Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 232 The Situation is Urgent, and a Vicious Method

"Heh, what are you betting with?" Chen Yu laughed angrily, coldly questioning, "And what qualifications do you have? Betting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Chengdu Prefecture? I don't agree!"

"What did Lord Wu say?" The Right Vice Minister of Sichuan ignored him and looked at his superior.

The provincial governor never expected that he would be the one eating melons.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "I disagree as well. What you said before was mostly speculation. If we can stop the Tian Ce Iron Hoof, that's fine. But if we can't, we will both become sinners for all time."

Rather than risk becoming a prisoner, losing one's official position is preferable.

For many intellectuals, bearing eternal infamy is even more unacceptable.

Upon hearing this, the man felt dejected, but he hadn't completely given up. He turned to Commander Ye Huai and asked, "Lord Ye, what do you think of my suggestion?"

"No way."

Ye Huai coldly shook his head and said, "If you can think of something, do you think His Highness Prince Su and the generals of Tian Ce can't think of it?"

"According to the scouts' reports, the Tian Ce Prefecture's troops split into several routes. In addition to our area, the Tianquan Six Divisions were breached on the same day that the defense line along the Jinsha River was also completely lost. The Cangyun and Xi'an Five Guards advanced rapidly and easily captured Yongning Prefecture."

"If they surround us, they can easily cut off all our retreat and reinforcements."

Upon hearing this, everyone present turned pale.

But Ye Huai's words didn't stop there.

He walked to the long table marked with a map of the Ming Dynasty, pointed to the map of Heqing Prefecture and Huichuan Guard, and continued, "If we do not encircle them and continue south, Yunnan will not be able to defend itself and will be unable to provide support."

"And we must always be on guard against being attacked from both sides."

"Furthermore, with Li Chengen, the Grand Commander of the Tian Ce Army, advancing into Xiangyang, he can cooperate with Xu Changhai and his forces to form a pincer movement at any time. Even if Guizhou wants to provide support, it will be blocked by the Tian Ce Army outside the gateway to Sichuan."

Ye Huai glanced at the Right Councilor and sneered, "So, do you still think you can delay until His Highness Prince Su succeeds in his rebellion by borrowing troops from other places?"

"This...this...I..."

Right Councilor Lin Shuo's voice trembled, and he lowered his head, his face pale.

Ye Huai shook his head, not wanting to make things difficult for him any further, and sighed, "Actually, those things are still far away from us. Right now, the most urgent matter is how to deal with the Tian Ce army outside the city."

“Longzhou Prefecture, Baoning Prefecture, Shunqing Prefecture and other places have fallen one after another. According to the information we have gathered, the Tian Ce army outside the city has several Grandmasters of Celestial Phenomena. It will be easy for them to break through the city gates.”

"Let alone how long it will be delayed, it's uncertain whether it can even hold out for an hour."

Ye Huai's words were filled with deep disappointment.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the silent martial arts masters from Sichuan, who were dressed like quails, and the look in his eyes made them feel extremely offended.

Ironically, those who are usually so arrogant and haughty were now speechless with their rebuttals.

They were indeed invited by the Sichuan Provincial Military Command and powerful families of Sichuan at great expense, but sending one or two Grandmasters of Celestial Phenomena and a dozen or so Profound Realm experts to fight head-on against the Tian Ce Army outside the city is a waste.

Do not make jokes.

Putting aside the fact that Tian Ce is a regular army, its soldiers are all at least at the Vajra Realm, with many at the Finger Profound Realm, and there are at least several celestial phenomena, and there may even be terrestrial immortals among them.

If these so-called experts went up there, they would be more likely to die than cause any trouble.

"Actually, there's another way..."

"any solution?"

Everyone immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

The person who had spoken froze, immediately looking embarrassed, and dared not continue.

"At this critical juncture, if you have any brilliant ideas, please speak them, and I will forgive you," the Sichuan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner said, frowning.

"Judging from the previous battles fought by the Tian Ce Prefecture, and the reports from Baoning and Shunqing Prefectures, that Prince Su is extremely strict in disciplining his troops. Perhaps he can find another way to attack." The person who spoke had a shifty look in his eyes, not daring to fully reveal his true thoughts, and even avoiding looking at the Inspector. But, were there any fools among those present?

Even the martial arts masters who were invited understood the hidden meaning in his words.

The Tian Ce Prefecture was known for its strict discipline. After entering the city, it did not engage in burning, killing, looting, harassing women, or extorting money. Instead, it quickly pacified the people and suppressed the unrest. Even the looting that has occurred in almost all armies throughout history did not happen.

A gentleman can be deceived by his methods.

Although the person who spoke earlier did not say it explicitly, the meaning was clear: Didn't Prince Su want to love his people like his own children?

Then, they can naturally take advantage of this.

Among the group that was invited, a martial arts master looked at him with a playful expression: "Although this plan is vicious, it could be considered a ruthless strategy under other circumstances."

"But what we are facing is a group of Tian Ce Army soldiers who are at least at the Vajra Realm. Even if we drive the people to rebuild the vanguard and death row camps to attack Tian Ce, as long as they have one terrestrial immortal, they can make ordinary people run away with their heads in their hands, or even tremble with fear and dare not move forward."

"When the time comes, do you think Prince Su will react to our actions? Will he exterminate our entire clan as a warning to others, or will he skin us alive, subject us to slow slicing, and wipe out our entire family?"

Everyone snapped out of their daze and looked at the person who had spoken with disgust.

They almost got dragged into an abyss by that vicious and wicked guy.

Although the Tian Ce army was at the city gates, they would at most suffer some impact and be temporarily under the jurisdiction of the Tian Ce. After Zhu Jinzhen successfully seized power and became emperor, it was highly likely that many of them would not change their positions.

Even if there is a loss of interest, it won't be too significant.

The worst that could happen is losing one's job.

But what if they actually adopt the idea of ​​using civilians to block swords or city gates?

Based on their understanding of Zhu Jinzhen's character and style of doing things, they believed that nine out of ten people in the government office today would not escape death, and their relatives might even be implicated.

They made a decision instantly, deciding what was more important.

The provincial governor straightened his clothes and looked at everyone with a solemn expression: "Since no solution can be found, then... I will go and meet with the commander of the Tian Ce Mansion."

"What do you want to do?" Ye Huai asked, frowning.

"Can Chengdu Prefecture withstand the Tian Ce Army's advance?" Wu Li countered.

"I'm 70% confident we can hold them off for an hour. If the brothers are willing to fight to the death, an hour won't be a problem. That's the limit, and Tian Ce must not go on a killing spree," Ye Huai replied truthfully.

"Since we can't stop it, and success or failure is inevitable, why struggle and needlessly throw away innocent lives?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Huai frowned and said, "You know that's not what I wanted to ask."

Seeing Ye Huai blocking his way, Wu Li knew that if he didn't give a definite answer, the other party definitely wouldn't let him pass. Helpless, he could only reveal his thoughts: "According to the information from the scouts and spies, His Highness Prince Su is acting on behalf of Heaven to quell the rebellion, and the Tian Ce, Cang Yun, and Shaanxi Guards have divided their forces and are sweeping across the world, right?"

"Ah."

Ye Huai nodded, still unaware of Wu Li's true intentions.

Wu Li smiled meaningfully: "We can open the city gates and submit to Prince Su, but... our condition is that the time it takes for the Tian Ce Prefecture to enter the city must be slower than the time it takes for the Tian Ce or Cang Yun armies in other places to capture the prefecture city and for the Three Offices to surrender."

Even if it's just an hour or half a day slower.

"In other words, we cannot be the first to surrender."

Upon hearing this, Ye Huai and the others suddenly understood.

After a brief exchange, everyone agreed that Wu Li's method was the best.

Since the tide is rolling in like a wheel, and there's no way to stop it, then surrendering is nothing to be ashamed of, as long as you're not the first to surrender.

(End of this chapter)