The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 300, Chapter 299: A sudden report from rebels.

Lu Yushan truly lived up to the trust Chen Chongli had placed in sending him to keep an eye on Tu Chengyu.

After touring the estate earlier, he quickly deployed his soldiers.

He used the houses in the village as a base, and arranged a perimeter around the village to protect the empty village.

Once everything was arranged, Tu Chengyu would have a hard time noticing from the outside that so many soldiers were hidden there.

However, once someone approaches the manor, no matter which way they come in, Lu Yushan's men can detect them immediately and take appropriate action.

From this, Tu Chengyu knew that Lu Yushan was no simple person.

Unfortunately, because of Tu Chengyu's arrival, he was sent by two generals to be Tu Chengyu's nanny, thus losing the possibility of making meritorious contributions in the suppression of the rebels.

Although Tu Chengyu knew this, he did not show it, but simply kept an eye on how he did things.

After Lu Yushan made the arrangements, Tu Chengyu set up his military tent in the open space in the middle of the manor.

Although he knew he had little chance of fighting this time, Tu Chengyu still did not give up.

Following standard procedure, after setting up his military tent, he summoned several capable military officers to his tent to discuss the next steps.

During the discussions, Tu Chengyu, being a novice on the battlefield, was mostly the one asking questions, immediately asking about anything he didn't understand.

As for Lu Yushan and Gan Ze, who were the most knowledgeable about military formations in the tent, they naturally took the lead in explaining to Tu Chengyu.

Because Tu Chengyu was completely clueless about military formations, yet he was the kind of person who asked all sorts of questions, the military council eventually turned into Lu Yushan and Gan Ze working together to teach Tu Chengyu how to march and deploy troops.

You know what, after these two explained it to me, Tu Chengyu actually learned a lot about military formations and tactics.

Although there might not be any fighting this time, Tu Chengyu was quite satisfied with the things he had unexpectedly learned.

So he lingered, refusing to let Lu Yushan and Gan Ze leave, and kept asking them questions about military formations.

This was the first time Lu Yushan and Gan Ze had encountered a prince like this; he was very much like a student who was not ashamed to ask questions and loved to learn.

Tu Chengyu's behavior aroused the desire of the two to educate him, so they used all their skills to teach Tu Chengyu things very carefully.

Just as the three were having a great time teaching, a scout who was on guard suddenly ran in.

"Your Highness, General Lu, someone has arrived outside the manor."

Tu Chengyu was happily learning military tactics when he heard the scout's words and didn't react immediately.

After a few moments of stunned silence, he came to his senses and then excitedly said:

"Did you see clearly whether those coming are rebels?"

The scout quickly replied:
"Your Highness, the people who came are from a rather distant place, so we can't tell their identities."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu's excitement subsided somewhat, and he didn't ask any more questions.

Seeing this, Lu Yushan took the opportunity to ask:
"Could we make out how many people are coming?"

The scout replied, "There are quite a few people coming, at least four or five hundred."

There are indeed quite a few of these people, and they deserve serious attention from this side.

So Lu Yushan said to Tu Chengyu:
"Your Highness, the situation of the person who came is unclear. My suggestion is to observe him first and make a decision after we have a clear understanding of the situation. What is Your Highness's opinion?"

Lu Yushan made very thoughtful arrangements; what else could Tu Chengyu say?

He nodded and said, "Do as you say." Upon hearing this, Lu Yushan Shui said to the scout:
"His Highness is going to observe the enemy situation, so you should lead the way quickly."

The scout was quick-witted; upon hearing this, he immediately stepped aside and led the way.

Tu Chengyu followed behind with Lu Yushan and the others. The scouts led Tu Chengyu and his group to an earthen platform next to a courtyard on the east side of the estate.

After standing on the earthen platform, the scout pointed outside and said:

"Your Highness, General Lu, look, those people are right there!"

In fact, Tu Chengyu had already discovered those people without the need for scouts.

Perhaps because of the time it took for the scouts to travel back and forth, these people were able to get closer to the manor. Therefore, when Tu Chengyu looked over, he was able to clearly see the people opposite him and easily determine that they were part of the rebel army.

Tu Chengyu originally thought he wouldn't get to fight today, but unexpectedly, a rebel army appeared here, which excited him once again.

However, Tu Chengyu didn't get too excited. He suppressed his excitement and said to Lu Yushan:

"What should we do if they're standing still? Should we take advantage of their momentary lapse in attention and rush out to capture them alive?"

Lu Yushan was also observing the enemy situation. Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's malicious words, he quickly replied:

“Your Highness, you see, those people are very cautious. After approaching the manor, they stopped there instead of rushing over in a swarm. This shows that they are also observing this place. If I am not mistaken, they will send someone over to check it out soon.”

Just as Lu Yushan finished speaking, Tu Chengyu was about to ask something when they saw several people emerge from the rebel army opposite them and sneakily walk towards them.

Lu Yushan was indeed quite prescient; as soon as he finished speaking, the other side sent someone over.

Tu Chengyu looked at Lu Yushan in surprise and asked softly:

"Now how to do?"

Lu Yushan replied, "Your Highness, the enemy commander is very cautious. We may not be able to capture them all. We can only wait for the enemy to send people to gather information, capture them, and then find out what's going on."

After thinking about it, Tu Chengyu realized that given the current situation, this was the only way to proceed.

Just as Tu Chengyu and Lu Yushan were talking, the scouts sent by the rebels to gather information were approaching the manor.

Seeing this, Lu Yushan said to one of his subordinates behind him:
"Take your men over there and quietly take control of these people, then bring them to the center of the village. Remember, do not make a commotion and let the people on the other side discover you too early."

After hearing this, the man went back to his work.

Lu Yushan stayed here to continue observing with Tu Chengyu.

After the opposing side sent people, they quietly stood guard not far from the village and made no further moves.

Tu Chengyu's side, not wanting the enemy to see through their true intentions, also kept quiet.

For a time, both sides guarded the manor, cautiously waiting for news from the people who had been gathering information.

Not long after, Tu Chengyu's side made a move.

The subordinate that Lu Yushan had just sent over quietly came to report the situation.

"Your Highness, General Lu, I have already captured the men they sent over there."

After listening, Tu Chengyu took one last look at the rebel army opposite him, and then said to Lu Yushan:
"Let's go over there and ask which part of the rebels these people belong to."

After speaking, he took the lead and stepped down from the earthen platform.

(End of this chapter)