Chapter 897: The fall of a star general!

Three hours later, amid the shouting and wailing, the eastern sky gradually turned pale, and Yang Chongqing's expression could not help but show a hint of bitterness·······························

His goal had changed from taking down the Fengwu Army's central camp in one fell swoop last night and completely defeating the Fengwu Army to simply attacking the Fengwu Army's central camp.

As long as they break into the central army camp and stick close to the Fengwu Army, the Fengwu Army's most powerful red cannon will be restricted, and the Imperial Army will still have a chance of winning.

Although the imperial guards almost opened a gap and attacked the Fengwu Army's central camp several times, they failed in the end and the Fengwu Army took advantage of the gap.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Yang Chongqing knew that his last desperate attack had failed. Now it was daybreak and the Fengwu Army's artillery would soon recover its full power. Continuing to launch an offensive against the Fengwu Army would only lead to death. Thinking of this, Yang Chongqing planned to order his troops to withdraw.

Although the crazy attack that night caused great casualties to the Imperial Guards, there are still tens of thousands of soldiers left, and there is still hope to defend Eryang Mountain and Pingyang City. Now the Cumans are still continuing to harass the hinterland of Yunbing. As long as we can hold on, I believe there will always be a chance!
Just when Yang Chongqing was about to issue the order to withdraw his troops, countless deafening roars suddenly rang out from the direction of Eryang Mountain...

Hearing these roars, Yang Chongqing was stunned at first, then seemed to realize something, and immediately raised the telescope and looked towards the direction of Eryang Mountain.

Although it was too far to see clearly, Yang Chongqing also saw that the dust was flying in the Imperial Army camp on Eryang Mountain. There was no doubt that they were bombarded by the Fengwu Army again. Soon, a messenger came to Yang Chongqing in a hurry and reported:

"Marshal Yang, something bad has happened. A group of Fengwu troops have made a detour to the foot of Eryang Mountain and are now frantically attacking Eryang Mountain under the cover of artillery fire."

Upon hearing the messenger's words, Yang Chongqing's face suddenly darkened, and the last glimmer of hope in his heart disappeared. He realized that he had fallen into Yuan Song's trap of luring the enemy deep into his territory!

Yuan Song deliberately used a front camp and several red cannons as bait to make Yang Chongqing see the hope of victory and trick him into putting all his troops into action. Then he arranged the troops to steal the Eryang Mountain. Thinking of this, Yang Chongqing felt extremely remorseful and annoyed that he had fallen into Yuan Song's trap.

But at this moment, even if Yang Chongqing blamed himself and felt regretful, it would be of no use. Things had already happened and it was impossible to change them. Now he was faced with a painful choice.

It is almost dawn now. Once I order my troops to rush to the rescue of Eryang Mountain, my troops will be exposed to the artillery range of the Fengwu Army...

Without the protection of fortifications and bunkers on the outskirts of Eryang Mountain, the army would suffer heavy casualties and even be surrounded by the Fengwu Army, resulting in the annihilation of the main force of the Imperial Army.

And if he did not order the reinforcements for Eryang Mountain, once Eryang Mountain was breached by the Fengwu Army, the Fengwu Army could set up the red cannons on Eryang Mountain and bombard Pingyang City from high above, and Pingyang City would be lost in an instant!
Faced with such a difficult choice, Yang Chongqing immediately asked the lieutenant general Liu Cheng:

"How many defenders are there on Eryang Mountain now?"

Facing Yang Chongqing's question, Liu Cheng thought for a moment and said:
"After you ordered the entire army to attack last night, almost all the defenders on Eryang Mountain rushed up. Now there may be only two or three thousand people left on the mountain!"

Hearing this answer, Yang Chongqing's face undoubtedly became more gloomy, and then he looked at the messenger. The messenger was also a smart man and understood Yang Chongqing's meaning and said:
“The Fengwu Army that attacked Eryang Mountain had at least 10,000 men. Judging from their flag, they should be the Fourth Division of the Fengwu Army. They also carried a flag with the word ‘Shen’ on it, which seems to be the Fourth Division’s general Shen Quan personally commanding the attack on Eryang Mountain…”

Hearing this, Yang Chongqing felt despair in his heart, and his body swayed and he almost fell to the ground. Although the general of the Fourth Division, Shen Quan, was not well-known in the Fengwu Army and was promoted later and no one had heard of his outstanding qualities, the Fourth Division was the real main force of the Fengwu Army, and its combat effectiveness was still very strong!
On the surface, Yang Chongqing is now faced with a decision of whether to rush to the aid of Eryang Mountain, but on a deeper level it is a question of whether to accept defeat!

If they accept defeat, they will have to give up Eryang Mountain. Giving up Eryang Mountain is equivalent to giving up Pingyang and withdrawing to Guanzhong. Although this will be embarrassing and they will return in disgrace, they will be able to preserve their assets, the remaining tens of thousands of imperial guards, and the last spark of fire for the Luoan court!
If you refuse to accept defeat, you must hold on to Pingyang until the last moment. Now you must rush to support Eryang Mountain immediately!
However, the possibility of success is very low. Once failed, it will be completely hopeless. The main force of the imperial army will be lost, and the Luoan court may even fall apart before the Fengwu army enters Guanzhong!

Faced with this painful choice, Yang Chongqing sighed deeply and instructed the people around him who were anxiously waiting for orders:
"Let the soldiers retreat back to Pingyang City!"

"Prepare to evacuate Pingyang City tonight and retreat towards Weiguan!"

"yes························"

After giving this order, Yang Chongqing looked at the clouds in the sky with some nostalgia, then left the city wall and returned to his government office in the city.

After returning to the government office, Yang Chongqing went into the study and began to write a letter. Although he and Shangguan Changgong had had many conflicts due to various things recently, the friendship between the two men after decades of acquaintance was still very deep, so at this moment, Yang Chongqing felt that he needed to write a letter to Shangguan Changgong.

After writing the letter, Yang Chongqing put it in an envelope and asked the captain of his personal guard to send it back to Luoan and hand it over to Shangguan Changgong.

Then Yang Chongqing took out his seal and placed it on the table, wrote his last military order, and transferred the military power to Tang Peng.

After doing all this, Yang Chongqing drew out his sword. Looking at his sword that was shining with cold light, a self-deprecating smile appeared on Yang Chongqing's face.

He was so glorious and high-spirited when he led 100,000 imperial troops into Yunbing a few months ago. He never expected that he would end up like this a few months later!

Yang Chongqing knew that the war had reached this point and someone had to step forward to take responsibility, and as the military commander, he had to shoulder this responsibility!

Yang Chongqing also knew that Shangguan Changgong was a sentimental person. Although he was very disappointed in him, when he returned to Luoan, he would not kill him or put him in jail. He would only completely strip him of his military power and let him be an idle person...

To be honest, this is a blessing for any general!

But Yang Chongqing couldn't get over his own hurdle. Although he lost the war with the Fengwu Army, he was not afraid of the Fengwu Army! However, what Yang Chongqing was afraid of was watching the Luoan court, which he had served all his life, being destroyed by the Fengwu Army, but as an idle man, he could do nothing and felt helpless!

So he wanted to be a deserter and use his death to give an explanation to Shangguan Changgong and the Luoan court to which he had devoted his life!
"Loyal bones are buried everywhere in the green mountains, why should we return home wrapped in horsehide?"

After muttering the last sentence, Yang Chongqing swung the sword in his hand and committed suicide in the study, ending his magnificent life with his own hands!
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Yijing, Cui Mansion

At three quarters past the hour of the twilight, Cui Shao, the central envoy, returned home with a tired body. Ye Mingsheng had been inspecting various places recently, so the government affairs that should have been handled by Ye Mingsheng now fell into Cui Shao's hands, which doubled Cui Shao's already heavy workload.

After returning home, Cui Shao had a simple meal and planned to wash up and go to bed to rest early. He had to hold a meeting in the Government Affairs Bureau at 3:30 tomorrow morning to discuss the prevention of locust plagues, financial approval in Anqing and Huainan, and many other matters.

However, just as Cui Shao lay down, a maid came to report that Cui Zibo had something important to discuss with him. Cui Shao wanted to refuse directly, as in his eyes, Cui Zibo did not have anything important to discuss. But after thinking about it carefully, he was still a little worried, so he asked the maid to bring Cui Zibo in.

After putting on his clothes, Cui Shao sat on a chair, and as soon as Cui Zibo entered the room, he began to preach mysteriously:
"Dad, I have a friend in the Attendant Department who gave me a very important piece of news!"

Hearing this, Cui Shao took a sip of tea and asked back:
"Is your friend Song Haibo?"

Seeing that his father had seen through him, Cui Zibo was somewhat annoyed and immediately introduced:

"Dad, didn't you teach me before that I shouldn't be prejudiced against others, but should be courteous to the wise and have good relations with the scholars from poor families? So I made friends with Song Haibo, who was selected from Qilu to be the deputy director of the Attendant Department. He is a very capable and talented person..."

"Although the salary given to him by the Attendant Department is not small, including various allowances and subsidies, it is more than 150 taels of silver a year, but Song Haibo has to bring his family to Yijing, and the cost of living is very high!"

"Besides, his family used to sell wontons. Now his parents are old, so not only can they not help Song Haibo, but they also need Song Haibo to send money back frequently. Song Haibo lives a very tight life!"

"Recently, his wife gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and his eldest brother came from Qilu to live with him. His family can no longer live in the original courtyard, so he wants to move to a bigger courtyard, but he is short of money and can't afford the rent!"

"So I called Zhang Peng and asked him to rent out his courtyard house to Song Haibo at a low price, saving Song Haibo a lot of money. I also arranged a job for his elder brother as a runner, so he can earn some money in a year."

"Song Haibo was very grateful to me for this, and a close relationship was established between us. We often visit each other on weekdays!"

Hearing his son's words, Cui Shao nodded slightly and said:

“I have met this Song Haibo. He is brilliant and thoughtful. He is indeed a rare talent. What’s more, the most important thing is that the reason why the Marshal selected him to join the Attendant Department in Qilu was because he had no background…”

"If nothing unexpected happens, I think the Marshal will keep Song Haibo with him for a while, and then let him return to Qilu to take up an important position. Zibo, it will be of great benefit to you in the future if you make a good relationship with him now!"

Cui Zibo was very happy to see that his actions were recognized by his father. He said to his father Cui Shao in a low voice:

"Dad, isn't the Marshal out on an inspection tour these days? But the attendant department has not been quiet and has been preparing and planning something. I was a little curious so I asked Song Haibo to come out and try to get some information out of him. At first, Song Haibo was tight-lipped, but after a few drinks, I got some information out of him!"

"He told me that the Marshal was going to implement tax reform in a certain county in Yunbing, and that he was going to implement some kind of tiered tax price!"

"It seems to mean that some extremely poor people will not have to pay taxes in the future. Those with an annual income of less than 50 taels of silver will be taxed at 10%, and those with an annual income of more than 50 taels but less than 100 taels will be taxed at 2 taels!"

"For annual income above 100 taels and below 500 taels, a 30% tax will be levied!"

"For annual income above 500 taels and below 1,000 taels, a 40% tax will be levied!"

“Annual income above 1,000 taels will be taxed at 50%…”

Upon hearing this, Cui Shao's expression changed instantly. He looked at Cui Zibo and asked seriously:
"Did Song Haibo tell you this?"

Cui Zibo nodded without hesitation and said:
"Yes, this commander is really interesting. He specifically carried out such a tax reform for a county and acted so seriously. It's really hard to understand what he is doing!"

Cui Shao heard this and gave a rather iron-fisted sermon:
"Shut up! You fool!"

"The Marshal is not only carrying out tax reforms in one county, he is clearly planning to implement his tax plan throughout the country in the future!"

Cui Zibo was stunned when he heard this, and asked in disbelief:
“Dad, you said he wants to promote his plan all over the world? How is that possible? How dare he…”

(I wonder what you think of my idea? Any opinions? I’m all ears!)

(End of this chapter)