Volume One: The Southern Command Chapter 26: Rongzhou
The Military Governor of Dongchuan was willing to lay down arms and seek peace. Wei Fufeng reorganized the command of the Governor’s Office forces: the Flying Feather Battalion was temporarily placed under the command of the White Tiger Hall, and in addition to the Tiger Guards, the Wolf Wind and Leopard Tactic Battalions were established.
By merit of military achievements, Lu Qing was appointed Commander of the Wolf Wind Battalion, Wang Dahu as Commander of the Leopard Tactic Battalion, and Zhao Yidou as Commander of the Phoenix Departure Battalion.
The Cavalry Commander Peng Yu was promoted to Battalion Commander, assisting Old Feng in managing the White Tiger Hall.
Yang Wencheng, Dong He, and Liu Yi—three of the earliest followers—were transferred to serve as officers in the Military Office.
The Tiger Guards were initially divided into four units—east, west, south, and north—each led by a Deputy General, who were promoted to Commandant, with a rank between Battalion Commander and Cavalry Commander.
The principal officials of the Governor’s Office were the Chief Secretary, the Registrar, and the Adjudicator. Only with the consensus of all three could the Phoenix Departure, Wolf Wind, and Leopard Tactic Battalions be mobilized or exercise power.
The soldiers in each battalion under the Governor’s Office continued to rotate their assignments by fire leader as before.
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After restructuring the powers of the Governor’s Office, Wei Fufeng had a long, private conversation with Old Feng. Once he left southern Sichuan, Old Feng would become the mainstay of the region’s governance. Though he could not act arbitrarily, he could check and balance the influence of various officials.
After meeting Old Feng, Wei Fufeng ordered the camp in Dazu County to mobilize twenty thousand troops for a westward campaign.
Wei Fufeng also issued orders to the military forces south of the Great River in Luzhou, instructing Commander Li Chenggang to receive five thousand militia from Yuzhou and, together with the five thousand already stationed south of the river, form a ten-thousand-strong Yuzhou army for the westward expedition.
Li Chenggang was one of Wei Fufeng’s earliest five followers, known for his resourcefulness.
Now that the situation under the Southern Sichuan Military Governorship was stabilizing, Wei Fufeng did not want Li Chenggang to remain long south of the Great River.
Li Chenggang’s former master’s surname was Yang, serving as Sima of Suizhou. According to Wei Fufeng’s promise, if Sima Yang came to join him, he would be appointed either Chief Secretary of Luzhou or Adjudicator of a Military Office.
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Twenty thousand troops marched to the banks of the Tuo River in Luxian, where they joined forces with Li Chenggang’s Yuzhou army. Wei Fufeng summoned the officers from Yuzhou for audience.
At first glance, Wei Fufeng noticed that only the highest-ranking Cavalry Commander from Yuzhou wore chainmail. The other deputy generals were clad in leather armor, a clear sign that the five thousand militia from Yuzhou were weak troops.
Wei Fufeng had already received reports: these Yuzhou troops were refugees forced into military service, half of them unarmed. The Prefect of Yuzhou had simply rid himself of a burden by sending them away.
After meeting the Yuzhou officers, Wei Fufeng ordered that they be treated equally with the regular troops.
Pay and rations were distributed immediately; those without weapons were only given bamboo spears. For now, no land could be allocated to them in Luzhou, but Wei Fufeng promised to grant them plots in the future.
The day after merging the forces, the combined thirty thousand troops set out westward, leaving Luxian for Jiang’an County.
The new magistrate of Jiang’an County, Li Qing, led his people to greet them. Appointed personally by Wei Fufeng, both magistrate and county captain exchanged cordial words with him.
After spending the night in Jiang’an, the army set out west at dawn, entering Nanxi County and heading straight for Fenzhong City.
As the army advanced, Wei Fufeng sent envoys to notify the three thousand garrison troops at Fenzhong City.
He ordered the garrison to spread news of the army’s westward march, the great defeat of Dongchuan’s troops by Luzhou forces, the submission of the Yuzhou Prefect to the Southern Sichuan Governorship, and the presence of ten thousand Yuzhou soldiers in the westward campaign.
Upon entering Nanxi County, Wei Fufeng deliberately slowed the march, even camping overnight fifteen li from Fenzhong City.
In the army’s encampment, the Yuzhou troops were placed at the very center, while the best-equipped soldiers guarded the perimeter.
At dawn, a messenger from the garrison arrived at full speed, reporting that the defending troops and county officials of Fenzhong had fled during the night. The three thousand garrison troops had already entered the city to take control.
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Wei Fufeng smiled at this news. The rich and powerful cherish their lives. Last time, he had issued threats to the Nanxi County officials.
Hearing of the arrival of a thirty-thousand-strong army and the renowned victory at Dazu, the county officials of Nanxi were understandably terrified—Wei Fufeng himself would have fled in their place.
The army marched on and reached Fenzhong City. Wei Fufeng appointed new county officials and, after a day’s stay, set out for the Zhizhou seat of Bodaoxian.
Before the army arrived, the Prefect of Rongzhou, Xie Cheng’en, sent a letter of submission.
The army reached five li outside Bodaoxian, where the Prefect of Rongzhou, along with other officials and several hundred guards, came out to greet them.
Given the Prefect’s tact, Wei Fufeng could not openly antagonize him. Accompanied by the Tiger Guards, he met the Prefect with friendly courtesy.
Xie Cheng’en, Prefect of Rongzhou, wore a bright red official robe. He was nearly fifty, tall and imposing, with a full beard and dignified features, exuding the air of a military man. Upon meeting Wei Fufeng, he showed proper respect.
After meeting, they walked together to Bodaoxian. Three thousand of Wei Fufeng’s troops went ahead to take over the city’s defenses, thereby completing the effective takeover of Rongzhou.
As they walked, the Prefect gave a report on Rongzhou’s situation, his words laced with complaints.
Wei Fufeng pretended to listen attentively, but in truth, he had already been briefed on Rongzhou’s affairs.
Rongzhou was roughly the same size as Luzhou, governing Bodaoxian (Yibin), Nanxi County, Pingshan County, Suijiang County, Gao County, Gong County, and Kaibian County (Yanjin County).
Most inhabitants of Rongzhou were Liaoren, primarily of the Bo people.
The Bo people practiced slavery; their masters often sold children as slaves. The Bo were wild and unruly, akin to mountain bandits, but even harder to deal with.
Although Rongzhou belonged to Western Sichuan, only Bodaoxian and Nanxi County were truly governed; the other counties were only nominally under control, with frequent incidents of Bo people killing Han settlers or even officials.
Bodaoxian was defended by just two thousand troops; most of the Nanxi forces who had fled now gathered there.
At Doucha Pass in Yanjin County, five hundred garrison troops were stationed—it was the frontier between Rongzhou and the Nanzhao Kingdom.
The war to quell the rebellion in Western Sichuan had conscripted three thousand troops from Rongzhou, as well as vast amounts of grain and supplies.
With the garrison depleted, the Bo people grew ever more defiant and lawless.
As they conversed perfunctorily, Bodaoxian came into view.
Bodaoxian was similar in scale to Fenzhong City, and its geography resembled that of Luxian, with the Min and Mahu Rivers (Jinsha River) converging into the Yangtze.
Looking at Bodaoxian, Wei Fufeng changed the subject, smiling: “Master Xie, I’ve heard Bodaoxian called ‘the First City of the Yangtze.’”
The Prefect paused and nodded, “That’s true. The upper Yangtze here is the Min River, and the Mahu River joins as well. Bodaoxian is truly the source of the main stream, hence the title.”
Wei Fufeng nodded. “Along the way, I marveled at the grandeur of the Southern Shu Bamboo Sea. Truly a land of mountains and rivers.”
The Prefect agreed, “There’s no lack of bamboo in Rongzhou; bamboo shoots can feed the people.”
Wei Fufeng chuckled, then asked, “Master Xie, why is this place called Bodaoxian?”
The Prefect paused, replying, “This has always been the land of the Bo. The county sits at the crossroads of east, west, south, and north—an important trade route—thus the name Bodaoxian.”
Wei Fufeng nodded, “The name Bodaoxian tells all who hear it, this is Bo territory.”
The Prefect seemed thoughtful, then asked, “Does your lordship have a deeper meaning in mind? Please enlighten me.”
Wei Fufeng smiled, “I invite you, Master Xie, to jointly petition the court to rename Bodaoxian as Southern Shu County, and this city as Wanqing City, akin to Fenzhong in Nanxi County.”
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The Prefect hesitated. “Renaming would require changing the county seal and cause inconvenience. Besides, even with a new name, the people still know this as Bodaoxian.”
Wei Fufeng replied, “I hope you’ll petition with me, so that His Majesty sees how rampant the Bo are in southern Sichuan, and recognizes the importance of establishing the Southern Sichuan Governorship.”
The Prefect understood and nodded, “I am willing to petition with you.”
Wei Fufeng continued, “Since Bodaoxian is to be renamed, and since Doucha Pass in Yanjin County guards against the Nanzhao Kingdom, let’s rename Yanjin County as Doucha County.”
The Prefect agreed. Wei Fufeng added, “Henceforth, any Bo people registered in the census shall be recorded as people of Southern Shu. Over time, this will become a land of Southern Shu natives.”
The Prefect nodded, and together they entered the county city, followed by a welcoming banquet attended by the local gentry.
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Rongzhou was peacefully taken, but its situation was like a hot potato.
Faced with the defiance of the Bo people, Wei Fufeng had two choices: either use force and launch a harsh military campaign to suppress them, or maintain the current state of affairs.
The foundation of Wei Fufeng’s governorship was in Luzhou; he could not leave tens of thousands of troops in Rongzhou indefinitely.
If he resorted to force, many troops would be lost—his army was not renowned for its martial prowess.
Wei Fufeng preferred conciliation but coupled this with a show of strength. He ordered the army to advance on Gao and Gong Counties.
Gong County bordered Xingwen County under Luzhou’s administration; Gao County was adjacent to Gong.
In Gao and Gong, Wei Fufeng implemented land redistribution, forcibly purchasing lands from Bo and Han landlords and reallocating them to Han and Bo serfs, with new household registrations. For the mountain-dwelling Bo, he adopted a conciliatory approach.
The mountain Bo lived in scattered stockades, frequently raiding farming villagers and merchants, numbering in the tens of thousands.
However, the mountain Bo were not united; they frequently fought among themselves.
Wei Fufeng’s strategy was to establish local militia forces in Rongzhou, enabling the farming populace to defend themselves as a unified force.
During the land redistribution, he allowed his soldiers to choose freely: those willing to remain as garrison could receive land grants, while retaining military fields in Luzhou.
In the end, more than six thousand soldiers chose to stay in Rongzhou.
Those who stayed did so with calculation: returning to Luzhou would mean remaining soldiers and risking their lives in battle, but staying in Rongzhou meant double land grants as garrison troops.
Thus, six thousand soldiers, along with four thousand strong serfs who received land, formed the garrison-farmer corps defending Gao and Gong Counties.
The garrison-farmer corps followed the Military Office system, subordinated to the four military offices of Luzhou, each with a field commander.
While setting up field commanders in Gao and Gong, Wei Fufeng sent instructions to Luzhou:
In the southern counties of Xingwen, Xuyong, and Gulin, field commanders and military offices were also established, subordinate to another four field-command military offices in Luzhou, with the field-command offices elevated to General Offices.
The five counties on the southern bank of the Great River formed a continuous east-west belt, spanning Rongzhou and Luzhou—regions with large Bo populations.
Wei Fufeng’s method of garrisoned troops and land allocation created an invisible wall of military force, suppressing and deterring the rampant Bo.