Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside Chapter 1457: Commander

"Still as clever as ever." The young soldier listened with great joy, feeling relieved that they could push the issue onto Lord County Magistrate, so they wouldn’t have to worry about it. He then pulled the small Section Leader aside and asked, "Leader, if the soldiers come knocking again, do we open the gate or not?"

The small Section Leader didn’t even think twice this time and replied, "Of course, open it. They’ve won; if we don’t open the gate, they’ll report us to the Capital, and we’ll be done for."

He added, "Be respectful to them, say nice things, curry favor with their horses."

"Yes, yes, I understand," the young soldier replied, escorting the small Section Leader away.

Not far from the city gate, You An, You Ping, Bu Fang, and Hong Dao were tidying up the corpses of the Seventh and Eighth Village Chiefs, while the soldiers were pulling horses and picking up weapons. These items were valuable, and they took whatever they could find first.

Once Qin San Lang saw they were almost done, he instructed Zhang Tu, who was holding the Military Flag, "Wave the flag and gather the troops!"

The bandit leader from the Hundred Wolves Mountain Nine Villages had not been captured, and Deputy General Xue’s side was still in danger. They couldn’t disperse their forces now; they needed to wave the flag, gather the troops, and make further arrangements.

"Yes!" Zhang Tu, sitting on his horse and holding the Military Flag, waved the flag left and right, shouting, "Company Commander Qin’s order, all soldiers, regroup and gather!"

Zhang Tu shouted for a while, and the soldiers scattered around began to regroup, forming a force of several hundred strong.

Qin San Lang rode his horse, leading them back to find Vice General Fang, to report that the Seventh and Eighth Village Chiefs were dead and all bandits were killed.

Vice General Fang was very pleased, grabbing Qin San Lang’s hand and saying, "San Lang, you’ve worked hard... You’re amazing, you’ve achieved great merit."

This meant that he wouldn’t use rank to suppress Qin San Lang’s achievements.

Qin San Lang nodded and noticed that Vice General Fang was injured, and quite seriously, so he immediately shouted, "Where is the military doctor? Quickly, come treat Vice General Fang’s wound!"

Vice General Fang weakly replied, "No need to call, my side, the military doctor is dead."

Yongtai Prefecture only brought two military doctors here. After he and Deputy General Xue divided the troops, each took one military doctor.

Upon hearing this, Qin San Lang immediately ordered Zhang Zhong, "Go find Ye Dakou."

"Yes." Zhang Zhong promptly went to find Ye Dakou.

Ye Dakou, along with five soldiers who knew how to treat injuries, was taking care of the wounded. Upon hearing that Vice General Fang was gravely injured, he immediately carried his medical kit and rushed over.

When he saw Vice General Fang’s wound, his expression changed.

Vice General Fang’s calf was struck by a large blade, the bone was cut through, connected only by flesh.

"This..." Ye Dakou looked at Vice General Fang and truthfully said, "Sir, I’m afraid your leg can’t be saved."

Vice General Fang knew his leg was seriously wounded, but hearing this, he still felt despair.

Qin San Lang said, "Sir, the Hundred Wolves Mountain has Nine Villages, the bandit leader of the Nine Villages hasn’t been captured yet. Let Brother Ye stop the bleeding and bandage your wound first, then you can direct us to capture the bandit leader, to prevent him from leading others back to kill."

Vice General Fang was startled, "Right, right, there’s still a bandit leader, we can’t be complacent now."

Vice General Fang had a shadow over the bandits and quickly asked Ye Dakou to treat his wound.

The golden sore medicine prepared by Gu Jinli was powerful and stopped the bleeding quickly.

After Ye Dakou bandaged the wound, he said, "Once all the bandits are exterminated, Sir, you should enter the city and find an experienced doctor to see if the leg can be saved."

Vice General Fang wasn’t foolish; he knew Ye Dakou was merely comforting him, and he felt very downcast after hearing that. But soon, he was relieved.

Just because Xie Cheng sent people to report that Deputy General Xue had died.

"Quick, take me to Xie Cheng’s side." Vice General Fang was shocked, then urgently ordered to be carried over to see Deputy General Xue’s body.

Qin San Lang immediately made arrangements, leading a large group of soldiers to join Xie Cheng and the others.

When they saw Deputy General Xue’s body, everyone was shocked.

Vice General Fang felt fear, grateful that Qin San Lang arrived in time; otherwise, he would have ended up like Deputy General Xue, shot full of arrows.

"Prepare Deputy General Xue’s body, let him leave with dignity." Vice General Fang was moved, his eyes reddening at the tragic scene.

"Yes." Xie Cheng and the soldiers pulled out the sharp arrows from Deputy General Xue’s body, tidied his clothes, wiped the bloodstains off his face, covered him with an animal skin, and carried him into a cart, planning to buy a coffin in the county town for him.

After preparing Deputy General Xue’s body, Xie Cheng said, "Sir, Company Commander Shi was killed by me, but Lv Chief Commander under him was captured alive, and he’s agreed to testify and identify the Ding Family’s bribery of bandits to swallow troops."

Company Commander Shi knew that Ding Ge was dead and most of the bandits had been killed, so he surrendered immediately. But Company Commander Shi wanted him to speak in his favor, or he would claim that they also took Ding Ge’s gold and helped the plot against the Kangrong army.

Xie Cheng didn’t expect Company Commander Shi to be so shameless, so he didn’t succumb to the threat and beheaded him on the spot.

Lv Chief Commander was scared to death by this and, for the sake of his family in He’an Prefecture, volunteered to testify against the Ding Family.

"The Fourth Village Chief, Ninth Village Chief of the Hundred Wolves Mountain, and Ding Changying from the Ding Family were all killed." Xie Cheng clearly stated who from the Military Office killed each of these people.

These were meritorious deeds that couldn’t go undocumented.

Vice General Fang nodded upon hearing this and said, "Well done."

He then turned to the other Company Commanders present and said, "You all as well, the meritorious deeds you’ve achieved, I will report to the Capital."

Currently, he was the highest-ranking military officer in this army, and the matter of the Ding Family colluding with bandits to swallow troops was significant. Someone had to go to the Capital City Ministry of War to explain the situation.

The Northwest was short of soldiers, and he was the only one who could explain the situation to the Capital City Ministry of War, even though he was now disabled.

But Vice General Fang, having survived this ordeal, had come to terms with it. He no longer aspired to make a name in the Northwest, just wanted to return home safely and live out his days.

And the matter of the Ding Family colluding with bandits to swallow troops was indeed significant; after their victory, going to the Capital would surely bring him a considerable award, which wasn’t bad at all.

"Sir, I, a Low Level General, request permission to lead troops to pursue the bandit leader of the Hundred Wolves Mountain Nine Villages, please grant approval." Qin San Lang seized this opportunity to eradicate the bandit’s den completely.

If they could kill the bandit leader of the Nine Villages, their meritorious deeds would increase substantially, so Vice General Fang naturally agreed, directly handing him the token from the Yongtai Prefecture City Camp and said, "Company Commander Qin, you’re adept at leading troops. The task of pursuing the bandit leader of the Hundred Wolves Mountain Nine Villages is entrusted to you, and all the soldiers are under your command!"

As he spoke the last few words, Vice General Fang raised his voice, scanning the other Company Commanders from the Prefecture with his gaze, warning them.

Vice General Fang had absolutely given up his aspirations of going to the Northwest, so he was willing to do a favor for Qin San Lang. By the time they set out again, Qin San Lang could rightfully become the leader of these soldiers.

The other Company Commanders were perhaps jealous but not foolish; they knew it’s wise to leave difficult tasks to capable people, lest failure bring a downfall for everyone.

"Low Level General obeys orders!" All Company Commanders and Chief Commanders said in unison, with no opposition.