Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 627: Youzhou Tyrant's Personal Opinion

Early in the morning of that day, the new Xuanwu Army, which was the reorganized Silver Spear Filial Piety Army, was training.

From queue changes, to formation changes, to flag commands, military band music and so on, these are all fairly routine drills.

Fang Chongyong walked and looked around without saying a word, and seemed unhappy.

"Marshal, you are..."

When He Changqi saw Fang Chongyong, who was reviewing the military appearance of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army, with a gloomy face, he suddenly felt uneasy.

Even breathing is done with caution.

He was confident that there would be no big problem in training the troops, but Marshal Fang's mind was as deep as the sea and difficult for others to guess.

"It's okay. The troops are ready and their morale is high."

Fang Chongyong nodded perfunctorily.

"Marshal, you said that officers and soldiers should eat and live together. If officers want to eat good food and have their own special meals, they must pay to buy it.

I also did as instructed, and the brothers thought it was fair and had no objections. "

Seeing that Fang Zhongyong still looked worried, He Changqi continued to explain, as if he was guilty of a crime.

"That……"

Fang Zhongyong stopped and looked at He Changqi and asked, "Why do some soldiers have tattoos on their faces? I told you, this is a bad habit. We are not bandit soldiers!"

There was no concept of bandits joining the army in the Tang Dynasty, and there was no discrimination against soldiers with tattoos on their faces. But it was a bit unusual for soldiers to take the initiative to tattoo their faces.

"Master, you misunderstood."

He Changqi suddenly realized why Fang Zhongyong looked unhappy after watching the drill. He quickly called two soldiers of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army.

Both of them have tattoos on their faces, the left one says "Silver Spear" and the right one says "Filial Piety". It is certain that they were done by the same tattoo artist.

The symmetry between the two sides does not look awkward at all, but instead has a unique sense of majesty and dominance.

"Tell me, why do you two have tattoos on your faces?"

He Changqi asked in a cold voice.

"General, we are old soldiers with silver spears and filial piety. We will die for you and tattoo our names to show our loyalty!"

One of them reported loudly, obviously speaking to Fang Zhongyong.

It turned out that after the expansion of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army, many brave and skilled fighters joined, and the technical and tactical levels of many of them were not inferior to those of the old soldiers.

Because they were recruited soldiers, many of them were retired elite soldiers from the frontier army. They were very good at fighting.

On the one hand, this situation greatly strengthened the military's strength, but on the other hand, it also made many old soldiers dissatisfied.

When I was fighting for the Marshal, you guys were still nursing.

Now that you have grown strong, you want to be on equal footing with us. No way! You can fight, but what's the point of being able to fight!
No one knew who first came up with this bad idea, but the trend of tattooing became popular. Now almost every veteran soldier of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army has a tattoo on his face.

Don't ask, the only thing you know is that the one with the tattoo is the loyal and direct descendant of Marshal Fang. Nowadays, the army is clearly divided, and anyone with a tattoo on his face is an "old brother". If you don't have a tattoo, no matter how good you are at fighting, you are born inferior to others.

Even if Fang Zhongyong clearly ordered that all soldiers and officers eat and live together, and there is no difference in treatment except for military pay, it still cannot eliminate the gap in qualifications.

Tattooing on the face is a personal wish and is not something Fang Zhongyong can prohibit.

"Has the family divided the land?"

Fang Chongyong looked at the two soldiers with tattoos on their faces and asked.

"It's divided, it's divided. My life belongs to the Marshal!"

Another person said attentively.

"Go ahead. I will never forget your loyalty and bravery."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand, and the two old soldiers of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army happily retreated.

"General, this is the love that the veterans in the army have for you. It cannot be stopped."

He Changqi said in a low voice, fearing that Fang Chongyong would ask him to tattoo his face as well.

"Forget it. What do you think of Li Guangbi's expedition to Shouzhou?"

Fang Zhongyong shook his head helplessly and changed the subject.

"Shouzhou? The one next to Bozhou? In the south?"

He Changqi thought about it and finally remembered where Shouzhou was.

"Wouldn't it be easy to capture Shouzhou?"

He Changqi said disapprovingly, as if he didn't think it was a problem at all.

Fang Zhongyong thought to himself: I still have to protect Li Guangbi. Even He Lao Hu thought it was easy to defeat him, but he might fall flat on his face if he wasn't careful.

As for the issue of the old soldiers of the Silver Spear Filial Piety Army getting tattooed, it was actually a stress response caused by his announcement of the implementation of the principle of "equality between officers and soldiers". Just let them be.

As long as the regular army is linked to land, they will no longer be floating duckweed, nor will they be thugs in military uniforms who can be easily fooled by any general.

As for whether officers and soldiers can be equal in the military, that is another question. If Fang Zhongyong does not bring it up, then the class stratification in the military will only become more stubborn.

After admonishing He Changqi to train his troops well and that the army could set out at any time, Fang Chongyong called Li Quan, and the two discussed the major issue of military reform in the study of the government office.

Fang Zhongyong handed the pattern he had drawn on the paper to Li Quan, then pointed at the paper and said:
“On a battlefield, once setbacks are encountered, it is very likely that the soldiers will not recognize the general, and the general will not recognize the soldiers.

Once the system is broken up, there is no way to reorganize it.

This Marshal believes that from now on, the military rank system should be promulgated, and corresponding collar badges and epaulettes should be embroidered on the shoulders, collars, cuffs and other positions of the military uniforms.

The rank of an officer can be directly identified by his collar badge and shoulder strap."

Hearing these words, Li Quan first showed a confused and stunned expression, then he suddenly realized and applauded!
The military rank system was not new in ancient China, starting from the Western Zhou Dynasty, so Li Quan did not find it strange at all.

But having a military rank is one thing, and being able to tell the rank at a glance is another.

In the Tang Dynasty, people often judged the military officers by the details on their uniforms or the style of feathers on their helmets.

The military has always had this kind of demand, but it has always been dealt with by makeshift means.

However, one thing that is confusing is that although they are all Tang troops, the command systems in different teams are completely different!

In other words, the command system itself bears the strong imprint of this army and is irreplaceable.

To put it more clearly, everyone builds the command system in a way that is comfortable for them. This is the same for drum music and military bands. Although there is no essential generation gap in the playing methods of each army, if they are exchanged, they will not work at all!
Although the "military rank system" proposed by Fang Chongyong was only a small change, it was this small step that improved the command system of the entire army!

From now on, officers can be recognized by their military ranks. The organization will be disbanded and reorganized much faster than before.

And in the next military reform, there are still many things that can be iterated.

Li Quan admired this very much.

"Your Excellency has a keen eye. This is a brilliant move. I will write the regulations right away. As for the specific design of the shoulder straps and collar badges, there are people in the Ministry of Works who are proficient in this. There will be no problem at all."

Li Quan laughed.

The more the army focuses on regularization and standardization, the stronger its combat effectiveness will be. These are the lessons learned by our ancestors with blood.

Li Quan originally didn't quite believe what Pei Min said to him, that Fang Chongyong could accomplish great things. Now it seems that he has to admire the old coin's ability to judge people.

This small change will improve combat effectiveness invisibly, and it doesn't require much effort. "By the way, what do you think of Li Guangbi's attack on Shouzhou?"

Fang Chongyong thought of what happened in Shouzhou again and suddenly asked this question.

Li Quan was stunned for a moment, and his expression gradually became serious. He saw that Fang Zhongyong was not asking a question but was sincerely seeking advice, so he whispered:
"Shouzhou's capital is Shouchun, with the Huai River and Bagong Mountain to the north, so it is not convenient to station troops on the other side of the river.

The moat of Shouchun City is also drawn from the Huai River and surrounds it on all sides. The city has been operated for hundreds of years and has a solid foundation.

It’s just that there has been no war in Lianghuai for more than a hundred years, so the city defense should not be too tight.

The key to victory in this battle was speed. When the Shouchun defenders were unable to organize a defense, they could strike them down with one strike, and the battle would be a success.

If we wait until the defenders react, I'm afraid... it's hard to say."

Li Quan shook his head and sighed.

The good thing about Fang Chongyong is that he is willing to listen to bad words and advice, so Li Quan is willing to tell the truth.

“The Marshal didn’t mention it before, but I want to say something about it now.

Let Li Guangbi attack Shouzhou. If he wins, that would be great. If he loses, let him fail and then the Marshal can give him a hand.

It’s the best of both worlds. ”

Li Quan lowered his voice and said.

It turned out to be the case.

Fang Zhongyong nodded calmly. In fact, he didn't think too much about it. He simply thought that there was no problem with Li Guangbi's participation. It was just that Li Guangbi's past record in this time and space was not very outstanding, so Li Quan's evaluation of him was also relatively average.

After all, no one has the ability to foresee the future, except time travelers.

"Send someone to Bozhou to ask Li Guangbi if he needs reinforcements. If so, I will have He Changqi lead 5,000 soldiers to support him."

Fang Chongyong instructed Li Quan.

"Eh? No, General Jie. If you do that, it will only make things worse."

Li Quan quickly stopped Fang Chongyong.

"It is indeed true that the Marshal hopes that Li Guangbi will return to his loyalty.

But if we really send troops to reinforce, I am afraid Li Guangbi will feel humiliated. At that time, Li Guangbi will not only not feel that the general is considerate, but will think that the general looks down on him.

I think it would be better to use another method. "

Li Quan spread out the map of Huainan Road and drew a circle somewhere east of Shouzhou.

"To the east of Shouzhou is Haozhou. Not only is Haozhou the capital of the state, it is also opposite the original Zhongli City, across the river, forming a mutually supporting situation.

Because of this geographical advantage, the Huainan troops did not set up strict defenses here and were much more lax than in Shouzhou.

After Li Guangbi attacked Shouzhou, the few soldiers and horses in Huainan would surely fight to the death to defend Shouzhou. At that time, General He could lead his troops on warships down the Wo River and capture Haozhou in one fell swoop.

Even if they cannot conquer it, they will send the troops from Shouzhou back to help Zhongli. In this way, won't it reduce the pressure on Li Guangbi?"

Li Quan proposed his own suggestion. In simple terms, it was to send a detachment to attack another important stronghold on the Huai River, Haozhou City and Zhongli City. Whether it succeeded or not, it would turn the point attack into a surface attack.

The Huainan Jiedushi did not have any powerful army to show off, so if he wanted to fight a battle of this scale, he would be using his own weakness to fight against the enemy's strength.

"Well, we can attack from both directions, and at the same time send Li Bai to Yangzhou to persuade them to surrender."

Fang Zhongyong nodded slightly and said that the decision had been made.

Of course, this kind of persuasion is not to persuade Prince Sheng Li Qi to surrender, but to tell him: Li Yu has bad intentions towards you and may move eastward from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River at any time to destroy you. We occupy Shouzhou just to help you block the enemy, and we will not take your Yangzhou.

Would Li Qi agree?

In fact, it didn't matter whether he agreed or not, he just needed to let his subordinates and staff know. In this era, if someone didn't ascend the throne and become emperor, then they could only choose who to join.

It is impossible to maintain so-called "neutrality".

As long as Li Qi does not proclaim himself emperor, then he will inevitably surrender. If he refuses to surrender, his subordinates will persuade him.

"That's great. I'll write the military order right away."

Li Quan bowed to Fang Chongyong.

At this moment, Yan Zhuang hurriedly pushed the door open. As soon as he saw Fang Chongyong, he said anxiously, "General, I just received news that Shi Siming established himself in Youzhou and ascended the throne to become emperor, and the country was named Dayan."

ha?
Fang Chongyong and Li Quan were both stunned.

Although it is obvious what the various ambitious people are thinking, they still have to raise a big banner to make a show of it!

This is true no matter who it is, even Li Baochen, who has a puppet emperor Li Wan in his hands!

It's not that people like trouble and want to cause trouble on purpose, but it's very important to have a legitimate reason.

The Tang Dynasty has not yet reached the end of its life, nor has it completely lost the support of the people. The Li Tang royal family still has a certain appeal.

Therefore, using the name of the Tang Dynasty, establishing a puppet emperor, and finally ascending the throne to rule a region became a common way of playing the game, and everyone could accept it.

This is also the cheapest way to play.

Li Quan and Yan Zhuang, didn’t they know what Fang Chongyong’s ultimate purpose was in supporting Li Lin to ascend to the throne?

Of course they know.

Fang Chongyong wants to become the emperor of the new dynasty, and his subordinates will also get the credit for following the emperor.

As long as Fang Zhongyong does not depose the emperor, they can pretend that they don't know and put on an act to cover up the truth.

As a result, a "warrior" stood up. Shi Siming, the "tyrant", did not play the game of "holding the emperor hostage to control the princes" at all. He simply proclaimed himself emperor and founded a country!
I want to be the emperor, what do you want to do?

He is really powerful, but it is hard to say whether he is courting his own destruction.

Because the rightness of a thing is often judged by the final result. No matter how favorable a choice is, if the final result is bad, it can hardly be said to be favorable.

Fang Chongyong had not expected that Shi Siming, this vicious biting dog, would suddenly use such a powerful move without making any sound or getting angry.

"There should be something else, right?"

Fang Zhongyong asked in a deep voice. As soon as he saw Yan Zhuang's expression, he knew that it would definitely not be just Shi Siming who proclaimed himself emperor and founded the country.

"Yes, Shi Siming personally led his troops to attack Yecheng. Now Li Guiren has sent people to ask us for help. Should we save him?"

Yan Zhuang asked doubtfully. In fact, it was because Li Guiren sent someone to ask for help that he knew about Shi Siming's ascension to the throne.

He gave Li Guiren's letter for help to Fang Chongyong for review.

Li Guiren now only occupies Xiangzhou, Weizhou and other places, and his strength is very average. However, Shi Siming's strength is obviously very strong, and he is more than enough to defeat Li Guiren.

As for why Li Guiren did not surrender to Shi Siming?
The reason is simple. If you surrender, you will just be someone else's pawn. There is no benefit at all. You can only prolong your survival.

Moreover, Li Guiren felt that being a dog for the Tang Dynasty was finally a "legitimate" thing to do, even if he was not happy about it.

But why did Shi Siming, a barbarian, have the right to shit on my head?
Li Guiren's thoughts might not be as complicated as outsiders thought. He might simply look down on Shi Siming.

"Save him. Of course he needs to be saved."

Fang Zhongyong slammed the table and said.

Then he changed the subject and continued, "But not now. Shi Siming's troops are at their peak and he is not yet tired of fighting. Let's wait until he is tired. We should first take care of Shouzhou."

(End of this chapter)