Chapter 157: Resisting Strictness, Zhang Family Celebrates New Year

Chapter 157: Resisting Strictness, Zhang Family Celebrates New Year

Chapter 157: Resisting Strictness and Going Home for the New Year

Guard Guo Quan hurried in and called out, "Sir."

The confusion in Xu Cheng's eyes became even more intense.

Lu Yunyi pointed at Guo Quan in front of him, looked at Xu Cheng and said:

"Guo Quan, the sixth son of Marquis Wuding."

With just these few words, Xu Cheng's thoughts suddenly exploded. His pupils dilated uncontrollably, his eyes also widened, and a dazed look appeared on his face.

Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding, began serving as General Jinghai in the 18th year of Hongwu and guarded Liaodong until he joined the army for the northern expedition this year.

Xu Cheng's mind was full of thoughts. If the man in front of him was really the sixth son of Marquis Wu Ding, and he could get in touch with Marquis Wu Ding,

Not to mention transferring 30,000 guards, even transferring them away from Liaodong is possible.

Xu Cheng moved his gaze to Lu Yunyi's face, and what surprised him even more was, who was this person in front of him?

How could the sixth son of Marquis Wu Ding come to guard him?
For a moment, Xu Cheng felt relieved about Guo Quan's cold face.

What's the point of being a garrison commander with only a thousand soldiers under his command? His father is in charge of all military and political affairs in Liaodong.

Xu Cheng's expression changed back and forth. The surprise came so suddenly that he didn't know what to say.

He looked at Guo Quan, then at Lu Yunyi, who had a calm face.
Finally, he looked at Lu Yunyi and said:
"May I ask which Lord Lu is under? How could he have such great abilities?"

"He is the commander of the front-line scout department under the general, with the rank of lieutenant general." Lu Yunyi did not hide anything and spoke the truth.

Although the victory report of the Northern Expedition Army had been sent to the capital long ago, as long as the army did not return to the capital,

The imperial court would not announce this matter to the world to avoid any chaos.

So, Xu Cheng's eyes flashed with doubt, and he asked tentatively:

"General Lu is the adopted son of the general?"

The air suddenly froze and Lu Yunyi's face froze.

He waved his hand, indicating that Guo Quan could leave.

Guo Quan responded and walked out honestly.

Xu Cheng's eyes widened again. Everything seemed to be reasonable.

But because of the change in identity, this ordinary thing became strange.

"He is the sixth son of Marquis Wuding. Even if something happens, it will be easy to pull Lord Xu out of the quagmire." Lu Yunyi smiled meaningfully and continued:

"If Lord Xu tells us everything he knows, we can still seize the opportunity to make a contribution.

It's much better than waiting to die here, so why not do it?"

There was a trace of struggle on Xu Cheng's dark and weathered face.
The fist on the thigh was clenched and unclenched until it turned white.
Only after ten breaths had passed did Xu Cheng let out a long sigh.

It was as if all the strength in my body had been drained away, and my originally straight back bent down.

His hollow voice echoed in the tent:

"The Liaodong Regional Military Commission has been around for a long time and is almost a well-known practice.
It borders Korea to the east and the Northern Yuan Dynasty to the north, and is a strategically important place.

However, the Commandery only strictly checked the caravans heading to Korea, and neglected the caravans heading north.

At that time, the Northern Yuan Dynasty still existed. If the Liao king's people were left without food, they might send troops to attack.
Therefore, the imperial court turned a blind eye to the transportation of grain to the north in exchange for stability in Liaodong.

But in recent years, I have found that it is not just food.
There were also some cloth, salt, tea, and even worse, some ironware, such as pots, pans, and bowls. "

Hearing this, Lu Yunyi nodded. The northern border of the Ming Dynasty stretches for thousands of miles.

In addition to a few tea and horse markets, there were also trade fairs.

Most of the others are smuggling with a blind eye.

The military households on the border were extremely poor, and the imperial court would be happy to see them earn some money through trade with the grassland people in exchange for peace on the border.

More importantly, the Ming Dynasty is becoming stronger all the time, so it can afford to delay.

Wait until the Ming Dynasty is strong enough, and then we will destroy it in one fell swoop.

At least, this was the case in Qingzhou where Lu Yunyi was. When Nahachu had not surrendered,

On the right side of Gyeongju was Nahachu's garrison, and on the left was the Ming army. The two sides even exchanged cattle and sheep for salt and tea.

Lu Yunyi spoke in a deep voice:
"Master Xu, please tell me the truth. What we found yesterday was weapons, not salt, tea or candy."

The atmosphere in the military tent froze. Xu Cheng's face became increasingly gloomy, and his voice became hollow:

"At that time, Naha was defeated and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and the atmosphere in Liaodong was no longer as solemn as before.

I was also transferred from Liaoyang Zhongwei to Sanwanwei at that time,
Soon after I arrived at Sanwanwei, I discovered that there were weapons among the smuggled goods.

I clearly remember it was on the night of September 30 last year.

I found some very deep ruts on the dirt road.

My first reaction was that someone was stealing fine iron out of the country, so I led my troops in a hurry to chase after them, but found two carts with some defective ordnance.

I was so frightened that I lost my mind.
Without stopping for a moment, he headed to Liaodong Town to report to his superiors.
But my superior ignored my request on the grounds that it was unfounded, and even told me implicitly not to meddle in other people’s business.

At this point, I suddenly realized,
These matters were handled by the officials in the Dusi, and I was placed in the Sanwanwei, probably as a scapegoat.

But I had no choice. I couldn't be transferred and my superiors ignored me.
I dare not go along with them, because when the imperial censor comes, I will be speechless."

"So you just ignored it and covered your head to build weapons?"

Lu Yunyi's eyes became more and more strange
Xu Cheng wanted to make some explanation, but his chest was heaving and he didn't know what to say. Finally, he sighed heavily and nodded.

Seeing him like this, Lu Yunyi wanted to laugh but couldn't. With a trace of helplessness on his face, he looked at Xu Cheng:

"Master Xu, you are the one who died on your own.
If I were the imperial censor, based on what you just said, even if I didn't charge you with colluding with foreign nations, I would charge you with the crime of knowing the truth and not reporting it."

After hearing this, Xu Cheng suddenly became anxious and leaned forward:
"Lord Lu, that's not what you said before."

Lu Yunyi couldn't hold it back and laughed out loud, which made Xu Cheng's face more shocked.

"Master Xu, what do you do with the two trucks of military equipment you found?"

"Of course, it was transported to the Dusi Yamen and dealt with by the superiors."

At this point, Xu Cheng's face became gloomy and he sighed:

"But I think those weapons may go back along this road and head north."

Lu Yunyi smiled and glanced back and forth at Xu Cheng.

He has a rough appearance, is not tall, and looks awkward.
If he had not been wearing a respectable uniform and in a military camp, he would probably have been mistaken for an old farmer tilling the fields.

No wonder you can't see your own situation clearly.

After a pause, Lu Yunyi spoke earnestly:
"Master Xu, you must remember that no matter who asks you about smuggling in the future,
You should always say you don’t know. Even if you know in your heart, you cannot say it. You must keep your mouth shut.

Otherwise, no matter how you are dealt with, you will be charged with the crime of knowing about the crime and not reporting it.
If the officer handling the case was a little more strict, not only would he lose his job, he would also lose his life."

Xu Cheng's style of doing things is indeed that of a soldier. He is straightforward and inflexible.

With the current situation of 30,000 guards, any local official could completely shirk responsibility, and even be rewarded with merit for reporting crimes. And Xu Cheng was actually planning to defend himself when the imperial censor arrived, which was like looking for trouble without any guilt.

Lu Yunyi no longer knew whether he was stupid or foolish.

The emperor has been revising the Great Ming Code for more than 20 years. Even if he is punishing Hu Weiyong and those founding nobles, he must strictly follow the Great Ming Code.
This is even more true for the punishment of local officials and garrison officers. Everything must be based on the law.

If Xu Cheng had not participated in it and had not said some nonsense,
Then he must be a diligent soldier guarding the border, working in the workshop all day long, and a good official who would report smuggling.

Seeing Xu Cheng still looking confused, Lu Yunyi sighed again.
The Ming Dynasty was newly established, and most of the soldiers in the early years were illiterate.
If you don't explain it clearly and thoroughly, you will never be able to understand it based on your own experience.

Lu Yunyi thought about it, and soon he came up with a very appropriate word.
He looked at Xu Cheng solemnly and said in a deep voice:

"Master Xu, if you confess, you will be treated leniently, and if you resist, you will be treated severely and can go home for the New Year."

Xu Cheng's face froze, and for the first time, enlightenment appeared on his face.
Then things started to change rapidly, with confusion, shock, sudden realization, so that's it!
Half an hour later, Xu Cheng walked out of Lu Yunyi's tent in a daze.
After seeing Guo Quan standing at the door with a cold face,
He no longer felt dissatisfied, but instead smiled and even smiled at Xu Zengshou.

This caused Xu Zengshou to frown.
"What is he laughing at?"

"I don't know." Guo Quan replied.

Inside the house, Lu Yunyi held a list with all the officials of Liaodong Prefecture.

Some were sent by the imperial court, and some were former followers of Nahachu.

These are the people Xu Cheng secretly observed over the past year and discovered were involved in smuggling.

The authenticity of the list is not known yet, and Xu Cheng can only speculate based on the identities of the people on the vehicles passing by.

Even so, it was enough for Lu Yunyi.

He came to Liaodong to fight. In order to ensure the success of the war,
All you need to do is to list all the people on this list as imaginary enemies and be more careful about them.

Twenty miles north of Sanwanwei,

Liu Heiying led his soldiers to hide in the dense forest, staring at a cave on the slope in front of them.
The dark hole looks small, but the inside is very spacious and has been widened artificially.
Four carts of military equipment were placed inside, with the entrance of the cave haphazardly blocked by thick branches and rotten leaves, waiting for someone to take them.

Time passed by little by little, and in the afternoon,

The scorching sun has gradually dissipated, replaced by the unique coolness of Liaodong.

There was a breeze in the air, and the scent of young leaves and buds began to spread.
Liu Heiying sniffed with his nose, his expression alert, his eyes casually scanning the surroundings without moving at all.

At this moment, the crisp sound of horse hooves seemed to ring out.
Liu Heiying was startled and raised his head to look at the dense forest in the distance.
The sound of horse hooves came from the north.

Beside him, there was already an older soldier lying on the ground, frowning and listening. After a while, he raised his head and whispered:

"Sir, there are about forty people coming."

The soldier's name was You Dafeng, and he was the one with the best hearing in the front scout unit.

He has been in the army for fifteen years and has been raising horses in the barracks. He can roughly tell how many horses have galloped past him.

This skill is naturally not worth mentioning if it is in a stable.
But if it were on the battlefield, it would be equivalent to at least a hundred elite scouts.

When the front army scout unit was selecting soldiers, he volunteered and told about his skills.

Liu Heiying let him join in without any hesitation.

At this time, the scouts scattered around also hurried over and said:
"Sir, there are cavalrymen coming from the northwest, forty-three in number, half of them wearing half-armor, and they carry long swords, but no bows or crossbows."

Hearing this, Liu Heiying's eyes flashed with cruelty, and he patted You Dafeng's shoulder hard:

"You are indeed a capable man. You can hide behind and shoot arrows later. I will give you military merits then."

You Dafeng's honest face showed a mouthful of yellow teeth, and his dark and dry hands rubbed back and forth, the satisfaction in his heart was beyond words.

There were forty-three people coming, and they had no bows or crossbows.
Liu Heiying could already imagine the miserable plight of their group.
He quickly assigned the combat mission, leaving fifty men in the team of more than a hundred men to conduct the first volley.
If the enemy fled, the cavalry would charge and kill them.

The tactics are particularly simple. Under the premise that there is no need to worry about the numerical advantage, the simpler and clearer the tactics are, the easier it is to execute.

Soon, more than forty riders came galloping over.

As the scouts said, most of them did not wear armor, and even if they did, it was grassland leather armor.
This kind of armor can only protect some vital parts and cannot defend against the Ming Dynasty's muskets and longbows.

More than 40 people were scattered around the cave entrance;

More than ten riders went to fetch the donkey cart, and more than thirty people were on guard.

But because Liu Hei Ying deliberately stacked the donkey carts together and placed them extra deep, the grassland people called out to them and ten more people came down to help.
At this point, there were not many people on guard on the war horses left. Liu Heiying did not hesitate. He waved his hand lightly and gave a cold order:

"volley!"

Whoosh whoosh—

A forest of arrows pierced the air.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, it drew a beautiful arc, like stars in the sky, and then fell heavily!

"Enemy attack!! Enemy attack!!"

"Bow and arrow, bow and arrow!!"

Violent shouts followed, but dense feather arrows had already covered them.

The wailing that pierced flesh and the neighing of war horses suddenly sounded.
Liu Heiying drew out his long sword, murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and with a loud roar, he rushed out first!
"kill!!!"

Vigorous shouts of killing rang out from all around. Even the soldiers holding longbows pulled out trumpets from their sides and shouted:

"kill!!"

The shouts and cries of killing shook the sky, and in an instant the enemy's morale was thrown into chaos. The war horses pawed their hooves restlessly and turned around in circles!
Liu Heiying took the lead and rushed in first.

The warhorse's hooves stomped down hard, crushing a soldier who was still struggling on the ground, causing his chest to cave in, his eyes to widen, and blood to spurt from his mouth.

He swung the long sword in his hand continuously with great force.
Any grassland soldier who came into conflict with him was no match for him.

The first sword breaks the defense, the second sword kills the enemy!

The blood splattered on Liu Heiying's face, making him a little excited.
After abstaining from sex for nearly a month, the long-lost feeling of strength returned, and killing enemies became easy again.

But before he could kill enough, the few grassland cavalrymen had all fallen to the ground.

Those who dismounted were also subdued by the soldiers.

Liu Heiying's face was full of pity. He spat and shouted:
"Clean up the battlefield and take back all the uninjured people.

All the injured but not dead should be chopped off and buried a hundred feet away. All traces of blood and war horses should be cleaned up."

"Yes!!"

Many soldiers were very excited because of their gains during this trip.

You Dafeng also hurried over and found the feather arrow with the mark.
At this moment, it is stuck in the head of a grassland soldier.
He was so happy that he almost jumped up. The hideous corpse in front of him,

All of this shows that he has been in the army for many years.
Finally, I got my first success and was no longer a horseman who only knew how to raise horses.

　July is over, with an update of 270,000 words, a major breakthrough. We will continue our efforts in August!

　　I would also like to thank everyone for their rewards, monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!

　　Thank you!

　　Barley
　　
　
(End of this chapter)