Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 142: Seeking Peace through War

Daiyu looked at Fang Yong and said:

"In that case, come closer, brother, and I will tell you something!"

Fang Yong leaned forward.

Daiyu reached out and gently pulled Fang Yong's sleeve.

Seeing this, Fang Yong put his arms around Daiyu's slender waist and lay down beside her.

"Sister, please tell me."

Fang Yong said, the breath from his breath blowing the black hair on Daiyu's temples.

Daiyu quietly leaned against Fang Yong's chest, gently tapping his chest with her little hand, and said, "Brother, you have fallen into someone else's trap!"

Fang Yong asked: "What do you mean?"

Daiyu said, "In the past, the imperial court was unable to restrain my brother, but now he wants to restrain himself. Isn't this a trap?"

Fang Yong seemed to be thinking about something.

Daiyu continued:

"My brother is planning a great cause. There are many sisters in the mansion. If we make a rule, we will fight over it. How can fighting over the rule be a good thing?"

Fang Yong thought about it. Although Daiyu did not explicitly state who they were fighting against, what she said about arguing because of the regulations would definitely have a great impact on Daiyu if you think about it carefully.

Did Baochai think of this in advance, so she pushed this matter under the pretext of doing good for Daiyu? Or did she overthink it?

While Fang Yong was thinking, Daiyu hugged him again and said to him:
"If my brother has me in his heart, he will not ignore me; if my brother hates me, even if he has set a rule, it will be difficult to change it."

"If the rules are really established, when brother comes next time, is it because of the rules or for me? If brother does not come, is it because he does not want to come, or is it because of the rules that he cannot come? Wouldn't such restrictions make brother and I resentful?"

At this point, Daiyu's beautiful eyes couldn't help but be filled with a layer of mist.

This girl must be overthinking again!
Fang Yong didn't want Daiyu to cry, so he leaned close to her face and said:

"You are worrying too much, sister. I love you so much, how could I hate you?"

Fang Yong said this, and without waiting for Daiyu to say more, he kissed Daiyu, pulled the curtains, and began to reward her.

Tears are flowing...

Changsha, Gong Mansion.

It has been some time since Gong Zhao returned to his hometown.

Since Gong Zhao was sent back to his hometown with great fanfare by the three thousand Huaiyin bandits, the aristocratic families in his hometown naturally included Gong Zhao in the Huaiyin bandit faction.

Gong Zhao was no longer invited to any social or literary gatherings. Even Gong Zhao's younger brother, Gong Qi, who was then the co-magistrate of Changsha Prefecture, broke off relations with Gong Zhao and avoided him like a snake or scorpion.

During this period, Gong Zhao had a very difficult life.

Of course, this is only relative.

Compared to ordinary people, Gong Zhao's life was still very comfortable.

Naturally, some people wanted to report Gong Zhao during this period, but they were suppressed by Gong Qi.

Although Gong Qi and Gong Zhao severed their relationship in public, in fact they were still brothers and blood is thicker than water. The so-called severance of relationship was just to bet on both sides.

The Gong family has quite a bit of influence in Changsha, so there is no need to worry about reports from small-time figures.

As for the families with greater power, they would be even less likely to report the Gong family.

Not only would they not gain much benefit from doing this, but they would also offend the powerful Huaiyin bandits. Why would they do this?

What's more, there is a group of Huaiyin bandits outside the city, and their number is already quite large.

Eighty miles outside the city is Lianhua Ridge.

This is a U-shaped mountain range, covered with mountains and rivers, and surrounded by towns and villages.

Thanks to Emperor Longqing's new policies, a large number of people fled into the mountains, which provided a foundation for He Ai's development.

Relying on Lianhualing, he developed military farms, confiscated large households, and trained militia. He soon gathered 40,000 to 50,000 civilians and his influence grew.

Officials in Changsha Prefecture soon discovered the situation near Lianhualing and reported it to the Hunan Governor. (The Hunan Governor's Office was located in Changsha.)
The Hunan governor then organized all the officials in Changsha to discuss how to deal with the Huaiyin bandits outside the city. Soon, the officials finished their discussion.

After unanimous discussion, the officials reached a common conclusion.

They decided to blackmail the Huaiyin thieves!

In troubled times, there is nothing more secure than money!

The Hunan governor strongly agreed with this.

To wipe out this small group of Huaiyin bandits is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also not certain to succeed. Even if it succeeds, the imperial court is now on the decline, so what benefit can he get?
It is not worth making a mortal enemy with the Huaiyin bandits for this. It would be better to gain some benefits from it.

The governor of Hunan then sent an envoy to Lianhualing, demanding that He Ai pay 300,000 taels of silver, otherwise he would report to the court and ask the court to send a large army to eliminate the Huaiyin bandits.

He Ai really didn't know what to say for a moment.

Who is the bandit after all?
Helplessly, He Ai could only write a letter and pass it to Fang Yong, expressing his thoughts in the letter.

He Ai said in the letter:
"The officials of Daxi are used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. They flatter their superiors and exploit the people. If we promise them money now, they will ask for more in the future. Only by first establishing our authority through war and then giving them money can we be safe."

After reading the letter, Fang Yong felt that what He Ai said made sense.

He discussed it with Wu Yuan again, and Wu Yuan also agreed.

Fang Yong then agreed with He Ai's decision to start a war.

After getting Fang Yong's consent, He Ai took action immediately.

He agreed to the request of the Hunan governor on the surface and told the other party that he needed time to raise money in order to lower the other party's vigilance.

As expected, the Hunan governor relaxed his guard after hearing the news, and even started to think about how to divide the money.

However, in fact, He Ai had already begun to deploy his troops and prepare for war.

It’s the seventh day of the first lunar month, the beginning of summer, and the weather has begun to warm up.

This trip was just a surprise attack, so He Ai did not bring too many people, only 2500 people, all of whom were the elite of the Huaiyin Army that he had brought here before. The remaining 500 Huaiyin Army and thousands of militiamen were responsible for guarding Lianhualing.

He Ai and some of his men disguised themselves as a merchant ship transporting grain, because according to the news from the city, a merchant ship of the Cheng family transporting grain would enter the city tonight.

During the night, the city's defenses had been relaxed.

Because no one would have thought that the Huaiyin bandits would come to attack the city.

The officials guarding the city had gone home to sleep long ago, and only a few soldiers remained on the city wall to guard it miserably.

He Ai led his men into the city by boat.

The soldiers guarding the city saw the flag on the boat from afar. It was the flag of the Cheng family, so they did not dare to stop it.

The higher-ups had already informed us that a merchant ship carrying grain from the Cheng family would enter the city tonight. The Cheng family was powerful and acted in a domineering manner, so how could these small soldiers dare to check?

He Ai led his soldiers into the city smoothly.

After entering the city, He Ai quickly led his men to seize control of the city gate, allowing the large force behind to follow in.

Then, the battle quickly broke out.

He Ai had a clear goal, and with the help of insiders, he had already obtained a topographic map of the city.

He ordered the troops to be divided into three teams. One team of 1,500 people was to occupy the armory in the city and at the same time stop the defenders in Changsha.

Another team of 500 people went to set fire to the granary in the city, and after the fire, they supported the former and blocked the defenders in Changsha city.

According to internal information, the number of defenders in Changsha City is 3,500, but in reality it will definitely not exceed 2,000. Two thousand Huaiyin troops are definitely enough to stop them.

As for the last 500 people, they were led by He Ai himself and were responsible for controlling the main aristocratic officials in the city.

It can be said that He Ai’s plan was very careful, but plans can never beat reality.

First came the first team. They successfully occupied the armory in Changsha city as planned. The location of the armory was very close to the garrison of Changsha Prefecture.

He Ai originally thought that after the battle began, the defenders of Changsha Prefecture would be dispatched immediately to engage in battle with the first team of Huaiyin troops attacking the armory.

After all, under normal circumstances, except for a small amount of weapons and equipment that soldiers carry with them, most of the rest of the equipment is stored in the armory. It is impossible for the defenders not to take the equipment, right?
However, the reality was that the defenders in Changsha Prefecture did not appear at all.

(End of this chapter)