jdhmnovel Chapter 397 Winning Hearts and Minds is Paramount! The Plan of the Marquis of Zhenxi and the Poison
Chapter 397 Winning Hearts and Minds is Paramount! The Plan of the Marquis of Zhenxi and the Poison
The speed at which the Broken Wind Army set up camp was almost comparable to their lightning-fast marching speed. Starting from the central command tent, camps radiated outwards and were quickly erected one after another.
Deputy General Chen Dunru was busy directing the accompanying Zhang Gu (an ancient officer in charge of the engineering corps in the army) to build camps while also mobilizing engineers to dig and ram walls.
Another deputy general, Sheng Yanwei, led more than a thousand Pofeng Army infantrymen to draw lines on the open ground more than a mile outside the camp, marking out a training ground that was forty or fifty feet square.
Sheng Yanwei and Deputy General Chen both served under the Marquis of Zhenxi. The number of troops they commanded and their authority were not significantly different. However, compared to the straightforward and honest Deputy General Chen, Sheng Yanwei had a strange temper and his behavior was somewhat unpredictable.
Long before the fall of Western Chu, Sheng Yanwei had been serving Baili Luochen closely. Many veteran soldiers knew something about Sheng Yanwei's past, but no one could clearly explain his exact origins.
Some say he was from Nanjue and had been a bandit in his early years. He was captured by Baili Luochen after being knocked off his horse by a single sword strike while robbing the Pofeng Army's supplies.
Upon learning that he was the renowned War God of Slaughter, Marquis Zhenxi, he readily accepted the title and joined the Pofeng Army.
Some say he was a surrendered general of Western Chu who once followed the King of Western Chu. However, after learning that the King of Western Chu used the people of Luosang City as a price to create medicinal humanoids to resist the Pofeng Army, he became disheartened and took the initiative to join the Marquis of Zhenxi.
He himself has not commented on these rumors, but his accent from the Western Chu region serves as evidence of them.
Because Sheng Yanwei was stricter in disciplining his troops, his reputation among the ordinary soldiers of the Pofeng Army was significantly worse than that of Chen Dunru. Even the old Marquis cursed him as a "cruel official in the army." However, this did not affect his prestige among his comrades.
He was loyal and honest by nature, and treated people sincerely. His strict discipline of the army was also to reduce casualties on the battlefield.
Sheng Yanwei, with his hand on the hilt of his sword, walked into the temporary command platform erected in the middle of the training ground.
He looked down at the soldiers scattered in a dense array below the platform. These were the Yunzhou soldiers who had surrendered without a fight. Apart from those who fled and those who were killed on the spot for fierce resistance, there were more than 12,000 of them.
Sheng Yanwei gathered his true energy in his chest, and his voice resounded throughout the entire training ground:
"I've heard that the people of Yunzhou have lived in the mountains and forests for generations, sleeping in the wild, and eating snakes, insects, rats, ants, weeds, and poisonous fungi, so everyone has a very fiery temper!"
"But your defeat today at the hands of the Marquis of Zhenxi and the Pofeng Army is not shameful!"
At this point, a murmur of whispers rose and fell in the training ground. Some of the more resilient Yunzhou soldiers felt that their commander was weak; otherwise, they might have had a chance to break through if they fought to the death.
Sheng Yanwei's gaze swept over the many resentful soldiers below the field, finally settling on a dark-skinned, muscular centurion:
“That dark-skinned, skinny man… Yes! Don’t look at me, it’s you!”
As he spoke, he drew his sword and pointed it at the centurion of Yunzhou, then said, "I see you rambling on and on, what... are you not convinced?"
The centurion raised his neck, his pent-up resentment and anger surging forth: "Of course I'm not convinced!"
Sheng Yanwei, unusually, did not get angry. He looked at the centurion with great interest and said, "What's wrong? Tell me."
The centurion straightened his back and gritted his teeth, saying, "It's not that I'm dissatisfied with your Windbreaker Army... it's that I'm dissatisfied with our Commander!"
“We all have two shoulders and one head. What do you think Lu Ting'en is afraid of? You only have four or five thousand light cavalry this time, while our Divine Steed Battalion plus the Second Infantry Battalion has a total of twelve or thirteen thousand. He has been commanding troops and fighting for decades. Why don’t you think he dares to fight Baili Luochen?”
"If you ask me, it's a case of one incompetent general causing the death of the entire army! Whether it's the Pofeng Army or the Yunzhou Army, they're all soldiers who eat grains and vegetables. Your saber can cut off my head, and my spear can pierce your throat. Why should you be a prisoner of Baili Luochen?!"
These words immediately caused an uproar in the training ground, like water being poured into boiling oil. Many soldiers who shared his views were outraged and cursed Lu Ting'en for being weak and cowardly.
However, some of Lu Ting'en's lieutenants spoke out in defense of their commander, saying things like, "Our army is trapped in a predicament, and struggling will only increase casualties. Our commander is benevolent and cannot bear to see his brothers die..."
However, since the number of rank-and-file soldiers far exceeded that of officers, these pertinent words were quickly drowned out and disappeared without a trace.
Sheng Yanwei stood on the command platform, quietly watching the Yunzhou soldiers below, who were becoming increasingly excited and indignant as they spoke. After a moment, he shouted:
"quiet!!"
The sound was like a thunderclap from a clear sky. The ears of the surrendered soldiers in the training ground rang, and the discussion immediately stopped. Even the stubborn centurion lowered his head and remained silent.
"I know you are not convinced, and I know that some of your brothers are good men and true heroes, but who told you to follow the wrong person!"
"Soldiers are fed, paid, and risk their lives; this is an unshakeable principle, and it applies to our Broken Wind Army as well!"
I know that compared to the prefectures and counties of Jiangnan and the Central Plains, Yunzhou is a desolate and impoverished place. Your salaries and military provisions are often transferred from other provinces by imperial decree..."
"I also know that many of your families are in Yunzhou, and this raid on Xueyue City is a life-or-death mission."
Not only did they endure wind and rain during their forced march, but they also had to climb snow-capped mountains and cross sheer cliffs. Many died from falls or exhaustion on the march, without even having time to send a letter home, and their bodies were never recovered!
“We men are all soldiers, but we are all born of parents and raised by flesh and blood. We all have families, and we all have feelings…”
At this point, many of the surrendered soldiers in the drill ground gradually reddened their eyes, and some even gritted their teeth, tears welling up in their eyes, and dared not utter a sound.
Sheng Yanwei knew that his words were starting to have an effect, so his tone softened considerably:
“I, Sheng Yanwei, am over forty years old, and like many of you, I have elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. I know how difficult it is to support a family!”
I've heard that the infantrymen in your Yunzhou army receive a monthly salary of one shi of millet and one liang and two qian of silver, but even with such meager pay, they often only receive half of it, and the millet is mostly made from old and mixed grains from previous years, using inferior materials..."
"I wonder if what I said about military pay was correct?"
Before addressing the troops at the drill ground, Sheng Yanwei had indeed consulted with several infantrymen from the Yunzhou army about the matter, so his words immediately resonated with the rank-and-file soldiers.
"The general is right. Sometimes the pay is delayed for several months. Our battalion still hasn't received its Qingming Festival stipend this year..."
"What do you mean by one tael and two mace? That's a ration only for platoon leaders and above. We cooks, who are neither loved by our grandmothers nor our uncles, only get eight mace of silver, which isn't even enough to buy wine!"
"Do you think a centurion's salary is enough? I only get seven or eight taels. After deducting the tribute to my superiors and sending some home, I'm not much better off than you!"
"..."