Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 142: Prestige cannot be reduced
Mrs. Qu gave birth to a daughter and named her Cen Hongliang, which added a lot of festive atmosphere to the general's mansion. In this chaotic world, if Danchu wants to make a difference, the more children the better.

But he was too young and his children were too young to help for the time being. The training team did train a lot of young officers, some of whom were child soldiers, but after all, they were not blood relatives.

Danchu was a soul from the future, and he brought with him many deep-rooted modern concepts. He could accept being sworn brothers with a fellow general. But he was not so thick-skinned as to adopt a son.

However, a turning point in fate always comes unexpectedly.

Since September, the Intelligence Bureau has been sending secret letters from Yanguan continuously. One piece of information caught Danchu's attention: Nanning Marquis Zhang Xianbi sent his younger brother Zhang Xianzhen to lead a thousand cavalrymen into the pass.

Zhang Xianbi was from Yunnan and started his army earlier. He was originally a general under He Tengjiao. But Zhang Xianbi, like Huang Chaoxuan, was a famous general of the Yunnan Army, but his troops had poor discipline. The Yunnan Division led by Zhao Yinxuan, Hu Yiqing, and Wang Yongzuo came to the fore later, and He Tengjiao turned to win over Zhao, Hu, and Wang, and did not like Zhang Xianbi very much. Kong Youde invaded Hunan, and Zhang Xianbi was defeated and fled to Guizhou, where he stationed his troops in Sizhou.

In April, Du Yinxi vowed to counterattack, and Zhang Xianbi responded by successively conquering Jingzhou, Yuanzhou, and Baoqing, recruiting soldiers along the way and greatly increasing his strength.

This time, he sent out a thousand cavalrymen at once, which shows his considerable strength.

A few months ago, Danchu had killed 300 soldiers of Zhang Xianbi in order to save Liu Shu. He was worried that Zhang Xianbi would raise an army to punish him, so he instructed the Intelligence Bureau to keep a close eye on the movements of Zhang Xianzhen's cavalry, and secretly ordered the Zhaoyong Army to be on alert, and to send the personal soldiers out of the city for training to guard against Zhang Xianzhen at any time.

In early October, Zhang Xianzhen led his troops to Guilin and went into the city to meet Qu Shisi. The Intelligence Bureau had deployed scouts in Guilin and had Danchu's order, so they soon found out Zhang Xianzhen's intention: Zhang Xianbi wanted to find Qu Shisi as a backer.

The three most prestigious ministers of the Southern Ming Dynasty were He Tengjiao, Du Yinxi, and Qu Shisi.

Zhang Xianbi was a disciple of He Tengjiao. He Tengjiao had no skill in commanding generals. Seeing that Zhang Xianbi's military discipline was corrupt, he abandoned him and let him do whatever he wanted.

Du Yinxi was also a student of He Tengjiao, but he had already established his own faction, competing with He Tengjiao. The relationship between the two was already very delicate, and Du Yinxi did not want to take in Zhang Xianbi, so as not to irritate He Tengjiao.

Moreover, Zhang Xianbi had a bad reputation. During his stay in Sizhou, he seized the farmland of the peasants and fought with the Miao people. Although he had recovered the land this year, he also burned, killed and looted along the way, greatly disappointing the people of Hunan.

Qu Shisi knew that he was unable to control Zhang Xianbi, so he tactfully rejected his request to surrender.

Zhang Xianzhen left Guilin in dismay and led his troops south to Liuzhou. Liuzhou was originally the garrison of Hao Yongzhong, who attacked Chen Youlong on the orders of He Tengjiao, and Liuzhou was occupied by Chen Bangfu.

The Intelligence Bureau did not have a base in Liuzhou, so it had to send out scouts to follow Zhang Xianzhen's troops. Zhang Xianzhen bought war horses in Liuzhou, but his intentions were unclear.

On October 16, the scout sent an urgent letter saying that Zhang Xianzhen had moved his camp eastward, with Pingle as his target.

On the 18th, the detective captured two spies in Sanhe Township, west of Yong'an Prefecture. After interrogation, the spies admitted that they were sent by Zhang Xianzhen to Yong'an to arrest Liu Shu.

Upon hearing the news, Feng Jiali, director of the Intelligence Bureau, was shocked. He sent people to protect Liu Shu and her son, and went to the general's mansion to report in person.

"Zhang Xianbi is powerful and has conquered several cities in succession. He is also on good terms with Chen Youlong and should not be underestimated. It would be better to send an envoy to make peace with Zhang Xianzhen and try to reconcile them." Yu Houji has always advocated keeping a low profile and was unwilling to provoke a conflict with Zhang Xianbi.

"Otherwise, Chen Youlong has been defeated by Hao Yongzhong and is outnumbered. Although Zhang Xianbi has a large army, they are a motley crowd and isolated. If we show weakness to Zhang Xianbi, it will damage the Marshal's reputation, which will be a serious matter."

Fang Yizhi was very insightful and used Chen Bangfu's example to warn Danchu, which touched him deeply:
"A general is the soul of the army. Prestige is the basis for enforcing orders and prohibitions; credibility is the foundation for the loyalty of soldiers. Prestige and credibility are to a general like claws to a dragon and feathers to an eagle; they are indispensable.

"So, as a general, you must first establish your prestige, use your power to intimidate your subordinates, and use your trust to convince the masses. Your prestige must not be reduced. Otherwise, the soldiers will be arrogant, the army will not follow orders, and the discipline will not be strict. Even if you have good plans and weapons, it will be difficult to accomplish great things. Haven't you seen what happened to Chen Bangfu?" Chen Bangfu only used flattery as a means to please his superiors, and was looked down upon by his contemporaries. He once wore the seal of the general who conquered the barbarians, but the chieftain refused to obey his orders. Although he had the privilege of being granted the title of "residence in Guangxi", he could not give orders, and local powerful figures such as Cen Danchu, Xu Biao, and Zhu Minru ignored him.

Danchu was deeply moved and said, "Zhang Xianzhen is forcing Yong'an with his foreign troops, but he has no letter. He has no regard for me. Is he really deceiving my Zhaoyong army that they cannot fight? Send an order for the personal soldiers to break camp and follow me to Sanhe Township to resist the enemy!"

Unexpectedly, Liu Shu heard that war was about to break out, so he came to the general's residence to pay a visit. When he saw Danchu, he bowed and said:
"General, Zhang Xianbi is a vindictive man. He sent his brother here with a thousand cavalrymen. I'm afraid he won't stop until he achieves his goal. General, you saved my mother and me, and I'm grateful to you.

"I am a weak and useless woman. How can I sit by and watch the two armies fight and cause the people to suffer? How can I let the Marshal and Zhang Xianbi become enemies and put the Marshal in an unjust position? I beg the Marshal to take my son in. I am willing to fall into the trap myself to repair the friendship between the two armies."

Danchu helped Liu Shu up and sneered, "Miss Liu, you are so smart, how can you be so naive? I killed 300 soldiers of Zhang Xianbi and I have long been enemies with him. Even if you fall into his trap, how can he let it go?"

Liu Shu stammered and was unable to speak. She only blamed herself for her miserable life and for being too naive in the beginning, which led to her being entangled by Zhang Xianbi.

"Don't worry, Miss Liu. The Zhaoyong army is well-equipped and well-equipped. We are not afraid of fighting him. I also have a plan to repel the enemy, but I may have to inconvenience Miss Liu."

Liu Shu didn't understand why, so she said, "As long as the two armies can make peace and avoid fighting, I am willing to suffer any injustice."

Danchu smiled and said, "Don't worry, just stay in the city for a few days and don't go back to Xinxu. I will force Zhang Xianzhen to leave first."

On the 19th, Danchu led his personal guards and set up camp outside Sanhe Township, pretending to keep the enemy out of the country.

On the 21st, Zhang Xianzhen's cavalry approached Sanhe Township. Knowing that Zhaoyong's army was well prepared, Zhang Xianzhen did not dare to act rashly and sent Min Ran as an envoy to the Danchu camp to negotiate.

Min Ran, a native of Qianyang, was the deputy general. He had strongly advised Zhang Xianbi not to plunder. Seeing the bright armor of the Zhaoyong Army, Min Ran showed his fear, bowed deeply, and mustered up his courage to say:
"Taiwan, the Marquis of Nanning has a rebel general named Liu Shu. She is a female general with a little fame. She is currently hiding in Yong'an Prefecture. I heard that she has become a minor official. The Marquis of Nanning hates rebel generals the most, so he sent Taiwan Zhang to ask for her help. Please help, Marshal."

"Which Zhang Zhentai?" Danchu asked knowingly, with a hint of teasing in his majesty.

Apparently, the intelligence was correct. Danchu had done a very thorough job of killing Zhang Xianbi's 300 soldiers, and it should not have been leaked. Zhang Xianzhen went south to Guangxi not just to look for Liu Shuying. He probably heard about the story of Liu Shuying being the village head, so he came here to try his luck.

"General Zhang Xianzhen is the younger brother of the Marquis of Nanning."

"Oh. There was no Liu Shu in Yong'an Prefecture, but there was a Liu Shuying who did work as a minor official."

Min Ran's face lit up with joy, and he said, "She is from Anfu, Jiangxi? She has a pair of natural feet? She is good at using the red tassel spear?"

"Yes."

"Oh, that's Liu Shu. I beg the governor to return Liu Shu to us so that the two armies can be reconciled."

"This..." Danchu pretended to hesitate, then smiled and said, "No, no. I have already taken Liu Shu as my wife, and I can't live without her for a day."

(End of this chapter)