weaving

Chapter 1317: The mob is useless

"Master Zhang has been stationed in Pingfeng Village, Song County."

Tong Guanchu couldn't help but glance at Shang Wugui after he finished speaking, and then continued, "Master Zhang couldn't stand Ren Chen's behavior, so he hid in Pingfeng Village, hoping to be out of sight and out of mind."

Ji Zhiying looked at him and asked, "Do you know how many troops Zhang Nai has?"

Tong Guanchu replied, "We have seventeen villages in western Henan. There are eleven in Guiyu Village, with more than sixty thousand soldiers and horses. We may only have more than fifteen thousand soldiers deployed to fight. There are seven villages in Zhangye Pingfeng Village, with thirty to forty thousand soldiers and horses. I estimate that at least seven to eight thousand soldiers can fight."

Ji Zhiying did not express his opinion, but focused his eyes on Shang Wugui next to him, which made him feel uneasy. After a while, Tong Guanchu secretly poked his waist, and he finally reacted and said in a slightly wooden voice: "Yes, that's it."

"That's not okay."

In the puzzled eyes of Tong Guanchu and Shang Wugui, Ji Zhiying continued: "With this ratio of soldiers to farmers, how can we support ourselves? We can't just live by looting all the time."

He stared at the two men with his eyes shining brightly, and said, "When I meet the general someday, I will ask for medals of reward for you. Then you can become officials like me and receive a salary from the court. Then how can you go around robbing and bullying the people in your hometown, ruining your reputation?"

Ji Zhiying then reminded them, "You must know that the Earl of Yongning is different from other court officials. Our Earl attaches great importance to military rules and discipline and will never allow his soldiers to rob the people and ruin the reputation of our Yongyi Army.

You guys better remember this, don’t make trouble for me later, even our General Li can’t protect you, it will only embarrass General Li and me.”

Tong Guanchu and Shang Wugui were startled when they heard this. Their expressions instantly became serious. Tong Guanchu even tried his best to assure them, "Please rest assured, Master Ji. We will strictly abide by military regulations and will never harass the people again."

Seeing that Ji Zhiying's expression had eased a little, he asked tentatively, "Master Ji, how do you think we should arrange things for Yuzhai?"

"You don't need so many soldiers, cut some of them!"

"Master Ji, how much do you think is appropriate to cut off?"

Ji Zhiying closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said: "Leave 1,500 soldiers in Yuzhai, and the rest in the big camp with 800 and the small camp with 500. This way we can protect ourselves without wasting too much manpower and money."

Tong Guanchu was shocked when he heard this. He thought to himself, "Everyone else thinks their own team is too weak, but why is it that Ji Zhiying thinks that the team is too large and even reduces the number of troops?"

However, these words would naturally not be said openly, but his hesitation was clearly seen by Ji Zhiying.

"Hmph. A mob, too many to count, is useless."

Ji Zhiying sneered with his nose and said in a deep voice: "The Earl of Yongning only had 50,000 elite soldiers, but he resisted Li's army of hundreds of thousands of bandits. For a bandit army like yours, let alone 3,000 or 4,000 men, even if there are 10,000 or 20,000 of them, I can defeat them with just a battalion of more than a thousand soldiers." "Yes, yes. We will all listen to Master Ji."

Ji Zhiying turned his head and glanced at Tong Guanchu, saying: "Although we are old acquaintances, these old customs are not practiced in the Yongyi Army. From today on, you are also considered members of the Yongyi Army, and everyone should address each other by their military ranks.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if we old brothers call each other brothers in private, but don’t let it become a habit, otherwise you won’t dare to be so casual with other generals when the time comes.”

"Yes, we've made note of it. General Ji!" Tong Guanchu emphasized the last three words "General Ji", probably because he said it on purpose for Ji Zhiying to hear.

Ji Zhiyingcai didn't care about these red tapes. He had said most of what he needed to say, and had almost gotten all of Tong Guanchu and Shang Wugui's information out of hand, so he began to talk about business.

He sent someone to call Lei Peng over as well. After asking him about the matters concerning the inventory and registration, he said to the three of them, "The 1,500 soldiers in Yuzhai will be divided into three camps. Tong Guanchu, Shang Wugui, and Lei Peng, each of you will lead 500 soldiers. Start training first. As for the weapons, armor, and other items, I will send someone to deliver them later. You don't need to worry about them.

As for the three of you..."

Upon hearing this, Tong, Shang and Lei were all extremely nervous. It was no exaggeration to say that what Ji Zhiying would say next would be the moment that determined their future fate.

"I will leave a group of soldiers to help you train the soldiers. I estimate that it will be completed in less than three months. By then, the three of you will each lead 500 soldiers to garrison in various villages, recruit refugees, reclaim wasteland and build canals, resume production, and support my army in suppressing the bandits."

Lei Peng was very calm. He believed that Ji Zhiying would not treat him unfairly. Shang Wugui also said nothing and waited for Ji Zhiying's arrangement. Only Tong Guanchu seemed quite anxious. He asked, "General Ji, how are you going to assign us? Who will stay to guard Yuzhai?"

Ji Zhiying thought he was talking too much, and also in order to intimidate this cunning guy, she looked at him with a pair of cold eyes, which made Tong Guanchu shiver and lower his head involuntarily, not daring to raise it.

"You three will all join the Yongyi Army in the future and become regular soldiers of the imperial court. You must not have any factional ideas, let alone any factional thoughts. Although we have some friendship in private, everything in the army must be carried out according to military regulations and orders. Remember, there is no room for carelessness."

Ji Zhiying looked at the three people who looked confused, and encouraged them: "Don't be discouraged, you must work hard in the future. Yongning Earl attaches great importance to fairness in rewards and punishments. If you have made some contributions, the Earl will definitely reward you."

There was a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes, and he said, "Who knows, maybe you will be like me in the future, leading a battalion of soldiers and horses, and following the Earl of Yongning to fight in all directions. That would be so exciting!"

After hearing Ji Zhiying's words, the expressions of the three of them changed again...

However, Ji Zhiying would not stay in Yuzhai for long, and continued to tell them: "The most urgent task is to train a qualified team. It doesn't matter if there are few people, but they must be elite, and one can defeat ten or even one can defeat a hundred.

Secondly, it is about recruiting refugees and hungry people. Although the rebellion in Henan was caused by the thief Li, there were endless refugees. Even if we defeated the thief Li today, he would rise again tomorrow. Therefore, the root cause of the rebellion in Henan was the refugees.

The young, strong, old and weak who were eliminated today can be mixed together, with a hundred people in a team, to demarcate areas, build canals to divert water, and reclaim wasteland. Henan has been plagued by bandits, and there are unowned fields everywhere. Just occupy them and distribute them to each household with 50 or 100 acres."