Cleaning up the battlefield, rectifying public security in the city, and recovering the cattle and sheep that had been robbed and then scattered continued for several days. There is a saying in the art of war: Those who know how to fight are not willing to fight. Even if you win, what is left behind is a mess that is difficult to clean up. Wounded soldiers, attrition, chaos, none of it is easy to solve.
The Battle of Shancheng has been nearly a month since Xue Wanjun sent out troops. Almost all the three thousand generals led by Xue Wanjun were killed in the battle. Shancheng's pastures and farmland suffered great losses. The public security in the city fell into chaos, the people were panic-stricken, and spring plowing production was temporarily stagnant...
Qin Mubai did not reprimand and ridicule Xue Wanjun, but let the facts make him regret and regret - eager for success and bellicose, this is the result!
Xue Wanjun had nothing to say and lay on the bed every day without leaving the house. He was even a little afraid to face his comrades and the people in the city. Later, he wrote an apology letter and a glossary. They were sent to Qin Shubao, the governor, and handed over to the court.
Qin Shubao was greatly relieved when he received the good news from Qin Mubai in Lanzhou. What followed was an apology letter, which made him feel even more proud. The Xue brothers have always been unruly and disobedient to Qin and his son for a long time. This time, it was the facts that slapped him hard and convinced him. It is estimated that he will not dare to make mistakes again in the future. Xue Wanjun is Xue Wanche's father and the leader of that faction. Subduing him would be equivalent to subduing the Xue family. From then on, the Qin family in Lanzhou will be respected, and it is just around the corner.
A few days later, Li Shimin received several copies of the battle report from Lanzhou, as well as Xue Wanjun's glossary.
Xue Wanjun was defeated, losing three thousand elite soldiers, and Shancheng suffered a lot of damage. After that, Qin Mubai defeated the Tubo people and killed thousands of enemies, trying to protect Shancheng and quickly carried out aftermath work, further reducing the disaster and quickly letting it go. Shancheng Zhongxing is on track to resume production.
Compare the two and judge the pros and cons!
Xue Wanjun, on the one hand, was indeed guilty of violating military orders, and on the other hand, he was ashamed of himself, so he submitted his resignation letter.
Although Li Shimin was not in Lanzhou, he analyzed the situation inside very thoroughly. Naturally, he would not agree to Xue Wanjun's resignation, so he issued an order to commend and reward Qin Mubai and other generals, and at the same time comforted Xue Wanjun with "victory and defeat are common things for military strategists". Then the military law was ruthless, and those who should be punished still had to be punished, so Xue Wanjun was symbolically demoted to one rank and one rank, and a number of fiefdoms were reduced. His official officer "General Zuo Weiwei" was transferred from a real official to a school inspector. Still in charge of his original position, he performed meritorious deeds to see the consequences.
Originally, Li Shimin did not want to interfere too much in Lanzhou's military and internal affairs. The Qin and Xue factions were evenly matched, which was actually a good thing for him. However, the reality is before us. Xue Wanjun failed to live up to his expectations and lost his army and humiliated the country, resulting in a huge disaster in Shancheng. Qin Mubai was ordered to turn the tide and made great achievements when he was in danger. It is clear at a glance who should be rewarded and who should be punished. So, Li Shimin had no choice but to do this.
When the imperial edict arrived in Shancheng, Qin Mubai was in the general's mansion, taking care of military and political affairs on behalf of Xue Wanjun, who was seriously injured and recovering from illness. After receiving the imperial edict, Qin Mubai just smiled slightly, knowing the emperor's intention clearly. The emperor has an emperor's mind. According to the general rewards and punishments, generals like Xue Wanjun who violated military orders and made arbitrary decisions, resulting in huge defeats, could have been beheaded long ago. Even if he thinks about his past achievements, he is at least demoted and exiled. The emperor did not want the balance of power in Lanzhou to deviate too much, so he punished Xue Wanjun "very" leniently, which was just a symbolic punishment.
After thinking about this, Qin Mubai did not want to stay in Shancheng for a long time, lest he get a bad reputation for taking advantage of others' danger and seizing their power. He wrote to Qin Shubao and asked him to issue military orders in the name of the governor to temporarily transfer Xue Wanjun's brother Xue Wanche to Shancheng to take over his brother's military power. As for Liangzhou, Xue Wanjun himself can appoint capable people to take over temporarily.
For several days, Shancheng's "butt" has been almost wiped clean, and Qin Mubai can indeed leave with peace of mind. It wasn't that he wasn't worried about the Tubo people returning and causing trouble. He was more concerned about the production and people's livelihood here. Seeing that everything was back on track, Qin Mubai took Xue Rengui, Yuwen Hongtai and other generals and led his troops away.
When Xue Wanche heard that Shancheng was defeated and his brother's life or death was uncertain, he was already anxious and wished he could fly to Shancheng to help. If it weren't for military orders, how could he wait until today? After receiving Qin Shubao's transfer order, he rushed over impatiently, feeling a little grateful in his heart.
The brothers finally met.
Xue Wanjun was lying on the hospital bed and sighed: "Second brother, Brother Yu, you are really embarrassed this time!"
"Brother, there is no need to blame yourself. Victory and defeat are commonplace for military strategists. When my brother recovers, we two brothers will send troops to conquer Dafeichuan together, vowing to capture the Tubo camp and avenge this great revenge for my brother!" Xue Wanche said through gritted teeth.
"No, no, absolutely not!" Xue Wanjun waved his hands repeatedly and said, "The shame that Brother Yu said was not because of defeat. You and I have killed countless people in the army for half our lives, and we can still afford to win or lose for a while. Alas! I hate only hate, Brother Yu has no choice but to accept Qin Mu Bairuo's great favor. From now on, you and I will not be able to hold our heads high in front of their father and son!"
"Brother, what are you talking about!" Xue Wanche asked anxiously, "Didn't Qin Mubai just pick up a dead fish and win a battle? Who has never won a battle? We brothers have not fought for Datang for half our lives. Why can't you raise your head in front of their father and son?"
"My dear brother, you only know one thing, but not the other." Xue Wanjun said with a bitter face, "Although Qin Mubai is young, he is really proficient in the art of war and has learned everything from Li Jingzhen, and he has unpredictable abilities. Just winning the battle is nothing to mention. Then, he made a clever plan to trick the Tubo army like ignorant children, but Brother Yu was really convinced! Moreover, just a few days later, he reorganized the situation and quickly got Shancheng back on track and defeated Brother Yu. We cannot disapprove of this ability to minimize the disaster of defeat! - Moreover, if this is not the case, how can Brother Yu explain this defeat to the emperor? It is precisely because Qin Mubai has minimized the disaster of defeat that Brother Yu can I survived and died without being punished by the military. Could it be that I was favored by Qin Mubai? And more directly, you don't know Qin Shubao's temper, and he will never tolerate it. If he was defeated because of his disobedience, he would definitely be killed. If it weren’t for Qin Mubai’s guarantee in front of his father, Brother Yu would have been killed by the sword, let alone what he is today!”
After hearing this, Xue Wanche shook his head helplessly and sighed: "My skills are inferior to others, so I have to admit it!"
"Originally, Qin Shubao was just a martial artist, at best equal to my two brothers, without any fear." Xue Wanjun said, "The most powerful one is his son Qin Mubai. Today we should have realized it. The emperor must have a far-reaching plan when he sends him here. From now on, the leader of Lanzhou will undoubtedly be Qin Mubai!"
"No way? At such a young age, he can coordinate the border management of Helong?" Xue Wanche said in surprise, "If it were Li Jinglai, I would believe it."
"You'd better believe it." Xue Wanjun smiled bitterly, "We can only look up to this boy's ability and ambition. In other words, if he wants to kill us, it's just a matter of flipping hands. This time he Repay evil with kindness and let me go. From now on, we will have to be more understanding."
"That's it!" Xue Wanche sighed, "Foolish brother Xiang Wu has no opinion, everything will be decided by my brother!"
"Okay, these words are not enough for outsiders to listen to. Since you have come to Shancheng to take over my post, you should concentrate on rectifying the army, restraining the people, and fulfilling the orders of the Governor's Office!" Xue Wanjun sighed, "Concentrate on farming, don't think about it. It’s time to go on an expedition. I think they and their son have already made plans in their minds. When it’s time to go to war, they will naturally think of us.”
"Okay! Just listen to brother!"
Qin Mubai led his army back to Lanzhou, and the people in the city lined the streets to welcome him, which was extremely lively. He rode into the city on a big horse and enjoyed the unique treatment of a hero.
Qin Shubao was extremely happy to receive his son. This time, Qin Mubai made him feel proud, which was more satisfying than him winning a big victory himself. So he held a celebration banquet for the victorious soldiers in the central army commander's tent, which was a lively event.
After drinking to their heart's content, the father and son returned to the room. Qin Shubao took out a letter and said, "Sanlang, here is a letter from home, written by your mother."
"Oh?" Qin Mubai took it over and took a look at it, and said in surprise: "My mother and sister are coming to Lanzhou too?"
"Yes!" Qin Shubao said, "After your memorial to invite people to come to Lanzhou was approved by the court, it was immediately implemented. There are many family members of the soldiers of the three armies, so they organized and moved to Lanzhou in batches. Naturally, this first batch They are military relatives of the two capitals in Guan Nei. Aren’t your mother and sister military relatives?”
"What does father mean?" Qin Mubai asked.
"It's better not to come." Qin Shubao answered decisively.
Qin Mubai nodded without objection. He understood what his father meant, not that he didn't miss his wife and daughter at home, but just to reassure the emperor and avoid suspicion. Just imagine, the whole family has moved to Lanzhou, and Qin Shubao no longer has any worries. If something really happens one day, he can stand on his own feet.
Leaving the mother and sister in Chang'an has the meaning of being "hostages".
"Your two brothers also wrote a letter, saying that they wanted to come to Lanzhou together. I also refused." Qin Shubao also said.
"Yeah... that's fine."
"Sanlang, it's not easy to be a king, and it's not easy to be a minister!" Qin Shubao sighed loudly, "We must not only contribute to the country and relieve the king's worries, but also protect the king from suspicion. Otherwise, great things will be difficult to achieve. We, the warriors, must serve the country. Death is not a pity. The only thing worth worrying about is that we must not let these trivial matters affect the country's great plan. It is not advisable!"
"My father has a huge heart and is determined to serve the country. I admire him so much!" Qin Mubai praised sincerely.
"My old man... although I am very ambitious, I feel a little powerless after all." Qin Shubao patted Qin Mubai on the shoulder, "Lanzhou, Guanlong and even the Western Regions are still counting on you in the future. I am telling you this out of hope. You should serve your public interests and forget your own interests. Don’t let your selfish interests interfere with national affairs.”
"Yes, my child has remembered it." Qin Mubai bowed his hands.
"By the way." Qin Shubao remembered something and said, "Your bookboy Qin Shi came back to the Governor's Mansion to see you a few days ago. He probably had something important to do. When I asked him, he refused to tell. It seemed that he was only willing to tell Just be careful."
"Yeah, I got it." Qin Mubai couldn't help but feel bright in his heart: As soon as they arrived in Lanzhou, Qin Shi and Tu Youhai disappeared from everyone's sight with more than a hundred skilled craftsmen who came with them. Under my secret orders, they have been studying and casting red cannons in the iron ore area. Is it possible that there are results
Very good, I will go and see for myself tomorrow!