The Mystery of Xu Da's Long Journey (37)

  In the battle towards Nanjing, the notorious Zhang Xun was able to defeat the anti-Yuan army not because he led the charge on horseback himself, but because he had in his hands four field guns that the anti-Yuan army did not have. He used these cannons to blast apart the anti-Yuan army's camp, causing them to panic and scatter, and thus won.

  Looking at the entire "Gan Ning Campaign", in fact, all these battles are nothing to write home about.

  This is actually why Yang Shuo Ming dares to look down on Zhang Jing Yao like this now.

  After Huang Yunzhi finished reading, Yang Shuo Ming checked the written letter again, put the letter into the envelope and sealed it. Then he called a security guard on duty, "Go and invite Colonel Liu and Deputy Officer Zhang over."

  The security guard responded with a grunt and ran away.

  "Where did the regimental commander and deputy commander come from?" Huang Yunzhi asked somewhat curiously.

  "It's that Liu Damao, whatever the fifth mixed brigade," Yang Shouming replied with a smile, "They are indeed [***] officers, sent by Zhang Jingyao's sixth division to contact Liu Damao and his men, and incidentally became an official among the bandits."

  Huang Yunzhi thought for a moment and asked again: "Do you plan to let them take a message back?"

  "Yes." Yang Shuo Ming nodded and said, "Of course, we also need to send someone to follow them."

  Huang Yunzhi nodded slightly and didn't ask any more questions, instead sitting down beside him.

  Before long, several security guards escorted two Beiyang Army officers in.

  These two officers, one named Zhang Qingyuan and the other Liu Mingliang, were both wearing gray military uniforms, with riding boots on their feet and caps with five-pointed star badges on their heads. Although neither of them was short in stature, they walked with an unconscious stoop, and their eyes had a startled look, as if they were always prepared to be overly cautious, not having the slightest bit of a soldier's demeanor, but rather resembling the eunuchs of the Qing palace.

  The security guard standing beside them, wearing a blue-gray military uniform with a red five-pointed star badge on his cap, was completely standard in every move.

  The two Beiyang Army officers saw Yang Shuo Ming and his wife sitting at the table, and immediately put on a flattering smile. Yang Shuo Ming noticed that when they saw Huang Yunzhi, their eyes involuntarily flashed with a hint of greed, and he couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

  "Director Liu, Deputy Director Zhang, please take a seat." Yang Shouming slightly raised his hand and pointed to the two chairs.

  "Thank you, thank you." The two people sat down with a smile, looking at Yang Shuo Ming with surprised and uncertain eyes.

  "This time, the two of you were on a mission and were mistakenly taken hostage by bandits, but you managed to escape safely, which is already not a bad outcome." Yang Shouming said calmly as he looked at the two of them.

  "That's it, that's it." The two officers heard that Yang Shuo Ming was giving them an excuse to step down and immediately agreed with him.

  "The situation here must have been seen by both of you." Yang Shuo Ming continued, "After the two of you return, please be sure to report the situation truthfully to Commander Zhang."

  "Affirmative, affirmative." The two officers replied in unison.

  "This letter is about the establishment of the new Fifth Mixed Brigade and the appointment of its commander. Please hand it over to Commander Zhang personally, and express our sincere intention to serve the country." Yang Shouming took the letter from the desk, waved it, and a security guard came forward to take it and handed it to Zhang Qingyuan.

  When they heard the words "Establish a new Fifth Mixed Brigade", the two officers were startled and exchanged a glance involuntarily.

  Zhang Qingyuan looked at Yang Shuoming with a nervous and frightened expression, stretched out his hands, respectfully received the letter, and carefully tucked it into his bosom.

  "I've also prepared some gifts for General Zhang, would you please trouble yourselves to bring them along? Yang Shuo Ming said with a smile, "I'll dispatch someone to escort the two of you and other noble military officers back, when you see General Zhang, please put in a good word for me, if the recruitment is successful, I will definitely thank you both again."

  After hearing Yang Shuo-ming's words, the faces of the two Beiyang Army officers were filled with joy.

  "Mr. Yang, please rest assured that the reorganization of your department is our responsibility." Zhang Qingyuan said with a pat on his chest.

  "Alright, alright! Mr. Yang, you can rest assured! We are the ones you rescued, and we will surely repay your kindness with great loyalty. Your dedication to the country, along with Captain Xu's, is truly admirable, and we will definitely make it happen. Just wait for our good news, Mr. Yang!" The officer named Liu Mingliang seemed to relax, and he appeared to be more eloquent than Zhang Qingyuan. For a moment, his flattery was like a flood, causing Yang Shouming and Huang Yunzhi to secretly smile at each other.

  After showing the two Beiyang Army officers the gifts for Zhang Jingyao and sending them off, Yang Shouming stretched his waist, and Huang Yunzhi pulled him to sit down beside the dinner table, served him a meal, and placed it in front of him.

  "Eat a bit more, you've been too tired lately." Huang Yunzhi looked at Yang Shouming's somewhat haggard face, her eyes filled with tenderness and concern. "With the New Year approaching, take a good rest."

  "It'll be fine once this busy period is over." Yang Shuo Ming looked at her, his expression serious as he reminded her, "You're not alone now either, and your body isn't convenient, you have to pay more attention to your health, don't exhaust yourself."

  "Hmm." After hearing his words, a happy glow flashed in Huang Yunzhi's eyes. "Second Aunt has already made arrangements, Wu Ma and the others will come over after the fifth day of the new year. Wu Ma has been taking care of me since I was young, nothing will happen."

  Wu Ma was the middle-aged woman who came to Yang Shuo Ming's house with silver coins after Huang Yunzhi was rescued, and when Yang Shuo Ming heard her name, he couldn't help but smile happily as he recalled their first meeting.

  "Didn't expect to become a father so soon. It feels completely different!" Yang Shuoming couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

  After the two formally got married, their feelings were as sweet as honey and oil. As soon as they were apart for a while, the two would unconsciously look for each other. It can be said that "only envying the mandarin ducks, not envying the immortals". Due to the overly loving relationship, the result was that there was soon a crystal of love.

  For Yang Shuo Ming, a traveler from the future, in his era where housing prices soared to the sky, such happiness was hard to come by even for someone as talented as him, let alone countless young people struggling at the bottom.

  The happiness in front of him is also a powerful driving force for his struggle in this era.

  "I hope that when our children are born, the first thing they see is a different world," said Yang Shuoming, with a resolute glint in his eyes once again.

  Two months later, Zhang Qingyuan and Liu Mingliang returned, just as Yang Shouming had anticipated. The demands he put forward were indeed agreed to by Zhang Jingyao.

  Zhang and Liu this time not only brought Xu Yuanjin's fifth mixed brigade commander appointment certificate and last time's bank check, but also brought the commendation letter of Li Chun, the acting governor of Jiangxi, and several beautiful big medals.

  According to Li Chuns order, in order to "guard the mountainous areas, pacify the localities, eliminate bandits and ensure people's livelihood", a new mixed brigade of the 5th Garrison Division was established in western Jiangxi Province, under the command of Zhang Jingyao's 6th Division. Xu Yuanjin was appointed as the commander of the brigade, Yang Shouming as the chief of staff, and Wu Jie as the logistics officer. The initial strength of the new mixed brigade was set at 5,000 men. Of these, 2,000 were paid by the Jiangxi Provincial Government (i.e., that 20,000 yuan military expenses bank check; apart from this check, there were no uniforms or firearms), and the rest were "donated" by local people.

  To commend Yang Shuo-ming and others for developing salt mines, killing bandits, and defending local peace, Li Chun also sent a special award order, granting Xu Yuan-jin the "Second-class Order of Chia-ho", and granting Huang Shi-yao, Yang Shuo-ming and Wu Jie three people the "Third-class Order of Chia-ho".

  "This time you can wear your military uniform with dignity."

  Yang Shuo Ming returned to Double Dragon Town, handing over the appointment document, commendation order, conferment order and Jiahe medal to Xu Yuan Jin. At that moment, Xu Yuan Jin's face showed a skeptical expression, but upon hearing Yang Shuo Ming's words, his eyes flashed with a hint of heartache.

  "I've given you such a big official position, won't you even treat me to two drinks?" Yang Shuo Ming looked into Xu Yuan Jin's eyes and said with a smile.

  "Of course, I'll treat you." Xu Yuanjin pinned the medal on his military uniform and nodded, "Let's go! You choose the place."

  Yang Shuo Ming and Xu Yuan Jin arrived at a small restaurant in the town, ordered several exquisite dishes and wine, and sat down to drink together. After a few cups of wine, Yang Shuo Ming noticed that Xu Yuan Jin's face was slowly turning red, and his eyes were becoming moist.

  "Aren't you curious about what I used to do?" Xu Yuanjin asked in a hoarse voice, fiddling with the Qinghua porcelain wine cup in his hand.

  "Yes." Yang Shuo Ming looked at Xu Yuan Jin's face and nodded, "I've always been suspicious that you were originally an excellent soldier, but for some reason, you ended up here."

  "Your observation skills are so strong, being able to guess all this is already impressive." Xu Yuanjin smiled and shook his head, "However, no matter how much you know as a 'know-it-all', without me giving you some concrete hints, you still wouldn't be able to guess it."

  "Then you go ahead and tell me about this hint, let's see if I can guess it?" Yang Shuo Ming smiled slightly, took the wine jug, and filled Xu Yuan Jin's cup to the brim.

  "To be honest, the little steel cannon - no, mortar you've made is really good. I can say now that with this mortar, Zhang Jingyao wouldn't dare to easily come and provoke us for the salt mine." Xu Yuanjin drained his cup of wine in one gulp, looking at Yang Shaoming.

  Yang Shuo Ming found it strange that his words suddenly turned to mortars, and Xu Yuan Jin's next words made him extremely surprised.

  "There's a kind of cannon that you can't make now, do you know?!" Xu Yuanjin's eyes became fierce and his tone started to get more agitated. "When I was following Nie Jun's army defending Tianjin, we encountered this damn cannon made by the foreigners... so many brothers died unjustly... what a pity for Nie Junmen!!" He suddenly let out a loud roar, pounding his fist on the table, scaring Yang Shouming and the surrounding customers.

  Updating in progress...