Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 488: The Door Opens to Jiujiang - 91

Since the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion decided to stick to Shuzhou and block the two roads south of the Yangtze River, there were as many as 5 to [-] Song troops gathered in Shuzhou.However, most of them are volunteers from prefectures and counties, including the Xiang Army who have been in force all year round, and some volunteers who have formed a battalion for less than a month.Even so, the troops that could really fight in a row and face the Liao army head-on were still mainly composed of Zhenguo, Baoyi, and Henghai headquarters, with about [-] people.Volunteers from other states and counties can only be used as supplements.Otherwise, once the Liao army broke through a certain camp, and then used cavalry to attack, plunder the countryside, and even shake the entire line, the overall situation would be in jeopardy.Because of this, the Suppressionist Party has always asked the Baoyi Army to take over the frontier camps.After discussing the matter of taking over the camp, the knot between the two armies was finally resolved.

Zhao Xingde asked: "Just now Privy Yue said that the Ministry of War has a policy to spread to the front of the army, can you tell me the details?"

Yue Fei said: "Just about to discuss with General Zhao." He took out an official letter from the Ministry of War and handed it to Zhao Xingde, "This is a policy drafted by Mr. Cao of the Ministry of War, and sent by the Prime Minister after printing. It is for me near Shuzhou Soldiers and horses have been fighting against the Liao army for a long time, and after their supplies are exhausted, they will be attacked with cameras." His face sank like water, but a trace of dissatisfaction flashed across the face of Zhang Xian, who was standing by his side.

Zhao Xingde took the official letter, looked at it, and couldn't help frowning slightly.He sighed and put down the official letter.

"What does General Zhao think?" Yue Fei asked.

Zhao Xingde was silent for a while, and then said in a moment: "The army gathered in Shuzhou, and they are working together. If it is late, it will change."

Yue Fei listened, nodded in sympathy, and frowned slightly.Zhao Xingde's words were euphemistic, but the actual situation was that the three Song armies gathered near Shuzhou were independent of each other.The Zhen Gang and the Baoyi Army both came from Ezhou, and they are still in harmony with each other, but there are also undercurrents surging underneath.Han Shizhong and Zhao Xingde have a close personal relationship, but each is their master.Hou Huanyin of Jingdong Road has been instigating his literati to slander Chen Dong and Zhao Xingde ever since he lost the competition for the false chancellorship.The matter of public discussion and election has made the contradiction between Ezhou and Jingdong known all over the world. If Yelu Dashi doesn't make use of it, it will be hell.In addition, there are 10,000+ troops from Xiangyang in the upper reaches of the river. The army went down the Han River and reached Ezhou in a short time.The current situation is extremely variable, unless the Ezhou Prime Minister's Mansion has extremely high skills to solve all kinds of internal and external difficulties, and create a stable situation for the decisive battle of the army, Zhao Xingde will be somewhat confident in the decisive battle.However, judging from Zhao Xingde's understanding of his comrades in Zhuli Society, and the fact that the Ministry of War disregarded the great taboo to control the army, he also doubted that the internal situation of the Song Dynasty would remain stable in the future.The longer the Song army and the Liao army confront each other in Shuzhou, I am afraid that before the Liao army is exhausted and collapsed, there will be great chaos among the Song people.

"So," Yue Fei pondered, "General Zhao thinks that we should take advantage of the situation and fight decisively without delay?"

"Exactly." Zhao Xingde affirmed.

"That's good," Yue Fei said with a smile on his face, nodding his head in approval, "Yue also has the same intention. In this case, Yue wrote a letter to General Han. The enemy will take advantage of the momentum to attack Jiangning and take all the land of the Jianghuai River. The ZTE situation has been formed." Zhao Xingde glanced at Zhang Xian, and Zhang Xian also breathed a sigh of relief.Apparently Yue Fei had discussed it with the top general of the suppressing army beforehand, and he was determined to seize the time to defeat the Liao army in front of him, so as to scare Xiaoxiao's generation with a big victory.Convincing Zhao Xingde and Han Shizhong to go against the policy of the Ministry of War and to work together is the key to the smooth implementation of the decisive battle.With the consent of Zhao Xingde, the commander of the Baoyi Army, the plan was half successful.

"Then," Zhao Xingde murmured, "The Prime Minister's Mansion and the Ministry of War..."

"Yue is a privy secretary, so I will tell the prime minister about this matter of war." Yue Fei said proudly, with a strong confidence in his tone.Zhao Xingde nodded, cupped his hands and said: "When Privy Yue submitted the form, Zhao would like to attach it later, Privy Yue had better inform General Han. If the three families join the above form, it will also let the Prime Minister and the Ministry of War understand a little bit about the relationship between the frontline soldiers. Heart."

Yue Fei was stunned, looked at Zhao Xingde for a moment, and said with a slight smile: "That's very good." There were still many estrangements and suspicions between the two of them before, but after this, it seems to have melted a lot.Even Zhang Xian next to him looked at Zhao Xingde with a lot of kindness.

After the discussion, Zhao Xingde took his leave and went back, and started to arrange for the Baoyi Right Army Luo Xian's [-]th Division to take over the fortification of the Tabai Battalion in the town.Volunteer battalions in various states and counties camped next to the Baoyi Army.As far as volunteer soldiers from prefectures and counties came to join forces to fight against the Liao Dynasty, they had to be attached to a certain army.

The Henghai Navy is almost entirely composed of foreigners from Jingdong. The soldiers are tall and strong, and the battalion is full of Jingdong accents. They chew green onion burritos every day. To Jingxiang people, it seems like a foreign country.Under the influence of the local conditions, the volunteer soldiers in the states and counties hardly considered taking refuge in the Henghai Navy.The army of the town is strictly disciplined, and the recruits are carefully selected. If you join the town, you will have to fight a tough battle, and the restrictions are too strict. Most volunteers in the prefectures and counties cannot stand this strictness.The Baoyi Army has a taste that the more the better.As a result, many volunteer battalions were gathered under the banner of the Baoyi Army. In just a few days, the left and right armies of Baoyi rapidly expanded to about ten thousand respectively.

According to the imperial decree, before the volunteer battalions of prefectures and counties join the main army battle, the chief general can rectify the establishment of each battalion for the convenience of combat, and even remove the command and control of a battalion.However, Zhao Xingde retained the organization of the volunteer battalions in each prefecture and county. With the feeling of fellow countrymen, the soldiers could share the same hatred when they went to battle, and did not abandon the subordinates of the battalion.For the control of the battalions, Zhao Xingde also tried his best to show grace, and all retained their official positions, encouraging them to fight the enemy for the country.

Today's Baoyi Left and Right Army is full of miscellaneous battalions named after prefectures and counties.The situation of each battalion is very different. In some battalions, the strong men who were captured when they were soldiers had only put down their hoes for a few days.Some battalions are volunteers recruited by powerful states and counties. They are courageous and not weak in martial arts.There are also battalions of the original Xiang army. From the battalion command to the soldiers, they are all as smooth as businessmen.Not only are the military orders and uniforms different for each battalion, but also the channels for food and payment are also different. Some need to be supplied with food from the Military Quartermaster Office, while others are provided with food from the prefecture and county, but receive rewards from the Military Quartermaster Office.

Jinghu Lake is north and south, and Jiangnan is east and west.Among the various battalions of the Baoyi Army, some dialects were so different that it was unimaginable.Even soldiers from different battalions could not understand each other's words.In the end, it was the literacy book written by Zhao Xingde in Ezhou that played a role. This book unified more than a hundred sentences of military commands into the correct pronunciation of the Central Plains, and then used the method of exegetical annotations to pass word by word from the teacher to the soldiers of the battalions. Only when the command of the banner and gongs and drums was given, the problem of unifying the general orders of the various ministries was solved.Since then, the incidents of disobedience to the orders of superior officers have disappeared in the Baoyi Army under the pretext of not understanding military orders.

Back at the camp, Zhao Xingde had just taken off his iron helmet, and before he had time to send someone to invite Luo Xianshi, Du Chuijiao said, "General, it's the turn of the Raozhou camp today."

"Well," Zhao Xingde nodded, "Is it time for dinner?" He 'touched' his head and turned his head back and forth.

Talking with a heavy iron helmet on his head, Zhao Xingde felt his neck was a little stiff.But Yue Fei is serious and serious.Every time Zhao Xingde went to meet the privy envoys, he always wore a heavy iron helmet, at least wearing soft armor, no different from other generals, he did not consider himself a celebrity at all.On the contrary, Yue Fei, the privy envoy, often wore a toga and a scarf when he was not required to wear military uniforms, just like a Confucian general.The dislocation of the two people's attire was also joked about by the military camp, after Zhao Xingde heard about it, he remained calm and did not think it was different at all.

"In this case, let's go." Zhao Xingde put on a gauze hat and said with a smile, "Don't miss the Raozhou camp for dinner. The young men of the prefecture and county serve as soldiers and eat food, so don't they just have a good time every day?"

The so-called soldiers and horses have not moved, food and grass go first.Before going to war, you must have a full meal, and you will not be a hungry ghost after you die.In the army, the sky and the earth are big, not as big as the belly.It is not surprising that the army rebelled when they were hungry.Zhao Xingde was in charge of the Baoyi Army, and after recruiting volunteers from prefectures and counties, he made a rule to visit a battalion every day and eat the evening snack with the soldiers.There are vegetables to eat vegetables, and porridge to drink porridge.He eats whatever the soldiers in the camp eat.However, Zhao Xingde took the Huotou army of the Yabing Battalion with him, and gave each soldier in the battalion a steamed bun with meat as a reward for the commander.Therefore, no matter in terms of glory or reality, each battalion is looking forward to the commanders coming to the camp for dinner. Some soldiers count the days on their fingers, and this day in the battalion is often like a festival.

"Raozhou Camp. Zhang Jiurong." Zhao Xingde recalled the situation of this camp as he walked.The emaciated honor of Zhang Jiurong, the commander of the battalion, came to mind.Among the dozens of battalions under the command of the Baoyi Army, the image of Zhang Jiurong as a thin scholar left a deep impression on Zhao Xingde.But the man was an honest good man.Zhao Xingde even taught him some Tai Chi moves, asking him to practice morning and evening to strengthen his body.

In a large open space in the Raozhou camp, hundreds of soldiers sat on the ground around large and small pots and stoves.The big guys looked eagerly at the middle of the camp.The Huotoujun of the Yabing Camp who arrived in advance had already boiled a pot of water. The half-fat and half-thin chunks of pork rose and fell up and down in the pot. Swallow.

"I heard that the Yabing Camp has meat to eat every day." Xu Shiqi said enviously, and he 'licked' his lips.

"Scared," Ma Yuanyi said, "You have to be able to eat meat if you are willing to risk your life. The big brothers in the tooth barracks, which one is not a strong man who fights as big as a fist and fights in turns when eating."