Jiuxi

Chapter 648 Chapter 646 [The Afterglow of the Times]

The generals received the military order early, so they came in all gatherings today.

These fierce generals can be roughly divided into three parts. The first are the generals trained by Xiao Wangzhi, such as Pei Sui, the commander-in-chief of the Zhenbei Army, Song Shifei, the commander-in-chief of the Feiyun Army, and Duan Zuozhang, the commander-in-chief of the Laian Army.

The second is the subordinates that Lu Chen has promoted in recent years, such as Li Chengen, the commander-in-chief of Dingbei Army, and Liu Yin, the commander-in-chief of Guangling Army.

When he was in the capital before, Lu Chen followed Li Daoyan's advice and brought Ye Jitong, Liu Yin and some lower-level officers back to the border. It happened that the former commander of the Guangling Army, Xiao Hong, returned to the capital with Xiao Wangzhi, so Lu Chen let Liu Yin take over the Guangling Army.

The third part consists of some generals who are not so close to Lu and Xiao, such as Hou Dayong, the commander-in-chief of the Zhenwei Army, and Zheng Xiuqi, the commander-in-chief of the Fengfu Army.

On such a special occasion as today, all the generals, no matter how close they are, sat upright and respectfully.

Of course, there were also a few people with more profound thoughts, whose eyes quietly swept over the middle-aged man sitting on the side seat.

This person is Li Jingda, the former Grand Commander of Dingzhou. The Grand Commander seal he owns has appeared on the desk next to Lu Chen.

Li Jingda looked calm and his eyes were normal. He did not show any embarrassment or discomfort about the change in his status.

Lu Chen looked around at everyone and said calmly, "Everyone, I am taking over the Dingzhou Governor's Office at the order of His Majesty. Governor Li will return to the capital to join the Military Academy as Minister of Military Affairs. On my own behalf, I would like to express my gratitude to Governor Li for his hard work and great contributions over the past two years."

He turned to look at Li Jingda and bowed.

Li Jingda returned the greeting and said sincerely, "Your Excellency, I am just doing my duty."

During the more than two years at the frontier, Li Jingda has changed a lot. Although he has not yet reached the state of not being happy with things or sad with himself, at least he has been able to keep a normal mind.

However, after hearing Lu Chen's words, he still felt very relieved, and felt that all his previous efforts were not in vain.

Seeing the harmonious scene between the two commanders, all the generals in the hall couldn't help but smile.

Lu Chen continued, "You should all know that according to the regulations drawn up by His Majesty and the Military Academy, the Huaizhou Military Governor's Office was abolished and the various armies were incorporated into the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office. However, the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office only has one battalion and nine armies. Now there are fourteen armies in various places in Dingzhou, which means that some people will leave Dingzhou."

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn.

This is the issue that everyone is most concerned about in recent times.

Most of them are willing to stay in the border army because they have long been accustomed to this kind of life. Moreover, whether they can make further progress in the future depends entirely on whether they can continue to make achievements on the battlefield. Only by staying in the border army can they have hope of achieving it.

If they cannot stay, their best treatment is to return to Beijing to take up a position, the next best treatment is to stay at home and wait for a vacancy, or to voluntarily demote themselves and serve as deputies in various armies.

Pei Sui, the most senior person present, bowed first and said, "Please give your instructions, Grand Commander."

The rest all spoke in agreement.

The military is different from the imperial court. The commander-in-chief has always had the final say and his orders are strictly enforced.

Of course, there would occasionally be some unexpected events. For example, when Li Jingda served as the Grand Commander of Dingzhou, the generals under him would give him due respect, but they would obviously not obey him as absolutely as they did to Xiao Wangzhi.

Now Lu Chen has just taken office, and without even starting out as a new official, all the generals in the hall are already following his lead.

Li Jingda knew that this was because Lu Chen had proven himself in the wars of the past few years. He was capable of commanding a large army to defeat powerful enemies and allowing those below him to share the credit.

At least among the border troops, military merit is the strongest basis of confidence.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Since His Majesty has issued an order, we naturally cannot disobey, so the reform of the Dingzhou Army cannot be delayed. Before arriving in Ruyin, this governor has already drawn up a specific strategy, and now I will inform you."

He looked to the side, and Qin Zilong understood what he meant, walked forward, spread out the document, and read aloud.

Under the nervous and expectant gaze of the generals, Lu Chen listed the adjustments to each army one by one.

The northern defense line of Dingzhou, from Dingfeng Road to Baotai Mountain, is garrisoned by the Feiyun Army and the Qixing Army. The former is still headed by Song Shifei, while the latter is led by Lu Chen himself, who serves as the commander-in-chief, with Yu Dajun and Lou Chengyuan serving as deputy commanders.

Dingzhou's western defense line is concentrated on the Qingliu Pass line, garrisoned by Lai'an Army, and the commander is still Duan Zuozhang.

The southwestern defense line of Dingzhou, from Ningling City, Teng County to Panlong Pass, was guarded by the Zhenbei Army, Guangling Army and Panlong Army. The main generals of the first two armies were Pei Sui and Liu Yin respectively. The former commander-in-chief of the Jianghua Army, He Zhu, was transferred to be the commander-in-chief of the Panlong Army.

In addition, there are two mobile cavalry units, namely the Dingbei Army and the Feiyu Army. There are no surprises in the selection of the commanders of these two cavalry units.

Li Chengen can be said to be Lu Chen's most trusted confidant. He has followed him unswervingly since the Battle of Guangling that year, and he has participated in the development and growth of the Dingbei Army throughout the whole process. No one is more suitable for this position than him.

As for the Feiyu Army transferred from Jingzhou, although Li Bingxue has not yet arrived in Dingzhou, who dares to lay hands on this cavalry?

The last army is the Ningyuan Army, which is stationed in Ruyin City. Its commander is still Liu Jiangdong, the first person to surrender to Lu Chen.

The Guard Battalion of the Governor's Office has 6,000 personnel and inherited the name of the original Ruishi Battalion. The commander of the troops is Ye Jitang, who was brought back from the Beijing Army by Lu Chen. He and Liu Yin are the earliest rising generals under Lu Chen, except for Li Chengen. Now Liu Yin is the commander of the Guangling Army, while Ye Jitang has taken a step back and become a captain. However, there is no resentment on his face, but joy and excitement that are beyond words.

The other generals looked at him with envy in their eyes.

This is the personal guard battalion directly under the Grand Commander, and it has also inherited the banner of the Sharp Warriors Battalion. So what even if he is a captain?

If they were not afraid of Lu Chen's majesty, young and strong generals such as Liu Yin would even want to snatch the position of captain from Ye Jitang.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Grand Commander!"

Ye Jitang was grinning from ear to ear, attracting a lot of attention from those around him.

Lu Chen raised his hand and nodded at him: "Lead the troops well and don't let me down."

Ye Jitang responded loudly and then stepped back.

At this point the adjustments to the armies came to an end, and the generals who had received their military posts were naturally happy, but those who had not heard their names were inevitably embarrassed and panicked.

Lu Chen pretended not to notice and raised his voice slightly: "After the Battle of Yongqiu, the situation between our dynasty and Jing State has quietly changed. Although it has not yet reached the point where the offense and defense are different, at least a long-term strategic stalemate can be carried out. This governor has discussed with Your Majesty many times in the capital, and believes that in the future, the two major governorships of the border army need to perform their respective duties, Jingzhou will focus on defense and Dingzhou will focus on attack. This is why the Feiyu Army was transferred to Dingzhou. We must concentrate our strongest forces to deal a heavier blow to the Jing Army in the future."

After hearing this, the expressions of the generals began to become serious.

Duan Zuozhang pondered and said, "The Grand Commander wants to take advantage of this adjustment to get rid of the dross and retain the elite among the troops in Dingzhou?"

Lu Chen said approvingly, "That's right. Your Majesty has given Dingzhou a battalion of nine armies, totaling 115,000 men. Now the strength of the armies in Dingzhou is more than 170,000. The next step is to select the best from the best, and select 115,000 from these more than 170,000 men. For the soldiers who are not selected, if they insist on returning home and leaving the army, they will be given corresponding treatment according to their military merits. Those who are willing to stay will all be organized into the Huaizhou Wing Army as the reserve force of the Dingzhou Army."

Everyone nodded thoughtfully.

This is undoubtedly a troublesome matter, but it must be done. In many cases, the more troops, the better; the key lies in whether they are elite.

A powerful army composed of veterans who have experienced many battles is enough to defeat ordinary enemies that are several times larger than itself.

"I will have someone check the number of troops in each army. You still have one chance to make corrections. Check the rosters of your respective armies to fill in the gaps. Write down the number of officers and soldiers you actually have and the number of vacancies. If you find any omissions during the subsequent audit, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Lu Chen's cold eyes swept over the crowd, and then said: "This governor guarantees that you will enjoy corresponding treatment, and the previous problems will not be pursued. However, if anyone continues to eat empty salaries and suck the blood of soldiers in the future, this governor will definitely punish you severely according to military law no matter how old you are or how great your military achievements are. Do you understand?"

The generals were startled and said in unison: "I obey your orders!"

Lu Chen nodded slightly, then looked at the slightly embarrassed generals, and said in a slow tone: "Before leaving Beijing, this governor petitioned His Majesty to set up the Huaizhou Wing Army, and His Majesty approved it, so the soldiers who failed the selection can join the Huaizhou Wing Army. According to this governor's idea, the Huaizhou Wing Army will have three armies, and will also have the responsibility of land reclamation, which can effectively reduce the pressure on the court. If you don't mind, you can temporarily take the position of commanding the Wing Army, otherwise you can return to Beijing and wait for a vacancy."

Although the Huaizhou wing army was destined to be strong, it was still far behind the real border troops in terms of combat effectiveness and treatment.

Hou Dayong and Zheng Xiuqi remained silent.

Kang Yanxiao, commander-in-chief of Taixing Army, suddenly remembered an old event.

A few years ago, when Lu Chen had just begun to show his talent, he arrested a group of low-paid military officers who were behaving recklessly in Xunyang City. Among them was Gao Yuqi, a captain under Kang Yanxiao.

If He Zhu had not been there to smooth things over, Kang Yanxiao might have had a fierce conflict with Lu Chen.

When the Dingzhou armies were reorganized, most of the generals under Xiao Wangzhi were retained, except Kang Yanxiao. He was not a junior like Su Zhang, the commander-in-chief of the Xunyang Army, but a veteran from the same batch as Chen Lanyu, Pei Sui and others.

When Lu Chen looked over with deep eyes, Kang Yanxiao understood that the commander-in-chief had not forgotten the story of that year.

At the same time, he was also very clear that Lu Chen was not holding a grudge, otherwise, with his current status and position, it would be easy for him to control a commander-in-chief.

Lu Chen just didn't trust his style of managing the army, especially the most critical issue of military discipline.

Thinking of this, Kang Yanxiao said with a guilty conscience: "Grand Commander, I am willing to take the command of the Xiang army, but I have another unwelcome request."

"speak."

"I beg the Grand Commander to keep the Taixing Army's banner."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Okay."

Kang Yanxiao immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "Thank you, Grand Commander!"

Lu Chen looked at the old general, who was nearly fifty years old and looked increasingly weathered. His face remained calm, but he sighed softly in his heart.

(End of this chapter)