"Progress, draw the sword, chop left, chop right, stab, step back...Progress, draw the sword, chop left, chop right, stab, step back..."
Even in his own courtyard, Hu Zhonggui was wearing armor and a gray robe, with a leather belt tied tightly around his waist. He has retired and no longer wears the talisman representing his military rank on his belt, but there are several gold and silver medals shining brightly on his chest.
Everyone who noticed these medals showed awe. All because these medals were made and awarded one after another by the imperial court three years after the founding of the country in order to commend the meritorious officials in the early days of the founding of the country. Because it is not easy to make and is not awarded quickly, many qualified soldiers have not yet received their own medals.
And there are so many of this scary-looking guy in front of you?
That means that this person has followed the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty at least in Hebei. The number of wars he has gone through is no less than the number of medals. His standing here represents an extremely long and tortuous trajectory, and represents countless breathtaking stories. story.
These guesses are correct, Hu Zhonggui is exactly such a person.
He was originally Li Ting's guard leader and had followed Li Ting as early as the second year of Da'an in the previous dynasty. When Emperor Guo Ning of the Great Zhou Dynasty gathered people in the pond, Hu Zhonggui also followed Li Ting to attend the meeting. Later, after countless battles, Li Ting's position became higher and higher. Hu Zhonggui felt that he did not have the ability to lead an army, so he always followed Li Ting with thirty or fifty guards.
When Kaifeng was attacked, the defenders struggled to the death and actually set fire to the city. Li Ting's men suffered heavy casualties, and Hu Zhonggui was also severely burned. Many people thought that he would inevitably die. Fortunately, the military medical officer knew a lot of home remedies and applied a large amount of toad oil to the injured area to relieve pain, and finally saved Hu Zhonggui's life.
His life was saved, but his body collapsed.
The burns caused Hu Zhonggui to lose five fingers on his right hand, and also caused adhesion of multiple muscles and tendons. His neck and arms were unable to move normally, and his facial expressions were even distorted. The skin on half of his face, chest, and shoulders that grew back after being burned was completely different from normal skin. In summer, even if his face is so hot that it becomes purple and swollen, he still cannot perspire. The slightest violent movement may cause him to faint from heatstroke.
As a result, Hu Zhonggui could no longer persist in his military career.
Li Ting took great care of this old brother; he also valued Hu Zhonggui's loyalty and hoped that Hu Zhonggui would stay in Tianjin after retiring and continue to be the leader of the security guards in Li Ting's family... This is also a suitable way out for many veterans.
But Hu Zhonggui was unwilling. He had to retire because he was injured, not because he was tired of his military career. He felt that there was something else he could do, preferably still holding a knife and a gun.
This wish was nothing. Li Ting said a few words before going to Guanzhong and found Hu Zhonggui a position as a subordinate of the Tianjin Prefecture, as an inspection officer at Sanchakou.
Daxing Prefecture and Tianjin Prefecture both have capital inspection departments, which are responsible for patrolling and catching thieves. Among them, the Metropolitan Inspection Department of Tianjin Prefecture is also in charge of the public security of six counties: Baodi, Xianghe, Miaoyin, Wuqing, Anci, and Yongqing. It has 25 inspections under its subordinates, all of whom have important powers. Among them, he was stationed at Liukou, Sanchakou and other rivers for inspections. At the same time, he also served as the Guangou River Bridge Officer of the Dushui Department. He was responsible for leading the Xun soldiers in four-season military campaigns, planting elms and willows, preparing materials, and detecting traitors and traitors.
In other words, it is responsible for both land and water security, and must ensure the smooth flow of water and land transportation.
Hu Zhonggui was very comfortable in this position, and he had made great achievements in catching thieves in the past few years. And because of his status as a senior soldier, he also takes on the task of training newcomers for the Metropolitan Inspection Department and the Metropolitan Water Division.
What he faced now was a group of young civil servants recruited from six counties.
In front of these young people, Hu Zhonggui looked very calm, stood upright, and issued orders in a very calm tone. Following his orders, repeating forward and backward movements again and again was very boring. When the number of repetitions exceeded a certain limit, certain muscles began to feel unbearable soreness. But the people who were being trained did not dare to disobey or complain at all.
When their eyes turned to Hu Zhonggui, they didn't even dare to linger on his face. Because if you look carefully, you will notice the dark gray half of his face, and his extremely sharp eyes that are never smiling.
In addition to the fifteen horsemen who are mostly retired veterans, each inspection subordinate of Tianjin Prefecture also has fifty to one hundred archers. And the number of soldiers under each Guan Gou in the Dushui Division is even larger.
When the two organizations were first established, most of the strong men who came to apply were bandits from the rivers and seas or broken soldiers wandering around, except for dozens of people who had guarded homes and homes. These people are all unruly and wild. The employer's official feeling is that he is not a ruthless person like Hu Zhonggui, and he is afraid that he will not be able to control them. That's why the subsequent training was handed over to Hu Zhonggui, and it has become a routine now.
Of course, bleeding is inevitable during the process. Those who originally had some questionable backgrounds were either obedient and changed their minds, or they were directly punished by Hu Zhonggui with military law, and he would never give them a chance to stay and disturb people's hearts.
Hu Zhonggui's methods were exactly the same as Li Ting's. Although he did not kill indiscriminately, he would not be lenient to those who made mistakes, and his methods were very cruel. He must be strict and fast according to the upper limit of the law. Only Hu Zhonggui can shoulder the burden of such a terrible project.
Fortunately, these strong men in front of us generally have innocent backgrounds. Hu Zhonggui's training for them was very strict, and they also complained a lot, but so far, no one dared to violate the discipline, and no one would hit the muzzle of Hu Zhonggui's gun and be killed by him to scare the monkeys.
The training came to an end, Hu Zhonggui looked at everyone, and everyone waited quietly.
This situation made him quite satisfied, but the necessary steps still needed to be taken.
Hu Zhonggui called the names: "The fourth and nineteenth members of team A, the eleventh and twelve members of team B, the sixth man of team C, the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth members of team D, come out." !”
The people who were called immediately turned pale, but no one dared to disobey the order and moved out one by one.
"Three whips for each! Those two from Team B, five whips for each!"
Hu Zhonggui gave an order, and several inspection Sima Jun soldiers strode forward behind him. They worked in groups of three, and two of them held down a summoned strong man and pinned him firmly to the ground. Then, the third person hit them hard on the back with a riding crop.
Three lashes, five lashes, doesn't sound like a lot.
But the strength of these patrol Sima Jun's hands was really strong. Every time the whip fell, deep red blood marks were immediately produced. Within three whips, the skin was bound to be broken in large areas. The two people who had received five whips were even more bruised. One of them was still strong and could only grunt a few times, while the other could no longer bear the pain and sobbed.
Hu Zhonggui looked at the situation with indifference. When the whipped people returned to the queue, he said coldly: "You all performed well today, and I am very satisfied. If you persist for five more days, you will be able to eat from the imperial court. , Don’t slack off! Let’s break up!”
Everyone dispersed as told.
Li Yun, who was standing next to Hu Zhonggui, sighed: "Old Hu, your training methods are so cruel, this is it!"
Li Yun raised his thumb to signal.
Hu Zhonggui turned around, nodded and saluted: "I don't dare. These methods are all taught by your brother."
"I see, why do I think it looks familiar..." Li Yun nodded: "So, what is the method of killing?"
"What method of killing?" Hu Zhonggui asked in a deep voice.
"I mean, you killed those troublemakers in the reed marsh north of Sanchakou and continued to intensify the conflict. Who taught you that? Was it also my brother?"
