Grace Yue's Silent Strength: The Pillar of Henry Yuan's Guar Chapter 183

At Ethan Feng's instruction, Simon Yan wrote a letter to Shen Hexuan, in which he mentioned that he was first imprisoned by Ethan Feng in the rebel camp. After repeated lobbying, Ethan Feng finally had the idea of   surrendering, but he still had many concerns, so he decided to withdraw his troops thirty miles first to show his sincerity. After that, he would personally write to the emperor, listing the conditions for Ethan Feng to accept the imperial edict, and let Shen Hexuan appease the officials and generals of Qianzhou and keep the troops in place for the time being.

So the next morning, Ethan Feng commanded his soldiers to collect supplies in an orderly manner, break camp and retreat, with the vanguard leading the way, the baggage following, and he led the heavy troops to cover the rear. Although it was just a planned retreat and there was almost no possibility of pursuit, Ethan Feng still retreated meticulously and in an orderly manner, which was enough to show the strict discipline of Feng's army.

Thirty miles may not seem like a lot, but it was already a day's journey for an army. The purpose of withdrawing the troops was to let Emperor Zhaowu see Ethan Feng's intention and think that Simon Yan's lobbying had worked. Then Ethan Feng would certainly ask for a high price for the conditions for the amnesty. In this way, Simon Yan would have the opportunity to mediate between the court and the rebels, and also have legitimate access to Qianzhou officials and the Datong army.

When they were leaving, Ethan Feng wanted to drive Simon Yan and Feng Hun onto the carriage, but Simon Yan asked, "Why do you want to hide Hun'er?"

"It would scare the soldiers and scare the horses."