Chapter 844
Military Intelligence
Chapter 844 Military Intelligence
Upon hearing this, Qin Zhong burst into tears, knelt on the ground, and cried out, "Lord Duke, our army has suffered several crushing defeats in our battles against Esen's army, with heavy casualties. The General dares not let His Majesty know and has ordered us to keep our mouths shut. But if we don't speak up, how can His Majesty leave the reinforcements behind? What will happen to Datong? Once the Datong defense line is breached, the capital will be in danger! The Ming Dynasty will be in danger!"
The British duke asked, "After such a crushing defeat, did the Oirat army manage to break through the defenses?"
Qin Zhong looked up: "Yes!"
The British officer tensed up and asked, "Where are they?"
Qin Zhong: "I don't know. General Guo might know, or... he might not know either."
The British Duke was so angry that he stood up abruptly.
It's rare to see a war fought like Guo Deng's.
The Duke of England took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and carefully inquired about Qin Zhong's battles.
However, Qin Zhong was only a commander of a thousand men in the Western Third Garrison. Apart from the battles that the Western Third Garrison had participated in, he only knew about the other battles through hearsay and could not be entirely certain about them.
The only thing he was certain of was that they had suffered crushing defeats in the battles before the emperor's arrival.
Guo Deng and Guo Jing had always wanted to win a battle so that things wouldn't look too bad after the emperor arrived, but unfortunately, they never won.
With no reinforcements available, they had no choice but to resort to forgery.
Qin Zhong didn't know how Guo Deng reported the situation, but since he had been chosen to go up to the city wall and was ordered not to reveal military intelligence to anyone from the capital, he guessed the general idea.
He didn't know General Guo's plans, but he knew that if they kept it a secret any longer, something terrible would happen, and the ordinary soldiers and civilians of Datong would suffer the consequences.
Qin Zhong looked at the Duke of Ying with admiration and respect, hoping that he could save Datong.
Although Qin Zhong did not know the whole picture, the Duke of Ying could deduce the general situation of Datong from the three battles he had participated in.
I'm afraid that the Datong defense line wasn't just letting in one or two Oirat troops, as he said, but that the defenses along the way were completely breached.
The fear is that if Esen wanted to, he could get in.
The mere thought of this possibility sent a chill down the Duke of England's spine. If that were the case, wouldn't they be like fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered, completely unaware and naively strolling through the sheepfold?
The Duke of England clenched his fist, ordered Qin Zhong to be sent away, and the next moment he slammed his fist on the table and smashed it to pieces.
The servant was startled. He hadn't seen the Duke so angry in many years, and he never expected him to be so furious this time.
The Duke of England laughed in fury, pacing back and forth: "Hahaha, I never expected that the Emperor and all the civil and military officials would be manipulated by a mere military officer and a eunuch!"
Seeing that he was almost fuming with anger, the servant quickly ran to fetch a new teapot and poured him some water: "Lord Duke, please don't be angry. Although Guo Deng is despicable, there are extenuating circumstances. After all, the Emperor personally led the expedition. If he knew that Guo Deng had led the army to such a state, he would be dismissed from his post if not killed. It's only human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm..."
"Nonsense about human nature!" the Duke of England roared. "If the act of seeking advantage and avoiding harm, putting His Majesty in danger, is considered human nature, then where is the morality of the world? Where is justice? When did disloyalty and injustice become considered human nature?"
Enraged, the Duke of England pointed at his attendant and cursed, "It's all because of you despicable people who scheme and plot, leading to moral decay and political chaos! Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong..."
The Duke of England wept bitterly, "If Emperor Taizong knew, he would surely have you all beheaded with his sword!"
The servant was startled. He had meant to appease the Duke, but instead he had angered him even more. He quickly apologized and took out a handkerchief to wipe away the Duke's tears.
Before long, the Duke of England's tears soaked his handkerchief.
He finally calmed down, patting his chest to catch his breath. Seeing the attendant's anxious and guilty expression, he couldn't help but sigh and apologize, "I frightened you. It was my fault for taking my anger out on you."
Tears welled up in the servant's eyes, and he choked out, "Lord Duke." The Duke of Ying waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Your father and I grew up together. He used to be my servant. Later, he got old, and you came to my side. I didn't want to take you with me on this expedition. You're over fifty years old, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm fifty-two."
"At fifty-two, an age when one should be enjoying the company of grandchildren, she still follows me around on the go."
Chang Sui burst into tears: "Lord Duke, it is my greatest blessing to serve by your side. My father said the same thing before he died."
The Duke of England stared at him blankly, then looked out the window and said softly, "Old friend, I have a feeling that this time, we won't be able to go back."
The servant stared at him blankly.
The Duke only referred to his father as "old buddy".
He hesitated for a moment, but remained silent, standing obediently to one side, waiting for the sun outside to grow stronger and for voices to be heard in the surrounding courtyards. He turned around and saw that the Duke had already closed his eyes.
The servant quickly grabbed a small blanket and covered him with it before bowing and leaving.
Qin Zhong, who had gone to great lengths to avoid the spies' sight, had just made his way to the location of the main camp outside the city.
The Duke of England did not take back the plaque, so he used it to smoothly enter the camp outside the city, as long as he avoided Guo Deng and Guo Jing's spies.
But where exactly did Pan Yu pitch his tent?
These are all tents from the Fifth Army Camp, but there are just too many.
Just as I was feeling lost and confused, a joyful voice rang out from behind me: "Commander!"
Qin Zhong turned around and saw Pan Yu carrying two wooden buckets, his clothes covered in dirt. He was overjoyed: "Pan Yu!"
The two embraced warmly.
"Finally found you!" Qin Zhong patted his shoulder hard, then sniffed and took two steps back in disgust: "Why do you smell so bad?"
"No wonder it stinks! It's been over twenty days since I left Beijing, and I haven't taken a single bath!"
Qin Zhong took two steps back: "You...you're really this slovenly? Pan Yu, you weren't like this before..."
Pan Yu: "...I know I wasn't like this before. This is because I've been traveling all the way, with more than 200,000 people, where even drinking water was a problem, let alone taking a bath."
They could jump into the river to wash after fetching drinking water, but it's been raining a lot lately, so how could they dare to go into the water and risk catching a cold...
Thinking of his comrades who had succumbed to colds along the way, Pan Yu felt depressed.
Seeing this, Qin Zhong stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder without any disgust: "Alright, I don't mind."
Pan Yu perked up and, picking up the shovel, led him into the tent: "Come on, come on, let me introduce you to my good brothers."
Pan Yu introduced Qin Zhong to his brothers: "This is the centurion who followed me when I was a slave soldier, Centurion Qin!"
When Yu Rui and the others saw that Pan Yu didn't mind mentioning his past experience of exile, they grinned and greeted Qin Zhong warmly.
Qin Zhong said smugly, "I have now been promoted to commander of a thousand."
Upon hearing this, Pan Yu was overjoyed and playfully punched him on the shoulder: "Great job, Brother Qin, you're awesome!"
(End of this chapter)