Chapter Eleven The First Trial

  It wasn't until they arrived at Pei Hongzhe's gate that Chen Yingliang discovered from the plaque on the door of the Pei residence that this guy, Pei Hongzhe, actually had the title of Duke of Li State. Before Chen Yingliang could even rejoice in having latched onto a noble leg with a rank equal to that of Emperor Gaozu of Tang, he was already swept away by the immense enthusiasm of the Duke of Li State's estate.

  It has to be admitted that, although Pei Hongce is unknown in history - at least Chen Yingliang, who was quite familiar with the Sui and Tang dynasties, had never heard of his name before, he actually turned out to be a rather righteous and noble official. In view of the two times he saved his life, Chen Yingliang's desired villa was ready that day, and each meal had more than 20 dishes, which made up for the nutrition that Chen Yingliang's body had owed for a long time. The beautiful maids were not the two names that Chen Yingliang had hoped for, but six.

  Apart from this, Pei Hongce also called out his only son Pei Xingfang and made Pei Xingfang and Chen Yingliang become sworn brothers. The 14-year-old Pei Xingfang was not arrogant and rude like most of the young masters of powerful families, but instead very politely thanked Chen Yingliang again and again for saving his father's life, addressing him as "older brother" with extreme courtesy, which also made Chen Yingliang somewhat understand why the Pei family could thrive for a thousand years without decline - their family education was indeed excellent.

  By the way, Pei Hongce's son Pei Xingfang was the 37th famous general in the history of Weixi Pei family. He also served as the governor of Youzhou and commander-in-chief, directly fighting against the Khitan and Turkic peoples for decades. A outstanding general like Pei Xingfang, there were a total of 59 such people in the Weixi Pei family from ancient times to the present!

  Saving Pei Hongce seems to be the starting point of Chen Yingliang's fate reversal, everything develops as Chen Yingliang hopes. To repay Chen Yingliang's kindness, Pei Hongce even allows Chen Yingliang to choose a position under his command and indicates that formal official positions below the sixth rank are no problem at all. At most, Pei Hongce will ask for help from his older brother Pei Gui, who is also the first red person in front of Emperor Yang of Sui. Chen Yingliang does not have high ambitions and only asks Pei Hongce for a position equivalent to that of a secretary, which Pei Hongce agrees to with a big laugh, having an even better impression of the ungreedy Chen Yingliang.

  Chen Yingliang, of course, did not want to delay his official career. Chen Yingliang was very clear that it would be easy for him to get a formal official position from Pei Hongce now, but it would be difficult to go further. After all, Chen Yingliang's current age and experience were placed here, and he just entered the official career, wanting to climb up was simply more difficult than ascending to heaven. As Pei Hongce's secretary, although it was not a formal establishment of the Great Sui court, he could obtain part of Pei Hongce's power and directly influence Pei Hongce's military and political decision-making. Moreover, with the rebel army about to besiege the eastern capital, Pei Hongce, who had personally led the army to quell the rebellion, would inevitably play a role in the war against the rebels again, indirectly giving Chen Yingliang more opportunities to show off! Chen's calculations for how to curry favor and flatter were precise!

  The secretary is not so easy to be, a meal with twenty dishes is not so delicious, the night passed, and the next morning, Pei Hongce, who was guilty of his crime, went to the imperial city early to report for duty and discuss the plan to quell the rebellion with Fan Zigai and other high-ranking officials in Dongdu. Chen Yingliang stayed at the Li Guogong Mansion waiting for Pei Hongce's return, and then followed him to the Henan Zancheng government office to take up his official duties formally. However, from morning till noon, Chen Yingliang did not see even a shadow of Pei Hongce.

  Considering that Pei Hongce was almost beheaded by Fan Zigai the day before, Chen Yingliang found Pei Xingfang to discuss and led two people from the Pei mansion out of the door, directly to the main gate of the Eastern Capital Imperial City to welcome Pei Hongce, and also inquired whether Pei Hongce had been beheaded by Fan Zigai and Yang Zan after being pushed out of the palace again.

  What a relief to Chen Yingliang was that when he led the two men from the Pei Mansion to the main gate of the Eastern Capital's Imperial City, they coincidentally caught up with the officials of the Eastern Capital coming out of the gate. Pei Hongce was among them, his head still firmly on his neck, but his face looked somewhat unpleasant, and his worried expression was evident. Chen Yingliang didn't dare to be slow, he hastily went forward to greet Pei Hongce, bowed respectfully and said: "Nephew Chen Yingliang pays respects to Uncle."

  "Ying Liangxian's nephew, how did you come?" Pei Hongce was stunned at first, then forced a smile and said: "Almost forgot, Uncle is taking you to Henan Zanchifu today to take office, can't wait? Let's go, Uncle will take you to Zanchifu and introduce your colleagues."

  "Xiao Zhong didn't come for his own business." Chen Yingliang explained: "Xiao Zhong saw that his uncle had not returned for a long time, was worried about his uncle's situation, and discussed with Xingfang Gongzi, then came to welcome you here."

  After that, Chen Yingliang also hurriedly added: "Uncle, you've been standing on duty in the court for half a day, you must be tired and hungry, why don't you go back to the mansion to rest first, my nephew's matter can be talked about slowly later."

  "Still, a wise nephew understands." Pei Hongce praised and sighed: "Hunger and fatigue are nothing, the key is... alas."

  "Why so much sighing?" Chen Yingliang was suspicious in his heart, and after a moment's calculation, he hurriedly lowered his voice and asked: "Uncle is so worried, could it be that Fan Yu has ordered you to lead the troops out of the city again to fight against Yang Xuangan's rebels?"

  "How did you know?" Pei Hongce was shocked.

  "Little nephew guessed it." Chen Yingliang replied truthfully: "Uncle's expression is worried, and his face is full of sorrow. Little nephew dares to guess that Uncle thinks that Commander Fan wants Uncle to lead the army to fight against the rebels because he is familiar with the enemy situation. However, Uncle worries that the eastern capital garrison has been away from the battlefield for a long time, morale is low, and military spirit is discouraged. Not only will it be difficult to defeat the rebels, but it will also delay national affairs, so he is worried like this."

  Pei Hongce's eyes widened, and he stared at Chen Yingliang for a long time before saying: "Xian nephew, how did your brain grow? Guessing that Fan Liushou wants to send me out to battle is one thing, but how can you even guess the reason?"

  "Little nephew is just guessing, it's just luck." Chen Yingliang humbly said, and curiously asked: "However, uncle, I have a question that I've been wanting to ask you for a long time. The Right Wuwei of the Twelve Guards of the Great Sui Dynasty was stationed in Dongdu, and there were many brave generals in the army. Why did Fan Yuguo have to send you to lead troops to quell the rebellion? Where did those generals from the Right Wuwei go?"

  "Although the wise nephew is intelligent, there are things he doesn't know." Pei Hongce first looked around to make sure no one was listening, then said in a low voice: "The elite old generals of the Right Wuwei Army were already defeated by the Emperor last year in Liaodong. Even the General-in-Chief of the Right Wuwei Army, Li Jing and Li Zhongguo, unfortunately died at the hands of bandits in Youzhou last year. The remaining generals have no actual combat experience. Not even the current commander of the Right Wuwei Army, Huangfu Wuyi - that sickly official you met yesterday - has any experience leading troops in battle. He's a civil official who's never commanded an army and is often ill, so Fan Yu, the defender of the city, doesn't dare to send him into battle and can't trust those newly promoted Right Wu generals."

  "Uncle is unlucky." Pei Hongce added with a wry smile: "I've heard that the Pei family of Xingyang is famous for producing both literary and military talents, and many renowned generals have come from our family. Uncle also holds the position of Director of Works, often commanding tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers and laborers to construct buildings and earthworks. His experience in commanding troops is actually more extensive than anyone else's, so Governor Fan must have carefully considered and chosen him for this heavy responsibility."

  Of course, Pei Hongzhe didn't tell the whole truth. Previously, when Fan Zigai decided to send him to command the army, there was another reason: Pei Hongzhe himself thought it was a rare opportunity and felt that he had read military books deeply and understood strategies well, so he volunteered to take on the task in order to gain military merit. However, the cruel reality not only shattered Pei Hongzhe's dream of becoming a famous general but also led Fan Zigai to rely on him.

  "Fan the old man really knows how to drive ducks onto a shelf, and he's not afraid that this uncle will come again with a complete defeat." Chen Yingliang muttered to himself, and after thinking for a moment, Chen Yingliang asked again: "Uncle, when did Fan Yu let you send troops to welcome the battle?"

  "When to send troops, has not been decided yet." Pei Hongce continued to smile bitterly and said: "Thanks to the clever nephew's blessing, Fan Liuzong also understood the principle of knowing oneself and others, so he wanted to explore the enemy situation and make preparations before saying anything. However, it is certain that we must go out of the city to fight, Fan Liuzong has made up his mind, absolutely cannot let the bandits touch the walls of Dongdu City, must defeat the bandit army in a field battle! The National Academy's sacrificial wine Yang Wang proposed defending the city and waiting for reinforcements, Fan Liuzong directly ordered beheading, Yang Wang knocked his head to the point of cracking before Fan Liuzong showed great mercy and spared him."

  "Fan Ziga, this old man is indeed not ordinary stubborn." Chen Yingliang thought to himself, "Although I don't fully understand the situation of the defending army in Dongdu, but judging from Pei Hongce's complete defeat, it's definitely a bad omen for Yang Xuangan to encounter him in a field battle. Yesterday, Pei Hongce suffered another great defeat, which must have severely shaken the morale of his troops. At this time, the wisest approach would be to rely on the defensive fortifications of Dongdu and resist Yang Xuangan, exhausting his momentum and boosting the morale of the Dongdu army, before planning a counterattack."

  At this time, Pei Hongce had already urged Chen Yingliang to follow him to Henan Zancheng Temple to take office. Chen Yingliang nodded in agreement, but after personally helping Pei Hongce onto his horse, he changed his mind and said to Pei Hongce: "Uncle, if you don't want to go and fight a field battle with Yang Xuangan's rebels, then I may have a plan that can make Fan the defender change his mind, give up the unrealistic plan of fighting in the open, and instead defend the city and wait for reinforcements."

  "What clever plan does your nephew have that can change the mind of a stubborn person like Fan?" asked Pei Hongce in surprise.

  "Little nephew hasn't completely thought it through." Chen Yingliang replied, "Little nephew currently needs a map, as well as the Emperor's personal conquest of Goguryeo's military route. If Uncle can still provide Little Nephew with the deployment diagram of the Great Sui army in the Guanzhong region, then perhaps Little Nephew will have a way to make Fan stay behind change his mind, no longer forcing Uncle to lead the army into battle, choosing instead to defend the city and wait for reinforcements."

  "These I can all give you, but how much confidence do you have?" asked Pei Hongzhe with great joy.

  "In front of uncle, the younger generation dare not speak wildly." Chen Yingliang respectfully replied: "The younger generation thinks that there may be a 60% to 70% chance, and the younger generation can guarantee that even if Fan Liushou is unwilling to change his mind, Uncle will not be in any danger."

  "All right, Uncle will listen to your plan first." Pei Hongce nodded and then ordered: "Let's go back to the mansion first. As for you, Xianzhong, going to Zan Zhi Fu to take office can be discussed another day. Anyway, even if you don't go to work, Uncle can still support you for a lifetime."

  Chen Yingliang nodded with a smile, muttering to himself, "No choice, can only think of ways to make Fan Zigai change his defensive strategy first. If not, Pei Hongce will be forced out of the city by that stubborn old man and I'll also suffer! Fortunately, people like Fan Zigai are full of loyalty to the king, love for the country, and love for the people. As long as we play on these aspects, it's not hard to make this old thing change his mind!"

  Pei Hongce agreed to let Chen Yingliang try, of course, with the attitude of trying his luck by treating a dead horse as if it were alive. If he didn't think it was reliable, he would absolutely not adopt it. However, considering Chen Yingliang's ability to talk nonsense and bring people back from the dead that he showed yesterday, Pei Hongce still had some expectations for this newly recognized nephew. So after returning home, Pei Hongce let Chen Yingliang into his study, allowing him to freely browse through maps and documents. Whenever Chen Yingliang occasionally asked a few questions, Pei Hongce would answer them thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned.

  Perhaps it was Chen Yingliang's fate to let Pei Hongce off, after staring at the map and documents for a long time, Chen Yingliang was still deep in thought, not saying a word for half a day. On the contrary, Fan Zigai sent someone to scold him loudly, accusing Pei Hongce of dereliction of duty for not going to the government office to handle affairs. Pei Hongce, who had greatly disappointed Chen Yingliang, did not hesitate and immediately went to the government office to handle affairs, leaving Chen Yingliang to continue messing around in his own study.

  The rebels have arrived in the suburbs of Dongdu, and the fully closed city is in a state of panic. As a senior official of Dongdu, Pei Hongce naturally has endless tasks to attend to, and he didn't return home until nightfall. However, when Pei Hongce returned home exhausted, he saw his nephew Chen Yingliang waiting at the door. Without holding out any hope, Pei Hongce casually asked: "Nephew, have you thought of a solution?"

  Chen Yingliang smiled and replied: "Uncle, please rest assured, I haven't dared to be lazy, the method has already been thought of."

  "What a wonderful plan?" Pei Hong Ce asked hastily, and in that instant, he forgot the fatigue of the whole day.

  "Tactics are insufficient, use strategy to make up for it." Chen Yingliang smiled and replied.

  ………

  At almost the same time, in the rebel army's large camp near Ye City, the rebel commander Yang Xuangan's bedroom was heavily guarded. The old troops left behind by Yang Su, the former king of Chu, were guarding the bedroom so tightly that not even a fly could get in.

  In the quiet, the curtain was lifted, and one of Yang Xuangan's trusted personal soldiers walked out of the tent, taking big strides to the nearest sleeping quarters door. In front of the door, he carefully said: "Li Junshi, Yang Gong has invited you, wanting to discuss with you the great matter of attacking the Eastern Capital."

  "Alright, please wait for a moment, Mr. Yang, I'll be right there."

  Inside the account, a loud response came, and Yang Xuangan's heart was answered by his personal soldiers who were separated from the curtain. They immediately left. In this tent next to Yang Xuangan's sleeping quarters, a middle-aged man in his thirties sat on the ground with a large map of Sui in his hand, shaking his head with a bitter smile, secretly sighing, "Yang Xuangan, you really can't be helped! I presented you with three strategic plans, upper, middle and lower, but you insisted on taking the lower plan as the upper plan. I don't know what's going on in your mind!"

  He shook his head and smiled bitterly, then the middle-aged man threw the map on the ground, stood up and walked out of the tent, took big strides to the front of Yang Xuangan's tent, bowed his hands and saluted, saying loudly: "Report to General Yang, Li Mi under your command requests an audience."

  "No need for formalities, General, please come in quickly." A warm voice from inside the tent called out.

  "Thanks to Yang Gong." Li Mi responded, and in his heart sighed: "Considering his respect for me, I will do my best. If the strategy is insufficient, I will use tactics to make up for it!"

  Note: Fan Zhiyuan killed Pei Hongce and also wanted to kill Yang Wan, Yang Wan kowtowed and apologized until his forehead bled, all of which are historical facts. By the way, a great-granddaughter of Yang's is also quite famous in history - I think her name was Yang Yuhuan or something like that.