Chapter 67: Circumlocution
As soon as Li Jiancheng left the governor's mansion, he wrote a letter to Dou Zhaoxian to praise his achievements. He couldn't just run errands and do the work without saying anything, otherwise he would be a fool.

Only then did he have the leisure to think about Dou Kang's mentality that led him to decide to respond to the King of Han's call to rebel. People like Wang Hu, Xiao Moha, Pei Wen'an on the King of Han's side were all people who could not become noble because of their family background.

As for Dou Kang, Li Jiancheng called him uncle, and he called the late emperor uncle. His mother was Princess Wan'an. Needless to say, he inherited the title of Duke of Chen and was appointed Governor of Youzhou. Youzhou was not comparable to the small states where Li Yuan had served in previous years.

But he really couldn't think of anything, so he had to give up. Just when he was about to take a break and eat something, he heard a report from outside that the commander-in-chief had summoned everyone to discuss military intelligence.

They had no choice but to put down their chopsticks and meet up with Li Jing before heading straight for the governor's mansion. They stood inside and then took turns to read the urgent military reports. After reading them, their faces turned black.

They had never heard of Zhao Zikai, but they had to say that this man was very steady. Although he had the advantage in terms of military strength, he directly set up a defensive formation and ordered his men to set up fences at every mountain pass.

They built fences to block the roads and led their troops to the top of the mountain to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. The most hateful thing was that this arrangement stretched for fifty miles.

If they attack like this, the Sui army will suffer heavy casualties no matter how many soldiers they have, and it is not realistic to avoid them. But they still have to send troops, and the court has already sent people to urge them to do so.

The next day, when the army marched forward, Li Jiancheng and Li Jing stopped talking and just did their job professionally, which made the other generals treat them better.

The army set up camp and faced Zhao Zikai's army, but the only difference was that one was on higher ground and the other was on lower ground.

Whether it was shooting or cavalry charge, Zhao Zikai undoubtedly had an absolute advantage, but this man had no intention of attacking at all. He didn't even try to test the enemy and just waited for them to attack.

As usual, the Sui army would charge for a while every day, and retreat after suffering a few casualties, but for a long time, Zhao Zikai did not show any flaws.

Li Jing wanted to say something but was stopped by Li Jiancheng. No result was reached. Someone suggested waiting a little longer. In a few days, tens of thousands of troops would arrive. As long as they were willing to wait, they could push through by force.

Seeing that nothing could be done, Yang Su led his guards out of the camp on his own. No one could stop him and could only wait.

Yang Su came back in the evening. There were even scratches on the back of his hands and forehead. However, he summoned all the generals and gave them instructions calmly: "I will lead the troops to bypass them tomorrow night, and at dawn, I will lead the elite troops to raid Zhao Zikai's camp. There will be chaos. If you see the enemy camp in chaos, you will start to attack and attack them. If not, you will directly retreat to Puzhou City and wait for the imperial court's order."

Yang Su's words were very clear. Apparently they had found a small path through the mountains that could bypass the enemy, so it was very feasible. However, as the commander-in-chief, he should not take this risk.

"General, I request to raid the rebel camp. You will be the one to direct the troops."

The others had the same idea, but they retreated under Yang Su's gaze and left.

On the second night, Yang Su personally led more than 3,000 people to Huoshan Mountain northeast of Huoyi. They advanced through the cliff valleys, stepping on all kinds of insects and snakes, and finally reached the rear of the rebel camp before dawn.

After sending out scouts to ensure temporary safety, Yang Su ordered the soldiers to rest on the spot. The soldiers who had climbed the cliffs without rest all night had to rest and eat, otherwise they would not have the strength to charge and fight. This place was still some distance away from the main camp.

After a simple meal and rest, seeing that the time was almost up, Yang Su ordered his men to pass on the message: "Leave 300 men to provide support, and the rest will follow the commander to attack Zhao Zikai's camp. The reward will be ten times the amount!"

There were brave men whose blood was boiling, expecting a chance to reach the sky in one step, but there were more who were terrified and frightened. With only a few people rushing straight to the camp, what was the difference between this and letting go and falling off the cliff last night?
But no one dared to disobey Yang Su's order, so the Eight Immortals each showed their abilities and finally decided on 300 soldiers to stay behind to provide support. Most of them were strong, and they were very proud, while the others were gritting their teeth. How could they not hate it when it was a matter of life and death?

Yang Su smiled and gave the order: "Those who are afraid of death will be killed!" Before the three hundred men could even beg for mercy or explain, they were hacked to death by the excited group of people with red eyes. After the last howl faded away, three or four hundred corpses were lying in the valley. Everyone's weapon was stained with blood, and the smell of blood drifted far away.

Facing this group of wolves with twisted and excited faces that were emitting hostility towards Yang Su, Yang Su then provoked, "Who else wants to stay?"

Seeing that no one answered, Yang Su announced with satisfaction: "The reward will be twenty times, and if anyone survives, I will recommend you and I will make your wives and children famous!"

"Now, follow me!"

.........

Yang Su led his troops to rush forward, out of the north of the rebels, heading straight for their camp, beating drums and setting fire. The rebels were panicked and didn't know what to do, and trampled on each other. Li Jiancheng and others saw this and ignored the casualties, and led their troops to attack, attacking from both sides.

The morale of the rebels was low to begin with, and Zhao Zikai had no prestige in the army, so when the camp was in chaos, no one knew where he died.

When they saw Yang Su again, everyone saluted respectfully, surrounded him and sat on the commander's chair that originally belonged to Zhao Zikai, and then reported the results of the battle.

This old coach, who is over 60 years old, once again consolidated his undefeated reputation with victory, although his methods were not praised by others.

Just as Yang Su was getting ready to make follow-up arrangements, the lieutenant came in to report: "Jiezhou Governor Liang Xiuluo heard that Zhao Zikai was defeated and abandoned the city and fled. General Li Lei has already occupied Jiexiu City."

Li Jing, Li Jiancheng and others saluted Yang Su and said, "Congratulations, Marshal. You are so famous. The rebels fled without a fight. Our army has captured another city. The day of returning to the capital is not far away!"

Yang Su replied with a pale face: "I will report the victory report to you all for your hard work. I only hope that we can defeat the rebellion with one push!"

.........

Although Zhao Zikai was defeated, the Sui army did not capture many prisoners. Most of them retreated towards Jinyang. Since it was not far away, the news was soon known to the King of Han who was still praying for the blessing of gods and Buddhas.

In a rage, he burned down the Buddhist temple in the Prince of Han's Palace, and the last bit of blood in him was aroused. He ordered his subordinates to integrate the troops and he would personally lead the army to resist Yang Su.

This news was quite exciting. The King of Han was finally willing to leave the city. Yang Liang did not leave many people in Jinyang. He took almost all of them away, but he also left a message.

If anyone dares to retaliate against Doulu Yu, he will certainly fight back regardless of the consequences, destroy the city and kill the entire clan.

Then Yang Liang gathered another 100,000 troops and went to Haoze to set up a battle array to resist. He prayed that the emperor would issue an order to cease fire as soon as possible after receiving his letter, and he no longer wanted to rebel.

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

(End of this chapter)