Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 27: Becoming a General

"The 13th and 12th Regiments contributed the most to the capture of Zhangye this time, so naturally they should be given credit first."

Inside the Yamen, Zhang Huaishen expressed his thoughts in a deep voice, his eyes fixed on a captain below and several brigade commanders and team leaders beside him.

That was Zhang Huaiquan, the captain of the 11th Regiment and the eldest son of his uncle Zhang Yichao.

"Brother, your actions are reasonable. We naturally respect you!"

Although Zhang Huaiquan is Zhang Yichao's eldest son, he has mediocre talent. Fortunately, he is broad-minded and does not feel that Zhang Huaishen is targeting him.

In response to this, Zhang Huaishen breathed a sigh of relief, and while showing a grateful look to Zhang Huaiquan, he also said directly:
"Among the 13th and 12th Regiments, Liu Jilong from the 13th Regiment contributed the most."

"If Liu Jilong hadn't been the first to capture the flag during this siege, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been so easy to take the city."

"Therefore, I plan to follow what the governor said before the battle and promote Liu Jilong and the other six who were the first to ascend the battlefield."

Zhang Huaishen's eyes were like those of an eagle, scanning everyone sharply, and there was no doubt about the content of his words.

Although the Zhang family members felt a little uncomfortable, they also knew that what Zhang Huaishen said was true.

"Liu Jilong was previously a team leader. If he is promoted three levels, he will become a captain."

Zhang Huairong said this with a frown on his face, but he was not jealous of Liu Jilong. Instead, he was worried that Liu Jilong was promoted too quickly and would not be able to lead a regiment well.

"I see that he is smart and brave, and I don't think there will be any big problems if he leads 200 people."

Zhang Huaishen stood on Liu Jilong's side, and when Zhang Huairong heard him say that, he could only nod in agreement.

Now that Zhang Huaishen has been promoted to the governor and defense envoy of Ganzhou, he has 20 regiments under his command. Giving one regiment to Liu Jilong is not a big problem.

"Except for Liu Jilong, the others were also rewarded according to what the governor said before the war, and they were all promoted three levels."

"But they don't have Liu Jilong's wisdom and courage. Whether they can hold an official position remains to be seen."

Zhang Huaishen said this, and without waiting for anyone to refute him, he continued, "In addition, everyone in the 13th and 12th Regiments will be promoted one level."

“Although the 11th Regiment did not participate in the war, it can still occupy a high position due to its talents.”

With just a few words, Zhang Huaishen calmed down the dozen or so Zhang family members in front of him.

According to Zhang Huaishen, if nothing unexpected happens, these dozen people will become captains of a regiment in the future.

Such good news made everyone happy. Zhang Huaishen also breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

"Everyone go down and have a good rest. The army will not attack Shandan in the short term."

"We'll take our leave!" The generals bowed and left the gate one after another.

Zhang Huairong did not leave immediately, but waited until everyone left before he said to Zhang Huaishen, "Do you really want to promote Liu Jilong to the rank of captain?"

"Yeah!" Zhang Huaishen nodded tiredly. Facing Zhang Huairong's confusion, he let out a long sigh.

"Nowadays, the post of lieutenant is held by the sons of powerful families, and Liu Jilong is from a commoner family. If he is promoted to lieutenant, it will also inspire the vast number of commoner soldiers in the army."

"So that's how it is." Zhang Huairong heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Zhang Huaishen say this.

He bowed to Zhang Huaishen and then left the tent.

After he left, Zhang Huaishen asked someone to take off his armor and rest for him.

This night is destined to be sleepless.

The people of Zhangye were excited about regaining their freedom, and the soldiers of Shazhou were celebrating the victory of the war but were also sad about the deaths of their comrades.

The military officers celebrated their promotions, and the civil officials were glad to see the seizure of the Zhangye treasury.

Despite such sleepless nights, the military and civilians of Zhangye were still energetic the next day.

The people still set up stalls, herded sheep, and farmed as usual, but now they can stand up straight and are no longer slaves in the eyes of the Tibetans, nor will they be bullied by them.

Of course, they also thought that they would be bullied by the Shazhou Army, but last night the Shazhou Army used military discipline to prove that they were much better than the Tubo Army.

Under the command of Zhang Yichao, it would be impossible for the Shazhou army to oppress the people in the city, because he knew better than anyone which people they needed to win over in order to recover Hexi.

"Liu Jilong!"

At noon, Liu Jilong had just finished his breakfast when he heard someone calling his name.

He looked back and saw Zhang Huaishen actually coming to his door.

"Colonel Captain!"

Liu Jilong bowed with difficulty. Zhang Huaishen chuckled and walked into the house. He took a look at the old furnishings in the house, then sat on the bed and looked at Liu Jilong.

"I heard from the doctor about your injuries."

"Don't worry, the army won't be leaving in the short term."

"I came here this time to tell you some good news."

Zhang Huaishen had a smile on his face, giving people a feeling of being bathed in spring breeze.

"When you recover from your injury, you will be the captain of the 13th Regiment of Ganzhou." "Thank you, General, for the promotion!"

A moment of surprise flashed across Liu Jilong's face, and then he changed the way he addressed Zhang Huaishen and expressed his gratitude.

"You are quite flexible in your transformation."

Zhang Huaishen chuckled, and then said: "The few people who are still alive after ascending with you will also be temporarily appointed to official positions for a period of time."

"But if they are incompetent, then we can only move them down the hierarchy and place them in appropriate positions."

As he said this, he was also looking at Liu Jilong's expression.

Liu Jilong did not show any dissatisfaction with this, but just nodded and said: "If they are incompetent, they will harm the brothers who are fighting with them."

"I'm glad you think so." Zhang Huaishen nodded with satisfaction and then looked towards the door.

In a moment, two soldiers came in carrying a box and placed it in the corner of the room.

"This is the reward you received for being the first to reach the summit. After dividing it among your group, there will still be more than 600 strings of cash."

"How to divide the money is up to you."

After the 3,000-string reward money was divided among the brigades and teams, only 600-odd strings were left in Liu Jilian's hands.

Liu Jilong was not dissatisfied with this, but simply asked: "The brother Zheng from the 12th Regiment..."

"He has already been given his money. Here is the reward for your group. The governor has also asked the cities in the rear to provide compensation money and rice to the soldiers who died in the battle. You don't have to worry."

Zhang Huaishen explained, and at the same time stood up and said: "I do have something I want to ask you, but you are in this state now, it is useless even if I ask you, just rest for now."

As he spoke, he walked to the door and looked back at Liu Jilong: "When you recover from your injury, I will talk to you in detail."

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked out.

However, when he walked out of the door, he stopped and turned to look at Liu Jilong.

"History has always shown that only one out of ten first climbers survives, and casualties are inevitable."

"You are a new leader of the troops. You have done a great job by keeping four brothers here."

He comforted Liu Jilong, and as he spoke, a look of reminiscence appeared on his face.

"When I first led troops into battle, I lost many of my brothers. Although I am now a lieutenant, the faces of those first few men are still in my heart and I can't forget them."

"It's just that the world is difficult, and people like you and me don't have much time to mourn the past. It's more important to pacify this chaotic world as soon as possible, rather than mourning the past alone."

After Zhang Huaishen said this, he turned and walked out the door.

Looking at the empty door, Liu Jilong was silent for a moment, not knowing what to feel.

Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect.

Even if it is the death of a cat or dog that you have lived with for a few days, it will be sad, let alone these brothers who eat, live and train with you.

Liu Jilong lay down and tried his best not to think about what happened on the battlefield.

To be honest, he didn't expect that Zhang Yichao and his nephew would really fulfill their promise.

Even if he knew what this uncle and nephew were like in history, there were very few historical descriptions of them, and even fewer about the Guiyi Army.

He thought that he would be promoted to captain and brigade commander and that would be the end of his career, but he didn't expect that he would actually become a captain leading a regiment.

"Ha ha……"

An indescribable bitterness appeared on Liu Jilong's face. He didn't know if he could lead a regiment well, and Zhang Huaishen's words of discussing it in detail afterwards also made him feel uneasy.

To dispel these worries, Liu Jilong turned his eyes to the wooden box in the corner.

If six hundred strings of cash were used to buy rice, in Hexi where rice prices were not cheap, they could only buy two or three hundred dan of rice.

If this amount of rice was used to feed the army, it could only provide food for 200 soldiers for less than two months.

To be honest, Liu Jilong will definitely be short of money after he recovers from his injury, because the supplies distributed by the army are not enough to train the army he wants.

He had no way to make money, and these more than 600 strings of cash were the few possessions he had.

He could have kept the money and used it to train troops after he recovered from his injury, but Liu Jilong knew one thing.

That is, compared to the living people, the fallen Zhao Qian and their families may need the money more.

Even though Zhang Huaishen had guaranteed compensation for the fallen soldiers, it was given by the army, not by himself.

He brought them out of Jiuquan himself, but failed to save their lives.

If I don't do anything, how can I face their families in the future...

Taking a deep breath, Liu Jilong looked up and greeted the young man who was taking care of him outside the door.

"Cao Mao, help me call Ma Cheng over!"

(End of this chapter)