Chapter 134: The Schemes of a Renowned General!

Su Sheng was in his early thirties.

Judging by his name, he was the eldest son of the great General Su, which made him the "young general" of the current suppression army.

Unlike other military second-generation heirs of this era, Su Sheng had practiced martial arts tirelessly since childhood and studied military strategy books and battle formations under his old father. However, this was his very first time on a battlefield.

This was because when the young general was fourteen or fifteen years old, just as he was preparing to join the army and begin his military career, his old father offended the emperor and was sent packing back to his hometown with a mere stroke of a the emperor's brush.

At that time, the young general, who was just about to join the army to achieve great merit, was left with nowhere to go. The imperial court was even rather reluctant to let him enter the military ranks.

After all, General Su still had a great many former subordinates at that time.

Consequently, Su Sheng, despite possessing a wealth of acquired skills, could only serve as a low-ranking military officer in his hometown, a post he held for more than a decade.

Now, with the imperial court lacking available men, the emperor—or rather, the imperial court—once again remembered General Su. At the same time, Su Sheng was able to break away from his local post, bestowed with a rank of the fourth class by the court, and marched out on campaign with his father.

Having received his father's orders, Su Sheng appeared quite excited. He practically dragged Li Zheng out of his old father's command tent, hurriedly mustered a hundred cavalrymen, and, pulling Li Zheng along with him, galloped straight toward Linshui.

Along the way, he did not even stop when night fell. Riding hard through the night and across two days, by the evening of the second day, the party of over a hundred horsemen finally arrived outside the walls of Linshui County.

Su Sheng glanced at Li Zheng, then looked at the tightly shut gates of Linshui County, and furrowed his brow slightly.

His right hand had already rested upon the saber at his waist.

Li Zheng dismounted unhurriedly and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, shouted toward Linshui County at the top of his lungs.

"I am Li Zheng, open the gates!"

Soon, torches flared up atop the city wall. Dozens of waving torches finally illuminated Li Zheng's face.

The one guarding the city tower was none other than Deng Yang, who had recently been heavily trusted and promoted by Li Yun. Seeing Li Zheng below the wall, Deng Yang cried out, "Brother Monkey, where did all these cavalrymen come from?"

Hearing the words "Brother Monkey," Li Zheng's expression darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "These are reinforcements sent by General Su to support Linshui. Open the gates quickly!"

Deng Yang let out an "oh," waved his hand, and shouted, "Open the gates!"

The city gates were soon pushed open with a creaking groan. Perhaps because they had not been greased for a long time, the sound was rather grating.

Su Sheng vaulted off his horse and removed his hand from the hilt of his saber. He patted Li Zheng on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother Li, I never expected that you fellows would actually capture Linshui!"

Just as Li Zheng was about to reply, he heard Su Sheng ask again, "By the way, why did that lad on the city tower call you Brother Monkey?"

Li Zheng squeezed out a smile and said, "He was just shouting nonsense."

At this moment, the city gates finally opened fully. Su Sheng called over a subordinate, whispered a few instructions into his ear, and the subordinate immediately mounted his horse, turned around, and galloped back to report to General Su.

As for Su Sheng, he followed Li Zheng into the county town.

A good while after the two of them entered the town, Li Yun, having received the news, finally rushed over. He looked at Li Zheng, then at Su Sheng. Li Zheng hurriedly introduced them: "Second... Military Officer Li, this is the son of General Su, and also a duwei in the army."

Su Sheng's rank as a duwei was officially recognized by the imperial court—a solid fourth-rank military post capable of commanding one to two thousand men under his banner.

He was vastly different from temporary military officers like Li Yun.

Only then did Li Yun cup his fists in salute. After finishing the courtesy, he smiled and said, "It seems the general truly did not trust me at all. Such a small matter as Linshui actually required the young general to come and inspect it in person."

Compared to the elder General Su, the young general Su Sheng appeared much more approachable. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Military Officer Li captured such an important county town in just a few days. Even if the general didn't believe it, there are probably very few people up and down the army who would."

Saying this, he looked at Li Yun and sighed with emotion, "Military Officer Li is truly a youthful hero."

Li Yun waved his hand. "Pure luck, sheer luck."

Su Sheng maintained his smile and said cheerfully, "I set out later than the general and only arrived in the army a few days ago. I heard that before I reached the camp, Military Officer Li crossed blows with the general and even gave him a thorough beating?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Li Yun's face instantly stiffened.

He coughed and awkwardly waved his hand. "The young general must not listen to their idle chatter. The general is divine and martial; how could I ever be his match?"

"Besides, if I had truly beaten the general, how could the army ever have tolerated me?"

Su Sheng looked Li Yun up and down and said with a smile, "That logic stands, but those bodyguards of my father's have all told me about this matter."

Li Yun sighed and offered no further explanation.

"At most, it was a draw."

"Let's put aside whether it was a draw or not for now."

Su Sheng grabbed Li Yun's sleeve, pulled him forward, and said with a smile, "Let's first fight the battle right in front of us. Once the hostilities come to an end, I will ask for some pointers on martial arts from Military Officer Li on behalf of my father."

Li Yun's temper flared slightly, and he replied rather stiffly, "Easily done."

The two of them walked all the way toward the county yamen. Since the county town was not large, it was not long before they arrived at the main hall of the yamen and took their seats. Once both were seated, Su Sheng looked at Li Yun and spoke: "The general sent me here, firstly to see the situation in Linshui, and secondly to ask what Military Officer Li plans to do next?"

Li Yun looked somewhat surprised and smiled, saying, "The general is a world-renowned commander. At a time like this, shouldn't it be the general making the decisions?"

"Naturally, it is the general who makes the decisions."

Su Sheng took a sip of water and said, "However, before the general makes a decision, he must also listen to the views of those on the ground. After all, it is Military Officer Li who is here in Linshui, not the general."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink some water as well, and slowly said, "I have been pondering this question these past few days. As I see it, there are two courses of action."

"The first plan is for the Ningguo main army to advance immediately and deploy to Linshui. With our massive numbers, as long as we press forward, the rebel army will no longer dare to covet Linshui."

"At that time, we can use Linshui as a stronghold and gradually push forward to lift the entire siege of Qiantang."

"We advance step by step with steady and solid blows, and then press toward Yuezhou to annihilate the Yuezhou rebels."

Su Sheng put down his teacup and said, "If the general had a fully trained, regular army in his hands, then naturally we could fight like that. But as Military Officer Li knows, even up to now, those new recruits have not been training for a full month."

"Some of them still can't hold a saber steady, and walking in slightly heavy armor makes them wobble."

He looked at Li Yun and said, "Let Military Officer Li outline the second plan."

Li Yun frowned and said, "Linshui County is too close to Qiantang Commandery. Once this county town is captured by us, it poses a tremendous threat to the rebel forces attempting to attack Qiantang."

"Most likely, they will make attacking Linshui their top priority."

Li Yun raised his head to look at Su Sheng and continued, "The second plan is to use Linshui as bait to lure the rebel army into attacking Linshui, and then have our main force flank them by surprise, lifting the siege of Qiantang in a single battle."

Su Sheng could not help but give a thumbs-up, exclaiming with emotion, "Military Officer Li, after this battle, even if the general is unwilling to recommend you for a commission, I will surely recommend you to the imperial court myself!"

Li Yun's expression darkened. "So, this was the general's intention all along?"

Su Sheng nodded and said, "Before I set out, the general said that if Military Officer Li truly captured Linshui, we should proceed according to this very method."

Seeing that Li Yun's expression did not look too pleasant, he quickly added, "But Military Officer Li can rest assured, I will not leave you and your men in a perilous situation all alone."

He patted his chest and vowed, "I will also stay in Linshui, sharing life and death and going through thick and thin with Military Officer Li's forces!"

Hearing this, Li Yun let out a silent sigh. "I suppose this is also to safeguard the general's reputation, isn't it?"

Abandoning an isolated army deep behind enemy lines to act as bait would indeed sound disgraceful if word got out. But if he threw his own son into the mix as well, once the story spread, it would suddenly sound entirely reasonable and justified.

Anyone who heard of this would be forced to give the elder General Su a thumbs-up.

Su Sheng's expression remained calm; he did not pick up on that remark, but instead said, "If Military Officer Li is unwilling, you may leave Linshui now. I will take over the affairs of Linshui and act as this piece of bait."

Li Yun shook his head in refusal.

His entire foundation was established right here; how could he simply walk away alone?

After taking a sip of tea, he asked, "There is still one more question."

"Please go ahead, Military Officer Li."

"General Su has two to three thousand—no, twenty to thirty thousand men. The scale is simply too large, and the enemy is undoubtedly watching them like hawks. How can the general manage to slip into Linshui and inflict heavy casualties on the besieging rebels?"

"Once I confirmed that Linshui had been captured by Military Officer Li, my men returned to Ningguo to report to the general."

"As soon as he returns to Ningguo—"

Su Sheng lowered his head to drink his tea, his expression calm.

"—The general will break his forces down into smaller units, dispatching personnel from Ningguo to Linshui bit by bit."

"As Military Officer Li knows, the combat effectiveness of the rebel army is not particularly formidable, nor is it possible for them to station all their men here at Linshui. Therefore, the general estimates that as long as we can secretly deploy three to four thousand men, we will be able to deal a crushing blow to the rebels."

"Young general, breaking the forces down and secretly dispatching three to four thousand men—how long will that take?"

"About ten days, I suppose."

Su Sheng thought for a moment and then scratched his head.

"To be precise, I'm not entirely certain."

Li Yun took a deep breath and clenched his teeth.

"The general truly is meticulous in his planning!"

Su Sheng smiled.

"Once this matter succeeds, a great merit for Military Officer Li will be recorded in the rolls without delay!"