Chapter 283: No idea?

Yuan Kuishan said, "If the Tartars retreat, Lu Chenyang will turn around and come to deal with the outsiders. He is not that easy to deal with. We should make plans early."

The Fourth Prince suppressed his temper and asked, "General Yuan, what do you think we should do?"

Yuan Kuishan hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's withdraw our troops."

The Fourth Prince frowned and said unhappily, "Why? No matter how powerful Lu Chenyang is, he's only a subject. I'm the Crown Prince. How dare he commit treason? Father handed the Yanhui Army over... to General Yuan. What can he do? Moreover, our forces far outnumber his. Why would General Yuan yield to him? Wouldn't that just embolden him?"

Yuan Kuishan: “…”

Yuan Kuishan only felt more exhausted. Lu Chenyang didn't even take Emperor Qianyuan seriously, let alone him, the prince? Didn't he have any idea?

Yuan Kuishan was silent for a moment before saying, "Your Highness, we abandoned Huai'an City." After a pause, he continued, "There was a lot of criticism among the soldiers about our abandoning the city. This was because the military order was pressing them like a mountain. Your Highness, don't be fooled by Lu Chenyang's good reputation. Lu Chenyang was just a small county magistrate, but he was able to directly control Lingnan without the emperor's will. The former Lingnan Governor Yan Shijie was eventually escorted to the capital, but he died before he even reached the capital. It was His Majesty who personally ordered him to return to the capital."

Yuan Kuishan never dared to underestimate any civil servant, especially one like Lu Chenyang. In just six years, he had become one of the most powerful men in Dagan, rising from a small county magistrate to the position of Shangshu Ling, the highest official of all. How could he be considered a kindhearted person? He didn't know if Lu Chenyang's good reputation was true, but he knew that anyone who had a successful career in the government was ruthless and could not hold onto that position without cunning tactics!

This time the Fourth Prince remained silent. He was not really that stupid. He also knew that most of the soldiers in the army were dissatisfied with him. The reason there was no riot was only because of the heavy military orders.

The Duke of Zhenguo trained these soldiers very well, a little too well, so that obedience to orders was ingrained in their bones.

But they also have another thing ingrained in their bones, and that is defending their country. If there is an opportunity now, and a riot breaks out in the army, it is possible that they will directly rebel against him.

The Yanhui Army is still quite quiet now, but that is simply because it has no leader.

Now the Yanhui Army is his only support, so there can be no mistakes.

The Fourth Prince decided to adopt Yuan Kuishan's advice and he decided to withdraw.

"That's right! General Yuan is absolutely right. We should withdraw our troops!" The Fourth Prince made a decision immediately. His eyes flashed, and he suddenly said, "I want to return to the capital!"

Yuan Kuishan: “…”

Yuan Kuishan also saw the Fourth Prince's intention: to return to the capital to seize power. The Emperor had no troops to mobilize, wars were raging across the country, and the capital was empty. If he returned with his troops now, he could even force the emperor to abdicate.

But Yuan Kuishan felt exhausted. He was leading the Yanhui Army to rebellion?! Did he even know who was in the capital?! The Duke of Zhenguo was there! With the Duke of Zhenguo around, how could he let the Yanhui Army rebel?!

Did he even know the prestige the Duke held within the Yanhui Army?! As soon as the Duke showed up, all those military orders were bullshit!

However, Yuan Kuishan did not persuade him because he was fed up with the current situation and let the Fourth Prince go and seek death.

How to put it, to put it simply, destroy it, destroy everything, die, he is tired.

Yuan Kuishan just thought that returning to the capital would be a dead end, and then the soldiers came to report.

"General, Your Highness, the Yanhui Army is coming outside..." The one who came to report was the Fourth Prince's personal guard.

The fourth prince was stunned: "What Yanhui Army?" Aren't they the Yanhui Army?

The guard said helplessly: "It's Dong Zhe. He has returned with the Yanhui Army that left with him. They are here to persuade us to surrender."

Persuade to surrender? !

The Fourth Prince and Yuan Kuishan were both stunned.

The Fourth Prince gritted his teeth at the mere mention of Dong Zhe. It was he who had instigated many of his soldiers to defect with him, and the military's morale remained unstable until now, all because of Dong Zhe!

The Fourth Prince gritted his teeth and said, "He still dares to come? To persuade him to surrender?" He sneered, "What qualifications does he have..."

His voice stopped abruptly, and he immediately thought of Lu Chenyang.

Dong Zhe defected to Lu Chenyang. This was not an attempt to persuade him to surrender, but an attempt to shake his military morale!

The Fourth Prince finally felt an unreasonable fear.

Between him and Lu Chenyang, he knew with a single thought that Yan Huijun would not choose him.

Lu Chenyang was the rightful Shangshu Ling, his reputation was known throughout the world, and he had just repelled the Tartars and won the first victory since the fall of Yanhui Pass.

And what did he have? Did he lead his troops to evacuate Huai'an City, which led to the massacre of Huai'an City? Or did he lead the troops for so long without winning a single decisive victory?

Comparing people will lead to death, and comparing goods will lead to throwing them away. He is the one who should be thrown away.

The Fourth Prince immediately said, "Move camp, move camp now!"

The guard took the order and left.

Yuan Kuishan in the tent felt that the situation was already hopeless.

Lu Chenyang had the reputation he needed, the food and fodder he needed, the support of his troops, and his exceptional abilities. The only thing he lacked was manpower.

This is Lu Chenyang's only shortcoming, and Yan Huijun is the best "tool" to make up for this shortcoming.

But the Fourth Prince has been trying so hard to make trouble, and he has loopholes all over his body. How could Lu Chenyang let go of this opportunity? Now it is too late to leave.

However, Yuan Kuishan did not persuade him again. Even if he did, the Fourth Prince would not listen. Except for matters concerning war, the Fourth Prince had always been reluctant to listen to him.

The Fourth Prince was also a bit clever. He knew he had no experience in combat, so all orders during battle were obeyed by him, and the Fourth Prince would not interfere. However, in other matters unrelated to the war, the Fourth Prince always acted on his own.

Dong Zhe only brought the 10,000 soldiers he had taken from the Yanhui Army this time, and the Lu family army did not go out. Even so, it was enough.

Dong Zhe shouted from outside, "Our Yanhui Army is renowned, having guarded Yanhui Pass for generations. Everyone gives us a thumbs-up when we are mentioned. But what about the Yanhui Army now? They are deserters who only know how to stay in the dark and not fight! Our duty is to protect the people and defend our country, but now we have abandoned our honor and become deserters who only know how to retreat! We have completely exposed the people to the enemy. How can we face the martyrs and predecessors who died on the battlefield?!"

These words were Dong Zhe's own thoughts, words that had been buried in his heart for a long time.

"The reputation of the Yanhui Army was earned by countless people fighting on the battlefield, and was forged with the corpses of the Yanhui Army. But the Fourth Prince disregards the lives of the people for his own selfish desires. Do you really want to continue to be a puppet at his mercy?" Dong Zhe shouted hoarsely.

Dong Zhe was heartbroken to see the Yanhui Army come to this point. In fact, it was not just him, almost all the soldiers of the Yanhui Army felt the same way.

Most of the soldiers of the Yanhui Army are local people of Yanhui Pass. Most of them are hereditary military households. For them, this is to protect their homes first, and then to defend their country.

Over the years, the Yanhui Army has become a symbol, respected and loved by the people, but the Fourth Prince has made them abandon the glory of their ancestors.

Dong Zhe praised Lu Chenyang again: "Lord Lu loves the people like his own children and is devoted to the country. He is smart and capable. He repelled the Tatars in less than three months. We should lend a helping hand!"

"The Fourth Prince retreated without a fight and abandoned the city. His crime is extremely serious!" Dong Zhe almost roared out this sentence with all his strength.

The sound reached the military camp, and when the Fourth Prince heard it, his face turned pale.

The mistake he made was a grave crime, but he was so fearless because of his status as a prince.

Secondly, Emperor Qianyuan wanted to contain Lu Chenyang and the Second Prince, so the Huai'an City incident was suppressed. Of course, it was also because Dagan was in trouble internally, and Emperor Qianyuan was unable to spare the effort to deal with him.

The Fourth Prince is taking advantage of the situation.

But now, Lu Chenyang doesn't want him to get away with it anymore. He wants to directly take away the Fourth Prince's military power.

The charges are ready-made.