Chapter 592 Wuxi City (Part 2)
Drums and gongs are beating and banners are fluttering.
Wuxi City, which has been silent for several months, has not been so lively for a long time.
Luo Zhun led a few subordinates and waited eagerly outside the Xuanfu Envoy's Office. Although they seemed to be full of joy and excitement, there was a hint of indestructible sadness between their brows.
The government troops won a great victory in defeating the bandits and even captured the barbarian chief Yahama alive. This certainly boosted the morale of the people, but it was not necessarily a good thing for Luo Zhun and the Wuxi City.
A few days ago, when he heard that the Wuxi barbarians intended to come down the mountain to attack again, Luo Zhun secretly sent people deep into the mountains, intending to appease and control the barbarians, or at least delay until the imperial court's army arrived to quell the rebellion.
Who would have thought that plans could not keep up with changes, and the army to suppress the rebellion was still tied up in southern Xinjiang. The vanguard of the Beijing camp, who arrived first, was ignorant of the world and stirred up a hornet's nest.
In this case, wouldn't all my previous painstaking efforts be in vain?
Moreover, if the barbarians get angry and gather a large army to attack down the mountain, how can Wuxi City resist them given its current situation? !
What made Luo Zhun most depressed was that these things could not be discussed openly. After all, sending people to contact the Wuxi barbarians was just a decision he made privately and had not been approved by the court.
He even had to pretend to be cheerful in front of the people in the city to welcome that stupid and reckless man!
The book does not elaborate.
Luo Zhun waited for about a quarter of an hour with a smile on his face and MMP in his heart, before he saw the team of soldiers and officers parading around the city, led by the county officials beating gongs and drums, marching towards this side leisurely.
And those ignorant and short-sighted people actually followed and cheered all the way.
Alas~
Luo Zhun sighed inwardly, feeling a sense of sadness as if everyone else was drunk but he was the only one sober.
But given the situation, he still had to put on a cheerful face, strode forward, and said loudly from a distance: "Captain Xu is indeed a veteran general in the capital, and he has made such a great contribution without making any noise! This officer..."
"grown ups!"
Before he could finish his polite speech, the Magistrate of Wuxi County hurriedly stepped forward to interrupt him and reminded him in a low voice: "Captain Xu is only a deputy general. In order to deceive the eyes and ears of the barbarians, he used the banner of the chief general. The real one who was ordered to lead the troops to suppress the rebellion was actually Lord Sun Shaozong."
Sun Shaozong?
This name seems familiar.
There was no time to think about it, Luo Zhun quickly pretended to be surprised and laughed, "As expected, they are the elite troops of the Beijing Camp. They used a feint to the east and attacked in the west, and used any tactics to deceive the enemy. Even I was fooled by them."
As he was speaking, a burly general in front of him strode forward and said with a bow, "Sun greets Lord Luo!"
Even though they were a few steps apart , Luo Zhun still had to slightly raise his head to meet his eyes.
Of course, this was also because Sun Shaozong only nodded slightly and did not perform the full greeting.
He is so arrogant in front of his superiors, he is indeed a proud and brave general!
No wonder he went straight into the mountains and provoked those barbarians without even informing me.
Luo Zhun was getting more and more unhappy, but he couldn't show it in front of others, so he just gave up his hand and said with a fake smile: "Captain Sun has come from a far distance, and secretly captured the barbarian chieftain Yahamer. He must be very tired. I have ordered people to prepare wine and food in the yamen to welcome you - please come in!"
While he was looking at Sun Shaozong, Sun Shaozong was also taking in his actions and words.
From the vague shadows, they could tell that Lord Luo did not seem to welcome them.
However, Sun Shaozong did not care too much. He smiled and said, "It's better to obey than to be respectful." Then he walked in front without hesitation.
What a rude guy!
Luo Zhun's face finally couldn't help but fall. Even if he had made great contributions, he still had to distinguish between civil and military affairs.
How could a military officer arrogantly walk ahead of a civilian officer?
Even if they were arrogant and brave generals from the capital, wasn't this behavior too outrageous?
"Lord Luo."
At this time, the Wuxi County Magistrate came over and explained in a low voice: "Lord Sun also serves as the Right Counselor of the Hebei Provincial Administration. According to the court regulations, he should be before you."
Right Councillor of the Provincial Administration? !
Luo Zhun was dumbfounded for a moment, thinking to himself that it was no wonder that this man surnamed Sun had only performed a simple greeting just now.
Although the envoy had more military power than the general prefect, his rank was actually lower than that of the prefect, and he was assigned to the fourth rank.
The councilor is also of the fourth rank, which is still a higher position in the province. Even if he is not an official of the province, it is natural for him to be ranked before the envoy.
only……
He is obviously a brave general who leads troops in battle, but how come his civil rank is higher than his military rank?
Luo Zhun's mind was filled with questions. He followed Sun Shaozong into the Xuanfu Envoy's Office in a daze. When he saw that the host and the guest were about to take their seats, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "I heard that there is a blue sky god in the capital, Sun Zhizhong, but I don't know what his relationship is with Lord Sun?"
Sun Shaozong was about to take his seat when he heard Luo Zhun mention this. He immediately waved his hand and said with a smile, "What's the saying of a blue sky and divine judgment? It's just a compliment from the people of the capital. Don't take it seriously, absolutely don't take it seriously."
"Is it really Sun Zhizhong who is here in person?!"
This time, Luo Zhun was much more frightened than before.
Although they were thousands of miles apart, Luo Zhun had read .
However, Sun Shaozong's strong physique was far from what he had imagined, which was why he failed to combine the two in time.
However, after learning that Sun Shaozong was the governor of Shuntian Prefecture who was famous for his wit and had been repeatedly commended by the court, Luo Zhun became puzzled.
In addition, since they were all civil officials [Sun Shaozong's transfer from a military scholar was not listed in the court bulletin], subconsciously there were fewer barriers and taboos.
Therefore, Luo Zhun gritted his teeth, bowed deeply to Sun Shaozong and said, "Since you are here, Lord Sun, there is something I don't understand. I hope Lord Sun can give me some advice."
Sun Shaozong naturally returned the greeting and said, "I dare not. Please give me some advice, Lord Luo."
Then Luo Zhun asked, "May I ask, Lord Sun, are the imperial army that is suppressing the rebellion now being held in southern Xinjiang?"
In fact, the so-called army to suppress the rebellion is only on paper.
However, Sun Shaozong has not yet completely opened up the situation. If he tells the truth, the morale in the city, which has just been boosted, will probably fall to a low point immediately.
So he nodded vaguely and said, "It is true that only Sun's troops of about 1,500 have entered Hubei."
“Ah!”
Luo Zhun clenched his fist and hammered it hard into his palm: "Since the army has not arrived, why does Lord Sun want to take the initiative to provoke the Wuxi Barbarians? Even if the Tongxi Barbarians are severely damaged, the other four tribes combined have a total of 20,000 to 30,000 people. If they come down the mountain in anger, how can you and I resist?!"
At this point, he bowed again and said, "I have heard that Lord Sun is very intelligent. I believe he must have a plan that can relieve Luo's anxiety."
In fact, Sun Shaozong had not originally prepared to explain anything to the officials of Wuxi City.
After all, he still holds the title of councilor. Even if things go wrong, all the troops under his command will be transferred to the local level, and it will not be the turn of a mere envoy to control them.
However, after hearing Luo Zhun's serious words and his attitude of pleading for the people of the city, Sun Shaozong could not just ignore it.
So after thinking about his words, he asked, "Lord Luo, given the current situation in Southern Xinjiang, if the army doesn't arrive in time, and only my 1,500 men are stationed in Wuxi City, do you think the barbarians will stay in the mountains?"
"this……"
Although Luo Zhun wanted to deny this hypothesis, he had defeated more than 10,000 troops, including reinforcements from this province, when the Wuxi barbarians rebelled before.
Now is the time when people are arrogant, so how can they take the two or three thousand soldiers in the city seriously?
According to the analysis of the intelligence he had obtained, if things went as expected, the barbarians would definitely come down the mountain to plunder again around the New Year.
And by then, Wuxi City will naturally be the first to bear the brunt.
Seeing that Luo Zhun was speechless, Sun Shaozong continued, "If we wait for the barbarians to attack, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city will surely be low. Even with our help, I'm afraid that Wuxi City may not be able to be preserved!"
"That's why I have to take the initiative to attack. First, I want to defeat them one by one and weaken their strength. Second, it can boost morale and let the soldiers and civilians in the city know that the barbarians are not to be feared. Third, it is to let the enemy know that I am good at attacking and fighting, so that they will be cautious."
"As long as the military and public opinion in the city are available, and Sun's subordinates have brought a lot of the best firearms for defending the city, I think it will not be a problem to resist the barbarians' offensive in a short period of time."
"At that time, Sun will personally lead a small number of elite troops to burn, kill and plunder the barbarians' favorite places, and then spread rumors mixed with truth and falsehood to force the barbarians to be tired of fighting and want to return home. Why worry that these mobs will not lose their morale?"
"So the reason why Sun took the initiative to attack was to better defend Wuxi City!"
"This is just the beginning. After a few days of rest, I will continue to go into the mountains to fight the bandits until the barbarians are terrified of our government troops!"
Although this statement is 70% true and 30% false, it sounds reasonable and well-founded.
After Luo Zhun repeatedly considered it in his heart, he still felt that it was not safe enough, but he really couldn't think of a better idea.
Especially after learning of Sun Shaozong's identity, he dared not disclose his private interactions with the barbarians.
Therefore, he could only bow once more and said with a wry smile: "Since Lord Sun has already made a plan, I will have no choice but to sacrifice my life to accompany you - but I hope that Lord will think of the people of this city and act as cautiously as possible."
Luo Zhun is a good official as he always keeps the people in mind.
The two of them resolved their misunderstandings and then sat down as host and guest.
Seeing the food being served like flowing water, Sun Shaozong was about to enjoy his meal when suddenly someone reported in a loud voice: "Sir, Mr. Li from the west of the city has brought two barbarians here. It is said that they are the sons of the barbarian chief Yahamer!"
Yes~
Now the father and son are reunited.
I just don't know who between the father and the son can hold on longer when being cut into pieces.
