After sending Little Fatty away, Li Qing thought boredly: Forget it, King Yan will know it if he knows it. Anyway, it is Lao Zhu's order to monitor him, and he can't do anything if he knows it.
Turned over and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day.
Li Qing got up early and half-finished his meal when Zhu Di hurried over.
"I am here early."
"The official got up late." Li Qing clapped his hands, "Business matters are important, let's set off!"
Zhu Di took out a piece of letter paper from his arms and said, "Mr. Li, take a look at this first. After making sure it is correct, we will go to the Yamen to make arrangements."
Li Qing took it and took a look, good guy, as for the food: rice, 100,000 shi, wheat, 30,000 shi, 8,000 pigs, 5,000 sheep...
In terms of equipment: 50,000 arrows, 5,000 cannonballs, 10,000 lead bullets... all of them added up, equivalent to more than 3.5 million taels of treasure.
This does not include military pay and post-war pensions.
Were wars so expensive in ancient times?
Zhu Di saw the strange expression on his face and asked with a smile: "Does Mr. Li have any objections?"
Li Qing shook his head slowly. These things must be reported to the court afterwards. If Zhu Di dares to do this, it proves to be reasonable.
But he was a little strange, "Your Majesty, is the food of our Ming soldiers... so good?"
"The quality of food for soldiers depends on the time." Zhu Di patiently explained, "When the world was in chaos and my father and the others revolted, as long as there were people who stuttered, it would be fine. But now it is different. The world is at peace and the people are at peace. Soldiers go Fighting hard, if the food is not as good as at home, how can there be any fighting spirit?"
Li Qing nodded, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for clearing up the confusion."
"Then let's...?"
"Oh, please, Your Majesty."
…
Peiping is an important military area. There are arsenals, armories, and granaries here, making it easy to dispatch.
Li Qing suddenly realized that he, the supervisor of the army, had so much power that he even asked him to sign the pledge. Without his signature, Zhu Di alone could not move anything.
I don’t know if it’s because the supervisor is like this or because Lao Zhu gave him special care.
However, this also proves from the side that the power of the Ming Dynasty vassal kings is indeed not great.
As the border guarding vassal king, Zhu Di was indeed armed, but he only had three guards. Here, one guard does not refer to one person, but 3,000 to 19,000 people.
Theoretically, a vassal king can have up to 57,000 people.
But the specific number is not decided by the vassal king, but by the court, because the salary of the guards is paid by the court.
Because Zhu Di faces Beiyuan and has a special geographical location, his rank is higher than others, but the three guards combined only have 24,000 people.
However, in general conventional battles, feudal guards would not be used.
The duty of the guards is to ensure the safety of the feudal lord. To be precise, they are the royal bodyguards, not regular troops.
It was Zhu Yuanzhang who paid money to hire bodyguards for his sons because he was afraid that his sons would be bullied.
But sometimes they were requisitioned. Zhu Di's three guards were often requisitioned. Sometimes he would take the three guards to stroll on the grassland when his hands were itchy.
However, this time there was a clear target and precise route. Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of missing the opportunity, so he used all the elite cavalry.
Li Qing worked with Zhu Di for a few days and gained a basic understanding of the Ming Dynasty's military. At least he knew who to look for to adjust food and adjust firearms...
At the same time, he also got to know Zhu Di somewhat.
Zhu Di is a person who likes fighting very much. In addition to his meritorious mentality, he also has a fanatical preference for fighting itself.
These days, he walks with wind, as if he has endless energy.
After four or five days of busy work, the military supplies matter finally came to an end.
In fact, Li Qing, the supervisor, didn't play much role at all. He didn't express any opinions and just signed and drew pictures. It was Zhu Di who was busy, but he was not ashamed.
It would be shameful to not know how to command blindly, and he plans to continue to carry forward this spirit.
Leave professional matters to professionals and never pretend to understand if you don't understand. This is Li Qing's code of conduct.
He had no idea how the ancients fought.
He wouldn't dare to randomly apply the tactics from the TV series. On the battlefield, people would die if he gave random instructions.
Lao Zhu asked him to do the gold plating, but he didn't ask him to command the battle. The battle was left to the Duke and the vassal king, and he could just drink the soup along with him.
After finishing the military supplies work, Li Qing came down again and had a heated fight with Little Fatty.
Little Fatty Dun'er was really loyal and kept the secret for Li Qing without telling anyone.
…
Five days later, Duke Feng Sheng of the Song Dynasty arrived with his army.
Li Qing and Zhu Di welcomed the old Duke into the palace together.
"Oh, I'm getting old after all. This battle hasn't been fought yet, and I can't stand the march all the way." Feng Sheng made his attitude clear as soon as he sat down.
People of this rank always pay attention to the word "stable" in everything they do. Since the holy intention is so obvious, he will not steal Zhu Di's limelight.
"Your Highness, if you have any clever ideas, you might as well tell me."
"How dare Zhu Di do whatever he wants in front of the old Duke?"
"Huh? Your Highness, please don't be modest." Feng Sheng said with a smile, "Your Highness often fights against the Yuan people and is much more familiar with them than I am. My routines are already outdated."
Zhu Di saw that the old guy didn't say anything, so he had to say, "Then the junior has made a fool of himself. If what he said is wrong, please correct me."
After pondering for a while, he slowly spoke:
"This battle is different from the past. We have precise goals and approaches, and we are fully prepared. In my opinion, we only need to do the following two things,
One is fast, and the other is late. The Yuan people are different from the Han people. They do not have fixed residences. They go wherever the grass grows best.
Second, the secrecy must be done well. Today's Yuan people are already frightened. There must be spies around the area. Moreover, they also have natural eyesights like Hai Dongqing. It would be too difficult for 50,000 people to completely hide in the grassland.
My opinion is that when we are five hundred miles away from the target, we should march at night. When we are closer, the risk of the horse's hoof wrapping being exposed will be minimal. "
"Your Highness, your Majesty." Feng Sheng nodded, "This is very appropriate."
Zhu Di smiled reservedly and said, "It's just some common sense about the art of war. The Duke is so ridiculous."
After a pause, seeing that Feng Sheng didn't have any additional tactics, he looked at Li Qing and asked, "Does Supervisor Li have any suggestions?"
Li Qing cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, in your opinion, this is very appropriate."
Feng Sheng glanced at Li Qing and then remembered that there was a supervisor for this expedition, but he didn't care and said to Zhu Di: "Your Highness, can you tell me how to deal with the enemy?"
Zhu Di nodded, "This time we have the advantage. Victory can only be considered as passing, and a big victory must be considered as a success."
"so……?"
"Surround but not fight, carry out recruitment!" Zhu Di's eyes were sharp.
"Hiss~!"
Feng Sheng's original expression finally changed, "Your Highness, this is too risky!"
"Don't worry, Lord." Zhu Di explained, "Win must be the strategic goal. Recruitment is just a strategy, and it does not have to be implemented."
"Yes." Feng Sheng was relieved at this, and his eyes could not hide his admiration, "Your Highness dares to fight and fight hard, but he is also cautious. This is very appropriate."
Zhu Di smiled modestly, and then said seriously: "As long as our army moves secretly and forms an encirclement before the enemy is alert, recruiting security may not be impossible."
Then, he looked at Li Qing, "Does Supervisor Li agree with my king's strategy?"
"Your Highness dares to fight and fight hard, but he is also cautious. This is very appropriate." Li Qing cupped his hands and said.
Feng Sheng glared at Li Qing angrily, and then felt happy again.
This supervisor...is pretty good.
At least, it's much better than the Supervisory Army who pretends to understand and acts blindly.
After determining the tactics and strategic guidelines, the next step is to plan the march route.
Li Qing acted like a mute, saying nothing and only drinking tea or peeling oranges to eat. After most of the day, he showed off two plates of fruit.
Finally, Zhu Di stood up and set the tone: "The army will rest for one night and set off tomorrow!"
…
At night, Li Qing made the bed and was just about to go to bed when the door was pushed open.
The little chubby boy walked in with a smile on his face, holding a pillow.
Li Qing said in surprise, "You don't want to sleep with me, do you?"
"Tomorrow you will go to war with your father, and I want to chat with you." Little Fatty'er looked worried, "You can't die in the battle!"
"Thank you!" Li Qing rolled his eyes and lifted the quilt, "It's autumn, it's cold outside, come in and talk."
"Hey, that's good."
"By the way, Fatty, do you know that the prince and princess know that you came to my place?" Li Qing asked.
"It's okay. I usually sleep with Sanbao. Tonight I lied to him and said I slept with my father. He can't knock on his father's door, right?"
Li Qing said with a smile: "You are such a clever little kid."
"That's... oh, don't pinch me."
"Little Fatty, how did you get this fat?"
"How long it can grow can only be achieved by eating it one bite at a time."
…
