The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 81: Countless Black Masses

April 15th, the seventeenth year of Yuanzhen.

Shen Yuan received the imperial edict from Emperor Yuanzhen and immediately dispatched troops to suppress the bandits.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, military officers only had the power to command troops, but not the right to mobilize them. There were only two ways to mobilize troops for battle: one was the order from the Ministry of War, and the other was the emperor's decree.

This time, Shen Yuan directly requested the imperial edict from Emperor Yuanzhen without alerting the Ministry of War.

If the Ministry of War issues a transfer order, basically everyone in the court will know about this matter.

The bandits around the capital have extensive connections with the powerful people in the capital, so we need to take them by surprise and not give them time to inform them.

New Army Guard Office.

Shen Yuan summoned Feng Ziying, Jiang Fan, Liu Xianglian, Zhao Huan and others to discuss the issue of suppressing bandits.

Several people were extremely excited.

Liu Xianglian said: "I never thought that I would have the opportunity to make a contribution so soon."

"I thought our first opponent would be the Jianlu in the north, or the Japanese pirates in the east, but I didn't expect it to be those petty thieves." Jiang Fan seemed a little regretful.

Then, he thought of what those bandits had done, and said, "Destroying that gang of bastards can be considered as eliminating harm for the common people."

Feng Ziying was calmer and said in a serious tone, "Don't underestimate the enemy. The bandits have been entrenched in the mountains for a long time and have taken advantage of the terrain. We may not be able to defeat them easily."

Zhao Huan was equally cautious and agreed: "Phoenix Ridge is a high mountain with dense forests, making it very easy to hide. We really can't take it lightly."

Shen Yuan acted relatively calm, and said in a clear voice: "With the help of the hot air balloon, it is not difficult to attack the thieves' nest. The most important thing is to prevent them from escaping in all directions, breaking up into small groups, and hiding in different places. Therefore, the core of our operation this time is speed!"

In this bandit suppression campaign, he will lead 5,000 new army guards out in full force, letting every soldier experience this battle. The new recruits can see blood, and the old soldiers can recall the bloody memories of the past time at the border.

With such superior forces, and the help of hot air balloons and telescopes, the outcome would not be a surprise, it would just be a matter of how big the results were.

Feng Ziying and others also felt that there would be no mistakes in this battle, and what they were considering was how to minimize casualties.

Although they already knew about the existence of hot air balloons, their imagination of such new things was limited and they did not hold high expectations.

Therefore, Feng Ziying was quite skeptical about Shen Yuan's tactic of rapid attack, but no matter what, Shen Yuan was the commander of the new army guard, so he had to reserve his opinion and fully cooperate with the commander-in-chief.

Shen Yuan put forward the combat requirements, and then the others discussed the tactical details in detail.

When everything was ready, Shen Yuan ordered in a deep voice: "All officers, listen to my orders!"

"exist!"

"Follow me to the barracks, we will immediately organize our troops and go into the mountains to suppress the bandits!"

"The last general takes command!"

In Phoenix Ridge, the grass and trees are lush and green, and the branches and leaves rustle in the breeze.

In a hidden mountain stronghold, bandits led by Jiang Shan gathered together.

In the gathering hall, sitting on a big tiger-skin chair, Jiang Shan was dressed as a hunter, with a dark complexion and a burly figure.

The other heads sat on both sides.

Jiang Shan pointed to several large boxes in the hall and said to the second in command, "Second brother, go and deliver these to the people above you."

The Fifth Master at the side stroked the wine glass in his hand and said, "Brother, why should we give away 80% of what the brothers risked their lives to obtain? Did those crooked officials contribute at all?"

Jiang Shan glanced at the Fifth Master and said thoughtfully, "What do you know? If we don't support these people, do you think we can do this business safely?"

The Third Master also agreed, "Big Brother is right. How many people are there in the government army? How many people do we have? And we are under the Emperor's nose. If we hadn't found some backers, we would have been wiped out by the imperial court long ago."

"I'm just unhappy. At worst, I'll rebel against him."

"Old Fifth, stop complaining. I'll give you a few more women tonight." Thinking of those beautiful women, the Fifth Boss finally calmed down his anger.

When several people saw this, they all laughed. The fifth brother was young and hot-tempered, and only a woman could calm him down.

Jiang Shan pondered for a moment and ordered, "Have the scouts keep a close eye. Ever since Jia Zhen and his men were punished by the old emperor, I've had a bad feeling. Especially in the past two days, my eyelids have been twitching especially badly."

The Third Master asked, "Brother, what do you mean?"

"I am worried that the imperial court will send troops here again."

"Brother, you are overthinking. We didn't give our money to those corrupt officials for nothing. If the government troops had made any moves, we would have received the news long ago."

"That's right! It's not like the government troops haven't come here to suppress us before, and they were just going through the motions every time." The Fifth Chief said disdainfully: "Besides, the terrain of Phoenix Ridge is steep, and the mountain stronghold has deep trenches and high fortifications, which makes it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if those bastards come, we are not afraid."

"Brothers, please chat first. I'll go and calm you down."

"Go ahead." The eldest boss glanced at Lao Wu and said unhappily, "You've been thinking about that thing in your crotch all day long."

"Okay!" After the fifth boss said this, he left the gathering hall with a wicked smile and headed towards the cave behind.

On the other side, Shen Yuan, Feng Ziying and others, went out of Yongding Gate and came to the New Army Guard Camp in the southern suburbs.

After packing and counting his troops, he led 5,000 soldiers on a rapid march toward Phoenix Ridge.

The team marched forward in an orderly and solemn manner, the soldiers were in high spirits, and along the way, the sky was full of dust, showing a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

With such a situation, the army's whereabouts obviously cannot be hidden, but there is no need to hide now. All they need to do is reach the battlefield as quickly as possible and end the battle.

Soon, all the regiments and camps in the Beijing camp "detected" the movements of the New Army Guards, and they were all in an uproar.

Even some of the generals in the Beijing camp were already restless.
In just over half an hour, the new army guards arrived at the foot of Phoenix Ridge.

Shen Yuan reined in his horse and stopped, looking at the steep hilltops of the capital in front of him.

Although I have explored the terrain many times before, I still can't help but feel its steepness.

Putting aside all irrelevant thoughts, Shen Yuan faced Feng Ziying and other generals, and the thousands of soldiers lined up in neat rows behind them.

He shouted: "The opportunity to make a contribution is right before our eyes, all soldiers, listen up!"

"exist!"

"Act according to the established tactics!"

"Order!"

Five thousand soldiers responded in unison, and their voices echoed throughout the mountains and spread to the top of Phoenix Ridge.

This is certainly not just a simple pre-war mobilization and encouragement, nor is it a foolish act of alerting the enemy.

When the bandits were attracted and frightened by the majestic shouts, they did not expect that their impregnable village gate would be attacked from the sky.

Mountain stronghold, Juyi Hall.

Jiang Shan vaguely heard some solemn and murderous sounds coming, and his heart couldn't help but beat fast.

"Did you hear that?"

The Third Master nodded and said with a puzzled look, "It seems like there is, but I can't hear it clearly."

Jiang Shan's eyelids suddenly twitched wildly, and a strong sense of disaster surged up. He shouted sternly: "Quick! Send people to investigate everywhere at the foot of the mountain, and check carefully!"

Apparently, there was no need for him to give any orders, as someone came in hurriedly to report, his expression extremely frightened.

"Report! Everyone, there are a lot of soldiers coming down the mountain, so dense that they are countless."

(End of this chapter)