klisemfg Chapter 378: A great victory in Yunzhou, Ye Dingzhi was the first to climb the ladder, kill the gene
Chapter 378: A great victory in Yunzhou, Ye Dingzhi was the first to climb the ladder, kill the gene
At noon, the sky was already bright.
The infantry baggage battalion moved slowly, so at this time in Yunzhou City, in addition to Sheng Yanwei's troops, Baili Luochen and his son had already led 10,000 wind-breaking cavalry into the city in accordance with the original plan.
The Pofeng Army has killed all the remaining defenders of Yunzhou City who refused to surrender, and most of the rest have surrendered to Baili Luochen.
The people of Yunzhou City discovered that the Pofeng Army did not harm the people in the city at all, and seemed to have no intention of looting or massacring the city. Moreover, they distributed dry food relief to the hungry people, young and old, in the city. This gave the people in the city hope.
Although Lu Tingen was a general with strict military discipline, ever since Baili Luochen confronted him, he also cut off Yunzhou's food supply routes to Tianqi and the southwestern prefectures and counties, leaving the Yunzhou defenders without supplies.
Lu Tingen had no choice but to force the military pay and food on the people under the jurisdiction of Yunzhou.
Yunzhou has been a mountainous and rugged place since ancient times. There is a local folk song that says "there is little fertile land and much wasteland, and you can harvest one basket for every acre you plant."
As a result, the already difficult life of the local people became even worse off, and over time, there would naturally be many hungry people and refugees.
After Ye Dingzhi broke through the city, he felt sorry to see the city in such a state of ruin, so he ordered his cavalry to distribute the military rations they carried with them to the people. This move immediately won the support and trust of the people of Yunzhou, and they informed the people of Yunzhou about the Yunzhou defenders hiding in the city.
With the help of the people in the city, the progress of clearing out the defenders was greatly accelerated, so that when Baili Luochen and his son arrived, it was basically completed.
"Report!!"
A lieutenant under Chen Dunru hurried to Baili Luochen's horse holding a military register.
Baili Luochen leaned over and glanced at the lieutenant and said, "Chen Dunru, do you have any good news for me?"
The lieutenant knelt on one knee, unfolded the scroll and said aloud:
"Your Majesty, I am not a soldier under Captain Chen, but under Major General Ye Dingzhi. I have compiled and approved this list of military merits and presented it to you, Your Majesty!"
Baili Luochen's eyes flashed with joy when he heard this: "Tell me about it!"
The lieutenant replied with a "yes", and then reported Ye Dingzhi's gains today to Baili Luochen word by word:
"My Lord, in today's battle to capture Yunzhou City, Major General Ye Dingzhi will lead the charge alone!"
"He single-handedly stormed the city walls, beheading a captain of the armed forces, a deputy commander, a cavalry captain, two centurions, two messengers, a commander, thirty-two archers, nineteen baggage carriers, and dozens more whose bodies were incomplete and unrecognizable. Only thirty-odd heads were recovered!"
"Of the eight hundred soldiers under the Major General's command, twenty-five were killed and twelve were wounded. All the soldiers' achievements, both large and small, and the number of enemy heads cut off are recorded in this booklet. Please review it, Your Majesty!"
After the lieutenant colonel finished speaking, he proudly held up the military register and presented it to Baili Luochen.
Baili Luochen took the military register and began to read it. After a while, he looked up and laughed:
"Good! Good! Good!"
"Although you are newly recruited soldiers, you are all good men. You bring honor to me and the Pofeng Army!"
"Pass on my command. Major General Ye Dingzhi has single-handedly achieved the three major military merits of being the first to reach the city, capturing the flag, and beheading the general! Promote him to the vanguard of the Pofeng Army, and let his military achievements be displayed to the three armies!"
"All soldiers who have achieved military merit will have their rewards doubled! Those who died in battle will receive generous compensation for their families. The wounded will be rewarded with gold, silver, and war horses according to the severity of their injuries. The Chief Registrar is ordered to make no mistakes in awarding meritorious service!"
The lieutenant was so excited when he heard this that he immediately bowed down to express his gratitude.
After Baili Luochen waved his hand and ordered the lieutenant to retreat, the father and son dismounted and walked all the way to the Yunzhou city wall.
Seeing that the flags on the city walls had been replaced with the blood-red flags of the Pofeng Army, Baili Chengfeng was both surprised and a little disappointed.
The surprise was that Ye Dingzhi actually captured the most important town in the southwest with only 800 people in one fell swoop. The disappointment was that Baili Chengfeng originally wanted to use this siege to pass on the military tactics and skills he had learned to Ye Dingzhi.
However, he didn't expect that when he and his sons arrived, the entire Yunzhou City had already been completely taken over by Ye Dingzhi and Chen Dunru with their cooperation, and even the prisoners had been counted!
"Dad! See? We're too late. You can't even catch up to count the prisoners!"
Baili Chengfeng followed his father, and the father and son walked one after the other in the corridor on the city wall.
Although Baili Chengfeng's words seemed to be teasing the old marquis, Baili Luochen could hear a hint of sourness in them.
Baili Luochen glanced back at his son, pointed to the four large banners erected at the four corners of the Yunzhou Tower, and said with a smile:
"What? You only feel good when you lead troops into battle, right? If you feel itchy, you can go to the military supervisor and get a hundred military sticks to loosen up your skin. I won't stop you!"
Baili Chengfeng coughed awkwardly a few times upon hearing this, then turned his head away and muttered softly:
"Okay, okay, okay. I've been irritated with your son all day. I'll go back to Qiandong City to train the troops tomorrow. Don't count on me if there's a war going on~"
Baili Luochen was so happy that his whole face was smiling. He seemed not to hear his son's complaints. He walked while holding the horse whip and sighed:
"This kid Dingzhi has truly exceeded my expectations. I gave him 800 men just to help Chen Dunru during his siege. I never expected that he would be able to capture Yunzhou City first with just 800 men!"
"Chengfeng, after we pacify the southwest this time, when we head north, can you give this kid more troops? Perhaps he can become a trump card for the Pofeng Army!"
"Although Dingzhi's military skills and tactics are still relatively immature, his bravery is no less than his father's. In a critical moment, he might be able to show miraculous results!"
Having said this, Baili Luochen suddenly stopped and remained silent for a long time, and his originally sharp eyes seemed to soften a little.
Seeing his father looking into the north in silence, Baili Chengfeng immediately guessed that he was thinking of his sworn brother Ye Yu.
Baili Luochen looked at it for a while, then suddenly sighed and said with a slightly sad tone:
"Ugh……"
"Back then, the three of us swore an oath of blood and drank a cup of blood wine, promising to live and die together, to share honor and disgrace. But who could have imagined that my brother Ye Yu would die in vain on the way to exile? Now, I, an old man, have also raised an army to rebel, and I am irreconcilable with Xiao Chongjing!"
"If Ye Yu is still alive, seeing Ye Dingzhi's current state, he would be smiling in his grave!"
Baili Luochen's face was filled with complex expressions, his mind filled with the glorious years of more than a decade ago. Just as the father and son were sighing about the impermanence of life, Ye Dingzhi had walked up behind Baili Luochen without him noticing.
"Uncle, you are wrong. My father's grievances have not been avenged, and his injustice has not been redressed. Although I have killed Xiao Xie, the mastermind behind this, Xiao Chongjing, is still sitting on the throne. I'm afraid he won't be able to rest in peace!"
Hearing Ye Dingzhi's words, the father and son turned around at the same time.
Baili Luochen looked up and down at Ye Dingzhi, who was wearing armor. The old marquis turned around and said in a deep voice:
"Dingzhi is right. The Xiao family owes your Ye family too much. Back then, my uncle was suspected by Xiao Chongjing, and there were many treacherous officials in the court who spoke ill of him. For the sake of peace and stability for my Baili clan, I had no choice but to flee to Qiandong!"
"Back when Prince Qing Xiao Xie colluded with Zhuo Qing to frame your father, your uncle repeatedly advised him to leave Tianqi or lead his army north. Even if he was charged with treason, he could still save his life. But he stubbornly insisted that the emperor was simply deceived by treacherous ministers and would definitely clear his name. In the end... Sigh..."
Ye Dingzhi was surprisingly calm after hearing Baili Luochen's words. He just looked towards Tianqi City and gritted his teeth and said:
"Uncle, there's no need to say more. Ever since the battle at Sanqipu, I've already understood that as long as Xiao Chongjing sees me, a remnant of the Ye family, alive, he'll definitely do everything he can to get rid of me!"
"So the only way for me, Ye Dingzhi, to find peace is to destroy Beili and get rid of this old bastard! Uncle, Dingzhi has no other requests except to launch the Northern Expedition as soon as possible!"
Baili Luochen nodded and patted Ye Dingzhi, whose face was determined.
"My dear nephew, I promise you! Once we have completely wiped out the remaining forces of Lu Tingen, we will march north!"
……