The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 141 Slaying Generals and Offering Sacrifices to the Flag Before Battle

Whether Han Bocai intended it or not, Tu Chengyu had to be on guard.

After discussing with Quan Wenwei and Lin Ruhai, he immediately led his men out of the Lin residence and headed towards the dock outside the city.

This time, he will personally go and meet with this Prefect Tian.

The group traveled lightly, riding horses, and soon arrived at the dock outside the city.

When he arrived, he happened to run into the Yangzhou garrison, who, led by Xiao Xuanzi and Su Xuanbao, had also arrived at the dock.

Looking at the soldiers of the Yangzhou Garrison, Tu Chengyu frowned deeply.

These people, dressed in tattered clothes and barely better off than beggars, were indeed soldiers of the Yangzhou Garrison.

Sending them to the front lines to kill the enemy in this state would be like handing them their lives.

Tu Chengyu beckoned Su Xuanbao to come to him and asked, "I asked you to bring back the elite troops of the Yangzhou garrison, and all you brought back were these old, weak, sick, and disabled people?"

Upon hearing this, Su Xuanbao said with a wronged expression, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to lead elite troops, but the Yangzhou garrison is full of soldiers like these."

"The people I've brought here were carefully selected."

Even the ones that were carefully selected turned out to be this awful; Tu Chengyu couldn't imagine how rotten the ones that were left behind must have been.

In fact, when Tu Chengyu saw that so many people in the Beijing Garrison were found to be receiving salaries without working, he already knew that the local garrison battalions would be even worse than the Beijing Garrison.

But he never imagined it would rot like this.

Tu Chengyu had no idea whether he could control the situation with this force.

Don't let the situation get out of control and end up being sabotaged by these incompetent teammates.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Has the general of the garrison battalion come over?"

Su Xuanbao replied, "Your Highness, he came along."

Tu Chengyu: "Summon him to me."

Su Xuanbao accepted the order, turned around and returned to the middle of the garrison, soon returning with a fat man wearing leather armor.

Looking at his plump, white face and the belly that the oversized leather armor couldn't hide, he stood in stark contrast to the sallow-faced and emaciated soldiers.

When the fat man arrived in front of Tu Chengyu, he realized that this was Prince Su in person.

He disregarded military regulations and knelt down to pay his respects.

"Your Highness, I, Fan Shan, the garrison commander of Yangzhou Garrison, pay my respects."

Tu Chengyu looked at the man with considerable disgust and said, "Don't you know that kneeling is forbidden in the military?"

When Fatty Fan Shan heard Tu Chengyu's words, a look of doubt appeared on his face, as if he really didn't know such a thing.

After his initial confusion, he seemed unsure how to answer.

After its two little eyes darted around a few times, it seemed it finally came up with a satisfactory answer.

He said, "Your Highness, please calm down. I have never seen someone of such noble status as Your Highness before. Today, I suddenly saw you and was so overwhelmed by your noble bearing that I unconsciously knelt down."

I don't know how capable this guy is, but he's definitely a master at flattery.

Tu Chengyu was so taken aback by his blatant flattery that he didn't know what to say.

He had no choice but to say, "Stand up first."

Upon hearing this, Fan Shan thanked Tu Chengyu first before standing up.

After he stood up, Tu Chengyu pointed to the soldiers of the garrison camp not far away and said:
"General Fan, are these the elite troops of the garrison?"

Anyone who isn't completely clueless can tell that Tu Chengyu is questioning them.

But General Fan, seemingly oblivious, said with a fawning smile on his chubby face:
"Your Highness, these are the elite troops of the garrison."

Tu Chengyu thought that when faced with this problem, he would find all sorts of excuses and reasons to explain that the soldiers were in such a state because they had no other choice.

To his surprise, this guy blatantly lied, claiming that these were the elite troops.

Tu Chengyu angrily pointed at his guards, then at the garrison camp, and said:

"Tell me, do you think they can be considered elite troops?"

Wherever Tu Chengyu pointed, Fan Shan looked, and he could naturally see the difference between the guards and the garrison.

However, he still argued vehemently, "Your Highness, the guards beside you are the royal guards, the most powerful in the world. How can the soldiers of the garrison battalion compare?"

"Besides, the prince's guards are from the north, and are naturally tall, while the men under my command are all from the south, and are naturally thinner."

His angle on this nonsense was quite unique, starting directly with the differences between people from the North and South.

While there are some differences in height between people from the North and South, strength and weakness cannot be judged solely by height.

Even if those skinny men in the garrison were given a height of ten feet, they wouldn't seem very strong.

Suppressing his rising anger, Tu Chengyu asked:
"Since you say these are all elite troops, then tell me, how are these elite troops trained?"

Upon hearing this, the man said confidently, "Your Highness, I am leading troops. We have small training sessions every three days, large-scale drills every five days, and monthly military competitions."

After hearing what he said, Tu Chengyu almost laughed out of anger.

This guy simply used the military training regulations set by the founding emperor to evade his question.

If the soldiers of the garrison battalion are trained in accordance with this regulation.

The team that stands before Tu Chengyu now is a completely different one.

The difference between training and not training is immediately apparent.

But this guy still blatantly lied through his teeth, openly lying to Prince Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu said with a sneer, "Since you are so well-trained, then you can demonstrate to me now how you train your soldiers."

Fan Shan was stunned when he heard this. He hadn't expected that Prince Su would take it so seriously.

He stammered for a long time before finally saying, "Your Highness, the dock is too small; my men are too few to maneuver properly."

Tu Chengyu grew increasingly annoyed with this fat man who was spouting nonsense. Hearing him trying to make excuses, he said:
"If there are too many people, you can pick out a hundred or so people to demonstrate for me."

After listening, Fan Shan still looked unwilling and said, "Your Highness, this..."

Tu Chengyu didn't give him a chance to speak at all, and said directly:

"Stop babbling on here and get over there to demonstrate, or you'll regret it."

After finishing speaking of Fanshan, Tu Chengyu turned to Su Xuanbao beside him and said:
"You come with me and keep an eye on him. Make sure he arranges the training himself and no one is allowed to help him."

"Your humble servant obeys your command." After receiving the order, Su Xuanbao turned around and pulled the guy back to the garrison camp.

Looking at the fat man's unwilling expression, Tu Chengyu couldn't understand how someone like him could have gotten into this position.

Is it because he's good at flattery?
But judging from his answers just now, this guy isn't very smart. Did he really get to this position by flattering others?
Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu became curious about Fan Shan's background and wanted to see who had placed him in this position.

Just then, Lin Ruhai walked over.

Tu Chengyu then asked him, "Lord Lin, do you know who appointed the garrison commander?"

Lin Ruhai thought for a moment and replied, "I don't know who arranged it, but I've heard that this person is quite close to Yin Weixing."

"Yin Weixing?" Tu Chengyu felt the name was somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place it.

Seeing Tu Chengyu's appearance, Lin Ruhai reminded him, "Your Highness, when you first arrived in the city, Yin Weixing was one of the men who rode his horse and bumped into you."

After Lin Ruhai's reminder, Tu Chengyu immediately remembered who this person was.

It turns out that he was the one who hid and laughed when Tu Chengyu was hit by the horse that day.

Tu Chengyu remembered that this guy had a connection with a certain regent minister in the cabinet, and he also recalled that this person planned to use him to do things for him. But how could a shrewd person like Yin Weixing, who dared to scheme even against himself, arrange for someone like Fan Shan, who only knew how to flatter, to sit in such an important position?

Tu Chengyu didn't quite understand, so he asked, "How does Fan Shan know Yin Weixing?"

Upon hearing this question, Lin Ruhai revealed a barely perceptible smile and said:

"Your Highness, I don't know the details either. I've only heard that Fan Shan has a rather beautiful wife, which is why he received Yin Weixing's support."

Although Lin Ruhai hadn't heard about it, Tu Chengyu knew what was going on as soon as he heard it.

It turns out that this Fan Shan is actually a green-headed general. No wonder he's so stupid, yet he's managed to hold onto this position.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu's feelings towards Fan Shan could no longer be described as mere dislike.

Looking at Fan Shan, who was at a loss in front of the soldiers of the garrison, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but want to teach this guy a lesson.

Just as he was about to lose his temper, Han Bocai and Wei Yuncai rushed towards the dock.

Behind the two men were dozens of servants dressed in short clothes.

When the two arrived at the dock, they immediately spotted Tu Chengyu standing not far away and ran over, panting.

Upon arriving before him, he first bowed, and then Han Bo eagerly asked:
"Your Highness, what brings you to the docks?"

During the discussion at the Lin residence earlier, Tu Chengyu did not tell Han Bocai and the others that he was going to lead troops to quell the riots at the salt fields.

Now that they had arrived at the dock, Tu Chengyu no longer concealed his intentions and said, "I intend to take some men to check out the salt fields."

As he spoke, he pointed to his guards and the garrison camp not far away.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Han Bocai's expression instantly turned grim, and he pointed at the garrison battalion, saying:
"Your Highness, do you intend to take them to quell the unrest?"

Seeing his incredulous expression, Tu Chengyu asked, "What's wrong? Can't I bring the garrison soldiers?"

Han Bocai said, "Your Highness can naturally lead the garrison soldiers, but there is something I must report to Your Highness. If these garrison soldiers go to the salt fields, I'm afraid they won't be able to help Your Highness quell the unrest, but may instead cause the unrest to escalate further."

I just learned from Lin Ruhai that Fan Shan, the garrison commander, was colluding with Yin Weixing.

Tu Chengyu thought that leading the garrison battalion to quell the unrest might not be so reliable.

Unexpectedly, Han Bocai shared the same view as him. Tu Chengyu wanted to hear his reasons for saying so, so he asked:

Why do you say that?

Han Bocai replied, "Your Highness, you must have already seen what kind of soldiers these garrison troops are. How can such soldiers quell the unrest? That's the first point."

"Secondly, I suspect that there are officers in the garrison who are colluding with the people behind the salt workers' unrest. I'm afraid that once they arrive at the salt fields, these people will take the opportunity to cause trouble."

Han Bocai's reasons were similar to Tu Chengyu's. Now Tu Chengyu could understand why Han Bocai insisted on having him block the garrison battalion from going to the salt field to provide support.

He may not have really wanted to frame Tu Chengyu, but rather wanted to prevent the situation from escalating further.

But at this point, Tu Chengyu was already on the verge of giving up.

He's already brought people here; how could he possibly slink back like this?

Besides, if I don't go to support him and instead block the garrison, what will I do if something happens to Prefect Tian?

He absolutely had to go to the salt fields, but the problem with the garrison camp was also a very real issue.

Since the problem lies with the garrison battalion and has become an obstacle to Tu Chengyu's progress, then solving this problem will solve everything.

Moreover, most of the problems in the garrison battalion were concentrated on the garrison commander Fan Shan, so they were not too difficult to solve.

Besides, Fan Shan isn't a good person either, so Tu Chengyu wouldn't feel any burden in dealing with him.

Once the matter was understood, Tu Chengyu made his decision.

He glanced at Fan Shan, who hadn't yet deployed his soldiers for the drill, and then ordered someone to call Quan Xu over.

Quan Xu was arranging for the guards to board the ship when he heard Tu Chengyu's call and immediately ran over.

As soon as he arrived, Tu Chengyu asked, "Have all the guards boarded the ship?"

Quan Xu replied, "Your Highness, most of them haven't gone up yet."

Tu Chengyu continued, "There's no need to go up for now. Those who went up should come down and come with me to handle some business later."

Quan Xu didn't ask Tu Chengyu what he was going to do; once he received the order, he immediately went back to make arrangements.

Before long, he and all his guards stood in front of Tu Chengyu.

Looking at the imposing guards, Tu Chengyu said with satisfaction:
"See that group of garrison soldiers ahead? Go over there now and keep an eye on them. If anyone tries to escape, just do it."

The number of guards in front of Tu Chengyu was only a little over two hundred, less than three hundred.

He instead assigned these fewer than three hundred men to watch over the thousand people there.

Tu Chengyu's order was perfectly natural, and the guards didn't find it difficult at all.

So after Tu Chengyu gave the order, they dispersed and headed directly towards the garrison camp.

When the guards of Prince Su surrounded them like this, the people at the front line were completely confused, not knowing what the other side wanted to do.

Then they saw that the other side had surrounded them, and the other side was carrying weapons.

These people were somewhat frightened, some of whom were either bold or timid, it was hard to tell.

They actually tried to escape, but by then the guards had already surrounded them, and those who tried to escape were naturally driven back.

Seeing that the first group of people who tried to escape had failed, the rest gave up on the idea.

And so, the garrison of a thousand men was indeed surrounded by guards who numbered only two hundred.

After the encirclement was completed, Tu Chengyu also walked from his original position to the front of the garrison camp.

Seeing Tu Chengyu approach, Fan Shan hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I saw that you haven't made any move yet, and I was worried that you wouldn't be able to command these people, so I thought I'd come and help you."

Fan Shan was caught off guard when his lie to Tu Chengyu was exposed so quickly. He was at a loss for how to respond.

He could only awkwardly reply, "I wonder what Your Highness intends to do?"

Tu Chengyu said, "I see that you can't command your men, which means the morale of the army is unstable. So I want to help you stabilize the morale of the army."

Fan Shan didn't understand why Prince Su would say that; he didn't realize that he needed to stabilize the morale of the army.

However, since the prince had already asked, he could only follow up and ask, "How does Your Highness plan to stabilize the morale of the army?"

Tu Chengyu chuckled and said, "I'm going to lend you something to stabilize the morale of the army. I wonder if you'd be willing?"

Fan Shan probably hasn't studied history and doesn't know the allusions behind it.

Since Tu Chengyu has said this, anyone with a little knowledge of history would probably know that what Tu Chengyu borrowed was no ordinary thing.

Fan Shan, however, asked with a silly grin, "Your Highness, please just tell me what you need. If I have it, I will certainly lend it to Your Highness."

Tu Chengyu said, "Don't worry, you will definitely have what I need to borrow."

Fan Shan asked, "What is it?"

Tu Chengyu said coldly, "It's your head."

Fan Shan was stunned by Tu Chengyu's words.

Ignoring his bewilderment, Tu Chengyu said to Quan Xu behind him:

“Drag him away and behead him as a warning to others.”

Without saying a word, Quan Xu led his men to drag and pull Fan Shan, who had already come to his senses, away.

(End of this chapter)