Chapter Thirty: The Remnant Army

  "It's him, it's him..." Someone immediately chimed in beside him, "Who knows if the prince has arrived, maybe we still have to wait for his concubine on the road. Can't block the way, and when his concubine arrives, we'll have to wait for her father too..."

  "The prince's concubine is naturally a beauty, and when she came to Pingliang, our morale was greatly boosted. But as for her father, let's just forget about it, we don't have the time or energy to serve him like we do the governor."

  "Haha, this brother said something interesting, I am Li Ji from Shanyang, and you are......"

  "Sorry, sorry, I am Zhao Cun, the county official..."

  These generals were all local military leaders with low ranks, and the powerful generals who held military power in various places, such as defense envoys, pacification envoys, and guard envoys, would not give up their posts to come here. Most of those who came to the law were some trusted subordinates, these people had been leading troops for many years, and they were all old soldiers who could stir up trouble even when there was none. If they were all gentle and courteous, it would be strange. Now that Zhu Muhe has shown weakness, they have already sensed it and started speaking without restraint. They thought to themselves: "Hmph, you can't control the tiger, how can you control me? Otherwise, my brothers under my command won't listen either." You don't worry about Qingyang, and the prince doesn't seem to worry about Qingyang either. What do we care about as a group of people who eat salaries? They didn't even look at Zhu Muhe's face, joking and teasing each other, and the atmosphere in the great hall suddenly became chaotic.

  Sitting next to Chen Zu was a man in his thirties, with an upright upper body and a pair of eagle eyes that were slightly narrowed. From start to finish, he didn't say a word. His name was Zhang Jinming, and he was the Observing Military Affairs Commissioner of Pingliang Prefecture, responsible for supervising the military. At this time, he had already been secretly thinking about how to phrase his report on the commotion here. What surprised him was the incompetence of Zhuomu River, compared to his brother Zhuomu Qing, the two were simply not born of the same father, it was truly lamentable that "dragons give birth to nine sons, each different". Also, there was the tardiness of the Crown Prince, from the capital to Pingliang, a fast horse could arrive in just five days, but now more than half a month had passed, and he didn't know what the Crown Prince was doing on the road. A great general, a crown prince, how should this chapter be written? He didn't want to accidentally get involved in this muddy water, anyone with discerning eyes could see that Duan Qibao was just using this as an excuse, his brother Duan Qihuo had died at Tongguan Pass, and the Vice Commander of Tongguan Pass, Wang Qingze, had sat idly by without rescuing him, ultimately leading to the unjust deaths of two high-ranking officials under Tongguan Pass, not even their bodies were found. This involved the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Fifth Imperial Son, he was far away from Chang'an, but had also heard some rumors about this. Now that the Crown Prince's supervising military affairs commissioner was in front of him, who knew what it meant? He didn't want to be a bird that sticks its head out for no reason. Thinking of these things, Zhang Jinming suddenly got a headache.

  It turned out that this time, the General Manager of Jingxi Folded Wood River had a meeting with his generals for the first time, but it ended in disarray. Later, soldiers from the river and the garrison troops of the capital city had a big fight. Folded Wood River was worried that he couldn't find an excuse to deal with Duan Qihu, but this was just what he needed. He beat Duan Qihu ten times, but this made his bias and personal revenge too obvious. As a result, none of the local generals listened to his orders. Even when he wanted to gather everyone at night to discuss how to welcome the prince, some people excused themselves from attending. Folded Wood River was left with no solution, feeling anxious and helpless.

  。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

  "A report: outside the camp, someone claiming to be Du Shantiger, Vice Captain of the Third Battalion of Qingyang Xianfeng Army, requests an audience with the Commandant."

  It was now dusk, and in the military camp, more than a dozen bonfires illuminated the entire hillside. The soldiers gathered around the fires, drinking turbid rice wine and stuffing their mouths with meat, some laughing and smiling while others wailed loudly around several high piles of graves. Those who were happy were naturally rejoicing that they had escaped disaster and preserved their lives, while those who were crying and grieving had either relatives or close friends buried in the graves, people with whom they had been chatting and laughing just two days ago, but now were separated by heaven and earth, buried in a foreign land. As they wailed loudly, they vented the fear and sorrow in their hearts.

  More than a hundred men in tattered military uniforms, their original color no longer visible, with dull and numb expressions, even stumbling as they walked, passed through the camp under the leadership of some guards. Although these men had gaunt faces and frail bodies that seemed like they would be blown down by a gentle breeze, each one grasped the hilt of a horizontal sword, never loosening their grip for an instant. As their eyes swept over the guards' camp, they revealed a hint of disdain, naturally exuding an air of pride born from long experience on the battlefield.

  Only when they saw the neatly arranged tents surrounding the central army's headquarters and the regular imperial guards standing in order, did their expressions slightly subside. But as soon as they saw those dozens of burly men with half-exposed upper bodies, revealing fresh and old wounds, everyone's heart skipped a beat. The bloody aura emanating from these men didn't make them any less intimidating, and each one looked like a dragon or tiger, fierce and powerful. Although they had just gone through a major battle the night before, and everyone had some injuries, after a day of rest, they were still in high spirits, which was something that those soldiers who had just retreated from Qingyang couldn't match.

  "Your subordinate, Deputy Captain Du Shantiger, has seen the Commander." In the great tent, a man knelt on one knee and gave a standard military salute.

  "Hurry up and get up." Li Jinhua quickly took two steps forward, wanting to personally help him up, but then thought that although this was a military camp, after all, men and women were different, so in the end she just gave a slight assist, letting the big man get up.

  It wasn't until then that the two people had the leisure to carefully size each other up. The big man was visibly taken aback, and when he had entered earlier, the light had been somewhat dazzling, so he hadn't gotten a good look at his opponent's appearance. He had only seen someone sitting in a chair, and since they were able to sit calmly in the main tent, they must be the commander of this place. But now that he took a closer look, the person standing opposite him was actually a woman. Judging from her military uniform, she wasn't just any ordinary officer, but a Fruitful Brave General.

  The Great Han had a robust body and a majestic appearance, with a pair of ring-shaped eyes that were filled with bloodshot, but still shone brightly as he glanced around, making people dare not stare at him.

  However, he also didn't look like he had it easy, his dark face was covered in dust and grime, his complexion was a sickly yellow, with several sweat stains that looked like gullies etched into his skin, giving off an air of dishevelment. His military uniform was tattered and worn out, emitting a foul odor, his hair was disheveled, and his helmet was nowhere to be seen. He had suffered some injuries, with fresh blood oozing out from the wounds at times, and in some places, it had already become infected. Although he hadn't collapsed yet, looking like this, if he didn't take care of himself soon, his life would be in danger.

  Yu Wu Deputy Lieutenant, a real eighth-grade military officer. Although Li Jinhua was a Guoyi Lieutenant Colonel, a full seventh-grade rank, which is one grade higher than him, it's just an honorary title. In reality, her power is much smaller compared to this border town military officer. Normally, when meeting someone of a lower rank, she would still have to show respect and courtesy. But looking at the Yu Wu Deputy Lieutenant now, who cares about those empty formalities? What comes to mind is that the situation in Qingyang has already deteriorated to such an extent?

  Mourn for the victims of Wenchuan earthquake, hope all book friends are safe? Wish you all peace here...