Chapter Thirty-Two: The Famous Recruitment of Troops

If the people's hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to lead the team.

This has always been the case when dynasties come to an end. In the Ming Dynasty, in terms of the army, especially in the towns in Liaodong, the generals in each town had their own plans, and they were all veterans.

He is good at making money and drinking soldiers' blood, but he is terrible at fighting. I have never said that any famous general is a national hero or a martyr for his family and country.

On the contrary, there are many unknown people, middle and low-level officers, who are somewhat bloody.

If the food and salary were not in the hands of the imperial court, the generals of the towns in Liaodong would probably become warlords.

The current situation is not very good for the general soldiers of the towns in Liaodong. The key lies in the defeat of the Tatars. When the Tatars are fierce and the persecution is very urgent, the army in the DPRK will not pay any cents, and they will get as much as they want. But now that the Tatars have been defeated and have become a coward, the situation seems to have reduced the importance of the soldiers and horses in the towns in Liaodong.

First of all, in terms of food and salary, the court will definitely not be as generous as before. It is not easy to drink the blood of soldiers, and it is difficult to make money. Naturally, many of them are not happy about it.

Therefore, the officers and soldiers at the bottom were happy and encouraged by the victory in the battle of Jinzhou. But for General Bing Yi and others, the mood was complicated.

There is no way to enrich the country.

When Zhao Yu went to Liaodong with the prince's expectations and the emperor's imperial edict, the elders of the cabinet also sent their own people to discuss the matter with the general officers of the towns in Liaodong.

There was only one purpose, to prevent the prince from deploying troops.

But some old guys in the cabinet overestimated their authority.

Without exception, the people sent by several big bosses in the cabinet were only temporarily stabilized and did not give a clear answer. The general soldiers in each town were actually waiting for Zhao Yu's arrival.

In fact, they are hesitant.

Just like Ma Ke, while he was afraid of Zhao Yu in his heart, he was actually afraid that his military power would be reduced as a result. Nowadays, troubled times are coming, and anyone with a discerning eye can see it. Only those who have soldiers are the grass-headed kings.

If they lose military power, they will be useless.

Tangled.

Then, Marco's master began to lobby.

This man is indeed a man with iron teeth and copper teeth. With his sharp tongue, he can move people with emotion and reason, and he actually brought in all the commanders of the town.

Zhao Yu stayed in Shanhaiguan for two days, and the general soldiers from all towns in Liaodong arrived.

Including Wu Sangui, Li Fuming and five or six others.

We met in the main hall of Marco's house.

Not only these general officers, but also Hong Chengchou arrived.

It has been more than a month since the Battle of Jinzhou. As the governor of Liaodong, Hong Chengchou still had many trivial matters to deal with after the war.

This time Hong Chengchou had finished handling some military affairs and made arrangements, and was about to return to the capital to resume his duties.

So they came together.

In the hall, Hong Chengchou had the highest status, acting as guest instead of host and taking the upper seat. Marco is on his left and Zhao Yu is on his right. The rest are all listed individually.

There are a lot of people in this hall, and Zhao Yu has the lowest official position, he is just a staff general and is still under the deputy chief soldier. But he represents the emperor, the emperor, so he sits on the right.

First, we talked about old times, but actually there was nothing to talk about. Zhao Yu only had one relationship with these people, maybe two or three at most. After just a cup of tea and reminiscing about old times, Zhao Yu took out the imperial edict.

As soon as the imperial edict came out, Hong Chengchou did not dare to sit down anymore. A group of people quickly stood up and bowed down.

Zhao Yu then read out the imperial edict.

It's quite simple. The emperor issued an order to allocate 50,000 elite soldiers from each town in Liaodong, under the command of the prince, to go into the Central Plains to quell the rebellion and suppress the bandits.

The edict was read out.

The atmosphere in the hall became dull.

Zhao Yu drank a bowl of tea in one gulp and waited for the soldiers to think about it for a moment before speaking: "Since you all know your intentions, I won't say more. Within three days, 50,000 soldiers and horses must gather together. Shanhaiguan."

This matter had nothing to do with Hong Chengchou. He didn't say anything, just twitching his beard and smiling, as if he didn't hear anything.

The other generals all had different expressions.

After a while, Wu Sangui said: "General Zhao Shen, who is good at teaching, knows that although the Tatars were defeated, they have not completely declined. It is not difficult to raise an army of 30,000 to 50,000 in a year and a half. In addition, the Mongolian tribes are not very honest. If the army is Transfer him away, in case the Tatars come back, the Mongolian tribes become restless, and Liaodong is in danger!"

As soon as this statement came out, two or three people agreed.

There are only six or seven general soldiers here, which means that half of them are unwilling to hand over their troops.

Zhao Yu could see clearly that the Tatars and the Mongolian tribes were all excuses. There are 100,000 soldiers and horses in Liaodong. Even if 50,000 are transferred, there will still be 50,000 left.

In the previous battle in Jinzhou, the Tatar high-level officials were almost completely wiped out. The snake had no head and was in disarray. The internal chaos was bound to be chaotic for a while. Even if there are still one or two capable people, it will still take one or two years to get the house in order.

As for the Mongolian tribes, well, they were shocked by the Battle of Jinzhou, who dares to move?

At least not for a short time.

After Zhao Yu heard this, he did not answer immediately. He only glanced at the commander-in-chief and asked: "All the commander-in-chiefs think so?"

Seeing Zhao Yu's expressionless face, everyone's hearts trembled slightly, and no one dared to speak for a while.

Putting down the imperial decree gently, Zhao Yu said calmly: "I don't care about the Tatars or the Mongolian tribes. The emperor's imperial decree is here. Anyone who dares to disrespect it is resisting it."

A faint murderous intent filled the hall, making some people's faces turn pale with horror.

Then he looked at Hong Chengchou: "The Superintendent is also here. May I ask the Superintendent, what is the crime for resisting the order and disrespecting the order?"

Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "I have resigned from my post and will no longer supervise the division. However, resisting orders and disrespecting them is a serious crime and should be punished."

Zhao Yu nodded and glanced again: "The Superintendent is a well-educated man, and what he says must comply with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Everyone, give the order to mobilize the troops."

Wu Sangui's expression changed, and he suddenly stood up, clasping his fists and saying: "The matter of troop deployment is of great importance. We must return to the army and discuss it in detail before we can reach a conclusion."

Then he said: "Supervisor, I will retire at the end of the day."

As soon as he stood up, two other people stood up and left with fists in their hands.

Zhao Yu narrowed his eyes slightly: "If we don't mobilize our troops today, no one will be able to leave this hall!"

With a slap, the desk next to him was smashed into pieces.

Wu Sangui and the others trembled all over, and they didn't even dare to put down their raised feet!

But he only felt a murderous intention enveloped his heart. If he dared to step down, he would die on the spot in the next moment!

When the time came, everyone's expressions suddenly changed.

Hong Chengchou was surprised. He had never thought that Zhao Yu could be so tough. As for Ma Ke, Li Fuming and the other three, their faces were a little ugly.

They were all persuaded by the master and planned to join the prince, but they did not want to be forced.

As for Wu Sangui and the other three, their faces were all green and pale, and their whole bodies were shaking like sieves.

Taking a deep breath, Wu Sangui turned around slowly with a dark face: "General Zhao Shen is really majestic!"

"I don't dare to take it seriously." Zhao Yu smiled and said, "It's not about my authority. It's about some people who regard the Ming Dynasty's army as their own."

Wu Sangui's face twitched, and he argued again: "But if General Shen doesn't let us leave, how can we mobilize troops?"

Zhao Yu sneered: "When you come, you will have hundreds of people with you. All you need to do is find a close general and go back to deliver the order. Just stay here. If the soldiers don't come, you won't be able to leave." .”

Zhao Yu's gaze, like two knives, suddenly swept across the necks of the three people. The three people's bodies were covered with goosebumps and their hearts felt chilly.

Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "Uncle, why do you need to leave when you have just arrived? Mr. Ma, with so many colleagues, where are the drinks at this banquet?"

Instead, they built a ladder for people to use the slope to get off the donkey.

Hearing this, Zhao Yu nodded slightly and suppressed his murderous intent. Wu Sangui and others breathed a sigh of relief, sat down quickly, lowered their heads and said nothing.

Marco was stunned for a moment, then smiled quickly and said: "Yes, yes, the supervisor is right. I was the one who was negligent. Come on, let's have a banquet!"

There is no mention of eating or drinking.

After the banquet, Hong Chengchou went to rest. After all, this matter has nothing to do with him. The rest of the generals were still sitting in the hall, and no one dared to leave.

Zhao Yu was right there, seemingly closing his eyes to rest. But in fact, the senses have been locking this general soldier, making him feel like he is sitting on pins and needles, like a light on his back.

Before the banquet, under the pressure of Zhao Yu, these general soldiers had no choice but to call their personal generals to come in and issue the order to mobilize troops in front of Zhao Yu.

Don't dare to discount, after all, how can you dare to act recklessly in front of Zhao Yu?

If it is done secretly, even if they are willing to mobilize troops, they are afraid that only the old, weak, sick and disabled will come. But Zhao Yu stared, and they didn't dare. The orders given were to mobilize elite troops.

There are soldiers and horses in various towns in Liaodong, some are far away from Shanhaiguan. It's close and can be reached on the same day. It would indeed take a day or two to get far, and we would have to march in a hurry.

Therefore, in the next two days, Zhao Yu and some general soldiers were eating and drinking in this hall. Even when sleeping, he sleeps with his clothes on. Even if you go out, you must be accompanied by someone, and the people accompanying you are all from the one hundred cavalry brought by Zhao Yu. There are often five people accompanying you, and you can't run away even if you want to.

Two days have passed.

Zhao Yu was still full of energy, while the rest of the soldiers were haggard.

One is that my diet and sleep are very different from normal, which is a bit unbearable. The second is fear. In front of a person like Zhao Yu, who would have known that he would pick up someone and beat him to death with one punch?

I heard someone coming from outside the hall to report that all the troops and horses were gathered.

All the soldiers in the hall finally let out a long sigh of relief.

The way they looked at Zhao Yu again was extremely different. This is not a pure martial artist who only knows how to fight and kill. He is also a decisive and wise person.

Zhao Yu called Commander Zhang: "Have you got all the food and grass?"

In the past few days, Commander Zhang has been busy with food and grass matters. As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses move forward with food and fodder, an army of 50,000 is not a small number. If you don't have all the food and grass, don't talk about fighting, you will collapse.

Commander Zhang said respectfully: "I'm ready to tell you back to the general."

In terms of food and grass for this troop deployment, the general soldiers of each town in Liaodong are responsible for half a month's use. The rest is the responsibility of the court and the prince.

Zhao Yu nodded and stood up: "Okay."

Then he said to Wu Sangui and other generals: "The army has arrived. Please come with me and have a look."

Wu Sangui and others breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, but felt a little shaky.

Zhao Yu ignored them and walked ahead, all the way out of the General Military Mansion. They each mounted their horses and arrived at the school grounds.

Shanhaiguan is the most powerful pass in the world at this time, just like Hulao and Hangu in ancient times. It is completely a military town. The school grounds are quite large and can accommodate 50,000 people.

It is said that if there are more than 10,000 people, there will be no borders or shores. These 50,000 people gathered together, shoulder to shoulder, like a red cloud.

Ming belongs to the virtue of fire and is still red. The Ming army was like a cloud of fire.