Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 592: Using Military Forces in Annan

As soon as Yang Dafu's words came out, Wu Wenxian's face turned pale instantly, and he waved his hands to explain: "General Yang, this is slander! I am loyal to the Marshal, how could I do such a treasonous thing!"

Yang Dafu narrowed his eyes, snorted coldly, and said, "Loyalty? Now that the Marshal is dead and Shenglong Mansion has fallen into the hands of Yan Keyi, do you dare to say that it has nothing to do with you?"

Wu Wenxian rolled his eyes and replied, "Old Yan is the most prestigious person in the army among the general's subordinates. If he suddenly rebelled, how could I stop him?"

"Then tell me, Marshal, how did he die?"

Wu Wenxian said quickly: "The Marshal was assassinated by Yan Keyi. I was beside him at the time. I was afraid that the guards would think I was an accomplice, so I had no choice but to flee the palace with Yan Keyi. Moreover, Yan Keyi had planned this for a long time. Once the Marshal died, he would control Thang Long City. General Yang, I am alone and it is difficult to hold on!"

Wu Wenxian saw that Yang Dafu was in deep thought, and then he said, "The Marshal has been very kind to me. Even if I have the courage of heaven, I would not dare to kill my master!"

Yang Dafu snorted and said, "Why did that thief Yan ask you to come here?"

Wu Wenxian was slightly relieved when he heard this. He clasped his fists and said, "General Yang, Yan Keyi came here because he was worried that General Yang would surrender directly to the Qian Dynasty. When that happens, the Qian Dynasty army will march south and Annan's northern border defense will collapse. Therefore, I was sent here to appease the general and stabilize the north."

Yang Dafu laughed loudly and said, "Bullshit, I want to avenge the Marshal. The army will march south soon to surrender Meng. I don't have this idea for the time being!"

Wu Wenxian cursed him in his heart as a reckless man, but he complimented him: "General Yang is indeed loyal. The commander-in-chief can rest in peace if he has a general like General Yang."

Yang Dafu was not impressed by such words. In fact, he did not care whether what Wu Wenxian said was true or false. But Wu Wenxian was also a general under Li Chengdong. Since he came here, Yang Dafu could make some name for himself.

Yang Dafu then convened a military meeting, during which he asked Wu Wenxian to tell all the generals everything that had happened in Thang Long City.

Wu Wenxian naturally pushed the blame and distanced himself from the mutiny. He said that everything was done by Yan Keyi and he, Wu Wenxian, knew nothing about it. He came here completely out of necessity.

After the military meeting, Yang Dafu informed the entire army that the thief Yan was a murderer of his master and that anyone could kill him. He then ordered the entire army to reorganize and march south soon to avenge the commander-in-chief.

In early September of the sixth year of Zhaowu, Yang Dafu gathered all the troops on the northern defense line, totaling more than 42,000 people, and loaded all the food and supplies onto the carts, and the entire division marched south.

As for his subordinates' concerns about whether the Qian Dynasty army would take the opportunity to attack if the entire army moved south, Yang Dafu said nonchalantly: "Enemy from the north is a matter for the future. If we don't move south to destroy the Yan thieves now, disaster is imminent. It is foolish to ignore the disaster in front of us because of worrying about what may happen in the future."

Yang Dafu felt that even if the Qian Dynasty really went south, he could also take a look at the situation. If they were really invincible, then he would have destroyed Yan Keyi, which would have been a meritorious act, and wealth and glory would be within his grasp. If the Qian Dynasty did not go south, then he would be destined to be a king, and it would be a win either way, it was just a matter of how much he would win, so why not give it a try.

Yang Dafu was a little anxious to send out his troops, and this was also because of supplies. Now Thang Long Prefecture would certainly not send any military rations to Yang Dafu. If it dragged on for too long, there would be big problems with the logistics of the army.

However, because Yang Dafu was stationed in the north, which was the first line of defense against the Qian army, most of the supplies in Annan were given priority when Li Chengdong was there. Therefore, at this time, the military rations in Yang Dafu's army could still last for half a year. Yang Dafu believed that if they went south to attack Thang Long Prefecture, it would be a matter of either you or me dying, and it would not be possible to drag on for half a year.

Yang Dafu looked at the military flags fluttering in the wind on the march, feeling extremely proud. No matter how the situation changed, he had powerful soldiers in his hands, which was enough to carve out a way for survival in this chaotic world, and he would never be easily controlled by others.

………………

Thang Long Prefecture.

When Yan Keyi learned that Yang Dafu had purged his old subordinates in the northern camp, he was furious. But then he heard that Yang Dafu had gathered a large army, claimed that he was a murderer of his master, and wanted to march south to avenge Li Chengdong. Yan Keyi was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

Originally, Yan Keyi, Zhang Daoying in the south, and Luo Chengyao in the west had already discussed it, but when these two heard that Yang Dafu wanted to avenge Li Chengdong, they both fell ill and claimed that they could not take charge.

Yan Keyi naturally understood that these two old foxes wanted to wait until he and Yang Dafu decided the winner, and then see the situation to fish in troubled waters or side with the winner. The two of them would definitely not take advantage of the situation for Yan Keyi.

At this time, Yan Keyi lacked two reinforcements, and it was difficult for him to withstand Yang Dafu's attack relying only on the troops of Thang Long Prefecture. Although Yang Dafu's purge of the army reduced the army's combat effectiveness, the gap in military strength between the two sides was still large.

Yan Keyi assembled all the troops in the Thang Long Prefecture area, but there were only more than 17,000 people. Moreover, these soldiers had just experienced a mutiny. Although Yan Keyi opened the treasury and rewarded the three armies, such actions could only maintain the morale of the army and it was absolutely impossible to fight a tough battle.

Therefore, Yan Keyi urgently discussed with the contact person sent by Qingluan Guard, hoping that Qian Dynasty could send troops south to attack Yang Dafu from behind. By then, by attacking Yang Dafu from both sides, he would surely be able to defeat Yang Dafu.

The Qingluan Guard's liaison had no power to decide on such a major event, so they could only send someone to report urgently to the capital, while at the same time informing Duke Han Xiong of Korea stationed in Nanning about the Annan incident.

Han Xiong was overjoyed when he heard the sudden change, so he ordered the army to prepare for war. At the same time, he sent scouts south to investigate whether the Annan defense line was really completely open.

Later, scouts brought news that Yang Dafu's entire army had moved south, and the northern defense line of Annan was empty, with no soldiers guarding it. Moreover, judging from the wheel tracks, all the baggage and money had already moved south with the army.

"It seems that God is helping me!" Han Xiong muttered to himself. Annan's defense line was empty, which was undoubtedly a great opportunity to attack.

However, when two countries went to war, it was a taboo to mobilize troops without the order of the court. Therefore, although Han Xiong was anxious, he still rushed 800 miles to report the Annan incident to the emperor.

But how could Han Xiong be willing to let go of such a good opportunity? Therefore, Han Xiong sent a vanguard of more than 3,000 people to march south first, quickly advancing along the open northern defense line of Annan and occupying strategic locations. As long as the emperor's order arrived, the main army could march straight in.