Chapter 191 Peng Rong pulls out the imperial edict!
After a few rare days of peace, King Cheng and the King of Dongliao started fighting!
Peng Rong had been on inspection tours these past few days. Upon hearing that the two rebel kings had started fighting, he hurried back on horseback.
"General Shen, the best time to attack them will be after they are both severely weakened!"
Shen Lanxi glanced at the unusually excited Peng Rong and casually said, "Yes, this is the opportunity I've been waiting for!"
Peng Rong: "Let's mobilize the troops!"
Shen Lanxi raised her hand: "Make up the troops!"
Peng Rong waited and waited, and when she stopped talking, he reminded her, "Should we transfer all the troops from the other prefectures?"
He had already inspected the area; the troops, including all of them, numbered at least five or six thousand.
Shen Lanxi: "If we transfer them here, who will farm the fields?"
Peng Rongfei quickly replied, "We can let them go back after the fight is over!"
Shen Lanxi shook her head: "No one knows how long the two rebel kings will fight. It could be three to five months, or it could be three to five years. If all those people are conscripted, we'll run out of food in the winter!"
Peng Rong tried to persuade her further, but Liu Yan's voice drowned out his words.
“When Supervisor Zhao was here before, I showed him the account books. Deputy Supervisor Wu was also there at the time. I wonder if Deputy Supervisor Wu mentioned the matter of grain and pay to Supervisor Peng?”
Peng Rong froze. Wu Tong had already told him about the account book. It was a book of debts; did Shen Lanxi expect him to use it to beg the Emperor for silver and grain?
"General, now is not the time to talk about that. It seems the two rebel kings are about to weaken each other. Such a good opportunity may not come again. Don't you want to return to the capital and reunite with your family as soon as possible?"
Shen Lanxi saw Peng Rong's anxious state but didn't say anything definitively.
"Wait a few more days. If the King of Cheng and the King of Dongliao really fight to the death, I will transfer all my troops here!"
Peng Rong refused.
"General Shen, do you know that what you're doing is delaying the suppression of the rebellion? On the battlefield, this will be considered a crime of treason?"
Shen Lanxi's expression changed.
"Commander Peng can convict me of treason just by talking? Since General Peng is so powerful, just conjure up some funds and provisions for our march. I'll mobilize troops immediately upon seeing them, without a second thought!"
Peng Rong's face turned red with anger.
Women should not be allowed to command troops. Women only know how to be petty and do they know what it means to delay the battle?
"General Shen, I order you to mobilize troops immediately, or don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Shen Lanxi sneered: "Lord Peng is quite arrogant, isn't he? You can't get the grain and pay, so you're threatening me here to show no mercy? How many pounds of grain is your mercy worth? Should I have someone peel it off and weigh it?"
Peng Rong laughed instead of getting angry, glaring fiercely at Shen Lanxi.
"Shen Lanxi, how dare you disobey the imperial decree? Aren't you afraid of having your entire family executed?" After saying that, he took out the imperial decree from his sleeve.
Shen Lanxi looked at the unfolded imperial edict, which stated that if the war situation was undecided, the supervising officer could exercise his authority. She found it all ironic!
"Commander Peng, you'd better think this through. If you rashly send troops and attract the attention of the rebel king, those two might very well form an alliance and destroy us. At that time, because of your misjudgment, the prestige of our Great Zhou will be tarnished, and you might have to bear the consequences."
Peng Rong sneered, not taking Shen Lanxi's warning to heart at all.
"Don't worry, I will definitely wait until the two rebel kings are both exhausted before sending out my troops. At that time, the army that quells the rebellion will fight two against one, severely damaging the two traitors, and the court will surely be glorious and honored!" At that time, he will be promoted, receive high-ranking positions and generous salaries, and become a close minister of the emperor, bringing honor to his ancestors!
Shen Lanxi: "I advise Lord Peng not to be too happy too soon!"
Peng Rong was so blinded by his newfound success that he couldn't possibly listen to Shen Lanxi's words.
"I urge Lord Shen to immediately deploy the troops, or don't blame me for exercising my supervisory duties and for forcing you to relinquish your military command!"
Shen Lanxi raised a mocking smile: "You want to seize my military power?"
Now that things have come to this, Peng Rong decided to cut to the chase.
"Women are only good at managing the household, embroidering and sewing, how could they command troops?"
"Lord Shen, considering your past merits in suppressing the rebellion, I will not speak of your disobedient words before His Majesty. You may request to resign from the army yourself!" Peng Rong said arrogantly, brooking no argument.
Shen Lanxi sneered and turned to leave.
Peng Rong watched Shen Lanxi's departing figure, a smug smile spreading across his face.
Hmph, I thought Shen Lanxi had three heads and six arms. Women are women, they're timid and easily scared away.
Three days later, Peng Rong received news that King Cheng and King Dongliao had suffered heavy losses and were now retreating in two directions, east and west respectively.
"There's no time to wait for deployment. Immediately assemble five thousand troops and go capture Prince Cheng first. Then go and capture the King of Dongliao!"
A cold smile crept across Wei Dongzhu's lips beneath his mask: "Yes!"
Shen Lanxi watched Peng Rong leave with five thousand soldiers, then turned and entered the military camp.
More than an hour later, bad news came from the army that was suppressing the rebellion: Peng Rong had fallen into an ambush set by King Cheng and was riddled with arrows!
Wu Tong was pulled out and given a critical mission.
Wei Dongzhu: "General Shen's military power has been taken back by Supervisor Peng. According to the imperial edict, he is now the deputy supervisor in charge of the army to quell the rebellion."
Wu Tongxin trembled violently.
He commands? Can he even command?
"General Peng means that since the two rebel kings are now locked in a fierce battle, we should take advantage of their weakened state and reap the benefits!"
Wu Tong asked, his lips trembling, "Peng Rong's plan is pretty good. Did he actually benefit from it?"
Wei Dongzhu: "He's dead!"
Wu Tong: "If he can't do it, do you want me to go and die like him?"
Wei Dongzhu: "As Inspector Peng said before, now is the best time. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a traitor!"
Wu Tong immediately jumped up and down: "Bullshit! He lost his life because he gave orders recklessly!"
Qian Feng said in a somber tone, "It wasn't just him; a thousand elite soldiers also perished in King Cheng's ambush!"
Wu Tong became even more anxious upon hearing this. "You all know it's a trap, an ambush, and you still want to push me out to my death?"
He's not stupid!
Liu Yan said angrily, "The previous Supervisor Zhao was only interested in making meritorious contributions and was killed by the traitors. Now it's Supervisor Peng too. They're all too eager to make meritorious contributions!"
Wu Tong was furious. He thought to himself, "Aren't they just eager to make meritorious contributions for promotion? They didn't even call on him when he had the chance to do so, as if they were afraid he would steal the credit."
Fortunately, they didn't call him. It was only because both of them wanted to claim all the credit that he was able to save his life.
No, he had to write to His Majesty and his uncle immediately, asking them to send another calm and collected military supervisor!
After fighting for a few days, King Cheng and King Dongliao stopped fighting. Later, it was rumored that the two had deliberately put on a show for the court.
When Wu Tong found out, he was terrified.
"Those two traitors are indeed cunning and treacherous. Others treat them like the snipe and the clam, but little do they know, they are the fishermen!"
Wu Tong then received news that King Cheng and King Dongliao were secretly sending troops to Liucheng.
Startled, he quickly summoned Wei Dongzhu and the others to discuss the matter!
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