On the school field, 30,000 border troops knelt down together and spoke in unison, solemnly and solemnly.
"Thank you for your hard work, soldiers!"
On the high platform, Zhao Hong was dressed in military uniform and shouted loudly, full of energy.
"Long live your majesty!"
The soldiers shouted together and stood up one after another. The 30,000-strong army stood solemnly and silently.
The sky was full of haze, but the "recruits" were all excited, and many of them blushed.
It has been nearly 300 years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty has been traveling south for a hundred years. This is the first time that the emperor has visited the border areas of Shukou in person. The "new recruits" were all excited to see the emperor of the dynasty with their own eyes.
Standing on the high platform, Zhao Hong shook his head secretly as his eyes swept over the soldiers on the school field.
There are over 10,000 people, boundless. Tens of thousands of young faces, with weathered colors already appearing, made him think of the words "Jiu Jiu Wufu" in his mind.
An inch of mountains and rivers, an inch of blood, a hundred thousand young people and a hundred thousand troops. If hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of young people continue to work hard, why should we fear invasion from foreign enemies?
"Soldiers, thank you for your hard work. Listen to me!"
Zhao Hong did not hesitate and made a concise opening statement.
There was silence on the teaching ground, and all the soldiers turned their attention to Zhao Hong.
"I have often heard that there are many generous and tragic people in Yan and Zhao, who are anxious for justice and love justice and despise death. Now the northern land is rotten and uninhabited for hundreds of miles. We, the people of Shu, are bloody and brave and sacrifice our lives for righteousness. This is where the world's elite warriors gather. !”
Zhao Hong looked at the dark and excited young faces, his blood boiling in his heart.
Young people, especially thousands of young people gathering in one place, are like a blazing fire, which is both exciting and daunting.
"The purpose of establishing the Wushu Hall in Jinling and a branch of the Wushu Hall in Chengdu is to cultivate more qualified officers and lead you to win more battles and lose fewer battles. Those civilian and military generals who harmed the country and the people in the past do not know How many lives of passionate soldiers have been lost! This kind of thing will never happen again under my rule!"
Zhao Hong did not shy away from anything, and continued to tell the truth without caring about the dignity of the civil servants around him.
"The duty of a soldier is to protect the family and the country! And the court will not forget every soldier who shed blood and sacrificed for the country! From now on, no one will deduct your military pay. Everyone who died in battle will have a pension, and his family will have a pension." Take care of you. There will be arrangements for the injured soldiers, and the court will never leave you alone! Rewards will be based on merit, and rewards and punishments will be clear! I cannot let my soldiers of the Song Dynasty bleed and shed tears!"
There should be applause here. Zhao Hong paused, and sure enough, the officers in the formation took the lead in shouting.
"Long live your majesty!"
"Long live your majesty!"
Immediately afterwards, the thunderous shouts of the soldiers rang out from the queue.
Every word of this young emperor seemed to speak to the hearts of the soldiers.
"I am training the new army in Sichuan not for any militancy, but for the coming war. Soldiers must practice their skills well, and to protect their families is also to defend the country. If a foreign enemy invades and you do not practice your skills well, what will happen to you on the battlefield? Don’t you want to die in vain? Sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in war, that’s the reason.”
As the soldiers watched, Zhao Hong looked solemn and shouted loudly.
"Soldiers, I won't say any more! The duty of a soldier is to protect our country. Soldiers shed blood and sacrificed their lives for the country, and the country will cherish its heroes. Let us shed blood for the Song Dynasty together! "
"Throw your head, spill your blood! Throw your head, spill your blood!"
"Long live your Majesty!"
The soldiers cheered from the bottom of their hearts, especially those officers who had graduated from the Jinling Martial Arts Hall. Many of them shouted with their faces flushed and their voices hoarse.
The soldiers were excited and cheering. Zhao Hong waved frequently and smiled. Many of the civil servants on the stage changed their colors.
The martial artist is fierce and domineering and uncontrollable. Since the emperor favored warriors so much, wasn't he worried about warlords separatist power and the Song Dynasty falling apart?
Zhao Hong walked slowly on the sidelines to watch the soldiers drill. Cui Yu and the ministers followed behind, walking slowly.
Zhao Hong looked at the training scene and nodded secretly.
In less than half a year, the officers and soldiers at the frontier were well trained. It can be seen that people like Yu Jie have put in a lot of effort.
"Yu Jie, has the Tatar army invaded Xixia?"
Involuntarily, Zhao Hong turned to the war in Xixia.
"Your Majesty, I learned from merchants who escaped from the Tubo border that the Tatar army has invaded Xixia and is now attacking Hexi."
Yu Jie replied softly, secretly admiring him.
The emperor had a unique vision, took precautions, and his predictions were all right.
The Mongol army indeed invaded Xixia.
Zhao Hong nodded, muttering to himself.
I don’t know if the Xixia side will go to the Song Dynasty to ask for help?
If Xixia could be saved and troops were sent to the Hexi Corridor, the horse breeding places there would be a treasure that the Song Dynasty would definitely win.
According to his historical knowledge, once Genghis Khan died of illness and the Mongolian army retreated to Mobei, there would be at least two or three years of buffering time for Mongolian nobles to fight for power and profit, and there would be no major wars on the Song Dynasty border.
This is a good opportunity for Song Dynasty to recharge its batteries and regain its strength.
"Ms. Cui, what do you think of the new army I've trained?"
Zhao Hong smiled and asked Cui Yu, the Sichuan envoy next to him.
"Your Majesty is well-versed in military strategy, strategizing, and discerning opportunities. I am sincerely convinced!"
In Cui Yu's words, he still had reservations about the recruits' combat prowess.
"Cui Qing, you are an honest person!"
Zhao Hong laughed.
The strength of an army lies first in its officers. Cui Yu is an old-school official and a scholar-bureaucrat, so naturally he will not understand the mystery.
The reason why a strong army is a strong army is that military discipline is strict, meritorious deeds must be rewarded, transgressions must be punished, and orders and prohibitions must be followed. What's more, the grassroots officers took the lead and shed blood and sacrificed their lives.
A complete officer system, equipped with epoch-making firearms, can at least be invincible in a decisive battle on the battlefield.
"Your Majesty, the Tatar army is now at its peak and invincible in the world. It is advisable for our government to train our troops and strengthen our positions to appease the people. We should not talk about war lightly. Your Majesty, be careful."
Cui Yu looked at Zhao Hong, fearing that the young emperor would act on his own initiative and interfere with state affairs.
"Cui Qing, do you think I don't want to rest and recuperate so that the New Deal can be implemented smoothly? But in this time of great strife, others will not give you a chance to deal with it calmly. Many times, you want to stay out of the matter, but how can you do it? In the country In the face of the safety of the people, I must take precautions to prevent the Song Dynasty from being devastated and the people being devoured by it."
Zhao Hong's expression became solemn again.
Just because you keep yourself safe doesn't mean you can live in peace and not be bullied by outsiders.
The lack of war horses has always been the shortcoming of the Song Dynasty. If it cannot be solved, the lack of mobility will greatly limit the Song Army's combat power.
"Your Majesty is very concerned about the country and the people, and I admire him very much."
Cui bowed to him and was convinced.
This official of the Song Dynasty was calm and composed, not like a simple-minded warrior. Listening to his impassioned words, Cui Yu felt inexplicably that his own blood was boiling.
"My dear friends, it turns out that the four major armies in Shukou have one hundred thousand soldiers and more than fifteen thousand horses. The soldiers are strong and the horses are strong, and the army is mighty. Now, although there are two major armies in Shukou, the number of soldiers is only two to thirty thousand. , there are still many old, weak, sick and disabled, and there are only four to five thousand horses. I intend to restore one hundred thousand soldiers and tens of thousands of horses on both sides of Lizhou to prepare for future wars. Please work hard together!"
It was necessary to use troops externally, especially considering that they were fighting against the invincible Mongolian cavalry. A mere tens of thousands of troops seemed too weak.
