The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 223 Building momentum
Many people firmly believed the news that Wang Xin was going to be promoted to the rank of Assistant General and even lead a separate army, although they did not understand why the news had spread.

Not long after, the garrison commanders or assistant commanders of the five counties of Shuozhou, Mayi, Shanyin, Yingzhou and Zuoyun, as well as the two passes of Weiyuan Pass and Tuanshan Pass, received Wang Xin's order to go to Yanmen Pass.

Many people hesitated. Although Wang Xin was to be promoted, he hadn't been promoted yet, so there was no such rule.

However, as the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean, and many people, though hesitant, were unwilling to offend Wang Xin. Some even disliked him, such as the Zuo Ji of Weiyuan Pass, who was formerly a confidant of Feng Yong. He was the first and only one to refuse.

Feng Yong had already left Datong, and most of the generals who were originally his confidants immediately switched sides to other groups.

Tuanshan Pass was the furthest, but the garrison commander of Tuanshan Pass was the first to arrive at Yanmen Pass. When he met Wang Xin, he was very respectful and bowed respectfully, saying, "Huang Wen, the garrison commander, pays his respects to the general."

"This is the second time I've met you," Wang Xin said with a smile.

When Wang Xin led his army back from beyond the Great Wall, he entered Datong through Tuanshan Pass. At that time, Feng Yong ordered all passes not to let Wang Xin enter the pass. Wang Xin was adamant, but fortunately he took the initiative to back down, which prevented any further accidents.

Wang Xin couldn't help but take a second look. He was in his thirties, and his large beard made him quite memorable.

Huang Wen cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, saying cautiously, "Please forgive me, General. I was blind to your greatness back then."

"Not really."

Wang Xin shook his head, indicating that he didn't take it to heart.

Huang Wen was the first to arrive, making his stance clear. He had originally intended to support Wang Xin, and he proactively revealed the information he knew with a smile on his face: "After passing through Zuoyun and Shanyin, the garrisons of both places learned that I had set off and expressed their intention to come."

The news Huang Wen brought was quite good; otherwise, why would I have released the news in advance? It was to let these people know that I would become their boss.

If it were only for one's own future, doing this would be gambling with one's future, so people in officialdom wouldn't do it. But if one's goal isn't just one's own future, then one's future can become a means to achieve that goal.

"How is the Shanyu tribe doing lately?" Wang Xin asked with concern.

Huang Wen guessed Wang Xin's thoughts and answered truthfully: "Nothing has changed from before. According to the information received from the bidding, the Shanyu tribe is still inviting merchants to do business."

"Which merchants were there?"

"Unknown under the mark."

As the garrison commander of Tuanshan Pass, the northernmost pass, how could Huang Wen not know which merchants were involved? He was simply unwilling to reveal it because he was unsure of his own position. It seems that these merchants wielded considerable influence.

Wang Xin didn't pay attention. It wasn't surprising that Huang Wen was wary of him since he hadn't had much contact with him.

Regardless of whether Huang Wenlai comes or not, my main goal is Tuanshankou.

His arrival saved me trouble; if he hadn't come, I would have had to put in more effort. But I was certain he would come.

Three months ago, he dared not offend me and disobeyed Feng Yong's orders to allow me to enter the pass, indicating that his relationship with Feng Yong was not close, or that he was not loyal to Feng Yong. Therefore, as long as I create a great deal of hype and make him believe that I will be promoted to the rank of adjutant and lead an entire route, this person will probably not disobey me, which is to be expected.

Actually, Weiyuan Pass is not bad, but the garrison commander of Weiyuan Pass was originally a confidant of Feng Yong and harbored deep hostility towards him.

If there were no choice but Tuanshankou, then I would have to use force to get rid of this person. But with Tuanshankou, the matter of Weiyuan Pass can be postponed, and I can deal with this person later.

Wang Xin stopped mentioning the merchants and confirmed the news about the Shanyu tribe with Huang Wen. It was exactly as he had expected. Feeling confident, he speculated to Huang Wen: "Whether it was Ou Yanhu or the Shanyu, they did not take advantage of my and Feng Yong's absence from Datong to invade Datong after their previous assassination attempt on Mo Bisheng. This shows that they did not have any plans to invade Datong from the south."

"what?"

Huang Wen was shocked. After Wang Xin's reminder, he realized that it was indeed true. He not only did not think there was a problem with what Wang Xin said, but also believed it without a doubt. He was both relieved and amazed by Wang Xin's thinking.

Wang Xin didn't pretend to be profound, and explained calmly, "It's not hard to guess. If it were me, and I wanted to invade the south, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to achieve great harmony."

"So what are they planning to do?"

"As for Ou Yanhu, although I haven't had much contact with him, I know he has a reputation for being unruly and arrogant. Yet he has been able to endure for so many years, which means he has great ambitions. He simply wants to appease the Great Zhou and let him go ahead and conquer the Hu."

"As for the Chanyu..."

Wang Xin thought for a moment and sneered, "He used to have big ambitions too, wanting to unify the Hetao region. It's just that I greatly weakened his strength, and he didn't want to be controlled by me, so he decided to support Ou Yanhu."

Unifying the world was not a dream unique to the people of the Central Plains.

Whether it's the grasslands and deserts, or Japan and Korea, all have the ambition to unify the world, including Westerners. England and France have been enemies for thousands of years. When France wanted to unify the continent, the British would do everything they could to hinder it, or even send troops directly. When others wanted to unify the continent, England and France joined forces to stop them.

Although Huang Wen had a lot of information about the Shanyu tribe, he hadn't thought about it from the perspective of the whole country. He was just a garrison commander. It was only after Wang Xin's guidance that he suddenly realized the situation and gained a clear understanding of the surrounding situation.

Knowing that there would be no war, Huang Wen was secretly pleased. Wang Xin glanced at Huang Wen, who was startled as if Wang Xin had seen through his thoughts. Then he heard Wang Xin's order: "Within half a month, the entire Hexi Camp will march to Tuanshan. You are ready."

This was against the rules, Huang Wen swallowed his words, understanding what Wang Xin was about to do, and said with a wry smile, "General, you must not be careless."

The Shanyu tribe can mobilize several thousand men, and they can come and go quickly, making it easy to get Ou Yanhu's assistance. The Hexi camp only has two or three thousand men, and even if their combat strength is superb, they are still flesh and blood.

Huang Wencheng sincerely advised, "Ou Yanhu's main force can muster nearly 10,000 cavalry. With the addition of the various tribes under Dabansheng, it wouldn't be a problem to gather 30,000 to 50,000. Moreover, the Shanyu tribe is familiar with the terrain. If you act rashly, General, you could easily be wiped out. Then Datong would be in even greater danger."

Huang Wen was right; Wang Xin was not so arrogant as to believe that two or three thousand men could defeat tens of thousands of cavalry.

When the two or three thousand soldiers of the Hexi Camp were in dire straits, Wang Xin believed that under his leadership, most of the soldiers could fight to the last moment. But as their general, how could he easily lead them into such a dead end?

Generally speaking, an army is rendered ineffective if its casualties exceed 30%, making it unable to continue fighting.

If the Hexi Camp is to develop in the long term, it must become an ironclad camp with a constant flow of soldiers, keeping casualties below 10% each time, preferably below 5%. However, it cannot become a continuous battle, and the total casualty rate must not reach 30% or 40%.

In order to protect the lives of the soldiers of the Hexi Camp to the greatest extent possible, and to deal with seven or eight thousand Hu cavalry, especially light cavalry, the kind of cavalry where everyone is a soldier, rather than seven or eight thousand professional cavalry, Wang Xin was confident that he could control his own casualties and still win the war.

However, if the number exceeds this, not only will the outcome of the war become unstable, but the casualty rate will also become increasingly uncontrollable.

It was proven three months ago that the cavalry almost broke through the camp. Fortunately, the soldiers remained calm and fought desperately, which shortened the time it took to plug the gap. Otherwise, the casualty rate would have been more than forty or fifty.

"Don't worry, I have my own arrangements. I will arrange for Zheng Hao to go back with you, along with a squad of soldiers," Wang Xin instructed in an unquestionable tone.

Huang Wen had no choice but to accept it.

The first time I met this person, he was incredibly domineering. Now, the second time I've met him, he's the same. How come he has the same personality as Feng Yong? They're both so domineering. Could this person be trying to become the next Feng Yong?

Considering that this person was younger than him but was his superior, he figured that even if he had to wait out seniority, he could still get him to Feng Yong's position, not to mention that this person had connections everywhere.

Having just seen off Feng Yong, another one, Wang Xin, has arrived. It turns out it's still internal strife. Huang Wen was speechless but dared not show it.
-
evening.

The oil lamp illuminated the room, but not brightly, just enough to make one see clearly.

Ma Fan and Zheng Hao sat opposite Wang Xin, who instructed them: "Ma Fan, take your men and keep an eye on Tuanshankou. Zheng Hao, you need to spread the news of Hexi Camp's move into Tuanshankou as soon as possible."

Although Zheng Hao is from a wealthy family in Daizhou and has little contact with Tuanshan, the Zheng family also has relatives in the Datong area, making him the most suitable candidate.

Zheng Hao was completely baffled and quickly asked, "Why is that?"

"Build momentum."

Another publicity stunt, Zheng Hao looked bewildered.

From the general spreading the news to setting his sights on Tuanshan, he has started to create momentum once again. Who is his target this time?
Wang Xin got up from his chair, went to the wooden box behind the desk and took out a letter. He then handed the letter to the two men. Ma Fan was an officer who used to be a rough man and didn't know many words. However, after studying in the camp, he was able to read the letter.

It turned out to be a letter sent by Lu Zhongheng.

After reading the letter that Lu Zhongheng had someone else write on his behalf, Zheng Hao's expression became even more complicated.

Even though they were all Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), most of them were sent to local areas early on because of their lower rankings. They would accumulate seniority and eventually become a seventh-rank county magistrate, or at best, a sixth-rank official.

Those with better grades, those in the middle grades, or those with exceptional abilities could work in the prefectural government, or even those with outstanding abilities could spend their entire lives working their way up to the fifth or sixth rank.

Those who achieve the highest rank can stay in the capital and be assigned to various ministries to observe governance. They can easily rise to the sixth or seventh rank, accumulate seniority, and then climb to the fifth or sixth rank. The third or fourth rank is not the final destination. This is the best path.

As for entering the Hanlin Academy.

That's beyond just being good or bad; they're being groomed as the future leaders of the court, with the goal of entering the cabinet, and secondly, striving for the position of one of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers. At the very least, they'll become powerful figures in their local areas.

In Lu Zhongheng's letter, he told Wang Xin about matters concerning the imperial court. The Ministry of War saw through Ou Yanhu's intentions and chose to appease him, focusing on recruiting him into the government.

Such a momentous event was something he could never participate in in his entire life, while Lu Zhongheng was already qualified to have firsthand information. This was the allure of the imperial examination system. It was a pity that he lacked confidence. Zheng Hao felt a pang of jealousy.

"Isn't the imperial court abandoning this land?"

Ma Fan was furious.

Both the Shanyu tribe and the Dabansheng region were incorporated into the territory from the beginning of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The Shanxi Regional Military Commission was abolished and replaced by the Datong Military Town. The previous court had abandoned the territory once, such as Daning outside Xuanfu.

(End of this chapter)