Chapter 499 Preemptive Strike
Chapter 499 Preemptive Strike
Shen Jun was surprised and asked, "Prince Jin wrote a personal letter to my brother?"
Shen Tong said calmly: "Can't the King of Jin write me a personal letter? Or is our Shen family unworthy?"
Shen Jun waved his hands quickly and said, "That's not what I meant. I meant that the letter from Prince Jin at this time is a bit too subtle and can easily make people imagine things!"
Shen Tong nodded. "It was sent by Governor Xiao's men. But it is indeed very delicate to write to me at this time. Shen Guang has joined the Sui army, and Lan Zhaohe has just been captured."
"Does Lan Zhaohe's arrest mean that the King of Jin knows that the Shanyue people are planning a rebellion?"
Shen Tong smiled and said, "How could he know it now? He knew it a long time ago. Last time he didn't go to Yuhang, I guessed that he already knew it, so he immediately sent 10,000 troops to Wujun."
"Could it be the Lu family?"
Shen Jun reacted very quickly. He immediately thought of the Lu family and told the Lu family about this matter.
Shen Tong smiled slightly and said, "Now you understand! The daughter-in-law you looked down upon at the beginning is now going to become the second concubine of the Prince of Jin."
It was Shen Jun's second son Shen Liang who fell in love with Lu Xieting. He was immediately fascinated by Lu Xieting's fair skin and plump and tall figure. However, it was already predetermined by fate that he was destined not to get Lu Xieting.
Shen Jun said sadly: "Although I think she is too tall, Erlang fell in love with her at first sight. If it weren't for marrying her, Erlang wouldn't have taken medicine so desperately and died of illness instead. Alas!"
Shen Tong felt guilty for his joke causing his brother to feel sad, so he quickly changed the subject, "He is writing to the Shen family now, hoping that the Shen family will remain neutral. I think he will take action soon."
"So we don't care about anything?"
"No!"
Shen Tong said slowly: "The Lu family dares to bet on the marriage with King Jin, and our Shen family cannot be indifferent. I decided to support the garrison with 20,000 stones of grain to show the position of the Shen family."
At night, ten thousand troops arrived silently in Qiantang County, Yuhang County. This army was the Wu County garrison led by Luo Shixin.
Xiao Xia learned from Lan Zhaohe's confession that there were serious internal divisions among the Shanyue warlords and that the positions of the Eastern and Western factions were seriously split. Xiao Xia immediately seized this opportunity and ordered Luo Shixin to lead his 10,000 troops to march into Yuhang County, while Sun Lei led 10,000 new soldiers to station in Wu County as support for Luo Shixin.
The geographical location of Yuhang County is very important. It divides the Shanyue people into two parts, east and west, and cuts off the connection between the eastern and western Shanyue people.
Although Dongyang County and Kuaiji County also border each other directly, the two counties are both mountainous and transportation is extremely inconvenient. Bulk materials such as iron ore must be transported via the Qiantang River to Qiantang County of Yuhang County, and then transferred to the Cao'e River to Kuaiji County, Yuyao County, Shangyu County and other places.
Therefore, taking over Yuhang County would cut off the transportation of iron ore from Dongyang County to Kuaiji County.
Of course, there were also Shanyue people in Yuhang County, who mainly lived in the south. In the tenth year of Kaihuang, Yang Baoying, a powerful man in Yuhang County, also rose up against the Sui Dynasty and proclaimed himself the Grand Commander.
But unlike Kuaiji County, Dongyang County and Yongjia County, Yuhang County is a county mainly based on plains, which means that Han people make up the majority of the population in Yuhang County. Therefore, in the absence of sufficient intelligence, Xiao Xia decisively ordered Luo Shixin to send troops to control Yuhang County.
There is a key point in Yuhang County, that is the two thousand county soldiers. The two thousand county soldiers must be controlled first.
The county soldiers' barracks were close to the county town. As they occupied too much land, there was no room for them inside the city, so they had to be placed outside the city.
At present, the military camp is in a non-wartime state. There is a big difference between wartime and non-wartime. One of them is the different levels of vigilance. In wartime, the military camp is surrounded by watchtowers, and the sentries are always watching the outside and are on high alert. In non-wartime, there is only one watchtower in the military camp, which is located next to the gate, and it pays attention to visitors.
At two o'clock in the morning, ten thousand troops arrived at the north side of the military camp. At Luo Shixin's command, ropes were put on the camp fence, and hundreds of soldiers pulled together. A large part of the camp fence was pulled down, and a gap dozens of feet wide appeared.
Soldiers put up dozens of wooden boards, and the Sui army soldiers swarmed in. Yuhang County Commandant Dong Huailiang was an old acquaintance of Luo Shixin. At the end of last year, a group of generals made trouble in Jianchang County. They first demanded to plunder Jianchang County, but were rejected by Luo Shixin. They then instigated the soldiers to flee, using the upcoming New Year as an excuse that they did not want to fight, forcing Luo Shixin to disband the army and let the soldiers go home.
Among the generals who caused trouble, Dong Huailiang was one of the leaders.
Dong Huailiang was sleeping with a prostitute in the barracks. Suddenly, the door was kicked open. Dong Huailiang was so startled that he sat up suddenly. He saw a large group of black shadows rushing in, with dozens of crossbows pointed at him.
The prostitute finally realized what was happening and screamed in fear. Dong Huailiang covered her mouth with his hand and asked calmly, "Who are you and what do you want to do?"
A soldier came forward and took away the dagger under his pillow and the sword on the wall. He also took away an iron spear from the corner. The leading captain said, "Put on your clothes first!"
Dong Huailiang and the prostitute hurriedly put on their clothes. The prostitute was escorted out and Dong Huailiang was tied up by the soldiers. He struggled and shouted angrily, "Who are you?"
At this time, Luo Shixin strode in and said with a laugh: "General Dong, how are you?"
"Oh it's you!"
Dong Huailiang's eyes were filled with anger. "What do you mean? What crime have I committed?"
Luo Shixin's face darkened and he sneered, "What do you mean by suddenly summoning the county soldiers?"
"I want to train county soldiers. Isn't that normal?"
"Bullshit! The county soldiers only start to gather and train in autumn. It's April now, and the summer harvest will begin in more than a month. Do you think you are the only one who is smart and others can't understand your intentions?"
Dong Huailiang said after a while: "The Shanyue people showed signs of rebellion. The governor of Lu was worried about the safety and ordered me to gather the state army."
Luo Shixin snorted coldly, "If the governor of Lu wants to summon the county soldiers, he must ask the General Administration Office for permission. You can only summon them after the General Administration Office agrees. I don't believe that you don't even understand this rule?"
"The situation is critical, and it is understandable that we don't have time to go through the General Administration Office!"
"You really know how to talk. The situation is critical but you are still in a non-wartime state."
Just as Dong Huailiang was about to speak, Luo Shixin didn't give him a chance. "According to the order of King Jin, Dong Huailiang is suspected of rebellion. He is hereby dismissed from his post, arrested and taken away!"
The soldiers stuffed a rag into Dong Huailiang's mouth, put a bag over his head, and took him away to search his belongings. They soon found correspondence between Dong Huailiang and Yan Qiong, a powerful man in Dongyang County, which confirmed that he had gathered the army at Yan Qiong's instruction.
Not only Dong Huailiang was arrested, but also his deputy general Guo Ping and five captains. Dong Huailiang and his deputy general Guo Ping were secretly executed on the spot to leave no hidden dangers. Among the five captains, three of them were sons of powerful families in Dongyang County, and they were also executed at the same time. Although the last two were also promoted by Dong Huailiang, they were both Han people from Yuhang County, and their wives and children were in Qiantang County. They were pardoned and of course went home. Xiao Xia had decided to disband the county soldiers in Jiangnan Road and replace them with recruited soldiers.
The lights in the training ground were on, and two thousand soldiers were assembled. Luo Shixin stood on a big box and shouted to everyone, "You all still recognize me, right? I have taken over the military camp now. Your General Dong was trying to rebel, so I recruited you all. Do you want to follow Dong Huailiang in the rebellion?"
"We don't want to rebel!"
The soldiers shouted, "Our parents, wives and children are here, we don't want to rebel!"
Luo Shixin nodded and said loudly: "The King of Jin has decided to disband the military office. There will be no more county soldiers in the future. Those who are willing to stay and be loyal to the King of Jin can stay and recruit soldiers. Those who don't want to stay can go home and farm."
(End of this chapter)