The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 289 Why Did the Rebels Raise an Army?

Gan Ze quickly stepped forward, stopping Tu Chengyu who was about to mount his horse, and asked nervously:
"Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Tu Chengyu looked at him and asked, puzzled, "Didn't you say you were going to disrupt the enemy?"

Gan Ze smiled wryly and said, "Your Highness, what I mean is that I will lead them myself, and Your Highness, you can stay here and keep watch for us."

"So you're not planning to let me go?"

"Your Highness, you are of noble status, why take such a risk?"

Normally, Tu Chengyu would know the saying "a son of a wealthy family should not sit under a dangerous roof," but today he was being chased like a stray dog, and if he hadn't met Zhang Jin in the end, he would have fought desperately.

This frustrating escape had already filled Tu Chengyu with rage.

Now that he had a chance to vent his anger, Tu Chengyu naturally had to take action himself, otherwise he wouldn't be able to vent his anger.

So, he looked at Gan Ze and said:

"I know what I'm doing, so don't worry about it. All you need to do now is direct the charge."

At this moment, Gan Ze really wanted to slap himself. He deeply regretted his loose tongue and offering such an opinion.

But seeing Tu Chengyu's unwillingness to give up, he knew he couldn't persuade him.

Now, the only thing he can do is choose the right moment to charge into the fray, so that he can both protect Prince Su and appease him.

As the saying goes, opportunity knocks but once, and Gan Ze knew that if he wanted to charge into battle, he couldn't afford to delay any longer.

So he first helped Tu Chengyu onto the horse, and then called for everyone else to get on their horses.

Once all the guards and Tu Chengyu were ready on horseback, he quickly adjusted the formation, placing Tu Chengyu in the safest position.

Then he gave the order to urge the cavalry to bypass Zhang Jin's infantry from behind and circle around to the enemy's flank.

Tu Chengyu's actions naturally attracted the attention of the pursuers.

However, they were tightly entangled by Zhang Jin's men and could not even break away from the front lines of the two armies, so they naturally had no way to organize their forces to intercept Tu Chengyu's cavalry.

Therefore, they could only watch helplessly as Tu Chengyu's cavalry adjusted their pace and charged forward.

Thanks to Gan Ze's expert command, Tu Chengyu's cavalry did not charge directly into the most intense fighting area.

They charged along the edge of the battle, helping Zhang Jin's soldiers cut down the enemies on horseback.

They charged at the enemies who had just broken free from the fighting and were trying to rearrange their formation.

With their intentions aligned with the enemy's unpreparedness, Tu Chengyu and his thirty cavalrymen, in one charge, although not killing many enemies, managed to further disrupt the enemy's formation.

Zhang Jin, on the other hand, reacted quickly. Seeing that Tu Chengyu had scattered the enemy, he immediately ordered his soldiers to further divide and encircle the enemy.

After Tu Chengyu and his group slipped through, they did not stop, but turned around and continued to slip back.

After three such exchanges, the enemy had been completely scattered, and they were no longer in any groups; at most, only two or three people were huddled together.

In this situation, the enemy has virtually no chance of resistance, and it won't be long before Zhang Jin's men completely wipe them out. Therefore, Tu Chengyu and his cavalry don't need to be deployed anymore.

After these three charges, although he didn't manage to kill a single person, Tu Chengyu's anger had mostly dissipated.

The situation had deteriorated to such a point that the pursuers had lost all morale.

They resisted for a while, but after the general leading the group and his personal guards were all dead, the remaining pursuers laid down their weapons and stopped resisting.

After the pursuers surrendered, someone naturally took care of them.

Tu Chengyu, however, couldn't wait to pull Zhang Jin aside and ask about what happened today.

"What exactly happened today? Why doesn't it match what I know?"

Zhang Jin didn't know how much Tu Chengyu knew, so he could only tell him everything he knew.

"Your Highness, the root of today's events can be traced back to His Majesty's inspection of the Beijing Garrison last year. As Your Highness should know, His Majesty discovered that some of the Beijing Garrison's generals were receiving salaries without working. In order to eliminate this problem, His Majesty ordered all the generals of the Beijing Garrison to sign a pledge, requiring them to fill the ranks with soldiers within a year."

Tu Chengyu naturally knew about what Zhang Jin was talking about, because he had witnessed what happened that day.

That was the first time the emperor had shown his fangs since ascending the throne. He not only wiped out a noble family, but also seized back the command of a battalion of soldiers. Finally, he put a tight rein on all the generals of the Beijing Garrison, making them live in fear for a year.

Now that the year is almost up, it's time for those people to fulfill their pledges.

Thinking about this, Tu Chengyu suddenly understood why the soldiers of the Beijing garrison were making a fuss.

He asked Zhang Jin, "Is this mutiny by the Beijing garrison soldiers because of the military order from last year?"

Zhang Jin nodded and said, "Your Highness, that is precisely the reason."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu asked:
"It's been a year, and they still haven't replenished their ranks?"

Zhang Jin shook his head and said, "Your Highness is unaware of the truth. This matter is not simply about avoiding harm to the soldiers. There are many considerations involved."

"Tell me what your considerations are."

Zhang Jin said, "Firstly, several generals of the Beijing Garrison had previously been seriously embezzling salaries without actually working, so the cost of replenishing their ranks in a short period of time would be too high, and therefore they were unwilling to bear it."

"Secondly, most of the generals guarding the Beijing Garrison are sons of noble families. They are guarding the garrison to collect salaries without working. Now that the court wants to eliminate these salaries, they naturally want to delay the process. However, this time, His Majesty's attitude is quite firm, and some people are becoming restless."

"Thirdly, some generals, upon hearing that there would be another flood this year and that there would be flood victims coming to the capital, thought they could wait for the flood victims to arrive and then select soldiers from among them, thus saving a lot of expenses. However, this time, after the flood victims arrived, they were properly settled by the prince, and none of the generals who were waiting for the flood victims were able to be replaced. This has caused a lot of delay, to the point that now there are no other options."

Tu Chengyu never expected that his work in resettling disaster victims would also lead to trouble for these generals in the Beijing garrison.

But they deserved it; who told them not to replenish their ranks sooner, and who told them to keep drawing salaries without working?

After Zhang Jin finished explaining the reason for today's events, Tu Chengyu still had something he didn't understand.

That's the matter of the empty salary, which the Emperor is fixated on. It has nothing to do with me, the Prince of Su, but why are they sending people to assassinate me and relentlessly pursuing me?

Is it simply because I'm blocking their free manpower?

(End of this chapter)