114: Chapter 24 Suppressing the Rebellion in the Southwest

1. Envoys from the Mountain City

The southwestern provinces were the toughest nut for the Qingxia Kingdom to crack.

Here, the mountains were high and the forests dense, the terrain complex, transportation inconvenient, and the local customs fierce. Throughout history, central governments had found it difficult to effectively rule these regions. Various warlords entrenched themselves here, relying on the rugged terrain to amass troops and assert their own power, forming independent kingdoms.

After the collapse of the Southern Alliance, the warlords of the three provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou fell into a panic. They dared not openly oppose Li Ling, yet they were unwilling to surrender without a fight. Some wanted to surrender, some wanted to resist, some wanted to flee, and others were still waiting to see what would happen.

The first to jump out was the Sichuan warlord, Liu Xiang.

Liu Xiang entrenched himself in Chengdu, holding eighty thousand Sichuan troops and styling himself the "King of Sichuan." After the collapse of the Southern Alliance, not only did he not restrain himself, but he became even more unscrupulous, acting like a tyrant in Chengdu, imposing heavy taxes and levies, which caused public resentment to boil over.

"My Lord, Liu Xiang has declared himself king in Chengdu." The Chief of Staff handed a report to Li Ling. "He calls himself the 'King of Western Sichuan,' has appointed officials, and built a palace, showing absolutely no regard for the imperial court."

Li Ling took the report, read it through, and sneered.

"King of Western Sichuan? He certainly dares to call himself that." He tossed the report onto the table. "Pass the order: two corps of the Second Army Group are to enter Sichuan from Hubei and head straight for Chengdu. The Air Force will provide support; bomb his palace first."

"My Lord, the terrain in Western Sichuan is perilous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Liu Xiang has stationed heavy troops at places like Jianmen Pass and Kuimen; a direct assault would result in heavy casualties," the Chief of Staff reminded him.

"I know." Li Ling nodded. "That is why I will not launch a direct assault. I will use the Special Forces to take out his command system first. To capture the rebels, first capture their leader; once Liu Xiang falls, his eighty thousand troops will become nothing but scattered sand."

After the order was issued, Li Ling's Special Forces immediately mobilized.

One hundred Special Forces soldiers, disguised as merchants, refugees, and monks, infiltrated Chengdu in batches. Carrying miniature radios, silenced pistols, and daggers, they dispersed to various corners of the city, waiting for orders.

2. Jianmen Pass

Jianmen Pass was the first natural barrier to entering Sichuan.

Here, two mountains stood facing each other with only a narrow plank road in between, truly living up to the saying, "When one man guards the pass, ten thousand cannot enter." Military strategists throughout history had established a pass here, and it had never been breached from the front.

Responsible for defending Jianmen Pass was one of Liu Xiang's top generals, Wang Lingji, who brought ten thousand troops and built sturdy fortifications on the mountains, putting on a show of defending to the death.

Li Ling stood on a hill outside the pass, holding binoculars and carefully observing the terrain inside. Jianmen Pass was indeed perilous; even if a direct assault succeeded, the losses would be heavy.

"My Lord, should we have the Air Force bomb it first?" the Chief of Staff asked.

"No rush." Li Ling lowered the binoculars. "The Air Force cannot bomb fortifications on such cliffs. If the shells fall, they will only blast away a few rocks and won't hurt them."

"Then what should we do?"

Li Ling did not answer, but instead murmured in his heart, "System, are you there?"

Silence.

"System?"

Still silence.

Li Ling sighed and shook his head.

The Chief of Staff thought he was speaking to him and quickly leaned in to ask, "My Lord, what did you say?"

"Nothing." Li Ling regained his focus. "Pass the order: have the Special Forces climb up from the back mountain, first figure out the enemy's defensive layout, and find their weakness."

"Yes!"

The Special Forces soldiers acknowledged the order and left. Under the cover of night, they climbed up the cliffs at the back of the mountain. The cliffs were as steep as if cut by a knife; the slightest carelessness would lead to being smashed to pieces. But the Special Forces were well-trained; one by one, they clung to the rock face like geckos, climbing upward without a sound.

Two hours later, they successfully reached the summit and figured out the defensive layout inside Jianmen Pass.

"My Lord, there are about ten thousand enemy troops inside the pass with dense defenses, but there is one weakness—their water source is at a spring on the mountaintop," the Special Forces reported via radio. "If we can cut off the water source, they will run out of water within three days."

Li Ling's eyes lit up. "Good! Cut off the water source, surround them without attacking, and when they run out of water, they will naturally surrender."

"Yes!"

The Special Forces soldiers poured a large amount of lime and laxatives upstream from the spring, completely contaminating the water.

On the first day, the defenders inside the pass began to suffer from diarrhea.

On the second day, more and more people had diarrhea, and they couldn't even stand steadily.

On the third day, the morale of the defenders completely collapsed.

"General, the men haven't had clean water for three days. If this continues, we'll collapse on our own without Li Ling even needing to attack," the adjutant said to Wang Lingji.

Wang Lingji's face turned ashen, and he gritted his teeth. "Surrender."

Jianmen Pass was taken without a fight.

3. Kuimen

Kuimen was the second natural barrier to entering Sichuan.

Here, the river surface was narrow and the current rapid, with steep cliffs on both banks; it had been a strategically contested location since ancient times. Liu Xiang had deployed five thousand elite troops here, equipped with over a dozen cannons, attempting to blockade the Yangtze River with firepower.

Li Ling did not choose to launch a direct assault on Kuimen, but instead used another method—a combined naval and land pincer attack.

The six Dreadnoughts of the First Fleet sailed upstream along the Yangtze, forming a line on the river outside Kuimen, with their main guns aimed at the forts on both banks. At the same time, one corps of the Third Army Group flanked the rear of Kuimen by land, cutting off the defenders' retreat.

"Fire!" At Li Ling's command, the 305mm main guns of the six Dreadnoughts roared in unison, and the shells landed precisely on the forts on both banks.

Although the Kuimen defenders' forts were sturdy, their caliber and range were far inferior to the Dreadnoughts' main guns. The shells they fired landed on the river, kicking up water columns, but could not reach the hulls of the Dreadnoughts. Meanwhile, every shell from the Dreadnoughts blasted a huge crater into the forts.

After three rounds of salvo fire, the forts on both banks were completely destroyed.

The commander of the Kuimen defenders saw that the situation was dire and tried to lead his troops to break out, only to find that their retreat route had been cut off.

"Surrender." He sighed and raised a white flag.

With the two great natural barriers of Jianmen Pass and Kuimen conquered, the gate to Sichuan was completely thrown open.

Li Ling's troops drove straight in, advancing with unstoppable momentum all the way to Chengdu.

4. Chengdu

Inside Chengdu, Liu Xiang sat in his "palace," restless and uneasy.

News of the fall of Jianmen Pass and Kuimen came one after another, and his heart grew heavier and heavier.

"Your Highness, Li Ling's troops have already reached the outskirts of the city!" The adjutant ran in, his face deathly pale. "The people in the city are all saying that Li Ling is going to massacre the city!"

Liu Xiang stood up abruptly. "What? Massacre the city? Who said that?"

"I don't know, but it's being spread everywhere. The people in the city have already started to flee; those with money are running outside the city, and those without are running into the mountains. The morale of the troops has also hit rock bottom, and many soldiers have deserted."

Liu Xiang gritted his teeth. "Pass the order: close the city gates, and no one is allowed to enter or leave. Anyone who violates this order will be executed!"

"Your Highness, this..."

"Execute the order!"

After the city gates were closed, Chengdu became a dead city. The people inside could not get out, and reinforcements from outside could not get in. Liu Xiang was trapped in the city, caught in a dilemma.

Li Ling did not choose to assault the city. He knew that Chengdu was a thousand-year-old ancient capital with sturdy walls; if he launched a direct assault, it would not only result in heavy losses but also destroy the ancient monuments and residential houses in the city.

He chose to lay siege to the city.

One corps of the First Army Group, totaling thirty thousand men, camped outside Chengdu and blockaded all four city gates. The Air Force circled over the city every day, dropping leaflets to persuade the defenders to surrender.

The leaflets read: "Liu Xiang is at the end of his rope; stubborn resistance will only lead to death. Lay down your weapons, and you will not be killed upon surrender. When the city falls, we will absolutely not harass the people."

The leaflets drifted into the city like snowflakes, and the morale of the defenders grew lower by the day.

On the fifth day of the siege, food supplies in the city began to run low.

On the seventh day of the siege, the defenders began to mutiny.

"We won't fight anymore! We want to surrender!"

"Liu Xiang has caused us such suffering!"

"Open the city gates! Open the city gates!"

The soldiers flooded the streets and rushed toward the city gates, attempting to open them and surrender. The officers tried to suppress them, but they couldn't stop them at all.

Liu Xiang stood on the tower of the palace, watching the chaotic scene below, his face ashen.

"It's over... It's all over..." he muttered to himself.

That night, Liu Xiang hanged himself in the "palace."

Early the next morning, the city gates were opened wide, and the defenders, carrying white flags, marched out of the city in formation to surrender.

5. Yunnan and Guizhou

After Sichuan was pacified, the warlords of Yunnan and Guizhou dared not resist any longer.

The Yunnan warlord, Warlord Tang Jiyao, was the first to send an envoy to submit a letter of surrender to Li Ling.

"I, Tang, am willing to lead the entire Yunnan army to submit to Lord Li and follow his lead in all matters." The letter of surrender was written very humbly. "Please, Lord Li, treat the people of Yunnan well, and I will be eternally grateful."

Li Ling read the letter of surrender and smiled.

"Warlord Tang Jiyao is quite sensible." He handed the letter of surrender to the Chief of Staff. "Send people to Yunnan to take over his troops. Keep the ones that can be used and disband the ones that cannot. Also, tell him that as long as he behaves himself, I will not do anything to him."

"My Lord, what if he plays any tricks?" the Chief of Staff asked.

"Then we will just fight again." Li Ling said indifferently. "However, I believe he won't."

The Guizhou warlord, Wang Jialie, also quickly sent an envoy, expressing his willingness to surrender. Li Ling similarly sent people to take over, gave Wang Jialie an idle position, and kept him provided for.

With this, all the southwestern provinces were pacified.

From sending out troops to withdrawing them, it took less than three months in total. At the cost of less than two thousand casualties, Li Ling's troops conquered eight provinces and eliminated or incorporated over two hundred thousand enemy soldiers.

When the news spread, the whole country was shocked. Those small warlords who were still waiting to see what would happen one after another sent envoys to express their submission to Li Ling.

6. The System's "Singing and Dancing Performance"

When Li Ling returned to Jiangning Prefecture, it was already early summer.

He stood in front of the window of the headquarters, looking at the blooming gardenias in the courtyard, in a good mood.

"System." He murmured in his heart.

"Hmm?" The System's voice immediately rang out. "What is it?"

"The Southwest is pacified, and next is the Northeast. Do you think Zhang Zuolin will fight like a trapped beast just like Liu Xiang?"

The System was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Zhang Zuolin is different from Liu Xiang. Liu Xiang was a local tyrant, while Zhang Zuolin is a formidable warlord. A formidable warlord will not easily admit defeat; he will fight until the end."

"So, we cannot rush into attacking the Northeast." Li Ling nodded. "We must take it slow; consolidate the South first, then plan for the Northeast."

"The Host is wise." The System praised him for once.

"Why are you so eloquent today?" Li Ling asked. "Did you learn something from the singing and dancing system again?"

"Host, please do not make assumptions." The System's tone carried a hint of embarrassment. "I am just researching a new... uh... combat rhythm. You know, the rhythm algorithm from the singing and dancing system is very helpful for our military coordination."

Li Ling rolled his eyes. "You just went to flirt with the mother system; don't keep using work as an excuse."

"Host, that is very rude." The System said righteously. "I am working."

"Fine, fine, you are working." Li Ling couldn't be bothered to argue with it. "By the way, does a battle of this level like the pacification of the Southwest count as an achievement?"

"Yes," the System said. "The Host has completed the minor achievement of 'Pacifying the Southwest' and has obtained one lucky draw opportunity. Would you like to draw now?"

"Draw," Li Ling said.

"Drawing... Congratulations to the Host, you have obtained a set of 'Mountain Warfare Training Manuals.' It can significantly improve the troops' combat capabilities in mountainous environments and reduce non-combat attrition."

"Good stuff." Li Ling's eyes lit up. "The Southwest is all mountainous; it will come in handy for attacking Yunnan, Guizhou, and Tibet later."

"Of course," the System said proudly. "I customized this specifically for the Host based on the rhythm control technology of the singing and dancing system."

"Can you stop linking everything to the singing and dancing system?" Li Ling was speechless.

"Host, this is science." The System said solemnly. "Rhythm control technology is not only useful in music but also has great potential in the military. For example—"

"Alright, alright, you are amazing." Li Ling interrupted it. "Hurry and send the manual to the military academy and let the students learn it."

"Understood."

Outside the window, the fragrance of gardenias drifted in with the breeze, refreshing the heart and mind.

Li Ling took a deep breath, his heart filled with anticipation for the future.