Although Xu Tong and Chen Qiaoshan are both from Shandong, they have never interacted with each other before due to their different starts.
However, Xu Tong had dealt with the Henan Corps during the previous Battle of Xiangfan and was appreciated by Zhang Yuejing. As a result, he had met Chen Qiaoshan several times and was considered an acquaintance.
Seeing Chen Qiaoshan so frustrated, Xu Tong smiled.
"The Henan Corps has a heavy task. I heard that some of the reconstruction tasks in Hunan and Hubei provinces have fallen on you. The manpower is very tight. I don't think it is possible to leave two divisions of reserve teams for my affairs. Excuse me, how can I have the nerve to ask you to provide more help?"
"Indeed, the reconstruction task is indeed very arduous. In many places, the army must be used to maintain order. My assistance task was personally approved by the General Staff Headquarters. Even the headquarters is not prepared for this. Moreover, it is currently trying to gather tens of thousands of troops to fight in Sichuan. Food and wages are also not easy.”
Chen Qiaoshan smiled bitterly and said: "The province of Hunan is okay. Parts of the provinces of Hubei and Jiangxi are basically destroyed. Many residents have been displaced and need us to settle down. Many things need to be rebuilt. There are also many wandering Song troops. The defeated soldiers burrowed into the mountains and turned into bandits. The place they disturbed was no longer safe, and the army was needed to exterminate them."
"So, I am too embarrassed to ask for your help."
Xu Tong smiled and said: "At present, the situation in Sichuan and Shu is not very good. Our strength is still very weak, but there should be no surprises in the final outcome. The Chengdu court is seeking death. It is not difficult to destroy them. As long as Give me enough time, and it won't be difficult to finally overthrow the Chengdu court."
"But you currently only have two thousand troops, right?"
"So, we still need the help of the Henan Corps."
Xu Tong blinked and said with a smile: "I have always heard that the Henan Corps has the best and most precise training for new recruits. Lend me some experienced training officers. I don't have enough manpower here. Many of them have to lead troops and train troops, and they are unable to do both. .”
"This is a small matter. I have many people here who can train troops, but are these enough?"
"Of course it's not enough. I want steel swords, spears, shields and armor, as well as guns and artillery. Since it's hard to improve the quality of the army in a short period of time, I can only use the advantages of equipment to replace it. By the way, I heard about the divine machine before. The battalion still has a team of troops left with you to prepare for war at any time, right?"
Xu Tong looked at Chen Qiaoshan expectantly.
Chen Qiaoshan's eyes suddenly became sharp.
"Shenji Camp...what do you want to do?"
"The Henan Corps is strong enough, and there are no war missions at the moment. Therefore, I made a report to the Central Military Affairs Department and the Privy Council before, hoping to temporarily lend me the team of the Shenji Battalion. Next, I will definitely trace the Go up the river, first to Chongqing Prefecture, then to Chengdu Prefecture, Shenji Camp will be of great use to me."
As soon as Xu's voice ended, Chen Qiaoshan's eyes suddenly widened.
"Why are you so ignorant of martial ethics? This Shenji Battalion is under the command of our corps. I have never heard of this matter? You are just trying to sneak attack!"
"We're all comrades, what's the difference between you and me? Isn't it normal to go wherever there is need?"
Xu Tong's face was full of pride: "Now the Sichuan-Sichuan Branch and the Revolutionary Army need the Shenji Battalion the most. No matter from which angle we look at it, there is no problem if we want to borrow the Shenji Battalion, right?"
Chen Qiaoshan opened his mouth for a long time without saying anything.
After finally swallowing this breath, Chen Qiao looked Xu Tong up and down with a look of displeasure on his face.
"I finally understand why you are able to become independent from Yucheng. It's okay. It's unethical to pick out unexpected places for sneak attacks.
Commander Zhang is always telling me that he wants to transfer you to the Henan Corps. I think you should not come. Once you come, sooner or later the good things in the entire Corps will be yours. "
"The most important thing on the battlefield is not martial ethics, but victory. The sooner we win, the less suffering the people of Sichuan and Shu will suffer."
Xu Tong raised his head slightly and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will make good use of the Shenji Battalion. As for the Henan Corps... I probably won't have the chance to join. When the Sichuan-Shu Corps is established in the future, I think the Sichuan-Shu Corps will It would also be nice to have a divine machine battalion."
After speaking, Xu Tong blinked at Chen Qiaoshan.
Chen Qiaoshan was speechless.
Good guy, Sichuan-Sichuan Corps.
Looking at Xu Tong, who was several years younger than himself, Chen Qiaoshan suddenly felt that the waves in the Yangtze River were pushing against the waves in front, pushing the waves in front of him onto the beach.
If Xu Tong had participated in the Shandong Uprising before and was the same batch of rebels against the Jin Kingdom as Su Yonglin, he should have had a place among the Five Tiger Generals of the Ming Dynasty today.
But even without this experience, this kid is still dazzling enough now. He has fought several daring battles in Jiangxi. Some generals in the army highly praise his boldness and precise vision.
He had heard before that Xu Tong had been personally received by Su Yonglin. Su Yonglin personally arranged this task of causing trouble in Sichuan and Shu. It can be said that Jane is in the heart of the emperor.
If this wave can achieve results in Sichuan and Sichuan, Xu Tong's future achievements will definitely be unlimited. If his achievements are higher in the future, it is not impossible to be transferred back to the central government. Even if he is not one of the five tiger generals now, it is hard to say about the future.
Forget it, just think of it as a good relationship.
Chen Qiaoshan admitted it.
Soon after, Xu Tong was busy in the East Sichuan Military Region for a while, and Zhou Qiang came to replace Xu Tong, taking charge of the transformation tasks and agrarian revolution in the four states in eastern Sichuan.
The Henan Corps arranged a part of its manpower to hold the battle here, to help deal with some military affairs issues, and to assist the Revolutionary Army in expanding its manpower.
For example, the more than 12,000 Song troops who surrendered and the more than 5,000 Song troops who had been captured were screened, and some scum and waste were screened out and processed, and then political cadres in the army were sent to help the revolutionary military and political cadres become prisoners together. ideological work.
Xu Tong returned to Zhongzhou to continue handling frontline matters, doing some work on building ships, and preparing for the next stage of going down the river to attack Fuzhou.
He did not know that in the rear, the political cadres of the Revolutionary Army and the political cadres of the Henan Corps joined forces to do some interesting things.
The cause of the matter was that everyone worked together to expand the strength of the revolutionary army as quickly as possible, and the best and fastest source of troops were these Song Army prisoners, but traditional methods took a long time to transform the prisoners and integrate them into the army, and Such conditions obviously do not exist now.
The political cadres brainstormed and brainstormed, and finally a brigade instructor from the Henan Corps came up with his own idea.
“In the old days, the emperor used the imperial examination to win over the landowners and gentry, and selected the elite among the landowners and gentry called Jinshi to serve the dynasty. But I heard that after scholars passed the imperial examination, there was an etiquette that they had to go through to praise their officials.
The specific content is probably to let the new champion lead the Jinshi on the imperial street where only the emperor can walk, enjoy the congratulations and envy of the soldiers and people on both sides of the road, and finally let them enter the imperial city and officially become a member of the ruling class. .
I think this is a very ceremonial etiquette. The reason why this etiquette is used by the rulers is simply because it can bring a great sense of honor to the new scholars and give them a sense of belonging. From then on, they will be recognized. They are members of the ruling class and are completely different from the past.
So I thought, they can use this sense of ritual to make the social elite identify themselves as out of their original class attributes and become an outright ruler. Then we can also use this sense of ritual to make the captives identify and identify with us. A sense of belonging. "
