Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 88: The country is in chaos, but there are loyal ministers
There were not many soldiers and horses surrounding the governor. Including civil and military officials, personal soldiers and servants, and a few servants from Lijiazhai, there were only two or three hundred people in total.

Governor Li and his entourage supported each other and fled in a panic. When they finally arrived at the ferry, they found that hundreds of defeated soldiers had already arrived there.

The defeated soldiers fought each other for more than ten ferry boats. Some of them rolled on the ground hugging each other, biting each other with their teeth, or smashing with broken stones from their helmets, and the blood dyed the river red.

"Futai Li and General Chen are here, why don't you stop immediately!"

A civilian official accompanying the army stepped forward a few steps and issued orders with his usual arrogant attitude, thinking that the authority of the government was still there.

Unexpectedly, the soldiers, who were so angry that they were red-eyed, didn't care about the governor or the general at all, and just shot arrows at the noisy people.

With a puff, the arrow hit the civil servant's forehead and he fell straight down with his head raised.

"Ah!" Some other civil servants screamed in surprise. Chen Hongfan and other generals immediately ordered their personal soldiers to start fighting.

The remaining servants in Lijiazhai retreated a few steps and gathered around the three Lin brothers.

The retainers around the generals were indeed elite soldiers. In just a few rounds, they dispersed the defeated soldiers and seized several ferries that had not yet left.

Even so, these few boats could not accommodate hundreds of people. Those who could not get on the boats could only take off their armor and outer clothes and swim into the Huai River, or endure the coldness of the autumn river water and hold on to the edge of the boat to swim.

After going through numerous hardships and dangers, Governor Li and his entourage finally reached the center of the river, and their own safety was finally ensured.

At the moment their lives were no longer in danger, everyone's tense nerves relaxed instantly, and those civil servants with weaker bodies almost fell down.

The lucky ones on and off the boat all turned their heads to look at the government army camp. The terrifying flames rising into the sky shone on everyone's face, reflecting completely different and complex expressions.

Sadness, sorrow, grief, regret, pity, relief, and even fleeting ecstasy...

Governor Li sighed and regretted that he had sacrificed tens of thousands of troops. This was the result of the hard work of the previous governor and him who had spent months mobilizing troops and supplies.

However, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were completely defeated in just one night. It is unknown how many remaining soldiers and horses can be gathered tomorrow after another night.

Ugh.

Governor Li looked around and saw that all the civil officials, military generals and servants were in tattered clothes and covered in mud, looking miserable and dilapidated, which had completely destroyed the dignity of the imperial army.

It’s just a pity that the traitor colluded with the beggars to set a trap of “joining forces to march south”, and then lured the wolf into the camp, causing 40,000 soldiers to suffer a disastrous defeat.

Hateful, deserves to be killed!

Although there were still more than 10,000 government troops surrounding Xi County, and if they gathered the defeated soldiers and joined them, they still had the strength to retreat to Runing, but after this defeat, Governor Li knew that he could not escape the blame.

The current emperor has a hot temper and cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. If he is defeated today, he may be captured by the imperial guards and brought to the capital for questioning in a few days.

Even if His Majesty fortunately allowed him to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence, he would not have enough elite troops to suppress the bandits.

When the Eastern Tartar invaded, most of the elite troops were transferred to Zhili to defend the emperor. The remaining mobile forces were still hunting down the remnants of the rebels. It was like suppressing one problem only to have another one pop up. There was a need for conquest and troops everywhere.

But recruiting new soldiers requires money and food, and to get money we must obtain authorization from His Majesty to intercept taxes.

However, His Majesty has tightly controlled the military and financial powers and is unwilling to easily open up the quotas. No governor or official can raise military funds at will.

When I think about my bleak future, I might as well die and preserve my family's reputation.

Governor Li was about to jump into the river to commit suicide, but as he reached the side of the boat, he was hit by a cold wind, which mostly wiped out his thoughts of suicide, and his feet were unable to cross the edge of the boat.

The Lin brothers who had been protecting him did not move at all, as if they deliberately did not notice that he was "seeking death". They had no eyesight at all, which made him feel awkward standing on the side, unable to jump or come back.

There were still a few experienced officials who understood the ways of the world. They shouted, "Take care, Governor!" and rushed over to hug the governor.

"Don't worry about me. This great defeat is all due to my incompetence. Let me die."

Governor Li was held so tightly that he became more excited, like a tabby cat struggling desperately after its nails were clipped. But the more he struggled, the tighter the officials held him.

The Lin brothers standing by secretly cursed this guy for his strong desire to perform. He thought you were Zeng Guofan and wanted to put on a life-or-death show?
Chen Hongfan and other generals also found it shameful to watch. If they really wanted to die, they would have jumped into the water without a word. There was no need to show off their "integrity".

However, everyone saw through it but did not say anything, and just watched quietly as a group of civil servants performed the "loyal minister drama".

It was not until some rough warriors came forward to persuade him to live that the governor gave up his "death intention" and returned to the boat with an expression as if to say, "You are begging me to live."

As the ferry docked, hundreds of people were completely safe. Even if the bandits tried to cross the river by ferry, they had ample room to fight back on the spot.

Gradually, the night faded and the sun rose. The number of soldiers and horses gathered around the governor had gradually increased to tens of thousands, but even so, defeated soldiers continued to swim across the river.

The good news was that the bandits who had robbed the village did not cross the river to pursue them, but instead chased the fleeing defeated soldiers on the other side of the river.

The bad news was that the defeated soldiers who crossed the river had almost no weapons or armor, and not many war horses, donkeys or mules were transported over.

Out of tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, only ten thousand or so men were left. This was no longer a failure, but a great failure that would be nailed to the pillar of shame.

If there is a defeat, someone has to take the blame.

After a joint discussion among a group of civil and military officials, this defeat was defined as—

The traitors and bandits worked together from inside and outside, and the bandits fought bravely and fearlessly.

Even though the governor and his troops secured their camp and patrolled all night, they were still unable to stop the bandits' night raid. The biggest scapegoats naturally fell to Zuo Liangyu, Wang Shunping, and others who had already died in battle and could not defend themselves...

Because they ignored the military's order to prohibit alcohol and drank all night long, most of the soldiers in the army became drunk and unable to fight, which gave the bandits an opportunity to take advantage and eventually led to the defeat of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Even if there were still surviving servants and soldiers under their command, they had no channels to voice their grievances.

The biggest contributors were the servants of Lijiazhai.

Of the 800 retainers who originally went on the expedition, only about a hundred survived to swim across the Huai River.

Although they were all commoners, their contribution to saving the emperor was great. Even if they did not give bribes, Governor Li would still give them official positions.

"Lin Dengwan, the leader of the Li Family's retainers, steps forward to receive the order!"

"The grass people are here."

"Although you are commoners, you are loyal to your country, bravely fighting the enemy, and promptly reporting the news to save a group of civil and military personnel. Your contributions are great. I will appoint you as the garrison commander of my battalion, with a strength of 1,000 soldiers. Your military pay and rations will be in accordance with the border army regulations..."

"Thank you, Governor!" Lin Dengwan and his group of a hundred people all knelt on one knee and thanked the Governor loudly for the reward.

The border troops' pay and benefits were the best among the Ming army. The monthly salary was at least one tael and five cents, and the monthly grain was five dou. If they were servants or cavalrymen, the pay would be even higher. Some brave soldiers could even receive a monthly salary of five taels of silver.

Of course, the premise of all this is sufficient wages and food.

The appointment was made, but Lin Dengwan and his companions still showed no intention of getting up, prompting Governor Li to ask, "What's the meaning of this?"

"I was born into a poor family. My family was destroyed when I was young, and I was displaced for many years. It was the master of Lijiazhai who saved me from danger. Although I am favored by the governor now, I dare not forget the kindness of Master Li and cannot abandon my master and leave—"

"We implore the Governor to revoke the appointment." The servants kneeling on one knee suddenly raised their petition.

Even though a garrison officer had no high status in the officialdom at that time, for the common people, it was already a step to heaven.

Moreover, working in the camp under the governor is equivalent to having connections and backing in the province, and there is a bright future with visible prospects of promotion and wealth.

Ordinary people would never be able to get close to the county magistrate in their entire lives. Even though so many people wanted to kneel down, it was impossible. The servants actually refused.

"Even when receiving an award, one still remembers the benefactors of the past."

Chen Hongfan couldn't help but like these servants even more. If Governor Li hadn't taken them first, he would have offered a generous reward and forced the servants into his own organization.

"Well, you guys remember the words loyalty and righteousness."

Governor Li turned around and had a brief discussion with the civil servants and staff.

They believed that if even the servants were so kind and righteous, then the young man from the Li family who had trained this group of servants and was well-known locally must be a person of both ability and virtue who could shoulder great responsibilities.

Moreover, Li Mu's actions during this period were enough to be reported to the court and awarded an official position.

According to Li Mu's current reputation and achievements, it is more than enough for him to be appointed as a guerrilla general. If the boy from the Li family spends some money to bribe the court officials, he can even become a third-rank lieutenant general in one step.

As for how the title would be bestowed and how many soldiers would be assigned, that was up to the court officials, and Governor Li had no say in the matter.

In this way, even if the former benefactor became a lieutenant general or a guerrilla, or the head of the household servants served as a garrison, they would not be able to "surpass the master's achievements."

The governor can also reasonably recruit this group of loyal and brave servants, so as not to give people an excuse to "kidnap" them, thus killing two birds with one stone.

"Thank you, Governor, for your help! We will follow you to the death and defeat the bandits and serve our country!"

"Good good!"

The joy of incorporating a strong army diluted the gloom of the disastrous defeat, and Governor Li couldn't help but smile and twirl his beard.

The players were also ecstatic, and were surprised that they had successfully infiltrated the Ming army and established a solid intelligence channel.

The second is to guide people to obtain official positions and meet the requirements of the side quests, and you will definitely get generous rewards.

Third, I am satisfied with the rich game materials. The main force of the Ming army must have been tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops. Just shooting a few clips of the army's martial arts exercises or the real appearance of historical celebrities can make fans outside the game exclaim in excitement.

It's really like Qin Shihuang touching the electric wire, Ying is numb.

……

Lin Dengwan and others were overjoyed, and the Qihuo Army on the other side of the river that was chasing the defeated soldiers also felt very happy, especially the commander Sula. They had never expected that more than a thousand players risked their lives to launch a night attack and actually defeated the tens of thousands of troops.

This is no longer a resounding victory, but an epic victory!

Upon receiving the news that the "attack on the camp was successful", Li Guo hurriedly led his troops out of the city to provide support according to the plan.

At first, he didn't quite believe that the eight hundred beggar veterans could disperse tens of thousands of government troops. He also planned to pick up some survivors and fight a tough battle against the main force of the government troops in the wild.

As a result, when he and other beggar generals arrived with their troops and saw what was happening, they were stunned on the spot.

(End of this chapter)