Ming Empire

Chapter 64 Killing Wu Ming
The battlefield outside the city was cleaned up in the evening. After counting, it was found that more than [-] people were shot on the spot or trampled by horses and frostbite to death. There were more than [-] people injured, and nearly half of them were injured. The victim may soon lose his life.

The battle to chase down the remnants of the Jiannu tribe also ended in the evening.

The cavalry led by Zhao Tai achieved the greatest results. They wiped out about a thousand Jian slaves, including more than two hundred Mongols and a hundred Jurchen riders. The other generals also led more or less gain.

Of the more than [-] Jiannu who invaded Datong, only a thousand or so escaped in the end.However, Huaishun King Geng Zhongming, who led the army, was not captured or killed in the end, and his whereabouts were unknown. Hundreds of Mongolian and Jurchen cavalry also escaped by them.

Although there are regrets, the generals are very satisfied with such a battle line, and Cao Yue is of course also very satisfied. This is the first battle he commanded after he became the general of Datong. Why is he not happy with such a complete victory?

But what made Cao Yue angry was that the troops led by Wu Ming, the deputy general, were defeated when they encountered the remnants of Jiannu.

After hearing this report, Cao Yue was furious, and in front of Zhang An and Wei Daben, he ordered the soldiers to tie up Wu Ming who had returned in a panic.

After questioning, I learned that because Wu Ming was afraid of the enemy, when he encountered the remnants of Jiannu, he even thought of running away.It was also Wu Ming's bad luck that he met the Jurchen Jingqi who supervised Geng Zhongming.

The combat power of the Jurchens on horseback is really not comparable to that of an ordinary army. The Jurchen cavalry with only a few hundred people rushed the [-] cavalry led by Wu Ming into chaos.When Jiannu was desperate to kill, Wu Ming, who almost died, only thought of running away to save his life.Fortunately, the [-] cavalry army led by Zhao Tai responded in time, drove away the Jurchens, took the opportunity to wipe out more than a hundred Jurchen cavalry, and gathered Wu Ming's defeated troops.

Hearing the reports of Zhao Tai and other generals, as well as Wu Ming's own statement, Cao Yue's face was livid with anger, and he said on the spot: "Wu Ming, you are greedy for life and afraid of death. Facing the impact of building slaves and defeating the army, don't you think about it? How to defeat them, I thought of running away as soon as I met them. Fortunately, I had the support of Vice President Zhao, otherwise this battle might be reversed by Jiannu. It is a disgrace to the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty to run away cowardly. Strict disciplinary regulations were formulated, one of which is that the leading generals should be afraid of the enemy when fighting, or flee without fighting, and they will be killed without mercy!"

Although Cao Yue didn't know that Wu Ming had submitted the memorial to the imperial court to falsely accuse him, he knew that Wu Ming was already planning this matter.Today is just right, this guy has committed such a serious crime, he can punish him well, take this opportunity to get rid of this evil person, make himself less restrained, and at the same time clean up the military discipline.

Wu Ming no longer had any confidence to fight against Cao Yue, he knelt down in front of Cao Yue with a plop, and pleaded tearfully, saying that he was not fleeing in fear of the battle, but Jiannu's attack was too fierce, and there were only two thousand cavalry around him, and They were all recruits with no combat experience, and they couldn't resist Jiannu's onslaught.He asked Cao Yue to give him another chance, and he would definitely lead his troops to defeat Jiannu and wash away his shame.

Zhao Tai, who didn't know that Wu Ming framed Cao Yue's deputy commander, stood up and pleaded for Wu Ming, hoping that Cao Yue would let Wu Ming go and let him take the blame and make meritorious service.

After Wei Daben and Zhang An saw Zhao Tai stand up and plead, they thought that Cao Yue was just trying to show off his prestige, and would eventually spare Wu Ming, so they stood up one after another to plead with Cao Yue, and gave Wu Ming another chance, saving his life.

However, Gao Qing and Zhu Yang, who knew that Wu Ming was going to frame Cao Yue, did not stand up and plead for Wu Ming. The general fled timidly.

Then HD also stood up and expressed a similar meaning.

Unexpectedly, Wu Ming was stunned when his original ally stepped forward to add insult to injury.

"When the general formed the Datong New Army, there was a strict order that no one should violate military discipline, or they will be severely punished." Cao Yue said, pulled out the sword from his waist, and threw it to Wu who was still kneeling on the ground with a bang. In front of Ming, he shouted sternly: "Military discipline is established. If you are timid and do not advance in battle, those who flee before the battle will be killed without mercy. Today, this general will use the Shangfang sword bestowed by His Majesty to kill Wu who violated military discipline, feared the enemy and fled before the battle. Ming killed him in front of the army to establish the discipline of the army. Someone came and dragged Wu Ming down, beheaded him at the top of the city, hung his head on the top of the city, and displayed it to the public for three days."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief!" Several sergeants stepped forward immediately, two held Wu Ming down, one covered his mouth to prevent him from making any further noises, and another sergeant picked up Shang Fang's sword that was thrown on the ground.Regardless of Wu Ming's struggle, the sergeants dragged him down roughly.

Zhang An and Wei Daben, whose expressions had changed, wanted to get up several times to say something, but seeing Cao Yue's livid face and the empty scabbard of Shang Fang's sword in his hand, they still didn't get up in the end.

Cao Yue has the Shangfang sword, so he can cut first and play later.Not to mention killing a deputy commander, even if any of them were killed, the emperor would not be able to blame him.In Xingyuan, there was a sudden tranquility. This tranquility completely washed away the festive atmosphere created by the great victory just now. Many people were in a state of anxiety, for fear that they would be harmed.

Soon, the sergeants who dragged Wu Ming out strode back to Xingyuan. One of the sergeants held Wu Ming's head on a tray in his hand. Officials who had fought the war were terrified.

They also really experienced Cao Yue's decisive and ruthless side.A high-ranking deputy commander-in-chief would kill as soon as he said he wanted to, and he didn't even give face to the pleadings of civil servants like them. I believe Cao Yue could do even more outrageous things.

Amid the apprehension of the crowd, Zhao Tai, the deputy general, stood up and expressed his full support for Cao Yue's rectification of military discipline and strict military regulations. Just wipe out all Jiannu and rogues.If any of the generals or sergeants under his command hesitates to fight or flees the battle, military discipline will be enforced on the spot.

Then other generals, Gao Qing, Zhu Yang, Wu Xin, Cao San, Cao Qian and others also stood up one after another, expressing their full support for Cao Yue's rectification of military discipline. Will not get cold feet.

For a moment, the crowd in Xingyuan was excited, dispelling all the dullness caused by Wu Ming's killing just now.

Of course, the report of Wu Ming's murder was soon reported to Beijing.

Cao Yue's own book, as well as Zhang An, Wei Daben and several other officials' statements about the incident, were sent to Beijing on fast horses at about the same time.Along with these memorabilia, there were also memorabilia on the course of the battle and achievements, as well as rewards for meritorious service soldiers.

(End of this chapter)