After Zhou Qing left Guo Yunshan, he rode eastward and arrived at Linjiang Mansion in just three days.
Once here, the chaotic uprisings seen everywhere in other prefectures and counties in Xichuan suddenly became much less common.
After a little inquiry, I found out that it was not that there were no uprisings here, but that those uprisings had just begun and were suppressed by the Linjiang Su clan.
The Su family in Linjiang is a first-class thousand-year-old family. During the Qiang rebellion, the Su family did not choose to fight to the end when facing the Xishu rebels. Instead, they surrendered.
He dedicated his family's inherited skills and divine blood species to preserve the family legacy.
Therefore, although the divine blood mutant was lost, Su's strength did not suffer much loss.
Even because of his obedient performance, Su Xun, the current head of the Su family, was appointed as the prefect of Linjiang by Li Xiong, the pseudo-Shu emperor. He was in charge of a land and became a feudal official.
In terms of power, it is actually a bit stronger than before.
But it is precisely because of this that the Su family is now completely tied to the pseudo-Shu. The rise of the pseudo-Shu will lead to the prosperity of the Su family, and the death of the pseudo-Shu will lead to the death of the Su family.
Because neither the imperial court nor the Xichuan martial arts world would let Su, the traitor, go free due to their deep hatred.
And Su Shi also knew this.
Therefore, after discovering that there was a rebellion in the local area, they immediately mobilized a large army and sent experts from the clan to suppress the rebellion in the local area.
After doing this several times, after killing thousands of people, almost all those who dared to rebel in the local area died.
The land of Linjiang Mansion is once again as stable as Mount Tai.
"The Su family is the local leader of Linjiang Prefecture after all. With their full assistance, the foundation of pseudo-Shu here will be unshakable. Just some local righteous people can't make waves at all."
Zhou Qing observed all the way in Linjiang Mansion and finally came to this conclusion and couldn't help but sigh.
Continuing westward, when he almost reached the easternmost part of Linjiang Mansion, he discovered that the puppet Shu army had returned from Wushan Mansion, and the vanguard of the evacuated army had actually arrived here.
It seems that the domestic rebellion finally shaken the pseudo-Shu Emperor Li Xiong, forcing him to give up the opportunity to take over Wushan Mansion and unify the entire Xichuan County, and instead turned around to put down the rebellion.
Zhou Qing hid in the crowd and watched the puppet Shu army marching on the official road. After watching it for a while, he couldn't help but become even less optimistic about the uprising within Xichuan County.
He also led troops, although there were not many, only a hundred.
But even so, from Zhou Qing's point of view, although these pseudo-Shu armies are still somewhat inferior, at least the marching array can be arranged neatly, and the soldiers at the bottom can understand some orders, and can still enforce orders and prohibitions.
If I had to compare them, they were no less inferior to the county soldiers composed of mountain people that he had led before.
As for the rebels who are currently revolting in Xichuan County, they look to be numerous in number, numbering over 100,000.
But these volunteers are basically brave, and some were even farmers not long ago. Let alone marching array, these people don't even listen to orders.
"With such a rabble, it is simply a fool's errand to expect them to defeat the pseudo-Shu army that already has some discipline."
Zhou Qing couldn't help but feel even more grateful at this time that he got out of the fire pit in time.
The army returning from Xishu has arrived at Linjiang Prefecture, and further west from Linjiang Prefecture is Yuzhong Prefecture.
If he had left later and delayed for more than ten days, he might have followed Guo Yunshan and faced this returning army.
By then, under the chaos of the army, even if Zhou Qing was already a second-rate master, he could not say that he would be able to save his life.
With a slight shiver in his heart, he didn't dare to look any further and quietly broke away from the crowd, then got into the path and headed south.
When he arrived at a dock in the south, Zhou Qing found a small boat and asked the boatman to take him all the way to the other side.
After crossing the shore, he did not take the official road.
Because walking eastward along the official road is the frontal battlefield of Wushan Mansion. Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered there, fighting was raging, and the roads had long been blocked, making it impossible for people to pass.
Zhou Qing didn't want to force his way through the road blocked by the army, so he chose to take the mountain path.
Although the distance is longer, it is safer.
After walking like this for more than ten days, he finally walked out of the mountain road of Wushan Mansion. After leaving Wushan Mansion, he arrived at Tianmen Mansion in Dongting County.
When he arrived at Tianmen Mansion, Zhou Qing originally thought that this place was under the rule of the imperial court and that the place would be more stable and prosperous than Xichuan.
But when he arrived here, he realized that the place where he had just stayed a few months ago had become as dangerous and turbulent as Xichuan County.
With great confusion, he inquired locally and got news that shocked Zhou Qing.
"The Five Poison Sect actually rebelled?"
Xichuan County is surrounded by mountains. The entire county is covered by mountains and belongs to the basin.
Therefore, after several key roads within the country are blocked, it will be difficult for news from other counties to spread inside the country.
In addition, in order to prevent people in the country from colluding with the Yue court, the puppet emperor Li Xiong also deliberately blocked roads and prevented communication between the two sides. As a result, news from the outside world had not been able to reach Xichuan since Linjiang Mansion was captured a few months ago.
Because of this, no one in Xichuan County had heard of such a big news about the Five Poison Sect's rebellion.
The Five Poison Sect is the largest sect in Dongting County, and is vaguely known as the leader of the martial arts community in the county. Coupled with the special status of this sect among the Miao people, once the other party launches a rebellion, the momentum will definitely not be reduced.
"Master and Mr. Sun were officials in Wugang County. When they were in Pingding County, Master slaughtered many Miao people. Now that the Miao people have launched a rebellion, and with such old hatred, the Five Poison Sect will never let them go. Master’s.”
After hearing the news, Zhou Qing couldn't help but lament that things and people had changed, and immediately became worried about his master.
Although he knew that with his master's first-rate master's strength and his steady character. Even if the Five Poison Sect retaliates, it will never be able to harm the master.
But the truth is this: after knowing that the situation is dangerous, you should still be worried.
Zhou Qing couldn't sit still anymore.
We took a speed boat all the way from Tianmen Mansion, along the river system, to Shaoyang Mansion.
Along the way, we passed through many prefectures and counties, and everything we saw was the flames of war.
A large number of imperial prefectures and counties were occupied by the Miao people. Countless seedlings sprouted from the mountains and began to wantonly slaughter Yue people in local villages, towns and cities.
The Yue people also fought back, but most of them were scattered and couldn't achieve anything. The moment they resisted, they were extinguished.
There were also some places that were still under the control of the imperial court. The local government organized militia rebels, and under the leadership of local squires and heroes, they actively resisted the invasion and killings of the Miao people.
The fight between the two sides can be described as a life-and-death fight.
Even Zhou Qing, who had been taking a boat, encountered danger several times.
Among them were the Miao people who intercepted and killed them, as well as the so-called local rebels who wanted to rob them of their wealth.
In troubled times, the distinction between officials and bandits, thieves and civilians, is really not that big anymore.
A person can be an official or a bandit, or a thief or a citizen.
As long as you can live and live better, who cares about your identity?
There is nothing to say about those Miao people who robbed and killed them, just cut them off with one sword.
With the strength of Zhou Qing's second-rate master, he might be able to survive against an army of hundreds of people. But facing a dozen or twenty bandits, it was still very easy and neat to kill them.
As for the bandits committed by officers and soldiers, he showed his Wugang County inspection badge.
When he left, Lu Yuan kept his official status as his apprentice, just waiting for him to come back.
With their official skins, most of the rebel officers and soldiers were not in any trouble.
Occasionally, some people who were extremely greedy for money were treated as Miao people and killed.
A greedy evil spirit like this who even attacks his own people is still causing harm to the villagers while he is still alive in the world. What else is he still doing?
Although the place was full of thieves, Zhou Qing still stumbled along the way. It took him almost ten days, during which he passed through three mansions and finally arrived at Shaoyang Mansion.
When he got here, his senses were different again.
The river crossings were also guarded by local officers and soldiers, but these officers and soldiers were not those who wanted to be robbers.
Compared to those rebels who appeared out of nowhere, the officers and soldiers of Shaoyang Mansion seemed much more regular.
Not only are they more majestic, but they also have a stronger military spirit when walking. At first glance, they are well-trained soldiers. Not those bandit soldiers who are like second-rate villagers.
These officers and soldiers were stationed at the ferry. Although they would also collect customs duties, all procedures were carried out in accordance with the court's laws and regulations.
Even the people who collect taxes are not officers and soldiers, but tax collectors from the government.
This kind of behavior of doing things according to the rules is infinitely better than the chaotic rebels outside who can't even tell the difference between the officials and the bandits.
Because this represents order and stability, law and justice.
The pedestrians and merchants at the pier all looked at ease and calm, and some could even see smiles on their faces. It's completely different from the despair of people living in a fiery hell in the outside world.
Seeing this scene, Zhou Qing's feelings towards the officials of Shaoyang Mansion suddenly increased greatly.
If you can protect the country and the people and stabilize the place in these troubled times, you are definitely a good official.
'I remember that when I left, the prefect of Shaoyang was still the same Liang Xiwen. According to Master, this person is just a idiot who only knows how to read and learn, and he doesn't know how to govern the country at all.
The scene like this in Shaoyang Mansion today cannot be attributed to him.
Could it be that this person did too poorly as an official and was fired by the court, and then replaced by a new and capable prefect? '
Zhou Qing couldn't help but think like this when he was queuing up at the dock checkpoint.
There weren't many people in front of him, so it was his turn soon.
When registering his identity, Zhou Qing directly took out his official status token.
Hearing that it was a local inspection in the mansion, the clerks and officers and soldiers who registered were slightly shocked, then carefully checked the tokens, and even invited their own superiors.
Unexpectedly, when the Shangguan arrived and saw Zhou Qing's face, he immediately said in surprise: "Master Zhou."
In the surprise of all the officers, soldiers and petty officials, the inspector in charge of the fifty soldiers on the dock saluted with joy and respect.
"Are you...Meng Huan?"
Zhou Qing looked at the man in the patrol uniform and asked slightly hesitantly.
He remembered that this person seemed to be one of the followers who joined the army with a son of a wealthy family named Meng in Changning County. Because he developed his internal strength, he was considered a relatively brave person in the army at that time, so he had a certain impression.
"Master Zhou still remembers me."
Meng Huan was extremely happy when he saw Zhou Qing admitting his mistake. Then he turned to the subordinates next to him, changed his humility when facing Zhou Qing, and said majestically: "This is Mr. Zhou. He is the direct disciple of General Fenwu. You are not polite!"
Everyone present was surprised when they heard that he was a disciple of General Fenwu.
The petty officials and soldiers quickly saluted Zhou Qing. Even the people who were queuing up nearby listened and bowed together, calling him "sir".
Zhou Qing was a little dizzy by this scene.
It's true that he is Master's direct disciple. But what happened to General Fenwu?
Is it possible that after so many years since he left, his master was promoted so quickly that he became a general in the imperial court?
Zhou Qing was confused.
But he has been out for so many years and has gained experience.
At this time, his expression remained unchanged, he nodded slightly, and after letting everyone get up, he took Meng Huan to a secluded place and asked about his confusion.
After asking for a while, he realized that his master had gone through so many things in the years since he left.
After pacifying the thieves, he was promoted to commander of the city.
Then a few months ago, when the entire Dongting County was in ruins, he took the initiative to lead an army to attack, and achieved two victories in two battles, completely defeating the tens of thousands of Miao rebels in the government.
Then he divided his troops and wiped out the remnants of the rebels, completely quelling the rebellion in Shaoyang Mansion, making this place a rare place of peace and stability in troubled times.
"Now the general is busy recruiting troops and reorganizing the military. He is very busy and keeps saying that he has no right-hand man around him.
Now that Mr. Zhou is back, the general will be overjoyed when he finds out.
After your Excellency returns, the relationship between Your Majesty and the General will make the position of a Colonel a lieutenant indispensable. "This Meng Huan looked at Zhou Qing and said with envy.
According to the Dai Viet military system, an army consists of fifty men per team. According to the difference between local armies and regular armies, each has its own team sergeant or patrol commander, all of whom are ninth-rank officials.
The second team is composed of one pawn, under the supervision of the patrol inspector or pawn commander, who is the ninth-rank official. Five soldiers form a battalion, which is under the jurisdiction of the county captain or the battalion chief, who is the eighth-rank official.
At the battalion level, it is the most basic standard unit in the Dai Viet Army. According to different places and different needs, the second to fifth battalions form a combat group, each led by a commander or a school lieutenant, who is a sixth-grade officer.
In other words, when Zhou Qing returns, he can be directly promoted to the rank of Sixth Grade Colonel.
This future is truly unlimited for Meng Huan, who has struggled for so long to reach the rank of ninth-level patrol officer.
So at this time, he tried his best to please this general's direct disciple, hoping to find a future for himself.
"Whether I continue to be an official depends on my master's wishes. It's too early to say this now."
Zhou Qing naturally knew what Meng Huan meant by what he said. But unlike what the other party thought, he didn't care whether he was an official or not.
At this time, after hearing the compliment, he just smiled.
However, Zhou Qing was still very happy after learning that his master had been promoted to general and was in charge of the local military in the county.
As long as he can see his master's life getting better and better, as a disciple, he feels that there is nothing more joyful than this in the world.
'Now the master has been promoted and became a general. My disciple came back and presented Chiyang Divine Art as a congratulatory gift. '
Zhou Qing couldn't wait to think so.
Declining Meng Huan's invitation to the banquet, he took a fast horse from the dock and hurried towards Fucheng.
…
Shaoyang Fucheng, military camp outside the city.
Although there are military camps in the city, according to the system, Shaoyang Mansion could only have a thousand soldiers. Therefore, the scale of the military camp in the city was naturally built according to this specification.
But since the troubled times came and Lu Yuan started recruiting troops aggressively, the military camps in the city could no longer accommodate so many people.
So after thinking about it, he simply found a large open space outside the city and recruited civilians to build a new military camp.
Originally, the new military camp could only accommodate five thousand people, but after Lu Yuan was promoted to general and could take charge of the entire county's local troops, our new General Fenwu began to recruit troops again.
After spending the past few months wiping out the Miao strongholds in the mansion, Lu Yuan obtained 370,000 taels of silver through seizures. Coupled with the one hundred thousand taels of silver supported by the county government, the city received another batch of money and food.
The total sum of these zeros and zeros finally enabled him to raise a huge military salary of 500,000 taels.
Now that he had money, Lu Yuan naturally started to recruit troops, whether it was for safety or for the anticipated big plan.
First, elites were selected locally in Shaoyang Prefecture, and soon the remaining mountain hunters and brave local people were recruited into the army.
But even so, he only got more than 3,000 people in the end.
Counting the original troops in the army, the total total is just 7,000 soldiers and horses.
After all, Shaoyang Mansion is a small mansion. It originally had a population of more than 200,000, including many Miao people.
Now after Lu Yuan's two recruitments, there are not many qualified soldiers left.
In the end, he was helpless and could only take his troops and horses to visit several nearby prefectures and counties.
On the one hand, he trained his troops through marching and training, and on the other hand, he also helped several surrounding prefectures and counties put down rebellions.
After all, he was already General Fenwu, and Lu Yuan had fulfilled some responsibilities for the official position given by the court.
certainly.
While training troops to counter rebellion, he naturally still had to recruit troops locally.
In this way, he traveled to eight or nine counties outside the government, fought three small-scale counterinsurgency battles, and solved the siege of five counties. Then he spent more than 100,000 taels of silver on the way, and finally recruited a large number of qualified soldiers.
When we went out, we had an army of 7,000, and when we came back, we had an army of 15,000.
However, although the number is sufficient, many of them are new recruits. Although the quality of these recruits is also good, because Lu Yuan recruits soldiers, he still chooses those with military skills, or simply mountain hunters.
But even these high-quality soldiers cannot become qualified soldiers without training.
Therefore, these days, after returning to Shaoyang Fucheng, on the one hand to avoid the possible assassination of the Xiantian Grandmaster, and on the other hand to train soldiers, Lu Yuan completely lived in the military camp and refused to leave even half a step.
this day.
He was reading Taoist scriptures in the commander's tent, and then he saw one of his soldiers rushing in. After entering, he said with a happy face: "General, Master Zhou is back."
