Chapter 701: My Great Ming... Mighty
Bars raised his head slowly.
From time to time, you can see limbs sticking out from the huge earthen hill.
The earthen hill was very high, so high that Bals couldn't imagine how Jiang Qingzhi had piled up the corpses so high that it would not fall down.
There is a human head at the top, but it is blurry and unclear.
"Move the torch higher!"
Some people used long spears to hold the torches as high as they could.
Bars tried to look.
There were more and more torches at this moment, and he saw...
"It's Governor Lin's head!"
Lin Siyuan's head was placed on the top.
Those once arrogant eyes were now dim and lifeless.
"God is above!"
The soldiers behind him shouted in a trembling voice.
Pfft!
Pfft!
The soldiers knelt down one by one.
Some people sobbed, some cried...
It is rumored that after the head is chopped off, the person's soul will wander without a place to go and eventually become a wandering ghost.
"There are words here, Wan Hu!"
Someone sent out the Jingguan Stone.
The accompanying civil servant went over, reached out for the torch, and looked carefully.
"What is it?" Bals asked in a deep voice.
The civil servant slowly recited...
"In the autumn of the 27th year of Jiajing, the enemy chieftain Lin Siyuan led his army southward, captured Changxin Village, and slaughtered generals, women and civilians. Upon hearing the news, Qingzhi led his army to set up an ambush, beheaded Lin Siyuan and more than 3,000 others, and built a Jingguan in the northwest of Datong."
It turned out to be a defeat!
Bals felt inexplicably sad.
"I am here to warn the four barbarians. Casualties are inevitable when the two armies fight. Anyone who kills one of our innocent civilians or brutally kills one of our soldiers will be punished with blood by the Ming Dynasty! Don't say I didn't warn you!"
The civil servant stood there blankly.
In the past, it was common for foreign tribes on the grasslands to slaughter the people of the Ming Dynasty, and there were many more tragic cases than this. But who the hell thought of revenge?
To avenge those slave-like people and soldiers?
If you have that much time, you might as well go back and have a drink, or sing a song with a woman in a brothel.
But Jiang Qingzhi will!
He warned the aliens in the most violent way.
"If you kill one of my people, I will kill ten of yours!" the civil servant murmured Jiang Qingzhi's famous saying.
Everyone felt a chill down their spine.
Everything I had done in the past came to my mind one by one.
"The Ming Dynasty will pay its debt with blood. Don't say I didn't warn you!"
The civil servant murmured, "That madman, he really did that."
Bars turned around.
The sky was filled with stars, and the starlight became more and more dazzling, sprinkling on the grassland. Everything in front of him seemed like daylight to Bals.
He saw many panic-stricken faces.
I saw horror.
It was a heavy blow.
Bars hissed, "Revenge!"
He waved his hands, "These warriors must be avenged!"
The civil servants also shouted: "The Khan will be furious, and his invincible cavalry will march all the way south to avenge these warriors with the heads of the Ming people."
Under the starlight, the two of them were shouting at the top of their lungs.
At the top of the Jingguan, Lin Siyuan was watching all this with lifeless eyes.
There was still a sarcastic smile on the corner of his mouth.
As if laughing at these people being fools...
……
In Datong City.
Ever since Jiang Qingzhi led his troops to set off, Zhang Da has been caught in a complex emotion of anxiety and expectation.
He only ate a piece of bread for dinner. The braised lamb that he liked in the past was placed in front of him, but he just got some soup and dipped the bread in it.
After dinner, he sat in the general's mansion.
"General."
Someone came in and said, "Zhao Wenhua and Huang Fantai have been drinking."
"You bastard!" Zhang Da sneered, "You must be discussing something in secret."
He is Jiang Qingzhi's direct subordinate, and Zhao Wenhua and Huang Mao hardly conceal their hostility towards Jiang Qingzhi, so there is no need for him to be hypocritical.
"Let's go to the top of the city and take a look."
Zhang Da left the general's mansion. Since the news came that the enemy's vanguard had arrived at the outskirts of Datong, a curfew had been imposed at night.
But Jiang Qingzhi said yesterday that there was no need to be so nervous. Zhang Da is considering whether to cancel the curfew.
Several generals were muttering on the top of the city wall.
"I don't know what's going on with the deputy general. If Majiao Village is a trap..."
"Lin Siyuan is a great commander of the army. The deputy commander has only a few men with him. If he is ambushed by him, the deputy commander will be in danger."
"The deputy general is cautious in his use of troops and I don't think he will advance rashly. The general is here."
Several generals saluted, and Zhang Da asked, "Did you find anything?"
"Nothing!"
Zhang Da walked to the front and looked outside.
He suddenly raised his hand and everyone fell silent.
"There's the sound of horse hooves."
"Dozens of riders!"
Zhang Da looked up and saw dozens of riders heading towards the city.
"It's the deputy general's men."
The city gate opened a crack, and hundreds of soldiers were waiting with bows and arrows.
If it were enemies, a hail of arrows would be enough to destroy them.
Further behind are hundreds of cavalrymen, who will go up and mop up any remaining enemies after the rain of arrows.
"Where is the general?" The leader was actually You Qing.
"The general is at the top of the city."
You Qing dismounted and walked up quickly.
"Old You?" You Qing actually abandoned his subordinates and returned alone... No, was the army defeated?
Everyone was shocked.
"General, the one besieging Majiao Village is not Lin Siyuan." You Qing's face was solemn, "That enemy army is more like bait."
"If it's not Lin Siyuan, then who is it?" Zhang Da said, "This is a bait. Lin Siyuan must be waiting for Master!"
"It's Bals!" You Qing said, "It must be Bals. General, they used this as bait to make us think that Lin Siyuan was in Majiao Village. So the Lord led the army to rescue those people. Halfway along the way, Lin Siyuan suddenly appeared..."
"Ambush!" someone exclaimed.
Everyone noticed that Zhang Da suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
"General, Chang Wei Bo is in danger!" "Don't worry!" Zhang Da said calmly, "Most of the cavalry in the city left quietly earlier. I didn't respond to your inquiries. Now I can tell you what's going on."
The generals will listen.
"Before leaving, Lord asked me to dispatch the cavalry in the city in batches."
Zhang Da said: "With those cavalrymen here, even if we encounter an ambush by Lin Siyuan, you can handle it calmly. Don't worry about this battle!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"My Lord is indeed cautious in his use of troops."
"This is the most famous general in the Ming Dynasty!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Lin Siyuan originally thought he could ambush Lord Bo, but when he saw that Lord Bo was accompanied by thousands of cavalry, he was probably forced to retreat!"
The generals laughed.
Amidst the laughter, someone said, "Someone is coming."
Zhang Da's heart skipped a beat.
Although he has confidence in Jiang Qingzhi, war is ever-changing. If Lin Siyuan and Bars join forces, or if Lin Siyuan has other plans...
As the general in charge of this battle, Jiang Qingzhi personally went into battle to rescue the people, but was secretly criticized by the civil officials for building momentum for the Mohist school.
If Jiang Qingzhi were defeated, such voices would become increasingly prevalent.
You, Jiang Qingzhi, sent troops out for your own selfish reasons, and now you have been defeated, and the morale of your army has been completely destroyed.
As the commander, what crime should you be held responsible for losing the first battle?
Zhao Wenhua, Huang Mao...these people's impeachments will be sent to the capital soon.
What will happen to those people in the capital?
Zhang Da could imagine that those people would be overjoyed and would then criticize his benefactor with impeachment.
Moreover, the defeat in this battle was a self-evident blow to the morale of the Ming army.
As one side gains strength, the other loses strength, and the morale of Altan's generals is high.
Zhang Da took a deep breath and prayed silently for Jiang Qingzhi.
More than ten riders rushed to the city. In the light of torches, Zhang Da recognized Sun Bu Tong, who was leading the group.
The city gate opened again, Sun Bu Tong rushed into the city, dismounted his horse and climbed to the top of the city wall.
He looked around and Zhang Da's heart sank. He wondered why he had to avoid being seen?
Is it true...
Sun Bu Tong came forward and whispered, "Master Bo has defeated Lin Siyuan and captured him."
Zhang Da’s body shook violently!
"More than 2,000 people were killed in this battle. Lord Bo ordered the killing of more than 900 captives and built a Jingguan in the northwest of Datong City..."
Zhang Da's body shook violently again!
Oh my God!
My benefactor, Lao Zhang, actually defeated Lin Siyuan and captured him.
Zhang Da punched the top of the city wall fiercely. Sun Bu Tong said, "My Lord has ordered that no news should be leaked before dawn."
Zhang Da understood what Jiang Qing meant, but the ecstasy in his heart could not be vented.
He looked up to the sky and let out a long roar.
"It's a happy event!"
"I bet it will be a victory!"
"The general's howl is indeed extraordinary..."
Zhang Da turned around and called his personal guards, "Go and report to the Prime Minister immediately..."
……
The rules of military camping come first.
Don't make any noise at night!
Of course, grinding teeth and farting are not included.
Yan Song is old and has trouble sleeping.
At Chou time, Yan Song got up to go to the bathroom, put down the chamber pot, and went back to bed, but he could no longer feel sleepy.
He was thinking about the situation in the court.
After he leaves, his son Yan Shifan will take over most of the affairs, assisted by Zhu Xizhong, Cui Yuan and others.
This was clearly a father-son relationship, but the Taoist priest remained silent and no one dared to question it.
Will Xu Jie find an opportunity to step forward?
Thinking of Xu Jie, Yan Song couldn't help but sneer.
Ever since he heard that Xu Jie was planning to set a trap for them and their son last time, Yan Song no longer had any scruples about suppressing Xu Jie, and he went from covert to overt.
Xu Jie fell silent again, hanging out in the Ministry of Rites for a while every day. After arriving at Zhilu, he mostly wrote poems in the duty room or accompanied the Taoist priest.
Although Xu Jie was dormant again, many people in the court quietly stood behind him.
Public opinion outside also continued to sing praises for Xu Jie.
The literati seemed to have made their choice. They pushed forward Xu Jie, and they wanted to use Xu Jie as the leader to fight against the Yan Party and the Mohist School...
Yan Song sneered.
Jiang Qingzhi recommended him to join the army this time. If Yan Song really didn't want to come, he could just use the excuse of being unwell. Who could question that?
The most important reason why Yan Song was willing to join the army was to accumulate prestige for himself.
Military merit!
It can gild the laurels for him and the Yan Party!
Jiang Qingzhi's unauthorized attack made Yan Song angry, not because he was worried about Jiang Qingzhi, but because he was worried about the impact of Jiang Qingzhi's defeat on the overall situation.
Yan Song asked himself if he had the ability to command a large army or judge the situation, so he could only rely on Zhang Da.
Zhang Da...Guardian Dog!
This is Yan Shifan’s evaluation.
In this case, who can I rely on?
Someone suggested informing His Majesty and telling Emperor Jiajing about Jiang Qingzhi's arbitrary behavior.
Yan Song was hesitating.
He stood up, lit a candle, took out the memorial and studied it carefully.
"This memorial has been delivered. His Majesty is worried about Jiang Qingzhi's safety and will send an envoy to warn him."
Yan Song felt that he was doing this for the overall situation, so he called for someone to come.
"Send the memorial to the capital by express horse."
Yan Song ordered.
"Yes."
The sound of horse hooves faded away.
Then came another one.
"What's going on?" After explaining the situation, Yan Song prepared to go back for a nap.
The man reined in his horse and asked, "Is the Prime Minister here?"
"I'm here!" Yan Song said in a deep voice, "What's the matter?"
"Greetings, Prime Minister. General Zhang ordered me to come and report to the Prime Minister." The man dismounted and said, "Chang Wei Bo defeated Lin Siyuan in one battle, beheaded more than 3,000 people including Lin Siyuan, and built a Jingguan in the northwest of Datong. Our Ming Dynasty... is mighty!"
"Retrieve the memorial!" This was the old prime minister's first reaction.
Then he looked at the person who came.
The lips moved.
A blush appeared on the old face.
"My Ming Dynasty...is mighty!"
(End of this chapter)
