After hearing what Tian Jian said, Mu Sheng also frowned and said, "Is that so? How soon can my father-in-law raise the necessary food and grass?"
Tian Jian sighed and said, "Hey! Time is too urgent. If the autumn harvest season comes in a few months later, and new wheat comes into the warehouse, you can have as much grain and grass as you want. Now even if you need to mobilize the grain from the nearby warehouse, it will be a waste of time." not enough."
Seeing that Mu Sheng hesitated to speak, Tian Jian said, "I know that the military situation is urgent and there is no need to delay, but there is a way. I will first requisition the grain in the warehouse to meet one-third of the demand, and the remaining grain must be urgently needed." , and I will order the other two-thirds of the counties along the way to open official warehouses to meet demand. In this way, you can escort the grain team from the warehouse to set off first, so that we can respond to emergencies."
Mu Sheng also knew that Tian Jian had tried his best, and said with a smile, "If we really wait until autumn, I don't know what will happen in the four Lingnan counties. The battle on the front line cannot be delayed. I escorted the grain transport team to take the waterway along the way. It takes about two or three months to get to the front line, and the situation may have changed again when we get there."
Tian Jian also nodded slightly and said, "What the wise son-in-law said is true. You should take care of yourself along the way. Also, the soldiers are fierce and dangerous, so you should try to stay at the rear and don't really go to the front line to charge into the battle."
Mu Sheng shook his head and said, "Thank you, father-in-law, for reminding me, but I don't want to just sit back and do nothing. So what's the point of receiving the holy order to serve on the front line?"
Tian Jian said anxiously, "Mr. Changping, His Majesty asked you to fight for your qualifications. Don't take it seriously. I don't want Huiling to become a widow at a young age."
Hearing this, Mu Sheng laughed and said, "My father-in-law can't do that. I have my own destiny and will pay attention to safety. You can rest assured. I am quite afraid of death. I know that a gentleman will not stand under a dangerous wall." .”
Tian Jian was concerned and confused, and he knew that he had made some gaffes and kept saying, "I am not cursing you to death, Mr. Chang Ping. Anyway, you must come back safely."
Mu Sheng felt a warm feeling rising from his heart and said, "Nothing will happen. Don't worry."
After chatting for a while, Mu Sheng said goodbye and left. It would take at least half a month for them to collect food and load the truck...
As usual, Mu Sheng went to Wu Xie's courtyard to discuss countermeasures with him.
Wu Xie seemed to have known for a long time that he was going to go south to fight, so Mu Sheng went straight to the point and said, "Mr. Wu, your Majesty suddenly sent me to go south to fight this time, which is a bit beyond my expectation."
Wu Xie said in a calm tone, "Your Majesty's move is obviously to make you more stable in the court in the future. It is not enough for you to join the Xuanzhengyuan to discuss politics. The reason why your father-in-law Tian Jian can sit in the position of governing Su Neishi Your high position is also due to His Majesty’s arrangements for your future.”
"My dynasty has laid great emphasis on military merit. Now that you are married, it's time for you to go out and gain some experience. Only in this way will your title as Lord Changping be convinced by both the government and the public, and you will be able to establish yourself in the court. If we stay here, we can better suppress the prince's party in the future."
Mu Sheng suddenly said, "That's it."
Wu Xie said, "Here we go, I don't think His Majesty will let you really go to the front line to fight. As long as you stay in the rear, you can earn military merits."
When Mu Sheng heard this, he was a little hopeful, but also a little disappointed, and said, "To be honest, I still want to make contributions to the country."
When Wu Xie heard this, he just smiled lightly and said, "Young master, your role has not really been played yet. His Majesty will not put you in danger. Now that you are going to Lingnan to fight, you can just stay at the rear with peace of mind."
A few days later, Mu Sheng was sparring with Hua Zilan in the martial arts field. An official from the Internal History Mansion came to visit him. He didn't report it in time. As soon as he saw the person, he understood that the food and grass must have been prepared.
The official report in the official report said, "I have informed Lord Changping that Lord Neishitian has prepared a total of 250,000 dans of grain and grass, and I would like to ask you to go up to the warehouse for inspection."
Mu Sheng was slightly surprised when he heard this. His father-in-law had really worked hard and managed to collect half of the food and grass.
After the subordinate officer left, Mu Sheng turned to Hua Zilan and said, "Zilan, you should also prepare and leave for Lingnan tomorrow."
Hua Zilan cupped her hands and said, "Okay! I understand."
The next day, after Mu Sheng went to Tai Chi Palace to say goodbye, he officially prepared to go south.
In front of Changpingjun's residence, Mu Sheng, dressed in military uniform, bid farewell to Yun'er and the others before embarking on the road to Lingnan.
In order to escort the grain and grass this time, the court temporarily granted him the title of captain, and sent more than 5,000 soldiers to Mu Sheng's command, plus more than 30,000 civilians to escort the grain and grass.
Before setting off, Mu Sheng took his disciples Feng Wei and Xia Chuan with him to Lingnan, and also served as his deputies. Wei himself also has experience in commanding operations. This time he took the two of them to Lingnan to earn some military merits so that they could be promoted to an official position.
The horse team came all the way to the Imperial Granary. Only when they got here did he truly see what the Imperial Granary was. Although the Imperial Granary was said to be a granary, it actually looked like a large city. Outside the city, it was dark and crowded with people and all kinds of mules. Horses and carriages came and went, and the dust was flying. It was the people's food team.
Beside the grain team were soldiers with helmets and armor in neat formation. It seemed that they were also troops who had just arrived here to escort and protect grain and grass.
At this time, several officers who looked like officers in the army saw Lord Changping's cavalry arriving and rode their horses to come to greet him.
The first officer raised his hand and said, "I will see Lord Changping. I am in Yan Kun, Xia Nanze County. He is a military commander in this department. I would like to ask Lord Changping to show me the tiger talisman for mobilizing troops."
Mu Sheng took the tiger talisman out of his arms and handed it to him. Yan Kun took it with both hands and observed it carefully. He took out the other half of the tiger talisman and folded it together. After confirming that it was correct, he respectfully returned the tiger talisman to him. Mu Sheng officially became a member of this army. Sir.
This is the court's rule for mobilizing the army. If the emperor does not nod and the garrison does not see the tiger talisman, even if one soldier is a general, there will be no reason to mobilize. Anyone who mobilizes troops without authorization will be punished with treason.
Mu Sheng saw that the preparations were almost complete, then waved his hand and said, "The whole army listens to the order and sets off."
The army of 5,000 people plus the civilian laborers of 30,000 people transporting food, these tens of thousands of people are so dense that it is impossible to see the head at a glance, and it is quite spectacular at first glance.
Along the way, Yan Kun introduced the chief officers of this army to Lord Changping. There were four thousand-man leaders in total, each leading thousands of troops. There were also a thousand people who were under the direct leadership of Lord Changping and belonged to his direct guard. Mu Sheng temporarily handed over the 1,000 men to the command of Marching Commander Feng Wei.
The composition of the Jin army is five people, with one corps commander; two corps, one corps leader; five shi, a garrison, one captain; two tuns, one hundred, one hundred general; five hundred men, five hundred There is one leader; for a thousand people, there is one leader for a thousand people. There is a song at the upper level, commanded by the military commander. There is a department at the upper level, with several songs under the jurisdiction, commanded by the captain. Once you reach the rank of captain, you are already a member of the imperial court. A senior general is equivalent to a division-level cadre. The next level up is a captain, which is equivalent to a military-level cadre, so he can be called a general directly. The next level up is a general, which is equivalent to the general marshal of the armed forces.
According to the regulations of the imperial court, generals are not permanently appointed. Only when the country has large-scale battles, generals will be temporarily selected to go to war. After the general returns to the court after victory, he will hand over his military power and remove the title of general. When the soldiers return home, the general will return to the court.
Nowadays, the military attaches with the title of general in the imperial court generally have official titles and do not actually command troops. They are actually desk generals, and they really have no soldiers to use.
Instead, the long-term leaders are officers at the level of captains and marquises. The number of troops under a captain depends on the specific situation. Sometimes there are tens of thousands of troops under his command, and sometimes there are only a few thousand. It depends on the scale of the battle. The size, as well as the specific number of soldiers and horses mobilized by the imperial court in each county.
Along the way, Mu Sheng roughly observed this thousand-man army. There were about a thousand people who were fully armored heavy infantry, armed with long swords, and another four thousand people who were half-armored light infantry, armed with crossbows and daggers. Some of them were sword and shield soldiers, and they were composed of more than a hundred scouts and light cavalry.
Of course, during the march, except for light armor, soldiers usually do not wear full armor. Wearing armor that weighs dozens of kilograms while marching would be life-threatening. During the march, a special person is responsible for keeping it safe, and the armor is only worn when there is a battle.
Mu Sheng nodded secretly, yes! The emperor treats himself well. This configuration is already the elite of the Jin army. Generally, there is no need to make such a fuss when escorting grain and grass. The third-line troops are more than capable. It seems that the old man is quite worried about his safety.
They had been on the road for more than half a month, and the counties and counties along the way also followed the imperial instructions and collected food and grass for them in advance. When the large troops arrived, they could just load the trucks.
Along the way, Mu Sheng had to sleep in the open and could only ride on horseback. Sometimes his butt hurt after riding for a long time, so he would simply dismount and walk.
Seeing this, Army Marquis Yan Kun stepped forward and pointed to the carriage that had been prepared for him behind him. He said with a smile, "Jun Changping, there is a big carriage behind. If you are tired, general, you can go and rest in the carriage."
Mu Sheng glanced at the carriage, pointed at the soldiers behind him and asked Yan Kun, "When have you ever seen an army general fighting in a carriage? I go to the front line to kill the enemy, not to lie in the car and enjoy the good times. You I appreciate your kindness, and I will leave this cart for the sick soldiers."
Yan Kun had no choice but to smile and accept his promise.
More than a month later, the large army arrived at a familiar place, Jialing City, the capital of Yue County. They still passed through the canal and went downstream from here to Lingnan.
At this time, Feng Wei and Yan Kun were instructing the peasants to unload the grain and grass from the cart and load it onto the ship.
Mu Sheng glanced at the canal that stretched to the horizon. Without this grand canal that ran from north to south, they would have had to walk for at least three months to reach the remote Lingnan.
He subconsciously looked back at Hua Zilan, who was dressed as a man in armor, and joked, "Zilan, you are really heroic in this outfit. You can be called Mulan in the army!"
When Hua Zilan heard this, she also smiled and said, "Young Master, that's a compliment. By the way, Master, who is Hua Mulan?"
After hearing this, Mu Sheng told her the legend of Hua Mulan. There was no such story in this era.
After hearing this, Hua Zilan couldn't help but feel a hint of yearning, and said, "It's a pity that I am a female generation after all. If I were a man, I would wear a Wu hook, serve the country on the battlefield, and be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households."
Mu Sheng smiled and said, "Hey! Yes, I actually have a dream of being a general, and it has come true now. But having said that, if all the countries are destroyed, the world will finally be at peace, and the common people can live a good life. It will be useless for me to wait for the warriors." The land of martial arts is the blessing of the world."
Hua Zilan turned to look at Mu Sheng and praised, "Young Master is benevolent and righteous, and I agree with you very much. Although I have never had a good impression of you Jin people, and now His Majesty hates me for destroying the country and destroying the family, but in the past ten years, When I travel around the country and see that the people can live and work in peace and contentment without suffering from war or chaos, I also feel that this day has great righteousness."
After hearing this, Mu Sheng asked, "Then what kind of rebellion will you follow the revival? If the Jin Dynasty is instigated by rebels like you and the war breaks out again, how innocent will the people be? It will only be accomplished with the heads of these countless soldiers and people. It’s just some bullshit hegemony of some ambitious people, but it’s the people all over the world who are suffering.”
Hua Zilan smiled bitterly and said, "I understand the truth, but the imperial court does not give us people a chance to start over, especially the descendants of the Yunhua Sect like me, the imperial eagle and dog Qingyi envoys are even more eager to kill each one on sight, as a last resort I had no choice but to join a revival meeting to protect myself.”
Mu Sheng was speechless after hearing this. After a long while, he said, "Zi Lan, why don't you leave the Central Plains! Stay away from the disputes in the world. Why bother with a girl like you?"
Hua Zilan shook her head and said with a smile, "There are still people I care about here, and I can't leave."
"Shen Baili?"
"It's not just him, there are also some descendants of the Yunhua Sect who need my care. How could I leave them behind and run away from home at all costs."
Mu Sheng sighed after hearing this and said, "Okay, it's up to you. If one day you are desperate, I still have the Holy Favor, so I might be able to protect you for a while. I don't know how arrogant the Tsing Yi envoy is. You don’t dare to come to my Lord Changping’s house to pick someone up.”
When Hua Zilan heard this, she was moved and said, "Thank you so much, Sir, for your kindness. When that day comes, I will definitely come to find you."
