Chapter 253: Things that can shake the government and the country are all caused by people's de
Chapter 253: Things that can shake the government and the country are all caused by people's desire to move
After two quarters of an hour, the smoke cleared.
The mountain path behind the camp, which had been opened for who knows how many days, was already covered with corpses.
Bright red blood flowed out of the corpse and slowly seeped into the soil, turning it into a wet dark red.
It was not until this time that some soldiers from the front scout unit entered with shields in hand.
Many deserters hiding at the end were captured.
Some people tried to avoid being captured by the soldiers.
So they chose to enter the hillside on one side and go down along the deep mountain forest. Screams could be heard from time to time.
It had just rained and the mountain roads were muddy. Walking on them could easily result in loss of life.
As more and more deserters were captured, the empty space in the valley was filled with soldiers.
They were tied up and kneeling on the spot, with fear still in their eyes.
As for the sturdy man who started shouting, he did not resist at all. Seeing that the situation was not good, he knelt down and surrendered.
At this moment, he was kneeling tremblingly, his face full of regret.
Liu Heiying and several soldiers were interrogating him, but he was a little too aggressive and kept shouting loudly.
The soldiers who were tied to the stakes were also rescued.
Four people died, and only six or seven survived.
After detailed questioning, they were found to be soldiers of Dingyuan Guard who went to Kunming to report that the soldiers had escaped.
However, they did not expect that these deserters did not go far at all, but hid in the mountains and blocked the official road.
Hearing the soldiers' report, Lu Yunyi's face became solemn, and he thought of the scene at the gate of Kunming City that morning.
I think it is understandable to be wary of these chieftains and foreigners.
The war in the southwest has been going on for several years. I believe that some foreigners have already pretended to be deserters or even secretly caused trouble.
At this time, Liu Heiying came over with a strange look on his face and handed over the booklet in his hand:
"Brother Yun'er, this is their confession."
Lu Yunyi took the booklet and quickly looked through it, his expression becoming serious:
"He is the mastermind. He instigated the desertion? Is there no one else behind it?"
Liu Heiying looked solemn and nodded slightly:
"Brother Yun'er, the time is too short. We haven't had time to punish you yet. How about we wait a little longer?"
Lu Yunyi waved his hand and handed the booklet back:
"No need, they are just deserters from other tribes. Tie them all up and transport them to Dingyuan City."
"Yes!" Liu Heiying hurried away to give specific instructions.
Soon, the camp, which had been relatively quiet, became chaotic again.
The deserters were linked together and escorted out of the valley by soldiers, and then waited on the official road.
The sturdy man was also tied up and escorted to the entrance of the valley. Even at this time he was still cursing and shouting.
Lu Yunyi cast his eyes over. This person was not from India, but from Annan in the south.
Although he was tied up at the moment, his eyes revealed his unwillingness as he cursed and cried out for injustice.
"You Ming people are so hypocritical that you let my people die.
Sooner or later, the souls of our tribesmen will return to the world and kill you all!"
"Snapped"
A long whip was lashed over, and a blood mark immediately appeared on the strong man's body, accompanied by a scream from the strong man.
But he still did not stop and continued to shout:
“You Ming people are so cautious about our people. Not only do you not give us armor, you even don’t give us enough food.
How could the tribesmen endure this? How could we not flee?"
As he shouted, he glanced at the young general standing in the center, surrounded by protection.
He could tell that the young general in front of him was in a high position and had great power. He might be from the Marquis of Xiping's mansion.
If the news of what happened to their people could be passed on to the higher-ups, there might be some hope for a better turnaround.
But he was disappointed. The young general's eyes were calm from beginning to end, without even a trace of sympathy.
Instead, there was some fluctuation in the eyes of the several young men in armor beside him.
As they walked away, a trace of disappointment flashed in the sturdy man's eyes. His voice gradually disappeared and he became silent. His movements also became quicker and he no longer resisted.
After he left, Li Jinglong, who was wearing armor, checked his crotch.
He looked at the pile of corpses in front of him again, with a hint of doubt in his eyes:
"Yun Yi, from what that person said, is there any hidden secret?
I heard before that some garrisons on the border withheld the military pay and food of foreigners. Did these people also suffer the same fate?"
"Yeah." Lu Yunyi nodded slightly and responded.
Continuing to look at the specific records and statistics of the recent battle, we can find some omissions in each department.
Li Jinglong had a strange look on his face:
"Yun Yi, then why don't we make things clear?
Yun Yi, please don't misunderstand me. I just have some doubts in my heart.
In the past, court officials might quarrel over a trivial matter in the court, and in the end, the quarrel would become so intense that His Majesty and the Crown Prince would have to make the decision.
Now, if the situation of nearly a thousand people defecting were reported in the court, it would definitely cause an uproar.
Can we just ignore it now?"
Lu Yunyi's eyes turned, first sweeping over those foreigners, and finally stopping at Li Jinglong, with doubts in his eyes as well:
"Deserting is a common occurrence in the military.
When the army marched north, some soldiers who had originally joined the army because of Nahachu's defeat fled.
There should be three to four thousand people who felt wronged in the army and planned to rejoin the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
In the end, they were all captured and brought back. Now there are less than a thousand people, which is not a lot."
"There is such a thing?"
Li Jinglong was shocked and confused as to why he had never heard of such a thing before.
"How did those people end up being dealt with?"
Lu Yunyi said calmly: "Of course, it will be dealt with according to the Military Law. One hundred strokes of the cane, and the soldier will continue to go to war. If he commits the same offense again, he will be hanged."
But Xu Zengshou on the side whispered:
"Brother Jinglong, those people all died in the end. If they were beaten harder with 100 military sticks, their waists would have been broken."
what?
Li Jinglong was greatly shocked. He had never even heard of 3,000 soldiers being killed or injured in one go.
He quickly looked at Lu Yunyi:
"Yun Yi, I remember last year a few soldiers from Huguang Military Region molested women on the street and ate with them without paying. Eventually, the news reached the capital.
This caused a big uproar among the court officials, and finally His Majesty became furious and implicated several thousand households."
After these words came out, Xu Zengshou's eyes also showed confusion:
"Why do you have to bring this to the court for such a small matter? Wouldn't the case be closed if the guards just punish the person?"
Li Jinglong was also very surprised, and he and Xu Zengshou looked at each other in bewilderment:
"The commander-in-chief of Huguang even submitted a memorial to apologize, saying that he did not discipline the students strictly enough, and Your Majesty fined him his salary."
Lu Yunyi finally finished reading the documents, then turned to look at the corpses piled up on the side and chuckled:
"Our Ming Dynasty is so big, thousands of people will die every day.
Some small things can shake the court, because someone wants them to shake the court."
Li Jinglong's pupils shrank slightly, and he understood instantly, and said thoughtfully:
"I understand... If no one wants to make a fuss about the desertion, it will surely not cause any trouble and no one will pay attention to it."
Lu Yunyi smiled and nodded:
"It's not a big deal, but now it's wartime.
If anyone wants to use the desertion incident to cause trouble for the Marquis of Xiping's Mansion, His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will definitely deal with him.
Therefore, these people are not worthy of attention, and no one cares whether they are dead or alive."
"What if there is really an injustice?" Xu Zengshou asked from the side.
"Even if there is injustice, it is not our business.
They are subordinate soldiers of Dingyuan Guard and should be dealt with by the local commander and then reported to Mingdusi. They have nothing to do with us."
As he spoke, a hint of coldness appeared in Lu Yunyi's calm eyes:
"Foreigners want to live in the Ming Dynasty and are so picky. How can such a good thing come from this?
It's a pity that these people are so useless.
If they were more ferocious, it would be good if they could try the three-stage attack method.
Now it is neither here nor there; the power is seen, but the drawbacks are not seen."
For a moment, everyone present looked serious and their hearts were cold.
Xu Zengshou and Guo Quan were already accustomed to the cruelty of the military. They felt a little sympathetic but were not surprised.
It was the first time that Li Jinglong saw the army being so brutal, and there was a hint of uneasiness on his face.
Seeing him like this, Lu Yunyi smiled and comforted him:
"Jinglong, although you went with the army to fight,
But it was normal that he didn't come into contact with such things in the Duke of Song's tent.
In war, human life is the least valuable thing, especially the enemy's.
As the commander of an army, the first priority is to keep his men alive, and then he can talk about making achievements.
As for the rest, it is not important. You will understand it when you become a commander in the future."
Li Jinglong had been convinced by him and couldn't help scratching his crotch again: "There are so many soldiers in the court, how can I be the commander? As long as I can make one or two merits and gain a firm foothold, I will be satisfied."
Lu Yunyi thought about it, his face looked a little strange:
"Don't worry, there is always a chance."
Li Jinglong was encouraged and nodded repeatedly with anticipation on his face.
Lu Yunyi smiled and turned to look at Xu Zengshou and Guo Quan:
“Although it was our first battle, we achieved considerable results.
You two should think carefully about the key points of the fire gun formation, find its flaws, and pay attention to every detail.
I am too busy with military duties to be with you, so you have to rely on yourselves.
When the war is over and I have time, I will study this with you guys."
"Yes! I will do my best!"
Xu Zengshou stood straight with a sharp look on his face, and so did Guo Quan on the side.
Lu Yunyi smiled and nodded, then walked out along the mountain stream. Soon he came to a location close to the official road.
The firemen set up camp here and were making a fire to cook.
Hong Yutian's curses could be heard from time to time, and figures were moving back and forth in the white steam, seemingly extremely anxious.
"Hurry up, hurry up, move quickly, we have already wasted so much time, we need to make up for it."
On the other side of the firearms were the soldiers escorting the prisoners. They looked strange when they heard this, but did not dare to make any jokes.
The two of them occupied one side, the fireman was busy, while the other side was silent. The scene was a bit weird.
When Lu Yunyi came here, he felt the hot air and couldn't help feeling a sense of heat.
He looked at him for a moment and grabbed Hong Yutian who was running around!
"Damn it, who is so blind? Be careful"
Hong Yutian turned his head, the fat on his face swaying back and forth.
When he saw the person coming, he was startled and his voice stopped abruptly.
The fierceness on his face seemed to disappear in an instant, replaced by a deep, flattering smile, and he rubbed his hands back and forth on his apron.
"grown ups!!"
"come over."
There was a ripple in Lu Yunyi's calm eyes, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Walking to one side, the air was a little fresher, and Lu Yunyi got straight to the point:
"You guessed right, those people are deserters."
Hong Yutian felt relieved, a smile appeared on his face, but also a fierce look:
"These little brats are delaying our cooking. They really deserve to be killed."
Lu Yunyi laughed and pressed his hand:
"Don't be so angry. The firemen did a great job this time. They worked hard all the way and found the deserter.
We will stop in Dingyuan tonight, and you can ask the quartermaster for three hundred taels of silver and distribute them to the brothers."
Hong Yutian was stunned and said quickly:
"Sir, this, this, this, how can this be so embarrassing? This is our duty.
The master has given me a lot more salary, how can I have the nerve to accept the reward money? "
"This is a military order."
"Yes!"
Hong Yutian straightened his body, spoke in a loud voice, and his fat face bloomed like a flower.
"Brothers, you have worked hard along the way, so you deserve more silver. Do your best, and you will get more rewards after the war."
After saying that, Lu Yunyi patted him on the shoulder and left.
Hong Yutian stood straight behind him and spoke loudly:
"Please rest assured, General. I will do my best!"
Lu Yunyi turned his back to him and raised his hand, indicating that he understood.
Seeing him walking away, Hong Yutian ran back happily, and a group of firemen also looked at him with anticipation on their faces.
"What are you looking at? Are you all obsessed with money?"
"Sir, please don't keep me in suspense. I'm so busy that my back is almost broken."
Hong Yutian glanced at the person who spoke:
"Alright, alright, you're still ungrateful after getting the advantage. General, give us three hundred taels of silver as a reward this time, three taels per person, tonight!"
All of a sudden, the firemen who were originally frowning and full of resentment became full of energy and moved more efficiently.
Towards evening, the vanguard scouts arrived at Dingyuan City with the captured deserters and six wounded Dingyuan guards.
Different from the towering walls of the inland cities of the Ming Dynasty,
Because Yunnan was in control for a short time and there were years of war, only some important cities had time to rebuild their city walls.
The Dingyuan City in front of us has a mottled wall.
Some pieces of soil and rocks have fallen off, only about two meters in size, and should have been repaired by the Yuan Dynasty.
"Who is coming!"
A soldier poked his head out from the city wall with a serious expression.
A guard trotted forward and shouted:
"We are the scouts of the Beijing Army. We are heading to Dali on the orders of Marquis Xiping. Fortunately, we captured some Dingyuan Guard deserters on the way. Open the city gate quickly!"
As he spoke, the guards placed the documents and military orders into a bamboo basket.
After hearing this, the people on the city wall quickly pulled up the bamboo basket and shouted:
"Please wait a moment, General!"
Soon, the heavy city gate slowly opened, revealing the broken bluestone road in the city.
The general guarding the city hurried forward and bowed respectfully:
"Your humble servant Kong Renjing, a captain of Dingyuan Guard, pays respect to the general.
I have sent someone to inform my superiors about the desertion, and I invite you to come into the city and rest."
Lu Yunyi nodded gently: "Thank you."
After he finished speaking, he looked at the messenger and ordered, "Inform the entire army to enter the city to rest and set out again tomorrow."
The military order was quickly issued. After hearing the news of a night's rest,
All the soldiers had smiles on their faces. Although they could still hold on after three days of continuous march, it would be great to have some rest.
The same thing happened to Li Jinglong who was sitting next to him.
He touched his crotch and felt it was wet, and he couldn't help but sigh.
The long journey and frequent rain made it difficult for the wound to heal easily.
Half an hour later, the front scouts had already set up camp in the military camp in the west of the city, and candles were lit one after another.
Most of the soldiers were sitting in their tents to rest.
The firemen had no time to rest and had to quickly prepare dinner.
At this moment, the quartermaster who was in charge of the handover and arranging the camp brought over a sturdy middle-aged man.
"Sir, the commander of Dingyuan Guard is here."
Lu Yunyi, who was spreading out the map, was stunned, raised his head and said:
"Please come quickly."
Soon, heavy footsteps sounded.
A middle-aged man walked in. He was over forty years old, wearing heavy armor, with a burly figure, a solemn face, and a beard that had turned a little gray. His brows revealed extraordinary momentum and fatigue.
When he approached and saw Lu Yunyi sitting in front of the table,
The gloom on his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by astonishment.
He turned to look at the quartermaster beside him with confusion in his eyes.
The quartermaster didn't look at him, but bowed to Lu Yunyi and walked out.
The middle-aged man looked at Lu Yunyi with some suspicion, looking him up and down, his heart filled with absurdity.
After he learned that 5,000 cavalrymen were going to be stationed in Dingyuan City,
He hurried over, only to see a general who was younger than his son.
"Are you General Lu?"
Lu Yunyi nodded calmly:
"I am Lu Yunyi, a member of the Beijing Army, and I am here to garrison in Dali on the orders of the Marquis of Xiping."
Only then did the middle-aged man put away his suspicion, turned serious, and bowed:
"Your humble servant, Yue Zhongda, the commander of Dingyuan Guard, pays respect to General Lu."
The commander of the guards was a real position of the third grade, but Lu Yunyi was also the guest of the crown prince and the deputy commander of the Peking capital, so it was only natural for Yue Zhongda to claim to be a lower-ranking official.
Lu Yunyi nodded gently:
"Master Yue, you don't have to be polite. We are entering the city to hand over the 1,000 deserters to Dingyuan Guards.
Excuse me, Master Yue, are those deserters from Dingyuan Guards?"
Yue Zhongda's expression suddenly became complicated. He hesitated for a moment before nodding gently:
"Reporting to Lord Lu, it is indeed from Dingyuan Guard."
"Okay, then I will arrange for someone to deliver the goods and report the matter to the Xiping Marquis' Mansion."
"Sir, please wait!"
Yue Zhongda looked anxious, took a step forward, and stretched out his hand
(End of this chapter)