Chapter 674: Meng Shanming, Can You Still Ride?

If anyone else had asked the question that way, the five men would certainly have said he was unsuitable.

To put it harshly, in the Great Yan of today, there were not even enough men qualified to command the five of them to count on one hand.

Grand Marshal Shang Yongzhong certainly did not count.

By every measure, there was only one man in Great Yan who truly possessed the standing to command them.

The man seated in the wheelchair before them.

Whether in seniority or anything else, all five had been brought up personally by Meng Shanming.

Take Zhang Hu, the present Provincial Inspector of Changzhou. He had once been a nameless horse groom. Meng Shanming noticed him, promoted him, and personally cultivated him step by step.

Which one of these five had reached his present position without receiving Meng Shanming’s deep favor?

Their entire military careers had unfolded under Meng Shanming’s command and instruction, growing step by step beneath his cultivation.

Who beneath Heaven did not know they were soldiers Meng Shanming had trained?

They could put on airs in front of almost anyone.

Only before Meng Shanming did they lack even the qualification to do so.

That was also why Gong Lince had gone to find Meng Shanming earlier and asked him to come out of retirement and take charge of the war.

Now one strange remark after another came from Meng Shanming.

Every sentence made the five men uncomfortable.

It felt as though they were being slapped on the left cheek, then the right.

No hand actually struck them, yet somehow it felt worse than a real slap.

Was he suitable to serve as Grand General of the Eastern Campaign?

Did the five of them have the standing to say Meng Shanming was unqualified to command them?

The only excuse they could possibly offer was something like his physical inconvenience.

The five men looked at one another, secretly exchanging glances.

In the end, Su Qitong gave a helpless laugh.

“Marshal, the way you are speaking is making all of us uneasy. Since you have already been appointed Grand General of the Eastern Campaign, we will simply obey orders.”

“This subordinate general obeys.”

“Marshal, enough. This subordinate general obeys.”

One after another, all five agreed.

They were afraid Meng Shanming’s strange remarks would otherwise continue without end.

Meng Shanming said, “You said yourselves that you would obey. I did not force any of you.”

“No, no.”

“Not at all. There is absolutely no coercion.”

“That is right, Marshal. We are willing from the heart.”

One by one, the five men awkwardly gave their assurances, caught between laughter and tears.

Naturally, there were reasons they could give those assurances so readily.

Their hesitation had never meant they lacked respect for Meng Shanming.

In truth, they respected him enormously.

But times had changed.

Certain things could no longer be decided purely by emotion.

Even if they did not think of themselves, they had to think of the brothers beneath them who had sworn to follow them to the death.

If a commander did not think for his own men, why would those men follow him?

The reason they could agree so readily now was equally simple.

First, Meng Shanming possessed more than enough seniority to command them.

Second, under the present circumstances the three major sects had plainly agreed to his taking charge, so there was no need for the five to worry about consequences from that side.

Finally, they had confidence in Meng Shanming.

If defeat had been certain, naturally they would have needed to prepare a road of retreat.

Now Meng Shanming had arrived and given them hope again.

The disloyal thoughts that had begun to rise in their hearts were suppressed once more.

That also gave them an answer they could give to the brothers below them.

If Shang Yongzhong had been sent to command them instead, even if the five regional lords agreed, the generals beneath them would have raised a clamor of opposition.

Who would willingly march to certain death when everyone already knew defeat was inevitable?

But put Meng Shanming’s name before them and things became entirely different.

That name itself was a banner.

The brothers below would have nothing to say.

To a large degree, this was exactly Meng Shanming’s prestige within the army.

People trusted him.

Yue Yuan, Elder of Zijin Cave standing behind Gongzhou; Shi Yuanlong and Zu Ande, Elders of Lingjian Mountain standing behind Tuzhou and Fuzhou; and Shen Yuhong and Nong Fengting, Elders of Xiaoyao Palace standing behind Haozhou and Changzhou, all watched the scene silently from the side.

Only after seeing this firsthand could they truly understand why those above had insisted on bringing Meng Shanming back into service.

These proud, unruly, battle-hardened commanders might not even truly place the Elders of the three major sects in their eyes.

Yet this crippled old man in a wheelchair alone could suppress them.

Once all five had declared their position, Meng Shanming gave a slight nod.

“Military affairs admit no joking. If anyone later goes back on his word and resists orders, do not blame me for disregarding old ties.”

“You know my military law.”

The five stood in a line and cupped their hands together.

“We will respectfully obey the Marshal’s military orders!”

The words came from all five in one voice.

For a moment, even they themselves seemed dazed.

It felt almost as though they had returned to those years long ago.

Meng Shanming turned his head slightly toward the five Elders of the three major sects.

“Are the three major sects willing to supervise enforcement of military law for me?”

The meaning was clear.

He wanted the people of the three major sects to help him enforce discipline.

If any of the five regional lords dared disobey an order, then at Meng Shanming’s command, the three major sects were to punish them.

The five regional lords felt their hearts tighten slightly when they heard this.

They all knew Meng Shanming well enough not to find it especially strange.

Once Meng Shanming entered a battlefield, he was cold and merciless.

This was not because he did not trust his five former subordinates.

War was no child’s game.

If anything went wrong, the consequences could become unimaginable.

At this moment, he had to borrow the hands of the three major sects to carry out his military law.

The five Elders exchanged glances.

Things had reached this point. There was no longer room to preserve private interests.

Otherwise they would never have agreed to let another man direct the forces belonging to their factions.

So the five Elders also cupped their hands in a small gesture of respect and indicated that they would comply, though their expressions still showed some reluctance.

With the preliminaries settled, Meng Shanming’s tone changed.

“Military orders stand like a mountain and cannot fall. When an army takes the field, military discipline comes first. Orders must flow without obstruction and be carried out without fail.”

“Five generals, hear my command!”

“Present!”

The five regional lords cupped their hands in response.

Meng Shanming said, “The Gongzhou forces under Xu Jingyue, Tuzhou forces under An Xianzhao, Haozhou forces under Su Qitong, Fuzhou forces under Xin Mao, and Changzhou forces under Zhang Hu are hereby designated the five military-law enforcement forces!”

Five military-law enforcement forces?

Not only the five Elders but Zhang Hu and the others were startled.

Why establish so many troops purely for enforcing military law?

“Hm?”

A chilling note of questioning came from Meng Shanming’s nose.

Zhang Hu and the others, who had been looking left and right at one another hoping to find an answer on someone else’s face, immediately came back to themselves.

Together they cupped their hands.

“We obey!”

Meng Shanming continued, “Each of you will immediately return to your own force. Make contact with the assembled troops of the nearby provinces now fighting Song and report to me as quickly as possible on the size and disposition of every force gathered there.”

“Go.”

“We obey!”

The five accepted the order again.

That was all?

After confirming there were no further instructions, they began taking their leave one after another.

Zhang Hu had just escorted the other four out of the central command tent when a young officer hurried over from outside.

“My lord, word has come from the front. Song’s Grand Commander-in-Chief has sent a gift for Marshal Meng.”

The men looked at one another.

Luo Zhao was sending Marshal Meng a gift?

What was this about?

Zhang Hu asked, “Do we know what the gift is?”

The young officer answered, “A warhorse and a letter.”

A warhorse and a letter?

Zhang Hu frowned slightly, then waved for the items to be brought over.

No one cared about delaying for another moment or two.

An Xianzhao and the others, along with the Elders of the three major sects, all wanted to see what Luo Zhao was doing, so they remained for the time being.

Naturally the matter was not hidden from Meng Shanming.

Zhang Hu returned to the tent and reported it.

Meng Shanming himself found it somewhat strange when he heard.

For a moment, he even wondered whether Luo Zhao intended to persuade him to surrender.

After a short wait, Song’s Grand Commander-in-Chief’s gift was hurriedly delivered from the front.

Luo Da’an pushed Meng Shanming out of the command tent to take a look.

The horse truly was magnificent.

Tall and powerful, snow-white from head to hoof, it was plainly a first-rate warhorse.

Standing on the green grass, it gave a strong, ringing neigh.

Only the white cloth draped over its body looked utterly out of place.

No matter how one looked at it, the thing resembled a shroud.

Meng Shanming had trained the Yingyang and Wulie Guards himself and naturally understood how important warhorses were to cavalry.

The moment he saw this one, genuine fondness appeared in his eyes despite himself.

The letter was placed in his hands.

Meng Shanming opened it.

After seeing the signature, he knew at once that Luo Zhao had written it personally.

As for the contents, they made Meng Shanming’s brows lift slightly.

He gave a cold snort in front of everyone.

The others immediately became curious.

Zhang Hu tried asking, “Marshal, what did the letter say?”

Meng Shanming did not hide it.

He simply handed the letter over.

Zhang Hu took it and read.

His face immediately turned savage.

He barked, “That brat Luo Zhao is outrageous!”

What had happened?

Su Qitong and the others quickly crowded forward, snatched the letter over, and read it together.

There was only one short sentence written inside:

Meng Shanming, can you still ride?

Respectfully presented by Luo Zhao.

Combined with the warhorse Luo Zhao had sent, the meaning could hardly have been clearer.

He was mocking Meng Shanming for being crippled.

Even if a fine steed were placed before him, Meng Shanming could no longer ride it.

It was also an obvious taunt aimed at an old man with ruined legs who still insisted on coming to the battlefield.

Then there was the white outer cloth Luo Zhao had deliberately placed over the stallion.

The intention there was just as obvious.

This was no gift.

The horse had been dressed in mourning as though it had come to attend Meng Shanming’s funeral and send him to his grave.

To mock and humiliate Meng Shanming like this enraged Su Qitong and the others.

One after another they cursed, condemning Luo Zhao’s arrogance.

“Bring me a saber!”

Zhang Hu went even further.

He demanded a Saber, seized it, and strode toward the white stallion with killing intent boiling around him.

The horse seemed almost intelligent.

As though sensing Zhang Hu’s hostility, it began stepping uneasily, growing agitated.

The soldier holding it tightened his grip hard on the reins.

Just as Zhang Hu raised the saber to strike, Meng Shanming shouted, “Stop!”

Luo Da’an pushed him forward toward the horse.

Zhang Hu looked back, pointing the saber at the stallion.

“Marshal, that brat Luo Zhao has gone too far. This gift cannot be kept!”

“Why not?” Meng Shanming replied. “A good horse has committed no wrong.”

Once he reached the animal, he motioned for someone to remove the white cloth.

Then he reached out and patted the strong muscles of the stallion’s chest.

Looking over the magnificent animal again, he praised it with obvious delight.

“Good horse!”

“I accept this gift.”

“Send Luo Zhao a reply on my behalf. Tell him I like his gift very much.”

“If we have the chance to meet, I will certainly return the courtesy with a generous gift of my own!”

Xin Mao came over as well and tried to persuade him.

“Marshal, the meaning behind this horse is inauspicious. Keeping it beside you may invite ill fortune. It truly would be better not to keep it.”

Meng Shanming whipped his head around and rebuked him.

“Who asked you to speak?”

“The military order has already been issued. Why are you still here instead of leaving?”

“Do you intend to test military law with your own body?”

Xin Mao and the others were left speechless.

One by one, they slunk away.

...

With Meng Shanming’s personal arrival at the front, the battlefield situation changed almost immediately.

Song suddenly altered its method of fighting.

It no longer entangled itself with Yan’s forces.

Instead, taking advantage of its momentum like splitting bamboo, the Song army drove swiftly westward.

Anyone with even a little understanding of military affairs could see what Song intended.

It was heading straight for Yanjing.

The Yan court immediately descended into panic.

[End of Chapter 674]