Chapter 1353 Internal Communication

Although the details of the sneak attack on Majiazhuang were planned by Zheng Ai, it did come from Liao Jie's instruction. Especially in mobilizing the personnel and equipment needed by Zheng Ai, he provided great convenience and allowed the sergeants to

He retired from the public eye in order to avoid attracting unnecessary attention. But Liao Jie really didn't expect that such an arrangement would be noticed by someone who was interested. He took the information of these retired sergeants to the Haihan people and exchanged it for white coins.

The Haihan people actually followed the clues and investigated the entire sneak attack plan in advance, and set up a trap in Majiazhuang, waiting for Zheng Ai and his team to fall into the trap.

However, Liao Jie is not so ambitious that he thinks that Zheng Ai's operation will be 100% successful. This kind of sneak attack and assassination operation in enemy-occupied areas has too many uncertain factors. No matter how thorough the plan is in advance,

Success may not be guaranteed. However, the current situation in Dengzhou is increasingly favorable to Haihan, and he can no longer wait patiently for a perfect opportunity. According to his personal conservative estimate, Zheng Ai's actions can be 30% to 40%

The probability of success was sky-high. So before setting off for Zheng Ai, Liao Jie also considered the consequences of failure and made some preparations within his own capabilities.

The first thing Liao Jie had to guard against was of course Haihan's revenge after the incident was exposed. However, he also believed that even if Haihan would use military strikes against Dengzhou, he would not directly attack Dengzhou City. This is because Dengzhou

The military is not completely ignorant of the strength of the Haihan garrison in the local area. Although it cannot defeat the Haihan army, it has a basic understanding of the strength of the Haihan garrison and knows that the Haihan people do not have enough troops to expand the control area.

to a larger scope.

From this relatively obvious shortcoming, Liao Jie also realized that Haihan's attitude towards war was not as radical as imagined. Because the troops were limited and far away from the homeland, the Haihan people's ability to bear the losses of war was actually far less than that of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Haihan people

After landing on the coast of Fushan County, no offensive methods such as siege and demolition were implemented. Instead, the control area was gradually expanded and consolidated with strongholds such as Zhifu Island, Jiahe River Bank, Majiazhuang, and Fushan Copper Mine as the center.

Connected together, there is no direct attack on targets such as Fushan County, Qishan Suo City or the larger Dengzhou City.

Later, the Haihan people paid more attention to the Yellow Sea. Liao Jie knew that they were secretly colluding with Pi Dao and even semi-openly provided food supplies to the locals. However, this was not good for Dengzhou's security.

Good thing, Haihan will transfer more energy to other places, and his willingness to take action locally will be correspondingly reduced.

Liao Jie was convinced that even if Zheng Ai's operation failed, the Haihan people would not directly attack Dengzhou City. However, if they wanted to retaliate against places like Fushan County and Qishan Suo City nearby, it would be difficult for Dengzhou to do so.

Rescue was carried out promptly.

However, Liao Jie did not plan to notify people like Zhang Pucheng, the magistrate of Fushan County, and Feng Fei, the Qianhu of Qishan County, in advance. The reason is very simple. These places are close to the Haihan controlled area but have never been attacked. Apart from the explanation that Haihan people are soft-hearted,

The other possibility is that they have reached some secret agreement with the Haihan people in exchange for the safety of the area. Liao Jie also wants to see what the relationship between Haihan and them has become.

To what extent, will his anger be directed at them because of this incident?

However, Liao Jie never expected that Zheng Ai, who he thought was determined to die, could not bear the pressure and handed him over. In this way, Haihan would naturally not spread his fame to those who had already established a friendship.

The local officials will not take any tough stance against Fushan County and Qishan. Liao Jie's idea of ​​taking advantage of the chaos to watch the excitement in these two places and rectifying the local civil and military officials will probably come to nothing.

However, for safety reasons, Liao Jie still wanted to inform Chen Zhongsheng, the prefect of Dengzhou, about this matter. Even if there were no practical countermeasures, it was good to be mentally prepared. Of course, he would inevitably let Chen Zhongsheng get a share after the matter was completed.

Credit, but if Zheng Ai makes a mistake and causes trouble, at least he will have one more partner to shoulder the blame.

Chen Zhongsheng was handling official business in the government office. When he heard that Liao Jie had suddenly visited, he guessed that he might have urgent military information to communicate with him. He immediately suspended what he was doing and welcomed him into the study for an interview.

Liao Jie's description was concise and to the point, and it didn't take him too long to tell Chen Zhongsheng the general story. At this time, the handyman had just brought in the hot tea.

Chen Zhongsheng was silent for a while, silently digesting the information Liao Jie said in his mind. After a long time, he asked: "How confident do you think Mr. Liao is?"

Liao Jie understood what he was asking and immediately responded: "It should be 40 to 50%."

In fact, his estimate of the outcome of the action was not so optimistic, but facing the civil servant Chen Zhongsheng, he still had to be more confident to prevent the other party from starting to find fault with him from now on.

But Chen Zhongsheng was not so easily tricked by him. After hearing this answer, he said noncommittally: "Can it be as high as 40 to 50%? If you are so sure, Master Liao wouldn't have waited for almost a year before taking action, right?"

Chen Zhongsheng was doubtful about the probability of success of Liao Jie's plan. Putting aside Zheng Ai's personal ability, this team was going deep into enemy-occupied areas to kidnap or assassinate senior officials of Haihan. This idea of ​​action alone made him very uncomfortable.

Optimistic. The two countries have not officially declared war at this stage. Even though there were several large-scale armed conflicts last year and there were some casualties, the two sides still have a tacit understanding not to tear off the last fig leaf and continue to maintain the superficial relationship.

Peace.

Different from Liao Jie's view, Chen Zhongsheng believed that the Haihan people were unwilling to start a war not because their troops were limited and could not occupy a large area, but because they wanted to maintain a stable external environment for the operation of the Fushan Copper Mine.

Ever since Haihan started mining in Fushan County, Chen Zhongsheng has always suspected that the purpose of the Haihan people coming here to seize the land was not simply to occupy the land in Dengzhou, but to plunder the local resources of Dengzhou. After the Denglai War, Dengzhou

Of course, there is not much private wealth left in Dengzhou for the Haihan people to take advantage of, so the resources they collect in Dengzhou are relatively unusual - population and minerals.

Of course, the Dengzhou government did not want to watch the resources belonging to the Ming Dynasty being plundered by the Haihan. Chen Zhongsheng also wanted to expel the Tartars and regain the lost territory for the country. But the problem was that the Dengzhou Ming army had proven through actual combat that force was not feasible.

And Haihan seems to have no intention to further expand his territory, so in Chen Zhongsheng's view, if he does not have the strength to expel the Haihan people from Dengzhou at this stage, it is better to maintain the existing peace and not take the initiative to provoke those evil stars.

Chen Zhongsheng did not want the war to reignite in the areas under his rule, and the opponents this time were obviously much more difficult to deal with than the Kong Youde rebels during the Denglai Rebellion. The Chief Envoy of Shandong had already issued an order requiring each state government to maintain local stability on its own.

, because most of the province's elite troops have been transferred to the Central Plains to encircle and suppress the peasant army, so there is no way to ask for help from the higher authorities regarding Haihan. If it is not done well, it will lead to punishment.

Currently unable to gain an overwhelming advantage over Haihan, Chen Zhongsheng would rather let Haihan continue to absorb the local population and mine copper mines than actively destroy the current peaceful situation. Although Chen Zhongsheng's tone was calm, his attitude towards questioning Liao Jie's approach was

It's already been revealed.

Liao Jie's face also darkened: "The Haihan people are entrenched in Fushan County. As a commanding officer, I have the responsibility of guarding the territory. I cannot just sit back and watch the Haihan people gradually become bigger in the local area. Even if I am only 10% sure,

You have to wait until you try it before you know whether it works or not! Mr. Chen, are you really planning to surrender without a fight?"

Chen Zhongsheng responded: "The Ming Dynasty and Haihan have not started a war, so how can they surrender without fighting? Mr. Liao, please don't lie. You just said this matter without discussing it with me beforehand. If things don't go as planned, something will happen."

It’s a mistake, Mr. Liao, don’t try to shirk responsibility from me!”

Seeing that the other party had seen through his intention, Liao Jie chuckled and said, "Mr. Chen, don't you think about it. If this thing is done, it will be able to drive the Haihan people away from Dengzhou. What a great achievement it is?"

"I'm afraid you think too simply of the Haihan people!" Chen Zhongsheng shook his head and said: "They invested at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in mining in Fushan County. What they want is long-term profits. How can they be willing to pay for some trivial matters?

Just give up? Do you think they came all the way from the south to Dengzhou by sea just to attack the city and seize territory?"

"If Zheng Ai can control their senior officials, it will be no small matter. Only with the bargaining chip can they make them give up their local industries." Liao Jie still insisted on his opinion: "If you want to win without a fight, this is

The only way."

Chen Zhongsheng sighed and said, "What if your people fail? Have you ever thought about how to deal with the revenge of the Haihan people?"

Liao Jie nodded and said: "Of course we have considered this. The Haihan people have limited troops and will not attack Dengzhou City. Even if they attack Dengzhou, it will not be of any practical benefit to them. Instead, it may trigger a counterattack by our Ming Dynasty.

I believe this is not the result they want to see."

"that's all?"

"That's it." Liao Jie saw the displeasure on Chen Zhongsheng's face and added: "Besides that, what else can the Haihan people do? Attack Fushan County or Qishansuo? These measures cannot threaten Dengzhou City.

Even if they do it, it will not be retaliatory."

Chen Zhongsheng stared at Liao Jie and said, "So you want to deal with Zhang Zhixian and Feng Qianhu at the same time. This is a good plan!"

Liao Jie sternly denied Chen Zhongsheng's statement: "I have no grudge against Zhang Zhixian and Feng Qianhu, so how can I deal with it? Mr. Chen, don't talk nonsense."

Chen Zhongsheng sneered and said: "Master Liao, although Zhang Zhixian and Feng Qianhu did not make fierce resistance to Haihan, they have maintained the peace today. Are you doing this deliberately to trigger a war? What does this do to you?

benefit?"

Liao Jie said: "I just want to expel the Haihan people from Dengzhou as soon as possible. As for other things, I don't think as much as Mr. Chen."

Chen Zhongsheng was silent for a while and then said: "You and I have different ways and we don't want to work together. When will we hear back from the people you sent to Fushan County?"

Liao Jie responded: "As long as they can return to Guxian Town, there will be arrangements for them to escape. If everything goes well, there will be a quick return tomorrow morning at the latest."

"I will report this matter to the Chief Envoy. Mr. Liao, please wish yourself well!" After hearing this answer, Chen Zhongsheng was obviously not very satisfied, and finally chose not to cooperate with Liao Jie.

Liao Jie's face became even uglier. He originally wanted to come and explain a few words and get it over with, but he didn't expect that Chen Zhongsheng had a completely different view on this matter. He also saw through his intention of finding someone to take the blame together and left the relationship very clean.

Chen Zhongsheng reported the matter to the Chief Envoy's Department. If the subsequent news was not good, then he could completely shift the responsibility to Liao Jie, who planned and directed the operation.

Liao Jie secretly cursed a few words in his heart, but he also knew that it would be difficult to persuade Chen Zhongsheng to change his mind. At that moment, he could only stand up and say goodbye: "In that case, I will stop talking nonsense. Mr. Chen, please do it yourself."

"No." Chen Zhongsheng quietly cupped his hands as a farewell.

Liao Jie snorted, turned around and walked out of the study. After leaving the government office, he went directly to the army. There are currently nearly 5,000 Ming troops stationed in Dengzhou, although Liao Jie thought Haihan would not

Take action against Dengzhou City, but he is not 100% sure about it, so he still has to go to the army to make arrangements. The reconnaissance cavalry that should be sent out will have to set off from Dengzhou City today.

The next morning, Dengzhou City did not wait for the report of the fast horse coming to Guxian Town. At noon, there was still no news. Liao Jie kept staring at the distance of the official road from the east city gate, staring until his eyes hurt, but

Still didn't see the fast horse galloping. Liao Jie already had some bad premonitions in his heart, but he still refused to give up hope. Until the evening, a fast horse finally came on the official road, letting Liao Jie, who had been waiting for a day,

Finally, he cheered up and hurried down the gatehouse, hoping to hear the news from the front as soon as possible.

But the news brought back by the messenger did not change Liao Jie's uneasy mood. Zheng Ai and others did not return to Guxian Town within the agreed time. To be precise, there was no news about them at all.

After entering Haihan's control area, there was no news from this team at all, as if they had disappeared into thin air.

The only sign that may be related to their disappearance is that the Haihan people have strengthened their interrogation of people entering and leaving the occupied areas. The official road leading from Fuxian Town to Fushan County has once again been placed under military control, except for those who voluntarily sign up for immigration.

According to the situation, anyone who has not obtained a travel order issued by Haihan officials will be refused entry.

Haihan suddenly strengthened the traffic control in the occupied area, which was obviously not a coincidence. The reason that Liao Jie could think of was probably that Zheng Ai and others had already launched an attack in Majiazhuang, but he didn't know what the result would be.
Chapter completed!