In June of the fifth year of Zhongping in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Liu Hong, who had just made his northern tour of the palace, fell ill. Although the rescue of the imperial doctor finally turned the corner, his health was not as good as before.

Emperor Ling of Han has gone through countless rebellions since his accession to the throne, but this rebellion by Wang Fen of Jizhou completely crushed his wine-colored hollowed out body. He began to lose faith in the rule of the Empire, and his health deteriorated.

At this moment, Emperor Ling of Han, who had had fun all his life, finally decided to do a serious thing and choose a good successor for the Han Empire in the storm.

In terms of personal feelings, he prefers his youngest son Liu Xie to inherit the throne. This is not only because Liu Xiechang is very similar to himself, but his personality is also more calm and introverted than the bohemian Liu Wei, not to mention the guilt he has always felt for Liu Xie's dead mother Wang Meiren.

It's just that Liu Wei, who is the eldest son, is recognized by many scholars and doctors who hold orthodox ideas in the orderly Confucian morality of the elders and children. Moreover, not only Liu Wei's mother was the queen of the main palace of the current dynasty, but his uncle He Jin also held military power, a general who was more than the third duke, and had the support of courtiers and doctors behind him, and his power was huge.

However, Liu Xie is not single, not only does he have the support of the Empress Dowager Dong behind him, but the Ten Standing Servants and others also want Liu Xie to inherit the throne in order to continue their monopoly power.

Therefore, the dispute between Liu Wei and Liu Xie for the heir is actually the final life-and-death strangulation of the foreign relatives group and the eunuch group for the final political rights of the Han Dynasty.

Although Emperor Ling intended to let Liu Xie ascend the throne, he also knew in his heart that in order for Liu Xie to ascend the throne smoothly, it was necessary to limit He Jin's growing power of relatives. At this time, the imperial court was already turbulent, and He Jin, Zhang Rang and other ten permanent servants all realized that Emperor Ling's fate was about to die, and began a struggle between you and me.

First of all, in June of the fifth year of Zhongping, Taiwei Fan Ling was dismissed from his post as Taiwei because of the rebellion of the Yellow Turban thieves and horses in Yizhou. Fan Ling, who had been a lieutenant for less than a month, set a historical record and became the shortest-serving third duke in the Han Empire.

Then in the autumn and July, Ma Riyan, the captain of the shooting sound, became the captain.

In August, Situ Xu was exempted, and Sikong Ding Palace was Situ. Guangluxun Nanyang Liu Hong is commonplace.

Although Fan Ling and Xu Xiang were deposed for their own reasons, the two had one thing in common, that is, they were eunuchs attached to the party and were the agents of the Ten Standing Servants in the government. Needless to say, Ma Riyan is a standard scholar and the like, the backbone of the foreign relatives group. Ding Gong and Liu Hong also had a close relationship with He Jin. Therefore, with this series of changes in the imperial court, it is not difficult to see that He Jin is expanding his power.

Just as He Jin was gearing up and ready to jump, Emperor Han Ling's sudden two holy decrees opened left and right like two slaps to wake He Jin up.

First, Dong Chong, the nephew of the Empress Dowager Dong, was promoted to a hussar general, and then recruited the young men of the Sanfu Land in Luoyang West Garden, and set up a military organization "Eight Captains of the West Garden".

Hussar generals also belong to the heavy generals, second only to the generals, and can also record Shangshu and intervene in court politics. Emperor Ling's promotion of Dong Chong to hussar general was actually deliberately limiting He Jin's influence in the court.

The setting of the eighth lieutenant in the West Park greatly weakened He Jin's military power. Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty ordered the eunuch Jian Shuo to be in charge of the armies in the West Garden, to command the captains, and to obey his orders directly. He was also authorized to control the world's soldiers and horses, and even the general He Jin was subject to his orders.

He Jin couldn't help but be furious when he knew about it, he still underestimated Liu Hong for many years. Although he doesn't care about national affairs, he is only keen on collecting treasures and holding ** parties. But after 20 years as an emperor, he still has the political wisdom that an emperor should have.

After Liu Wei also knew the news, he was secretly happy in his heart. He knew that the time had come for him to take control of the army.

In his plan, he had long had the idea of letting Jiang Qi serve as a captain of the West Garden. And it's also an important part of his many plans for the future.

But the importance of the eighth lieutenant of the West Garden to Emperor Han Ling is self-evident, how can he put a person who Liu Bian himself in?

The method used by Liu Wei is very simple - spend money.

The history of selling officials in the Eastern Han Dynasty has a long history, but it was not until the generation of Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty that he really brought the selling of officials to the extreme. There is a price for all the three dukes and ordinary officials. At the end of last year, he also sold the title of Marquis of Guannai at a price and made millions of dollars. Even if you have merit and deserve this official position, it is only halved according to the official price, and if you are promoted or transferred, you must also pay a quarter of the official price as a transfer or promotion fee.

Those who spend money to buy officials will naturally not be willing to suffer losses in vain, and most of them will desperately make money as soon as they take office, scraping the land, making the common people suffer more and more heavy cuts, and eventually causing the people to live in poverty and mourning all over the country.

Liu Wei took advantage of Emperor Ling's betrayal of his official position, hid himself behind, and let Jiang Qi come forward. First, he bribed Jian Shuo heavily, and then probed the Spirit Emperor through Jian Shuo to see if he could buy one of the eight lieutenants of the West Garden.

I have to say that Liu Hong, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, was a natural trader, although the eighth lieutenant of the West Garden was very important to him, but since someone asked for the price, it still aroused his interest in doing business.

After weighing it several times, Emperor Ling of Han still offered a price: Captain Zuo of Xiyuan, 50 million yuan.

After learning the price offered by Emperor Ling, Liu Wei angrily scolded Emperor Ling for asking for a price, 50 million yuan to choose the position of the third prince in the court, although a Zuo lieutenant is also a high-ranking official who is more than 2,000 stones, but it is not worth so much money. It seems that Emperor Ling of Han still has some scruples about Jiang Qi being Liu Bian's guard.

Angry to angry, Liu Wei also knew that this was his only chance to get the army, so he scraped together enough money and handed it over by Jiang Qi.

Emperor Han Ling was still very trustworthy in business, although he was surprised that Jiang Qi could come up with so much money, but since he had made the price and the other party had paid enough, he naturally sold the position of Captain Zuo to Jiang Qi.

In August of the fifth year of Zhongping, the eighth captain of the West Park was formally established. Thereinto:

Xiao Huangmen Jian Shuo was a captain of the military academy and led 3,000 soldiers and horses.

Hu Ben Zhonglang made Yuan Shao a lieutenant of the Central Military Academy, leading a thousand soldiers and horses.

Bao Hong, the captain of the Tun cavalry, was the lieutenant of the military academy and led 1,000 soldiers and horses.

Cao Cao, the original arguer, was a military captain and led a thousand soldiers and horses.

Zhao Rong was the left lieutenant of the auxiliary army, leading 1,000 soldiers and horses.

Feng Fang was the right lieutenant of the auxiliary army and led a thousand soldiers and horses.

Jiang Qi was the left lieutenant and led 1,000 soldiers and horses.

Chun Yuqiong was the right lieutenant and led 1,000 soldiers and horses.

All the captains are under the control of the military cadets, and they only train in the garrison in peacetime, and they are not allowed to move a soldier without a soldier's order.

In this way, about 10,000 people of the Eighth Captain of Xiyuan were officially stationed near Xiyuan, and became a military force to be reckoned with in Luoyang, Beijing......

After Liu Wei got the list of the eight captains of the West Garden, he found some very interesting things. In my previous life, I didn't think there was anything strange about the list when I looked at the historical materials, but after I was reborn, I realized the strangeness in it.

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty set up the eight captains of the West Garden in order to divide the power of He Jin and restrict the expansion of the power of the foreign relatives group. can be the tenth permanent servant of He Jin's sworn enemy, but it has nothing to do with the establishment of the eighth lieutenant of the West Garden.

It is true that the captain of the military academy Jian Shuo is also a eunuch, but he is not the minions of the ten permanent servants. Before becoming a military captain, he was just a small yellow gate with a low status and a monthly salary of 600 stones. Emperor Ling saw that he was strong and powerful, and he was proficient in military affairs, and no one could stop him from the so-called eunuch martial arts. regarded him as the pillar of force to assist Liu Xie to ascend to the throne smoothly, and promoted him to the end of Weimo, Jian Shuo would only be grateful to Emperor Ling, and would not be an accomplice of the Ten Standing Servants at all.

And Yuan Shao's appointment as a lieutenant of the Central Military Academy is even more strange. The Yuan family has always been very close to He Jin, and Yuan Shao himself has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the dictatorship of the eunuch group. Appointing Yuan Shao as the lieutenant of the middle military after the captain of the upper military academy, Liu Wei felt that Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty should have the intention of wooing.

The Yuan family has become a leading figure among scholars and doctors. The appointment of Yuan Shao as a lieutenant of the Central Military Academy is actually to draw the Yuan family into the camp of supporting Liu Xie as emperor.

Even appointing Chun Yuqiong, who was recommended by Yuan Shao, as the right lieutenant, is also in this regard. By the way, Chun Yuqiong's official position was also bought with money, but it was much cheaper than Jiang Qi, which made Liu Wei angrily scolded for a few more days.

The next characters remove Jiang Qi as Liu Wei's person, Bao Hong and Zhao Rong are both middlemen who are not close to eunuchs and are not loved by relatives. Cao Cao and Feng Fang are the descendants of Cao Teng in the Great Changqiu, and the other is the son-in-law of Cao Jie. Barely counted as a representative of the eunuch group. But Cao Teng and Cao Jie are all from the previous generation, and they have been dead for a long time. Moreover, although Cao Cao was born as a eunuch, he hated the dictatorship of eunuchs, and his father Cao Song recently successfully cleared his name, and he is now a scholar and a famous family.

No matter what their background is, these people have nothing to do with the Ten Permanent Servants. Liu Wei vaguely felt that Emperor Ling of Han seemed to want to abandon the Ten Standing Servants and independently organize a force to fight against He Jin's group of relatives.

Although it is possible to guess the mind of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bian also understands that history has not changed much, and the Eighth Captain of the West Garden has not become a new force to balance He Jin and the Ten Standing Servants, but will gradually drown in the torrent of history and disappear according to the development of history.

Therefore, Liu Wei retracted his thoughts and focused on the hard-won training of a thousand soldiers and horses.

With the experience of training the guards at the beginning, Jiang Qi was completely sure of how to train these thousand people. It's just that there are many people in these thousand people, and it is impossible to publicize to these people what Liu Bian is the golden sun, and it is even more impossible for Liu Bian to give them private salaries. In this way, how to hold this team in his hands and be loyal to himself has become a difficult problem for Liu Bian.

However, Liu Bian was not unprepared, and he trained one hundred and fifty guards like an officer at the beginning, just so that they could come in handy today. The first 100 of the original 150 guards who were well-trained and well-minded were assigned to be the leaders of this thousand, and this solved the problem of allegiance to the army. And Jiang Qi asked Liu Wei for five brothers who were his comrades when he was the chief, namely Chen Wei, Guo Wen, Liu Yu, Zhang Lei, and Ma Qing. These five people, plus Jiang Qi and the other five brothers, followed Liu Bian the longest and learned the most. Jiang Qi appointed them as Bai Chang, divided the 1,000 people into five teams, and everyone competed and trained together.

At the beginning of the military training, it was naturally a speech by the leaders to boost morale. Jiang Qi was dressed in armor and climbed the high platform step by step.

The military flag embroidered with the word "Jiang" was planted in front of the stage, and the wind crackled. Once upon a time, the little chief in the court became the left captain who commands thousands of people on the stage today. Jiang Qi has made the first leap in his life, but this is not the end of his life, but the beginning. In the future, there is an even greater leap ahead for him.

Without the usual teaching of Liu Wei in his ear, Jiang Qi led an army alone for the first time. He has learned a lot and is waiting to practice it today.

Looking at the more than 1,000 majestic and mighty soldiers standing in front of the stage, and the expectant eyes of Chen Wei and others standing in front of the team, Jiang Qi remembered Liu Wei's earnest entrustment to him when he came:

"Yun Lei, this army is very important to me, and to deliver it to you today is to press all my dreams and hopes on you. Wangyunlei can train this army into an invincible division. ”

Jiang Qi was silent for a moment, and only said one word:

"No."

Needless to say, this one word is sufficient.

If you treat me as a soldier, I will repay you as a soldier.

Facing the 1,000 sergeants in the audience, Jiang Qi was full of energy, and roared like thunder:

"All the soldiers have heard, the state has recruited you to save you from the hardships of farming and labor, and to give you clothing, armor, and food, so that you may go into battle to kill the enemy and defend your home and country. Every stitch and thread on your body is accepted by the court from the people, carrying the blood and sweat of the people and the expectations of the court. If you can't cherish it and be loyal to the country, then what's the use of the court raising you? ”

The audience was silent, and all the sergeants listened calmly to the loud speech on the stage.

"Some people outside say that being a soldier is a cheap job, and only those who are poor and have no choice but to become a soldier come to be a soldier. And I'm telling you, that's a fart! ”

The word fart provoked a burst of laughter among the soldiers.

Jiang Qi didn't stop it, but waited for them to finish laughing and continued: "I have been a country for hundreds of years, if there is no for our soldiers to defend the border and open up the territory, where will the country and the people be safe, and where will all the countries come to the court!" Now that the thieves are swarming, and the night is arrogant, the men of my generation should fight with a three-foot sword in their hands, cut off the evil people, and sweep away the world. In the future, I can also try to be a wife and a son, and leave a name in history. There was once a person I admired who said to me: 'Tianxingjian, a gentleman should strive for self-improvement', and I have always kept it in mind. Today, I also send this sentence to you, I hope you will not be arrogant, kill the enemy for the country, and move forward bravely! ”

"Kill the enemy for the country and move forward bravely!"

After Jiang Qi finished speaking, Chen Wei and the others took the lead in roaring. The rest of the sergeants also echoed, and the roar shook the sky.

Jiang Qi looked at the passionate soldiers in the audience and nodded with satisfaction. I thought that Wei Yi really deserved to have been engaged in ideological education for more than a year, and the words he said on stage today were all from him, which was really inspiring! When the excitement of the soldiers in the audience gradually subsided, he beckoned Chen Wei to come up.

Chen Wei had already prepared, took out a piece of paper from his bosom and unfolded it, and read it aloud: "Twelve military regulations of Captain Zuo of the Great Han West Garden. ”

As soon as they heard that the military regulations were going to be promulgated, everyone fell silent and pricked up their ears to listen carefully to this matter that was closely related to them.

"If you don't hear the drums, you don't stop hearing the gold, act without authorization, and delay the fighters, cut it!"

"Those who mislead the public, tell right and wrong, slander the commander, and shake the hearts of the army will be beheaded!"

"If you can't do it, you shouldn't call your name, you don't listen to constraints, and you will be disciplined!"

"Wherever you go, ** women, those who plunder property and kill the people, behead!"

"Everything in the army is confidential, snooping on it privately, leaking secrets to the enemy, beheading!"

"Marching in formation, laughing and laughing, making noise, and disrespecting orders, beheaded!"

"Make something out of nothing, steal people's merits, steal people's wealth, and pretend to receive rewards, behead!"

"When receiving the order, the face is timid, the wound is deceitful, and the one who escapes under the pretext of an excuse will be beheaded!"

"Exploring the enemy is unknown, watching the enemy is not judged, I don't know why, those who lie about the military situation will be killed!"

"Withhold soldiers' rations, selfish relatives, soldiers resentful of each other, greedy for money, beheaded!"

"In the camp, those who form factions, fight, recruit prostitutes and gamble will be beheaded!"

"For your own desires, framing and framing, slandering people's innocence, envy the virtuous and jealous, behead!"

This simple twelve military regulations were jointly thought out by Liu Bian, Wei Yi and Jiang Qi, although there will be many imperfections in the actual implementation, but there are no rules and no circle, Liu Bian means to take the emergency first, and then slowly improve when the problem comes out.

Chen Wei recited the twelve military regulations sonorously and vigorously, and the twelve words made the soldiers in the audience who were still looking forward to glory and wealth shocked.

At this time, everyone unanimously agreed that although this Captain Jiang on the stage was very good at encouraging people, he was definitely a ruthless character.

However, the end of the military regulations is not the end.

Jiang Qi looked at the pair of awe-struck eyes, smiled slightly, and ordered people to carry up the five big tripods, and the wood was burned underground, and the water in the tripods was boiled.

The soldiers looked at each other, unable to guess what their Captain Chiang was going to do. Some people with dark psychology also speculate that this is some kind of punishment, and anyone who violates military rules is thrown into the ding and cooked.

When more than a dozen sergeants appeared carrying the slaughtered mutton, everyone began to understand a little what might be going on, swept away the haze brought by hearing the strict military regulations just now, and once again gave Jiang Qi an eager gaze.

The change in the soldiers' expressions had long been expected by Jiang Qi, although he could not give them private salaries to increase his loyalty to him, but he could still play a sideline game in other aspects, such as improving the food in the army.

Looking at the expectant expressions of the soldiers, Jiang Qi smiled and expressed their hopes:

"All the generals and soldiers in our army are the warriors of my Han Dynasty. That is, if you are a warrior, you must naturally be treated well. Today, I not only invite you to eat the signature dish of Diaoyutai, a famous restaurant in Luoyang-shabu mutton, but I also promise you that from now on, there will be three meals a day in the army, and there will be meat every day! ”

"Meat, really give us meat!" After Jiang Qi finished speaking, I don't know who muttered such a sentence in the team, and it soon became a discussion of the whole army like an infectious disease.

These soldiers are all from poor families, not to mention eating meat, and some of them have never even seen what meat looks like until now, let alone three meals a day, it is like a dream for them.

Just as they were all excited and ready to feast, Jiang Qi looked at the chaotic situation to show Chen Wei.

Chen Wei nodded and shouted loudly: "Marching in formation, those who make noise, behead!" ”

Although Chen Wei's voice was not as thunderous as Jiang Qi's, it made everyone quiet for a moment. Some of the people who stood out of the queue were also so frightened that they quickly slipped back to their positions.

Although the mutton is delicious, the military discipline is even more ruthless. It's not like these people didn't eat mutton, but they were sent to the ding to cook first.

Seeing that all the soldiers had resumed the queue one by one, Jiang Qicai ordered Chen Wei, Guo Wen, Liu Yu, Zhang Lei, and Ma Qing to divide the mutton into five parts, each according to one ding, and then began to eat.

Most of the soldiers had never eaten mutton shabu, so Jiang Qi and others set out a demonstration in front of them. First, cut off the pieces of mutton with a short dagger, then throw them into the ding, cook them, take them out, dip them in some prepared sauce and eat.

Unexpectedly, some soldiers didn't think it was so troublesome at all, and they didn't care what sauce they had, they just fished it out and ate it. There are even more emotional people who don't even cook it, and eat raw meat directly.

Jiang Qi and the others were holding a clay bowl full of sauce at this time, eating mutton with ordinary soldiers, and from time to time asking the soldiers next to them for warmth, without any superior's shelf. For Jiang Qi's performance, the soldiers were extremely moved. Some of them were simple-minded and full of feelings, and they cried out at that time, saying that they had never seen such a good official as Jiang Qi. (The person who said this changed his mind as soon as he started training.) ）

At this time, the 100 elders who had been educated by Wei Yi's ideology played a role, and while eating with the soldiers, they also publicized to the soldiers that this meal was not the money of the imperial court, and it was not the rule of the imperial court to have meat to eat every day in the future, but their Captain Jiang was sympathetic to them and paid out of his own pocket. It also implied that the commanders of the other barracks were withholding military rations, and the soldiers were eating chaff. (Actually, it's not that bad.) Don't forget to dig wells, serve Captain Jiang loyally, and don't waste Captain Jiang's care for us. After hearing this, everyone said yes again and again, expressing their willingness to serve Captain Jiang.

Chen Wei watched the soldiers' enthusiasm for eating, and walked up to Jiang Qi with some worry and asked, "Brother Jiang, the soldiers spend a lot of money on eating like this, so I'm afraid there's something wrong with His Highness, right?" ”

Jiang Qi naturally did this because of Liu Bian's idea, and the money was all from Liu Bian. Although Jiang Qi didn't know if Liu Bian's financial resources could support more than 1,000 people to eat like this, he was used to believing in Liu Bian unconditionally. So he replied to Chen Wei and said: "Your Highness has given such an order, and I have been prepared, and you and I don't need to worry." ”

Then, he said: "But you can't just let these people eat like this, you call Zhang Lei and them over, and everyone will check the daily training content again." ”

"No!" Chen Wei was ordered to find Zhang Lei and others.

Jiang Qi once again looked at the soldiers who had eaten so much, and smiled kindly. The soldiers also smiled appreciatively from Jiang Qi. It's just that they soon understood that there was an essential difference between their laughter and Jiang Qi's laughter.

Because, the training content formulated by Jiang Qi is really not done by people.

I get up at midnight every day, first run three miles to the foot of the mountain, then climb the mountain, climb to the top of the mountain and then come down, and then run three miles back to the barracks.

After running back to the barracks, they would not stop, and they would squat on the ground one by one and jump forward like toads, or put their hands on the ground, their whole body straight, up and down.

After doing these two trainings, I will do the charge run under the leadership of Shi Chang. The charge is called, and the soldiers must charge forward with all their might. The goal in front of you is an arrow that goes into the target, and whoever wins the arrow wins. You can take a break and catch your breath. Loser, I'm sorry, I did those two trainings again.

By the way, all of the above exercises are weight-bearing exercises with stones on the hands and feet.

It was time to eat, and although the food was equally rich, the soldiers were not at all grateful to Dade. It's not that they're ungrateful when they see difficulties, it's just that they're so tired that they really don't have any other ideas than to eat.

When the time comes, it is the training of soldiers' martial arts.

Although Liu Bian couldn't find any famous generals or martial arts masters, fortunately, the 100 chiefs were all good fighters, (if you can't fight, you can't eat meat!) There will also be no problems with the instructor of soldiers.

At noon, Jiang Qi fulfilled his promise of three meals a day and added one meal to the sergeants. They were also allowed to roam freely outside the barracks – most chose to lie on their stomachs rather than move.

The afternoon training was less physically demanding than the morning, and it was all some queue training and cooperative training among the soldiers.

As soon as it gets dark, everyone pulls up to the mountain and starts tactical training at night with Chen Wei and other five chiefs as a unit. The night march, interspersed and lurking, completely tested the leadership of the generals and the cooperation between the soldiers.

Although the night training is very hard, sometimes I have to toss and turn in the mountains all night. However, the most painful thing for the soldiers was the emergency assembly order.

They were already tired from the day, but they could quickly enter their dreams while lying in bed. But as soon as the snare drums in the barracks were beaten, they had to immediately put on their clothes and armor and assemble in the playground according to their commanders.

There is a time for the assembly, there is no timer, Liu Wei made an hourglass, about ten minutes, and then used it as a timer for Jiang Qi to use. All the teams that had been assembled after the hourglass had run out of leaks rushed to the mountain and redid the day's training.

The assembly order was not fixed every day, sometimes for several days, and suddenly came for the night after the soldiers let their guard down. Sometimes they had to be knocked twice a night, and the soldiers were not allowed to sleep in their armor to take advantage of it, and they had to strip naked and wait for the assembly order to sound.

Although this set of training made the soldiers complain again and again, there was no deserter as imagined by Liu Wei and Jiang Qi. This is not only a factor of high treatment in the army, but also the simple character of people in this era who bear hardships and stand hard work also plays a great role.

It was under this kind of arduous training that the prototype of a strong army gradually began to emerge.

*******************

In October of the fifth year of Zhongping, a small yellow gate rode into Jiang Qi's barracks and brought the edict of the Son of Heaven:

Three days later, the Eighth School of the West Garden gathered troops outside the West Gate to be optimistic and optimistic. (Parade of the Army)