"Six thousand levels! Six thousand levels! Since Emperor Cheng's northern expedition, when has the Daming Dynasty ever had such a great harvest? There are even three thousand sets of captured cavalry! Good! Xiao Ruxun! Xiao Ruxun! Good! Good! I can't believe I have such a loyal general who dares to fight! Good! Let that traitor have a taste of his own medicine! I want to drag Bo Bai and his son to the capital and personally see their heads fall! "
Zhu Yijun's murderous aura was so shocking that Zhang Cheng was trembling in fear!
After reading this memorial personally written by Wei Xuezeng for a while, Zhu Yijun reluctantly put down this rare victory report and turned his gaze to the other memorials. His mind was full of thoughts.
He wasn't clear before, but now there was good news that General Xiao Ruxun had defended Pinglu City and vowed not to surrender. He was smart and had used firearms to defeat nine thousand enemy troops and behead six thousand. He even killed Bo Bai's adopted son, Bo Yun, and one of the leaders of the Taowu, Mighty Rabbit. He killed three thousand of their cavalry and greatly boosted the prestige of our army. He intimidated the Taowu and made them not dare to invade easily. This was a great victory that had never been seen in the nine borders since the reign of Emperor Long Qing! There was actually such a capable general in the northwest!
The Emperor Long Li was really surprised! Capture! Capture! The capture that gave the imperial court a headache! Three thousand were killed in one go! Three thousand! In the past, killing one hundred or two hundred was already a praiseworthy victory! Now he actually killed three thousand in one go! This Xiao Ruxun! Xiao Ruxun! What kind of person was he?!
Wei Xuezeng's military report said that Xiao Ruxun had defeated the enemy and could directly threaten the stronghold of the rebel army in Ningxia. He would supervise the army and attack the rebel army from both sides. He would definitely be able to defeat the rebel army in one fell swoop. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, and then please reward Xiao Ruxun generously!
Nothing to say! Nothing to say! How can I not reward a general who has given me face? Emperor Wanli immediately ordered Zhang Cheng to prepare an imperial edict. General Xiao Ruxun fought bravely and defeated nine thousand enemy troops in one battle, greatly increasing the prestige of the Daming army. He must be rewarded. He will be promoted to Ningxia's Commander-In-Chief to assist Wei Xuezeng in defeating the enemy troops! After verifying the number of heads, according to the law, Xiao Ruxun was rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver, two thousand bolts of silk cloth, and the title of Commandant of Light Carriage.
It was much easier to think through the rewards given to generals than to civil officials because there were not as many twists and turns. Generals had already been pushed out of the decision-making circle and did not have as many tricks to use. If there was a lot of merit, they would be rewarded with money, goods, land, position, or military rank. In any case, no matter how they were promoted, they would still be the lackeys of civil officials. It was that simple. If the merit was too great, for example, Li Chengliang would be rewarded with a title of nobility and a rise in status.
It was that simple. In addition, Mei Guozhen was allowed to supervise the army, but the suggestion of transferring troops from other places was temporarily put on hold. Then, Zhu Yijun sent the military report and his edict to the cabinet for discussion with the Ministry of War.
That night, Zhu Yijun ate an extra bowl of rice.
Then, on the morning of the third day, an even bigger surprise came. The latest military report said that there had been a major breakthrough in suppressing the rebellion at the border!
Wei Xuezeng reported that around the 20th of the third month, Xiao Ruxun had joined forces with the reinforcements that Wei Xuezeng had previously sent, Ma Gui, to attack Ningxia Town. Within three days, they had wiped out the rebel strongholds in the north and west of Ningxia Town and beheaded more than two thousand two hundred people. They had seized all the strongholds in the north and had complete control over the entire north.
On the night of the 24th of the third month, they had completely cut off the collaboration between the rebel army and the invaders outside the pass. The rebel army had already withdrawn their forces back to Ningxia Town. They were surrounded on all sides and had become like a turtle in a jar. Daming was now in an invincible position! Wei Xuezeng wanted to report to Xiao Ruxun again.
"Good! Good! Good! Hahahaha! Hahahaha! What a good Xiao Ruxun! What a good Hsiao Jixin! Why didn't I know that there was a seed of a famous general in the northwest? Hahahaha!
You actually have the guts to travel such a long distance and directly cut off the communication between the invaders and the traitor. You imprisoned the traitor Bo Bai in Ningxia Town and surrounded Ningxia Town with Wei Xuezeng. The traitor Bo Bai is already a turtle in a jar. The rebellion has almost been pacified! Hahahahaha! It's only been a month, right? Hahahaha! "
Zhu Yijun hadn't laughed so happily for a few years. Zhang Cheng looked at Zhu Yijun's smiling face and also felt very happy.
"Zhang Cheng! Immediately draft an edict and send it to the cabinet! The previous imperial edict has not been sent out yet. Directly nullify it. Xiao Ruxun will bestow the Left Commander-In-Chief of the Military Office to the Left Commander-In-Chief of Ningxia Town and be conferred the title of Zhaoyong General. He will have the authority to control all the troops in Ningxia Town and assist Wei Xuezeng in completely pacifying the rebellion! In addition, he will be bestowed two thousand gold and ten thousand silver! If he makes a great contribution after pacifying the rebellion, we will reward him handsomely! As for the rest of the rewards, let the Ministry of War decide! "
During dinner that night, Zhu Yijun, who was in a good mood, ate another bowl of rice.
Xiao Ruxun and Wei Xuezeng didn't know about Zhu Yijun's gratification. Outside Ningxia Town, listening to Xiao Ruxun's shocking words, Wei Xuezeng felt as if he had eaten a cannonball. He felt his throat was a little dry.
"Ji Xin, you said … blow up the city walls?"
After a while, Wei Xuezeng finally reacted. He looked at Xiao Ruxun in disbelief as if he was looking at an alien. The other generals looked at each other. For a long time, no one stood up to say anything. They were also shocked.
"Yes! Blow up the city walls! Use 20,000 jin of gunpowder to avoid the city gates and barbicles. Find a weak spot and blow up the city walls! "
Xiao Ruxun knew that it would be difficult for others to agree with him. So if he didn't say it clearly, it would be even more impossible for others to agree with him. No matter what, he had to say it firmly.
"No! General Xiao! We all admire your ability to fight, but this strategy is indeed a little shocking. Putting aside the fact that Ningxia Town's city walls are used to guard against invaders and can't be repaired in a short time if they are blown up, the problem is whether the gunpowder has the ability to blow up the city walls. We know that you are very good at using firearms to fight, but we have also used many cannons these few days. Ningxia Town's city walls are too thick and can't be blown up at all! "
A middle-aged general stood up. His tone wasn't as sharp as before.
Wei Xuezeng looked at Xiao Ruxun and felt slightly disappointed. Shaking his head slightly, Wei Xuezeng said, "Ji Xin's words are a little too much. I think that with the current amount of gunpowder, it will be difficult to blow up the city walls."
Xiao Ruxun stood up. Seeing that there was a book on Wei Xuezeng's table, he picked it up and placed it in front of Wei Xuezeng. He said, "Please take a look at how to make the walls. When building a wall, the first thing that needs to be done is to lay a foundation. After that, we will use bricks, stones, earth, wood, and glutinous rice to build the city walls. With the current firepower of our army, even if we bombard it with solid iron bullets, we will only be able to make a hole in it at most. We won't be able to break through the city walls.
So, even if we use gunpowder to blow up the city walls, we might not be able to break into the city in a month. But, what if we change our way of thinking and blow up its foundation from underground? What if we lift it up from the ground? "
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