Li Tao Demoted! Zhu Ying's Battle Results!

"What did it say?" the Tatar Commander of Ten Thousand immediately asked.

The Tatar soldier took one look, his face turning ugly. "It says... it says that one day, they will kill their way into our tribe's seat, sever our chieftain's head, wipe out our entire tribe, and tell... tell our chieftain to wait for them."

The moment he heard this, the Tatar Commander of Ten Thousand flew into a rage. "Courting death."

"Pass down the order."

"Keep pursuing them."

"I'll tear those damned Ming Army soldiers into ten thousand pieces!" the Commander of Ten Thousand roared.

"Yes!"

The Tatar Commanders of Thousand answered loudly.

Ansha County!

Military camp.

"Battalion Commander."

"Though we reported this in the military dispatch, do you think the Commander will hold us accountable?"

Li Tao's Deputy Battalion Commander asked worriedly.

"What is there to hold us accountable for?"

"I wrote everything exactly as it happened in the military dispatch."

"Zhu Ying was headstrong and willful, actually intending to attack a Tatar tribe defended by tens of thousands with such a pitiful force. That was nothing short of seeking death."

"To prevent casualties among the officers and soldiers of my battalion, naturally I had to report it."

"Besides."

"Before withdrawing, we also harassed the Tatar tribe. What could we possibly be blamed for?" Li Tao gave a faint laugh, utterly unconcerned.

Just then!

"Reporting to the Battalion Commander."

"Someone sent by the Commander has arrived."

Li Tao's personal guard hurried over to report.

"Let's go."

Li Tao immediately replied.

He then led his two Deputy Battalion Commanders out of the main hall.

The moment they stepped outside, they saw Bu Wan's personal guard commander.

"Commander Chen."

"What orders does the Commander have?"

Li Tao bowed.

"By the Commander's order, I am here to convey a military command."

Bu Wan's guard commander glanced at Li Tao and said solemnly.

"This subordinate awaits the military command."

Li Tao immediately knelt, and the two Deputy Battalion Commanders behind him bowed as well.

"Battalion Commander Li Tao."

"You defied your superior's command, fled before the battle, and coveted life while fearing death."

"Effective immediately, you are stripped of your position as Battalion Commander and demoted to a common soldier."

"Deputy Battalion Commanders Wang Wu and Liu Wei, having failed to offer remonstrance, are each demoted one rank to Hundred Commanders."

"The Commander has already transferred another Battalion Commander to take over the Third Cavalry Battalion." Commander Chen held the military order and read it aloud.

At this, Li Tao and the two Deputy Battalion Commanders beside him went pale.

"Commander Chen? Why is this?"

"How did I defy military orders? How did I flee before battle?"

"My withdrawal was ordered by Zhu Ying, and the reason I did not follow his command was because he wanted to lead the brothers to their deaths. I was not defying him—I was merely advising against it."

"Besides, he said himself that as long as I harassed the Tatar tribe on the southern side, I could withdraw, and my merits and faults would cancel each other out." Li Tao panicked and immediately protested.

"This order was personally issued by Lord Bu Wan. I do not know the specific reason."

"But... there is one thing you are wrong about."

"Garrison Commander Zhu Ying's raid on the Tatar tribe was not a suicidal mission. The results of this campaign have already been sent back—Garrison Commander Zhu led his forces in breaching the Tatar Northern Tribe, slaying over ten thousand enemies and reaping immense gains."

"Of the five battalions under Garrison Commander Zhu's command, only your Third Battalion fled from the battlefield. The other battalion commanders all followed him and won merit for the nation."

"Because of Garrison Commander Zhu's actions, the entire Tatar people have been drawn to him and are unable to send troops to reinforce the Yuan Court, leaving Daning free from danger for the time being. This is a tremendous achievement."

"As a soldier of the Ming Dynasty, you fled in the face of battle, disobeyed military orders, and clung to life in fear of death. Shameful."

Commander Chen spoke coldly.

He had no favorable opinion of Li Tao either.

The military had its own way of handling matters, its own code of conduct.

Those who feared death and clung to life were naturally despised.

After saying that, Commander Chen did not waste any time. He tossed the military order bearing the Commander-in-Chief's seal directly at Li Tao, then turned and left.

Looking at the military order before him, Li Tao's expression turned exceedingly ugly.

"He actually broke through the Tatar tribe?"

"With only four thousand troops?"

"How is that possible?"

Li Tao's thoughts churned. Clearly, he had never expected Zhu Ying to achieve such results.

But upon further thought, A deep hatred rose within Li Tao's heart. "Zhu Ying must have broken his promise and deliberately reported to the Commander-in-Chief that I fled from battle! That petty man—he deserves to die."

"Battalion Commander."

"What do we do now?"

The two Deputy Battalion Commanders looked at Li Tao with bitter expressions.

"This isn't over."

"Zhu Ying."

Li Tao's face was filled with hatred.

Clearly, he understood that Zhu Ying had played him.

Time flew by!

The northern frontier!

Beneath the night sky!

Apart from the faint moonlight, all was silent.

Zhu Ying held a map and studied it.

Beside a campfire, Zhu Ying and the battalion commanders gathered together.

"Garrison Commander."

"Those Tatars have been led away."

"We drove more than a thousand warhorses toward the west and east, leaving hoofprints in complete disarray. They've been thoroughly misled."

"In this vast northern frontier, it won't be easy for them to find us." Zhang Wu reported with a smile.

"When we first remained here on the northern frontier, everyone thought it was a road with no life beyond it. Yet Garrison Commander has kept us alive for so many days, and even made the Tatars suffer such a huge loss. As the saying goes, kill one and you break even; kill two and you earn one. What we've earned is far more than just two." Wei Quan looked at Zhu Ying with admiration as he spoke.

"Indeed."

"Originally, seeing how young Garrison Commander was, I thought you were leading us to our deaths. Though I followed your orders, I still had some worries and resentment in my heart. But now, if anyone dares speak a single word against Garrison Commander in front of us, I'll slap him right across the face." Zhuang Wei echoed with a laugh.

Their words made it clear.

After these days of fierce fighting, Zhu Ying had led them in breaking through enemy tribes and wiping out several thousand Tatar cavalrymen.

Such results filled them with incomparable exhilaration.

They had also completely accepted Zhu Ying, with no complaints remaining.

"Have the casualty figures been counted?" Zhu Ying set down the map and asked in a deep voice.

"Garrison Commander."

"In this direct battle against the Tatars, although we were somewhat inferior in numbers, every son of Han was a warrior. In this battle, we killed at least four thousand enemies. Two hundred and fifty-seven of our men died, and four hundred and eighty were wounded." Wei Quan said excitedly.

Such results could not be called anything less than a great victory.

And it was a crushing victory that would have been nearly impossible to achieve otherwise.

Of course.

All the commanders of a thousand present understood this as well.

The fundamental reason they had attained such staggering results was Zhu Ying. If not for Zhu Ying's unmatched ferocity, charging straight into the enemy formation, beheading enemy generals and cutting down their banners amid an army of thousands, shattering the enemy army's morale, the soldiers under their command would have suffered far more than these casualties.

Just as Zhu Ying had said when he first became a commander of a thousand: if generals did not fear death and soldiers did not cling to life, then they would be an army victorious in a hundred battles.

Whenever a great battle came, Zhu Ying was always the first to charge in and kill. That was an inspiration to every soldier.

Of course.

The boosts brought by the Authority Seal were also why the combat strength of the soldiers under Zhu Ying's command kept rising, and why their casualties were so low.

"We've shaken off the Tartars for now."

"Let the brothers rest properly and get a good night's sleep."

"Tonight, I'll stand watch." Zhu Ying said with a smile.

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