Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 73 I, Zhao Xin, need a group of like-minded people

Things like military numbers can only be put aside for now. The most important thing next is to meet, communicate and interact with these "newcomers".

Five hundred people is not a lot, but not a few either. Zhao Xin had to ask each of them one by one, including their names, how old they were, how many people were in their family, and what they did before.

I asked them questions one by one, including whether they signed up voluntarily or were assigned directly, and whether they knew what they were doing here.

"Report to Lord Shou! I am Zhang Lan, and I used to make crossbows!"

Zhao Xin kept asking questions like this from early morning until noon when the sun was overhead.

Only after he had asked everyone and was familiar with their situation did he say with emotion: "Talent! They are all talented!"

After hearing what Zhao Xin said, everyone couldn't tell for a moment whether he was serious or just being sarcastic.

but……

The last one, who makes crossbows, is indeed a talented person.

only……

Among the five hundred people, there are only him and two others who can make a crossbow with their bare hands.

It only accounts for 53 percent.

Someone whispered to Zhao Xin, "Duke Shou, have we been tricked by the Privy Council? Of these five hundred people, less than fifty are usable."

Zhao Xin also said: "Hey, how can you talk like that! Yan Shu, the Privy Councilor of the Privy Council, is my teacher. My teacher, how can he harm me?"

“I actually asked for this myself!”

Seventeen people: “…”

Zhao Xun also said: "Duke Shou, the boatmen are rowing, the crossbowmen are making crossbows, and one of the crossbow makers is over 50 years old. How do we train these soldiers?"

Zhao Xin said, "An old man in the family is like a treasure. He is over fifty years old. Doesn't this just show that he has a lot of experience in making crossbows?"

Zhao Xun: "But this can only take care of logistics at best."

Zhao Xin said, "It is said that food and fodder must be sent before troops move. Logistics are equally important!"

All seventeen people were left speechless by Zhao Xin.

When Duke Shouguo first said that he had five hundred elite soldiers, they were extremely excited.

But now it seems that these are not 500 elite soldiers. Some are tall, some are short, some are old, and some are thin. If they were sent to the battlefield, the enemy would probably be laughed to death by these people.

Isn’t this definitely a great achievement in terms of heads?

The key is……

When these people saw their courage, they felt that it was not very good. Perhaps they had never really seen a battlefield or a war.

There are fifty tall, young and strong men, but there are only fifty of them, which is of no use.

After Zhao Xin looked at everyone again, he said to Zhao Xun, "Think about it, if we just give the Imperial Guards to us, they will be well trained and can be deployed to fight at any time. Then we don't have to train the soldiers ourselves, so what's the point?"

“This doesn’t prove our ability!”

"It is precisely because of their behavior that we have room to give full play to our talents."

Zhao Xun also said: "But no matter how much we practice, it doesn't look like we can produce any elite soldiers."

Zhao Xin said, "That's too small! As long as we can train their spirit, it doesn't matter whether they can fight in the future. As long as people think they can fight, that's fine. Then when my father sees that we can train such soldiers, he will be more confident in handing over the imperial guards to me."

"This is like a test question. If you can't even pass this test question, you won't be able to train well even if you are given good soldiers."

Zhao Xun then looked doubtful and said no more.

Zhao Xin had someone build a platform for him to speak to the five hundred people. At this time...

Next, Zhao Xin climbed onto the platform, and while writing, he asked Zhao Xun to read aloud to him.

The first sentence said: "After a morning of questions and answers, I have understood your situation."

"I am Zhao Xin, the second son of the official family."

"I have been ordered by my father to train the troops and form an elite force loyal to the Song Dynasty."

"I don't care what you did before or where you came from. From now on, you are my personal soldiers! The most trusted among my trusted ones!"

"Of course, if anyone doesn't want to, you can leave now."

"Since many of you were directly assigned or recommended by your superiors, if you don't want to, you can leave now."

Zhao Xin stopped and looked up.

Although many people were whispering to each other, no one really wanted to leave.

Then he asked Zhao Xun to help him speak: "Very good! I see, you all seem willing to stay."

"Then, let's defend our country together! Go to the battlefield together and fight bravely!"

Everyone: "..."

No!

He plays it real! ?
Just these few people! ?

but……

Fortunately, Zhao Xin is the son of an official, and Zhao Xin also said that if he stayed, he would be the most trusted among the trusted persons in the future.

Anyone with a sound mind knows what to choose.

This is like the food has been fed to your mouth, but you don’t know how to eat it, then you deserve to be poor for the rest of your life.

Just ...

Isn't this a bit too trite?
How do these five hundred people fight the enemy? How do they defend their country?

The key is that those who row the boat row the boat, and those who make crossbows make crossbows.

Zhao Xin asked Zhao Xun to help him, "Since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, warriors have often rebelled, killed people at will, and even instigated and held their superiors hostage to rebel. As a result, even now, as a warrior, whether in the court or in the hearts of the people, they are a kind of extremely bad character, and are even regarded as a scourge. From the court to the common people, warriors are extremely discriminated against!"

"We must change this! We must inject a new soul into the warriors! That is... warriors are used to defend the country and protect the people, not to rebel, kill each other, or even ravage the people! We must completely reverse the bad impression of warriors in the world."

"For this reason, from now on, I will have very strict requirements on all your actions and every move."

"Now that I have said this, this is my last chance to give up. Is there anyone else who wants to quit?"

"If you can't accept it, it's best to quit as soon as possible."

"I, Zhao Xin, need a group of like-minded people. Without unity of purpose, we cannot accomplish great things."

"If you don't leave today, no matter what happens in the future, you must not complain. After all... this is the path you chose."

Zhao Xin gave them another chance.

Everyone looked at each other.

Nor spoke.

Zhao Xin finally asked Zhao Xun to speak for him: "That's it! It's noon, get ready for lunch!"

(End of this chapter)