The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 154 Arrogant
The actual distance from Taiheling to Ruyuekou is about a little over a hundred miles.

After Wang Xin took over the city defense, he began to patrol with his generals to familiarize themselves with the terrain and environment as quickly as possible.

Yanmen Pass, located north of Daizhou, is known as the "first pass of the Great Wall."

In fact, it refers to the long history from the Warring States Period to the Qin, Han, Tang and Song Dynasties. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Yanmen Pass was destroyed and was repaired at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Later, with the establishment of the Datong Military Town, a new Nine-Border Great Wall was built in the central area of ​​Datong.

With the new Great Wall, although it is safe to preserve the Great Wall north of Daizhou, the Great Wall needs daily maintenance and repair, rather than just building it and then being able to stand forever in the local area.

Building the Great Wall was a huge project that required the efforts of the entire nation, and its daily maintenance and repairs were also a huge expense.

At the beginning of the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the treasury was full and could generally support itself.

To this day, even the border Great Wall in Datong lacks money for maintenance and repair, not to mention that it is no longer the ancient Great Wall at the border, so many sections have collapsed and turned into flat ground, or the bricks and stones have turned into powder and fall apart at the touch.

Only the fame and geographical advantages of Yanmen Pass have preserved this section of the ancient Great Wall, but that is where it ends.

Wang Xin not only came to Taihe Ridge, but also brought Zhang Can and others to Ningwu Pass not far away.

The garrison commander of Ningwu Pass was named Wu Shigong, who was about forty years old, short in stature and gentle in character. Upon learning that the general from Yanmen Pass was coming, he hurried to greet him.

Although Ningwu Pass is not under the jurisdiction of Yanmen Pass, Wang Xin is the highest military general in this area. He does not have the right to manage Ningwu Pass, but he has the right to mobilize troops in case of emergency.

Just like Yanmen Pass does not belong to the nearby Datong, but to Taiyuan, four hundred miles away, but the Datong Jiedushi still has the right to dispatch soldiers from Yanmen Pass.

The details involved are very complicated and cannot be explained in a few words. It is probably a combination of caution and efficiency.

The Great Zhou was so vast that a set of rules had been formed in all aspects to suit the environment. People who did not understand the practical principles were like old scholars who had become stupid from reading too much and could only respond according to what was taught in the books.

This is another matter. Wang Xin himself has a thorough understanding of these principles. He also has Lin Ruhai's teaching. In addition, with the experience of traveling from south to north, from the countryside to the capital, and then from the capital to the countryside in the past two years, he has a clear understanding of them.

Wang Xin walked around Ningwu Pass and sighed, "Ningwu Pass only has a few hundred defenders. Even with the mountain pass, if a large group of Hu people invade, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for even a day."

If you can't hold on for a day, you won't be able to rescue yourself.

Hearing Wang Xin's concerns, Wu Shigong remained silent. He had also inquired about the new general and heard that he came from a noble family and had a powerful background. Although he was jealous, he could do nothing about it and hoped to make friends with him.

Therefore, he said: "Our supplies come from Taiyuan, and the court pays the military pay. Now the military pay is in arrears, and the local food pay is also in arrears. The soldiers can't even fill their stomachs. Those who can run away have already run away, and the rest are just the old and weak who are just trying to get by."

This garrison commander was quite honest and gave me an explanation.

Wang Xin shook his head.

Some words, when spoken, are likely to make people hate you.

We should adapt to local conditions. Some things are of course not good. For example, if everyone were like us and the generals were to rely on the nobles, then in the end the nobles would revive and the situation would return to the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty.

Many of the actions taken by the retired emperor were not wrong in terms of practical effects, but were beneficial to the long-term stability of the country.

It is this Great Zhou Dynasty, and the hundred years of peace are not fake.

But everything has a price.

After enjoying a century of peace, we naturally have to bear the bad side.

Just like drinking water, don't forget the person who dug the well.

People who drink water are very happy, but people who dig wells are very miserable. This is the Tao. Sages are unkind and treat all things as straw dogs. Then is it okay for the predecessors not to dig wells? No, the later generations will die of thirst.

So there is a saying that is most appropriate - to solve problems, we must start from reality.

The biggest problem right now is that there isn't one.

On the contrary, the issue of nobles is put at the back. In order to ensure the survival of the army, the generals need to have the ability to look up and see the road, so a qualified manager needs to have certain abilities.

Just like Yue Fei.

Can't he see the problems that ordinary people see?

He simply chose the one that was best for the country and the people, not the one that was beneficial to himself. He didn't want to die, but he had no other choice in the face of a tyrant and treacherous ministers.

Other choices would inevitably bring greater disasters to the country and the people, so he chose to sacrifice his life with tears.

He is not blindly loyal as some people say.

So Wang Xin always thought that he was not as good as Yue Fei.

It is for this reason that Wang Xin has always regarded Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang as the people he admires most. What he admires is this spirit. You may not be able to do it, but you must understand that this is the greatest spirit.

So the explanation for the defense, in Wang Xin's mind, was a problem of lack of ability.

The capable ones go up, the mediocre ones go down.

Few countries, ancient and modern, in China and abroad, have been able to achieve such a level of success. Wang Xin felt that it would be difficult for him to do so, so he did not criticize him, but accepted the reason for the defense. Wu Shigong had been in contact with the new general for half a day. Although young, he had a calm personality and treated people with moderation. Wu Shigong nodded secretly and had a good impression of this guerrilla general.

Once you understand your own defense zone, you will find loopholes everywhere.

Wang Xin didn't have many solutions. No wonder the wealthy people and officials in Daizhou were anxious. After all, there were many people, including ordinary people, who could see the problem. However, seeing the problem did not mean that they could solve it.

People who can see problems and solve them are rare talents.

Merely talented.

Just happens to be a talent.

Wang Xin smiled and quickly began to integrate his defense line.

I was promoted to guerrilla general. Originally, there were six vacancies. When a new subordinate reaches the level of loyalty, one will be rewarded, so there are a total of twelve vacancies. The original subordinates have already been selected. Now I am in Datong. Although the twelve vacancies cannot cover all the generals, they can be used to select those who I like.

They are all kinds of people, whether they say nice things on the surface or they can't express themselves, no one can hide the truth from me.

Of course, it is impossible to achieve a good improvement in the initial contact. This period of contact is also a process for subordinates to understand themselves, put forward requirements, and get along with each other.

It's perfect if you exclude those who say one thing and do another.

There were probably seven or eight hundred people left in the border military forts over a hundred miles away. Wang Xin withdrew all of these people and only selected the remaining one hundred or so. As for the generals registered in the Ministry of War, some were recruited and some were left vacant.

The generals who were left in vacancies did not know that they were left in vacancies. Wang Xin would also say nice things to coax each other, and then recruit soldiers from Daizhou again.

At the same time, they also looked for food for the hundreds of elderly and weak people who had been eliminated, and gave them all to the wealthy families. The wealthy families accepted them with reluctance, and their families had some more cheap long-term workers, but unfortunately they were a bit old.

There were also some young soldiers, and they were all left behind and handed over to Coach Chen.

It has only been ten days since I arrived at Yanmen Pass, and everything is done cleanly and efficiently.

Many people were paying attention to the actions at Yanmen Pass. In Datong City, two hundred miles away, a fat man sitting behind a desk in the hall narrowed his eyes after hearing the news brought by his subordinates.

"What does this man want to do?"

"A new official starts with three major changes," a tall officer with thick knuckles said with a disapproving smile. "But I'm curious. He's only been at Yanmen Pass for a few days, but he's already employing people this way. What's his reasoning? I'm afraid he's not familiar with the people below him."

Fatty Feng nodded, agreeing with his subordinates' words.

Everyone knows that a new official will make three big moves when he takes office, so even if the superiors are dissatisfied with the new commander of Yanmen Pass making a major move on the defense line, they will not express it and will even support it.

But after these three fires have been set, the higher-ups will not easily agree to any further changes and will not allow officials to do as they please.

The advantages of a new official are these three things, and they will be gone once they are used up.

Therefore, smart people will only use the power of the three fires to subdue their subordinates without firing a shot. After gaining control of the situation, they will not even use the three fires, and will gain the approval of their superiors.

On the contrary, if you use the three fires early and later find that you used them incorrectly, they will be gone when you want to use them again.

Therefore, a cautious person will definitely wait until he has a clear understanding of the situation, the hearts of his subordinates, and has people who trust him, before deciding to use three fires.

"This man has become a guerrilla general at such a young age. He has deep connections, is ambitious, and has achieved success at a young age. This is not surprising," the staff member nearby analyzed and suggested, "If that's the case, shouldn't we take action against him for now to avoid suspicion at the court?"

Feng Yong shook his head and refused. "No matter who he is, I won't let anyone sleep soundly beside my bed. I'll hold him in my hand first. If he behaves well, I can keep him later."

The same old tricks that have been used for many years.

Obedient generals were kept under control, while disobedient generals were sent to the front line and killed.

The staff warned: "Your Majesty's reputation in the court is getting worse. If you can't improve it and turn your reputation around, I'm afraid the court will take action against you."

Since the young man is incompetent, just keep him. We must control him. He is young and energetic, and is likely to rebel. After all, he is a guerrilla general of the Beijing camp. If he dies in Datong, I am afraid the court will not be able to tolerate it.

The staff expressed their concerns.

"Hahaha."

"There are so many things the imperial court cannot tolerate. Even the wealthy don't pay taxes, and the imperial court can tolerate it. We, the hard-working soldiers guarding the border for the imperial court, just don't want any trouble. Why can't the imperial court tolerate it? It doesn't dare to bully the wealthy, but it dares to bully us?"

The tall general laughed loudly.

Despite being so rampant, Feng Yong showed praise.

The generals of Datong, from top to bottom, all only care about themselves and not the imperial court. Of course, they should be domineering. Those generals who strictly abide by the imperial court's rules should be sent to the front lines, and it would be best if they all died.

The staff had nothing to say. The lord had cultivated too many confidants, and these confidant generals ignored the court. The atmosphere in Datong became lawless. Last time, he even planned to kill the governor of nine provinces just to vent his anger.

(End of this chapter)