Chapter 98 Liu Yuanfu Requests for an Audience

"Sir, that is the main force of the Hu tribe, and they are setting up camp 20 miles to the northeast!"

Song Dashan came up to Yang Zhengshan and reported.

Yang Zhengshan's heart sank. It turned out to be the main force of the Hu tribe!

"How many soldiers and horses are there?"

“It’s too dark to see clearly, but their camp is very large, there must be at least 50,000 people!” Yang Mingwu said.

Yang Zhengshan seemed to be thinking about something.

"Do they have many scouts?"

"A lot!" Song Dashan said solemnly, "We encountered four scouts along the way."

Yang Zhengshan glanced at the blood on his body and said, "Let's take this opportunity to train our scouts!"

Since it is the main force of the Hu tribe, he has nothing to worry about.

The main force of the Hu people will not come to Yinghe Fort. Yinghe Fort is just a garrison, not a strategic location. For the Hu people, there is no point in attacking Yinghe Fort.

However, Yang Zhengshan did not intend to give up just like that. Since the other party had come, they would naturally have to take a piece of meat from them.

Every enemy head is a real military achievement, so Yang Zhengshan naturally does not want to miss such a good opportunity.

Winter nights are exceptionally cold, and even the scouts wrapped in thick leather armor still feel frozen stiff.

Gusts of cold wind were surging across the desolate and empty wilderness, as if they were going to freeze everything between heaven and earth.

Under the chilly moonlight, the sound of horse hooves and figures moving slowly forward could be heard.

Suddenly, a shrill scream broke the dead silence and cold night.

The shadowy figures kept colliding and intersecting in the cold moonlight.

War horses neighed, weapons clashed, and there were bursts of angry shouts and screams.

The noise lasted for a few breaths and soon ended.

Song Dashan looked down at the corpse at his feet. His blood-stained face looked like an evil ghost crawling out of the underworld under the moonlight.

"Pack up and let's leave!"

"Here!"

This was the third group of scouts they had dealt with. Each group of Hu scouts had five to ten people, and they were scattered around the camp and were responsible for guarding.

Song Dashan and his men moved in groups of small flags, looking for the enemy's scouts under the cover of night and hunting them down.

This is a hunt for the night.

Song Dashan and his men are both hunters and prey.

Who is the hunter in the end depends on who is stronger and who has more patience.

When dawn fell, Song Dashan and his companions returned to Yinghe Fort with several heads.

"How was the harvest?"

Yang Zhengshan, who had just fallen asleep for a short while, was awakened by Yang Minghao and brought to the study in the government office.

"Not bad, we harvested 132 heads!" Song Dashan grinned.

"Where are our casualties?" Yang Zhengshan didn't laugh, but asked calmly.

Song Dashan's smile faded, and he said, "Thirteen people died, and eight were seriously injured!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded calmly.

This battle loss ratio is already very good, but this is also because the Hu tribe did not expect them to launch a sneak attack on the scouts, so they were able to gain such a huge harvest.

Yang Zhengshan never underestimated the fighting power of the Hu people, especially in head-on battles.

In the Yinghe battle yesterday, they had almost all the advantages, but even though the number of cavalry on both sides was similar, their casualties were still nearly half.

But now Yang Zhengshan is no longer as intolerant of life and death as he used to be.

One will be a million bones.

Yang Zhengshan has become accustomed to the casualties of his soldiers. Perhaps in the future, these casualties will be just numbers in his eyes.

Of course, he still cares about what needs to be cared about, and he will do his best to arrange treatment for those who need it.

He had prepared spiritual spring water for the wounded soldiers and also invited Doctor Niu to take charge.

"Go and rest first!"

Yang Zhengshan said to Song Dashan.

Song Dashan and his friends hadn't slept for a day and a night and were already exhausted.

"Yes!" Song Dashan replied.

After he left, Yang Zhengshan thought for a while and called Yang Mingwu and Yang Mingzhi over.

"Mingwu, go to Jianning Guard and ask General Zhou if he has any instructions!"

"Mingzhi, immediately go to each garrison, fire road pier and beacon tower to collect two hundred soldiers!"

He had ten centurions under his command, including three cavalry centurions and two infantry centurions in Yinghe Fort, and one centurion each guarding Sanshan Fort, Xiangyuan Fort and Linguan Fort. The remaining two centurions were scattered among more than twenty fire towers and beacon towers.

After yesterday's battle, only about 200 of the 300 cavalrymen were able to fight, while the 200 infantrymen did not suffer much loss.

He was worried about Lingguan Fort, which was too close to Guancheng.

The Hu army will soon arrive at Guancheng. Although Linguan Fort is not a strategic location, who knows if the Hu army will be bored and take the opportunity to capture Linguan Fort.

In front of the Hu army, Linguan Fort was at most a stumbling block.

As soon as Yang Mingwu and Yang Mingzhi left, Yang Minghao came running to report: "Dad, Mr. Liu wants to see you!"

"Mr. Liu!" Yang Zhengshan was stunned. For a moment he couldn't remember who Mr. Liu was.

"It's the stubborn old man from the Liu family!" Yang Minghao said with a blink.

Yang Zhengshan was surprised. Why did this old man come to him? However, since it was rare for this old man to come to his house, he couldn't refuse him. "Please come over!"

A moment later, Yang Minghao brought Liu Yuanfu to the study.

"Your humble servant greets Mr. Liu!"

Although Yang Zhengshan disliked the smelly and stubborn old man in his heart, he still showed respect for him on the surface.

There's nothing we can do about it, since this old man has an extraordinary background.

Even though this old man is an exiled prisoner now, many old ministers in Darong who have been convicted can be reinstated.

The Liu family experienced three ups and downs, and Liu Yuanfu also experienced three restorations.

If Liu Yuanfu was reinstated again, he would still be a great god in the court.

Liu Yuanfu raised his eyelids, glanced at Yang Zhengshan, and then sat down at the tea table.

"I came here to ask you, is there anything I can help you with?"

Yang Zhengshan was stunned. He really didn't expect that Liu Yuanfu would take the initiative to help.

But then he came to his senses and wondered what help Liu Yuanfu could provide.

He pondered for a moment, not thinking about what Liu Yuanfu could do.

This is not the imperial court, this is a border town.

Liu Yuanfu was just an ordinary old man, and the Liu family was just a group of scholars.

Let them go into battle and kill the enemy!
It would be better to find a farmer.

At least the farmer still has some strength.

But it was rare that the old man took the initiative to speak, and Yang Zhengshan couldn't refuse his kindness.

"I would like to ask the old gentleman to help look after the government office!"

"What's so good about the government office?" Liu Yuanfu said dissatisfiedly.

He really wanted to help. It was not that he looked down on Yang Zhengshan before, but he just didn't want to be involved with a military officer in a border town like Yang Zhengshan.

As a civil official, it is a very taboo to be too involved with military officers.

Especially for someone like him who holds a very high status in the court, he must stick to his duties and not overstep the line.

However, during this period, Yang Zhengshan's actions were recognized by him.

Let him see that Yang Zhengshan is a capable and conscientious official.

In particular, Yang Zhengshan rebuilt houses for the military households and helped them earn household income, which broke his previous stereotypes about border town officials.

There is no need to say much about what Chongshan Town was like in the past. As the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Liu Yuanfu deeply detested the inaction of officials in the border town.

In addition, the invasion of the Hu tribe made him let go of his worries, so he took the initiative to come to the door to see if there was any help he could provide.

As for what to do specifically, he himself had no idea.

He was a civil servant and had held a high position for a long time, so he did not have much experience or understanding of the affairs within the garrison.

He felt that he could help, but in fact, Yang Zhengshan felt that he really couldn't help much.

"I will go to Linguan Fort soon, and please stay in Yinghe Fort, sir!" Yang Zhengshan said seriously.

Regardless of whether Liu Yuanfu is a clay Buddha or a real Buddha, Yang Zhengshan plans to put him up first.

Liu Yuanfu looked up at Yang Zhengshan and said, "Okay, call your men over so I can meet them!"

Yang Zhengshan had no objection and immediately called Lu Wenchun, Lu Wenhua and Old Li over.

There are currently more than a dozen clerks in the government office, but the main ones are Lu Wenchun, Lu Wenhua and Old Li.

After Lu Wenchun and others arrived, Yang Zhengshan introduced them to Liu Yuanfu. In fact, they already knew each other. Although Liu Yuanfu seldom went out, because of Yang Zhengshan's special care for the Liu family, everyone in the government office knew that the Liu family was an official family in Kyoto, and Liu Yuanfu was a high-ranking official in the court.

"After I leave, you must obey the old gentleman's arrangements in everything!"

"Old sir, I will leave Mingzhi in Tunbao to be in charge of the defense. If you have any instructions, you can find him!"

Yang Zhengshan explained.

"Yeah." Liu Yuanfu responded concisely.

In the afternoon, Yang Mingwu returned from Jianning Wei and brought back Zhou Lan's order.

In fact, it was not a special task. The main duty of the defense officer was to guard the garrison under his command. Even if Zhou Lan led the troops to fight, she would not call on the soldiers of the garrison. She still had the troops of the five thousand households of Jianning Guard in the front, back, left, right and center.

"What's the situation in Jianning Guard?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Everything is fine. The Hu cavalry did not attack the Acropolis, but many of them have entered through the gaps between the garrisons. General Zhou is mobilizing troops to prepare to encircle and block the incoming Hu cavalry!"

Yang Mingwu replied.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "You go back and have some rest first. We are going to Linguan Fort tomorrow morning."

"Here!"

Around dusk, Yang Mingzhi also came back with two hundred infantrymen. These two hundred infantrymen were drawn from three garrisons and several fire road towers in dangerous terrain.

The arrival of so many soldiers at Yinghe Fort brought considerable pressure to the Fort.

It was freezing cold, and the houses in the garrison were already full of people, while there were still some cavalrymen living in the camp outside the garrison. Yang Zhengshan had no choice but to temporarily build some tents to make do.

Although the living quarters were shabby, fortunately there was no shortage of charcoal or food in Yinghe Fort, so the soldiers did not suffer from cold and hunger.

However, he will take all these soldiers to Linguan Fort tomorrow. Linguan Fort is not as big as Yinghe Fort, and its supplies are far less than those of Yinghe Fort.

So this time when they go to Linguan Fort, they have to be fully prepared.

The task of preparing supplies fell on Liu Yuanfu.

This old man was still capable and in good spirits. Perhaps it was because he had been idle for too long and suddenly found something to do. The old man burst out with enthusiasm and directed Lu Wenchun, Lu Wenhua and others around.

After Yang Zhengshan confirmed that the old man was not giving blind orders, he handed the task of preparing supplies to him and went back to the backyard to have a good sleep.

(End of this chapter)