The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 038 Plan

Gao Yingxiang laughed heartily, then his smile faded and his expression turned serious.

"Brother Zhou is absolutely right. Taking over Anding certainly requires careful planning; this is wise advice!"

Gao Yingxiang truly lived up to his reputation; with a single sentence, he both affirmed the validity of Zhou Lun's concerns and clearly stated his own determination.

He's determined to make peace!

After saying this, Gao Yingxiang carefully explained his thoughts. He already had a plan for attacking Anding, and now that Wang Er had brought his troops to join him, he felt even more confident.

He had led his troops to attack Anzhai, but ultimately failed to capture it, a regret that had always weighed on Gao Yingxiang's mind. Now that he had his sights set on Anding, he naturally wouldn't act rashly as before. In fact, ever since he led his troops north, he had been repeatedly considering this matter in his mind.

"Siege warfare is not the same as field battles. I have some ideas on how to take Anding. I'd like to discuss them with you brothers." Gao Yingxiang's tone was calm and serious. Seeing his expression, Li Wanqing, Wang Er, and Zhou Lun all pricked up their ears and listened intently.

In front of everyone, Gao Yingxiang explained his plans in detail.

Having learned from the previous experience at Anzhai, Gao Yingxiang knew that a direct assault on Anding would be difficult to take. Therefore, he prepared two plans.

The first plan was to send people to disguise themselves as ordinary citizens and try to sneak into Anding City.

Once the enemy forces have laid an ambush inside the city, and the main force arrives outside, they can launch a simultaneous attack from both sides. This would greatly increase the chances of capturing Anding.

As soon as the idea was mentioned, Wang Er's eyes lit up, and he immediately clapped his hands and cheered.

In his view, this method couldn't be better. Besides, these rebels were originally people rising up in rebellion, so there was no need for them to disguise themselves as ordinary people. The rebels wore the clothes of ordinary people, and at first glance, they were no different from ordinary people.

Gao Yingxiang continued, "Select some bold and shrewd brothers from among them, and under the pretext of visiting relatives or friends in the city, or carrying firewood to sell, they will break into smaller groups and secretly infiltrate Anding. Once in the city, they will find a place to hide and wait for their opportunity."

Once the fighting begins outside the city, the attention of the garrison in Anding will be drawn to the city walls, giving those inside an opportunity to attack. With this coordinated attack from within and without, capturing Anding will be a real possibility.

In addition to sending infiltrators, Gao Yingxiang also mentioned the method of attacking the city head-on.

The reason the rebels failed in their previous attack on Anzhai was twofold: firstly, the rebels had never fought a siege before and had absolutely no experience; secondly, the rebels lacked siege equipment. Relying solely on manpower to charge up the city walls was simply not enough to scale them, let alone break down the city gates.

Having learned his lesson from the last attack, Gao Yingxiang was determined not to fight unprepared this time. He proposed that before attacking Anding, they should first capture the towns and villages west of Anding and use them as strongholds to build siege equipment on the spot, such as battering rams and siege ladders. With these weapons, the chances of a successful frontal assault would be much greater.

"It sounds good, but Your Majesty, Shaanxi is currently experiencing a severe drought. Cutting timber to make machinery will probably not be easy," Li Wanqing couldn't help but interject.

Gao Yingxiang smiled confidently and said, "Brother, there's no need to worry. As I just said, we'll take the western towns first. After capturing the towns, we can demolish the houses of the local people, and then we'll have the timber. With timber, we won't have to worry about not being able to make machinery. This method is both convenient and quick."

"Ruthless. Gao Yingxiang is indeed Gao Yingxiang. I can't believe he could come up with such a vicious trick."

Zhou Lun secretly admired him. Compared to the reluctance on Li Wanqing's face after hearing the story, Zhou Lun felt that Gao Yingxiang's method was direct and effective.

Shaanxi is currently experiencing a severe drought, and given the local conditions, Gao Yingxiang's method is the most straightforward way to obtain siege equipment in the shortest possible time.

Although this method involves demolishing people's houses, who cares about such things when fighting a war? The goal of war is to win. As long as victory is achieved, any means are acceptable, let alone demolishing a few houses. At worst, after taking Anding City and collecting the spoils, we can compensate the people a little.

Besides, what difference would it make if we didn't make amends? Rebellion isn't like hosting a dinner party, writing an essay, painting a picture, or embroidering a piece. It can't be done in such an elegant, unhurried, refined, gentle, courteous, frugal, and modest manner.

Rebellion is an uprising, a violent act by which one class overthrows another!

If he were Gao Yingxiang, once he set his sights on securing Anding, he would stop at nothing to achieve it. As for the people whose homes were demolished… in Zhou Lun's eyes, they were merely a small "cost." What did such measures matter for the sake of the greater good?

According to Gao Yingxiang's plan, these two steps should be taken simultaneously.

Tomorrow we'll select people to infiltrate Anding, and at the same time, prepare to take over the surrounding towns and villages.

With Wang Er and his men joining the ranks, the rebel army had grown even stronger. Gao Yingxiang felt that with his methods, he had a good chance of taking An Ding. Moreover, with more men, he could deploy them more easily, take care of everything, and not worry about small groups of government troops causing trouble. He could make arrangements steadily and calmly.

After speaking, Gao Yingxiang looked at Zhou Lun with a smile. He didn't say anything, but the question in his eyes was clear.

Zhou Lun still held firm to his judgment: An Ding wouldn't be so easy to conquer. But Gao Yingxiang had already made his point, and from all perspectives, his plans did indeed have a chance of success.

Looking at Wang Er, he was already eagerly impatient, and even the usually composed Li Wanqing showed some interest on his face. Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for Zhou Lun to object again.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Gao Yingxiang, and Gao Yingxiang's expression became even more amiable upon seeing this.

Since everyone had no objections, the attack on Anding was decided. Then, Gao Yingxiang discussed tomorrow's operation with them in detail: how to select people to infiltrate Anding, when to advance, how to take the towns in one fell swoop, the details of making weapons... everything was arranged perfectly.

Of course, Gao Yingxiang didn't forget to guard against government troops. Although the imperial army hadn't attacked yet, such a thing could happen at any time. He didn't want a group of government troops to suddenly appear and ruin his plans at the most crucial moment in attacking Anding. Therefore, sending out scouts and strengthening perimeter security were equally important.

The meeting lasted until the third watch of the night before it adjourned. Once everything was settled, Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing headed back to their camp.

"Second brother, are you still worried about the rebel king's plan to attack Anding?" On the way back, seeing that Zhou Lun remained silent, Li Wanqing couldn't help but ask.

Zhou Lun shook his head slightly. He was certainly worried, and it wasn't just about whether they could capture Anding. What was even more concerning was that if the infiltration plan failed, a direct assault would inevitably result in significant casualties.

Now Gao Yingxiang is the top leader, the commander-in-chief of the rebel army. No one can say for sure how Gao Yingxiang will deploy his troops in this battle. Zhou Lun is even more worried about what to do if Gao Yingxiang assigns this force to the main attack. Should he object? Refuse? Neither would be appropriate…wouldn't that be disobeying military orders, causing internal division and disunity?

But if they were to take the lead and directly confront An Ding, people would die.

Their rebel army was already smaller than Gao Yingxiang's, and even smaller than Wang Er's, who had just arrived. Moreover, these men were handpicked and painstakingly trained by Zhou Lun. The army hadn't yet reached its full potential and was far from being of great use. Losing too many men in a pointless siege would be detrimental to Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing.

However, Zhou Lun kept these words to himself and did not say them aloud.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Li Wanqing, but rather that he feared his elder brother was too honest. If he volunteered, it would only cause more trouble. After much thought, Zhou Lun decided it was best to remain silent for now, take things one step at a time, and wait for Gao Yingxiang's final decision before making a response.