Catching Monsters

Chapter 606 Message by Pigeon
Nearly 100,000 troops have been assembled in Wuling Prefecture, Beihu Province, most of whom are elite soldiers of the Zhenchi Army.

Meanwhile, troops were deployed in other areas to blockade Wang Longzhi's last 300,000 men, trapping them in the three southwestern provinces.

With the reinforcements from the northern border army and many newly trained soldiers, the total strength of the Zhenchi Army is already approaching 600,000.

However, ever since Wang Longzhi led his last 300,000 troops into the three southwestern provinces, it has become very difficult to conquer them.

The several entrances and exits to the three southwestern provinces are all easily defended and difficult to attack, and cannot be conquered simply by having more troops.

Xu Xiaogang initially planned to press his advantage and quickly take over the three southwestern provinces, but he ended up suffering several defeats in a row.

In these easily defensible and difficult-to-attack locations, they suffered considerable losses of soldiers and generals.

Ultimately, Xu Xiaogang had no choice but to change his strategy and enter a phase of strategic confrontation, seeking opportunities.

That evening, Xu Xiaogang frowned as he looked at the urgent report sent from the capital. His brows furrowed deeply: His Majesty was dead!
Xu Xiaogang's heart sank, and most importantly, the bulletin described the murderer as Jiang Yun, who is currently listed as a wanted criminal.

Inside the General's Mansion in Wuling Prefecture, Xu Xiaogang felt uneasy. He quickly summoned a trusted confidant and said, "Hurry back to the capital and see what's going on. If you can see my sister, have her and her husband come to my place for a while to see what's happening."

"Yes." Upon hearing this, the confidant turned and left.

Xu Xiaogang was sitting in the backyard when suddenly a guard rushed in and said to him in a hurry, "General, something bad has happened."

"What happened?"

"A special envoy has arrived from the capital, carrying an imperial edict from His Highness the Crown Prince."

"The special envoy is now in the city, summoning military commanders to prepare for a meeting."

Xu Xiaogang was slightly taken aback: "If it's announcing an imperial edict and summoning generals, why didn't you inform me? What's the special envoy's name?"

"I heard his name is Zhang Pengyu."

Xu Xiaogang frowned: "Zhang Pengyu?"

He certainly knew Zhang Pengyu. He was a few years younger than Xu Xiaogang and a disciple of the Hou family in the north of the city.

The ancestor of the Marquis of the North City was a stable boy who led the horse for Emperor Taizu. When the country was first pacified, Emperor Taizu was traveling in the north of the city when he was suddenly attacked. This stable boy rushed forward and took an arrow for Emperor Taizu.

Although he lost his life, he brought wealth and honor to his descendants.

He was granted the title of Marquis of Chengbei by Emperor Taizu, but because his ancestors had never achieved any military exploits, he had little chance of obtaining a powerful position in the capital, despite his high rank.

"Let's go take a look," Xu Xiaogang said in a deep voice, and strode out.

Wuling Prefecture had been occupied by rebel troops. Although Xu Xiaogang later drove it back, most of the people in the city had already fled north.

Apart from a small number of ordinary people who were reluctant to leave their homeland or were too old, the city was mostly populated by generals led by Xu Xiaogang.

Meanwhile, in an inn, many of the generals of Zhenchi Army were Xu Xiaogang's confidants, as were some generals of the New Army and the Northern Border Army.

There were more than thirty people in total, all wearing armor.

Zhang Pengyu, dressed in a blue robe and accompanied by two servants, holding an imperial edict in his hand, glanced at the more than thirty generals present with a smile and said, "Gentlemen, I am Zhang Pengyu, and I have come to read the imperial edict on the orders of His Highness the Crown Prince."

After he finished speaking, he opened the imperial edict, and many of the generals present knelt down upon seeing this.

Zhang Pengyu slowly said, "By order of His Highness the Crown Prince: His Majesty has passed away. I know that the late Emperor treated Xu Xiaogang with great kindness and righteousness. Therefore, I have specially summoned Xu Xiaogang back to the capital, firstly to pay homage to the late Emperor, and secondly to attend my enthronement ceremony."

"Upon receiving the imperial edict, you shall depart immediately without delay. All military and political affairs of the Southwest Army shall be under the overall command of Zhang Pengyu."

Upon hearing the imperial edict in Zhang Pengyu's hand, the expressions of many generals present changed drastically, not because Xu Xiaogang was to be recalled.

As the imperial edict stated, given Xu Xiaogang's status and position, it was perfectly normal for him to return to attend the ceremony of the emperor's death and the enthronement of the new emperor.

Logically speaking, he should only be gone for a few days, and Xu Xiaogang only needs to hand over the frontline military affairs to his deputy general.

There is absolutely no need to send another person from the capital to manage military affairs.

The assembled generals exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to do. Just then, Xu Xiaogang's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Since it's an imperial edict for me, why didn't Brother Zhang inform me before reading it?"

Xu Xiaogang walked in steadily from outside. Zhang Pengyu looked at Xu Xiaogang and was secretly startled.

The Xu Xiaogang of today is completely different from the one he remembers.

Back when he was hanging out in Beijing, Xu Xiaogang had fair skin and was a bit of an eccentric character.

But now, Xu Xiaogang has grown a beard, his skin has become much darker, and his eyes are powerful and strong.

Xu Xiaogang didn't stand on ceremony. He stepped forward, took the imperial edict from Zhang Pengyu's hand, glanced at it, and slowly said, "Alright, you don't understand the affairs at the front. You should go back to the capital first. I'll give you some instructions on the military affairs at the front, and we'll set off back to the capital tomorrow or the day after."

Zhang Pengyu was taken aback upon hearing this. He hurriedly said, "General Xu, you have also seen the imperial edict. It states that I will be in charge of all military affairs."

"You wouldn't disobey the imperial decree, would you?"

This last sentence was meant to put pressure on Xu Xiaogang. In front of so many people, Xu Xiaogang couldn't possibly disobey the imperial decree.

It should be noted that Zhang Pengyu's family was definitely at the bottom among the marquises, not even comparable to many earls.

While others experienced a decline in their family fortunes, the Zhang family didn't even qualify for the term "decline"—they had never prospered.

Back then, when Crown Prince Xiao Jingqing was out of favor, he followed along and hung out with him. Now, Xiao Jingqing has finally made it big.

He had actually managed to command an army of 600,000, and it seemed his entire family was about to take off.

Xu Xiaogang said in a deep voice, "In the front-line troops, blind command will kill people, do you understand?"

Xu Xiaogang remained polite at this moment, but Zhang Pengyu snatched the imperial edict from Xu Xiaogang's hand, held it above his head, and stared at the surrounding generals, questioning, "Xu Xiaogang defied the imperial edict, are you all going to follow him in defying the imperial edict as well?"

"kindness!"

"answer me!"

The generals present chuckled; most of them didn't take Zhang Pengyu seriously at all.

The vast majority of people present were loyal soldiers of Zhenchi Army and staunch supporters of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Xu Xiaogang had intended to send the guy away, but unexpectedly, a Zhenchi Army soldier rushed in from outside the door, looking flustered, and shouted, "General! General! Something terrible has happened!"

"Steward Wu of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion sends a message by carrier pigeon!"

"His Highness the Crown Prince dispatched the Imperial Guards to break into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in an attempt to arrest Madam Tao Yuelan, Miss Xu Suwen, and others."

"In the final battle, the vast majority of the Duke of Zhenguo's family died on the spot. Steward Wu led his wife and young lady to escape from the capital."

After the message was read aloud, everyone present fell silent for a few seconds.

Then a general from the Zhenchi Army stood up abruptly, kicked Zhang Pengyu to the ground, and cut off his left hand with a knife.

"Yuanqi, calm down!" Seeing this, Xu Xiaogang hurriedly stepped forward and pressed down on the general's shoulder.

After Yuanqi's father grew old, he voluntarily went to work in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to live out his retirement, and he was probably among those who died in battle.

"Ah!" A sharp pain shot through Zhang Pengyu. He never expected that these people would dare to attack him, even though he held the imperial edict in his hand. He roared, "You dared to cut off my arm! Do you know what the consequences will be?"

"Shut up." Xu Xiaogang kicked him hard, and his gaze swept over all the generals of the Zhenchi Army. After hearing the news, their eyes all looked strange.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Zhenchi Army was the private army of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Now that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is in trouble, how can these people remain calm?

"General, break camp! This damned crown prince dared to lay a hand on the old lady! Let's march back to the capital and kick him off the throne!"

"Yes, General, don't hesitate. Let the border troops and new recruits watch over the positions here for now. We'll go back and deal with the Crown Prince before returning to continue this battle."

(End of this chapter)