Chapter 100 A Multi-faceted Struggle: He must complete this before the road is paved…
Jihengfu (Imperial Household Department)
When Huan Xun stepped into the mansion, Xie Cheng was already waiting in the study.
Upon entering the study, he removed his official hat and handed it to a maidservant beside him, dismissing all the servants on duty inside and outside the study.
Once only the two of them were left, he sat down at the table and asked Xie Cheng to tell him everything about Hou Chong'an.
Before Xie Chengsu filed the case, he immediately reported it.
Since the start of the war, Yan Yue, in order to prevent the aristocratic forces from taking the opportunity to infiltrate and hinder him, and to ensure the secrecy of military command in order to win the war, specifically ordered the establishment of a grain and fodder transfer station a hundred miles behind the main army, strictly controlling the transfer of supplies.
Gao Yan, son of the military supervisor Gao Jia, Wang Juanyou, grandson of the transport commissioner Wang Situ, and Chen Youmei, son of the baggage handler Chen Qing, were all restricted to their posts within the transport station and were not allowed to move forward even a step, despite holding positions on the battlefield.
Such strict guarding greatly displeased the group of people who were used to being arrogant.
In addition, when the war in the northern frontier first broke out, these aristocratic sons and their backers all tried to join the army to accumulate military merits.
Not wanting these scions of powerful and wealthy families to disrupt the battlefield and ultimately get caught up in the power struggle between the two sides, Yan Yue explicitly petitioned Emperor Zhao Yunfu that no members of the aristocratic families be allowed to participate in this battle.
Yan Yue's original intention was to achieve a swift victory. However, in the eyes of the gentry, such a move not only cast a shadow over their descendants' path to advancement but also deepened their fear of Yan Yue's excessive military power.
They feared that Yan Yue's outstanding military achievements would boost the morale of those from humble backgrounds and undermine the political interests that aristocratic families had long monopolized.
Thinking of this, old grudges and new hatreds intertwined, causing Gao Yan, Wang Juanyou, and Chen Youmei to become increasingly angry and devise treacherous schemes.
The three of them secretly conspired to bribe an officer in the Beiya army responsible for receiving supplies to act as an informant. They attempted to use this lead to spy on the troop deployment and battle plans of Yan Yue, the Grand General Who Pacifies the North, who was in charge of all military affairs both inside and outside the capital, and to seek an opportunity to retaliate.
Unbeknownst to them, their plan had already been discovered by another commander of the Northern Cliff Army.
The commander had been following Yan Yue for many years and had learned a lot of tricks. When he noticed any unusual activity from his subordinates, he secretly followed the bribed officer multiple times. After learning of the conspiracy, he immediately reported it to Yan Yue.
These three men's impulsive idea was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Before this incident, the battle reports from the northern frontier, which had been frequently reporting victories in recent days, were not optimistic.
This change was entirely due to Yan Yue's own scheme.
He intentionally made the emperor feel that the battle was difficult and could not be won easily, so that only reports of a stalemate could be sent back.
He did this for no other reason than to protect himself.
Having read too many history books, Yan Yue knew that those who worried about his strength were not only the enemies on the battlefield and the gentry in the court, but also the emperor who sat high on the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall and felt uneasy about his control of a large army.
He knew his students better than anyone else.
If victory comes too easily, it would suggest that he is too capable and has too much prestige, and that his control over the army has reached a terrifying level.
The emperor would not be overjoyed; on the contrary, it would cause him worry.
He knew all too well what his students were worried about.
Throughout history, those who have achieved great merit and overshadowed their rulers have never met a good end.
This is not the situation he wanted.
A Yan Yue who returns from a "pyrrhic victory" is the object of reward and appeasement. But a Yan Yue who can easily sway the battlefield will be the object of suspicion and suppression.
Holding such a large army usually meant either rebellion or execution. But he never considered rebellion; once he unified the world, he would relinquish some of his military power.
But his suspicious students might not live to see that point.
Therefore, he had to lower the emperor's expectations in order to avoid suspicion and preserve himself, so as to avoid a bad end in the future.
Such acts of "self-degradation" to appease the ruler are numerous throughout history.
This has more than one advantage: while showing weakness to the emperor, it can also lull the gentry into a false sense of security.
Yan Yue thought that seeing how hard he had won, the aristocratic families would quiet down.
He overestimated the ambitions of the aristocratic families. His "show of weakness" only made them think that this was their opportunity.
After learning about the battle situation from family letters, Gao, Wang, and Chen secretly plotted to cause trouble for Yan Yue on the battlefield and avenge their previous inability to earn military merit.
Upon learning that these individuals had planted spies, Yan Yue was not worried that the true situation on the battlefield would be leaked.
As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, all battle reports from the battlefield would be sent to him, and he would then compile them and send them to the imperial court.
Therefore, even the left, center, and right armies did not know the specific situation of each other, only the situation of their own local battlefield. All other specific orders had to be arranged by Yan Yue.
As a member of the imperial family, Duan Tingxian was far from the main battlefield, and he had no chance to leak battlefield information.
Therefore, even if Gao, Wang, and Chen had placed spies, they could only glimpse a corner of the battle situation at most.
When Yan Yue learned of this, he had other ideas.
It wasn't enough for him to just send a battle report showing weakness to the court; he needed to let these people "see for themselves."
So he decided to play along and put on a show of a difficult battle situation for them. First, he wanted to make the gentry think that he had no hope of winning the war and that the battle was hard to win, thus lowering their guard. Second, he wanted to spread these words through their mouths, so that the emperor would feel more at ease.
But that's only the second reason. Thirdly, waiting for Chong'an to move out could affect the return of some of the elite troops of the Left Wise King's army, thus relieving some pressure on the central and right flank armies.
Driven by three objectives, he deliberately issued a secret order to Hou Chong'an, who was not far from the enemy's fortress, ordering him to lead his troops in a feigned attack on Sanzhuxing.
Sanzhuxing was originally garrisoned by 20,000 cavalry from the Xiutu Khanate, but two days ago he learned that most of the elite troops had been transferred away, so attacking the area would not be dangerous.
In addition, since some of their grain supplies had been burned not long ago, choosing this location would make the gentry believe that they were there to seize the grain.
“But that’s where the problem lies,” Xie Cheng said. “General Hou originally planned to lead his troops to Sanzhuxing to launch a feigned attack, burning and killing as a show, before immediately retreating.”
"When they arrived, they found that the enemy's strength far exceeded their expectations. They were surrounded, and it was too late to retreat. All eight thousand of their elite troops, along with two deputy generals, were killed in battle."
Xie Cheng became more and more agitated as he spoke, almost gritting his teeth: "I don't know who leaked the news! They caused General Hou to suffer this calamity!"
"Whoever handled the secret order is the most suspicious," Huan Xun said decisively.
“But when the Grand Commander wrote the secret order, only Yue Shi and I were present. The secret order was delivered by Yue Shi. He and I entered the Beiya Army at the same time, and the Grand Commander treated him well. Anyone could betray us, but he would never do so.”
"I think he'll do it very well."
Huan Xun stood up and walked out from behind the desk:
“He is from Nanyin. He joined the Beiya Army after his adoptive father saved his life. He has indeed been loyal to his adoptive father all these years, but I remember that he had a grudge against General Hou.”
"Does Your Excellency mean that Yue Shi deliberately leaked the intelligence to the Xiutu Khanate to kill General Hou?" Xie Cheng asked incredulously.
"Although Nan Yin secretly supports Xiu Tu, given Sang Yue Shi's personality, he would not marry anyone but a woman from Nan Yin. He might not directly pledge allegiance to Xiu Tu."
Huan Xun's tone grew colder: "I think he most likely passed the intelligence to the Southern Yin people."
Huan Xun's guess was not unfounded. He knew that Sang Yueshi was a petty person, and he was also clear that behind this battle, which seemed to be a clash between Bei Ye and Xiu Tu and other small tribes and countries, there was actually another opponent behind the scenes, namely Nan Yin.
Previously, Xiao Daozun, the ruler of the Southern Yin Kingdom, had secretly instigated the Great Khan of Xiutu to start a war with the Northern Ye Kingdom.
His reason for not directly clashing with Beiye was simply that there was still a gap in national strength between the two countries. They knew they might not be able to defeat a militarily strong Beiye. However, they were absolutely capable of fighting a weakened Beiye.
Xiao Daozun was not an adventurer; he only fought battles he was prepared for and had a good chance of winning.
Although the Xiutu people are straightforward and not good at strategy, they are not stupid.
Although they were unwilling to be used as pawns by Nan Yin, their tribe had suffered repeated natural disasters in recent years, making it difficult for the people to survive. In order to survive, they had to go north to plunder and seize the resources of Bei Ye.
Furthermore, while the late emperor was still on the throne, he had secretly plotted with Crown Prince Zhao Yunfu and Yan Yue a strategy of "first pacifying the northern border, then conquering the southern Yin, and finally unifying the world." Therefore, whether Xiutu was willing or not, this war was inevitable.
The battle in the northern frontier, ostensibly against the Xiutu people, was in reality also a contest with the Southern Yin from afar.
This truth was known not only to Huan Xun, but also to Yan Yue.
Even though Beiye currently holds the advantage, the reason it doesn't engage in battles on multiple fronts is to avoid incurring huge losses, losing its original advantage, becoming clumsy, and being dragged into a quagmire, allowing Nanyin to reap the benefits.
The fact that Nan Yin has not directly intervened so far is also because it intends to use the northern frontier battlefield to probe the true combat strength of Bei Ye, learn from it, create obstacles, and deplete Bei Ye's forces at the lowest cost.
Although the Xiutu people saw through Nan Yin's scheme, they could not say "no".
Under Yan Yue's command, the right flank of the army was on the verge of collapse. The central and left flanks were engaged in fighting the Beiya army and had no time to attend to the right flank. The right flank army now relied more on the secret reinforcements and supplies from Nan Yin.
Xiao Daozun's move clearly shows that he is using the northern frontier as his training ground, exchanging combat experience and intelligence gains with minimal losses.
There must be spies from Nan Yin on this battlefield in the northern frontier. Sang Yueshi's background as Nan Yin has never been a secret, so it wouldn't be difficult for them to make contact with him.
Moreover, given his decision to marry, it's not surprising that he would leak information to his own people.
The moment the intelligence was leaked, he could almost certainly guess Hou Chong'an's fate.
Hou Chong'an was one of Yan Yue's top generals. Anyone with a modicum of strategic common sense would not allow such an opponent to live.
If we can wipe them out as soon as possible, we will certainly not hesitate to take drastic measures.
Therefore, from the moment that secret order was betrayed, Hou Chong'an, unaware of the truth, was destined for a dead end. After listening to Huan Xun's argument, Xie Cheng was speechless for a moment.
He hesitated inwardly: "Ever since Yue Shi went to deliver the secret order, he has never returned. The Grand Commander has been looking for him, but in the end he only found a corpse the same size as him, but with a completely unrecognizable face."
Xie Cheng recalled the Sang Yueshi he knew well—cautious, sincere, and the one who had once shielded him from a knife.
He still found it hard to understand: "Did he stay by the governor's side for so many years just to wait for an opportunity to kill General Hou? Why did he suddenly make his move now?"
“If one can seek revenge after nine generations, one can do so after a hundred generations. Why he took action is debatable.”
Huan Xun snorted coldly: "Father thought he could polish a stone, but now it seems that Sang Yue Stone is nothing but a stubborn rock."
When he left the Beiya Army to start the Xuan Ce Army, he reminded Hou Chong'an to be wary of this person, and later he also gave instructions to Yan Yue.
Unfortunately, Yan Yue was too arrogant, firmly believing in his ability to judge people, and convinced that Sang Yueshi was a promising talent. He also believed that Sang Yueshi would truly put aside past grievances and remain loyal to the end.
Hou Chong'an, with his fiery temper, easily offends people.
Offending others without realizing it, and failing to take precautions on the battlefield, is itself a danger.
"According to you, I think he's not dead at all; that corpse was just a smokescreen."
Having clarified the ins and outs, Huan Xun knew that now was not the time to pursue the matter further.
Now that the Gao and Wang families have jointly submitted a memorial impeaching Yan Yue, the Chen family will surely follow suit.
Such a serious blunder would have resulted in the dismissal of an ordinary court official. However, given Yan Yue's position, while the emperor might not severely punish him, the various powerful clans would certainly not let this opportunity to launch an attack pass by.
For now, we can only wait and see what happens and what kind of trouble they want to stir up with this matter.
He didn't care who Sang Yueshi's intelligence was sold to, whether it was the Xiutu people or the Southern Yin.
All he knew was that this was a golden opportunity to uproot the deeply entrenched power of the aristocratic clans.
Wang, Gao, Chen, Li... He absolutely could not allow these people to become stumbling blocks to imperial power in the future. Not a single one of the aristocratic families could be spared.
He had to remove all these obstacles before the road could be paved.
Huan Xun stood before the desk, lost in thought for a long time, then suddenly turned to look at the person behind him.
He calmly said, "Since the gentry want military merit, then let's give them a chance."
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Author's Note: This chapter features a strong plot, and it's also a chapter where my brain cells were constantly burning! [Side-eared rabbit head emoji]
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