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Chapter 700: Garrison (Part )

Over the years, Meng Dashan has been training and leading troops all year round, fighting with real guns and swords, killing mountain bandits, and suppressing refugees. He has the domineering and mighty aura of a military commander, and when he draws his sword, he is even more fierce and murderous.

Most of the originally noisy generals immediately became timid. Some retreated quietly, some forced a smile and apologized. Occasionally, one or two stubborn ones wanted to continue making trouble, but they were quickly pulled down by their colleagues.

Meng Dashan looked around coldly and said, "I came here on the orders of the emperor to give you all sufficient military pay, new clothes, shoes and socks, and also to send you a large amount of food and fodder."

"The emperor is concerned about all the soldiers, and all the money in the treasury is for you to use first. All the shameful things you have done in the past, put them all away."

"Starting tomorrow, we will start training at 5 a.m. Everyone must obey me. Anyone who disagrees, please stand up now."

They keep saying "I am following the Emperor's orders". Unless they want to rebel, who would dare to disobey?

In the silence, Meng Dashan said coldly: "Since it has been decided, go back to the military camp. The court will deal with your commander according to the law. You just do your job honestly."

Everyone slowly retreated.

The tense atmosphere in the military tent finally eased.

After all the noisy people left, Meng Dashan heaved a sigh of relief and sheathed his sword. The guards around him also put away their swords.

"I thought there would really be a killing today." One of them muttered in a low voice, still in fear.

"Isn't it? I'm ready to give up my life here."

It was true that there were empty salaries in the barracks, but there were also three thousand solid soldiers. If the barracks mutinied, so many people would rush over with sticks and surround and kill the fifty of them.

Two fists cannot defeat four hands. No matter how skilled a warrior is, he cannot defeat so many people.

Meng Dashan was secretly sweating in his heart, but he managed to keep a straight face: "What are you afraid of? The soldiers in the barracks are severely deducted from their salaries on weekdays. They don't even have a full meal. How can they be willing to follow the generals in rebellion? There are only a few dozen people entering the camp today. They are no match for us!"

"Of course, if we can avoid taking action, we should do our best. The emperor sent us here to find out the details of the garrison and warn them. If the barracks really mutinied, the local people would suffer. The court would then have to send troops to suppress it, and it would be troublesome both inside and outside."

Now he is calm, and he is talking about the truth one by one. I don't know who was the first to draw the knife.

The guards silently complained in their hearts, but no one dared to expose Meng Dashan's shortcomings to his face, and they all nodded in agreement.

Meng Dashan ordered, "You all go and rest. Don't sleep too deeply tonight, don't take off your clothes, and keep your weapons by your side."

The guards nodded in agreement.

Meng Dashan himself did not sleep well that night. Whenever there was a slight movement outside the military tent, he would wake up immediately, get up from the bed, grab his long sword and walk around outside the military tent.

Fortunately, the ordinary soldiers in the barracks were severely oppressed by their own commander and were unwilling to risk their lives for his. The other low-level generals, after weighing the weight of the punishment of the entire clan, swallowed their resentment.

After one night, Meng Dashan's heart finally settled down. Since things like this didn't cause a commotion at the beginning, they would eventually calm down.

At five o'clock in the morning, Meng Dashan personally beat the military drum. After three military drums, the soldiers came together reluctantly. It was late autumn and it was already chilly. Fortunately, the brand new military uniforms had just been put down, and the soldiers had new clothes and new shoes, so they had no complaints about getting up early for training.

Meng Dashan had a loud voice, and the three thousand soldiers could hear him clearly when he opened his mouth: "Run ten miles first, and then return to the barracks for breakfast. There will be white steamed buns with meat soup this morning, and you can eat your fill." The soldiers were cheered up and responded loudly.

On ordinary days, the commanders were stingy. Not to mention steamed buns, they could only eat two mixed-flour steamed buns, and there was not even a drop of oil in the vegetable soup.

Now we have white steamed buns with meat soup, so running ten miles is nothing. Let’s run!

Meng Dashan was the commander of the Second Battalion of the Imperial Guard. On paper, the Second Battalion of the Imperial Guard had 600 men, but the actual strength was seven or eight times that. Meng Dashan was experienced in leading troops in drills. He was not like Tao Da, who ran 20 miles at the first sight and drilled for a whole day, making the soldiers complain bitterly.

Meng Dashan adopted a step-by-step approach. In the first few days, they only ran ten miles, and daily training began with the simplest formation of left and right turns. After half a month, the soldiers had adapted to this intensity, and after running five miles, the formation began to become more complex.

Two months passed like this, and winter had already set in. The imperial court's order to deal with the commander of the garrison arrived.

As Meng Dashan expected, this fourth-rank military general who dared to keep prostitutes in the military camp for his own enjoyment was beheaded and his property was confiscated.

This was also the first military general to be punished after the emperor ascended the throne.

There was also a letter written by the emperor himself.

In the letter, Jiang Shaohua praised Meng Dashan's solemn military atmosphere and severely criticized Meng Dashan's behavior of not cherishing himself. Once again, she emphasized that he should cherish himself. In her heart, nothing is more important than Meng Dashan's own safety.

Reading such a letter made Meng Dashan feel warm inside.

A scholar dies for a confidant.

As a military general, it is worth working for such an emperor.

"Go to the barracks and tell everyone that General Yao was beheaded by the imperial court. Now that there is no more trouble in the barracks, everyone's salary will be 100% in the future. Also, the kitchen will kill three fat pigs today so that everyone can have a good meal to celebrate."

……

"The Daliang garrison is ten times or even a hundred times worse than I thought!"

The winter in the capital was particularly cold. From November onwards, braziers were lit in various palaces in the palace. In the Showa Palace, there was plenty of charcoal fire, and it was as warm as spring.

Jiang Shaohua was eight months pregnant and her belly was getting bigger and bigger. Although she walked steadily, people around her were frightened.

Jiang Shaohua frowned and paced back and forth, and Chen Jinyu followed Jiang Shaohua, staring at him without blinking.

"There are countless parasites like General Yao. Now we can only kill one to warn the rest, and warn all the generals to restrain themselves."

"After a few years, I will personally inspect the military camp! Severely punish a group of military commanders! Completely correct the atmosphere in the military camp!"

The military officers were considered good for eating empty salaries and drinking the blood of soldiers. They oppressed the people, extorted the rich, secretly smuggled money, killed innocent people and took credit... The military officers stationed in various places had many ways to make money, which were no less than those of the civil officials.

There is also General Yao, who openly kept prostitutes in the military camp. Moreover, they were not girls from brothels, but girls abducted from civilians' homes. His behavior was bad and disgusting.

These scum in the army must be killed to appease the anger in my heart.