The first phase of the Liberation Army's strategic plan was successful.
By the end of May, the entire Shandong East Road was quickly occupied by the Liberation Army. Jin Ting's forces were either dead or wounded. Whether it was the town defense army or the Jin people in the village, those who were killed were killed, and those who fled had all been lost.
The Sheliang Army, a handyman-type armed force, basically had no resistance. It followed the officials and turned into soldiers of the Liberation Army, completing a turning point in life.
One moment ago, they were the officers and soldiers of the Jin Kingdom, fighting for the interests of the Jin Kingdom. Now they are the rebel soldiers of the Liberation Army, fighting to expel the barbarians and regain China.
By the way, do they really know what Hulu is and what China is?
Of course, it doesn't matter.
Taking this opportunity, Su Yonglin sorted out the complicated situation in the area under his control.
The West Route Army commanded by Su Yonglin currently controls Jinan Prefecture, Tai'an Prefecture and Zizhou. The total number of landlords, gentry armed forces and other various types of armed forces who have joined the West Route Army has reached more than 30,000.
But he did not organize these armed forces into the Victory Army.
These armies were drawn up by the landlords and gentry. The army was basically composed of tenants and a small number of people from the market. They were untrained and unfit for use. They were all private soldiers or mercenaries and were organized into Shengjie. The army is just adding to its own troubles.
The attributes of the victorious army cannot be changed at all. It must be a [peasant's army].
So Su Yonglin decided to let them form a separate army and belong to the West Route Army under the Liberation Army instead of the Shengjie Army.
Su Yonglin chose to simply and crudely appoint those local gentry leaders who had been appointed as county magistrates by him as generals based on actual needs.
As for the bugle, he just symbolically reported it to Zhao Kaishan and gave it to him directly. It was not an important matter anyway. Zhao Kaishan had done the same thing before.
For example, Qin Yuanzhi, the magistrate of Zhangqiu County, was appointed as the commander of the Wude Army.
Ma Houde, the magistrate of Jiyang County, was appointed as the commander of Wujin Army.
Changqing County Magistrate Yao Wenyuan was appointed as the commander of the Wuqing Army.
Etc., etc.
It is tantamount to adding another dimension to these local powerful people and handing over local military and political power to them in exchange for their military obedience and political support.
After this set of operations, the local powerful people were officially included in the command sequence of the Western Route Army under the Liberation Army, and were deeply bound to the Liberation Army. It was not that simple to break away.
This is the same in Jinan Prefecture and Zizhou.
As for Tai'an Prefecture, because the landowners and gentry did not raise troops to respond when they marched, they responded only after the Shengjie army defeated the local Jin army, so they did not receive any rewards.
Su Yonglin asked Su Haisheng, Su Jue and Han Jinggui to take charge of the three counties in Tai'an Prefecture and control the main power, while the landlords and gentry maintained the status quo.
The division of interests after the war was basically comprehensive and met the needs of most people. Therefore, Su Yonglin's arrangement received a lot of praise and was very "popular."
The military forces of the three states therefore all obeyed Su Yonglin's command.
Landlords and gentry from all over the country expressed their opinions that they would follow Su Yonglin's orders and follow him to fight against gold.
Just listen to this kind of words. Su Yonglin didn't even expect how much effort they could contribute. What he could really rely on was Su Yonglin's own Shengjie Army and the Peasants' Association under the leadership of Shengjie Army.
The victorious army needs to expand its army.
We are expanding our troops in Tai'an Prefecture, and we are also expanding our troops in Jinan Prefecture.
Su Yonglin ordered the recruitment of soldiers in Jinan Prefecture, and recruited strong and physically fit soldiers to join the Shengjie Army as individuals and be incorporated into the Xuanwu Battalion commanded by Zhang Yuejing. He also selected recruits with excellent physical fitness to be directly incorporated into his own bodyguards.
There is nothing to criticize in this.
In the eyes of many people, the army must be divided into direct lineage and non-lineage lineage. The Shengjie Army is obviously Su Yonglin's direct lineage army.
Therefore, Su Yonglin basically gave all the weapons and equipment he obtained along the way to the Shengjie Army, and the other armies had no objections.
Including the armor and divine arm bows that were in short supply before, these two battlefield weapons were obtained by Su Yonglin in large quantities, and the equipment was more than enough for 2,300 Victory Army soldiers.
There is also news from Tai'an Prefecture that recruitment of soldiers is progressing steadily.
A large number of farmers enthusiastically joined the army after acquiring land. The three battalions remaining in Tai'an Prefecture now have thousands of troops, and the number is still rising.
A total of 67 villages were liberated in Tai'an Prefecture. Including the household registration of farmers, a total of 15,131 farmers were brought under the control of Shengjie Army, further expanding the base of Shengjie Army.
Including the more than 6,000 households in Yizhou, the population directly controlled by Su Yonglin now reaches more than 20,000 households.
In less than two months, his actions have brought about 100,000 people under his governance and accepted his leadership and organization.
This news was what Su Yonglin wanted to hear most.
In this wave, he plans to expand the Shengjie Army to 5,600 soldiers, and then conduct a period of training to prepare for the next wave of larger-scale military expansion.
The ratio of experienced veterans to recruits cannot be too large. If it is too large, it will affect the combat effectiveness of the army. Su Yonglin doesn't care about other armies, but the Victory Army must exercise restraint in this regard.
Xin Qiji refused when Su Yonglin planned to appoint him as commander of the First Army.
He hoped to be able to work by Su Yonglin's side, which was more meaningful than being the commander of an army.
He did not want the more than a thousand rebels he had raised with all his wealth. He allowed these more than a thousand good-quality rebels to be dispersed by Su Yonglin and incorporated into the Shengjie Army. He himself became a military counselor beside Su Yonglin.
As time entered June, more and more news came to Su Yonglin.
He was very happy to find that even if the main force of the Liberation Army did not formally attack Shandong East Road, many areas along Shandong East Road were already filled with Liberation Army.
The reason is very simple. When the landlords and gentry on Shandong East Road heard about the great rebellion of the Liberation Army on Shandong East Road, they were deeply inspired. They took action one after another and unilaterally announced to join the Liberation Army and fight with Zhao Kaishan.
The consequences of more than ten years of peace have been fully felt by the Jin people.
In addition, Zhao Kaishan destroyed the Yidu Tongjun Division without respecting martial ethics, shattering the possibility of unified command of the Jin Army in Shandong, making it impossible for the Jin Army in Shandong to move in unison and could only fight independently.
The end result of fighting on their own is of course to be expelled and killed by the armed Han landlords who have an absolute advantage in this area.
Jin Ting's rule in Shandong has been shaky and on the verge of collapse in less than two months. The fragility of his rule in the Central Plains is clearly visible.
Once this news spreads widely, it will not take half a year to arouse more dissatisfied people who are eager to take action.
The general trend of the world is undergoing drastic changes.
A few days later, on the sixth day of June, Su Yonglin was arranging the training of new recruits of the Shengjie Army. Suddenly, he received an order from Zhao Kaishan, asking Su Yonglin to take some of the main generals of the West Route Army to Yidu Mansion for a meeting.
Indeed, the size of the Liberation Army is rapidly expanding. At this time, it is necessary to hold a meeting to straighten out everyone's relationships and locations.
And listening to what happened on the East and West Road of Shandong, Su Yonglin felt that Zhao Kaishan might have the idea of further progress on the East and West Road of Shandong.
Jin Ting's reaction is really slow. Although he will react eventually, if he doesn't seize this opportunity, he will definitely regret it.
Su Yonglin has ordered Su Changsheng to go north to Hebei to inquire about Jin Ting's movements. Although he has not gained anything yet, he really wants to know if Wan Yanliang, who is currently far away in Zhongdu, already knows about this matter.
What would he do if he knew about this?
