Zhang Chi walked around the army to confirm that there were no accidents before returning to his commander's tent.
Li Bin, the secretary in charge, said: "Today is a small year. I have sent a lot of sheep here, so I can have a nice meal. Commander, everything is fine. Can you let the soldiers drink two bowls of wine? In this weather, everyone is very cold, so drink a bowl The wine warms you up.”
Zhang Chi said: "Have you asked the governor?"
Li Bin smiled and said: "The governor has already agreed. He said that the commander agreed and we will drink tonight."
Zhang Chi thought for a while and said: "Okay. Tell everyone, you must control the amount. We are on the front line, we can't let everyone get drunk!"
Li Bin happily agreed, smiling like a flower.
At this moment, a soldier came in. He crossed his hands and said, "Deputy Commander, the Commander asked you to come to the commander's tent. Let's drink and discuss things tonight."
Zhang Chi heard this and asked: "Who else is there besides me?"
The soldier said: "There are two other military commanders. The commander has said that tonight is the military commander's meeting."
Zhang Chi nodded in agreement and asked the soldiers to go back and deliver their orders.
After the soldiers left, Li Bin said: "From today onwards, even if it is the Chinese New Year, everyone will have a bowl of wine. Look, the commander thinks so too."
Zhang Chi didn't say anything. He arrived at his seat and checked the arrangements for tomorrow.
According to the rules of Wang Xiao's hunting army, the deputy also serves as the commander of the army, but generally does not care about daily affairs. Just like Li Yanxian, who was the commander-in-chief of the Chinese army, but also promoted the affairs of Wang Xiao's hunting army. His main focus is on the headquarters, and the daily management of the Chinese Army is handled by Deputy Commander Zhang Yin. Zhang Yin is also the commander of the First Regiment of the Chinese Army, and also promotes the affairs of the Chinese Army. The daily management of the First Regiment is the responsibility of deputy commander Zhang Chi.
The army normally has a five-by-five system, with each level divided into five armies: center, front, left, right and rear. But in the headquarters, Zuo Yuhou was set up to manage the front army and the left army. You Yuhou, in charge of the right army and the rear army. The deputy, like them, is in charge of the central army. Some directly affiliated units of the army at this level belong to the Central Army and are all managed by deputies. Just like Li Yanxian's Chinese Army, in addition to the fifth infantry corps, there are also directly affiliated artillery regiments, cavalry regiments, engineering regiments, etc.
Stationed in Linru Town at this time were the central and front troops of the Chinese army, that is, the first and second regiments, as well as the cavalry regiment. Li Yanxian spends his days in Wentang, which is managed by Deputy Governor Zhang Yin.
Looking at the darkness, Zhang Chi walked out of his handsome tent and walked towards Zhang Yin's residence. Halfway through, he met Chi Yuping, the commander of the cavalry. The two chatted together and headed towards Zhang Yin's place.
Entering the commander's tent, he saw Zhang Zhen, the commander of the second regiment, already there, drinking tea and being bored. There was a large charcoal fire in the middle of the tent. There was no flame, but it heated the whole tent up.
Seeing Zhang Chi and Chi Yuping come in, Zhang Zhen smiled and said: "You two are late! There is meat to eat tonight, why don't you go faster!"
Zhang Chi smiled and said: "These days, the sheep from around are being sold, and we are in control. How come we don't get enough meat?"
Zhang Zhendao: "How can it be the same! Today we specially transported a few fat pigs, and the deputy captain left a pig leg for us to eat. Straight bitch, I haven't eaten pork in a few days, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!"
Zhang Chi and Chi Yuping sat down. Said: "If it's pork, I really haven't eaten it for a few days."
The society is in turmoil, and there are few people raising pigs around. Unlike sheep, pigs only need to eat grass, so long-distance trafficking is not easy. After hard work, there is now no shortage of sheep in the army, but pigs are rare.
A few people chatted here and there, drank tea, and watched the soldiers in front of them put away the fire.
After a while, Zhang Yin came back from outside. He stamped his feet and said: "Zhi Niang, how come there is still a place where the ice never melts under such a beautiful sun? - Chi Tongzhi, take care of your men and don't go to the Yi River!"
Chi Yuping was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stood up and crossed his hands in agreement.
Zhang Yindao: "Today, your rangers came to the side of the Zhai family army again, causing them to complain!"
Chi Yuping hurriedly said: "Don't worry, Commander, I'll go back and tell them not to run that way."
Zhang Yin asked Chi Yuping to do it. Said: "If you ask me, the Zhai family's army is too useless. We fought for a dragon gate for ten or twenty days, but there was no progress at all! If it had been us, we would have entered Luoyang City long ago!"
Sitting down on the main seat, Zhang Yin said to everyone: "You are in for a treat today! There is a family in Linru town that specializes in making elbows. Their elbows taste delicious, they are really fat but not greasy. Thin but not strong! Tonight, two people share an elbow!"
Zhang Zhen was stunned. Said: "Deputy Commander, didn't you keep a pig leg? Why did you eat the elbow again?"
Zhang Yindao said: "I gave the pig legs to the soldiers, and we will eat elbows tonight. - Why, one elbow is not enough for two people? If you think it is not enough, you can ask the master to keep it for you tomorrow morning. Sauced elbows are not cheap now. , how can you only eat mine?"
Zhang Zhen said hurriedly, "I don't dare, I don't dare to say anything anymore."
These military commanders have official money, and they don't control it strictly. They can basically spend it however they want. The only thing is, you are not allowed to put it in your own pocket. In the parlance of later generations, ministerial money is office expenses, but it is very loosely managed.
It was a custom in the Song Dynasty that each government office had envoy money to use as office expenses. It's just that civil servants must strictly control money, require clear accounts, and are not allowed to take advantage of others. For example, during the reign of Renzong, Teng Zongliang in the northwest was burned because the imperial court was investigating the minister's money. He had a lot of uses for the minister's money on the front line, and the accounts could not be explained at all. Because of this incident, he was demoted to the post of magistrate of Yuezhou and rebuilt Yueyang Tower. Fan Zhongyan wrote an article "Yueyang Tower" about this incident, which was passed down to later generations. But the military commander's envoy can manage money easily. If you achieve the goal of Jiedushi, it will be entirely the military commander's money.
Wang Xiaolie followed the public envoy money system, regardless of civil servants and military officers, and generally did not strictly investigate. The restriction on ministers' money is that they are not allowed to keep it for themselves or use it as gifts for guests. There are no restrictions on officials spending money however they want.
For example, Zhang Zhen invited several military commanders to dinner tonight, using Zhang Zhen's minister's money. He is the deputy capital commander and actually manages the Chinese army. He has much more money than the commanders below. Military commanders often invite their subordinates to dinner as a form of emotional connection.
Putting the elbows on the table, the soldiers served a few more plates of vegetables. It’s nothing more than tender lotus roots, bean sprouts, radishes and the like that are available in winter. There is also a plate of long, thin white bars, which are silver bars that are a specialty of Luoyang. This is a specialty of Luoyang and cannot be eaten elsewhere. It is perfect for drinking in winter.
After three rounds of drinking, everyone gradually started talking more.
Zhang Zhendao: "When I first arrived at Linru Town, I was extremely anxious. I was afraid that Zhai Xing would capture Luoyang and something would happen before we came. As a result, we stayed here for more than ten days, and Zhai Xing didn't even capture Longmen. , I really don’t know what to say.”
Chi Yuping said: "Some of us are watching the battle at Longmen and say that if Meng Bangxiong's people don't come out, Zhai Xing's people will be helpless. Unless the Luoyang defenders come out, it will be difficult for the Zhai family's army to gain the upper hand."
Zhang Yindao: "Zhi Niang, Zhai Xing can't attack Longmen. We are embarrassed in Ruzhou! Longmen is dozens of miles ahead. What are we doing here? An army of nearly ten thousand, running hundreds of miles, just to watch the fun?" "
Zhang Chi sighed: "Yes, we have traveled hundreds of miles, are we here to see the excitement? After more than ten days in Linru Town, the morale of the army has begun to become unstable, and there are all the following. If Zhai Xing celebrates the New Year We still can’t capture Longmen, what should we do?”
Zhang Yindao: "I have called you here tonight to tell you that you must pay attention in the coming days. The battle ahead in Zhai Xing is not going well, so our military morale is naturally unstable here. You must be careful and pay attention to the situation in the army, and don't let anything happen! We are in charge of an army and cannot be as unstable as the people below. The more times like this, the more stable you must be!"
Zhang Chi, Chi Yuping and Zhang Zhen all said yes.
Zhang Yin said helplessly: "If we had attacked Longmen, this battle would have been over long ago. But now Zhai Xing is fighting, and we can only watch from the side. Zhai Xing is the governor of Henan Prefecture, Mengzhou, and Zhengzhou. Don’t irritate him. We feel embarrassed, how can the Zhai family’s army not be embarrassed? You tell the army not to talk about the Luoyang war casually. Especially when facing the people of the Zhai family’s army, don’t embarrass them!"
When talking about this matter, several people felt depressed. They stopped talking and just drank.
After a while, Zhang Zhen said bitterly: "As soon as Zhai Xing mentioned the Northern Expedition, the Commander-in-Chief did not say a word. Hundreds of thousands of troops marched northward. How much trust he has in Zhai Xing! How can you imagine that the Zhai family's army is so useless, even Longmen It can’t be captured!”
Zhang Yin drank a glass of wine, looked at the people, and said slowly: "I called you here today because I have something to tell you. I estimate that if Zhai Xing really can't capture Longmen, he will have to rely on us in the end. In the following days, Don't irritate the people of the Zhai family. However, you must pay attention to the situation around Longmen, including the geographical and military situation. When the time comes when the higher-ups give orders, we will be able to pull them up immediately! Don't stay here for dozens of days and still know nothing about the surroundings. I know. If it really makes it impossible for us to go up when we go up, that would be unreasonable!"
After hearing this, several people looked at each other and couldn't help but be overjoyed.
Seeing that Zhai Jiajun has made no progress in Longmen these days, these people have long been unable to hold it in any longer. After listening to Zhang Yin's words, he might have to fight this battle by himself in the end, so he immediately felt much more relaxed.
As long as there is a war in the end, the hundreds of miles from Xinye will not be in vain.
