dognovel Chapter 261 Retreat without a fight
Chapter 261 Retreat without a fight
"So you're the Commandant of Haicheng Guard?" Lin Ping stared coldly at a trembling man, his voice filled with chilling intent.
When Lin Ping's army arrived, the man was terrified. Looking at the mountain city guard captain being chased and beaten, he was too weak to even lift his legs. Even his warhorse was neighing and hanging its head, completely motionless.
Not only was the Haicheng Guard Captain trembling with fear, but his five thousand guards were also terrified. After all, the strength displayed by the Jiangcheng City Lord's private army was astonishing, even unprecedented.
With their lack of training, these slackers are probably going to be slaughtered like cabbages.
Upon being questioned by Lin Ping, the captain of the Haicheng Guard's hand went limp, and his spear clattered to the ground.
The five thousand guards mistakenly believed that the Haicheng Guard Commandant had surrendered, and they also threw their weapons on the ground, almost kneeling down to beg for mercy.
It must be said that Lin Ping, who possesses X-ray capabilities, has remarkably sharp eyes and even exudes a regal air.
The Haicheng Guard Commandant had held a high position for many years and was considered a seasoned veteran in officialdom; otherwise, he wouldn't have refrained from attacking Jiangcheng even once. Without knowing who would win or lose, he dared not take sides rashly. In any case, leading five thousand men to come was already a great honor for the Shancheng Guard Commandant. If the commander could breach the city gates, he would send several thousand men to add to the glory. But if the enemy couldn't breach the city gates, then sorry, he wouldn't offer help in their time of need.
Therefore, this person is very good at judging people. He knows that Lin Ping has a significant background, but he can't guess his identity. He can't just kneel on the ground and beg for mercy.
"It is...it is I..." The captain of Haicheng Guard dismounted and removed his armor, stammering as he replied, deliberately avoiding addressing Lin Ping by name.
"I, Lin Ping, have no official rank or title, how dare I ask the Commandant to call himself a lowly person?" Lin Ping smiled coldly, clearly intending to embarrass the other party.
The captain of the Haicheng Guard broke out in a cold sweat, muttering to himself: This kid is not easy to deal with.
He knew that Lin Ping was deliberately making things difficult for him; he would be punished for addressing him incorrectly, and he would also be punished for not addressing him at all.
“In the army, there are no official ranks, only strength. Your spears are sharp, and your warhorse is strong, so you are superior to me.” The Haicheng Guard Captain knelt down as if the gold beneath his knees was worthless.
Lin Ping finally understood. This guy was not only afraid of death, but also a master of flattery. He was simply... too perfect! I, Lin Ping, love him!
"Do you know that you are kneeling before a son-in-law of the city lord's mansion?" Lin Ping continued, deliberately raising his voice.
Although he didn't feel ashamed of being a live-in son-in-law, others didn't think so. A live-in son-in-law was someone who would be trampled underfoot by women, and he had to cover his face when he went out, otherwise he would be spat on.
Now, the Commandant of Haicheng Guard has openly knelt before Lin Ping, his status even lower than that of a son-in-law. This is perhaps more terrifying than killing him.
The man's expression changed drastically; his teeth clenched tightly, and even his eyes became more piercing. He raised his arms above his head, then... forcefully brought them down, prostrating himself on the ground. He humbly said, "Greetings, Your Excellency. My admiration for you is like a surging river, endless and unstoppable, like the Yellow River overflowing its banks. I have long wanted to pay my respects, but feared it would not be respectful enough, so I brought these five thousand guards with me."
This outrageous flattery was something even Lin Ping couldn't resist. He seemed to understand a principle: even if he were born hundreds of years later, he wouldn't be able to navigate the court with ease and achieve great success.
The art of flattery was mastered to an unparalleled degree by the ancients. Reading between the lines was merely a minor skill; speaking human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts was the true beginning. Modern psychology is utterly inadequate; it's child's play in the context of ancient times.
It's just that the ancients were low-key and didn't write these things down in books, relying instead on oral traditions passed down through generations.
Li Mingxuan is a living example. From the day he was born, his father instilled in him all sorts of knowledge about interpersonal relationships and how to curry favor in officialdom. After studying hard for more than ten years, he finally became a qualified attendant.
In this way, the Commandant of Haicheng Guard was truly wronged. He had brought five thousand men to pay his respects, yet he was almost mistaken for a bad guy by Lin Ping.
Your Highness, seeing is believing, hearing is believing, you must believe me.
Lin Ping felt helpless about this. He had wanted to take this opportunity to teach the Haicheng Guard Captain a lesson, but he did not expect the other party to be so cunning.
After this incident, the Haicheng Guard Captain will be much more cautious and would never dare to disrespect the City Lord's Mansion.
"My father-in-law has just been appointed as the Commandant of the Capital Garrison. I wonder what the Commandant of the Guards thinks about this?" Lin Ping said sarcastically.
The Commandant-in-Chief is in charge of the military power of the entire Provincial Administration Commission, and is the Commandant-in-Chief of Haicheng Guard. Lin Ping naturally needs to see the other party's attitude.
"Greetings, Commandant! I am willing to go through fire and water for you!" The Commandant of Haicheng Guard suddenly became serious, but his knees, which were stuck to the ground, probably wouldn't straighten up.
Thinking of this, the cold sweat on the body of the Haicheng Guard Captain intensified. Attacking his superior would surely result in him being punished, or even denied shoes.
Upon receiving this news, the city lord was overjoyed and hurriedly ordered the city gates to be opened. He walked majestically to the Haicheng Guard Captain, but immediately turned into a furious man.
In his view, Lin Ping had been deceived by the Haicheng Guard Commandant; this fellow had come to attack the city, not to pay homage. In his fury, he even considered killing the man with a single stroke.
"Sigh...it's time for my acting skills to shine again." Lin Ping shook his head helplessly. He was clearly a pragmatist, but he still had to rely on acting skills to make a living.
What could he do? He couldn't just let the city lord have his way and kill the Haicheng Guard Commandant.
In this way, he would likely face fierce resistance from 5,000 men, and his reputation as a captain would be ruined. It's likely that, apart from Jiang Xiuwen, no other captain would be willing to risk their life for this superior who could kill people at any time.
"Commander Wei, you happened to be away when my father-in-law was distributing military pay in Yancheng a few days ago. I wonder..." Lin Ping deliberately left his sentence unfinished, constantly winking at the other party.
It means, you old codger, be smart and don't anger my father-in-law again, otherwise I can't help you.
The Haicheng Guard Captain nodded gratefully and hurriedly said, "Haicheng is a vast and resource-rich place, and the guards can easily support themselves. How could we possibly accept the Captain's military pay? Besides, one should not accept rewards without merit. We can ask for a thousand or eight hundred taels after we have rendered meritorious service to the Captain!"
These words were incredibly impressive, and Lin Ping was completely in awe. The other party not only refused nearly 100,000 taels of military pay, but also stated that these 5,000 men would fight for the city lord's mansion, and even if they made immediate contributions, they would only ask for a symbolic reward of 1,000 to 1,000 taels of silver.
"Commander, what are you saying? Your special visit is the greatest honor." Lin Ping helped the Commander of Haicheng Garrison up and stuffed eight hundred taels of silver into his hand.