Chapter 4: Promotion

  Dingzhou Army General Headquarters, the flag has been moved to Dingzhou City, and a large mansion of a wealthy family was seized. The original main hall was hastily cleaned up and became Xiao Yuanshan's conference hall. At this time, Xiao Yuanshan and his generals were looking at the low-ranking officer standing in front of the hall with complex expressions.

  Thirty thousand troops were defeated, and the Longsheng Camp was ordered to cut off the retreat. Although they fought to the death without retreating, the entire army was annihilated, and the camp flag was lost. This would become an indelible shame in the history of the Dingzhou Army. The Great Chu had stood for hundreds of years, but during the war, it was completely destroyed, and the loss of the camp flag had only happened five times. Although the main characters of these five times were all meritorious later on, they never got to be enfeoffed as marquises or honored as dukes throughout their lives. The reason for this was that they had lost their military flags during the war. Even if the Dingzhou Army later exterminated the barbarians, this would still be a stain that would be recorded in history books. Therefore, Xiao Yuanshan hated it.

  The tattered and worn-out banner of the Invincible Camp was barely better than a rag, its fabric torn into several pieces, with holes pierced by arrows resembling wide-open eyes that made his own eyes ache. It seemed as if he saw countless young men falling one after another under this very banner, the bloody battlefield flashing before his eyes, making this veteran general feel dizzy and disoriented.

  "General!" Seeing Xiao Yuanshan somewhat lost in thought, the right-winged general, Lieutenant General Lü Dalin, quietly reminded him, letting Xiao Yuanshan wake up from his sentimental thoughts.

  "Li Qing, well done. After the defeat of Zhang's army, our entire army was destroyed, but you managed to cover my main force in Dingzhou and allow them to return safely, which is a great achievement. If you can bring back the banner of Zhang's army, it will save my Dingzhou army from the shame of losing its flag. I should thank you for this."

  Li Qing stepped forward and said in a loud voice: "The military flag is the soul of the soldiers, this is Li Qing's duty. The entire army of Changsheng Camp was destroyed, and Li Qing survived, not daring to be called General."

  Xiao Yuanshan nodded: "The defeat at Cao Ding is the commander's mistake in using people, not your responsibility as soldiers. You are very good. Being able to preserve the camp flag under the enemy's heavy siege is a great merit for the country and the Dingzhou army." Turning to the generals in the tent, "Everyone, since the military flag of Changsheng Camp still exists, according to the Da Chu army system, Changsheng Camp can be rebuilt. What do you think?"

  Lü Dalin glanced at Li Qing on the platform and said, "The Changsheng Camp should naturally be rebuilt, but sir, the defeated soldiers who retreated from the front line have been reorganized into the Xuanfeng Camp, which is not yet full. This Changsheng Camp..."

  Xiao Yuanshan nodded, reorganized the Vanguard Camp, and had already appointed a series of military officers including the main general of the Vanguard Camp. At this time, it was not possible to withdraw people from the Vanguard Camp, but observing Li Qing, he was able to bring back the camp flag from the battlefield and save his life in the intense battle, his bravery was certain. Previously, when asked about his experience on the battlefield, he replied in a logical and reasonable manner, his words were appropriate, and it was clear that he was not an ordinary martial artist. Given time, it's possible that he would become another powerful general, and rewarding him was a must. However, Li Qing insisted on returning to the Changsheng Camp, which made things difficult. He glanced at Lü Dalin, the main general of the Vanguard Camp, who was his younger brother. If troops were withdrawn from the Vanguard Camp, Lü Dalin would definitely be unwilling. If it were in the past, he could have made a decision with just one word, but now Lü Dalin's right arm was his only reliance, and he couldn't not give him some face. Moreover, Lü Dalin was his trusted aide, and his weight was not something that a low-ranking military officer like Li Qing could compare to.

  With a calm mind, he smiled and said to Li Qing: "Li School Lieutenant, you brought back the military flag of Changshengying Camp, it is a great achievement for our army, and should be heavily rewarded. I will order it!" By this time, he paused slightly, Li Qing had already understood that he might be promoted, and immediately turned over and fell to the ground,

  "From this day on, Yunqi School Lieutenant Li Qingjin is promoted to Zhenwu School Lieutenant."

  Yun Qi School Lieutenant is ninth grade, and Zhen Wu School Lieutenant is seventh grade. Just bringing back a broken flag from the battlefield can promote two grades at once. Li Qing couldn't help but be overjoyed and said loudly: "Your subordinate thanks General."

  Xiao Yuanshan was very satisfied with Li Qing's reaction, "The reconstruction of the Changsheng Camp will be after this battle. You are the one who has returned to the Changsheng Camp. Naturally, you should return to the Changsheng Camp and serve as the Left Wing Commander until a new commander is appointed."

  "General Lü!" Xiao Yuanshan looked at a general on his right, the newly appointed deputy commander of the Vanguard Battalion, Lü Dabing.

  "Your subordinate is here." Lu Dabing suddenly stood up.

  "You haven't filled up your vanguard camp yet, this is something you should know, but since the Invincible Camp is being rebuilt, all departments should support each other. Other camps need to prepare for the current war and can't withdraw troops. Your department currently can't form a combat force, so just send 300 people to support the Invincible Camp."

  Lü Dabing hesitated for a moment. Although the newly established Vanguard Camp was new, all his subordinates were old soldiers. With just a bit of reorganization, these veterans could become a powerful army. It was really heart-wrenching to take out 300 men. He glanced at his older brother Lü Dalin, who didn't react in any way, so he had no choice but to reply: "This subordinate obeys your orders."

  "Li Qing, one wing has a thousand people, but now it's not that many, let's just do this for now. You'll contact Lv Can later."

  Li Qing bowed his fist and said: "Thank you, General." Then he turned to Lü Dabing and said: "Thank you, General Lü, for your strong support."

  Lü Daibing smiled and said: "Within one's duties, first of all congratulations to Li Xiaowei on his promotion."

  The next military account, Li Qing was newly appointed as the Zhēn Wǔ Xiào Wèi, Left Wing Commander of the Changsheng Camp, and was also a single man who didn't have a share in participating. After resigning from Xiao Yuanshan, Li Qing couldn't help but feel delighted. In this world, promotion is really easy! In the blink of an eye, he rose from 9th rank to 7th rank. He also gained a thousand subordinates, although currently there were only three hundred people, but as long as he had this title and quota, why worry about not having men?

  Li Qingxi returned to the Chenghuang Temple with a smile, where Wang Qinyan, Jiang Kui and others were still waiting anxiously. When they saw Li Qing return, they rushed over in a flurry, "Li Xiaowei, how was it?"

  Li Qing laughed and said: "General Long En, now I am the Zhēn Wǔ Xiào Wèi (Vanguard Commander of the Zhēn Wǔ Army), you allowed me to rebuild the Changsheng Camp, and I am currently temporarily serving as the Left Wing Commander of the Changsheng Camp. How about it? Are you interested in coming to my left wing to work? Not to mention anything else, even a company commander is within my power to appoint now."

  Wang Qian and others were overjoyed. After the great defeat, everyone was only happy to have escaped with their lives, and had no thoughts about their future prospects. But now, joy has fallen from the sky - they've been defeated, yet can still be promoted. Who wouldn't want such a good thing? At this moment, they all clasped their fists together and said, "How dare we not die for our commander?"

  "Alright, alright!" Li Qing's mouth curved into a smile, not for anything else, but because he had picked up a few rough men and was pleased. "Wang Qinyuan, you are now the commander of my left wing vanguard, Jiang Kui, you are the second commander of my left wing vanguard, Feng Guo, you are the third commander of my left wing vanguard. How's that? After the big battle is over, one of you will become a Yunwei school lieutenant and won't be able to escape." The few men were all wildly joyful, and with this they became real military officers.

  Wang Qiniann doesn't need to be mentioned, just look at his iron tower-like physique, he must be a good fighter. Jiang Kui was amazed by his horsemanship when Li Qinggang met him, and in such a dense crowd, he could still drive the horse out so far, it's not something that can be done without skill. As for Feng Guo, at that time, Feng Guo took out a short knife from his boot tube, and from the way he held the knife, Li Qing knew that this was a good killer, without considerable experience, one would not hold the short knife like that before preparing to take action.

  Li Qing has finally set up the framework of the left wing, and after receiving 300 soldiers from Lü Daibing, the left wing is officially established.

  To the west of Chenghuang Temple, a small camp was set up, with a brand new flag fluttering in the wind. The Left Wing of Changsheng Camp officially opened, and Guanggan Wing led several lieutenants to stand under the flag, smiling and contented.

  New book uploaded, let me say a few more words: Today I uploaded four chapters of 10,000 words, isn't that impressive? The new book is now open, and I hope you will all support it by clicking, recommending, and collecting it - I want them all! Also, if everyone is suffering from book drought, my previous book "Tian Zhan" is currently being recommended in the classification section, it's a completed book and has been fully unlocked, so feel free to take a look.