Lianshui is located in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River.
Zhao Tai reorganized the Qi army and established the Polang Army with a strength of 10,000.
This ten thousand water army is divided into three battalions, with Wang Xiu as the commander and Lu Wende as the deputy commander.
Of the three battalions of the navy, Lu Wende led one battalion stationed in Dengzhou as the offshore navy, and the other two battalions were the inland navy, stationed in Lianshui.
Zhao Tai did not have enough naval forces before. Most of the soldiers in the newly formed water camp came from Huainan. They were the troops that Zhao Tai collected and recruited when he went to aid the Song Dynasty.
】
After learning that someone had defected, Zhao Tai immediately ended his inspection of the Ordnance Bureau and the Tiangong Bureau. He hurried to Lianshui Camp without inspecting the development of firearms, intending to minimize the impact of the incident.
Compared with the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Tai was only a separatist force after all, and the Southern Song Dynasty was still very attractive to some people.
This is like the difference between local and central governments, small cities and big cities, small platforms and large platforms. People always hope to gain more wealth and develop in places with higher ceilings.
The two water camps in Lianshui Camp are Chaohu fishermen, rebels and water bandits on both sides of the Huaihe River recruited by Zhao Tai.
In order to stabilize them, Zhao Tai did not break up the organization. Now that one person defected, Zhao Tai was worried that more people would be dragged over by the Southern Song Dynasty.
Therefore, Zhao Tai decided to rush to Lianshui personally to understand the situation and stabilize the morale of the army.
Outside Lianshui City, military commander Wang Xiu led a group of generals and stood at the city gate to greet him.
At this time, he saw Zhao Tai coming from a distance and quickly stepped forward to salute, "Your Majesty!"
Zhao Tai was riding on the horse, glanced at him, pulled the reins, and rode directly into the city.
"Control officer, this~" Several generals couldn't help but surrounded Wang Xiu.
Wang Xiu looked at Zhao Tai's back and stamped his foot, "Let's go, follow him first."
Zhao Tai rode to Lianshui County Government and asked the county magistrate to arrange a place for him to stay. Then he took a bath and ate before asking, "Where is Wang Xiu?"
Zhao Hu said: "Wang Tongzhi and all the generals are standing outside."
Zhao Tai snorted coldly, "Let Wang Xiu come in alone!"
Wang Xiu hurriedly came to the hall. He saw Zhao Tai sitting and drinking tea. He quickly stepped forward and bowed to him, "Your Majesty!"
Zhao Tai glanced at him, "Do you know why Gu is here?"
Wang Xiu kowtowed quickly and said, "I am not strict in commanding the troops, please punish me!"
Zhao Tai angrily scolded: "Gu will give you the navy, but you can't even keep your soldiers and horses in check. You really let Gu down!"
Wang Xiu lowered his head, full of grievances, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and I am willing to accept the punishment. However, before your Majesty punishes me, I would like to ask your Majesty to give me an army of soldiers and horses so that I can fight across the river and kill the flock of birds on the opposite side. Kill him and let me vent his bad breath."
Seeing how resentful he was, Zhao Tai said in a deep voice, "What are you doing on the other side?"
"Your Majesty, those group of birds bullied the initial design of our navy. They are not used to water warfare. They repeatedly interfered with our training. They also rammed their big boats against our small boats and boarded the boats to beat our new soldiers!" Wang Xiu said angrily: "They repeatedly interfered with our training. Not only did he take the initiative to provoke, but he also played tricks behind his back. He instigated a rebellion from the Pingjiang camp and led a deputy of a thousand households and more than 500 people to join the Song army."
Zhao Tai had a gloomy look on his face, knowing that the Southern Song Dynasty was worried that the Qi army would train a naval force, which would make the Song army have no naval advantage, so it kept provoking.
Zhao Tai said with a black face: "More than five hundred people ran away at once. How did Lu Wenhuan become the battalion commander? Where are the others?"
Wang Xiudao: "Lu Wenhuan led the fleet to pursue, but was blocked by the Song Army's big ship. The south also announced that our officers would be given money for bringing a person across the river, and the officers would be directly promoted to one level. Now. The morale of the troops below is unstable, and rumors are spreading everywhere. If the king doesn't come, I'm afraid someone else will surrender."
Zhao Tai was furious, "Whose plan is this? It's really damaging!"
Zhao Tai's shortcoming is that he currently has no money, while Da Song's advantage is that he has more money.
If they try this trick, Zhao Tai really can't compete with them.
After all, the vassal government has never had a surplus in its finances. It is impossible for Zhao Tai to compete with the Southern Song Dynasty in military pay and treatment, and by driving up prices like this, he will not get good soldiers.
Wang Xiudao: "Many people in the navy army are water bandits who have been recruited. They only look at the present and only value profit. I think it is nothing for such people to leave, but it will really shake the morale of the army!"
Zhao Tai knew the seriousness of this matter, "I know it. Go and call Lu Wenhuan over."
"Yes!" Wang Xiu saluted and hurried out.
At this time, Zhao Tai looked at Wang Wentong, "What do you think, sir?"
Wang Wentong frowned, "Your Majesty, if the Song Army lures us with money and official positions, someone will inevitably be tempted. If I want to cure the root cause, I must teach the Song Army a lesson so that the Song Army will stop tempting our officers and men."
The Southern Song Dynasty is now just trying to win over the navy army. If they succeed, they will inevitably not offer a higher price to win over the core civil and military forces of the Qi army.
If Lin'an offers military generals, it can replace Zhao Tai's condition of commanding Shandong. It can also offer civil servants the conditions of calling them to Lin'an to join the political hall and serve as prime minister. Zhao Tai can't guarantee that no one will be tempted.
Zhao Tai nodded slightly, narrowed his eyes and said: "When I lead an army alone, rewards and punishments are always clear. This time I will not only prevent the Song army from using this damaging move, but also severely punish those who defect with their soldiers. Hum, if you don't want to do it for If I don't kill Gu, I can resign, and I will never force him to stay, but he took away five hundred soldiers without saying hello. If Gu doesn't kill him, how will he lead the army in the future?"
Wang Wentong said: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is wise! Such a person should indeed be killed! He used to receive money to be promoted, but can the soldiers he brought there be promoted? The commander-in-chief of the Song Army has to lead troops, and it is unlikely that he will give the soldiers in the past more treatment than the soldiers of the Song Army. , otherwise the hundreds of thousands of Song troops in Huainan will definitely be dissatisfied! The treatment of officers in the Southern Song Dynasty is indeed good, but the treatment of soldiers may not be better than that of our army!"
Hearing this, Zhao Tai walked a few steps back and forth in the hall, already having an idea in his mind, "Humph! This time I will let Song Jun lose his wife and lose his troops!"
At this time, Wang Xiu led Lu Wenhuan in. Zhao Tai immediately sat down again and glanced at the two of them. The two of them immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty!"
The person who defected was Lu Wenhuan's deputy Qianhu Ma Degong. Lu Wenhuan knew that as a superior officer, he would not only be culpable, but would also make Zhao Tai think that he was not capable enough and would find it difficult to get ahead in the future.
Ma Degong not only made him about to be punished, but also ruined his future, making Lu Wenhuan hate that guy.
Zhao Tai glanced at the two of them and said in a deep voice: "I will leave the navy to you, but you two can't even control the soldiers. If I don't punish you, where is the military power and military law?"
Wang Xiu kowtowed quickly and said, "Your Majesty, I have not managed the army strictly and I am willing to be punished!"
Lu Wenhuan quickly bowed his head: "Your Majesty, Ma Degong is a subordinate of me. I failed to manage my subordinates well. It has nothing to do with controlling officials. Please punish me, your Majesty, to enforce military discipline!"
Zhao Tai looked at the two of them and snorted coldly, "Why are you so anxious? Neither of you two can run away!"
