In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 710 Meeting an old friend in the enemy camp

Darkness had fallen, and the thick night enveloped the entire Liaodong region.

The dark clouds that had shrouded Liaodong for half a year finally dissipated at this moment, revealing the bright moonlight.

Even the breeze seemed to become gentle at this moment.

The weather was still cold.

Lu Yunyi, having left the former military camp, led over a thousand soldiers northward.

They inspected the captured camps along the way.
They soon arrived at the central army camp that had been breached initially.

The reason for choosing to attack this place in the first place was

This is because it is located at a crucial juncture connecting the Jurchen vanguard and rearguard.
Grandma doesn't love her, and her uncle doesn't care for her either; the defenses are much weaker.

As expected, the defenses here were as flimsy as paper.

When I returned, the entire camp had changed drastically.
It was still dilapidated, but brightly lit.

The reason is that the three guards of the Doyan Army, who broke through the enemy's camp, are stationed here!

The broken fence was repaired, and the potholes in the ground were filled in.

Some of the damaged military tents were replaced with new ones, and the entire camp was given a fresh new look.

The only constant is the faint smell of blood that permeates the air.

"Quickly, go and report to the lord! Lord Lu has arrived!"

The guards made no attempt to hide their fear upon seeing the elite troops.

While opening the camp gate, he called to the other soldiers to report the situation.

Lu Yunyi rode past calmly, stopping beside the guards, and asked with a smile:

How much good stuff did they loot in this battle?

The soldier was taken aback, suddenly became nervous, and stammered:

"Sir, there isn't much, not much at all."

"Speak freely and boldly. Since I said you would take 70%..."

"You can take 70%, and the Commander-in-Chief won't take a single cent more," Lu Yunyi said with a smile.

The grassland soldier stammered, hesitant to speak:
"Sir, I only took a bag of silver and two gold bowls; I have handed over the rest."

"A golden bowl? You're quite lucky then."

Lu Yunyi struck up a conversation with him with great interest.

Seeing that there was no danger, the man gradually relaxed and scratched his head:

"My lord, I killed a centurion, and the item was found in his tent."

Oh, and there's another woman, she should be from the Shiramatsu clan.
I wanted to give this to you, sir, but you have something better, so I'll accept it instead.

As he spoke, he chuckled and said:
"Sir, would you like some?"

"Me?" Lu Yunyi was also taken aback, then burst into laughter:

"Keep it for yourself; I won't take it from you."

"Thank you, sir!!"

"How does it feel to fight alongside the Commander?"

"Great, that's wonderful!"

These Jurchens are easy to beat, and they're rich too. You must come more often, sir!

Just then, a loud laugh came from afar.
He answered the question on behalf of Lu Yunyi:

"The Jurchens are not resilient; they will have to lie low for a long time after this."

In the distance, Tuoluhuchar and Azashili hurried over with a dozen or so guards.

They all had smiles on their faces, beaming with joy.

Upon seeing them arrive, the guards immediately bowed in respect.

The two approached Lu Yunyi and bowed deeply.
"I apologize for not being able to greet you in time, Lord Lu."

"It's alright, you two are now meritorious officials of the Commandery."

Upon hearing this, the two were completely relieved.

The attitude of the person before him largely represented the Commander's attitude towards the Three Guards of Duoyan.

Their current friendliness was a relief to them.
At least the treasures we had acquired are now safe.

Lu Yunyi's next words made their hearts jump again.

"My lords, the rules for this battle stipulate that 30% must be surrendered and 70% retained by ourselves."

This was also to compensate the brothers for their hard work fighting in the winter, so that they would have more money in their hands to buy the items the commander wanted.

Please take a good look, gentlemen.
If the clerk discovers that the final amount of gold and silver handed over is incorrect,

"Then don't blame me! All the money and valuables seized this time must be handed over!"

The two men's faces stiffened. They naturally knew that some of their subordinates took 90% and paid only 10%, or even none at all.

They had planned to get away with it, since the military command wouldn't be able to find out anything anyway.

But now, they have some reservations.

Seeing that the two remained silent, Lu Yunyi continued walking and observing, saying:

"All spoils shall be based on those captured by the vanguard, and the number of spoils captured by the vanguard and the vanguard shall not differ too much."

As for the amount captured by the vanguard, it will be kept confidential for now, and will be calculated after the two of you have compiled the statistics.

I'd like to make the unpleasant things clear from the start.

If the accounts don't match, don't blame me for being ruthless.

Tuoluhuchaer clenched his fists tightly, his breathing becoming slightly rapid.

But the former Yuan Liao king, Azashiri, showed a warm smile:

"Lord Lu is joking. Since we are soldiers of the Commandery, we should abide by the Commandery's rules."

Only 30% of the treasure has been handed over; I've never seen that in all these years.
Commander Du and Lord Lu are already the most magnanimous people.

Please rest assured, Lord Lu, all the spoils seized by the three guards have been registered and can be calculated by the clerk of the military command.

"Yes, the company will pay every penny that is due."
But you can't take a single penny of money that you shouldn't take.

Lu Yunyi smiled and nodded, not giving the two a chance to speak, and continued to ask:

"Have the lists of captured and damaged items been completed?"

"Reporting to my lord, it is ready."

King Azashili of Liao handed over a thick document, smiling as he spoke:
"The Jurchens were no match for us. This time, our soldiers had a great time killing them, and our casualties were minimal."

"It should."

Lu Yunyi handed the document to Feng Yunfang.
"My lord, we have discovered an unexpected person in the rear camp."

Azashili hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

"Who?"

"Xu Cheng, the commander of the 30,000 guards."

"what?"

Lu Yunyi abruptly stopped, his sharp gaze sweeping over them.
An aura of power naturally spread, causing everyone to hold their breath.

Before long, in a well-prepared military tent,
Lu Yunyi met his old acquaintance Xu Cheng.

He was sitting on the bed, wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket, his face swollen like a pig's head, examining a map.

His eyes were already squinted into slits.

So much so that the map was barely visible; he could only hold it up and down in front of his face to try and see through the gaps.

Hearing footsteps, Xu Cheng turned around and froze!

He blinked, tilted his head, and looked at it from the widest angle of his eyes.

Upon seeing this, he immediately held his breath.

He was so excited that he trembled.
"General Lu!!!"

He ran up to me, and you could tell that his legs were a little unsteady.
But his excitement was evident.

Lu Yunyi quickly stepped forward to help him up; seeing an old friend again naturally evoked a sense of emotion.

"Lord Xu, what happened to you? Why are you in this state?"

"General Lu, I never expected..."
"I never expected to see you here. Did the imperial court send you to rescue Liaodong?"

Xu Cheng was so excited that tears and snot streamed down his face, and Feng Yunfang quickly handed him several handkerchiefs.
"This is a long story, and my arrival here was purely by chance."

Lu Yunyi helped him sit down and looked him up and down:

"Why isn't Lord Xu staying with the 30,000 Guards? Why is he in the Jurchen camp instead?"

Xu Cheng, having also served as a commander, quickly regained his composure.

He looked at Tuoluhuchaer and Azashili in the house, his meaning self-evident.

Lu Yunyi waved his hand gently:
"You all go back first. I will come to find you after I have finished dealing with the matters at hand."

"Yes!"

After bowing deeply, the two quickly retreated, taking with them all the grassland guards who had been on guard and replaced by soldiers from the vanguard scouts.

Only then did Xu Cheng express his doubts:

"Lord Lu, how come you're mingling with them?" "I was transferred to Daning, and they belong to the Doyan Three Guards. Why can't we mingle together?"

"No, no, Lord Lu, what I meant was..."
Why would people from the grasslands come here?

When I saw them this afternoon, my heart sank.
I thought I'd just escaped one wolf's den only to fall into another.
After some explanation, I finally understood that they were acting under orders.

No matter how I asked them, they wouldn't tell me. Now I finally understand.

It was clear that Xu Cheng was feeling very suppressed.
He spoke while crying, his voice mournful, just like a tragic survivor.

"Lord Xu, the 60,000 Jurchens have now been wiped out."
Only ten or twenty thousand scattered soldiers escaped.

For a very long time, Liaodong no longer needed to worry about the Jurchens.

Xu Cheng's voice abruptly stopped, then turned into a gritted-teeth expression:
"Lord Lu, why should our Ming soldiers worry about the Jurchens?"
If there were fewer of those traitors,

"Those Jurchen troops are so small, I could wipe them out with just over a thousand men!"

Lu Yunyi narrowed his eyes:
"Lord Xu, could you tell me the key to this?"

"Of course, I've survived a close call and have been given a second chance at life. If I don't tell you, I'll really suffocate!"

Xu Cheng picked up the teacup beside him, gulped down two large mouthfuls of water, and then began to speak in detail.

"Lord Lu, you've heard about border smuggling, haven't you?"

"It persists despite repeated bans."

"The last time you came to Sanwanwei, you encountered smuggling, which caused some unpleasantness."

"My current predicament is largely due to smuggling."

Lu Yunyi's expression was solemn. Xu Cheng stepped closer and lowered his voice:

"My lord, more than half a year ago..."
I discovered that someone had been passing through the mountains and forests near Sanwanwei.

They sent grain, military equipment, and some daily necessities to the north.

Every night, nearly a hundred carriages pass by.
Moreover, they were escorted by unidentified soldiers.

Previously, I did not know who that person was.

But now that I think about it, they were clearly Jurchens!

"You mean the Jurchens entered Liaodong and took away grain and weapons?"

Lu Yunyi's brows furrowed tightly into the shape of a "川" (river).

Xu Cheng nodded repeatedly:

"That's not all. I also discovered that those people were transporting high-quality iron from Liaodong."

"It was dispatched by my 30,000 garrisons, a full several hundred large carts!"

"How can you be sure it's refined iron from the Thirty Thousand Guards?"

"Of course I know that those large carts not only bear the markings of the Thirty Thousand Guards..."
The specific quantity and the date of transport are also included.

I sent my trusted aides to investigate, and it was clearly refined iron from the Yingchengzi iron mine!

"And then?" Lu Yunyi asked.

"After that, I rushed to Liaoyang City to report the matter to the Commander."

"It didn't work?"

Lu Yunyi tilted his head, and Xu Cheng suddenly became speechless, his lips moving slightly.

"I actually hope it didn't work out, otherwise I wouldn't be in this situation."

"Since I couldn't find Lord Zhou, I had no choice but to go to the Marquis of Runan."

As he spoke, Xu Cheng gritted his teeth, his voice sinister:

"Lord Lu, the Marquis of Runan is the one in charge of smuggling. He's the one who allowed the Jurchens to take things away from Liaodong!"

Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the military tent became extremely tense.

Lu Yunyi's voice was solemn:
"Lord Xu, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

The Marquis of Runan was both the General Commander and the Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong, a noble and meritorious official of the imperial court.
Speaking recklessly is punishable.

"Lord Lu!"

Xu Cheng suddenly became excited:
"If I were to utter even a single lie, I would be struck by lightning and killed on the spot!"

"Don't get agitated, give me the evidence."

Xu Cheng took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger, and said in a deep voice:
"After learning of this matter, the Marquis of Runan has agreed to send 30,000 troops to ambush the enemy. If there is any smuggling again, they will be executed without mercy!"
But ever since those soldiers arrived, the smuggling by the 30,000 guards has inexplicably stopped.
They kept watch in the jungle day and night but did not find a single carriage.

Later, I didn't believe it, so I sent my personal guards to hide in the snow for three days and three nights, and finally they discovered the truth!
Lord Lu, you have no idea how horrifying it was back then!
In the past, the smugglers were the Jurchens.

Since the Marquis of Runan's personal guards arrived, they've become the ones transporting smuggled goods?
And the number is increasing, sometimes hundreds of trucks in a single night!

How can you catch a thief when the thief is crying "stop thief!" like that?!

Lu Yunyi's expression suddenly turned strange, and a sense of absurdity arose in his heart.

He thought that the army's delivery service was his original idea.
Unexpectedly, they had already grown into a large and powerful enterprise in this wild and remote place in Liaodong.

"and after?"

"Later... later, the fact that I sent people to investigate was exposed."
I had originally planned to leave the next day, departing Liaodong to go to the capital to file a complaint.
But unexpectedly, the Jurchens invaded the border the very next day.

Moreover, they advanced rapidly and easily defeated the 30,000 guards, killing all of my personal guards.

I was originally going to die, but then that Bayan said he would spare my life so he could control the Marquis of Runan.
Thus, this humble official was imprisoned for nearly half a year.

"You were locked up for half a year, and they still beat you?" Lu Yunyi asked curiously, looking at his swollen face.

Xu Cheng was stunned, and a black line suddenly appeared on his forehead.

"Lord Lu, is this important?"

"No, no, no, I was just curious."

Xu Cheng took a deep breath:

"I heard that Tianjin has come to their aid, and the Jurchens have been unable to capture it after a long siege, so they asked me to give them some advice."

If I refuse, they beat me every day!

Today's situation is because I attempted to escape during the chaos in the camp, but was discovered.
I originally thought I was going to die, and that this would be a relief.

But unexpectedly, the grassland people saved my official position.

Xu Cheng revealed lingering fear:

"I have survived two close calls, and I have wasted the first half of my life."

"Those who survive a great calamity are sure to have good fortune in the future!"

"Lord Lu, is Bayan still alive?"
My only obsession these days is to give him a good beating.
"If I ever have the chance in the future, I will march on the Haixi Jurchens and slaughter their entire family!"

Lu Yunyi waved his hand:
"Someone, bring Urguchen Bayan here so that our Lord Xu can vent his anger first."

Xu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with ecstasy:

"Are you there?"

Lu Yunyi nodded:
“Except for Menggetemur of the Jianzhou Jurchen who ran away quickly, all the other Jurchen generals were captured.”

"Where is Baturuhan? I heard Bayan say..."
The merger of the three tribes this time was instigated by him.

"He was arrested too."

"good good good good!"

Xu Cheng burst into tears of joy, feeling as if the pent-up frustration of the past six months had been completely released.

Before long, Bayan, who had lost an arm and was pale, was dragged over.

His expression changed drastically upon seeing Xu Cheng:
"Xu Cheng, a scholar can be killed but not humiliated!"

"Bullshit! Where the hell were you all this time?!"

Xu Cheng charged forward like a mad bull, his eyes wide.

They punched and kicked without holding back their strength!
In no time at all, Bayan was also beaten until his head was a pig's head.
However, his face was no longer pale, but turned purplish-red, clearly indicating bruising.

Moreover, he was so weak that he could barely breathe and could not even groan or shout.

"Alright, alright, Lord Xu, please don't hurt him."
These generals are all going to be sent to the capital to be interrogated.

Xu Cheng's eyes widened instantly, and he looked over sharply:

"Is Lord Lu willing to go to the capital to report this?"

"My purpose in coming here is to investigate matters in Liaodong."

Not only are they going to the capital, but you, Lord Xu, are also going to the capital.

Tomorrow, Lord Xu and the others will return to Daning first. I will arrange for you to go to the capital after I have finished my business.”

"Lord Lu, where are you going?" Xu Cheng asked hurriedly.

"Military secrets cannot be disclosed. Please understand, Lord Xu."

By the way, Lord Xu should be careful to remain hidden during this period.

After all, everyone's saying the 30,000-strong guard has been breached, and that you, Lord Xu, died in battle. It wouldn't be good if that got discovered."

"it is good!"

Xu Cheng's eyes were sharp, his gaze filled with shrewdness and impulsiveness.

"Alright, I'm leaving the camp now. Lord Xu, you may follow the three guards of Duoyan."

"Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything. They've made a fortune this time, so don't be shy."

"Yes, thank you sir!"

(End of this chapter)