weaving

Chapter 1167: Please send a pacification officer

Jiang Mingwu saw that Earl Yongning's face was as cold as ice, and even his tone was extremely cold. For a moment he didn't know what he had said that led to this.

He knelt on one knee and kowtowed repeatedly, begging: "Lord Yongning, please calm down. Mingwu's words are true and he has no other intentions."

Jiang Mingwu continued, "Although I am just a warrior, I also believe in 'Saint Guan Yu' and know the meaning of 'loyalty and righteousness'. What I said today is sincere and I have no other intentions. I ask Earl Yongning to allow Jiang Mingwu to serve under his command, considering our friendship in killing slaves side by side."

He kowtowed continuously as he spoke, and the sound of "dong dong" echoed in the side hall. Seeing that Zhang Cheng had not yet accepted his offer, Jiang Mingwu said anxiously, "If Earl Yongning suspects that I, Jiang Mingwu, have impure intentions in joining the army, I am willing to die to prove my innocence!"

Seeing that he was getting more and more excited, Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng slammed the table in front of him with a "pa" sound, and then shouted: "Good!"

Then he immediately stood up and said to him with a serious face: "Jiang Mingwu, in the eleventh year of Chongzhen in Julu, you and I killed slaves side by side. How could I not know your loyalty and bravery?"

Yongning Bo first affirmed Jiang Mingwu's loyalty, and then he went on to appease him, saying: "Since you said today that you are willing to obey my orders and work together with my Yongyi Army to suppress the bandits, I naturally believe you.

However, although you and I have different official titles, we are both military officers of the imperial court and subjects of the emperor. Naturally, we should be loyal to the emperor and serve the country before we can work together to suppress the bandits."

Although Jiang Mingwu was a military general, he was not an illiterate man. Naturally, he understood the implication of Zhang Cheng's words, which was that one must be loyal to the emperor and not to the Earl of Yongning. As for what was in his heart, that would depend on Jiang Mingwu's performance.

He stopped kowtowing, but still knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "Jiang Mingwu begs for the title of Earl of Yongning, I hope the Earl can grant me your favor."

After Yongning Earl Zhang Chenggao took over the major case, he smiled without saying a word, and just looked at Jiang Mingwu kindly...

"Brother Jiang, if you have anything to say, just say it. Lord Yongning is very generous and will agree to it if it is not too excessive."

Wang Pu, the general of Datong, was a wonderful man. He interjected at the right time and made a statement on behalf of Earl Yongning, while helping Jiang Mingwu resolve the embarrassment.

"My Lord, although Mingwu's auxiliary camp has 3,000 regular soldiers, they are nothing compared to your valiant army..."

Jiang Mingwu glanced at Wang Pu and Li Fuming when he said this, and then continued: "Even compared with the regular battalions of the two great commanders Wang and Li, my auxiliary battalion is far behind. Therefore, Mingwu now specially asks the Earl of Yongning to send a pacification officer to our army to enforce military discipline on behalf of Mingwu, and to be in charge of the rewards and punishments for our auxiliary battalion, in order to boost the morale of the army, so that our auxiliary battalion can charge ahead in the battle to kill the bandits, seize the flags and capture the strongholds!"

"Hahaha……"

Zhang Cheng couldn't help but laugh knowingly when he heard his sincerity. He comforted him gently, saying, "Vice Marshal Jiang's request shows his loyalty to the emperor and his country. How can I ignore it?"

Seeing that Earl Yongning had expressed his opinion, Jiang Mingwu knew that he was willing to accept him. He couldn't help but feel happy that he had finally found a big tree.

"But... there is no suitable candidate in Benbo's army for the time being."

After hearing what Zhang Cheng said, Jiang Mingwu felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. Just as he was about to speak again to plead, he heard Earl Yongning say again: "Mingwu, I already know your intentions. As for sending a pacification officer, there is indeed no suitable candidate for the time being, and we should not rush into it. When General He returns from the pacification officer, I will discuss this matter with him." "Thank you, Earl Yongning."

Jiang Mingwu said no more. After clasping his fists to thank the Earl of Yongning, he stood up and returned to his seat. As the deputy general of Shanxi, he had a seat in this side hall. Besides him, the only two generals left were Wang Pu and Li Fuming.

Just as he returned to his seat and sat down, he heard Wang Pu's voice: "Brother Jiang, you took advantage of the matter of being assigned to pacify the city and took refuge under the command of Earl Yongning. Your tactics are very clever!"

Jiang Mingwu looked slightly embarrassed, but Wang Pu's next words immediately dispelled his worries: "From now on, we are brothers. Don't worry, brother Jiang, the uncle will not let you down."

After they finished speaking, the three of them smiled at each other, and they all understood what he meant.

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng naturally had no idea what they were talking about, and he didn't care. Seeing that Jiang Mingwu had returned to his seat, he said sternly, "Okay, everyone has greeted each other. The welcoming banquet for Generals Wang and Li and Deputy General Jiang will be held later. Now let's get to the main topic of today. Fangping, tell me about the results of the investigation in the past few days."

Although Lin Fangping had been promoted to the position of deputy general of Weiyuan Camp, the Yulin Cavalry and the Tiger Guard Cavalry were still under his command, just like the executive deputy general of Weiyuan Camp. Therefore, it was naturally his job to investigate the situation at night.

"... The bandits cut off the water flow of Jialu River and other places. It is estimated that Ding, Yang and Zuo Ping bandits in Shuipoji have already cut off the water source. I am afraid they will not be able to hold out for much longer... There are signs of a small number of bandit cavalry activities in the Chenliu and Qixian areas, but it seems that there are not many people and horses. Their main force should be gathered in Zhuxian Town."

Everyone in the side hall was lost in thought, but Earl Yongning asked, "Are there any signs of bandit troops moving in the direction of Xuzhou from Weishi?"

"Replying to Marshal, we have sent three teams there, but perhaps because the journey is too long, we have not received a reply yet."

"My Lord, although Zuo Liangyu has defeated the bandits many times and his troops are quite capable, if the water supply is really cut off, I am afraid that even with a large number of troops, it will be difficult for them to fight against the bandits."

As soon as Wang Pu finished speaking, Li Fuming said, "If the water supply is really cut off, the more troops we have, the faster we will be defeated!"

Chen Zheng, the commander of the White Tiger Camp, also said, "My Lord, if we don't send troops south to threaten the rebels, Ding Qirui, Zuo Liangyu and the others will probably be defeated at any moment."

"If the water supply is cut off for more than five days, we will be defeated without a fight!" Sun Shixiang also murmured.

Everyone expressed their concerns about the battle situation in Zhuxian Town. No one was optimistic about the reinforcements coming from the south including Ding Qirui, Zuo Liangyu and others, and they were worried that they would be defeated without fighting.

Zhang Cheng stared at Wang Pu, Li Fuming and the other three, and said, "Although the battle is urgent and Shuipo Ji may be defeated at any time, General Wang and General Li have just arrived at the city of Kaifeng. The soldiers from Datong and Shanxi under their command have been traveling by boat and carriage, and have not had a good rest to recover their strength. How can they easily go south to fight the enemy?"

What Earl Yongning said was all for Wang Pu, Li Fuming and others' consideration, but Wang Pu and Li Fuming naturally would not miss the good opportunity to make merit on the battlefield. In their opinion, as long as they participated in this war, no matter whether their troops won or lost, the final outcome would definitely be Earl Yongning's defeat of the rebels, so as long as they took part in the war, they would have a share of the credit.

  What's more, he knew very well what the situation in his own camp was like. The current Datong and Shanxi regular military camps were no longer their teams. They had already been named Zhang!

"My Lord, although our Datong soldiers are tired from the march, they are eager to kill the rebels for the country. The war situation is critical and military secrets are of great importance. Please give the order, my Lord. Our Datong army is willing to be the vanguard and go straight to Zhuxian Town to fight the rebels head-on."

"Master, the Shanxi army does not need to rest, they can set out tomorrow morning..."