In the first month of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Zuo Liangyu and Wang Zhifeng jointly reported to Yang Sichang, after a fierce battle with Zhang Xianzhong, a total of more than 50,000 beheaded, Xianzhong only led a few hundred people to break through and fled to the mountainous area of western Hubei Province, Zuo Liangyu asked to continue the siege and completely exterminate the thieves. At this time, the battle situation in Henan was also quite smooth, Li Zicheng lost three games in a row, and the main force fled back to the mountainous area at the junction of Henan and Shaanxi, and there was no major war in the Central Plains.

Yang Sichang allowed it, and ordered the other armies to return to you. As for why Yang Sichang gave the final credit to Zuo Liangyu, there are various theories circulating among the people, the most common is that Yang Sichang promised Zuo Liangyu the post of governor but did not fulfill it, which is to make up for it.

Zhu Hao didn't care about these idle things, originally his idea was to withdraw if he got enough credit. The new army hurried and hurried, and finally returned to Xuzhou at the end of the year.

Being able to spend a New Year with his family is Zhu Hao's biggest wish at the moment, thinking that he is about to meet his relatives, Zhu Hao is a little excited, he has been away for half a year, and he doesn't know what happened in the city.

There are still several miles away from the city, and I saw countless people on the side of the official road looking at this side expectantly, and as soon as I saw the banner of the new army, the crowd immediately let out a tsunami-like cheer, and countless people jumped and shouted to welcome the return of the victorious army.

Chen Xiyao and Liu Ru took the lead, followed by Luo Yunqu and other generals of the New Army, Wang Fuzhi, Wang Yinzu and other local officials, followed by Wang Jingwen, Hu Million and other chamber of commerce people and intellectuals such as Song Yingxing, Wu Youxing, and Ximan.

Since the official establishment of the new army, the first expedition will be a great victory, the whole Xuzhou people from all walks of life are very happy, for a time the new army has become the protector of the Xuhuai area, countless people rushed to go out, a glimpse of the new army officers and men.

The generals and soldiers of the New Army at all levels behind Zhu Hao also held their heads high one by one and proudly accepted the cheers of the people, they had proud capital.

When Zhu Hao, who was walking behind the military flag and riding a war horse, saluted a standard military salute, the crowd erupted into a deafening scream! Countless women kept screaming, with a look of intoxication in their eyes, and Chen Xiyao and Liu Ru stared nervously at the surroundings, for fear that Zhu Hao would be snatched away by these crazy women!

After a short period of warmth, Zhu Hao waved his hand, and everyone gradually quieted down.

"Fathers and fellow villagers of Xuzhou, we are back! Your soldiers are back! The Forces nouvelles have fulfilled their promises and are working tirelessly to become an invincible division. This victory is not only the victory of the new army, but also your victory, and the victory of all the people in the entire Xuhuai Sanfu. Please remember that all the soldiers of the new army are your sons and soldiers, and they are your strongest shields, and allow us to pay our respects to you, all of them, fire their guns, salute! ”

In an instant, all the officers put their hands on their brows and gave a solemn military salute, and all the soldiers also raised their muskets in their hands and fired a volley into the sky.

The sound of huge gunfire echoed in the sky for a long time, showing the great combat effectiveness of the new army.

After a moment of silence, everyone suddenly erupted into an even more violent burst of long-lasting cheers and screams! Countless people were moved to tears, at this moment their hearts were full of blind worship and belief in the new army, until a few years later the city of Xuzhou was besieged, all the people took the initiative to participate in the defense of the city, no one complained, and the cohesion of the people's hearts can be seen.

What Zhu Hao wants is this effect, compared to the people's army in later generations, these things he plays are still pediatrics.

"Entering the city, let's go!" Wang Boda roared.

Under the leadership of Zhu Hao and a group of officers, the new army showed the level of training in peacetime, and rows of neat steps were walking into the city.

"Spanning, leaping, crossing", the unique sound of neat footsteps in the military parade of later generations, showed the strict discipline and high mental state of the new army.

In the next few days, the people of Xuzhou City are still talking about this unique entry into the city, the original unpopular military profession has also become a hot commodity, countless young people come to sign up for the army, and there are many girls to be married to ask people to inquire about the situation of the new army soldiers, some girls see that there are dozens of female soldiers in the new army, envy is not good, quietly run to be soldiers!

After settling down, there are still a few days before the New Year, and the rewards of the troops must be paid on time.

In the five months of the Battle of Huguang, the New Army marched against 11,000 people, killed more than 600 people, wounded more than 2,000 people, and the casualties were not serious, but except for a very small number of soldiers who were seriously injured and could not fight again, the relative losses were not large.

The Department of Political Affairs quickly pacified the casualties and rewarded the officers who had gone on the expedition in accordance with previous rules. A total of more than 200,000 taels of silver were distributed, and one-third of the money he had looted in this battle was consumed.

In view of the harm caused to the families of the soldiers who died in battle, Zhu Haote issued an order not to allow the only son in the family to serve as a soldier, so as not to cause many families who lost their independence.

In the evening, the banquet was held in the Marshal's Mansion, and officials at all levels, celebrities, squires, and wealthy businessmen all came to celebrate the victory of the Marshal. Before the banquet, in the crowd, Zhu Hao suddenly found a familiar figure!

This person is a woman, it seems that she is spying on herself, who is it, does she want to assassinate herself? Zhu Hao, who was suspicious, touched the dagger hidden close to him.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to it, it was Sun Yujiao! It's her, I can't remember without this dagger, which one is this Nizi singing?

Zhu Hao found an opportunity to sneak out and quietly followed Sun Yujiao's figure.

In a remote corner, Sun Yujiao, dressed in women's clothes, was kicking a tree and muttering: "Stinky Zhu Hao, bad Zhu Hao, teach you to ignore others, teach you not to see others." ”

It turned out that Xiao Nizi was in spring, Zhu Hao was secretly amused, and at the same time a little moved, and quietly walked over.

"Huh? Is the name of this tree also called Zhu Hao? ”

"Ah, it's you!" A familiar voice suddenly sounded in Sun Yujiao's ears, and she couldn't help but panic a little, and when she saw Zhu Hao looking at herself with a smile, her cheeks suddenly turned crimson.

"You, did you hear everything?"

"Yes, I heard it, but it's a pity that I'm not this tree, otherwise it would be nice to be favored by a beauty!" Zhu Hao pretended to be disappointed.

"You scoundrel, who's in favor of you?" Sun Yujiao was a little incoherent.

"Alas, I thought Miss Sun was obsessed with me, I was thinking about whether to push off the marriage of the Wang family, it seems that I should accept it." Zhu Hao said "heartbroken".

"Ah, you, you still want to take a wife? No way! Sun Yujiao glared at her eyes and said angrily.

"Huh? What do I have to do with my wife, Miss Sun? You are neither the elder nor my wife. "Zhu Hao is a scoundrel.

"I ...... You scoundrel! Anyway, you are not allowed to marry the Wang family first! Sun Yujiao looked at this man's scoundrel face, stomped his feet, turned around and ran away.

It's interesting, it seems that this Nizi has true feelings for herself, but she doesn't know what Sun Chuanting means.

The banquet that night was very lively, more than 100 people crowded into the marshal's mansion to drink all night, and the entire Xuzhou city was also lit up with lanterns to celebrate the victory, and Zhu Hao's often instilled military and civilian fish and water feelings have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

After Zhu Hao returned to the room, he saw that the two ladies were there, so he pulled the two of them to chat for a while, but he didn't expect to fall asleep while talking, Chen Xiyao and Liu Ru saw that he was very tired and distressed, so they didn't disturb him, and they quietly retreated after serving him carefully, wasting a night of spring supper in vain.

The next day, Zhu Hao came to inspect the military academy alone, and was quite pleased to see that the students were serious and eager to study, and everywhere he went, he received the high respect and admiration of these young students.

During the recess, Zhu Hao suddenly found Li Dingguo's figure in the crowd, he was discussing something with Luo Yunqu and other generals, Zhu Hao smiled and walked over.

At this time, Li Dingguo and others also discovered him and came over to salute.

"Report to the marshal, Li Dingguo, the second cadet of the Xuzhou Military Academy, reports to you, please instruct!" Li Dingguo came to Zhu Hao, saluted a standard military salute, and said loudly. Without the slightest resentment before, after staying in Xuzhou for a month, Li Dingguo saw too many novel and vital things, and his admiration and respect for Zhu Hao also reached a new height, and he decided that only by following him could he realize his ambitions.

"Okay, Hongyuan, I said a long time ago that with your talent, you will definitely choose a correct path, you have finally figured it out, and my new army will have a great talent from now on." Zhu Hao said happily.

"The big marshal laughed, in front of Master Luo and other seniors, Dingguo found that he was really a frog at the bottom of the well, and there were too many things to learn." Li Dingguo said modestly.

"Well, be modest and cautious, we need such cognition and quality, you can study in the military academy with peace of mind, and come to the staff to help me after graduation." Zhu Haole said.

"Thank you Dashuai, but Dingguo has a reluctant request, and I hope Dashuai will agree."

"Say what?"

"Although Dingguo joined the new army, after all, he was raised by the eight kings, and Dingguo really can't bear to see each other on the battlefield in the future." Li Dingguo hesitated for a moment and said resolutely.

"No problem, don't forget the old kindness of the old master, it can be seen that Hongyuan is a person who values love and righteousness, I am the beauty of an adult, Zhang Xianzhong doesn't need you to worry about it!" Zhu Hao smiled.

"Thank you for your understanding, Dingguo will die hard!" Li Dingguo said movingly.

"It's serious, it's a trivial matter."

"Hongyuan, you kid is really lucky, you can be so handsome!" Seeing Zhu Hao walking away, Li Tongwu stabbed Li Dingguodao.

Among all the generals of the new army, Li Tongwu was the closest to him, and Li Tongwu was originally enthusiastic, plus the two had the same surname, and they were brothers of the same clan in terms of life experience.

"My brother laughed, I'm a newcomer, and I'm a general, and I have to start from scratch." Li Dingguo didn't know why.

"Are you kid pretending to be garlic, you must know that my brother and I didn't have this treatment at the earliest, you don't know what the staff is doing, right?" Zhang Dacheng said arrogantly, he has recently become more and more handy as a chief instructor at the military academy, and he no longer complains that he can't go to the battlefield.

"I know the staff, but I don't quite understand what Brother Zhang means." Li Dingguo was confused.

"Hey! Then let me tell you, our new army now has four divisions, and the commanders of these four divisions have all worked in the general staff, and many of the regiment commanders under them are from the general staff, and none of our so-called ministers and directors have ever entered the general staff, do you understand? Zhang Dacheng whispered.

"That is to say, the people who came out of the staff headquarters basically became the commanders of the army alone in the future, and the lowest was the regiment commander! Now you and Zhang Huangyan have this treatment. Zhang Benduan also explained.

"Ah, that's right!" Li Dingguo suddenly realized that Zhu Hao had cultivated himself as a general who was in charge of his own affairs, and he couldn't help but admire and appreciate his courage and bearing even more for a little-known young man who was also a general who was also a prisoner of the imperial court.

After leaving the military academy, Zhu Hao went to the workers' school again, and found that the academic atmosphere here is very strong, Song Jinglun's old Confucianism has become a compulsory course, every student has to study, the old Song is also very busy, Zhu Hao specially took care of him to pay more attention to rest, Song Jinglun happily said that he doesn't know how full now, looking at the vitality and studious faces of the students under him, as if there is endless energy. Many of the trainees of technical colleges have graduated and are assigned to major factories in advance. There are many famous scholars in the school, and they often get together to discuss academic issues, which also indirectly promotes the development of modern science.

Under the chairmanship of Song Yingxing, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Physics are working together to develop the steam engine, and Seaman and other good people have put down their work and joined the research group, but the current level of mechanics is in the embryonic stage, and there is still a way to go before the real invention of the steam engine.

The Department of Chemistry and the Armory Department, under the auspices of Bi Zhonglin, began to study and improve gunpowder and the metal-shelled bullets and primers mentioned by Zhu Hao. The armory room has stopped producing muskets without rifling, and has changed to a full-scale production of rifled guns, and 20,000 rifled guns have been made, although the new rifled guns still use paper shells, but the range has been greatly increased, the effective range is up to 200 meters away, and the maximum range can reach 400 meters, even against the Eight Banners wearing iron armor, the distance of 150 meters can also cause heavy damage to the enemy.

The smelting department is also actively looking for good iron-making and steel-making methods, but the output of the new steelmaking method is too low-cost and too high, and only one-fifth of the orders for the new artillery can be completed. Zhu Hao didn't care, anyway, there were still several years before the big change.

Zhu Hao specially found Wu Youxing and instructed him that there were already signs of plague in the north, and the Xuzhou territory should also prepare early, prepare a large number of disinfectants in advance, train a large number of medical personnel, and at the same time do a good job of propaganda in various places, and start emergency measures if necessary. Wu Youxing is worthy of being an expert, and he has already worked hard in this area, and Zhu Hao has a lot of worries.