Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Perhaps Fan Jizu had already prepared a trap in Shuozhou.

Once Zhang Yin arrives in Shuozhou, he could be captured immediately.

If that's the case, then suppressing the rebellion will be much easier.

Thanks to his own actions, the current situation in Shanxi is better than either of the two scenarios envisioned by the Ministry of War.

However, to quell the religious bandits in Taiyuan Left Guard and Black Cliff, the troops around Taiyuan alone would not be enough; Fan Jizu would need to mobilize a large army.

Although the situation has changed because of me, the Ministry of War's two countermeasures are still applicable.

Lu Chen picked up the vermilion pen with satisfaction and wrote the word "Approved" on the draft.

After handing the memorial to the young eunuch and instructing him to deliver it to the cabinet office, Lu Chen picked up his teacup and took a couple of sips.

Perhaps in a few days, I will be able to see Fan Jizu's memorial requesting commendation.

. . .

At the same time.

Taiyuan, the office of the Shanxi Provincial Governor.

"What's going on? There seems to be no movement from the Taiyuan Left Guard's barracks!"

After a night of closing the city gates to reinforce its defenses and preparing for war, Liu Nie originally thought that as soon as dawn broke, the more than 4,000 rebel troops of Taiyuan Left Guard outside the city would launch an attack on Taiyuan.

Yesterday, the government forces wiped out 600 soldiers of the Taiyuan Left Guard within the city, but also suffered many casualties.

Nowadays, there are only about 1,500 regular soldiers left to defend the city walls, and they also have to take care of the eight city gates of Taiyuan.

Facing an attack from an enemy force three times their size, the pressure was still considerable.

Liu Nie had already questioned Ma Yi and Luo Wenyuan in detail about the true strength of the Taiyuan Vanguard and Right Guard.

Although the shortage of troops in the garrison banners had long been the norm, at this point, the two commanders dared not hide it and revealed the true strength of their troops.

The combined number of the two guards is less than that of the fully staffed Taiyuan Left Guard. Currently, apart from the portion within the city, there are less than three thousand people outside the city.

Given this, Liu Nie abandoned any thought of taking the initiative and prepared to hold out for reinforcements.

However, the expected siege did not occur, and the army of Taiyuan Left Guard did not even appear!

They sent men down the city wall in baskets to secretly check on the Taiyuan Left Guard camp a few miles away. The men reported that the camp was normal, with nothing unusual, and that some soldiers were even training.

"Your Excellency, after Li Tong fled the city with his concubine yesterday, could it be that he never even went to the Taiyuan Left Guard camp?"

Fan Wenda suddenly spoke up.

"If that's the case, the people of Taiyuan Left Guard outside the city may not even know what's happening inside the city."

"With them so relaxed, we might be able to catch them off guard and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

"Lord Fan, what will we use to suppress them?"

Ouyang Hong immediately objected.

"With such limited troops in the city, if we launch a preemptive attack and fail, Taiyuan will be in grave danger."

Should we send the Taiyuan Vanguard and Right Guard from outside the city?

The three guards of Taiyuan were all stationed in Taiyuan for generations, and many of them were related by blood. The soldiers in the city were supervised by the governor's battalion and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so there was not much of a problem in defending the city.

If those two thousand-plus men outside the city were to launch a preemptive attack on Taiyuan Left Guard, it's hard to say what would happen.

Such a large-scale rebellion by religious bandits would be a great achievement if Taiyuan City could be defended.

If anything goes wrong and we lose Taiyuan, we will be sinners against the Ming Dynasty!

"Lord Fan, Commander Ouyang's words make a lot of sense. While taking the initiative might lead to a great victory in suppressing the rebellion, the consequences of failure would be unimaginable."

Liu Nie pondered for a moment, then finally spoke.

"As the Governor of Shanxi, I must not allow the provincial capital to fall into the hands of the White Lotus Rebellion because of greed for personal gain!"

Taking the initiative to attack is not feasible. Sending Ma Yi and Luo Wenyuan out of the city with the Taiyuan Vanguard and Right Guard Banner troops would not be very successful and would likely alert the enemy.

It would be better to remain unchanged within the city and respond to any changes by keeping all eight gates tightly closed and cutting off all communication between the inside and outside.

If anyone comes to the city gate to inquire, tell them that the Prince of Jin's mansion was robbed yesterday, and several priceless treasures were stolen. The prince was furious and ordered the Taiyuan city gates to be closed and the entire city to search for the thieves.

Lord Fan, since you are determined to take the initiative, I will not stop you.

This official is giving you a letter of appeal for help, stamped with the seal of the Governor of Shanxi, proving that a rebellion has occurred in the Taiyuan Left Guard.

As the chief advisor to the governor, you may use this as leverage to travel to Xinzhou in the north and, in the governor's name, dispatch the Zhenwu Guard and Zhenxi Guard south to quell the rebellion.

If we win, I believe the Governor-General will not blame Lord Fan.

If we lose, it will depend on whether the Governor-General will acknowledge that he authorized Lord Fan to act expediently.

"Whether you dare to take this gamble and seek military merit and wealth, it's up to you, Lord Fan."

"Fortune and wealth have always been found in perilous situations!"

Fan Wenda gritted his teeth.

"Fan didn't want to be a staff member forever."

This time, Fan took the gamble!

. . .

Shuozhou, the administrative office of the Governor-General of Xuanda and Shanxi.

"Master Daotai."

Chai Fu, the commander of the Shuozhou Guard, hurriedly entered the main hall.

"This humble general led his men south for more than twenty li and arrived at the first post station."

Zhang Yin, that scoundrel, and his dozen or so men, carrying documents stamped with the governor's seal, exchanged two horses at the post station and headed south.

"When we reach the next post station, Zhang Yin will surely resort to the same trick, changing horses every day and night to travel south. We probably won't be able to catch up."

"Shanxi...I'm afraid it's going to descend into chaos!"

Zhang Hao, Right Councilor of the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commission and concurrently in charge of the Jibei Circuit, sighed deeply.

"The governor's seal has been nowhere to be found, and now it can finally be confirmed that it has been stolen by that scoundrel Zhang Yin."

Last night, a fire suddenly broke out in the rear office of the Governor's Office. Just as the whole city's attention was drawn to the fire, a group of mysterious people attacked the Wende Gate in the east of the city.

Although the group of bandits numbered only a dozen or so, each of them was highly skilled in martial arts and wore the fine iron armor typically worn by officers of the rank of centurion or above.

One of them was extremely powerful; he could break the bones of the defending soldiers with a single move, as if he were in an empty field.

The fifty-odd soldiers defending the city quickly suffered heavy casualties, and the city gates were opened.

A moment later, another person rode in from inside the city, joined the group of more than ten people, rode out of the city, and disappeared into the night.

But that wasn't the biggest thing that happened last night!

From the moment the fire broke out in the rear office of the Governor-General's residence, no one has seen Governor-General Fan!

It wasn't until dawn, when they were clearing the fire site, that they found a charred corpse under a pile of burnt rubble.

It was only through the governor's personal guards identifying the teeth that it was confirmed that the charred corpse was indeed Fan Jizu himself.

The governor-general of the military affairs of Xuanfu, Datong and Shanxi, a high-ranking official of the second rank with the title of Minister of War, died an unnatural death in office!

The thieves who attacked Wende Gate last night happened shortly after the fire started, so it's clear they were accomplices of the arsonist.

This was clearly a premeditated assassination!

The last person to arrive on horseback must be the assassin who infiltrated the rear office of the governor-general and attempted to assassinate Governor-General Fan!

The fire in the back office was naturally started by this person.

This gang of thieves was well-equipped and each of them had a horse; they couldn't possibly be ordinary people.

Because of the fire at the governor's residence, the whole city was in chaos overnight, and many people left their posts. It was impossible to confirm who the dozen or so thieves were in a short period of time.

It wasn't until dawn that they discovered the place where Zhang Yin, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard, had been staying was deserted.

The culprit from last night has finally been found.

Unfortunately, it was too late!