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

Chapter 114 Internal Response
"An inside man?!"

Deng Yang's voice trembled violently, even sounding somewhat like a sob.
"General, I just want you to help me think of a way to escape this calamity with Wang Jiayin."

"I never intended to raise the flag of rebellion right now!"

His face turned pale with fright. Helping to act out the scheme and share the spoils was one thing, but personally opening the city gates to let the rebels into the city completely changed the nature of the matter. Wasn't this treason?
Jiang Han looked at his cowardly appearance and shook his head helplessly:

"Look at you, so pathetic! Who told you to raise the flag of rebellion now?!"

He patiently explained:
"I'm just asking you to lead your troops through Kelan County, and then escort my men into the city along the way. That's all!"

"Once things are settled, you can just take your men and go to Ningwu Pass yourself, right?"

Deng Yang looked bewildered, clearly still not understanding what Jiang Han meant.

"Fine, just follow my instructions when the time comes."

"I guarantee I won't let you openly rebel!"

Jiang Han, too lazy to explain further, simply waved his hand and gave an order to the guards outside the tent:
"Go! Pass on my order to summon Li Laowai, Heizi, the other four captains, and Zhao Sheng, the clerk, to me."

"Also, please invite the daring general, the star-crossing general, and the celestial monkey over as well. I have important news to announce!"

The guards received the order and rushed off.

Before long, the generals and leaders who had been called upon hurriedly arrived at the central command tent from various parts of the camp.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the tent was once again bustling with people, all gathered together.

Seeing the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, Jiang Han didn't waste any words and pushed Deng Yang in front of him.

He then briefly explained the transfer order and the news of Wang Jiayin's defeat to everyone.

The person who reacted most strongly upon hearing this news was Li Zicheng.

His expression changed drastically, and he immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute to Jiang Han, saying urgently,
"General, King Yi Zi is the common leader of our righteous army. He has been defeated and is in trouble. I cannot sit idly by and do nothing!"
"I'll go back and muster my troops right away to go and meet him!"

"Farewell!"

After saying that, Li Zicheng turned around and was about to rush out of the tent.

Seeing this, Jiang Han quickly stopped him:

"Wait!"

"The imperial court has dispatched 20,000 troops to besiege the One-Word King. Sending your 700-800 men there will only result in you gaining more military merit."

"Let me finish what I have to say first."

Li Zicheng was awakened by Jiang Han's words and stopped in his tracks.

He knew Jiang Han was telling the truth; with his small force, charging forward would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety, turned around, and said in a deep voice:
"Please give your instructions, General!"

Jiang Han nodded, walked to the hanging map, and gestured for everyone to gather around:

"I plan to extract a whole division, six hundred elite soldiers, and assign them all to Deng Yang's command. Then we'll take a detour and enter the Lüliang Mountains from Kelan County."

"When we pass through Kelan County, we will find an opportunity to hide our people in the city. Then, we will work with Wang Jiayin from the inside to capture Kelan County together."

Jiang Han's idea was clear: to completely replace Deng Yang's bunch of useless idiots with his own elite troops!

In this way, it would appear on the surface that Deng Yang was leading the government troops, which would greatly lull the enemy into a false sense of security and deceive them.

But behind the scenes, this team will be led by his own subordinate, a captain.

As for who to send, Jiang Han had also carefully considered the matter:
Zhu Zi is not suited for this kind of undercover work; it's too mentally taxing. Li Laowai has a bad temper and can't do it either. Shao Yong is leading the cavalry, so it's not appropriate for him to go along.

After much deliberation, Jiang Han decided to send Hei Zi and Zhao Sheng together, with the two of them taking turns keeping an eye on Deng Yang to prevent him from turning against them.

Hei Zi listened to Jiang Han's plan and had no objections, but Zhao Sheng was somewhat worried:

"General, isn't this a bit too risky?"

"Our men need to infiltrate the city, and to avoid arousing suspicion, they must first disguise themselves as ordinary citizens."

"In that case, we can't carry weapons and armor with us, and we'll have to enter the city in batches." "There are too many variables involved; what if something goes wrong?"

Jiang Han nodded and admitted:

"It was indeed a bit risky."

"But we must take a risky approach. Only in this way can we break through Kelan County as quickly as possible, then besiege Jingle and open up the passage to the Fenhe Plain."

"Just to be on the safe side, I will personally lead the team, and we will disguise ourselves as ordinary citizens to sneak into the city."

"As for the swords, armor, and weapons needed..."

As Jiang Han spoke, he patted Deng Yang on the shoulder.

"Let General Deng bring it in for us."

Now that things had come to this, Deng Yang had no choice but to nod in agreement. As long as he wasn't allowed to open the city gates, everything would be fine.

Jiang Han nodded in satisfaction upon seeing that he had agreed, then turned to look at Li Zicheng:

"As for how to contact the One-Word King, that's up to you, General Chuang. You're the only one here who knows him best."

"Tell him that as long as we take Kelan County, the heart of Shanxi will be within our grasp!"

Li Zicheng nodded, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"Don't worry, General! There's no problem!"

“When we split up at Hequ, King Yizi and I set out a general breakout route. I know where to find him!”

"I will explain it to him!"

Jiang Han nodded and made the decision:

"it is good!"

"If that's the case, then everyone should go back and prepare!"

"Order the entire army! Set up camp in two hours and march rapidly towards Kelan County!"

……

The army is about to set off, and all preparations are underway in a tense but orderly manner.

But Deng Yang was still somewhat uneasy. He secretly found Jiang Han, rubbed his hands together, and cautiously asked one last question:
"General, you really wouldn't ask me to raise the flag of rebellion, would you?"

Jiang Han glanced at him and said sarcastically:
"General Deng, what you're doing now, isn't every single one a capital offense? What are you afraid of?"

Deng Yang was so embarrassed he blushed and gave an awkward smile.
"I...I'm just not mentally prepared yet."

"It is too early to openly rebel now."

Jiang Han also understood that people like Deng Yang were, at heart, still Ming Dynasty officials, but at the same time, they were two-faced and belonged to the typical fence-sitters.

He didn't have such a strong desire to rebel; he just wanted to keep his official position and life, and incidentally gain some benefits.

For this kind of person, directly forcing him to openly rebel may not be effective; it might even push him to the opposite side.

The best way is to keep Deng Yang firmly under control, plant him within the bandit suppression army as an inside agent, and use him at a critical moment.

Jiang Han patted Deng Yang on the shoulder and comforted him:

"Don't worry, General Deng."

"The time is not yet ripe, and I will naturally not allow you to openly rebel."

"Just focus on being an inside agent and provide the court with intelligence and information about the movements of the government troops."

Hearing this, Deng Yang finally felt a little relieved.

As long as he is not allowed to openly rebel, it seems acceptable for him to act as an inside agent and pass on some messages.
Deng Yang is now on a sinking ship; he has no choice but to go down this dark path.
He only hoped that Jiang Han would keep his word and not allow him to openly rebel with real weapons; he didn't have the guts.

(End of this chapter)