"Paper tiger? Sir, your words are very wonderful. I will go back to Panyu first and let Shi Hui prepare." Hu Ke said with his fists clasped.
Lan Tian nodded to signal Hu Ke to go first, and then turned his attention to the map.
After Hu Ke left, Gao Yuan asked curiously: "How many people do you plan to send to the South China Sea? If there are too few, the deterrent effect may not be enough."
"Is eight thousand people a deterrent enough?" Lan Tian asked meaningfully.
Gao Yuan was very surprised, "Eight thousand? There is no need for so many, right? The total number of trapped troops is only ten thousand. If Cangwu is in any danger, temporary dispatch will be troublesome, so you should think twice."
Lan Tian said with a smile: "Who said I would mobilize Boping's troops to go to the South China Sea?"
Gao Yuan scratched his head and asked, "Who are these eight thousand of you?"
"Can't General Sha's eight thousand barbarians do it?" Lan Tian asked with a smile.
"But didn't you let them pack up and return to Chenyang?" Gao Yuan was even more puzzled.
Lantian pursues the policy of elite soldiers. The Wuxi barbarians of Samoko completed their mission after pacifying Jiaozhou. Now they don't need so many soldiers in peacetime, so they are prepared to temporarily let these barbarians return to their hometowns and recruit them when the war requires them. The establishment of Shamo Ke Zhonglang's 1,500 people was retained.
The Wuxi barbarians are not regular soldiers, and they use knives in wartime instead of hoes in wartime. However, they have been accustomed to eating military rations while stationed in Jiaozhou in the past few years, so now they would rather work on the battlefield than return to their hometown to farm. For this reason Lantian prepared a very generous severance package and distributed it as soon as it was shipped from Quanling to Guangxin.
Now that Shi Hui is in charge of food and drink, Lantian just has a small amount of development funds left. He smiled and replied: "How can things in this world remain unchanged? My decision yesterday may not keep up with today's changes. Go and arrest General Sha immediately." Call me over, don’t mention the matter of stationing in the South China Sea yet.”
"Wei." Gao Yuan clasped his fists.
Half an hour later, Shamoko came to the back hall of the main hall with his head buzzing.
It would be fine if all the eight thousand barbarians returned home. Now there are 1,500 people who can stay. If there is hope, there will be competition. If there is competition, each will show his magic. Centurions and thousands of captains each collect gifts to find ways to deal with Samoko. Everyone wants to be the lucky one who eats military food, which has put Samoko in a dilemma these days.
"The palms and backs of the hands are full of flesh. Isn't it difficult for General Sha?" Lan Tian asked.
Shamoko nodded lightly, "These guys were originally straight-headed, but after encountering this incident, they suddenly became enlightened. Everywhere I went, people came to intercede. When I went out last night, I almost got blocked in the toilet... .”
"Hahaha, enthusiasm is a good thing, it means you are leading the troops well." Lan Tian said with a smile.
Shamoko sighed: "There is no way to lead an army well. I just want to stay as a soldier and eat food, but I don't want to go back to my hometown to farm and hunt. Sir, you are very resourceful. Do you have any good ideas?"
Lan Tian did not answer, but asked curiously: "A soldier is also a murderous weapon. Joining the army will inevitably lead to death and injury. Aren't you barbarian soldiers afraid of death?"
Shamoko smiled bitterly: "Aren't mortals afraid of death? But if you follow me, you will hardly suffer. Even if there are a few casualties in the war, the pension you provide is very high, so they are all willing to join the army."
"So that's it..." Lan Tian nodded.
"Sir, you may not know that many local defenders, including my Wuxi barbarians, dream of joining the trapped army. It's a pity that you are unwilling to expand the establishment, and even if there is a reduction in the number of troops, there are fixed sources of troops to replenish..."
The fixed source of troops that Shamoko mentioned was in Linwu. During the last battle in Changsha, there was a small reduction in the number of troops trapped in the battle, so they went to Li Yang's farm to select and replenish them.
Lan Tian explained: "The weapons and armor of the trapped army are expensive, and there are too many of them that I can't afford. Moreover, this army is considered a private army, and it is too large to be suitable..."
"General, I understand. I wonder why sir came to me today? Could it be that the money from Quanling has arrived? I haven't decided to retain the personnel yet..." Samoko lowered his head and asked.
"This batch of property is quite large. It won't be ready so quickly. I'm wondering if your barbarian soldiers want to keep some more." Lan Tian continued to whet his appetite.
Shamoko was overjoyed when he heard this, "Sir, are you serious? How much more do you want me to keep? Eight hundred or one thousand?"
Lan Tian shook his head and said nothing, his expression looked very calm. Shamoke felt that he had guessed wrong?
"How about five hundred?" Samoko continued to ask tentatively.
"Since they all want to serve as soldiers and feed themselves, let them all stay." Lan Tian said calmly.
Shamoko opened his eyes wide. He turned his head as if his ears were deceiving him, and then swallowed his saliva: "Sir, are you joking? Didn't you say that too many idle troops will affect the state's taxes?"
Lan Tian said solemnly: "Do you think I'm making fun of you? Go back and prepare as soon as possible? Tomorrow I will leave for Panyu to garrison. I went directly to see Hu Ke, the chief secretary of Shi Hui, and the scheduled demobilization expenses were cancelled."
"Cancel it, cancel it. As long as they can stay, it's better than anything else. I'll go back and tell the barracks to cut down on rations and save some money for my husband when we're not fighting. We can't just eat for nothing..." Shamoko looked happy.
Lan Tian quickly waved his hand: "Who told you to eat free of charge? If you have nothing to do, you can learn from General Gao and train more troops. Besides, you went to the home of a scholar in Panyu to supply military supplies. You are not allowed to make arbitrary decisions. Save me rations. We can have more things from outsiders." Eat some, do you understand?"
Shamo Kexin said there is such a good thing? He nodded quickly to express his firm obedience to the order, and then walked out happily, almost bumping into Gao Shun who came in.
Gao Shun walked in and asked in surprise: "What's wrong with General Sha? He seems very happy."
Lantian replied with a smile: "His barbarian soldiers don't have to go back to their hometown for the time being, so they are so excited."
"So that's it. The house that Mr. asked me to look for yesterday has been found. If nothing happens, I will take you to see it now?" Gao Shun asked.
"Then let's take a look." Lan Tian stood up immediately. The house he asked Gao Shun to look for these two days was not the small courtyard Xu Shu asked for for his mother, but a quiet office space.
The two followed the horse on the street and took several turns in Guangxin City. Finally, they found the house Gao Shun had mentioned in a quiet place in the northeast of the city. There was a shabby plaque on the mottled gatehouse with two official script characters: Xing. garden.
The entire house has a regular layout and is larger than the current Zhou Mufu in Lantian. There are several large broad-leaved trees in the courtyard, which can resist the harsh sunlight. Although the outer door looks dilapidated, the internal doors, windows, and beams are all new. The paint on the house and the furniture in each room are all there. There is an apricot grove in the garden behind, which echoes the two words on the plaque at the door.
"There is a cave like this. It doesn't look like an ordinary home. Can Boping find out who the owner of this garden is?" Lan Tian asked curiously.
Gao Shun replied: "I heard that this garden was Wu Ju's private residence. He once raised hundreds of concubines and beautiful maids here for his enjoyment. After Wu Ju was killed, Lu Fan took over Cangwu as the new governor, and this place became Lu Fan." The place where Fan received envoys from Jiangdong.”
