Chinese New Year

Chapter 530 Military Town (Part )

The carriage stopped after entering Sima Gate.

After a while, Cai Cheng came over, waved his hand, gave a few instructions to Yang Qin and Liu Ling, and then left.

The carriage continued to move forward and soon passed Xianyang Gate.

Liu reached out for the curtain.

Although Cheng was holding the child, she hurriedly tried to stop him, begging, "Madam, there are many people outside, don't let them see us."

Liu pursed her lips and pulled open the car curtain.

Sure enough, there were many soldiers standing guard outside.

Some ruins have been cleared here, and people who look like prisoners are coming in and out pulling various construction materials - judging from the appearance of the materials, most of them were also dug out from the ruins, just like the saying "rob Peter to repair Paul", making use of waste.

There were originally many office agencies inside Xianyang Gate. On the west side from south to north were the Yezhetai, Fujietai, and Yushitai, while on the east side were the prime minister's offices.

The west side was still a pile of ruins, but the prime minister's office on the east side had been partially rebuilt as early as the Shi Le era, because they also needed office space. Now the captives were clearing another part of the ruins, apparently to completely restore the prime minister's office.

Liu was a little confused at first, but then he seemed to understand.

There was a command coming from the front.

Liu looked up and saw soldiers standing guard in front of Xuanming Gate.

These people were wearing iron armor, leaning on long spears, with bows, quivers and ring-handled swords hanging from their waists, and some even carried small round shields on their backs.

Xuanming Gate had long been destroyed by the flames of war, and now only a silhouette remained. Soldiers on duty lined up on both sides, with their spears crossed forward, preventing the carriage from moving forward.

Liu Ling stepped forward with a smile and negotiated for a while, and the carriage was able to continue moving forward.

Cheng lowered her head, as if she didn't want outsiders to see her face.

Liu held her head high, and seemed unwilling to bow her head even though she was imprisoned. However, she couldn't help but take a few more glances at the soldiers on duty, who were strictly disciplined, meticulous, well-equipped, and at the same time had a hint of rebelliousness.

She suddenly liked these soldiers very much, for reasons that others might not guess: she actually saw a familiar taste in these soldiers.

I still remember that when I was a child, I followed my elders to go hunting in the mountains, and many tribal warriors I saw looked like this.

Unruly, wild and rough, like a wild beast that is difficult to tame and can attack and hurt people at any time.

Her father was still alive at that time, and he secretly told her that such soldiers were brave, fierce, and difficult to control, just like wild beasts captured from the mountains, who would bare their teeth when they saw people.

She asked innocently, "A beast like this can't be used by humans except for skinning and eating its meat. It's no better than a domestic dog."

My father laughed, and then said with emotion: "That's true, but if someone could put collars on these beasts so that they would be afraid when they hear the sound of the whip, and would obey subconsciously and not dare to show their teeth to people, then they would be much more useful than dogs."

These soldiers in front of me have some of the flavor of tribal warriors. The way they look at people is different, but they are more docile and obedient than those warriors and will not easily show their fangs to others.

What kind of person leads what kind of soldiers, this is not just a saying.

Every general has his own style of commanding the army.

Some people like to use whips and batons to beat soldiers until they become timid, have no thoughts of their own, and subconsciously obey orders.

The troops brought together in this way are actually quite good, at least they follow orders and have strict military discipline.

This is what Da Hu did. How effective it is is another matter, but he has indeed been working towards this direction.

Shao Xun seemed to like to "nurture" this on a further basis, bringing out the ferocity of his soldiers. I wonder how he controls it.

Disciplined, fierce and daring to fight.

Such a force would certainly be a very useful sharp knife in his hands, invincible, but it is not suitable to be handed over to his son to lead, because he may not be able to control it.

Unconsciously, Liu saw and thought a lot with her professional eyes.

In fact, she admired such an army, but she would not admit it.

When the carriage passed Xuanming Gate, Liu subconsciously sat up straight as she watched the rows of crossed spears being released one by one.

If only she had these troops at her disposal...

She quickly killed the idea. If Da Hu was given time, he could also train such an army.

After passing Xuanming Gate, there are Shengxian Office, Neiyi Office and other government offices in front, but they are all dilapidated and overgrown with weeds.

The soldiers cleared an area and used discarded materials to build a makeshift barracks for themselves to live in.

There is a training ground next to the military camp.

The soldiers were practicing against each other in pairs, holding long spears with the tips cut off.

Sometimes they are very methodical and their movements are very slow, but when they really attack, they are as fast as lightning and the assassination is over in an instant - either they "die" or the enemy "dies".

There was a large group of people sitting on the ground nearby, some laughing, some swearing, and some pointing.

Those who won more were rewarded with cloth. Although it was only a few feet, it made them smile with joy. They held it high above their heads, feeling proud.

As expected, this caused others to jeer or yell, and soon someone stepped forward to challenge...

Cheng's eyes were also drawn to him, and he looked over subconsciously. When he saw someone looking back at him, he looked away like a frightened animal, lowered his head, and became very nervous.

Liu had some understanding: Da Hu had also expressed his feelings before, that after there was sufficient money and food, he would expand the "recruited soldiers" to let them serve as soldiers and eat food, so that they would not have to worry about their livelihood and could focus on training.

Is this the soldier Shao Xun recruited? They were indeed very idle, so idle that they had time to practice against each other to vent their excess energy. Ordinary soldiers spent most of their time farming. Even if they had free time, they would be hungry after practicing for a short time. How could they have so much time to hone their skills? They also knew relatively little about military formations. When they went to the battlefield, they could only arrange the simplest formations. When they needed to change the formation, they were in a hurry and made many mistakes.

To put it bluntly, I don't practice enough.

The carriage continued to move forward, soon passed Shengxian Gate, and finally stopped.

Here too, there are ruins. Although time has passed, you can still see the traces of the fire.

There is no doubt that it was Ji Sang who sent people to burn it.

This person is inferior, sensitive, and arrogant.

They hated Ye Palace, a place that symbolized power, so they first looted all the treasures inside and then burned it down.

But he himself sat greedily on the treasure, and refused to take off his expensive fur coat even in the hot summer.

Da Hu used to follow people like this, no wonder he couldn't beat Shao Xun...

Suddenly, Liu shook her head with some self-blame.

Da Hu started from scratch and is much more heroic than Shao Xun.

"Are people here?" Liu Ling asked as he walked to a somewhat dilapidated building.

"Coming, inside." the gatekeeper replied.

"Get off the car and follow me inside." Liu Ling waved and said.

Liu's heart trembled. No matter how strong she was, she was still a woman after all. It was impossible for her to say that she was not afraid.

But she gritted her teeth, raised her head, got off the carriage, and glanced at Liu Ling.

Liu Ling turned a blind eye.

Well, when he was working for Wang Mi, he had heard of Lady Shangdang, but he had never seen her. At that time, he even joked to Wang Sang that Shi Le's marriage to Liu would greatly increase his power and he would sooner or later fight against your brother.

Now it seems that I was really wrong. It is possible that Wang Mi lived longer than Shi Le.

After Liu got off the car, Cheng also wanted to get off, but was stopped by Liu Ling.

Cheng shuddered with fear and looked at Liu with tears in her eyes.

Liu shook her head and walked west into the Nanyan Gate.

On the west side of Seunghyeonmun was the Nayan Gate, and on the east side were the Tingzheng Gate and the Shangshu Tower - all are now in ruins.

After simple repairs, the Nanyan Gate was barely usable.

The surrounding weeds were also cleared, and the remaining green trees surrounded the pavilion, adding a bit of interest.

As soon as Liu entered the door, she saw several old acquaintances.

The commander of the Loyal Army, Liu Hedu, and the chief secretary, Xu Guang - the army is mainly composed of surrendered soldiers from Santai, supplemented by some strong men from Yecheng. It currently has 4,000 people, basically all infantry.

The newly formed Xiejie Army was led by General Tao Bao, Chief Clerk Cheng Xia, and Military Secretary Zhixiong. The army was mainly composed of former Weijun soldiers, supplemented by some young men from Yecheng, and currently had 5,000 infantrymen.

There was also a stranger sitting next to Liu Hedu and Xu Guang, listening to their conversation. He seemed to be an official from Henan sent by Shao Xun to serve as the Sima of the Loyal Army.

Liu Hezhu was also there.

When Liu saw her uncle, she glared at him.

On the Bingjing platform, he persuaded the soldiers to lay down their weapons and surrender with just a few words, causing the sturdy three platforms to be broken in half a month, which made Liu extremely angry.

"Niece, please sit down. Mr. Chen will be here soon." Liu Hezhu greeted with a smile.

Liu looked around and saw that most of the rooms were filled with strange rope chairs and beds, with only one couch placed at the top.

She was a little hesitant, but this was the only couch that was empty, so she finally sat on it.

"Lord Cai is in charge of Yecheng. We will be his officers from now on." Several people present whispered.

"Lord Cai is a former military commander of Lord Chen and is highly trusted. If we follow him, we will surely have a chance to thrive."

"There's no turning back. If the Great Hu conquers Ye City, the first thing they will do is kill my entire family. There will be no mercy."

"Can Da Hu still come to Yecheng?"

"I'll fight him when I get here."

Liu looked at them with disdain.

When they served under the Great Hu, they were so timid that they dared not even breathe. Now that they have joined the new master, they can't wait to show their loyalty. They are all mean people!
Liu Hezhu was sitting below Liu. Seeing the expression on her face, he thought about it and felt that he should give her a reminder.

He leaned his head closer and whispered, "Yena, you are not that stupid woman. I will just say some things directly."

"The situation in Hebei is confusing. No one can say whether Mr. Chen can gain a foothold in Hebei or whether Da Hu will come back. Maybe you still have some thoughts in your heart, but I want to ask you, if Da Hu comes back, how will you deal with it?"

Liu's body froze, she was stunned and speechless.

This was a question she had been avoiding. When Liu Hezhu pointed it out, her heart was in turmoil and she felt extremely uncomfortable.

At the same time, I also hated some people even more, especially shameless people like Liu Hezhu, Tao Bao and Zhi Xiong.

Liu Hezhu chuckled and said, "Yena, I understand that you hate me, but it's wrong."

Liu gave him a cold look and whispered, "Shameless."

"You will understand it later." Liu Hezhu smiled and said, "We are close relatives and we are all your helpers."

Liu still looked at him coldly.

Liu Hezhu asked, "How are Mr. Chen's elite soldiers with silver spears?"

Liu did not answer.

"You just don't know." Liu Hezhu said to himself, "When we advance with chariots, we really can't move forward. Really, we have tried everything, even sending cavalrymen to charge in armor, but it's useless. With such soldiers, we can conquer the world. If the Great Hu leads an army, they will still be defeated by these people in a field battle."

There were footsteps outside the door, and everyone who was talking sat up straighter.

Liu Hezhu lowered his voice again, moved closer to Liu, and said mysteriously: "Mr. Chen only has two sons, both of whom are not very old."

After saying that, he sat back, looking straight ahead and sitting upright.

Shao Xun appeared at the door, followed by Cai Cheng, Yu Chen, Zhang Bin and several new faces.

The personal guards rushed in and stood around the pavilion.

Shao Xun stroked the hilt of the knife and glanced around.

"Greetings, Mr. Chen." Everyone stood up at the same time.

One or two seemed overly nervous and stood up too quickly, knocking over the rope beds under their buttocks.

Liu did not stand up, but raised her head slightly to take in everyone.

This man was tall and well built, with traces of wind and sand on his face.

His left hand hung naturally beside the bow tip, while his right hand casually stroked the hilt of the knife.

With a gentle smile on his face and a bright look in his eyes, everyone who was glanced at by him bowed their heads subconsciously.

"Please sit down." He said this to the people who came with him.

Yu Chen took the opportunity to introduce the newcomers. It turned out that the newcomers were Huang Biao, the Sima of the Vanguard Battalion of the Left Guard of the Luoyang Imperial Army, Gao Yi, the commander of the Capture Army, Chen Wu, the begging commander, Tian Gui, the attendant of the government office, and two generals of the Yanzhou Shogunate, He Lun and Liu Qia.

The personal guards brought in a few couches and everyone sat down.

Yu Chen sat opposite Liu Hezhu. Zhang Bin was silent for a while and then sat on the rope chair beside Yu Chen.

Shao Xun didn't even look at Liu and sat down next to her.

Long legs, nice.

The buttocks are also quite elastic. Women who exercise regularly are different, and their flesh is firm.

"I summoned you all here today for the defense of Hebei." Shao Xun seemed not to be distracted and said directly: "I intend to set up military garrisons in the three counties of Ji, Wei, and Dunqiu. The garrisons will have garrison cities, garrison citizens, garrison troops, and garrison commanders to defend against bandits."

When he said this, he was looking at the beggar commander Chen Wu and the mainland Ze chief commander Liu Hezhu.

It is obvious that the military towns were mainly established for vassal forces like them.

Zhang Bin frowned. It was obvious that he didn't know the news in advance.

But it's normal. He has no official position and Mr. Chen didn't ask to let him go. It's normal for him to follow him around without knowing the reason and avoid him in some things.

Just—a military town?
Is it to incorporate those unruly beggar soldiers and even the Hu tribes?

Mr. Chen will leave Hebei sooner or later. Once he leaves, the Qihuo Army and the Hu people tribes may turn to the Xiongnu again, so should we give them a formal status?
As expected, Shao Xun immediately said, "Recently, several chieftains from Guangping have come to surrender, each with hundreds to thousands of tribes, so this proposal was made."

After saying that, he clapped his hands and asked Yu Chen to explain to everyone what a military town was.

(End of this chapter)