Chapter 929 Protect Your Majesty!

Weiguan, in the Fengwu Army camp

Looking at Tang Peng leaving, the smile on Yuan Song’s face gradually disappeared, and he returned to the tent...

At the beginning, although Tang Peng was in a hurry because Shangguan Changgong's order to kill him could reach Wei Guan at any time, although he was helpless, he had to act according to the urgency of the matter. He opened the city gate and betrayed the Luoan court without having time to negotiate terms with the Fengwu Army.

However, after the Fengwu Army entered the city, Tang Peng, who thought he had surrendered to Wei Guan as a token of his allegiance, also wanted to ask Yuan Song for benefits.

Tang Peng hopes that the Fengwu Army can follow the example of the previous attack on Yijing and organize the captured imperial guards into the Fengwu Army's Fifth Army, with him as the commander. To show his determination, Tang Peng is also willing to lead the Fifth Army as the vanguard to attack Luoan!

Yuan Song could only comfort Tang Peng about his idea, but he did not dare to agree with it at all!
First, Yuan Song told Tang Peng that he had no decision-making power and he could only report the matter to Ye Mingsheng, who would then make the final decision!
After getting Yuan Song's answer, Tang Peng was obviously disappointed but he could only settle for the next best thing and hoped that Yuan Song could write a letter to Ye Mingsheng to give him advice.

Yuan Song dared not agree to this. As the saying goes, a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. He was worried that his achievements would overshadow his master, so he was always very careful in the internal affairs of the Fengwu Army. He did not dare to overstep his authority in the slightest, for fear of giving others something to talk about...
The precedent for what Tang Peng was seeking was that after capturing Yijing with the help of Gu Shouting, Ye Mingsheng fulfilled his promise and handed over the prisoners of the Youyan Army to Gu Shouting to form the Fifth Division.

This incident itself is nothing, but the problem is that Gu Shouting has been executed for corruption and abuse of power, and even the Gu family has been exiled for misappropriating money from the bank to lend at high interest rates.

And now Tang Peng wants to follow the example of Gu Shouting. Yuan Song does not have the courage to write a letter to Ye Mingsheng to persuade him on this matter!

What's more, Yuan Song is now unsure about Ye Mingsheng's attitude towards these powerful people in the Great Zhou, so he doesn't want to get involved in this muddy water.

Therefore, he told Tang Peng that he would report his request to Ye Mingsheng truthfully! However, Yuan Song did not mention a word about his attitude towards this matter!

Tang Peng was deeply dissatisfied and disappointed with Yuan Song's attitude of not caring about the matter. He believed that if it were not for his help, even if the Fengwu Army could break through Wei Pass, it would still cost tens of thousands of casualties and two months!
Two months is enough time for a lot of things to happen. What if the Fengwu Army fails to hold on?

With this idea in mind, Tang Peng believed that he had made great contributions to the Fengwu Army and also owed a great favor to Yuan Song!
It would be fine if Yuan Song didn’t agree to directly appoint me as the commander of the Fifth Army, but why is he still making excuses when it comes to helping me write a letter to Ye Mingsheng...
Although he was very dissatisfied and helpless with Yuan Song, Tang Peng understood rationally that he was no longer the Duke of Chu of the Great Zhou who could show off his might in the past!
So facing Yuan Song's polite refusal, Tang Peng could only swallow his anger, and on the surface he had to thank Yuan Song for writing to Ye Mingsheng on his behalf!
After seeing off Tang Peng, Yuan Song’s tent soon welcomed a new guest, who was Zheng Chuang, the lieutenant general of the Second Army!
After entering the tent, Zheng Chuang reported to Yuan Song:

"I have already settled the more than 20,000 prisoners of the imperial guards. As for Tang Peng's 3,000 men, I followed your instructions and did not confiscate their weapons. I also sent them 20,000 taels of silver and 100 gold bars!"

Hearing this, Yuan Song nodded slightly. Although he could not agree to Tang Peng's request, as a commander he also had to reward and punish fairly.

Tang Peng and his men made great efforts in capturing Wei Pass. If he had not expressed his opinion, it would have inevitably led to dissatisfaction among Tang Peng's men.

After talking about the captives, Zheng Chuang started to speak again:
"Your Excellency, all the troops have almost finished their rest now, and they are all clamoring to rush to Luoan and capture the prefectures and counties in Guanzhong!"

Yuan Song was not surprised at all. He nodded and asked again:
"How is the enemy in Huaiyang doing now?"

Zheng Chuang said without hesitation:
“The enemy general Su He gathered about 15,000 remnant soldiers in Huaiyang, but he did not dare to stay in Huaiyang for long and quickly retreated towards Luoan…”

After saying this, Zheng Chuang hesitated for a moment and said:
"Several generals don't seem to understand your intention of letting them go, sir!"

After Ma Chongyang was killed in the battle when they broke through Wei Pass that day, Su He led the remaining imperial guards to flee. At that time, Chen Chuanwu, Ye Dong, and Ye Tao all wanted to lead their troops to pursue and kill him, but they were all rejected by Yuan Song.

Only in this way can Su He leave safely without any hindrance!

Listening to Zheng Chuang's words, Yuan Song smiled and shook his head and said:

"I think it's not just Chen Chuanwu, Ye Dong and the others who don't understand. Zheng Chuang, you don't understand why I do this, right?"

Seeing that Yuan Song had seen through his little trick, Zheng Chuang nodded somewhat embarrassedly. At this moment, a messenger walked into the tent and said to Yuan Song:

"Reporting to Lord Yuan, Captain Zhang Xiaojie of the General Coordination Office is here to ask for a meeting!"

Upon hearing this news, Yuan Song's eyes suddenly lit up and he ordered:

"Let him in quickly!"

"Yes!"

A moment later, Zhang Xiaojie walked into the tent, bowed to Yuan Song and said:

"I am Zhang Xiaojie, your humble servant, and I am here to see Master Yuan!"

Yuan Song waved his hand and said:

"Captain Zhang, there's no need to be so polite. Is there any new progress?"

Zhang Xiaojie nodded and said:

"It is basically certain that Shangguan Changgong will take the little emperor from Xingyuan Prefecture to Sichuan. The time will probably be in these few days..."

As soon as these words came out, Yuan Song immediately stood up and instructed Zheng Chuang next to him:

"Call all the generals to a meeting!"

"Yes!"

Following Yuan Song's order, an incense stick later, Shen Quan, Ye Dong, Ye Tao, Chen Chuanwu and other Fengwu Army generals also appeared in Yuan Song's central military tent.

Looking around at the people in the tent, Yuan Song slowly said:
"I know that you have been complaining about why I don't allow you to capture other prefectures and counties in Guanzhong and pursue the remnants of the enemy army!" "Now I will tell you why I don't allow you to attack other prefectures and counties in Guanzhong!"

"The reason why we didn't capture other prefectures and counties in Guanzhong is that our army has spent more than a month attacking Weiguan and the soldiers have suffered heavy losses and need to rest. Secondly, we also want to give Shangguan Changgong a chance to escape south!"

"If our army captures other prefectures and counties in Guanzhong, especially Xingyuan Prefecture, and cuts off Shangguan Changgong's escape route to Sichuan, Shangguan Changgong will have no choice but to lead his troops to defend Luoan, and our army will have no time to attack Luoan!"

After the words were spoken, all the generals looked puzzled, not understanding what Yuan Song meant.

The Fengwu Army had just breached Wei Pass and the situation was looking very good. How come they didn't have time to attack Luoan?
Sir Yuan has drunk too much and is starting to talk drunkenly, right?
Amid the puzzled and surprised gazes of the generals, Yuan Song directed his instructions to Zhang Xiaojie beside him:
“As for the rest of the situation, you, Captain Zhang, will be the one to introduce it to everyone…”

Zhang Xiaojie also stood up upon hearing this and introduced himself in front of these Fengwu Army generals in a deep voice:
"My Lords, I am now going to tell you a top-secret message. The Great Khan of the Golden Horde, Asdogan, has decided to go south to intervene!"

"According to our preliminary investigation, Esiduoan is going to personally lead two Tiger Divisions, five Eagle Divisions, and nearly 100,000 Kipchak troops from Yongliang to the south to support the Luoan court and prevent our army from unifying the country!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the soldiers were shocked, and then everyone suddenly realized what Yuan Song meant when he said that they did not have time to attack Luo An.

If the information from the Coordination Office is correct, then with 100,000 Cuman soldiers watching closely, the Fengwu Army may not only have no time or opportunity to attack the city, but the situation may even take a sharp turn for the worse, and they may completely lose the initiative on the battlefield!
Looking at the serious faces of the crowd, Zhang Xiaojie continued:
"Although it has been confirmed that Asdogan will personally lead his troops south, you don't need to worry too much for the time being. The Golden Horde will need some time to mobilize its troops!"

“At present, the main force of the Golden Horde is still concentrated on the Elunqin steppe. To mobilize them to Yongliang and prepare for logistics, I estimate that it will take them half a month to complete the mobilization…”

"Based on this news, our Coordination Office discussed with Lord Yuan and decided not to attack other prefectures and counties in Guanzhong for the time being, in order to lure Shangguan Changgong to flee south to Sichuan!

"When Shangguan Changgong really chooses to flee south, we can kill him in Xingyuan Prefecture!"

"As long as we can kill Shangguan Changgong in Xingyuan Prefecture, our army can defeat the enemy without fighting and take over Luoan City without any effort!"

"At present, our coordination office has received accurate information that the plan to lure Shangguan Changgong to flee south has been successful. Shangguan Changgong will flee south to Sichuan through Xingyuan Prefecture in the next few days!"

After listening to Zhang Xiaojie's explanation, everyone understood the key and their eyes became hot. Everyone realized that they were about to win a great victory in Xingyuan Prefecture, and at this time Chen Chuanwu raised a new question.

"Captain Zhang, if that's the case, then why did you let Su He lead the remaining enemy troops to withdraw to Luoan?"

"Su He brought back more than 10,000 people to Luoan this time. If the plan to lure Shangguan Changgong to flee south fails, then these remaining soldiers will greatly enhance Luoan's city defense!"

Zhang Xiaojie smiled and said:
“General Chen, I understand your concerns, but this is a backup plan that our Coordination Office discussed with Lord Yuan…”

"Although we have decided to implement the plan to lure Shangguan Changgong to flee south, we cannot be sure that Shangguan Changgong will definitely flee south!"

"So in order to prevent Shangguan Changgong from fleeing south to Sichuan and Shu, and instead fighting our army to the death in Luo'an, our Coordination Office discussed with Lord Yuan and decided to let Su He lead the remaining imperial guards back to Luo'an!"

"I am dissatisfied with you generals. Our Coordination Office had contacted General Su He through some connections before our army attacked Wei Pass, and has been working on General Su's work!"

"It's just that General Su's attitude was a bit ambiguous at the time. He neither agreed to our army opening the city and surrendering it, nor did he completely refuse!"

"However, after the Weiguan City was breached, General Su He wanted to surrender to our army immediately, but considering the situation of conquering Luoan!"

"We at the Coordination Office are planning to have General Su gather the remaining imperial guards in Huaiyang and then withdraw to Luoan. If Shangguan Changgong really wants to fight to the death with our army in Luoan, then we can have General Su follow General Tang's example and help our army capture Luoan!"

"That's why Lord Yuan forbade you to pursue and let General Su He lead his troops back to Luoan!"

After hearing Zhang Xiaojie's explanation, all the generals in the camp suddenly understood and bowed to Yuan Song in admiration:
"My lord, you are so smart and cautious, which is beyond the reach of us..."

In response to the admiration of his subordinates, Yuan Song waved his hand and began to deploy:

"The Ninth Division is in a better condition after resting. This time, the mission to go to Xingyuan Prefecture to kill Shangguan Changgong will be handed over to you, Ye Dong! As for Shen Quan, your Fourth Division will be responsible for going to Wudaokou to support the Ninth Division!"

Upon hearing Yuan Song's order, Ye Dong and Shen Quan were both delighted. Under the envious gazes of the crowd, they stood up and said:
"Thank you, sir. We will definitely fulfill our mission and kill the traitor Shangguan Changgong!"

After completing the deployment, Yuan Song gave some detailed instructions to others, asking everyone to prepare for the attack on Luoan. After the meeting, Yuan Song left Ye Dong alone again.

Yuan Song looked at Ye Dong meaningfully and said:
"This time Shangguan Changgong flees south to Sichuan, and your majesty will be in the team!"

Hearing the word "Your Majesty", Ye Dong was stunned for a moment before he realized who Yuan Song was referring to. At this time, Yuan Song continued:

"The purpose of our Fengwu Army's Western Expedition is to purge the emperor's entourage. The Marshal sent a letter a few days ago asking us to protect His Majesty's safety!"

"Ye Dong, you are responsible for killing Shangguan Changgong this time. You must ensure the safety of His Majesty and not let Him have any accidents!"

At the end, Yuan Song even emphasized the word "accidentally", and his eyes became meaningful...
"Ye Dong, do you understand what I mean?"

Feeling Yuan Song's gaze, Ye Dong felt somewhat puzzled. He did not think that Ye Mingsheng was really trying to purge the emperor's court. However, when he heard Yuan Song say this, he nodded without much hesitation and said:
"Don't worry, Master Yuan. I will protect His Majesty and prevent him from having any accidents!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Song looked at him deeply again. Seeing Ye Dong's confident and determined look, Yuan Song believed him and said:
"Go back and get ready!"

(End of this chapter)