Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 321 Secret Message
In the lobby of Xiangyang General's Mansion, Wang Guangtai looked at the letter in his hand with a frown on his face.
Half a month ago, Wang Guangen went to Anlu for a meeting. He originally thought that he would be back in a few days, but he never expected that Wang Guangen would be gone for more than half a month. It was not until yesterday that he sent back a letter.

Wang Guangen's letter mentioned two things. The first was that the Huguang Governor's Office decided to send soldiers from Xiangyang to rescue Jingzhou.
This is not surprising. The Qing court has been active in Huguang since this year. First, Kong Youde and the three kings attacked Hunan Province at the beginning of the year. Later, the Ming army was not to be outdone and marched north again to besiege Jingzhou.

When Kong Youde and others entered Huguang, they drew a large number of Green Camp soldiers from Hubei Province, leaving Hubei Province with a lack of military strength.
The Ming court had been besieging Jingzhou for two months. The Huguang Governor's Office had only sent Sun Dingliao 4,000 men to Jingzhou in the early stage, but it could no longer gather any more manpower to support it. It was only natural that the Governor's Office would set its sights on Xiangyang.
Of course, the Qing court did not order the Xiangyang troops around for nothing. According to Wang Guangen's letter, the governor's office had decided to promote the two men. Wang Guangtai would be promoted to the commander-in-chief of Jingmen, and Wang Chang would also be promoted to the commander-in-chief of Qianjiang.
In fact, the Huguang Governor's Office was offering promotion in exchange for the Wang brothers sending troops to rescue Jingzhou, and Wang Guangen also stated in the letter that he had already agreed to this matter.

The second thing was to order Wang Guangtai and the other two to take over the defense of Xiangyang and rush to Anlu Prefecture as soon as possible to discuss sending troops to rescue Jingzhou.

This is a matter of course. The army cannot just move out with a single order. There are many issues to be considered, such as the supply of food and wages along the way, the marching route, etc. Naturally, they must be negotiated and explained clearly before they can start to march.

Wang Guangtai frowned after reading the letter in his hand, but said nothing. He then handed the letter to Wang Chang below.

After Wang Chang read the letter, he looked dissatisfied and said

"Brother, why are you so confused? It is said that the Ming army besieging Jingzhou this time has 30,000 to 40,000 people, led by Li Guo's group of old thieves who broke into the camp. How can these people be so easy to deal with?
"We are staying peacefully in Xiangyang, let them fight among themselves. How can you get involved in such affairs just for a few empty positions?"

After Wang Chang finished speaking, he glanced outside the door and saw that the soldiers outside the hall had retreated far away. He lowered his voice and said

"Besides, don't we still have contact with them? If we go there now, will we have to decide whether to fight them or not? If we really fight, there will be no room for us to have any contact with them in the future."

Wang Guangtai saw the dissatisfaction on Wang Chang's face and said

"Big brother also has his own difficulties. The Qing court is now powerful. As officials of the Qing court, we are also subject to their control. There are many things that we cannot choose not to do just because we want to."

Although Wang Guangtai was trying to excuse Wang Guangen at this time, he still frowned as he looked at the letter in his hand.

Wang Guangen was forced to agree to send troops to rescue Jingzhou under pressure from the Huguang Governor's Office. He could understand this.

But what really puzzled him was the second thing in the letter. Wang Guangen actually asked them to hand over the defense troops in Xiangyang and then asked them to go to Anlu to discuss matters.
Military power has always been a sensitive issue, but Wang Guangen was vague about how to hand over the Xiangyang army in his letter. He only said that Wang Guangtai and the others should hand over the power as soon as possible and then rush to Anlu to discuss the matter.
Handover, how to handover
The Xiangyang Army was the capital of the three brothers' livelihood, but now the three Wang family members are leaving the army.
Unless the soldiers of Xiangyang were handed over to one of the three brothers, Wang Guangtai would not feel at ease no matter who they were handed over to.
Wang Guangtai knew Wang Guangen very well. His elder brother was always cautious and always kept a close eye on military power. How could he be so careless at this moment?
Wang Guangtai read the letter several times and found that the seal at the bottom of the letter was indeed Wang Guangen's. This made Wang Guangtai even more puzzled.
Among the three brothers Wang Guangen, although Wang Guangen is the eldest brother, the one who actually makes the most decisions is the second brother Wang Guangtai.
At this time, Wang Chang saw that even Wang Guangtai agreed to lead troops to rescue Jingzhou, so he said no more.
Wang Chang looked at Wang Guangtai, who was frowning and silent, and said

"Brother's letter urged us to hand over the defense immediately after reading the letter and go to Anlu for discussion. Who should we hand over the soldiers to now? Li Shiying?"

Wang Guangtai nodded subconsciously after hearing what Wang Chang said. Li Shiying was also an old man in their army.
When they were still bandits, Li Shiying had already followed them in the army. Now that the three of them are gone, handing the soldiers over to Li Shiying is indeed the best option at the moment.
Wang Guangtai was about to agree, but at this moment, for some reason, he felt a little frightened.

The words that were about to come out of Wang Guangtai's mouth stopped again. Wang Guangtai took the letter again and kept flipping through it, frowning on his face.

Wang Chang, who was standing by, saw Wang Guangtai frowning and not saying anything, thinking that Wang Guangtai was dissatisfied with Li Shiying, so he mentioned the names of several generals in the army, but Wang Guangtai remained silent and just flipped through the letter in his hand.

The content of the letter was clear and logical, and there was nothing suspicious about it. But Wang Guangtai didn't know why he felt something was wrong.
Wang Guangtai looked through the letter several times but still couldn't find any suspicious points. He put down the letter in his hand, was silent for a moment, and suddenly said

"Are there any local bandits or rebels near Xiangyang, or gentry who rebelled in support of the Ming Dynasty? They can't be too small, and it's better if they have some reputation."

Wang Chang was also stunned when he heard this. Although he didn't know why Wang Guangtai suddenly asked about the bandits, he thought for a moment and replied.

"There is indeed a group of bandits living in Tangzi Mountain northeast of Xiangyang. The leader of the bandits is named Chen Jiao."

"This Chen Jiao was originally from Tang County. He raised the flag of rebellion in Tang County during the Chongzhen period. After being defeated by the Ming court, he hid in Tangzi Mountain. After the Qing army entered Huguang, this Chen Jiao began to raise the flag of the Ming court and called himself the general of Tang County."

"This group of people would occasionally come to Xiangyang to rob, but they were sensible and only robbed villages and towns in the wild. They didn't dare to go wild under the city. Tang Zishan is in Zaoyang County, so I didn't bother to pay attention to them."

Wang Guangtai thought for a moment and then said

"Since my eldest brother has agreed to this, the governor's decree will probably arrive soon."

"Well, tomorrow you will gather two thousand soldiers and go out of the city in the name of suppressing bandits. Then find a place to stay. After I go to Anlu, you will return to the city to lead the army."

Wang Chang was also shocked when he heard this. He said

"Didn't Big Brother say that we should go together? This..."

Before Wang Chang finished speaking, Wang Guangtai interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said

"Since the Governor's Office wants both of us to rescue Jingzhou together, there is no difference between one or two people going. I can go to the Governor's Office alone to discuss matters."

Wang Guangtai saw the hesitation on Wang Chang's face and continued to speak.

"You don't have to worry. Chen Jiao has raised the banner of supporting the Ming Dynasty, so you are going there to suppress the rebellion for the court. You are leading the troops outside and cannot be contacted for the time being. The military situation of rescuing Jingzhou is urgent, so I will go there first. No one can say anything about this. After I arrive at the Governor's Office, I will explain to the court on your behalf."

"The army of Xiangyang is our family's wealth. It must be in the hands of our brothers. I don't feel at ease handing it over to anyone. Third brother, do you understand?"

After hearing this, Wang Chang thought for a moment and made up his mind. He said

"Okay, I'll listen to my second brother"

Wang Guangen felt relieved when he saw Wang Chang agreed.

Wang Chang actually took risks by staying in Xiangyang. Although they now found an excuse to suppress the rebellion, Wang Chang did not follow the order of the governor to discuss the matter.
The matter to be discussed by the Governor's Office this time was the important matter of rescuing Jingzhou. If the Governor's Office really wanted to investigate, it would not be an exaggeration to charge Wang Chang with the serious crime of delaying military intelligence.
At this time, Wang Guangtai asked Wang Chang to stay in Xiangyang against the order of the governor's office. It seemed that he was pushing the risk to Wang Chang, but Wang Guangtai didn't know why he always felt that going to Anlu at this time would be more dangerous.

However, these were just his groundless assumptions, and he could not explain them to Wang Chang.
The arrangement was complete, but Wang Guangtai still felt uneasy. He picked up the letter on the table again, frowning. After a while, Wang Guangtai suddenly said:

"Don't wait until tomorrow. Go to the camp and count the soldiers now. Be it five hundred or one thousand? Lead them out of the city immediately. We'll figure out the food and pay after we're out of the city." "I'll go find Yang Kuang, the prefect of Xiangyang, and report to the government office that you led the troops out of the city to quell the rebellion. I'll keep a file there so that I can handle the interrogation by the governor's office in the future."

"You must leave Xiangyang before the official document from the Governor's Office arrives."

Wang Chang saw the solemn look on Wang Guangtai's face and nodded in agreement, and was about to lead his troops out of the city. But before Wang Chang could stand up, a personal guard hurried into the hall and said,

"General, there is an urgent letter from Manager Gao, asking the general to open it immediately."

Wang Guangtai had a bad feeling when he heard what the guard said. He stood up, took the envelope, and tore open the seal.
Wang Guangtai unfolded the letter and quickly scanned the contents on it, but his face suddenly turned pale.

Wang Guangtai stood in the hall holding the letter, with a blank expression on his face. Wang Chang saw Wang Guangtai's expression and realized something was wrong. He immediately said in a deep voice:
"Brother, what's going on?"

Wang Chang shouted several times before Wang Guangtai came to his senses. He handed the letter to Wang Chang and said in a muffled voice

"Gao Doushu's identity has been leaked, I'm afraid something has happened to my brother."

Wang Chang's expression changed drastically when he heard this. He immediately took the letter and read it.
The content of Gao Doushu's letter was not much. It mainly explained that Gao Doushu and others were exposed eight days ago, and were captured by Li Zhigang's soldiers in Zhushan, and then they successfully escaped.

Gao Doushu wrote this letter to warn Wang Guangen. At the end of the letter, Gao Doushu also reminded Wang Guangen to be careful of Li Zhigang's temptation. However, Gao Doushu did not know that Wang Guangen was no longer in Xiangyang City.
Wang Guangtai walked back to the table and took the letter from Wang Guangen. His face was gloomy.
The letter on the table was the same as before, but Wang Guangtai was shocked to find that the letter was full of the words "kill all the enemies".

The Qing court promoted the two men at this time to lure them with benefits, and sent them to Anlu to discuss matters in order to lure the tiger away from the mountain. Once the two men really handed over the defense as stated in the letter and left Xiangyang, I am afraid that the soldiers in Xiangyang would be captured immediately.
Once the three of them lost their military power, it would be up to the Qing court to decide whether to kill or chop them up.

Wang Guangen was summoned to Anlu by Pan Shiliang in the name of a meeting half a month ago, but Gao Doushu was attacked only eight days ago. This means that the Qing court had already targeted Wang Guangen and was waiting to catch Gao Doushu in Zhushan.
At this time, Wang Guangen must have been arrested by the Qing government.
Wang Chang looked at the letter in his hand with a look of shock and anger on his face. Wang Chang also realized that Gao Doushu's identity must have been exposed, which implicated Wang Guangen.
Wang Chang was silent for a moment, but a hint of coldness suddenly flashed in his eyes. He suddenly called the guard over.
"Did the messenger tell me where Gao Doushu is now?"

"It is said to be in Nanzhang"

Upon hearing this, Wang Chang turned around and walked out of the hall without saying anything. However, before he could walk out of the door, he was stopped by Wang Guangtai.

"what are you up to"

"Of course we have to catch Gao Doushu!"

A hint of cruelty flashed across Wang Chang's face, and he said in a cold voice
"Gao Doushu came to our house that day and said he wanted to give up his official career and go into business. We changed his household registration for him and gave him a travel permit because of our past friendship."

"But what did he do? He was sending grain to the Ming court in Yunyang under our banner. Now, his identity has been exposed and he has escaped, but my brother has been implicated by him and has been captured by the Qing court."

"Don't blame us for being unjust if he is unkind. I will go and capture Gao Doushu now and hand him over to the Qing court to clear my brother of suspicion!"

Wang Guangtai was also stunned when he heard this, but after a brief thought, he immediately shook his head and stopped Wang Chang.

"No, it's useless even if we catch Gao Doushu now."

The Qing court only summoned them to Anlu Prefecture at this time, and did not do anything about Gao Doushu. If they caught Gao Doushu and handed him over, they would be confessing.
Moreover, they really had dealings with Gao Doushu. If they handed Gao Doushu over to the Qing court at this time, it would really prove their crimes.

Wang Chang heard this and looked annoyed. He couldn't help but say

"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, what should I do now?"

Wang Guangtai was silent when he heard this. This happened too suddenly. How could he know what to do at this moment?

Wang Guangtai and the other man sat on chairs, frowning as they pondered over countermeasures. The atmosphere in the room was heavy. Not long after, a sound of footsteps suddenly broke the silence in the hall.

The guard who had just left came back and said respectfully
"General, the government office sent an invitation, saying that the two generals are invited to a banquet in the city tonight."

"Let them go, who wants to eat with these turbans now?"

Wang Chang looked annoyed and waved his hand to order them to leave. However, the guards in the hall looked embarrassed and still stood in the hall. Seeing this, Wang Guangtai stood up and took the invitation.

Wang Guangtai opened the invitation and took a look at it. His expression suddenly darkened. Wang Guangtai stared at the invitation for a while, but suddenly sneered.
"Good, very good, linked together, step by step, it is indeed a good method"

The invitation was indeed for the two to attend the banquet, but this banquet was a welcoming banquet. Yunyang prefect Pan Shiliang appointed Yang Wenfu and Qi Shangyou as deputy generals of the right camp of Xiangyang.

Yang Wenfu and his men had just arrived in Xiangyang with 500 men today. The welcoming banquet at the government office tonight was also to welcome the two new deputy generals of Xiangyang.
Wang Guangtai and Wang Chang were sitting in the hall, with three letters on the table. It was obvious why Wang Guangen was so vague about the handover of the soldiers in his letter, because no matter who Wang Guangtai handed the Xiangyang soldiers to, it would make no difference to the Qing court.
This letter with Wang Guangen's seal must not have been written by Wang Guangen. The Qing government was not sure about the closeness of the generals in the Xiangyang army, and was afraid of alerting the enemy, so it could only write vaguely about the handover.

The Qing court sent Yang Wenfu and the other two to take over the soldiers from Xiangyang. Wang Guangtai was sure that as soon as he and Wang Chang left Xiangyang, Yang Wenfu and the others would immediately break into the camp and take over the military power.

Although there were many soldiers in Xiangyang, the three Wang family members were no longer in Xiangyang at that time. At this time, all the generals held official positions in the Qing court. How many of them would dare to fight to the death?

Wang Chang looked at Wang Guangtai, who had a gloomy expression beside him, and said in a deep voice

"Brother, what should we do now?"

Wang Guangtai glanced at the three letters on the table, and his face was completely calm.

"The government office asked us to welcome them, so let's go. They want to be the deputy generals of Xiangyang, so I'll let them do it to their heart's content."

A fierce look flashed across Wang Guangtai's face, and then he whispered to Wang Chang. After hearing Wang Guangtai's instructions, Wang Chang also left in a hurry and began to set up the city.
(End of this chapter)