The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 180 The Mystery of Datong
Several thousand barbarian cavalry, five hundred armored cavalry, plus several hundred bandits, were actually defeated by two thousand Beijing garrison troops. Others may not know what kind of people the Beijing garrison troops are, but don't we know ourselves?

Feng Yong's eyes were red, like a gambler who had lost his underwear.

"Will he come?" Feng Yong stared wide-eyed at Zhao Tao. Zhao Tao sat in his chair, no longer as composed as before. The former chief strategist of the military governor's office had become hesitant.

Zhao Tao was not angered by the military governor's attitude; anyone would have reacted the same way. He frowned as he pondered the matter and said, "Whether he comes or not, the initiative is on our side."

Upon hearing Zhao Tao's words, Feng Yong regained some composure and sighed after a long while.

He stopped pacing back and forth and went back to his seat. "If he comes, I intend to kill him regardless of criticism or the court's attitude."

Feng Yong shared his thoughts and asked Zhao Tao for his opinion.

Zhao Tao nodded. "This boy must be eliminated."

My own strategy was not wrong; the mistake was that this person was no ordinary person.

Five hundred armored cavalrymen could defeat ten thousand soldiers, and there were four or five thousand barbarian cavalrymen. Nearly three times the number of cavalrymen had not been able to defeat the infantry, and this was in the vast wilderness beyond the pass. Zhao Tao still finds it unbelievable.

There have been many generals throughout history who have won every battle.

Feng Jiedu was also victorious in every battle, which led to the Great Harmony we have today. But we should at least be reasonable.

"He must die." Feng Yong breathed a sigh of relief, his resolve growing stronger, and said fiercely. He didn't care about the thousands of barbarian cavalry, but there were a full five hundred armored cavalrymen. The cost of the horses and armor alone was more than twenty thousand taels of silver, not to mention the years of training and maintenance.

Money is a small matter; the time and effort spent are something that money can't buy back.

After ten years of effort and more than 200,000 taels of silver being spent, half of it was gone. Feng Yong had been waking up several nights with nightmares about not being able to breathe, truly afraid that he would die in his sleep.

Zhao Tao offered no words of comfort to the military governor; any words he uttered seemed inadequate.

The thousand armored cavalrymen were the Jiedushi's treasures, more so than his own sons. Over the years, the Jiedushi had relied on these thousand armored cavalrymen to achieve great feats and resolve many troubles.

No barbarian cavalry dared to confront the armored cavalry head-on; at most, they would try to wear them down. The military governor had no intention of sending the armored cavalry beyond the pass.

In previous years, when the Yehu tribe entered the pass, they had to avoid the armored cavalry. In fact, because of the presence of the armored cavalry, the Yehu tribe dared not disregard the military governors, and many things were agreed upon.

The Shanyu tribe was like dogs kept by the Jiedushi (military governor) to guard the gate and relay messages. The Dabansheng tribe was a familiar tribe and generally dared not act recklessly. Only the wild Hu tribes in the desert were different. These nomadic tribes never followed the rules and were impossible to guard against.

Feng Yong sneered, "It doesn't matter if he doesn't come. The court sent the little thief Wang Xin to Yanmen Pass to guard against the Yehu tribe. Now that the Yehu tribe hasn't moved south yet, he has already wiped out five hundred of my armored cavalry. When the Yehu tribe enters the pass, there will be no one to drive them out. If the court wants to blame someone, they can only blame the little thief Wang Xin."

Infantry have two legs, while the Yehu tribe are all cavalry with four legs. The horses outside the pass have great endurance, so even if the infantry were to run themselves ragged, they still couldn't catch up.

Zhao Tao nodded and added, "The military governor still has five hundred armored cavalrymen and controls all the passes. The court must rely on him. If he doesn't come, it only proves that he is arrogant and domineering."

Having come this far, this is the only way. Feng Yong frowned.

He had been impeached before. Seven years ago, a military officer brought from another region was equally arrogant and dared not listen to him. He sent him out of the pass, and in the end, his army of more than a thousand men was wiped out.

But this time was different; this time, I failed.

Feng Yong dared not even think about how the imperial court would treat him. He hoped that he could summon Wang Xin to Datong and kill him before the official documents from the court arrived.

Soon after, Zhao Tao left.

I had just passed through a gate when I was surrounded by several officers.

"Mr. Zhai, what exactly happened?"

"I heard that several hundred of our brothers were captured at Yanmen Pass? Someone brought word that many of their families went to visit them there."

Amidst the cacophony of voices, Zhao Tao, his face contorted with worry, asked, "Go and ask the military governor."

"Don't dare."

“Mr. Zhai knows perfectly well that the governor has looked unwell these past two days, so how could we dare to ask him?”

"Don't ask too many questions about this matter, just wait and see," Zhao Tao said.

You can't just announce a defeat directly.

It's one thing for everyone to guess, and it's another to tell them directly. Even if everyone knows, they won't admit it openly. Instead, they'll make up a reason. As long as it gets by, what can they do even if everyone knows the truth?

Now we're just waiting for Wang Xin to come, or for him not to come.

If he comes, I don't care about rules or anything like that, I'll just kill him first.

If he doesn't come, then shift the blame onto him, saying that he rebelled and plotted against friendly forces.

Seeing that they couldn't get any answers from him, the crowd had no choice but to make way. After Zhao Tao left, they looked at each other, each feeling uneasy.

"I heard that he only has two thousand men, and most of them are infantry."

"When did the Beijing Garrison become so powerful?"

"This is utterly absurd! They're all Zhou soldiers, why are they killing each other!" one of the generals exclaimed. Everyone had heard some of the stories, but hearing them was one thing, and now that the rumors were spreading, not everyone agreed with them. They felt dissatisfied, but no one dared to refute them; they could only keep their dissatisfaction to themselves.

With no ideas in mind, the group eventually dispersed.

"He really will come?"

Upon hearing the news brought back by Zhai Wen, Zhang Wenjin, the censor of Datong, couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"Anyway, he told me himself," Zhai Wen said truthfully, though he didn't dare to guarantee it.

Zhang Wenjin began to speculate, "Could he be using delaying tactics, dragging things out until the imperial document arrives in Datong and the matter is settled, so he won't be afraid of Fatty Feng causing trouble?"

Previously, the Nine Garrisons were commanded by nobles and military generals who directly led the army. However, the imperial court also needed to understand the army and let it know that it belonged to the court, so the commanders and inspectors were established.

Not only must the rules of the imperial court be upheld, but also the affairs of the nine border regions must be supervised and inspected.

Therefore, at the beginning of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Commanders and Inspectors had great power. Even the princes and dukes of the border regions dared not offend them, because the Commanders and Inspectors were not only military heroes, but also had a strong foundation in the army and represented the imperial court.

Later, the retired emperor suppressed the nobles, promoted military generals, and made good use of civil officials, using civil officials to control the military, and also established a system of civil officials to supervise the military, from the inspectors to the censors.

Therefore, Wang Ziteng is now serving as the commander of nine provinces and has been promoted to the position of chief inspector. Decades ago, this would have been a promotion. Now, the nine border regions have been replaced by censors, but they have not yet reached the power and status of the former chief inspector.

Each of the nine border regions had an imperial censor, followed by officials such as the observer and the defense commissioner.

Zhang Wenjin was secretly pleased to learn that Fatty Feng had been humiliated. Although Fatty Feng had treated him well over the years and secretly provided him with a large sum of money, money was money and power was power.

I won't confront him directly, but if someone else does, I'd be happy to watch the show.

Knowing his superior's thoughts, Zhai Wencai said, "Maybe so. He asked me to testify for him and to write a memorial to the court to explain the situation."

Waiting for the court to inquire would waste time going back and forth. Zhai Wen took the initiative to send a memorial to the court, saving at least half the time. So this person may really be waiting for news from the court and playing the delaying tactic.

"No wonder he could give Fatty Feng such a headache," Zhang Wenjin sighed. The art of stalling is a specialty of civil officials, and even he, a military officer, knows how to use it. Indeed, his reputation is well-deserved.

"Should I write it or not?" Zhai Wen asked.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenjin did not give a direct answer, but instead gave a meaningful smile, "You'll see for yourself."

"Old fox."

Zhai Wen inwardly scoffed, but the other man saw through his accusation. He then respectfully said, "Governor Feng Yong knows I am here. How can I not avenge this? Since that is the case, I will certainly submit a memorial to the court to let this matter rest."

"Okay," Zhang Wenjin said simply.

Zhai Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

Impeaching Fatty Feng is easy; the key is how to deal with Fatty Feng's retaliation. I'm not confident that Wang Xin can bring down Fatty Feng. What if Wang Xin fails? I need to leave myself a way out.

He impeached Fatty Feng not for Wang Xin's sake, but because Fatty Feng had harmed him first, and he was taking revenge to even things out.

As for whether Fatty Feng could accept this reasoning, Zhai Wen was even less confident, so he came to tell Zhang Wenjin. Zhang Wenjin had more face than him, so Fatty Feng would be more considerate.

Having achieved his goal, Zhai Wen got up to take his leave.

After Zhai Wen left, Zhang Wenjin, who was not yet fifty years old, silently stared at the doorway, at the spot where Zhai Wen had just left.

"Master, would you like some hot tea?" There was no response from the inner room. The butler came in with a teapot and asked in a low voice. When the master shook his head, he quietly went out again.

Zhang Wenjin finally got up, walked behind a desk, opened a drawer, and took out a letter.

After carefully rereading the letter, Zhang Wenjin's expression changed repeatedly, and he couldn't help but murmur, "Brother Chengxian, is this the opportunity you were talking about?"

Although it wasn't mentioned in the letter, I saw many extraordinary things.

Wang Xin was from one of the four great families and was recommended by Lin Ruhai. Some supported the emperor, some supported the retired emperor, and some remained neutral. That's how nobles are; they're always opportunistic and don't put all their eggs in one basket. So, nobles can be used, but they also need to be guarded against.

However, Wang Xin was highly regarded by Zhang Jifu, who brought him back to the capital and sent him to Yanmen Pass by the Ministry of War.

So, Brother Chengxian, what exactly do you want to do?
Zhang Wenjin's expression was uncertain. Oh well, how could she control all this? Let's see how Wang Xin handles it next.

The key lies with this person. If he can handle Fatty Feng, I won't need to intervene. If he can't, I won't intervene either, because I can't handle Fatty Feng's retaliation. Therefore, I won't support the loser.

at this time.

Someone ran back to Datong quickly and brought back a message.

Wang Xin has arrived.

Did he really come?

Soon the news of Wang Xin's arrival spread throughout Datong, stunning many people. Zhang Wenjin was even more incredulous, wondering if this man was truly stupid or blinded by victory.
(End of this chapter)