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Chapter 134 The Qualification of Remotely Leading a Military Governor

By the end of June, almost a month after Zhou Jun's vanguard marched out of Sanguan, the three prefectures of Qin, Cheng, and Jie agreed to open the city gates and surrender.

A few days later, Fengzhou City was captured by Wang Jing, the military governor of Fengxiang. Wang Huan, the military governor of Shu, was killed in battle, and the remaining two thousand-plus Shu soldiers were all captured.

At this point, the Zhou army had seized control of the four prefectures of Qin and Feng, leaving the Shu army to watch helplessly from south of Qingni Ridge, and the western expedition entered a stalemate.

Dozens of miles southwest of Guzhen, Li Yi personally led a team to conduct an on-site survey of the terrain near Qingni Ridge. The roads there were indeed difficult to travel, and after a rain, they became even more slippery and muddy.

It would be difficult enough to cross the mountain on foot, let alone to send a large number of people on the march, as well as to provide logistical support such as laborers and vehicles.

It can be said that once Zhou Jun occupies Guzhen, barring any major mistakes, the cost for the Shu army to launch an attack to reclaim the four prefectures of Qin and Feng will be extremely high, and the success rate will be highly questionable.

That afternoon, Li Yi, who had returned to the military camp in Guzhen, received a message from Fengzhou City that people from Tokyo had arrived to commend the soldiers on the front lines.

The choice of the envoy was somewhat unexpected: Cao Bin, one of the envoys from various departments, was the one who brought them in.

Early in the morning.

Li Yi then waited with his officers and personal guards on the main road outside the military town. Before long, a young man wearing a lacquered gauze turban and a round-necked scarlet robe rode up on horseback, followed by a large group of attendants and guards.

The Introducing Commissioner and the Guest Commissioner were both officials in charge of various departments who were close to the Emperor. Both were of the fifth rank, but the Guest Commissioner was of a slightly higher rank than the Introducing Commissioner.

However, the title of "Commissioner of Various Offices" was merely a formality, used by military officers to promote their official ranks. They were not responsible for any specific duties, and the daily operation of the various offices was handled by other specialists.

Li Yi stood in the middle of the road with a smile on his face. Although the other party's rank was lower than his own, he was, after all, a special envoy sent by the emperor, so he naturally had to give him enough respect.

When Cao Bin saw a group of officers surrounding a burly young man, he immediately realized that the young man was Li Yi, the commander of the Imperial Guards.

He quickly dismounted, stepped forward, and bowed, saying, "I am Cao Bin, the Introducing Envoy, and I greet Commander Li."

"So it's General Cao." Li Yi smiled and returned the greeting, then reached out to support Cao Bin's arm. "General Cao, you've come all the way from Tokyo. You must be tired from your journey. Please come with me to the camp to rest and have some tea."

After saying that, he took Cao Bin's hand affectionately, and the two walked and talked together until they entered the military camp.

The group took their seats in the central command tent. Cao Bin was flattered and overwhelmed. Given Li Yi's current status and the immense contribution he made to the conquest of Shu, he would surely be promoted to military governor upon returning to Tokyo.

Cao Bin was a little embarrassed by the unexpected politeness shown to him.

But Li Yi didn't care what Cao Bin thought. Sitting at the head of the table, he couldn't help but take a few more glances at this famous general who founded the Northern Song Dynasty in history books... It's funny to think about it. In history, there were three armies during the Yongxi Northern Expedition of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The commanders of two of these armies were currently sitting in front of Li Yi. One was Pan Mei, and the other was Cao Bin, the latter being five or six years younger than the former.

However, compared to Pan Mei, Cao Bin now has a higher status because his aunt, Zhang, was the imperial concubine of Emperor Taizu Guo Wei, and she is still alive and well.

To be honest, Cao Bin could be considered a member of the imperial family... Li Yi thought to himself that he was the emperor's brother-in-law, so he could be considered half a relative of Cao Bin.

Cao Bin, of course, had no idea what Li Yi was thinking. He cupped his hands in congratulations and said, "His Majesty ordered me to come to the front line to reward the soldiers, but only two or three days after leaving Tokyo, another victory report came back, saying that Commander Li had captured Weiwu City."

"I could only wait at the post station until the additional rewards arrived from the capital, Tokyo, before continuing my journey. However, I didn't expect to hear while passing through Hezhong Prefecture that Commander Li had decisively defeated the reinforcements sent by Fengzhou City at Baijian and was leading his troops to advance on Guzhen." "This back-and-forth delay meant I only arrived at Sanguan the day before yesterday, only to learn that Qin, Feng, and the other two prefectures had already fallen... With Commander Li's merits in this battle, he will surely be granted an official post upon returning to Tokyo. I would like to offer my congratulations in advance on Commander Li's promotion!"

Li Yi was in high spirits upon hearing this and didn't say much in the way of formalities. The generals were overjoyed and all congratulated Li Yi.

Wang Changgong couldn't help but ask, "General Cao, what rewards will we receive?"

Everyone is out here risking their lives to fight for promotions and wealth, so his question is understandable.

Cao Bin said, "The battle at the front is progressing rapidly. The prime ministers suggested that the rewards be made after we return to the capital, but they asked me to bring some gold and silver to reward the soldiers for their hard work."

At this point, he added somewhat awkwardly, "However, when I arrived at Sanguan, I heard that Qin and Feng had already been captured, so I rushed to Guzhen and only took a small group of people with me. The carriages are still following behind, and they should arrive later."

Just as Cao Bin had predicted, several carriages carrying gold, silver, and copper coins drove into the camp at dusk.

Wang Changgong eagerly lifted the oilcloth, but then muttered in disappointment, "How can this little money be enough to go around?"

Li Yi reprimanded, "His Majesty remembers all your merits. You will be rewarded when you return to the capital. What's the rush now? Even if I rewarded you with several large boxes of copper coins, do you really think you could carry them all the way back to Tokyo?"

……

Cao Bin's stay was short-lived; he was about to return to Tokyo.

He was ordered to come to the Qin and Feng front lines for two reasons: first, to help the emperor inspect the war situation, and second, to commend the soldiers on the front lines.

The rewards he brought were certainly not enough to distribute; they were mainly meant to serve as an incentive. The bulk of the rewards would have to wait until the army returned to Tokyo.

Cao Bin first met with the prime ministers in Tokyo, where he was given some instructions before going to court to meet the emperor.

Upon entering the main hall, Cao Bin bowed deeply and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

"Rise." A gruff voice came from the throne.

Cao Bin then gave a detailed report on the situation at the front. After he finished speaking, Chai Rong nodded and said, "In a little while, have a minister recommend someone to go to the front and commend Wang Jing and the others."

Wang Pu stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the war against Shu resulted in the capture of tens of thousands of soldiers, but only one or two battles were decisive. Among them, the great victory at Tangcang Town annihilated the main force of Shu's elite troops stationed at Fengzhou, which crushed the morale of the Shu army and enabled us to capture Weiwu City in ten days."

"Furthermore, we captured 60,000 to 70,000 bushels of grain from Tangcang Town and Weiwu City, which greatly relieved our army's logistical pressure. Only then could we quickly advance on Guzhen, cut off the Shu army's retreat route, and force the three prefectures of Qin, Cheng, and Jie to surrender."

Wang Pu became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, elaborating on how Li Yi keenly perceived the opportunity, how he seized the moment at the perfect moment, and how courageous and resourceful he was, as if he had witnessed it firsthand on the front lines.

His words flowed swiftly, yet he spoke with remarkable clarity and logic, his statements largely matching the report submitted by the provincial envoy from the front lines a while back.

In conclusion, Wang Pu declared loudly, "Commander Li has rendered great service in the campaign against Shu, and he is now qualified to be appointed as a military governor in a remote manner!"

(End of this chapter)