The sun sets over the western mountains, and the sky is filled with red clouds.
In Qiutou Town, the smell of blood has become much lighter, replaced by the aroma of rice porridge.
After the bandits retreated, Cao Wenzhao ordered the troops to withdraw, and they withdrew all the way to Qiutou Town before stopping.
After sending some manpower to clean up the corpses inside and outside the town, the entire army entered Qiutou Town and set up camp.
The fire in Qiutou Town has dissipated, and many houses have been burned down, but there are still many houses that can be used.
The low wall outside the town and the horses left behind by some stray thieves also saved the time of building fortifications.
The battle during the day made all the Ming troops feel exhausted. Except for the soldiers responsible for patrolling and guarding, there were no idlers walking around in the camp.
There is a compound with three entrances in Qiutou Town. Because it is located in the center, there is an attic that has not been damaged, so it has become a garrison for the Chinese army.
The mansion is luxuriously decorated, and even though it has been ransacked several times, it can still be seen that it is extraordinary.
The owner of this house seems to be a scholar with a good reputation. When Chen Wang led people to clean up, he saw a study room. Most of the valuable utensils in the study room were taken away. Most of the books were kept, but they were scattered. Some of them were trampled and bruised on the ground.
I didn't see any corpses in the mansion, but I saw many blood stains and broken clothes. The owner was probably killed.
Qiutou Town has been occupied for some time. Beside the nearly dry river outside the town, the corpses that have begun to rot are the original residents of this town.
The person responsible for cleaning up the corpse outside the town filled it up with soil and set up a memorial tablet with a wooden sign.
Those dead bandits were thrown to the other side and dealt with hastily. The final result of the treatment was just a fire, and there was no way of being buried in peace.
As for whether there will be any resentful ghosts seeking lives or ghosts chasing souls after the fire, to be honest, no one is worried.
Ordinary people basically believe in the existence of ghosts and demons, but most of the soldiers who have been fighting for a long time do not believe it. They walked down from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood alive. They believe that the only thing they believe in is the sword in their hands.
In the lobby, Cao Wenzhao had taken off his armor and put on a crimson round-collar uniform and a black gauze hat. He was sitting on the right side with a sullen look on his face.
Chen Wang stood on the right rear side of Cao Wenzhao holding the Yanling sword on his waist. In addition to him, there were more than ten soldiers guarding other places in the hall. These people were all Cao Wenzhao's personal guards, including Chen Wang included.
There are many servants, so naturally there is a certain degree of closeness and distance.
Cao Wenzhao directly led a hundred personal guards, and these hundred people were responsible for his daily life, travel and safety.
Chen Wang used to be a personal guard and followed Cao Wenzhao in and out of the central army all year round, but this was the first time that he stood beside Cao Wenzhao. Normally, he stood farther away.
However, Chen Wang was not happy about his improved status now, because the atmosphere in the hall was quite depressing, and there was a person kneeling on the ground.
The person kneeling in the hall is none other than Cao Bianjiao.
As soon as they entered the lobby, before Cao Wenzhao could speak, Cao Bianjiao knelt down and apologized.
Cao Bianjiao knew that if it weren't for his greed for power and rashness, he would never have been ambushed.
When he was leading the pursuit, he knew something was wrong when he heard the sound of cannons from behind. When he returned and met up with the troops, he saw the corpses on the ground and knew that he had made a big mistake.
Finally, I learned about the dangers of this battle from the troops in the army, and I was even more shocked and broke into a cold sweat.
Cao Wenzhao looked at Cao Bianjiao who was kneeling on the ground and shook his head in disappointment.
"I gave my repeated orders, but you just turned a deaf ear."
Cao Wenzhao's heart was boiling with anger, hating that iron could not turn into steel.
"Do you know how many soldiers were lost in this battle?!"
All the soldiers of the three front bureaus were trapped in the enemy's formation. Sun Anshan, the commander of Qianzong in the front, was wounded in several places. One of the commanders was killed and one was wounded. Four of the commanders of Baijun were killed and 19 of the banner commanders were killed. In the first battle, Nearly 600 people were lost.
There were nearly 600 casualties, and the total number of troops under his command was only over 3,000.
One-fifth of the casualties meant that one out of every five men was killed.
The huge casualties have caused the morale of the army to be extremely low. They have lost the ability to attack again. I am afraid it will take a long time to rest and recuperate.
Cao Wenzhao closed his eyes and tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart. He even had the idea of letting the left and right push Cao Bianjiao out and behead him in public to show the military law.
However, this idea was eventually suppressed by him.
"Since my military orders can't control you, you shouldn't follow me anymore. You are a staff general and can lead a battalion by yourself."
"I will ask Commander Hong to transfer you to another department and let you lead the army alone."
"uncle……"
Cao Bianjiao was shocked and suddenly raised his head.
"Don't call me uncle, how dare I be your uncle?"
Cao Wenzhao stood up and sneered.
"It would be better to be robbed by rogue thieves than to teach Cao's soldiers to block it. The rogue thieves can only rob, but Cao's soldiers can do endless harm. The rogue thieves rob people's wealth, and Cao's soldiers kill people's lives."
"The things you did in the south were reported to the imperial court. You burned down people's houses, raped women, and extorted property. Is there anything you wouldn't dare to do?"
Cao Bianjiao's expression changed and he argued hastily.
"My uncle has learned clearly that all the things that harmed the people were done by Jiang Ding who was surrendered by my nephew. After my nephew learned the news, he killed all the good soldiers and enforced military law."
After he placed the surrendered soldiers, he continued to suppress the bandits without stopping, but he never thought that the surrendered soldiers were so bold and dared to cholera the countryside after they had surrendered.
When he learned about this, he immediately returned to his division, hanged them all, and applied military law to them all. However, some things were irreversible.
Cao Bianjiao's words made Cao Wenzhao's expression soften a little, and he calmed down, realizing his gaffe.
"But it can't be done again. This is your last chance. Go get fifty military sticks by yourself. Don't bother me anymore here."
Cao Wenzhao sat down again, waved his hand, sighed, and dismissed Cao Bianjiao.
Chen Wang stood behind Cao Wenzhao and watched Cao Wenzhao teach Cao Bianjiao.
Although Cao Wenzhao is known as the best general in the Ming Dynasty, in fact, Cao Bianjiao in history is far more famous than Cao Wenzhao.
In the later stages of the Battle of Songjin, the final decisive battle between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Ming army suffered a disastrous defeat, and Jinzhou and Songshan were besieged by the Qing army.
Turge took the lead in shooting at the enemy, while Ilden, the minister of internal affairs, and clan clan Xihan organized their troops and refused to fight. Cao Bianjiao was defeated and fled.
Cao Bianjiao and his soldiers sneaked out of the city after nightfall and attacked the Qing army's Zhenghuang Banner camp. They killed Zhang Guli, the Qing army's assistant leader, and all the Qing troops guarding the outer camp were defeated.
That night Huang Taiji was planning the attack on Songshan here, and he did not expect the Ming army's surprise attack at all.
The prince-in-law Dorji, the internal minister Buyan, and Tazhan, who were nearby the Chinese army, successively led their troops to help, but they were all defeated by Cao Bianjiao.
Almost all the Zhenghuang Banner guards guarding the central army were killed, and the situation was precarious.
Cao Bianjiao was only a few seconds away from breaking into the central army and killing Huang Taiji, making an unparalleled feat.
It's a pity that in the end, the Qing soldiers occupied the camp and fired arrows desperately. Cao Bianjiao was shot and wounded, and he suffered multiple wounds in the previous fight.
The Qing army also reacted in chaos and rushed to support the Chinese army from all directions. More and more Qing troops gathered.
Cao Bianjiao was seriously injured and saw that there was no hope of breaking into the inner camp, so he had no choice but to retreat.
In the end, after the Qing soldiers relied on internal troops to defeat Songshan, Cao Bianjiao also died in the battle.
Chen Wang stared at Cao Bianjiao's leaving figure, and he could clearly notice the changes in Cao Bianjiao's body.
In the past, whether he was sitting or standing, Cao Bianjiao felt like an unsheathed sharp blade, sharp and domineering, but he also had such capital.
Since joining the army, Cao Bianjiao has been almost invincible and invincible.
But now Cao Bianjiao has put away all these edges.
"Chen Wang."
Cao Wenzhao's voice suddenly sounded.
Although Chen Wang's eyes were on Cao Bianjiao's retreating back, he kept his mind on Cao Wenzhao. When he heard the voice calling his name, he lowered his head slightly and responded.
"exist."
"sit."
Cao Wenzhao pointed to the seat beside him and spoke in a concise tone.
Chen Wang didn't show any pretense. He walked steadily to the seat and then turned around and sat down.
Cao Wenzhao looked up and down Chen Wang.
Chen Wang felt a little uncomfortable, being stared at by Cao Wenzhao was like being stared at by a tiger in the forest.
Cao Wenzhao's aura was so powerful that it was even worse than the fierce tiger.
The tiger cannot kill dozens of people on the battlefield and fight for miles.
Cao Wenzhao seemed to want to see him through.
After a while, Cao Wenzhao said his second sentence.
"You've been following me for a few years."
Chen Wang was slightly startled. He had already made a lot of plans in his mind regarding the questions he might ask when talking to Cao Wenzhao.
On the more than ten miles road from the place where he was ambushed to Qiutou Town, Chen Wang had already thought of the explanations for most of the problems.
But Cao Bianzhao first asked how many years he had been with him.
Chen Wang did not answer immediately, but recalled it first. The memory was indeed a bit too long.
"Back to General, it's been almost eight years."
After thinking for a while, Chen Wang replied.
"Eight years..."
Cao Wenzhao frowned slightly, then relaxed again.
"Has it been eight years..."
Cao Wenzhao was a little disappointed, but he quickly adjusted his mood.
"I wanted to release you as the flag general a long time ago, but you were always living alone at that time, so I didn't release you in the end."
Cao Wenzhao looked at Chen Wang. He felt very strange now. He felt that Chen Wang was both familiar and unfamiliar.
"During the day today, you finally led the front troops as the imperial army. You did a great job."
"There are two divisions and eight bureaus in the front. The chief executive of four bureaus is gone, and the general manager of one division is gone."
Chen Wang's heart suddenly trembled, but he still had to pretend to be calm and maintain his previous image.
"When the time comes to recruit troops again, we will definitely have to set up new chiefs and generals."
Cao Wenzhao paused and continued.
"I accidentally let you go and be the leader of the game first. Are you willing?"
Cao Wenzhao's tone softened a lot, and his depressing aura also dissipated a lot.
Chen Wang's eyes brightened slightly. His original expectation was that he would be the general manager of a banner and be in charge of more than thirty people.
Now Cao Wenzhao directly mentioned him to Chief Bai, who was in charge of more than a hundred people in a bureau, and he was directly promoted to one level.
Promotion to an official position in the military does not become more difficult the higher you go, but it is most difficult when you are at the middle and lower levels, because that is when you are most restricted.
Although Chen Wang also wanted to be reserved, he finally nodded immediately.
"I would like to share the general's worries."
Cao Wenzhao didn't have too many twists and turns, he always went straight, otherwise he wouldn't have been unhappy with people like Hong Chengchou, and Hong Chengchou would not have been willing to give him credit.
"Okay, I will provide you with a new army of soldiers in a while and ask someone to familiarize you with military affairs."
Chen Wang was afraid that he would be reserved, so Cao Wenzhao took back the position of President Bai.
The Qian Zong, Ba Zong, and Bai Zong in the army were all servants of the generals, because they were easier to control and their loyalty was guaranteed.
However, this kind of promotion does not rely on any military merit, but is directly selected by generals.
Appoint a general manager and a general manager, and you can get your position with just some military exploits. After all, you are a soldier in your own camp.
Generally, as a servant, it is extremely simple to obtain military merit on the battlefield.
"It will take some time to recruit more troops from above. I will keep the general position for you."
"After you have managed the affairs within the bureau, and after a few battles, you will discuss your merits, and I will recommend you to take the general position."
Before Chen Wang could react, Cao Wenzhao's words raised the issue to another level.
Chen Wang's eyelids twitched slightly. This was no longer a three-level promotion in a row. Captain, flag general, hundred general, and general manager were promoted to four consecutive levels. Counting deputy positions, it was directly to the eighth level. It was like riding a rocket. .
"Thank you, General, for taking this seriously. A humble position must take a lot of effort."
Chen Wang stood up, accepted the order with his hands in hand, and looked like he was willing to do his best.
"By the way, did you think of the round-shot method when you were at the rear, or did you see it from other places?"
Cao Wenzhao raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling Chen Wang to sit down.
"I heard about the method of rotating fire by chance while chatting with people from the Confederate Army."
Chen Wang sat down again, still acting cautiously, and explained.
Now he must behave similarly to Chen Wang so that people won't be surprised by him.
"It is said that there are three people in a group. The first person has fired the gun, the second person will do it, and finally the third person. The person who has fired the gun will retreat to the end. The cycle starts over and over. It can be continuous. There is no need to take it slowly. Charge.”
"When I saw the rogue cavalry, I came up with a solution out of desperation."
When I was in Henan before, I did cooperate with many southern troops.
Those Confederate soldiers had many firearms, the most common were blunderbuss, and then there were large and small Franco machine cannons.
Cao Wenzhao has also read Ji Xiao's new book, and he also knows a lot about firearms. The Shenji Camp has a tactic of rotating fire, and the tactic is not new.
What's new is that Chen Wang was able to immediately come up with such a method under that situation and improve the tactics according to local conditions.
Observe the details, be fearless in the face of danger, remain calm in the face of battle, and have clear organization. He can be a vanguard or a middle soldier.
