A deep voice behind the scholars said, "Uncle Mou, long time no see." ”

Zheng Yunming was overjoyed, took two quick steps and said, "Is it Mr. Mei Xuan?" ”

Lu Xunzhi said with a smile: "Taizhou is goodbye, it has been five years until today. That hairy boy Zheng Shumou has become the commander of the dignified side. ”

"I can't afford that." Zheng Yunming took Lu Xunzhi's hand and introduced it to everyone: "Lu Weng is the second son of Lu Xiangshan, and when he heard that I was going to recruit people who dared to fight among the scholars in Ezhou to help manage the army, he especially rushed over from Yuelu Academy to help me. ”

Liu Cheng squinted and glanced at Lu Xunzhi, who Lu Xiangshan was had no idea who he was at all, and said, "Can this gentleman kill a chicken?" If you want me to serve under him, that's a fantasy. ”

Lu Xunzhi glanced at Liu Quan, and said loudly: "Who brought a bow and arrow?" ”

"No one else's." Liu Cheng took a black lacquered horned bow from the envoy next to him, "This is a strong bow of 200 catties, if Mr. is not used to it, I can change it to a fifty catty one for you." ”

Lu Xunzhi snorted, took the bow, took out a shooting arrow from the quiver, put it on the bow, and shouted with both arms, his left arm was like holding a baby, and his right arm was like Tuo Taishan, and shouted "Open!" He drew his bow to the fullest, and shot an arrow, and a small branch of the big tree was a hundred paces away, and the branch swayed, and a few leaves fell.

Everyone applauded, Lu Xunzhi's kung fu, the accuracy of the shot was just enough, what was surprising was that he could clearly see the target in the dark night that was about to be completely dark, this kind of person with particularly strong night vision ability, the chance of being in the crowd was pitiful. But if it is used in battlefield battles, it has an innate advantage.

Liu Cheng stuck out his tongue: "With the ability of night eyes, Liu has nothing to say, and he is willing to lead the horse for Mr. ”

Zheng Yunming said: "How can Lu Gong's skillful bow horse be a regular practice? In the future, the battlefield breakthrough will still require all military attaches to be more diligent, and the time is not early, and it is the time of sunrise between words, so everyone should step up preparations. ”

When the sun rises over the horizon, the morning glow in the sky reflects the road to Ezhou City. The main road was crowded with people early in the morning, including scholars who rushed to the state school in a panic to attend classes, farmers who got up early in the morning to carry vegetables into the city to sell, and heavy vehicles loaded with food and wine. However, the most striking thing is that the brigade carried the miners with their belongings on a flat pole, and went straight to the recruiting ground along the avenue.

The five-color flags fluttering on the recruiting ground were almost overwhelmed by the black pressed heads. The Ezhou defenders sent 500 native soldiers to help maintain order, but they were still crowded, and the voices were mixed.

"Official! It's an official! When Zheng Yunming turned to look, Xu Shiqing, who was holding a bamboo cane, walked over with a young man.

"Uncle Xu, long time no see!" Zheng Yunming said happily: "I didn't expect that Zheng, a newcomer, would be able to work so many miners to join the army. This is all the credit of Xu Zhang. ”

"What did you say, after hearing that the general who recruited the army was replaced by you, the big guys were taken aback. It is said that the way of the world is really different, and even people like you, who read the books of sages, have come out to lead the troops to fight. But we can trust you, those generals in Jinghu, all of them are full of old men, before they met, they gave us a whip first, and they couldn't be reasonable at all, only you, who have studied and asked about universities, are willing to follow. As long as you move your fingers, even if it is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, this group of children will follow you! Xu Shiqing said that he was excited, and waved the bamboo cane in his hand excitedly, as if he was also younger.

"Xu Zhang's praise, I am just a white-faced scholar, if I want to successfully train into a new army, I need the whole army to work together." Zheng Yunming looked at the crowd outside the gate: "The strong men who came to apply today are only afraid that there are more than 10,000 people. ”

"Yes, even the miners who didn't work in the nearby mines rushed over to join the army, everyone said, no matter whether they succeed or not, they will follow you Zheng Guanren in the future, where you go, we will go."

"Do you know all these people?" Zheng Yunming asked, "Are there any guys among you who like to cause trouble?" ”

Xu Shiqing said embarrassedly: "You mean that you often practice guns and sticks on weekdays and like to fight?" We are mining, digging holes from sunrise to dark every day, tired and sweaty, where do we still have the strength to play with guns and sticks? ”

"You misunderstood." Zheng Yunming said: "The principle of my recruitment is: as long as it is a scoundrel who steals chickens and dogs on weekdays and runs rampant in the township, no matter how high his martial arts are, he will not do anything. ”

Zheng Yunming's words startled Ge Huai behind him: "What kind of drama are you playing, a thousand troops are easy to get, and it is difficult to find a general, how can someone with kung fu not want to send it to the door?" ”

"It's not all." Wang Deng said: "Yesterday, the general manager has issued the principles of recruitment:

First, you must be in good health. The second must be simple and honest, and the third must be able to endure hardships.

Only those who meet these three rules will be recruited as sergeants, and if there is one that does not meet them, we will not use them. ”

"In addition, if there are people who are accustomed to misbehaving and behaving in a bad manner, they will not accept it."

Since the late Tang Dynasty, a gradual change has taken place in the Chinese army, that is, the principle of abandoning the principle of using innocent and innocent sons as the main supplement of soldiers, and the large-scale use of people with low status of the evil and small ethnic groups as the source of military soldiers. This kind of measure can improve the combat skills of the army in a short period of time in the era of feudal separatism, and it is easier to expand the size of the army. However, from the perspective of long-term effects, with the change of the composition of the army, the cultural and social status of the army is also quietly changing, which finally led to the overall weakening of the combat effectiveness of the army during the Five Dynasties period, and laid the root cause for the sluggish martial arts of the Song Dynasty.

Zheng Yunming realized that this tradition had to change.

"If you are physically strong, you have the foundation to participate in the battle, and those who are simple and honest are more able to obey the orders of the commander-in-chief and endure hardships and stand hard work," Zheng Yunming pointed to the crowded crowd of people on the recruiting ground: "Only then can we ensure that they can survive the hard training and become a qualified sergeant." ”

Wang Deng took over the conversation: "In addition, the governor also ordered us to find out the detailed address of each soldier, to know the names of his parents, brothers, wives and children, and to have the government issue a guarantee document to compile these materials into a book, which eventually became the soldiers' files. ”

"This is the right way to govern the army, hahaha." Lu Xunzhi walked over with a smile on his face: "It seems that those front-line generals often recruit northern refugees and remnants who don't know their backgrounds, even if they are brave, it is useless." The way to govern the army only cares about one word of sincerity! Martial arts can be practiced, but only when the whole army sees each other with sincerity and is united in one heart can it be indomitable! ”

"Lu Weng," Zheng Yunming said, "Is the recruitment of all generals going well?" ”

Lu Xunzhi nodded: "I will follow what you said, let the envoys from Huangzhou serve as team officers, and choose their own subordinates according to your principles." Then the sons and daughters talked to the officers one by one and asked them to choose which teams to be their team. Once the whole army is recruited, it will be ready to move to the camp tomorrow. ”

"Good. It is necessary to inform the officers of each team to know that it is better to have a shortage than to have an abundance. Even if you don't recruit enough qualified soldiers, you must not let a bad fruit mix into the basket and spoil a basket of good fruit. Zheng Yunming turned to Xu Shiqing and said, "Xu Zhang, I'm too busy with military affairs to greet you myself." You have a good rest here, and we'll talk about it later. ”

"Come slowly, come slowly, the little old man still has something to ask for." Xu Shiqing said and pulled the young man behind him with his hand, and the young man fell down and bowed to Zheng Yun.

"The villain is a person from Qingyuanli, Sanlao Township, Yangxin County, Ezhou, surnamed Ren Xiongwei," the young man lay on the ground and said in a regular manner: "I heard that the adults are recruiting soldiers, I have some fists and feet in my life, and I am willing to serve the adults' subordinates and charge for the country!" The villain's father is Ren Jiasan, his mother is Ren Xue, he has a brother and a sister, the younger brother Ren Xiongjie is now studying in the township, the villain has been law-abiding since he was a child, and there are long squires who can prove it, please let me serve before the army! He kowtowed.

Xu Shiqing also bowed to Zheng Yunming and Lu Xunzhi, and said: "This eldest man has grown up watching me since I was a child, and his family background is very pitiful. A few years ago, the head of his family was drawn by the army, but the front line was lost, and his father's life and death are unknown. He was only a half-old child at that time, only eleven or twelve years old, so he picked up the burden of the family, in addition to working in the fields, he also took time to go to the Ezhou wharf to help transport ore and iron ingots, and earned a little money In addition to supporting his mother, he also supported his younger brother to go to private school. ”

Zheng Yunming walked up to Ren Xiongwei and asked, "Your name is Ren Xiongwei?" ”

Ren Xiongwei knelt on the ground and didn't dare to move: "It's the villain." ”

"I can't grant your request."

Ren Xiongwei said hurriedly: "Villain"

"Do you think being a soldier and fighting a war is a mess of life!" Zheng Yunming raised his voice: "Maybe in other teams, you think being a soldier is a good way out." The salary can be used to support the mother and the younger brother to go to school. But let me tell you, the Tulong Army is facing exactly the enemy's attack! If you join my army, you will only face countless opportunities to fight for your life on the battlefield! If you are unfortunate enough to have your head cut off by the Tatars, who will support your mother, and who will send your brother to school? Do you want me to be cursed by your family for the rest of my life? The army is not a place to live! ”

"How do you say it's still on fire?" Lu Xun stepped forward and said, "Your name is Ren Xiongwei, right?" In this way, I wrote a letter to Yuelu Academy on Hunan Road, and you asked your brother to take this letter to school, and all the expenses required were waived. The academy also provides your brother's food, clothing, shelter and transportation, what do you think? ”

Ren Xiongwei was speechless for a while, no one had treated him so well in his life, and even he himself didn't know what to do.

Zheng Yunming grabbed Lu Xunzhi's hand: "Lu Weng, you are harming him." ”

Lu Xunzhi glanced at Zheng Yunming lightly: "I'm harming him, what do the officials say?" ”

Zheng Yunming sighed, turned around and instructed Xian'er: "Remember to remind me that a part of my salary will be set aside every month and sent to Ren Xue's family in Qingyuan, Yangxin County, Ezhou." ”

Ren Xiongwei didn't dare to speak, but just kowtowed while shedding tears.

Zheng Yunming shook his head and sighed: "Don't think that we are doing good deeds, Ren Xiongwei, we are buying your life for the country." I know very well what Lu Weng meant, if a person can honor his parents and love his brothers, why should he not be loyal to the country? So Lu Weng and I dug up your back road with a little money and food, and your mother and brothers have been properly settled, and you only have one way left, which is to be loyal to the emperor! If you take half a step back on this road, you will not only be sorry for the court, but also sorry for your mother and brother, understand! ”

Ren Xiongwei responded loudly while crying: "The villain is willing to smear the liver and brain of the emperor and the adult, and he will never give up!" ”

"That's it." Zheng Yunming said to Wang Deng: "Accept him and use him as my personal soldier in front of my tent." ”

(The ranking official asks for a reward)