Chapter 858: Chapter 514: The Female Chancellor with the Army (Part 3)
A year ago, he came to Taicang Prefecture to investigate the "Taicang Silver Mine" case, where he met Magistrate Sun Xiaozhun, Mr. Zhengyang’s disciple Scholar Song, and others, ultimately bringing the governor Gao Lian to justice.
One year later, Taicang Prefecture had become the "bridgehead" of the "Western Front".
On the map, it was clearly visible that the entire Huai River was divided in half from south to north, with the eastern half occupied by Prince Jing.
The western half fell into the hands of Mu Prince.
The entire Huai River region had almost entirely fallen into the hands of the Vassal Kings. Moreover, both sides were attempting to extend their reach into the Linfeng Road territory.
Within Linfeng territory are two prefecture cities, the western one being Taicang Prefecture, which focuses on commerce and economic activities.
The eastern "Linfeng Prefecture" is where the Governor’s Office and the Inspection Department are stationed, and it is closer to the local military mansion of Linfeng’s military forces.
Therefore, its military power is stronger. When Xue Shence initially moved south into Linfeng, he first went to the Eastern Front, leading the Three Thousand Camp along with the Linfeng military forces, to repel Prince Jing’s army, confining them within the Huai River and preventing them from entering Linfeng.
In contrast, the Western Front was less optimistic, as Mu Prince’s subordinate rebel army from Yunfu invaded Linfeng territory, capturing a small piece of land.
If it weren’t for the timely arrival of the news of the Empress’s return, boosting local morale and causing the Yunfu rebel army to change strategy from offense to defense, securing and consolidating their territory, it’s unlikely Taicang Prefecture would have remained secure.
Half a month ago, after stabilizing the Eastern Front, Xue Shence led a portion of the troops to reinforce the Western Front, currently using Taicang Prefecture as a base to engage with the Yunfu rebel army.
The above is the latest information Zhao Douan obtained en route.
However, due to communication difficulties of the era, he remains unsure of the latest battle developments.
"I’ve reviewed the intelligence. Presently, the one opposing the court is a general named Su Dan from Yunfu Road, nicknamed the ’Scholar General.’ He camps in Ning’an County, and the area between Ning’an County and Taicang Prefecture belongs to the war zone between the two sides."
Mo Chou wiped the vomit from her mouth. Despite her disgust, she leaned over, looking at the map and said.
Faced with business, the two tacitly put aside their "personal grievances" without bickering further.
"Do you know anything about this Su Dan?" Zhao Douan inquired.
Military intelligence is concise and does not record much information irrelevant to the situation on the battlefield.
Mo Chou nodded and said, "When I was handling affairs for Your Majesty, I learned some things about this person. Su Dan comes from a branch of the Su family in Qinghe. He has been fond of reading since childhood, but his path in the imperial examinations was rough, taking three tries to achieve the degree of scholar and being assigned by the Ministry of Personnel to serve as a County Magistrate in Yunfu.
Initially, there was nothing special about him until a certain bandit crisis occurred, and the county where Su Dan served bore the brunt. He unexpectedly displayed strong leadership in commanding soldiers, collaborating with the border army to decisively defeat the border bandits, showing remarkable performance.
However, due to certain bureaucratic reasons, he was made a scapegoat responsible for the bandit crisis and was dismissed from his position, becoming a civilian.
Nevertheless, the Southwest Border Army Commander Zhao Shixiong appreciated him greatly and intended to promote him, but was intercepted and recruited by the Mu Prince Manor, becoming a family retainer. This time, the Mu Prince sent him as an advance guard, probably because the Mu Prince didn’t trust Zhao Shixiong entirely, so he handed Ning’an County to Su Dan.
By the way, although his military talent is extraordinary and he excels at defending cities and protecting the territory and people... he favors literati and dislikes being called a general. He prefers to be referred to as ’Scholar Su,’ hence the nickname Scholar General."
Zhao Douan was somewhat surprised: "You really know a lot, what else do you know about the Mu Prince Manor’s power?"
Mo Chou was slightly proud and said, "I know quite a bit. For instance, the Mu Prince Manor has a secret assassin intelligence organization called ’Embroidered Robe Envoy’. While its intelligence penetration is not as extensive as the spies of Prince Jing’s mansion or the Royal Shadow Guard, it is unique in the aspect of assassinations..."
Zhao Douan was listening attentively when suddenly, his ear twitched, and he lifted his head.
He saw Tributor Tang Jinzhong rushing over from afar, looking solemn: "Sir, there is an anomaly ahead."
...
This draft is subject to further editing.