"What?"
"How can this be done?"
Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng shook their heads repeatedly.
Then another voice sounded in their ears:
"A contest to win an official position?"
"How? Compared to what?"
Guo Ning's voice was not particularly loud, but he stood beside the path where the soldiers were marching and spoke with a deliberately louder tone, which immediately attracted the attention of several soldiers. These soldiers stopped to ask, blocking the way of the soldiers behind them.
The soldiers who were eager for a meal shouted from behind: "Let's go, let's go, what are we doing standing here?"
The soldier at the front quickly replied loudly: "Rokuro said, both of us will compete to win the official position!"
"ha?"
At this time, the soldiers who had picked up the food earlier also turned around.
Zhang Xin sternly scolded: "You are all gone! All are gone! It's okay, you heard it wrong!"
But the soldiers only looked at Guo Ning: "Liu Lang, did you just say that?"
Guo Ning glanced at Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng and said with a smile: "Of course! Eat a full meal and rest for an hour. I'll watch you compete for official positions! Whatever you win is yours!"
Guo Ning's reputation in the rout was truly extraordinary. The soldiers all knew that he had risen from humble beginnings and had gained his current status by virtue of his bravery and proficiency in fighting. If he is so sure, why is he still lying?
The soldiers dispersed in great joy, and some even took off their upper body military robes at this moment, revealing their gnarled muscles and scars and arrow sores all over their bodies, and began to show off their bravery. No one asked Zhang Xin or Liu Cheng any more.
Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng's faces were ashen.
Guo Ning smiled half-heartedly and stood relaxedly.
After a stalemate for a while, Zhang Xin glanced around and found a brand leader who was one of his confidants. He cast a few glances at him, hoping to ask him to come over and object, so that he could deal with it. This brand leader has always been the best at understanding Zhang Xin's intentions and immediately took two steps forward.
Unexpectedly, Guo Ning glanced at him with a fierce look in his eyes. In a trance, the brand leader felt that there was a fierce tiger in front of him that was willing to devour people. His legs immediately became weak and he did not dare to get close.
Zhang Xin was furious. Damn it, everyone decided to march slowly and gave Guo Ning some eye drops, but I didn’t see you objecting. Why are you so scared now? Is it because he is afraid that Guo Ning will kill the chicken to scare the monkey? Hey, if Guo Ning makes trouble and your chicken doesn't come out and be killed, do you want us two monkeys to hold the knife head? I really...what use do I need from you!
There are no mediocre soldiers who can retreat all the way from the Shannan defense line. But when it comes to each specific group, it is different.
Most of the broken army groups were formed spontaneously by desperate soldiers in the process of fighting and retreating. Their leaders are all experts who stand out in fierce battles. Their original status may be humble, but no one cares.
These people are full of courage and hatred for the enemy, but it is only limited by the vision and knowledge of the leaders of each group that they cannot be further gathered.
There are also some defeated army groups, which are relatively large-scale armies that maintain their structure despite the defeat. Their leaders are themselves high-status officers in the Jin Army in Northern Xinjiang. For example, Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng both achieved the rank of Meng'an or Qianhu in northern Xinjiang. Even though there have been many military positions in recent years, the status of Meng'an and Qianhu has not been low.
The reason why these people maintain control over their subordinates is because they still have the power of their positions back then. But when it comes to his own talents, they may be more reflected in his keen sense of smell and determination to escape from the battle in time, but he may not be so good at fighting. They also control their subordinates more through routines of controlling people's hearts, and even some methods of imperial subordinates.
And Guo Ning didn't bother to pay attention to these things.
A series of national wars are coming, which will be the most severe test. Guo Ning hopes that he can always have a large-scale army with strong morale. He hopes that his subordinates will have the courage to make decisions on the spur of the moment. He hopes that his army will have a rock-solid base to fight against powerful enemies.
But now he doesn't have it, all he has is such a small army.
This force would be insignificant in a real war. In this small army with limited command levels, all requirements for soldiers can be relaxed, except for one, which is to be brave and good at fighting.
Soldiers need to be brave and good at fighting, and officers even more so.
Guo Ning's own prestige was established through continuous fighting. Monk Luo, Li Ting and others are all like this. Wang Shixian's ability as a bowman and horseman was also outstanding, but he was now poor and had no horses for him to ride, not even a few donkeys.
In the coming harsh environment, soldiers who lack courage will die immediately, and officers who cannot rush to the front and serve as frontline soldiers will do bad things immediately, and there is no need to exist at all. The simplest and fairest way to determine whether a person has enough courage is to compete in martial arts.
So Guo Ning issued an order to win the official position through martial arts competition.
These two centurions were newly formed, and Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng accounted for less than half of them. If they take control of their subordinates, they will definitely assign their cronies; and if they assign cronies, they will definitely suppress other defectors and troops who come to surrender.
Therefore, the suggestion of winning an official position through military competition will definitely be approved by those who fled and defeated the troops. Guo Ning has full confidence in this.
What's more, Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng's subordinates are not fools. When we were on the northern front line, wasn't it enough that we were tricked by those incompetent generals? Seeing that the world is getting more and more chaotic, everyone hopes that their immediate superiors will be brave and take the lead in battle, so that the soldiers can rest assured!
Liu Cheng hesitated for a long time and said in a solemn voice: "You can take your time on this matter. Why should Liu Lang do this?"
"Then why do you two have to be like this?" Guo Ning smiled and continued: "If you two are like this, I will be like this too. In my opinion, the soldiers have not practiced well for a long time, so it may be inevitable that they cannot walk or run fast. . From this, it can be inferred that I have forgotten most of my fighting skills... That is not good! I have to see it with my own eyes and give it a try before I can rest assured. Is this true? "
Guo Ning had been polite to others in the past few days, but his words suddenly contained a gun and a stick, and Liu Cheng was speechless.
Guo Ning left leisurely, took two steps, and felt a line of sight coming from behind. He turned around, Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng quickly lowered their eyes.
Guo Ning smiled and said: "Don't worry, I will tell the soldiers that the positions competed for in the competition are only the left and right generals, the commander-in-chief, and the escort officer. You two are still generals, how about it?"
Is this a matter of generals and not generals? If all the officers below are selected based on their own strength, how much respect can they show to the generals who dare not participate in the competition? At that time, these two generals and two hundred soldiers will no longer actually belong to the generals!
By then, wouldn't Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng become a joke?
After Guo Ning left, Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng sighed together.
Zhang Xin still had some toughness, so he gritted his teeth and said: "Let's see what they compete with first, guns and sticks? Or archery skills? When two of them are decided, I will compete with them again! If I lose, what will happen to me?" ...This will give up as much of your duties as possible!"
Liu Cheng could only smile bitterly. He was from a Qianhu family in the Yongtun Army. He was not a brave person to begin with. What's more, he was about forty years old and his physical strength began to weaken. He relied on a few subordinates who could fight to suppress the situation. If he ends up now, he really has no chance of defeating the howling wolf cubs below. He wanted to use some of his subordinates to use outside means, but with Guo Ning watching eagerly, he was afraid of causing embarrassment.
It’s really difficult!
When Liu Cheng hesitated, Guo Ning gave a few simple orders and asked Zhao Jue to lead the young men under his tent to maintain order. As for himself, he walked back to the front of the wild store.
Xu Yan was busy carrying large portions of scones from the kitchen at the moment, so busy that his feet didn't even touch the floor. Everyone knows that this wild shop owner is not a simple shopkeeper, but he is very involved in doing business, as if he is serious about making every small amount of money.
At this time, the only person still standing in front of the wild store was Jing Anmin, who was wearing a fan Yangli and leaning on the steps, as if he was dozing off.
However, in Guo Ning's eyes, as he approached, the strong man's waist, shoulders and arms were obviously tense. Obviously this person is not dozing off, and is always alert. He is a rare expert!
Guo Ning walked over and said in a deep voice: "Liu Cheng is not known for his bravery, but he rarely exploits his soldiers, and he is also familiar with military affairs. He has a good reputation among the thousands of households in Yongtun Army in Huanzhou. If all this will If I can't do it anymore, I plan to use him as a military official, in charge of the treasury, dispatch books, and administrative documents. As for Zhang Xin, if he makes a move, ordinary soldiers will not be able to defeat him, and the general's position will not escape his hands. It's just a bad temper, I don't mind."
Having said this, Guo Ning sat down next to Jing Anmin: "However, if Brother Anmin wants to take them away, that's okay."
Jing Anmin was surprised.
He pushed the brim of his hat higher and looked sideways at Guo Ning.
Guo Ning smiled at Jing Anmin, revealing two rows of white and neat teeth. He seemed polite and polite, but there was also a vague sense of danger that he could get angry at any time and pounce on him and bite his throat.
This feeling is very familiar to Jing Anmin, because he himself is the same person. Everyone was struggling out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He was not afraid of Guo Ning, but was just a little curious.
Jing Anmin was sure that he had never met Guo Ning. Although both of them were outstanding soldiers, one of them usually ran around in the mountainous area in the north, while the other stayed in the low-lying water network area in the south. Their range of activities was quite distinct. Jing Anmin also made a special distinction. Apart from Zhang Xin and Liu Cheng, he had no acquaintances here.
Why is Guo Ning pacing slowly now, as if he already understood?
He couldn't help but ask: "How does Guo Liulang know that I am here?"
Guo Ning smiled: "Xu Er always uses my information to pass on information to others, and occasionally he has to reciprocate in exchange."
Jing Anmin cursed rudely. He casually grabbed a clod of earth, jumped up suddenly, and threw it in the direction of Xu Jin. His hand was extremely strong, and he threw it very accurately this time, hitting Xu Jin's shoulder from a distance of seven to eight feet. Xu Jin yelled "Ah yo" but did not look back. He was still very busy arranging the food, as if he was frighteningly focused.
While Jing Anmin was jumping and moving so much, Guo Ning just sat there relaxedly.
Jing Anmin thought for a while and sat back down.
This time, his posture was obviously more relaxed than before, and his right hand was finally no longer in a position where he could draw the sword immediately.
The clod of soil that was thrown at Xu Jin was just a matter of fun between friends and had nothing to do with anything else. Xu Jin's heart has always been like a clear mirror, and he is not a person who betrays his friends randomly. By doing this, he confirmed that Guo Ning had no intention of eroding the power of Miao Daorun, Zhang Rou and Jing Anmin in the mountains.
Jing Anmin hated this bad joke, but he trusted Xu Jin's judgment.
"These two people are friends of my brother Zhang Rou. Let them come here just to boost Liulang's reputation and for no other purpose. Liulang, you don't have to consider us whether you use these two or not."
"Okay." Guo Ning nodded.
"The defeated troops near Anzhou have been scattered for a long time. It's rare for Liulang to gather them into a force once he rises up. I actually came here to ask Liulang if he has any idea about the relationship between your family and our family. What are you thinking? In this world, survival is not easy. Since Rokuro has no intention of being our enemy, I would venture to say, how about we help each other?"
"That's fine." Guo Ning continued to nod.
"In that case, we are friends!" Jing Anmin laughed.
After laughing for a while, he said: "Since we are friends now, can I ask one more question?"
Guo Ning tried to lean on the steps with his back like Jing Anmin did, but his arrow wound had not healed yet and the pressure on his back made him uncomfortable. He had to sit upright again: "Brother Anmin, just ask."
"Rokuro has assembled such a force in such a short period of time. He is not going to be a bandit, right? Where do you get the title of leading the people and appointing these generals, military officers, and generals? So many people need to eat and drink. Wearing clothes, the food and supplies required are many times more than in the past when people were scattered to eat. Where did the supplies come from? I know that you asked Wang Shixian to go to Xinqiao Camp and ask for help from several wealthy families in Anzhou, but those people, How can you be easily exploited by others?"
Guo Ning laughed.
