Chapter 88: Lin Fu: They

Listening to the soldiers’ words.

Lin Fu and Shen Yuer exchanged glances, utterly bewildered.

But.

Their eyes met for a moment, both thinking the same thing: “They must have mistaken someone else for him.”

After all, no matter how they thought about it, Zhu Ying had only been in the army less than a year—he was just a new recruit; how could he possibly be a general?

That was impossible.

“Old man.”

“And this young lady.”

“Why don’t you rest at our inn?”

“Don’t worry—I’ll report this up; perhaps I can even contact General Zhu,” said the squad leader with a smile.

“Um, my lord.”

“Could it be that you’ve mistaken the person?”

“My young master only joined the army less than a year ago—how could he possibly be a general?”

“I wouldn’t dare make such a reckless claim,” Lin Fu said, visibly anxious.

Seeing Lin Fu’s worried expression.

The squad leader smiled: “Old man, don’t overthink it—just go rest at the inn. I’ll report this up. If General Zhu really is your young master, then all the better.”

“By the way.”

“Don’t call me ‘my lord’—I’m not worthy of that title. I’m Xiao Han.”

At this.

Lin Fu could only nod helplessly: “Then we’re in your hands, Xiao Han.”

“Zhao San.”

“Take the old man and this young lady to the inn and see they’re settled.”

“No, I’ll go myself.”

“You all keep watch over the city gate.”

Xiao Han told his men, then led Lin Fu and Shen Yuer toward the city’s inn.

At the inn!

Xiao Han kindly arranged rooms for Lin Fu and Shen Yuer, then returned to his post at the city gate.

“Lin Bo.”

“Do you think that man was telling the truth?”

“Could Zhu Ying really have become a general?” Shen Yuer asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

Lin Fu smiled and said: “Nine out of ten times, they’ve mistaken someone else. It’s too much of a coincidence. My young master may have always been unusually wise and mature, but there’s no way he became a general in less than a year.”

“Then what do we do now?”

“They must have mistaken the person,” Shen Yuer said, worried.

“We’ll take it one step at a time.”

“Perhaps we can use this General Zhu to find our young master,” Lin Fu said.

Shen Yuer nodded. There was nothing else to do.

City gate!

“Squad leader.”

“Were those two really General Zhu’s family?”

“Could we have made a mistake?”

As soon as Xiao Han returned, several soldiers gathered around to ask.

“Nine out of ten times, it’s him.”

“Same age—just over sixteen.”

“And he joined less than a year ago.”

“I don’t believe such a coincidence exists.”

“Brothers.”

“Seize this chance—we might actually meet General Zhu, or even get transferred to his command.”

“We can’t let this opportunity slip away,” Xiao Han said eagerly, his eyes filled with determination.

Clearly.

He was determined to seize this chance.

“Yes.”

The other soldiers nodded in agreement.

City guards.

Though they now drew imperial rations.

They still held low rank within the army.

If they could be transferred to a true frontier garrison, not only would their pay increase, but they’d also have a chance to rise in status—like Zhu Ying.

In today’s Danning frontier army, Zhu Ying had become a legend, even the symbol of the Danning frontier army; every soldier looked up to him with awe and reverence.

But now!

Outside the city, beneath the night sky.

A dozen men watched the gate with cold eyes.

“They’ve entered the city? What do we do?”

“Entering now is too conspicuous.”

“Find a place to rest first. We’ll enter the city tomorrow.”

“Yes…”

The dozen men slipped away silently.

……

In the blink of an eye, a night had passed!

The next day!

Jincheng.

The logistics troops entered the city in orderly fashion, wearing face coverings and pulling ox-carts.

After a great battle, it was the logistics troops’ duty to clean up the aftermath.

Before dawn, they had already entered the city in batches to clear the dead; cart after cart of corpses were dragged out. For the Yuan soldiers, they stripped off their armor, collected their weapons—these iron tools could be reused, melted down, and recast.

Of course, the better weapons could be used directly.

After all, in ordinary cold weapons, the Great Ming and the Northern Yuan were still identical.

After stripping the armor, the Yuan soldiers were simply piled and buried in the outskirts’ mass graves. In every age, enemies received no mercy; not desecrating their corpses was already kindness.

But the fallen Ming soldiers were treated differently.

The logistics troops would properly bury them, record their military tags, enter their names into the roll of the fallen, then report them up the chain to the Ministry of War for compensation.

In the city.

Besides the logistics troops clearing corpses and bloodstains,

there were rows of Ming soldiers patrolling.

Though the battle had ended,

the townsfolk still hid in their homes, too afraid to emerge.

No taverns or shops dared open their doors.

In Liaodong,

Once part of Huaxia's territory, it had long been held by foreign tribes; the people there had lived under Northern Yuan rule, oppressed for generations.

When the Yuan court ruled central China, Han people were the lowest caste—even a Han bride’s first night had to be surrendered to the Yuan overseer.

How vile it was.

In Liaodong, this degrading custom still persisted.

Now that the Great Ming had breached Jincheng,

the townsfolk were terrified, but the Northern Yuan nobles were even more terrified.

In an instant of defeat, they had no chance to flee.

Inside the Governor’s Hall!

Fu Youde and several of his officers had gathered.

Zhao Yong and Wang Bi were absent—they had led troops to pursue the Yuan army.

“Everyone is here.”

“I won’t waste time.”

“Jincheng has just been secured; everything is in ruins.”

“Especially with over a hundred thousand civilians in the city—ninety-nine percent of them are Han. We must treat them with kindness and care.”

“What do you all think?” Fu Youde asked as everyone arrived.

“Your Excellency.”

“Same as always.”

“All Yuan people in the city are to be stripped of their property and exterminated.”

“All their assets are to be seized for the military.”

A Huaixi war general immediately spoke up.

“Exactly.”

“It’s only right.”

“This has always been our army’s standard practice.”

“Kill them and be done with it.”

“All these Yuan people deserve to die.”

……

One after another, the Huaixi war generals began shouting.

But Fu Youde watched them in calm silence.

“You say the Yuan people deserve to die.”

“But now, how many Yuan people serve our Great Ming? Are you going to kill them all too?” Fu Youde said coldly.

……

PS: This is the last public chapter. Brothers, please subscribe and support. Thank you, deeply grateful. Also, the author’s previous novel is below: [Great Qin: Strengthening and Living Forever by Collecting Attributes from the Battlefield]. Brothers, go check it out.

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(End of Chapter)