golden scales

Perhaps it was because Zhu Cihong had always treated him with respect before, or perhaps it was because of the appearance of the guards in the Eastern Palace that he admired him, Cai Maode said frankly: "I only have three thousand soldiers in my hands, of which one thousand is the governor's standard battalion, and I will lead it myself. The other [-] soldiers are under the command of Chen Shangzhi, the deputy general. These [-] soldiers are already stretched everywhere to defend Fenzhou and Pingyang, so how can we allocate troops to go deep into Qin?"

"There are only three thousand soldiers in Shanxi?" Zhu Cihong didn't believe it.

"There is also Deputy General Xiong Tong leading two thousand troops in the Beijing camp, stationed upstream." Cai Maode said: "General Zhou Yuji, the commander-in-chief, led one thousand troops to organize the defense in Daizhou."

Zhu Cihong was speechless.

The Nine Frontiers Town of Ming Dynasty stretches from the Yalu River in the east to Jiayuguan in the west, like a giant dragon.Taiyuan Town in Shanxi is at the "waist" of this giant dragon.The waist is the home of the kidneys, and those who practice martial arts know that all the strength of the body sinks in the waist.If the waist is lost, it is doomed to die in a sick bed in people, and it is in danger of collapse in the country.

In such an important town, the last line of defense defending Shenjing can only drive [-] soldiers and horses!The number of soldiers in Shanxi during Chengzu's reign was ten times that amount!

"Your Highness, since the Xuanzong Dynasty, troops from the north have been prepared and troops from the south have been transferred. Now that Huguang is occupied by troops, the transfer to the south is insufficient. Shanxi is already in a bitterly cold place with barren land. Why raise troops?" Cai Maode looked bitter.Originally, because of his belief in Buddhism, he was so thin that he almost lost his shape, and even wearing a crown robe looked dangling on his body. Now he spends his days and nights, and he is almost comparable to that sad-faced arhat.

"That shouldn't be..." Zhu Cihong was sincerely speechless. He brought more soldiers than the available soldiers in Shanxi. Originally, he wanted to come to eat the big family, but now it seems that he is the big family.

"Your Highness," Cai Maode bowed deeply, "I implore Your Highness to inform King Xihe and King Jiaocheng to donate some money and clothing! Otherwise, these three thousand soldiers will be embarrassed to fight!"

Zhu Cihong took a deep breath, and it took a long time to let it out slowly.He nodded, and said: "I will send someone to talk to the two princes of the Jin Dynasty, but the guards of the Eastern Palace still have to follow me through Taiyuan, and the squadron will return to the court." supply.In the heyday, the army only needs to find the shortest and fastest way to march, and there are more or less grains in every state and county for the army to eat.But now they have to choose a city with food to march, otherwise the army may run out of food.

When Zhu Cihong wanted to return to Yanjing, he naturally had to follow this rule, and he couldn't fly over from a barren and uninhabited land.When Cai Maode heard that the crown prince was going to Taiyuan, he seemed hesitant to speak, and finally said: "If your Highness goes to Taiyuan, you can stay at Jinwangfu."

It is inevitable for the crown prince to live in Jinwangfu.Just think about the etiquette of relatives in the countryside who always live at home, and you can understand how powerful the tradition of "kissing" is.However, the governor specifically pointed it out, which has a lot of profound meaning.

Zhu Cihong pretended not to know, nodded, and continued the military discussion, not letting the topic go astray.Because Shanxi is not a place to stay for a long time. First, there are no defensive soldiers, and second, there is no natural moat to use. Even if you win a few local battles, it is impossible to reverse the entire battle. On the contrary, you are in danger of being dragged to death... Zhu Cihong decided not to proceed in Shanxi. Needless consumption, go to the scheduled base - Shandong as soon as possible.

Now that a strategic decision has been made, Zhu Cihong assigns tasks in an orderly manner.Except for Xiao Mo and Xiao Donglou's slight dispute over who should be the rear guard to snipe the intruders and pursue soldiers, other matters are all out of the question, without dispute.This also opened Cai Maode's eyes - he has only seen generals who shirk each other and refuse to give up their lives, but he has never seen an army scrambling to fight.

"Above, the military command drafted the order quickly, and issued it immediately after the bell was printed." After Zhu Cihong explained, he looked around the scene and said neatly: "The meeting is over!"

"Courtesy!" Tian Cunshan stepped forward and announced loudly.

The East Palace has already simplified all the etiquette that can be simplified, even to the point of saving a word if it can.

When all the officers heard the sound, they beat their left chest lightly with their right fists as a military salute.

It was the first time for Cai Maode to see such a prohibited army, he was dumbfounded, and was at a loss as to how he should salute and retire.He was ignorant and about to retreat with the officers, when suddenly he heard the crown prince shout: "Mr. Cai, wait a moment, I'll talk to you."

Cai Maode stopped quickly, and waited respectfully for the training.

Zhu Cihong smiled, stepped down from the main seat, took a random seat, and patted the armrest of the chair beside him: "Sir, sit."

"I'm terrified!" Cai Maode immediately fell to the ground.

The seat next to the crown prince is something he can do!

"It's okay, please sit down and talk." Zhu Cihong insisted.

Only then did Cai Maode get up slowly, and carefully sat next to each other, feeling more tired than standing.

Zhu Cihong smiled inwardly, he should really let Wu Tong or Xu Dun show him a demonstration.

But this feeling of being in awe... is indeed much better than being ignored.

Zhu Cilang cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Cai seems to have something to say just now."

"Yes." Cai Maode was grateful for the courteous reception of the Crown Prince, stood up and said: "Your Highness! I have recently received handwritten letters from the King of Jin, and I want to call you back to Taiyuan. I am hesitant to decide. I beseech Your Highness to make a decision."

"But what happened in Taiyuan?" Zhu Cihong asked.

"With General Xiong patrolling the river and General Zhou guarding Daizhou, what will happen in Taiyuan?" Cai Maode said helplessly, "It's just that His Royal Highness King Jin is too careful."

Those who are careful are also timid.

Zhu Cihong understood what Cai Maode meant.The governor wanted to use him as a shield. As long as the Donggong guard camp went to Taiyuan, he could continue to stay in Pingyang to prevent Li Zicheng from crossing the river.Knowing Cai Maode's painstaking efforts, Zhu Cihong sincerely felt that comparing goods with goods is worth throwing away, and comparing people with others is worth dying for!As the crown prince acting on behalf of the emperor, he held Shangfang Sword and Dragon Festival, and he couldn't persuade Sun Chuanting to persuade a county magistrate...Cai Maode would be troubled by the handwriting of a vassal with no real power!

If Cai Maode were allowed to be the governor of Shaanxi, he might be able to pull some strong men away.

"I will tell the King of Jin that Mr. Cai can guard Pingyang with peace of mind." Zhu Cilang looked at the map of Shanxi hanging high in the distance: "If Hejin fails, Pingyang will fall; There is no place to fortify."

"I will live up to His Highness's expectations! Live up to the Holy Son of Heaven's expectations!" Cai Maode responded.

Zhu Cihong nodded, and said a few words of comfort before saying: "Sir, let's go back to the camp earlier and take care of things, military affairs come first."

Only then did Cai Maode salute and retreat.As soon as he walked out of the tent of the Chinese army, he saw Tian Cunshan coming out.Although he was very puzzled why this middle official had the unique military rank of the Eastern Palace on his shoulders, Cai Maode did not doubt the crown prince's vision in employing people.Tian Cunshan smiled slightly at Cai Maode, walked past him, and shouted loudly: "Military Command!"

The secretary on duty in the military order is a civilian officer, also has a military rank, but is only a second lieutenant.Seeing the chief instructor calling him, he hurriedly stepped forward and gave a military salute.Tian Cunshan said: "How can you say that everyone has left? No one is left in the tents of the Chinese army? Your Highness has a military order to issue, go quickly."

The secretary danced and danced for a long time before he remembered the way of military etiquette. Obviously he was new to the post not long ago, so he hurriedly walked to the tent of the Chinese army.

Cai Maode saw it, and thought of the chaotic barracks over there, and sighed in his heart: There is indeed a strong army here in the East Palace!When he returned to the Pingyang camp, he saw the Jin soldiers all weak, or lounging in twos and threes, or lying down to rest in broad daylight.

Zhang Phoran, the magistrate of Pingyang, saw that the master of the Ministry had come back, so he rushed to greet him.Seeing Cai Maode's thoughts were heavy all the way, he couldn't help but comfort him: "But the crown prince doesn't know the pain of being in love?"

Only then did Cai Maode say: "Duanben is really a talent of the heavens, he has the image of a holy emperor and king. I heard him send troops and envoys today, and what he said made sense, no matter how big or small. Look at the generals of the Eastern Palace, the heroic He is not inferior to the famous generals of the past and present, but he bows his head and listens in front of His Highness, like a boy seeing his teacher. From this, it can be seen that His Highness is really handsome."

Pingyang Mansion was slightly surprised when they heard this, and knew that Cai Maode would never flatter horses, especially would not do such things behind the scenes, but he was skeptical, suspecting that the governor was too ignorant.

Cai Maode didn't know that every strategy mentioned by the Crown Prince Zhu Cihong today was not thought up by individuals, but the best option obtained from the data collection and summary analysis of the entire staff team.As Zhu Cihong's main military force, the Donggong Guard Battalion has formed a relatively systematic staff system.Although the generals of the Ming army went out in the past, and the "Chinese army" was also the chief of staff, but the number and influence of the staff of the East Palace today are not comparable to those of previous dynasties.

This is also because Zhu Cihong lacks mature officers, so the military chief has to accept the opinions of the staff.If it is placed in other military towns, which commander-in-chief is not mighty and domineering, making a big talk?Sometimes even knowing that it is a wrong decision, you have to stick to it for your personal dignity.

But the Eastern Palace has no such problem. Many of the staff officers have seniority and experience in the military that are older than the chief officer, and there is a requirement from the Eastern Palace: Every ten days, the staff reports of the combat units above the bureau should be summarized and reported on work.This gives the staff officer more power to speak. Even if the chief officer does not agree with the staff officer's opinion, he can't ignore it casually. It must be recorded and explained in the combat preparation/combat diary.

When there is a lack of real experience, this kind of stupid method can only be used to make up for it.The so-called three stinky generals are Zhuge Liang. As long as the military commander is decisive enough and the staff is willing to use their brains, the strength of the team can always beat those troops that rely heavily on the general's personal ability.

Moreover, with such a division of labor, the Eastern Palace Armed Forces eliminated the possibility of warlords descending from the root, and there were many hills.In the future, Zhu Cilang doesn't have to worry about who among the generals has high meritorious service and will be "added in yellow robes" by his subordinates.

The seed has been planted, and a bud has sprouted, but it still needs time and space for it to grow into a towering tree!

Zhu Cihong sat in the tent of the Chinese army, closed his eyes, and looked at the mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty with his heart, until there was a report outside the door: "The prince's guest, Wu Zhen, and the governor of Shaanxi, Sun Chuanting, asked for an audience." (To be continued.)