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

Chapter 76 Combining Suppression and Appeasement
In November of the third year of the Chongzhen reign, a biting wind blew, and the shouts of battle at the foot of Gushan Fort gradually subsided.

Wang Jiayin's troops ultimately could not withstand the government army's encirclement and suppression, and lost Huangpuchuan, their base.

Left with no other choice, he led Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Wang Ziyong, and others to break through the encirclement by crossing the river at Shenmu, escape into Shanxi Province, and occupy Hequ County.

When the news of Wang Jiayin and others crossing the sea to Shanxi arrived, the entire Yansui garrison was overjoyed, with everyone beaming with delight.

"We've finally driven those bandits out of Shaanxi! Now, let the officials in Shanxi clean up this mess!"

Having gotten rid of Wang Jiayin, this major troublemaker, Yang He breathed a sigh of relief, finally freeing up his hands to deal with the other bandits in northern Shaanxi.

But when he examined it closely, he couldn't help but gasp in shock. How did such a large group of rebels suddenly appear?

Yang He rubbed his throbbing temples, his brows furrowed, and quickly picked up his pen to write to Emperor Chongzhen, requesting that the refugees be pacified.

In his memorial to the throne, he painstakingly and eloquently wrote thousands of words, clearly explaining the reasons.

Yang He always believed that these rebels in northern Shaanxi were not born rebellious, but were forced into a corner and could not survive, which is why they rose up in rebellion.

In northern Shaanxi, natural disasters have struck year after year, resulting in no harvests and severe arrears in pay for various military garrisons and border fortresses.

Under such circumstances, what's so surprising about war breaking out everywhere and rebels roaming the land?
In his memorial to the emperor, Yang He pleaded with the emperor to allocate funds to relieve the disaster victims, make up for the back wages owed, and give these people a way to survive.

As long as there's food to eat, who would be willing to risk their life and rebel with a knife?
After finishing the memorial, Yang He ordered it to be sent to the capital as soon as possible. He himself returned to Yulin with a heart full of worries, and also invited Hong Chengchou and Du Wenhuan to discuss the next steps.

Inside the brightly lit hall, Yang He sat upright in the center, stroking his beard, and said in a deep voice:

“I have already submitted a petition to the imperial court, requesting that these bandits be pacified.”

"His Majesty loves his people like his own children. I expect that an imperial edict will be issued soon, agreeing to the pacification."

Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou's expression changed, and he quickly stood up to advise:

"Your Excellency, if I may be so bold, this policy of appeasement is probably inappropriate!"

"These traitors are fickle and often surrender and then rebel again; they cannot be trusted!"

Du Wenhuan, standing nearby, became even more anxious and knelt down with a thud, clasping his hands in supplication:

"Your Excellency, the rebel leader Shen Yikui is a scourge to the region, and his crimes are heinous!"

"This humble official is willing to lead troops in person to completely annihilate these bandits and rid the people of this scourge!"

His eyes were bloodshot, his teeth were clenched, and he wished he could immediately mobilize his troops and rush to the battlefield.

Yang He glanced at Du Wenhuan and remained silent.

Yang He was well aware of the reason why Du Wenhuan was so eager to wipe out Shen Yikui's forces.

The rebelling border troops, led by Shen Yiyuan and Gao Yingdeng, broke out from Xin'an Border Camp and swept through Ningsai Camp with unstoppable momentum.

Ningsai was Du Wenhuan's hometown, and his family and relatives were probably killed by these rebels.

Originally, Du Wenhuan, as the commander-in-chief of the Shanxi and Shaanxi military affairs, should have been besieging Wang Jiayin in Hequ with Cao Wenzhao at this time.

When news of the fall of Ke Ning Sai and the massacre of his family arrived, he was furious and smashed his wine cup on the spot, leaving his younger brother Du Wenzhao to take charge of military affairs in Shanxi.

He then led a troop of light cavalry back to Yulin in a flurry of activity, requesting permission from Yang He to carry out a bloodbath against Shen Yi Kui's tribe to avenge his family.

Du Wenhuan came from a military family. His father, Du Tong, was brave and skilled in battle, striking fear into the hearts of the Mongol tribes. He rose to the rank of General of Ningxia and eventually returned to the capital to retire as Grand Tutor.

His uncle, Du Song, rose through the ranks to become the general of Shanhaiguan, but was later defeated and killed at Sarhu.

Looking at Du Wenhuan kneeling on the ground, Yang He sighed inwardly, thinking that the Du family members were all the same in temperament.

Apart from the old Grand Tutor Du Tong, who was relatively composed, Du Song and Du Wenhuan were practically cut from the same cloth.

Furthermore, Du Wenhuan was even less capable than his uncle.

The failure of this campaign to suppress Wang Jiayin can largely be attributed to Du Wenhuan.

This fellow was drinking and making merry in the army during the siege, and watched helplessly as Wang Jiayin slipped away right under his nose to Shenmu, crossed the Yellow River and fled to Shanxi.

Moreover, Du Wenhuan not only had a habit of avoiding battle, but also killed innocent people and claimed credit for them. In the second year of the Tianqi reign, in order to avoid aiding Liaodong, Du Wenhuan lied that the Mongols had fallen into a trap, led his troops out of the border wall, and massacred the Mongol tribes.

The Mongols couldn't defeat him, so they sent people to complain to the Governor-General of the Three Borders and the Tianqi Emperor, lamenting that Du Wenhuan couldn't defeat the Eastern Barbarians but was taking his anger out on them.

We beg the Emperor and the Governor-General to grant us justice!
As it turned out, Du Wenhuan was indeed dismissed from his post, but was later reinstated.

In August of this year, Du Wenhuan was stationed in Yansui, where he spent his days indulging in "high-class entertainment with prostitutes".

His subordinate, Li Chongrong, even killed nearly two hundred innocent people, including Cao Mengxiao, in Yanzhou, causing the local magistrate, Wang Daoxing, to "cry out to the provincial inspector, Li Tianjing."

If it weren't for the imperial court's consideration that he was still in charge of military affairs in Shanxi and Shaanxi and suppressing bandits, Du Wenhuan would have been imprisoned and thoroughly investigated long ago.

Yang He looked at Du Wenhuan, who was kneeling and begging for orders, with disgust. With such a military man, how could the border affairs not be bad?

He remained silent, coldly watching Du Wenhuan, and the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

At that moment, Hong Chengchou stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:

“Your Excellency, in my opinion, neither appeasement nor annihilation is the best course of action.”

"It would be better to use both appeasement and suppression. First, strike hard and subdue the most powerful leaders, and then proceed with the appeasement."

"In this way, we can both curb their arrogance and demonstrate His Majesty's love for the people. Why not do it?"

Upon hearing this, Yang He stroked his beard and pondered.

Hong Chengchou's words made sense. At present, bandits were everywhere in northern Shaanxi. If they were to be appeased indiscriminately, it would only embolden the bandits.

We need to fight them first to show them the power of the imperial court, otherwise the rebels might surrender and then rebel again.

After careful consideration, Yang He finally nodded and agreed to Hong Chengchou's proposal:

"Just as Governor Hong said, we should first suppress them and then appease them, knock out their spirits, and then talk about surrender."

"There are three notorious bandits in Yan'an Prefecture: Shen Yikui from Bao'an County in the west, Jiang Han from Yan'an Prefecture in the middle, and Buzhanni from Mizhi County in the east."

"Governor Hong, what do you think is the best way to wipe them out?"

Hong Chengchou pondered for a moment, then proposed:
"In my opinion, we should set off as soon as possible, while the bandit suppression army is still in Yulin. We should launch a three-pronged attack and strike straight at the bandits' lair!"

Yang He hesitated after hearing this:
"However, the army's food supplies have already been more than half consumed. If the three armies march at the same time, I'm afraid there won't be enough food."

"If the soldiers fight on an empty stomach, they will probably complain."

Hong Chengchou shook his head:

"You're overthinking it, sir. Those thieves have been looting all over northern Shaanxi; they must have made a fortune."

"Once we break through the enemy's stronghold, we'll have food, and even the soldiers' pay can be distributed. The soldiers won't complain."

“We can borrow food from the enemy, or if that doesn’t work, we can ‘borrow’ some food from the local people. They will understand the court’s situation.”

After much deliberation, Yang He finally made up his mind.

Having made up his mind, Yang He immediately slammed his hand on the table and stood up, saying in a deep voice:

"Issue my order: five days from now, three armies will march simultaneously and strike directly at the bandits' lair!"

His gaze, sharp as a torch, swept over the generals below the hall.

"The left flank army, led by General Du Wenhuan and with Deputy General Zhang Yingchang as its deputy, will lead 8,000 elite troops down the border wall and march straight towards Bao'an County!"

"The right wing army, led by Hong Chengchou, the governor of Yansui, and supported by Zhang Fuzhen, the councilor of Yulin, will lead 5,000 elite troops straight to Mizhi!"

"The central army, led by Wang Chengen, the general of Lintao, and assisted by He Huchen, the general of Ningxia, will lead 10,000 troops to Yan'an Prefecture to encircle and annihilate Jiang Han's forces and cut off their base!"

"All units must remember to sweep away the bandits along the way and ensure that the flames of war in northern Shaanxi are extinguished!"

　It was published at 12 o'clock, and I'm preparing to draft it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)