Of course Shen Yongmao hoped for a great victory, but he had been in the Ministry of War for many years and knew the strength of the Ming army too well.
Guan Ning's army, which had the most money and the high hopes placed by the court, did not dare to fight in a battle and was as fearful of the enemy as a tiger. Even if the troops in the interior did not collapse, how could they have the strength to fight?
Nowadays, most civil servants and military generals are eagerly waiting for the white-pole soldiers led by Qin Liangyu to arrive in the capital.
Unfortunately, Sichuan Shizhu was thousands of miles away from the capital. Although Qin Liangyu set off immediately after receiving the order from King Qin, the fire far away could not save the fire nearby.
Suddenly, he heard people shouting "Great victory!" on the street. Shen Yongmao's heart skipped a beat.
His first reaction was: "Someone is so stupid that he dares to report a 'great victory' at this moment!"
After a while, the two heads of the Ministry of War happily led a dozen sweaty soldiers to the lobby of the Ministry of War. The leader was Geng Qi.
Shen Yongmao looked at the good news carefully and sneered. He had been in high and low officialdom for nearly forty years. He was simply a mature man. How could he believe it?
He said coldly: "Do you know that the number of beheadings far exceeds the 'Ningjin Victory'? How many servants can the Geng family have? This is too powerful!"
At this time, Wang Chengen happened to barge in. He was wearing a python robe. No one from the Ministry of War dared to come forward to question him, so he could come and go freely.
He saluted Shen Yongmao, who was leaving his seat, and said in a high-pitched voice: "The Holy Emperor has been looking forward to a great victory for a long time. This great victory comes just in time!"
Shen Yongmao understood the attitude of the emperor's attendant as soon as he entered the door.
Only then did he suppress his anger and slow down his tone and asked: "Is it true that the beheading exceeded level 300? Do you have proof?"
Geng Qi, who was kneeling on the ground, had already come out of the seclusion to fight fiercely and killed several Hou Jin soldiers. His mental state was completely different, and he did not panic at all when he saw a second-grade officer.
He raised his head and said proudly: "Of course we have proof. More than 300 heads are in Zhangjiakou. The adults in Zhangjiakou have checked the authenticity. If the superior does not believe it, he can send someone to review it."
"Eh? This guy is so arrogant and has such an attitude! Is this true? Is this something I just take for granted?" Shen Yongmao muttered in his heart.
Wang Chengen was very anxious and said: "It will take some time for Shangguan to send someone to check. Can you come up with the voucher immediately?"
"Of course!"
"Oh?" Shen Yongmao and Wang Chengen were both excited and looked forward to it.
Then Geng Qi touched his arms and said:
"The younger one participated in the fight three times, killing two real slaves, a flag ding, and a Yu Ding with his own hands. My young master killed five real slaves and two Yu Ding with his own hands. I carry the waist badges of seven real slaves with me. That’s proof!”
"Do you have a waist card? Great, show it to our family quickly!"
Wang Chengen was very young, about the same age as Emperor Chongzhen. He ran up to Geng Qi in a few steps and stretched out his white and tender hands.
Shen Yongmao's attitude also changed 180 degrees, and he said in a friendly tone: "You strong men, stand up and speak!"
Then he pointed at Geng Qi and said: "Come closer and let me take a closer look at you, a hero who has killed several real slaves with his strength!"
At this time, Wang Chengen had already taken a closer look at the waistbands of the seven soldiers of the Hou Jin Army. In fact, it was in vain for him to look at them and he couldn't tell the authenticity at all.
Shen Yongmao had served in the Ministry of War for many years and participated in the verification of the Ningjin victory. Of course he knew these badges. He took them from Wang Chengen and looked at them, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to relax.
Wang Chengen asked: "Sir, these cards can be counted!"
"Forget it, they are all true slaves' waist cards, including three in the vest and four in the infantry."
"Does this prove that their good news cannot be fake?"
"If you can get seven regular soldiers' waist cards, your gains should be much greater than level seven. I can be sure that the good news is not groundless.
Whether there are so many beheadings needs to be further verified, so I will send people who are good at nuclear power to rush to Zhangjiakou. "
"Your Majesty has been looking forward to a great victory for a long time. We don't have time to wait for your Majesty to verify it, so we will go to Heaven to listen to the victory report."
Shen Yongmao, who was used to walking on thin ice with fear and fear, muttered: "This..., just in case..."
The conversation between Wang Chengen and Shen Yongmao was heard by Geng Qi, who was standing closest.
He interjected: "Don't worry, sir. When you come back, all the heads will be small and put into sacks one by one. There is absolutely no way they can be faked. If there are fake heads, you can behead the smaller ones."
Geng Qi's intervention was good, which further enhanced Wang Chengen's confidence.
Shen Yongmao emphasized: "Is it true that you have taken all the heads? Are you really willing to use the heads on your neck as a guarantee? You have thought about it, and you can't act on impulse!"
"Sir, there's no need to think about it. It's true. He can't fake it."
"Hahaha..." Wang Chengen laughed, with a strange voice that made people feel goosebumps all over.
"If it's true, it can't be fake. Our family will report it to the Holy Emperor right now. If it's true, our family will inevitably be guilty of deceiving the emperor. Not only will you lose your head, but you will also implicate the nine tribes!"
"The little one will not lose his head, let alone implicate the nine clans, and the little one will definitely be rewarded by the court.
Because the young man did personally kill four Hou Jin soldiers and examined the heads of more than 300 Jiannu, Tatars, bannermen and Baoyi slaves with his own hands! "
"Okay! Okay! Okay! You will definitely be rewarded by the imperial court, hahaha..."
Wang Chengen laughed and walked out. He was going to return to the Forbidden City to report to the Holy Emperor.
His clothes and voice were very special, and coupled with Shen Yongmao's attitude, Geng Qi had realized that this person was from the inner court.
He stopped Wang Chengen who was about to go back and knelt down and said: "I would like to ask my father-in-law for the convenience. I am going to Zhao Prison to visit the master. I want to tell the master the great news!"
Shen Yongmao laughed loudly and said: "Geng Chucai has a filial son, and with such a loyal servant, he will definitely be able to return to the court and be reused again!"
Geng Ruqi's courtesy name is Chucai, so Shen Yongmao is so fitting.
At this time, Wang Chengen was in a very good mood. He said in a high voice: "Our family is ready!" Then he called a following eunuch and ordered him to personally take the Geng family to visit Geng Ruqi in Zhao Prison.
Wang Chengen, who was riding back to the Forbidden City, suddenly had an inspiration, so he screamed loudly along the way: "Great victory, great victory, our army attacked and killed thousands of Buddhist slaves and beheaded hundreds!"
Although his current position is not very high, he is one of the emperor's closest internal officials. Who dares to despise him?
In a short time, the number of people following him shouting victory exceeded a thousand. Soon the whole city was filled with cheers for victory, and some people actually set off firecrackers...
The commotion in the inner city became louder and louder, so much so that it alarmed Emperor Chongzhen who was still reviewing memorials in Nuan Pavilion.
There were so many palaces in the imperial city that it was impossible for the emperor to hear clearly what was being shouted in the inner city. He could only vaguely hear the noise.
His brows furrowed, ready to order someone to see what was going on.
