"Reporting to the commander, General Meng Yuan's messenger requests an audience."
The messenger's message eased Li Jun's anxiety somewhat. Ever since the messenger reported that Meng Yuan intended to disobey orders and attack, although he hadn't shown it, his worries had grown daily. He knew Meng Yuan well, recognizing his bravery and tactical acumen, but his brilliance had always been overshadowed by Lu Xiang and himself. Could it be that this time, his disobedience stemmed from a subconscious desire to break free from the shadows, to stand alone in this chaotic world, and to demonstrate his true abilities?
However, with only five thousand men and an unstable rear, and facing the highly orthodox military strategist Dong Cheng, if anything went wrong, Meng Yuan would have difficulty returning. He dared to do this because he must have anticipated that I would find a way to clear his rear.
"Quickly, let the messenger in."
The messenger's face was beaming with joy. Bloodstains still clung to his clothes, and he brought with him a strong stench of blood and sweat, indicating he had just come from the battlefield. Though he didn't speak, his smile told Li Jun that he had brought good news.
"Speak quickly." Before the messenger could even bow, Li Jun hurriedly asked, "Is Meng Yuan alright?"
"Thanks to the Commander, General Meng is well. Xizhou City has fallen into our hands. In addition, Dong Cheng and his family have all been captured. General Meng has made arrangements for them. Please go to Xizhou as soon as possible to persuade him to surrender!"
This news was even more encouraging to Li Jun than the fact that Meng Yuan was safe and sound. Not only was it possible that he had gained another great general under his command, but more importantly, Meng Yuan had actually achieved a complete tactical victory.
"Congratulations, Commander." Wei Zhan waved his paper fan and smiled. "With General Meng doing this, you can share half of the burden with him from now on."
Li Jun laughed heartily for a long time, his joy truly indescribable. Meng Yuan was both a brother and a friend to him; after Lu Xiang and Xiao Lin had all passed away, Meng Yuan was the only one who could give him this sense of intimacy. Now, Meng Yuan had demonstrated his prowess on the battlefield, and not only through martial prowess but also against a renowned general of the Su Kingdom, skilled in both wisdom and courage. This made Li Jun feel honored, even happier than if he himself had won.
As the laughter subsided, he glanced at Wei Zhan and noticed that Wei Zhan's smile was somewhat awkward. He knew that Wei Zhan was remembering how Wei Zhan had advised him against being rash, and now that Meng Yuan had acted rashly and achieved great success, Wei Zhan naturally felt a little embarrassed.
“Registrar,” he called out.
"Here!" The army clerk looked at Li Jun. The battle was over, and now it was time to discuss the merits and demerits.
“We will award Mr. Wei a major merit. In the art of war, we can be cautious a thousand times over. Anyone in the army who has a different opinion from the commander-in-chief can speak out boldly. Mr. Wei should be a role model for the entire army.”
A glint flashed in Wei Zhan's eyes. With someone like Li Jun in commanding troops, how could soldiers not be willing to fight to the death? He breathed a sigh of relief. His earlier worries seemed like petty concerns. What could he possibly have to worry about with Li Jun?
"Give Meng Yuan a major commendation for his proactive attack, adaptability, and integrity in the face of adversity. He serves as a model for all generals," Li Jun continued, but his expression turned serious.
"Give Meng Yuan a major demerit for disregarding military orders and advancing without authorization. Although he was lucky to win, he is not worthy of being a role model." His subsequent evaluation of the same matter was completely opposite. The generals in the tent all showed astonishment, and even Wei Zhan frowned deeply.
"Meng Yuanwei advanced first, but his merits came later, so punishment should precede reward. Since the others are not here now, both rewards and punishments should be noted first. What do you all think?"
"When a commander makes two completely different judgments on the same matter, how chaotic the system of rewards and punishments becomes!"
Wei Zhan spoke first, his words revealing an aggressive tone. Speaking out for the injustices of the lower classes and correcting the mistakes of the higher classes was one of his goals in life. Moreover, Li Jun's rewards and punishments could easily cause confusion among his subordinates, leaving them at a loss when faced with unexpected events.
“Meng Yuan has made great contributions and should naturally be rewarded, but at the same time he also made the mistake of being reckless. His achievements were really just luck. I do not encourage everyone to follow his example of disregarding the commander’s orders. In order to provide a reference for the generals’ future actions, he is punished. Rewards and punishments are combined to let the whole army know that our Peace Army has strict discipline.” Li Jun’s words made Wei Zhan take back all the defense he had prepared. The issue of military discipline was related to the very foundation of the Peace Army’s combat effectiveness, and it was indeed irreversible.
The messenger brought Li Jun's decision back to Xizhou first. Meng Yuan's soldiers all had their merits recorded and were rewarded accordingly. However, Meng Yuan's merits and demerits were offset. Although his subordinates were somewhat resentful, Meng Yuan just laughed and said, "What does it matter if merits and demerits are offset? As long as you fight well and establish your military merits, why bother with anything else?"
“General, you are quite open-minded.” Lu Wubing smiled as well. “If it were anyone else, I’m afraid the commander would remember the merits more than the demerits. But for General Meng, the commander will be stricter. Because to the commander, General Meng is like himself, and is definitely not comparable to any other outsider.”
His words of comfort struck a chord with Meng Yuan, who patted Lü Wubing on the shoulder: "If it weren't for you, I might not have won this risky campaign. Wubing, how about we drink tonight?"
"If the general wishes to drink heartily, he might as well wait two more days. Only after Commander Li arrives can we consider our mission accomplished and be able to relax and enjoy a good drink. Now that Xizhou has been newly pacified, the sea is not yet at peace. The general should be prepared for any eventuality."
"Good lad, I praised you, and you've taken it so seriously." Meng Yuan laughed heartily. "Tell me, what kind of unforeseen events might happen?"
"Although Xizhou, the capital of Canghai, is now under our control, the people's hearts are not yet settled, and the surrounding counties are still guarded by the Su Kingdom's garrison. Although their numbers are small, we must still be careful. Dong Cheng has been captured, and the general has treated him leniently out of a need to appease him. If he were to escape from the city, trouble would arise again. Dai Xi is greedy and despicable. He thinks he has rendered meritorious service to our army, but the general looks down on him. He must have ulterior motives. Although he is not talented or virtuous, he has learned about our army's strengths and weaknesses in the past few days while traveling in the army. We cannot let him go easily." Lü Wubing explained his analysis one by one. Although he was a bit overly cautious, his analysis was indeed true.
"Even so, I still think I can get thoroughly drunk." Meng Yuan admitted that he was not sick, but still insisted on his position of wanting to drink heavily.
"General, think thrice before you act..."
“Since your analysis is so detailed, then I will entrust all these matters to you.” Meng Yuan interrupted Wu Bing. “I’ll just focus on fighting the war. These troublesome things, Wu Bing, are all up to you!”
Wu Bing trembled slightly. Meng Yuan was certainly not the kind of person who would disregard everything for the sake of drinking. He was using drinking as an excuse to actually give himself a heavy responsibility and a chance to stand on his own. He gave his superior, who was laughing and walking away, a deep look. It seemed that he would have a lot to do in the next day or two since Li Jun arrived.
Chapter Five: Righteousness
one,
"General Dong, it's been a long time."
Although less than ten days had passed, when Li Jun saw Dong Cheng again, Dong Cheng no longer possessed the imposing aura he had displayed at Wakou Pass. Now, he looked haggard, with gray hairs peeking out from his temples, and his eyes, no longer bright, were dull and lifeless.
Li Jun couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. The two battles he and Director Meng Yuan had waged had so thoroughly demoralized this renowned general of the Su Kingdom. Therefore, his words of greeting were truly heartfelt, not merely a victor's slightly mocking jest at the loser.
Dong Cheng glanced at Li Jun slowly, then reached into his sleeve and pulled out two wads of cotton, plugging his ears without saying a word. Li Jun was first taken aback, then realized that Dong Cheng was determined not to listen to a single word he said.
"Since General Dong is so stubborn, I will not make things difficult for you." Seeing that Dong Cheng would not give in after all, Li Jun had no choice but to bow and leave the courtyard where he was temporarily staying.
"Just as you said, he really does have a stubborn and inflexible temper." After leaving the room, Li Jun glanced at Lü Wubing beside him. Although he was criticizing Dong Cheng, there was no hint of blame in his tone.
Wu Bing just smiled slightly. Actually, Li Jun had already done a good job with Dong Cheng. When he was first captured, Dong Cheng neither ate nor drank. If he hadn't been settled with his wife and children, he would probably still be looking like he wanted to die.
Dong Cheng's weak resistance left even Li Jun helpless. Killing him would be a pity, but letting him go would be a waste. The merit that Meng Yuan and Lü Wubing had made was now a difficult matter for him to deal with.
“Treat him well for now, and see if time can change him. Time can change anything.” Li Jun said slowly. He really didn’t want to kill this general who took Lu Xiang as his role model. If it were Lu Xiang, even if time, the most powerful persuader throughout history, could not change his mind.
Lu Wubing lowered his head, and after a moment, he hesitated and said, "There's something... I don't know if I should say it." Li Jun looked at him with some surprise, and after a moment, he suddenly realized, "It's about Meng Yuan, isn't it? I ruled that Meng Yuan's merits and demerits canceled each other out. Do you feel it's unfair?"
"This humble general dares not..." Although he had tried to comfort Meng Yuan, in front of Li Junzhi and with Meng Yuan not by his side, Lü Wubing still felt he should speak out about his grievances.
“Wu Bing, being a general is different from being a commander. A general only needs to kill enemies and capture flags on the battlefield, while a commander needs to take overall control, considering not only tactics and strategy, but also politics and finance.” Li Jun broke off a willow branch from a roadside tree. Autumn was deepening, and all the leaves on the willow branch had fallen, leaving only bare branches. He walked slowly, absentmindedly flicking the willow branch lightly to the ground, seemingly casually, but Lü Wu Bing could hear the seriousness in his words.
"What I need to consider is not just this one battle, but something much further ahead. If military generals rely on their bravery to disobey orders and are greedy for merit to cause trouble, even if the Peace Army has a million soldiers, it will not be able to withstand the turmoil. Wubing, you know that our ambition is not just to establish a temporary and powerful regime, but to bring true peace to the people of this land, where wealth and poverty are equally distributed, and to bring peace to this land that is stained with war and bloodshed. Therefore, if we military men cannot be self-disciplined and vigilant, we will surely sow the seeds of disaster for future generations."
Wubing turned his head, looking up at the commander who was only four or five years older than him, pondering his words repeatedly. "Most things in this world cannot be solved by force; in fact, they only make things more chaotic. In the past few years, I have worked with everyone to build this foundation, and I have come to realize more and more that if we do not have a long-term plan, we will hardly achieve anything great in our lifetime, and even if we succeed by chance, it will not last. Wubing, perhaps my approach to military affairs and governance is not exactly benevolent, but if it can give the people what they want, then it is a thousand times better than benevolence and righteousness. Therefore, I cannot only consider military matters when governing the army, but also political strategies. Mengyuan and I are like brothers. If he is not a role model for the generals, then all the generals will rely on their bravery to compete for credit, and will take risks with their troops. Not only will the lives of my and the soldiers of the Peace Army be in danger, but it will also have endless negative consequences for this great cause. Mengyuan knows my heart well, and he will certainly not blame me."
That night, Wu Bing pondered deeply. Meng Yuan's example and Li Jun's teachings were the most precious opportunities in his life, especially for someone who was still growing rapidly.
Li Jun and Meng Yuan also spent a long, sleepless night. They slept soundly, their feet barely touching the ground. The guards outside the tent heard them whispering to each other until dawn broke, at which point the conversation ceased. But when the reveille sounded, the two appeared before the soldiers, still full of energy.
"Nearly half of the five thousand men have been lost, leaving only three thousand." Meng Yuan looked quite ashamed. Although he had already informed Li Jun of the battle situation, when he saw the three thousand light cavalry lined up neatly on the training ground, he couldn't help but think of the soldiers who had been lost in the fierce battle over the past few days.