There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 140 Selling out teammates
Nie Yu was naturally happy that a future famous general took the initiative to join him.

But the other party was too proactive, and Nie Yu, who inevitably had a bit of a historical filter, couldn't help but ask, "You said you were thinking about yourself, but do you think I can accomplish it?"

Yang Fang shook his head. "I can't say for sure whether it will succeed. After all, I'm just a garrison officer, and a commissioned garrison officer candidate. However, judging by the combat effectiveness of the cavalry I encountered before, the Hunan, Xiang, Guizhou and Guizhou regions should be within the general's grasp."

Yang Fang's current position was too low, and he had only been in the army for less than a year, so he didn't have a thorough understanding of the situation. But if it was just the Hunan, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guizhou regions, he could guarantee that with the current strength of the Qing army, let alone suppressing the rebellion, it would be a good thing if it didn't escalate further.

He was a scholar from a poor village in Guizhou, and his family was not well off. It was considered a good thing that he could afford to take the imperial examination once.

If you fail once, you will basically have no chance in the future.

In order to make a living and for his future, Yang Fang joined Yang Yuchun's local militia and became the chief clerk in the army.

He thought very clearly that since he could not pass the imperial examination, it would be difficult for him to make a name for himself even if he did, because he was a scholar from Guizhou. If the vacancies left for the Eight Banners nobles were removed, and then the scholars from the Central Plains nobles were removed, what would be left for the scholars in the southwest?
If he really wants to be an official, he has to make a comeback in Guizhou and Guizhou in the southwest. Unless he can pass the imperial examination and become the top scorer, he also has to please Emperor Qianlong, so that Emperor Qianlong will be pleased with him and continue to use him.

This isn't as difficult as climbing to the sky, it's just a pipe dream. With Yang Fang's talent, it's hard for him to be the top scholar in a prefecture, and he still wants to be the top scholar? It's better to join the army and fight.

Yang Fang's career was going smoothly, thanks to his bravery in battle, his leadership, the secret support of his mentor Yang Yuchun, and the close relationship with Fu Kang'an, a nobleman who favored supporting powerful generals. However, Fu Kang'an suddenly died of illness, and his mentor Yang Yuchun, who was one of Fu Kang'an's followers, was sent to Guangdong. Yang Fang brought 500 soldiers from his hometown to Chenzhou and confronted the rebel army of tens of thousands.

Now, even he himself has been captured by the rebels and has become a prisoner. Even if he can escape by chance, it will be difficult for him to stay alive, let alone make a name for himself.

The road ahead is blocked, and I almost died at Chenlong Pass. I might as well go all out and surrender!
Not only does he have to surrender, he also has to sell out his teammates.

After less than two days of rest, Yang Fang was already able to walk around, though his arm was still bandaged. "General, I wonder if my hometown soldiers are still here?"

"Some died, and half are left. They are currently temporarily organized into a surrendered barracks." Nie Yu said.

Yang Fang said, "If the general trusts me, please hand over these Guizhou soldiers to me, and I will lead them to deceive the city of Chenzhou."

On the same day, Nie Zi handed over the two hundred Guizhou soldiers to Yang Fang, and then sent more than three hundred Han soldiers, dressed in Green Camp uniforms, to follow him south.

Before they reached Madi Town, a Han soldier who was scouting the way suddenly reported that he had spotted many soldiers ahead.

Yang Fang was stunned. "So many soldiers? How many are there? What banners are they flying? Is this the governor's army heading north?"

The scout replied, "I can't make out the flags clearly, but there are a lot of people, at least tens of thousands. They don't look like new recruits, and I don't know if they are the Qinggou Governor's army."

When Yang Fang heard that there were tens of thousands of people, he dismissed the possibility of the governor's army. He knew the situation in Chenzhou. Even if the stingy governor had sold his entire family, he would be considered impressive for raising an army of 10,000.

Since it is not the governor's army, there are still tens of thousands of people, and they don't look like new recruits. Could it be that the Qing army from Xiangxi is heading north?

Didn’t they say that He Lin, that bastard, was dead?
Without the command of the three-army commander, who is in charge of the Qing army in western Hunan now, and how can he lead tens of thousands of troops northward?
Yang Fang thought for a moment and made a decision. He quickly called his officers to a meeting and said, "The Qing army from Xiangxi has marched north. I estimate there are tens of thousands of them. I don't know who can command such a large army. We can't go to Chenzhou Prefecture. You must retreat immediately and report the news to the general."

A Han army captain asked, "What about you?"

"Me?" Yang Fang grinned. "When Chenlong Pass fell, I, as the garrison commander of the Guizhou Taigong Camp, fought bloody battles and only just managed to lead over 200 of my men to break through the siege and prepare to flee south back to Chenzhou Prefecture..."

This was the strategy for swindling the city that we had decided on before. Now the plan cannot keep up with the changes, and swindling the city is no longer possible. So we have to go with the flow and change the plan slightly.

The Han soldiers had all grown their hair, so it was too late to shave and braid their heads, so they returned to report the situation. Yang Fang continued to follow the plan, leading over 200 of his own men southward, pretending to flee, and accidentally ran into the imperial army along the way.

This rhetoric was naturally full of loopholes from a God's perspective, but the Qing army in western Hunan was confused about the situation, and the Chenzhou government was also confused about the situation.

In ancient times when transportation was inconvenient, a distance of dozens of kilometers was enough to prevent information from being transmitted smoothly.

And, most importantly, Yang Fang was thrown into Chenzhou Prefecture by He Lin, so it wouldn't be outrageous for anything to happen to him.

"Has Chenlong Pass really fallen?" Eldengbao personally met with Yang Fang and questioned him the moment they met. In fact, they had just arrived in Chenzhou the day before, and before they had even had time to rest their feet, they heard rumors spread by deserting merchants. Some said Chenlong Pass had fallen, and hundreds of thousands of Han troops had marched south. Others said they didn't know whether Chenlong Pass had fallen, but Jieting Post Station had definitely been lost. Still others said Chenlong Pass hadn't fallen, but only Jieting Post Station had.

The news was too mixed and I couldn't figure out which was true and which was false, so I could only rush north to see if Chenlong Pass was still there.

If he is here, the battle will continue. If he is not here, the battle will still have to be fought.

If they don't fight, they won't be able to hold on and the army will collapse. The blame for secretly mobilizing heavy troops is something that none of the three Eight Banners combined can bear.

Yang Fang pretended to be angry and aggrieved, saying, "The rebels have come with tens of thousands of troops, and I only have 500 of my own infantry. The Chenzhou Green Camp has all disobeyed my orders. I simply cannot hold on!"

This resentful tone specifically emphasized the Chenzhou Green Camp, and it was obvious that they had been badly cheated.

Even if it was Eldengbao, it was not easy to blame him. The situation was terrible. Even if Xiang Yu was given 500 infantrymen to fight against tens of thousands of Han troops, he would not be able to hold out!

What can five hundred infantrymen do? The brave king must be equipped with at least a thousand people, and they must be cavalry to have a chance of winning.

Delentang asked, "How could so many rebels have come? Didn't Governor Jiang say that there were only a few thousand rebels in Changde?"

Before Yang Fang could say anything, Mingliang, who was calm and composed, quickly responded, "This isn't surprising. The fact that the rebels have arrived with tens of thousands of troops means it's very likely their main force. We can't sustain such a continuous battle, and neither can the rebels. This battle is a decisive one!"

Eldengbao asked, "Should we fight or not?"

Mingliang thought for a moment and sighed, "If we don't fight, we will collapse without a fight. Then, Hunan and Xiang, and even Guizhou and Guizhou in the southwest, will no longer be able to stop the rebels. If we fight, if we can win, the rebels will be destroyed in a snap. If we lose, Hunan and Xiang will fall, and Guizhou and Guizhou will be in danger."

There is no choice anyway, so let’s fight!

Yang Fang was hardly suspected. Eldengbao even showed concern for his injuries and specially assigned him back to the Guizhou Army to supplement his soldiers.

Such generous treatment obviously means that they intend to provide timely assistance and win over this powerful general to serve their own purposes.

Because Helin was dead, the next commander-in-chief of the Qing army in western Hunan could only be Eldengbao.

Mingliang was too old and had just been pardoned, so he could not be promoted too quickly. Delentang was a Mongolian and too young, so he lacked the qualifications.

Unfortunately, Eldengbao's plan was doomed to fail, because Yang Fang had already joined the bandits... no, he had surrendered to the Han.

As soon as I thought of joining the Han Dynasty, I suddenly felt that the world was wide.

If the Qing army continues to be in this state, it will be almost impossible to stop the Han army.

According to Yang Fang's estimation, the entire southwestern Hunan region would be ruled by the Han army in the future, and General Nie Yu was a capable leader who could even entrust important tasks to a temporary surrendered general like himself.

This made Yang Fang almost feel grateful for his mentor's help. Even if the Han army would be in the same "Wu Zhou" pattern in the future, he even planned to follow the Han army to the end.

A real man, if you cannot eat from five tripods while alive, you should be cooked in five tripods after death!
In the next few days, Yang Fang trained and integrated his new recruits while secretly spying on the Qing army's strengths and weaknesses.

One of Yang Fang's personal soldiers also quietly went north and delivered an urgent letter to the Han army that had already moved south.

The content of the letter was very simple. It just explained the number of cannons and muskets of the Qing army, the strength of each army, the names of the generals in the army, whether there were any conflicts between them, and whether they could be lured away by the Han army.

Before the Qing army even started fighting, their intelligence had almost been sold out by their teammates.

(End of this chapter)