Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 78 Liu Ye Offers Advice (Part 1)

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Liu Ye secretly guessed that the man sitting next to Li Jiucheng must be the later famous Prince Gongshun of the Qing Dynasty, Kong Youde. It was this man who took away the advanced cannons from Dengzhou City, surrendered to the Later Jin, and allowed the Later Jin to master artillery technology, making them invincible in their sieges and ultimately contributing to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty.

Kong Youde looked at him and the White Lotus master and disciple, and asked Li Jiucheng, "Jiucheng, is this the White Lotus Sect envoy you mentioned?"

Li Jiucheng hummed in response, then asked Liu Ye, "You said you have a plan to break through the city?"

“Exactly. I heard that your troops have inflicted a great defeat on the Governor’s Battalion and the Dengzhou-Laizhou General’s forces. The Southern troops under the Dengzhou-Laizhou General were completely wiped out, and most of the Battalion surrendered. This is the perfect opportunity to take Dengzhou City without bloodshed!” Liu Ye said this astonishingly right from the start. He knew that Li Jiucheng looked down on the White Lotus Sect, and as a nobody, he could only create an opportunity by attracting their attention.

These words worked. Everyone in the tent perked up and stared at him. Li Jiucheng looked at him suspiciously: "What's your plan? If it's just exaggeration and attention-seeking, I don't care if you're from the White Lotus Sect or the Black Lotus Sect, I'll just drag you out and chop off your head!"

"I am well aware of the implications and I am not exaggerating."

Li Jiucheng, the next young general, sneered a few times and said, "Since when did the White Lotus Sect become proficient in military campaigns? Isn't your leader just a magician who draws talismans to deceive ignorant women and children?"

Kong Youde gently interrupted, "Commander Li, let him finish speaking."

Li Jiucheng also said, "Yingyuan, let's see what he says before we make a decision."

So this must be Li Jiucheng's son, Li Yingyuan, the cavalry commander. Liu Ye sized him up and indeed, his features were very similar to Li Jiucheng's.

Seeing that he was being sized up, Li Yingyuan looked displeased, took a step forward, placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, and shouted, "You fiend, what are you looking at? Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Liu Ye said calmly, "General Li, please don't be angry. I just couldn't help but take a second look at you because of your extraordinary physique and imposing presence."

Hearing him say that, Li Yingyuan felt uncomfortable and snorted, then returned to his original position.

Liu Ye turned to Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng: "Reporting to General Kong and General Li, my plan is to target the troops of Zhang Tao, the governor's battalion commander, who have surrendered."

Hearing that he was ranked ahead of Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde was quite pleased and stroked his beard lightly. Since the mutiny, Li Jiucheng and his son had been above him. Although he, as the direct commander, could not be called a puppet, his position was very delicate. Although the situation was beyond his control and he had to accept it, it was impossible for him not to feel some resentment.

Li Jiucheng's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't react. He assumed Liu Ye was simply unaware of the inner workings of the military and didn't think much of it. After all, Kong Youde was the direct commander of this army, and he had a considerable number of personal guards. Li Jiucheng was already the de facto leader of the rebels; having gained the substance, there was no need to argue about saving face.

Neither of them expected that Liu Ye was doing this on purpose, subtly planting a seed of discord between them. Li Jiucheng was unruly and harbored prejudice against the White Lotus Sect. Rather than focusing on him, it would be better to turn their attention to Kong Youde, who was temporarily under the command of Li's father and son. The return on investment for targeting a less favored party would be higher than for a more favored one, and this would give them a chance to influence the rebels' decisions in the future.

One sentence was enough to make Kong Youde have a good impression of Liu Ye, and he nodded to indicate, "Go on."

Liu Ye continued, "Dengzhou City has ample food supplies and cannons, so a direct assault would certainly result in heavy casualties. The city's defenders are mostly Liaodong soldiers, along with a large number of civilians from Liaodong who, like the two generals, have suffered greatly at the hands of Dengzhou's officials, civilians, and gentry. If we send a few hundred soldiers to escape back into the city with Zhang Tao's remaining troops, coordinate with the defending generals and soldiers, and launch a coordinated attack from within and without, using fire as a signal at night to open the city gates and storm in, Dengzhou can be captured in one fell swoop!"

Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde exchanged a glance. Although this method was simple, it did have its merits.

The city's garrison was mostly composed of Liaodong soldiers, and the central army commander, Geng Zhongming, was also a former member of the Pi Island forces. If they could send someone to infiltrate the city and establish contact with him, they could potentially take Dengzhou without bloodshed. In these times, military strength was the foundation of survival; the stronger the better. If they could force open the city gates, who would be willing to sacrifice lives?

Kong Youde was very familiar with the defenses of Dengzhou and the power of the cannons on the city walls. He knew that a direct assault would severely weaken the city, even if they managed to capture it, leaving them with no leverage to negotiate appeasement with the court. After considering this plan, he realized it was indeed a good idea and couldn't help but clap his hands in approval: "That's a great idea indeed! What's your name?"

In fact, this was a plan devised by Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng themselves; Liu Ye had merely mentioned it beforehand, which naturally pleased them. Seeing that things were going well, Liu Ye quickly replied, "Reporting to the General, my surname is Liu, and my given name is Ye."

Kong Youde nodded in approval, then turned to Li Jiucheng and said, "I think this method will work."

Li Jiucheng also thought it was feasible. His only concern was whether Geng Zhongming inside the city would consider their past relationship and risk opening the city gates. He pondered, "If Geng Zhongming completely sides with Sun Yuanhua, he might be entrusted with an important task. Opening the gates for us would require taking a gamble. What will he choose?"

No one present was certain which side Geng Zhongming would choose. Only Liu Ye knew that Geng Zhongming would choose to open the city gates. He, along with Kong Youde and Shang Kexi, were among the three Princes of Huaishun, appointed by the Qing court. After the court quelled the rebellion, Geng Zhongming fled to the Later Jin with Kong Youde across the sea. In the first year of the Chongde reign of the Qing dynasty, he was enfeoffed as Prince Huaishun by Huang Taiji. He confidently told everyone, "General Geng will choose to open the city gates; Dengzhou can be taken in a single night!"

Kong Youde and the others were skeptical, but they didn't need many reasons; the temptation of capturing Dengzhou was too great. Kong Youde made up his mind and said to Li Jiucheng, "Let's do as this Brother Xia says. Each of us will take one hundred men from our personal guards and infiltrate the city with Zhang Tao's routed troops. They'll break through the city gates, lie in ambush outside, and then storm in. Dengzhou will be ours!"

Li Jiucheng nodded and said to everyone, "Dengzhou City has ample food supplies and many wealthy gentry and merchants. The previous prefectures and counties were just small-scale battles. If we take Dengzhou, we brothers can all make a fortune together!"

The generals cheered upon hearing this. What had they rebelled for? Wasn't it all for money and women?

“However, we still need to send someone to act as an envoy to ensure that Geng Zhongming can open the city gates,” Li Jiucheng added.

Everyone fell silent, looking at each other without saying a word. This was a dangerous mission; if they succeeded, they would be heroes; if they failed, the guards would execute them instantly. There was no third possibility.