Chapter 199: Chapter 141: Consolidation and Merging of Power
Translator: 549690339
After Lu Yuan’s army arrived, the enemy army, which had been somewhat restless, instantly calmed down.
Originally, there were only three thousand government soldiers, and the enemy soldiers dared to launch an attack and siege with their twenty thousand-strong army.
But now, with fifteen thousand elite troops arriving, and if one were to include the local soldiers in Changning County, that would be over twenty thousand.
In terms of military strength, the government soldiers are no less than the enemy soldiers, and even more numerous.
After all, this time the enemy soldiers suffered a loss of five thousand, and such a large loss has reduced their number to less than twenty thousand.
Having fought such a battle, time had reached the afternoon, and the sky was getting dark, so Lu Yuan had no intention of continuing to fight with those bandits.
After dispatching light cavalry to clean up the fleeing enemy soldiers on the battlefield, he ordered to set up camp.
Then he sent messengers to notify the major officers of the county town and the two government soldiers camps outside the county town to come and see him.
Under Lu Yuan’s command, the troops were well-trained.
This training not only refers to the skills of waging war and killing enemies, but also other various military skills, such as setting up camp, clearing paths through the mountains, and so on.
Upon receiving the order to set up camp, and with the materials that accompanied the army, a simple camp was quickly set up within an hour.
Then, by spending a little more time to reinforce it, a solid fortress could be established.
At this time, the messengers who had been sent to the county town and the other two government soldier camps returned with five people. “I am Hengyang Commandant Zhu Anguo, greeting the Valiant General.”
“The lower official is Changning County Magistrate Duan Dongling, greeting the General.”
“I am Hengshan Military Officer Luo Shi, greeting the General.”
“I am Chaling Military Officer Xu Li, greeting the General.”
“I am Youxian Commandant Yang Yuncong, greeting the General.”
These people bowed in unison as they entered the tent.
Lu Yuan was dealing with military affairs at the time. It wasn’t easy to let go of many things, as the commander needed to oversee them, and they couldn’t be simply pushed aside.
Hearing the commotion, he put down today’s list of merits and rewards for the soldiers and looked up.
He saw that among the five people, four were dressed as military officers and one as a civil official, each clearly identifiable by their attire.
Many years had passed since the previous county magistrate, who had focused on the imperial examination, and Lu Yuan did not know the incumbent Changning County Magistrate.
As for the Hengyang Commandant, Lu Yuan was familiar with him due to their previous cooperation.
As for the three military officers, he did not know them at all.
After discerning the identities of the people below, Lu Yuan retracted his thoughts and then addressed them: “Gentlemen, please rise.”
“Yes.”
Upon hearing the order, the five people below stood up.
After they stood up, Lu Yuan’s gaze constantly moved among them, but he did not speak. This posture instantly put immense pressure on them.
However, since the General had not spoken, they dared not speak rashly either, only silently guessing in their hearts whether the Valiant General was dissatisfied with their performance in the battlefield.
After all, they had just watched the vanguard troops fight against the enemy army while they themselves had stayed in the city camp, without even sending support.
Having others come to help you while you sit and watch them fight to the death with your enemies, not lending a hand, is indeed hard to justify.
With this thought in mind, the hearts of these people were a little uneasy.
Just when their hearts were uneasy, Lu Yuan spoke: ‘Gentlemen, as the Valiant General, it is my duty to eliminate bandits. Since I have brought my troops to the battlefield today, I will take over all military affairs here, large and small. I hope you have no objections.”
As the Valiant General, Lu Yuan was in charge of all military affairs in the county.
That is to say, whether it was county soldiers, prefecture soldiers, or local militia, all were under his jurisdiction.
Even in areas like Changning County, which were war zones, civil officials such as county magistrates who specialized in government affairs were also under his control.
So when Lu Yuan arrived on the battlefield, he automatically became the highest commander, with the authority to govern the prefecture soldiers, county soldiers, and militia here.
This was in accordance with the rules and regulations of the court.
Of course, nominally speaking, it is one thing, but whether people actually obey is another matter.
After all, it was as if the county government and the court were still in charge of Lu Yuan, right?
But let the court and county government try to strip him of his military power – with his level of martial arts, he wouldn’t hesitate to rebel.
Therefore, as soon as these words were spoken, the four martial artists present silently complained, but Chaling Military Officer Xu Li said, “General, we are local village soldiers, not court soldiers. The court has decreed that we may appoint our own commanders.
Though the General is in charge of all soldiers in the county, we are just the
Militia Corps and not included in the ranks of prefecture and county soldiers.”
“Yes, General. We are just Righteous Heroes from the countryside who stood up to defend our hometown because we couldn’t bear to see bandits wreaking havoc. We are not soldiers, but just ordinary villagers and are used to being lax, thus fearing that we might not be able to bear military restrictions.”
“That’s right, we are all from the same village, and usually maintain relationships based on blood ties and kinship. No one wants to be under the control of an outsider.”
After someone spoke up, the remaining two local military officers immediately chimed in.
These were the soldiers that they had brought out with great difficulty, so who would willingly let others take control?
Not even indirectly.
The three military officers, relying on these soldiers for their glory, were reluctant to let others lay hands on them.
Lu Yuan, seeing this scene, was filled with emotion in his heart..
