Sure enough, by the time Li Ke arrived, the team led by Li Jing had already gathered.
All the soldiers gathered into a huge square and stood there.
"I have seen His Royal Highness the King of Shu. A total of 4,723 soldiers are already in place, which is almost the strength of the entire government." Li Jing cupped his fists and saluted Li Ke.
"You're welcome, Duke." Li Ke nodded.
The Tang Dynasty adopted a government military system. The military strength of a government was divided into three levels: small, medium and large, with approximately 1,000-4,000 people. The governor of the government is called Duwei Zhechong, who is in the fourth rank.
There is a regiment under the government, which is also called a battalion. The official is a school captain. There is a team under the battalion, with a team leader, and a team with a team leader. Each battalion has five teams, and each team has three groups. Each group has five captains, and each group has ten men.
The battalion is the base unit of Datang.
"Your Highness, this is the captain of the soldiers in this mansion: Zhang Xi." Li Jing introduced Li Ke to the captain behind him.
"I've met His Highness!" Zhang Xi cupped his fists and saluted Li Ke.
"From today on, they will be handed over to His Highness. Because they have retired, they no longer belong to the Tang Dynasty soldiers and do not need military symbols." Li Jing explained to Li Ke.
"Understood. Your Highness, I will send you off to Duke Dai not far away." Li Ke was not polite and directly issued an expulsion order to Li Jing.
Li Jing was a little surprised, but he nodded directly and said, "Then I'll take my leave."
After sending Li Jing and the guards away, Li Ke looked at the soldiers below. Some of their faces were numb, some were curious, and many had no expression at all.
"Zhang Xi." Li Ke said.
"The end will be here."
"Let them all squeeze in and sit on the ground. Come and sit in front of us." Li Ke pointed to a high platform not far away. It is said to be a high platform, but in fact it is only about one meter higher than the ground, and its area is only 2 square meters, which is not big, like an enlarged stool.
There are more than 4,000 people. If they are packed tightly, one person will be about 40 centimeters square, which is 0.16 square meters. More than 4,000 people occupy an area of only more than 700 square meters, 27 meters square. Li Ke is standing in the middle. He spoke for everyone to hear.
When speaking in the army, there are actually messengers, that is, the people on the stage say something, and the soldiers farther down below will repeat the words loudly to ensure that everyone can hear it.
But it doesn’t have to be that troublesome to squeeze in with the number of people in front of you.
Zhang Xi was a little confused, but he still ordered everyone to gather together. Li Ke's bodyguards were hesitant. In the end, they honestly did not refute, but listened to Li Ke's words and sat in a circle around the table. .
These soldiers did not carry weapons and were only wearing civilian clothes. There should be no problem with His Highness's safety.
Li Ke stood on the stage, looked around at everyone, and then said in a deep voice: "Hello everyone, I am Li Ke. Everyone here, I believe in the reputation of His Highness the King of Shu. Even if you are in the army, You should all have heard it more or less, such as what a reckless man is, his brain is full of muscles, he is stupid, etc."
Li Ke's words made many soldiers below couldn't help but burst into laughter. His Highness the King of Shu's reputation was not only in this pass, but also in the entire Tang Dynasty... The border officers and soldiers must have heard about it.
As Li Ke made himself clear, the atmosphere suddenly relaxed a lot.
"But I, Li Ke, am not someone who doesn't understand anything." Li Ke's tone suddenly became serious.
"Next, no matter what happens, no one is allowed to move. This is the last military order!" Li Ke said loudly.
"No!" uniformly, murderous shouts.
"The reason I just asked Duke Dai to leave first is because you are no longer soldiers. But there is a saying, once you are a Tang Army, you will always be a Tang Army!"
"And you have paid a heavy price for the peace of the Tang Dynasty. Here, on behalf of my father, on behalf of myself, and on behalf of all the people of the Tang Dynasty, I would like to express my solemn gratitude to you." After saying that, Li Ke directly raised his hands. Hold your fists and bow down to salute all the soldiers.
The soldiers below were stunned for an instant. Zhang Xi and some captains subconsciously wanted to get up and return the salute, but thinking of the military order just issued by Li Ke, they held back.
After Li Ke saluted all the soldiers in the four directions, he stood up straight again and said loudly: "Then, on behalf of my father and the Li family, I apologize to you! It's me. The Li family can’t help you!”
After speaking, Li Ke bent down and saluted again.
Now Zhang Xi and the others were frightened, but they still held back and did not move. The military orders were like mountains! But... although Li Ke is not an emperor, he is a prince.
How many emperors have you seen apologize in history? Although Li Shimin issued an edict to sin against oneself, it was because of the natural disasters in the third and fourth years of Zhenguan that he had to issue it. In daily life, Li Shimin may sometimes admit his mistakes to people like Wei Zheng, but who are they?
They are military households and government soldiers. To put it bluntly, they are mud-legged! Have you ever seen a few nobles apologize and salute to peasants, let alone the royal family? !
None of the soldiers moved or made any noise, but they were a little excited. They all said that His Highness the King of Shu was a reckless man, but His Highness the King of Shu treated them sincerely. Otherwise, have you ever seen that prince treat them like this? ? Salute them.
People in this era... are so pure. In this era, it is really not an empty saying that a scholar will die for his bosom friend.
Looking at the soldiers below, Li Ke thought of the Anxi Army of the later Tang Dynasty. As the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty, at the end of the Tang Dynasty, control of the entire Western Region was almost gone, and the last batch of defenders of the Tang Dynasty , guarding the isolated city for fifty years. In the end, the whole city was filled with white-haired troops.
Li Ke stood up straight: "You fought for the country and paid a heavy price. The Tang Dynasty should have given you the best arrangements, allowing you to return to your hometown with honor, tell your fellow villagers and elders, and tell your descendants that you have The injury was left for the Tang Dynasty!"
"But our Li family has let everyone down, and the Tang Dynasty has let everyone down! The imperial court has been overwhelmed for years and cannot feed so many of you. But as one of the princes of the Li family, I can't just sit back and ignore you, so I took the initiative The next task is to feed you!"
"Because I know that you don't have many demands on the Tang Dynasty, the court, or His Majesty. In fact, you just want to survive. You just want to find a job, an ordinary job that can support your family and live a stable life." Just a living, nothing more."
In fact, this requirement of ordinary people has never changed for thousands of years.
Li Ke spoke solemnly, but all the soldiers below were silent and moved, because Li Ke spoke to their hearts.
But there has never been a prince or a person who has thought about them in this way, let alone those nobles. But they did not expect that Li Ke understood them.
Zhang Xi and several captains were not actually ordinary people, but they were all from a small family. They knew that what Li Ke said was right, but what they never expected was that Li Ke actually understood this!
"You want to know? Why does the imperial court earn tens of millions of dollars every year, but it can't even support thousands of you?" Li Ke grinned and asked.
Zhang Xi opened his mouth. He didn't know why Li Ke was smiling, but Li Ke's smile always made him feel like he wanted to choose others to devour.
