The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 351 Governor Hong's Plan
"Now I hear that the soldiers have fought bravely and won one battle after another, which shows that you are loyal and brave."

"Since Wencan is in charge of suppressing the rebellion in the Central Plains, you should focus on the Northwest, defend the border, and prevent any changes in authority."

"The powerful bandits in Sichuan are eyeing Hannan, and we must be on guard. Therefore, the troops of Cao Bianjiao and He Renlong have been temporarily placed under Wencan's command to ensure their success."

"You should personally lead the remaining troops to move to Shangluo, firmly guard Wuguan Pass, and take into account both Sichuan and Shaanxi, as a foolproof plan."

"Appreciate this."

When the emperor's decree reached Hong Chengchou, the usually composed and stoic military commander was furious.

He suppressed his anger and respectfully saw off the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and slammed the edict hard on the table.

"That's unreasonable!"

Seeing this, the deputy general quickly stepped forward to protect the imperial edict:
"General, this is absolutely unacceptable!"

"If the imperial edict is destroyed, the crime will be enormous!"

But Hong Chengchou paid no attention. He was breathing rapidly, his chest heaving violently, and the veins on his forehead could be seen throbbing faintly.

"You bastard, Yang Wenruo!"

"How dare you bully me like this!"

Although he was furious, Hong Chengchou didn't dare to criticize Zhu Youjian directly, so he could only blame Yang Sichang.

He could see very clearly that Yang Sichang was definitely behind this.

If the emperor disagreed with his actions, he could have simply issued an edict ordering him to halt his advance; there was no need to transfer the two Qin armies under his command to Xiong Wencan for control.

This was clearly Yang Sichang's doing behind the scenes, a move that backfired spectacularly.

"Soothe, soo ...

“Like father, like son!”

"Back when Yang He was the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions, he was single-mindedly focused on appeasement, and now that his son is the Minister of War, he still wants to appease people. It's practically a continuation of the same lineage!"

Hong Chengchou recalled his experience of suppressing bandits in Shaanxi years ago, and couldn't help but curse the Yang family father and son as well.

However, he misunderstood Yang Sichang this time. It wasn't that Yang Sichang wanted to appease the rebels, but rather that the emperor had already made up his mind, so Yang Sichang reluctantly agreed to Xiong Wencan's offer to appease the rebels.

There is always a lack of smooth communication between local areas and the central government.

However, Hong Chengchou wasn't wrong to scold him; the idea of ​​troop deployment was actually Yang Sichang's, designed to annoy him.

The deputy general standing to the side picked up the imperial edict, examined it again and again, and sighed deeply:

"General, what should we do?"

"If General Cao and General He's troops are transferred away, we'll only have three to five thousand men left."

"Could it be that the war in the Central Plains..."

Hong Chengchou abruptly raised his hand, interrupting him, and said coldly:

"Hmph! I figured it out!"

"Yang Wenruo just wants to use this opportunity to exclude me and let Xiong Wencan reap the credit."

"With several armies surrounding them, the bandits could be wiped out in an instant. Instead, they're acting like cowards. They're utterly foolish!"

Hong Chengchou's view on the bandits never changed; it boiled down to one word: kill.

Only by eliminating the starving peasants can the food pressure caused by overpopulation be alleviated, thereby maintaining the rule of the imperial court.

Look at Shaanxi and Shanxi now. After years of hard work, there are no more starving refugees, and naturally, there are no more bandits.

It was precisely because he firmly believed in this theory that Hong Chengchou was so dissatisfied with Yang He and Xiong Wencan's policy of appeasement.

The imperial court is already struggling enough to support its army, so where would it get the surplus grain to feed these unruly people?

It would be better to kill them all and end it all.

When Chen Qiyu was in office, Hong Chengchou was resentful but willing to cooperate with him because Chen Qiyu was a pro-suppression faction.

While Lu Xiang-sheng's methods were more lenient, he still killed without hesitation.

Besides, Lu Xiangshan was truly skilled at establishing military settlements and raising troops, so Hong Chengchou didn't try to sabotage him behind his back.

Now, his decision to overtake Xiong Wencan in commanding the bandit suppression is not simply because he wants a promotion, but because he fundamentally disagrees with Xiong Wencan's policy of appeasement.

This is a debate over policy direction, just like the one between Yang He and others back then.

In his view, the pro-appeasement faction was nothing but empty talk.

Without food, the bandits who were pacified will rebel sooner or later.

Xiong Wencan thought everyone was like the Zheng family in southeastern Fujian, who could be obediently controlled by the imperial court as long as they had the title of general or deputy general.

He didn't even bother to think about it carefully; they were located by the sea and had a huge trade network behind them.

With money and grain, they lived a more comfortable life than high-ranking officials in the court, so naturally they wouldn't rebel.

How foolish it is to try to fit your feet into the shoes!
Hong Chengchou absolutely could not allow such an idiot to rise to power; otherwise, the massive campaign organized by the court with so much money and resources would be in vain.

He strode to the map and analyzed it to his deputy:
"look."

"Now, the three bandit groups of Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Luo Rucai have been surrounded by the imperial army around Nanyang Prefecture. In particular, Gao Yingxiang's main force is entrenched in the Dengzhou area."

"They are now trapped with nowhere to go but surrender."

"But the central government still wants to focus on appeasement, without considering the consequences of the rebels surrendering and then rebelling again."

"In my opinion, we should just turn the tables and make way for them."

Upon hearing this, the adjutant was so shocked he was almost speechless:

"General, what do you mean...?"

"Are they going to let the bandits escape?"

"Absolutely not! To put it mildly, this is letting the thieves escape; to put it more seriously, it's nurturing bandits to enhance one's own power!"

"If the imperial court finds out, my life will be in danger!"

"Confused!"

Hong Chengchou rolled his eyes at him and said irritably,

"Who told you we were going to condone the bandits?"

"I'm not that bold as to risk my own life."

"My plan is to lure the enemy deep into my territory and then annihilate them in one fell swoop!"

Although Hong Chengchou wanted to seize power, he still dared not let the bandits go.

Back in Ningxia, it was because we let that scoundrel surnamed Jiang escape that he became a major threat to the southwest.

Although the blame was placed on Ma Shilong, the Ningxia general who died in battle, Hong Chengchou was also reprimanded by the emperor.

If we let the bandits escape again, it won't be a problem that can be solved with just a reprimand.

Upon hearing Hong Chengchou's plan, his deputy looked troubled and stammered in response:

"But...Sir, it's truly a case of 'even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice.'"

"General Cao and General He's troops are about to be transferred. What will we use to lure the enemy deep into our territory and wipe out the bandits?" Hong Chengchou waved his hand, correcting him:

“It’s definitely impossible to wipe out all the bandits, so I plan to target the rebels.”

"According to news from Dengzhou, the rebel leader has now started farming and production, and only has about 10,000 men under his command."

"Among the three bandit groups, the rebels were the weakest and the easiest to attack."

The deputy general nodded upon hearing this; he was well aware of the fact that several bandit groups had established their bases.

In order to conduct land surveys and establish military farms, they appointed many former government officials, and the news came from these people.

When the bandits were powerful, these Ming officials had no choice but to submit to them. Now that the imperial army is by their side, they naturally have the idea of ​​returning to the court.

Hong Chengchou looked at the markings on the map, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he exclaimed excitedly:
“Governor Sun is still nearby; we can mobilize his troops.”

“I remember that he was stationed in Guanzhong to cultivate land and trained a new battalion of soldiers, which I heard numbered five thousand.”

With this in mind, he immediately summoned a messenger and gave the order:
"Go! Send an urgent message, requesting Governor Sun to come to Nanyang to see me!"

Soon, Sun Chuanting hurriedly answered the call and came.

Hong Chengchou didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point:
"Boya, how is the fighting strength of the troops you trained? Are they capable of fighting?"

Sun Chuanting was somewhat puzzled, but still cupped his hands in response:
"Reporting to the General, the five thousand soldiers under my command are all brave warriors from the Shaanxi region, carefully selected from various places."

"Although provisions and equipment are not plentiful, they have never slacked off in training and drills, and morale is high!"

After all, he had personally trained his troops, so Sun Chuanting had complete confidence in his soldiers.

Seeing that the army's morale was high, Hong Chengchou nodded in satisfaction and then revealed his plan in detail:
"To be honest, the imperial court has issued an edict ordering Xiong Wencan to support the pacification efforts and has transferred two of my elite units away from the front lines."

"But the idea of ​​pacification is just a mirage; the bandits will surely surrender and then rebel again."

"Therefore, I have decided to take the initiative to show weakness, open a gap, lure the rebels to break through, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop."

"I want to use your Qin soldiers as the main force in this battle."

"I wonder what you think?"

After hearing the whole story, Sun Chuanting suddenly realized that Hong Chengchou was actually trying to disobey orders and take a risky gamble.

This is a huge gamble; if we win, it will be a great achievement.
But if they lose, or if Gao Yingxiang escapes alone, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He froze on the spot, hesitant.

Hong Chengchou was not surprised by this, but instead brought up an old story:
“Governor Sun, you surely haven’t forgotten the Battle of Heishuiyu.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting frowned and his expression turned extremely ugly.

In the battle of Heishuiyu, he could have gotten off to a great start and wiped out the desperate bandits.

But to everyone's surprise, despite all the precautions, Gao Yingxiang still managed to escape.

This matter has always been a thorn in his side.

Hong Chengchou, however, ignored Sun Chuanting's embarrassment and instead continued to exert pressure:
"First there was the loss of Yu Zhi in Heishui, then Deng Qi in Hanzhong intercepted and killed the imperial inspector, killed Fang Guoan's troops, and led his men to surrender to the rebels."

"If I remember correctly, you received a severe reprimand from His Majesty for these two matters, didn't you?"

"I've heard that things are getting a bit unsettled in Shaanxi these days. Are you still able to hold onto your position as governor?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chuanting's face turned even uglier, as black as if it had been smeared with soot.

He previously vigorously promoted land surveying and land reclamation in Shaanxi, rectified officialdom, and severely punished corruption, which affected the interests of too many people.

The defeat of Heishui Yu, the rebellion of Deng Qi's troops, and the emperor's reprimand had greatly diminished his prestige.

As far as he knew, opposition forces throughout Shaanxi were plotting a counterattack to remove him from his position as governor.

Hong Chengchou is bringing this up now simply to try and get himself involved.

Sun Chuanting was well aware that he urgently needed a major victory to solidify his position and prove his worth.

His career had just begun, and he would be truly unwilling to fall into the hands of those scoundrels.

Sun Chuanting fell silent, torn between his inner turmoil and his own conscience.

At present, it seems that there are both risks and opportunities. As long as Gao Yingxiang is taken down, it will be enough to reverse his current passive situation.

After a long silence, he suddenly raised his head and said in a deep voice:
"General...what are your plans?"

Hong Chengchou smiled slightly upon hearing this, knowing that Sun Chuanting had been persuaded, and felt relieved.

So he led Sun Chuanting to the map, pointed to Dengzhou, and said in a deep voice:

"Retreat to advance!"

Hong Chengchou took out a charcoal pencil and sketched a winding route along the western direction of Xichuan.

"Gao Yingxiang is currently trapped in Dengzhou, surrounded by our troops on all sides, and cannot move an inch."

"Now I can use the imperial edict to adjust my plans and make way for him."

"First, I will order Cao Bianjiao's troops north of Dengzhou to move their defenses to the Junzhou and Guanghua areas, thus clearing the road to Xichuan."

"With Cao Bianjiao gone, the rebels can enter Shaanxi via Dengzhou-Xichuan-Jingziguan."

"We need to create the illusion for the rebels that there are conflicting orders within the government troops, which has led to our troops being forced to retreat and creating a gap in the encirclement."

"As long as he follows the gap, he can break out of the encirclement and head north along the Dan River into Shaanxi."

"The real killer move is set at the Jingzi Pass section."

"This place is also called the Zhejiang River Narrow Pass. The road winds for dozens of miles between the Dan River and the cliffs. At its narrowest point, it can only accommodate a few riders side by side."

"On one side is the turbulent Dan River, and on the other side is a steep slope covered with dense forest. It can be described as a narrow path with ten miles of danger."

"If Gao Yingxiang leads his troops to break through this route, they will inevitably be hampered by the terrain and their progress will be slow."

"At that time, Governor Sun will ambush your Qin soldiers at Jingzi Pass, waiting for them to tire themselves out."

"After their vanguard has scouted past, the ambush troops will come out in full force, and then we can strike their weak point and cut the enemy in two."

"At the same time, I will personally lead the remaining government troops to block their retreat and strive to annihilate the rebels here."

Upon hearing Hong Chengchou's plan, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but admire it secretly, thinking that the plan should be feasible.

But he still had one question:
"The General's plan is meticulous; I admire it."

"But the thief was a seasoned veteran and naturally suspicious."

"What if he sees through our plan and stays put near Dengzhou, or even breaks out to the south? Wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain?"

Hong Chengchou smiled upon hearing this, as if he had already anticipated the question.

"If he won't leave, we'll lead him there!"

"Send someone to feign surrender!"

“Select a few clever officers and soldiers, and have them pretend to be unable to bear the infighting within the government troops, and carry military intelligence to Gao Yingxiang’s camp.”

"Tell the rebel leader that Hong Chengchou and Xiong Wencan are fighting amongst themselves, the government troops are about to split, and the northern defense line is weak, which is the perfect opportunity to break out!"

"Combined with the troop movements, Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to believe it!"

(End of this chapter)