Chapter Fifty-Three

  Tang Yin looked at Liang Xing and said: "The following things, General Wu also saw that General Liang and General Wu took a female Qianfu Zhang under the banner of my army, forced her to drink with them, and then used violence. I went to rescue her, but General Liang's Qianfu Zhangs came out to block me, and then they started fighting. They outnumbered us, and they were armed first. In self-defense, I had no choice but to fight back a bit harder. At the time, my intention was to save the person, and I didn't think about hurting them at all. Later on, General Wu and others used Lingwu, fortunately, General Wu was present, otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here safely now."

  Don't look at Tang Yin's arrogance, but when it comes to telling lies, he is also quite natural, his face doesn't turn red, and his breathing doesn't quicken. The other party was the first to make a move, but that was completely under his provocation. The other party was the first to use Ling Wu, and similarly, they were forced to do so under his pressure.

  Finally, Tang Yin said: "In the fighting process, four thousand husbands died. I am responsible, but these people should also die. According to military law, bullying women is a capital offense. What's more, they bullied their own people in the army, and it's a crime worthy of death. Prime Minister Zuo is wise and must have his own judgment!"

  What he said was very clever, starting with mentioning Liang Yuan, and then only mentioning the mistakes of the thousand husbands, deliberately showing off, letting the thousand husbands take responsibility, and getting Liang Yuan off the hook. But on the other hand, if Liang Xing insists on not letting go, he will also drag Liang Yuan down.

  Wu Mei and Qiu Zhen were like strangers who had just met, they couldn't help but look at him with admiration, while secretly cheering for him in their hearts.

  What a cunning young man! Liang Xing's face wore an expressionless smile, but his eyes were cold and flashing.

  After a moment of silence, he said in a calm tone: "In any case, General Tang is not a law enforcement officer. Who is guilty and who is not, it's not for you to judge. Who should live or die, you have no right to decide. In a private fight, four chiliarchs were killed, the matter is serious and deserves due punishment!"

  An official of a higher rank can crush people to death, let alone Liang Xing being the Left Prime Minister. He insisted on punishing Tang Yin's crime, and no one could do anything about it.

  This time, before Tang Yin could speak, Wu Yu put down his teacup and said: "Brother Liang is right, General Tang indeed has faults and should be punished. However, this matter also involves Liang Xian's nephew, General Wu, and the lower-ranking officers, making it too broad in scope. If things get out of hand, not only will it be difficult to contain, but it will also have a bad impact on the image of our Great Wind Army. Moreover, we are currently facing national difficulties and need all the manpower we can get. Punishing so many generals and officers at once would be detrimental to our army's interests. Furthermore, Liang Gongzi is still fighting against the Ning army in the front lines, while his nephew back home is causing trouble. If things go awry, His Majesty might vent his anger on the soldiers in the front lines, affecting their morale. I hope Brother Liang will reconsider."

  His words sounded reasonable, considering the country and the Wind Army, but in fact, they were full of threatening implications. If Liang Xing didn't let go of Tang Yan, he would also bring up this matter and make a big deal out of it. After all, Liang Yuan was a member of the Liang family, and if he made mistakes, people wouldn't just focus on him alone, but would look at the entire Liang family. Now that the Liang family is being heavily used by the Wind King, Liang Yuan's trouble would inevitably greatly discount the Liang family's impression in the Wind King's heart.

  Liang Xing and Wu Yu had been colleagues for decades, openly competing and secretly fighting each other countless times. How could he not understand the meaning behind his words?

  Towards Wuyu, this seemingly gentle and docile but secretly sinister and cunning old fox, he had a lot of apprehensions. Since Wuyu was willing to show up in person, it meant that he already had an ace up his sleeve, and if he continued to pursue the matter, it would be hard for him to gain any advantage.

  He burst out laughing, nodded heavily, and followed Wuyu's words to push the boat with the current: "Brother Wu is very understanding of things, considering everything carefully. As for how to handle this matter, it will all be done according to Brother Wu's intentions!"

  Yuhe chuckled lightly and sighed, saying: "Oh dear, Brother Liang is really too modest. Young Master Liang is vigorous and impulsive, it's inevitable that he'll make mistakes, but after this lesson, let's just forget about the whole thing."

  "En!" Liang Xing responded with a single sound, without expressing his attitude.

  Yu Wu said: "As for General Tang, he still needs to be punished. I think twenty military rods would be suitable."

  "Hey?" Liang Xing waved his hand, pretending to be calm and advised against it: "General Tang is also very young, what's the logic that young people don't make mistakes?! Let's just forget about the military punishment!"

  "Haha, Brother Liang is indeed broad-minded..."

  Then the two of them started talking about irrelevant things, complimenting each other and speaking in official tones, and this matter was thus settled between the two of them with a laugh.

  His own nephew didn't exist, and he suffered a loss. Liang Xing was angry with him, but in his heart, he also hated him to the point of itching teeth. As the saying goes, "When beating a dog, one must consider its master." Tang Yin bullying Liang Yuan was equivalent to bullying the entire Liang family, and this grudge was thoroughly formed.

  Liang Xing did not severely punish Tang Yin, but he also deeply engraved his name in his mind.

  Leaving the Left Prime Minister's mansion and heading back to the Right Prime Minister's mansion, Wu Mei let out a long sigh of relief. Earlier, she had been worried that Liang Xing wouldn't let the matter drop, but things had progressed so smoothly and unexpectedly that they were able to resolve everything without much trouble.

  "Dad, thanks to you this time, we couldn't have dealt with that arrogant old man Liang otherwise!" She hugged Ruo Yu's arm and said happily.

  Wu Yu just smiled and turned to look at Tang Yin, saying with a smile: "I knew General Tang was so eloquent, I'd rather stay home and drink tea, haha..."

  Tang Yin cupped his hands and said: "The prize for the dance goes to Xiang Yu."

  Young people are clever and resourceful, but when doing things, they should also know how to restrain themselves and not show off too much.

  Yu Wuxiu genuinely liked and admired Tang Yin, the young man, and her words were well-intentioned reminders, but to Tang Yin's ears, they didn't sound so pleasant.

  He hated being controlled by others, and even more so when someone pointed fingers at him. Yu Ben was originally a person who had nothing to do with him, but now he was lecturing him like an elder, making him feel very uncomfortable.

  Naturally cold and indifferent, Tang Yin was accustomed to not revealing his true emotions. His joy and anger were also invisible on the surface. He smiled and said: "Thank you for reminding me, Dance General. I will remember it carefully."

  Tang Yin's killing of the four chiliarchs of the Eighth Army Battalion was thus passed over, but the storm did not subside.

  It didn't take long for the army to be filled with rumors and gossip, people secretly discussing the matter, describing Tang Yin as being incredibly powerful. Although the rumors had a good effect, from then on, no one dared to say that Tang Yin became the commander of the second battalion because of his ambiguous relationship with Wu Mei, nor did anyone dare to belittle or look down on the people of the second battalion. Unconsciously, Tang Yin and the second battalion's reputation spread far and wide, their status in the army rising greatly.

  Without those ambiguous remarks, Tang Yin felt much more at ease. The promotion in status made every officer and soldier of the Second Legion very proud, and a sense of pride was also generated.

  Although the training within the legion became increasingly harsh, fewer and fewer soldiers chose to transfer to the Second Legion, thus its personnel structure was thoroughly established.

  This matter can produce such a series of effects, which is beyond Tang Yin's expectation.

  A few days later.

  Tang Yin went to the Wu Fu to attend a meeting.

  The masters of this meeting were Wu Mei and Wu Ying, and the attendees were four battalion commanders and deputy battalion commanders who rebuilt the troops.

  When Tang Yin arrived, the people in charge of the other three battalions and their deputies had all arrived.

  The three legions were the Third, Eleventh and Twelfth Legions of Infantry. Mu Mei and Mu Ying each controlled two legions, the former controlling the Second and Third Legions, while the latter controlled the Eleventh and Twelfth Legions.

  The commander of the Third Legion was Wu Yi, also a fellow who had escaped from the Hedong area. Tang Yin was naturally very familiar with him. As for the other two legion commanders, they were newcomers, named Wu Zhong and Zi Shang. Tang Yin had met them before, but had no contact with them, only nodding in recognition.

  The meeting is not a very urgent matter, just to understand the progress of the soldiers' training, and also make some comparisons between the four legions.

  At present, the second battalion's soldiers have the best physical fitness and strongest combat skills, but the worst discipline and are also the most lax. The formation of the phalanx, combination and change is also the worst. The other three battalions are about the same, with no outstanding aspects, but also can't find obvious shortcomings.

  Each legion has its own soul, also known as the military spirit. The military spirit is closely related to the character of the leader. If the leader of a legion is a strict person, then the soldiers in this legion will be very disciplined.

  Tang Yin is a man who acts on his own accord, and the second battalion's military spirit has also inherited his personality. The soldiers under his command have extremely strong individual combat capabilities, but when it comes to formations that emphasize coordination, they are much weaker.

  After Wu Mei and Wu Ying finished their assessment of the reconstruction of each battalion, both of them looked at Tang Yan together. The two sisters were in sync with each other's thoughts and said in unison: "General Tang, don't you think you should explain something?"

  Tang Yin's wandering mind was finally pulled back, he sat up straight and said seriously: "Soldiers should have their own personality, only in this way can they exert their strength to the greatest extent on the battlefield. Sometimes it is not so strict with discipline, it can be forgiven. As for the problem of phalanx formation, I will pay attention to it later, but on the battlefield, there is no fixed tactic, being too rigid will have the opposite effect."

  Everyone was stunned after hearing his words.

  The room is so quiet that a falling needle can be heard.

  It wasn't until a long time had passed that Wu Mei came back to her senses, clearing her throat and unconsciously raising her voice as she retorted: "Your soldiers are undisciplined, and you're the worst at phalanx formation - do you still have any face?"

  Tang Yin shrugged, this was a difference in military philosophy, and discussing it would be endless, not suitable for debate in public. He avoided the heavy topic and said lightly: "I will train the troops well."

  "I hope so!" Wu Mei stretched out three fingers, reminding: "Don't forget the promise you made to me at the beginning, three months, three months have passed in a flash!"

  Tang Yin smiled and nodded: "Thank you, General Wu, for reminding me. I have a free mind."

  P.S: There are indeed many things to do during the Spring Festival, I hope everyone has a great time!