Chapter 175: Chapter 132: Dongting Savior_3
Translator: 549690339
Upon receiving the news, Commander Lu Yuan immediately led five thousand troops on an active offensive.
Subsequently, they encountered the rebel forces in the field. Commander Lu personally donned armor and led his elite warriors with great courage, breaking the enemy’s front line in one fell swoop.
Then the morale of the enemy army dropped drastically, leading to chaos. Commander Lu issued an order for the en tire army to press on and kill, dealing a significant defeat to the enemy forces.
In this battle, they beheaded five thousand rebels and captured tens of thousands.
Later, Commander Lu continued to lead the army in striking again, defeating over ten-thousand rebels besieging Xinhua County town, beheading over three thousand, and thoroughly lifting the siege of Xinhua.
Now they have even split their forces into four to suppress the rebels throughout the region.
Shaoyang Prefect Cui Changqing sent a victory report, stating that in this battle, Commander Lu Yuan’s military achievements were remarkable, breaking through forty thousand rebels, beheading and capturing more than twenty thousand, and his contributions are unparalleled.
Therefore, they requested the government and the court to reward him and commemorate the merits of the soldiers.”
Holding the memorial in his hand, Lu Fangai excitedly addressed the officials in the hall.
No wonder he was so enthusiastic.
Amid the bad news of wailing for help in the region, Shaoyang Prefecture suddenly brought such a great victory report, which was too eye-catching and inspiring.
After listening to the news, the other officials looked at each other, then got excited as they processed the information.
“Is this true?”
“Of course, it’s true. Since it’s written in the report that there are eight thousand beheadings, this matter can be easily verified by sending someone to investigate. Shaoyang Prefecture wouldn’t be so foolish as to deceive us on such matters. ”
“If there really are eight thousand beheadings, then the news of defeating tens of thousands of rebels in this battle is also true. The loss of the rebels is so heavy that the situation in Shaoyang Prefecture can now be stabilized.”
“Alas, a pity. Only Shaoyang Prefecture has such a Commander Lu. If other prefectures and counties also had such formidable leaders, what would the court have to worry about?”
“Who is this Lu Yuan? How come we haven’t heard of him before?”
“I remember him. In the eighth month of the first year of Hongdao, due to the shortage of soldiers to suppress the rebellion in Wugang County, Sun Siwen, who was then acting as the county magistrate, recommended him as a substitute. He directly filled the position of County Captain with his second-rate martial artist strength.
Since then, he has assisted Sun County Magistrate in recruiting troops and has quickly suppressed the rebels in Wugang County, reclaiming the place for the court.
After that, he was promoted to be the commander of Shaoyang Prefecture.”
“It turns out that Commander Lu has such a resume. Originally, he was a military officer with outstanding achievements in war, so it’s not surprising that he has made significant victories now.”
“At this critical juncture, having such a hero serving the court is indeed a blessing for the country.”
All the officials present were discussing and their spirits were greatly uplifted.
Seeing that his subordinates had never-ending discussions, Lu Fangai was also pleased in his heart because he had not felt such spirit for a long time.
However, as the head of a prefecture, he still remembered his duties, so he lightly coughed to stop the discussion, then asked, “Prefect Cui and his memorial are asking for merit for Commander Lu and those meritorious soldiers.
What do you all think about how the government and the court should reward them?
Moreover, the memorial mentioned that in these two consecutive battles, though they achieved great victories with a smaller force, the losses of the local troops were not insignificant.
Five thousand flat-armed forces lost over a thousand in battle, and over a thousand were injured and retired. Nowadays, there are only just over two thousand soldiers ready for battle.
A large amount of silver is needed to support the injured and retired soldiers, and then a large amount of silver is needed for the local government to recruit a new army. The meritorious soldiers are also waiting for rewards, requiring a large amount of expenditure.
Shaoyang is only a poor prefecture, and its finances are already stretched. It cannot afford such expenses.
So they asked the prefecture for support, requesting the allocation of some silver to help address the urgent needs.”
Upon hearing these requests, the excitement of the officials quickly diminished, and they looked at each other, with no one speaking up.
That’s because the rewards for the meritorious soldiers were for the court to consider, not for the local government to intervene.
As for the financial support for injured and lost soldiers, with the troubled finances of the prefecture, it is unlikely that they could afford the silver.
Speaking at this point, any words would be wrong.
Lu Fangai glanced at the expressions of his subordinates and snorted coldly in his heart, knowing what they were thinking.
These people were very enthusiastic about making money on a daily basis, but when it came to spending it on others, they all retreated. It would be strange if the country did not face problems with these people in charge.
As he thought so, he completely forgot that he himself had made a fortune and did not miss out on opportunities. As a prefect, he took more than anyone else.
But people always tend to ignore their shortcomings while discovering others’ shortcomings.
At this moment, Lu Fangai felt quite good about himself.
Since one of his subordinates emerged as a victorious general, wasn’t that proof of his ability to recognize and cultivate talent?
With that in mind, Ning Guogong, the prefect of Dongting, and Bo Le Lu, waved his hand and said, “The local soldiers have made great achievements in suppressing the rebellion and defending the territory. This is a great merit that cannot be rewarded lightly.
I have decided to ask the court to confer the title of ‘Fierce Warrior General’ on Commander Lu, and let him be the commander-in-chief of the government’s suppression of the rebellion, taking charge of all local prefectures and counties’ soldiers and being responsible for suppressing local revolts.
Meanwhile, the government will allocate one hundred thousand silver taels to Shaoyang Prefecture to console the soldiers, recruit new troops, and reorganize the military equipment.”
Upon hearing this, everyone present looked at each other, all seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.
That’s because the reward given by the prefect was surprisingly generous.
‘Fierce Warrior General’, although just a miscellaneous general, it still held the official rank of the fourth tier in the military. In terms of rank, it was two ranks higher than a local prefect.
And being in charge of all the prefecture and county soldiers meant he could openly interfere with the military affairs in various places and legitimately deploy soldiers from all over. Such authority was almost equivalent to a prefecturewei.
Now, the prefect is giving Lu Yuan these two honors and positions, which really shows his joy and appreciation.
But by another angle, as the prefect, he pushed Lu Yuan forward during such a chaotic situation within the region; it might also be his intention to find someone to take the blame.
Whether it’s good or bad, it’s hard to say.
But no matter what, in the current situation, where only Lu Yuan made progress, he truly had the bearing of a savior of Dongting.
Everyone’s thoughts were flying and complex, and it was hard to describe them all accurately..