Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 296 Governor! Where the Army's Edge Leads

Weng Fanghe was merely delivering the collected supplies; he was not the commander-in-chief in this campaign to suppress the rebels.

Therefore,
Although he was very surprised, he didn't say much.

Li Qiong didn't say much either. As long as Ximentang could send troops, the success rate of this campaign to quell the rebels would greatly increase.

Chen Jie was not wearing a military uniform, but civilian clothes.

He wasn't even wearing a helmet.

However, he was wearing titanium chainmail and a bulletproof vest.

With his current state of 'guarding the acupoints' and refining his spirit, his martial arts realm has broken through to the 'mid-stage of Iron Bone Dark Strength'.

Among the entire Ximentang army, his martial arts skills are now the highest.

Whether it's Yan Kuangtu, Zhang Changfeng, or Xiong Chao, none of them are a match for Chen Jie in terms of martial arts.

Although his martial arts skills are still far behind those of the top masters in the martial arts world.

but,

With a gun in hand, his combat strength is comparable to that of a late-stage Transformation Realm cultivator.

If I were to encounter Shinobu Nakajima again, it would be far from easy for him to completely control me.

at this time,

Chen Jie greeted Li Qiong:
"Greetings, General! I didn't expect you to have traveled a longer distance than I have, and yet arrived in Ezhou even earlier than I have!"

Li Qiong chuckled and said with a smile:
"We took a detour and just arrived!"

Weng Fanghe stepped forward and greeted Chen Jie as well:
"This humble official greets Your Excellency the Governor!"

Although in terms of official rank, Weng Fanghe was the Minister of Revenue, a position of great power and influence.

but,

Chen Jie is now not only the Grand Commander of the Righteous Army, but also the Governor-General of Shandong.

In terms of status and position, it is not unreasonable for Weng Fanghe to refer to himself as a subordinate official.

Although Chen Jie had met Weng Fanghe before, they had no prior relationship.

In the court of the Great Qian Dynasty, Weng Fanghe had a very good reputation.

He could even be described as a very positive official of the Qianlong era, possessing not only a good reputation.

Simultaneously,

He was honest, upright, and incorruptible.

of course,

Whether all of this was a persona that Weng Fanghe deliberately created for himself, Chen Jie had no idea.

However, based on the investigation information provided by Ximentang's "undercover unit," no evidence of Weng Fanghe's corruption or abuse of power has been found so far.

Therefore, from any perspective, Weng Fanghe is a respectable official.

In the current environment of the Great Qian Dynasty, it is already quite commendable that they can maintain such a clean and honest style.

therefore,

Chen Jie stepped forward and greeted Weng Fanghe:

"Greetings, Your Excellency! I have long admired your name, Minister Weng. It is a pleasure to meet you again today!"

-

After everyone met and exchanged pleasantries for a while,
Li Qiong ordered Ximen Tang's men to be stationed in the military camp in Ezhou.

Next,
He brought Chen Jie to the government office in Ezhou.

In the evening, Li Qiong hosted a banquet, gathering all officers of lieutenant rank and above who had participated in the suppression of the rebellion.

For the rest of the time, everyone shared the same goal.

Therefore,
It would be beneficial for Ximen Tang and the various commanders of the Ministry of War to meet.

After Chen Jie led the elite troops of Ximen Hall to the government office, he met with all the generals of the Ministry of War.

He did not put on airs or show any arrogance because he was the Governor-General of Shandong.

Although Li Qiong's army was small in number, its generals were quite distinguished.

Among them were three chief military commanders and two deputy military commanders.

Not to mention the lieutenant generals, there were more than a dozen of them.

Having met everyone around him, Chen Jie was well aware of the thoughts of these adjutants and commanders.

He can now easily hear what these people are thinking!
Although the generals under Li Qiong flattered him.

but,

Deep down, they were very envious of their own achievements.

but,

This is not surprising.

After all, in less than half a year, he had risen from the head of a gang to the Governor-General of Shandong.

and,

He was only twenty-three years old when he made outstanding military achievements.

Even in front of General Li Qiong, her status and position were in no way inferior.

It would be a bit unreasonable to say that someone like that wouldn't be envied.

but,

The generals in the Ministry of War dared not show any sarcasm or ridicule in front of Chen Jie.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I don't dare!

Ximentang was not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, and Chen Jie was the Governor-General of Shandong.

He doesn't need to worry about anyone's opinion.

Anyone who dares to publicly mock Ximen Tang is disrespectful and doesn't know what's good for them.

Chen Jie could kill the other party without any problem.

More importantly, he has now broken through to the 'Guarding the Aperture' stage in his Spirit Refinement realm, exuding authority without anger.

Not to mention the generals in the Ministry of War, they dared not speak arrogantly in front of him, and even spoke cautiously, for fear of offending Chen Jie.

Everyone, including Li Qiong, felt a strong sense of pressure when faced with Chen Jie's honesty.

Perhaps the only one who is at ease is Weng Fanghe.

He was the Minister of Revenue, and he didn't have a murderous aura about him, which was completely different from these soldiers.

at this time,

Seeing that Chen Jie had managed to subdue so many generals in the Ministry of War, he had to look at this Shandong Governor-General with new respect.

The other officers, who held lower ranks, showed Chen Jie exceptional respect.

Li Qiong's purpose in hosting the banquet was to allow everyone to get to know each other, and to give the generals of Ximen Hall and the generals of the Ministry of War a proper exchange.

After Chen Jie had eaten and drunk his fill, he led the elite troops of Ximentang away to the military camp in Ezhou.

He didn't intend for Ximentang to have much interaction with the Ministry of War, as the two were not even in the same system.

These generals in the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty have always been arrogant and haughty.

It would be of no benefit for Ximen Tang's generals to have too much contact with these people.

-

Early the next morning.

Minister of Revenue Weng Fanghe bid farewell to everyone and hurried back to the capital.

His personal escort of supplies to Ezhou this time was merely to demonstrate the attitude of the Duke of Ningguo.

Last night,
He talked with Li Qiong until midnight, discussing the next steps in the suppression plan.

Although on the surface, Li Qiong, the Grand General of the Ministry of War, was the commander-in-chief.

but,

Both men knew perfectly well that Ximen Tang was the true leader in this campaign to quell the rebellion. The Ministry of War's 100,000 troops only needed to provide support.

in addition,

They will wait for Tang Youwang and Hong Yanchuan to send out their troops before making their move.

Since Ximentang is in charge of the main battle, all combat plans should naturally be based on Ximentang.

Otherwise, if the opportunity to fight is missed, and Ximentang leaves Ezhou, Li Qiong's troops alone will not be able to defeat Prince Li Ben of Han.

Li Qiong cannot afford to lose this campaign to quell the rebellion.

Therefore,
After Weng Fanghe left, Li Qiong quickly summoned his generals and, together with Chen Jie, determined the next steps.

Before coming here, Chen Jie already had a fairly clear understanding of the situation.

Of the troops under Li Qiong's command, only 50,000 were truly capable of fighting.

The other 50,000 troops were all for show, being local soldiers mobilized from various places.

These soldiers were not rigorously trained and their weapons and equipment were very poor.

Some of them had never even touched a firearm, and were still using steel knives and bows and arrows!
Even these 50,000 elite troops who could be deployed in battle had only ever used muskets and were unfamiliar with field artillery.

Compared to the Western armies of the British Empire and the Kwantung Army, Li Qiong's 100,000-strong army was simply a piece of cake.

in addition,

Tang Youwang, who came from Guangdong and Guangxi, was a general belonging to the faction of the Duke of Lu, and was said to have an army of 300,000.

but,

Chen Jie knew better than anyone that Tang Youwang was just bluffing.

His elite troops numbered no more than 100,000.

In order to stabilize the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi, Tang Youwang had to leave 50,000 elite troops stationed in the region.

That is,

All things considered, Tang Youwang could only muster a maximum of 50,000 elite troops under his command; the other 200,000-plus troops were merely for show.

The one with the truly strong and well-equipped forces was actually Hong Yanchuan from Hebei.

The army that came to Ezhou to quell the rebellion this time, the entire Daqian Dynasty's available forces, numbered about 200,000, roughly equivalent to the strength of Prince Li Ben of Han.

and,

Apart from Chen Jie's Ximentang, the armies under Tang Youwang, Hong Yanchuan, and Li Qiong all kept their distance from each other.

The remaining troops, aside from bluffing, mostly served as cannon fodder.

to be frank,
If it were merely a matter of suppressing the rebellion of Prince Li Ben of Han, there would indeed be a chance of victory.

but,

The imperial court's three armies were aimed at the two vassal kings, Prince Ning, Li Mu, and Prince Han, Li Ben.

Prince Ning, Li Mu, commands a powerful and well-equipped army, which he claims to have a million-strong force!

Although it's somewhat self-aggrandizing, it doesn't make people dare to underestimate it.

but,

He was indeed the most powerful rebel army in the Great Qian Dynasty, with a force of 500,000.

The most elite troops numbered over 200,000.

these years,

Prince Ning, Li Mu, purchased weapons and ammunition extensively from the West.

Among them, the Weiyuan cannon was purchased in one go, five hundred of which were more than the number purchased by the Ministry of War.

More than 100,000 muskets were purchased.

not to mention,
The Northwest region has seen significant mining of iron, silver, and coal.

This is why Prince Ning, Li Mu, absolutely possessed the strength to contend for the throne.

Li Ben, the King of Han, always claimed to have an army of 500,000, but in reality, he only had about 200,000 elite troops.

After capturing Wuchang, he employed the most brutal bloodshed to continuously strengthen his own power.

However, judging from the overall strength of the two feudal lords...

The fighting strength of the army under Prince Ning, Li Mu, was almost twice that of Prince Han, Li Ben.

This is why, after hearing that Prince Ning had captured Xiangyang City in Hanzhong, Prince Li Ben of Hanzhong, he quickly withdrew his troops to avoid a confrontation with Li Mu.

Therefore,
On the surface, the three armies of the Great Qian Dynasty appeared to be a mighty and powerful force.

However, compared to the armies under Prince Ning, Li Mu, and Prince Han, Li Ben, the gap was still quite large.

More importantly, the two sides' combat capabilities are simply not on the same level.

Even with a three-pronged attack, the success rate of suppressing the rebellion is very low.

Moreover, the three armies were not united at all, so this battle was almost hopeless.

in addition,

Never underestimate Prince Ning, Li Mu, and Prince Han, Li Ben.

Their willingness to raise the flag in rebellion speaks volumes about their fighting prowess.

To enhance the army's combat effectiveness, the two princes spent a fortune to purchase hundreds of the latest Krupp field guns and heavy machine guns from the Westerners.

Li Qiong was well aware of all this, which is why she was willing to become Ximen Tang's assistant.

in fact,

According to the military system of the Daqian Dynasty.

Battle plans were not formulated by military generals, but by strategists.

Military generals are the executors, while civil generals are the true commanders.

However, this situation has begun to change in the last decade or so.

Since the arrival of Japanese and Western warships in the Great Qian Dynasty, the status of civil officials has been declining.

Military commanders began to become the planners of battlefield strategies.

In many cases, the civil officials were merely figureheads, and no one listened to them at all.

The original purpose of the imperial court in establishing civil officials was to check and balance the military power of military generals.

In peacetime, there might not be any problem.

However, if wars become frequent, it is difficult for a civil general to win over the people.

If a battle is lost, the civil official becomes the unlucky one, and has to bear the blame for poor command.

Li Qiong grew up in the military camp. He was a true military general, and his martial arts skills had broken through to the early stage of Yi Sui Hua Jin!
Because he was the Grand General of the Ministry of War.

Therefore,
This time, the battle plan was naturally to be formulated by him, while the other civil generals were sidelined.

Although Ximentang was the main advocate for war, Chen Jie did not overstep his bounds but listened quietly to Li Qiong's battle plan.

Ten minutes later.

"Generals, Commander-in-Chief, what do you all think of this battle plan?"

"Any objections can be raised now!"

finished,

Li Qiong looked around at the generals.

At last,
He looked at Chen Jie and said earnestly:

"Your Excellency, what are your thoughts on this battle plan?"

Other people's opinions are not important at all.

What he really wanted to know was Chen Jie's opinion.

The key to the success or failure of this rebellion lies with Ximen Tang!
to be frank,
Although he formulated the entire battle plan, he knew it better than anyone else.

The real battle plan was ultimately decided by Chen Jie of Ximentang.

If Chen Jie disagrees, then the battle plan he made overnight will be scrapped!
Therefore,
At this moment, Li Qiong felt a surge of nervousness.

(End of this chapter)