Chapter 28 Respect

Chapter 28 Respect

Chapter 28 Respect
The pursuit lasted until evening.

When Shao Xun stood by the trench and watched more than a hundred enemy soldiers jumping into the muddy river like dumplings, he ordered his troops to withdraw.

What a coward! He would rather jump into the water than turn back and fight. Soldiers like this can only bully the common people.

Huang Biao captured several prisoners, tied them up with ropes and took them to the rear.

Shao Xun was leaning on his heavy sword, looking at the Luoyang City on the other side of the trench from afar.

The trench was dug temporarily and river water was diverted for defense.

From a military perspective, the south of the city is quite good. It is only about ten miles from the city gate to the Luo River, and there are many buildings, which is not suitable for the army to deploy. This can be seen from the fact that the enemy army mainly attacked the east and west sides of Luoyang.

At this time, there were many military camps outside Pingchang Gate and Kaiyang Gate, and the security was strict.

There were also people walking back and forth on the city wall, patrolling constantly.

They had been chasing the enemy for so long, but no defenders came out of the city to cooperate, which made him a little disappointed.

He didn't know whether the garrison commander didn't dare to attack or received an order not to attack. He didn't bother to care. Perhaps the nobles didn't regard the garrison outside the city as human beings.

In that case, what else is there to say?

Shao Xun turned around and ordered the troops to withdraw.

"Yes!" Several team leaders responded without any delay, and their execution instantly increased by more than one level.

"Yang Du Bo." Shao Xun held the heavy sword and walked towards the timid Yang Bao.

Yang Bao looked terrified. He turned his head and looked around. Seeing that most people had left, he knelt on the ground and cried, "Shao Dubo, spare my life."

Shao Xun laughed and said, "Are you convinced?"

"I give in." Yang Bao said repeatedly.

"Just accept it, get out of here."

"Yes." Yang Bao quickly got up, and when he saw some soldiers glancing at him from a distance, his face suddenly turned red.

He knew that after this battle, Shao Xun's prestige would reach a new level and he would no longer have any chance of competing.

If Shao Xun had killed him with a sword and thrown him into the trench, it is not certain that anyone would stand up for him - what would be the big deal if a Du Bo died on such a chaotic battlefield?
Fortunately, he was kindhearted and not a cruel person. He treated him like a piece of shit. From now on, I will just be a good boy. After all, I have to kneel down to save my life. It is not shameful.

"Mr. Shao..." The leader of the group, Mi Huang, rushed over from behind.

He witnessed the entire battle and was extremely emotional. On the way here, he seemed to have a lot to say, but when he saw Shao Xun, who was covered in blood and had many torn clothes and armor, he didn't know what to say.

"The inspector has arrived just in time." Shao Xun said with a smile.

After the battle, he seemed to be a lot more normal. He looked a little "crazy" before, which made people worried and even more scared.

"Does the Governor want to meet with Commander Wang?" Shao Xun asked, looking at the Kaiyang Gate across a suspension bridge.

Mi Huang hesitated and could not make a decision.

Deep down, he wanted to go, after all, Wang Ju was his nominal superior.

But his mission had already been completed, and he had few soldiers and generals. If he crossed the trench and headed north, he would be asked to lead his troops to stay behind, and then encountered a large enemy force. Not only would he be unable to escape, he might also become a scapegoat. That would be a shame for all the brothers in the building.

Shao Xun felt emotional when he saw his hesitation.

If it were someone else, they would have run away and retreated long ago. Biyong and the Imperial College to the east are both independent courtyards, covering a moderate area, with many buildings and tall walls, two to three meters thick, which can be used as long-term strongholds.

On the contrary, if they stayed at Kaiyang Gate, they would have to rebuild the camp themselves, and it would probably be difficult to supply them with materials. Once they encountered a large group of enemy troops, they would really be cannon fodder.

But Mi Huang actually took the initiative to consider the overall situation and see if he could help in any way. Should we say he is honest or enthusiastic?
If there were more honest people like this in the Jin Dynasty, it probably wouldn't have ended up like this. Unfortunately, everyone thought too much and was confined to their own private interests, so things didn't go well.

"Forget it. I'll send someone across the river to report the victory to Wang Changshi. Let's just withdraw our troops here." Mi Huang finally made up his mind and said.

"Yes." Shao Xun replied.

Seeing Shao Xun agreed so straightforwardly, Mi Huang was a little confused and asked, "Mr. Shao, you fought so smoothly just now, killing no less than 500 enemy soldiers, are you really going to retreat like this?"

Shao Xun thought about it and felt that he should explain to Mi Huang to prevent him from having unrealistic fantasies, so he said: "You don't know. Although our army won the battle, it was also conditional."

"What conditions?" Mi Huang asked subconsciously.

"The enemy troops are well-fed and burdened, and lack the will to fight. This is one of the reasons."

"The enemy troops were scattered everywhere. The soldiers could not find their generals, and the generals could not find their soldiers. They were like a pile of loose sand. This is the second reason."

"When the enemy troops first entered Luoyang, they could not figure out our deployment and thought a large army was coming to attack them, so their morale was low. This is the third reason."

"With these three points, how can the enemy not be defeated?"

"But if we wait until they recover and regroup to fight again, the outcome will be uncertain. Our soldiers are indeed stronger than the Westerners, but not much stronger. Moreover, our forces are small and weak. Once the enemy forces become strong and come in large numbers, I'm afraid we won't be able to resist them."

"So why not go back, guard the gates carefully, and wait for changes. Anyway, we have completed the mission and helped Wang Changshi clear a street. What else do we want? Even Wang Changshi himself probably hasn't thought of defeating Zhang Fang completely, right?"

"That makes sense." Mi Huang nodded and said, "Let's do as you say."

******
When the troops were withdrawn and returned to the camp, they returned along the original route.

The soldiers who had just won the battle were so excited that they took away all the enemy's weapons and armor for their own storage. Of course, they did not forget the looted goods from the Westerners, and they collected them one by one and loaded them onto the carts.

Chen Yougen brought more than 20 soldiers to supervise and not allow anyone to hide the goods.

Behind him, there were several bloody human heads. They were soldiers who disobeyed military orders and embezzled the captured weapons. After being caught, they were beheaded on the spot without any mercy.

Shao Dubo made it very clear that looting was allowed, but private actions were not allowed. Looting had to be organized - or in other words, donations had to be collected, that is, the targets of the looting had to send the money themselves.

The money obtained from the robbery was counted one by one and recorded in the accounts and distributed uniformly.

To put it bluntly, there must be rules for everything, even the rules for looting.

With rules, the damage can be minimized. A balance must be struck between plundering the people and supporting the army. After all, the court cannot always issue sufficient money and food.

Shao Xun was walking on the street surrounded by a crowd of people.

His armor was mostly torn, his robe was stained with blood, and his heavy sword was also covered with holes. But he was in good spirits, high-spirited, and looked around with disdain.

"Duber."

"Master Shao."

"General Shao."

Wherever he passed, people bowed their heads and saluted him with extreme respect.

Shao Xun smiled, this is so true!

No matter how many martial arts you demonstrate in your daily life or how many rules you follow in training, they are not as important as your actual performance on the battlefield.

He led the charge and was unstoppable, and everyone saw it.

What's more, he killed an enemy officer, and the killing process was so violent and bloody that people didn't have any desire to resist.

There were many people in various clothes on the street, holding sticks, hatchets, spears and other weapons. At this moment, they were lined up in neat rows, led by soldiers, collecting corpses and cleaning up the battlefield.

Shao Xun asked around and found out that it was Mi Huang who gathered the people behind the scenes. There were about two to three hundred people, most of whom were servants and maids of wealthy families. They spontaneously went out to hunt down the enemy, but were eventually conscripted by Mi Huang and organized into an army.

"Don't let them go back." Shao Xun called Wang Que'er over and asked him to inform Mi Huang.

When it comes to dealing with wealthy families, it is obvious that Mi Huang, who comes from an aristocratic family, is more suitable, although his family background is probably not enough in the eyes of the wealthy families in Luoyang.

At the hour of Xu, the army returned to Biyong one after another.

When Shao Xun walked into the gate, he saw that the lights were on and everyone was waiting there.

There were farmhands from Pan Garden, servants from Pan Garden, craftsmen, grooms, his students, and many unfamiliar faces...

"Du Bo is mighty!" everyone shouted in unison, looking quite excited.

Shao Xun laughed and stretched out his hand to signal everyone to stop cheering.

The officers stood behind him, all of them feeling proud. Even Yang Bao, who had always been at odds with him, looked less gloomy, and his mouth corners even slightly raised.

"What are you all standing there for? Bandage the wounds of the boys." Shao Xun ordered.

"Du Bo, the hot water has been boiled long ago, and the medicine and cloth are also ready." Wu Qian squeezed out of the crowd with a flattering smile on his face.

"You are quite clever." Shao Xun pointed at him and said with a smile, "After half a day of fighting, you must be hungry. Let's have dinner. Find someone to take care of the few injured horses we captured and stew them to feed the injured soldiers. Find a way to tan the horse hides and store them in the warehouse."

"Yes." Wu Qian replied.

Even if Shao Xun didn't give any orders, he had thought of these things and immediately ordered a few boys aged fourteen or fifteen to do the work.

With the help of Wang Que'er, Shao Xun took off his armor and moved his body around. Only then did he feel a tearing pain in his left arm and chest. It turned out that he was injured.

"Teacher Shao." The students gathered around and stared at the wounds on his body.

Wang Que'er trotted over, fetched some hot water, and cleaned the wound carefully.

Mao Er held clean cloth and medicine, preparing to bandage the wound.

"Haha." Shao Xun laughed twice and looked at the young people. The hostility in his heart gradually subsided.

"On the battlefield, swords and spears are blind. No matter how outstanding your skills are, you will inevitably get injured." He said, "But compared to you being able to study and train in peace, these injuries are nothing."

"Master Shao..." A child's eyes were red and he almost cried out.

"Why are you crying like a real man?" Shao Xun said with a stern face, "Even if you die on the battlefield, wrapped in horsehide, it is the fate of us warriors. Why are you so sad?"

After saying this, his expression eased a little, and he changed his tone and said, "If you really feel bad, then study hard, train hard, and strive for excellence in your studies and martial arts. This will comfort me, and I will be more motivated to fight."

"We will follow Master Shao's teachings." Everyone responded.

"Everyone will have broth to drink soon. It's the right time for growth, haha." Shao Xun waited calmly until Mao Er finished bandaging the wound, then stood up and gently patted the children and teenagers on the shoulders.

In the corner of the courtyard, a young man in brocade robes watched this scene quietly, with a look of surprise in his eyes.

After a moment's silence, he stepped forward and walked towards Shao Xun.

(End of this chapter)