The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 104 Recruiting the Bandits
Having received Zhao Qiaosheng's order, Deng Yang dared not delay and rushed back to Kulong Pass without stopping.

Soon, a grand "bandit suppression" drama officially began.

Deng Yang mustered his troops and joined forces with He Lei. The two of them gathered more than a thousand government troops and marched in a grand procession to Shilou Mountain to suppress the notorious bandit Shangshanhu.

The two sides fought back and forth, engaging in several major battles at the foot of Shilou Mountain.

According to reports from his entourage, General Deng Yang led three hundred elite soldiers, shouting the slogan "Suppress the bandits and protect the people," and charged into the enemy lines without regard for his own safety!
General Deng, wielding a silver spear and riding a white horse, charged left and right through the enemy ranks, cutting through their lines as if they were nothing, displaying the style of the ancient general Zhao Zilong!

The bandits were terrified and fled back to their mountain stronghold in a panic.

In this battle, General Deng beheaded 150 bandits in the first engagement and captured countless weapons and flags, achieving a great victory!

However, the rebels were still determined to cause trouble, and late that night they even attempted to launch a night attack on the government army's camp!
Fortunately, General He Lei anticipated the enemy's moves and had already laid an ambush outside the camp.

The bandit army, which had been sneaking around, was hit hard by a volley of fire before it could even sneak up to the camp. Instantly, men and horses fell, and countless people were killed or wounded!
Seeing this, General He seized the opportunity and immediately led his troops in a counterattack, pursuing the enemy for more than ten miles and beheading 150 more bandits.

However, the mountain roads were rugged and the terrain was treacherous, which hampered the transport of our army's supplies and left us with a lack of reinforcements.

To avoid unnecessary casualties among their soldiers, the two generals, after assessing the situation, had no choice but to temporarily withdraw their troops, planning to fight again another day.

Afterwards, officials from Fenzhou Prefecture inspected the three hundred heads that were presented. They were all young and strong men with ferocious faces, and all had marks of slashing, shooting, and blunt force trauma. They were indeed bandits.

Prefect Zhao Qiaosheng was overjoyed. After the meritorious service was reported, Deng Yang and He Lei were each promoted one rank.

They remained stationed at the original pass and were given the important task of "continuing to pursue and annihilate the remnants of the bandit army in Shilou Mountain".

Thus, a grand drama of collusion between officials and bandits was covered up.

Meanwhile, in Yulin Town, Shaanxi Province, inside the temporary Three-Border General Administration Office.

Yang He was toying with a head that had been preserved in lime in his hand, his expression shifting between light and dark.

He raised his head and looked at Zhao Jinzhong beside him, his eyes filled with undisguised suspicion:
"Eunuch Zhao, are you sure this is Jiang Han's head?"

He frowned and tapped the withered head in front of him with his finger.

"So, a rebel leader who defeated two of my generals, killed a court adjutant, and turned the entire Yan'an Prefecture upside down just like that, died at the hands of a group of defeated Shanxi soldiers?"

Zhao Jinzhong smiled and replied decisively:

"It's absolutely true! This is Jiang Han's head!"

"Here are a handwritten document from Fang Huai'an, the magistrate of Shilou County, as well as testimonies from the accompanying Imperial Guards, all of which can corroborate this matter!"

Yang He snorted coldly, took the documents and testimonies, and quickly flipped through them.

He originally had absolutely no belief in Zhao Jinzhong's nonsense.

What nonsense about him repenting after being offered amnesty and fighting to the death? You're kidding me!

But Zhao Jinzhong not only insisted on his claim, but also produced documents stamped with the official seal, and even the several Jinyiwei guards accompanying him gave the same answer.

This made him believe it a little more, after all, swords have no eyes, and it's not uncommon for people to be caught off guard and lose their way.

After much deliberation, Yang He finally tossed the severed head aside.

He thought to himself:
"That's it!"

"If there's something fishy going on, so be it. If things go wrong, it's not my head that gets chopped off!"

Yang He's life, fortune, and future in officialdom now rest on the shoulders of those who pacify the bandits in Shaanxi.

If we can completely quell the banditry in Shaanxi, that would be a tremendous achievement!

As for Jiang Han, he died in Shanxi anyway, so it has nothing to do with him.

With that in mind, Yang He stopped dwelling on the matter and refocused his attention on the grand plan of pacification that he had been overseeing. Indeed, since several notorious bandits had fled to neighboring Shanxi, the situation in Shaanxi had improved significantly.

Yang He's plan to win over the enemy proceeded very smoothly as a result.

Many prefectures and counties that had been occupied by bandits in the past have returned to the embrace of the imperial court, and many small bandit groups that were smaller in scale and weaker in strength have surrendered at the mere sight of them.

In fact, as early as the beginning of his term, Yang He was under tremendous pressure and tried to implement a policy of appeasement and pacification in Shaanxi.

At that time, he did achieve some results, successively recruiting more than a dozen bandit groups, large and small, such as Wang Zuogua and his followers Xiao Honglang, Yizhangqing, and Luedihu.

However, due to inconsistent government orders, the generals and officials below often outwardly obeyed but inwardly disobeyed, refusing to accept the surrendered soldiers.

The biggest obstacles came from General Du Wenhuan and Hong Chengchou, the then-governor of Shanxi.

These two men were staunch advocates of suppression and scoffed at Yang He's policy of appeasement.

Often, just when Yang He had finally managed to calm the bandits down, they would stab him in the back and send troops to massacre the surrendered soldiers.

This made the government troops infamous for "killing surrendered soldiers," deterring many groups that originally intended to submit to the court, and the pacification efforts came to a standstill.

Fortunately, the situation is different now. The emperor has issued an imperial edict, affirming his plan to pacify the people!
Du Wenhuan dared not disobey anymore, and instead slunk back to Shaanxi to participate in the suppression of Wang Jiayin.

Under the supervision of the imperial inspector, Hong Chengchou presided over the pacification work in Mizhi, Qingjian, Suide and other places in northern Shaanxi.

As for the southern Shaanxi region, it was handed over to Shi Kefa, the prefectural judge of Xi'an.

With efforts focused on both the north and the south, and with Yang He acting as coordinator, the pacification work in Shaanxi progressed rapidly!
Not long ago, Zhang Xianzhong's remaining forces, which were entrenched in the Mizhi area, surrendered under pressure from the government army and disbanded more than 2,000 bandits under his command.

The bandits Shangtianhu and Saodiwang, who were entrenched in Suide and Qingjian, surrendered with five thousand bandits.

Ning Sai was handed over to He Kai, who had previously betrayed Shen Yi Kui.

Yang He gave He Kai the position of Ning Sai garrison commander, instructing him to guard the area.

Of course, Yang He also showed no mercy to those bandits who continued to resist.

He ordered Wang Chengen and He Huchen to attack from all sides, defeat them one by one, and then try to win them over.

After years of drought, coupled with the repeated battles between Jiang Han and the government army, the area around Yan'an Prefecture was already deserted, with nine out of ten houses empty and the land barren.

After Jiang Han fled to Shanxi, a bandit leader named Tan Xiong came to the Yan'an area.

Taking advantage of the government troops' main force being mobilized, Tan Xiong actually captured Ansai County, which was guarded by government troops, twice, and then led his troops to attack Yan'an Prefecture.

Having suffered a defeat in Yan'an Prefecture, He Huchen personally led a large army in a powerful attack, directly encircling and annihilating Tan Xiong's troops under the walls of Yan'an, leaving no one alive.

When this news spread, many bandits who had been observing the situation abandoned their hopes and laid down their weapons to surrender to the government troops.

In an instant, the flames of war ceased in various parts of Shaanxi, and peace and tranquility prevailed.

Seeing the "good news" coming from all over the country, Yang He's brows, which had been furrowed for many days, finally relaxed, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

Perhaps the long-standing stagnation in Shaanxi can truly be brought to an end in my hands.

He himself was determined to become the pillar of the state who could turn the tide and revive the Ming Dynasty!

Just as Yang He was immersed in his own fantasies, and even began to devise ways to report his achievements to the court, a shocking message suddenly arrived:

"Urgent report!"

"Shen Yi Kui colluded with the Mongols, captured Ningsai and Bao'an, and has gathered 60,000 to 70,000 bandits who are now attacking Qingyang Prefecture!"

(End of this chapter)