Putting the food and grass man aside in advance, Wang Cheng looked at Cheng Yi, who was sitting at the bottom, and said, "Lao Cheng, tell me, how many of General Liu's old subordinates can be recalled?"
What he lacks the most now is people. He can't even get four thousand people for a dignified lieutenant general, including those brought by Zhang Han.
If General Zhenxi transfers Zhang Han's group back, he will really have no one under his command, so now he is just catching as many young men as he can.
Cheng Yi frowned, with a bitter look on his face, and said: "That day after Xia Gou deceived him to open the city gate, General Liu led us to resist desperately, but the leader of Xia Gou was so powerful that General Liu even attacked him Even if they didn’t catch it, the person was captured.”
"We resisted desperately, but we were no match for hundreds of people. Instead, we were killed and our armor was thrown off. General Liu couldn't bear that our sacrifices were in vain, so he broke his heart and died..."
His expression became more and more painful, and as he spoke, tears could not stop pouring from his eyes.
"So, of the more than 9,000 defenders in Nanli, less than 3,000 are still alive?" Wang Cheng said solemnly.
"Plop!"
Chengyi knelt on the ground and said to Wang Cheng: "General, you must avenge General Liu and his dead brothers! They died so tragically!"
"stand up!"
Zhang Han walked up to him, helped him up, and said: "Lao Cheng, almost all the summer dogs who killed General Liu and his brothers were wiped out by General Wang and us. Only one sixth prince and a few summer dogs are left. Escaped alive.”
"Sixth Prince?" Chengyi was startled.
Zhang Han nodded, and then revealed the identity of the group that raided Nanli County.
Chengyi was shocked at first, and then said angrily: "What a king of Xia! No wonder my six thousand defenders, who can only kill a few hundred people, fled. It turned out to be the Xia Kingdom's forbidden army!"
"brush!"
He suddenly raised his head and looked at Wang Cheng on the main seat, thinking that this Lord Wang was indeed well-deserved.
Also against the Golden Sword Guards, nearly half of their nearly 6,000 defenders were killed, but Wang Cheng and the others almost wiped out all of them.
The difference between before and after is so big, it seems like one day and one place!
"Lao Cheng, can you get back some of the remaining troops?" Wang Cheng then asked.
Chengyi nodded: "You can still find it, but I need the general to promise me something."
"Say it!" Wang Cheng said without hesitation.
"After those people come back, Lao Cheng hopes that the general will not punish them!" Cheng Yi said.
Before Wang Cheng could speak, Zhang Han on the side said: "Let me tell you, Lao Cheng, has your brain been squeezed by the door? The general even accepted you, why would he blame others?"
"You're worrying too much!"
Wang Cheng took the words and said: "You have done nothing wrong. It is not easy for you to survive when you encounter the Sixth Prince of Xia and his forbidden army."
Chengyi said excitedly: "Thank you so much, General!"
Wang Cheng waved his hand and said: "Okay! Try to call those brothers back first. If you have any difficulties, just come to me!"
"Yes!" Chengyi said.
Wang Cheng said again: "It's getting late, Lao Cheng, Lao Zhang, you two just stay in the house and have a meal together!"
Cheng Yi and Zhang Han looked at each other and nodded in agreement without hesitation.
At present, Nanli County is severely damaged, and there are no taverns or other businesses at all, so if they want to eat, they must either go to the camp or find someone to do it themselves.
Naturally, there are people who cook in the General's Mansion. Not all the maids and servants who were originally affiliated with the General's Mansion were wiped out. The cooks who knew how to cook are all still alive, otherwise Li Xiang and his gang wouldn't have had ready-made meals last night. .
Needless to say, I was satiated by wine and food.
After the meal, Wang Cheng arranged for Chengyi to take some people to recall the old troops.
Zhang Han is naturally busy with official duties. He is responsible for the city defense of Nanli County.
Although Li Xiang's group has been basically wiped out, no one can say whether they will come back. Once they do come back, they will have no defense and they will just be killed.
Wang Cheng himself was also very busy. First, he screened the soldiers who were re-registered at noon to see if there were any unidentified people mixed in.
Then, check the population, ordnance, food and wages of Nanli County one by one, and keep it in mind.
After doing this, Li Hong and Li Sheng, who he had arranged to find people for, also came back.
Li Sheng did not tell lies and actually brought a large number of people from Nanli County back to the city.
"General, we have recovered more than 750 families in total, with a total population of more than 3,000 people. Some families may have fled too far and could not be found in time..."
Li Sheng stood in the hall and reported to Wang Cheng the details of their trip.
"The original population of Nanli County is nearly 20,000. Those who are hiding in the city, including those you have found, are not even half of them now. Were there so many casualties in yesterday's battle?" Wang Cheng sighed.
Li Hong, who was standing aside, said: "Yesterday's battle was too brutal. If General Liu hadn't led us to resist desperately, there might have been more casualties."
Wang Cheng had not experienced yesterday's battle, but he could already imagine the bloody scene.
There are less than 20,000 people in Nanli County, and nearly 10,000 people died yesterday. How is it different from the massacre?
"Snapped!"
He slapped the book desk and broke it into pieces. He walked down the steps and said angrily: "This summer dog is really not a human being. How dare you massacre the city?"
Previously, he led an army to raid Ji County and set fire to Yingzhou, but he had never done anything like massacre the city. Because once you do it, it will inevitably lead to crazy revenge from the other party.
"Everything has been calculated. There are not even 10,000 people in the city now. Let's throw away those big families..."
Wang Cheng suddenly felt that it was a mess. Even if he included the common people, he only had less than 10,000 people available.
Suddenly, he thought of something and said to Li Hong and Li Sheng: "I still have to work hard for you two to make a trip and visit all the villages and towns in Nanli County."
"General, why is this?" Li Hong was curious.
Wang Cheng smiled mysteriously, and then told the two of them his thoughts and plans.
"Is this possible?" Li Sheng expressed doubts.
Wang Cheng said: "You have to try it before you know whether it works or not. You two should do as I say first."
The two looked at each other and then left.
Wang Cheng continued to return to the desk that was shattered by a palm, then asked his servant to replace it with a new one, and then continued to immerse himself in reading the thick stack of documents.
Before I knew it, the red sun was setting in the west.
Near evening, Xu Yu and Li Xu entered the hall, followed by Liu Wenjing.
Wang Cheng put down the documents in his hand, looked at the three of them and said, "Has everything been checked?"
Xu Yu and Li Xu nodded, then stepped forward and handed over the pile of documents they held in their arms.
Wang Cheng glanced through it briefly, looked up at the two of them, and said, "I remember it in detail, how could it be so fast?"
Xu Yu and Li Xu looked at Liu Wenjing on the side at the same time, and then Xu Yu said: "General, we were able to register so quickly. First, we benefited from the fact that many people were led back by Captain Li, and second, we had the help of the eldest lady."
When Liu Wenjing heard the mention of herself, she raised her head, revealing her fair neck like a gooseneck.
Wang Cheng wanted to laugh when he saw this, but he still nodded and praised: "Well done!"
"Isn't it good?"
Liu Wenjing said proudly: "General, we have collected one hundred women under the bid. No, to be precise, one hundred and twenty-eight women. They are all waiting in the courtyard. Please give me your instructions, General."
Wang Cheng nodded, then straightened his face and said, "Tell me, how did you get these women?"
Liu Wenjing replied: "These one hundred and twenty-eight women are either widows who have just lost their husbands, or they are maids from some wealthy families who have fled. They are homeless. I just want to show my identity, and they are all willing to follow me." ”
"good!"
Wang Cheng looked pleased. It seemed that he had underestimated this eldest lady, who was really capable.
Of course, what plays a role in this is Liu Wenjing's identity as the daughter of a powerful general. She can make many people follow her with just one sentence.
Wang Cheng looked at Liu Wenjing and said, "From now on, these one hundred and twenty-eight women will all be under your command!"
"Um?"
Liu Wenjing was startled. She had always been curious about why Wang Cheng would let her gather a hundred women. She even maliciously speculated on Wang Cheng's intentions, but she never thought that Wang Cheng wanted to incorporate these women into the army.
Even Xu Yu and Li Xu were stunned immediately after hearing this. Is their general asking women to join the army?
Since ancient times, women have not been allowed to join the army. This is an iron law in the military because the impact of women joining the army is too great.
Externally, it will make the enemy look down on her, and even men will not be found; internally, it will damage the morale of the army, and women entering the army can easily complicate the minds of male soldiers.
Think about it, if a group of big men live together with some women, do they still have the heart to fight?
As the saying goes, after two or three years in the army, a sow competes with a Diao Chan. When a pig walks past, you have to look at the buttocks to tell the male from the female.
Although it is a bit exaggerated, men's desire for women is an instinct that no one can control.
"As for these one hundred and twenty-eight women, I don't want them to march and fight like men. I have another purpose!"
Wang Cheng said as he picked up a document from the desk, handed it to Liu Wenjing, and said, "Read it first. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me."
Liu Wenjing opened the document and took a look. The more she read, the more frightened she became. It completely refreshed her knowledge.
Seeing Liu Wenjing's expression changing, Xu Yu and Li Xu couldn't help but want to step forward to have a look. However, since Wang Cheng was right in front of them, they could only glance around helplessly.
After a while, Liu Wenjing finally finished reading, closed the document, and said excitedly: "General, are we really that powerful?"
Wang Cheng said: "There is an old saying in my hometown that women hold up half the sky. Although men can do many things, they are not as good as women."
He stared at Liu Wenjing and said: "Starting from tomorrow, you will train these female soldiers step by step according to the method I taught you. I want them to meet my expected requirements within one month. If you can do it, all female soldiers They are paid the same as male soldiers."
Liu Wenjing looked solemn and saluted: "Yes!"
