Chapter Fifteen: Journey Three
When a beauty smiles at you, it's a delightful thing. When several beauties smile at you, the world seems especially wonderful. But when a group of beauties burst into laughter, laughing so hard they're almost crying, and everyone who sees you can't help but laugh, covering their mouths or holding their bellies, some even trying to stifle their giggles, making sounds like a choking frog... it's not so pleasant anymore. It's all because of those little girls causing trouble. If this keeps up, my hard-won reputation as a general will be ruined by rumors and become the laughing stock of everyone's dinner conversations. I'm even considering taking a risk and getting hurt on the face to cover up this embarrassing mark (this souvenir on my face is such a nuisance, no matter how hard I try, I just can't get rid of it, it's infuriating!). Just as I was at my wit's end, a young officer rushed in, bowing deeply. "What? A military meeting?" Ah, I'm saved!
I was listening to the routine report from my subordinates, feeling drowsy and ignoring the strange gazes of several new faces (after all, it was quite different from the generous and passionate image I showed when I deceived the soldiers into going to their deaths). In this temporary meeting surrounded by various officials, including the deputy generals, lieutenant generals, colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, and other officers, as well as the recorders, scribes, and accountants, all seated according to their ranks. The quartermaster reported "Currently, our department still has 2,367 stones of grain, beans, millet, rice, and other food, 37 head of cattle, 106 sheep... 157 catties of dried meat... 270 jars of pickled vegetables..." The military officer Lu Shao-yi reported "Newly recruited male soldiers total 3,431 people, among them 2,200 are equipped with armor, the rest are assigned to other duties, including 1,231 people selected as officers, among whom 175 are appointed as attendants..." The armorer Lu Yan-kai reported "We have repaired and manufactured various types of armor, including helmets, shields, and arrows, totaling 2,000 sets...". The judicial officer Fa Cao-yi reported "There were three cases of brawling, each punished with 20 lashes... Yesterday, 17 people invaded the civilians, the ringleader was executed as an example, the rest were punished with lashes or assigned to hard labor..." The quartermaster Liu Mang reported "Yesterday's battle resulted in over 1,000 enemy killed, 631 heads taken, 200 prisoners captured, and over 1,000 pieces of armor and weapons seized... Our casualties include 123 deaths, over 400 wounded, and seven missing. I noticed that there were several new faces among the ranks. I yawned again,
The young faces in the queue are mostly because of their outstanding performance on the battlefield, and after intense fighting, they were lucky enough to not be killed and were promoted by me as new military officers to charge and serve as meat shields. They don't know my true identity and inner thoughts, but they respect and admire me greatly. The second type is the officers who were gathered from the scattered soldiers along the way. However, among the 200,000 troops at Tongguan, not many can escape from the siege of the rebels like Xie Si did. Those who didn't die or surrender must have some real skills and abilities, and most of them are older and more experienced than me. (As a high-ranking officer, abandoning one's troops and fleeing alone is punishable by law; I was rewarded for bringing my troops back.) They were demoted and used under my command because my rank was higher than theirs. At first, they followed me out of a sense of duty as soldiers, but later they came to recognize my abilities and gradually accepted me. They especially admired my courage in asking for mercy on behalf of General Geshuhan. Now they listen to me very much. When I saw them, I realized that my worries about being exposed were unnecessary. The garrison at Tongguan had 200,000 soldiers, but only 50,000 belonged to General Geshuhan's direct command; the rest were temporary reinforcements from various provinces and prefectures. Many of the officers under me were unfamiliar faces. The third type is officials like Yuwen Jin, Pei Shu, and Zhang Jingsu, who were former high-ranking officers in the Northern Army. They looked down on me, a sudden rising star, (which is understandable, as they were once dragon and phoenix generals, while I was just a humble officer from a remote area; now they have become my subordinates.) But with the great enemy at hand, they temporarily put aside their differences. (After all, in times of life and death, they didn't dare to cause trouble.) Most of the others still listen to me.
The sky gradually sank into night, and Yu Hou, who was on duty in the account, sent in a brazier, illuminating the interior brightly. I occasionally made decisions that were constantly being turned into military orders by the recording officer, one of which was responsible for recording my speeches and putting them on file, while the other helped me draft routine memorials to the emperor. I yawned again.
"What, again? Give him two days of hunger and see if he still has the energy to cause trouble." "Fighting again? You're too full of energy, too idle. Let them go to Zhongyuan Camp to chop trees and dig ditches for exercise." "What's with all this fuss? Tell that old guy, now that it's chaotic everywhere, people are disappearing every day, and no one cares if he disappears either." The others in the tent couldn't help but smile wryly at the audacity of this General-in-Chief, who even used the princess as a scapegoat, calling it "practicing what they preach" for the sake of educating the people (I'm not afraid to offend a few more people anyway, I'll just leave soon). Once, some insolent officials tried to protest collectively, but he shut them down with one sentence: "What's this nonsense about being too tired to move? If you want to die, go ahead and die. It'll even save me food. Just find two people to throw into the mountain ditch and it'll be done." Not to mention what the Emperor thought of this, but once these words got out, many people couldn't sit still anymore. There were other similar incidents that didn't dare to spread, such as: in order to maintain speed, he ordered his officials to be driven like sheep, and even took the lead himself by kicking some lazy royal family members in the butt.
But it really works, at least those who like to show off, as soon as they hear the big man's name, they immediately look like they're about to crap their pants. Otherwise, they're like a cat with its tail stepped on, running away in a hurry. With a wry smile, he still faithfully carries out his duties and takes a seemingly absurd decision, polishes it up into a more understandable formal military order, and implements it without hesitation or compromise.
This big man is either ignorant of death, reckless and arrogant, or has a bold vision, swift and decisive. This doubt has been lingering in the minds of many people, but at least after experiencing his unconventional methods, those who reported him behind his back also believed it to some extent. However, the Emperor's side has not made any statement yet. Most people still believe the latter.
And some others, such as the newly arrived officer, have different ideas. Don't look at this big man's usual sloppy and careless attitude, but what he says casually are all key points (actually all prepared by the deputy general in advance), and there are really many good ways (I was forced to come up with them).
Listening to them complaining all day, thinking about how they've been through thick and thin, those rich kids who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, suffered greatly under my hands, I sent them to do all sorts of odd jobs like cutting grass, herding horses, digging wild vegetables, chopping trees, and whatnot, feeling rather pleased with myself.
I still have a lot to learn, and during this period of time, my deputy Wei Tiao has taken charge of most of the military affairs. Even when it comes to deploying troops, marching into battle, I just express my intentions and let my subordinates discuss and supplement them before implementing them. Because all I know is book-smart stuff from reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and playing "Empire", whereas real battles always have differences from what I expected. Fortunately, the existence of experienced subordinates has made up for this deficiency to some extent, and it has become an opportunity for me to practice.
Wei Tuo was not much older than me, but as a young nobleman, he showed remarkable competence. Why would he be willing to take on the responsibilities of a general and do it for free? It wasn't until later, through gradual contact, that I learned he was the second son of a prominent official family, and even if he did nothing, he would still have a good future arranged for him. However, like many young people who dreamed of military conquests and achievements, he admired the glorious deeds of his predecessors and chose to pursue a career in arms. But due to his family background, he was always under the shadow of his father's influence, with ambitions but no opportunity to prove himself on the battlefield. Even his original position as a military officer in the South Wing Left Guard was inherited from his father's legacy, without any chance to go to war. It was only when he came to the rear army that he made his own request, going against his father's wishes. He had already been familiar with logistics, supplies, and battle formations, just like me, lacking only real battlefield experience. So, teaming up with a half-baked general like me who didn't like to take charge was actually a good match for him.
