Chapter 375 Xi Zhiyuan's Secret (asking for monthly tickets)
"The Japanese army has retreated nearly ten miles away. May I ask, commander-in-chief, do you want to lead the army in pursuit?!" He Wuhu asked for instructions.
"Don't chase them." Chang Suining looked at the fleet on the sea ahead and the dots of flames left on the water, and said, "Order them to retreat to the defense line."
He Wuhu hesitated for a moment, but Qihu, whose face was still stained with the blood of the Japanese soldiers, blurted out: "Commander, these Japanese pirates have attacked us four times in the past half month! They are like flies that can't be killed! If we don't teach them a lesson today and let them go easily, they will definitely come again in a few days!"
Qi Hu raised the knife in his hand and said murderously: "Please give us the order to chase the Japanese pirates, so that we can kill them at once! It will also boost morale!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the girl in front of the boat railing turned her head. Her eyes were even more serene and cold than the sea water, and her voice was also very cold: "I said I won't chase you. What, are you questioning military orders and telling me what to do?"
When he met those eyes, Qi Hu's expression suddenly froze, his murderous intent disappeared, and he froze in place for a moment.
He Wuhu's face tightened and he immediately kicked him from behind.
Qi Hu suddenly came back to his senses and quickly knelt down: "Subordinates... Subordinates dare not!"
He Wuhu also knelt down uneasily.
"Since the first day you joined the army, I have said that if you want to serve me, the first thing you must do is to obey my military orders unconditionally—"
Chang Suining's eyes fell on Qihu. "You thought the Japanese army had been fighting for a whole day, why are they retreating now? It's already dark now, the situation ahead is unclear, and the Japanese army is best at guerrilla warfare. Do you believe that if you lead the light troops to chase for 20 or 30 miles, you will be devoured by the Japanese army that appears from all directions and there will be no bones left?"
"You can lead a large army to pursue them, but who will guard the line of defense? If the Japanese army attacks the line of defense at night and causes this line of defense to fail, who will be responsible? You? What will you take to bear the responsibility?"
Qihu knocked his head against the board with a bang: "It's...it's my fault for being careless!"
"You are not careless, you are ignorant, and you are blinded by the killing intent, so you dare to try to refute my military order. If everyone questions the order, I will have to explain the pros and cons here in a long and tedious way. I must tell you all the military secrets. Do you still want to fight?"
Chang Suining said mercilessly: "If you still can't get used to obeying military orders, then you can take the ten military sticks and return to Wuhu Mountain on your own. Don't undermine military discipline in our army, so as not to harm others and yourself at a critical moment."
"I know I was wrong!" Qi Hu was horrified and kowtowed repeatedly: "I am willing to take twenty military sticks, please don't chase me away!"
He Wuhu's face turned a lot paler, and he pleaded for Qihu: "...General, it's my fault for not disciplining him properly!"
When he heard the general ordering a retreat, he hesitated for a moment. Could the general's words be directed only at Qihu? Weren't they meant for him as well?
Qihu and others all worked under him. The general did not disband them. Instead, he gave him the position of captain. Qihu and others were all under his command. In this way, the general was equivalent to letting him have his own personal soldiers.
Therefore, with the support of his former brothers, he could always say what he meant and his prestige remained the same. When he was a bandit in Wuhu Mountain, he had stained a lot of blood in the past half month and killed more than a dozen Japanese soldiers with his knife. He thought he was very capable... Before he knew it, he got carried away with his words and actions.
At this moment, the cool sea breeze blew across his sweaty face, and He Wuhu finally woke up. He wished he could slap himself twice.
It is impossible to go back to Wuhu Mountain... He has been following the general for these days and has gained some long-term insights. The world is too chaotic. Even if they gather together as a rebel army, they have no money to recruit soldiers, no knowledge or strategy in their heads, and they are destined to never achieve anything big with just their recklessness. If they turn to others, they will still be suppressed in terms of status; in terms of future and reputation, how can it compare to following the general?
The most rare thing is that the general is tolerant, otherwise he would not have allowed his brothers to follow him - instead, he was arrogant and failed to set an example to restrain his brothers! These days, He Wuhu really admired and respected Chang Suining, but due to his banditry and human nature, he was tempted to get carried away by the murderous aura. At this moment, this tendency was cut off in time, and he bowed his head in shame.
Chang Suining never said a harsh word to He Wuhu from beginning to end, helping him to preserve his face and dignity in front of his subordinates. He Wuhu was not stupid and was able to understand the important intention, so he felt even more ashamed and did not have any resentment.
The majesty of military orders must not be lost. Qihu was taken to the stern of the ship to receive military sticks. He Wuhu "shared the burden" of ten military sticks for Qihu on the grounds of "failure to exercise proper discipline".
After the two men were hit with ten military sticks each, they were helped back to the cabin. As soon as a group of brothers gathered in, they heard He Wuhu, who was lying there, say, "... From now on, if any of you dare to disobey military orders and dare to talk about the general's actions behind his back, I will twist off his dog head and use it as a urinal!"
The boss was punished by military law, and everyone in Wuhu Mountain was inevitably in a panic. Seeing their boss's attitude, they all hurriedly agreed, not daring to say a word of dissatisfaction.
"Boss, does your body hurt?" Seeing the military doctor applying medicine and the bloody underwear he took off, Liu Hu asked with some concern.
"What's the pain? It doesn't hurt at all!" He Wuhu raised his head, looking relaxed and proud, and said, "The general has me in his heart, how could he bear to let someone really use force!"
The medicine was sprinkled on the wound, and his neck stiffened in pain, but he glared at Qihu who was lying beside him, his eyes full of warning.
Qi Hu gritted his teeth with tears in his eyes, not daring to shout out. When his companions asked, "Does it really not hurt?" he forced a smile and said, "...It doesn't hurt!"
"It doesn't hurt, that's fine!" Liu Hu kicked him in the side of the leg: "Then let's settle the score! You did something stupid and you want me to take the punishment for you!"
The kick hurt Qi Hu, who couldn't help crying. He used tears of regret to cover up the fact that he was crying in pain: "It's all my fault, it's all my fault!"
He Wuhu was in so much pain that he wanted to grimace. Although Chang Suining really didn't let anyone be too cruel and no bones were injured, his skin was inevitably torn, and the wound medicine was spilled on it, which was extremely painful.
He Wuhu gasped in pain, but he didn't forget to teach everyone a lesson: "In short, from now on, keep your tails tucked away! Even if you were the alpha wolf before, you have to be a good house dog from now on! If you can't be a house dog, get out and dig for food as soon as possible!"
Tang Xing, who was riding the sea breeze at the stern and performing a set of sword techniques, put away his sword with great satisfaction. When he passed by the cabin, he heard He Wuhu's voice giving a lecture and could not help but sigh, "He really knows how to rule his subordinates."
He returned to the commander's ship and went to see Chang Suining: "I wonder what Governor Chang's plan is next?"
"I'm injured, so I have to go back to the camp to recuperate." Chang Suining sat cross-legged behind the desk in the cabin and said, "Let's sort out the next things. You will follow me to the shore and return to the camp at dawn tomorrow."
In the past twenty days, she has figured out the Japanese army's current combat strategy, which is still mainly guerrilla warfare. Facing the Japanese army's dispersed offensive, all she needs to do is to strictly defend each place.
If she fought a guerrilla war with the Japanese army, her navy would have no advantage at all, and it would be easy for them to be distracted and dispersed, disrupting the defense distribution. Therefore, she currently planned to defend but not attack, to preserve her strength to the greatest extent possible and to delay and consume the patience of the Japanese army.
And her "purpose" as the commander in chief for participating in this war has been achieved, and she can temporarily return to the camp to deploy the next matters.
Tang Xing did not ask much about Chang Suining's plan, but he could guess a little. After several battles, he could see that his soldiers did not use the latest military formations during the drills. The mechanisms that the craftsmen had added to the ships according to the blueprints a few days ago were not actually displayed to the Japanese army.
The lights in the cabin flickered slightly, and the girl sitting there stood straight: "Thanks to Mr. Tang's timely help today, otherwise my arm would have been lost to the Japanese sword."
Tang Xing did not comment on this statement, but waved his hand and said, "I have said it many times, I am different from Brother Luo and the others. Governor Chang does not need to call me sir. What kind of sir am I!"
He half-jokingly said, "And the title of Mr. makes me think of a pedantic old scholar, which is totally inconsistent with Tang's behavior."
Chang Suining smiled and asked, "Then what should I call you?"
Tang Xing said straightforwardly: "My Lord, just call me Tang Xing. It's also okay to call me by my courtesy name!"
Chang Suining nodded obediently: "Okay, then don't call me sleepy in private from now on. By the way, I remember you said last time that you are fluent in Dongluo language?"
Tang Xing nodded, "Yes, I was born in the north. When I was young, I stayed in Yingzhou for two years. At that time, I met a Dongluo merchant. I was very curious about foreign things, so I often helped him transport goods. After a while, I came into contact with Dongluo people more and learned their language."
Not only Dongluo dialect, he started wandering around when he was twelve or thirteen years old, seeking teachers and making friends everywhere. After twenty years, he has more or less mastered various dialects.
"I would like to ask Xiu Kun to teach Dongluo language to the soldiers in the army, about a hundred of them." Chang Suining thought for a moment and said, "In more than two months, I wonder if they can learn a rough idea of it?"
“How much time can adults leave for them to study every day?”
Chang Suining: "Except for half an hour of martial arts practice every day, the rest of the time can be used for this."
Tang woke up and realized that they would specially assign a hundred people to learn Dong Luo language.
Chang Suining added: "Time is tight, there is no need for them to master everything. In addition to brief exchanges, they just need to focus more on the military handover terms."
Tang Xing considered for a moment and nodded: "In this case, sir, please rest assured and leave this matter to me."
That night, Chang Suining told Yuanxiang to pick people after returning to the camp. He wanted those who were smart, quick learners, and whose height and appearance were similar to those of the Dongluo people. At least, they should not be recognizable as Sheng people at first glance.
It may sound difficult to choose at first, but it is not difficult to find a hundred or so among an army of 80,000.
After explaining everything, Chang Suining slept in the cabin for two or three hours. When the sky was slightly bright, the fleet returning to the camp had assembled.
Chang Suining left enough people to replace the defensive patrols, and returned to the camp with his personal guards and wounded soldiers.
During the voyage, the sky was clear. Chang Suining stood on the right side of the ship, holding a crystal lens in front of one eye, squinting the other eye, and looking towards the east.
This lens was made by Shen Sanmao. It is nothing more than a crystal piece inlaid on the handle. It has the effect of magnifying things in front of you. Chang Suining tried it out at sea, but the magnifying effect is very limited in distance. It can be used for reading, but it is still far from enough for observing things.
Chang Suining thought about it and decided to ask Shen Sanmao to study it together with some skilled craftsman to see if it could be improved. If it could really be used to observe distant objects, it would be great.
The direction she was looking at with the lens at this moment was the direction of Dong Luo, but she could not see anything clearly.
Dongluo was experiencing internal turmoil at this moment. After the old Dongluo king died, his eldest son was assassinated, and now his third son has succeeded to the throne.
Chang Suining didn't know more information for the time being, but she knew another secret.
This secret was revealed to her by Cui Jing in a letter.
As early as when he discovered that Japan was sending troops to Dasheng, Cui Jing thought of the uncertainty of Dong Luo's position, so he explained to her a secret that he had found out in the capital -
This matter is related to Xi Zhiyuan.
Thinking of this name, Chang Suining's mind flashed a fair and handsome face and a pair of almond-shaped eyes that were always gentle and smiling.
The young man who had gone to study in Dasheng at the age of twelve and stayed there for six years only left Beijing and returned to Dongluo last year was also a member of the Wuer Society. He had played polo with her at Houhe of the Imperial College, and had spent every day with Cui Lang, Qiao Yubai and others, and they became classmates and friends.
But Cui Jing told her that his real name was not Xi Zhiyuan, and his identity was not just an ordinary noble of Dongluo.
Last year, Cui Lang wrote to her, reluctantly telling her that Xi Zhiyuan had left Dasheng and returned to Dongluo Kingdom because he received a letter from home urging him to go back because something had happened at home.
So, when Xi Zhiyuan mentioned "family affairs" at that time, did he mean that the old Dongluo King was seriously ill? Or was it some other inside story?
What role did he play in the struggle for the throne among the princes of Dongluo? Is he still alive?
Anyone who can change his identity and patiently study in Dasheng for six years is definitely not an ordinary person.
Chang Suining's eyes were filled with thought. She had to carefully understand the current situation in Dong Luo.
The sky darkened and then brightened, and by the time the ship safely docked, it was almost dusk.
On the coast, Guiqi broke free from Ache's hands and ran towards Chang Suining's warship with his hooves raised.
Chang Suining jumped over the deck and landed on the shore, then touched Guiqi's head with a smile.
Ah Che ran after her, eyes full of joy, and panted, "Girl, you are back safely!"
"The coach is back!"
Coach Fang led the soldiers forward to salute. Fang Chao had just been training the soldiers, but now his sturdy upper body with fat wrapped in lean meat was naked and he was wearing a red belt. After all, his zodiac year was not over yet.
After Chang Suining walked out of the crowd, A Che was able to step forward again and had the opportunity to speak in a low voice: "...Girl, there is news about Master Wu Jue!"
Chang Suining, who was leading the horse, paused immediately.
Waving a handkerchief, asking for a monthly ticket, guaranteeing a ranking, and recommending Bao Bao Zi's new book - "Mom Repaired Billions of Supplies in the End of the World" Looking for her daughter, abusing scum, I am the strongest in the end of the world! Freshly released, don't miss it if you like to read end-of-the-world literature!
(End of this chapter)
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