In the eleventh year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, on the fifth day of October, at the beginning of noon, in the eastern suburbs of Changping, there was the camp of King Qin's army in Xuanfu Town.
Zhang Cheng was sitting on a simple wooden stool. In front of him was the Tartar coated Aha who was still lying on the bed. Zhang Cheng asked: "What is your name and where are you from?"
The wrapped Aha had one eye staring and the other wrapped, and his head was wrapped with circles of cloth. He looked like a zombie.
Hearing the sound at this moment, I stared hard at that eye, trying hard to look at the person in front of me, but it was always blurry. In desperation, I struggled to answer: "Ah, are the Tatars dead?... Are they dead?" die……"
"I'm dead. You bit my throat and died." Zhang Cheng answered his question and continued to ask him: "Where are you originally from? In which year were you kidnapped by the Tartars?"
Suddenly, the remaining left eye of the coated Aha shone brightly. He stared at Zhang Cheng and said, "I am from Tongzhou. When the Tatars came that year, they took me captive. What can I do? Damn it." of the Tatars,
I'm so damn good at farming and working hard, do you blame me? That land where birds don't poop doesn't produce enough food, do you blame me? I have pity on my daughter-in-law, my father, my mother, and my baby...only two years old...wow..."
He was still a little incoherent, with only one eye left, still staring at the roof of the tent, mumbling nonsense to himself.
After leaving the tent, Chen Zhong leaned into Zhang Cheng's ear and asked, "Master, this guy is already delirious. It would be better to deal with it earlier."
"No rush, keep him first, he may be of great use!"
After Zhang Cheng said these words, he raised his head and looked at the dazzling sun. He felt that it was still so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it.
Zhang Cheng, who was visiting the wounded soldiers one after another, suddenly received an order from Zhang Yan's personal soldiers. Lu Duchen was about to come to the camp to inspect the prisoners in person.
…………
When Zhang Cheng rushed to his uncle Zhang Yan's camp, Lu Xiangsheng hadn't arrived yet, and he saw three carts already rushing back, full of prepared Tartar heads.
Zhang Cheng rushed up and asked: "Uncle, this..."
Before Zhang Cheng could finish speaking, Zhang Yan stopped him and said, "The governor ordered us to summon all the generals from King Qin to inspect the heads and prisoners together. Do you know what the purpose is?"
Zhang Cheng had a slightly confused look on his face and said: "The intention of the supervisor is to take the opportunity to urge the towns to move forward in the future war and fight against the enemy."
"I guess this is what the governor meant, but Cheng'er, you have become the focus of the towns because of this. I don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse." Zhang Yan said with a slight sigh.
A group of elite cavalry came from the direction of the camp gate, riding in the snow. The horses' hooves flew, bringing up flakes of snow, which contrasted with a red cloud above the white snow. It was really beautiful.
Lu Xiangsheng took the lead and came to Zhang Cheng and others.
"The governor has worked hard for the country. Now that I am bothering the governor, I will not be able to serve as a general." Zhang Yan bowed his hands and saluted.
Lu Xiangsheng was very interested when he arrived and said nonchalantly: "Zhang Cheng, An Zai."
Zhang Cheng hurriedly took two steps forward and said respectfully: "The last general, Zhang Cheng, pays homage to the governor."
Lu Xiangsheng got off his horse, came to Zhang Cheng, and said loudly: "Zhang Cheng, not bad!"
Zhang Cheng saw the governor Lu Xiangsheng dressed in linen and filial piety, with a look of exhaustion on his face. He couldn't help but feel sad. He hurriedly clasped his fists and saluted, and replied warmly: "Jiannu repeatedly invaded the capital and killed slaves for the country. This is really the foundation of Zhang Cheng." I don't dare to work to supervise ministers, and the military sect praises me so much."
Governor Lu Xiangsheng looked at Zhang Cheng, nodded in approval and said, "I am very pleased that you know how to serve the country with loyalty."
Turning around, he looked at the three carts and asked Zhang Cheng: "Did you capture all of this?"
"Reporting to the governor, there are thirty Jiannu prisoners tied up behind them. They are all given one pole to carry Shiku's flag, and a pair of his black tassel hat and armor. Jiannu Zhuangdao carries four poles to carry the flag. All of these are Thanks to the blessings of his governors and military sects, Zhang Cheng achieved this achievement."
Lu Xiangsheng had a displeased look on his face, and said in a deep voice: "What you gain is yours. We are all hundreds of miles away, so what's the point?"
…
At this time, Yang Guozhu and other generals behind him had all dismounted, followed by the generals, generals, guerrillas, and generals from Qianhu from Datong and Shanxi towns. They all gathered around Lu Xiangsheng and looked at the side. There was a lot of discussion on the heads of those Tartars.
The generals in Xuanzhen already knew about this last night, but the generals in Datong and Shanxi towns only knew about it. They looked at the heads of the three carts of Tatars in front of them, and stepped forward one after another, grabbing them one by one. Watch and watch.
"True slave, it is undoubtedly the head of a true slave..." A guerrilla-looking general, holding a head in his hand, said softly to Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, next to him, in a low tone. It's light, but it can't hide the excitement.
A general came close to Hu Dawei and whispered: "Junmen, I found out clearly that Zhang Cheng is the nephew of General Zhang Yan of Xuanfu Town. This guy led the troops out of the sentry yesterday and met the Tartars by chance. , actually wiped them all out with one blow, and gained so much."
After a pause, he continued: "I heard that Zhang Cheng was a good drinker when he was in Xuanzhen. He once called himself "Xuanzhen Liquor". He was beaten half to death by his uncle's military cane many times because of drunkenness and prostitution. I don’t think King Qin would be so brave after he entered the Wei capital."
Hu Dawei nodded slowly and said to the Shanxi generals beside him: "This time when we entered the Wei Dynasty, Xuanzhen has already made such gains. We in Shanxi Town should also work hard and never fall behind others. All generals should Be brave and avoid being laughed at by others.”
All the generals said "yes".
On the right side of Shanxi Town Commander-in-Chief Hu Dawei and others were several generals from Datong Town, who were also whispering.
Wearing gorgeous armor, tall and handsome, and wearing a bright red cape and cloak, Wang Pu, the chief military officer of Datong Town, looked at the carload of Tartar heads in front of him, and asked the general beside him in a deep voice: "Is what you are inquiring about true?"
The general patted his chest and assured Wang Pu: "The last general heard what the Xuanzhen guerrilla Wen Hui said with his own ears. Every word is true, and he will never dare to deceive the military in any way."
Wang Pu shook the red tassel on his helmet coolly and thought to himself: "I never thought that Zhang Yan would have such a powerful nephew. It seems that I need to pay more attention in the future."
He turned to the generals in Datong Town and said in a deep voice: "This time we enter the defense, Xuanfu Town has already taken the lead and has gained so much. You must serve your lives in front of the battle. You must not underestimate our Datong Town. "
All the generals agreed softly.
…
Over there, the generals of Shanxi and Datong towns observed the Tartar heads and prisoners, and other guerrillas from Xuan Town accompanied them. Yang Guozhu and Zhang Yan accompanied Lu Xiangsheng.
Zhang Cheng was about to walk away, but was called to his side by the governor Lu Xiangsheng.
Lu Xiangsheng asked warmly: "What is Zhang Cheng's current position? How old is he?"
"Reporting to the governor, Zhang Cheng is currently serving as the cavalry commander of the right wing battalion of Xuanfu Town. He is twenty-two years old."
"Yes, you are so young and so brave, you are really formidable!" Lu Xiangsheng looked at Zhang Cheng with admiration and couldn't help but sigh.
Zhang Cheng saw that the opportunity was not to be missed, so he took a step forward and said: "To inform the governor, Zhang Cheng has a request. I wonder if I should tell it or not?"
Supervisor Lu Xiangsheng stared at Zhang Cheng and said: "What do you have to do? As long as you serve the country loyally, there is no harm in saying anything."
Zhang Cheng hesitated a little, and then prepared for a moment before speaking: "Reporting to the governor, Zhang Cheng rescued more than 800 people in the capital from Mafang this time. However, slaves were built all over the land, and it was difficult for the people to return home. In the end, the general wanted to take all the people with him to fight. The corpses of the dead soldiers and the wounded soldiers were transferred out of Juyong Pass together to avoid the establishment of slaves. I sincerely request the governor to write a letter to open the pass."
Lu Xiangsheng looked at Zhang Cheng with bright eyes and said: "You have such a heart to protect the people, how can I sit back and watch."
Yang Guozhu approached and interjected: "Master Governor, this time I declare that the officers and soldiers have achieved such military exploits, and it is time to fly to report the victory and let the Holy One hear about it."
Lu Xiangsheng immediately smiled, cupped his hands towards the palace in the capital, and said, "Your Majesty is worried about the affairs of the country and is restless day and night. If you hear this good news, you will definitely be happy."
He looked in the direction of the Imperial Palace in the capital, fascinated, imagining how happy the emperor would be after hearing the news of our army's victory over Jiannu.
After a long time, the governor Lu Xiangsheng turned around and said with high spirits to Yang Guozhu, Zhang Yan, Zhang Cheng and others beside him: "I am going to hold a banquet and summon all the generals of Xuanda to congratulate Zhang Cheng on this great victory."
At that moment, Lu Xiangsheng asked his generals to guerrilla Chen An and asked him to tell the generals of the three towns. Soon they would gather at the governor's palace in Changping, and he would hold a banquet to celebrate Zhang Cheng's victory.
…………
Then, the governor Lu Xiangsheng asked Zhang Cheng to take him to see the wounded soldiers in the Battle of Mafang. Yang Guozhu and Zhang Yan were naturally accompanying him.
On the way to the camp of the wounded soldiers, the governor Lu Xiangsheng asked Zhang Cheng about the battle and said: "Zhang Cheng, please tell me about the process of this battle."
Zhang Cheng followed Lu Xiangsheng and told him truthfully one by one how to detect the whereabouts of the captives, how to assign various units to send out sentries, how to defeat the enemy's advantage, and how to encircle the mafang.
Among them, the ambush in Liulin was the most thrilling. Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Guozhu couldn't help but sigh. Even though Zhang Yan had heard Zhang Cheng talk about this battle many times, he still felt it was thrilling at this time.
In particular, Lu Xiangsheng was even more surprised when he heard that Zhang Cheng ordered the sentry commanders to find the book office to record every detail of the battle, and use today's gains as a guide for the future.
He couldn't help but ask: "Did you come up with this method yourself?"
"Returning to the governor, Zhang Cheng often thinks about it. Since ancient times, no one can predict the outcome of the war and defense. However, no matter whether we win or lose today, we must think clearly about where the victory lies and where the loss lies.
Only in this way can we fight more and more wisely. Only if we win more battles, the brothers and sisters in the army will die less. It is for this reason that Zhang Cheng has been stationed in every place since he entered the army. The clerk is required to record the length of the march, the location of the camp, and the time it took to camp.
This time when I went out to meet slaves, I recorded every battle that took place so that I could analyze the gains and losses in the future. " Zhang Cheng replied in a calm tone.
Lu Xiangsheng said with emotion: "Famous generals in ancient times often practiced this method. It is really rare for a boy to have such a heart."
Yang Guozhu was listening to the conversation between the two, thinking deeply in his heart.
Zhang Yan stared at Zhang Cheng with a suspicious look on his face. He was as surprised as Yang Guozhu. He could not understand Zhang Cheng more and more. Maybe this nephew had really enlightened him?
As they walked along, they first visited the injured soldiers. Lu Xiangsheng offered kind words to those who were more seriously injured, and encouraged those who were less seriously injured. Zhang Cheng felt deeply that there were indeed many things in Lu Xiangsheng that were worthy of him. Come and learn.
After visiting the wounded, Lu Xiangsheng stopped by to see the rescued people. Although he had not taken a closer look, from a distance, he could see that they were neatly dressed, in good spirits, and in good order, with no signs of chaos or depression.
Lu Xiangsheng felt a little more praise for Zhang Cheng, and couldn't help asking: "Zhang Cheng, how do you make these people so orderly?"
Zhang Cheng replied respectfully: "Returning to the governor, there is actually no other reason for it. I just want to make it full and give it hope of life, so that the people can make it and use it."
