stubborn thief

Chapter 660: Old acquaintances

Liu Chengzong returned to Yan'an Prefecture not for the nominal purpose of worshiping his ancestors.

In fact, he went to see the reorganization of Zhang Zhen's Yanqing Brigade. Other matters such as He Renlong, Ju Sirang or Qingyang Prefecture were just incidental.

Because Zhang Zhen did something outrageous this time.

The order for the newly formed brigade was sent to each general in two batches.

The first was a promotion notice and the specifications of one brigade and four battalions; the second was a notice on this basis, including the deployment of soldiers from each brigade and the addition of the mobile battalion and reinforcement battalion to the two Mongolian thousand headquarters.

As for Yan'an Prefecture, due to the objective situation of mines on the official road, the interval between the two orders was a bit long, and the orders were received a few days later than the generals of various routes in the Marshal's Mansion.

It was just this short time difference of a few days that allowed Zhang Zhen to accomplish something great.

This grandson expanded three camps with just a wave of his hand.

When he entered Yan'an Prefecture, he and Ding Guodong already had two battalions. This time, the Yanqing Brigade, which was designed to have 12,000 troops, was fully staffed.

In theory, this situation is not a big deal in the very scattered Marshal's Mansion.

Now that the staff is fully staffed, you just need to eliminate the old and weak. You should cut as many troops as the commander's office gives you and send them back home to farm.

Unfortunately, Zhang Zhen was unable to eliminate the old and weak, or was unwilling to eliminate them, but he had no other choice and did not dare to disobey Liu Chengzong's orders.

I had no choice but to write a letter to the Grand Marshal to inform him of the situation in Yan'an Prefecture.

Liu Chengzong came.

Liu Shizi returned to his hometown, not to deal with Zhang Zhen, he just came to see something new.

Because he was also undecided about whether the Yanqing Brigade needed Shatai’s troops.

The Yanqing Brigade expanded its force by more than 6,000 people without authorization. When Liu Shizi received the letter, his head was buzzing and he was furious.

  Your mother's annual food ration is more than 70,000 shi, so you don't feel bad if it's not paid by you, right?

At that time, he was thinking of letting Zhang Zhen take the 6,000 men he had expanded on a mission to kill the Chechen Khan Shuolei, who had 40,000 troops on the grassland.

Or be killed by Shuolei.

This is also the reason why he did not choose to go to Qingyang Prefecture first, but went directly north to Yan'an Prefecture.

To him, even if the sky falls, it is not as important as the army.

Of course, another reason is that Ju Sirang and He Renlong from Qingyang Prefecture are indeed very unimportant in his heart.

Even if these two guys destroy Qingyang Prefecture, they can't cause any trouble.

But... when Liu Shizi entered Yan'an and saw Zhang Zhen, he was dumbfounded.

On his way to Yan'an Prefecture, Zhang Zhen said in a letter that he was unwilling to lay off soldiers because these more than 6,000 people provided their own food and wages.

Provide your own food and wages?

When Liu Chengzong saw these four words, his rising anger was extinguished as if by a basin of cold water.

Only the desire to kill remains.

The matter was so outrageous that Liu Chengzong was more willing to believe that there was something wrong with Zhang Zhen.

However, when Liu Chengzong had made all the preparations to return to his hometown to quell the rebellion and actually arrived at Yan'an Prefecture, he discovered that what Zhang Zhen said was actually true.

The Yanqing Brigade in Yan'an Prefecture actually had more than 6,000 registered soldiers. Not only did they not receive rations from the Marshal's Office, but they also paid their salaries directly to Zhang Zhen's General Headquarters according to their different types of infantry and cavalry.

Even after Liu Shizi understood the situation, he took a long time to calm down.

Those soldiers were basically young men from the militia groups nominated by the village elders from various counties in Yan'an Prefecture who were summoned by Zhang Zhen.

At first, Zhang Zhen recruited them as soldiers because he did not understand the specific policies of the Marshal's Office in reorganizing the new brigade and thought he had to recruit the soldiers himself.

Secondly, it was to prevent any disturbance in Yan'an Prefecture.

There was no other way. Yan'an Prefecture was a chaotic place to begin with, and the villagers were self-governing. Zhang Zhen led Ding Guodong and two battalions into Yan'an, and they were terrified.

It was not until Liu Shizi announced a five-year tax exemption for Yan'an Prefecture that Zhang Zhen dared to send people to the local areas to pass on the order, asking the village elders to remove the landmines on the official roads.

When Liu Chengzong entered Yan'an Prefecture this time, the landmines on the official road had not yet been cleared.

Therefore, as soon as Fengweizhen was received by the Yan'an and Qingyang General Headquarters and reorganized into the Yanqing Brigade, which was composed of four battalions, it immediately recruited all the young men from the villages and baojia systems in various counties of Yan'an Prefecture into the army.

He was originally a militia leader from Yan'an Prefecture, and he knew very well how the common people went from being obedient citizens to being bandits.

In Yan'an Prefecture, the base camp for Liu Chengzong, Zhang Zhen did not dare to cause any trouble.

He was very clear that in order to avoid chaos, he must enable the Marshal's Office to establish actual control over Yan'an during the five years of tax exemption.

This matter was very simple for Zhang Zhen. Since the Marshal wanted to recruit soldiers, I would recruit all of you young people into the army. In five years, they would all be officers, and their interests would be tied to the Marshal's Office.

  I wonder who can go against the Marshal!

As a result, a large number of strong and powerful local people in Yan'an Prefecture were recruited into his army.

But just as his Yanqing Brigade had expanded by four battalions, the second reorganization order from Xi'an Prefecture arrived.

'The brigade has four battalions. The reinforcement battalion has 1,000 regular Western Fan soldiers, and the mobile battalion has 1,000 regular Mongolian soldiers. Soldiers will also be transferred from other battalions to supplement the troops.'

Zhang Zhen was dumbfounded, thinking that my army has been overstaffed for a long time, so what else can I add to it?

Finally, this guy gritted his teeth and wrote a letter to Liu Chengzong to explain the situation, while convening a meeting of the village elders to discuss the matter.

It was said by the elders from various places that many of them were wounded soldiers from the Lion Camp back then, and they had a close relationship with the Marshal. After everyone discussed it, they could easily find the reason why the Marshal was unwilling to expand the army.

It's just food and supplies.

The village elders from the three states and fourteen counties came together and believed that it would be beneficial to let the young people serve in the Yanqing Brigade.

Anyway, they are also training militiamen and they have to eat the same rations, so it is better to hand the soldiers over to Zhang Zhen. After all, the soldiers in the Marshal's Office are much better equipped and trained than those in their hometown.

What's more, the soldiers are in the Marshal's Headquarters and stationed in these three states and fourteen counties. If something happens, they will have a stronger ability to assemble.

So they simply figured out a way to provide their own food and wages.

The regulations were simple: each county and village elder was responsible for providing his own food and fodder according to the number of soldiers he had, and the fodder was transported to Yan'an twice a year.

The infantry, musketeers, and artillerymen received 100 kilograms of millet flour per month, and the cavalry received 50 kilograms more of white flour per month than the infantry.

When Liu Chengzong set out from Xi'an Prefecture, all he was thinking about was how to give Zhang Zhen a beating.

So when Liu Shizi really saw the newly recruited soldiers of the Yanqing Brigade in Yan'an Prefecture, his level of respect for Zhang Zhen increased significantly.

This guy's future treatment can be arranged exactly like the old veteran who followed him during his time in the Lion Camp.

It can make people spend money to work for you and work hard for you.

What kind of weird talent is this?

Talent!

The key point is that Liu Shizi calculated that a county had to support more than 300 soldiers. Considering the current population and economy of Yan'an Prefecture, it was actually not much different from paying taxes.

At this point, he had nothing to say, so he said to Zhang Zhen: "Then let's do it this way, but you still have to take over the two Mongolian thousand headquarters of the Yanqing Brigade, and overstaff it to 14,000 people."

A brigade with two Mongolian troops and a thousand men as its headquarters is a national policy related to the source of troops for the Marshal's Office.

There is no way to change this.

Anyway, even if it is overstaffed, the Yanqing Brigade's consumption of military supplies and food is still one-third less than that of other brigades.

No matter how you look at it, he won't lose anything. He will just have to give up part of Yan'an Prefecture's future political power to the local party.

Liu Chengzong was open-minded about this matter.

He had the ability to dominate the world, but Yan'an Prefecture was very small.

On the other hand, if he didn't have that ability, and retreated to the Hehuang Valley or was even driven to the Tianshan Mountains and invaded into U-Tsang, then even if Yan'an Prefecture was de facto independent, what would it have to do with him? After finishing a major matter, Liu Shizi summoned local elders in his hometown and set up a banquet, while sending people to Ningzhou to visit his old superior He Renlong.

The person he sent was Tian Shoujing.

In his early years in Yuhebao, he was a sergeant under his brother Liu Chengzu's team. When he went to Qinghai, he joined the Xining Camp. Later, he assisted Master Liu in handling military affairs at Xincheng Academy.

It was not until this time that all the soldiers in Liu Chengzong's Huben Battalion were promoted to officers in the three brigades, and he was withdrawn back to the Huben Battalion to serve as a captain.

Tian Shoujing was not familiar with He Renlong. He was the only one who was familiar with the garrison general of Yuhebao, while He Renlong only knew that he had such a person under his command.

But this was enough for Liu Chengzong.

The real faction is too familiar, for example, Zhang Zhen suggested picking a fellow Mizhi native of He Renlong from the Yanqing Brigade. It's hard to say how much has passed.

In fact, this is also what He Renlong was worried about.

Tian Shoujing led more than ten guards from Yan'an Prefecture and rushed all the way to Zhenning. He learned that He Renlong had already led his troops northward, so he rushed to the outskirts of Ningzhou City at night and intercepted He Renlong's troops attacking Qingyang.

He Renlong is attacking Ningzhou.

Tian Shoujing was very familiar with Ningzhou. When he followed Liu Chengzong to Ningzhou, he was stationed on the plateau of Dongzhi Town.

While Liu Chengzong was waiting to negotiate with Yang He, he was ordered to take the clerk to survey and map the topography.

This time he came to look for He Renlong. He climbed up the mountain path and looked from a distance. He saw He Renlong's camp, which was similar to the Lion Camp of that year.

There were also several camps dotted around on the plateau.

Some were stationed there, some were attacking the provincial capital from the city walls, and some were running around attacking the fortress.

But it seemed that Tian Shoujing suspected that it was because he had followed the Marshal for too long... and his horizons had become higher?

Why did he feel that calling this group of people an army was a bit of an exaggeration?

He Renlong's troops were indeed in a state of decline at this time.

The entire army consists of nearly 10,000 people, but less than half of them can be called elite soldiers, only about two or three thousand.

The camp was filled with women and children, numbering three to four thousand in total, more than the elite soldiers.

In addition, there are more than 2,000 people stationed in two camps. One of the camps is attacking Ningzhou City, and they look like bandits.

The key point is that the elite soldiers are not that good. There are less than a thousand war horses. The weapons and armor are okay, but there are no clothes.

Many people wore cloth armor and iron-studded boots on the outside, but their legs were bare under the armor or they were wearing only pants.

Some of them were wearing ill-fitting cotton jackets and trousers, but no armor, or they simply nailed iron armor leaves to their cotton jackets.

When Tian Shoujing saw that He Renlong's soldiers were like this, he simply called a guard to ride down the mountain to tell He Renlong that he was coming.

I didn't wait too long on the mountain before I saw my own guards leading a small group of people galloping towards me.

After a while, Tian Shoujing's guard came up and said, "General, He Renlong sent a captain named He Yong to come over."

Tian Shoujing smiled when he heard this, thinking that He Yong had also been given the title of general.

Before he could get off, He Yong had already come up and said from a distance, "General Tian, ​​I'm here to greet you!"

He Yong didn't know Tian Shoujing at all in the past, but that didn't stop him from calling him affectionately now.

There is nothing we can do about it. Times have changed.

Anyway, He Yong has always been able to bend and shrink towards Liu Chengzong.

The two met, and as He Yong wanted to get closer to them, they had an awkward chat and then went down the mountain side by side.

Tian Shoujing had been patient all the way, but he couldn't help asking, "Brother He, why are the general's soldiers in such a miserable state?"

  He Yong looked at him very strangely and thought, why are the brothers so miserable? Isn't it because of your Marshal?

"To be honest, when Brother Tian's guards found the camp, General He was scolding Yang Yanchang and Ren Quaner. What's going on with the two of them at the Marshal's?"

The soldiers in He Renlong's battalion were immediately distraught, and the two people they hated the most at this moment were these two.

In the past, everyone thought that Yang Yanchang was an iron-faced bastard who would lead his troops to rob them at any time; Ren Quaner was a smart little guy who knew how to behave and would follow behind to clean up Yang Yanchang's mess every day.

This made He Renlong live in fear every day in the Five Camps Allied Forces, thinking that he was the only one who was in contact with Liu. He also had secret talks with his confidants all day long, urging them to be smarter and take extra care when encountering problems.

It turned out that these two bastards were the nails planted by Liu Chengzong earlier. They had colluded with each other long ago, and when something really happened, they jumped out faster than the other.

With this opportunity, not only does he not help his brothers, but he also snatches them away from his brothers every day. And he is still a fellow villager in Yan'an Prefecture.

Tian Shoujing did not answer directly, but just asked: "Brother He is under the general's command, and now he has been promoted to a captain?"

When He Yong nodded, Tian Shoujing looked sympathetic, then smiled and said, "General Yang is now a lieutenant general, and General Ren... is the commander-in-chief of the new Second Brigade established by the Marshal."

"You followed the Marshal back then. Now, even if you are not a general, you are at least a lieutenant general."

He Yong could see Tian Shoujing's joke, but he didn't care. He waved his hand and said, "Hey, it's boring to talk about this. Everyone has his own destiny. If it weren't for General He, I, He Yong, would have died of exhaustion after working for the Chang family landlords in my hometown for a few years."

"No."

As he spoke, He Yong pointed to the camp full of women and children and said, "Since Ren and Yang led their troops to surrender to the commander-in-chief, the five camps in the north have collapsed, and the general has stationed us in Zhenning. In the past few months, we have sent people to bring in all the wives and children of the brothers who can be brought here."

"As for the soldiers looking miserable, there is nothing we can do about it. It was summer when we went out to fight, and the brothers threw their winter clothes into the pawnshop to exchange for money."

"I thought I wouldn't have to wear clothes if I died on the battlefield, and if I didn't die and killed two people, I would get my clothes back. But I didn't expect to leave my hometown and run to Qingyang without fighting a single battle."

He Yong waved his hands, unwilling to mention these cowardly things, and just asked: "The Marshal sent Brother Tian here this time. Is he planning to surrender us, or..."

"The Marshal sent me here because he must have remembered our old friendship. Otherwise, he would have sent troops directly after receiving the request for help from Magistrate Ju. Why would he ask me to come here?"

Tian Shoujing said: "The commander-in-chief has not made a final decision, he just said that it depends on your opinion. In short, the troops should stop first and not go to Qingyang, otherwise there will be no negotiation."

"As for the rest, you can come up with the conditions. You can tell General He about the official positions, soldiers, food, and armor. You don't have to ask for an exorbitant price. Just give it one hammer."

"If the conditions are right, we can eat from the same pot again. If not, then we can live together as a family."

Tian Shoujing shook his head, his meaning was very clear: "Yan'an, Pingliang, and the interior of the country, the troops are marching into Qingyang, there is nowhere to escape."

"It's okay to stop the march. Brothers and the Marshal are one family. There are hundreds of people in Yuhe Fort alone."

He Yong laughed, then said seriously: "But we have all received the general's favor, so we must listen to the general. The general... Brother Tian knows that there are too many acquaintances in the general's mansion. If this official position is low, the general will lose face, and we will also be uncomfortable."

He Renlong does have a lot of mental baggage.

Not to mention Liu Chengzong, the old servant and forward.

Gansu Governor Cao Yao, Tianshan Governor Liu Chengzu, and Tongguan General Zhang Tianlin were all in charge of his troops in the past. What's more, Feng Rang's gang were simply his soldiers.

There are too many acquaintances.

It was embarrassing enough to surrender to Liu Shizi and give him the rank of Lieutenant General.

If Liu Shizi didn't remember their friendship and gave him the military power as a captain, he would have to swallow his anger.

"To be honest, the general attacked Qingyang this time because the soldiers were starving and had no food, and he also wanted to recruit the Qingyang militia and then talk to the commander-in-chief about surrendering."

"Now that it has been stopped, I'm afraid the rank that the Marshal can offer him will not be higher than that of Lieutenant General. I'm afraid General He won't be able to accept it."

After He Yong finished speaking, he raised his chin towards the camp not far away and said, "Among these tens of thousands of people, there are several thousand women and children, more than two thousand bandits, and more than two thousand elite soldiers. They are all heroes who can endure hardships and fight. I heard that the Marshal has a vast territory."

His tone gradually became sincere: "Is there anything? It's remote and cold here, and it's enough to be able to settle down and live a good life, but there must be wars to fight, people to kill, and merits to be made."

"A good place where the general can get a military commander's rank and avoid being seen by old acquaintances and subordinates?"

Good morning!