Chapter 65 Situation

In a big city like Puzhou, the forces inside are very complicated. Even the governor appointed by the court cannot fully control it, let alone the rebellious King of Han.

Anyone with a little knowledge knows that since the King of Han gave up the advance, he was doomed to fail. Even if Qi recovered its territory, the imperial court would mobilize all the troops in the world to kill them all.

Therefore, after Li Jiancheng entered the city, he was surrounded by elderly or middle-aged men. Some of them did not even hold any official position, but with a single order, they could easily command hundreds of young and strong men, including many officials and officers in Puzhou city.

When Li Jiancheng and others were shouting outside the city, they ordered people to light fires and spread rumors in various places in the city, causing chaos in the city and making it impossible for the general defending the city to distinguish the actual situation.

Moreover, he had secretly won back two generals under the King of Han, Wang Dan and Zhang Qie, who had a total of 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses. They suddenly turned against the Han army, and of course, scared the remaining rebels, led by Heshan Gui, into abandoning the city and fleeing.

This is different from the governor who was beheaded in public. He had the opportunity to save the situation, but he fled because of cowardice, so his death was not unjust.

The general under the command of the King of Han was smart. He could bear to continue staying in the city, but the soldiers under his command could not. They were already under pressure to rebel and did not dare to think about losing. Even if they won, they would not be granted titles or become prime ministers.

If he dragged on, there was a possibility that his subordinates would not be able to help but kill him. If he abandoned the city, at least he could leave some soldiers for the King of Han, so it would not be a complete defeat.

"General Li, we have always been loyal to the emperor and the country. We were forced to endure and submit a few days ago because of the strength of the rebels. Please speak for us in front of His Majesty and Zuo Pushe."

"My son was taken care of by you when he was in Beijing. This time, thanks to you, he was saved from danger. I will never forget your kindness!"

Li Jiancheng smiled and interrupted everyone: "This time, we were able to capture Pujin Pass and Puzhou City so smoothly. You all contributed a lot. Jiancheng is not a mean person who hides his achievements and envy others. I will make the achievements clear to Your Majesty so that the merits and demerits can be clearly stated."

"Oh my, my dear, your reputation is well-deserved!"

"No, no, Jiancheng is just loyal to his job. You are willing to take such a risk, which shows that you are loyal to His Majesty. Heaven and earth can bear witness to it. It is really admirable."

Li Jiancheng had a pleasant conversation with everyone. Li Jing did not like such socializing, so he went to organize the soldiers and ordered someone to deliver the victory report to Yang Su's tent.

……

Li Jiancheng came back drunk at night. Li Jing had just finished inspecting the city defenses and formed a patrol team with his personal guards. Anyone who dared to slack off would be executed immediately.

Li Jing showed no sign of fatigue, and said to Li Jiancheng: "We now have 30,000 more soldiers, so we can continue to advance."

Li Jiancheng said, "I have received news that Li Zixiong captured Dou Kang and sent 30,000 soldiers from Youzhou to defeat the rebels in Jingxing Guanxi, and Yang Yichen also defeated Qiao Zhongkui's army. The King of Han can only mobilize more than 100,000 soldiers and horses now."

Li Jing's eyes lit up: "Then we should press on to win. If we win a few more battles, we will be able to conquer Jinyang and capture the King of Han."

"The premise is that Yang Su fully supports us." Li Jiancheng shook his head: "Supply us with military supplies to ensure our food supply, occupy the city passes we have taken to prevent us from being attacked from both sides, and finally pick up our leftovers to eat."

"But didn't you say that Yang Su doesn't dare to make any meritorious deeds now?"

"They don't dare, so this great achievement was given to us. But Yang Su is not alone. He is stuck in a dilemma, but his students and friends are not necessarily willing to follow him and waste their time in silence." "They want to continue to be promoted and given titles for their achievements. Yang Su can satisfy their wishes. Yang Su is still the Zuo Pushe who can command the support of hundreds of people in the court. If he can't help them, what is Yang Su? Where are Gao Zuo's former students and friends now?"

Li Jing was silent for a moment and then said, "So whether Yang Su wants to or not, he will lead his troops to personally destroy the King of Han."

Li Jiancheng nodded. The King of Han was a delicious piece of meat, but no one else could eat it at the moment. After Li Zixiong broke through Jingxing Guanxi, he could obviously deploy his troops directly to Jinyang, but he suddenly stopped to reorganize his troops. This was the reason.

Li Jiancheng knew his own importance. From the last time he spoke with Yang Guang, he realized that his greatest advantage, his young age and the trust he gained, was gone. The emperor began to treat him as a normal minister.

In the past few years, he was able to run rampant in the capital, and his biggest reliance was on the favor of the Crown Prince. He could address the Crown Prince on a cowardly basis and take anything he wanted from the Crown Prince's Mansion.

But now, Yang Guang didn't even allow Li Jiancheng to take a look at the treasures in the palace. He was so cruel and ungrateful, which was very Yang Guang.

Li Jiancheng had been prepared for this. Many people's friendships have broken down because they still treat people today as people of yesterday.

The reason he was able to get the first bite of meat this time was that Yang Su was still unclear about the change in Yang Guang's attitude towards him, and he intended to use him as a knife. If he continued to advance, Yang Su would probably support him, and he would have a reason to direct the anger of his subordinates towards the Li family.

Even with the emperor's support, both sides would suffer losses at most, and Yang Su could avoid the situation where his contributions were too great and he could not be given any more titles. I think Yang Su would still settle this account.

……

Li Jiancheng and Li Jing met Yang Su's army outside the city. Their combined forces numbered 100,000, but they had to leave troops to guard the pass and city, so the troops they could mobilize were still at a disadvantage.

But the situation was very different from the beginning. After entering the city, Yang Su praised the achievements of Li Jiancheng and Li Jing and said that he had reported the victory news to the emperor.

After expressing their gratitude, the two men began to discuss the follow-up of the war with everyone else. But just as Li Jiancheng had expected, Yang Su obviously wanted to slow down the progress, but several generals under his command began to express their attitude and request to fight by issuing military orders.

Li Jing wanted to speak several times, but was interrupted by others every time, and he was not given any chance to speak.

At night, several major families in Puzhou City came and brought dozens of horse-drawn carriages full of wealth and goods to Yang Su. The next day, they sent more than ten horse-drawn carriages full of wealth and goods to Li Jiancheng.

Obviously, he was afraid that giving it to Li Jiancheng first would offend Zuo Pushe, which is human nature.

Before Yang Su could make a decision, the King of Han received the news that Puzhou City had fallen. Pei Wen'an, who was still begging, stood up in despair and pointed at the King of Han: "You are indecisive and missed the opportunity. How can you achieve great things? We have wronged the mediocre master and deserve to die."

The King of Han, who was already terrified, became even more furious after being scolded. He angrily ordered the man to be taken out and beheaded, and also ordered his family members to be imprisoned and to be killed one every other day.

...............

(End of this chapter)