The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

After a while, Ma Wenyuan finally recovered, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his other hand, and continued Yang Hao's original topic.

"It's understandable that Li Jingzhi wants to preserve his strength, and no one can say anything about that."

That's indeed the case, and Yang Hao had to admit it.

The defeat in this battle was largely due to Li Jingzhi.

As long as Li Jingzhi did not retreat, with his 3,000 troops and Ma Wenyuan's few hundred men, he could have easily taken Baiyan Mountain.

After taking Baiyan Mountain, even if we don't coordinate with other friendly forces, we can still defend the mountain.

This battle was not entirely without its benefits.

Unfortunately, Li Jingzhi ran away, which angered many people.

This includes Yang Jing.

Given the current situation, Yang Jing no longer has the energy to reprimand Li Jingzhi; maintaining morale is the key.

What can be criticized?

He rebuked Li Jingzhi for not leading his soldiers to fight to the death.

If these words were spoken, Li Jingzhi's soldiers would likely riot that very night.

……

The first day after the initial defeat.

Nothing happened.

All troops remained stationed in their respective areas, and each went about their own business peacefully.

Ma Wenyuan's, also known as Yang Hao's, garrison was stationed separately, so nothing happened there either.

If he were stationed alongside Li Jingzhi, Yang Jing didn't even dare to imagine how many fights he would have to endure in a single day.

Therefore, it's better to set up separate camps and put in more effort than to cause a fatality.

The current former navy cannot withstand further turmoil.

On that day, Ma Wenyuan fulfilled the rule he had previously set – that is, to reward merit on the same day.

Of course, Ma Wenyuan couldn't possibly carry that much money with him at all times.

In this battle, Ma Wenyuan's men killed 313 enemies, including five centurions.

Ma Wenyuan had to exchange 35800 coins.

In addition, there is the compensation for those who died in the line of duty.

All things considered, it came to a little over four hundred taels, which doesn't seem like much.

Unfortunately, the current common currency is not silver, but Hongwu Tongbao, which is copper coin.

Who would carry so many copper coins with them?

Ma Wenyuan naturally wrote an IOU.

It has Ma Wenyuan's signature and handprint on it, but no one said anything about that.

After issuing these IOUs, Ma Wenyuan's troops quickly returned to their pre-battle condition, and were even in better condition.

This made Ma Wenyuan feel that the money hadn't been wasted.

……

The day after the war.

Yang Jing generously rewarded the three armies.

Actually, it's not really true. We don't have much money; we don't have that much cash.

Yang Jing couldn't possibly give everyone IOUs like Ma Wenyuan did.

The so-called "great reward for the three armies" was simply Yang Jing promoting a group of people on the spot.

Yang Jing wanted his soldiers and officers to understand one thing: the court would not forget those who had made contributions.

This is great news for Ma Wenyuan.

This directly fulfilled his promise of merit.

Ma Wenyuan's troops were promoted to commanders of a thousand households on the spot for their bravery in fighting the enemy and their meritorious service in seizing the mudflats.

They started a separate organization and were placed under Yang Jing's direct jurisdiction, along with Yang Hao.

Most of his subordinates have also been promoted.

Zeng Qing, Meng Chong, and He Tao all became centurions.

The small flag became the main flag, and the soldiers became small flags.

It's almost fair to say that none of the forty-odd men under Ma Wenyuan's command are ordinary soldiers anymore.

They were all officers.

Even so, even though they were all empty-handed and had no real troops, everyone was still overjoyed.

The reason is simple: the Ming Dynasty is now on the path to prosperity, and this empty promise can be cashed.

Aside from Ma Wenyuan's unit, many others were promoted on the spot.

This included people under Wei Quan, and even some centurions under Li Jingzhi.

……

The third day after the war.

The main force arrived at Daxikou.

The former naval forces were replenished, and Li Jingzhi and Wei Quan were reinstated as commanders.

People like Ma Wenyuan and Yang Hao, who were directly under Yang Jing's command of the Thousand-Household Office, were also added to the ranks.

After that, he became a proper commander of a thousand households.

The arrival of the main force almost instantly washed away the negative emotions left by the defeat of the vanguard navy in the previous days.

Everyone is once again making intensive preparations for the second attack.

Including Ma Wenyuan.

He should have been happy to have so many soldiers added, but things don't always go according to reason.

Ma Wenyuan was not happy—the overall quality of the soldiers had dropped significantly.

It's not that the higher-ups were passing off inferior goods as superior ones or trying to fool Ma Wenyuan.

Rather, Ma Wenyuan's unit was from the Wude Guard, one of the top units in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Even if all the replacements were veterans, they wouldn't stand a chance against the Wude Guard.

Not to mention that the war is currently at a stalemate, and the higher-ups are not giving Ma Wenyuan any preferential treatment; the replacements are all ordinary soldiers.

Old men like Meng Chong and He Tao were also worried, thinking about how to lead the troops every day.

Only Zeng Qing is still cheerful every day.

This silly boy was already carefree, and now that he's become a centurion, he's in charge of over a hundred people.

How could one not be happy?

……

The fourth day after the war.

It's raining.

The rain was heavy, and Ma Wenyuan didn't have time to train the soldiers, but he still gave them cultural lessons whenever he had the chance.

Day .

The rain is still falling.

The floodwaters continued to rise, forcing Ma Wenyuan to relocate his post to a place far from the water.

The sixth day, the seventh day.

The rain has been falling.

The planned second attack had to be abandoned due to the heavy rain.

Attacking Qutang Pass was already like rowing against the current, and the heavy rain made it even more difficult.

Even marching is exhausting, let alone launching an attack.

But as the days went by, the rain never stopped.

Those who longed for revenge began to stir.

Ma Wenyuan's troops didn't react much.

It's not that everyone becomes more composed after being taught about culture.

However, only fifty men from Ma Wenyuan's troops participated in the last battle.

What are these few people compared to the entire thousand-household garrison?

tenth day.

The rain shows no sign of stopping.

However, Ma Wenyuan didn't go to teach his soldiers about culture today; he went to see Tang He instead.

Ma Wenyuan was still somewhat curious about Tang He.

This is one of the few founding heroes who were able to protect himself and his family during the Hongwu reign.

Not only are they good at judging people, but they are also extremely cautious.

He was not arrogant at all. You should know that Tang He was practically an early investor, and even then, he was only granted the title of Marquis when the country was founded, and he didn't say anything.

Not only that, but she also knew how to avoid Old Zhu's suspicions, and even went so far as to tarnish her own reputation.

Ma Wenyuan had thought Tang He was a cunning old man, but after seeing him in person, he realized he had been mistaken.

He was over 1.8 meters tall, with a robust build, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. His smile was quite honest, even somewhat...amiable.

"Sit down, young man, don't be shy. The Emperor and I grew up together."

Inside the commander's tent.

Tang He greeted Ma Wenyuan with a smile.

"I'm a few years older than you, so I'll be so bold as to call me elder brother."

It's not that he's a few years old, but rather that he's in his twenties.

Tang He is forty-five years old this year, which means he could be Ma Wenyuan's father.