Peng Shigao was not on duty today. After having lunch at the Dianzhi Military Office, he went straight back to his residence. Li Yuan didn't leave, not because he really wanted to stay here and look through old files all day long, but because he stood quietly in front of the map, weighing something in his heart.
Half an hour later, the guards came and ordered Li Yuan to go to the Beiyuan camp to wait for orders.
Li Yuan did not dare to neglect and hurried out. A group of soldiers were already waiting with their horses. Since Luo Erhu was sent to Tianyin Mountain by him, Li Yuan was a little uncomfortable. Although his third brother was sometimes a little reckless, as the captain of the personal soldiers, he was able to protect Li Yuan flawlessly. It’s just that there are very few people that I can use and trust right now.
At this time, a soldier was about to raise a horse banner. Before Li Yuan raised his hand to stop him, another soldier holding the horse quickly reminded him: "Marquis Yu has never used the horse banner as a ceremonial guard in Jinling. Why don't you put it down quickly?" ?”
Then he bowed to Li Yuan and explained: "Marquis Yu, Zhang Wu was transferred from the mansion a few days ago. He doesn't understand the rules. Please forgive him, Marquis Yu!"
Li Yuan took a closer look and found that the person who spoke was similar in shape to most of the soldiers. He could be considered tall and burly. After all, in addition to the responsibility of guards, the soldiers also had to act as facades more often. Their appearance was ordinary. No wonder. Li Yuan couldn't remember. The only distinguishing feature is the seemingly immature face of a young man, but his hair is slightly gray.
"What's your name? How old are you?"
Seeing that the young man was not timid at all, he immediately straightened up and replied quickly: "Hello Yuhou, the younger one's name is Lin Sichang, he is eighteen years old."
Li Yuan smiled and nodded: "Without Erhu, you will be in charge of the soldiers around me from now on."
Lin Sichang blushed and shouted loudly: "Thank you, thank you Yuhou!"
As if in a dream, since Li Yuan gave him the position of "temporary soldier captain", this sense of honor of being favored by his master made Lin Sichang so excited that he couldn't express it in words. He even felt that his breathing became much easier. Along the way He began to carefully command dozens of brothers to escort Li Yuan. As for why it was temporary, it was because he knew in his heart that General Luo Erhuluo, who selected them, was the backbone of this private army.
Outside Jinling City, there is Beiyuan Camp.
This is known as the largest school in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Except for the Sixth Army of the Forbidden Army that protects the capital, the rest of the guards rarely come here on weekdays. Whenever there is a war, the Sixth Army is usually the main force. These elites of the Forbidden Army practice martial arts here almost every day. And if the bodyguards are called up, they are also on standby in the respective state capitals where they are stationed. Whether they drill or not depends only on the orders of the commander, so the combat effectiveness is often very different.
When Li Yuan and his party arrived at the camp, the school field was already overcrowded, mostly infantry. Occasionally, a few groups of cavalry passed by, causing dust to fly all over the sky.
On the high platform of the school grounds, the privy envoy Chen Jue, the commander of all the guards and the commander of the Shenwei army Liu Yanzhen, and the commanders of the five armies of Longwu, Tianwei, Xiongwu, Shenwu and Longwei all gathered and stood on the stage. The most visible location. As for the military generals who were guarding the armies, they were all scattered throughout the school grounds, leading their own troops and horses to wait for orders.
After all, there are three, six or nine ranks in the army! Li Yuan looked at this huge formation and couldn't help but sigh.
For example, the sergeants of the battalion closest to me were flying the banner of the "Crane Control Army". These sergeants were not tall, but they were all full of energy. It was easy to recognize at a glance that the armor on their bodies was almost all chainmail. He wears a long sword on his waist and a bow on his back. Li Yuan praised the orderly appearance of his army. The general who led the dynasty in the past and the deputy commander of the He Controlling Army, Fan Renyu, took the initiative to chat for a while before he found out that they were soldiers and horses stationed in Hezhou, Jiangbei, and guarded the west side of Jinling all year round. .
Then Li Yuan walked towards the high platform, passing by the "Yellow Head Army" and "Long Sword Army" along the way. These two armies were soldiers and horses stationed on the east side of the Southern Tang Dynasty for a long time to guard against the Wuyue Kingdom, but these sergeants The following generals all gathered together in twos and threes to make jokes, and burst into laughter from time to time, but no one stopped them. Some of the sergeants didn't even tie their legs. They were dressed in uneven clothes, as if they were here on vacation. Li Yuan shook his head.
"Li Yuhou is here!"
Seeing Li Yuan approaching with his soldiers, Chen Jue took the lead in saying hello with a cheerful face. Liu Yanzhen was considered an acquaintance and smiled and nodded.
The rest of the commanders of the five armies almost all had cold faces. In their eyes, no matter how fast Li Yuan climbed, he was just a captain of a miscellaneous army. After all, he was the commander of an elite army. What was his identity? The gap, this sense of superiority made them want to turn a blind eye. It wasn't until Chen Jue turned around and stared at them that he quickly came over.
Needless to say, those who can stand on this high platform are not only Li Yuan's superiors, but also famous generals in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan quickly corrected his attitude and greeted everyone one by one.
Chen Jue directly pulled Li Yuan to the center of the high platform. Chunfeng stretched out his hand proudly, kept making gestures, and said boldly as if he was pointing the country: "Li Yuhou, look! These are our most elite soldiers and horses in the Tang Dynasty! Such a majestic army. With the Chu land in hand, why worry about the injustice of the Chu land?! Wait for the prime minister to lead the army to wipe out the Chu rebels, and then join forces with Yan Jingquan in Xuzhou. The day after, they will go north to attack Kaifeng and Ding Ding in the Central Plains! I, the Tang Dynasty, will surely be able to return the capital to the two capitals in one day. Unify the world!"
If Li Yuan were someone else, he would almost believe these generous words with a gradually rising tone. But I have to say that Chen Jue has something right. Regardless of the differences between the armies, those mobilized from the various state capitals in the Southern Tang Dynasty today are indeed considered the most elite soldiers and horses. But what's the use of having soldiers if the general who leads the army is incompetent?
At least Li Yuan asked here several times, but he never heard that the famous generals recorded in history gathered here. Liu Renzhan is still guarding the Western Front in Ezhou, and veteran generals such as Huangfu Hui, Diao Yanneng, and Wang Chongwen are guarding various places. However, the young generals such as Huangfu Jixun, Chai Kehong, and Zhu Lingyun have not yet held important positions. As for the one with the most tragic ending Lin Renzhao, a famous navy general, had just surrendered from Fujian and was just a subordinate general.
Li Yuan turned around and glanced at Liu Yanzhen, who was also high-spirited, and then whispered to Chen Jue: "Mr. Minister, does your Majesty have a decree, when will we march westward?"
Chen Jue shook his head and said with a serious look: "There is no rush, it will take half a month to raise food and grass. This time the troops will be sent out in two directions, the north and the south. The north will be led by the Prime Minister himself. When the army joins the troops from Yiyang, they will march to Langzhou. Along the way to the south, due to the fierce attack of the Han Dynasty, they had occupied the eight states of Lingnan two months ago. This time, with General Pan Chongche as the commander, they also captured Chenzhou. His Majesty has ordered Zhang Luan to be the envoy to Guilin to inform the whole state, and to work with Bian Hao The armies gather together to fight again!”
Li Yuan was surprised and said: "Zhang Luan? Didn't Zhang Duzhi lose Lingnan because he delayed the military flight last time, and your Majesty ordered him to return to the court to hold him accountable?"
"You can't say that..." Chen Jue glanced at Li Yuan calmly, and then said with a little dissatisfaction: "Lingnan is mountainous, the path is difficult to walk, and there are ants and beasts infested. Zhang Du made it last time It’s not that the military plane was delayed, but that the weather was unfavorable! The truth is that I believe in his ability to lead the army, and your majesty finally accepted the truth’s advice and made Zhang Luan guilty and meritorious!”
Li Yuan generally understood in his heart that Chen Jue's meaning couldn't be clearer. Zhang Luan had either given him benefits or was someone he promoted. Why should he ask for trouble?
He just reminded in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I have heard that Pan Chongche is the most famous general in the Southern Han Dynasty. This man has fought in the south and north, and has repeatedly made extraordinary achievements. The most important thing is that he is well-mannered. One month ago, the head coach of the Southern Han Dynasty Wu Huaien was killed by his subordinates, and Pan Chongche immediately subdued the entire army as soon as he took office. This person should not be underestimated!"
Chen Jue's face darkened and he replied coldly: "What Li Yuhou said is wrong! The Southern Han Dynasty is full of barbarians. The land is small and the people are small. How can they stop the elite troops of the Tang Dynasty? This time it is not only the border but the most powerful." Hao led the army south, and I also asked Your Majesty to let the black clouds come under Zhang Luan's control. They set off the day before yesterday..."
"Heiyundu?" Li Yuan had mixed feelings in his heart. This was one of the few special forces in the Southern Tang Dynasty since Yang Wu! Although this private troop once created by Yang Xingmi, Taizu of Yangwu, only had a number of five thousand, its entire army was equipped with black armor and long swords. It was omnipotent in field sieges and rarely suffered defeats. It once became a nightmare for the surrounding countries.
But today, Chen Jue's understatement was about to ruin this legendary army with his own hands. It turns out that the mystery of the disappearance of black clouds recorded in history is actually this? !
