After the meeting ended, Xiong Er and Zhang San walked out with bitter expressions on their faces.
The two men squatted at the entrance of the camp, staring at each other, unsure how to face their subordinates.
The messenger had already issued the order, and the soldiers, who were eager to go to the battlefield and make a name for themselves, were instantly dumbfounded.
Zhang Daniu stood there, somewhat at a loss.
Although I knew someone would stay behind to defend the city, it shouldn't be them.
They were elite soldiers who fought their way out of Jiayang Pass with the prince.
Although the prince was in charge of killing and they were in charge of collecting the heads, they were among the earliest people to follow the prince.
Why should they be allowed to defend the city? If anyone should be defending it, it should be those greenhorns.
Why should a bunch of green recruits be above them?
Meanwhile, Zhao Hu and Chen Da's camp erupted in excited shouts, their howls and wails sounding particularly jarring to their ears.
Chen Shaoan never expected that his group of new recruits would actually be able to go to the battlefield and kill the enemy.
The messenger had just finished giving the order to stay in Tai'an City when he was surrounded by people.
Zhang Daniu grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
"You've come to the wrong place, haven't you? How could you expect us to defend the city?"
The messenger, unfazed, said in a low voice, "Captain Zhang, this is the Prince's order. Are you going to disobey military orders?"
The moment the words "Your Highness" were uttered, everyone calmed down considerably.
Lin Fan, the second battalion commander under Zhang San, looked at the messenger and asked, "Where is our general?"
"When I arrived just now, the two of them were squatting at the entrance of the camp."
"Alright, Da Niu, let's go ask General Zhang and General Xiong what's going on."
"Yes, let's go take a look."
"You can't bully people like this."
Several captains, accompanied by several squad leaders, walked out, their faces somewhat gloomy.
While Xiong Er and Zhang San were still figuring out how to explain, they saw them walking over.
"Zhang San, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Zhang Daniu walked up to Xiong Er and his companion and asked directly, "Why are we defending the city again this time?"
"Last time, it was those green recruits who went to the disaster relief, and they were awarded several second-class merits."
“They hung it at the entrance of the camp, showing off every day, and the way they looked at us was so smug.”
"Now, you finally have a chance to go to the battlefield, but you didn't get it. You're still going to be one of those green recruits."
"If they were to receive a few more second-class or first-class merit awards and have them displayed at the camp gate, would we still have the face to call ourselves veterans?"
As Zhang Daniu spoke, his eyes welled up with tears.
The entrance to their own camp was bare, without even a single flag commemorating their achievements.
I felt ashamed to go out, and I didn't dare to say a word when eating with my colleagues.
All I could do was listen to them brag about how many people their team had saved during the last disaster relief effort.
They carried the people on their backs, wading through the river to rescue them.
He even gave his own food rations to the people, saving lives while going hungry himself.
Then the prince personally awarded him the collective second-class merit flag and the individual second-class merit medal.
The political commissar had someone carry the plaque for the second-class merit award, accompanied by gongs and drums, to the village, where it was handed over to his parents.
The imperial court even built a courtyard for his parents to live in; it was incredibly prestigious and glorious.
Thinking of this, Zhang Daniu felt wronged. He, the captain, didn't have a single medal or a single banner. What face did he have to call himself a captain?
It's embarrassing for your own men to follow you. When people ask who your soldiers are, they don't dare to say their names.
They were afraid of being laughed at.
Now that he finally has a chance to make a contribution, he is extremely reluctant to give it up.
He had always had a dream: to receive a second-class merit medal.
They wanted to get a banner recognizing the collective second-class merit, just to make their subordinates look good.
As for the First-Class Merit, he also wanted to try and see if he could get it in this battle.
The prince said that the first-class merit can only be awarded on the battlefield, and the highest honor in peacetime is the second-class merit.
Receiving a collective first-class merit is a very important achievement.
The entire army was notified that everyone must gather together for a flag-giving ceremony.
Everyone on the team is to send a plaque home so that their families can have a moment of glory.
They can also bring honor to their ancestors.
As for the Special Merit Award, Zhang Daniu didn't even dare to dream of it.
The other captains, seeing that Zhang Daniu had spoken first, also joined in the shouting.
“Xiong Er, say something! Even the Lingnan army is now doing logistics, but we’re all doing nothing. What will others think of us?”
“Zhao Hu’s men, in fact, we were the original people from Chengxi Village. We were the prince’s precious darlings, so we can’t let them get tired.”
"Listen to them, are they even speaking human language? I just can't stand this injustice."
Several villagers from Chengxi Village were green with envy as they watched Zhao Hu and his men getting ready to leave.
The family genealogy is published separately, ensuring their name will be remembered in history.
They were unwilling to give up this opportunity.
They were the ones who followed their son-in-law from the very beginning, and now they watch as others are promoted one after another.
How could they feel comfortable? They couldn't wait to go to the battlefield and fight their way to some glory.
In contrast to them were the Imperial Guards of the capital.
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