Chapter 15: Appointed as a Thousand-Household Commander!

Quickly!

The main camp.

Wei Quan led the way into the main command tent.

As soon as they entered, everyone's gaze shifted toward Zhu Ying.

Curiosity, surprise, astonishment.

A myriad of emotions flickered across the faces of the many generals.

Clearly, seeing that Zhu Ying was so young—merely a youth—had stunned them all.

When they had heard of his battle achievements, they had imagined him to be a burly, massive, and imposing man. But seeing him now, he was entirely different from the image in their minds.

If not for his armor and military uniform, and if not for the aura of killing intent surrounding him, Zhu Ying might have passed for a scholar in long robes.

"Reporting to the Commander."

"The Flag-bearer Zhu Ying has arrived," Wei Quan said, bowing deeply to Bu Wan.

"This subordinate greets the Commander."

Zhu Ying immediately bowed.

Bu Wan raised his eyes and landed them on Zhu Ying. After scrutinizing him for a moment, he suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Truly, heroes emerge from the youth! Originally, I thought someone who achieved such great merit would look fierce, but seeing you now, you are quite the opposite of what I imagined."

"Thank you for the praise, sir."

"As a soldier of the Great Ming, it is only right that I kill the enemy for the country," Zhu Ying replied, maintaining a composed and dignified manner.

Seeing Zhu Ying's attitude—neither arrogant nor boastful of his merits—Bu Wan nodded with even greater satisfaction. He then continued, "Your military achievements are significant. You have the merit of killing a hundred enemies, as well as the merit of slaying a general and capturing a battle flag."

"According to the military rewards and punishments established by the Emperor, you are to be promoted by five ranks."

"Do you have any thoughts on this?" Bu Wan asked with a smile.

"I am willing to serve the Great Ming unto death!"

Zhu Ying bowed immediately.

Promoted by five ranks.

At this moment, Zhu Ying's heart was racing. For a mere Flag-bearer like him, this was undoubtedly a meteoric rise.

Power and status—everything was about to change.

He had been tricked into joining the army less than four months ago; counting strictly, it had only been a little over three months.

Yet, in these short three months, he had achieved military merits that others had not attained even after years of service.

"Good."

Bu Wan's expression turned serious.

He then picked up a brush, took out a blank military order, and wrote down Zhu Ying's promotion decree. Once finished, he took the Commander's seal and stamped it onto the order.

With that, the promotion order became official.

"Zhu Ying, Flag-bearer of the First Company, First Thousand-man Company, attend your promotion!" Bu Wan announced loudly, holding the order.

"This subordinate attends!"

Zhu Ying bowed immediately, a look of anticipation appearing on his face.

"Flag-bearer Zhu Ying engaged the Tartars, slaying a hundred of them, cutting down their main general, and capturing their battle flag, thereby securing victory for our army and achieving great merit!"

"Now, according to the military merit system established by the Emperor, you are promoted by five ranks to the position of [Thousand-man Commander], to command a thousand troops, and are granted one hundred taels of gold!" Bu Wan announced loudly.

Zhu Ying bowed and replied loudly, "This subordinate thanks the Commander! I shall serve the Great Ming unto death and continue to kill enemies and build merit for the empire!"

Then, Bu Wan smiled, stood up from the main seat, and walked slowly toward Zhu Ying while holding the decree. He first helped Zhu Ying to his feet.

He then said with a smile, "Commander Zhu, I hope you will continue your efforts and achieve even greater feats for the Great Ming in the future."

"This subordinate will never disappoint you, sir," Zhu Ying replied instantly.

"Good. Accept your orders."

Bu Wan smiled and handed the military order to Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying immediately accepted it with both hands.

"Grant him armor, a saber, a sword, and gold."

Bu Wan waved his hand.

Immediately, several personal guards who had been waiting on the side stepped forward.

One carried a set of armor and a helmet, one carried a sword, one carried a saber, and another carried a box containing one hundred taels of gold.

"The saber is for the battlefield; the sword is for readiness."

"Commander Zhu, take them," Bu Wan said smilingly.

"This subordinate accepts the command."

Without hesitation, Zhu Ying took the armor, the saber, and the sword, and also accepted the gold.

"Generals!"

"Commander Zhu has been promoted by five ranks. This is the nature of the Great Ming's military rewards."

"All our soldiers of the Great Ming shall be treated thus."

"I am the Prefect of Daning, temporarily serving as Commander due to the trust of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Therefore, I guarantee here that as long as I hold this position, military rewards and punishments will never be meager. Merit shall always be rewarded."

Bu Wan addressed all the generals in the tent.

"The Commander is wise!" everyone shouted in unison.

"Commander Zhu's combat achievements are extraordinary. Slaying a hundred men, a general, and a flag in a single battle is a feat that can invigorate the entire Great Ming army."

"I have decided that this report shall be submitted to Ying Tian along with the report of the Tartar defeat. At that time, I am sure the Emperor and the Crown Prince will be extremely pleased," Bu Wan added with a smile.

Hearing this, envy flickered across the faces of many generals.

To submit a report to Ying Tian, to present it before the Crown Prince and the Emperor—what an immense honor!

If one could make the Crown Prince and the Emperor remember their name, it would be a monumental opportunity.

"This subordinate vows to serve the Great Ming unto death!"

All the generals bowed one after another.

"General Chen."

"Zhu Ying has been promoted to Thousand-man Commander. Is there a vacancy for a Thousand-man Commander in your Company of Constables?" Bu Wan looked toward Chen Heng and asked.

"Reporting to the Commander."

"In yesterday's battle," Chen Heng replied immediately, "the first cavalry company of my Company of Constables charged the lines, and the Thousand-man Commander was heavily wounded. There is indeed a vacancy."

"Good. Then Commander Zhu shall go to the First Cavalry Company to serve as the Thousand-man Commander and command the cavalry," Bu Wan nodded and decided on the spot.

"This subordinate accepts the command!"

Zhu Ying's eyes lit up, and he bowed immediately.

A Thousand-man Commander of a cavalry company—that was a fine post.

In this era, cavalry was the pinnacle of combat power. A cavalry company had more opportunities to achieve merit and gain attributes than infantry.

Naturally, Zhu Ying did not decline.

"Commander Zhu, please take a seat."

"We still need to discuss the ongoing war against the Tartars," Bu Wan said to Zhu Ying with a very good attitude.

"Yes."

Zhu Ying nodded, holding his armor and weapons as he looked for a seat in the tent.

"Sit here."

Chen Heng smiled and pointed to a seat beside him.

Zhu Ying did not refuse and sat down.

"General Liu."

"What is the status of the pursuit?" Bu Wan turned to Liu Zhen, who was also a Deputy Commander alongside Chen Heng.

"Reporting to the Commander."

"Currently, our tens of thousands of soldiers have continued the pursuit northward for dozens of miles. We have captured many Tartars and have caught up with the civilians fleeing from the edge of the Tartar tribes. We have intercepted them and are sending them back to the Great Ming in batches; they offered little resistance."

"In my opinion," Liu Zhen continued, "although these Jianzhou Tartars are vassals of the Yuan court, they are merely a small tribe. They will not dare to truly commit their entire clan to fight against the Great Ming. After this, they will surely behave and will not dare to reach out toward us again."

"With the Jianzhou Tartars suppressed, the thirty thousand troops within our Daning Prefecture can focus entirely on suppressing the mountain bandits and outlaws."

"In this way," Liu Zhen concluded, "the bandit problem will surely be resolved."