Late Tang

In the dawn light, Li Jing's Zhendong Army was like a slowly blooming rose, a rose made of steel and iron, with shiny thorns.

In addition to the ten battalions on the left and right hatchbacks still stationed in Liaodong, the Zhendong Army has [-] battalions in the front, middle, and back three wings, and the battalion leaders such as the logistics auxiliary troops are also mobilized.They all landed on the Dengzhou Wharf, and then began to gather and line up in neat steel phalanxes on the wharf.

The front compartment led by Lin Wei was the first to board the pier, and the elite battalion Black Bear Battalion in the front compartment had already set up a battle array to control the road leading from the pier to Dengzhou City.The Iron Wall Battalion has also landed, lined up on the two wings of the Black Bear Camp, one on the left and one on the right.

The middle compartment was commanded by Li Jing himself. Liu Xun, deputy ten general of the Silver Spear Battalion and Li Jing's personal bodyguard, had already disembarked beside Li Jing with all the silver spear guards.Several tall flag bearers unfurled Li Jing's flag.The two cavalry battalions, Controlling Crane and Flying Cavalry, formed two formations, just behind the camp of Iron Wall infantry, and were adjusting their formations.A large number of Zhendong troops in the back are disembarking and disembarking in an endless stream, forming a square formation one by one on the pier.

A total of fifteen battalions, 5000 people and horses, were continuously transported by the Nutao Camp from the camps on the Daxiezhai Islands and boarded the pier.From the dawn of dawn until the sun climbed into the sky, the [-] soldiers and horses of the three sides of the Zhendong Army were still landing continuously, as if they would never be shipped out.

There are about two hundred knights around Li Jing. These people are a group of young and outstanding people who have just been drawn from the battalions by Li Jing, and they all have illustrious military exploits. This is a new battalion head, the officer teaches the battalion.There are a total of 1000 people in the officer training camp. In addition to [-] officers who have received a half-year training, there are also [-] outstanding sergeants who have reached the rank of sergeant.The entry of these sergeants into the teaching camp is also a kind of training. Although it is not as good as the teaching that the officers receive, it is also an opportunity to learn from those officers.Moreover, when the teaching camp is in critical condition, it will also go to the battlefield.However, the officers of the teaching battalion have a period of half a year, and when the time comes, they will return to their respective battalions.The sergeants below, on the other hand, have a period of one year. After one year, they will be promoted to non-commissioned officers and become third-level sergeant majors. After they are promoted, they will be transferred to new positions.

This teaching battalion now has another name in the Zhendong Army, and the soldiers are called the Army Guards Battalion.Because half of the people who go in are officers and half are sergeants. After they come out, the officers will be promoted, and the sergeants can also become non-commissioned officers, and they can serve as team leaders and standard bearers from then on.On the other hand, the officer's battalion is located in the middle compartment, and when troops are dispatched, they also serve as Li Jing's guard battalion, so everyone calls them the officer's guard battalion.The first batch of 5000 troops, military officers, and 25 non-commissioned officers were recruited through the most rigorous assessment. At that time, countless people signed up, and one thousand was selected from [-] people. [-] to one ratio.

In the middle of the officers and guards camp, a large flag was tightly guarded. This was the military flag banner of the Zhendong Army, and three huge characters of Zhendong Army were embroidered on the banner.It is a great honor to guard the military flag.The banner bearer was Lei Meng, the strongest soldier in the officer's bodyguard battalion. Lei Meng was nearly eight feet tall, and he was usually singled out by stepping down. Even ten people were no match for him.

Li Jing was sitting in a temporary tent set up on the pier, living in the center of the army.As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, under normal circumstances, Li Jing would not directly stay in the front army, nor would he like to stay directly in the rear army.Instead, he likes to stay in the Chinese army. Being in the middle of the army, Li Jing has a feeling that the situation is under control.And staying here, he can pay attention to the situation of the entire battlefield at any time, and can make adjustments to the battle situation at any time.Being on a high ground where you can have a panoramic view of the battle situation, you can send your troops where they are most needed according to the situation.

Even watching Li Jing from a distance, Li Jing at this time is so brilliant and dazzling.Compared with the futures around him, Li Jing's age is a little too young, but his general prestige is faintly revealed.The full set of armor and weapons he wears today are the set of armor and weapons that the emperor bestowed on the emperor's collection.Of course, the things used by the emperor are the best.Li Jing tried it himself, whether it was armor or weapons, they were better than his own sets, so he unceremoniously used them to wear instead of offering them at home.

The armor is the gilt mountain armor, the whole body is shining with gold, which is beautiful and dazzling, and it is extremely sophisticated. There is a crimson shirt inside, which can be worn in both cold and heat.The wrongly woven armor strips on the outside, each of which has been tempered thousands of times, is shining brightly. It can be said to be a set of steel armor, which is light and fit, and has strong protection.

His large cloak was woven with countless gold strands, so heavy that he hardly even floated when charging, and once mounted, it almost completely covered the hind legs of his mount.Ordinary cloak hooks cannot bear such a weight. Instead, a pair of shoulder-swallowing unicorns lie on their shoulders, as if they are ready to jump out at any time.In addition to the two unicorns on the shoulders, Li Jing's helmet is cast into a phoenix with wings spread on both sides. Under the helmet tip on the top of the head, there is a slightly smaller lion, with one claw probing the air and roaring with its mouth open.There is also a lion belt around the waist, and there is a lion head in the middle of the belt.The four lions were all made of pure gold, with eyes set with rubies.The greaves and armguards, as well as the gauntlets, are richly decorated with cloud patterns.Every clasp is plated with gold.The gold-plated fine steel mountain armor has been polished repeatedly, and it is as bright as fire in the sun.

Song Wenwen and the generals of Dengzhou stood under the tower of Dengzhou, watching from afar the continuous landing of the Zhendong Army on the pier.

"A mighty army!" Zhao Wang Li Rui also boarded the gate tower at some point, he looked at the constantly expanding army on the pier, a few lights flashed in his eyes, and sighed.

Seeing the army, Kong Wei, the tenth general of the Unity Battalion in Huangxian County, was equally amazed, but said forcefully, "What does Li Jing want to do? Now the governor of Dengzhou is still Liu Shijun, and he was asked to attack the rebels together earlier. No action. Last night, he did not come to ask Song Shijun to recruit the rebels, and what is even more exaggerated now is that he dared to lead his troops here, what is his intention?"

He wanted to stir up everyone's anger, but unexpectedly, everyone was indifferent after hearing this, and just looked at Li Jing's army thoughtfully.They stood firmly with Song Wen yesterday because Song Wen was not only the governor of Dengzhou, but also Song Wei's clansman and confidant.Li Jing is just a small military envoy, and the backstage is nothing but Jiedu Sima Cui Yunqing.But overnight, Li Jing suddenly became a celebrity in front of the emperor, and now he has been promoted to a noble, but it is different from yesterday.They had already heard about Song Wei's consecutive defeats in Zizhou, who knew who would win between Song and Wang Jingwu, and who knew whether Li Jing would be the final winner.

Song Wen understood that this was Li Jing demonstrating to him.Five days had passed since Li Jing put forward the conditions that day, but the letter from the commander of Qingzhou arrived last night.He also read the contents of the letter, and Lei Gang was also in his house, but he still hesitated.Some are not willing to hand over the position of governor, but also some feel that giving up Dengzhou like this is not a good thing for the general.But looking at the current situation, Li Jing is bound to win, if he refuses, Li Jing will take it by force.There are [-] soldiers and horses under Dengzhou City, and Li Jing only has [-], but no one in Dengzhou City thinks that they can defeat the Zhendong Army.

They can look down on Li Jing on the surface, but the Zhendong Army was fought out of real swords and fire, so they can't accept it.

Song Wei gritted his teeth, went directly down the city and entered the governor's mansion, found Lei Gang and said, "Please judge Lei to see Li Jing, and report the general's conditions to Li Jing!"

"Have you figured it out?" Lei Gang asked.His arrival is now only known to a few people.Although this matter was approved by the commander-in-chief's mansion, Song Wen's consent was not required, but Song Wen was Song Wei's confidant general, and he didn't want him to have any resentment towards the commander-in-chief in this matter.

"I figured it out." Song Wen was a little helpless. Even if he really wanted to fight for Dengzhou, he couldn't compete with Li Jing.Instead of this, it is better to push the boat along the way and give up Dengzhou to Li Jing.

"That's good. In fact, you don't have to have any ideas. The commander asked you to hand over the position of governor of Dengzhou to Li Jing. When we regain the second state of Ziqi, you can choose one of the governors of the two states." Lei Gang laughed. "We still have to destroy Wang Jingwu first. As for Li Jing, let's talk about it after Wang Jingwu is pacified."

The relationship between Li Jing and the handsome mansion is a bit delicate now, but at least they are still on the same side.But Wang Jingwu is different. He has already openly rebelled, and that is endless.

In the military tent at the pier, Li Jing was a little surprised when he saw Lei Gang coming, but also felt that he was expecting it.

Li Jing looked at Lei Gang with a smile, and didn't speak first, waiting for Lei Gang to say the conditions himself.

Seeing Li Jing's confident appearance, Lei Gang had no choice but to directly state Song Wei's conditions.

"The commander-in-chief asked me to come here to fulfill my original promise to hand over the position of governor of Dengzhou to Ji Yu's younger brother. In order to reward my brother for his efforts to put down the chaos, the commander-in-chief not only wants to hand over the position of governor of Dengzhou to you , and in order to facilitate the stationing of the Zhendong Army, all other troops and horses in Dengzhou will be transferred away."

Li Jing nodded. It would be best to transfer other troops from other ministries. Although Dengzhou has tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of united soldiers, these soldiers are not easy to manage.It is of no benefit to Song Wei and Li Jing to stay, so it is better to transfer them away.In that way, Song Wei would have enough troops to deal with Wang Jingwu, and Li Jing could also get the Dengzhou he wanted.

"Marshal, is there anything we Zhendong Army can do for you?"

Of course, Song Wei would not give him Dengzhou for nothing, let alone Song Wei took the initiative to transfer Dengzhou soldiers and horses away, which is quite rare for Li Jing.Since Song Wei yielded one foot, he will return one foot.After all, at this stage, Li Jing is unable to expand in a short period of time if he can get Dengzhou, and it will take time to digest and control Dengzhou.

Lei Gang felt relieved when he saw Li Jing being so upbeat.I'm afraid that Li Jing wants to go to the state and refuses to agree to Song Wei's conditions, so it will be difficult for him to be caught in the middle.

"30 stones, grain and grass, 300 million yuan, and 30 sets of swords, guns, bows and arrows armor, [-] arrows, and [-] horses." Lei Gang quickly put forward the conditions, and said with a flattering smile: You know, come on When Wang Jingwu fled Qingzhou the next time, he burned down the warehouse in Qingzhou. Now the brothers who have put down the chaos are still relying on the [-] shi of grain temporarily borrowed from various families in Qingzhou by the commander.But begging for thieves is not something that can be accomplished in a day. "

"This is naked extortion!" When Zhang Hong, the military recorder, heard that he wanted so many things, he calculated in his mind that the number had already exceeded 400 million.This is not bad, although the Zhendong Army now has a large territory, it can support more soldiers.The last time I tried to find a way to figure out the ranks of soldiers, I just lowered the military expenditure a little bit. Song Wei actually asked for so much when he asked.What a robbery!

Lei Gang said: "The matter of Zhang Lu is terrible. Let me explain in detail. This is not extortion. After the Song Shijun took the Dengzhou soldiers away, the military camps in Dengzhou will be the Zhendong Army in the future. Apart from some money and food, there are many things that cannot be taken with you. Let's go, these are also valuable. In addition, there are "

"Judge Lei, needless to say!" Li Jing waved his hand.Seeing this, Lei Gang thought that Li Jing thought the conditions were too high, so he hurriedly said: "If General Li doesn't take advantage of it, we can discuss the specific method of this matter."

"Lei Judgment has misunderstood me. What I mean is that there is no need to talk about this matter again. I will agree to all the conditions proposed by Da Yu."

"Really!" Lei Gang never thought that things would go so smoothly.

Li Jing sighed and said: "The reason why I want to be the governor of Dengzhou is because I asked the commander-in-chief at the beginning, and the commander-in-chief agreed. If the commander-in-chief was unwilling at the beginning, then you can just tell me to wait." .Since I agreed, my brothers and I will naturally take it seriously. It's not that I have any disrespect, but just my words and deeds. We will get what we deserve. Since the commander has fulfilled his promise, That's all negotiable. Right now, the rebels are still in peace, and I, Li Jing, and the Zhendong Army are both part of Ziqing Town. If it wasn't for rushing back to deal with the navy rebellion last time, we would have to fight the rebellion together. of."

"Since the commander-in-chief has decided to transfer Dengzhou soldiers to quell the chaos, I naturally have no objections. Since the commander-in-chief needs some military equipment, money and food for the quelling of the chaos, it is my duty to do so. Anyway, Li Jing and Zhen The Eastern Army is under the Commander-in-Chief’s command. Let alone now, even if I take over as Governor of Dengzhou, the Dengzhou and Zhendong Army will still obey the Commander-in-Chief’s order.” After speaking, Li Jing turned to Zhang Hong and said, “Judging by thunder That said, prepare all the money, food and weapons, and deliver them all before tomorrow."

Lei Gang was both surprised and moved, and felt that Li Jing was not like the kind of person they had guessed.Immediately, he followed Zhang Hong to receive money, food and arms in a fluttering manner.Li Zhen smiled and said: "Junhou handled it very well just now, just a few million yuan, not only bought a Dengzhou, but also exchanged for the temporary release of the commander-in-chief Song Wei, it's worth it!"

On the same day, Zhang Hong handed over a lot of money, food and military equipment to Lei Gang, and then early the next morning, Song Wen handed over the seal of the governor of Dengzhou to Li Jing.He took all the soldiers and horses from Dengzhou to join the Unity Battalion, a total of 2 horses, and headed westward to Ziqi.

On the other hand, Li Jing led the Zhendong Army to station in Dengzhou City that day, and divided troops into four counties of Huang County, Penglai, Mouping, and Wendeng in Dengzhou.Riding on the Mustang King, Li Jing slowly entered Dengzhou City under the guard of the officer guard battalion. The streets outside the city and inside the city were full of welcoming people.Looking at all this, Li Jing seemed to have returned to the scene when she first entered Dengzhou with the Wendeng Unity Camp last year.

He greeted the onlookers in the same way, except that at that time he was just a native soldier.But now, he is already the majestic Marquis of Zhendong, the Champion General, General Jinwu, the envoy of Zhendong Army, and the Protector of Andong, as well as the owner of this city, the governor of Dengzhou!

(To be continued)