The third day of July.
Another nice day.
The sun is warming up and the scorching heat is gone. The cold air brought by the autumn wind blows through Nanli County, bringing a bit of coolness to the city.
General's Mansion.
Wang Cheng was sitting in the lobby, holding a roster in his hand with a smile on his face.
"Okay! Okay!"
He put the roster together, stood up and said, "All nine hundred and twelve people have volunteered to join the army. With this group of people joining us, our number has exceeded nine thousand!"
Liu Qingsheng, who was sitting at the bottom, stood up and congratulated: "Everything is under your control."
Wang Cheng waved his hand and said: "Although I was confident that I could use these people for my own use, I didn't expect that it would only take such a short time. Today is only the sixteenth day."
"In the past, no one in Nanli wanted to join the army. That was because they didn't have enough to eat. Now that the adults are here, the daily food supply is oversupplied. There is meat every now and then, and the military pay is also generous. As long as these People are not fools, how could they be willing to leave?" Liu Qingsheng said.
Wang Cheng gradually put away his smile, looked at Liu Qingsheng and said, "What do you think we should recruit more troops? We might as well gather 10,000 troops. Anyway, now we have food, grass and military pay."
"No!"
Liu Qingsheng immediately denied it and explained: "Nanli County has just suffered a heavy blow. Many Nanli brothers died in the battle. Now is the time to recuperate. If you continue to recruit soldiers, Nanli County may not be able to find many young men in the future. , who will plant those crops then? If there is another accident, Nanli County will really become an isolated city with only orphans and widows left!"
Wang Cheng's heart trembled when he heard it. He held the roster and slapped it on his forehead, saying: "I forgot about this!"
Before leaving here, the governor Bao Zheng had told him to leave a few seeds for Nanli County.
He was just afraid that he would go "military" and bring all the young men in Nanli County into the army.
"So, I, the Polu general, still don't have enough staff?" Wang Cheng said regretfully.
Liu Qingsheng thought for a while and said: "My lord, please don't forget that you are now the commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Southwest China. If you want to recruit troops, why don't you recruit troops from other counties in Southwest County? No matter how difficult it is, you can always recruit troops from those counties. of."
Southwest County governs six counties, and Nanli County is only the westernmost county. Although the population is not as large as those counties in the hinterland of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there are still hundreds of thousands.
"I actually forgot about this!"
Wang Cheng secretly thought, "That's too careless," but then his face showed suspicion and he said, "Having said that, if troops are transferred from other counties, will it cause dissatisfaction among local officials?"
"What your Excellency said is not unreasonable. It would be a bit troublesome to rashly mobilize troops from other counties. After all, it is not the time to start a full-scale war with Xia State." Liu Qingsheng said.
“Forget it if you’re in trouble!”
Wang Cheng waved his hand. As a soldier, he hated dealing with local officials.
Those people have been local officials for so many years and are full of twists and turns. No matter how resourceful he is, he can't defeat these veterans of officialdom. If they accidentally catch something, the fun will be great.
"Sir, it's not that we can't make up for our troops. Have you forgotten those prisoners from the Gaoshan Kingdom?" Liu Qingsheng suddenly said.
Wang Cheng's eyes lit up and he said, "You mean to incorporate those people from the Shanze Department into the army?"
Liu Qingsheng nodded and said: "Although these people have not experienced systematic training, they are skilled in bows and horses, and they are cavalry seedlings. They are all locked up now, and we have to feed them every day. Instead of letting them eat and drink for free, we It’s better to let them work for us.”
"Furthermore, Your Excellency has already moved their families here and given those people a home. Even if they have no bad intentions, why don't they still work for us wholeheartedly?"
Wang Cheng smiled and said: "If I remember correctly, there are about 700 prisoners in that group. If they are all incorporated into the army, our entire army will have almost 10,000 people."
Thinking that he had an army of ten thousand people in his hands, he felt proud.
An army of 10,000 people lined up in a dark mass, and if they move together, what a powerful force they will be?
Because he was influenced by his father when he was a child, he had a "general dream" since he was a child. He fantasized about being able to command a large army one day, and now he has almost realized it.
Wang Cheng solemnly said: "Leave this matter to sir, integrate them into the army as soon as possible and form combat effectiveness as soon as possible!"
"Yes!" Liu Qingsheng agreed.
At this moment, a young man wearing red fish scale armor walked in.
He is in his twenties, tall, slightly thin, and has a pair of arms that almost touch his knees.
As soon as Wang Cheng saw him walking in, he immediately called out his name: "Zixiang!"
This young man is none other than Liu Zixiang, who was originally a military prince under the command of Jianwei Zhonglang General Zhu Bangguo, and now serves as a military commander under Zhang Han.
Liu Zixiang came closer and performed a standard military salute with a bang. When Wang Cheng called him up, he took out a document from his arms and handed it to Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng opened it and took a look, his face gradually showed joy, and said: "Okay! Zhang Han really has the style of a famous general, and he has gained so much from this battle."
When Liu Qingsheng heard this, he immediately thought of something.
When Wang Cheng left the Shaba Valley, he left Zhang Han behind and left him with two thousand cavalry. These troops were just to carry out the second plan.
Liu Qingsheng said happily: "Is it done?"
Wang Cheng nodded and handed the document in his hand to Liu Qingsheng.
Liu Qingsheng took it, looked at it, and read: "...my troops attacked Liuzhou on the night of the second day of July, killed more than a thousand Liuzhou defenders, and obtained 30,000 taels of gold, 150,000 taels of silver, and 25 boxes of jewelry. , three thousand war horses, more than 200,000 cattle and sheep, countless grain and grass..."
After reading for a while, Liu Qingsheng still couldn't believe it.
At this time, Liu Zixiang, who was standing aside, said: "General, because of the long journey, I only brought back the gold and jewelry this time. The other seizures remain in the Shaba Valley."
After hearing this, Liu Qingsheng finally came to his senses and said excitedly: "Sir, this is a great victory!"
"good!"
Wang Cheng nodded and said: "This battle is the first great victory of our army since its establishment. It deserves a reward! It deserves a heavy reward!"
Liu Qingsheng nodded in agreement at first, and then said in a deep voice: "But your Excellency, please don't forget that this battle was a sneak attack on Liuzhou as a member of the Shanze tribe. If Captain Zhang is rewarded heavily, wouldn't it be like telling the world that it was our army that did it?" ?”
He worriedly said: "Now that the two countries have just gone through peace talks, our army launched a surprise attack. How will you explain to the court? How will you explain to the king?"
Wang Cheng's smile suddenly froze on his face, and he actually forgot about this important moment.
He paced back and forth in deep thought, and finally made a final decision: "Even if I can't come openly, I still want to reward you!"
"so……"
Wang Cheng looked at Liu Qingsheng and said: "Sir, please prepare a memorial for me now, declaring Zhang Han as the Zhonglang General, and report it to the court. Regardless of whether the court agrees or not, Zhang Han is the Zhonglang General in our army. Other brothers press If you are promoted based on your merit, you will be stamped with my general seal, effective immediately!"
Just when Liu Qingsheng was about to say something, Liu Zixiang on the side said first: "The general is wise!"
"Why!"
Liu Qingsheng looked at Liu Zixiang and sighed secretly, but said nothing more.
"Zixiang, this document only talks about seizures. What are the casualties among the brothers?" Wang Cheng asked with concern.
Liu Zixiang's smile quickly faded and he whispered: "Two hundred and eighteen brothers died and more than three hundred were injured."
"Nearly 600 casualties?"
Wang Cheng's forehead was twisted into the word "Chuan". He could imagine the brutality of that battle.
Liuzhou and Nanli are separated by hundreds of miles, with Zhangzhou in between, so it is not a major military town. There are only a few thousand defenders, not more than 3,000.
However, Zhang Han and others attacked Liuzhou from the Shaba Valley at night. They were caught by surprise and unprepared. Logically speaking, the casualties should not be large. However, there were still so many casualties, indicating that the battle must have been difficult.
"Originally, we had already retreated from Liuzhou, but a martial arts master showed up halfway. Otherwise, we wouldn't have killed and injured so many brothers." Liu Zixiang said with red eyes.
"No wonder!" Wang Cheng suddenly realized.
The appearance of a martial arts master on the battlefield has a great impact, especially on the side without a martial arts master.
However, facing Zhang Han's two thousand elite cavalry cannot completely turn the tide of the battle. After all, they all hold iron-armed copper crossbows, which can attack or retreat, and can kill people unless they encounter a great master.
Wang Cheng looked solemn and said: "Zixiang, go to the field hospital now and take twenty medical staff to the Shaba Valley. Bring all kinds of healing medicinal materials. You must save the lives of the injured brothers."
"yes!"
Liu Zixiang agreed, then turned and walked out of the lobby.
When he walked away, Liu Qingsheng, who had been holding back his words, immediately said: "Sir, I think it is inappropriate for you to reward Zhang Han!"
"First of all, pretending to be a member of the Shanze tribe and raiding Liuzhou is your plan. Even if you are rewarded, you should be the first to do it; secondly, since you know that Zhang Han is a rare general, you should stay with him. Once If the imperial court really makes him a lieutenant general, he will be transferred at any time; thirdly, Zhang Han and Chengyi are in harmony on the surface, but in fact they are secretly fighting. Now that Zhang Han has won, where will Chengyi live? Fourthly..."
"alright!"
Wang Cheng stretched out his hand to interrupt him and said, "Everything you said makes sense, but have you ever thought about who will defend Nanli County in the event of a war?"
Liu Qingsheng was startled and murmured: "What do you mean, sir, is there still going to be a war between Dazhou and Xia?"
Wang Cheng was silent, but his thoughts returned to the dream not long ago.
In the dark, the warning to him from that dream was getting closer and closer, as if it was about to happen.
Liu Qingsheng did not interrupt Wang Cheng, but Wang Cheng's words spoke to his heart.
Once a war breaks out, Wang Cheng will definitely have to go out to lead the troops, and he will naturally accompany him to advise Wang Cheng. When the time comes, Nanli County will lack a person who can take charge of his own affairs.
If Zhang Han is appointed as Zhonglang General, he can naturally take over all the defense of Nanli County. Otherwise, how can a mere school captain mobilize the soldiers of the entire Southwest County?
"In short, sir, please prepare the memorial as soon as possible. Before the official edict is issued by the imperial court, Zhang Han will be temporarily appointed as acting Zhonglang General. The documents will be brought back to Zixiang." Wang Cheng said.
This time, Liu Qingsheng had no objections.
At this moment, another soldier ran into the lobby with an anxious look on his face.
"General! This is bad!"
