The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 291 Encounter on a Narrow Path, Enemy's Whereabouts Revealed
Upon hearing Zhang Jin's words, Tu Chengyu asked:
"What's wrong?"

Zhang Jin said, "These people have just surrendered. Letting them follow the prince might be detrimental to him."

Ultimately, Zhang Jin was still worried about Tu Chengyu's safety.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu smiled and said:
"What's there to worry about with a few unarmed surrendered soldiers? You sent men to escort me up the mountain anyway, so why not keep an eye on them while you're at it? Besides, I think most of these soldiers were probably coerced into rebellion by their superiors. They might not really want to rebel. Now that their superiors are dead, and they only have these ordinary soldiers left, how could they dare to have any intention of harming me?"

That's the truth, and Zhang Jin also knew in his heart that these prisoners would never dare to harm Prince Su.

However, since it concerned the safety of Prince Su, even if Zhang Jin was confident, he dared not do it.

Tu Chengyu saw his concerns and said directly:
"It's decided then. Send some soldiers to escort these prisoners up the mountain with me. That way you can concentrate on dealing with the rebels below."

Seeing that Tu Chengyu had already made his decision, Zhang Jin didn't say anything.

He quickly detached several dozen soldiers from his own ranks to receive the prisoners.

After the prisoners were handed over, Tu Chengyu led his men up the mountain.

Because of the large number of people and the need to look after the prisoners, Tu Chengyu and his group walked slowly, taking quite a while to turn from this road onto the main road next to it.

During this journey, Tu Chengyu and the others kept hearing the sounds of fighting coming from the foot of the mountain.

It seems that the campaign to suppress the rebels has already begun.

Hearing these voices, Tu Chengyu felt a strange urge to rush down and participate himself.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he wished, there was no chance left; he could only wait for news at the palace.

Just as Tu Chengyu was getting impatient and eager, Gan Ze, who had been scouting ahead, turned around and ran back.

"Your Highness, I have spotted a group of people approaching along the mountain road from afar."

Upon hearing the words "human and horse," Tu Chengyu felt a surge of excitement. He asked:
"Did you see clearly where these people are from?"

Gan Ze said, "The other side did not raise any flags, so I did not see them clearly."

"How many people?" Tu Chengyu asked again.

"There were about a dozen or twenty people, all of them with two horses each, but they weren't riding the horses; they were leading them, and they seemed very cautious."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu immediately had a guess in his mind.

So he immediately said to his men:

"Everyone stop and find a place to hide. Don't let the people down the mountain find you."

Although his men didn't know what Tu Chengyu was up to, they still obediently escorted the prisoners to the inside of the road to avoid being seen from below.

After they had hidden themselves, Tu Chengyu said to Gan Ze:
"Take me to see these people."

Upon hearing this, Gan Ze quickly replied, "Please come with me."

Tu Chengyu followed him to a bend in the road, using the curve to look down at the road below.

With Gan Ze's guidance, Tu Chengyu soon spotted a group of people leading horses uphill at high speed on the road in the distance below.

In today's circumstances, it's not normal for one person to be able to enter the mountains on two horses. In addition, these people clearly have a military aura, so Tu Chengyu immediately confirmed that they were just as he had guessed.

However, just to be on the safe side, Tu Chengyu said to Lao Yao who had followed behind him, "Go back and ask the prisoners if any of them know any of the rebel generals. If they do, have them brought over. Also, have everyone get ready, because we're probably going to have to fight someone soon."

Upon hearing this, Old Yao quickly bowed and went back to relay the message.

Gan Ze then looked at Tu Chengyu and said:
"Your Highness, do you believe these people are rebels?"

Tu Chengyu said, "At this time, the people of the imperial court would not disguise themselves and go up the mountain like this. They are very likely to be the rebels."

Gan Ze did not refute after listening, but asked again:

"Your Highness, if they are truly rebels, are you planning to ambush them here?"

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "If they really are rebels, then those who were able to escape the encirclement of the imperial army and hide in the mountains must not be ordinary soldiers. Therefore, I cannot let them go so easily."

Tu Chengyu had been thinking all day about whether or not a war could be fought.

I was a little disappointed that I hadn't found the opportunity before.

Now that he's suddenly encountered this opportunity, how could he possibly let it go?

Unlike Tu Chengyu, Gan Ze's purpose today was to protect Tu Chengyu's safety.

But Tu Chengyu made him feel very insecure all day.

Gan Ze then advised, "Since Your Highness knows that this is an important figure in the rebel army, then these people are certainly not so easy to defeat. For Your Highness's safety, it would be best if you went up the mountain as soon as possible. As for the rebel army here, Your Highness is really worried about them, so you can leave them to me to handle."

Upon hearing his words, Tu Chengyu said:
"You don't need to persuade me anymore. I've already made up my mind. If you're really worried about my safety, go find a good ambush location now and think about how to arrange the ambush later. That way, I'll be safer."

Seeing that Tu Chengyu wouldn't budge, Gan Ze had no choice but to give up once again and turn to look for an ambush site.

Not long after he left, Old Yao came back with two prisoners.

Seeing them arrive, Tu Chengyu instructed Lao Yao to bring the two men to the front, then pointed to the group below and said:

"Can you see clearly whether those people below are your superiors?"

Because they were quite far apart, the two of them watched for a while.

One of them shook his head and said, "This isn't from our battalion; I don't recognize any of the younger ones."

The other person looked at it for a longer time and recognized one. He said to Tu Chengyu:
"Look closely, sir. The one in the middle is Commander Yang from our battalion."

Upon hearing that one of them had been identified, Tu Chengyu was immediately delighted. As long as one of them was identified as a member of the rebels, there was no need to ask any further questions about the others; they must have been unintentionally killed by the rebels.

Now that it has been confirmed that these people are rebels, Tu Chengyu is even less able to let them leave.

He said to Lao Yao:

"Put those two people back and have everyone ready."

Upon hearing this, Old Yao picked up the two prisoners again and started walking back.

The prisoner who recognized the man struggled to say:
"Your Highness, I wish to atone for my crimes through meritorious service. Please grant me permission."

"Make amends through good deeds?" Tu Chengyu was a little curious: "Are you the only one with this idea, or are there others who have it too?"

(End of this chapter)