In the first month of the year, the weather gradually warms up, and roads from Kaiyuan to surrounding places are gradually restored.
After the tenth day of the first lunar month, refugees poured into Kaiyuan every day. Many of them came from Tieling, Baishan and other places to seek refuge.
The number of refugees soon exceeded 10,000, and they were spread all over the four gates of Kaiyuan.
After Huang Taiji withdrew his troops, his troops marched northward along Shenyang to plunder, passing through the areas around Tieling and Baishan.
The surrounding Liao people suffered from military disasters, their money and food were robbed, their houses were burned, and they were left homeless. Many people froze to death and starved to death last winter.
Those who were alive had no choice but to sell their fields at low prices in exchange for some grain to survive until spring.
After learning about Kaiyuan's recruitment of soldiers, the refugees who had not yet starved to death moved closer here.
On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, the original north gate was opened.
Several large pots were set up in the open space in front of the moat. The bonfire was burning brightly, and the sticky rice porridge was bubbling hot in the pot.
A large group of hungry refugees gathered around. Many people craned their necks to look at the cauldron, with saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths.
Qi Jin and the four commanders of Zhan Barracks selected refugees, and there were more than thirty soldiers standing around, responsible for maintaining order.
Yuan Chonghuan's performance during his stay in Kaiyuan impressed Liu Zhaosun.
He realized that letting this person serve as a military missionary and talkative was actually overqualified, so he asked Yuan Chonghuan to assist Kang Yinggan to share more civil affairs affairs, and trained him as the second-in-command of the Kaiyuan system of civil servants.
Besides, Yuan Chonghuan is now the Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong, so it is indeed inconvenient for him to come forward in person to agitate for propaganda.
So his school boy Senti took over Ke Laoye's position and became the training officer of the recruit camp.
"A bunch of street boys, you are blessed (you are blessed). After practicing eight lifetimes, you met General Liu, entered the Kaiyuan War Barracks, and fought with General Liu! You have enough food and clothing, and you have money every month. Two or two months' salary, such a good thing, how can you go to Biandu? (Where can you find such a good thing?) "
Senti spoke with a strong Cantonese accent, which made all the Liao people confused.
Dongguanzi is trying his best to learn to speak Liaodong dialect these days, but compared with Lao Tie, there is still a certain gap.
He was full of energy, gesticulating, and it was hard to understand what he was saying.
Qi Jin glanced at Guangdong Zai, shook his head and was speechless.
Qi Jin felt that this man was dark, thin, and could not speak clearly in Mandarin. According to the descriptions in "Records of Military Training" and "New Book of Jixiao", he was really not suitable to be a training officer.
However, Liu Zongbing felt that this person was very energetic and had the style of Yuan Chonghuan, the master of other disciplines. He just needed to practice a few more times.
All the refugees looked at the cauldron eagerly. Before the instructor finished speaking, they rushed to the cauldron to serve porridge. Qi Jin sent soldiers to wave wooden sticks to drive away the unruly refugees.
Senti's small universe exploded and climbed onto a carriage:
"It's not easy to grab, don't grab it! Queue up and go to General Qi's place for inspection first. Only those who are selected can eat the porridge! You think General Liu's money is all blown by the strong wind!"
Qi Jin led four generals to sit in front of the iron pot, surrounded by a group of soldiers.
Qi Jin followed the Qi Army's selection criteria and said to several generals:
"Qi Shaobao once said that the first thing to do when marching is to select soldiers. Marquis Pingliao has given us the important task of selecting soldiers, so we must ensure that we do not recruit a soldier or a coward!"
"You must abide by the following items!"
"First, we can't choose slick people from the city, only soldiers from the countryside! Unless they are canal trackers and miners!"
"Second, don't choose treacherous people. If you look at their eyes and look uncertain, don't choose them."
"Third, give priority to honest people from the countryside and see if they have calluses on their middle and index fingers."
"Fourth, those who are tall and tall may not have courage. Soldiers without courage are useless no matter how strong they are. There is no need to choose them."
"Finally, anyone with a family, don't want any of them."
Unlike Liu Zhaosun, Qi Jin, who was a professional soldier, could not rub any dirt into his eyes, and there would be no personal feelings at all when selecting soldiers.
If they are suitable, they will stay; if they are not, they will be eliminated.
Under the strict selection process of Qi Jin and others, most of the more than 10,000 refugees were eliminated by them, and only 2,000 people were selected in the end.
Fortunately, there was a steady stream of refugees coming towards Kaiyuan from behind.
While Qi Jin was selecting soldiers, Pei Dahu, deputy commander of the Chinese Army Guards, was also seizing the time to replenish his manpower.
By the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the sixty-man Chinese Guards were gradually filled, and Pingliao Hou's guards finally regained their combat effectiveness.
In addition to the old men from before, this time several Zhejiang spearmen and white pole soldiers were selected, as well as two Liaodong raiders and a Tieling hunter.
After experiencing the corruption incident in the Tieling War Barracks, Marquis Pingliao valued this most loyal guard even more.
The monthly salary of all guards is double that of combat soldiers, and they have more opportunities for promotion.
Pei Dahu will conduct regular assessments, and those who pass the assessment can be promoted to military camp officers, or they can choose to stay with Pingliao Marquis as a guard.
These guards are required to abide by the military regulations of the Kaiyuan Army and only appear as combat soldiers to the outside world.
General Liu planned to continuously expand the size of the Chinese Guards, eventually expanding it to about 300 people.
The Chinese Guards will serve as the main source of officers in the Kaiyuan War Barracks to control Liu Zhaosun's core direct lineage, thus checking and balancing any possible centrifugal forces in the Kaiyuan system.
Of course, for now, the Chinese Guards are just a pure escort force.
The Chinese Army Guards rotate in three shifts every day to guard the General Military Mansion. When Ping Liao Hou went out, a group of people stayed behind, and the remaining forty people escorted him out to ensure that everything inside and outside was safe.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.
Liu Zhaosun held a family banquet in the General Military Mansion for all the guards.
Jin Yuji and Pei Dahu, as the captain and deputy of the Chinese Army Guards, first toasted to Ping Liaohou.
Liu Zhaosun drank the wine, stood up, picked up a wine flask, and drank with the guards.
He carefully asked each guard's name, age, place of origin, and family status. He was afraid that he would not remember it, so he wrote it down in the account book.
These guards came from all over the Ming Dynasty, from north to south, including Huguang, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Shanxi, Zhili, northern Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and a Mongolian.
General Liu toasted the guards one by one and drank with Pei Dahu, Wu Xiao and others.
He patted the guards on the shoulders and encouraged him, saying that Kaiyuan's future is limitless. If you follow him, you will have everything in the future.
Soon he walked up to a tall guard.
Liu Zhaosun stopped and poured a glass of wine for the tall man. The guard immediately took it with both hands, his hands trembling with excitement.
"Are you a subordinate of General Qi?"
Liu Zhaosun vaguely remembered this Zhejiang gunman.
In the bloody battle of Hunhe River, the Zhejiang soldiers suffered heavy casualties, with only one out of ten surviving. In the end, the surviving more than a thousand soldiers joined forces with the Kaiyuan soldiers and finally completely defeated the two red flags.
That day in the decisive battle with the Hou Jin Army, Liu Zhaosun was deeply impressed by this Zhejiang army spearman.
This man is really too tall and has an extremely burly figure. He is taller than himself. He is considered a giant in this era.
"Master Liu Hou, the younger one is Zheng Linyu, a member of General Qi's command."
Liu Zhaosun smiled and said:
"How old are you this year?"
Lin Yuxi's words are like gold:
"Nineteen."
Liu Zhaosun felt that this guard was very calm and didn't talk much. He was a good candidate for an officer. He turned to look at Pei Dahu.
Pei Dahu stepped forward quickly, glared at Lin Yu, leaned into Liu Zhaosun's ear, and lowered his voice:
"Sir, this man talks little. Don't be as knowledgeable as him. In the bloody battle in Hunhe River, all the members of his killer team were killed. This kid is lucky. He killed two Bagas and was unscathed. When he heard that the master was recruiting guards, he So he signed up, beat five people, and chose him for the humble job." Liu Zhaosun nodded repeatedly after hearing this, looked at Lin Yu with a smile, and encouraged him: "Okay, okay! He is unscathed, and he seems to be a lucky general. Tomorrow the Japanese officer will go to Kuandian, and you will accompany him to escort him. If the escort is effective, you will be promoted to captain of the Central Military Guard!"
After hearing this, Lin Yu nodded carelessly and performed a standard military salute.
Pei Dahu was so angry that he wanted to jump up and slap him on the forehead.
It should be noted that there are only five captains in the Central Guards, who have a very high status. They are equivalent to the flag captains of the war barracks. They will later serve in the war barracks and start as deputy commanders.
Seeing his character, Liu Zhaosun didn't care and continued drinking with other guards.
After drinking a round of wine, I was already very drunk.
Fortunately, today is the Lantern Festival, so there is no harm in getting drunk.
That day, when the spirit of drinking was waning, Jin Yuji and Yang Qing'er supported their husband and slept in their clothes. They only woke up from their sleep until the next morning.
The next day was the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, and the road between Kaiyuan and Kuandian was finally open to traffic.
Liu Zhaosun gathered his troops early and took with him Pei Dahu, Wu Xiao, Lin Yu and 40 other guards. He also called Yuan Chonghuan. After everyone made preparations, they left the General Military Mansion and set off towards the north gate.
Arriving at Beimen Wengcheng, Qi Jin, Qin Jianxun and several veterans had already begun training new recruits.
Liu Zhaosun was stopping to watch when he suddenly rode across the pontoon of the moat and rushed towards the city.
Liu Zhaosun saw that he was walking in a hurry and seemed to be injured, so he asked the guards to come forward for questioning.
Wu Xiao and Lin Yu stood in front of the city gate. That night, they saw two giants blocking the way. They reined in their horses and almost fell off their horses.
"Why are you so scared? Even a sentinel horse cannot run rampant like this!"
Wu Xiao scolded loudly, and that night he became anxious and dismounted from his horse, crying:
"Brothers, take me to see Shangguan quickly! There is something urgent in Kuandian!"
The two guards looked at each other and were about to go back to report when Liu Zhaosun was already riding towards them.
"What's the matter?"
When Ye Bu received General Liu, he quickly knelt down and cried:
"Supervisor Qiao was assassinated."
Lewen
