Chapter 859
Discovery
The troops split into two groups: Cao Nai and others gathered the remaining troops and headed to Xuanfu, while Chen Huai continued to carry out orders to clear out the Oirat army in the rear.
Pan Yun, on the other hand, was traveling independently, and everyone was waiting for her to figure out the emperor's whereabouts.
But the emperor is mobile. Even if Pan Jun could figure it out, he would have vanished by the time they arrived.
But Pan Yun wanted to maintain a high standard, so she didn't say it explicitly, only that the current celestial phenomena were unusual and the stars were obscure, so they needed to wait for the right opportunity.
The ministers looked up at the cloud-covered sky and remained silent, not urging them on.
There aren't even any stars; isn't that an obscure celestial phenomenon?
Everyone looked at Chen Huai and kept giving him meaningful glances.
Chen Huai stepped forward with a gentle smile and asked, "Master Pan, your elder brother Pan Yu served in the army after passing the martial arts exam, right?"
Pan Jun nodded: "I can tell, he's still safe."
“I asked him, and it was his battalion that discovered the infiltrated Oirat army. They were the first to engage in battle, and he made many contributions. In addition, he made two contributions in the defense of Datong. He has now been promoted to the rank of adjutant general.”
War is indeed the best time for soldiers to get promoted. In just ten days, Pan Yu was promoted from captain to brigade general.
Chen Huai immediately invited Pan Yun to accompany him, so that they could both search for the young emperor and visit his brother in Datong. Why not?
Pan Yun glanced at them, knowing they were afraid she would run away.
She was also going to Datong anyway, and nodded upon hearing this.
Cao Nai breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Chen Huai, "This person is extraordinary. Cultivators generally don't concern themselves with worldly affairs, but she is thinking of family ties, so you have to capture her."
Chen Huai agreed, but said with concern, "The court has always been reluctant to let cultivators participate in worldly affairs. Some of their abilities are unpredictable and mysterious. Once they step into the world, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles."
“How could I not know? But times have changed. The country is in peril, and we can’t worry about such things now,” Cao Nai said. “We must first consolidate our power, and then deal with their involvement in worldly affairs.”
Chen Huai frowned, sensing Cao Nai's unfinished words, and felt that this was a bit like crossing the river and then burning the bridge.
Military generals and江湖人 (jianghu people) have one thing in common: they value loyalty and brotherhood.
After all, we are risking our lives for our future. If we don't value loyalty, how can we entrust our backs to our comrades?
Liang Cheng was a good friend of his, and when he saw him frown, he knew what he was thinking. He stepped forward and gave him a push, whispering, "Let's solve the immediate problem first, and we can talk about the rest later."
Chen Huai agreed and he and Cao Nai split up and left in two groups.
Cao Nai led his civil and military officials, wounded soldiers, and prisoners to Xuanfu, while Chen Huai gathered the remaining soldiers and continued southeast, but as the Duke of Ying had instructed, he headed towards the east.
They traveled swiftly, and along the way they gradually saw deserters fleeing in all directions. Chen Huai recruited them all and pieced together some stories from their accounts.
They also accompanied the emperor. One night, dark clouds gathered and the emperor was surrounded by Oirat people from all sides. They tried to break through the encirclement, but the emperor ran too fast and they got separated.
The soldiers refused to admit they were deserters, insisting, "We followed our commander, but there were too many Oirat soldiers. Our battalion got separated from the main army while fighting, and later we encountered another group in one place, only to run into the Oirat army that was coming from the south. We were scattered again..."
"Wait a minute, you said you encountered the Oirat army that came around from the south?"
“Yes, there were about three or four thousand men, half of whom were on horseback. Our two teams together only had a little over a thousand men. How could we possibly win? We could only run, fighting and retreating. Gradually, only eight of us remained around us, so we formed a group and ran south.” The soldier looked at Chen Huai in fear and said, “General, we are really not deserters. We just want to go south back to the main camp to report. Please, General, do not involve our families.”
Chen Huai knew, of course, that they were fleeing after their defeat. Of the more than 100,000 troops under the emperor's command, less than 20,000 remained. The rest could not have all died on the battlefield; the vast majority had fled.
Chen Huai recalled the words of advice and warnings that the Duke of England had given to him and Zhu Mian.
He knew that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were living a very hard life. When one person joined the army, the whole family suffered. The garrison troops in various places had almost become tenant farmers for local tyrants and military commanders, and their entire families had become "tenant farmers" as well. They had to fight in times of war and grow crops for them in times of peace.
Once they've fled, how could they possibly go back?
Most likely, the person will simply be found out. If they can be reported as killed in action, that would be even better. If not, reporting them as missing will not implicate their family.
But it's a different story if you get caught.
As Chen Huai pondered whether to make an example of them, Pan Yun stepped forward and asked, "General Chen, will you petition the court for their merits later?"
Chen Huai: "Appointment for merit?"
“Yes, if nothing unexpected happens, the other group they encountered on the way should be the Imperial Guard protecting the retreating emperor.” Pan Yun handed him a short sword to look at.
The soldier couldn't understand her words, but he keenly sensed this was their opportunity. He glanced at the dagger in Pan Yun's hand and immediately shouted, "This dagger was given to Erzhu by a soldier, Erzhu, Erzhu—"
The soldier called over a round-faced, simple-minded soldier and asked, "Was it given to you by that clean-cut young soldier?"
"Yes, yes," Erzhu nodded hurriedly, looking bewildered. "His elder brother who was protecting him died. At that time, a Oirat soldier rode by on horseback and attacked. I swung my sword to block him. He was grateful that I saved his life, so he gave me this short sword, saying it was a very good sword and very valuable."
The soldier pulled him over and rolled up his sleeves to show Chen Huai: "General, look, his tiger's mouth is split open; he took the blow for that fair-skinned soldier."
Chen Huai's expression changed drastically, and the soldiers, who had been talking, dared not utter a sound.
Chen Huai clenched his fists and asked, "What's the name of the older brother who protected him? Where did you separate from him? Who was with him when you separated?"
Chen Huai's face turned ashen, which frightened the soldiers into taking two steps back.
Chen Huai came to his senses and said, "You will not be punished. On the contrary, you have rendered meritorious service in protecting the emperor. When we return, I will recommend you for commendation."
The soldiers' eyes widened: "Protect the Emperor?"
Only then did the soldiers realize that the fair-skinned soldier who had been fleeing with them in the rain and rolling in the mud was actually the emperor.
The soldiers were thrilled.
Guided by them, Pan Jun and his group found Li Zhen's body.
He was dismembered. Chen Huai found his head in the mud and water, pieced it together, but he was still missing a leg, and he didn't know where it had been.
The soldiers searched the entire vicinity but couldn't find it.
Chen Huai and Li Zhen had a very bad relationship. Li Zhen was a hereditary earl, and he had achieved the title that Chen Huai had worked his whole life to obtain at a young age.
Despite the generational difference between the two, it was a strange coincidence that Chen Huai, while guarding the local area, repeatedly acted arrogantly and lawlessly, encroaching on the farmland. Either he was Li Zhen's father, or Li Zhen was ordered to investigate.
Therefore, the relationship between the two families is very bad.
But now, looking at Li Zhen's unseeing eyes, Chen Huai felt only sorrow. He silently closed his eyes and looked towards Xuanfu, almost spitting fire: "Yang Jun, he should be executed!"
How exactly did those people manage to bypass Yang Jun and ambush him in the south? (End of Chapter)