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Chapter 699: Garrison (Part )

"General Tan, this Tao Da is simply a monster."

That night, General Tan's tent was filled with his confidants who came to complain and complain: "Isn't it? He led us to run twenty miles early in the morning. We were so tired that we were out of breath, and he cursed us angrily, saying that we were all weaklings and losers."

"After the run, let us rest for a cup of tea, and then we will start to practice the formation and the long spear and long sword."

"I heard that we will have to practice military formations in the future! Oh my God! How can we have such ability! We are just garrison troops, how can we be compared with the border troops and those troops in the capital."

"General Tan, please talk to Captain Tao. We can't train the troops this way. We simply can't handle it..."

General Tan also practiced for a whole day and was exhausted.

It's impossible not to practice. Tao Da was not just talking, he led the soldiers in training from beginning to end. Wouldn't General Tan have to bite the bullet and practice in person?
Listening to the angry complaints of his confidants, General Tan responded weakly: "Captain Tao and the dozens of Nanyang guards are practicing this way, you have all seen it. How can we refuse to practice?"

The wailing of the confidants was endless.

General Tan's face darkened and he shouted, "Shut up! The emperor already knows about the empty payroll in our barracks, and he doesn't intend to investigate. If he investigates, I will lose my head, and you guys will not have a good ending either."

"It's just daily drills. Soldiers get paid, so you should work hard. If you don't want to train, then get out of the barracks and go home to your children."

The confidants were so humiliated by the scolding that they dared not say a word.

General Tan slowed down his tone again: "Captain Tao is new here, and he deliberately trains very fiercely to intimidate us and establish his authority in the barracks. After two or three days, when he has shown off his power, I will go and ask for mercy in private. Then the training can be slowed down. Don't be anxious, just be patient for now."

This patience lasted for five or six days.

General Tan estimated that Captain Tao had already established his prestige, so he asked the kitchen to prepare some delicious dishes and personally brought them to Captain Tao's tent.

Tao Da didn't refuse politely, he ate it all up like a whirlwind, wiped his mouth and said, "I've been practicing for a few days, but it's not going well. I plan to start practicing more tomorrow!"

General Tan: “…”

General Tan smiled bitterly and begged, "Captain Tao, please show some mercy. Even with this kind of training, the soldiers in the barracks are already very tired. If they continue to train, they will not be able to bear it."

Tao Da looked disdainful and said, "The new recruits of our personal guard battalion have been trained at this intensity for the first month after entering the barracks. In the second month, we will have to gradually increase the training."

"They are all veterans with many years of service. Their physical strength and endurance are not even as good as those of the new recruits. If they really go to the battlefield to fight, they will all die."

General Tan was so ashamed by the ridicule.

Tao Dadao: "General Tan, it's not that I don't give you face. Since I'm here on the orders of the emperor, I have to show some appearance so that I can go back and report to the emperor."

"The soldiers are trained well and are still your soldiers. I will be the bad guy."

Even though Tao Da is a simple-minded guy, what he said is quite true.

If General Tan doesn't appreciate it, it will be unforgivable.

"Thank you, Captain Tao." General Tan gritted his teeth and replied, "How to train the troops, I will listen to Captain Tao."

...A few days later, Tao Da's handwritten letter was presented to Jiang Shaohua.

Tao Da studied in the Imperial Guards for several years and could barely recognize all the commonly used characters. When he picked up a pen to write, he could probably write about three or four hundred simple and common characters. He couldn't write characters with many strokes at all, so he used circles instead.

There were at least twenty circles in the letter, and the handwriting was crooked and ugly.

After Jiang Shaohua read it, he was angry and amused: "This Tao Da, he is good at charging in battle, but writing is like taking his life."

Chen Jinyu came over with a smile to watch the fun.

Jiang Shaohua simply handed the letter to Chen Jinyu: "Come and take a look, how much can you understand?"

Chen Jinyu read a few lines, and the corners of his mouth twitched: "There are so many circles, and many wrong characters, I have to guess."

However, I still understood the general content.

Tao Da's evaluation of the combat capability of this garrison is: slightly stronger than pigs. It will take at least a year or two to train.

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "Tao Da is a rough-minded man, but he works hard. He said in the letter that he wants to stay in the barracks to train the soldiers. He will not return to the capital for the time being."

"Write a reply letter on my behalf and say I approve it."

Chen Jinyu immediately took the order, went to the desk beside him, picked up a pen, quickly wrote a letter, and presented it to the emperor.

After reading it, Jiang Shaohua nodded and smiled, "Yes, it has to be written directly. Tao Da can't understand the subtle hints. When he trains the soldiers, don't be too harsh. It will be barely enough if you can train the garrison to the level of the Nanyang Army three years ago."

Chen Jinyu immediately added a few more words, sealed the letter, and had it sent out of the capital.

Tao Da was not the only one who sent back such a letter. The other guards who arrived at the garrisons also sent back letters one after another. In their letters, they reported in detail the shortage of empty salaries in each garrison, and low combat effectiveness was a common phenomenon. Some garrisons only trained once every ten days. Some garrison soldiers were assigned by the commander to do some errands to make a living, and the money they earned naturally belonged to the commander. In addition, there were garrisons that extorted local wealthy businessmen in the name of suppressing bandits, and all kinds of bad deeds were shocking.

The garrison in Daliang is really like a puddle of mud.

The most outrageous thing was that one of the garrisons secretly kept several camp prostitutes.

The person who went to this garrison happened to be the hot-tempered Meng Dashan. Meng Dashan immediately turned hostile and had the commander arrested and sent directly to the Ministry of War in the capital for punishment.

This move was indeed too radical and almost caused a mutiny in the military camp that day.

Meng Dashan brought only a few people with him, but they were very powerful. They each drew their swords and looked down upon the indignant generals.

"I, Meng Dashan, came here on the orders of the Emperor to deliver military funds, uniforms, and food to you. If there is something not in compliance with the rules in the barracks, I will take action on behalf of the Emperor to deal with it."

Meng Dashan also drew out his long sword, and the cold and sharp edge was staring at people's eyes: "If you are not convinced by what happened today, just do it. I, Meng Dashan, will risk my life and die here today, and I will never retreat a single step."

"However, I also advise you to think carefully before taking action. Now the only one who is in trouble is the commander. If you take action, it will be considered a mutiny in the military camp. When the news reaches the capital, the emperor will definitely send troops to wipe you out and kill all nine of your clans."

"Think about it, is it worth risking your entire clan for your Lord?"