Chapter 41

Yang Hongyue is not stupid; after Shen Tianxing's words, her face instantly turned extremely ugly.

First, assume what you said could be true; the defenses of the capital are indeed empty, with only thirty thousand imperial guards and ten thousand palace guards, and crucially, about half of those thirty thousand imperial guards are former subordinates of the late Protector General Sun Zhongquan.

Moreover, the Xuanji Camp and the Huabin Camp in the western and northern suburbs each have thirty thousand troops, all of which are former troops of the Protectorate Army; they are all elite, with at least a sixth‑layer first‑rank martial strength.

Even if we brought a hundred thousand troops back to the capital to reinforce, we might still lose; let alone only forty thousand. If the entire army were mobilized, Humen Pass would surely fall, and then, caught between two forces, we could only be annihilated.

Shen Tianxing nodded; if what he said to Yang Hongyue were true, the possibility of rebellion would be even greater.

Why don't you talk about your Yang family instead of saying all that? I remember the Yang family is also wholly loyal and brave; the old troops of the Yang Family Army should be many, and gathering them in the capital and nearby cities would surely amount to tens of thousands, right?

Yang Hongyue rolled her eyes and said angrily:

"The original garrison at Humen Pass was fifty thousand; this time we sent out a 150‑thousand‑strong army, of which 100 thousand are my Yang Family Army, and we also gathered those old troops stationed near the capital."

Never mind; let me tell you the current military situation of the Great Zhou. To the south lies the Great Tang, to the west the great grasslands scattered with hundreds of tribes, and to the east the Eastern Sea—all places that require a permanent large garrison.

Therefore we cannot draw troops from those places; as for the provincial armies, on paper they report fifty thousand regular troops, but in reality at least half are empty‑pay soldiers.

On paper, the provincial troops of the twelve prefectures excluding the capital total six hundred thousand, but in reality we can only count on three hundred thousand at most, with the frontier garrisons of the southern and eastern prefectures each holding one hundred thousand.

The western and northern prefectures each have fifty thousand frontier troops; this three hundred thousand troop quota is real and solid. Besides the capital's hundred‑thousand‑strong army tasked with guarding the capital, there are also my Yang Family Army's hundred thousand, the Sun Family Army's hundred thousand, the Lei Family Army's fifty thousand, and the Yue Family Army's fifty thousand.

All the troops of the Great Zhou supposedly add up to 1.2 million, but in fact there are fewer than 900 000, and of those 300 000 are ineffective local troops, meaning only about 600 000 are truly combat‑effective.

Of the 150 000 troops sent to Humen Pass this time, fifty thousand were conscripted from the provincial armies; to the localities they count as elite, but in our Yang Family Army they are merely ordinary soldiers.

Shen Tianxing understood; if his guess were correct, the capital certainly had no troops to spare, otherwise Yang Hongyue would not have explained it so clearly.

"You've gone into such detail because you think it's very likely; if so, your Yang family is probably in danger."

"I'm just analyzing based on your guess; I still don't believe Sun Zhongquan would rebel. He knew the emperor from youth, gave his all, and helped the emperor win the succession struggle and ascend the throne."

The emperor originally intended to enfeoff him as a first‑rank marquis, but he refused, so the emperor gave him the equally first‑rank title of Protector General and handed over command of the Great Zhou's military to him.

However, a few years ago the emperor took back the military authority, but he did not disband the Sun Family Army; he merely replaced most of its personnel and had Sun Zhongquan recruit and train new soldiers.

I heard that all of this was Sun Zhongquan's own proposal, and after much thought the emperor agreed, so Sun Zhongquan has no possibility of rebelling.

Shen Tianxing was amused; Yang Hongyue is not bad militarily, but the intrigue of the court is nothing compared to Shen Tianxing, who in his past life loved watching historical dramas and reading historical novels—a true otaku.

"General Yang, you're too naïve! According to your words, Sun Zhongquan clearly overshadows the sovereign with his merit, and the emperor earlier gave him full control of the military."

This is obviously because he had just stabilized the court and needed a strong right‑hand man to help him guard the entire Great Zhou's court and territory.

These years the court has been stable, and with the Yang Family Army, Lei Family Army, and Yue Family Army, the Great Zhou's military authority could no longer be left to Sun Zhongquan; it could only be taken back.

The emperor is a sovereign; how could he not care about face? Since he wanted to save face, the reclamation of military power had to be proposed by Sun Zhongquan, after which the emperor simply went along with it.

Anyone who has spent a few years at court can see the stakes involved, but nobody dares to speak out; they can only say what the emperor wishes.

Shen Tianxing's words plunged Yang Hongyue into thought; the logic was plain, and she could not help but believe it.

"If that's really the case, we must return to the capital as soon as possible; I'll go write a victory report and have it sent to the capital right away."

As soon as Yang Hongyue finished speaking, Qin Lie's anxious voice came from outside, and he quickly rushed into the study.

"General Yang, something major has happened: the emperor fell gravely ill and died; Sun Zhongquan, accompanied by the Ninth Prince, stormed the palace, killed the crown prince and several other princes, forged a false edict to make the Ninth Prince emperor, and imprisoned the old General Yang and the rest of the Yang family in the Tianlao."

When Qin Lie's last piece of news was spoken, Yang Hongyue's face turned deathly pale, her body swayed and she began to fall backward, but Shen Tianxing, quick‑eyed and quick‑handed, stepped forward and caught her in his arms.

"General, be careful; you cannot collapse at a time like this."

Yang Hongyue somehow felt a bit reassured, quickly straightened her body and pushed Shen Tianxing away.

"I never imagined it was really Sun Zhongquan's plot; why didn't I see it earlier? If I had noticed sooner, I could have warned my grandfather to be on guard, but now it's too late."

"Taking troops back to storm the capital and capture Sun Boquan is definitely impossible, but we can bring a small group to sneak into the capital and rescue the old General Yang and the Yang family members."

Now the situation in the capital is grim; the emperor's several sons are all dead, the Ninth Prince is merely a puppet, and Sun Zhongquan is clearly holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords.

To stabilize the court, Sun Zhongquan's primary targets are those princes undergoing training abroad and the emperor's two brothers; the Yang Family Army can be divided into four detachments, each leading ten thousand troops to protect them.

But doing so would amount to confirming the guilt of the old General Yang and the Yang family; even if all previous charges were unfounded, now there would be suspicion of rebellion.

Of course, we could infiltrate the capital before the Yang Family Army reaches its protective objectives, rescue the old General Yang and the Yang family members, and I can find a group of people to lend General Yang a hand.

Shen Tianxing spoke with unusual seriousness; in fact this is a good opportunity for him to raise an army, but some things must be done, and the banner of righteousness must be firmly grasped.

As for Shen Tianxing's knowledge of the princes and dukes, he only needs to have the system search the information to know it.

Yang Hongyue remained silent for a long time, wondering how she should proceed with her own methods; in the end she realized that none of her plans were as good as the idea Shen Tianxing had proposed.

"Qin Lie, immediately inform Li Ming, Zhang Er, and Liu Da; you four each take ten thousand troops, and according to Shen Tianxing's plan go find the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, Prince Rong, and Prince Fu."

You must guarantee their safety; even if you lose all your men and die in battle, you must not let them suffer the slightest harm, while I and Shen Tianxing will sneak into the capital to rescue them.