely mountainous and home to many ethnic minorities, separatist forces there have always been a major problem.
Clusters of ethnic minorities resided deep in the mountains, making direct imperial governance difficult. The court thus appointed numerous *tusi*, or native chieftains, such as Qin Liangyu, the *tusi* of the Shizhu Tujia tribe. That's how her position came to be.
These *tusi*, big and small, were essentially petty warlords. Though nominally obeying the imperial court's commands, they effectively formed a fragmented rule where local powers vied for supremacy. Once chaos erupted across the land, these separatist forces would simply look out for themselves, never considering the greater good.
Of course, Qin Liangyu was an exception! She always considered the greater good.
Hearing the Heavenly Lord's explanation, Cheng Xu felt a bit bewildered. "What should we do about this?"
Li Daoxuan replied, "It's both difficult and simple."
"The difficulty lies in getting the numerous ethnic minorities to consider the broader situation and work together to help restore order to the realm."
Li Daoxuan continued, "As for the simple part, that's building the economy! As long as the economy improves, and infrastructure like transportation is also developed, fostering cultural exchange between the Han and ethnic minorities, then the common people will have money in their pockets, and their customs and cultures will intermingle. Separatism will cease to exist."
Cheng Xu let out an "Ah!" of understanding.
However, he quickly grasped the implication. "Whenever my forces conquer a new area, the economic methods of our Gao Family Village will follow right behind."
"Exactly!" Li Daoxuan confirmed. "We've already begun to introduce some crops suitable for cultivation in Sichuan at the Tujia tribe's Wan Shou Zhai. Next, we'll spread them to even more mountain villages."
"Things in Shanxi are also largely settled," Li Daoxuan added. "It's time for San Shier to be transferred to Sichuan."
At Li Daoxuan's command, San Shier, the overall manager of Gao Family Village's internal affairs, immediately departed from Taiyuan, Shanxi, and began his journey towards Sichuan...
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