Chapter 53 Asking for Credit and Reward (2)
When Luo Shengdong and several of his cronies were about to enter the White Tiger Hall, they were stopped by the guards at the door: "There is an order from the top, please listen to the announcement outside the main hall of Luo Bai."
Luo Shengdong gritted his teeth secretly. It seemed that as soon as he arrived at the water village, someone had already reported the news. Now that he is deliberately blocking himself out, he clearly has the intention of beating him. However, the current situation was unclear, and Luo Shengdong did not dare to make any mistakes, so he could only stand outside and wait.
After a long time, an order came from inside the hall, asking Luo Shengdong to go in and see him, but his men had to stay outside the hall. Luo Shengdong tidied up his clothes, adjusted his breathing slightly, and then strode in.
Sitting in the main seat in the hall was an old man over fifty years old, wearing a black gauze hat and a red patchwork suit. It was He Wenhui, the general of Yazhou Water Village.
Mr. He has been in the military camp for more than 30 to 40 years. What is most praised is not how many outstanding military exploits he has made, but that wherever he is, there has never been any major war of a war nature. Large-scale armed conflict, people gave him the nickname "Peace General". His ability to rise all the way to the level of general was not due to his achievements in opening up new territories and killing enemies, but because he had not made any mistakes for decades. If you think about it carefully, this seems to be an alternative talent.
According to the rules left by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, "those who are civil and military officers over sixty years old will be promoted to official positions." General He, who was about to reach the threshold of retirement, was sent to a remote place like Yazhou by the Ministry of War for the last stop of his career. Come on, it stands to reason that you will be somewhat unwilling. But General He didn't have this mentality, because if he didn't come to this place, he probably wouldn't be able to upgrade from garrison to general before retiring. In other words, if the Yazhou general's position was to hold a position of real power and military strength, He Wenhui might not be able to take the position.
In addition to He Wenhui and several of his soldiers, there was another person in the hall who was dressed exactly the same as Luo Shengdong, but was slightly shorter than him. This person was his rival Wei Sanzhu. Wei Sanzhu was looking Luo Shengdong up and down at this time, with a look of mockery in his eyes that could not be concealed.
Luo Shengdong turned a blind eye to Wei Sanzhu, and directly knelt down and saluted He Wenhui in the hall, saying: "The humble Luo Shengdong returned from his tour to the East China Sea and returned to Lord He."
He Wenhui did not ask Luo Shengdong to get up. He just said slowly: "I went to Qiongzhou Fucheng for business. I was delayed in Fucheng for a few days because of official business. I have been here and there for more than ten days. I left later than you and got back earlier than you. , is this Yulin farther than Qiongzhou Fucheng?”
"Hongzhi left the village on February 17th and led his team eastward. On February 18th, he was attacked by pirates near Yulin Bay. The brothers fought hard on both sea and land for three days, and finally defeated the pirates on the Qingming Festival. But the next ship was in It was severely damaged in the battle and could not sail back to the water village, so it had to be stranded nearby Yulin. Fortunately, it took many days to repair the damage before it could be restored to life." Luo Shengdong calmly followed his instructions. Good lines answered.
He Wenhui nodded and said: "It sounds reasonable, but Yulin is only a hundred miles away. Why don't you send someone to return the favor during the twenty days?"
Luo Shengdong said: "On the one hand, there were a lot of injured brothers, and most of them had difficulty moving after the war; on the other hand, the two groups of messengers sent were intercepted and killed by the pirate remnants in the Linchun River area, so we can only wait until the ship is repaired." Withdrawn from the waterway. In addition to the five soldiers who returned this time, there are more than 30 subordinates who are still recuperating in Yulin and guarding the warship. They can all serve as witnesses. "
As Luo Shengdong spoke, he secretly muttered in his heart, brothers who are still doing coolies, please don't blame me for talking nonsense. If I don't save my life first, I won't be able to save you.
When He Wenhui heard Luo Shengdong's words, he was a little undecided. At this moment, Wei Sanzhu, who noticed something was wrong in the atmosphere, interrupted: "Luo Shengdong, you probably don't know yet, but your soldiers came back before you did! You were defeated and captured in Yulin on February 18th, and again. Why fight to defeat the enemy? You are so brave to lie about the military situation and deceive the superior!"
Luo Shengdong thought to himself that if you don't help point out this problem, I won't be able to continue the drama. He stood up suddenly with anger and said: "I counted the people after the war and found that there are two people who can't be found. I thought they fell into the sea without noticing it, but I didn’t expect that these two people actually became deserters! I beg you to deal with them according to the military law to serve as a warning to others!”
Wei Sanzhu sneered and said: "Did these two become deserters, or did you, Mr. Luo Bai, become a prisoner? I think something is fishy!"
He Wenhui pondered for a long time before asking: "Luo Shengdong, you said that you defeated the invading pirates. Apart from the fact that you got the ship back, is there any other evidence?"
Luo Shengdong glanced at Wei Sanzhu with a provocative look, and then said calmly: "The low-ranking soldiers are waiting outside with the pirate heads. They also captured several pirate swords and guns, including fire guns and three-eyed guns. , and earthen cannons have also been seized, and they are now placed on the ship, ready for inspection by adults at any time!”
"Pirate's head? You're not trying to kill a good person and take credit, are you?" This turn of events obviously exceeded Wei Sanzhu's expectations. When he questioned Luo Shengdong now, he was obviously not as arrogant as before.
Luo Shengdong smiled coldly and said: "Whether it is killing a good person and taking credit for it, you will know after seeing it."
Naturally, He Wenhui would not give Luo Shengdong any more obstacles at this time. In fact, he was also very curious about whether what Luo Shengdong said was the truth, but no matter which side Luo Shengdong and the two soldiers told the truth, , the other side will definitely be severely punished by military law for lying about military information - 90% of the time it will be beheading. The five soldiers quickly dragged in the three wooden boxes containing the pirate heads. Although these heads had been chopped off for several days, there was no obvious corruption under the influence of lime, but the smell was unavoidable. . At least half of these heads have obvious characteristics of Southeast Asians, and there are also a few Japanese pirates with moon-shaped heads that are quite easy to identify. The heads of these people are not usually ones that can be chopped off on Hainan Island. Sha Liang The claim of taking credit will naturally be self-defeating.
The soldiers sent by He Wenhui to inspect the seized weapons on the ship soon returned, as Luo Shengdong said.
He Wenhui's attitude immediately changed: "I won't show Mr. Luo Bai a seat yet!"
Luo Shengdong finally took some reassurance, thanked him and sat down. On the other hand, Wei Sanzhu, who was sitting or standing, was so angry that he groaned. He couldn't figure out why things turned so suddenly like this. Obviously those two soldiers were right. Everyone from Luo Shengdong down was captured by a group of short-haired pirates, and even the Haicang ship was captured. .
Thinking of this, Wei Sanzhu seemed to have grasped another straw, and said quickly: "Sir, wait a minute, those two soldiers said that they were fighting a group of short-haired pirates. Why is there no short-haired one among these heads?"
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"These two guys are confusing right and wrong!" Luo Shengdong looked furious, but he was secretly happy - he took this opportunity to sort out the Haihan people's affairs first, so as not to mention it alone. It seems artificial.
"Your Majesty, it is clear to me that this short-haired man does exist, but he is not an invading South China Sea pirate, but an overseas righteous merchant." Luo Shengdong had already made a draft of the origins of the Haihan people, and now he threw it out logically. : "When our troops were fighting hard against the pirates that day, several ships broke into the battlefield to help our troops in the battle. Without this, our troops would not have been able to defeat the pirate fleets that were several times the size of our troops. After the war, we learned that these ships came from another country thousands of miles away. They call themselves Haihan people, and when they cross the sea to Yulin, they want to return to their homeland and do some ordinary business. I think these Haihan people are all well-educated and not barbarians. They also helped me repair the boat and treat me afterwards. Wounded, why did the pirates say anything?”
"Oh? There is such a thing... So how many people are there in Haihan? Where are they now?" He Wenhui heard that there were many twists and turns in the middle, and he immediately became interested.
Luo Shengdong responded respectfully: "There are only three to five hundred people. Now they have settled in Yulin and formed a village. In addition, they also sent a special envoy to visit Yazhou City, but they were afraid that they would not come to court with me because of their clothes. He was mistaken for a pirate because of the differences, so he temporarily stayed outside Nanshan Town. Sir, these Haihan people can also testify for me about the battle with the pirates that day."
"In this case, it is the two deserters who are spreading rumors and causing trouble..." He Wenhui's face darkened when he said this, and he said to Wei Sanzhu: "I have already said that Mr. Luo Bai is loyal to the imperial court and has strong combat power. There will never be any chance of being captured by pirates, what do you say now?”
Wei Sanzhu said tremblingly: "Those two people... must have had personal grudges against Mr. Luo Bai to make rumors and slanders. They should indeed be killed! They should be killed!"
"What are you still doing here! Take those two down quickly and engage in military law!" He Wenhui patted the table, and Wei Sanzhu hurriedly responded and went out in despair.
At this point, Luo Shengdong was almost certain that he had taken the initiative in this battle for the top spot. The only thing left is to work steadily. As long as you don't make any mistakes, there should be an 80-90% chance of getting this job.
"President Luo Bai led the troops to kill the enemy this time, and his military exploits were outstanding. I will write a battle report today and send it to Qiongzhou City to ask for credit for President Luo Bai!" He Wenhui also looked in a good mood at this time.
The sedan chair was carried by everyone. Since He Wenhui was so generous, Luo Shengdong was naturally not ignorant. He quickly stood up and bowed his hands and said: "It's all because of your good leadership and ability in command. You have accomplished this small feat because of your humble position. You must never overdo it with praise." It is a despicable job and has obliterated your own merits.”
"Well, Luo Shengdong, I saw that you went out and walked around, and your mouth is much better than Wei Sanzhu's!" He Wenhui saw that Luo Shengdong was well informed, so he relaxed and started joking with him.
When He Wenhui reached the position of general, his vision was much higher than that of Luo Shengdong. In recent years, piracy has become more and more violent along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong, and the officers and soldiers rarely have real victories. After Yazhou's military exploits are reported, it will probably cause a lot of repercussions in the Ministry of War. He Wenhui is thinking about his current weird position, which is called the Chief of Staff and is actually the President of Qian. He might be able to take another step before retiring.
(End of chapter)