pappabearbooks Chapter 099 Good News and Visitors
Chapter 099 Good News and Visitors
"Good! Good! Good!"
In Qingyang Prefecture, Governor-General Yang He had just received a report of victory from Hong Chengchou. Upon learning that Hong Chengchou had defended Hancheng with an army of less than a thousand men, killed thousands of enemy soldiers, and defeated the rebel army, forcing the rebel leaders Wang Zuogua, Miao Mei, and others to flee north in disarray, Yang He was so excited that he almost danced with joy.
To be honest, Yang He was very worried when Hong Chengchou volunteered to lead troops to the front line.
He worried whether Hong Chengchou, a civil official who had never fought a war, could really stop these rebel troops. Moreover, Hong Chengchou did not have many soldiers at the time. When he arrived in Hancheng, besides a few hundred garrison troops, there were only the elite troops from the Beijing garrison that he had assigned to him. There was no one else.
All things considered, Hong Chengchou had no more than a thousand soldiers capable of fighting, and he had no capable generals to assist him.
Even so, Hong Chengchou not only held firm against the enemy's fierce attack, but also launched a night raid, causing chaos and countless casualties in the enemy camp. This forced the enemy to eventually abandon their attack and flee in disarray, a result that delighted Yang He.
In this battle, Hong Chengchou beheaded and captured more than 400 enemy soldiers, and defeated and routed nearly 3,000 enemy troops, according to preliminary statistics.
It can be said that this battle alone nearly crippled Wang Zuogua and Miao Mei's troops.
Now, Wang Zuogua and his remaining troops have retreated north to Yichuan, and they no longer have the ability to advance south for the time being. Hancheng has been stabilized, and the northern gate of Tongguan has been defended.
Hong Chengchou's military achievements brought Yang He, who had been anxious about the situation in Shaanxi, unexpected joy and a sense of relief.
Yang He has been under immense pressure these days.
Not only were Yanchang and Yichuan lost, but Huachi also disappeared a few days ago.
After Wang Jiayin's other detachment captured Huachi, it not only put Yan'an Prefecture in a situation of being surrounded on three sides, but also set its sights on Heshui.
Heshui is very close to Qingyang; it only takes two days to reach it by fast horse.
Once Heshui falls, the rebel army will be able to directly confront Qingyang. Yang He is currently stationed in Qingyang. If Qingyang also cannot hold off the rebel army, the situation in the entire Shaanxi province will spiral out of control.
These days, Yang He has been working hard to negotiate with Gao Yingxiang, showing "full" sincerity to win over and appease Gao Yingxiang's troops. At the same time, he is constantly mobilizing troops to guard the Qingyang and Heshui line, intending to block the enemy's advance.
But how easy is it to do that? As mentioned earlier, Yang He already had insufficient troops, and he was also extremely short of money and supplies. In addition, in order to appease Gao Yingxiang's troops, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out some money and supplies to send over, and at the same time, he asked Shenmu to help raise money and supplies to supply Gao Yingxiang's troops, which was a huge expense.
Furthermore, Yan'an Prefecture is now in grave danger, and judging from the current situation, it seems unlikely to be able to hold out. If Yan'an Prefecture falls, and Hancheng is also lost, Yang He truly doesn't know how to explain himself to the imperial court.
Now that Hong Chengchou had repelled the rebel army in the Battle of Hancheng, Yang He, who was in a state of great distress, finally saw a glimmer of hope. Holding Hancheng was of great significance, not only halting the rebel army's southward advance and even their attempt to seize Tongguan, but also easing the previously dire situation.
However, even though Hong Chengchou won a battle in Hancheng, he did not completely solve the immediate problem.
It's true that Hancheng held its ground and repelled Wang Zuogua and Miao Mei's forces, even achieving considerable gains in the battle. However, the problem is that compared to the large number of rebel troops, these losses did not affect the overall strength of the rebel army.
Despite the defeat at Hancheng, the rebel army still possessed considerable strength. Even though Wang Zuogua and his men, who had retreated to Yichuan, were temporarily unable to continue their southward offensive against Hancheng, they had no problem occupying Yichuan and maintaining a north-south standoff with Hong Chengchou.
In other words, Hong Chengchou's actions in Hancheng only halted the rebel army's advance to Tongguan; the fundamental problem of the Shaanxi rebels remained unresolved.
Furthermore, although Hong Chengchou won this battle, he could only continue to garrison Hancheng and had no ability to counterattack to the north. Meanwhile, Wang Jiayin's main force besieging Yan'an Prefecture and another detachment heading straight for Heshui remained urgent, and Yang He still had no way to completely solve this problem.
Furthermore, Yang He even suppressed the report to the imperial court about the loss of Yichuan and Huachi.
He worried that if he reported this news, it would be detrimental to him in the central government.
How did Yang He come to Shaanxi, and how did he become the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions? Others may not know, but does Yang He himself not know?
He had many conflicts with the Donglin Party in the court, and once this news was reported, the Donglin Party would definitely use it to attack him. At that time, whether His Majesty asked him to explain or even directly issued an edict to strip him of his post as Governor-General of the Three Border Regions and order Yang He to return to the capital to await punishment, neither would be a good outcome.
Yang He's death is not a pity, but the problem is that the situation in Shaanxi cannot tolerate this change. Once he leaves Shaanxi, the situation, which has just begun to improve, will instantly deteriorate further.
If the rebel army takes advantage of the situation and attacks, not only will Qingyang be lost, but Hong Chengchou's territory will also be affected. If the rebel army captures these places and continues its advance towards Xi'an, Xi'an will be in imminent danger. If the rebel army even takes Xi'an, almost the entire Shaanxi province will fall into their hands.
How could Yang He sit idly by and watch this happen? It wasn't for his own future, nor was he worried about his official position, but for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the entire Shaanxi province that he suppressed these rumors.
Hong Chengchou's great victory in Hancheng has finally put Yang He at ease. With this victory, and if he puts in some effort to explain things properly in his report, even if the Donglin Party is dragging his feet, His Majesty's wisdom will surely forgive him.
Thinking of this, Yang He had someone grind ink, picked up his brush and personally wrote a report to the court, reporting the battle situation to the emperor, explaining his difficulties in Shaanxi and the reasons for his response, and finally asking for rewards for Hong Chengchou and the meritorious subordinates he recommended.
After the memorial was sent out, Yang He pondered for a long time, then summoned the prefect of Qingyang to discuss the matter behind closed doors. They ultimately came up with a similar appeasement plan as their attempt to win over Gao Yingxiang. They dispatched capable men to contact the bandit leaders, the Shen brothers, Shen Yiyuan and Shen Yikui, stationed in Huachi, intending to win them over and actively appease them to ensure the stability of Heshui and Qingyang.
While Yang He was working hard to resolve various problems and stabilize the situation in Shaanxi, Zhou Lun, far away in Fugu, was living a very comfortable life.
Not only him, but Gao Yingxiang and others also had a rare period of leisure. Especially after the magistrate of Shenmu County sent the first batch of money and grain promised after the pacification, their rebel army transformed itself and directly raised the banner of the imperial army, looking quite impressive.
The two consecutive payments of money and provisions not only alleviated the rebel army's shortage of supplies, but Yang He also directly granted them the title of government troops in his capacity as governor.
Although Yang He cannot make official appointments in the imperial court—that requires formal appointment by the emperor, the cabinet, and the governor-general's office in the capital—he has, judging from the current situation, done almost everything he could and demonstrated sufficient sincerity.
Even though Zhou Lun and Gao Yingxiang never truly intended to be recruited from the beginning, and were merely putting on an act, they had already received favors. But as the saying goes, "He who takes a bribe is bound to be obliged, and he who eats a meal is bound to be obliged." Now that they were receiving both benefits and food, they had to at least put on a show.
Furthermore, this performance was merely for the benefit of Yang He and the imperial court; the true state of the rebel army remained unchanged. Both Gao Yingxiang and Zhou Lun were fully aware of this.
On this day, Zhou Lun returned to his residence from the military camp, covered in dust and grime.
With the rebel army having a rare opportunity to rest and recuperate, Zhou Lun naturally wouldn't let this chance pass and seized the time to train his old camp and subordinates.
After a period of adjustment and rigorous training, the new recruits to the old camp have gradually become more proficient in coordinating with the original troops. Furthermore, Zhou Lun has invested heavily in upgrading the old camp's equipment, further enhancing its combat effectiveness.
Especially after the captured border troops joined the army, coupled with Zhou Lun's "mentoring" method in the old camp, the training effect became even more obvious.
In addition, there was an elite team that Zhou Lun had specially selected from the old camp.
Although the team is small, all members are top performers selected from the veterans. With Hao Yaoqi as captain, they are Zhou Lun's best-equipped and most powerful trump card.
Although it can't be shown yet, judging from the level of training, Zhou Lun believes that Hao Yaoqi will definitely give him a huge surprise once he goes to the battlefield, and he is looking forward to that day.
As Zhou Lun led Gao Yigong through the door, he had barely stepped into the courtyard when he heard a familiar voice talking to Gao Guiying from the side room.
"Xiao Zhong!"
Zhou Lun was startled by the sound and quickly walked over. When he arrived at the side room, he saw that it was indeed Li Zhong.
"Second Uncle!" Li Zhong quickly stood up.
"When did you arrive? Is Big Brother alright?" Zhou Lun asked happily.
When Zhou Lun went to Shenmu for negotiations, he made a special detour to Li Wanqing's residence, and the two brothers met.
During that meeting, Zhou Lun made a point of talking to Li Wanqing, intending to resolve the rift between the brothers. He explained that although he remained in Fugu and Gao Yingxiang valued him highly, his brotherhood with Li Wanqing would never change.
No matter what happens to Zhou Lun in the future, he will always be Li Wanqing's sworn brother, and their relationship will never change. As long as Li Wanqing needs him, Zhou Lun will go through fire and water without hesitation.
Although Zhou Lun spoke earnestly and said everything he needed to say, and Li Wanqing seemed to understand, maintaining the same intimate tone and attitude as before, for some reason, even at the time of their breakup, Zhou Lun still felt a subtle barrier between them, which left him feeling quite helpless.
Once a rift forms and a distance grows between them, it's very difficult to fully mend it. Zhou Lun was helpless in this situation and could only hope that Li Wanqing would eventually come to his senses, trust him as before, and that the two would return to their previous close relationship.
More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and unexpectedly Li Zhong suddenly arrived in Fugu City, which made Zhou Lun overjoyed.
Could it be that Brother Li Wanqing has finally figured things out? Is sending Li Zhong here to show his stance? Or is there something else he needs Li Zhong's help with?