Chapter 180: Promoted to Centurion

The Later Jin camped outside the city, and they would definitely have to fight tomorrow. So, they just moved the wounded and dealt with the corpses. As for the blood on the ground, they just swept it a bit. After all, it was mid-winter, and after such a long time, it had long since frozen. It couldn't be cleaned up at all for a while, so they could only wait until after the war.

After working for half the day, the men who had fought all day long stopped caring about that; they leaned against the city wall in groups of three or five to count their spoils, then began to boast with wide grins and loud voices about how valiant they had been in battle and how many Jin kingdom scoundrels they had finished off.

Around Wang Yan, a group of old and young also gathered, talking to Wang Yan. Although Wang Yan was only sixteen, he had killed several times back and forth and saved many people's lives. If it weren't for Wang Yan, it was hard to say how many people would be left in their team.

At any time, people with strength don't have a bad life. Not to mention that they were fighting a war now, and Wang Yan was so fierce. Even if he was divided into most of the credit, it was enough. What's more, they had seen the thousand-man commander laugh with Wang Yan before. The big big brother was like that, so the credit definitely wouldn't run away.

When serving as a soldier and fighting, there were definitely no fools, because most fools died as soon as they went to the battlefield. The remaining part who didn't die continued to be fools and died, and a part became old soldiers after learning to be smart.

Although Wang Yan had been a soldier for a short time, he also had some comradeship, which was not comparable to those who had been promoted through various relays. And this was the border army. The low-level platoon leaders and squad leaders, if they were lucky enough to be promoted and had no one behind them, basically couldn't live past three episodes. Besides, it was good to be alive, and there were not many fools who really f***ing went to the border army to be promoted.

Like Wang Yan, who came from the same background as them and relied on hard strength to get up, was the real strong one. Pulling relationships, not asking to fly high and get rich, just asking to be able to speak later, could also be considered as having someone above.

Wang Yan leaned against the city wall, smiling and talking to them. Those who could live later were his soldiers, and he also happened to find some feelings with this group of people, so they could sell their lives for him, Wang Mou, later.

While talking, Wang Yan couldn't help but sigh that the Great Ming was indeed not useful anymore. Normally, a full-strength centurion should have more than 110 people. Now, these people around him were basically all that Sun Fugui had, which was fifty or sixty people. Added to the casualties of today's battle, there were seventy or eighty people at most. And these people in front of him now, there were a few who looked quite old, like sixty-year-old men, and there was a child who looked thin and wore an oversized leather armor and was lucky enough not to die.

This f***ing was the Nine Borders, the Liaodong, the Guanning defense line at the gate of the Great Ming. To the south was Shanhai Pass, and inside was the Great Ming capital. If the most capable border army of the Great Ming was like this, one could imagine what the domestic troops looked like.

As for the food and pay, don't mention it; they had been owed for a while. It was just that Governor Yuan had money, and for his own future, he was willing to spend a lot of silver. Added to the fact that although he was a Donglin Party member, he was only an outer small soldier, and he hadn't been greatly affected by the fierce clearing of Wei Zhongxian and the Donglin Party. Moreover, his boss who ran away, Gao Di, was a loyal little brother of Wei Zhongxian, and all the logistics, money, and food required were in place, which greatly boosted the morale of these big-headed soldiers. Otherwise, Ningyuan would have been gone eight times out of ten today.

Everyone was laughing and talking when civilians, women, and some logistics soldiers carried big pots, big buckets, and broken bowls and chopsticks up: "Come, come, come, time to eat..."

Smelling the fragrance drifting over, there was meat, and a group of big-headed soldiers climbed up and surrounded them all at once: "Come, don't grab, don't grab, there is enough, there is enough, brothers, eat as much as you want."

The soldier responsible for distributing food shouted loudly, but no one cared about that; eating into their stomachs was the real thing. But in a moment, the two full buckets of rice and dishes, even the soup, didn't f***ing remain.

Wang Yan didn't have the burden of a big brother; he didn't know if he was hungry or not. He was tall and strong, and the big bowl of rice was secondary; the key was the thick, big slices of fat meat covered on the rice.

After grabbing the rice, Wang Yan went back and huddled against the city wall to avoid the wind, eating in big mouthfuls. He was really hungry; he had fought for a f***ing day without even drinking a sip of water, let alone eating. Fortunately, he wasn't picky, and with his good physical quality and strong digestive system, if a modern person who had been pampered was brought here, he would have had diarrhea for three days just from this dirty bowl and the big slices of fat meat.

While Wang Yan was eating here, he noticed the child who was lucky enough not to die holding half a bowl of rice, looking eagerly at the fat meat in his bowl: "Come, come here."

The child hurriedly squatted down beside Wang Yan, blinking his eyes and looking at Wang Yan.

Smiling, Wang Yan picked up two pieces of fat meat and tilted the bowl to pour some meat soup for him: "Eat quickly."

"Hehe, thank you, Brother." The child bared his teeth, sat on Wang Yan's side, and wolfed down the rice.

This child was at most fifteen. In the modern world, a child of this size in the motherland was still f***ing acting like an ancestor at home, and here he was f***ing fighting for his life on the battlefield. This was really fate.

Without thinking too much, Wang Yan followed the child and ate fiercely.

Just as Wang Yan finished a big bowl of rice quickly and got another bowl to continue eating, a middle-aged man with a long beard and a thin face, led by a spirited general, walked over with a group of high-level military officers at the corner of the city wall.

The leading man walked slowly, and people kept talking to him, looking like they were introducing the situation.

Very quickly, a group of people arrived near Wang Yan's team. Just heard a general look at the general in front, stepped forward and said: "Lord, General, the person who killed dozens of enemies today has been found."

"Oh? Which one? Let this official see."

The general turned around and gave a wink to the thousand-man commander, Wang Yan's big big brother. The thousand-man commander hurriedly cupped his hands, ran out quickly, and shouted: "Wang Yan, Wang Yan."

Wang Little Soldier Yan hurriedly put down his rice bowl, stood up, and ran to the thousand-man commander, bowing and cupping his hands: "Thousand-Man Commander Lord." He was just a small soldier, and a child; what was he? So, bowing to his big big brother was enough, and the rest was for others to say.

The thousand-man commander waved his hand and gave him a look: "See Lord Yuan, General Man."

Wang Yan understood, hurriedly knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and said: "Small person Wang Yan, seen Lord Yuan, seen General Man, seen all the generals and lords."

Before, Wang Yan estimated that this old guy was Governor Yuan. Sure enough, it really was. It had to be said that this Yuan Chonghuan was quite handsome, and with his level, he was definitely a charming uncle that little girls would pounce on in modern times. As for the General Man beside him, it should be Man Gui.

He didn't say much. This old guy Yuan Chonghuan was the most powerful person in Ningyuan now, and Man Gui was second. They were all his big big big big big brothers, so he had to kneel if he had to.

"Hmm, get up." Yuan Chonghuan stroked his beard and nodded, laughing: "Let this official take a good look at what the person who killed dozens of thieves looks like."

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"Thank you, Lord."

Wang Yan stood up obediently, his eyes drifting, nervously standing straight and looking at Yuan Chonghuan opposite.

Yuan Chonghuan stared at Wang Yan for a while and laughed: "I didn't expect such a brave person to be a young boy. Good, my Great Ming has many talents, you are very good."

Wang Yan bowed, cupped his hands, and lowered his head: "Thank you, Lord."

Yuan Chonghuan turned to look at Man Gui beside him and said: "General, Wang Yan has made such a great contribution, we cannot not reward him."

Man Gui looked at Wang Yan, who was still bowing, and nodded. He hadn't seen it before, but he was told by his little brother later. Having such a person under his command, and at such a moment, he didn't need Yuan Chonghuan to babble more, and he would reward him too.

"Promote him to centurion, what does Lord Yuan think?"

After today's battle, let alone a centurion, a thousand-man commander was shot to death by an arrow. And Wang Yan's military achievements were particularly outstanding. Added to the fact that there were many losses and the team needed to be reorganized, giving him a centurion wasn't too much. Although he was indeed a bit young and his qualifications were a bit shallow, a centurion was still just a matter of his one sentence. And by the way, it could also well inspire others; after all, the power of an example.

This was just that the emperor who was doing carpentry in the capital didn't know about this; otherwise, if he were happy, let alone a small centurion, even a thousand-man commander was f***ing possible.

Yuan Chonghuan nodded and laughed: "I will reward him with ten taels of silver."

Seeing that the two big brothers had finished talking, Wang Mou, who was very tactful, "clicked" and knelt on the ground, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Small person Wang Yan, thank Lord Yuan and General Man for the reward and promotion."

Once this was said, a group of soldiers who were paying attention to the commotion here exploded. He f***ing fought a battle and was promoted directly to centurion? You have to know that many people have been in the army for a lifetime, and until they died, they were f***ing big-headed soldiers. What was this kid?

Man Gui waved his hand, and the general before stepped forward, one hand on his waist saber, and one hand raised: "Silence."

The deterrent power of an official was still there. After it was quiet below, the general shouted loudly: "Wang Yan killed dozens of enemies today, promoted to centurion, rewarded with ten taels of silver. This is a solid credit, shouldn't merit be rewarded? What are you all shouting about?"

Yuan Chonghuan waved his hand to signal the general to roll away, stepped forward two steps, and said loudly: "Soldiers, since Fushun..." No one spoke. Wang Yan was still cupping his hands and bowing on his knees, listening to Yuan Chonghuan's impassioned encouragement to the big-headed soldiers. After babbling for a long time, he only saw Yuan Chonghuan raise his arms and shout: "Great Ming wins!"

What is the best way to motivate subordinates? Future and money.

With Wang Yan, such a solid example, placed there, plus Yuan Chonghuan's promise, the big-headed soldiers nearby didn't know if their excitement was true or false, but anyway, they were blushing and followed Yuan Chonghuan in shouting "Long live." People further away didn't know what was going on, but hearing the commotion here, they also raised their hands and shouted, and finally, even the civilians and women under the city shouted along.

After a long time, Yuan Chonghuan, with a glowing face, took a group of people away to patrol in other directions, and naturally, someone stayed behind to help Yuan Chonghuan pay the silver.

Satisfied, he looked at Wang Yan, who was still kneeling there holding ten taels of silver. Man Gui gave the thousand-man commander a look and also strolled away.

Man Gui bowed to send Man Gui away. After everyone left, he walked to Wang Yan: "Alright, everyone is gone, get up."

"Thank you, Thousand-Man Commander Lord."

Wang Yan stood up and looked at the silver in his hand with a smile. After hesitating for a moment, he said: "Or, give it to you, Lord." That kind of reluctance and heartache was very well grasped. Before he stood firm, he was a straightforward young man.

"Lord Yuan rewarded you, just take it. Looking at you, you haven't seen so much money." The thousand-man commander shook his head and smiled; he was young after all: "If you can survive this time, take this money and find a wife."

It was only ten taels of silver. He, a proper thousand-man commander, was poor, but he still had a family fortune of a thousand or eight hundred taels. Besides, it was reward money from Yuan Chonghuan, and he wouldn't dare to move it in front of everyone.

Hearing this, Wang Yan didn't say a word, quickly put the silver into his chest, and patted it, still not at ease.

"Alright, I'm not grabbing your money." The thousand-man commander kicked Wang Yan angrily and turned around: "Follow me."

"Hey, okay."

Wang Yan didn't care either, smiled at Sun Fugui who was watching him, and stepped to follow the thousand-man commander in front.

"My name is Chen Baoning. Call me Lord Chen from now on, don't always call me Thousand-Man Commander Lord."

"Yes, Lord Chen." Wang Yan replied: "Your name is good, we guard Ningyuan City, you are called Baoning, which means our Ningyuan is worry-free."

Chen Baoning heard this, nodded and smiled: "You are not the first to say this, but I hope so."

Although he had great confidence that Ningyuan was worry-free, he was afraid of "what if" in everything, and he couldn't be happy too early.

Wang Yan didn't speak again, following behind and walking silently.

Not long after, after walking for more than two hundred meters, in front of a group of big-headed soldiers, Chen Baoning stopped and said loudly: "Come, look carefully, this is Wang Yan. The previous centurion and platoon leader have died in battle. Now he succeeds as centurion. Have you all heard?"

"Heard..."

Hearing the listless reply of a group of people, Chen Baoning's eyes widened: "Are you dying? Ah? Louder."

"Heard!"

Chen Baoning nodded with satisfaction, turned to Wang Yan and said: "Alright, I'll leave it to you, I'm leaving."

He didn't say anything else, nor did he stand up for Wang Yan again. If he could stand firm, he would stand; if he couldn't and was bullied by old soldiers, he couldn't blame others.

"Lord, walk slowly."

Wang Yan bowed and saluted. After sending Chen Baoning away, he straightened up and scanned the big-headed soldiers who were staring at him.

Except for a few people whose eyes were unconvinced and disdainful, others didn't care. After all, they had just heard the commotion over there and knew that he had killed dozens of people and was favored by his superiors. Those who were unconvinced might feel that their credit was enough and were blocked by this f***ing kid, or they might feel that Wang Mou's record was fake.

After looking around, Wang Yan also had a count. This team was a bit miserable, with less than forty people in total.

"Just heard the Thousand-Man Commander Lord say that the platoon leader has died in battle. How many squad leaders are left? Stand out and let me see."

After waiting for a while, a few people looked at each other and stood up.

Two of them were the ones who were unconvinced before. Wang Yan nodded and said: "You four, organize your teams well. Tomorrow on the battlefield, I will look at your performance. The best two will be promoted to platoon leader. Others who perform well will be promoted to squad leader. We only have forty people now, so there are only two squad leader positions. The opportunity is given to you; whether you can grasp it depends on yourselves. Alright, that's all I have to say. Is there anyone unconvinced?"

Those two people's eyes turned, as if they wanted to say something, but in the end, they didn't open their mouths and followed others in agreeing.

"Since no one is unconvinced, then rest well, save your energy to kill more people tomorrow, and find me if anything happens."

After speaking, Wang Yan didn't care about these subordinates anymore, turned around and went back to find Sun Fugui. He had to ask what a centurion did, and besides, he hadn't finished his meal yet.

Seeing Wang Yan come over, Sun Fugui warmly invited Wang Yan to sit beside him: "You kid really had great luck. I said before that there would definitely be rewards later, but I didn't expect that before a meal had passed, you were at the same level as me."

Picking up his rice bowl, Wang Yan sat beside Sun Fugui and took a bite of rice: "It's all luck."

"What luck is there? It's all killed with real sabers and guns, really..." Seeing Wang Yan eating quite happily, Sun Fugui continued: "Why aren't you over there getting familiar with the brothers, why run back?"

"This is my first time being an official, and I'm directly a centurion, I don't know anything, so I came to ask you what a centurion does." Wang Yan didn't lift his head, saying with a full mouth: "Besides, getting familiar with brothers has to wait until after surviving this battle."

"Yeah, survive this battle first..."

Sun Fugui felt a bit melancholy when he heard this. Although he had long been accustomed to this life for so many years, thinking that if something went wrong, the person would be gone, even if he was optimistic, he couldn't be happy. After all, he had a wife and children and parents in the world. If he died, his eyes would definitely not close.

Wang Yan didn't disturb him, eating fiercely, but the rice was too delicious and the commotion was too big, disturbing Sun Fugui who was missing his family.

Glancing at Wang Yan angrily, Sun Fugui said: "This centurion is..." He slowly talked about the duties of a centurion.

After listening to him once, Wang Yan also understood. It was like a small leader in a normal company. To the subordinates, grasp his own subordinates well; to the superiors, implement the requirements of the leaders well. In summary, it was to obey orders and listen to commands.

Feeling that Wang Yan was young, Sun Fugui also passed on his experience as a centurion for many years to Wang Yan, telling him to show his face in front of Chen Baoning more often when he had nothing to do, and think of Chen Baoning first when there were good things, what a good thousand-man commander, only then can a centurion be good, only when a centurion is good can the brothers below be good, etc.

Knowing that Sun Fugui was really for his own good, Wang Yan nodded and thanked him repeatedly, and finally said goodbye and left.

Returning to the area he guarded, Wang Yan sat aside and closed his eyes to rest, saving his energy for tomorrow's battle. As for these subordinates, as he said, they had to be able to survive. His strength was hard, but in a battle between two armies, he couldn't protect so many people. Only those who survived would recognize his favor and recognize him as Centurion Wang.

As for the two who were unconvinced, it was easy to say. See what happens tomorrow. If they recognize him, Wang Mou, everything is easy to say. If they don't recognize him, there will definitely be accidents.

The north wind howled, snowflakes fell, and a group of big-headed soldiers huddled together on the city wall, shivering under the quilts sent by the civilians. Rest had to be rotated to prevent the enemy from attacking at night and not being able to react. It wasn't until the second half of the night that it was their turn to go down to rest............ ===== CHAPTER 181 =====

The north wind howled and snowflakes drifted down as a group of common soldiers huddled together on the city wall, shivering under quilts sent by the laborers. They had to take turns resting to ensure they wouldn't be caught off guard by a night raid from the enemy. They held out until the second half of the night before it was their turn to go down and rest...