Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 95: The Supervisor is Mighty! The General is Mighty!
Su Wu, who had climbed up the wall of the village, had already knocked down a man in front of him, and then countless spears were stabbing at him.

All he could hear was the simple wooden shield in his left hand making a crackling sound, as if it was about to fall apart. Sparks flew from the armor on his body, and he felt pain all over his body.

At this moment, a loud shout came from behind: "I'm here!"

A long sword arrived first, and in front of Su Wu, he saw countless long spears and wooden poles breaking on the spot.

Looking in front of him again, he saw a huge figure, covered in shining armor, like a mountain, protecting Su Wu behind him.

This huge figure was truly amazing. He didn't even swing his knife. He rushed to the left, knocking a group of thieves to the ground. Then he rushed to the right, causing even more people and horses to fall to the ground. The thieves behind him were directly pushed under the village wall.

A large space immediately appeared in front of Su Wu. Turning around, he saw armored soldiers jumping onto the wall of the village one by one from the long ladder.

Do you think the thieves have no fighting ability?

Otherwise, not far from the village wall, there is a lookout platform where a man has already shot countless arrows with his bow.

People were like ants flocking to the wall of the village, and even more were coming one after another below the wall. The man drawing the bow shot arrows very quickly, and every arrow hit its target. I don't know how many people he hit.

There were only a few hundred pieces of armor among the government troops, and it was unknown who was the chief officer or general. The armors were all similar, and there was no conspicuous gold-inlaid chain mail like Qin Ming's.

This guy couldn't tell the difference and just kept shooting without even taking time to choose who he was shooting.

But this man didn't know, and Su Wu didn't know either.

The man didn't know that he had just shot the leader of the government army, Su Wu. Su Wu didn't even know which of the arrows on his body were shot by the man.

Even if it is a good suit of armor, even if the arrow penetrates the armor, it will only stay in the skin and flesh and cannot really penetrate.

This is the strength of the armor, and also because the man used a bow, not the crossbows in the army.

This is also the elite feature of armored soldiers in war.

The man with the bow had already attracted his attention to a huge soldier climbing up the wall of the village. He drew his bow and shot, and he never missed.

The arrows shot straight into Lu Da's body, making popping sounds. One arrow after another, all of them were stuck in Lu Da's armor, obviously breaking through the armor. If it hadn't broken through the armor, the arrows wouldn't have been able to stick to it.

Lu Da seemed to be unaware of it. He just stretched out his hand a few times, broke the arrow shaft, and attacked left and right again. Finally, he began to swing his long sword and chop everywhere.

With one strike of the sword, he was able to split the weak bandit in half from shoulder to armpit. Such strength was beyond words.

Su Wu killed continuously, and whenever he saw someone in front of him, he would pick up his sword and go.

After hacking and killing several times, I felt the pressure around me was greatly reduced. There were more and more armored soldiers on both sides, and I didn't know how many of them had climbed up the wall.

The archer on the high platform in the distance suddenly shouted, "Brother, brother, let's go!"

The man's name was Hua Rong, Little Li Guang. He was the only one holding the bow on the high platform who could see the entire scene clearly. He didn't know how many arrows he shot, and even his hand that was drawing the bow was shaking.

Just looking at the wall of the village, there were armored soldiers climbing up in more than one or two places. It was obvious that the village could not be defended.

What I thought before was too naive and too simple.

The war was far beyond our expectations, and this government army was truly an eye-opener.

There really was an army that kept climbing up the wall, until it seemed like the small wall was covered with them.

Where does the courage come from?

Hua Rong asked himself, he was also a general of the government army, he had a group of troops under his command, many of whom were his core members. If he led his men to attack the mountain stronghold, would the troops under his command rush forward to climb the wall like the government troops they encountered today?
There was no need to think too much or guess too much, Hua Rong knew that the answer was no.

Even if he personally held a long sword to supervise the battle and led the troops from behind, I am afraid they would still be too timid to move forward.

Hua Rong couldn't understand it, let alone imagine it. He didn't know why or what.

Why did the soldiers under Su Wu's command in Dongping Prefecture come so bravely to climb the wall?
Why would these soldiers climb the wall so bravely for Su Wu?
How much reward could Su Wu give to these soldiers for this battle? Could he make these soldiers die like this?
Five hundred strings of cash? One thousand strings of cash?

Yes, the soldiers of the Song Dynasty were the first in history to raise a large number of professional soldiers, and these soldiers really fought in wars for money.

Even before going into battle, most armies had to ask for rewards. Later on, after they were lined up and ready to fight, they had to pay money before they could give orders.

If you don't pay, no one will act even if you issue an order.

The system of professional soldiers was so deformed that the Song Dynasty abandoned it.

The so-called professional soldiers are those people who serve in the army all their lives and do not do anything else.

Therefore, this scene of climbing the wall is something that Hua Rong, a former imperial military general, could never imagine.

He knew that he was about to be defeated, and was about to be defeated. No matter how many arrows he shot, or how many people he hit, he would still be defeated. His arm, which had already shot dozens of arrows in a row, could no longer pull the bow.

So he stopped shooting, picked up his spear, and quickly went to Brother Gongming.

We have to leave quickly, otherwise we will die here.

I just went to Brother Gongming and put my arm around him: "Brother, let's go!"

Brother Gongming was unwilling to leave and just struggled: "Brother Hua Rong, today we must live and die together with all the brothers!"

"Let's go, brother!" Hua Rong just pulled hard.

Brother Gongming was being pulled back repeatedly, but he still faced the enemy and shouted, "I must die with my brothers!"

But looking aside, Yan Shun also came to pull him: "Brother Gongming, let's go! The enemy is strong and outnumbered. If we lose today, there will be another day."

Zheng Tianshou didn't need to think too much, he just pulled Brother Gongming to the back camp and said: "As long as the green mountains are there, there will be no shortage of firewood! Brother Gongming is a righteous man, but he can't die here."

"My brothers are hurting me, my brothers are hurting me!" Brother Gongming was crying and wailing, unwilling to leave, but he had no choice. How could he stop three big men from pulling him left and right?
In a moment, I saw countless armored soldiers standing on the wall of the village.

The thugs in the village, who wouldn't turn around and run? They were already scrambling to be the first...

I thought these minions still had some fighting power and were brave just now, but now they have been defeated. Not even one of them can be seen with his face, and they are all facing the enemy with their butts.

Su Wu stood on the wall of the village and did not chase after him. He just kept panting. Lu Da, who was standing next to him, sat directly on the ground, breathing heavily.

I also heard Lu Da cursing: "You bastards, I taught you a lesson and killed you. I thought you were not afraid of my sword, but you ran away after being frightened..."

Su Wu laughed beside him and said, "Commander Lu is really brave!"

Lu Da smiled and waved his hand: "This is nothing. In the past, when I was under the tutelage of Lord Xiaozhong, I killed Tanguts. Tanguts were difficult to kill. They were not comparable to these bandits. It was very difficult to kill them."

Su Wu nodded. "Mr. Zhong, I've heard this title so many times that I'm tired of it..."

It’s not that I’m jealous or envious, but I actually feel a sense of yearning.

One day, Su Wu also thought of the generals under his command, and they used the same tone and expression when they mentioned him.

Su Wu only looked at his chest and abdomen. There were two broken arrows stuck in his armor, and those arrows that had not penetrated had also left small dents on his armor.

This armor needs to be repaired when I get back.

Just ahead of him, Lu Da was grabbing the arrow shaft and pulling it out. He was screaming and saying, "Great!"

Su Wu was not in a hurry to pull it out, but clenched his teeth in pain and stood on the wall of the village, watching the armored soldiers chasing the fleeing bandits into the village.

Behind him, there were countless soldiers heading into the village one after another, most of them were not wearing armor.

Su Wu just waved his hands left and right: "Go quickly."

He also saw that the soldiers passing by, whether they were wearing armor or not, were no longer pale, and each of them seemed to have some excitement on their faces.

This battle is worth it.

A kind of spirit, energy and vitality has already been initially acquired.

Su Wu also walked forward and climbed up to the high platform to see. He saw the bandits fleeing behind the mountain and the soldiers chasing them everywhere in the mountains and forests.

So he waited, and when he had seen enough, they scattered in all directions in the woods and mountains, and the soldiers who were chasing them also scattered.

Su Wu turned around and said, "Sound the gong!"

The gong kept beating ding ding ding.

Su Wu was also looking out, looking at the shadowy figures in the woods in the distance. The soldiers gradually stopped chasing him and began to turn back. Su Wu was relieved, for he was afraid that the soldiers would not heed the horn and catch up with him.

Just look at the people who came back. Some were dragging corpses, some were driving prisoners, some were carrying a few long spears, some were carrying a few pieces of broken armor on their shoulders, some were picking up a few quivers, and some were holding a few hunting bows...

Su Wu stood on a high place and looked at everyone.

Everyone also unconsciously looked up at Su Wu who was on the high place.

Su Wu smiled and said, "Brothers, you are mighty today!"

Then some people shouted: "The chief eunuch is mighty!"

A sound arises.

There was a roar like a thunderous roar: "The chief inspector is mighty! The chief inspector is mighty!" Su Wu suppressed them with his hand, as he still had military orders to give.

But how could they suppress it? In those excited eyes, they shouted one sentence after another: "The governor is mighty! The general is mighty!"

Su Wu smiled and continued to press his hands, saying: "Listen to me..."

No one could hear what Su Wu said, but they just kept shouting, "General, you are mighty!"

There are countless arms raised, and even more weapons raised.

Generals such as Lu Da and Lin Chong laughed out loud and would occasionally join in the fun.

Is this a big battle?

Obviously not, far from it, even the word "a bloody battle" seems far-fetched.

To be honest, as long as we make a concerted effort and launch an attack, the village will be broken.

If this kind of battle were to be included in the history books spanning thousands of years, it would be considered too much for the historian to even mention it in passing.

But Su Wu knew that this battle had extraordinary significance for himself, the army under his command, and the soldiers.

Su Wu raised his hands to suppress the shouting for a long time before he could speak again: "Tell the auxiliary soldiers at the back to take the wounded back to the camp for treatment. The others, plunder the property in the village and burn it, and also overturn the village wall."

The generals received the order and began to go back and forth, then gathered their men and started to work.

Su Wu also walked down from the observation platform and went into a house, waiting for Li Cheng and Li Yunlong to come over and start removing his armor.

Su Wu was so painful that he grimaced.

I also looked at the wound caused by the arrow that penetrated the armor. It was not deep, but the blood kept oozing out.

Li Cheng also took a clean cloth to wrap it.

Su Wu immediately said, "When sending an order to the army, the cloth used to bandage wounds must be boiled in boiling water and then exposed to the sun."

Li Cheng nodded: "I'll cook it right away."

Li Yunlong saluted and said, "I will run back to the camp to pass on the message."

Su Wu also reflected that he was not well prepared, and thought that in the future he must prepare these cloth towels that had been boiled in boiling water and then exposed to the sun before going into battle.

After the armor was removed, after a while, the wounds on Su Wu's body scabbed over and stopped bleeding, but other parts of his chest and abdomen gradually became swollen and bruised, which were caused by the spear tip...

My whole body was in pain.

Just put on your coat and go out.

"General..."

"General!"

"Hello, General!"

Everyone came to greet us and everyone came to pay their respects.

"You guys are busy!" Su Wu nodded with a smile.

Some bolder people also asked: "Just seeing the general being hit by arrows repeatedly, I wonder how serious the general's injuries are?"

Su Wu raised his hand and deliberately showed it: "There is no injury at all, it's okay, it's okay, just do your work."

"The general is truly mighty."

"Just seeing the general ascend the stage first, it was like a god descending from heaven. We were all stunned."

"It's just a simple matter. Didn't you climb up?" Su Wu said this deliberately.

"We...we didn't dare to do that just now. We just saw that the general was so powerful and had already climbed up, so we followed him..."

"Haha...you will know that this is not difficult in the future." Su Wu said again.

"Well, anyway, the general is mighty today!"

Su Wu slowly chatted with the people coming and going while walking out of the village. Then he went down the mountain and returned to the camp. There were many things happening in the camp, and he didn't know how many people were killed, how many were seriously injured, and how many were slightly injured.

Money still needs to be rewarded, pensions still need to be given, and there must be statistics, even statistics of individual merits.

There aren't many Yuhou in the army, so we need to expand this group of Yuhou in the future. All Yuhou need to be able to read, write official documents, and help soldiers write letters...

More importantly, statistics are needed. Military merits are counted when going into battle, and food and drink expenses, weapons, and armor are counted when entering the camp...

Managing an army is extremely difficult and must be done step by step.

It was not until mid-afternoon that the troops gradually returned to the camp, where they were doing various statistics and cooking.

Needless to say, there was a big fire in the village.

As many as 200 bandits were killed, and quite a few were captured, about a hundred. There were also about a hundred seriously injured captives, and apparently about a hundred escaped as well.

Even Song Jiang, Hua Rong, Yan Shun, and Zheng Tianshou, they fled earlier and faster than the ordinary minions.

Su Wu did not send anyone to ambush the rear camp in advance, so some things were done intentionally.

What kind of status does Song Jiang have in the martial arts world? Wherever he goes, he can recruit a group of heroes. If he can recruit all these heroes and bring them to Liangshan, he can catch them all in one fell swoop, which is a great achievement.

Without the appeal of Song Jiang, how could there be any great bandits in Liangshan?
In Su Wu's mind, Song Jiang is actually much easier to control than Dong Ping and Li Kui. The real villains are troublesome. They only fight for their lives, and are just like a barefoot man who is not afraid of those who wear shoes.

On the contrary, as long as Song Jiang continues to think about becoming an official, his actions can be predicted, controlled, and even deceived.

Song Jiang is too important. Song Jiang is the shackles on those bandits who are not afraid of death.

Su Wu needed such a shackle to control those heroes.

Just waiting for Su Wu to give the order in the camp.

In the camp, groups of people, divided into groups called duqu, with seven, eight or even a dozen seriously injured bandits in each group, began to organize stabbings.

This matter is somewhat cruel.

But Su Wu just gritted his teeth and gave the order. Even if there were wailing and begging for mercy, he turned a deaf ear to it and did not go out to see what was going on in the central military tent.

There is no rush to return to Qingzhou today. We can rest as needed and let these victorious soldiers chat and brag excitedly with each other in the camp to relax.

After counting, it was found that not many armored men died, only seven or eight in total. Most of them were shot in the face by arrows, such as Little Li Guang and Hua Rong, and some fell from heights.

There were also twenty or thirty seriously injured people. Some fell down, some were shot by arrows, and some were hit by battering rams and rolling stones. However, there were not many who were killed by swords and guns.

There were quite a few people who were slightly injured, more than a hundred of them, Su Wu was one of them, and Lu Da was also one of them, but it was nothing.

We also need to form a professional medical team. At this time, the seriously injured can only be transported to Qingzhou on wheels.

Du Yuhou, military clerks, military craftsmen, medical teams, professional baggage and logistics teams, auxiliary soldiers, civilian laborers...

There are too many things missing...

Su Wu was in the central military tent, writing about the development plan.

In the central army tent, Lu Da, Lin Chong, Yang Zhi and others were also chatting and laughing from time to time...

Lu Da was the main one, and he talked about the real war, what the scene would be like, what would happen, what to pay attention to, what to prepare...

It seemed that after this experience, everyone was somewhat addicted to fighting. Victory was truly addictive, and everyone came to ask questions, hungry for knowledge.

Lian Hu Chengdu couldn't help but ask several times.

They would break camp early the next morning and return. After returning, they would reward their soldiers based on their merits. Some of them performed outstandingly, while others did not, and even the arrangement of officers had to be adjusted.

Secondly, if you really want to make money, you have to make a lot of it. If you fight in a war, you have to make money. If you make merit, you have to get rich. Whether you make a lot of money or a little money depends on your merit.

Some disputes were inevitable, which should not be underestimated or easily dealt with. Su Wu would definitely personally intervene in every dispute.

Our ancestors had already recorded a theory and method for dealing with these matters in books, The Theory of Punishment and Reward for Loyalty and Honesty, which Su Shi also wrote into his policy essay for the imperial examination.

When in doubt about guilt, treat it lightly; when in doubt about merit, treat it seriously.

If there is doubt about the crime committed, the criminal should be given a lenient punishment. This is easy to understand, and is the origin of the concept of "innocent until proven guilty" in later generations.

If there are any doubts about those who have made meritorious services, they must be dealt with severely. This "severe" does not mean just giving heavy rewards, but expanding the scope of rewards. This can greatly avoid the situation where meritorious services are not rewarded, and it will boost the morale of the army.

In the future, as long as the Du Yuhou and the military document system are improved, these things can be largely avoided, but if there are still disputes, they will still be handled in the same way.

Su Wu was thinking and taking notes at the same time. Even on horseback, if he remembered something, he would immediately take out a charcoal pencil to write it down. His booklet was already full of notes.

(End of this chapter)