Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 639: Triumphant Return (Additional chapter for JJM leader)

Yang Yuan and Li Xianzhong walked down Jinshan to greet Zhang Shuning, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Behind, the soldiers were hanging the seven heads on high poles one by one according to Yang Yuan's request.

Luo Xin is the C position.

Seven bloody human heads were hung on high poles, still dripping with blood.

When the wind blew, the blood drops floated over.

Zhang Shuning, who had just climbed the hillside, no longer cared about the dignity of the military official and quickened his pace into the big tent.

When the imperial court learned of the great victory at Lingbi, everyone was shocked and excited.

What is encouraging is that since Yue Fei's unjust death, the Song army has rarely won large-scale field battles.

What is shocking is that this battle was so brutal that it is simply unimaginable.

Pensions, rewards and the like would have to wait for the battle report from the front line, but rewards and consolations as well as post-war affairs needed to be done immediately.

Therefore, Zhang Shuning, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, volunteered to come to the front line to take charge of the matter.

It would be most appropriate to ask the Ministry of War to send someone over now.

Because the Ministry of War is in charge of logistics and the garrison troops.

The Song Dynasty lost so many soldiers in this battle that it needed to replenish its troops in a timely manner, especially the garrison troops in various prefectures who were stationed on the front line.

In this way, by having the Ministry of War send a senior official, all kinds of connections can be completed well.

Unfortunately, Zhang Shuning was one step too late.

Thinking of Luo Xin's head hanging on the high pole, Zhang Shuning couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Although Luo Xin was afraid of fighting and death, he also deliberately hindered the imperial guards with his instructions.

But he was not worried about this. Luo Xin had no evidence and would not and dared not to accuse him.

However, it is not easy to train a useful person in the army.

So Zhang Shuning came here to protect him.

As long as Zhang Shuning took over the defense of Lianghuai and sent Yang Yuan back to Lin'an, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to save Luo Xin?

Minister Zhang was not in a hurry to travel, because he never thought that someone on the front line would kill the general without authorization.

The last person who did this was Zhang Jun, but what are Zhang Jun’s qualifications?
On the battlefield of Lianghuai, who has the experience and courage to kill a general?
So Minister Zhang walked steadily, but when he arrived, he saw only Luo Xin's head.

Minister Zhang glanced at Yang Yuan with complicated eyes. Seeing Yang Yuan's indifferent expression, Minister Zhang sneered in his heart, suppressed the hidden murderous intent, and smiled:
"Military Supervisor Yang has made an unprecedented contribution this time, and the Regent is extremely happy. After receiving the victory news, he immediately sent a golden medal to report to the emperor. Congratulations."

Yang Yuan bowed and said, "There is no military strategy or tactics in this battle. It was all due to the soldiers' dedication and unity. This is not Yang Yuan's credit."

Minister Zhang said with a smile: "What is the art of war? What is the strategy? They are all used by people, and later generations summarized them and gave them a name.

General Yang was able to find his own way, and the 100,000-man army was divided into different groups and each had its own commander. General Yang was able to bring out their greatest fighting spirit, using the weak against the strong, and the few against the many, which was a first-rate military strategy. "

Li Xianzhong said: "General Yang uses the morale of the army when he deploys his troops. His military morale and tactics are natural and we all admire him deeply."

Minister Zhang laughed and said, "Gong Bi admires you very much, General Yang, please don't be polite."

As he spoke, Minister Zhang took the brocade box wrapped in yellow silk, opened it and took out the "order" from the Regent.

Yang Yuan, Li Xianzhong and others stood in the tent to listen to the order.

Minister Zhang read the order from the Regent, which meant that from that moment on, Minister Zhang would take over the defense of Lianghuai, and the Military Inspector Yang Yuan had completed his mission and would return to Beijing immediately.

The order only contained a single sentence about Yang Yuan's resignation and return to Beijing, but it was more about instructing Li Xianzhong and others on how to deal with the aftermath.

Li Xianzhong was a general of the imperial guards, but at this critical moment, he could not return to Beijing immediately and had to stay in Huaidong with Minister Zhang.

The garrison troops must be expanded. The standards for expansion, the number of soldiers to be allocated to the garrison troops in each state, etc., are all stated in the order.

As for the imperial guards, there is no need to rush. They can recruit them after returning to Lin'an.

As the military supervisor, Yang Yuan did not have much to hand over. He was mainly responsible for the logistics supply.

Yang Yuan returned to his own tent, took out the account books written by several female soldiers, listened to their explanation, and then returned to the central army tent to hand over the account to Zhang Shuning.

Zhang Shuning was able to become the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, so he was certainly not a mediocre person. After reading Yang Yuan's account book and listening to his introduction, when he looked at him again, his eyes were somewhat different.

Who would have thought that Yang Yuan's ability in managing logistics supplies was comparable to that of an old official who had worked as a grain official his entire life!

I had been wondering how he, at such a young age, could be so skilled in military affairs and be able to command a battle of 100,000 troops and achieve such brilliant results.

This top scholar is indeed a versatile person.

Unfortunately, this kind of talent is not my kind.

A trace of pity flashed across Zhang Shuning's eyes.

It won’t be long before Yang Yuan’s head is hung on a high pole.

What a pity, pitiful and lamentable!

……

The next morning, Yang Yuan led part of the imperial guards back to Lin'an.

Li Xianzhong led the imperial guards and the garrison troops and escorted him ten miles away. Then he dismounted and bowed again, watching Yang Yuan's figure disappear at the end of the sky before turning back.

Minister Zhang watched coldly, and he could not help but feel jealous of Yang's respect from the Huaidong soldiers. Meanwhile, Shao Hongyuan was happily killing the stragglers of the Jin soldiers and cutting off their heads as he returned to Huaixi.

As soon as he arrived in Huaixi, Shao Hongyuan immediately wrote a battle report.

Of course, the number of people he killed was not as many as the Jin soldiers who died on the Huaidong battlefield, but he did pick up several "big heads".

In melee combat, the generals' death rate is the lowest because they are protected by their personal soldiers.

However, many Jin army generals did not expect that they would encounter another Song army after returning to the Jin Kingdom.

In addition to Yelu Yuanyi, the Jin Dynasty's Minister of War and the commander-in-chief of the Jin Dynasty's campaign against the Huai River, Shao Hongyuan also picked up the heads of several Meng'an and Mouke.

Shao Hongyuan was also well aware of the importance of returning a favor, and in the battle report, he praised Yang Yuan highly.

Judging from what he said, General Yang was a man of great foresight and prediction of the enemy. He had long ago determined that the Jin army would be defeated, so he ordered him to feign an attack on Xuzhou, but in fact to block the defeated Jin army returning north.

Shao Hongyuan praised Yang Yuan as a combination of Sun Zi, Wu Zi and Zhuge Zi, which even he himself found corny.

Therefore, Shao Hongyuan didn't even bother to read it again to look for typos or anything, and just asked someone to send it to Lin'an urgently.

In this battle, Lin'an drew more than 50,000 troops from the three yamen imperial guards and sent them to Lianghuai.

There were more than 30,000 people on the Huaidong battlefield and more than 10,000 people on the Huaixi battlefield.

In the Battle of Lingbi, the Imperial Guards suffered the heaviest blow, with more than half of their troops killed and wounded.

Now, those who are lightly injured will stay at the front line for the time being, and those who are seriously injured should not be moved for the time being. Those who will accompany Yang Yuan back to Lin'an are soldiers whose injuries are not light or serious and can return to Lin'an for recuperation.

Therefore, Yang Yuan did not march very fast as he had to take care of the bodies of the wounded soldiers.

After the excitement of the bloody battle that night and the exhilaration after the victory, on the march, all they had left were the remembrance of their dead comrades and the worry about their own disability.

Morale gradually declined, giving people a feeling of defeat.

Yang Yuan did not sit in the car. He rode a horse and accompanied the army. He naturally saw the changes in everyone's complexion.

"Brothers, I will teach you a song. You learn it first, and then teach it to the other soldiers. When you get bored and annoyed, we can all sing a song together!"

As they traveled along the Taihu Lake, when local officials and gentry came to reward the troops by slaughtering pigs and sheep, Yang Yuan gathered the officers in front of his big tent.

From the supporting team, escort team, and flag chief upwards, all the grassroots and middle-level officers are here.

Large pieces of meat were tumbling in the pot, emitting a rich aroma.

Jars of fine wine were also brought up by officials and gentry to reward the troops.

Yang Yuan held a bowl of wine and spoke to all the officers.

When Yang Yuan led more than 8,000 wounded imperial guards to Huzhou, the news had already reached Lin'an.

"Pass on this regent's order. On the day of our army's triumphant return, all officials of the fifth rank and above, royal relatives, noble officials, and elders and celebrities in the capital are to welcome us at Wulin Gate!"

Following an order from the Regent, Qiao Zhen of Lin'an Prefecture got busy, as he had to make all kinds of preparations.

On the second day of October, the army returned to the city.

Outside the Wulin Gate, civil and military officials, dignitaries and wealthy people gathered together.

In Lin'an City, from Wulin Gate to Imperial Street, there are people sent from various neighborhoods to maintain order along the way.

In front of them, there were soldiers from the Imperial Guards, who set up guard posts every five steps and sentries every ten steps, blocking the entire street.

All the teahouses and restaurants on both sides of the street were packed.

The soldiers of the Song Dynasty's imperial guards marched in formation from afar.

They were wearing tattered grey armor and holding shields covered with knife and sword scars. When they saw the Lin'an city wall, they straightened their bodies involuntarily.

For some soldiers, the ear protectors of their helmets had been cut off, and the tassels of their helmets were stained with blood that could not be washed off. However, when they saw that the imperial court had put up such a grand ceremony to welcome them, the soldiers' morale was immediately high!
Each of them is a hero and deserves the most grand reception from the court.

Zhao Qu was still looking forward to seeing Yang Yuan, but when he saw such a team with tattered clothes, mutilated limbs, and blood-soaked bandages all over their bodies, he couldn't help but stand at attention and saluted them.

The general walking in the front sang loudly with great excitement: "My hair is standing on end with anger, I lean on the railing, the rain has stopped..."

When he sang "Man Jiang Hong", which had been taught by Yang Yuan along the way and was already familiar to the entire army, it immediately resounded over the sky of Lin'an City.

As the imperial court rehabilitated General Yue Fei, the poem "Man Jiang Hong" became a household name.

However, "Man Jiang Hong" is originally the name of a ci tune, not a qu tune. General Yue's poem only used the ci tune "Man Jiang Hong", and there was no corresponding qu tune.

But Yang Yuan did. He copied the song "Man Jiang Hong" composed by Gu Jiahui, one of the "Two Saints Hui and Huang", for the song "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

"I look up to the sky and howl, my heart is filled with lofty aspirations. Thirty years of fame are now dust, eight thousand miles of journey are now clouds and moon..."

Teams of imperial guards stepped forward with resounding steps, and those holding swords and shields struck each other in rhythm, like the sound of deep drums.

Those holding spears slammed their spears on the ground and sang Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong" in their hoarse and rough voices, and marched into the city in triumph in an orderly manner!
The Goose King, who is always lively and fond of playing games, had his hair stand on end when he heard this.

The broken and curled sword, the scarred gun, the torn and bloodstained flag, the tall figure, and the rough and high-pitched singing voice...

Yang Yuan deliberately slowed down his horse and fell behind.

The glory of this moment should belong to them, the heroes who can drive long chariots and break through the Helan Mountain Pass.

PS: I still owe the leader of the Speak Frankly three chapters, and I still owe the leader of JJM one chapter...

(End of this chapter)