Since gathering troops to feed Junhe, Guo Ning's military strength has been growing rapidly, from the dilemma of having no place to stand to encompassing more than forty military states. There are few forces that have flourished since ancient times like Guo Ning. But expansion too fast also has many adverse effects.
For example, there were too few reliable officials, and local control was superficial. However, after the two Mongolian invasions, the people in large territories were completely out of control, and grassroots management did not exist at all.
Officials belonging to the two privy councils of the Marshal's Mansion have recently been sent to take up their posts, replacing the original local officials of the Dajin Court. However, after they took office, due to their unfamiliarity with people and customs, they often encountered various inexplicable resistances in implementing the decree of the navy.
For another example, in order to solve the problem of lack of officials, Ding Haijun had to promote talents from the Jin Dynasty or local tycoons. However, the talents of this group of people certainly varied, and many of them were likely to have ulterior motives. There are many people who have no loyalty at all and just regard the Dingjun regime as a way to gain wealth.
For another example, as the army expands, whether its combat effectiveness can always be maintained is also a problem.
Among the surrendered troops, there are certainly many elite soldiers available, but there are also a large number of soldiers and greasers mixed in. If they cannot be eliminated during reorganization, it will be very easy for these people to pollute the morale of the army. As for the junior officers of the Navy, many of them have been transferred to fill the vacancies of local officials. Most of the remaining officers have been promoted rapidly in the past two years.
Although they have to study in the military academy before being promoted, whether they can manage a larger number of subordinates well is a severe challenge. Not to mention them, Guo Ning himself didn't know whether he could manage an army of hundreds or tens of thousands, nor did he know whether the newly-minted military governors and governors were competent.
However, in these few months, he could not ruthlessly rectify the army and teach the officers and soldiers a lesson. Because the soldiers who surrendered were already in panic, they had to be given a little care to bring them back to their hearts. However, the backbone veterans of the navy had been fighting almost non-stop for two years since the first year of Zhenyou, and many of them were already exhausted.
Soldiers are humans, not machines. They followed Guo Ning because Guo Ning promised them a better life. For this, they have already risked their lives. Next is the time for Guo Ning to further fulfill his promise and reward according to his merits; it is also the time for them to settle down their family, or marry a wife and start a family. The thoughts of the soldiers may not be focused on the army itself in a short period of time.
If there is a huge gap in the subsequent food supply, Guo Ning will not only be unable to train his troops hard, but also have to urge the soldiers to go home and farm, ensuring the spring and summer plowing of the fields in their hands, so as to ensure that there will be no famine around autumn.
In addition to these, there are also the balance and conflicts with the old political forces in Zhongdu, the exchanges and agreements with the Xuanfu envoys from various places in the Jin Kingdom, and the stay in the capital, etc., etc., which cannot be said to be smooth.
Difficulties in all kinds of trivial matters have been constantly exposed these days as the administration of the Marshal's Office advances.
The Ding navy officials in Zhongdu have been complaining secretly for a while: The marshal was very wise when he said that we should accumulate grain widely and build walls high. However, Daikin was so unbearable that it expanded so rapidly that it was almost too late to prepare. Therefore, there are many mistakes, and the mistake is that Daikin is too unsatisfactory.
As for Guo Ning himself, he was studying as usual in the past few days. Liang Chisheng, who served as the governor of the Marshal's Office and the Privy Council of Zhongdu, was a wonderful person. He told a story from the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty. Sun Quan sent an envoy to state the mandate of heaven, and Duke Cao expressed it with a letter of authority: " This is the part about "My son wants to sit in front of me by the fire".
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Guo Ning laughed loudly and said that if there was a fire under Mr. Cao's position, there would be a scalding volcano under Guo Liulang's butt, which would be much more difficult than the old man.
All these situations added up to one point, and Guo Ning really couldn't fight.
Taking a step back, the Marshal's Mansion is in Shandong and still has food in stock. In the past year, they have not hesitated to exchange war horses and other materials at high prices, mainly for food, and the quantity is quite large. But that was the wealth left behind to prevent the Mongols from coming back, and it must not be emptied.
And one embarrassing thing is that because most of the grain is transported into Shandong by sea, in order to reduce losses, several large granaries in Shandong were built directly near the port. At that time, in order to protect the granary from moisture and water, Xu Jin secretly reported something, and Guo Ning beheaded someone accordingly.
The size of the navy in the Southern Dynasties was more than ten times that of Dajin, and they could not be faked. And many of the Tongzhou-like fleets in the hands of the navy were left behind by King Hailing. Those are old guys who are almost fifty years old. They can only be used for transportation, but they cannot fight naval battles.
If the Marshal's Mansion had a conflict with the Song State of the Southern Dynasty over food, if the Song State's giant ships sailed north, they would only have to slightly disturb a few ports, but if the fire breaks out, the navy's fortunes would be in danger.
Thinking of this, Guo Ning was really depressed.
Even if the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty was just a mad dog or a stupid dog, if I couldn't bite him back, I wouldn't be comfortable after all. But when it comes to force, there is no decent way to counter it. This boring loss seems to be settled.
With such emotions, he looked unhappy when he broke into the side hall where Yi La Chucai's office was located. Two subordinate officials were holding documents and reporting something to Yi La Chucai. They saw Marshal Du rushing in angrily and hurriedly exited.
Guo Ning found a chair and sat down, sighing.
Yiza Chucai was a little nervous at first, but he put down his pen and looked at Guo Ning's expression, and he felt relaxed instead.
He has been following Guo Ning for more than two years, and has gradually become familiar with the character of this reckless hero. When Guo Ning really wants to make up his mind about something, his irrepressible ferocity can make people suffocate. But at this moment, looking at his angry look, it was obviously not a sign that he was serious about it, but he just felt that he was at a disadvantage and was unhappy.
Outsiders think that Guo Ning is a warrior with a head full of fighting, but they know that Guo Ning has extraordinary ambitions in his mind. In this major political direction, he does not need anyone to remind him. He knows it well and will not make mistakes. .
Since food shortage is unavoidable, the next step is to tighten your belt and eat something thin, but that doesn't mean you can't persevere. Wheat will be harvested in June and grain will be harvested in October. There are so many military fields under the Marshal's Mansion. As long as the grain taxes are paid normally in these two crops, we will gradually be able to make money.
At that moment, he wanted to make a joke to ease Guo Ning's mood, so he said: "The troops deployed by the Song State on the border have some merits. The most weak and timid ones are actually their nobles in the court. If the marshal really swallows If you don't give up, let Wang Shixian and Liang Jushi choose a few good ships, plus Zhao Bin and the others, to gather a force. Then..."
"Then what?"
"Then the marshal will lead them south along the Zhejiang Sea, rush into Lin'an, and fight. Maybe they can scare the monarchs of the Song Dynasty and make them hand over the food obediently."
"Hey!"
Guo Ning shook his head: "It's a pity that when I was in Hebei, I almost drowned in the water once... I was really panicked when I rashly set out on a long sea voyage."
He stabbed Chucai and laughed.
Of course Guo Ning's words were also a joke. Previously, he took people across the sea to fight in Liaodong. It was also a long voyage, but he didn't say anything about being panicked.
The two chatted for a few more words, then moved Chu Cai to take a newly written note from his family, and told Guo Ning about the methods of the Marshal's Office to deal with the food shortage in terms of governance. His ability in government affairs was indeed outstanding. He explained everything eloquently and eloquently. Guo Ning listened slowly, confirming some details from time to time, and gradually felt that the life of food shortage was not impossible.
Just as we were talking about entering the port, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"What's the matter?" Guo Ning asked loudly.
Ni Yi's voice sounded outside the door: "Marshal, there is a report from the Liao Navy."
Guo Ning got up and went out, took the document and looked at it. It was not a big deal. After the Mongolian army retreated, the subordinate troops surrendered one after another, but there were also many die-hard people who were unwilling to surrender. For example, Brother Yeluliu, who founded the country in Liaodong earlier, had a younger brother named Yelu Sibu. He once led his troops to follow Yelu Kechoubar to fight near Zhongdu Road.
After Mongolia was defeated, he abandoned his men and fled back to Beijing. He actually took advantage of the chaos of the war and relied on Brother Yeluliu's remaining power to gather more than 10,000 or 20,000 people for him. They immediately cut roads across mountains and rivers, built bridges, and headed east in one breath, escaping across the Yalu River.
There is nothing noteworthy about such escapees. Moreover, it was related to the Khitans, and Guo Ning was unwilling to make too harsh a fuss in front of Chucai, so he gave some casual instructions.
Yi La Chu Cai suddenly thought of something, and he suddenly became energetic.
