Chapter 461: Contact and Attitude

On the morning of April 4th, after a round of messenger exchanges had settled the reception protocol and number of attendees, the south gate of Santunying swung wide open. Regional Commander Cao, clad in a full scarlet official robe, led his retinue out past Liu Bridge to welcome them.

Ahead of Commander Cao, two columns of men and horses were slowly approaching along the two sides of a triangle, merging into a single formation just as they drew near.

The total number of these two columns was two hundred men, encompassing most of the officers under Lao Sun and Old Ma, along with some personal guards and household retainers. Thus, these two hundred men fully deserved a resounding title: the Great Ming Restoration and Reception Commission Delegation.

Seeing the two senior figures draw close, Cao did not dismount at this moment. Instead, with a hearty laugh, he bent at the waist, cupped his fists, and performed a bow from horseback: "Cao Chuan greets the Grand Secretary, greets Ma Jinglüe!"

Sun Chengzong and Ma Shilong both wore equally beaming smiles, returning the gesture with cupped fists, as if oblivious to the other's breach of etiquette: "Lord Cao, dispense with formalities."

After the mutual salutations, Lao Sun, still seated on his horse, looked Cao Chuan up and down, then said with a genial chuckle, "Worthy indeed of a mighty commander who can rout the Later Jin troops — truly a man of outstanding presence!"

"Heh heh, Grand Minister, you flatter me. Please, enter the city."

The initial pleasantries between the two sides concluded on a rather harmonious note. Then, led by Commander Cao, Sun and Ma, each with their entourage, rode in single file through the south gate of Santunying.

The city had undergone a few days of rough tidying; the bloodstains and scattered debris on the streets were gone, making it appear much cleaner and more orderly. The only drawback was the utter absence of human presence — empty and desolate like a ghost town.

The three contingents entered the main gate of the General Headquarters and dismounted one after another on the Scout Field. The visitors then saw the baskets of human heads casually stacked to one side.

Through the efforts of over a hundred laborers, working by lamplight through the night, all 1,500 heads from Shuotuo's army had now been fully preserved and were ready to be packed and shipped to Beijing.

Yet what had become a commonplace sight among the Transmigrators produced an intense visual shock for Sun Chengzong and his party.

Since the old slave raised his army with thirteen suits of armor, when had Great Ming ever achieved such a glorious victory? Never mind 1,500 — even a single batch of 150 genuine Tartar heads would have been an extraordinary feat of arms.

Moreover, everyone in the reception delegation now knew that this man surnamed Cao had also taken no fewer than 2,000 heads in the Yongping Three Cities, among which there was a high probability of the gold-tier VIP Amin's head!

At this moment, Sun Chengzong could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart.

He strode over to the baskets, picked up several heads and examined them carefully, then turned around and addressed someone with deep emotion: "All genuine Tartars. Good, good. This is a merit unparalleled in our age! Cao Chuan, you sailed here across the sea and have achieved such feats on the frontier — you deserve to be called the foremost general of our dynasty!"

Since the praise was so earnest, Zhang Dongdong naturally had to show a touch of modesty: "It all relied on the brothers under my command being willing to risk their lives. This humble general thanks the Grand Minister for his generous praise."

"Cao Chuan, you need not be overly modest." At this point, Ma Shilong, who had been inspecting the heads nearby, spoke with equal admiration: "When a military man like us achieves such great merit, there will naturally come a time to parade our feats and spread our fame in Beijing. Why adopt the coy manner of women and children?"

"Yes, yes. Cao Chuan accepts the Jinglüe's instruction!"

This scene on the Scout Field surprised several of the Transmigrators present — it seemed the two senior figures were in a very agreeable mood today, without the imagined nitpicking or harsh criticism, and they both clearly acknowledged General Cao's battle achievements... This was unexpected for the Transmigrators, wasn't it? Shouldn't it be going less smoothly? Weren't they supposed to come and snatch some credit?

In truth, the Transmigrators had slightly misjudged the two senior figures' stance: they had not come today with any intention of causing trouble, but rather to deal with matters as they stood.

As the saying goes, one reign, one set of ministers.

The reason Sun Chengzong had been able, back in his day, to transform overnight from a Hanlin Academy scholar into a major power bearing the title of Vice Minister of War and serving as Liaodong Defense Commissioner was not because of his grand vision or extraordinary talent, but simply because he was the Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao's Daily Lecturer — his personal tutor.

Later, in his post as Liaodong Defense Commissioner, Sun Chengzong not only introduced the grand strategy against the Later Jin of training troops, building fortifications, and advancing step by step, but also presided over the construction of the national fortress defense system of the Liaoxi Corridor, with Ningyuan at its core.

Regardless of whether this strategic system against the Later Jin was effective or not, it was under Sun Chengzong's stewardship that the Ningjin Defense Line and the Guanning Military Clique, which devoured the Ming Empire's colossal finances, grew and expanded.

Wielding such immense authority over the allocation of national resources, Lao Sun's power at the time was considerable. At his peak, even the Nine Thousand Years had to retreat three paces and dared not challenge his edge.

By the time Lao Sun was finally toppled by the Nine Thousand Years and driven back to his old home, it was already several years later, in 1625. Even then, before his forced retirement, Zhu Youxiao issued a special decree promoting his rank and title, bestowing upon him python robes and silver coins. Lao Sun could be said to have returned home in glory — the standard retirement model for a major power.

Two years later, Lao Sun's good student and ultimate patron, the Carpenter Emperor, drowned and passed away. Chongzhen ascended the throne, and thereafter Lao Sun settled completely into a comfortable retirement... Note that, under normal circumstances, a new emperor would not reappoint a powerful minister from the previous dynasty.

In the end, no one expected the Later Jin to breach the passes.

Great Ming had enjoyed peace for so long that this first Later Jin incursion delivered an unparalleled psychological shock, from the Emperor down to the common people. Thus, Chongzhen, utterly panicked, cast aside all taboos and temporarily summoned the 67-year-old Lao Sun back to his former post, appointing him Regional Commander of the King's Rescue Forces.

Lao Sun's close friend, Ma Huihui, was also reinstated at the same time.

The above is the reason Sun and Ma stood today within the General Headquarters of Santunying.

And the point the Transmigrators had misjudged was this: Lao Sun and Old Ma had, in a certain sense, already been laid off.

Yes, after communicating yesterday, these two had suddenly realized that all enemy-occupied cities within Ming territory had already been recovered by this man. So, theoretically speaking, the core official post of "Regional Commander of King's Rescue Forces," which was temporary in nature, had already lost most of its meaning — somewhat akin to a "lame-duck predecessor" still at his post for the last few days after the next president has been elected.

As for what came after, that would depend on Chongzhen's own attitude, which no one could predict. Chongzhen could order Lao Sun to resign immediately and return home, or he could disband the King's Rescue army and reassign him to a new post.

Although Chongzhen, far away in the Capital, was not yet aware of the current situation, Sun, Ma, and the military officers present all were. Having spent long years navigating officialdom, the two men understood clearly in their hearts that it was no longer convenient for them to use this identity to make any major decisions — especially decisions concerning this Commander Cao.

If they tried to force the issue, the man surnamed Cao was about to go and meet the Emperor face to face. Any decision they made now that was detrimental to him would not only be ineffective, but would also result in Cao, bearing his heaven-storming merit, dropping eye drops in front of the Emperor — as much as an eight-pound kettle.

Furthermore, and most importantly: Sun and Ma had no need to tear at each other with Commander Cao over a few heads.

One must understand that their posts had already reached the level of theater commander and deputy commander. Since Cao Chuan's forces were, by nature, King's Rescue troops, they were naturally his subordinates. No matter how many Tartar heads were taken, the two commanders' credit for strategic direction and command would not be diminished by one iota. The more heads were chopped, the happier Sun and Ma would actually be.

Therefore, in the grand scheme of things, the interests of Sun, Ma, and Commander Cao were currently aligned.

Of course, the reason the two had just lavished such praise on Commander Cao was not solely a matter of interest; heartfelt admiration was also a significant part of it — Sun and Ma were both men who had dealt with the Tartars for years, and they understood all too well the difficulty of taking several thousand heads.

After the scene on the Scout Field concluded, the atmosphere between the two sides abruptly eased considerably. Everyone then proceeded first to the main hall of the General Headquarters. After leaving the other uninvolved personnel to wait in the main hall, Commander Cao and the two men, Sun and Ma, went directly to the Second Hall for a secret talk.

This sequence was logical: when a Department Manager who has been out handling affairs returns to the Company to report, he must certainly first meet privately with the General Manager at the first moment. Only after the two sides have finished their discussion will a coordinated report be presented on the Chairman's desk.

Now, the moment had come for Manager Cao to report to the two regional managers.

The three men took their seats in the Second Hall. Once seated, guards clad in green jackets served tea to the various dignitaries.

Lao Sun, picking up his tea here, did not immediately broach official matters but instead asked curiously about the attire of these Green-Jacket Soldiers and Flower-Clothes Soldiers.

Commander Cao had long been prepared for this. Regarding the hairstyles, he once again fobbed it off with the old "Monk Soldiers" routine.

As for those Flower-Clothes Soldiers, Zhang Dongdong explicitly told Lao Sun that these were his personal guards and the unit's "Night Stalkers," and the reason for the floral clothing was concealment within the environment. As for its effectiveness, if the Grand Minister was interested, he could personally observe it with his own eyes afterward.

The civil official Sun Chengzong showed no interest in this answer, but Ma Shilong, who came from a military background, listened with keen interest and intended to see the floral clothing's efficacy for himself later.

After the idle chat was done and some tea drunk, Sun Chengzong now began to handle official business.

First, he requested that Commander Cao recount the entire process of annihilating the Tartars.

This request was bound to come, so the well-prepared Commander Cao immediately began his report, detailing every aspect of the Transmigrators' campaign since setting out from Tianjin — the operational plan, the course of the battle, including the annihilation of 5,000 enemies and the "actual collection" of 4,000 heads, and all such details.

Most of the process was what had actually happened, and they made no concealments here, describing everything fully.

There were two points where "artistic embellishment" was applied.

The first was the addition of a segment where the surrendered general Li Jichun collaborated from within Yongping to eliminate the Tartars, and single-handedly killed Shuotuo in Nameless Valley.

This segment did not weigh on the minds of the two commanders at all; the matter was too trivial to be worth the senior figures' attention.

The key point was the next one.

Having received goodwill earlier on the Scout Field, Commander Cao thus chose a more "harmonious" version to present this campaign: this military operation had received the prior consent of the two commanders. As for evidence... there had been correspondence between Lao Sun and Cao previously, which served as a passable reason.

After Commander Cao finished his report, he picked up his tea bowl and drank with lowered head.

Now, the olive branch had been extended; it was up to the two commanders whether they would accept it.

After Sun Chengzong and Ma Huihui exchanged a glance, they lightly tapped the tabletop with their fingers and sank into silent contemplation. The hall fell completely quiet.

That one crucial sentence from Regional Commander Cao just now had already patched up the huge hole — that the two Commanders had not participated in the campaign beforehand. It was tantamount to the Cao Clan vouching that the two, Sun and Ma, had rendered meritorious service in the campaign's Command and had taken part in the planning in advance.

For the Transmigrators, this phrasing actually cost nothing. Because as stated earlier, no matter what, the Cao Clan belonged to the King's Rescue forces, and the two men Sun and Ma could not be stripped of their credit for strategic planning.

So this was the best possible situation: Both Sides did not end up Turning Hostile over some bullshit matter, and the Transmigrators did not have to do a thankless task — exposing Sun and Ma's true colors before the Emperor, that the two were worthless drunkards and fools who had nothing to do with the battle results.

This way, it was equivalent to the regional Factory Manager and the general Manager aligning their testimonies, digesting potential conflicts and dirty laundry in private. In the future, when each side submitted their reports to the Great Ming's Chairman, the content would not devolve into scenes of mutual attacks and slander.

However, there was no such thing as a free lunch under heaven.

If the two men Sun and Ma accepted this enormously colossal battle credit, then everyone would be bound together on this matter. In the future, any trouble concerning Cao, especially pressure from the Donglin Party in the imperial court — as a veteran stalwart of the Donglin, old Sun here would have to be Responsible For smoothing it over!

And so old Sun fell into wordless, deep contemplation.