Jiuxi

Chapter 559: 557 [Chaotianque] (IV)
In the northeast suburbs of Yongqiu, there is the main camp of the Jing army.

Similar to the situation where the border troops of Qi were mixed together, the Jing army of nearly 100,000 people also had factions.

In addition to the Xiashan Army and Fangcheng Army directly under the Southern Court, there were also the Loyal Cavalry of the Emperor's personal army, the Changsheng Army Cavalry belonging to the Huiluo clan of the Northern Court, the Dingbai Army controlled by the Jiagu clan, the Laocheng Army composed of Huite clan warriors, and another army of the Emperor's personal army, the Xiejie Army, which was strangled by the Qi army at the foot of Luwu Mountain.

As the main force under Qing Yugong, the Xiashan Army had achieved the result of beheading more than 4,000 people in the recent Battle of Yongqiu and successfully recaptured Yongqiu. Naturally, it had the capital to stand out from the crowd.

If we take into account their glorious past achievements, including the great feat of pacifying the State of Zhao a year ago, it is not surprising that they look down on others.

As the trusted subordinates of Northern Court Marshal Sagai, the Changsheng Cavalry had never been well-liked by the Xiashan Army. Although the Zhongyi Cavalry and the Prison Army had no past grudges against the Xiashan Army, their performance in the Battle of Luwu Mountain was not satisfactory. Now that they were gathered outside Yongqiu City, they naturally did not have much confidence to compete with the Xiashan Army.

More than ten fights broke out in the army these days, basically all because of conflicts between the Xiashan Army and other armies. After all, there are countless contradictions and disputes among the Jinglian people.

Fortunately, Qing Yugong took action in time, and after finding out the reasons, he was not partial. Several bloody heads were hung up, and more than a dozen military sticks were beaten. The unhealthy trends in the army disappeared instantly.

"With the enemy at hand, these people dared to disrupt the morale of the army. They deserve to die. Fortunately, the prince is in charge of the situation, otherwise I don't know how chaotic it would be."

The fourth prince, Alihehaige, was pouring tea while feeling indignant.

Although Emperor Jing allowed him to go to war with the army, Qing Yugong would definitely not let him charge into battle, but only let him follow him as the leader of the personal soldiers. After all, this was the prince of the royal family. If he died on the battlefield because of his orders, even if Emperor Jing did not express his opinion, the ministers of the court would find ways to kill Qing Yugong.

The Fourth Prince understood this logic, and he didn’t mind staying with Qing Yugong because this way he could see Qing Yu Huaijin at any time.

When the Fourth Prince heard from Qing Yu Huaijin that she might be betrothed to the Crown Prince Nalan, he first thought of rebelling against his father. If Qing Yugong had not kept him, he would have already galloped back to Dadu to persuade him.

This is the vigor of youth.

To this day, he still remembers Qing Yugong's heartfelt words.

"Your Highness, His Majesty intends to arrange a marriage for Huai Jin, which is an honor for the Qing Yu family. Although Huai Jin does not want to leave home too early, this is also a problem that I should solve. How can I let Your Highness go against His Majesty's decision? This is a great crime of filial piety. No matter what, I cannot put Your Highness in such a disloyal and unfilial situation."

In the end, Qing Yugong solved the problem himself, and the Fourth Prince was not involved. This incident made him like Qing Yugong even more.

In the commander's tent, Qing Yugong was reading the intelligence about the Qi army gathered by the cavalry scouts. Upon hearing this, he closed the file and said with a smile, "Your Highness, it is only right to be strict in disciplining the army."

Although the Fourth Prince only had a pair of eyes and two ears during this period, he was able to personally watch Qing Yugong command the army to deal with the war and observe his every military order. This was a very beneficial experience for the Fourth Prince.

Qing Yugong was very open with him. No matter the details of the initial planning of the two-front battlefield or his series of responses after the fall of Yongqiu, he would tell the Fourth Prince the reasons for doing so in his spare time.

The prince and the marshal, the commander-in-chief and his personal soldiers, these are their apparent relationships, but in fact there is a deeper level, that is, the relationship between an unofficial master and a disciple.

But he was, after all, a prince that Emperor Jing loved very much. Unlike the generals under Qing Yugong, he did not have too many scruples in his words and deeds. So he smiled and said, "I thought the prince would favor the soldiers of Xiashan Army. After all, they have performed the best so far in the war. Even if they have some privileges, others cannot say anything about it."

Qing Yugong smiled and shook his head, saying, "Your Highness, a general must clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. The Xiashan Army will be rewarded for their meritorious service, and the Zhongyi Army and other troops will be punished for their defeat in Luwu Mountain. There is nothing wrong with this, and it is based on military discipline and laws. However, those bastards in the Xiashan Army bully others by taking advantage of their power. This is not a right granted by military law, but they are blinded by their merits. If I side with them at this time, military discipline and laws will be a decoration, and how can I demand others in the future?"

The fourth prince nodded in conviction.

Qing Yugong continued, "It is difficult to achieve absolute fairness in the world, but relative fairness must be guaranteed in the military. This is the most basic requirement for an army to maintain its combat effectiveness. Military spirit and morale may seem superficial, and are not as clear and visible as weapons and armor, but they are necessary conditions to determine the upper limit of an army. No matter how rigorous the training or how sophisticated the equipment, it can only guarantee the lower limit of an army. If you want to bring out their true strength, you cannot ignore their own ideas."

The fourth prince said thoughtfully: "In other words, we can't regard the soldiers as pawns to fill the battlefield?"

"In a way, that's right."

Qing Yugong took a sip of tea and continued, "The world is like a chess game, and so is the battlefield. If every chess piece has its own ideas, it will obviously lead to a chaotic situation where the generals and the pieces are not in sync and the whole team is in disarray. But if these chess pieces only follow orders rigidly and don't even know why they are fighting, this is also a very fatal problem."

After all, the Fourth Prince was young and had no experience in leading troops independently. He was inevitably confused after hearing these words.

Qing Yugong did not rush to explain, but asked calmly: "Your Highness, do you know what a soldier fears most on the battlefield?"

The Fourth Prince believed that Qing Yugong would not speak without a purpose. This must be a very complex proposition, and he could not help but ponder it.

Qing Yugong said bluntly: "It is death."

"fear death?"

The fourth prince was stunned.

Qing Yugong nodded and said, "Yes, I am afraid of death. Of course there are people in this world who are not afraid of death, but they are a minority after all. No matter how fierce most people are in normal times, when they really face the coming of death, they will inevitably have uncontrollable fear. This is also the tempering that every soldier needs to go through on the battlefield. Back to the previous question, if a soldier does not enjoy the most basic fairness, he will not have any sense of belonging to his identity. How can you ask such a person to die bravely when death comes?" The fourth prince gradually came to his senses and nodded, "Yes, if the generals and officers do not treat me as a human being in normal times, how can I fight bravely when the time comes?"

"The saying 'kindness does not lead to military success' actually has two meanings."

Qing Yugong turned his head and looked at him, and said patiently: "The first meaning is what Your Highness understands. Sacrifice on the battlefield is inevitable, and a general cannot hesitate or be soft-hearted because of this. The second is that in daily training, you cannot only care about your trusted and loyal followers, and be kind to them, but be ruthless to others."

The fourth prince suddenly realized, looked at the middle-aged man's gentle expression, bowed and said: "I will accept your instruction."

Qing Yugong smiled slightly.

The fourth prince stood up and after a slight hesitation, he mustered up the courage to ask, "Your Highness, are you keeping your troops on hold right now because you are afraid of the Southern Qi border troops?"

This was obviously the question that had been lingering in his mind in recent days. If the atmosphere was not so harmonious at the moment, he would definitely not have said it directly.

Qing Yugong asked in return: "What does your Highness think of this matter?"

The fourth prince stared into his eyes, thought for a moment and said, "I think your judgment is correct. The enemy is strong and their strength is comparable to ours. Their morale is at its peak, so we should avoid them. In any case, our army has already conquered the northern part of Dingzhou and now has recaptured Yongqiu. We can even stop the war temporarily. After all, the war in Jiangbei cannot be settled overnight, so it is better to take it step by step."

Qing Yugong couldn't help but look relieved.

Just at this moment, footsteps were heard outside the tent, and then Qing Yu Huaijin quickly walked in.

Seeing that slender figure, the Fourth Prince's eyes lit up.

Qing Yu Huaijin nodded slightly to him, and then said to Qing Yugong: "Father, the angel of decree has arrived outside the camp."

Qing Yugong said calmly: "Be prepared to receive the order."

Qing Yu Huaijin bowed his head and said, "Yes, father."

A moment later, the angel delivering the imperial edict came to the commander's tent. He first looked at Qing Yugong who was standing solemnly, then glanced at the Fourth Prince standing behind him, unfolded the bright yellow imperial edict, and read it aloud.

"Emperor Dajing wrote: The war has been going on for a long time. The Prince of Changshan has commanded the army in a proper way. The generals and soldiers are brave and good at fighting. They have conquered Dingbei and Yongqiu. I am happy to hear about it. However, the enemy is still lurking around and wants to win a big victory. I hope you can continue to work hard and defeat their army outside Yongqiu City to show the power of our army and stabilize the situation in Jiangbei."

There was silence in the tent.

The generals all looked solemn. This imperial edict was concise and to the point, and everyone could understand it.

However, this was clearly intended to reject Qing Yugong's previous suggestion and prompt the main force of the Jing army to engage in a decisive battle with the Qi army.

The Fourth Prince frowned. Although he still had great respect for his father, this was not the first time that his father had directly intervened in frontline military affairs.

He had his own thoughts and did not completely believe in Qing Yugong's analysis. Even from his own judgment, temporarily avoiding the Qi army was the right choice, and forcing a decisive battle with the enemy was not safe enough.

Just as he took a step forward, Qing Yugong suddenly bowed deeply and said calmly: "I obey your order!"

The fourth prince moved his lips, but ultimately remained silent.

Although he was a prince, he knew that Qing Yugong should be respected in the army. Since he had already received the order, speaking out again would be tantamount to challenging the commander-in-chief's authority, even if he was thinking about the overall situation.

After the angel handed over the imperial edict, a smile immediately spread across his face, and he humbly conveyed the emperor's praise and commendation to Qing Yugong.

Qing Yugong remained calm and responded calmly.

After he left, all the generals also left one after another, and the tent finally became quiet.

This time the Fourth Prince did not go to see Qing Yu Huaijin. He walked to Qing Yugong and whispered, "My Lord, why don't you argue with reason?"

Qing Yugong turned his head and looked at him, a complex emotion flashing across his face, and he said meaningfully: "Your Highness, this is an imperial decree."

Then he walked inside, his back looking a little desolate.

(End of this chapter)