New and dark light years

Chapter 386 The Tang Family Army Was Terrified
In the wounded soldiers' camp, dozens of military doctors are treating the wounded.

The logistics department didn't bring many medicines, so the doctors used their own folk remedies to treat the wounded soldiers.

As for whether folk remedies work or can save lives, that's entirely up to fate.

It may sound inhumane, but it is actually a very humane thing to do.

The entire army was grateful to these doctors who accompanied the troops, and also thanked Li Lin for assigning doctors to the army.

Generally speaking, most armies do not have many accompanying doctors; even if they do, they are used to treat generals or their personal guards.

Soldiers don't even rank.

Zhang Qi led his personal guards on a tour of the wounded soldiers' camp, inspected the treatment progress, and then came out.

He asked the guard beside him, "What were our casualties in this battle?"

"Approximately 375 people died and more than 1,700 were injured, of whom more than 900 were seriously injured."

Zhang Qi nodded slightly, then smiled.

The casualties were smaller than he had imagined, much smaller.

This is a siege battle.

The catapults played a crucial role in the battle, but the soldiers' ferocity also exceeded his expectations.

The ease with which the city was captured made him realize that the Tang family army was nothing special.

However, he quickly dismissed this thought from his mind; underestimating the enemy is a cardinal sin in warfare.

It would be much more reasonable to treat this enemy as an auxiliary force.

Actually, it wasn't just Zhang Qi; Guo Yuan's side also broke through. Although they didn't capture the city, the catapults smashed down a large section of the city wall.

The enemy's morale has plummeted. If we organize another attack, we can capture the county town.

At this moment, Li Lin also received the battle report from the two.

He looked at the map for a while, then said to his advisors, "Order the four commanders to adopt a conservative approach to the attack, and not to be aggressive. Just maintain a posture of pressure."

A captain nearby asked, "Shouldn't we attack in one fell swoop? It seems like a rare opportunity."

“Then we’ll become the main force!” Li Lin smiled helplessly. “We can help, but the main force must be the Dianjun Prefecture Army. Don’t turn the tables on us.”

All the captains laughed.

Li Lin is now much more at ease. Judging from the battle reports, the Tang family army is not actually much stronger than his own side.

Even if they have 200,000 troops, the only ones who can actually fight are probably around 40,000 to 50,000, which is about the same as our side.

Then... the threat posed by the Tang family army is greatly reduced.

In addition, after ensuring that he had sufficient self-defense capabilities, Li Lin also needed to ensure that he had sufficient manpower.

If most of the soldiers I've painstakingly recruited are lost in Dian County, what good is it if I defeat the Tang army? There's still Qin Tuo in Yue County to the east.

Just be appropriate.

The same applies to helping others.

Although Li Lin ordered his men to slow down the pace of the attack, the Jin County army's success in capturing two cities still greatly shocked the Tang family army.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Yunnan Prefectural Army launched an attack from various county towns, recapturing the lost territory of four county towns and pushing the front line forward.

This pincer attack caught Tang's army completely off guard.

In haste, they had no choice but to withdraw their battle lines and adopt a defensive posture by utilizing the terrain.

When Li Lin received news that the Tang family army had retreated to Tuodong County, he knew that... the upcoming war would enter a long and protracted stalemate.

As expected, the conflicts between Li Lin's side and Jin County's side and the Tang family army were all small-scale and sporadic battles.

The total number of casualties in all the battles combined did not exceed two thousand.

And then, another half month passed.

Li Lin looked at the map, shook his head helplessly, and said, "The Tang family army has achieved its goal."

The captains also sighed.

The battle reports show that the Tang family army has begun to shrink its battle lines.

Although this method may seem a bit cowardly, it is quite reasonable.

Centered on Tuodong County, and supplemented by the border line previously under the de facto control of the Tang family, sufficient strategic depth was formed.

With more than a dozen counties serving as a buffer zone, it would be difficult for the troops from Jin County and Dian County alone to take them down.

Li Lin's four subordinates had tried to attack the city again, but this time they encountered the Tang family army, a truly powerful force. Even after losing some men and with the aid of catapults, they still couldn't take it down.

In other words, it was the true main force of the Tang army that was defending the city.

"So, shall we head back now?" a captain asked.

Li Lin shook his head: "Let's wait. It'll be about time when the imperial court issues an edict."

Just as Li Lin said, the entire court was very surprised by the twists and turns of the battle in Dian County.

At first, they thought that Dian County would definitely fall in a very short time.

As a result, Dian County managed to hold out temporarily even after half of its counties had fallen.

Just when they thought they wouldn't be able to hold out for long, Jin County unexpectedly came to their aid.

What surprised the high-ranking officials even more was that the "Tang Family Army," known as the strongest army in the southwest, was actually driven back by the Jin County government army.

Fight them until they cower in fear.

This was beyond the expectations of the entire court.

There are actually capable generals in the southwest region?

Emperor Zhu Jing sat on the dragon throne, his face slightly pale. Looking at the ministers below, he asked with great curiosity, "Who is that... the garrison commander of Jin County, who dared to take the initiative to help Dian County in that situation?" The ministers exchanged bewildered glances.

They really didn't know who the garrison commander of Jin County was.

At this moment, Jiang Yan stepped forward, holding his official tablet, and slowly said, "Your Majesty, the Jin County Garrison Commander is surnamed Li, named Lin, and is twenty-three years old. He is the eldest son-in-law of the Huang family."

"Oh, this name seems somewhat familiar to me."

"During the southern campaign, the Jin County government troops were able to escape and successfully retreat, and this Commander Li played a significant role in that."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jing remembered: "That commander who killed tens of thousands of enemies and burned down the Southern Barbarian troops... In such a short time, he actually became the pacification commissioner?"

“Since he is a talented person, it is reasonable to promote him.” Jiang Yan smiled and said, “In fact, this also shows that the Zhongshumen’s promotion of him was correct. He was able to step forward at the critical moment and help Dian County escape a disaster. He deserves the court’s cultivation of him.”

"Is it possible for the Jin County government troops and the Dian County government troops to join forces and wipe out the Tang family army?"

The ministers smiled wryly.

Not to mention that the Emperor is not good at warfare, it seems that he has been practicing alchemy for so long that he has lost even the most basic common sense.

Jiang Yan explained, "The Tang rebel army is the strongest army in the southwest. The Jin County army was able to gain an advantage because of the effect of surprise attack. If it were a direct confrontation to attack the city, the Jin County army would still be too small. Even if we add the Dian County army, it would still be too few."

Zhu Jing nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

He looked at the assembled ministers and said, "Such a valiant general, shouldn't he be rewarded?"

“Of course…” At this moment, another minister came out. This man was very old, but he was very energetic: “Yesterday, the Secretariat drafted an official document to reward the two garrison commanders of Jin County and Dian County, and to promote them to higher ranks and titles.”

"This matter is left to you to handle."

Zhu Jing was overjoyed to hear that the Tang family army's rebellion had actually been driven back.

He stood up and said, "May Heaven bless our Great Qi. Whether it is the Zhao traitor or the Tang traitor, even if they rebel, so what? They will still be trapped in the impoverished land of the Southern Frontier. Haha! If there is nothing else, let's adjourn the court."

After speaking, Zhu Jing turned and left.

The court officials shook their heads helplessly and dispersed in twos and threes.

Fang Fengyi remained calm. When he returned home, he saw his wife, Huang Ling, with a sorrowful expression on her face.

He couldn't stand seeing her like this, and couldn't help but scold her, "Who are you trying to fool with this crying and wailing? It's been over a month and you're still like this. It's so annoying to look at you."

Huang Ling wiped her eyes and forced a smile: "My lord, I'm just worried about A-Da..."

"You don't need to worry," Fang Fengyi said. "Mount Tai is safe for the time being."

"What do you mean?" Huang Ling asked in surprise, "Has Ah Da returned from Jin County?"

Fang Fengyi shook his head and said, "No, it's the Tang family army, that is, the Tang rebels, who have been forced to retreat and have no chance of attacking Jin County."

"Is the Yunnan Garrison Commander really that powerful?" Huang Ling, who was also quite knowledgeable, asked, "He actually managed to withstand the Tang family army with only 20,000 to 30,000 troops?"

Fang Fengyi twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "It's not Dianjun, it's Jinjun. It's that Li County Commandant you look down on who led a large army to fiercely attack the Tang army's flank and won several battles. Then, in coordination with the Dianjun Prefecture army, he drove the Tang army out of the central Yunnan region."

Huang Ling's eyes widened: "How is this possible? With him..."

“Taishan is a man of outstanding talent; how could someone he values ​​be utterly useless?” Fang Fengyi looked at his wife and said helplessly, “I think you seem to be underestimating him.”

Huang Ling pursed her lips: "I don't believe it... My lord, are you teasing me?"

"Is that necessary?" Fang Fengyi shook his head helplessly and said, "Whether you believe it or not, Mount Tai is fine for now, so you should go and prepare lunch. I'm hungry."

"Oh……"

Huang Ling began preparing the meal with her maid.

Before entering the kitchen, she sent her maid to inform her mother of the matter.

Although he knew that the Huang family probably already knew about this, he still had to inform them regardless.

The Secretariat quickly drafted the rewards for the garrison commanders of Tianjin and Yunnan, and also dispatched a delegation of eunuchs to read out the Secretariat's decree.

Take your reward with you when you set off.

More than half a month passed, and the mission arrived in Yiliang County, Yunnan Province.

At this time, the armies of Dianjun and Jinjun merged here.

Meanwhile, Li Lin and Hua Yi'an were chatting idly in the commander's tent.

The fighting has slowed down considerably.

The current situation is that both sides occupy a key location, blocking each other's "exit," making it impossible for a fight to break out.

The two sides are constantly exchanging insults, which is quite amusing.

"Commander Li, I heard that the imperial envoy is arriving soon. What do you think the court will reward us with?"

Hua Yi'an looked very happy at this moment.

There haven't been any recent battles, and the Tang family army has been holed up in various county towns, not engaging in combat at all.

In fact, if the Tang family army were to actually fight, Hua Yi'an would also have his army retreat to hold them off.

Try to delay as much time as possible.

Li Lin thought for a moment and said, "I guess they'll just reward me with some medicinal herbs and silk, raise my rank a bit, and give me one or two honorary titles."

"The imperial court wouldn't be so stingy, would it?"

Li Lin laughed and said, "The imperial court is not stingy, but it doesn't have much money left now."

“Indeed!” Hua Yi’an said with a sigh, “I remember more than ten years ago, the Great Qi was still a prosperous country. How did it suddenly become like this? Tell me what happened. County Commandant Li, you are a scholar, you know more than I do.”

Li Lin shook his head: "Who knows?"

At that moment, a messenger rushed in from outside.

"My lords, the imperial envoy has arrived and is just outside the camp."

(End of this chapter)