frightfiction Chapter 235 Dragnet
Chapter 235 Dragnet
Ye Cheng, a scholar who passed the imperial examination during the previous emperor's time, showed extraordinary intelligence since childhood. At the age of 20, he passed the imperial examination and entered the official career. Since then, he has been promoted to the governor of Henan County at the age of only 50. Under the tempering of his military career, his originally round and fair face was also engraved with the traces of time, appearing resolute and deep.
However, Ye Cheng's character is full of contradictions and is hard to understand. On the one hand, he led his troops to suppress the peasant uprising, condoned the soldiers to slaughter innocent people, and sought military merits with ruthless means; on the other hand, he maintained the elegant demeanor of a scholar, gentle and elegant, as if he was born from a scholarly family. With the enrichment of experience, he became more sophisticated and smooth, hiding his inner coldness and cunning, taking it easy, and thinking long-term. It was these advantages that won the loyalty of his generals, and Sun Ting was relieved to entrust him with the important task. Even the suspicious Emperor Chongming had high hopes for him and regarded him as a pillar of talent.
Before leaving Henan Prefecture, Ye Cheng received imperial edicts and military orders, urging him to join forces with Sun Ting and other generals to quickly quell Yuan Quan's rebels and to serve the emperor overnight. Although he repeatedly exaggerated the strength of the rebels in his memorials to the emperor, complained and asked for help, and seemed to have no confidence in victory, he actually knew that the rebels were like a spent force, exhausted, isolated, and their food and grass supplies were even more stretched. After all, in the entire Northwest County, only Northwest Prefecture could provide such a large amount of food, and the rebels obviously could not break through the defense line of Northwest Prefecture. On the contrary, the government troops had the upper hand everywhere, and his memorial was just to leave himself a way out to deal with possible changes.
What Ye Cheng was looking forward to was not only a hearty victory, but also the capture of all the rebels under Yuan Quan's command and the presentation of them to the emperor, so as to win the emperor's favor and consolidate his position. On the eve of leaving Henan Prefecture, he consulted with several of his trusted staff members and the results satisfied him, foreshadowing the upcoming victory. Now, he was looking forward to not only a glorious victory, but also the capture of those rebels on the battlefield, so that the emperor would be overjoyed and his career would be glorious again.
At this moment, Ye Cheng was discussing military affairs with several generals in the study, and the atmosphere was solemn and tense. "Since the rebellion in the west, Yuan Quan has been the most powerful in the two counties of northwest and southwest. Although Yuan Quan has surrendered to Lord Sun, his remnants are already approaching the capital, and the threat cannot be underestimated. However, you should understand that Yuan Quan's rebels have not been completely wiped out during this period of time. Among the existing rebels, the three strongest ones are: the main rebels left by Yuan Quan, the rebels led by Du Chong in Henan County, and the rebels led by Sun Ying in Southwest County. The rebels in Southwest County are not a concern for the time being. According to the latest intelligence, the other two rebels have arrived at Daxiguan and are ready to move." Although Ye Cheng is a civil official, his analysis of the battlefield situation is clear and well-organized, which makes all the generals present admire him.
"Now is a golden opportunity to achieve great things! If you can wipe out these two rebel forces this time, all the powerful forces in the western part will be wiped out! I will also recommend you for merit in front of His Majesty!" Zhou Kai bowed and said with a firm look.
The rebels are now surrounded by enemies and cannot escape. If we cannot capture them alive tomorrow, we will kill them in battle, so as to complete the victory of suppressing the rebels in the northwest, comfort the spirit of the late emperor, and bring peace to the people. However, this is all thanks to Lord Sun and Lord Ye who planned and went to the front line to boost morale. What merits do we, the mediocre people, have? "The other generals echoed and said in unison that all the credit should go to Sun Ting and Ye Cheng. This is the uniqueness of this dynasty - the generals must obey the command of the civil officials, and their achievements are all written by the civil officials. Therefore, when the generals see the civil officials of higher status, they always behave with great respect. Perhaps this is why, despite paying a huge price, they still failed to defeat those barbarians?
"You are too modest! Without your sacrifice, how could we have the current situation!" Ye Cheng said with a smile and waved his hand. He did not mind sharing some smaller credits with these generals. His goal was to lead the army in the future and solve the problem of barbarians in the northeast. Naturally, he needed to leave an image of being generous and willing to share credit in the hearts of these generals. In this way, people would be willing to work for him in the future.
He knew very well that the future and fate of these civil servants depended on the Emperor Chongming's decision. If they gained the Emperor's trust, they might even be promoted directly to the position of the current cabinet minister. On the contrary, if they lost the Emperor's trust, even if they had made great military achievements, they might not be far from death. There were precedents.
This was the fate of Yuan Chong, who was once known as the King of Northeast China. Yuan Chong's policies were extremely wise. If he had followed his principles, the barbarians would have nowhere to live, and their population and territory would have continued to decline. However, even though he had made such an extraordinary contribution, once the emperor began to doubt him, his life quickly came to an end, which was very sad.
"According to our strategy, we will set up ambushes on three sides to encircle and capture this rebel army! I wonder if you are all ready?" Ye Cheng pointed to the location of Daxiguan marked on the map, as well as the area where Lin Kunlun and others might appear, and asked seriously.
"The three ambushes have been deployed. All the troops from Henan and the two northwestern counties have been mobilized here! With such a strong force, even if the rebel is fierce and cunning, he will not be able to escape the law." Several generals reported that the troops they led had ambushed at the designated location as ordered, ready to go.
"As long as we can capture the rebels alive and relieve the court of its worries, you will achieve success and fame in one battle! You will all be rewarded by His Majesty! And you will also go down in history as a famous general of the rejuvenation of the country." Ye Cheng began to paint a beautiful picture for these generals to boost their morale. He knew that some generals lacked combat experience and was worried that they would retreat in the face of battle and miss the opportunity, so his words were full of encouragement and expectations.
Zhou Kai had fought with Yuan Quan before, and he knew that they were very powerful and their command of the army was far superior to his own. He couldn't help but say carefully! "I'm afraid those rebels have discovered our ambush! If they turn around and flee, or head southwest, our efforts will be in vain!"
"General Zhou has considered everything! But I have already thought of this! I have already laid the bait! I think the traitor will definitely fall for it! Not only will he not run away, but he will attack Daxiguan tomorrow!" Ye Cheng said confidently. He was very sure of his plan.
"I wonder what arrangements your Excellency has made?" All the generals asked curiously.
"Yuan Quan has a general who led a group of people. They have been fleeing in Henan County for nearly a month after passing through Daxiguan. They were supposed to help Yuan Quan go east to Henan, but his troops were too few. They were surrounded by the people I brought, and no one knows where they are hiding. But the rebels in Northwest County don't know yet. This is probably one of the main reasons why they want to enter Henan County. They think someone is supporting them. I have sent a capable person to pretend to be Du Chong's spy and bring a secret letter to meet the rebels. It only says that Du Chong will personally lead the army to the east of Daxiguan and will attack Daxiguan tomorrow. The rebels are asked to take the opportunity to rush to Henan County from the south of Daxiguan. I think the rebels will be overjoyed when they see this secret letter. How could they turn back to Northwest County?"
In a moment, Ye Cheng told his plan. The generals felt a chill in their backs when they heard this plan. They thought to themselves that these scholars were indeed the most vicious.
"Even if this plan is blocked by heavy troops sent to all the rebel passes, the rebels are now like birds in a cage, unable to fly even with wings." Ye Cheng thought that these generals were shocked by his plan, so he stroked his beard and said with a smile.
"Lord Ye is indeed very smart! He has decided the fate of these rebels in a matter of seconds! It is really a victory decided thousands of miles away! This time, the judgments are really irreversible!"
"Yes! Even if those Han thieves had four legs, they couldn't escape! Your Excellency has really laid a net of heaven and earth!" These generals were not well-educated, and their flattery seemed very stiff. But they also showed their admiration for these people. Everyone thought to themselves, these literati are really scary.