Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5299 A small punishment but a big warning
In the light rain, a large group of "second-generation nobles" who had just arrived in Da Nang gathered in front of the main gate of the government office. They were excited, waving their arms and making a great fuss. Officials and merchants from the vicinity gathered around to watch with curiosity.

Although the navy is powerful, it has always been strict in military discipline. Because it has a powerful figure like Fang Jun behind it, it has no scruples. Anyone who violates military discipline will be severely punished, and no amount of pleading will help.

Nowadays, who doesn't have some connections or backing when it comes to business and trade?
But when it comes to the navy, they all fall silent and accept punishment...

Now these "second-generation nobles" are actually causing trouble in front of the government office. I wonder if Su Dingfang dares to punish them all according to the law.
The families behind these people basically represent most of the Tang Dynasty's military. If they are severely punished, it might stir up a hornet's nest...

Inside the main hall of the government office, a group of naval officers and soldiers were startled by the commotion. After learning what had happened, they all stood up and looked nervously at Su Dingfang, whose face was dark and gloomy.

Yang Zhou swallowed hard and said, "General, please have a seat. I will go out and dismiss these scoundrels."

Su Dingfang raised his eyelids and glanced at him, then said in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Are there any of your family's nephews or descendants among them? Why are you so eager to protect them?"

Yang Zhou said irritably, "I'm afraid that if the governor gets angry, he will severely punish all these guys, thus offending all the noble families of the Zhenguan era! The governor will naturally not care while hiding overseas, but the Grand Commandant will probably be in trouble!"

Su Dingfang asked curiously, "Do you think the Grand Commandant would be afraid of such trouble?"

Yang Zhou remained silent.

He then realized that Fang Jun was not only not afraid of this kind of trouble, but actually preferred it to be as troublesome as possible...

As the top military officer in the Tang Dynasty, it was impossible for him to maintain harmony between his superiors and subordinates and to manage the entire army in an impenetrable manner. Anyone who reached that level would be suspected by the emperor. Therefore, Fang Jun completely broke with the Zhenguan nobles led by Li Ji. Regardless of their private relationship, they were always in an adversarial state on the surface.

Now that Su Dingfang is targeting these "second-generation nobles," it's exactly what Fang Jun wanted. Fang Jun is overjoyed and wouldn't mind the trouble.
These "second-generation nobles" are in for a lot of trouble...

He gave a wry smile and advised, "Although these guys have gone a bit too far, they are newcomers and are not yet familiar with the naval discipline, so this is their first offense. Besides, regardless of their initial intentions, they have traveled thousands of miles across mountains and seas to fight for the country, so we should give them a break."

The Tang Dynasty had been established for a long time, and its various rules and regulations had gradually become more complete. In particular, the regulations for the selection of officials were extremely detailed. With the empire's territory stable and major wars becoming less frequent, it was extremely difficult to be promoted without extraordinary military achievements.

The severe punishment inflicted on these "second-generation nobles" today will inevitably affect their career advancement for life.

They're all part of the military; we should consider their circumstances and be lenient with them, instead of condemning them all outright...

Su Dingfang looked at the others with a playful gaze: "What suggestions do you all have?"

Xi Junmai and the others bowed in unison: "We await the Governor's decision!"

Yang Zhou: "..."

broken!

Sure enough, Su Dingfang nodded at him: "General Yang pleaded for them, so how could I not give you face? But since only General Yang pleaded for them, then you should go and detain all these people outside the gate, and supervise them to load and unload military supplies at the dock and work for ten days, as a warning to others."

……

Yang Zhou walked out of the main hall and stood under the covered corridor. He looked up at the gray sky, where fine rain, as thin as cow's hair, obscured his eyes and brows. He scratched his chin and let out a regretful sigh.

Military discipline must be strictly enforced, and no one is allowed to violate it. Even these powerful "second-generation nobles" are not taken seriously by Su Dingfang. No matter how big the trouble is, Fang Jun will handle it and solve it.

However, if these "second-generation nobles" are punished, it cannot be explained by military discipline alone, and it could very well lead to the worst possible outcome—the navy is Fang Jun's navy, not the royal navy.

Fang Jun must distance himself from the meritorious officials of the Zhenguan era, represented by Li Ji, but this does not mean that His Majesty mistakenly believes that he has absolute power in the navy, or even that the navy has been separated from the Tang army.

Although everyone knows the truth, it cannot be revealed so blatantly.

Therefore, everyone in the hall could see that Su Dingfang was only feigning anger, and that it would probably pass after a show of it, just a minor punishment to serve as a warning. But he himself was genuinely sincere and shamelessly went to plead for these "second-generation nobles," which was so "unconventional" and "unorthodox."

In Su Dingfang's view, this was a sign of being out of step with the navy, or even "harboring ulterior motives".

Weren't you pleading for those people?

Then I'll give you face and let everyone know that you were punished as well because you pleaded for them...

Yang Zhou wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to be so talkative!
As for the navy, he was a newcomer. The original crew followed Fang Jun through hardships to build the navy from weak to strong, making great contributions. As a result, he was parachuted in halfway and naturally occupied the position of a "veteran". This was already easy to arouse jealousy. Now that he has done this, his future days will not be easy.

But in all honesty, he had no intention of using this to win over the hearts and minds of those "second-generation nobles" or to curry favor with them.

Feeling frustrated, his face naturally darkened. As he walked out of the government office, he saw those guys still making a ruckus and hurling insults. His expression grew even more gloomy, and he waved his hand, shouting, "Take them all down!"

With a whoosh, the naval soldiers who had been on guard outside the door rushed forward. They moved in groups of three and captured more than ten troublemaking "second-generation nobles". Several of them tried to resist but were forced to their knees with their hands tied behind their backs and pressed to the muddy ground, looking utterly disheveled.

These people were both shocked and furious. One of them, with his neck stiff, demanded, "What do you want to do?"

"You are merely a deputy admiral in the navy, how dare you be so disrespectful to me?"

"Yang Zhou, you bastard! You were so obsequious and fawning before my father back then, but now that you've latched onto Fang Jun's good fortune, you've turned your back on him? You ungrateful wretch!"

Yang Zhou looked at the boy who was being held down in the mud and asked curiously, "Who is your father?"

The young man spat out a mouthful of muddy water: "My father is Liang Jianfang, the Left General of the Imperial Guard!"

"So you're General Liang's son!"

Yang Zhou suddenly realized, then asked in confusion: "Back then, I did serve under General Liang, but that was just my job. I was a soldier of the Tang Dynasty, not a servant or slave of your Liang family. Now that I'm in the navy, detaining and punishing those of you who have violated military discipline, how can that be considered 'ingratitude'? Or is it that all soldiers who have served under your father have become your father's henchmen and cronies, and must obey your father's orders wherever they go?"

"Uh……"

The boy wasn't stupid; he could tell these words were malicious. He quickly retorted, "Bullshit! If you continue to slander my father, I'll fight you to the death!"

Yang Zhou sighed, looking at the group of still unconvinced "second-generation" kids, and said helplessly, "You're all not young anymore. You should know how much your families have paid to get you into the navy to participate in the war. You should seize this opportunity. If you violate military discipline and carry a stain on your record for the rest of your lives, wouldn't that be a waste of all the efforts your families have made?"

Some people still disagreed: "We have always done this in the Sixteen Guards, but we have never heard of military discipline that forbids us from even speaking."

Yang Zhou said, "That's how it is with the navy. Loud noises are unacceptable, and gathering crowds to cause trouble is an even more serious crime."

Liang Jianfang's son realized that things were not going well and that he would probably be punished this time. So he shouted, "It's not that we are causing trouble. It's just that we have all come from Chang'an by trekking through mountains and rivers. Why should we be idle and doing nothing, while Li Jinxing and Li Jingren can lead the army out to fight?"

Yang Zhou said, "The navy has hundreds of rules, the first of which is 'Orders are like mountains, and cannot be disobeyed!' Now that you've joined the navy, you must obey orders unconditionally, and you must bravely go through fire and water!"

Seeing that these scoundrels were still not convinced, Yang Zhou had lost his patience: "The governor has given the order that I will supervise you to work at the dock for ten days as a small punishment to warn others. Now come with me."

Upon hearing that it was only ten days of labor, the "second generation" breathed a sigh of relief. It was just work, much better than being whipped or beaten!
"I always said Su Dingfang was all show and no substance. He looked fierce, but in reality, he wouldn't dare to do anything to us!"

"That's right, it's just ten days of work. Do you really think I'm weak as a chicken?"

"You can't say that. Su Dingfang is giving us face, so we can't badmouth him!"

Looking at these spoiled children, Yang Zhou shook his head and sighed, "I hope you'll still be this lively and energetic tomorrow morning!"

These silly kids have no idea how arduous the work of loading and unloading military supplies is...

*****
Compared to those resentful noble sons who gathered to cause trouble, Li Jinxing and Li Jingren were naturally full of vigor and excitement.

Wuwenling was practically the "key point" of this battle; whether it could be captured and held directly affected the entire war situation and the subsequent plans formulated by the Tang army.

Significant strategic importance means significant military achievements!
As a privileged class that was "slipped up the ladder" into the navy, they naturally knew that such opportunities would not come often and they had to seize them tightly.

The two men, one in charge and one in charge, led their troops swiftly toward Wuwenling.

One man and two horses galloped along the way, boiling water, eating some dry food, and taking short rests. When they encountered rivers, they led their warhorses across the water. They traveled day and night without stopping until midnight the next day, when they arrived at a mountain valley more than ten miles from Wuwenling.

The soldiers and horses were exhausted from two days and one night of travel, so Li Jinxing ordered them to rest on the spot.

At midnight, scouts were sent out to investigate the enemy's situation. Near dawn, the scouts reported that a troop of about 500 Lin-yi soldiers was stationed at the mountain pass. The mountain road was rugged and difficult to traverse due to several days of rain.

After discussing the matter, Li Jinxing and Li Jingren decided that they should act without delay and launch an attack at dawn after the army had rested for a while.

Li Jingren had no objection, because Tuolupuluo City would definitely send reinforcements. As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war, and the mountain pass must be captured before the Linyi reinforcements arrive, and then it must be defended.