Chapter 81

"Commander, we must change our route.

At our current marching speed, we might just catch up to the main army led by Commander Rong by this evening.

According to the intelligence gathered, the rebel army has abandoned many areas and is consolidating its forces toward Taizhou City.

I propose we first recapture Gaoyou Prefecture, then change course to attack Taizhou and engage the rebels in a decisive battle!"

Li Mu stepped forward and proposed.

Perhaps because he had performed too well earlier, or perhaps because he had taken a stand decisively at a critical moment, Marquis Wuyang placed high hopes on him.

The position of vanguard commander, which all the battalion commanders coveted, fell directly to him.

According to the original plan, they only needed to follow behind Commander Rong.

Once the main rebel force was drawn out by the cannon fodder units in front, the main army would then swoop in and crush the enemy in one fell swoop.

On the battlefield, plans can never keep up with changes.

The crushing defeat outside Yangzhou City had a much greater impact on the rebels than they had anticipated.

The enemy had lost their nerve and had no intention of engaging in a decisive battle.

Along the way, rebel units would flee in all directions the moment they saw the imperial army's banners.

If they continued to trail behind, it was likely the main rebel force wouldn't dare come out for a decisive battle in their next lifetime.

The plan to lure the enemy had failed, and the war had turned into a forced assault.

Leading a group of incompetent teammates to assault an enemy city—just thinking about that scene was terrifying.

A chaotic rebel camp could trigger a panic, and the imperial army was no different.

That group of incompetent teammates might lack the ability to accomplish tasks, but they certainly had an excess of ability to ruin them.

"If we change our marching route, what if the rebels attack Yangzhou again?"

Marquis Wuyang asked with concern.

He wasn't good at leading troops in battle, but he could still read a map.

The three departments and seven counties under Yangzhou Prefecture were now all in the hands of the rebels.

They had always treated the Taizhou rebels as their primary target, not only because that group of thieves was formidable, but distance was also an important factor.

If they lost Yangzhou Prefecture City while trying to recapture Gaoyou Prefecture to the north, the loss would be enormous.

"Commander, we only need to put on a show of heading north to confuse the rebels' vision.

Whether we actually fight or not can be decided entirely based on the situation.

At this moment, the Capital Battalion is heading south, and the rebels in Gaoyou Prefecture have long since become birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.

If we head north now to support the Capital Battalion and create a posture of attacking the enemy from both north and south, the thieves might just abandon the city and flee.

Intercepting them on the road would be a great achievement.

As for the rebels in Taizhou, Commander Rong's army is still holding them off, so they can hold out for a few days at least.

Even if they are defeated, there is still that backbone, Grand Secretary Xu, in Yangzhou City.

The walls of Yangzhou are sturdy, and by consolidating the able-bodied men in the city, they can hold out until we return to rescue them.

As long as the main rebel force comes out, it makes no difference whether the battlefield is under the walls of Yangzhou or outside Taizhou City."

Li Mu bluffed without changing his expression.

When Commander Rong's troops would collapse depended entirely on how rotten the rebels were.

When two mobs face off, any kind of outcome is possible.

Unlike before, the Capital Battalion was now about to arrive, and the rebels encircling Yangzhou City again had long since lost its strategic significance.

Even if they were lucky enough to capture Yangzhou, the rebels would have no time to manage it.

From the perspective of the generals of the Wucheng Military Commission, linking up with the Capital Battalion as soon as possible was the best choice.

Exterminating the rebels was just a political slogan everyone shouted.

The rebels of all sizes throughout Yangzhou Prefecture added up to hundreds of thousands.

Relying solely on the current army of seven thousand, no one was arrogant enough to think they could swallow up so many enemies.

One could have no confidence in one's heart, but one must never show it in front of superiors.

Without everyone's relentless bluffing, given Marquis Wuyang's style, he would rather hunker down in Yangzhou City and do nothing.

As an imperial relative, Marquis Wuyang could afford to forgo the credit for subsequent rebel suppression, but Li Mu and the others could not.

Everyone was young, at the age to build a career, and had a bright future; they had to go out and fight.

The senior command of the Capital Battalion were not just their elders, but also their relatives and old friends; looking around, everything was about connections.

Acting together allowed them to piggyback on military merits, learn combat experience, and enrich their personal resumes.

It was a matter of killing many birds with one stone that no one could refuse.

"Alright then, let's change course to Gaoyou Prefecture first.

Notify all units to slow down their marching speed to thirty li per day.

In case there is a change in Yangzhou, we can return in time to rescue it."

After weighing the pros and cons, Marquis Wuyang made his decision.

Deep down, he was very clear about the risks of changing the marching route, which were by no means as simple as Li Mu had described.

But the catastrophic consequences caused by this risk did not need to be borne by him.

The worst-case scenario was nothing more than unfortunately losing Yangzhou City, which could be recaptured later.

At this moment, there was still an Imperial Envoy in charge in Yangzhou City, and with Grand Secretary Xu's status, he was enough to take the fall for all the blame.

Of course, unless it was an absolute last resort, he wouldn't sabotage his teammates like that.

Yangzhou was a major city; once it fell into the hands of the rebels, the whole world would be shaken.

The adverse political impact would shake the very foundation of the imperial court's rule.

……

Yangzhou Prefectural Yamen.

After seeing off Marquis Wuyang, Xu Wenyue completed his move without stopping.

Like all yamen, the decoration of the Yangzhou Prefectural Yamen was not luxurious, and could even be said to be somewhat crude.

Looking at these ordinary facilities, Xu Wenyue felt incomparably relaxed.

Simple is better; at the very least, it could avoid being sabotaged.

Moreover, the yamen represented power; moving in here meant controlling the power of Yangzhou.

"Grand Secretary, the Yangzhou gentry have prepared a banquet and wish to welcome you.

What time do you think is appropriate so that everyone can make arrangements?"

Hou Huaichang asked tentatively.

Yesterday's meeting had ended on a sour note, and at that time, Marquis Wuyang was still in the city.

Today, the main figure had left, and everyone's attitude toward Grand Secretary Xu had changed instantly.

Of course, the most critical thing was that Hou Huaichang hadn't dared to report the unpleasantness that occurred yesterday.

To become a qualified private secretary, besides offering advice, one must also learn to judge the situation.

Xu Wenyue, who had headed south with a group of household servants and guards, looked imposing, but in reality, it was almost the same as taking up his post alone.

The officials of the Pure Stream faction in Yangzhou Prefecture were either forced to join the rebels, died at the hands of the rebels, or were locked up in prison.

Regardless of which group they belonged to, none of them could be used by Xu Wenyue now.

With no one under his command to use, he had to rely on the local gentry to control Yangzhou.

For the sake of his political future, Xu Wenyue could not afford to fall out with the local gentry.

Since the outcome was predetermined, bringing the unpleasantness of the process to Grand Secretary Xu would only make it appear that he didn't know how to handle matters.

If the window paper wasn't poked through, the only one losing face would be him, the private secretary.

"Let's set it for three days from now; the army has just set out, so holding a grand banquet at this time would have a bad influence.

Have the identities of the officials in prison been clarified?"

It was clear that Xu Wenyue was not keen on the banquet hosted by the Yangzhou gentry.

Many things, once missed at the first opportunity, can never go back.

Cooperation between the two sides would continue, but it would be limited to interest-based cooperation and would not involve deep friendship.

Compared to these fence-sitters, he was more concerned about the Pure Stream faction members in prison, some of whom were his own faction's subordinates.

Plotting rebellion was purely a slander; everyone had studied hard for twenty years before passing the imperial examinations.

With a bright and promising future, only someone whose brain was filled with water would run off to rebel against the imperial court.

These people being imprisoned was nothing more than having had interest dealings with the salt merchant group and being implicated in the treason case.

According to the political games of Great Yu, the fate of these people mainly depended on the moods of the big shots.

If one wanted to be calculating, dragging them all out and beheading them, not a single one would be wrongly accused.

If one were to deal with them leniently, demoting them or reprimanding them, that could also be managed.

Xu Wenyue was still hesitating about whether to pull these people out.

After all, a major treason case had occurred, and if a batch of these Yangzhou officials didn't die, there would be no way to account for it.

"The investigation is complete; these are the identity documents, personal resumes, and case files left behind by the Wucheng Military Commission for all the imprisoned officials.

Marquis Wuyang didn't conduct any screening when he arrested people this time; he just took down all the officials of Yangzhou City, big and small.

There are certain flaws in the arrest procedure.

However, since it involves a treason case, these minor issues would be hard to use against him even if one arranged for a Censor to impeach him."

While speaking, Hou Huaichang took a stack of rosters from his sleeve and handed them to Xu Wenyue.

After flipping through them casually, Xu Wenyue's expression quickly turned ugly.

The arrested officials hadn't been tortured, but the salt merchants hadn't been so lucky.

Under the torture of the soldiers, the salt merchants confessed a whole lot of evidence unfavorable to the Yangzhou officials.

What was even more troublesome was that the Wucheng Military Commission had collected a lot of physical evidence from the homes of these officials.

Whether they participated in the rebellion could not be determined for the time being, but many of their actions had indeed provided substantial help to the rebels.

This kind of inference that reverses cause and effect was clearly an over-interpretation, and there were many flaws.

But since it was a treason case being investigated, one couldn't say they were wrong for being cautious and thinking too much.

If one wanted to rescue people, one had to first negate this evidence.

"You have been in contact with them; how many of them can prove their innocence?"

Xu Wenyue asked with concern.

The problem of having no one to use had to be solved as soon as possible.

Bringing people in from outside, lacking local roots, would make it hard to be effective in a short time.

Wanting to promote people locally, he couldn't overcome the thoroughness of the Wucheng Military Commission; from the Prefect down to the clerks, everyone had been sent to prison.

No matter how powerful he was, Xu Wenyue didn't dare to employ a group of nobodies.

Faced with internal and external difficulties, the best solution was: find a way to rescue some of the officials involved in lighter cases first, and set up the framework of the yamen.

Compared to Huaian Prefecture, which was controlled by the Eunuch faction, Yangzhou, where he could make his own decisions, was undoubtedly the easiest place to break through.

If he couldn't even rescue people here, then there was even less hope for Huaian Prefecture.

"Grand Secretary, proving innocence is likely very difficult.

Originally, these officials could have testified for each other to clear their names.

But now they are all in prison, and their testimonies could easily be deemed as those of accomplices.

The imperial edicts, tiger tallies, official seals, dragon robes, and armor found by the Wucheng Military Commission are all lethal physical evidence."

Hearing Hou Huaichang's explanation, Xu Wenyue's head started buzzing.

Such bizarre physical evidence—even if they really wanted to rebel, they wouldn't keep it in their own homes; the traces of framing were simply too obvious.

Yet, given his status, he couldn't raise objections to this evidence.

The items were found in the homes of these officials in full view of everyone.

Who exactly put them there, no one could say clearly now.

Perhaps that group from the Wucheng Military Commission knew, but they certainly wouldn't come over to reconstruct the scene.

"Let's go, come with me to the prison; I want to see who is so bold as to frame loyal officials like this!"

As soon as the words fell, a burst of shouts and killing sounds came from the direction of the prison.

"Master, something terrible has happened!

Rebels have infiltrated the city and are currently attacking the prison.

The remaining soldiers can't hold them off and have sent people to ask you for reinforcements."

The steward's breathless words scared Xu Wenyue half to death.

Fortunately, he hadn't rushed to the prison; if he had been just a little faster, he, a Grand Secretary of the current dynasty, might have lost his life.

The rebels didn't care about his status; from the moment they raised the banner of rebellion, they had embarked on a path of no return.

"Quickly send someone to chase Marquis Wuyang back!"

Xu Wenyue ordered decisively.

When it came to his own life, he no longer cared about bickering with Marquis Wuyang.

Once the rebels captured Yangzhou City, others might still have a way to survive, but he, a Grand Secretary, could only die for his country.

"Very well, Master, I will arrange for someone to deliver the message immediately!"

After saying this, the steward turned and went to carry it out.

Grand Secretary Xu and Private Secretary Hou, left behind, were pale-faced.

Rebels had actually infiltrated the city; they had lived for more than half their lives and had never encountered such a bizarre scene.

"Grand Secretary, the soldiers of the Wucheng Military Commission only left this morning and are at most forty or fifty li away from Yangzhou City.

If things go smoothly, they can return by tomorrow.

Let's gather the gentry to organize the able-bodied men and try to delay them as much as possible!"

Hou Huaichang suggested uneasily.

Deep down, he had never been this panicked before.

Even when facing the Eunuch faction, he could rationally analyze and calmly offer advice.

The current situation was different; rebels didn't follow any rules.

No matter how many strategies he had in his chest, they couldn't stop a single blade from the enemy.

"These rebels appeared too strangely; they might not necessarily be here to capture the city.

Marquis Wuyang led the army away in the morning, and by the afternoon, the rebels had infiltrated the city.

They launched the attack on the prison at the hour of the Rooster; as long as they are fast enough, they can withdraw before dark.

If they wanted to capture Yangzhou, they should be attacking the Prefectural Yamen now, not the prison, which lacks strategic value!"

Xu Wenyue shook his head and said.

These guesses were entirely a gamble.

But there was no other way; Marquis Wuyang had taken all the elite troops when he left, leaving him only some yamen runners.

These soldiers were good at bullying commoners, two against one.

Asking them to go to the battlefield to kill enemies—if they could manage to flee at the first sight of the enemy, that would be giving him, the Grand Secretary, face.

With no soldiers in hand, even maintaining public order in the city was difficult, and there was simply no ability to organize effective resistance.

The gentry group was best at seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages.

They were professional at adding flowers to a brocade, but hoping they would gamble the lives of their whole families was impossible.

……

"Time is almost up; quickly knock these guys out and tie them to the carriages; we need to withdraw from Yangzhou City immediately!"

After receiving the order, the jailers guarding the prison swung their wooden clubs and outputted against the imprisoned officials in the cells.

Such an open and aboveboard prison-break game was staged brazenly, and yet no one came out to stop it.

The jailers did the work of breaking out of prison, while the yamen soldiers were responsible for guarding the perimeter and driving away passing pedestrians.

Only the soldiers brought by Xu Wenyue were the most miserable; as soon as they dared to step out of the yamen, they would be hacked to death by random blades instantly.

In a short time, five heads were thrown into the yamen. The brave men responsible for delivering the message all died before their mission could succeed.

The Yangzhou gentry, who had inadvertently learned the truth, were even more terrified and trembling.

One by one, they kept their doors tightly shut, fearing that seeing something they shouldn't would bring disaster upon themselves.

The methods were simply too dark.

The imperial army pretending to be rebels to break out of prison—normal people would never encounter such an extreme way of playing in their entire lives.

Since the Wucheng Military Commission could impersonate rebels to rescue the imprisoned officials, they could also impersonate rebels to wipe out their families along the way.

In the blink of an eye, the packed convoy began to withdraw from Yangzhou City in an orderly fashion.

A raging fire soon rose in the prison where the high-profile criminals were held.

The fire burned until midnight, and only after confirming that the traces at the scene had been destroyed did the soldiers slowly beat gongs and drums to organize people to put out the fire.

……

"Grand Secretary, good news!"

"The rebels in the city have been beaten back by the soldiers below!"

Looking at the steward who ran over excitedly to report the news, there was not a trace of joy on Xu Wenyue's face.

"Lead the way, we are going to the prison to inspect!"

Xu Wenyue ordered with a pale face.

"Master, perhaps we should wait a moment.

It's chaotic over there right now, and the soldiers are busy putting out the fire.

In case there are any remaining rebels who haven't withdrawn……"

Before the steward could finish, Xu Wenyue stepped forward, showing his determination with actual action.

Upon arriving at the scene, the group was stunned by the scene before them.

They were putting out the fire, but they weren't trying to save the prison cells; they were clearing the surrounding buildings.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was deliberately destroying evidence.

"What are you standing there for? Quickly organize people to fetch water and put out the fire; find a way to preserve the scene!"

Xu Wenyue ordered immediately.

Deep down, he had already made a decision: as long as he found evidence, he would definitely teach the person behind the scenes a lesson.

"Grand Secretary, there's no need!"

Hou Huaichang reminded him tactfully.

Choosing to start with the imprisoned officials was to control the situation as quickly as possible, but now these people had all been rescued by the "rebels."

The charges they bore before, regardless of whether they were framed or not, would be substantiated at this moment.

Unless one could go to the military camp to arrest people based on clues, preserving the scene was meaningless.

Political struggles only look at pros and cons, not right or wrong.

……

(End of chapter)