Early the next morning, Li Zicheng formally summoned Mei Zhihuan and Yang Zhaoji at the Futai Yamen to discuss the next move of the Xining Army.

There are four entrances to the Futai Yamen, the first entry in the front is the hall that deals with official business, that is, the so-called "official office", the second entry also belongs to the public office, but belongs to the governor's meeting place, mainly used to meet general guests, the third enters the governor's private space, the study basically belongs to the governor's private ownership, that is, the entourage, the family members are not allowed to trespass, the secret room is the place to meet private guests, generally called the inner study, and the last row of houses, that is, the fourth entry, is the residence of the governor's family.

Mei Zhihuan served in Ganzhou, and his wife and son naturally stayed in Beijing as hostages in the imperial court, but this did not prevent him from accepting another concubine and organizing a new family after he came to Ganzhou, but even if the concubine gave birth to a child for him, it was considered a concubine, and his status was not comparable with that of Jingshi's sister-in-law.

Mei Zhihuan, as the future governor of Gansu Town, naturally still lived in the original governor's yamen, but the day Li Zicheng stayed in Ganzhou, the Futai yamen became Li Zicheng's office.

He Xiaomi served the three of them good tea, and stood behind Li Zicheng, Mei Zhihuan and Yang Zhaoji are both newcomers, he is not worried that Li Zicheng will stay alone with them, especially that Yang Zhaoji, it is said that he was born in martial arts, and he can hold a buffalo with both arms.

Yang Zhaoji glanced at Mei Zhihuan and saw that he didn't mean to speak, so he hurriedly said: "Do you want to recover the entire Ganzhou first?" ”

"Well," Li Zicheng nodded slowly, "What good advice does Lord Yang have?" ”

Before attacking Ganzhou, the Xining army had taken all the forts south of Ganzhou and opened up the road to Ganzhou, but in the north of Ganzhou, especially along the Heihe River and the weak water, there were still a large number of forts, which would be the first goal of the Xining army, and only by controlling the entire Ganzhou could it be possible to march to the north and south.

"Lord Hui, these sergeants of the fort post are all soldiers of Ganzhou, and even the officers are personally appointed by their subordinates," Yang Zhaoji peeked at Li Zicheng, saw that his face was calm, and continued: "As long as the subordinates go in person, they will ...... They will definitely join the Xining Army like their subordinates. ”

"Oh?" Li Zicheng smiled faintly, "Lord Yang is really so sure?" ”

Yang Zhaoji was shocked in his heart, could this be a test for adults? He hurriedly lowered his head, clasped his hands into fists and said: "Back to your lordship, your subordinates are responsible for opening the city gate, and your lord will send another army, and then take over the various forts!" ”。

"Haha," Li Zicheng laughed, but said in his heart, Ganzhou has been won, what waves can a few forts be turned over, simply have a big belly, it should be regarded as a test for him, "Since Lord Yang is sure to ambush these forts, why should Lord Ben bother?" Lord Ben still wants to stay in Ganzhou and pacify the people in the city, and these forts will be handed over to you. ”

"Thank you for your trust," Yang Zhaoji didn't expect Li Zicheng not to send troops to follow this time, and completely handed over these forts to himself, he, the general...... He was a little moved for a while, his eyes were slightly astringent, his body shook up, and he said: "Don't worry, my lord, as long as my subordinates have a day, they will definitely let all the soldiers of these forts come to Ganzhou to return to Lord Shun." ”

"Okay, good," Li Zicheng smiled and said, "Without further ado, Lord Yang will take his own soldiers and set off immediately, I will give you a few war horses to facilitate your journey, and tomorrow, I will celebrate your achievements in Ganzhou!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Before Yang Zhaoji went out, he first bowed to Li Zicheng.

Only Mei Zhihuan was left in the lobby, He Xiaomi's hanging heart finally put down, he added tea to Li Zicheng and Mei Zhihuan, and then under Li Zicheng's signal, he went out of the hall and waited outside.

Li Zicheng looked at Mei Zhihuan, but did not speak.

Fu Huan shook his hands, bowed, and said: "Don't worry, my lord, Ganzhou is a place directly under the jurisdiction of Yang Zhaoji, and the various forts are naturally his cronies, and this envoy should not be a big problem...... "Speaking here, he suddenly paused, "My lord is talking about ......"

Li Zicheng shook his head, "Lord Yang shouldn't be, Lord Mei said that he can take over the fort, then it's not wrong!" He said with a smile: "Master Mei is talking about it, after taking the various forts in Ganzhou, is the next thing to go north or south?" ”

According to Mei Zhihuan's suggestion, the Gaotai, Zhenyi, and Suzhou guards in the north of Ganzhou, and the officers guarding them are all his and Yang Zhaoji's cronies, and they can directly take over.

However, Mei Zhihuan also said that the Shandan guard guarding Gan Wenxu, because he is the in-law of Liang Tingdong, the secretary of the Ministry of War, has always been arrogant and extravagant, and no one has anyone in his eyes, not only Yang Zhaoji, but he also came forward in person, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince.

Li Zicheng was puzzled, "Since Shandanwei must be conquered by force, why don't you conquer it first, but leave it after the Northern Expedition to Suzhou?" ”

"My lord," Mei Zhihuan said: "There are two reasons why subordinates are so careful, one is that there will inevitably be fish that slip through the net by force conquest, once the information of the Xining Army is leaked, the work of the nearby guard is not easy to convince; Secondly, the army first recovered the guard post in the north, and then cleaned up the south, and returned to Xining from the watershed, so as not to turn back and delay the time. ”

Li Zicheng nodded, Mei Zhihuan said well, the current Xining Army does have to fight against time, especially need time to train, precipitate, and accept the test of the imperial army.

After leaving the Futai Yamen, Li Zicheng went to the barracks to visit the wounded soldiers while informing Liang Wencheng of the results of the first stage.

In yesterday's battle, although the Xining Bureau completely defeated the Ganzhou army and completely annihilated thousands of defenders inside and outside the city of Ganzhou, two people were killed in hand-to-hand combat, and dozens of soldiers were wounded.

The soldiers of Ma Youshui's department were all long-range strikes, and there were no casualties, and the casualties were all cavalry of Liu Yunshui's department and Li Guo's infantry.

The wounded soldiers were temporarily placed in the barracks in Ganzhou, and except for a few lightly wounded soldiers who continued to train with the army, more than 30 wounded soldiers were placed in three barracks.

When Li Zicheng arrived at the barracks, it happened that Liu Yunshui and Li Guo also came to visit the wounded soldiers, and in the Xining army, it can be said that it was a fine tradition for the commander to visit the disabled soldiers, but this was only after Li Zicheng entered Xining.

In the camp of wounded soldiers, more than a dozen people were lying on the marching bed, chatting about yesterday's battle, and in their mouths, there was no longer the tension and fear before the battle, but instead there was excitement and pride after excitement.

Liu Yunshui took the first step into the wounded barracks and said loudly: "Brothers, my lord has come to visit you!" ”

"Your Excellency?" The wounded soldiers couldn't believe it at first, the war was not over, and the adults were busy now, waiting to see Li Zicheng's figure, they were busy getting up one by one to salute, and a few soldiers didn't have time to get out of bed, so they knelt on the bed and kowtowed.

Yesterday's hand-to-hand combat was not long, and most of their soldiers, after treatment, were able to return to the battlefield.

"If the brothers are injured, there is no need to be polite," Li Zicheng first waved his hand to greet the soldiers one by one, and then personally helped a wounded soldier and pressed him to the bed, "You have worked hard, and the Xining Army will not forget you!" ”

Li Guo saw that the wounded soldiers did not have much sadness, so he smiled and said: "My lord, most of them are slightly injured, and they can still get a monthly ticket for war merits after recuperation, and their subordinates envy them!" ”

"Hahaha......" The soldiers laughed, if the soldiers in Ganzhou were allowed to see it, who would dare to believe that this was a wounded barracks?

Before the laughter stopped, suddenly a soldier got up from the bed, turned over and knelt in front of Li Zicheng, "My lord...... Subordinate...... There is a reluctant request from a subordinate......"

"Oh, what do you want?" Li Zicheng said with a smile: "After the battle, I will reward you for your meritorious deeds, and you will be rewarded with silver, and there will be no less." Seeing that he had broken half of his left arm, which had been cut off from his elbow and bound with a white cloth, he felt a trace of compassion......

"My lord, my subordinates don't want gold or silver rewards, but only my lordship...... Ask your lord to reward the No. 5 bed sheet in the Xining Fruit Building to his subordinates......"

"Liu San, are you crazy? The people in the fruit building are all public property, and no one is allowed to marry without permission! Liu Yunshui was furious, flew up with a kick, kicked Liu San on the heel, the wound on his left arm burst out, and blood seeped out along the white cloth, which immediately dyed the white cloth red.

"Yunshui!" Li Zicheng shouted loudly, turned around and called: "Quickly re-bandage him!" ”

Liu San turned over and knelt in front of Li Zicheng again, "Ask the adults to be fulfilled!" ”

Li Zicheng kept a straight face and didn't say a word.

Liu Yunshui said in a low voice: "Liu San, you are already disabled...... The adults will give you a reward, as well as a bereavement pension, don't say more, take care of your injuries first! ”

After pulling and persuading, he finally got Liu San to the bed, Liu San turned his back and cried silently.

Li Zicheng was a little soft-hearted, but the rules are the rules, he comforted him a few words, and walked towards the camp gate, but he didn't expect Liu San to cry suddenly, "Subordinate...... Broke his left arm and couldn't ...... anymore No more ...... Meritorious service to the Xining Army......"

Yes, Liu San lost half of his left arm, and he will no longer be able to go to the battlefield, and if he can't go to the battlefield, he will no longer be able to make meritorious contributions, and at this time, he is still thinking of exchanging his military merits for the No. 5 sheet, perhaps, this is his last chance.

For Li Zicheng, fighting on the battlefield and expanding the territory have a sense of mission and honor in life, but for soldiers, what are they fighting on the battlefield and even shedding blood for? Is it just for that pitiful amount of food?

Perhaps, military merit, and the various rewards that arise from it, are their pursuit.

But Liu San would rather not reward silver and bereavement ......

Liu San's words touched the softest part of Li Zicheng's heart, if the ministry can meet the needs of the soldiers, how can the soldiers in the future be willing to work for the Xining army? Strict military discipline can shape a strong army, but if there is no military soul, the so-called strong army is just a flash in the pan!

At this moment, Li Zicheng felt that he had found the military soul of the Xining Army!

He stopped and asked, "What is Liu San's position?" ”

Liu Yunshui hurriedly replied: "Back to my lord, Liu San is a small flag official!" ”

Li Zicheng nodded, slowly walked to Liu San's bed, and said, "Liu San's little flag officer, I have already said just now, I will send you all the rewards and pensions!" ”

Liu San quickly wiped away his tears, raised his head, and said lightly: "Thank you, sir!" ”

"You lost half of your arm, but you didn't lose hope," Li Zicheng smiled faintly, "Who said that if you are disabled, you can't make meritorious contributions to the Xining Army?" When you are healed, I will arrange a position for you to catch heads, and in the new position, you can also make contributions to the Xining Army! ”

"Thank you, sir!" Liu San turned over and bowed in front of Li Zicheng.

If Li Zicheng promised to give him a reward and a pension just now, it was just what he deserved, but this time Li Zicheng placed him as the head catcher of the prefecture and county, and gave him a lifelong meal ticket, and he, a disabled person, finally had a guarantee for the rest of his life.

This is a trace of compensation given to him by Li Zicheng after he rejected his request, but Liu San's heart is still warm, compared with the No. 5 sheet, the lifetime meal ticket is also extremely important, and many people can't ask for it.

"No. 5 sheet, it doesn't belong to a certain person, but I make an exception once, fulfill you, take care of your body, and wait to marry her after returning to Xining!"

Liu San was stunned for a while, his body became stiff, and the remaining right arm trembled involuntarily, and tears rolled in his eyes, but he forgot to flow out......

Liu Yunshui was overjoyed in his heart, but he deliberately straightened his face, "Thank you more, my lord?" ”

"Thank you, sir...... Thank you very much......"

Liu San was lying on the bed, his forehead colliding rhythmically on the bed board, Li Zicheng had already walked away, and he was still muttering to himself......