Water Margin people

Chapter 1219: Military morale is weakened

South bank of the Yellow River.

Zhong Shidao led people to inspect the defense.

"This beacon tower must be guarded at all times. Once an enemy is discovered, it will be lit immediately!"

Master Zhong inspected the beacon towers on the south bank of the Yellow River. These are the first line of defense and the line of early warning.

Zhong Shidao knew very well that the combat power of their army was unable to block the Qi army head-on. They could only rely on layers of defense lines to block it. This early warning was particularly important.

"Commander Zhong, although the weather is very cold, the Yellow River has not frozen yet. Are you too nervous? The soldiers have been training hard recently, and I am afraid that they will not be able to bear the burden of guarding day and night."

An officer looked at Zhongshidao and said, in order to improve the combat effectiveness of the army, Zhongshidao has been training very intensively recently, and the soldiers are already complaining.

"How can we say we are suffering when we are facing a formidable enemy?"

Zhong Shidao glared angrily. Now the Song Dynasty is in danger. The duty of soldiers is to protect their families and their country. How can they say they are suffering?

"Are you scared?"

Zhong Shidao's voice was cold, and his eyes were like knives as he glanced at the officer who was speaking. He glanced at the officers next to him and saw that they all lowered their heads and remained silent, knowing that these people all had the same idea.

"Commander Zhong, the person opposite is Luda! We also went to the battlefield together back then, killed the Xixia vassal, shed blood and drank wine! How did he get away? We know who I am better than anyone else."

"Shuai Zhong, that's not what we meant. We just think this battle is not worth it!"

The Western Army has indeed suffered in these years. A greedy Tong Guan was the immediate boss, and he commanded and fought blindly. The credit was all Tong Guan's, and all the problems were blamed on his subordinates.

"We have also seen what Qi has done. They are not evil thieves who do all kinds of evil. If it were not for them in the north, they would have fallen into the hands of the Jin people at this moment."

All the officers said to each other, and their words were all good for the state of Qi.

"Zhongshuai, we are not afraid of death, we just find it boring!"

"I feel that working for the Zhao family is not worth it. We have been fighting in Kansai for many years. When did the imperial court show sympathy for us? Eat our head money! Deduct our food and salary! Shortage our ordnance! Shoddy goods... this one after another , Commander-in-Chief knows better than us!"

Fight the hardest battle, take the least money, take the greatest risks, and receive the least credit. This is the sorrow of the soldiers at the bottom of the Song Dynasty.

……

"It's boring. You are soldiers. What do you mean?"

"He is not a liar, nor is he a person who will do anything for glory and wealth."

When the officers saw what Master Zhong was doing, they immediately knelt down, as if they were killing each other at the first glance.

A group of officers looked at Zhong Shidao and said.

Zhong Shidao frowned and looked at the people in front of him. These were all brought out by him. They are all warriors on the battlefield. They will not frown even if they are knifed.

Everyone looked at Master Zhong and said.

Zhong Shidao held down the sword at his waist with one hand and questioned everyone in a cold voice, as if he wanted to draw his sword and fight with everyone.

The rest of the people are also looking at Zhongshi Dao with bright eyes. Those here are all from the Western Army and are all Zhong family soldiers. They are absolutely loyal to Zhongshi Dao.

"Commander Zhong, we have followed you for many years and gone through countless battles. We have always crawled out of the dead."

A strong man looked at Master Zhong and said.

"Are you planning a mutiny?"

Zhong Shidao was speechless when asked by the officers. Of course he knew these things, and he had tried to fight for them from the court more than once. However, in the Song Dynasty, no one would consider the feelings of the soldiers at all.

"Commander Zhong, we are not afraid of death. As long as Commander Zhong gives the order, we can go to the other side to fight the enemy now! The worst is to die."

"But if it's for the people in Tokyo, then we can't figure out why we should die for them! Is Tokyo really worth dying for? Why should we make up for the mistakes they made?"

A group of officers looked at Zhong Shidao and said.

"Everyone get up!"

Master Zhongdao saw that his subordinates had mixed feelings in their hearts. These people had suffered too many grievances.

"Don't tell anyone what happened today. I'll pretend I didn't hear anything!" Zhong Shidao continued. The words of the officers today are enough to convict you of rebellion, and confiscation of your home and distribution of rations are all minor offenses.

"Commander Zhong, it's not that we want to say this, but the soldiers below can no longer hold back. The people in Tokyo haven't paid them military pay yet. Even if we don't mutiny, the soldiers will mutiny. We can't do it." Use the knife on your own men!"

The officers looked at Zhong Shidao's hand loosening the sword hilt, knowing that Zhong Shidao would protect them, but they also wanted to protect their brothers.

"Hasn't the military pay been paid?"

Zhong Shidao asked with a frown. He remembered that the imperial court had allocated military pay.

"Commander Zhong, the imperial court only gave him a month's military pay at first, and then there was no military pay!"

The officers spoke.

"Food and grass are not distributed in full. The original three meals a day are enough, but now two meals are enough!"

"There are also ordnance. Our ordnance is all old stuff, and so is the armor. A lot of it is rotten!"

"The cotton-padded clothes for winter are just useless..."

"The good things are only for the Imperial Army, and our Western Army can't get them at all!"

The officers spoke of the reality of the situation.

Zhong Shidao felt a burst of pain in his heart when he heard this. In terms of military system, the Song Dynasty had strong branches and weak branches. Good things must be given to the imperial army first. This was something he could not change.

Zhongshidao also understood at this moment why this happened today. These officers had been in the Western Army for many years and had fought countless battles. However, before Tong Guan was in power, most of his military achievements were corrupted and he was not allowed to be promoted. Today, he is still a low-level officer.

When the soldiers of the Western Army saw that the Forbidden Forces with low combat effectiveness were well fed, clothed and used well, they naturally felt unbalanced in their hearts. The enemy on the other side was even more well-equipped, which made the soldiers of the Western Army unbearable. .

"Go back and comfort the soldiers, I will respond upward!"

Master Zhong could only look at the officers and say.

"enemy!"

Someone shouted something, and everyone looked up to the other side of the river. They saw a well-equipped army patrolling along the river bank. Just looking at the standard armor, swords, and cotton uniforms, the Western Army's mouth was watering.

"Lu Zhishen!"

Zhong Shidao frowned as he looked at Lu Zhishen, who was leading the horse.

Lu Zhishen seemed to have felt Zhong Shidao's gaze. He looked at Zhong Shidao with a smile and clasped his fists.

"Master Lu, Master Zhong is also patrolling the defense line."

Lu Fang said with a smile.

"Stay where you are, it's time for lunch!"

Lu Zhishen ordered with a smile.

The soldiers quickly buried pots and cooked rice on the shore, and the aroma of wine and meat wafted away.

Lu Zhishen opened a wine jar and took a sip, then tore off a leg of lamb and took a bite. He was so happy eating it.

The soldiers also laughed and started drinking and eating meat.

Zhong Shidao frowned as he watched all this. He knew how much suffering the soldiers were enduring.

"Lu Zhishen did this on purpose!"

Master Zhong gritted his teeth and thought to himself, Lu Zhishen was from the bottom of the Western Army and knew very well what situation the Western Army was in. This would push the dissatisfaction of the Western Army to an extremely high level, and a camp roar would probably occur.

"I've been in Tokyo too long!"

Zhong Shidao felt a little guilty. During this period, he had been training troops in Tokyo and ignored the Western Army soldiers on the front line.

(End of this chapter)