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"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, more than ten military attachés have just broken into the Chinese army camp. They are all from Qi Bin's new army and are clamoring to see the Imperial Envoy. However, the ranks of these military attaches are not high. Most of them are just hundreds of households and generals. Positions such as flag officers were not qualified to meet with the imperial envoy, so the guards outside the tent stopped them. Who would have thought that these people would draw their swords when they had a disagreement... Now they have been captured by the guards. The siege is under control, how to deal with it is up to the Imperial Envoy to decide!"
When the guards entered the commander's tent to report the news, Zhao Junchen was discussing with Zhou Bo the reward of silver for military merit.
Zhou Bo has always been responsible for rewards and punishments in the army, and he also has a good impression of Qi Bin. After hearing the news that a large number of military attachés from Qi Bin's new army broke into the commander's tent, his expression suddenly changed slightly.
Before Zhao Junchen could express his position, Zhou Bo shouted angrily: "How does Qi Bin control his military attachés? Even if there is really an emergency or he has been wronged, how can there be any reason to rush into the military camp?"
Zhou Bo's words seemed to be a reprimand for Qi Bin's lax command, but in fact they were meant to defend and excuse Qi Bin. However, they changed Qi Bin's new army attachés' charge of "breaking into the commander's tent" into "breaking into the military camp" ”, the crime was immediately alleviated a lot, and the military attaches’ reckless behavior was given the excuse of “urgent matters and wronged”.
After expressing his stance, Zhou Bo turned to Zhao Junchen and persuaded: "Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, as far as I know, Qi Bin's new army has always been strict in military disciplines and enforced orders and prohibitions since it formed an army. They are far more disciplined than ordinary border troops. They I'm anxious to see you this time, so there must be something big going on. You might as well summon them to ask, and give them a chance to explain."
Zhao Junchen turned his eyes and glanced at Zhou Bo. Naturally, he understood Zhou Bo's little thoughts, but he did not reveal it. He just nodded and said, "Since Mr. Zhou said this, give them a chance to explain, pass on the order, and hand over the money." Disarm those military attaches and escort them into the commander's tent to see me."
In fact, Zhao Junchen had already expected the current situation. He left Zhou Bo in the commander's tent to discuss the rewards and punishments of military merits because Zhou Bo's reputation for uprightness was widely known. If Zhou Bo was a witness to what happened next, it would be spread out afterwards. It can also be convincing.
Following Zhao Junchen's order, more than ten officers were quickly escorted into the commander's tent.
As reported before, these military attaches are all young and have low official positions. Most of them are only in their twenties and thirties. They are only low-level military attaches such as those of hundreds of households and chief flag officers. As for the military attaches of more than one thousand households, they are Can't see it either.
Among this group of young military attaches, the leader is a chief flag officer. He is only in his early twenties. He has fair skin and a slender figure. His appearance is vaguely similar to that of Zhao Junchen. Compared with the military attachés, His identity, but his temperament is more like that of a young master from a landlord's family.
After Zhao Junchen looked at this person carefully, he asked: "Who are you? Why did you rush into the Chinese army camp? Why didn't Qi Bin control you? Didn't he teach you the rules of the army?"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, the leading young flag officer's eyes turned red. He kowtowed hard at Zhao Junchen and said with a sob: "Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy... General Qi, General Qi." He...died in battle!"
As this person finished speaking, both Zhao Junchen and Zhou Bo's expressions changed drastically.
Zhou Bo asked in shock: "Qi Bin died in the battle? How is it possible? Why was this not mentioned in the previous battle reports?"
The chief flag officer lowered his head and replied: "To answer your lord's words, when the Junggar cavalry attacked our army's defense line on the north bank, General Qi took the lead and charged forward, leading the soldiers to kill the enemy bravely. When the Junggar cavalry was defeated by our army, After the complete defeat, General Qi suddenly foamed at the mouth and fell to the ground. Naturally, we were deeply shocked and quickly checked General Qi's body, only to find that General Qi's left arm was scratched by a stray arrow during the battle. Well, if it was just a scratch from a stray arrow, it would be a trivial matter, but General Qi's wound was swollen, and the blood flowing out was black with purple. It was obvious that he was poisoned... In the end, General Qi couldn't save him in time, and he was like this. He passed away young... By the time General Qi passed away, the victory reports from the front had already been sent out, so there was no news of General Qi's death in battle..."
Speaking of what happened next, the young flag officer was already crying.
Zhou Bo's expression was shocked and angry, and he angrily said: "The Dzungar Tatars are so vicious. The two armies are fighting openly, and they dare to hurt people with poisonous arrows!"
After finishing speaking, Zhou Bo lamented again and again, saying: "What a pity! What a pity! I have always been very optimistic about Qi Bin. I feel that although this person is young, he has noble character, good military management, and With Mr. Liang Ge's attention, the future will definitely be bright. Who would have thought... Alas! It was obviously a great victory that had not been seen in a century, but Qi Bin died in the battle!"
On the other side, Zhao Junchen has been expressionless and silent since hearing the news of Qi Bin's death in battle.
At this time, after hearing Zhou Bo's sigh, Zhao Junchen slowly raised his head and asked: "Master Zhou, do you know if Qi Bin is married and has children? Are there any other clansmen in the family?"
Zhou Bo thought for a while and replied: "As far as I know, Qi Bin has a wife named Zhou, an old mother and a three-year-old child."
Zhao Junchen nodded lightly and said slowly: "Qi Bin's death is indeed a pity... Although I have a bad relationship with him, I also value his ability and character, and I also thought about promoting him after the war... I will definitely mention Qi Bin's achievements in future memorials. Qi Bin was the highest military officer of our army who died in this battle. I believe that the imperial court will honor him, his mother, wife, children, As well as the clan members, I will take care of them, and from now on, they will have no worries about food and clothing."
Zhou Bo was in a bad mood, so he just nodded and said, "The Imperial Envoy is really serious."
After Zhao Junchen was silent again for a moment, his expression returned to solemnity. He raised his eyes and asked the flag officer: "Qi Bin died in the battle. This is indeed not a small matter, but is this the reason why you rushed into the Chinese army camp?" ?”
The chief flag officer raised his head with a ferocious and angry expression and said: "Your Majesty, the reason why we broke into the camp is not just for General Qi Bin's death in battle, but to plead for mercy for our colleagues in the army!
If the two armies fought in an upright manner, even if General Qi died in the battle, our soldiers would not say anything. They could only blame themselves for their inability to protect the general, but the Junggar Tatars used poisonous arrows to harm people, so what? Can you bear it? General Qi has always loved his soldiers like his own son and won the support of the soldiers. Therefore, after learning the news that General Qi died due to being hit by a poisonous arrow, all the officers and soldiers of our army were extremely angry. At that time, our army was cleaning the battlefield and detaining prisoners. , many soldiers were so angry that they couldn't help but kill some surrendered Dzungar Tatars, which also caused some commotion...
...In the end, General Fang Zhenshan suddenly appeared and declared that you, the Imperial Envoy, have strict orders not to kill prisoners. This not only prevented our army from killing prisoners to vent their anger, but also because several of our military attaches slightly contradicted each other in anger. , all the military attachés with more than 1,000 households in our army were dismissed from their posts and imprisoned, saying that they were serious crimes that were unforgivable and would be severely punished. It was precisely for this reason that a few of us broke into the camp to see the imperial envoy...
I also hope that the Imperial Envoy will understand clearly that our army has been staying on the north bank to fight. We did not understand your order not to kill prisoners in advance. It is excusable to kill prisoners after the war. It was not a deliberate violation of your military order, even if it was a mistake. , and we should never depose and imprison all the high-ranking military attachés... I hope that you, the Imperial Envoy, will be merciful and forgive the crimes of our generals for the sake of General Qi Bin who died in the battle! Otherwise, the new army that Qi Bin finally formed may be disintegrated and dispersed."
After hearing the explanation from the flag officer, Zhao Junchen remained expressionless, while Zhou Bo looked hesitant.
He naturally knew Zhao Junchen's order not to kill prisoners, and he also understood that Zhao Junchen kept these prisoners for future plans. What's more, the disobedience of military orders by generals has always been the most disgusting thing in Zhou Bo's heart. Zhou Bo Not long ago, Zhao Junchen was recommended to severely punish military attachés because of this situation. Therefore, from a principle and standpoint, Zhou Bo should support Fang Zhenshan's decision.
At the same time, Zhou Bo had a good feeling about Qi Bin and Qi Bin's new army. He also felt that Qi Bin's new army made a mistake this time, but he felt that Fang Zhenshan's decision was a bit unreasonable.
In the end, Zhou Bo, in a conflicted mood, handed over the decision-making power to Zhao Junchen and said: "Your Majesty, you did have strict orders not to allow the army to kill prisoners, but Qi Bin's new army's behavior can be considered excusable. I'm sorry. Although I am responsible for the rewards and punishments for meritorious service and demerit in the army, I can’t make up my mind at the moment, so I would like to ask you, the Imperial Envoy, to make your own decision.”
Zhao Junchen sighed softly and said: "Chief Flag Officer, what is your name? Where do you come from?"
The chief flag officer raised his head and replied: "The villain's name is Li He and he is from Yiwu."
Zhao Junchen nodded and then said: "What you just said makes sense. Qi Bin's new army was on the north bank of the Weishui River and did not receive the military order from the imperial envoy in time not to kill prisoners. It was not considered a deliberate violation of the military order. Because of Qi Bin's death, Your actions can be regarded as temporary anger and excusable circumstances, and indeed do not need to be severely punished... But in any case, you have committed a private suicide, and there is still some guilt... Let's do this, all Qianhu military attachés in Qi Bin's new army, Because he allowed his officers to kill prisoners and corrupted military discipline, he was demoted two levels and temporarily kept on probation... Alas, Qi Bin's new army is indeed a rare and powerful army, and I am not willing to let this army disperse like this!"
Upon hearing Zhao Junchen's decision, several military attachés from Qi Bin's new army cheered loudly.
However, in the next moment, Zhao Junchen's expression became more serious, and he said: "The matter of killing prisoners has been exposed, but your crime of breaking into the commander's tent has not been exposed yet! You committed suicide privately, It can also be said that you did not know the military orders and were angry for a moment, but don't you know the seriousness of rushing into the commander's tent? If you are really wronged, you can convey it to the imperial envoy through normal channels, so why rush into the Chinese army camp recklessly and forcefully demand Break into the commander's tent, or even draw swords against the guards outside the tent? If this imperial envoy exposes this kind of behavior, how will he manage the army from now on? Tell me! Who among you proposed this break-in to the camp? The one who takes the lead?”
Seeing how serious Zhao Junchen's statement was, the military attachés of Qi Bin's new army immediately stopped cheering, and all showed fear on their faces. For a while, no one dared to speak.
At this time, Li He took all the responsibilities on himself and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is all caused by me and has nothing to do with my colleagues. It was my suggestion! I took the lead. ! Please, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, punish me alone!"
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