nucmednet Chapter 603 Refusal to Fight
Chapter 603 Refusal to Fight
Yan Guang was not optimistic about Liu Ye's statement: "I have served in the Ministry of War for many years and am very familiar with the behavior of these local generals. They are ruthless in embezzling salaries and exploiting soldiers, but when it comes to fighting, they are cowards. They will avoid battle if they can, and will postpone it if they can. Without an order from the Ministry of War, it will be difficult to persuade them to send troops. It would be best if the general himself came forward. Otherwise, if someone else goes, the two generals may not be willing to listen."
Liu Ye thought for a moment: "Jinghai County is close to Tianjin, so I can go there myself. But Bazhou is a bit far, and I'm afraid I won't make it back in time..."
Yan Guang sighed, "We can only take it one step at a time. General, you can send a general to Bazhou to reason with him and appeal to his emotions. It would be best if you could persuade Liu Guozhu. If you can't, then we can only leave it to fate."
Liu Ye initially thought Yan Guang was a suitable candidate, but traveling to Bazhou in one day would require changing horses several times. Yan Guang was, after all, just a scholar, and his body couldn't withstand such a arduous journey. Moreover, he wasn't very good at riding horses, so he had to give up on the idea. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let Su Hongtu go."
Su Hongtu stepped forward: "As you command. I will do my utmost to persuade the General of Baoding to send troops."
The next day, Liu Ye, accompanied by his guards and Xu Zhong, the commander of Tianjin Garrison, arrived in Jinghai County, a dozen miles away, to persuade Wang Hong, the general of Tianjin.
Wang Hong was a short, stocky middle-aged man with a fleshy face and a somewhat fierce appearance. After Liu Ye explained his purpose, he grinned—but the grin was more like a grimace—and said, "To dare to chase after the Tartars all the way, General Liu is a true man, and I, Wang, greatly admire him..."
Liu Ye's heart sank. Usually, such opening remarks are always followed by a downturn, so it seems this trip won't go too smoothly.
Sure enough, after exchanging a few pleasantries, Wang Hong changed the subject: "Unlike General Liu, who is a prodigy who rose to the rank of general at a young age and was even granted a title, I, Wang, started as a common soldier and served in the army for over twenty years before finally climbing to the position of General of Tianjin. It was no easy feat. Fighting the Tartars is certainly exhilarating, but to send troops without orders from the Ministry of War... well, I dare not take that risk. If I were to lose my position as general because of it, all my hard work would be for nothing. Besides, the Tartars are said to be 'invincible with ten thousand men.' How many men do our two families have combined? I don't want to throw my life away..."
Liu Ye tried to persuade him: "I have already sent someone to the capital to request the Ministry of War to issue the order. If all goes well, the order will be brought back tomorrow, so General Wang need not worry about that. Besides, the Tartars are not superhuman. The Qionghai Army defeated this Tartar force in Shandong, and they can easily win again in Tianjin. At that time, the Qionghai Army will be the main force, and your troops only need to send 4,000 cavalry to contain the Tartars. The credit will be easily obtained. General Wang might as well give it a good consideration..."
Wang Hong was not swayed by Liu Ye's rosy description and replied politely but firmly, "I still stand by what I said: I dare not take the risk. If I had the order from the Ministry of War, I would be willing to take the gamble and follow General Liu to risk my life for a better future. But now, without a legitimate reason, I cannot comply."
Liu Ye hadn't expected Wang Hong to be so resolute, and for a moment he didn't know how to persuade him. The words he had prepared beforehand seemed useless. After a moment of stunned silence, he turned to leave, but then he felt a little unwilling—he had gone to great lengths and was about to wipe out Abatai's army, only to fail at the last moment. He couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart. With a determined look, he turned back and said, "General Wang, as long as you are willing to send troops, I will cover the army's provisions and the brothers' rewards. How about it?"
As long as we can win this battle, what does a little money matter? We can just treat it as hiring mercenaries. Liu Ye thought to himself.
Despite the incredibly generous terms, Wang Hong still refused. He shook his head and said, "General Liu, there's no need to say anything more. My mind is made up. I will not send troops without the order from the Ministry of War!"
Liu Ye left in disappointment. He simply couldn't understand why Wang Hong would refuse such a lucrative opportunity, which offered him immense military merit without spending a single grain of food or a penny.
Xu Zhong, who was accompanying him, explained: "Perhaps General Wang still has some doubts about your strength, Earl of Pingnan. After all, for many years, the imperial army has been defeated by the Tartars, losing more often than winning. The fear of the Tartars is deeply ingrained. In addition, without the order of the Ministry of War, it is not legitimate and there is no justification for his actions. It is understandable that he does not dare to take the risk."
Liu Ye looked up to the sky and sighed, "Does the Ming army become unable to stand up after kneeling for so long? The Tartars are also made of flesh and blood, what is there to fear?"
Qin Tian said with a gloomy face, "General, this Wang fellow is so ungrateful. Let's teach him a lesson, have a fight with him, and once he submits, he'll be obedient."
Liu Ye shook his head: "With a major battle approaching, it's impossible to engage in a firefight with friendly forces, depleting our own strength and letting the Tartars reap the benefits. Forcing things won't work. Wang Hong has no intention of fighting. Even if we force him to send troops, he'll just be a liar and cause more trouble. Let's go."
After Liu Ye and his entourage left, Wang Hong put away his fake smile and turned to a screen, saying, "The man surnamed Liu has left. The two envoys may come out now."
Two Imperial Guards dressed in flying fish robes and with embroidered spring knives at their waists stepped forward and laughed, "It's a good thing we arrived first, otherwise General Wang would have been persuaded by this Liu fellow, wouldn't he?"
Wang Hong shook his head: "Even if the two of you don't come, I will not agree to send troops."
"Oh, why is that? The conditions offered by that Liu fellow are very generous. We two brothers were tempted when we heard them. He'll find a way to provide the provisions, he'll provide the rewards, and we'll send a few thousand cavalrymen to help us gain merit. It's a sure thing!"
Wang Hong grinned and replied, "You two are serving in the capital, so you might not be very familiar with things on the ground. If I agree to send troops, my soldiers will get their rewards, but what will I get? That Liu guy keeps saying there will be merits to be earned, but he's the main force, and we're just following along. How much of the merit will I get? I don't believe he's that generous. Besides, at my age, I've reached the limit of being the General of Tianjin. No merit is as real as money. It's much better to stay peacefully in Jinghai. Why should I go and fight the Tartars to the death?"
One of the Imperial Guards joked, "What if he had orders from the Ministry of War? What would General Wang do then? Would he agree to send troops?"
Wang Hong smiled and said, "If the Ministry of War were willing to issue this order, why would the two of you be in Jinghai?"
The two Imperial Guards exchanged a glance and burst into laughter in unison, saying, "General Wang is a straightforward man; what he said makes sense."