Although he understood, he was still a bit tempted. However, he didn't appear to be in a hurry. He asked hesitantly, "I'm not talented enough. I'm afraid it's not suitable, right?"
Long Xiu said, "Prince is the commander-in-chief of Yan Clan. It's perfectly justifiable for him to lead the army to suppress the rebellion. No one is more suitable than you."
Shang Yongzhong smiled bitterly, "Palace Lord, I'm afraid it's not easy. I don't have 100,000 cavalrymen and can't shout the slogan of only suppressing the feudal vassals and not the rebel army. Actually, Palace Lord knows that I can't command the feudal vassals. You're making things difficult for me by asking me to replace Shang Chaozong. "
Long Xiu said, "You don't have to worry about this. That was then and this is now. The rebel army of Wugong Ridge is just so-so. The feudal vassals are confident in suppressing them. I'm just afraid that they'll fight separately and need someone to coordinate with them. Prince is the most suitable person no matter his status. I've already talked to Gong Lince and Meng Xuan."
Shang Yongzhong understood. Long Xiu didn't want him to command the feudal vassals but to coordinate with them.
However, he didn't dare to agree so easily. He asked hesitantly, "Palace Lord, how are you going to deal with Shang Chaozong?"
Long Xiu said, "The elders of Xiao Yao Palace can't die in vain. I have to give Xiao Yao Palace an explanation. I have already transferred some men from Xiao Yao Palace to the eastern army. They will seize the opportunity to capture the Shang Dynasty Sect Leader and bring him to the capital city for His Majesty to punish!"
Shang Yongzhong reminded, "Shang Chaozong has 100,000 cavalrymen around him. Once they attack …"
Long Xiu waved his hand and interrupted, "You don't have to worry about this. I'll take care of it and won't cause any trouble for you to replace him. Now, I just want to know if you're willing or not?"
Shang Yongzhong immediately cupped his hands and said, "How dare I disobey Palace Lord's order?"
Long Xiu reminded, "It's a taboo for military strategists to change generals at the last minute. I'm afraid that some people will oppose it. You can think of a way to deal with the people in the imperial court. As for the rest, I'll cooperate with you."
"Okay, I understand." Shang Yongzhong responded.
After the two of them parted, Shang Yongzhong immediately went to the central area and found the Great Minister of Public Works, Tong Mo, and Gao Jiancheng. He explained his intentions and hoped that the two of them would help. As long as the two of them helped, there would naturally be no criticism in the Imperial Court.
Tong Mo and Gao Jiancheng did not reject Shang Jianxiong's suggestion. They were both people who understood Shang Jianxiong's intentions. Since Long Xiu had already spoken, things would be much easier to handle.
The three of them then requested to see Shang Jianxiong.
Shang Yongzhong did not hide it from Shang Jianxiong. Knowing that he had met Long Xiu in the Imperial Palace, he could not hide it from Shang Jianxiong, so he told him the truth.
As expected, the impact of Shang Chaozong's efforts to quell the rebellion had left Shang Jianxiong feeling like a fishbone was stuck in his throat.
However, he was still cautious and didn't issue the decree rashly. He first gave the decree to Shang Yongzhong. The premise was that Xiao Yao Palace could settle the matter and confirm that it wouldn't cause any trouble. Only then could the decree of changing the commander be made public. Otherwise, if the war was messed up, the Emperor who issued this decree would be an incapable Emperor …
The speed at which the Yan rebel army was routed, or rather, the speed at which the Yan army was quelling the rebellion, shocked all the powers in the world.
The troops of Wugong Ridge charged eastwards. Almost all of them were from the Cang Prefecture. All of them were experienced troops. Along the way, it was difficult for the prefectures to stop their momentum. Therefore, they avoided the sharp edge of the troops and fought with them. However, Wugong Ridge didn't even bother to fight with them and quickly left.
As for the rebel army that was chasing after them, Wugong Ridge gathered five hundred thousand troops and ordered a newly promoted general to be their commander.
This newly promoted general was called Tu Mingguang. He was originally a tyrant in the marketplace. After the rebellion started, he decisively gathered a group of refugees to become bandits. At his peak, he gathered more than a hundred thousand people. Later on, when he saw the rebel army of Cang Prefecture continuously defeating the imperial court, he was afraid and sought refuge with Wugong Ridge. Following him, he besieged cities, plundered lands, burned, killed, looted, raped women, drank wine, and ate meat. He lived a very happy life.
However, as a commoner, regardless of ability or knowledge, he was no match for Wugong Ridge. This time, he was completely used by Wugong Ridge.
When he heard that he was promoted to the commander of five hundred thousand troops, he was really hot-blooded. It was as if the opportunity to become a feudal lord was right in front of him. He patted his chest to show his loyalty to Wugong Ridge, promising to defend for a day.
Therefore, he led five hundred thousand troops to defend the pass. According to his thinking, with so many people, he could easily defend for a day. After that, he would quickly run away to meet with the Great General.
In the end, he encountered the Fuzhou Provincial Governor Shi Xinmao personally leading fifty thousand troops.
When he fought with Wugong Ridge before, he didn't use his full strength to protect himself. Now that he was fighting with his full strength and morale was high, Shi Xinmao didn't care about this motley crew.
They were indeed a motley crew. Almost all of the rebel army of Cang Prefecture had left with Wugong Ridge.
However, after all, they had the advantage in numbers. Shi Xinmao didn't dare to underestimate the enemy.
He first observed the enemy for a while, but when he saw the enemy's formation, he didn't know anything about it. After understanding the situation, Shi Xinmao coldly laughed and the army immediately launched an attack.
He sent two groups of troops to the left and right. They directly used fire arrows to attack, burning the forest. The flames soared to the sky, burning the large group of rebel soldiers lying in ambush in the forest.
Tu Mingguang originally wanted to rely on the forest on the left and right to block the enemy's attack. Who knew that the fire would cause chaos among his own troops? His troops ran around randomly, and he couldn't kill them. Instead, it messed up his own formation.
Shi Xinmao's main force took advantage of the chaos to attack and broke through the pass in one go. The disorderly motley crew was defeated in one fell swoop.
The Han and Song cultivators that Wugong Ling had sent to coordinate with him had also met with great misfortune. They were also taken advantage of by Wugong Ling. Not only were there many casualties, but the army was also in a mess. They were powerless to turn the situation around. Facing the attacks of the enemy cultivators, they could only flee in panic.
Tu Mingguang couldn't escape and was captured alive by Shi Xinmao.
The hundreds of thousands of rebel soldiers should be called rebels. They didn't even have an official military uniform. They wore all kinds of clothes, put down their weapons, and squatted on the ground.
Over ten thousand people were burned to death in the flames. Some were killed, while others escaped. The remaining four hundred thousand people surrendered. It was a mess as far as the eye could see. Their faces were filled with fear, and they didn't know what kind of fate awaited them.
Shi Xinmao rode on a tall horse and went back and forth among the rebels. His heart was heavy. How to deal with these people was a problem.
Kill them all? He couldn't bear the reputation of a massacre.
Release them all? Once they gathered again, he wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility.
If he kept them alive, he would have to consume a lot of rations.
Just looking after these people was a burden. Because of the hundreds of thousands of people in front of him, his pursuers were delayed, and he couldn't chase after Wugong Ridge's troops.
He was very clear that these people couldn't be compared with Wugong Ridge's troops. The real troops of Wugong Ridge were battle-hardened. It was impossible for him to send a small force to chase after them. That was simply sending them to their deaths.
At this time, he discovered that he seemed to have fallen into Wugong Ridge's trap. These people were used by Wugong Ridge to delay the pursuing army.
This delay lasted for almost a day. Even though the sky was still bright in the evening, the fire on the mountain still hadn't extinguished and continued to spread.
The next morning, the sky was still covered by the smoke from the mountain fire. The air was filled with the smell of burning. Ashes that could be seen with the naked eye drifted down from the sky, like falling snow.
A burst of rapid rumbling sound of horse's hooves came. Upon receiving the news, Shang Chaozong led his cavalry to rush over.
It was impossible for the hundreds of thousands of rebel soldiers to squat all the time. After one night, they were already lying on the ground in a mess. At this time, they were awakened by the rumbling sound of horse's hooves.
Knowing that Shang Chaozong had come, Elder Zu Ande of Spirit Sword Mountain retreated.
Seeing Shang Chaozong again, Shi Xinmao's expression was complicated. When he was under King Ning, how could he not know Shang Chaozong? Moreover, he was very familiar with him.
Seeing Meng Shanming, who had aged a lot, being stared at by Meng Shanming, Shi Xinmao felt ashamed and ashamed. He didn't dare to look at Meng Shanming's eyes and slowly lowered his head. Many of the high-ranking officers in Fuzhou also lowered their heads.
Shi Xinmao finally braced himself and went forward to pay his respect.
After that, the bandit leader Tu Mingguang was brought over. The other bandit leaders were forced to kneel down. Only Tu Mingguang refused to kneel and loudly roared, "If you want to kill me, then kill me. If you want to cut me, then cut me. After thirty years, I will be a good man again!"
Sitting upright on horseback, Shang Chaozong coldly said, "Burning, looting, raping women, committing all kinds of crimes, yet you call yourself a good man? Drag them away and execute them! The rest of the bandit leaders will all be beheaded! "
Tu Mingguang roared, "Shang Chaozong, do you dare to fight with your grandpa …"
Before he could finish his words, he was slapped in the mouth by a saber, breaking his teeth. His mouth and nose bled, and his vision blurred. Without any sound, he was directly dragged away.
"Prince, have mercy! Prince, have mercy … "
The bandit leaders screamed miserably as they were dragged away. Then, a burst of wailing sounded. The taste of being dismembered was not a good feeling.
"You continue to pursue them immediately!" Shang Chaozong turned around and gave the order to Shi Xinmao.
"Yes, sir!" Shi Xinmao cupped his hands across his chest and left with his men. The hundreds of thousands of captives were handed over to Shang Chaozong.
Half a day later, several groups of counterinsurgency troops arrived one after another. In addition to the rest of Shi Xinmao's troops, Shang Chaozong divided two groups to continue the pursuit.
The remaining people discussed how to deal with the captives, but they had different opinions.
Their worries were similar to Shi Xinmao's. What Shang Chaozong meant was that these were innocent people who were trying to survive. They should not be held accountable and just let them go. The places that had been swept by the flames of war needed people to recover.
Gamiao Shui did not agree. To the imperial court, these people were rebels. What would happen if they rebelled again?
However, if he wanted to kill them all, he did not dare to do so. No one could bear the reputation of killing hundreds of thousands of rebels …
In the mountains, a golden wing swooped down. Guan Fangyi took the letter and walked towards Niu Youdao who was sitting quietly under the tree.
"There's news from the red-faced monkey." Guan Fangyi waved the letter in her hand and greeted him.
Niu Youdao took the letter and read it. He realized that it was written in a language that only he and Yuan Gang could understand. After reading the content carefully, he slowly tore the letter into pieces. His eyes flickered, as if he was thinking about something.
Guan Fangyi knew that every time she saw a secret letter written in this language, there must be an urgent matter. She couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"
Niu Youdao held the sword in front of him and sighed, "Killing Shi Sheng has caused trouble. Xiao Yao Palace is going to make a move against the Prince."
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