"That's natural!"
Qiu Huiluo pressed the hilt of the sword at his waist, paused and said: "It's a pity that Temujin himself is not here, otherwise he should have a look and let him know that no matter how many foreign troops are gathered together, they are still nothing." dog."
Qiu Huiluo and Guo Ning were both from the Changzhou Army, but they belonged to the Jia Army, which was divided into garrison divisions. They were from Shandong in their early years and had some friendship with the Red Coat Army. Qiu Huiluo was very skilled in martial arts. He once taught Guo Ning how to use Tieguduo, and he was also very energetic.
At that time, Changzhou's heavy border defenses were defeated by the Mongols, and Qiu Huiluo was also an ant on the run. Now that times have changed, it is extremely shameful to think about that situation again.
So today is a memorable day for him. As the Northwest Recruitment Envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the deputy commander-in-chief when the Great Zhou Army entered the grassland for the first time, he will definitely be recorded in the history books in the future.
Of course, it's a pity that I can't take responsibility as the coach.
Because Guo Ning is an invincible emperor, and he is young and aggressive. Therefore, the three recruitment departments in the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty have always been directly controlled by Guo Ning. Strictly speaking, Han Xuan, Qiu Huiluo, and Zhao Jue, who were the envoys, were only Guo Ning's assistants when he directly dealt with the situation in northern Xinjiang.
Generally speaking, Han Xuan was the commander-in-chief of the Hu tribes in the northeastern interior. In recent years, he was usually stationed in Taizhou, specifically coordinating and assigning the tribes in the north of Linhuang Mansion. He gradually replaced the official ranks awarded by the Jin Dynasty with various levels of military officials of the New Dynasty. The position of tribal leader is stable and stable.
Thanks to Han Xuan's efforts, the Hu tribes in the Northeast are not as isolated from the grasslands as they seem. The rolling mountains and wild forests concealed too many things. The Zhou army's operation of more than ten thousand people could not be forced directly to the gathering place of the Mongolian army. Along the way, Han Xuan was indispensable to show his kindness and power in advance. But being mixed up by these things, Han Xuan himself would definitely not be able to come to the front line.
As for Zhao Jue, he had to be responsible for the logistics of the entire army and was busy traveling between forts, military depots, supply points, and patrol routes all day long.
After all, the Mongolian cavalry is prestigious, and the grasslands are their daily haunts. Now that the emperor has arrived at the front line in person, Zhao Jue, the northern recruiter, must make full use of the previous preparations and maintain defense and transportation lines in various areas. Well, just in case the Mongols jump over the wall in a hurry.
It is said that these days he has laid out a huge map at Xuandezhou Station. He has scattered the strongholds, dangerous passes, and troops represented by numbers across hundreds of miles of grassland, as if he were playing chess. The route was drawn over and over again.
The task was so heavy that Zhao Jue couldn't escape, so Qiu Huiluo took the lead among the three deputies.
He was very happy.
In the previous ten days, the army traveled through mountains, grasslands and deserts. The generals and soldiers shared the joys and sorrows, and everyone was inevitably disgraced. Qiu Huiluo washed his face specially today and applied ointment on his moustache. He looked black, shiny and majestic.
Many of the Jurchens in the Jin Kingdom had beards to show their quality, while the Jurchen elders in the army generally had beards or long beards. The style of the Zhou army is somewhere in between, and everyone from junior officers to generals must have short mustaches.
This custom comes from soldiers who have actually experienced fighting. For example, Guo Ning has always felt that a full beard may be very masculine, but in the army, it takes too much effort to take care of the beard, it is inconvenient to eat and drink, and it is easy to be grabbed when fighting.
Guo Ning was only in his early twenties when he started his career. In order not to be looked down upon by court officials, he deliberately grew a beard to show his composure. The short mustache under Guo Ning's chin came from this, and it gradually became a common practice in the army.
There is another point. Because since last year, whale oil has gradually been included in the goods imported from Japan to the Central Plains. Whale oil comes from giant fish as big as mountains in the sea. After being refined, it is put into small boxes and carried around.
When applied to the body, this substance is very effective in treating common joint pain and skin diseases among soldiers. It is also suitable for repelling insects and poisons from wounds. When applied to the face, it is very suitable for keeping warm and moisturizing, and is even good for maintaining weapons. So although it’s expensive, it’s a must-have for home travel.
At this moment, Qiu Huiluo used this kind of whale oil to smear his mustache. Not only him, but many soldiers went on the expedition this time, carrying a lot of personal belongings with them. They no longer looked like the poor people in the previous dynasty. Instead, they seemed to have come to the grassland specially to show off their wealth.
Their armors are all high-quality products from government-run factories, and the common Mingguang fine mesh armor requires 60 workers. Based on an average armor craftsman's monthly salary of 10,000 yuan, the labor cost alone for a piece of armor would be as high as more than 20 yuan.
The medicines they carry include fine products from the Imperial Pharmacy of the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, and ginseng tablets sold from the Northeast and Goryeo.
Off-hand weapons purchased with private money include the Hyogo Sword, which was made by a famous Japanese craftsman and decorated with rich gold and silver. It is used to cut the body without armor just like chopping melons and vegetables; there are also what appear to be ordinary double swords. The material is actually snowflake iron from Tianzhu, which is more than ten times more expensive than Japanese swords.
In order to protect against the cold weather, almost every soldier received extra furs to carry with him, mostly deer skins. Some with better luck also received mink and fox skins. The few Tiefutu knights standing a few feet in front of Qiu Huiluo simply put bear skins, tiger skins, and black and white precious Pixiu skins under their heavy armor, which was extremely majestic.
This was all funded by the imperial court!
Even if the soldiers purchased their own equipment, it ultimately came from the imperial court's military pay or from the imperial court's preferential treatment of commercial taxes. In the past few years, the Zhou court had made huge amounts of money from trade, but most of it was invested in the army, so it created a completely new army.
What's ridiculous is that because of the army's behavior, someone in the imperial court had deliberately blown the wind before. Those people said that the cost of maintaining the army is so high that it cannot afford a slight loss; therefore, the army cannot be moved lightly. It would be better to use some commercial means to bribe, influence, and manipulate the Mongolian Nayans on the grassland with money and materials, so as to provoke them to fight among themselves.
Many people echoed this trend, and some high-status officials were also involved. From the perspective of the military, there is no doubt that these people have deep thoughts.
The generals and the army cannot interfere in the grassland, and the civilian officials are probably not interested in doing so. The army cannot move lightly, and naturally it cannot organize other forces to move. Perhaps at a certain moment, these people will say that the army will not move anyway, so Huge investment is also a waste, it is better to use it for other purposes.
As the country becomes more stable and prosperous, officials generally have a more relaxed atmosphere. This is not to say that people have forgotten the threat of the grassland. If the Mongolian Ulurus were not still there on the grassland, many people would have had the lazy mentality of letting their horses go to Nanshan and enjoying their wealth.
For them, since the Mongols were weak, the Central Plains court's mission had been completed. When the Song Dynasty faced the Liao Dynasty, it never had such an upper hand; the Jin Dynasty continued to send troops to raid the Mongol tribes on the grassland, but now it seems that it is not worth it.
Fortunately, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Guo Ning, was a soldier from a lower-class background and was one of his own for all the soldiers.
Guo Ning thought the same as the soldiers: the security and stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the development and opportunities of the Great Zhou Dynasty were all based on the power of the army.
The reason why such a powerful army should be retained is because the enemies faced by Zhou Dynasty were extremely terrifying. Genghis Khan, the co-owner of the grasslands, is still the hope of the Mongols; Genghis Khan's conquest of the West will eventually bring huge power back to the grasslands.
Guo Ning continuously inspects military garrisons in various places every year, and repeatedly emphasizes that there are still battles to be fought in the future, and there are big battles to be fought.
More importantly, because there are constant battles, countless military achievements are still waiting to be achieved, countless rewards are still waiting to be awarded, and the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty will continue to expand. Countless farms, ranches, and even mines and trading houses dedicated to military households will be established one by one.
Therefore, soldiers do not need to envy civilian officials, let alone businessmen making money. As long as the soldiers follow His Majesty the Emperor closely, they will get more from their swords and guns, and there will always be more!
Qiu Huiluo suddenly listened.
Guo Ning also heard the sound, and at the same time noticed the military officials waving two-color flags on the hot air balloon behind him: "It's the Mongolian Tolchi, numbering around a hundred people."
"Beelgutai must have reacted. I'll go take command." Qiu Huiluo said.
"Don't worry, Monk Wanyan Chen doesn't like others to steal his limelight." Guo Ning said a cold joke. Qiu Huiluo let out a hey and left with his soldiers.
Monk Wanyan Chen was holding a pair of telescopes to look around.
From his perspective, the scene was quite miserable.
The cavalry battle involving two hundred men had just ended. The "Tolchi" among the Mongolians refers to patrol cavalry that carry only minimal weapons and are completely lightly armed. Their main task is not to fight with the enemy, but to explore roads, water sources and grasslands during the movement of the army.
They were obviously urgently dispatched to the north by the leader, and they arrived very quickly, so they bumped into Monk Wanyan Chen's troops.
These Ptolechi did not make any mistakes in the use of tactics and timing, and they also maintained the unique riding skills and fighting instincts of the Mongols. Three to five years ago, such a team of cavalry was enough to attack cities and plunder territories in the Central Plains, and unite Tens of thousands of people surrendered.
But now, they were beaten badly by the fine cavalry of the imperial army of Great Zhou. This is the complete suppression of strength by force, and it is also the result of Monk Wanyan Chen's hard training in the past two years.
On the battlefield where the cavalry battle just broke out, at least a hundred Mongolian corpses were left behind. Some of the seriously injured screamed and crawled on the ground, and were then killed by the Zhou army soldiers who took the last blow. Dozens of ownerless horses remained where they were, looking doubtfully at their owners who lay motionless beside them.
More war horses followed the losers and fled. They must have a lot to say to the leader.
"Ahem, general, general!"
A subordinate was talking nearby. Monk Wanyan Chen put down his telescope, and the subordinate pointed at his shoulder: "Here, here..."
Monk Wanyan Chen turned his head and glanced, almost turned back by the smell. There was a mass of colorful internal organs stuck to the back of his shoulder armor, which was obviously a relic donated by someone who died during the fight. The blood flowed along the armor leaves of the armor, almost reaching the saddle. He cursed, reached out and threw away the entrails, then grabbed his cloak and wiped his sticky hands.
The armor and robes he is wearing now are all standard equipment for the generals of the Forbidden Army, giving him a uniform sense of strength. He deliberately tidied it up before going into battle, but as soon as he encountered the first group of enemies, it was covered in blood, which was quite unpleasant.
