Chapter 105: All the Generals Bowed Their Heads (Thanks to 'ZH Liufuming' for becoming the leader of this book)
After Jiang Qingzhi left, Zhang Da and the generals discussed the next countermeasures.
Jiang Qingzhi was the envoy of Emperor Jiajing. When he came to Datong, the defenders of Datong naturally could not be cowards.
"General, should we send someone to pick them up?" someone asked.
Zhang Da shook his head. "Chang Wei Bo did not speak. Our army attacked, but..."
Xu Li said, "Chang Wei Bo's intention is to let the Tiger Guards attack and show us the strength of the guards in the capital. So, let's take a look."
"If news of defeat comes, Lord Changwei will be embarrassed!" Someone worriedly said, "After all, he is your Majesty's cousin. Should we..."
Zhang Da was very grateful to Jiang Qingzhi, but at this moment, he hesitated.
The nobles all care about their reputation. If they send troops to support Ye Bushou, they will be suspected of slapping Jiang Qingzhi in the face.
Xu Li said: "Or, I'll go!"
Zhang Da glanced at him and shook his head.
I thought to myself, I wouldn't send you no matter who else I send.
Xu Li smiled and said, "If the Tiger Guards and Left Guards suffer heavy casualties, the people in the capital will not care about our lives and will put all the blame on us. Who will take the blame then?"
"Yes! You are innocent, of course. The blame lies with us."
It is very common to pass on the blame in the military. For example, Yan Xu has always been the scapegoat.
Everyone had a lot of complaints, and they vented them all out at this moment.
Zhang Da thought again and again, "In this case, we can order 500 cavalry to attack and support them."
"I'm afraid it's too late!" Xu Li said, "Anda's troops were still patrolling nearby yesterday. They were not sent back at night. They will surely encounter the enemy soon after leaving the city. More than a hundred people... are not enough to defeat the enemy's cavalry!"
Everyone was dejected.
"Don't underestimate Chang Wei Bo." Zhang Da was a little lacking in confidence.
Zhang Da also had no confidence. This was an opportunity... Xu Li was about to speak when he heard a commotion outside.
These fools!
Seeing Zhang Da wake up from his confusion, Xu Li was furious and shouted, "Who is making a noise?"
“A human head! It’s a human head!”
Someone shouted outside.
Xu Li gritted his teeth and said, "It seems that we need to set some rules."
He strode out.
Although he was the deputy general, he had the support of Yan Song's party and could compete with Zhang Da in Datong.
If Xu Li were allowed to establish his authority by punishing officials today, where would Zhang Da put his face?
Zhang Da stood up suddenly, ready to stop him.
But Xu Li was standing outside the lobby, stunned.
Zhang Da strode out.
In the yard, Chen Ji and more than a dozen soldiers were unloading things.
They poured out in baskets.
Rolled all over the floor.
"One and one, two and five and twenty..." The clerk accompanying them was counting on the side.
"What is it?"
The generals came out one after another.
“It’s a human head.”
Human heads were poured out of the basket one by one.
The heads were either grinning, or ferocious, or dazed... but they all had an iron-blue color, which made people feel cold in their hearts.
"A total of one hundred and seventy-three levels!"
The clerk finished counting.
Chen Ji stepped forward.
Bow your hands and look up.
He shouted, "One hundred and twenty-one of my troops went out to attack, and encountered more than two hundred enemy cavalrymen. We defeated the enemy in one battle and killed one hundred and seventy-three of them."
He turned his gaze and looked at the generals, especially at Xu Li, lingering for a moment.
Then, he said to Xu Li: "My uncle once said that the enemy will be terrified by our Tiger Guards' Left Guards' actions. One hundred and seventy-three heads..."
According to the nature of the Ming army at that moment, they would report a great victory after beheading dozens of people, which made the civil and military officials in the court very happy.
One hundred and seventy-three!
What is this concept?
impossible!
Xu Li's eyes narrowed.
The last time Datong Town sent out troops, they killed more than 80 enemy soldiers, which was considered a great victory.
But here are twice as many heads as in that great victory.
Moreover, those who attacked were only the Yebushou from the Huben Zuowei, which consisted of no more than a hundred people.
"This is impossible!" a general said, "You have only a hundred men, how could you defeat an enemy force twice as large as yours? And you killed so many people. It must be..."
He hesitated for a moment. This person was one of Xu Li's gang. He glanced at Xu Li and saw that he was encouraging him, so he said, "Don't kill innocent people for credit!"
If even Datong’s most elite cavalry couldn’t do it, how could the capital’s watchdogs possibly do it?
This is impossible!
Even Zhang Da felt so.
Chen Ji said: "My uncle once said that when the Ming Dynasty was founded, the army went out to the border, and it was not uncommon for Ming warriors to fight ten enemies at once. Today, our descendants are afraid of the enemy like a tiger, which is a disgrace to our ancestors."
He said word by word: "These heads were personally chopped off by the warriors of my Tiger Guard Left Guard. You can verify it."
He cupped his hands, "Besides, people say that the guards in my capital are just watchdogs. The safety of Ming Dynasty still depends on the border troops. After seeing it today, I find that the title is not worthy of it... Goodbye!"
"How dare you!" someone shouted.
But someone said, "This is the Beijing Guard."
How dare you punish them?
The general's face turned pale, "Please verify it, your subordinate."
Zhang Da wanted to refuse, but when he saw the indignant looks of the generals, he realized that Jiang Qingzhi was too high-profile and had offended these generals badly.
"Then let's test it!"
Naturally, such things will be done by the veteran soldiers in the army.
"Hair...old marks, true."
Several old soldiers held the head without changing their expressions.
"The teeth...are quite worn out, that's true."
A clerk asked: "People are not horses, how can we tell them apart?"
An old official said, "Eating meat and gnawing bones is the most wear and tear on teeth. The soldiers here seldom eat meat, but the elite soldiers under Altan Khan eat meat all the time. Eating too much will naturally wear out their teeth." "I understand."
"Don't listen to my teachings." The old official smiled bitterly, "This time, we should probably say to that uncle, "I will accept your teachings."
Several old soldiers talked for a while, and one of them stepped forward and said, "General, we have checked the heads one by one, and they are all real bandit heads."
The old soldier raised his head, his eyes burning with anger. "How dare I ask which unit of Datong Town did this? Such a brave warrior deserves the respect of the Datong soldiers."
The military has strict rules and hierarchy, and in the past, such a bold soldier would have been reprimanded.
But when Zhang Da's followers were about to scold him, they found that Zhang Da was shocked and his eyes turned to Xu Li.
Zhang Da glanced at Xu Li, whose expression changed slightly.
The confidant around him understood what he meant and offered his help, "No one will be accepted under Long Wilbur's command."
The old soldier was stunned.
I noticed that Deputy General Xu's face looked ashen.
It's the same color as the head on the ground.
……
Although military men had a low status, in Datong Town, Zhang Da did not need to be afraid of anyone except the inspector and civil officials.
The previous deputy general had cooperated with him well, but after Xu Li took over, Zhang Da always felt like there was a poisonous snake staring at him, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Although he was not a famous general, he was well aware of the principle of pursuing a victory.
"Let's go and meet the uncle," said Zhang Da.
Xu Li's cheeks twitched slightly, and he was about to make an excuse not to go, but Zhang Da said, "We looked down on the left guard of the Tiger Guards before, and the Lord was not angry, but the Lord's generosity cannot be used as a reason for us not to apologize."
Once this big hat is put on, anyone who dares not to go would be showing contempt for Long Wilbur.
Jiang Qingzhi was the envoy of Emperor Jiajing and also his cousin.
Zhang Da looked at Xu Li and thought, Old Xu, do you dare to wear this hat?
Xu Li said in a hoarse voice: "Yes."
……
Jiang Qingzhi's residence was a villa of a wealthy businessman. When he heard that the envoy of Emperor Jiajing was staying there, he hurriedly prepared to pay his respects and gain a favor.
The wife sneered at the news, "What messenger? I heard that it was a young man. This is most likely the son of a powerful noble who came to gild his reputation. I advise my husband not to join in the fun, lest the noble be humiliated and angry with you, and then it will bring trouble to the family."
"Woman's knowledge." The wealthy businessman scolded, but he was worried in his heart.
When they arrived at the place, the wealthy merchant saw the former inspector Hu Zongxian drinking outside the gate, so he advised him: "Mr. Hu, why do you have to suffer so much? If you don't like it, my son is looking for a teacher. Would you be willing to give in?"
Hu Zongxian glanced at him sideways. Although he was now a phoenix and was no better than a chicken, he looked down on such a person.
Hao Shang thought: Although you were so majestic in Datong a while ago, you are living worse than a dog now. What, you still want to be reserved?
"Money? No problem!" said the wealthy businessman reservedly.
Hu Zongxian pointed inside and asked, "Want to ask for a favor?"
He is indeed a talent! The rich merchant was getting more and more excited, and wanted to recruit this gentleman for his son. "The house is mine, and it is a blessing for my family to have an angel move in. Come and get some of the blessing from the noble man."
"Haha!" Hu Zongxian thought to himself that businessmen really have no loopholes to exploit.
"Mr. Hu, stop pretending." The wealthy businessman said with a smile, "You are now a rat crossing the street in Datong Prefecture. And you have offended General Zhang. If he finds a reason and chops you to pieces one day, who will you go to for justice?
Come to my house, and when my son goes to the capital, you can go with him on the pretext of recuperating."
"This lord wants me to stay. If you have the ability, convince him and I will go with you."
Hu Zongxian was so bored that he made fun of the wealthy merchants.
The wealthy merchant was no fool, he chuckled and just then his followers came back and found out some news.
"...That uncle is a rich and powerful man from the capital. He is said to be a playboy who came to Datong to gild himself!"
"Fuck!" The wealthy businessman immediately regretted it, thinking that the rich and powerful in the capital were greedy, and I was just waiting to be slaughtered. Moreover, Datong was a place surrounded by wars. If I was careless and suffered a big loss or made a big mistake, the sons of the rich and powerful could use the reputation of their ancestors to cover up, but I would become a scapegoat.
"Do you regret it?" Hu Zongxian said with a half-smile.
"What about you?" The wealthy businessman did not dare to show weakness.
At this time, an acquaintance passed by and said, "Old Wang, are you here to meet the angel?"
The rich man's surname was Wang. Hearing this, his face changed and he waved his hands, "I'm just passing by, just passing by..."
At this time, a sound was heard from inside the door and someone opened it.
"Who wants to see the uncle?" asked the doorman.
The rich man waved his hands and forced a smile, "I'm just passing by. I'm just passing by."
"Get out of the way!"
There was a commotion ahead, and passers-by moved away.
Dozens of fierce cavalrymen came with more than ten generals.
"What are they doing here?" Hu Zongxian muttered, and then hid on the right side of the gate. He was moved, "Could it be that they were defeated? What a close call. If I had followed them in just now, I would definitely be considered as a member of the same group. Jiang Qingzhi actually wanted me to be his follower. What a big deal. Haha!"
Hu Zongxian picked up the wine bag, tilted his head back and took a sip of the wine, then turned sideways to avoid the sight of Zhang Da and others who were just dismounting their horses.
Just then I saw the wealthy businessman getting ready to leave.
Zhang Da and others walked to the gate.
Jiang Qingzhi just happened to be preparing to go out for a walk.
He frowned upon seeing this.
"What's the matter?"
Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Passersby stopped and looked over here.
I feel the atmosphere is a bit solemn.
I'm afraid something has happened.
Zhang Da took the lead and all the generals saluted together.
"Ye Bu Shou, one of Lord Bo's men, killed more than a hundred enemies in one battle. We are here to congratulate Lord Bo!"
All the generals said in unison: "We are waiting to congratulate you, Lord!"
The rich merchant turned around suddenly, in disbelief, and then bowed and shouted: "I am Wang Cong, a humble man, and I have come to see you, my Lord!"
Hu Zongxian choked on a mouthful of wine.
Coughing violently.
The young noble stood inside the door, his eyes calm.
In front of him, the generals of Datong Town bowed their heads one after another, as if they were rice plants caught in a strong wind...
……
The fourth update is here.
(End of this chapter)
