In a farmstead in Guangchang County, the crudely built fortress gates were tightly shut. Fifty militiamen stood on the wooden walls, watching the five hundred soldiers outside the fortress with trepidation.
"Oh, my mother! Why did King Liu suddenly decide to rebel? This is going to be the end of us. We've only had two months of good days, and now it's over! Damn heaven!"
"Enough, Wang Laowu, shut your mouth."
The militia captain cursed irritably and asked with concern, "Have any reinforcements arrived from the surrounding farmsteads?"
"Boss, they replied that they are also besieged and cannot send anyone to help!"
"Damn it."
The militia captain cursed angrily and immediately ordered, "Quick, tell the women, children, and elderly in the village to hide in the cellars. Also, tell the strong young men in the village to immediately grab weapons or farming tools and come up to the city walls to defend!"
"Understood, boss, I'll go notify them now."
"What kind of rotten world is this? I hope we can hold on!"
The militia captain comforted himself with little confidence.
A farmstead with two hundred and fifty households had one thousand two hundred and fifty people. Young people accounted for sixty percent, totaling six hundred and twenty-five. Even if the ratio of men to women was one to one, there were only three hundred men.
The gap between militia and regular soldiers was not only in training but also in weaponry and equipment.
Among these militiamen, only the militia captain had a bamboo armor. The rest had nothing, not even a piece of wood.
But what about the rebels opposite? They were all equipped with leather armor, some with added iron pieces, and a few even had iron armor.
After just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the farmstead was breached without exception.
The army that broke through the farmstead excitedly began their harvest.
They plundered the farmstead's savings, seized beautiful or young women, took their food, and smashed and looted the goods from the supply and marketing cooperatives.
It was a veritable carnival.
And such events were happening in more than one place.
After the vanguard army captured Guangchang County, they left five thousand men to guard the city. The remaining fifteen thousand men were divided into thirty teams of five hundred each, who then went out to attack farmsteads, committing all sorts of atrocities, as if they were facing not their own countrymen but vicious foreign barbarians.
The discipline of the army was truly corrupt and unbearable.
Li Mengdie, who was stationed in Mengdie County, soon received news of the rampant military discipline on the front lines. But she gave a wry smile, a hint of madness flashed across her face, yet she had no intention of rectifying it.
Because the promised supplies, grain, and military pay from the noble families had not arrived, much of it was looted by bandits. The subsequent supplies were also lost due to the wavering attitude of the noble families.
This led to the seven-thousand-strong army maintained by King Liu, Li Mengdie, having very limited provisions. If she wanted to maintain control of the military, she had to compensate in other ways, such as allowing looting and killing.
The events in Guangchang County quickly reached the neighboring Lixian.
The magistrate of Lixian was greatly alarmed. He ordered the county lieutenant to lead the county soldiers to guard the city walls, while also ordering the county deputy to recruit laborers. At the same time, he sent people to the surrounding farmsteads, attempting to mobilize the militia from various farmsteads to concentrate their forces.
Simultaneously, the magistrate of Lixian sent the news to the surrounding counties.
Soon, the principle of "lips and teeth" was understood by the surrounding farmsteads. While arranging for people to retreat to the county town, they also gathered their militia towards Lixian County town.
A day later, when the army of King Liu arrived at Lixian, they were surprised to find that the soldiers defending Lixian were far more numerous than those in Guangchang County.
There were over two hundred county soldiers in county uniforms, several锦衣卫 (Jinyiwei - Imperial Guard), about a thousand militiamen, and several thousand able-bodied men.
The vanguard captain frowned, "How did the military strength of Lixian increase so quickly? With a thousand defenders on the city walls now, it's probably too tough to take! Regardless, let's launch an attack to see what happens."
Then, he decisively committed a thousand men to the assault.
However, this time, it was not as easy to capture as Guangchang County. A thousand men carrying ladders charged towards the city walls, and they failed to take it for a full half-hour. Even when another thousand men were added, the result was the same.
"Damn it! What is going on? Where did those extra thousand men come from?"
The vanguard captain looked furiously at the enemy's casualties, which were in the millions, and the wounded, which numbered over a thousand. In this single battle, his vanguard army had suffered nearly half its losses.
"Captain, do you think these extra thousand or so men might be from the surrounding farmsteads' militia? I remember that farmsteads have militia, and with sixty farmsteads in one county, the combined strength of sixty farmsteads could muster such a force."
"That makes sense. Since they have concentrated here, let's go check out their farmsteads."
"Leave one thousand men to guard the camp, and the remaining two thousand will accompany me to the farmsteads!"
Soon, the vanguard captain led two thousand soldiers and swept through more than a dozen farmsteads, reaping a rich harvest. However, it was getting late, and they had to return to camp.
"What a pity. Although we captured a lot of supplies, we didn't capture any women or much money. These people are really something, why did they run so fast?"
The vanguard captain sat in the main seat of the temporary camp, somewhat dejected, and then began to discuss how to proceed.
Where did the people of Lixian's farmsteads go? Some entered Lixian County, expanding it from its original population of twenty thousand to forty thousand. The more than one thousand militiamen were all concentrated in Lixian.
The remaining people, some fled to the rear county towns and farmsteads, and the last part fled into fortresses in the townships.
Because the townships had the private guards of the local gentry and influential families, as well as a small number of private soldiers, coupled with the able-bodied men, they appeared to have a large number of people.
Mainly, those rows of mud and wood mixed fortresses were a bit difficult to attack. Not wanting to lose men, the vanguard captain did not attack the surrounding townships, only sweeping through farmsteads and villages.
The second day passed peacefully. On the third day, the fifteen thousand strong army that had arrived at Lixian, after a night of rest, attacked Lixian. Lixian was unable to defend itself, and the city fell.
Afterward, more county towns were successively lost and captured by King Liu.
Several days later, Chu Chen received the news and sneered, ordering the锦衣卫 to quietly arrange for this news to be sent to the Ministry of War, intending for the Ministry of War to reveal this matter.
As for the rebellion of King Liu, Chu Chen was not truly without a plan. He had learned of the news on the second day after King Liu made his move and had already ordered ten thousand cavalry in Shizhou to rush to Mengdie County to harass and ambush the army of King Liu in Mengdie County.
A few hours later, an urgent summons arrived from the palace for Chu Chen.
When Chu Chen arrived at the imperial study, he found that not only he, but also the ministers of the eight ministries and generals such as Wei Zi were present. They were sitting in chairs, waiting for Chu Chen's arrival.
"Prime Minister Chu, please sit."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Seeing that everyone was present, the Empress said in a deep voice, "My dear ministers, I have summoned you all because my second daughter, King Liu Li Mengdie, has rebelled!"
"What!"