In the hall.
Yuan Zheng clasped his fists and bowed, "Your humble servant greets His Majesty."
Xiao Cheng smiled and said, "No need to be polite, just sit down." Then he asked someone to serve tea.
"Why are you here? How is Qingyang County doing?"
Yuan Zhengdao: "Thanks to the prince, the barbarians in Qingyang County have almost been wiped out."
"Oh? So fast?"
Xiao Cheng was a little surprised. Although Qingyang County had 30,000 soldiers, the barbarians were fighting guerrilla warfare. If these soldiers attacked separately, they would definitely not be a match for the barbarians. If they gathered together, they would not be able to prevent the barbarians from plundering everywhere.
Xiao Cheng had received a lot of battle reports from other places in the past few days. They were all still anxious and hoped that Xiao Cheng could send out private troops to help resist. They did not expect that Qingyang County would be the first to successfully suppress the barbarians.
At this time, the maid brought tea. Yuan Zheng took a sip and said with a smile, "It wouldn't have been so smooth at first. Unfortunately, a surprise force came out from Ruifeng County and wiped out all 3,000 people of the Red Mud Tribe. This is the token of the Red Mud Tribe leader. Your Majesty, please take a look."
As Yuan Zheng spoke, he took out the black iron token from his arms and handed it over with both hands.
Xiao Cheng took it and looked through it. He had a deep understanding of the Nanman people and recognized at a glance that this was the tribe leader's token and it could not be fake.
"Who are the special forces you are talking about?"
"It's a group of bandits."
"Bandits?!"
Xiao Cheng and Lu Jingxuan were a little confused. Which bandit could be so strong that they could wipe out all 3,000 barbarians of the Red Mud Clan? This was something that even the border troops found difficult to do, unless they crushed them with absolute numbers.
Seeing the surprised expressions on the two men's faces, Yuan Zheng was not surprised. He was also shocked when he heard that Pei Yun and the others were bandits.
Lu Jingxuan said, "Captain Yuan, are you kidding? The bandits can't even defeat the officers and soldiers, so how can they wipe out all the barbarians?"
Yuan Zheng smiled bitterly, "How dare I joke about this? They are indeed bandits, and there are only more than 300 of them."
"Wait a minute..."
Xiao Cheng spoke up, "You mean that more than 300 bandits wiped out 3,000 barbarians? They even killed the clan leader."
Yuan Zheng nodded.
The two of them gasped. Even though Xiao Cheng never showed his emotions, he was extremely shocked at this moment. If Yuan Zheng was not his confidant, he would have thought that the other party was making fun of him.
You said that the numbers were equal and the bandits defeated the barbarians, I could still believe it a little.
But you said that 300 people wiped out 3,000 people. How is that possible? Not only is it impossible, it's outrageous!
Even the strongest imperial guards of the Jing Dynasty could not wipe out 3,000 people with 300 men, unless it was 300 cavalrymen against 3,000 infantrymen, which would still be possible.
So Xiao Cheng asked, "Do those bandits have horses?"
However, as soon as he said this, Xiao Cheng knew that he had asked a stupid question. Horses are strictly controlled in Jing Dynasty.
After all, cavalry is very important in the battle against the Northern Hu, and most of the horse farms are on the Northern Hu side. There is only one horse farm in the south, and not many war horses are produced each year.
Therefore, apart from the army, ordinary people could not have horses unless they were members of the noble families or large caravans, let alone bandits.
But if it weren't for the cavalry, how could they have defeated the Red Mud Tribe with a smaller force?
Yuan Zheng took out the petition written by Xue Wenju from his bosom and said, "Your Highness, this is a petition from Xue Wenju, the magistrate of Ruifeng County. He knows a lot about this bandit and has written everything down in it."
Xiao Cheng hurriedly took it and unfolded it. Looking at the contents inside, Xiao Cheng's eyes gradually brightened.
"I see! I see!"
He closed the report and asked, "Did you also see the equipment of those bandits?"
Yuan Zheng nodded. "Their equipment is completely different from our army. It looks like iron but not iron, like cloth but not cloth. However, its defensive effect is excellent, even better than the rattan armor of the southern barbarians. Pei Yun said it was left by his father, but I don't know if it's true or not."
Lu Jingxuan interrupted, "Captain Yuan, are you saying that the bandits defeated the barbarians because they had better equipment than the barbarians?"
"You could say that, but I think the most important thing is the combat capability of those bandits. I was late to see their final battle with the barbarians."
"But none of those bandits died. This is not just a matter of good equipment. It also shows that their individual combat capabilities are no weaker than those of the barbarians. That's why they were able to achieve such a result."
Yuan Zheng explained, then looked at Xiao Cheng, "Your Majesty, Xue Wenju wants to ask the court to pardon their status as bandits and allow them to become volunteers. What do you think..."
Xiao Cheng laughed. "How difficult is that? I'll grant you your approval. I didn't expect that there are such powerful bandits under my rule. This is a bit unexpected. These bandits have made such great contributions. Let alone the righteous army, it won't be difficult to incorporate them into the regular army."
"Yuan Zheng, you have found a treasure this time."
Yuan Zheng chuckled. This group of bandits was under his jurisdiction. Since they became volunteers, they were his soldiers. If they made contributions in the future battles against the southern barbarians, then he, Yuan Zheng as their superior, would also be able to share some of the credit.
"I will write to the emperor later to pardon their status as bandits and grant them the status of 'Yun Yijun'."
This name was naturally based on Pei Yun's name. Pei Yun was introduced in Xue Wenju's report, although Xue Wenju didn't like his daughter to be too close to Pei Yun.
However, the report did not contain any malicious intent to belittle Pei Yun, nor did it mention his assassination of Pei Feng, nor did it mention the failure of the officers and soldiers in suppressing the bandits.
Liu Xiao was dead. The deaths of 1,000 officers and soldiers were attributed to the plague. This was reported by Liu Xiao to Yuan Zheng, and he also asked Xue Wenju to testify. If he said that some officers and soldiers died at the hands of bandits, he would be giving false testimony.
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