Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 96

Chapter 96 Take First Place in Credit
In fact, there was no need for Lu Zhen to notify them. The next morning, people from the barracks came to visit. After knowing that County Magistrate Lu had finally woken up, Dai Zhang and Wang Bing accompanied Huang Hu to the county government.

The first two of them had already formed a life-long friendship with Lu Zhen after experiencing the bloody battle at the city wall. After all, they had already carried guns together with the Four Great Iron in their lives. Moreover, they had also experienced several life and death situations, so their relationship was naturally much closer. As for the latter, after learning of Lu Zhen’s previous performance, he was quite impressed by the county magistrate who had heard his name from General Hu, so he came to pay a visit.

When the three martial artists saw that Lu Zhen was actually able to greet them freely, their faces were filled with joy. Huang Hu gave them a thumbs up and praised, “County Magistrate Lu is indeed a tough man. I, Huang Hu, admire him!”

Wang Bing and the other two clasped their fists and greeted, “Is County Magistrate Lu fine with your injuries?”

“Apart from the slight discomfort and pain on his shoulder, there’s no problem.” Lu Zhen smiled and said, “It’s inconvenient. Forgive me for not being able to return the greeting.” As he spoke, his gaze fell on Huang Hu. After carefully examining him for a few times, he said, “This must be Huang Ginseng General?”

The yellow tiger was not tall, but it was very sturdy. It looked very powerful, but at this moment, it smiled very kindly, “Magistrate Lu, you’re welcome. We are the yellow tiger, a rough man. So don’t you want to see a freak if there’s anything wrong with our words in the future.”

‘”I dare not. I’ve been rude. I haven’t thanked you for saving me. If the two generals hadn’t continued fighting after I was injured, I’m afraid Lu Zhen would have died at Dazi’s hands long ago. If General Huang hadn’t brought his troops here in time, even Guangling County would have been in danger.” As he spoke, he bowed solemnly to them.

“Brother Lu, you’re too polite. Everyone works for the Imperial Court and protects the people. This is what we should do. Why should we apologize?” Yellow Tiger was obviously not as crude as he had said, and his words were watertight.

The other two quickly replied, “General Huang is right. We are only doing our duty. We really can’t be so grateful to you, Magistrate Lu. Actually, we should be thanking you. This city protection is our duty as military officials, but we have to rely on you to take charge of the overall situation. As a result, you were seriously injured and almost …”

“Since I am the county magistrate of Guangling, I should naturally protect the people on this side. It is the same for the embezzlers to be punished. Naturally, it is also normal for me to resist foreign enemies.” Lu Zhen said, seemingly humble and expressive.

“Alright!” Hearing this, Huang Hu clapped his hands fiercely, “County Magistrate Lu, you are indeed not an ordinary person. Just this sentence alone makes me want to make friends with you.”

“I, Lu Zhen, am truly honored that General Huang is willing to hand it over.” Lu Zhen hurriedly said. He knew how important it was for him to have a friend in charge of military affairs in the border area. At the very least, it would be impossible for things like Xiao Mo to happen again in the future.

Seeing that he deserved to be happy, Huang Hu was delighted and looked up at him again. Although the gap between military and civil servants had not been widened, the inherent loftiness of the scholars still made them think that they were a head above each other, and it was difficult to make straight-forward martial artists feel comfortable when they made friends with each other. However, Lu Zhen was not embarrassed at all. Although he was a civil servant, he also had a refreshing and heroic spirit, which naturally suited Huang Hu’s appetite.

So he laughed loudly, “Alright, but since you and I have become friends, we should change our address. Don’t call me General Huang. I’m a few years older than you. Just call me brother.”

“Since Big Brother Huang said so, I would rather obey you respectfully.” Lu Zhen smiled and bowed to him again, confirming the relationship.

After chatting happily, Lu Zhen got to the point, “The casualties of the Tartars this time are not small, are they?”

His question caused the originally joyful atmosphere to change. Wang Bing and Dai Zhang exchanged a glance before saying, “Exactly. More than 200 soldiers died in battle just from defending the city. In addition to those who were injured, there are less than a hundred people that can be used now.”

“Are there so many casualties?” Lu Zhen sighed in surprise. But thinking about it was also an inevitable result. Although they had cities to rely on, facing multiple enemies, they were still the most skilled Mongolian elites. Naturally, they had to pay a huge price.

“What about the people?” Lu Zhen thought of another point and immediately asked.

“The casualties of the civilians are not small. About three hundred people have died in this war.” Dai Zhang said sadly.

Huang Hu shook his head with a sigh. “Hmph, these Tartars are truly hateful. If it was the Yongle Dynasty, we would have sent troops to take revenge for everyone. Unfortunately, now” Huang Hu shook his head with a sigh. There were some things that he couldn’t say further.

Lu Zhen looked at him and understood what he was complaining about. Now, Great Ming’s attitude towards foreign enemies had become very conservative, and he did not dare to take the initiative to send troops like Yong Le Chao. This was naturally a good thing for the entire world, especially the people. After all, only a peaceful and prosperous world was the prerequisite for people to live and work in peace and contentment. However, this strategy was not necessarily a good thing for the frontier generals, because they would naturally have to complain about the lack of opportunities to make a success of their work.

If it was an ordinary civil servant, they would either choose to remain silent on this matter or argue with Huang Hu, but Lu Zhen did not think so, “Brother Huang, you are right. Sometimes our concession will only make them even more arrogant.” Therefore, if the Imperial Court wanted to protect the people, the necessary military matters were inevitable. For example, this time, we should use this to teach Dazi a big lesson. ”

“Well said!” Hearing this, Huang Hu couldn’t help but pat the table and cheer, “Why did I say that we met at first sight like old brothers? It turns out that our temperaments are actually so compatible! If it weren’t for your injuries, I would have drunk three bowls of good wine for you right now!”

“Remember this wine right now. After my injuries are healed, I will naturally go to Datong to conspire with you to get drunk!” Lu Zhen hurriedly promised.

“Alright, then I’ll be waiting for you in Datong.” Huang Hu nodded happily and also remembered Lu Zhen’s previous words in his heart. He thought that when he saw Hu Sui, he would report them truthfully. He could even report these words to the Imperial Court and change his dull and conservative style.

Lu Zhen didn’t know that the few words he casually echoed would make people pay attention, so he just smiled and nodded. Then, he remembered something, “May I know what happened to Chief Liu’s injuries?” It was precisely because Liu Yi fainted from the arrow that his county magistrate was pushed up.

“His injuries are quite troublesome. Even if he can save his life, I’m afraid he won’t be able to bring any soldiers with him in the future.” When he mentioned this, Huang Hu’s expression darkened.

“You’re actually injured so badly?” Lu Zhen was rather surprised.

“That arrow was in his heart and almost killed him. That’s why it’s so troublesome.” Huang Hu sighed, “Let’s not talk about this anymore. By the way, I heard that you, Brother Lu, should be the first to be able to defeat Dazi this time.”

“How dare you? If it weren’t for Liu Gong Zong and Wang Zhang leading the troops to fight bitterly, how could a civil servant like me be able to defend this small Guang Ling City?” Lu Zhen hurriedly said modestly.

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” However, Huang Hu waved his hand and said, “According to what everyone said, if the enemy hadn’t discovered their whereabouts long before they arrived, Guang Ling would have been hard to defend. And all of this was because of the airship invented by your brother Lu. Therefore, in terms of credit, you naturally took the lead.”

Lu Zhen was stunned when he heard this, and then he understood what was going on. He couldn’t be modest anymore, so he could only smile and say, “It’s just a small trick. I’m really ashamed.”

“Small trick? I’ve seen this airship before. It allows the scouts to see the surroundings tens of kilometers away from them. This is not a small trick, but a great intelligence! If this thing can be extended to all the military towns in our border areas, and even all the towns in our Great Ming Empire, then there is no need to be afraid of any enemies sneak attacking us. Huang Hu hurriedly said seriously, “In this way, how many soldiers will be able to avoid casualties? You have done a great job!”

Lu Zhen didn’t expect the airship he used to deal with Hu Sui to be so valued by them. He didn’t know what to say for a moment, so he could only smile. But thinking about it carefully, this airship might really be useful. After all, it was an epoch-making product.

Yellow Tiger added, “The Commander-in-Chief originally intended to recommend this airship to the Imperial Court, but he was only hesitant because he was worried that some people would say something.” But after the Broad Spirit Battle, I think he should have made up his mind. At that time, your name, Brother Lu, will naturally become known in the court. “If you really do make it one day, don’t forget to take care of us old friends,” he said, laughing heartily.

Lu Zhen hurriedly said a few more words of self-modesty, and at the same time expressed his stance. Originally, he wanted to ask Yellow Tiger why only reinforcements from the Great Harmony had rushed over in the end, but the nearer Yuxian and other places did not send a single soldier to save him. However, because Huang Hu had never mentioned this topic, he was diverted by other topics, so he did not ask anymore.

Lu Zhen knew that there must be something else hidden in this. In the end, he was not a member of their Border Army System. There were some things that they couldn’t tell him the truth about.

Although there were doubts and dissatisfaction in his heart, the matter had already passed, so there was no need to probe further. In any case, this time, he was blessed with a blessing in disguise. The contributions he had made in defending the city this time would definitely not be small, but he didn’t know how the Imperial Court would reward him in the end.

From Lu Zhen’s memories of the history of the Great Ming Dynasty, it seemed that the benefits obtained by civil servants were far greater than those obtained by generals. However, those benefits were all in the middle and late stages of the Great Ming Dynasty. I wonder what their attitude would be in this era of equal status in civil and military affairs?

However, there was one thing he could be sure of. After this battle, his reputation in the border area was already high enough, so it should be much easier for him to do anything in the future!