The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 774 Deploying Troops
When Jia Huan received the appointment as governor of five provinces, Li Zicheng was still convening the Xingyang Conference as the leader of the alliance. A total of thirteen rebel leaders participated, namely: Li Zicheng (Chuang Wang), Luo Rucai (Cao Cao), He Jin (Zuo Jin Wang), He Yilong (Ge Liyan), Ma Jinzhong (Hun Shiwan), Ma Shouying (Lao Huihui), Zhang Xianzhong's remnants, Li Wanqing (She Tatian), Wang Daliang (Da Liang Wang), Hui Dengxiang (Guo Tianxing), Liu Xiyao (Gai Shi Wang), He Guoguan (Heng Tian Wang), and Wang Zishun (Shun Tian Wang).

These thirteen rebel leaders all had names and nicknames, and their strength varied. Among them, Li Zicheng had the strongest army, with more than 100,000 troops under his command. In just a few months, he had captured more than a dozen prefectures and counties, seizing a large amount of supplies and equipment, including a large number of weapons, armor, firearms, and horses. He had also formed the first elite force of the rebel army and recently captured tens of thousands of shi of grain from Xingyang Granary. He was well-trained and well-supplied, so Li Zicheng naturally became the leader of the thirteen rebel armies.

At the Xingyang Conference, Li Zicheng first put forward a program aimed at overthrowing the rule of the Great Jin Dynasty and formulated a "three-pronged advance" strategy. This strategy involved dividing the rebel army into three routes: one route would head north to Shanxi to threaten the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty; another route would head south to Huguang to occupy Jingxiang and wait for an opportunity to advance west to Sichuan; and the main force of the third route would head east to take the wealthy lands of Southern Zhili and Jiangzhe, cut off the Grand Canal hub, and strangle the economic lifeline of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Originally, Li Zicheng wanted to divide his troops into four routes, one of which would march west back to Shaanxi to hold off Jia Huan and buy time for the main force of the eastern route army to capture Nanjing and Yangzhou. However, when everyone heard that they would have to go back to Shaanxi to fight Jia Huan head-on, they all shook their heads and refused.

Just kidding. Most of these thirteen rebel armies fled from Shaanxi to Henan. If they could defeat Jia Shaxing, they wouldn't need to flee. Going back now to fight Jia Shaxing with bayonets is like the God of Longevity hanging himself—wanting to die.
Whoever wants to go can go, I'm not going!

Li Zicheng had no choice but to abandon the four-pronged attack strategy and instead launched a three-pronged attack. He led the main force eastward to attack Southern Zhili, while Luo Rucai, nicknamed Cao Cao, and Li Dingguo and other remnants of Zhang Xianzhong's forces went south to Huguang. Finally, the old Hui Muslim Ma Shouying and others went north to Shanxi.

It is worth mentioning that Li Zicheng reorganized the forces of the thirteen families into seventy-two battalions, each with about three thousand men, totaling about 250,000 troops, which he claimed to have 500,000.

After Li Zicheng integrated the various rebel armies, he immediately put his plan into action. He left only Ma Jinzhong, who commanded 100,000 troops, to guard the Xingyang granary, while the other three armies marched in all directions as planned. In a short time, they conquered cities and seized territories with unstoppable momentum, shaking the court and the country.

Meanwhile, in Chang'an, Shaanxi, Jia Huan, after receiving his appointment as governor of five provinces, was also secretly mobilizing troops and formulating a plan to encircle and suppress the enemy.

First of all, Jia Huan's request to the court for an additional 270 million taels of silver was not an exorbitant demand. War is an extremely expensive business, and mobilizing troops from five provinces is no joke. If the money is not in place, who will fight for you? If the military pay cannot be paid, let alone suppressing the bandits, those soldiers might even rebel themselves.

However, the national treasury, which had been emptied for several years, was almost depleted. Where would they find the funds to cover such a huge sum? Therefore, Zhao Dongxing, the Minister of Revenue, refused to budge and even threatened that he would not approve the military expenditure unless he was dismissed from his post immediately.

In the end, Emperor Qiansheng made a concession, taking 150 million taels from his own private treasury. Only then did Zhao Dongxing reluctantly approve 120 taels from the national treasury, making a total of 270 million taels to be given to Jia Huan.

However, Emperor Qiansheng was not one to be trifled with, and he would not allow Jia Huan to manipulate him. After approving 270 million taels of military funds, he immediately sent a supervisor to Jia Huan, who was an old acquaintance—Jia Yucun.

Emperor Qiansheng's decision to send Jia Yucun to his side as a military supervisor was somewhat unexpected for Jia Huan, but upon closer reflection, it made perfect sense. Although Jia Yucun, this traitor, appeared to be on good terms with his father, Emperor Qiansheng, he was actually a member of the eunuch faction that had risen to power through Shi Dayong's resurgence. Emperor Qiansheng naturally trusted him and sent him without worrying that he would "collude with him for evil purposes."

Furthermore, Jia Yucun was also the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, whose duties were directly related to Jia Huan's finances. While the 270 million taels of military pay appeared to have been allocated to Jia Huan, it was actually controlled by Jia Yucun. How the money was spent, and how much was allocated, all had to pass through Jia Yucun's hands. In this way, Jia Yucun effectively controlled Jia Huan's logistical lifeline, preventing him from amassing military power.

Jia Huan was fully aware of Emperor Qiansheng's scheme, but he didn't care much. First, he had no interest in embezzling military funds, and second, he had no intention of amassing power. As long as Emperor Qiansheng didn't cross his bottom line, he was happy to be a pillar of the state.

Getting back to the main point, Jia Huan spent a month mobilizing his troops and finally got everything ready, so he officially launched his campaign. It's worth mentioning that Jia Huan, as the governor-general of five provinces, had five provincial governors under him. These five governors each had their own responsibilities, overseeing their respective provinces' defense zones, while simultaneously obeying Jia Huan's orders to assist in suppressing the various rebel armies.

Xu Dingchen, the governor of Shanxi, was in charge of the defense of Shanxi Province and was tasked with preventing the rebel army from advancing north from Henan.

Cao Wenzhao, the governor of Henan, was in charge of the defense of Henan and assisted Jia Huan's main force in sweeping through the entire territory of Henan.

Zuo Liangyu, the governor of Huguang Province, was responsible for the defense of the province and prevented the rebel army from fleeing south, eventually forming an encirclement.

Wang Fang, the governor of Sichuan, was in charge of the province's defenses and was tasked with preventing rebel armies from infiltrating Sichuan and causing chaos.

Cao Guozhang, the governor of Shaanxi Province, was in charge of the province's defense and was tasked with preventing the rebel army from fleeing back to Shaanxi to cause sabotage.

Last year, when suppressing the various rebel armies in Shaanxi, Jia Huan adopted a three-pronged approach, clearing them out from west to east. However, this approach cannot be used in Henan, because to the east of Henan are Shandong, Southern Zhili, and Zhejiang, all of which are major grain-producing provinces and the most prosperous areas in the Great Jin Dynasty, serving as its economic lifeline.

If the campaign were to proceed from west to east, it would be tantamount to driving all the rebel armies in that direction, which would surely infuriate Emperor Qiansheng. Therefore, Jia Huan changed his strategy this time, intending to sweep through the rebels from east to west and from north to south.

First, Jia Huan dispatched his most capable general, Tie Hu, with 10,000 elite troops to Kaifeng Prefecture to confront the main force of the rebel army led by Li Zicheng.

Then, Jia Huan sent Shi Tou Xingwei with 10,000 elite troops to Shangqiu to block the rebel army's eastward advance.

Next, Lu Xiangjin led 10,000 elite troops to Xinyang to sweep through from south to north and encircle Li Zicheng's forces, while Man Gui led 10,000 elite troops to attack the rebel army's main base—Xingyang.

Finally, Jia Huan personally led 20,000 elite troops to Yunyang, the capital of Huguang Province, where he waited for the various armies to converge, preparing to encircle and annihilate the rebel forces in the Nanyang area.

　It's a bit choppy, so let's move on to this chapter for now. Next up is Shi Xiangyun's storyline.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)