Little did they know, Lu Xuan was staring speechlessly at the 'secret letter' in front of him.
"These are still secret letters? Seventy-nine secret letters?" Ding Baiying, standing to the side, was also speechless. Those people in the capital weren't complete fools. At least one of Lu Xuan's intelligence points in the capital had been discovered by them. Those who previously needed to secretly pass secret letters were now openly communicating with Lu Xuan.
At least nine officers guarding the city indicated they could secretly open the city gates at night and let Lu Xuan's army in, provided his safety and wealth were guaranteed.
These are considered standard procedures; there are even more outrageous ones. They claim they're ready, and as soon as Lu Xuan agrees, he'll immediately become Zhu Youjian's illegitimate son. Then they can preemptively eliminate Zhu Youjian, simultaneously providing Lu Xuan with proof of his bloodline. Then, they can legitimately help Lu Xuan ascend to the throne.
This move was so outrageous that Lu Xuan didn't know how to react.
Besides these officials, many wealthy merchants also sent secret letters, indicating that they could provide money and provisions, as long as Lu Xuan didn't make things difficult for them when he breached the city.
It's strange that Lu Xuan didn't use any force against the capital. Yet, most of the powerful people in the capital have begun to unconsciously believe that the capital is absolutely indefensible.
Lu Xuan thought for a moment and selected some. Then he sent them to Zhu Youjian. Chaos erupted again in the capital. Zhu Youjian was numb. He was now relying on information about the rebels to punish the traitors in the city. This left him speechless with utter disbelief.
At first, he naturally assumed this was a scheme to sow discord. However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot joined forces and quickly found a wealth of evidence that left Zhu Youjian with no choice but to believe.
Another purge ensued, and Zhu Youjian eliminated over a dozen disloyal traitors. But this time, he felt no relief. In just half a month, such unrest had been brewing. Many of those affected were even high-ranking officials. If this dragged on, he feared even the most loyal soldiers would begin to waver.
"Your Majesty, this old minister does not know why reinforcements have not arrived. But if this delay continues, the morale of the army will likely be completely lost. What should we do now? This old minister believes that we should fight a battle."
"How do we fight? Do you have a plan?"
"It's not exactly a solution, but it's worth a try. The rebels have been on a long and arduous campaign, and although their supplies seem adequate for now, they can't possibly match the reserves in the capital. If we can destroy the enemy's supplies, we'll win this battle without a fight."
"Tell me in detail."
Burning supplies. This is a classic tactic in ancient warfare. Especially in movies and TV dramas, this method has become a tool for screenwriters to create unexpected advantages. Turning an advantage into a disadvantage can be achieved with just one sentence: "The supplies have been burned."
However, in practice, this is no simple operation. Supplies will inevitably be heavily guarded within the army. Unless you can bypass the enemy's rear and directly attack their supply lines, attacking the enemy's main camp's supplies is almost as difficult as completely defeating them.
Before dawn the next day, Lu Xuan received the news. Zhu Youjian was going to raid the camp and burn his supplies. He chuckled and then handed the message to Lu Wenzhao. As the chief steward, Lu Wenzhao was in charge of logistics and supplies.
"This... I assure you, there won't be any problems."
“I know, but those who attacked the camp are probably among the few loyal and righteous people in that city. If possible, let’s spare their lives.”
When overwhelming strength prevails, the effectiveness of any conspiracy or trickery diminishes significantly. And all sorts of unconventional tactics and strategies naturally lose their place. The raid on the camp was nothing but a farce. About thirty elite Ming soldiers attempted to infiltrate the camp at night and burn Lu Xuan's supplies. The result was predictable: they were swiftly and decisively caught red-handed as soon as they approached the main camp.
Upon realizing the situation was hopeless, the soldiers immediately ignited the oil canisters on their bodies and charged towards Lu Xuan's army. However, due to their preparedness, they only managed to inflict minor injuries on a few soldiers. Three other soldiers failed to ignite their oil canisters and were captured alive.
Lu Xuan was very interested in them. They had tied kerosene to their bodies, clearly indicating they were prepared to die. Despite their opposing stances, Lu Xuan still felt respect for these people.
"What guarantees did the imperial court give you that would make you willingly die?" Lu Xuan asked, squatting down in front of the few surviving soldiers.
A soldier looked up at him, seemingly scrutinizing him. Lu Xuan noticed his gesture and a slight thought crossed his mind. During this time, he had been studying Japanese ninjutsu and extracting some techniques for physical training, which he considered to have made some progress.
He noticed that although the soldier was bound and kneeling on the ground, all his muscles were tense. After looking at his face, the soldier seemed to have confirmed something. His body suddenly moved, and Ding Baiying's expression changed, instantly drawing her sword and striking.
A head flew into the air. She turned to look at Lu Xuan, who was playing with a tiny steel needle in his hand.
"It was hidden in his mouth. It must have been coated with poison. Even if we don't kill him, he won't live much longer. But this murder plot is quite interesting. The mastermind knew I would definitely meet with these 'survivors.' He knows me very well."
"Guo Zhen?" Ding Baiying immediately thought of the only person in the capital who knew Lu Xuan.
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Chapter 170 The Most Shameful Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
When Lu Xuan first came into this world, three people had gone through thick and thin with him: Shen Lian, Lu Wenzhao, and Guo Zhen, the eunuch supervising the Eastern Route Army at the time.
However, after the Battle of Sarhu, Guo Zhen returned to the palace and was promoted to the powerful Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration. Shen Lian and Lu Wenzhao, on the other hand, fought alongside Lu Xuan to conquer the land. Guo Zhen and Lu Xuan had a couple of encounters afterward, but ultimately lost contact.
The assassin from before had clearly been planning this for a long time. Even their attempt to burn the supplies might have been a ruse. Their real objective was likely to kill Lu Xuan. Their inability to ignite the oil on their bodies was probably also part of their plan, as they anticipated that Lu Xuan would meet with the survivors.
This is a gamble. If Lu Xuan doesn't choose to meet them, then their sacrifices will be meaningless. However, Lu Xuan has always admired these brave warriors who dare to sacrifice themselves for their country. Therefore, there is a very high chance that he will meet these people.
Few in the court knew this. Lu Xuan had almost no interaction with the Ming court officials. No one understood what kind of person Lu Xuan was. Most of them thought he was an ambitious schemer. Only Guo Zhen had a vague understanding of him.
"Let the army attack tomorrow. The city will be breached in just half a day." Zhao Jingzhong, Lu Wenzhao, and others immediately volunteered to attack.
"Wait a little longer." Lu Xuan still didn't attack. He simply waved his hand, dismissing everyone. Only Ding Baiying vaguely knew what he was thinking.
"You don't want to hurt those ordinary people, do you?"
"I don't want to destroy this city. Let's wait a little longer; they're about to lose their temper."
After a month-long siege, Lu Xuan still hadn't attacked. Zhu Youjian had purged traitors three times in a row, feeling that the internal situation was mostly cleared. He was prepared to continue the siege against Lu Xuan. However, at this point, many ministers in the court could no longer contain themselves.
For days, they had been trying to figure out what Lu Xuan meant. Finally, they vaguely guessed that Lu Xuan probably wanted to take the capital without bloodshed. For the sake of their future wealth and glory, they had to act now.
After much deliberation, they felt the best way to pledge allegiance was to offer Zhu Youjian to the emperor. This seemed complicated, as the Imperial Guards surrounding Zhu Youjian had recently tightened their defenses. Previous incidents of treachery had made him distrustful of others and extremely concerned for his own safety.
However, the Jinyiwei's loyalty doesn't mean the Dongchang (Eastern Depot) was the same. It's quite interesting. Historically, the Jinyiwei is infamous. Countless films and television dramas portray them as ruthless villains. Yet, historically, the Jinyiwei was arguably the most loyal force to emperors throughout history.
Unfortunately, the loyalty of the Eastern Depot is questionable. Historically, the death of Zhu Changluo, and indeed most major events involving eunuchs, were inextricably linked to the Eastern Depot. Another objective factor was that after Zhu Youjian purged the "rebels" in the army, he consistently spent his nights in the military camps instead of returning to the palace. Therefore, the influence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard within the army was naturally insufficient.
When Zhu Youjian regained consciousness, chaos had already broken out. He vaguely heard the sounds of fighting outside. It seemed that someone was battling the defending troops.
"Could Lu Xuan have broken in?" A chill ran down his spine, and he instinctively wanted to go out and check the situation. But the next second, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He instantly lost consciousness.
The turmoil in the capital also alarmed Lu Xuan outside the city. However, he couldn't find out exactly what had happened in a short time. He could only vaguely guess that the pro-war and pro-peace factions in the city had finally clashed head-on.
It wasn't until late at night, when a carriage stealthily approached Lu Xuan's camp and was stopped by soldiers and brought inside, that Lu Xuan finally understood what had happened.
Zhu Youjian awoke from his deep sleep, struggling to open his eyes. He saw a somewhat familiar face sitting before him. He was momentarily confused, then suddenly realized—wasn't this the traitor Lu Xuan? What was going on? Had Lu Xuan already stormed the capital?