Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 57

Chapter 57 Barge Into Camp
The sun was on the west side, at the turn of Shen You, the golden sun shone obliquely on the barracks north of Broad Spirit City.

At this moment, the barracks had long since ceased to be as noisy and chaotic as before. Instead, it was completely silent, as if there was no one inside.

In fact, it was exactly the opposite. At this time, there were over 500 soldiers in the barracks. Even Xiao Mo, the general manager, and several of his trusted generals were standing there with their hands behind their backs. Not only that, there were also a hundred soldiers scattered around the five hundred people in the same attire. Their expressions were also solemn, and they did not make any noise.

Since Xiao Mo descended, everyone in the barracks stood down with their heads bowed. In front of them, on the chair that originally belonged to Xiao Ba, sat a tall, narrow-faced, long-bearded, round-eyed man.

Although this person was wearing only an ordinary one-piece garment and did not have much expression on his face, the aura emitted from his body made the surrounding people not even dare to breathe a single mouthful of air, let alone raise their heads to look at him.

To be able to have such an imposing aura, naturally, it could only be Great Harmony General Armament, Hu Sui.

At this time, the position of governor had not been spread throughout the Great Ming Empire. Even in a strategic location like Shanxi, the Imperial Court had yet to formally appoint a permanent governor official. Therefore, the local military power had always been firmly held in the hands of the commander-in-chief, who was the leader of all the military officials.

As one of the few important towns in the Nine Great Border Town of the Great Ming Empire, there were at least 100,000 elites in the entire Datong Prefecture. As the commander-in-chief of the hundred thousand elites, Hu Sui’s might and abilities were naturally not trivial. Not to mention just a small general manager, even high-ranking officials in the court wouldn’t dare to neglect him in the slightest.

Moreover, they still had something to do with Commander Hu today!

His gaze slowly moved past these soldiers, causing them to feel that a mountain was constantly pressing down on their shoulders, causing many people to almost fall to the ground. After a long while, Hu Sui said in a low and dignified voice, “What is this place?”

Everyone was stunned when they did not expect that the first sentence he spoke would be such a question. However, since Lord Soldier General had asked a question, he naturally had to answer it. After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Mo carefully said, “This is Guang Ling County, a strategic location connected to Dazi!” He had already guessed something, so he directly added the second half of the sentence.

“You still know where you are! Do you know what this place means to me, Daming?” Sen Leng’s cold question fell like a stone. Hu Sui’s gaze completely fell on Xiao Mo, “So important, you don’t want to defend the soil with all your heart, yet you actually let your subordinates go out at will, and even let everyone indulge in drinking, gambling, and playing in the military camp. Do you really think that my Great Ming military law is just a child’s play?” “There are strict rules in our army. No alcohol, no gambling … You’re lucky, you’ve violated all the laws in one go!”

“I know my guilt!” Xiao Mo’s face turned even paler as he immediately knelt on the ground and apologized.

When the soldiers saw this, they knelt on the ground and shouted, “We know our sins!”

“Know your guilt?” Hu Sui’s gaze landed on the empty space in front of him. There were many dice, Pai Nine and other gambling equipment, as well as a pile of copper coins. His gaze became cold again.

“Xiao Mo, you’ve also brought soldiers to war before. Don’t you even understand this? Don’t you know why you’re not allowed to gamble in the army?”

Xiao Mo naturally knew, but he didn’t dare to agree at this time. He just lowered his head, as if he admitted his guilt and knew what was wrong.

Sure enough, Hu Sui did not ask him to explain, “Just because gambling always has its wins and losses, it will give rise to disputes and even become enemies. Thus, when the army engages in war, it will no longer be able to unite as before … You allowed the gambling in the army to break not only the military law, but also the morale of the army! Now, do you know your crime?”

Although Hu Sui’s question was the same as before, the pressure in the ears of the people below increased several times. Especially Xiao Mo, who was named, trembled. He knew that his punishment this time was not light, but in front of General Hu, he did not even dare to beg for mercy.

“Where is the Military Discipline Officer?” Following Hu Sui’s inquiry, a subordinate walked out and said, “Let me ask you, how should I punish you for indulging in gambling and drinking in the army?”

“The first offender is to blame for twenty batons. The second offender is to blame for fifty batons. He will be demoted by one level to see what happens next.” The man said without the slightest hesitation how to punish him.

Hu Sui nodded, “Did you all hear that? Apart from those who are on duty in the city and outside the camp, everyone else is judged as having committed a first offense. Also, Xiao Mo, as the general manager, did not restrain his subordinates. His crimes are even worse, and he heavily blamed the fifty batons!”

Once these words were spoken, everyone’s expressions changed once again. This time, the might of the horse was too fierce. However, in front of General Hu’s Tiger Might, who would dare to say nothing? They could only lower their heads and answer.

Immediately afterwards, those soldiers who followed Hu Sui caught up. One of them pressed dozens of people to the ground, and regardless of the cold weather, they took off their clothes, picked up the arm-thick stick, and pulled it down.

For a time, the crackling wooden sticks in the entire barracks were endlessly heard. At the same time, they were accompanied by terrifying screams and painful cries, causing the other people who had not yet been executed to tremble and their legs to weaken.

Because the barracks occupied a limited amount of land and General Hu did not want to disturb the people, they left most of their troops outside the city after circling the north gate of the city, while Hu Sui only brought more than a hundred QinBing into the barracks. Therefore, this punishment could only take turns. After this punishment, the sky would be completely dark.

But the effect was quite remarkable, because the longer the punishment lasted, the more frightening it would be. Only thirty people managed to escape this calamity, and the soldiers guarding Yuanmen Square were even more surprised and gesturing to each other.

Originally, he thought that the others would be happy in the camp, but he was really unlucky to have to eat outside to guard the door. But now, it seemed that this was clearly the greatest advantage.

But very quickly, they realized that it was not necessarily a good thing, for trouble had come–

Just as they were rejoicing and listening with horror to the commotion coming from behind them, they suddenly saw two figures appearing on the quiet street in front of them. Behind them, there was also a large group of people.

This group of people continued to move forward, heading straight towards the barracks. Only when they arrived a few zhang away, under the bright red sunset, did the guards clearly see what the two of them were dressed like.

At the very front was a young man in his twenties, with a straight appearance, wearing a green robe and a swallow-winged official hat. There was also an exquisite jade embroidered on his chest. It was surprisingly the county magistrate of Guangling County, Lu Zhen.

As for the man who was half a body behind him, although his footsteps were large, he was one tall and one low. The one with the limp was Constable Lin Lie from the county government.

Even the soldiers in the barracks knew about these two because of the previous events. He didn’t expect the two of them to suddenly appear at this moment, and it seemed like they were heading straight for the barracks.

Behind them was a troop of no less than a hundred people. These men, women, and children were all excited, as if they were going to cause something big.

All of this fell into the eyes of the guards, causing their hearts to suddenly jump up, “Could it be that County Magistrate Lu is bringing people to cause trouble for the people?”

Actually, Lu Zhen’s mood was a little strange at the moment. Originally, he and Lin Lie had only planned to rush to report when Hu Sui arrived-although General Hu did not intend to disturb the people, so many people passed by outside the city, and it was soon known to everyone in the city. County Magistrate Lu, who had been paying attention to the situation outside the city, naturally received the news at the first possible moment.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they set out, they let the commoners who were wandering around their homes and streets see the clues. Because Lu Zhen had taken down Zheng Fu and resisted Xiao Mo, he had established a good reputation among the people. When they saw that he was going to do something big again, the people spontaneously followed behind to strengthen their momentum.

However, more than a mile away, more than a hundred people had already followed behind the two of them, and their momentum had already frightened the soldiers guarding Yuanmen.

Seeing them approaching, the soldiers became even more nervous. Some of them even raised their spears and even got their bows and arrows in their hands. The leader quickly took a step forward and shouted in a deep voice, “In the barracks, the idle people quickly retreat. If not, don’t blame us!”

Lu Zhen stopped when he arrived thirty to forty feet away from Yuanmen. He first paid attention to his official robe, then raised his hand, not indicating that he was not armed, but solemnly straightened the official hat on his head-the neatly dressed outfit had become somewhat messy along the way.

As for Lin Lie and the people behind him, they also stood still with him. When the civilians saw the weapons unleashed by the soldiers, they were even more panicked and didn’t dare to do anything else.

After tidying up his clothes, Lu Zhen took another step forward and said, “Lu Zhen, the county magistrate of Xiaguan Guangling County, has learned that the Great Harmony Commander has arrived. He has something special to ask for an audience with!”

Seeing him step forward again, the soldiers subconsciously raised their weapons and aimed at him, as if he would suddenly fly over. Only after hearing his words did the leader loudly say, “County Magistrate Lu, please return. General Hu has other important matters to attend to in the camp today, so I won’t see you.”

“No!” However, Lu Zhen firmly shook his head, “It’s related to the safety of our Guangling County. Today, this official will definitely see Chief Hu!” After saying that, he took another step forward.

Lin Lie followed closely after his actions. His expression did not even change, and he was still as resolute as iron. The civilians were different. Looking at the shining weapons ahead, their footsteps were completely fixed on the spot. They could only follow Lu Zhen forward with their gazes.

Seeing that he didn’t have the slightest intention of stopping, the expressions of the soldiers changed again, “County Magistrate Lu, please stop, don’t force us!”