Upon hearing the news of Song Yingchang's illness, Xiao Ruxun was stunned. Only then did he understand what was going on. It was not a good thing for the commander-in-chief to fall ill in the face of a great war. It might cause trouble. No wonder Song Yingchang wanted him to come earlier. It seemed that he wanted to entrust the military affairs to him instead of trying to intimidate them. Thinking of this, Xiao Ruxun felt much more comfortable.
The old servant led Xiao Ruxun to a room, knocked on the door, and then pushed it open to enter. A strong smell of medicine wafted over, and Xiao Ruxun couldn't help but frown. Looking over, she saw a pale old man covered in a blanket lying on the bed — Song Yingchang should be fifty-six years old this year. In modern times, he would be the age of a high-ranking official who was ambitious enough to continue working hard for a few more years, but in the Great Ming Dynasty, he was an out-and-out old man.
"Master, Xiao Pinglu is here."
The old servant woke Song Yingchang up in a soft voice in front of the bed.
"Help me up."
A hoarse voice came. Xiao Ruxun realized that Song Yingchang's physical condition was indeed not very good.
In a short while, Song Yingchang was already leaning on the bed. Xiao Ruxun took a step forward, cupped his fists, and saluted, "Subordinate Xiao Ruxun, the Chief Military Officer of the Wei Nation, pays respect to the Military Administrator."
"Xiao Pinglu, you don't have to be so polite. Sit down!"
Song Yingchang smiled slightly and asked Xiao Ruxun to sit down. After taking Xiao Ruxun to sit down, Song Yingchang covered his mouth and coughed a few times, then slowly said, "Xiao Pinglu, please excuse me. This old man's body is not living up to expectations. I actually suffered from the disease of acclimatization. Although it's not a big problem, the headache and fever are really uncomfortable. As I get older, my body is not as good as before. It's too slow to recover, so I can't handle military affairs. I was afraid that I would delay the important matters, so I hurriedly asked Xiao Pinglu to come as soon as possible to share some of the burden for this old man."
Xiao Ruxun hurriedly said, "You flatter me, Sir. How can this subordinate bear such a heavy responsibility?"
"Of course you can." Song Yingchang's sudden words stunned Xiao Ruxun. Song Yingchang smiled and took out a letter from under his pillow. He handed it to Xiao Ruxun and said, "That's what Master Ye said. I've never seen Master Ye praise someone so much. He didn't hesitate to use his own reputation to vouch for your ability. Why can't you?"
"Lord Ye?"
Xiao Ruxun was taken aback. He took the letter and read it. An indescribable feeling filled his heart.
Ye Mengxiong speculated that there was a high possibility that he would become the commanding general of this expedition to the east. Therefore, he wrote a letter to his old acquaintance, Song Yingchang, in order to vouch for Xiao Ruxun's military, political, and civil strategies. He was a rare talent who could govern both the army and the people. He earnestly asked Song Yingchang not to make things difficult for Xiao Ruxun and restrict his hands and feet. Xiao Ruxun should do his best to salvage the situation and obtain victory.
After reading the letter, Xiao Ruxun couldn't speak for a long time. His heart was filled with gratitude towards the old man.
"I don't know when I'll be able to repay Master Ye's great kindness!"
Song Yingchang smiled and said, "Master Ye is a man who wholeheartedly serves the country. If it wasn't beneficial to the country, he wouldn't use his own reputation to vouch for you. Therefore, Hsiao Jixin, winning this battle is the best way to repay Master Ye."
Xiao Ruxun stood up and bowed respectfully. "I will do my best to repay Master Ye and Master Song's great kindness!"
"If that's the case, that's good." Song Yingchang gestured to the old servant beside him, and the old servant brought over a plate. On the plate was the seal of the Military Commissioner. Song Yingchang solemnly said, "This old man's body is not good enough to handle official business. From today onwards, Commander Xiao Ruxun will handle official business on my behalf until this old man recovers."
Xiao Ruxun received the seal and bowed once more. "This subordinate obeys."
Song Yingchang let out a sigh of relief and said, "Then I can rest assured. To be honest with Ji Xin, I've made a lot of preparations in Liaoyang these days. I've dealt with some of the King of Korea's ministers and have a better understanding of the situation here. I can only warn Ji Xin that you mustn't have too high of expectations for the King of Korea and his ministers. Otherwise, you'll miss the big picture."
Xiao Ruxun nodded and said, "If they can't even defend their own country, what else can they count on? Master Song, do you have enough military rations in Liaodong? "
"Oh? Ji Xin, you don't plan to let the Koreans provide military rations? "
Song Yingchang narrowed his eyes.
"Hmph! They've lost all three capitals and destroyed all eight paths. How much food do they have to provide for Daming? Not only do we need to make preparations in terms of food, but we also need to reexamine and reprocess all kinds of armaments, including military communications, courier messages, and marching routes. The intelligence provided by the Koreans can't be trusted. There might even be Japanese spies among the Korean officials. We can't reveal too much military intelligence to them. "
Song Yingchang smiled slightly. "To be honest with Ji Xin, I've seen a few things in Liaoyang these days. The Koreans want us to enter Korea as soon as possible, but they didn't mention anything about preparing rations. They're up to no good. If we're tricked into bringing these forty thousand soldiers to Korea, we'll starve to death before the war even starts. This old man has already gathered eighty thousand dan of rations, enough for the army to use for one or two months. They're all stored in Liaoyang, and we're planning to gradually transport them to the border.
What do you think, Ji Xin? "Xiao Ruxun nodded with a smile." This subordinate believes that we should do our best to transport the rations to Uiju in Korea as soon as possible. Before the main army arrives, all the rations must be transported to Uiju. We can't trust North Korea's guarantee. We'll have to solve our own rations. January and February is enough for this subordinate to wipe out a group of Japanese and recover some areas. When the time comes, we can just take the Japanese rations for our own use.
Moreover, Duke Song, this subordinate believes that we can't rely on the Koreans to transport the rations and armaments. North Korea has suffered a great defeat and is in a state of panic. Their management is in chaos, and they lack all kinds of resources. One or two thousand people are still manageable, but the current North Korea would need half the country to provide for forty thousand soldiers. Furthermore, the King of North Korea only controls a corner of the northwest; how can he handle such a heavy task?
We can't count on them to transport the rations and armaments during the war. Before the war, let the North Korean army do it. We also need to prepare a considerable portion of the transport equipment and arrange for the North Korean army to transport the rations and armaments to the military depots along the route of the main army. In addition, instruct the North Korean side to thoroughly organize the relay stations along the route of the main army to ensure that information about the situation from the front and rear can be transmitted in a timely manner. Only then can we ensure that there won't be any problems once the war begins. "
Song Yingchang frowned and thought carefully for a moment before nodding his head. "Ji Xin is indeed a strategist. This old man had not thought of this point. Come to think of it, North Korea has lost its territory and its entire administrative system is in chaos. There is no way for them to effectively support the battle on the front lines. If a battle really breaks out, I'm afraid that even after the army arrives, the supplies will still be stuck on the road … There's no time to lose. Ji Xin, quickly make the arrangements. This old man will naturally rest and recuperate. Ji Xin, don't worry."
Xiao Ruxun nodded. "This subordinate will do his best!"
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