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

Chapter 209: Justice
When he entered the camp, Qu Shisi saw Zhao Xing tied up and sighed deeply.

Zhao Xing looked at everyone with pleading eyes, pitiful and with mixed emotions. He was so angry that he led the army to suppress the rebels, but he actually offended the commander of the Yunnan Division, Zhao Yinxuan. The commander-in-chief Yu Yuanye also took the opportunity to cause trouble and was determined to put him to death.

A dignified general who devoted his life to the Ming Dynasty ended up like this. His life was in the hands of these people. If he got it wrong, his blood would be splattered all over the Liuying camp. If he got it right, he would at least be beaten with dozens of military sticks, and if he didn't die, he would be disabled.

However, Cen Danchu nodded slightly to him with a resolute expression. Although it was just a slight movement, it gave Zhao Xing hope of saving his life, which made him extremely excited.

When righteousness is not upheld and evil people are in power, this is a sign of the country's destruction.

Danchu has made up his mind that no matter how Qu Shisi and Jiao Lian compromise, he must save Zhao Xing. This is not only a comradeship, but also a matter of maintaining integrity and upholding justice. Even if he is the lowest in status, he must do his best to save Zhao Xing.

Everyone looked heavy-hearted. As soon as they sat down in the camp, Qu Shisi said, "The country is in danger. The generals should work together and fight side by side to support the country. How can we allow private fighting? Moreover, the Western Army camped at Qixingyan, forcing the King of Qin to be crowned, and eyeing the sacred artifact.

"The Yunnan and Guangxi troops are fighting, each raising a large army, almost a war, isn't it a joke for the Western Army? When the news gets to Kunming, Sun Kewang will know that our army is fighting among itself, and he will be even more disrespectful to the court and be arrogant! Cen Danchu, I order you to withdraw your troops immediately!"

"Commander-in-chief!" Dan Chu was dissatisfied and was about to speak, but was interrupted by Qu Shisi.

"No need to say more! Zhao Xing started the fight first, and the Gui army is to blame. You should withdraw your troops first, and Xinning Hou (Zhao Yinxuan) will lead the Yunnan army to withdraw."

Before figuring out the cause of the matter, Qu Shisi came to this conclusion, which really boosted others' morale and damaged his own prestige.

Danchu was very discouraged. He took out a command arrow, called his personal soldiers, and said to them, "Pass the order down. The musket battalion and the cavalry battalion will march back to the camp. The personal soldiers battalion will stay outside the camp to protect me."

He played a trick and kept his personal guards. Qu Shisi knew it well, but did not point it out. He turned to Yu Yuanye and said, "Zhonghua, please inform the Yunnan army and ask Xinning Hou to withdraw his troops."

"This?" Yu Yuanye pretended to be hesitant and said, "After all, the Marquis of Xinning is a marquis and has a noble status. He personally led his troops here. How can he easily withdraw his troops without an explanation?"

This is forcing Qu Shisi to express his position.

Zhao Yinxuan, as a marquis, raised an army to investigate the crime. Yu Yuanye, as the commander-in-chief, also kept on harping on this issue. Were these two people making a mountain out of a molehill?

Actually, it was not the case. The Ming Dynasty was rotten to the core, and the Yongli Dynasty was even more corrupt, with endless internal strife, even worse than the Hongguang and Longwu Dynasties. Ministers fought for power, and military heroes fought for territory. On the surface, the dispute between the Yunnan and Guangxi soldiers was caused by Zhao Xing angering the Yunnan soldiers, but in fact, Jiao Lian and Zhao Yinxuan were competing with each other, and Yu Yuanye was fighting for power with Qu Shisi.

If nothing unexpected happens, Zhao Xing will die.

According to historical records, "Zhao Xing was very aggressive and lost his temper. Zhao Yinxuan's troops were looting. Xing attacked them in anger, killing four or five people. There was almost a big battle. Jiao Lian had no choice but to execute Xing to thank the Dian general."

It also talks about Jiao Lian, who relied heavily on three generals, Zhao Xing, Ma Qijiao and Bai Gui. "Since the death of these three people, Lian's camp became weak. Whenever Lian talked about this with Qu Gongmei (Qu Shisi's relative and housekeeper), tears would flow down his face."

Qu Shisi passed the ball to Yu Yuanye and asked, "Zhonghua, in your opinion, how should we deal with this matter?"

Pedantic, really pedantic! Danchu was anxious and winked at Qu Shisi.

You, Qu Shisi, are the commander-in-chief, with the highest prestige and status. You should take charge of the matter. First, set the tone and try to preserve Zhao Xing and protect Jiao Lian, your trusted and beloved general. How can you ask Yu Yuanye for advice? Isn't this handing over the power of disposal to Yu Yuanye? Don't you know that Yu Yuanye is determined to put Zhao Xing to death?
Yu Yuanye seized the opportunity and said, "This incident was caused by Zhao Xing, and the fault lies with Zhao Xing. He is a military commander, and he should be punished according to military law."

If the military law is used, the punishment is death, or at least beheading. Jiao Lian's eyes widened, his face fierce, but he did not dare to refute. The children of the noble families followed the rules and respected the hierarchy, and would not lose their composure easily.

Danchu, however, was a soldier. The situation was urgent, so he didn't care about the hierarchy. He refuted it to his face: "I don't agree with what Commander Yu said. The Yunnan soldiers looted the countryside and killed innocent people. Zhao Xing was indignant and killed a few of the rebels. This is to eliminate harm for the people and for the Yunnan army.

"The Marquis of Xinning is ignorant of reason and the general situation. He comes here to call for punishment without asking any questions. He disregards the laws of the court and the two commanders. Commander Yu, you have been entrusted with an important task by the court and are in charge of the Yunnan, Chu, and Guangdong armies. You must not listen to one side and believe it, and you must not be an accomplice to the evil!"

These words were quite cunning, causing Yu Yuanye's old face to blush.

"Cen Danchu, don't be rude!" Qu Shisi still had a stern face, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes. He was not a decisive and authoritative person, so when faced with such a difficult problem, he had to find ways to delay and shirk responsibility.

Cen Danchu jumped out to oppose Yu Yuanye, and Qu Shisi was able to mediate and find a way to save Zhao Guang's life.

The Red Army was strong and powerful, and its strength was obvious to all, even better than the Yunnan Division. Although Yu Yuanye was angry, he did not dare to rebuke Danchu.

Jiao Lian took advantage of the situation and said, "Although Cen Danchu was rebellious and rude, what he said did make some sense. Zhao Xing was indeed reckless, but the Yunnan soldiers should not have plundered the countryside. How to deal with Zhao Xing still needs to be carefully considered. We must not use extreme punishment without authorization, which will destroy the morale of the army."

Yu Yuanye was furious and looked at Qu Shisi. Qu Shisi also hesitated and couldn't make a decision for a long time.

Danchu was proud of being his son-in-law and disciple, and he didn't care about etiquette at the critical moment. He said: "Zhao Xing has made many military achievements, so we should not kill him without authorization. Our garrison borders Jiaozhi, which is full of barbarians. Zhennan Pass is full of malaria, so it is better to punish him to guard Zhennan Pass and make meritorious service while serving his sentence."

Jiao Lian's eyes lit up and he said, "Dan Chu's suggestion is very good."

Qu Shisi finally made up his mind and said, "According to your proposal, I will punish him with 100 military sticks and send him to guard Zhennan Pass. Zhonghua, what do you think?"

Yu Yuanye said angrily, "Your Excellency is in charge of the Guangxi Army, and Zhao Xing is the general of the Guangxi Army, so naturally, I will let you deal with him."

"However," he changed the subject and said, "The Yunnan soldiers looted the village, and the fault does not lie with the Yunnan soldiers. It is because they have no food and money. How should the commander deal with this matter?"

After all this time, they still had to fight for territory. The Yunnan Division had always respected He Tengjiao as its leader. He Tengjiao was not good at fighting external wars, but he was very good at raising funds internally. He levied "charity funds" and used the method of accusation to drain the wealth of wealthy families to support the army. He was able to run the army despite the difficulties.

Qu Shisi's ability was not as good as Teng Jiao's. He could not control the Yunnan army and could not provide them with food and money. Zhao Yinxuan's behavior today also made Qu Shisi lose face.

He sighed and said, "I'll make a decision. The Yunnan Division will take Guilin as its flooding base and be responsible for defending Yanguan and Guilin. The Guangxi Division will also guard Pingle, and the Red Army will also guard Nanning. Each of them will guard their own flooding base."

As the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, his orders did not leave Guilin, and in order to appease the Yunnan people, he even drove his trusted troops out of Guilin. This Qu Shisi was really a coward.

Danchu secretly made up his mind that if the destiny really rests in his hands in the future, he must wipe out the villains, unify military and political orders, and never compromise with the treacherous villains.

Jiao Lian was struck by lightning and muttered to himself, "You are arrogant towards your guests and soldiers, and you treat your relatives with contempt. I will have no place to bury my bones when I die."

(End of this chapter)