After these steps, Lu Xuan and Shen Lian became sentry officers. Time was limited, and it wouldn't be easy to advance any further. But this was good enough.
What Lu Xuan wanted was a legitimate official title. After all, killing an enemy chieftain as a hunter would inevitably result in a significantly reduced reward, because it would be an insult to other officials. But a genuine military officer was different. Everyone involved in officialdom would naturally give him face. Even a low-ranking officer only needed a legitimate claim.
Having resolved the identity issues of Lu Xuan and the others, Li Rubai was actually quite unwilling. He naturally wanted to claim such a tremendous achievement for himself. A hunter, a sentry officer, and a squad leader were simply not enough for him. Only Guo Zhen's identity was somewhat difficult to resolve.
But he didn't dare... He had hinted to Guo Zhen that the two of them should join forces to take the credit. But Guo Zhen had subtly advised him against having any other ideas.
On one hand, Guo Zhenzhen dared not betray Lu Xuan lightly. Anyone who had witnessed Lu Xuan's killings would have the same thought. Even those ruthless Tartars couldn't hold onto Lu Xuan. How could these weak Ming troops possibly retain such a figure?
If he made a mistake and caught the eye of a living demon god, it wouldn't just be a matter of not being able to sleep at night; it would mean losing his head at any moment. After all, he wasn't Nurhaci. Besides, even Nurhaci had his head taken by that person.
Another reason is that the four of them have been through thick and thin together. They've forged a true bond of brotherhood, and everyone has feelings for each other. Guo Zhen isn't a particularly bad person, so naturally he has feelings too. He couldn't bring himself to betray his brothers so readily. Besides, he'd get a share of the credit anyway.
Li Rubai's face darkened upon receiving Guo Zhen's warning. He spent the entire night pondering the situation. But ultimately... he didn't act. He couldn't help it; he was too cowardly.
The fact that he was able to scatter 15,000 troops by only 25 Tartars shows that this commander-in-chief was utterly cowardly. Later, he was impeached and forced to commit suicide, further demonstrating a serious character flaw. If such a person led an army and they didn't lose, Lu Xuan would be ashamed.
Li Rubai didn't make a move, and Lu Xuan, who had been on guard all night, finally relaxed a little. He lived not far from Li Rubai, and could even hear that the other hadn't slept all night. Lu Xuan had almost killed the enemy chieftain again.
Li Rubai's army did not return directly to Shenyang. Following Lu Xuan's advice, they decided to wait. Returning now would mean a resounding victory, with all the credit going to Yang Gao. Lu Xuan could not accept such an outcome. Therefore, they would wait. They would only set off after news of the complete annihilation of the two armies and the unknown whereabouts of the other two reached them.
Defeat is never without its costs. Lu Xuan clearly remembered that Yang Gao was immediately captured and imprisoned after the defeat at the Battle of Sarhu. What particularly annoyed Lu Xuan was that the man simply wouldn't die. He even lived until the Chongzhen era before barely passing away. This was absolutely intolerable. Therefore, he decided to wait a little longer.
At Lu Xuan's suggestion, Li Rubai changed course and headed straight for Fushun. Lu Xuan and his men had passed through that area and seen livestock running rampant across the mountains, indicating something had gone wrong with the Tartar transport convoy. Li Rubai's force arrived there and easily wiped out a large number of scattered Tartar troops, gathering countless supplies abandoned by the transport convoy. This represented Fushun's entire wealth, and now a large portion of it was in Li Rubai's hands.
Historical records state that after Nurhaci conquered Fushun, he completely hollowed out and burned the entire city. The number of livestock alone reached as many as 300,000. Fushun's accumulated wealth of decades was thus handed over to the Tartars.
At that time, the living conditions of the Tartars were actually not much different from those of the Ming army. The reserves accumulated in Fushun could be said to have thoroughly enriched the Tartars, making an outstanding 'contribution' to their subsequent attacks.
They spent five or six days looting countless warhorses, weapons, armor, and supplies left behind on the battlefield of the Battle of Sarhu. These items would have originally benefited the Tartars. However, now that the four great princes had made almost the same choice—to return home and vie for the Khan's throne—these spoils had become a freebie for Li Rubai. At this point, Li Rubai finally decided to return to the capital.
Shenyang.
Shenyang was in chaos, with morale plummeting among both the army and the people. Some had even begun to flee, as news of the frontline defeat had spread. Yang Gao was utterly despondent; tens of thousands of his troops had perished at the hands of the enemy, and as the Liaodong military commissioner, he was undoubtedly the first scapegoat. Sure enough, a few days later, news arrived from above: Yang Gao was immediately imprisoned by the Imperial Guard.
At this time, Li Rubai's army finally returned to Shenyang at a leisurely pace.
Faced with the questioning from the imperial envoy, Li Rubai responded calmly.
"A major defeat at the front? I was unaware of that. But I did bring back Nurhaci's head. Now the Jurchens have suffered a complete rout and retreated back to Jianzhou. I don't know where this defeat comes from."
"......???????" The entire scene fell silent. It wasn't until Li Rubai took out Nurhaci's head that the scene erupted in chaos.
The situation reversed so quickly that everyone was almost caught off guard. Wasn't it a complete rout, with tens of thousands of troops annihilated? A full quarter of an hour passed in chaotic shock before everyone finally managed to accept it. Du Song and Ma Lin's entire army was wiped out. Liu Ting's whereabouts were unknown, but General Li Rubai turned the tide, directly beheading Nurhaci and 'completely crushing' the Jurchens.
Especially Lu Xuan and his three men, who personally led the charge to kill Nurhaci, were highly regarded. In any dynasty, a soldier who killed the emperor of an enemy state would undoubtedly rise rapidly in rank, possibly even becoming a marquis or prime minister. Although Nurhaci did not become emperor, these four men were certain to achieve great things in the future, so naturally, it was important to curry favor with them.
At this moment, someone finally remembered Yang Gao. Looking at it this way, this battle wasn't a major defeat, but a great victory. Regardless of how many Ming soldiers died, killing the enemy chieftain and repelling the enemy constituted a great victory. Therefore, it seemed somewhat inappropriate for Lord Yang Gao to be imprisoned.
Lu Xuan stepped forward and spoke to Li Rubai.
"General, leave this matter to me. I have long admired Lord Yang Gao and hope to release him personally."
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Chapter 117 Sending him on his way!
The Shenyang prison. Yang Gao was, after all, a civil official, and a high-ranking one at that. He wasn't mistreated. Instead, he was given a clean room, and even a pot of hot tea to pass the time. The furnishings weren't the rotten straw seen on television, but a clean quilt.
Lu Xuan was extremely displeased with this.
Yang Gao also saw the three people outside. Guo Zhen, of course, wouldn't do such a thing. As the eunuch supervisor, he was the emperor's man. He had already set off for the capital.
"Are you here to force me to go to the capital?" Yang Gao asked dejectedly. He had actually given up all hope.
However, the three people outside did not respond. Instead, they stood there, staring at him silently with strange looks. Yang Gao felt a chill run down his spine.
"Who exactly are you people?" Yang Gao also realized something was wrong. The three men before him were covered in blood and filthy, disheveled and unkempt. They didn't look like constables from the capital at all. Most importantly, the way the three men looked at him was mocking, even hateful.
"Why don't you commit suicide?" Lu Xuan asked in a cold voice.
"What?" Yang Gao could hardly believe his ears.
"I say, why don't you commit suicide? Generals Du Song and Ma Lin, because of Lord Yang Gao's arrangements, had their entire armies wiped out and died for their country. (Historically, Ma Lin died a few months later. Here, we've set him up to die immediately.) General Liu Ting's whereabouts are unknown. More than 50,000 elite troops of the imperial court were wiped out in one day. With such a crushing defeat, as the Liaodong Military Commissioner, shouldn't you be ashamed enough to commit suicide?"
Yang Gao's face immediately flushed crimson. Suicide? Of course, that was impossible. Historically, he could live for over a decade in prison. Expecting someone like that to commit suicide?
"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war..."
"Then why are you in jail?" Lu Xuan had no intention of listening to his explanation and shut him down with one sentence.
"Who exactly are you? Where are the guards?" Even if Yang Gao was stupid, he noticed something was wrong. These three people were clearly not here to escort him. Now it seemed they were there to humiliate and mock him.
"Why don't you commit suicide? Because your incompetence has caused the deaths of more than 50,000 people. Don't you feel ashamed?"
In later generations, Lu Xuan came across a discussion about whether or not the ministers of the late Ming Dynasty should have been buried with the Ming Dynasty.
Many people say that the Ming Dynasty was beyond saving, and they were powerless to reverse its decline. But there was no need for martyrdom... because you can't force someone to die for their beliefs. That's a form of moral blackmail.
Lu Xuan was extremely disappointed because he couldn't find his opponent online. Even if he did, he wasn't sure he could beat them. This was truly a tragedy for a keyboard warrior.
Now, Lu Xuan possesses the strength to easily defeat all keyboard warriors. But unfortunately, he still can't deal with them. Sometimes he has to sigh, aside from the genius who sent him through time, keyboard warriors are truly one of the most resilient creatures in the universe.
However, although he couldn't argue with keyboard warriors, Lu Xuan's standards remained unchanged.
An ordinary man, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the invasion of the Qing Dynasty, knelt down and became a subservient subject of the Qing. Lu Xuan did not object; in fact, he believed the man had made the right choice. After all, their lives were already difficult enough. No one had the right to demand that they give up their lives.
But the officials of the Ming Dynasty were different. Especially those high-ranking ministers standing in the court. While ordinary people toiled hard just to earn a meager living, these officials each owned hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Their stored grain and gold and silver were enough to feed the entire Ming Dynasty. Yet they would rather watch the Ming Dynasty perish than contribute a single penny.