Chapter 1308 - 321: The Generals Set the Stage, and the Earl Rides Out

Chapter 1308: Chapter 321: The Generals Set the Stage, and the Earl Rides Out

Eastern Jin,

Yan Army’s Central Army King’s Tent.

The banner of Prince Jingnan from Jin land was raised and lowered repeatedly, yet it did not affect Tian Wujing’s actual position.

Whether he was a Lord or a Prince, it could not change the fact that he was the true controller of the Three Jin lands’ troops.

Moreover, after the killing of captives in Jade Plate City, although the court stripped Tian Wujing of his princely title, he was still called Prince in the military ranks, especially by the soldiers of the two armies in the Yan region, who were accustomed to their wild ways.

A group of commanding officers entered the King’s Tent; perhaps because of the large number of troops, the military council was extensive, so the conditions were somewhat better, with several rows of bamboo mats placed on both sides below the command seat.

After entering the tent, everyone began to take their respective places.

The seating arrangement was quite a delicate matter, after all, it was about ranking and positioning.

Lord Zheng had no intention of sitting at the very bottom, after all, this was not the Imperial Study in Yanjing, where in the presence of the court elders and the Crown Prince and the princes, he, Lord Pingye, could only sit at the bottom;

But being in the military, it was impossible to deliberately stay low-key, otherwise, if he sat at the very bottom, he would be comfortable, but where would everyone else sit?

Not to mention that some Yan Army leaders would murmur, what would the Jin camp leaders do? Would it mean letting them sit outside the King’s Tent to listen in?

Li Fusheng, quite straightforward, directly seated himself in the second position on the left.

As a commanding officer split from the Northern Garrison Army, his status was undoubted.

Before the Three Kingdoms War three years ago, there was a saying within the military: Yan was divided into four types of commanding officers: those from the Northern Garrison Army, those from the Jingnan Army, those within the Imperial Guard, and lastly, the lowest, those from the local armies.

After Tian Wujing entered Jin, the Jingnan Army rapidly expanded, with the original Jingnan Army’s commanding officers’ power and troops, naturally elevating their status as well.

But no matter how much they rose, it was difficult to surpass Li Fusheng, who had both seniority and an evident reputation. The others were progressing, but Li Fusheng wasn’t just lying there idle.

During the Three Kingdoms War, he ventured alone deep into enemy territory, reaching the gates of the imperial capital, greeting the officials of Qian;

He also participated in both battles at Wang River.

Seated at the second position on the left, who dared to take the first?

However, immediately after sitting down, Li Fusheng beckoned to Lord Zheng:

"Brother Zheng, come, here, here, here!"

The pointed position was none other than the one above him.

Lord Zheng hesitated for a moment,

Hmm,

According to Lord Zheng’s internal hierarchy, it was only natural for him to sit at the head of a row.

In terms of military achievements, in terms of "imperial favor,"

It wasn’t excessive for Lord Pingye to sit at the first position, closest to Tian Wujing, right?

But for him to straightforwardly sit there wasn’t quite appropriate; it would appear too eager, impolite.

Thankfully, with Li Fusheng’s support, Lord Zheng had to laugh heartily, then slightly shook his head, glanced around, exchanged looks with the others, and walked over to sit down.

Previously, Lord Zheng expressed to the Wild People’s King how Yan Army didn’t have such nonsensical issues.

Surprisingly, the Wild People’s King, usually compliant to Lord Zheng, contradicted him, suggesting he disbelieved.

Later, Lord Zheng realized Gou Moli dared not directly state "blind spots under a lamp";

The reason why he hadn’t encountered such nonsensical issues was because he was the master of these matters.

Everyone seated,

On the right-hand side sat Ren Juan, Luo Ling, Chen Yang, Ma Youliang, Xue Chugui, Zhao Ande, Li Guangzong, all the earliest Jingnan Army commanding officers, each bestowed with titles. Behind them were newly promoted commanding officers from the expanded Jingnan Army, who generally had been their subordinates.

On the left-hand side, Lord Zheng sat first, below him was Li Fusheng, followed by Gongsun Zhi and other former Northern Garrison commanding officers, then Gong Wang and other Jin camp commanding officers.

Even though the entire army was indeed in the hands of Prince Jingnan Tian Wujing, the ranks below had a clear distinction.

At any time, the elite remained elite, the guest army remained guest army, and as for the Jin camp, it hadn’t yet transcended the "slave soldier" level.

Even after being split, the Northern Garrison group remained cohesive, Jin camp sought warmth together, and Jingnan Army maintained the pride of their unwavering loyalty to the Prince.

Frankly, in this scene, the division and hierarchical distinction were even more pronounced than those of the tri-border garrison in Qian;

Internal strife turned extreme, but setting up a spectator scenario, prioritizing survival over comradeship, was quite normal.

Not to mention others,

Lord Zheng would definitely be the first to act in such a manner.

In his eyes, there was only the "big picture," and whether this big picture was beneficial or detrimental to his Snow Sea Pass. It had nothing to do with any supposed national sentiment for Yan.

Accumulating such hard-earned wealth was difficult, so calling Lord Zheng the ruthless master was apt without exaggeration.

But,

Who commanded above, overshadowing him: Tian Wujing.

This was the backbone, this was the banner, this was the true Marshal.

Under Tian Wujing’s military orders,

Lord Zheng, in Shengle City, obediently offered his accumulated supplies for Tian Wujing’s army to venture into the snowy plains;

On the banks of Wang River, Lord Zheng had to lead his ten thousand troops deep into enemy territory at the risk of being surrounded by the wild people’s massive army;