The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 99 Arrival at Xianju
Ever since the Japanese pirates captured Linhai City and the news of the suicide of the prefect of Taizhou Prefecture came, Qi Yu, the prefect of the neighboring Jinhua Prefecture, became uneasy.

He was filled with hatred and believed that Zhejiang General Luo Ming's death was not unjust. This was the second time that the battle had turned out like this. The court should not have used him in the first place. This was a very foolish move.

Fortunately, he still had some conscience and sent some soldiers back.

In the past six months, I have urged militiamen from all over the countryside to enter the city. Together with this group of officers and soldiers, there are now four to five thousand people. Although most of them are ordinary people who have just put down their hoes, most of them are young and strong.

However, he was still very nervous and would be frightened like a frightened bird at the slightest sign of trouble.

I feel drowsy every day, afraid of making mistakes.

"Prefect, Prefect, disaster, disaster!"

Someone outside shouted and rushed in.

"Wow."

Qi Yu jumped up from the table in shock, his face pale and covered in cold sweat. He almost fainted. He forced himself to stay calm, holding onto the table. Seeing the officials coming in, he asked anxiously, "What happened? Are the Japanese pirates here? Where is Zhao Zuoji?"

Asked three times in a row.

"The Japanese pirates didn't come, but a white-faced general came."

The official shouted, "It seems Zhao Zuoji recognizes them. Let them enter the city. The white-faced general is inspecting the troops in the parade grounds. It seems Zhao Zuoji wants to follow him. Master Prefect, please go and take a look."

Qi Yu was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard that they were not Japanese pirates, but after hearing the following words, he became angry.

He slammed the table and said dissatisfiedly, "Why did you let them into the city without asking me? If they were the Japanese pirates, why didn't you let them into the city and inform me? Do you still respect me, the prefect? ​​This is unreasonable."

The officer urged, "Master, please go and take a look. That white-faced general looks unpleasant. The soldiers he leads ignore us. I have been asking him questions for a long time, but he still doesn't respond to me."

Qi Yu was sure that they were not Japanese pirates but military horses from the Great Zhou Dynasty. He straightened his clothes and rushed to the training ground with dark circles under his eyes.

Although Zhao Zuoji's troops were only six or seven hundred people, they were the backbone of the city. Without this force, how could the remaining young and strong people dare to go up to the city wall to defend the city? I am afraid that when the enemy arrives, they will collapse first.

When I arrived at the training ground, I saw that it was indeed true.

There was a white-faced general on the high platform, surrounded by flags of all kinds. Qi Yu had never seen so many flags before. He only felt the murderous aura in the parade ground. No matter what, it was the flag of the Zhou army. Qi Yu swallowed his saliva, plucked up the courage, and led a group of officials forward.

After all, they were the elite troops under Luo Ming, all of them were wearing armor, and the spearmen also carried a bow and a pot of arrows.

Wang Xin looked at Zhao Yong's men.

What is before us is the legacy left by Luo Ming.

In fact, he didn't need to see it himself. As long as Zhao Yong was willing to obey his orders and become his subordinate, he would know whether this remnant army could still fight.

Although it has been confirmed that the fight can be fought, the process still has to be followed.

Otherwise, the people below would be suspicious. How could the general trust them when he had never seen them before? After going through the process and seeing it with his own eyes, he confirmed that this was a pitiful army.

Defeated soldiers are not necessarily in a state of despair. It is more likely that their morale will collapse completely. So although Zhao Yong looks decadent, he is actually doing nothing. He has been able to maintain the morale of this army until today, and he is worthy of being Luo Ming's right-hand man.

It's also my luck.

This elite force, which no one currently cares about, will certainly be wanted by all parties once they have spare capacity. From the perspective of manpower alone, it is actually better than the troops they have, but they still need to be selected.

The stronger the soldier, the better. What’s more important is his character.

It's not a one-on-one fight.

But there was no time now, so the reorganization would be put aside. Wang Xin said to Zhao Yong, "Your troops will be assigned to the Right Camp. You will lead them and follow me to fight the Japanese pirates. I will ask you one last time: are you ready to fight?"

The dozen or so officers behind Zhao Yong were also looking at the new guerrilla general.

too young.

Some people have heard of this person's name, while some do not know him and their eyes show suspicion, but their assistants believe in this person, so even if they have doubts in their hearts, they will not show it.

"Can fight."

The smell of alcohol on Zhao Yong's body had dissipated a lot, and he regained some of his former bravery and replied briefly.

He is also arrogant.

After Zhao Yong finished speaking, he nodded to the side, motioning Wang Xin to look over, and said helplessly: "If we want to fight, we must first convince the prefect. If he doesn't provide us with food and fodder, how can we fight?"

Wang Xin turned around and saw a group of people rushing over.

"General Wang."

Qi Yu originally wanted to wait for the other party to salute first, but he felt a little timid inside. Under the gaze of more than two thousand pairs of eyes in the parade ground, especially the more than one thousand unfamiliar eyes, each of them as quiet as wood, it was really creepy, so he couldn't help but speak.

Wang Xin guessed this person's identity.

The prefect of Jinhua Prefecture is a fourth-rank official, and his guerrilla general is a third-rank military officer. There is a difference between civil and military officials. In fact, the prefect in front of him has a higher rank than himself. This is the rule in officialdom.

"Prefect Qi." Wang Xin bowed, then pulled out an official document and said, "I am Wang Xin, the guerrilla general of the Beijing Camp. I am here to wipe out the Japanese pirates under the orders of Lord Zhu Wei, the Eastern Army Commander-in-Chief and the one with full authority to suppress the Japanese pirates. All units along the way are under my command. This is the written order."

The prefect didn't answer or look at it, but shook his head and said, "The soldiers of Jinhua Prefecture must defend Jinhua, and no one can be transferred away."

"This is a military order." Wang Xin ignored the prefect and looked at Zhao Yong, ordering: "Zhao assist in the attack."

"The mark is on!"

Zhao Yong took a step forward.

Wang Xin ordered, "Pack up your camp and prepare to march with the army."

"Here!"

Zhao Yong was very cooperative at this time, but his eyes were still worried. If the food problem was not solved, it would be useless to just show off his power. He couldn't just rob the food in the city. Even if he won the battle, he would lose his head if the prefect impeached him.

Not only did he not mention his own death, but he also implicated his comrades. Their blood was shed in vain. Not only did he not receive any military merit, he wouldn't even receive any compensation.

The other officers were a little embarrassed. If it weren't for Zhao Yong, they would not agree.

"If I don't transfer the food, none of you can leave."

Governor Qi was completely relieved. Since he was one of their own, he threatened, "General Wang, you don't want your troops to run out of food, do you?" Wang Xin smiled contemptuously.

He knew the official's character, so he made preparations early.

Wang Xin said calmly, "Our army has sufficient food and fodder, so there's no need for the prefect to worry about it. However, it's the responsibility of the local government to supply food and fodder to the army. If the prefect doesn't allocate food and fodder, I will definitely file a complaint."

Zhao Yong and the other generals were stunned.

Where would they find extra food for the army? They almost forfeited their food for the day, forcing the army to march hungry and seek food elsewhere.

The prefect didn't care about the threat from the general in front of him, so what if he filed a complaint.

But Qi Yu suddenly laughed.

He smiled and said, "Since the general is so determined, I can't stop him. We still need to send food and fodder. We can't let the soldiers go hungry. Please give us half a day to prepare. I will have my men send 200 dan of food and fodder to you."

"Thank you, magistrate." Wang Xin didn't know what the official in front of him was up to, but he would not refuse the free food and fodder, so he hurriedly thanked him.

Zhao Yong and others nearby were filled with disbelief.

Zhao Yong still remembered how he had begged the prefect in front of him, but the prefect had shown no mercy. Why was he doing that today? Zhao Yong couldn't help but look at Wang Xin. Was this man so popular that everyone loved him and flowers bloomed when he saw him?

The officials behind the prefect were also caught off guard, and under the prefect's urging, everyone went to prepare food and fodder in confusion.

One cart can only carry six or seven dan of grain. If it weighs more, the animals will have a hard time, which is not conducive to long-distance transportation and can easily tire the animals to death. Two hundred dan of grain requires thirty carts. In the past, even if it was given to the Hexi Small Camp, the Hexi Small Camp would not have been able to transport it.

It's different now.

Zhu Wei allocated more than one hundred mules and donkeys, as well as horses and carriages from the salt road, and formed a rear camp. Although the ability to move was affected, the endurance was increased.

Today is not what it used to be.

At the beginning, when he was leading a guest army of several hundred people, food and fodder were not difficult to solve. Now that the manpower has been expanded, and Zhao Yong's troops have been added, the food, drink, livestock and horses for two thousand people, food and fodder have become a big problem, so Wang Xin made adjustments in advance, sacrificing speed and increasing endurance.

The purpose was to counter the threat of food shortages for civil officials.

As for the Japanese pirates.

The Japanese pirates numbered over ten thousand people, and their food and fodder were even more plentiful.

Day two.

Two thousand men and horses left the gate of Jinhua Prefecture in a long line. There were more than two hundred carriages, and then there were cavalry. The cavalrymen actually rode two horses each, and the prefect personally saw them off.

After the army left, the officials nearby curiously asked why the prefect changed his attitude yesterday.

Qi Yu ignored it.

When something goes wrong, there must be a monster.

Civil officials are military officers who rely on food and logistics control. That guy is already a guerrilla general at such a young age, and he carries abundant food, so he must be from a very important background. Since we can't keep him, why offend him again?

It would be better to make it convenient for him so that we can meet again in the future.

The person asking the question is not your son, so why should you teach him?

After Qi Yu returned home, he always felt uneasy. Zhao Yong's troops used to live in the city. Although he was annoyed by this person, he had some confidence in his heart.

Let’s not talk about this person.

Wang Xin led more than 2,000 troops and divided them into five camps.

The front camp was Zhang Can's unit.

The left camp was composed of Liu Tong and Tang Ping's troops.

The right camp was Zhao Yong's unit.

He led the headquarters himself, and then the rear camp.

Each camp has its own characteristics. The front camp uses the border town's fighting style, the left camp uses the mandarin duck formation, the right camp uses the camp soldiers' fighting style, and the back camp is the chariot camp trained by themselves, plus the headquarters' long spear formation.

Can be offensive and defensive.

We need to play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses.

More than 2,000 troops arrived at Xianju. The county magistrate of Xianju was overjoyed and almost cried with joy.

He personally opened the city gate to welcome them. The magistrate came forward and cried, "Why did you come so late?"

The parts of Xianju that were not protected by city walls were reduced to ashes, leaving only the inner city. After Luo Ming defeated the Japanese pirates last time, the remaining people who could escape had all fled, leaving only a few who could not escape.

The county magistrate has the responsibility to defend his territory, and he would rather die than run away for the sake of his official hat.

He is a ruthless person.

"It's okay, it's okay." Wang Xin comforted him, "It's okay."

The magistrate was in tears and looked aggrieved.

His family had worked hard to support his studies, and he studied very hard for many years before finally passing the imperial examination. Although his ranking was not very good, he still became a county magistrate. He was the hope of his whole family, so how could he dare to run away?

I dream every day that my head is chopped off by Japanese pirates.

Wang Xin brought his cavalry this time, each man riding two horses, and sent them out. Two days later, Wang Xin summoned his generals and said calmly, "Now that we're here, the Japanese pirates are getting bolder. Let's kill a few of them to relieve our boredom."

Everyone became excited.

Only the soldiers in the front camp and the right camp felt that they were out of place.

Are the Japanese pirates so easy to destroy?

Logically, what the general said was not right, but the excited attitude of his colleagues made them doubt themselves, thinking that they must have missed something.

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(End of this chapter)