Chapter 247: Guerilla General Li Ying Arrives
Li Daoxuan silently watched the Gao Family Village Militia preparing for battle from above. Cheng Xu's pre-war preparations were well done, and Li Daoxuan found there was no need for him to interfere too much; he could simply let Cheng Xu handle it. His focus should still be on the county town, where he could receive news faster through Liang Shixian and Fang Wushang.
He reached into the box, his finger hovering over the words "Chengcheng County," and his perspective instantly shifted back to the county town.
The moment he returned, an interesting sight greeted him.
A Ming army unit was entering the county town. The troops were quite numerous, a full thousand regular soldiers, clad in the Ming army's distinctive cloth armor, many with short composite bows slung across their backs.
Liang Shixian and Fang Wushang immediately stepped forward to greet them. After exchanging pleasantries for a moment, Li Daoxuan gathered that the newcomer was "Guerilla General Li Ying."
A guerilla general belonged to the category of "generals of miscellaneous rank"; it wasn't a formal position and had no fixed official rank. Such appointments were essentially temporary, intended to deal with urgent situations. Li Daoxuan, without even needing to deeply ponder it, could guess that this man had been temporarily appointed to resolve the Guyuan mutiny. Of course, even without a fixed rank, his status was generally below that of a regional commander, roughly equivalent to a third-rank military official. For a seventh-rank magistrate like Liang Shixian and a ninth-rank military inspector like Fang Wushang, he was already a very high-ranking official.
Li Ying's face was alight with the arrogance of a high official. "This general, by order of the Governor, is leading troops to suppress the Guyuan rebels. We are passing through Chengcheng County and need to rest here for a night. Bring out all your best food and drink; my thousand soldiers are going to suppress bandits, so don't let them go hungry."
Liang Shixian replied, "After three years of severe drought, and with Wang Er's rebellion leading to the county granary being looted, Chengcheng County's treasury has no more grain. Please forgive this subordinate for being unable to provide military provisions for your excellency."
A flash of anger crossed Li Ying's face. He cursed inwardly: *These civil officials are damn impressive, even a small county magistrate is so arrogant.*
Li Ying grunted, "Ask."
Fang Wushang said, "The Guyuan rebels are traveling from Guyuan to Xi'an. If General Li intends to meet the rebels in battle, you should take the route north through Jingyang or Fuping counties. Why, then, have you led your troops to Chengcheng County instead? Could it be, General Li, that you are deliberately avoiding battle? Are you just parading your subordinates around, putting on a show for the Governor?"
At these words, Li Ying roared, "How dare you!"
In the sky, Li Daoxuan let out an "Oh?" and inwardly exclaimed, *Fang Wushang, you truly are a fierce general. You dare ask such a direct question?*
Liang Shixian, too, had the same thought as Li Daoxuan. As a civil official, he wasn't very knowledgeable about strategy, and at first, he hadn't fully understood. But when Fang Wushang spoke, Liang Shixian immediately understood. He couldn't help but secretly praise Fang Wushang, *You, military inspector, are truly formidable, you actually dared to confront him? If I had thought of that, I would have had to reconsider whether to say it aloud.*
*This man is brave but reckless!* In that instant, everyone present was thinking the same thing.
Li Ying's expression was extremely grim. On one hand, he was being contradicted by a junior ninth-rank military officer. On the other hand, Fang Wushang had hit the nail on the head.
His thousand soldiers, while seemingly formidable, were in fact very ordinary garrison troops. They were good enough for suppressing bandits, but if he pitted them against border troops, they wouldn't even know how they died. Li Ying felt a bit cowardly and wanted to avoid battle.
So, after receiving Governor Hu Tingyan's orders, he led his thousand soldiers on a detour, avoiding Jingyang and Fuping counties, and eventually detoured to Chengcheng County. This route deviated from the rebels' most likely path, effectively allowing him to avoid battle. At the same time, it wasn't far from that main route, so if the rebels were weak, or if other circumstances arose, he would still have time to rush to the battlefield and deal with the rebels. It was a place convenient for both advancing and retreating—an absolutely ideal location.
His plan was beautifully conceived, but it had been exposed in one go by Fang Wushang. Of course, he burst into angry embarrassment.
"You, a mere ninth-rank military inspector, how dare you spout nonsense in front of this general?" Li Ying raged. "What would a mere military inspector know of this general's brilliant strategies and military tactics?"
Fang Wushang stood stubbornly defiant, lifting his head as he said, "Then your subordinate dares to ask another question: What is General Li's strategy? Is it to flee east if the rebels are strong? And advance west if they are weak? Chengcheng County truly is a convenient place for both advance and retreat."
Li Ying was enraged, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Outrageous! Who the hell do you serve?"
Fang Wushang still stood firm. "Your subordinate serves no one..."
Liang Shixian, standing nearby, suddenly felt a prickle of alarm. *Something's not right! Li Ying's tone of voice is off, I need to think carefully.*
Liang Shixian, who possessed vast knowledge, immediately switched to "social etiquette mode." Li Ying's expression, his emotions when asking the question, his hand on the sword hilt, the potential consequences of his question... all spun like a carousel in his mind. Suddenly, a mental "ding" sounded, and he locked onto one possibility.
Li Ying was preparing to deal with someone; his question was sounding out Fang Wushang's backing. If his backing wasn't strong, Li Ying would immediately cut him down on the spot. This entire chain of thought flashed through his mind in a split second. By the time he arrived at the answer, Fang Wushang's "Your subordinate serves no one" hadn't even finished, still two words from coming out.
Liang Shixian decisively gave a heavy cough, interrupting Fang Wushang, and interjected quickly, "General Fang is my friend. We attended lectures together at the Donglin Academy. The scholars there all greatly admire General Fang's abilities..."
Li Ying let out a slight hiss, and his hand, which had been on the sword hilt, moved away. He cursed inwardly: *Damn it, no wonder this fellow talks so aggressively. A Donglin mad dog, I can't afford to provoke him.* A moment's thought and he understood: While the position of military inspector was a ninth-rank military official, at its core, it still belonged to the civil official system. It was too complex to explain in a few words.
Li Ying snorted. *Fine, this county town is not a good place to stay. Two Donglin mad dogs, nothing I do here will feel right. I might even be impeached and end up with mud all over my pants.*
"Alright! You're tough." Li Ying snorted, turned his horse around, and said to his deputy behind him, "Let's go, to deal with the rebels. Don't waste time here; the fools here are full of endless chatter and will only spoil this general's brilliant strategies."
Watching this, Li Daoxuan couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder: "How interesting. This pair of mismatched civil and military talents, Liang Shixian and Fang Wushang, actually joined forces for once. The official world, it truly is fascinating."
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