Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 9 Team Management
At the end of the battle, the officers and soldiers of the battalion returned triumphantly with rich spoils.

Cen Danchu also captured many prisoners. In addition to Juhuaqing and Xuelihong, he seized two additional war horses and captured more than 20 elite Qing soldiers. He tied them up with ropes and led them all the way back to Guilin City.

As night fell, the stars and the moon were shining brightly. Qu Shisi led the officials and gentry in the city to line up at the gate to welcome them.

Seeing Jiao Lian, Shi Si smiled from ear to ear and said, "Congratulations, General. This great victory is truly the greatest military achievement since the Southern Migration!"

Seeing Cen Danchu, Shi Si's eyes flashed with surprise, and he took a deep breath and sighed: "Young people are formidable, the young general is really a god!"

Qu Shisi was of high status, so Cen Danchu had to dismount and return the greeting. Only then did he relax. The heavy armor made the plates rustle and stung his skin.

In the afternoon battle, he was hit by at least five arrows and seven or eight spears. Despite the armor, he still had seven or eight wounds on his body. He didn't feel anything on the horse, but the pain was piercing as soon as he got off the horse.

It was no wonder, he was almost out of energy, hungry and thirsty. In the afternoon, he saw a dead horse and wanted to take a bite. At 5 p.m., he was so thirsty that he couldn't bear it anymore and drank a few mouthfuls of horse blood.

The armor on his body weighed 40 to 50 kilograms, which was too heavy for ordinary people to bear. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he had to endure the discomfort and salute the officials and gentry of Guilin one by one.

After entering the garrison, Danchu finally relaxed. Taking off his armor was like taking off a heavy burden, and he collapsed completely.

The standard camp was stationed on the training ground, not far from the garrison, where Jiao Lian, Cen Danchu and others still lived.

According to the rules of the battalion, the seized money, weapons, horses, prisoners, etc. must be distributed uniformly. In fact, officers and soldiers often kept some of the spoils privately, and Jiao Lian turned a blind eye to this.

Cen Danchu had just joined the military camp and did not want to play tricks, so he returned all the captured items to the public. After taking off his armor, he was left with only tattered clothes and seven or eight wounds. Jiao Lian saw this and secretly praised him.

There was a medical officer in the mansion, who first treated the injuries of Jiao Lian, Cen Danchu and five others.

Everyone was injured. Jiao Lian had many scars on his body, and I don't know how many fierce battles he had been in. Cen Danchu had eight wounds on his body, seven of which were minor, and one was slightly more serious, where an arrow pierced his left arm. The other three standard bearers also had scars, but fortunately they were not serious.

Too hungry and too thirsty. Danchu ate meat and drank wine while receiving treatment from the medical officer. The golden wound powder sprinkled on the wound made him grimace in pain. In front of Qu and Jiao, he had to endure the pain without making a single groan.

Qu Shisi sat on the side, writing furiously by candlelight. He was already fifty-seven years old, having passed the imperial examination in his twenties, and had been in the officialdom for many years. His writing was quick and his writing was concise.

If it were a peaceful time, with his literary talent and character, he would be suitable to be a minister of rites or a censor of the Censorate. But now that wars are frequent, Qu Shisi was pushed to the high position of the governor of Guilin by chance.

Compared with the arrogant and brave generals around him, Jiao Lian had a small number of troops, but they were loyal and brave, which was really rare. Shi Si had no money to reward Jiao Lian, so he had to write a good memorial to praise Jiao Lian and help him get promoted.

Qu Shisi quickly drafted the memorial, picked it up and studied it under the lamp, and said proudly: "Rui Ting, I wrote a memorial to report the victory. Take a look and see if there is anything that needs polishing."

Ministers submit memorials, which are not for subordinates to see. Although Jiao Lian was not very knowledgeable, he knew the rules and said quickly: "The Prime Minister is very fair and wise, and his writing is very eloquent. It is not for us to comment on the memorials he submits to the emperor."

Qu Shisi was very polite and said, "Rui Ting, there is no need to be modest. I was watching the battle from the top of the city wall and was not there in person, so what I saw was not true. There may be omissions in reporting military merits. If merits are not rewarded, it will inevitably discourage the meritorious officials and hurt the morale of the army."

In this case, Jiao Lian did not hesitate and said, "Zhongtang, although Cen Danchu is young, he also likes reading. I wonder if we can let him read for me?"

Qu Shisi certainly agreed.

Then, Cen Danchu took the memorial and read it loudly:
"[Flying Report on the First Merit]... Jiao Lian was a man of steel, and faced thousands of arrows with his own body; he charged forward alone when thousands of soldiers were scattered; he wiped out all traces and beheaded the brave leader Gao Gushan. Huicheng stood firm, while the remaining bandits fled wildly... "There was also a soldier named Cen Danchu, a descendant of a loyal hero, whose father was a deputy general of Jiao Lian and died in the battle of Daozhou in the 16th year of Chongzhen... When he first went to the battlefield, he was unstoppable, and he seized the Qing army's flag and took the head of the chieftain Li Xian among thousands of soldiers...

"How brave and courageous is this person? If there is Jiao Lian in Zhaoqing, will Zhaoqing fail? If there is Jiao Lian in Wuzhou, will Wuzhou fail? If there is Jiao Lian in Pingle, will Pingle fail?
"..."

This passage is brilliant, describing the military exploits of Jiao Lian and Cen Danchu so vividly that one feels as if they are there.

After careful consideration, Qu Shisi suggested that Emperor Yongli confer the title of Earl on Jiao Lian, promote him to the position of Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince, Left Commander-in-Chief, and Commander-in-Chief of the Guangxi Army. Although Cen Danchu was a small soldier, he was brave and courageous, and was both civil and military, so he might as well be promoted as an exception and given the position of guerrilla.

Jiao Lian and Cen Danchu were filled with joy and felt that Qu Shisi was sincere and trustworthy.

After eating and drinking, the two took their leave and prepared to rest.

Cen Danchu was extremely tired. Jiao Lian drank some wine, but he was still not satisfied, so he said some heartfelt words to him:

"Danchu, stay and report the victory to the court and recommend you and me for official positions. The emperor will not refuse. The emperor's grace is great, and you are the descendant of a loyal hero. You must uphold loyalty and righteousness, act uprightly, and have a clear conscience."

Jiao Lian said this because he was thinking of Wu Sangui.

Although Wu Sangui was blessed by his ancestors, he was also a talented scholar and a military officer. He was successful at a young age and became a general in his early thirties. During the Chongzhen period, the general was very valuable, and there were many generals in Liaodong.

However, Wu Sangui went astray and became a big traitor in a moment of thought, letting a wolf into the house and causing the whole country to change color.

After a few days of getting along, Cen Danchu has seen that Jiao Lian is more brave than strategic. Despite this, he is still a good commander worthy of admiration. As long as he is alive, he must be loyal to the commander.

Danchu said: "Don't worry, Marshal. I would rather be a ghost with tied hair than a barber. Even if I die on the battlefield, I will never be a slave of the Manchus."

"Good!" Jiao Lian was very happy, and said, "Since the migration to the south, there have been many famous weapons. Look at our army, there are a total of 3,000 soldiers, including generals, deputy generals, commanders, deputy generals, lieutenant generals, etc.

"According to your military merit, you have beheaded more than ten people today, so you should be promoted to a real position of at least two levels. I will promote you to a captain first. The captain of the third team of the standard battalion died in battle today, so you will take his position and be in charge of more than 40 standard soldiers of the third team. Don't complain about the low position, you will succeed in the end if you take your time."

The captain is the leader of a team, with 50 men under him. Cen Dan was a little disappointed at first, but when he thought about it, he had just joined the army for a few days and was already a captain, which was a great promotion. At least, he became a captain and didn't have to do miscellaneous work.

In contrast, some of the old soldiers in northern Shaanxi are already in their forties or fifties, but they are still small soldiers and have no complaints under Jiao Lian's command.

He thought for a moment and said, "There are still too few standard soldiers, and there were casualties today. If there were more people in the standard camp during the day, the Qing army would have been defeated long ago. Marshal, please allow me to recruit young men from the old camp to fill the vacancies in the three teams."

"Ok."

Cen Danchu wanted to ask more, but Jiao Lian was snoring loudly and had fallen asleep.

The moonlight was like water, sprinkling on the tent.

Danchu smiled bitterly and covered Jiao Lian with a thin blanket. He was extremely tired, so he went to the next room and fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed.

(End of this chapter)