Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 476 89 The Servant Lying on the Incense Stove-4

The ancestors of the Fan family had also published ministers in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that they were not angry with the powerful "traitors" in the court, so they left with the crown and settled down in Xinyang Mansion on South Jingxi Road.Since then, the Fan family has always been a farming and studying heirloom. They not only want to study, but also cultivate themselves. In the Song Dynasty, such scholars were euphemistically called "Gengsheng".Many of Gengsheng studied poetry and books hard without the guidance of a famous teacher. Although he was born in a humble background, he also had an ambition to govern the country and the world in his heart.

Before arriving in Xiangyang, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, men farming and women weaving, catching fireflies and stealing light, were all normal life for Fan Changheng.Although farming and studying are hard, they also enjoy themselves. Scholars close their doors to dominate the country.The rule handed down by the Fan family is that males of all ages rush to take the exam at most once, and if they miss one hit, they will be sent away from the exam.This ancestral precept seems chic, but it is actually because for the Fan family, the cost of going to Beijing to catch the exam is a heavy burden.However, the invasion of the northern captives broke Fan Changheng's plan to go for an official examination at the age of 40. When he learned that Jing Wang Zhao Qi was stationed in Xiangyang to recruit talents, Mr. Fan made up his mind and gritted his teeth to send his son to try his luck.Therefore, Fan Changheng came to Xiangyang with "Tian Shelang in the morning and Tianzitang in the evening".

For Fan Changheng during his stay in Xiangyang, the most painful thing was not just the embarrassment of being penniless, the humiliation of being bullied by others, but the disillusionment of hope and the despair of dying.When he was farming and studying in Xinyang Mansion, when he saw subordinate officials running rampant, he could still think that it was just because the mountains were high and the emperor was far away. prosper.After arriving in Xiangyang, Fan Changheng had completely lost his confidence after hearing and seeing many things. One after another, the powerful ministers he had placed his hope in were all sanctimonious and formed cliques for personal gain. His beliefs had been shattered by reality, and his life had become like a Huge quagmire.

In Taibai Residence, he was just a dead waiter. In order to eat two meals a day, he ran back and forth in the midst of the yelling and drinking of the guests in a daze during the day, and fell asleep drowsily in the cold woodshed with his tired body at night.Fan Changheng is getting deeper and deeper in the trampled and undignified life, but he is getting more and more used to this kind of life, even almost forgetting that he was once a scholar.Only the moment of sobriety at dawn made Fan Changheng feel more and more painful. His eyes became darker and darker. In the eyes of others, this young man seemed to be more and more honest and content with the status quo.

Just out of instinct, Fan Changheng would keep an ear to listen to the guests' discussions while serving tea and water.The waiter in other shops often used the latest current events as a source of conversation. On this day, he suddenly heard a guest say that Ezhou was recruiting scholars to join the army, and it was the Baoyi Army that was said to be all recruited by bandits and bandits.

"Baoyi Army, isn't it under Mr. Yuan Zhi's command?" Fan Changheng's words suddenly popped up in his mind. When he was farming and reading, he also copied Zhao Xingde's articles, and he even got red-faced because of who.But there is no emperor in Ezhou, so he came to Xiangyang.He couldn't help slowing down his movements, and listened attentively.

"Has recruited so many thieves, has Zhao Xingde finally regretted it? Could it be that he plans to influence those beasts now?"

"Hmph, ice and charcoal can't be in the same furnace, how can we dignified scholars be with thieves?"

"I heard that there is a lot of military pay from Ezhou. I'm afraid some poor people will still be tempted."

"Hmph, these greedy people..."

As Fan Changheng listened, his already stiff mind suddenly turned and stood up, and a hot current surged from his heart, flowing all over his limbs and bones. "Go to Ezhou and go to Mr. Yuanzhi." He thought fiercely, "In this troubled world, if you can't kill someone, you'll be killed. It's better to be a centurion than a scholar."

At this moment, he suddenly had a heavy blow to the back of his head.Another old waiter cursed and said: "Slow, don't you hear the guests asking you to refill tea?" Fan Changheng didn't feel it normally, but at this moment, his chest was full of rage, and he suddenly turned around and stared at the old man. The waiter took a deep look, as if he wanted to see the person's appearance clearly. "You, what are you going to do?" The old waiter suddenly got a little hairy after being stared at by him.Fan Changheng didn't do anything illegal, he just turned around and honestly went to refill tea for the guests.

"Bah!" the old waiter scolded, "I thought I'd suddenly lost my nerve, this cowardly disaster!"

In the early morning of the next day, Fan Changheng packed up a few clothes, left Taibaiju Inn without saying hello, and left the south gate of Xiangyang for Ezhou.

"The big deal is death," he looked up at the hot sun in the sky, and cursed: "If you have the guts, fall down, and I will die with you!" Busy training the navy and building a fortress to besiege Xiangyang. Therefore, the siege of Xiangyang is not strict now, leaving a passage for people traveling from south to north.However, once Fan Changheng made up his mind, no matter how tight the siege of the Liao army was, he would still go to Ezhou.

.............

With the help of craftsmen in Chunyu Iron Works, Ezhou quickly imitated its own firecracker gun.Under Zhao Xingde's insistence, Ezhou restored the tradition of Wule Gongming.That is to say, the names of the craftsmen and inspection officials are engraved on each firecracker gun, and once there is a problem, it will be investigated to the end.

With the approval of the prime minister's office, Chunyu Iron Works actually bought the mining rights of the Daye Iron Mine. After recruiting a large number of refugees as apprentices, the output of the iron mine increased. In addition to casting firecrackers, the refined iron produced was also used to make armor, knives and guns, etc. Weapons supplement military supplies.While dedicating part of his energy to take care of the iron factory, Zhao Xingde mainly devoted himself to training the Baoyi Army.After reorganization, the Baoyi Army has become two factions. One is the leader of the Jingxiang thieves, and the other is the officers of the Guanzhong Regiment who trained the army. Kanto people are the main ones.The original thieves and pirates were accustomed to avoiding the real and attacking the weak, swimming and fighting, and were good at close combat with swords and other weapons. It was difficult to find qualified archers among the refugees.The Baoyi Army focused their training on fighting in formations using firecrackers and guns.

Some of the firecrackers were originally shipped from the middle of Shu, and the other part was imitated by Daye.During the process of military training, Zhao Xingde discovered that the officers who had been converted from imperial scholars understood military orders faster and executed them more resolutely.These granary officers were able to read and write clearly, and their affairs were clear. After adapting to life in the army, they were very popular with ordinary soldiers.In order to master the army faster, he specifically proposed to Chen Dong to recruit another group of scholars to be used as officers' seeds after training in the army.When Chen Dong was planning overseas territories, Zhao Xingde seemed to have proposed a similar plan.Considering that scholars are familiar with the scriptures and have a deep understanding of righteousness, using them to control the Baoyi Army can guarantee the loyalty of the army to the imperial court to the greatest extent, and avoid the situation like the generals in the suppressing army who only know Jiedushi, Chen Dong He strongly supports Zhao Xingde's proposal, thinking that Zhao Xingde has no ambition to control the private army.Therefore, the list of recruiting scholars to join the army was quickly issued.

In the school field where the Ezhou Baoyi Army is stationed, teams of soldiers are practicing the formation of guns and guns.The officers were shouting "one, two, three," "forward," "backward," "turn left," "turn right," or "left, right, left."Most of the soldiers came from thieves and refugees, and even simple drills and passwords were full of mistakes. The original regiment training officers had to correct them over and over again.

"I saw General Yue's 'drilling' performance in the town, and I thought it would not be difficult to train soldiers. I didn't expect that it would be so difficult to train a soldier and horse like arms and fingers." Chen Dong sighed.

The invasion of the northern captives, the court of Xiangyang and Hou Huanyin of Jingdong put pressure on everyone in Ezhou.Chen Dong understands that Ezhou and Xiangyang are comparable or even inferior in terms of righteousness, but to resolve the predicament, apart from the dispute over etiquette and righteousness, one must win battles to let the world know who can take care of it. This 'chaotic' bureau.However, the previous encounters in the suppression of the army still made Chen Dong brooding. Although he still had to rely heavily on the suppression of the army, he hoped that Yue Fei would conquer the Liao army and make great achievements. But obviously more than before.The Neo-Confucian Society is also vigorously advocating that scholars should join the army to expand the strength of the Baoyi Army.

Arriving at the camp of the Right Army led by Luo Xian's Ten Commanders, when two battalions of thousands of soldiers were training, the officer didn't notice that Zhao Xingde came with the Prime Minister, and still shouted loudly as usual.Shouting and questioning is a tradition in the training of the Guanzhong Regiment, and it was later brought to the Baoyi Army. Because it can boost morale, Zhao Xingde also formulated these three unified slogans for the Baoyi Army. Call your own number.

"What does Marshal Zhao do in training?"

"Protect the environment and the people, expel the northern captives, and welcome back the Holy One!"

All the generals and soldiers answered in unison, because usually they shouted a lot, and the chant was very neat.Chen Dong nodded in satisfaction.A smile appeared on the corner of Zhao Xingde's mouth, these subordinates led by Lu Mingyu, Luo Xianshi and others have made extremely fast progress.

Xia Mao'er, the battalion officer who led the army, saw Zhao Xingde coming to inspect, but he didn't recognize Chen Donglai, and immediately followed Lu Mingyu's order, and asked loudly, "Whose food do you eat?"

"Eat the food from Mr. Zhao's family!"

Thousands of soldiers shouted in unison.Chen Dong's face darkened slightly, and Zhao Xingde's face became strange, he said awkwardly: "It's obviously the court's food and salary." Chen Dong shook his head and smiled, "These soldiers in the battalion are just ignorant, which shows that Yuan Zhi won Army spirit, use your life up and down, it seems to be another strong soldier."

Xia Mao'er ignored this, and continued to shout: "Who are you serving!"

"Die for General Zhao!" Thousands of people shouted together, and they went straight into the sky.