The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 497: Three Days of Farewell
West Gate of Jize County.

The giant Lin Yu dragged his bloody mace, stepped on the messy corpses, and staggered towards the city gate corridor.

Groups of Second Corps spearmen, dressed in black uniforms, were marching through the corridors and rapidly entering the inner city. As they passed the giant, the battle-hardened warriors cast admiring glances at him. A captain approached Lin Yu and asked him about the situation in the county.

"Where is the Shanxi merchant's granary?"

"Are there any bandits lying in ambush in the city?"

"How many of your people are still alive?"

Lin Yu dragged the mace, as if he didn't hear what the captain said, and just walked forward silently.

"Damn it..."

He suddenly stopped talking halfway, looked up and saw that Lin Yu's back was densely packed with arrows. A training officer next to him pointed at the giant's receding figure and whispered:

"Back in Wendeng, this man fought one hundred men against a million, took the head of an enemy general, and saved the Empress Dowager Cisheng."

"What, he, he is Lin Yu?"

The captain opened his mouth wide, so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

~~~~
Wu Xiao sat slumped at the base of the earthen wall, staring blankly at the endless stream of soldiers and horses. The two Ming soldiers who had previously asked him for tolls were lying on his left and right, but now they had turned into burning corpses.

Wu Xiao was stunned for a while, picked up the broken sword, and began to clean the arrow feathers hanging on his armor. He was hit by more than a dozen light arrows, but fortunately his armor was sophisticated enough and the arrows did not cause fatal injuries.

"Give."

Seeing Lin Yu walking towards him, Wu Xiao took out a half-smoked cigarette from his arms and threw it over.

Lin Yu bent down with great effort, found a burning corpse, and borrowed a fire from the dead.

He lit a cigarette, held it between his pale, bloodstained fingers, and tremblingly brought it to his lips. He took a deep puff, and the giant, like an old chimney, spewed out a large cloud of thick white mist.

"Big Lin, it was another bloody battle, and we survived again."

Lin Yu didn't say anything, turned around silently, and Wu Xiao began to help him pull out the arrow feathers one by one.

"General Kang is safe and sound, and is outside the city, protected by the Second Corps. We have finally completed the Emperor's order."

Lin Yu nodded, endured the pain, and still didn't say anything.

"Everyone is dead. There are only three of us left: you, me, and Li Zicheng."

Following Wu Xiao's finger, at the end of the corridor, sixteen-year-old Li Zicheng was walking towards this side with Deng Changxiong.

"Just like us back then, with endless energy." Lin Yu looked at Li Zicheng and thought of himself when he was a squad leader of the Zhejiang soldiers.

Wu Xiao pulled out the arrow from his companion, applied medicine on the wound and was bandaging it when Deng Changxiong and the instructor Zhan Diyou came over, and next to them was Li Zicheng, who had just fought a bloody battle.

"Song Yingsheng ran away. All my men were killed. We couldn't catch up with him."

His tone was surprisingly calm, and he didn't even look at Deng Changxiong while speaking, as if he was talking to himself.

Deng Changxiong knew the temper of the Sanyuan knight. Looking at the corpses of the guards scattered on the ground, the chief officer suddenly felt a little guilty. If he had not delayed at Linming Pass yesterday, so many people would not have died.

The instructor Zhan Diyou didn't dare to look at Wu Xiao's bloodshot eyes, and whispered: "Captain Wu, the dead cannot be resurrected, so you should bury the brothers of the Imperial Guard as soon as possible." As he said that, he was about to reach out to support the chief of the Imperial Guard.

Wu Xiao pushed the Second Corps' instructor away and walked out of the city without looking back.

The willows on the banks of the Liulei River are withered, and a blood-red haze is reflected in the dirty river water.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Li Zicheng was about to explain something to Deng Changxiong when the big man Lin Yu stood up and said:

"Back then on the Hunhe battlefield, he watched like this, watching his brothers die one by one, and it's the same thing now."

After Lin Yu finished speaking, he didn't say anything more. He leaned on the mace and limped after him.

Deng Changxiong didn't bother with the two of them, and shouted loudly at Lin Yu's back:
"Lin Yu, please stay!"

Lin Yu didn't even look back and continued to stagger forward.

Deng Changxiong continued from behind, "The Second Corps will remain in Guangping Prefecture for a while. Military Supervisor Kang has a letter for the Emperor. Please take it back to Luoyang! This is extremely important!"

Lin Yu stopped suddenly.

"Where is the letter?"

~~~~
Song Yingsheng, who was able to get along with both sides, received strong support from both the Dashi Army and the Shanxi merchants this time.

Both sides regarded Shangshu Song as a key figure who could turn the tide and change the situation - and as it turned out, Song Yingsheng did achieve the latter.

The Dashi Emperor rewarded Song Yingsheng with 20,000 taels of silver and ordered him to rush to Henan to persuade the Qi army to surrender. Zhang Zicheng's original words were, "If that idiot Liu Zhaosun is willing to surrender to Dashi, I will make him a marquis of disobedience."

After the Shanxi merchants learned that Song Yingsheng's brother was Song Yingxing, the current Minister of Works of the Great Qi, they saw him as a savior who could mediate relations with the State of Qi. The eight major families pooled 50,000 taels of silver and asked Minister Song to mediate and negotiate peace with the State of Qi, spare Guangping Prefecture, and stop attacking Shanxi. After accepting the silver, Song Yingsheng threw the instructions of both sides to the wind, immediately recruited soldiers, and offered a very generous reward to his subordinates:
Anyone who kills Lin Yu and Wu Xiao will be rewarded with 1,000 taels of silver, and anyone who captures them alive will be rewarded with 10,000 taels of silver.

A huge reward always attracts brave men. Former Ming soldiers, Shanxi merchants, and rogues from the surrounding areas of Guangping Prefecture all set out, all chasing the 10,000 taels of silver. They hoped to capture Lin Yu and Wu alive. A mob of thousands surrounded Lin Yu and his men, making it impossible to escape. Fighting from dawn to noon, they not only failed to capture a single prisoner, but also suffered heavy casualties. Just as they were about to settle for killing the two men in exchange for the 1,000 taels of silver, reinforcements from the Second Corps, arriving overnight from Luoyang, suddenly arrived at Jize and immediately began to attack the city.

The following plot was basically the same as that of Linming Pass. After the defenders put up a symbolic resistance, they dispersed and fled in all directions.

After the artillery arrived in Jieze County one after another, they immediately launched a fierce bombardment on the city walls. Except for a few Jinshang villagers who were still resisting stubbornly on the city walls, most of the defenders had fled. These defenders were all from the Ming army. They had seen the strength of the Kaiyuan soldiers on various battlefields, and no one dared to fight with such an opponent.

How can you make money if you work hard?

Half an hour ago, when the sword and shield soldiers of the Second Corps finally used a battering ram to break open the thousand-jin gate of the west gate, everyone was shocked by the scene in the city wall. Hundreds of corpses fell densely on both sides of the moat of the city wall. In the middle of the mountain of corpses, three or four blood-stained people were still standing.

~~~~~
Deng Changxiong looked at Lin Yu's receding figure and said thoughtfully, "The emperor said that Lin Yu is a lucky general of the Kaiyuan Army. Today, it is indeed true."

Zhan Diyou glanced at the fallen bodies around him and said with gritted teeth, "The Eight Great Shanxi Merchants are so rich that they have so many people working for them! Now they must have squandered all their wealth, hahahahaha!"

Deng Changxiong's eyes were solemn, and he couldn't smile. He turned to look at Li Zicheng and asked, "Where is that bastard?"

"He escaped. When you were attacking the city, he and his servants fled."

Zhan Diyou cursed: "Damn it, I thought I met a tough guy, but he ran faster than a rabbit. He's lucky this time! This bastard has been a nuisance to us for many years, and we always let him escape!"

The sound of squeaking wheels came from the corridor. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Kang Yingqian's carriage slowly entering the city. A team of soldiers surrounded the convoy, and several sword and shield soldiers were guarding it with long plaques.

A horseman came galloping out of the city, stopped in front of Deng Changxiong, and shouted, "General! We've found the granary and the treasury. The things haven't been moved away yet. We've arrested more than a dozen clerks and accountants."

Deng Changxiong shouted, "Pass my order. Seal the treasury immediately. Send two captains to take the civil affairs officer, the pacification soldiers, and the training officer to check the supplies. Imprison all the captured Shanxi merchants' horse caravans in the dungeon and hand them over to Brother Li for interrogation."

Li Zicheng bowed to Deng Changxiong and followed Tang Ma down with a defiant look in his sharp eyes.

Kang Yingqian's carriage stopped beside the corridor, and a thin figure leaned out of the carriage.

Deng Changxiong and others hurriedly saluted Kang Yingqian. Kang Yingqian got off the carriage with the help of his servants. Just as he was about to greet everyone, he looked up and saw his nephew Kang Jingxiu.

"Uncle, the Kang family is gone."

"Jingxiu, get up. I am ashamed to have caused you to suffer."

Kang Yingqian pushed Chen Sheng away, staggered to his nephew, helped Kang Jingxiu up, held his nephew's face with both hands, carefully avoiding the scars on his cheek.

"Jingxiu, you've been brilliant since childhood. After ten years of studying, although you don't have extraordinary talent, you do have knowledge that can be applied to society. When I was in charge of Kaiyuan, I didn't let you take up an official position to avoid suspicion. In the first year of Wuding, you took the imperial examination and originally won second place, but I had the invigilator remove your name and told everyone that you weren't cut out for the exam..."

“Uncle, you!”

Kang Jingxiu subconsciously raised his fist, but when he looked around and saw that all of Kang Yingqian's former subordinates were looking at him, he had no choice but to put down his raised fist in disappointment.

"Uncle, why are you so confused? The ancients said, when recommending someone from within, don't avoid your relatives; when recommending someone from outside, don't avoid your enemies. The benevolent are not selective in what is good, and there is no evil, only good. Why do you want to take away my fame?"

Kang Yingqian chuckled and waved at his nephew, signaling him not to get excited.

"I have recommended you to the Emperor. You are a talented writer and can enter the Imperial Academy first, and then stay by his side."

After hearing this, Kang Jingxiu's anger immediately turned into joy, and he looked at his uncle more like a filial son.

"Uncle, we are the only two left in the Kang family. I will take care of you from now on..."

At this moment, a strange cry suddenly came from behind the carriage.

"Who said there are only two Kang family members? Am I still here?"

The suave Kang Guangxu rode forward, staring at his cousin who wanted to compete with him for the family property.

Zhan Diyou stepped forward and said with a smile, "Lord Kang, the Emperor has made such a grand display and dispatched thousands of soldiers to escort you back home and allow you to enjoy your old age in Jize County. Are you touched?"

"I dare not move, Instructor Zhan, but please rest assured. Go back and tell the Emperor that I will stay in Jize County from now on. I will open a Chinese medicine shop in the county town, selling King Kong Powder, and I will not be going anywhere else."

Deng Changxiong smiled awkwardly and stepped forward to ask Kang Yingqian if he needed anything else. He could leave a few guards behind to protect Kang Yingqian.

"Is this the Emperor's intention, or did you act on your own?"

Deng Changxiong did not answer this question.

Kang Yingqian laughed and said, "Why should I stay? General Deng is here, and Jize County is saved. As long as the Qi Dynasty's land system is implemented, in less than two weeks, Jize County will be like Kaiyuan, where people won't pick up things on the road and doors won't be locked at night. There will be no more bad guys, and I can just stay at home and relax."

"Boss Deng, why are you speaking so elegantly? You don't sound like a warrior anymore."

Zhan Diyou pulled Kang Yingqian over mysteriously and said, "Master Kang, you don't know that General Deng is in command of tens of thousands of troops. He is no longer the small captain of a thousand troops!"

After hearing this, Kang Yingqian raised his trembling old hand, stroked his gray beard, and murmured:
"After three days of absence, one should look at you with new eyes. After a year, you have all changed. With your assistance, the Emperor will have a strong army and great potential. Good, good."

(End of this chapter)