Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 363 Stars 4.0 Big Update

Given the Red Turban rebels' cruel and tyrannical nature, General Du will surely be tortured a thousand times over until he dies.

Yang Wenyue then saw Du Canjiang's "tragic state"—he was tossed into the air by the bandits, rising and falling as if he were about to be smashed to the ground and killed.

He could vaguely see the bloodstains on General Du's face, as if he had been beaten and humiliated.

The bandits cheered and jumped for joy, seemingly celebrating the great victory of the night raid, rejoicing that all the defeated soldiers and prisoners had become fish on their chopping block.

At this moment, a military officer standing nearby said, "The remnants of the Red Turban Rebellion killed the Duke Yansheng in the same way back then! Now they're using the same trick again, trying to show off their power in front of our troops..."

Upon hearing this, Yang Wenyue flew into a rage, his teeth grinding together, his fists clenched and waving in the air. "Traitors! Villains! Traitors! The bandits who have harmed the loyal and good people, they will all die a horrible death!"

An angry roar echoed overhead, mingling with the pattering of water as people swam ashore.

Thousands of people swam ashore one after another, collapsing onto the ground like stranded fish, struggling to breathe in fresh air.

After this defeat, the situation in Shandong was completely ruined, and the main force of the Zhili region was far away in western Liaoning, making it difficult to enter the pass in haste.

Lord Li, who is still fighting south of the Yellow River, is also unaware of the progress.

Watching Du Cang completely "integrate" into the bandit group, Yang Wenyue realized that Du Cang would be "thrown to death" by the bandits.

Sighing, Yang Wenyue thought that if he had known how to appoint people wisely and followed General Du's plans, he would not have suffered such a crushing defeat tonight. At least he could have saved most of his troops and still be able to fight the rebels in Shandong.

However, he now only had a few thousand poorly armed defeated soldiers left around him, and the three armies that were sent to quell the rebellion had all gone wrong on his side!
A chill ran down his body. Yang Wenyue looked down and saw that his waterlogged robes were wrapped around his legs like wooden shackles, just like his predicament.

Just as he was hesitating, Yang Wenyue heard a commotion coming from not far away—

It turned out that after crossing the Ji River, they entered a brief period of safety, which caused the officials to lose their fear of survival and resume their official demeanor.

Some complained that the commander-in-chief could not control his troops and was unwilling to fight to the death; some cursed the rebels for being cunning; and others claimed that there were traitors in the army colluding with the rebels.

The theory of an "internal traitor" quickly gained traction among most civil officials, and Lu Wenjin immediately jumped out to echo it.

Even if they lost a night raid, tens of thousands of troops could hold their positions and hold off the rebels for more than ten days. How could they collapse at the first sign of trouble?

It must have been Du Cang and his men who colluded with the bandits, informing them of the government troops' night raid, and then cooperating with the bandits to set up a pontoon bridge, inciting the government troops to flee in panic. Du Cang, under the pretext of covering the retreat, successfully joined up with the bandits...

"What a treacherous villain! He's using us as a pledge of allegiance to the enemy!"

"I had long suspected this thief of having ill intentions, as he seemed to know everything about the bandits. Only today, after hearing Lu Junmen's wise words, have I come to my senses!"

"If this thief were in my presence, I would surely kill him!"

"Shut up!" another general, his face covered in bruises, shouted. "General Du sacrificed his own life to cover our retreat and ensure the safe crossing of thousands of our routed soldiers, and you still want to humiliate him like this?! Are your hearts made of stone?! As for you, Lu Wenjin, you suggested a night raid, but it failed, and you blamed General Du instead. You are the one who deserves to die!"

Lu Wenjin was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly suppressed her fear of being contradicted, raised an eyebrow, and pointed two fingers together as if making a long sword, "Insubordination, are you trying to rebel!"

"Hmph! Rebellion? After today's defeat, the court is about to fall. Who else can I rebel against?" The general's fleshy face trembled. "At worst, I'll become an outlaw, but I'll kill you first before I do!"

"You...you dare!" Lu Wenjin retorted sharply, but in reality, he had already quietly retreated behind the guards, and even called out to Governor Yang, who was walking slowly towards him, "Governor Yang, save me! These scoundrels are going to cause trouble!"

When Yang Wenyue appeared, the generals immediately calmed down, but their chatter remained.

Seeing the resentment on the faces of the many military officers, Yang Wenyue knew that something bad was about to happen.

If this matter is not handled properly, let alone taking things one step at a time, we may very well be coerced by the fleeing soldiers into becoming outlaws, or even forced to surrender to the rebels.

Seeing Lu Wenjin and his men again, it was clear they were more trouble than they were worth. Not only did they lose half of Shandong province, but they also repeatedly offered foolish strategies during the battle and maliciously slandered General Du, who was covering the retreat for everyone...

Even though they were both governors, Yang Wenyue couldn't help but feel a surge of anger, and his right hand, which was holding a sword, was itching to strike.

After a moment's thought, Yang Wenyue made a decision.

He led his left and right guards closer to Lu Wenjin, who thought that Governor Yang was going to support him and was happily waving away the guards when a long sword pierced through his chest.

"Governor Yang, why..."

Lu Wenjin was barely breathing, staring blankly at the gray-haired old man in front of her.

The other military officers were also incredulous, never expecting that Governor Yang, who held such a high position and great power, would personally kill someone, especially a provincial governor.

Even if His Majesty bestowed upon him the "Royal Decree Flag," Governor Yang had no right to execute Lu Wenjin, let alone do so personally in front of thousands of soldiers.

Drawing his longsword, which drew blood, Yang Wenyue turned around with a grim face. "This man has lost three prefectures in Shandong and today he offered advice that harmed the army, slandered his colleagues, and undermined morale. I, the commander, will personally execute him according to military law. Anyone who has complaints may come forward!"

Yang Wenyue thought his intimidation would subdue everyone, but to his surprise, a military officer in charge of grain supplies jumped out and questioned: Governor Yang has no right to execute Lu Wenjin.

"Good!" Yang Wenyue shouted, then thrust his sword again, killing the doubter. "Who else?!"

Now the complaining civil officials fell silent, and even the military generals who had been clamoring to join the outlaws and kill people obediently kept quiet.

This was not only because Yang Wenyue had established his authority by killing two officials, but also because he had gathered the most soldiers from the standard battalion around him.

Relying on his killing prowess, Yang Wenyue immediately reorganized his troops. There were still 6,000 soldiers who had escaped, and fortunately, most of them were personal guards and combat soldiers from their respective units, with decent fighting strength.

The bandits couldn't cross the Ji River immediately, but that didn't mean they wouldn't build a pontoon bridge.

By the faint light of the fire on the opposite bank, Yang Wenyue raised his blood-stained longsword, the blade in the night seeming to reflect his past life.

What should I do next?
Should we head north to the capital to escort the Emperor on his westward journey to Sichuan, or prioritize heading south to join forces with Lord Li?
……

Yang Wenyue led his troops away quickly, and the tens of thousands of defeated soldiers left on the opposite bank all surrendered.

As dawn broke, the rebel soldiers who had been staying in the main camp came out one after another, and even the villagers who had taken refuge in the mountains came down to "scavenge for scraps," hoping to find something to improve their families' lives.

The prisoners lay obediently on the ground, and many of them barely slept all night.

When Du Cang opened his eyes, he found that he had slept exceptionally well that night, as if all his worries and stress had been instantly released.

The guards and the defeated soldiers were all uneasy, with all sorts of rumors flying overhead like arrows.

Upon seeing Du Cang awaken, they asked him how the bandits intended to deal with the defeated soldiers.
Rumors circulated that the rebel soldiers were greedy, demanding not only land and money but also wives and concubines, and that all the wealth and resources in the world should be provided to the upper class and powerful. As a result, high-ranking generals in the Ming army, as well as local gentry and powerful figures, were unwilling to surrender to the rebels.

Some say that the bandits were bloodthirsty by nature. They would conscript 11 out of every 10 captured and defeated soldiers, and the survivors would have to do hard labor for 30 years. If a city did not surrender within 36 hours, they would slaughter all the people in the city. Their only words were the seven-word word "kill".

There were also rumors that the bandits' oppressive rule was as fierce as a tiger, and that their laws were as numerous as hairs on a cow. Whether one was a high-ranking official or an ordinary citizen, anyone who was not careful would break the law and be exiled to Liaobei to grow sweet potatoes. Du Cang, however, calmly replied, "These are all rumors that slander the Beiwei Army and the Red Turban Army."

He stated that he had fought alongside the Beiwei Army in numerous battles and dared to guarantee that they had never committed the aforementioned atrocities, and that it was definitely a rumor fabricated by corrupt officials and local tyrants.

The Beiwei Army's so-called "distribution of land and wives" simply meant that the confiscated land was distributed to the people for cultivation, and they also frequently held "social parties" to help men and women freely pair up.

The rebel leaders, however, were quite self-disciplined, having neither wives nor concubines nor abducting women unless granted a "secret certificate" by their superiors.

The claim that prisoners were executed was also a rumor. It was common knowledge that the Beiwei and Red Turban tribes had a blood feud with the Tartars and were also at odds with local gentry and powerful families.

They always "eliminate evil completely" against their enemies, wishing they could go to the underworld and kill their blood feud a thousand times over. As for ordinary defeated soldiers, they would just give them a "punishment punch" and be done with it.

As for the saying that oppressive government is as fierce as a tiger, Du Cang did not believe it. Back then, they had done a better job than civil officials in reclaiming wasteland in Liaodong. The people's strength in Liaodong was able to recover quickly, and the three prefectures in eastern Shandong occupied by the Red Turban Army did not experience major chaos.

On the contrary, the powerful and wicked complain and blame others when they are charged a little tax, as if they have suffered a terrible crime. Little do they know that this is how ordinary people have lived for generations.

"It turns out it was all just rumors spread by local bullies."

"That's true. After all, soldiers are paid and fed. They serve whoever pays them."

"I've heard that the rebels...the righteous army is very generous with their money and provisions?"

"That's true. The rebel army never delays in distributing rations and pay, and occasionally they even give rewards. If they capture a city or sweep away the strongholds of local bullies, they will also give some rewards to the brothers."

"Oh dear, those corrupt officials' rumors are harmful! If I had known the righteous army was so kind, I shouldn't have risked my life for those greedy officials, losing so many brothers in vain..."

A group of prisoners chattered amongst themselves as the main force of the rebel army slowly approached.

The group of rebel generals greeted each other with a string of obscure and incomprehensible phrases, such as "Thanks to you guys who kept Zi and Internet Addict on night duty," "You guys go and rest, we're on our shift," and "Godfather's night raid was really awesome"...

A burst of laughter and chatter spread, instantly filling the surroundings with a joyful atmosphere.

The people who came upon hearing the news bent over and rummaged through the corpse, as if they were working hard in the fields.

The prisoners were ordered by the rebels to line up in long queues, remove all their weapons and equipment, and even take off their shirts to expose their chests, and then orderly cross the nine wooden bridges over the wide trench.

The defeated soldiers around Du Cang were terrified again upon seeing this.

Given the rebel army's "joyful stick pranks," could it be that the king or generals with homosexual tendencies are choosing "concubines" for this whole spectacle?

Even Du Cang was at a loss, thinking that the Red Turban Army had been separated from the Beiwei Army for a long time, and their way of doing things might have changed...

With a mix of trepidation and the thought of being chosen as a concubine, Du Cang carefully crossed the wooden bridge, only to find three "door frames" standing behind each bridge.

The door frames were arranged in three sizes: large, medium, and small. One by one, the prisoners were ordered to walk through the door frames.

If something can't get past the threshold, it will move on to the next level.

Du Cang thought to himself, "Could this be the rebel army selecting the best and strongest prisoners?"
When he entered the frame, he indeed passed through the small, medium and large sizes one after another, and then went through a series of steps such as detailed height measurement, weight measurement and weightlifting.

He was eventually pulled aside to stand alongside a group of equally strong soldiers, numbering over a thousand...

"Look at this man's muscles, his arms and legs, they're even more perfect than in medical textbooks!"

"It would be perfect if this bone could be made into a specimen."

"Tsk tsk, I wish I had a physique like that in real life."

A group of people surrounded the strong, muscular man, touching and sighing, which frightened the latter into genuinely believing that the rebel leader was going to select a concubine.

Immediately, some people knelt down and begged for mercy, pleading with the king to forgive them, saying that they could fight for the king, but they would never be willing to be a servant.

Upon hearing this, the players exchanged bewildered glances, then burst into knowing laughter. "Hahaha...he thinks we're Chengdu lolis, hahahaha..."

"Don't worry." A deputy commander waved his hand. "We like beautiful women just like you. This inspection is just to select the strong and capable."

After the deputy commander patiently explained, Du Cang and the others were finally relieved.

It turns out that the three door frames were selected from four levels: "elite", "combat soldiers", "auxiliary soldiers" and "civilians/dismissed soldiers". The reason for removing their shirts was to check the soldiers' body fat percentage.

Du Cang and others were selected for the elite force because of their robust physique.

But what does "Chengdu, Luoli" mean?

They knew Chengdu was the capital of Sichuan province, but who was Luo Li from Chengdu?
Could he be a rebel leader from Chengdu, surnamed Luo, named Li, who likes rabbit figurines?

Although the rebels did not explicitly state it, Du Cang secretly understood—

By dividing soldiers into four categories of strong and weak, the organization was quietly broken up, the connection between surrendered generals and old troops was weakened, the use of surrendered soldiers by the rebel army was strengthened, and unqualified soldiers were dismissed on the spot, thus saving money and food expenses.

That's really impressive.

Perhaps the players had learned from their experience in recruiting defeated soldiers, or perhaps the defeated soldiers were driven by the power and lure of the victors, but none of the tens of thousands of defeated soldiers stirred up any trouble.

Excluding the fleeing routs, the more than 40,000 captured defeated soldiers were reorganized into a total of 5,000 elite troops, 15,000 combat soldiers, and 10,000 auxiliary troops...

The surplus soldiers were temporarily kept in the camp as laborers to transport grain, and they were sent back to their hometowns once the north was stabilized.

In less than half a day, tens of thousands of troops were reorganized. The Red Turban Army planned to split into two routes to continue the attack: one route would go south to break through Jinan, and the other would cross the Ji River to seize the lands of northern Shandong and southern Hebei.

The bugle call to attack sounded, and the three Zhao brothers knew it was time to part ways.

Zhao Erhu and the team leaders quickly returned to their posts, while Zhao Dalong and Zhao Sanbao each packed their belongings.

"Let's go! Take care, brothers!"

The three smiled and clasped their hands in farewell.

This parting means we'll meet again on a bloody battlefield, where we'll each serve our own masters and be caught in the middle of things.
Turning his head to look north, his gaze swept across the vast plains that seemed to stretch as far as the capital.

They, who were once lowly peasants, were finally able to storm into the capital and meet those high-ranking nobles and dignitaries.

(End of this chapter)