Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 638 Establishing Prestige
Jinyin Mountain temporarily served as the assembly camp for the Song army.

Li Xianzhong is very busy these days.

After the great victory, there were statistics on casualties, military exploits, pensions for the wounded and the dead, redeployment of garrisons, site selection for camps, establishment of military stations, redeployment of personnel, redeployment of generals, dispatch of scouts and scouts...

Li Xianzhong was extremely busy with all kinds of affairs.

For this reason, Li Xianzhong originally wanted to send the large tent that the soldiers had collected to Yang Yuan, the military supervisor, but Yang Yuan returned it.

Li Xianzhong was the busy one at this time and needed a felt tent to handle the complicated military affairs.

Only after the second intact felt tent was delivered did Yang Yuan accept it with a smile.

He asked someone to fetch him some water. After the battle, he finally had the chance to take a good bath.

It was not until this time that the soldiers discovered that this military supervisor, who ate, lived and fought with them and had made them completely forget his true identity, was actually a scholar who lived a very refined life.

The water used by General Yang for bathing was equivalent to that used by four Li Xianzhongs.

In fact, Yang Yuan was the last one to take a bath. Before him, Bei'er, Fei Yuye and Leng Yuchan took a refreshing bath in his name.

Since they are my own women, of course I should go after them first.

While they were bathing, Yang Yuan, who was nominally bathing, was guarding them at the door of the tent.

When it was Yang Yuan's turn to take a bath, the three women served him together.

Because the wound on Yang Yuan's thigh had not healed yet and could not be exposed to water, the three women had to carefully avoid the wound, soak the towels with water, and keep wiping his body.

There aren't many things Yang Yuan needs to be responsible for now, mainly the forward transportation of food and fodder and military supplies, and the storage and distribution of food and horse feed.

With Bei'er, Yuye and Yuchan arranging all these things in an orderly manner, Yang Yuan didn't have to worry about anything at all.

After Yang Yuan finished bathing, he changed into a clean Confucian robe and slowly walked out of the tent, leaning on the walking stick that Li Xianzhong had made for him by chopping down the old trunk of a quinoa tree in the mountains. He felt refreshed and as if he had lost several pounds in an instant.

At this time, a group of fast horses came from a distance.

Yang Yuan suddenly stopped and saw the three leading knights from afar. He recognized them at a glance.

The moment he saw them, Yang Yuan felt relieved.

Fujiwara no Himeka brought Yazawa Kanon and Tsubakiya Kona to the foot of the golden mountain and quickly climbed up the low hill.

Ji Xiang didn't play any tricks to cause injury or death, not because she was afraid that Yang Yuan would punish her.

Yang Yuan only had a few ways of punishing her. She would either suffer from above or from below. Ji Xiang had already turned the bitterness into sweetness and was enjoying it, so she was not afraid.

However, when she was chasing the Jin soldiers all the way, she was only excited and thrilled in the battle and didn't care about anything else at all.

On the way back, they were able to slow down and feel more relaxed. Seeing the wounded soldiers still gathering towards Jinshan and the bodies being pulled by cars and carried by people, they couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.

At this time, who would be so heartless as to play those little games between lovers?

"Supervisor, we are back!"

In front of the soldiers, Ji Xiang couldn't say much, but saluted Yang Yuan with a fist like a real soldier.

Yang Yuan's eyes quickly swept over them, and finding no injuries, Yang Yuan's heart finally relaxed.

"Bring me some more water tonight. I'll take a bath."

Yang Yuan just nodded to Ji Xiang and the other two girls without saying anything else. Instead, he turned around and gave instructions to the guards beside him.

"Yes!"

The guard agreed and thought to himself, "The number one scholar is really clean. He just took a bath and will take another bath in the evening. I heard that nobles take baths three times a day. It turns out it's true..."

……

Luo Xin and his men rushed to Lingbi in a hurry.

It only took this gentleman half a day to lead his 4,000 soldiers from Hong County to Lingbi.

Unfortunately, there was no bargain as he had imagined.

He came too late.

The battlefield had already been combed through by the Song army and the militia sent by the surrounding counties and prefectures. There were no stragglers from the Jin army to capture, and it was impossible to find a few corpses and cut off their heads to claim credit.

Luo Xin suddenly felt depressed. When he brought a few heads to see Li Xianzhong, at least he had some face. Now he had nothing in his hands, it would be difficult to talk to him.

Luo Xin was struggling when the messenger sent by Yang Yuan arrived.

The person who came was Jiangdutou of the Imperial City Department, who brought with him six of the Imperial City Department's personal officials and thirty lieutenant colonels from the imperial guards.

When he saw Luo Xin, a look of contempt and disgust flashed across Jiangdu's eyes. He showed his talisman and shouted in a deep voice:
"The Lianghuai Military Supervisor issued an order that the Sizhou Mobile Army disobeyed orders and was afraid of the enemy and the battle!

Order to send Commander Luo Xin, Deputy Commander Shi Xiaoyi, Jing Wanli, Commanders Shao Pang and Xia Xuanyong..."

After reading out the names, Jiang Dutou shouted sternly, "Capture the above seven people!"

Luo Xin was shocked and angry, and shouted: "Luo has never disobeyed military orders. I conquered Hong County, I swept Jinghai, I drove away the Qingyang Jin Army, I..."

Two marriage officials rushed up and kicked him viciously in the knee, forcing him to kneel on the ground. They then grabbed his shoulders and arms and tied him up tightly.

The rest of the generals were tied up one by one, including all the generals above the commander of Sizhou Youyi Army.

The rest of the middle-level and grassroots officers, such as the general, deputy general, and reserve general, were all stunned and panic-stricken.

Although Luo Xin was shocked and angry, he did not dare to rebel and was directly controlled.

Seeing that the seven Sizhou Youyi army commanders had been tied up, Jiang Dutou said, "Sizhou Youyi, follow us back. There was a big battle in Huaidong, and the army is depleted. The military supervisor and the commander-in-chief have other plans for you!"

At that moment, Jiang Dutou took the imperial seal and temporarily took over the military power of the Sizhou Mobile Army, and led the 4,000 Mobile Army to Lingbi Jinshan.

……

"That means the commander has the power to disobey orders, right?"

In Li Xianzhong's tent, Yang Yuan, Li Xianzhong, Lu Tianming, Liu Molin and other generals gathered together.

But it was obvious that although everyone was sitting in a group, Yang Yuan was also sitting in the C position.

This miraculous battle was won by Yang Yuan.

Even if Yang Yuan knew nothing about military affairs, the concept that has been formed over a long period of time is that military generals are always inferior to civil officials.

What's more, Yang Yuan fought this battle as if he was assisted by God, which is rare in history even if you look through military books and battle examples.

Even veteran soldiers like Li Xianzhong and Lu Tianming, who had served in the Song, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties, felt the urge to pay homage to him.

Many of them truly believed that Yang Yuan was possessed by the twin stars Wenwu and Wuqu.

Otherwise, why was he the rare top scholar who won three places in the imperial examination and ranked first in the literature?

Why was he able to fight such a miraculous battle and be called a military god?

You see, you see, he doesn't even know that a military commander has the right to refuse such an outrageous order.

But the first time he led troops, he was able to command an army of 100,000 people into battle, and he fought so skillfully.

If this isn’t possession by a god, then what is it?
Li Xianzhong just nodded in confirmation, and Yang Yuan said: "Okay, while all my soldiers from the three armies are here, I will chop off seven of his heads to sacrifice to the countless heroes of this battle!"

The generals were shocked when they heard this.

Why does this military supervisor always do surprising things?

Although the Song army had strict military orders regarding rewards and punishments for generals on the battlefield, at the specific implementation level, it was always relatively lenient towards middle and senior generals who were defeated in battle or violated orders, and often simply dismissed them from their posts or put them on leave.

That’s right, the Song Dynasty was lenient not only to civil officials, but also to military officials. It was just that, relatively speaking, it was more tolerant to civil officials.

So far, there have been only a few cases of mid-level and senior generals being executed for poor performance in combat, not due to political struggles, such as Han Cunbao during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, and all of these were directly ordered by the emperor. The only case of killing a general without an imperial order was in the fourth year of Jianyan, when Zhang Jun executed Zhao Zhe, the governor of Huanqing Road, for his defeat in Fuping.

For this reason, until now there are always people who use this as an excuse to accuse Zhang Jun of killing the general without authorization, and this has become a stain on his life.

Luo Xin disobeyed military orders and directly harmed Lu Tianming. He was resisting Li Xianzhong's orders. If anyone was angry about him, Li Xianzhong and Lu Tianming were the most angry.

Even so, the two were ready to write to the court to severely impeach Luo Xin, hoping to deprive him of his position and make him idle. They never thought of killing him.

When the generals in the tent heard that Yang Yuan was not only going to kill Luo Xin, but also wanted to kill all the other six generals who had the right to object to his decision to abandon the battle and flee, they were all shocked.

"Military Supervisor, you absolutely cannot do that!"

Li Xianzhong tried to dissuade him: "Military Supervisor, the battle in Huaidong is over. You can report Luo Xin's evil behavior of disobeying military orders to the court and ask the court to make a decision."

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "It is not appropriate to kill a general before the battle. It is not appropriate to kill a general after the battle. Then when is it appropriate?
Did you see the piles of corpses? Did you see the countless wounded soldiers?

Yes, whether Luo Xin comes or not actually has no influence on the battle situation.

However, if we don’t punish him severely today, what can we do if the generals all follow suit in the next war?”

Li Xianzhong hesitated for a moment, thinking that the generals in the tent had lived and died together, he was not afraid to speak out in public, so he said: "General, if we talk about hatred for Luo Xin, Li and Lao Lu hate him more than the general.

But... now we can report this to the court and let the court punish him. It is not right for you, the military supervisor, to kill the general without authorization."

Although Lu Tianming wanted to punch Luo Xin to death, he also tried to persuade him when he thought about the impact of this matter on Yang Yuan, who was his savior.

"Yes, the military supervisor has made great achievements. There is no need to tarnish his military achievements and political achievements because of such a cowardly villain."

Yang Yuan said coldly: "He enjoyed a high position and generous salary in normal times, but fled when the war came. In the end, he was stripped of his position and left jobless. How can such a good thing happen in the world?"

Liu Molin whispered: "We understand the military supervisor's love and care for us.

It's just..., what Li Dutong and Lu Tongzhi said makes sense. For him, it's not worth it. And Luo Xin has some connections in the Ministry of War..."

Yang Yuan said: "Generals, I have something to say. If we report this to the court, they may not die, so I must kill them today!"

"Military Supervisor..."

"Someone, bring me my talisman!"

Upon seeing this, Lu Tianming hurriedly said, "In this case, the military supervisor only needs to kill Luo Xin."

"Only kill Luo Xin? From now on, as long as the commander is afraid of fighting, the other generals can escape with peace of mind, right?
Those who have no right to disobey orders and must obey military orders, this military supervisor will not make things difficult for them. Damn it, no one can escape!"

The generals in the tent could only hear their blood boiling. Although they were also concerned about the consequences of killing a general without authorization, Yang Jianjun's recklessness was really exhilarating!
When Li Xianzhong saw this, he hurriedly said, "I am the commander-in-chief of all the armies in front of the emperor in Huaidong. General Luo Xin and others disobeyed orders, so I should kill them!"

Seeing that he couldn't stop it, he had no choice but to take on the responsibility.

It doesn't make sense that as a commander-in-chief of an army, he was the one who fought the war and was rescued by others, but in the end, he still has to bear the responsibility of punishing the deserting general.

Li Xianzhong would not do such a shameful thing.

Yang Yuan wanted to refuse, but suddenly changed his mind. Li Xianzhong was the commander-in-chief of the three armies. This battle was already a bit embarrassing. If he took all the blame, it would damage Li Xianzhong's prestige in the army.

So Yang Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, I, the military supervisor, will supervise the execution together with General Li to punish those cowardly and fugitive generals!"

Luo Xin and others were captured at the foot of the gold and silver mountain, and they were all very angry.

Luo Xin also knew that his previous reasons for disobeying orders were too easy to be exposed, but how could he have imagined that the military supervisor would actually send people to survey the terrain of Hong County.

The elite troops of the front army were trapped and the Jin soldiers were ambushed on all sides. In such a critical time, did he still have the time to send people to survey the terrain of Hong County?

Now that I've been arrested, I have no way to defend myself. If things go wrong, I might have to resign and look for a chance to get back on track later.

It would be ideal if he was just demoted and beaten with a few dozen military sticks.

Luo Xin and others secretly calculated the possible punishment they might receive and what to say when they met Yang Yuan and Li Xianzhong in order to better shirk responsibility.

Fortunately, they were not imprisoned separately, so they came together to discuss the matter and pieced together their confessions.

However, while they were discussing it, they suddenly saw soldiers from Gold and Silver Mountain coming with a large log and starting to erect a flagpole.

One, two, three, four...

There are seven flagpoles in total. Look at them being held together. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

Luo Xin suddenly felt a little uneasy. Why did they put up flagpoles? Why seven of them?

Luo Xin swallowed his saliva and was about to call a soldier over to ask for clarification, but the flagpole had been erected and the new soil had been compacted. The military supervisor Yang Yuan and the commander-in-chief Li Xianzhong, along with a large number of injured generals, walked out of the tent and rushed to the foot of the high pole.

Shi Xiaoyi said nervously: "General Luo, what are they going to do? Could it be that..."

"No, don't panic, don't worry, our Song Dynasty doesn't have the rule of killing generals without authorization..."

Before Luo Xin finished speaking, Li Xianzhong shouted loudly, "Sizhou Mobile Army Commander Luo Xin, Deputy Commander Shi Xiaoyi, Jing Wanli, Commander Shao Pang, Xia Xuanyong...

"Disobeying military orders, cowardly and avoiding battle is a crime unforgivable. They must be beheaded immediately to serve as a warning to others! Bring them up here!"

The soldiers watching from all sides immediately cheered and shouted.

The soldiers who participated in this fierce battle hated these people who were afraid of the enemy even more than they hated the Jin soldiers.

Immediately, more than a dozen burly soldiers rushed over with red eyes, grabbed the shoulders of Luo Xin and others who were tied up, and dragged them to the front of the stage.

"How dare you! Li Xianzhong, you dare to kill a general without permission, you... mmmmm..."

Before they could finish their words, their mouths were blocked.

"Report~~"

Following a shout, a military expressman with a small red triangular flag on his back ran up the hill at great speed.

Panting, he clasped his fists to Yang Yuan and Li Xianzhong and said, "The court has learned of our great victory and has sent the Minister of War to reward the troops. The imperial carriage will be here soon!"

Li Xianzhong was moved and said, "The Minister of War has arrived? General Yang, let's go down the mountain to welcome the angel first."

Yang Yuan looked back at Liu Molin and said, "General Liu, you just said that Luo Xin and the Ministry of War seem to have some... huh?"

Yang Yuan raised an eyebrow at him.

Liu Molin quickly covered his mouth with his hand and lowered his voice: "Yes, since the Ministry of War has sent someone, we should..."

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "It's good that you came. Having people from the Ministry of War watching the execution can comfort the spirits of the heroes who died in the battle!"

A team of soldiers, guarding a sedan chair, slowly drove to the foot of Jinshan Mountain.

There were about 600 cavalrymen, in neat formation, with sharp swords and spears and fluttering flags, which looked very majestic and magnificent.

The curtains of the carriage were lifted. Zhang Shuning, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, was sitting upright in a purple robe with a goldfish bag tied around his waist. He was holding a brocade box about two feet long made of bright yellow brocade in his hand.

The carriage slowly stopped, but no generals were seen to greet it, and Minister Zhang felt unhappy.

However, considering Minister Zhang's shrewdness, he would not get angry about it.

He just smiled faintly, then bent down and walked out of the car.

Zhang Shuning is about fifty years old, with black hair and beard, handsome appearance, and a kind of awe-inspiring aura when he looks down on others.

He looked at the somewhat disorganized army formation in front of him, and followed their gaze towards the hill with some disdain.

On the hill, Yang Yuan stepped forward, snatched the command arrow from Li Xianzhong's hand, and threw it forward fiercely.

The command arrow danced in the air like a halo, and with a "click", the arrow-shaped flag head pierced straight into the ground.

Yang Yuan shouted in a deep voice: "Behead!"

(End of this chapter)