Chapter 1040: Chapter 257: Prince of Huangzhou, Chen 94
The eleventh year of Zhizheng.
The Yellow River of the Daqian burst its banks at the river mouth, revealing a ten-zhang stone man along its ancient path, a solitary eye upon the world.
This event startled the Sect Hierarch of the Zoroastrian Sect, Ming King Han Shantong.
He took his cult members to witness it, receiving a decree bestowed by the Heavenly God.
Engraved above: [Baomian is without morality, the heavens are angry and people resentful. The solitary-eyed stone god descends to aid the Ming King, to subjugate Baomian and rectify the balance of heaven and earth.]
[Do not say the stone man has just one eye; it will stir the Yellow River and provoke rebellion across the land!]
Following the heavenly mandate, the Zoroastrian Sect swiftly rose up, with Ming King offering tribute to the stone man as the Heavenly God, to overthrow Baomian, and gathered over a hundred thousand cult members at White Deer Village. They slaughtered white horses and black bulls, made alliances and vows, promising never to return until Baomian was defeated!
Han Shantong claimed to be a descendent of Zhao Song, aiming to restore Great Song, prompting immediate responses from seventy-two counties across four Northern provinces.
At that time, 300,000 cult members congregated, along with nearly a million refugees, setting up camp in Hebei, causing the Daqian to raise alarms.
Emperor Qianshun, upon hearing the news, was greatly shocked, urgently seeking advice from all court officials. Some Mulan nobles suggested relocating the capital to the Upper Capital to avoid warfare.
Emperor Qianshun considered this idea deeply, thus convened ministers to discuss the northern move to the Upper Capital.
The Mulan Clan, being a grassland tribe, made the empire exceedingly vast, besides the thirteen provinces of Central Plains, there were also lands like Outer Mongolia, sprawling over extensive territories.
Thus, there were two capitals: Upper Capital for controlling the grassland, and Great Capital for managing Central Plains.
And the Emperor often alternated his governance between places every half year, but due to the prosperity of Central Plains, Emperor Qianshun spent most of his time at the Great Capital.
Now, war flames had reached Hebei, soon threatening the Great Capital, and the wise do not stand beneath dangerous walls, so Emperor Qianshun wished to move north to the Upper Capital to evade conflict.
Unfortunately, fate did not accord with human wishes.
Just as Emperor Shun was prepared to move north, news arrived from Upper Capital that it had already been captured by Mr. Guan, the Duozhi Fox—one of the Zoroastrian Sect’s Four Great Dharma Kings—leading Elder Niu and Elder Hu of the Twelve Elders in a united assault.
For a time, the Daqian Empire was shaken from top to bottom.
To know that Upper Capital held political status only second to Great Capital, now that Upper Capital was conquered, the Daqian was instantly gripped with fear.
And at this juncture, Du Zundao, Minister of Ying Province, suddenly rebelled, joining forces with the Red Turban Army, swiftly seizing half of Hebei and executing over a thousand Mulan officials.
The northern Daqian was, for a time, ensnared in unprecedented chaos.
Later, it was rumored that Du Zundao turned out to be the Mountain Descending Tiger, one of the Four Great Dharma Kings of the Zoroastrian Sect.
The whole Daqian court was astounded; one of the Four Great Dharma Kings of the Zoroastrian Sect had managed to become Ying Province’s Minister—a third-grade official, a high-ranking court official.
Emperor Shun was startled as well, hurriedly ordering a thorough investigation to see if there were any Zoroastrian Sect spies infiltrating the court.
The Mulan officials, upon seeing this, quickly collaborated to falsely accuse Han officials in the court, leading to countless arrests and executions, putting Han officials in constant fear.
Despite this, Emperor Shun remained fearful at heart; at this time, Prime Minister Tuotuo ordered to convene vassal kings to journey north, loyalist troops.
Meanwhile, promising rich rewards: they could expand their territories, increase their taxes, and even promote their princely ranks.
The Daqian, though crumbling, had deep roots, and received orders for loyalist action.
Northwest Prince Li Siqi, Jiangnan Ruyang King Chaghan Timur, Shandong King Lu each led large armies northward to defend the emperor.
Simultaneously, entrusting the Great Capital, the National Pillar, Great National Master, Basiba Living Buddha along with the Emperor’s Guards, Treasure Elephant Army Commander, and Boluo Timur, moving southward to suppress the Zoroastrian Sect uprising.
In a moment, the world was changing tumultuously, truly a visage of the dynasty’s end.
The Zoroastrian Sect gathered a mass of a million, occupying four provinces in Central Plains, while loyalist troops from all regions encircled from the periphery to the center, closing in.
At this juncture, the Zoroastrian Sect promptly responded.
Ming King Han Shantong, Venerable Liu Futong led fifty thousand elite Zoroastrian Sect members in confrontation with Boluo Timur, the Eight Spoke Living Buddha, and the Treasure Elephant Army Commander dispatched from Great Capital.
One of the Four Great Dharma Kings, Descending Mountain Tiger Du Zundao, led thirty thousand elite troops and three hundred thousand Refugee Army members on the Northwest Road, blocking King Qi Li Siqi.
One of the Four Great Dharma Kings, Mr. Duozhi Fox, led thirty thousand elite troops and two hundred thousand refugees, intercepting the Yellow River, obstructing Jiangnan Ruyang King Chaghan Timur’s northern advance.
One of the Four Great Dharma Kings, Undying Bird Han Miaozhen, led twenty thousand elite troops and one hundred thousand refugees, halting King Lu’s loyalist forces.
In a moment, the Central Plains transformed into a vast meat grinder.
The battles were fiercely intense, and at this time, reinforcements from the court continued to pour in. Tianjin Road Supervisor, Sea Patrol King Tai Buhua, stationed on the Southeast Coast, led fifty thousand navy troops, intending to travel north along the coast, disembarking at a small fishing port three hundred miles off Beijing City (Tianjin, a name given by Zhu Di, so it was not called Tianjin at that time), thereby supporting the Great Capital.
This matter was learned by the notorious pirate Fang Guozhen, entrenched along the Southeast Coast, who directly led naval forces to intercept Tai Buhua.
On that note, Fang Guozhen is the Sect Hierarch of the Divine Dragon Sect, the former leader of the Zoroastrian Sect’s Four Great Dharma Kings, Sea Dragon Fang Guozhen.
Although he had defected from the Zoroastrian Sect, he still cherished old ties, aiding the Zoroastrian Sect in sharing some pressure.
Simultaneously, the local guild of Taizhou, the Salt Guild, gathered a crowd in rebellion, embarking on a vigorous anti-Yuan campaign under the leadership of a person named Zhang Jiusi, gathering over fifty thousand members in a moment.
Taizhou City’s defenses became precarious.
With Fang Guozhen at sea and Zhang Jiusi the thief within, at this moment, Sea Patrol King Tai Buhua found it impossible to return.
Later, he fought fiercely, despite losses and injuries, Tai Buhua forcefully returned to his lair in Taizhou, dealing a heavy blow to Zhang Jiusi, securing Taizhou, but externally facing Fang Guozhen, internally threatened by the minor thief Zhang Jiusi.
For a time, this left the Sea Patrol King overwhelmed.
He could only remain trapped in Taizhou.
Meanwhile, a large-scale rebellion erupted in Hubei.