Yang Ling turned around and saw County Deputy Huang, Jiang Bin, and a group of county officials rush forward and kneel before him."I am Huang Qiyin, the county magistrate of Jiming County, and Jiang Bin, the general manager. Greetings, sirs."
"Get up," General Yongning waved his hand."Where's Min Zhixian?"”
As soon as he moved, the leaves on his armor rattled. This Eternal Peace General, Lord He, was about fifty years old. He wasn't tall and had a thin face. His dark face had a pair of sharp eyes. Coupled with his bright armor, he had the aura of a superior without anger.
Behind him was a group of brightly-dressed lieutenants, and beside him stood two people. The one on the left was in his early forties. He had a pale face and a slight beard. He was a tall civil official with a scholarly aura. He was looking up and down at Deputy Huang, who had lowered his head to answer.
Yang Ling took a glance at his uniform. From the knowledge he had learned from cramming, he knew that this person was a civil official of the lower fifth rank. The Great Ming Dynasty indeed had the tradition of civil officials holding military power, actually sending a civil official of the lower fifth rank to supervise a general of the third rank.
Eunuchs were the rarest creatures to Yang Ling, so he carefully sized them up. Unlike the fake eunuchs in the movies, who had charming smiles and bewitching looks, the Eunuch Liu in front of him was in his fifties. He had a sharp and thin chin and a pair of shrewd but gentle eyes. Other than his loose skin that was fair and tender, there was nothing special about him.
County Deputy Huang, Jiang Bin, and the others stood up one after another. Huang Qiyin bowed and said,"Milord, Magistrate Min was poisoned by the Tartar's arrows and is unconscious. He was in a critical situation just now and has already ordered the county's chief registrar to carry Milord Min down the city. This lowly one and Chief Jiang Bin are in charge of the city's defense."
The war drums and the sounds of fighting shook the sky, but the Ming army caught the Tartars off guard. The following troops continued to rush out of the city. Bodarmo also knew that he had fallen into the Ming army's trap. He immediately ordered Jilin Dada to cover the rear and the army began to retreat.
Eunuch Liu saw the Tartar army retreat and chuckled."" General, you are very brave. As soon as the army arrived, you recovered Jiming Posthouse and won the first battle. This is a big new year gift for the Emperor." His voice was not sharp, but it sounded a little sissy.
General He smiled reservedly and waved his hand."Eunuch Liu, you flatter me. Men, pass down the order. Order He Shijie, Wang Chengxian, and Zheng Yie to be stationed in the east, south, and west cities. Bi Chun and Sun Dazhong will pursue the enemy leader.
Imperial Messenger Ye heard this and hurriedly said," General, please wait. Our army is here and we don't know the enemy's situation. How can we underestimate the enemy and advance rashly?" "The military books say that only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. The Tatars live on horses, and their mobility is far beyond our army. For today's plan, we should first defend the city and send scouts. After we understand the enemy's situation, we can make plans."
Jiang Bin heard this and said anxiously,"Sir, the enemy's formation is already in chaos. If we take advantage of the situation and kill them, we will definitely reap a miraculous effect." As the saying goes, speed is the most important thing in war. If we wait for them to stabilize their position and calmly set up, it will take a lot of effort."
Imperial Messenger Ye saw that he was only a low-level official and could not help but wave his sleeves and sneer,""What a joke. War is the most lethal weapon in the world. In general, the method of war is to use thousands of chariots, thousands of leather chariots, 100,000 armored soldiers, thousands of miles of grain, and thousands of gold per day. Our army has just arrived, and our foothold is not stable. The supply of grain and fodder is far behind. There is no reinforcement to rely on behind, and the enemy's situation is unknown in front. Is it greedy for credit to advance so rashly?”
Although Jiang Bin also knew a little about military books, his knowledge was limited. He was confused by his words and was tongue-tied. Even though Yang Ling didn't know much about military affairs, he could tell that he had caught the Tartars off guard. Now that he was taking advantage of the situation to pursue them, the Tartars would definitely find it difficult to organize an effective counterattack.
Moreover, the military command system of that era was not developed to begin with. In addition, the soldiers were poorly organized and their loyalty was even worse. Those ordinary soldiers almost relied on their spirit to fight. Therefore, sometimes tens of thousands of troops defeated hundreds of thousands of troops. It was not a lie, but a real thing.
Once the commander's flag fell, the army would be defeated like a mountain. It would be very difficult to regroup. The Tartars were clearly in a state of defeat, but this bookworm was so cautious. He did not seek merit, but only wanted to make no mistakes. It was simply preposterous to copy these military books and strategies.
However, although Imperial Messenger Ye was a civil official of the fifth rank, General He did not dare to ignore his opinion. Military supervision was not only the responsibility of supervising the army, but also the final decision of the military commander. He pondered for a moment and asked Jiang Bin,"How many people are attacking the city?"
Jiang Bin hurriedly replied,"Milord, only a hundred or so Tartars came to harass the city last night, but this morning, nearly three thousand people suddenly attacked the city by force. Just now, nearly a thousand enemy soldiers pulled two cannons over. If it wasn't for General's timely arrival, this city would have fallen."
"How is it?" Imperial Messenger Ye asked. The enemy troops were constantly increasing their numbers, and it was obvious that they had endless reinforcements. How could they not be cautious?”
General He hesitated for a moment before turning around and saying,""What does Eunuch Liu think?"
These two supervisors had been caught at the last minute. Imperial Messenger Ye had come to the Xuan Manor to assess the achievements of local officials because the three-year examination was approaching. Eunuch Liu was the seal eunuch of the Bell and Drum Department of the twenty-four yamens of the inner palace. He had been ordered to go out to the capital to purchase them. On his way back to the capital, he had been intercepted by an 800-mile fast horse and was appointed as the supervisor of the army together with Imperial Messenger Ye.
Although his status was low, he was the person who saw the Emperor the most. He did not dare to ignore his opinion. Eunuch Liu had a low position in the inner prison. Although he was a military supervisor, he did not dare to be arrogant. He was very cautious along the way, afraid of revealing his cowardice.
After listening to Imperial Messenger Ye's words, he had already calculated in his heart: "When our army arrived, we took back Jichao Posthouse. It can be said to be a great merit. If we advance quickly and make another contribution, it will be icing on the cake. However, if it is really as Imperial Messenger Ye said, if the Tartars have another ambush that defeats our army, won't I be reprimanded by the Emperor if I don't fulfill my responsibility as the supervisor of the army? It's better to be careful."
Thinking of this, Eunuch Liu smiled and said,""General He is brave and Imperial Messenger Ye is resourceful. I am short-sighted and can't say much. However, the army has traveled for a long time and is as tired as the enemy. If we rashly pursue the enemy, it would be bad if something happened.
Now, General Zheng and General Song are leading troops from Zhuolu and Chicheng to attack the Tartar army. There is also the guerrilla general Qi Guangsheng to assist Erliban Posthouse. With several armies attacking together, the Tartar army will definitely be defeated. I think it's better to be cautious."
Since the two supervisors had similar opinions, General He said,""Alright, listen up. Order Bi Chun and Sun Dazhong to immediately withdraw their troops and station them in front of the city gates to be on high alert. Order the craftsmen in the army and the local craftsmen to immediately repair the city gates. Send scouts to investigate the enemy's strength and the current situation of Erlipu and Wulipu.”
Yang Ling shook his head inwardly as he listened." I'm not afraid of enemies like tigers, but I'm afraid of generals like pigs. This was clearly a great opportunity that was one-sided, but I let it go just like that after being spouted nonsense by a scholar and a 'family'. It's such a pity."
"Deputy Huang and Chief Jiang are accompanying me to patrol the four cities. Where is the local deputy?"”
"Sir, Deputy Ma has already died in battle!‘
"Where is the county clerk?" asked General He.”
County Magistrate Huang bowed and said," Your Excellency, Official Wang has already gone down the city with Official Min. The army must have blocked the road and won't be able to arrive in time." This is Advisor Yang, in charge of the civil affairs. General, please give your orders."
General He glanced at Yang Ling. Seeing that he was so young, he was slightly stunned. County Deputy Huang saw this and smiled as he cupped his hands."Milord, Advisor Yang is young and promising. He will assist Milord Min in managing Jiming Posthouse. Everything is in order, so Milord can rest assured."
"Oh?" General He observed Yang Ling, his stern expression relaxing. He pointed at Yang Ling and said,""You, hand over all the affairs of the county government to Deputy Huang. From now on, you will temporarily take over the post of Deputy of Jiming County, responsible for military communications and grain transportation. Also, this general and the two supervisors will be staying at the post office tonight. Make the arrangements."
"Yes!" Yang Ling quickly bowed. Yes, sir!"
General He Shen said to Imperial Messenger Ye, Eunuch Liu, and Yan," Military Inspectors, please. Let's go take a look at the city's defenses."
County Deputy Huang hurriedly instructed Captain Wang to accompany Yang Ling to take over the Courier Station, then left with Jiang Bin and the three lords. Yang Ling straightened his back, feeling a little lost. Seeing him standing there with a lost expression, Young Madam Han couldn't help but ask curiously,""Husband, as the deputy of the post station, have you been promoted or demoted?”
"I fainted!" Yang Ling shook his head.
"Ah?" "Husband was injured just now," Young Madam Han said nervously."Was it President Jiang who shook him?" Really, husband's body is not good, but he still used so much strength.”Han Yuniang said as she glared at Jiang Bin's back.
Yang Ling smiled bitterly." No, I've never been a deputy, so I don't know what to do. Elder Huang is patrolling the city with the lords, and there's no one to guide me."
Young Miss Han said,"Then go ask Official Wang. It's not even noon yet, so there's plenty of time to arrange accommodation for all of you."
Yang Ling slapped his forehead and said," You're right, I'll go now. You should go home and rest first. I'll go back after I'm done with my work. I'm really tired." The young lady responded, and Yang Ling and Captain Wang hurriedly left the city.
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