weaving

At the end of the Si hour (9-11 AM), the scorching sun hung high in the sky, and all that could be seen was a field of golden weeds, with not a single grain of wheat in sight.

The village of Jinkui Li was filled with warriors clad in armor. Although they were all sweating profusely under the scorching sun, not one of them took off their armor.

Meanwhile, on the official road to the northwest, government troops, both infantry and cavalry, continued to approach. In addition to several thousand infantrymen at the front, the rest of the troops were all cavalry.

To the south of Jin Kui Li Village, there is a high ground where a tall wooden platform has been newly built. Several large flags are fluttering in the wind beside the platform.

The two large flags to the due south were arranged as follows: one was a white flag with a crouching tiger painted in the center and decorated with red flames around its feet, which was hung on a flagpole eighteen feet high; the other was a battle flag of honor with the two bright red characters "Pan Shi" embroidered in the center, which was hung on the tip of an iron spear twelve feet high.

To the left is the banner of the Azure Dragon Camp, a large blue banner with a three-clawed crouching dragon in the center, hanging on a flagpole eighteen feet tall. There is also an honorary battle flag with the words "Iron Army" written on it, hanging on the tip of an iron spear twelve feet tall.

There was only one large flag on the right, but its flagpole was two feet taller than those of the White Tiger Camp and the Azure Dragon Camp, a large flagpole that was a full 20 feet tall. The flag on it was the military flag of the Tengshe Camp, with a soaring green snake painted in the center.

Behind the wooden platform were three large flags...

The central flag is the 23-foot-tall flag of the Weiyuan Camp. It is yellow with a fiery red base and the words "Weiyuan" are embroidered in bright red on the center. The flag is decorated with a qilin pattern on the edge, topped with a golden spear and adorned with a leopard tail as a tassel.

On the left and right sides of Weiyuan Camp, there was a large flag, which belonged to Wang Pu, the General of Datong, and Li Fuming, the General of Shanxi, respectively, only slightly lower.

Chen Zheng, the commander of the White Tiger Camp, stood on a wooden platform, surrounded by Wei Zhice, Zhang Guodong, Xu Jinyong, Wang Pu, Li Fuming, and others. He handed the Yongning Earl's warrant back to Wei Zhice and said to him, "Brother Ce, among us, you have read the most military books and strategies. Logically, you should be the one to command the attack on Zhuxian Town."

Wei Zhice smiled slightly and said, "Chen Zheng, stop playing games. Everyone knows that you've been keeping military books close at hand all these years, just like Guan Yu reading the Spring and Autumn Annals at night. You've made rapid progress. Today is the perfect opportunity to show what you've learned, so as not to disappoint the Commander-in-Chief's expectations."

Chen Zheng grinned and looked at Zhang Guodong on the other side, but before he could speak, Zhang Guodong preemptively said, "Chen Zheng, don't you dare try anything with me. The commander-in-chief's order is here. Whether this battle goes well or badly, you will be in charge of commanding it."

In fact, Chen Zheng was just showing respect to the two of them. After all, they were both battalion commanders with similar military ranks and statuses. They were not usually subordinate to each other, and he was afraid that they might harbor resentment if they suddenly accepted his command.

Moreover, according to common sense, Wei Zhice's Tengshe Battalion, based on the battalion system and discipline of the Yongyi Army, is slightly superior to Chen Zheng's Baihu Battalion, so he has to be humble.

As for Wang Pu and Li Fuming, although they are the commanders-in-chief of a town, in the eyes of Chen Zheng, Wei Zhice and Zhang Guodong, they are actually equal in status to the deputy generals in their battalion, and are in the same order as Xu Jinyong who stands next to them.

"Alright. Since no one has anything to say, let's follow the Commander-in-Chief's orders."

Chen Zheng stopped beating around the bush and said loudly, "As you all know, the Commander-in-Chief faced immense pressure and risks to gather our 20,000 elite troops and bring them to Zhuxian Town. What is the purpose of this?"

He glared at the group with his tiger-like eyes, then continued loudly, "The purpose is to break through Zhuxian Town in one battle, seize the bandits' supplies and provisions, and make them collapse without a fight. I won't go into how important this battle is; I believe everyone knows it very well."

"Here... I'll only say one thing..." Chen Zheng raised his voice again and continued, "In this battle, victory is the only option; defeat is not an option. We can only attack; we cannot retreat."

No matter which one of you has received the military order, you must carry it out resolutely. Even if you fight to the last man, you must not retreat even half a step until the order is fulfilled.

"My eyes recognize you all, but my sword doesn't. Let's be upfront about this now, lest you say I, Chen Zheng, am heartless." Wei Zhice immediately replied, "General Chen, give the order. I, Wei Zhice, will not fail you. If I fail to fulfill the military order, or retreat even half a step, I will bring my head to beg for forgiveness."

"Alright. Then I'll make my word today: if an ordinary soldier is cowardly and retreats, his platoon leader will be beheaded; if a platoon leader is cowardly and retreats, his squad leader will beheaded; if a squad leader is cowardly and retreats, his centurion will beheaded; if a centurion is cowardly and retreats, his battalion commander will beheaded; if a battalion commander is cowardly and retreats, his commander-in-chief will beheaded; if a commander-in-chief is cowardly and retreats, his deputy will beheaded; and if a deputy is cowardly and retreats, then you will all be beheaded."

Zhang Guodong was the first to step forward, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I will obey General Chen's orders."

Seeing this, the others also stepped forward and came to Chen Zheng, repeating Zhang Guodong's words.

Chen Zheng nodded in satisfaction before issuing the orders: "Zhang Guodong, your Qinglong Battalion will attack the east side of Zhuxian Town; Wei Zhice, your Tengshe Battalion will attack the south side of Zhuxian Town."

Zhang Guodong and Wei Zhice immediately stepped forward, clasped their hands in greeting, and accepted the order.

Chen Zheng then looked at Wang Pu and Li Fuming and said, "General Wang and General Li, you have time. Since you didn't bring infantry and artillery, I will send the Mangshan militia to you to help you attack the west side of Zhuxian Town."

Wang Pu and Li Fuming also stepped forward, clasped their hands in greeting, and accepted the order.

On the other side, Xu Yousi, the commander of the Mangshan militia, stepped forward, clasped his hands in salute to Chen Zheng, and said, "Xu Yousi receives the order."

Chen Zheng nodded and said, "Chief Xu, you will lead a thousand militiamen to stay here and assist me in attacking the north of Zhuxian Town. Let Yang Shijie lead three thousand militiamen to the west to provide support."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yousi was slightly taken aback, but then he understood Chen Zheng's intention. He did not argue and simply said softly, "Yes."

Yang Shijie was quite excited when he heard Chen Zheng's arrangements. He stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and shouted, "Yang Shijie, receive the order."

Chen Zheng didn't say much to him, but instead said to Wang Pu and Li Fuming, "General Wang and General Li, there's a saying that 'a family with a hundred members needs one person in charge.' The war in the west needs someone in charge."

While the two of them were slightly stunned, Chen Zheng's voice had already reached their ears: "General Wang, please take good care of the war in the west."

Upon hearing this, Wang Pu immediately became smug. He stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Please rest assured, General Chen."

"Li Fuming and Yang Shijie, you two must obey General Wang's orders."

"Yes."

Yang Shijie was still immersed in the joy he had just experienced and did not show any unusual expression, but Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, was slightly disappointed.

Logically speaking, Wang Pu had fought alongside the Earl of Yongning as early as the eleventh year of the Chongzhen reign, making him an old friend of the Yongyi Army. However, in terms of seniority, he was not much higher than Li Fuming, and in terms of ability alone, Li Fuming was not very convinced of his abilities.

But circumstances were beyond his control. Although Li Fuming was a general of a garrison, he still had to be mindful of the whims of a battalion commander in the Yongyi Army, and even be under the command of a deputy commander. His heart was filled with mixed feelings! (End of Chapter)