The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 849 Seizing the Army and Killing the General

In early October of the 29th year of Guangde, Crown Prince Liu Wuji, under the order of his father Emperor Liu Kan, went north to quell the rebellion and prevent the rebels from entering Huguang.

After Liu Wuji entered Henan, he found that the situation in the Central Plains had already deteriorated. The rebels had not yet arrived, but the counties and prefectures were already in a panic. The White Lotus Sect, which had been missing for many years, took the opportunity to rise up. The Central Plains gentry, dissatisfied with Guangde's new policies, wreaked havoc on the new policies, and some even began to openly expel the officials sent to Henan by the court.

The prince realized that it would be extremely difficult to defeat the rebels in one battle, and that going deep into the Central Plains might lead to being besieged by the rebels, so he had to build a defense line in Nanyang first, and urgently gather troops from various states and counties to prepare to fight the surging rebels.

Nanyang is the first line of defense in the outer position of Tianxin City and must be defended at all costs.

According to the intelligence provided by the Suoyi Guards, the princess gathered eight corps of about 200,000 troops from various northern provinces, and divided the troops into three groups to march south to besiege Tianxin City.

The western route was centered on the Shaanxi Corps, which entered Huguang from Kuidong; the central route was centered on the Zhili Corps in the north, which besieged Nanyang and threatened Xiangyang; the eastern route went south by water and attacked Huaiyang, with the Shandong Corps as its main force.

Among the three rebel forces, the Central Army led by Deng Junyou was the strongest, with a total strength of more than 100,000 troops. The Central Army went straight down to Henan and attacked Tianxin City from a high position, posing the greatest threat to Tianxin City.

Deng Junyou, who led this army, had made great military achievements and his military strategy was no less than that of his father Deng Changxiong.

After Liu Wuji arrived in Nanyang with 30,000 garrison troops, he received reinforcements. However, with such a small number of troops, he was unable to stop the rebel army that was several times larger than his own from moving south. Liu Wuji chose to take the initiative to attack, even though he knew it was just a moth flying into a flame and a mantis trying to stop a chariot. However, as long as he could buy some time for his father to defend Tianxin City, he would die without regrets.

When Liu Wuji led reinforcements through the east gate of Nanyang, he went to visit Yang Da who was living in seclusion there. Yang Da had been dismissed from office for many years and had never returned.

The prince told Yang Da that he was going to fight the rebels to the death.

Yang Da did not express anything after hearing this. When the prince said goodbye to Yang Da and was about to go to the battlefield, Yang Da said to the prince:

"Deng Junyou is the son of Deng Changxiong. He is even better than his father and is even more skilled in combat. He commands many soldiers and generals. If the Crown Prince works hard, he might be able to defeat ten of them with one. I am already a dying man and cannot accompany the Crown Prince north to quell the rebellion. The Crown Prince shall take care of himself."

After hearing this, Liu Wuji walked out of the Yang Mansion in silence. After walking a few miles, he felt increasingly unhappy. He said to his attendant, "I heard that Yang Da was a virtuous minister of the Great Qi Dynasty and was once a close minister to Emperor Taizu. His father, Yang Tong, was highly valued by my father, and the Great Qi Dynasty treated the Yang family well. Now that Emperor Wuding's body is still warm, why is he treating me so perfunctorily? Could he have been bribed by the Princess?"

"Or maybe there's something wrong with me?"

Grand Secretary Xia Wanchun speculated, "Your Highness, I've heard that Yang Da fought against the Rakshasas in the northern border when he was young, and he was stationed in Korea for many years. He's well-versed in military affairs, and his fighting skills are no less impressive than Deng Junyou's. It's impossible that Yang Da would be persuaded to surrender by the princess. He's so rude to Your Highness today, and he hasn't even offered you a single word. It's clear he has something to tell us. Why not ask him what countermeasures he has?"

After listening to Xia Wanchun's words, Liu Wuji suddenly understood. He patted his forehead and said, "Grand Secretary, what you said makes sense. My father ordered me to find Yang Da first after arriving in Henan. I believe there must be a deeper meaning behind it."

At that time, Emperor Guangde Liu Kan, against all odds, appointed Liu Wuji as the crown prince despite tremendous pressure, in order to put an end to the covetousness of Liu Yufei, Liu Qian and others for the throne. On the matter of appointing the crown prince, Yang Da's father, Yang Tong, was a staunch monarchist, that is, he supported Emperor Guangde.

"The Yang family played a role in Emperor Guangde's smooth ascension to the throne. The eldest princess hates Yang Tong to the core, and it was Yang Da who was driven out of the capital by the eldest princess. Your Highness should go and ask him again."

Liu Wuji then returned to Yang's residence. When Yang Da saw Liu Wuji, he smiled and said, "I knew the prince would come back."

Yang Da continued, "Your Majesty has sent the Crown Prince north to resist the rebels. The rebels are strong and powerful, and it is difficult to fight them. Does the Crown Prince have any good strategies to defeat them?"

Liu Wuji said, slightly embarrassed, "No." Yang Da clapped his hands and laughed, "The troops the princess is inciting to rebel are mostly elite troops from border areas. The rebellion she's instigated is like the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty. The Tang army was rushed into battle, so how could they possibly be a match for An Lushan?"

"Your Highness, rushing north to fight the rebels in the heart of Henan without even figuring out a strategy to counter the enemy is like throwing fat meat to a hungry tiger. What good is that? If that's the case, what use are we loyal ministers for?"

Liu Wuji bowed to Yang Da twice in a row and then asked for countermeasures.

Yang Da signaled others to leave for the time being, and the prince did so.

Seeing that no one was around, Yang Dacai said, "I heard that Deng Changxiong was a loyal minister. When our dynasty was first established, there were constant rebellions. Few civil servants and generals around Emperor Wuding died a good death, but Deng Changxiong was able to do so."

Liu Wuji asked with a puzzled look on his face, "What do you mean, Mr. Yang?"

"Deng Junyou, like his father, is unwavering in his loyalty to the Emperor. This time, he led his troops in rebellion, but was actually coerced by his lieutenant generals. Deng Junyou's family is in the hands of Liu Yufei and is under the control of the Princess. The rebellion was not his original intention."

"As long as we can infiltrate the rebel army and kill Deng Junyou and his deputy, the remaining soldiers will not join the rebellion. Then we can regain control of the army and put an end to the Nanyang War."

"Good! Conquer the enemy without fighting."

Liu Wuji was overjoyed upon hearing this and was about to send his assassins on their way when Yang Da said, "Deng Junyou has a very strict military regime. It would be difficult for ordinary assassins to infiltrate."

"what do you mean?"

Yang Da said word by word, "You can't get a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den. If the prince, in the name of the emperor and under the pretext of negotiating peace, enters the enemy's army and kills the general, as the ancients did, then the plan can be accomplished."

"It's probably not a good idea to falsely convey the imperial decree."

"When a general is on a battlefield, he has the power to make decisions immediately and may disobey the monarch's orders for the benefit of the country."

Liu Wuji gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Okay! Then I'll go!"

"Even if you kill the deputy commander there, it will still be dangerous for you to escape from the camp. My friend, the butcher Ma Hai, can go with you. He is a strong man. If all goes well, that would be great. If Deng Junyou Haiyan rebels, Ma Hai can kill him."

Liu Wuji burst into tears after hearing this.

Seeing this, Yang Da asked him, "Prince, are you afraid of death? Why are you crying? The fate of the Great Qi is hanging by a thread. If we lose this opportunity, Nanyang will be lost, and Tianxin City will be lost!"

Liu Wuji replied, "Deng Junyou is a brave, powerful, and experienced general of the Great Qi. If I go to him, I'm afraid he won't obey my orders and won't watch me kill his deputy. If anything happens, he'll die. I'm sad and crying, not afraid of death."

(End of this chapter)