"Speak up, is there anything you can't say?" Yang Dingguo was so angry that he laughed.
He was a cabinet member and the Minister of War, but he was deceived by his subordinates.
"Sir Commander, General Li Chenghua and the two battalions of soldiers actually crossed the river to the east and entered Hedong. It looks like they are going back to the capital." The military officer hesitated.
After all, this is just his inference, and he will be held accountable if he says anything wrong.
The consequences were something he, a mere soldier, could not bear.
"What! Isn't Li Chenghua afraid of being beheaded?" Yang Dingguo was dumbfounded.
Li Chenghua's ancestor was one of the twenty-four founding generals of Dayin and was granted the title of Duke of Qi. His status was even higher than that of the ancestors of Li Duwei and Zhang Duwei who broke through the siege in Weizhou.
It was obvious that Yang Dingguo had received the imperial edict and the Shangfang sword, and held the iron certificate of pacifying the enemy. He also ordered Tian Zun, the governor of Guannei Road, to garrison Linzhou and tie down the 50,000 troops of Ma Zongliang, a general under Li Jingang.
Pei Lun, the governor of Hedong Road, and Li Chenghua, the general of the Household, led their troops south at a rapid speed and gathered at Gaoling, fifty miles northeast of Xijing, waiting for the arrival of Yang Dingguo's imperial army.
Pei Lun followed the order and rushed to Gaoling with his 4,000 soldiers.
However, Li Chenghua surprised Yang Dingguo and actually ran to Hedong.
"Pass on my military order. Li Chenghua must arrive in Gaoling within three days. Otherwise, I will report this to the court and have the censor impeach Li Chenghua!"
"Not only did he fail to achieve anything in Linzhou, but he actually allowed Li Jingang's army to enter Xijing. Li Chenghua is unworthy of being the descendant of the Duke of Qi."
In those days, Li Chenghua's ancestors followed the founding emperor Dayin in his campaigns to the east and west, and made great military achievements.
Today's Li Chenghua is just enjoying himself by relying on the achievements of his ancestors.
Yang Dingguo was also extremely helpless.
The emperor held military power in his own hands, and the elite troops of the five battalions and many local commanders were basically descendants of nobles.
After a long period of peace, the descendants of these generals became weaker and weaker with each generation.
"General, the commander-in-chief, Zhang Zhongfang, the garrison commander of Xijing City, has an urgent report: over 200,000 rebel soldiers have entered Bailuyuan, and it appears they are preparing to lay siege to Xijing."
"Master Zhang, please ask the Commander-in-Chief to quickly find a solution and not let Xijing fall into the hands of the rebels. Otherwise, Longyou Road, Guannei Road, and the Western Regions will lose contact with the capital forever."
Another soldier analyzed.
"How could I not know these situations?"
Yang Dingguo was furious. "The army should rush to Gaoling first and then make plans. Send a reply to Zhang Zhongfang, telling him to hold Xijing firmly and not lose it."
Although Zhang Zhongfang's garrison had only more than 4,000 troops, Xijing City was the second largest city in the Dayin Dynasty, with a population of up to 500,000.
There are abundant supplies, sufficient food and fodder, tall cities and perfect defenses.
If the city of Xijing was easily conquered by the rebel army, Zhang Zhongfang would be a loser.
The soldier immediately passed on Yang Dingguo's order.
"This Governor has drafted a report and will present it to Your Majesty immediately. Since Li Chenghua is afraid of fighting, we should hand over the Leopard Tactics Battalion and the Eagle Battalion under his command. With two more elite battalions, we will have a better chance of victory."
It didn't matter whether Li Chenghua wanted it or not. What Yang Dingguo wanted were the 20,000 soldiers from the Baotao Camp and the Yingyang Camp.
With the elite troops of the five battalions of the capital in hand, Li Jingang's bluffing of more than 200,000 people will soon reveal their flaws.
After all, it was a battle between 50,000 trained Dayin regular troops and more than 200,000 peasant soldiers.
Dayin’s soldiers might be a little weak to fight the Tartars, but asking them to fight against the peasant army is like a dimensionality reduction attack!
"Master Commander, I will pass on the order immediately!"
The soldier came hurriedly to receive the order.
Yang Dingguo also asked the supervisory team to urge the troops from each camp to speed up and reach Gaoling as soon as possible.
The army continued to advance, and under Yang Dingguo's coercion and efforts, the team's pace became much faster.
"The rebels are all stationed at Bailuyuan. According to reliable information, Prince Yinxuan of Han has been captured by the rebels, and Prince Yinbing of Qin has fled into the city."
After a while, another scout came to report.
"The King of Han was captured by the rebels!" Li Dingguo suddenly felt a headache.
How could the King of Han be captured by the rebels so easily?
If the rebels use the King of Han as a shield to attack the city, Zhang Zhongfang and the soldiers defending the city in Xijing might be afraid to act rashly!
"I heard that the rebel general Niu Desheng wants to boil the King of Han into a pot."
"What's the result?" Yang Dingguo asked.
It would be better if he was really cooked, because Yang Dingguo could command the entire army to fight the rebels without distraction.
"Yang Yan, another rebel general, arrived just in time to intercept it and prevented it from being cooked."
The soldier seemed to want to know what the result would be if a person was boiled alive, and was very disappointed to learn that it did not work.
"Yang Yan stopped Niu Desheng from boiling the King of Han?"
When Yang Dingguo heard the news, he immediately frowned and fell into deep thought.
It is said that the King of Han was unpopular in Xijing. He treated human lives as worthless and abducted women, forcing many people to be separated from their wives and children and become homeless.
The people of Xijing hated the King of Han so much that they wanted to eat his flesh raw.
The rebels cooked him just to please the people of Xijing, but were stopped by Yang Yan.
This can only mean one thing, that Yang Yan, as the rebel army's military advisor, must have some hidden secret in keeping the King of Han with him.
"Send a message to the scout camp to scout out any movements of the rebels outside Xijing City."
"Order the soldiers of the three armies to speed up their march."
"If the rebels capture Xijing before we reach it, we will have no choice but to face His Majesty with our heads held high!"
Yang Dingguo's expression was extremely solemn.
He had signed a military order in front of Emperor Yongchang.
He can only win this battle, not lose.
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