Baifeng Cave Uprising

After the Supreme Bliss Cult was destroyed, the Supreme Bliss Left Envoy Yeli Chahan fled and vanished without a trace, only to return years later. Under a new name and disguised as a Song subject, he called himself "Li Yuanqi". He stirred up public resentment and raised an army in rebellion at Chenzhou; the affair is known as the "Baifeng Cave Uprising". It counts as the greatest event in the Jianghu in ten years.

The Imperial Court has always turned a blind eye to the Jianghu's quarrels, unless they endanger the commoners or shake the Emperor's authority. That is why the Court never interfered in the struggle between the Old Demon Cult and the righteous factions. This time, with the commoners dragged in, the Court could no longer stand by. It sent troops to wipe out the rebels, and the fighting raged across the Hunan and Jiangxi borders.

Li Yuanqi was skilled in strategy and feigned surrender many times, playing the Imperial Soldiers in the palm of his hand. He also used the people of the Great Song as human shields, and at one point commanded more than ten thousand men, a mighty force. The Imperial Soldiers could not take him for a long time, and the Jianghu forces dared not act rashly either, so the war bogged down. The Jiangnan West Circuit army, the Hunan Circuit army, and the commanders and deputy commanders of Chizhou and Jiangzhou led their troops into battle one after another and were defeated by the White Wind Army. Li's troops grew ever more fervent, and some even compared him to Fang La, the Cult Leader of the Ming Cult.

In the end, it was five Jianghu heroes who broke the deadlock: the Tang Clan's , Emei's , Kongtong's , and two others said to be a deserter and a constable. The five conspired with , using the Imperial Soldiers as bait to strike straight at the heart of the enemy, and slew the Supreme Bliss Left Envoy amid the chaos of the army, sparing the Central Plains a great calamity.

Because the Court intervened, the Baifeng Cave Uprising was not as deeply ruinous as the Supreme Bliss Cult had been, but it was not to be underestimated either. That Li Yuanqi alone could incite a popular revolt and openly defy the Court is enough to earn him a place in the history books.

Notes

• The Baifeng Cave Uprising in history should refer to the "Heifeng Cave Uprising" (1208-1211), and Li Yuanqi corresponds to the historical figure "Li Yuanli". Wikipedia link
• The troops that attacked the White Wind Army were only auxiliary troops; the true elite of the Great Song were pinned down at Xiangyang by the Jin Army. Had Li Yuanqi truly seized the opportunity to occupy Jiujiang, control the vital river crossing, hold the terrain, conserve his strength, and then march from Jiangnan West Circuit into Wuzhou and Yuezhou, he might well have pointed his sword at Lin'an and threatened the Court.
• At the time of the Baifeng Cave Uprising, the Ye Family was convicted for their words and fell out of favor with the reigning Emperor, suffering the disaster of their whole house being wiped out. The Ye siblings became orphans from then on.