Master Li lay weakly in her husband's arms, closing her eyes in contentment. Suddenly she remembered what happened that night, and she asked, "Do you know what happened at the entrance of Yuxiang Tower earlier?"
"Well, I was at the door at that time, and I heard those officers and soldiers shouting that they were Liangshan bandits."
Wang Yan played with the big baby and couldn't help but smile when he remembered what happened before. He watched Li Kui and others break through the blocking officers and soldiers and leave. Of course, not many soldiers were directly hacked to death. They just lost their combat effectiveness and may have died due to poor treatment. The people in Liangshan still acted with discretion. Those who died directly were all killed by Li Kui.
However, no matter how sensible the people of Liangshan are, it is an unforgivable sin to cause a scene during the Lantern Festival in Bianjing City. Why didn't Song Jiang look at the Yuxiang Tower sign and didn't want to leave? It's because this time it ruined Zhao Ji's good interest in having fun with the people. If he tries to recruit people again, I don't know when. This kid will be sad.
Although he knew the whole story, he still cooperated with the beauty in his arms and continued to ask: "What are they doing in Yuxiang Tower? I heard one of those people holding an ax yelling, saying that Song Jiang was looking for flowers and willows here?"
Master Li gave a sweet smile: "No official in Song Jiang is so bold. He heard about my relationship with Jin Shang and wanted me to tell Jin Shang his sincere feelings in order to recruit him. But they made such a big fuss. I'm afraid it will be difficult to recruit someone. Officer, if you ask me about it later, how should I respond?"
"Just tell the truth, nothing will happen."
"Well, officer, Shuibo Liangshan is also in Shandong. I heard it's not far from your Yanggu County. They occupy the mountain as king, and they often oppose you, right?"
"Go against me? Where do they have the guts? In the past few years, they have always tried to keep their distance. They just robbed some wealthy households in the surrounding areas, did business in the past, and occasionally intercepted some water transportation. Before coming to Beijing, Song Jiang had I asked to see you in Yang Valley for the purpose of seeking peace. With so many people staring at me, I asked the housekeeper to send me away because I was looking for trouble. I never thought that I would end up asking for trouble on your head."
"Forget it, let's not talk about those irrelevant things." Master Li raised his head, his almond-shaped eyes full of spring, and at the same time reached down and said: "Come again, officer..."
Come again, come again. Following the guidance of his bare hands, he straightened his waist and the official returned home. Master Li's eyes were blurred with drunkenness, and he let out a soft groan of satisfaction...
In the afternoon of the next day, the high-ranking officials who had been squinting all morning went into the palace to see Zhao Ji. After all, such a big thing happened yesterday, and he, his son-in-law and loyal minister, had to go to express his condolences both emotionally and rationally.
"When I see that the official family is fine, I feel relieved."
Zhao Ji shook his head and pointed back at the map on the wall that marked the four major domestic bandits that had been torn off and belonged to the 'Liangshan Songjiang'. He said angrily: "Look, they all ran to my Rui." When Si Dian comes, he is really extremely arrogant. The guards in the palace and the forbidden troops in the city are all useless. They raise so much money every year, but in the end, thieves and bandits get in."
Wang Yan looked at the empty piece. He knew that it was originally torn off by Shi Qian, but Shi Qian had already been buried by him. Grass had grown and bloomed on the grave. It must have been someone else. But it doesn't matter who it is, the purpose of tearing off that piece is simple, just to scare Zhao Ji. After all, if you can enter the palace, you can get the dog head. He just lowered his head and cupped his hands, listening to Zhao Ji curse without saying a word.
After a long while, Zhao Ji vented again and waved his hand: "Get up, I'm not blaming you. Why are you acting like this? It's them who have disappointed me. Yanggu County is not far from Shuibo Liangshan. On weekdays, Is there any business that might bother you?"
Wang Yan stood up straight, shook his head and smiled: "Guan Jia, how can those people in Liangshan have the courage? They have been living in peace all these years. If they had really robbed the goods, I would have already written to the officials to suppress the bandits. In fact, before I came to Beijing, Song Jiang The others went to Yanggu County. They knew that I was carrying a holy scroll, and they wanted me to convey the message of peace. However, it was unavoidable to follow the truth and they were attacked and annihilated. They did not see them and sent them away at will. Unexpectedly, yesterday they It’s so rampant.”
Yanggu County has almost become a branch of the Imperial City Department, which has caused a lot of trouble for him. The fact that Song Jiang and others went there this time couldn't be hidden, and it wasn't a big deal anyway. It wasn't a big deal if he took the initiative to mention it.
Sure enough, there was no surprise on Zhao Ji's face: "I have sent someone to Yuxiang Tower to ask. Song Jiang heard about me and Master Li somewhere, and he also wanted her to convey the message of recruitment. This morning, There was also a quarrel above the court. Some people said they would mobilize troops to suppress the bandits, while others said they would mobilize security forces to deal with the other three thieves. What do you think?"
"If we deploy troops to attack, a lot of food and supplies will be wasted along the way. If we recruit people for peace, it will be difficult to get rid of the banditry of the people in Liangshan, and I am afraid it will not go well. The official's sacred heart is dictatorial, and I think I have a conspiracy, so I will not Too much talk."
"You are always so naughty." Zhao Ji shook his head and smiled, then said: "The matter of cavalry soldiers has been sent to various places. Those who are good at bows and horses are transferred to the Imperial Army and the Xiang Army. In addition, local soldiers from various places can also apply. , will gather in Beijing before the end of March. Regarding the military and horse barracks, you should contact the Ministry of Industry yourself. Site selection, construction and other matters will be left to you, so hurry up and do it."
No longer disturbing Zhao Ji, who was in a unhappy mood, Wang Yan took the order and left.
The cost of raising a cavalry force of 50,000 people is huge. Just a simple calculation, the base cavalry's military salary is the same per month, and the officer's salary goes up accordingly. The military salary alone is 700,000 gold per year. Including horse maintenance, training and food, and most importantly, the equipment to arm 50,000 horses, these are not cheap, adding up to at least 2 million yuan. Not to mention, he is also planning to get five thousand heavy cavalry. For the light cavalry, which is mainly guerrillas in the north, the heavy cavalry is definitely a battlefield harvester, and the money it costs is astronomical.
Because of the victory in the battle with Xixia, at present, the Song Dynasty can still afford it with its annual income of hundreds of millions, but it will be hard to say if the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty have to struggle for another two years. After all, the Song Dynasty's finances have been very unhealthy in recent years, with deficits every year. If they keep going through so much trouble, good times won't last long.
From a normal development perspective, the rebellion and uprising of Song Jiang, Fang La and others is just the beginning, and it only shows that the current government has forced some people to be unable to stand it any longer. What goes unnoticed are the countless people who are gritting their teeth and trying to survive. They are the main force.
Even if they are wiped out, even if there is no Jingkang, in a few years, the honest people will not be able to stay still, and there will be wars everywhere. After all, Zhao Ji lived a long life and could still struggle for decades. The conflict had reached an irreconcilable level. Basically, the situation was not much different from the situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Zhao Ji, a person who lived in an ignoble way, would not end up like this. It's great, but if it doesn't work out, Ling Chi will split it up.
Of course, none of that could happen, after all, he was here. It's just that the strength is still far behind now. We can't overthrow the regime in one fell swoop. We have to hide for a few more years to accumulate strength.
The main reason is that he does not want to destroy the current situation of the Song Dynasty. After all, although the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty are not very good, and the people have suffered a lot, there are still many people alive after all. If he directly rebelled, the damage to the current situation would be extremely huge.
Because even if he can protect the lives of the people in his own territory, he cannot protect those in other places. Also, he raised an army to fight against the Song Dynasty, allowing other careerists to see opportunities and recruit people to cause chaos in various places. Too many people died, which was definitely not what he wanted. That's why he became a loyal minister to Zhao Ji.
To build the barracks for soldiers and horses, the Ministry of Household Affairs provided the money, the Ministry of Works provided people and planned the work, and finally the troops from the Gyeonggi Province did the work. Of course, money is no problem. The court has already made it clear that the proposal to establish a cavalry force has been passed, and it is Zhao Ji who is in charge of it, opening up territory for him and establishing his eternal hegemony as an emperor. Secondly, it was because he, Wang Daguan, did not give free money. In some previous cooperations, anyone who was stuck with his money or food and wanted to make money from him was eliminated.
In the Song Dynasty, the scholar-bureaucrats shared the world, and it was not wrong to punish them as much as they could. But being demoted is not considered a punishment. After working in Hebei for just half a year, I was transferred to Qiongzhou. If it didn't work, I would be transferred to Gansu. If it didn't work, I would be transferred south to Guangxi. Considering the medical and health conditions, land transportation conditions, and the physical quality of Confucian scholars in this era, this is killing people. Especially in the capital, most of the officials in high positions in the court were in their forties or fifties. They were basically transferred from east to west, north and south for two or three times, and they were almost ready to die.
Therefore, although his officials and officials were not in the same league as the courtiers, relying on Zhao Ji's cronies, he also managed to get some people to travel across the country, experience different customs, and experience endless mountains and rivers.
After riding around for two days, the garrison location was finally chosen in an open area fifty miles west of Bianjing. The distance is not too far or too close, orders can come and go several times a day, and the cavalry training does not disturb the people, so it is not bad.
He made a rough plan, and together with the people from the Ministry of Works who came to draw the drawings, they spent three days designing the barracks. Then they started preparing materials and could start construction after the freeze thawed next month.
Baimeng book
The speed of building the barracks is actually very fast. The building materials are red bricks and cement. He can directly mobilize the supply of bricks from Zhuangzi near Gyeonggi. It is also easy to find trees for beams. He can just go in and cut them down in the nearby mountains. . Although there are houses for people and horses to live in, as well as various other functional places, there are five to six thousand houses in total. But the labor force that the Song Dynasty could mobilize was also there. As long as there were enough materials, it could be completed in less than two months, which was very fast.
After explaining these things, he said hello to Zhao Ji and left the capital directly to return to Yanggu. It took a long time to come out this time, and everyone at home is thinking about it.
After returning home, of course he couldn't help but comfort Jin Lian and Sanniang. After all, he was going to be the consort soon, and he had given these two women who were used to taking care of themselves a head of the house, and she was also a princess. They had to be careful to serve them. will be happy.
He only managed to coax these two women with repeated assurances. Of course, it's useless. They have to wait until Zhao Yupan comes in, and the three of them can get along slowly. No matter how much they say, it's useless.
He was not idle when he returned home. Now that he was marrying a princess, the house was not enough. The main reason is that she is a princess and it is not good for others to get her into a wing. Another thing is that since the princess no longer lives in the wing room and he has been carrying water, Jin Lian and Sanniang will naturally have to change places.
So after some research, he decided to expand the backyard garden and build a row of south-facing houses in the free space, creating a courtyard for each of the three women. He still lives in the original house, and whoever comes over at night is the end of it.
After research, he understood that the rest was not his business. Naturally, someone would prepare the wood, organize the manpower, and start work as soon as it thaws. It would be over in a short time. It's almost the same progress as the cavalry barracks. After all, he still wants to be more luxurious and refined here. Although the quantity is small, the work is meticulous.
In a blink of an eye, it’s April. The cavalry candidates have come to Beijing to assemble, and the roll call has been completed. Zhao Ji gave him the military command to return to the north, entrusting him with his beautiful vision of regaining the sixteen states of Youyun, destroying the Liao Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty, annexing Lu Zhishen, and using this achievement to become the first emperor of the ages.
At this time, the military camp was still a large construction site. Although most of it was built, it was not completed after all. Training cannot be carried out at such a construction site, so the 50,000 people assembled are working as laborers.
Of course not all of the 50,000 people who came this time would stay. Instead, they must go through strict screening and continuous elimination, which not only ensures internal competition, but also opens a path for advancement for soldiers from other military pairs. Those who are eliminated but reach a certain standard will be retained in the reserve team.
The enemy is in the north, not the south. In this era, the strongest force is undoubtedly the highly mobile cavalry.
Therefore, this unit must not die in the hands of those traitors. It must maintain its peak combat effectiveness in the hands of rebels like Wang Daguanren. So at the beginning, it is necessary to establish a good mechanism.
"General, the people in this room are the files of these 50,000 people. Do you... really want to go through them one by one?"
Outside a large house that had been built, a clerk pointed at the documents piled inside and looked at the general beside him in disbelief.
Wang Yan clasped his hands behind his back and casually glanced at the situation inside, then went in and sat down at a table: "Go and get it with me."
The clerk didn't say anything. He just liked to read. He turned around and put a pile of information on senior generals on the table. He also thoughtfully told the general what the order was and not to disturb it.
Of course, the files of so many people cannot be piled up in a mess. Although it is not easily used, but if it is used, how to search among so many files? Therefore, they are all arranged according to their official rank, and the top soldiers are arranged according to their respective compartments for easy inquiry.
Ignoring the junior official who tried his best to hide his stupid look, the senior official silently flipped through the files in front of him. It records basic information about his place of origin, as well as the wars he has experienced since joining the army, the military honors he has obtained, and his promotion experience, which is quite detailed.
This all-cavalry unit was made up of skilled archers and horses drawn from all the armies of the Song Dynasty. There must be many capable people among these people. Among such people, there must be some familiar names. He just had nothing to do, so he thought of it on a whim and took a look. After all, he could see ten lines at a glance, and it only took him a few days to read these 50,000 copies.
There were not many high-ranking generals. After all, there were only 50,000 people in total. According to the Song Dynasty's standard army of 2,500, there were only twenty people. Among these twenty people, there were familiar faces to him, Dong Ping and Lu Junyi were among them.
Both of them had made meritorious deeds in the war against Xixia, and with his support, Tong Guan did not dare to ignore their merits, so he got what he deserved. In view of their previous performance and the fact that these two men were very capable in combat and always fought bravely, the cavalry was chosen as a matter of course without him having to say a word. Compared with infantry, cavalry is obviously promoted...
In the next few days, he read through all the files. As he expected, there were still capable people. Han Shizhong, a famous general who fought against the Jin Dynasty, was under his command. He had previously participated in the war against Xixia, and he was someone who dared to fight and kill. He was the leader of a hundred people. In addition, there are Liu Qi and Wu Jie, both of whom are also famous anti-gold generals who defended the Southern Song Dynasty. At this time, Liu Qi was still young, that is, Liu Qi had a father who was a military governor. With this qualification, he was generally the same as Han Shizhong, who had joined the army early on.
As for Yue Fei, he should be fifteen years old this year. He is still learning skills from others and has not left the mountain. He may be able to come in three to five years. After all, if you have good martial arts skills, how can you not put them to use? As the North-Restoring Army, which has high hopes nowadays, is undoubtedly a good place to show off its skills. Like Yue Fei, he must have been recruited directly.
The training plan had been decided long ago, and training began as soon as the camp was completed.
The cavalry just keeps charging and cannot stop. Otherwise, if the cavalry in formations rush to each other and the cavalry in front are challenged to a duel, what will the people behind do? It's the same as the vanguard of the infantry, they always advance without retreating.
So there are only four things to practice. One is military posture and internal affairs, which is discipline. The second is to ride and shoot in order to fight guerrillas. The third is to charge with a long spear to practice accuracy and horse power, in order to prepare for a head-on confrontation with the cavalry. The last fourth item is indispensable, body training. After all, the body is the foundation. In cavalry confrontation, as long as the strength is strong, the spear can be used like an arm and the speed can be fast. If you can avoid the incoming attack first, position your spear correctly, and rely on the powerful impact of the war horse, it will be a matter of life and death for the enemy.
Martial arts, in a large-scale cavalry confrontation, has no chance to be used, because it will not stop, and life and death will be seen immediately. Even if he, Wang Daguan, challenges an invincible player in the world, all he can do in the cavalry formation is to correct the position of his spear, stab the enemy to death, and continue charging with the corpse, without even a chance to draw his gun. After all, a spear that is more than four meters long can't reach it in time. Until the spear could no longer be retained, he drew out the saber from his waist and plunged directly into the opponent's military formation, slashing and killing all the way until there were no more enemies in front of him. Then they turned around, the front army became the rear army, the rear army became the front army, and then rushed back.
Therefore, as long as these four items are well practiced and refined, capable of both guerrilla raids and head-to-head hedging, as well as strict military discipline and excellent work style, it can be regarded as a strong reserve force. The reason why they are a reserve team is because they have not experienced the battle formation of cavalry confrontation, and they do not have a fearless and strong heart to move forward. That is really the key to a strong army...
