Jinting Han people

Chapter 719 Ningzhou Rebellion Case

It has been four years since Liu Xian pacified the south in the second year of Qiming and Huangfu Chong took office as the governor of Ningzhou.

During these four years, the situation in Ningzhou remained generally stable. Although there were occasional minor rebellions by local tribes, this was, after all, a place where various ethnic groups lived together, and friction was inevitable. As for the overall development of southern China, the situation continued to improve.

This is all because Liu Xian planned ahead and managed things continuously.

Even though he had led his army eastward out of Jingzhou and moved the capital to Yi'an, his efforts to manage Ningzhou did not diminish; on the contrary, he consistently sought to strengthen it. Having personally campaigned in the south and traversed the various prefectures, Liu Xian was acutely aware of the region's wealth. While arable land was scarce and grain production was barely enough for self-sufficiency, the region was rich in gold, silver, copper, iron, cattle, horses, and medicinal herbs—all essential to the court. These resources could either help improve the government's finances or provide indispensable military supplies. Furthermore, the region's internal balance was extremely fragile, holding profound political significance for the history of Shu Han. Therefore, Liu Xian never ceased investing in Ningzhou.

The first step was to establish trade routes within Ningzhou to promote trade between Nanzhong and Bashu. This was the guiding principle set by Liu Xian. To this end, he significantly reduced commercial taxes, encouraging merchants to trade in Nanzhong and bring goods such as ceramics, lacquerware, cloth, silk, paper, pens, and cosmetics from other regions to Ningzhou. At the same time, he transported Nanzhong's packhorses, medicinal herbs, jade, animal hides, candied fruit, and kapok to Bashu and Jingxiang for sale. With frequent trade between merchants, Ningzhou naturally gained more connections with the outside world.

At the same time, Liu Xian also focused on restoring the imperial salt and iron monopolies. Because Nanzhong, like Hanzhong, was a salt-deficient region, controlling the salt administration in Nanzhong would allow the court to easily exert influence over the powerful clans of Ningzhou. Furthermore, Nanzhong was rich in copper and iron; establishing mines in Ningzhou would satisfy both military and civilian needs, achieving multiple benefits.

Initially, this measure did not go smoothly, as there were not many salt wells in Sichuan and Chongqing, making it difficult to fully supply Ningzhou's needs. Ningzhou itself also lacked sufficient craftsmen and manpower, making it difficult to meet the conditions for mining and setting up operations.

However, as the eastern expedition progressed smoothly, official salt from Jiaozhou, Guangzhou, and even the Jiangnan region was imported into Ningzhou, and the problem of manpower shortage was also solved. This greatly promoted the implementation of the salt and iron monopoly. In the fifth year of Qiming alone, Xue Xing opened ten mines in succession, and Ningzhou also had a significant tax surplus. This made improving the monetary system a topic of discussion for the court again.

Finally, there are the achievements in road and bridge construction. With the combined efforts of the imperial court, local authorities, and merchants, Ningzhou has built 47 new bridges and repaired and paved more than 2,000 li of roads in the past four years, which can be described as remarkable achievements.

In conclusion, by the fifth year of the Qiming era, although Ningzhou could not change its remote location, it had become a major tax-paying and commercial center for the imperial court.

In major towns like Dianchi Lake, Nanning, and Xingqian, regardless of the season, merchants flock to the markets with all sorts of goods, making them incredibly crowded. People of all ethnicities, both Han and Yi, come to stroll and play in the markets; it's become quite commonplace for them. Due to the unrestrained customs of southern China, it's not uncommon to see unusual scenes at the markets: men drinking and sword fighting in the streets, and women dancing in new clothes to attract husbands—a truly lively spectacle.

The knowledgeable elders discussed that, in terms of current prosperity and stability, it not only far surpasses the Jin Dynasty, but even the era of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang.

But these were not things that Huangfu Zhong, the governor of Ningzhou, cared about. For him, these past few years had not been happy; in fact, one could say he had been rather depressed.

First and foremost, he genuinely disliked the South. Huangfu Chong, originally from the Guanzhong Plain, was accustomed to the cool, refreshing air of the North. Now stationed in the South, having traveled from the far north to the far south for several years, he still couldn't adapt to the local climate. Although the climate around Nanning was relatively mild, not as unbearably hot and humid as he had imagined, it was far from comfortable. Moreover, the area was rife with poisonous insects and miasma, and mosquitoes swarmed year-round, causing considerable annoyance; a slight mishap could easily lead to illness.

The food was particularly problematic. Previously, salt was scarce in the south, and the region was rich in spices, resulting in a strong, heavily flavored diet with a high proportion of wild game. This was something Huangfu Zhong disliked intensely. As a native of Guanzhong, he was accustomed to eating flatbread and sesame cakes, drinking Fenjiu liquor and dairy products, and his favorite was the tender and delicious white mutton from Shuofang, a taste he still vividly remembered. However, upon arriving in the south, he found no noodles, no dairy products, and the meat was drastically different, which deeply troubled him. He had no choice but to entrust Liu Kun with the task of transporting the meat from Bashu.

What Huangfu Zhong disliked most was the local customs of Ningzhou.

Logically, Huangfu Zhong should have been quite familiar with the Qiang and Hu peoples of Guanzhong and Longxi. However, after spending a long time in Nanzhong, he realized the vast differences between the two groups. The Qiang and Hu peoples of Guanzhong had long been assimilated into Han culture, and their speech and customs were very similar to those of the Han people, only retaining tribal organizational structures. Among the Xiongnu, Qiang, and Di, many were well-versed in Confucian classics. In contrast, the Yi and Yue peoples of Nanzhong were very different. They not only lived in clans and did not obey the imperial court, but their language, clothing, food, and marriage customs were also vastly different, to the point of being difficult to understand.

The local Confucian culture was weak, and aside from the language barrier, the practice of tattooing, itinerant marriages, and incest among the local people was commonplace. Even worse, some areas still retained the tradition of cannibalism. In Huangfu Zhong's view, governing such a place was a disgrace to the status of a scholar. After all, the Huangfu clan of Anding was a prestigious family comparable to the Yang clan of Hongnong. Apart from the first-rate Guanzhong families like the Fu clan of Beidi, other prominent families such as the Liang clan of Anding and the Suo clan of Dunhuang would also show them deference. To be forced to associate with such barbarians was truly a cause for lament and sorrow.

However, when Huangfu Chong first accepted the appointment, he was quite satisfied with the arrangement. After all, at that time, the imperial court barely controlled Bashu and had abolished the Liangzhou system, leaving only Yining and Ningzhou under its jurisdiction. Liu Xian entrusting Ningzhou to Huangfu Chong was equivalent to giving him half of the country's territory and entrusting him with a heavy responsibility. Therefore, despite the various factors that he disliked, he still accepted the post of Ningzhou governor and took it as an honor.

But times have changed. Just four years later, the political landscape of the court had undergone a dramatic transformation. After Liu Xian led his army eastward to unify the south, those who had once been on par with Huangfu Zhong, such as Li Ju, He Pan, and Yang Nandi, continued to rise in rank, becoming governors of their respective provinces. Not only were some promoted to regional commanders, but figures like Du Tao, Guo Song, and Xi Jian also climbed the ranks, becoming governors of prefectures. Huangfu Zhong, however, remained the governor of Ningzhou. How could he possibly tolerate this?

Especially after Liu Xian became emperor and issued his own rewards, Huangfu Chong was not selected as a duke, but only as a county marquis. Although Liu Xian had specially raised his ranking to the top of the county marquis list, it still made him resentful. He often said in private when drinking with his confidants, "The emperor has the style of his ancestors, such as Emperor Gaozu of Han and Emperor Guangwu, who were very good at treating meritorious officials poorly!"

He further questioned, "Guo Mo is merely a warrior, a bandit from Hanoi. How can he be ranked as a duke? Back when the emperor led his army south to pacify Ningzhou, he was just a mere lieutenant general, while I was already a general of the four directions!"

However, being far from the emperor, such complaints wouldn't reach Liu Xian's ears. Or rather, scholars had been complaining about Liu Xian's system of nobility for quite some time, and even if Liu Xian heard them, he wouldn't care. Huangfu Zhong had watched Liu Xian rise step by step in Guanzhong in his early years, so he had no intention of rebelling. He also carried out the many edicts and regulations issued by the court.

All of this change began with the arrival of Wei Bo.

In fact, Wei Bo's social standing was even higher than Huangfu Zhong's. He was originally from the Wei clan of Hedong, meaning he was a close relative of Wei Guan, the former Grand Chancellor of the Jin Dynasty. During the Luoyang coup in the first year of the Yuankang era, although Wei Guan and his entire family were executed by Sima Wei, the repercussions didn't reach Hedong. The Hedong Wei clan still held considerable power; for example, the brothers Wei Zao and Wei Jie escaped and received preferential treatment from the Jin court. Although Wei Bo wasn't a direct descendant of the main branch, he was still proud of his lineage. In Wei Bo's mind, his service to the emperor in the third year of the Tai'an era, following Liu Shen, was a timely act of kindness from an old friend. Now that Liu Shen was dead, among the remaining factions in the Yongzhou army, he was the highest-ranking, and the emperor should give him an important position.

Unexpectedly, since the emperor ascended the throne, there was no sign of him giving Wei Bo any important position. On the contrary, he promoted and gave important positions to Du Tao's faction. If it were only Du Tao who was promoted, it would be one thing, but even a bandit like Du Hong was being promoted along with him. This was something that he, or rather, the original Yongzhou army faction, could not tolerate. Immediately afterwards, the incident of publicly humiliating Du Hong broke out.

In this matter alone, Wei Bo had actually given it considerable thought; he intended to use this opportunity to put pressure on the emperor. In his view, the emperor was merely accustomed to playing the peacemaker, but should be able to distinguish between what was important and what was urgent. It should be understood that Du Tao's faction had no real power base in the court, yet they had unjustly amassed such a large amount of merit, already incurring the jealousy of others. Only by suppressing them and promoting his old cronies could the long-term stability of the court be maintained—this was self-evident.

The outcome was unexpected. Faced with the incident instigated by Wei Bo, the emperor acted as if nothing had happened. Shortly after, the court ordered Wei Bo transferred to Ningzhou and Du Hong to Shouchun. Although nominally a normal job transfer, Wei Bo viewed it as favoritism towards Du Tao's faction and a form of exile for himself.

Therefore, after arriving in Nanning, Wei Bo harbored resentment, believing that the emperor was unjust and ungrateful. As the saying goes, they were both fellow sufferers in this world, and since Wei Bo had come to Ningzhou and he and Huangfu Chong both came from prominent families in Guanzhong, they were practically fellow townsmen. So they frequently visited each other and soon became acquainted. Huangfu Chong, as always, complained about the emperor and the court at banquets, which Wei Bo often echoed. Over time, this led to the vague formation of an immature idea, but he also feared the emperor's brilliant military strategy and felt that the matter was not very certain, so he kept it hidden.

But when news came from the north in October of the fifth year of Qiming, that a large-scale war had broken out in Guanzhong and Longxi, and that a large number of troops from Bashu and Hanzhong had been transferred to Qinzhou, Wei Bo suddenly realized that this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His idea, which had gradually subsided, began to stir again.

So Wei Bo went to drink with Huangfu Chong again. Halfway through the drinks, he pretended to be drunk and asked, "The Emperor favors Yang Nandi, a lowly Di barbarian, but does not give due importance to a great talent like you, my lord. Does the lord not have any thoughts on this?"

Huangfu Zhong was truly drunk. Upon hearing this, he slammed his hand on the table and blurted out, "How could I not have some thoughts? Your Majesty is truly incompetent! Governing the country should be a matter of governing the world together with scholars, but where is the demeanor of a ruler in the people Your Majesty employs and selects? It's either a poor scholar like Li Ju or a Di barbarian like Yang Nandi. This is digging your own grave!"

Wei Bo was delighted and asked, "How does it compare to the previous dynasty?"

Huangfu Zhong said, "You are not even one-tenth as good as Emperor Wu of Jin! If Your Majesty continues like this, the people's hearts will be scattered, and sooner or later you will end up like Cao Wei, with others usurping the throne!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Bo probed again, "What you say is true, Your Excellency! Do you have any further plans, Your Excellency?"

Huangfu Chong was just talking off the cuff and had no real thoughts. He simply said, "How would I know? If I had to do it all over again, I would rather have joined the Prince of Hejian and continued to be the governor of Qinzhou than be like this now."

Wei Bo felt the atmosphere was just right and finally said, "My lord, I think it's not too late now!"

"What do you mean it's not too late?"

"To restore the Jin dynasty and establish a separatist regime in the southwest."

These words were like drawing a sword from its sheath, instantly sobering Huangfu Zhong up by a third. Huangfu Zhong abruptly sat up on the wooden couch, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then turned to Wei Bo and muttered, "Are you out of your mind?! Do you have extra heads? How can you say something like that so casually?!"

Wei Bo smiled and said, "Compared to what you just said, my words weren't too much, were they?"

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Chong felt extremely annoyed, but he still had no intention of rebelling. After a moment of stunned silence, he still said, "Then you may submit a memorial to the court and see how His Majesty will deal with it."

Seeing this, Wei Bo deliberately got up to take his leave. Before leaving, he said earnestly, "Your Excellency misunderstands. I was only thinking of you. Please think about it carefully. His Majesty has harbored prejudice against us scholars for quite some time now. Right now, he is only suppressing us gradually and keeping us idle. But in the future, won't His Majesty follow the example of Emperor Gaozu, boiling Peng Yue alive and killing Han Xin?"

"Now that Guanzhong is in turmoil and Bashu is vulnerable, this is a golden opportunity bestowed upon you by Heaven to establish your independence. If you do not seize this opportunity now, you will become a victim of Yang Nandi and his ilk, and then it will be too late to regret it."

Having said that, he made a move to turn and leave, staggering towards the door, but before he reached the door, a voice came from behind him saying, "Wait!"

Huangfu Zhong hesitated for a moment, but then made up his mind and said slowly, "Wait a minute. This matter is of great importance. How can it be decided in just a few words? Tell me your thoughts first, and then I will make a decision."

Upon hearing this, Wei Bo was overjoyed and immediately revealed a confident smile. He turned to Huangfu Zhong and said, "My lord, please rest assured. With your prestige and military strategy, and my planning and connections, making this happen will be a piece of cake." (End of Chapter)