The battle was over, and Situ Yan packed his belongings, ready to return to the capital.
Before leaving, he handed the memorial drafted by Meng Changdong to Ren Tianyu: "General Ren, please write the battle report like this."
Ren Tianyu quickly agreed, but his eyes widened in shock as he read it. He immediately knelt down with a thud: "Your Highness, this great victory is entirely due to your brilliant command. Even if I had the courage of a bear and the gall of a leopard, I would never dare to steal your credit."
"Nonsense, I wasn't involved in this battle at all."
"Your Highness..."
"The overt report will be this. You can explain the details in the covert one." Not claiming credit was a way to ward off malicious people. His father king needed to know his due credit and must not shortchange him. He said, "I am neither legitimate nor the eldest, and I have achieved great military merits. Wouldn't that intentionally invite hatred? General Ren, just do me a small favor and don't mention the details of this battle on the surface."
Ren Tianyu said, "But even if I don't mention it, the soldiers involved will not let your heroic deeds be buried in the sands of time."
"A bunch of stubborn fools. You broke through the enemy's defenses, and it was Big Mao who beheaded Tuo Hele. Tell me yourself, what does this have to do with me?"
"This humble general only knows that this battle was personally planned by Your Highness, and you yourself took the risk to lure Tuo Hele into the narrow valley..."
Situ Yan interrupted, "Stop, stop. I'll talk to them personally. I guarantee you won't be accused of stealing credit. Is that acceptable?"
Ren Tianyu achieved his goal and chuckled, "This humble general thanks Your Highness."
Situ Yan rolled his eyes. Seeing Ren Tianyu not moving for a long time, he couldn't help but want to kick him: "What? Are you out of ink in your tent? Are you planning to write your memorial here?"
"Not at all, but Your Highness, may I ask for two people?"
"Who?"
"Military Advisor Meng and Vanguard Mao."
As expected, Situ Yan was prepared in his heart but didn't know how to respond.
Ren Tianyu continued, "Your Highness, after you return to the capital, the military advisor and General Mao will have no place to use their talents. Instead of letting them waste away in the capital, why not let them achieve great things in the northern frontier? You know, the northern defense has always been weak. If it weren't for your timely arrival with reinforcements this time, Dinghaiguan would have surely fallen long ago. With Military Advisor Meng, a scholar, and General Mao, a warrior, Dinghaiguan will be much more secure."
"This matter is best left to them to decide."
"Alright!" Ren Tianyu was very pleased. He believed that they would definitely not refuse to stay in the army and achieve their own merits.
If Prince Rui had ambition, it would be possible to rise to marquis and minister by following him and achieving merit for the dragon. But Prince Rui clearly had no interest in that position, so who knew what their future would be if they followed him?
Smart people naturally knew how to choose.
However, Big Mao was clearly not a smart person. "Boss, I joined the army with you. Now you want me to follow General Ren, I won't do it."
"What, you can't fight without me?"
"Yes." The decisive answer almost made Situ Yan laugh. Ren Tianyu's mouth also opened into a circle. What he found even more incomprehensible was that the intelligent Military Advisor Meng also expressed a desire to return to the capital. "Alas, I am just a scholar. Look at my hands, they are used to holding a brush. It is more suitable for me to be an official in the capital."
"Military Advisor Meng, if I remember correctly, you were a military advisor in the army before following Your Highness."
"After fighting for so many years, I'm tired of it!"
Ren Tianyu felt like he was going to vomit blood and could only resort to a childish plea: "I don't care. Your Highness, you can't just leave like this. You must leave me at least one of the military advisor or General Mao."
Situ Yan: ...
Situ Yan pondered for a whole night, but still couldn't make a decision.
From a public perspective, Ren Tianyu was indeed a talented general, but his experience was still slightly insufficient. Coupled with the usual laxity of the northern army, they were caught off guard by the northern frontier. In time, he would become a famous general, and Meng Changdong's role would be much smaller then.
But Big Mao was different.
It was easy to find generals with high martial arts skills, but difficult to find those with top-notch combat prowess.
With him around, his record of killing Tuo Hechi was enough to deter the region.
However, from a private perspective, Big Mao was still a child. Leaving him here, he was somewhat worried about him. He had abandoned him once before, and he didn't know if it would leave a shadow in his heart if it happened again.