The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 739 Who's More Cunning

Zhang Miaoshou's body was dumped near Jia Huan's camp and was quickly discovered by patrolling soldiers, who immediately reported it. Upon hearing this, Jia Huan personally led his men to investigate and found a letter on Zhang Miaoshou's body. The letter was full of mocking and sarcastic remarks, which infuriated the soldiers.

Jia Huan laughed and said, "It's almost done."

The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. Xing Wei asked in confusion, "That dog Zhang Xianzhong killed the man the commander-in-chief sent to persuade us to surrender, and even threw his body in front of the camp with a mocking message. Why is the commander-in-chief happy with such arrogance and provocation?"

Jia Huan waved the letter in his hand and smiled, "This letter is written in Zhang Xianzhong's voice. Although it is full of mockery and provocation on the surface, it is actually expressing loyalty to Gao Yingxiang between the lines. Why is that?"

Tie Hu's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "That's right. If Zhang Xianzhong was really loyal to Gao Yingxiang, he should have killed Zhang Miaoshou when they first met. Why go through all that trouble and let Zhang Miaoshou get the commander's promise of amnesty before killing him to show his loyalty to Gao Yingxiang?"
In other words, Zhang Xianzhong may have originally intended to surrender, but things went wrong, and he had no choice but to kill Zhang Miaoshou to salvage the situation. To demonstrate his loyalty to Gao Yingxiang, he even sent people to dump Zhang Miaoshou's body here and wrote a letter mocking the commander-in-chief!

Jia Huan nodded and said, "That's roughly the case. However, once Gao Yingxiang develops doubts about Zhang Xianzhong, no matter how the latter tries to remedy the situation, it's impossible to completely eliminate Gao Yingxiang's suspicions."

Lu Xiang-sheng interjected, "The Governor-General is right. It is clear that the bandit leaders are aware of Zhang Miao-shou's existence, and mutual suspicion is inevitable. With a little more utilization, we can surely achieve remarkable results."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Brother Jiandou, I would like to trouble you to immediately arrange for people to spread rumors that Shen Yikui has secretly accepted the governor's offer of amnesty and that when the government troops launch their attack, Shen Yikui will assist the government troops in launching a surprise attack on Gao Yingxiang and Wang Ziyong."

Lu Xiang-sheng immediately accepted the order and left. As the prefect of Yan'an Prefecture, his troops were mostly local militiamen, making him perfectly suited to carry out the task of spreading rumors.

Soon, rumors spread within the rebel army that Shen Yikui had secretly surrendered to the government troops. At first, Shen Yikui did not care, believing that he had a clear conscience, so he ignored the rumors. Later, he found that the rumors were becoming more and more outrageous, and even his own subordinates were discussing them. He then panicked and hurriedly ordered an investigation into the source of the rumors and forbade his subordinates from discussing the matter.

However, Shen Yikui could stop his own men from talking, but he couldn't stop Wang Ziyong and Gao Yingxiang's men from gossiping. Moreover, Zhang Miaoshou had indeed been to Shen Yikui's camp before Zhang Xianzhong killed him. Although Shen Yikui informed Gao Yingxiang and Wang Ziyong immediately, it was also a fact that Shen Yikui did not kill Zhang Miaoshou. Who knows if the two of them had reached some shady agreement in secret?

Forced into a corner, Shen Yikui had no choice but to personally explain to Gao Yingxiang and Wang Ziyong. Both Gao Yingxiang and Wang Ziyong received Shen Yikui politely and patted their chests to express their trust in him, but whether they truly trusted him was unknown.

Just as the rebel army was filled with suspicion and distrust, Jia Huan saw that the time was right and prepared to launch an attack. However, just as Jia Huan was about to give the order, Zhang Xianzhong sent a trusted confidant to contact Jia Huan.

Zhang Xianzhong's confidant was also quite a figure. His name was Sun Kewang, later changed to Sun Kewang. He was one of Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons. This fellow was a prominent figure in real history, but I won't go into details here.

Sun Kewang entered Jia Huan's command tent, bowed respectfully, and said, "I am Sun Kewang. On behalf of my godfather, I would like to apologize to Governor Jia. My godfather's killing of Zhang Miaoshou the other day was a last resort."

Jia Huan raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "What a helpless move! So, this governor is also helpless in beheading you today?"

Sun Kewang felt a palpable killing intent rushing towards him, his face instantly turning pale. He involuntarily knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Governor, please calm your anger. My adoptive father originally sincerely accepted your offer of amnesty, but unfortunately the news leaked and Gao Yingxiang heard about it. In order to protect himself, he had no choice but to kill Zhang Miaoshou. It was truly a helpless situation. Please, Governor, understand."

Jia Huan nodded to himself, seemingly confirming his suspicions, and asked calmly, "Then why did Zhang Xianzhong send you here?"

Sun Kewang noticed that the fierce killing intent emanating from Jia Huan had subsided, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. No longer daring to be "neither humble nor arrogant," he respectfully replied, "My godfather had no choice but to kill Zhang Miaoshou in order to protect himself. In fact, he is still willing to surrender to the court. If the governor can forgive us for our past mistakes, my godfather will definitely cooperate with the government army to defeat Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng."

Jia Huan asked with great interest, "How does Zhang Xianzhong plan to cooperate?"

Sun Kewang's eyes flashed, and he said, "Your Excellency can launch a night attack tonight, with your godfather assisting in a sneak attack on Gao Yingxiang's main tent. We will surely capture him in one fell swoop. However, Gao Yingxiang has already become suspicious of your godfather and will definitely be on guard. To ensure everything goes smoothly, I ask Your Excellency to send a force to contain Li Zicheng and prevent him from coming to his aid. At the same time, in order to mislead Gao Yingxiang, I also ask Your Excellency to send a force to feign an attack on your godfather's camp. While Gao Yingxiang is off guard, your godfather should immediately defect and assist the government troops in attacking Gao Yingxiang's central camp."

Jia Huan was overjoyed and said, "What a brilliant plan! Go back and tell Zhang Xianzhong that if he can help the government troops capture Gao Yingxiang, I, the governor, will not only forgive him for his past mistakes, but also give him a great merit. The position of deputy commander that I promised him before will still be valid."

Sun Kewang said happily, "Since that's the case, I will go back to report to my godfather. Tonight, I will wait for the Governor-General in Gao Yingxiang's central tent."

Jia Huan nodded and waved, saying, "Go, but be careful." Sun Kewang left Jia Huan's command tent and cautiously departed the camp. He then let out a long sigh of relief, stuck out his tongue, and thought to himself, "Jia Huan is clearly not very old, but his aura is truly terrifying. However, he seems too gullible. His reputation doesn't live up to his words, hehe!"

Inside the command tent, Chen Qiyu shook his head and warned, "Governor-General, Zhang Xianzhong is a cunning and untrustworthy man. Don't be fooled."

Jia Huan smiled calmly and said, "Don't worry, how could this governor trust this person so easily? However, I am quite curious to see what tricks he is going to play."

Meanwhile, Sun Kewang quietly returned to Zhang Xianzhong's camp and reported, "Father, I have successfully completed my mission and everything has been done as you wished."

Zhang Xianzhong was still worried, so he inquired about the details. After listening, he smiled and patted Sun Kewang on the shoulder, saying, "My son, you did a good job. You've worked hard this time."

Sun Kewang hurriedly said, "This is what I should do. It's just that Jia Huan is rumored to be incredibly powerful, but in my opinion, he's just so-so and too easy to fool."

Zhang Xianzhong shook his head and sneered, "Do you really think Jia Huan believed it?"

Sun Kewang asked in astonishment, "Didn't he fall for it?"

Zhang Xianzhong sneered, "If Jia Huan were so easily fooled, how could he have survived until now and made such a great name for himself? You know, Nurhaci, Hami, and Turpan all fell to him. If he didn't have some real skills, would that be possible?"

Sun Kewang frowned and said, "Since Godfather knew Jia Huan wouldn't fall for it, why did he still feign surrender?"

Zhang Xianzhong laughed triumphantly: "This is called deliberately creating a diversion. If we don't muddy the waters, how can we escape? You have seen the fighting power of Jia Huan's three armies. At the foot of Mount Taibai, our three families' 100,000 elite troops surrounded Man Gui's 10,000 men, but in the end, we still couldn't completely wipe them out, and we even lost nearly 15,000 brothers."

In terms of equipment and combat strength, we are far inferior. Even in a head-on battle, we are no match for Jia Huan, let alone now that we have the support of the Beijing Garrison. Moreover, we have internal problems; the rebel leader no longer trusts me. Regardless of the final outcome, staying means certain death. It's better to find a chance to escape.

Sun Kewang nodded solemnly and said, "I understand, but Jia Huan may not trust us. How can we escape?"

Zhang Xianzhong smiled smugly and said, "This is precisely the brilliance of this plan. No matter how much Jia Xiang doesn't believe us, he will definitely launch a feigned attack according to our wishes. Only after dealing with Chuang Wang and Li Zicheng will he have time to deal with us. We can take this opportunity to preserve our strength and conserve our energy. When the government troops are locked in a fierce battle with Chuang Wang and Li Zicheng, we can suddenly launch a breakout to the south. The chances of success are very high."

Sun Kewang asked curiously, "South?"

“That’s right. Let’s head south, cross the Qinling Mountains, and escape into Sichuan. There are natural defenses there, as well as fertile plains in Sichuan. Back then, Liu Bei went to Sichuan to divide the world into three kingdoms. Why can’t I, Zhang Xianzhong, do the same? It’s easier to escape north to the border, but the border is bitterly cold and not a long-term solution. Only a fool would go there.”

Sun Kewang said admiringly, "Godfather is indeed wise. I have learned a lot!"

Zhang Xianzhong patted Sun Kewang on the shoulder and encouraged him, "My son, study hard. In the future, you will also have a share in the empire that your father has built."

Sun Kewang immediately knelt down on one knee and bowed, saying excitedly, "Your son will definitely work harder and will never let down your godfather's painstaking cultivation."

Zhang Xianzhong stroked his beard and smiled, "Get up. Tell the brothers to prepare for tonight's breakout. Success or failure hinges on this."

Sun Kewang hurriedly went down to prepare, waiting for nightfall!
However, in the afternoon, about two hours before nightfall, without any warning, the government troops suddenly launched an attack. However, apart from the timing being off, Jia Huan seemed to be doing exactly as agreed with Zhang Xianzhong, sending the southern route army, led by Tie Hu, to launch a fierce attack on Gao Yingxiang's troops, and sending Xing Wei's central route army to contain Li Zicheng's troops. In addition, he sent Lu Xiangjin and Tie Niu to lead 10,000 troops to accompany and attack Zhang Xianzhong's troops.

Meanwhile, Feng Ziying led 20,000 elite troops of the Beijing Garrison to attack Wang Ziyong's camp in the east of the city, while Lu Xiangshan led 15,000 men to contain Shen Yikui in the west of the city. Finally, Jia Huan personally led 10,000 troops to garrison the central army to support the four directions.

(End of this chapter)