Maybe it was because Zhu Cihong had been treating him politely before, or maybe it was the demeanor of the guards in the East Palace that made him worship, Cai Maode said very frankly: "The number of troops in the hands of the ministers is only these 3,000 soldiers, including 1,000 of the governor's standard battalion, which are led by the ministers. The other 2,000 were commanded by Deputy General Chen Shangzhi. These 3,000 soldiers want to defend Fenzhou and Pingyang, and they are already overstretched everywhere, where can they still divide their troops to go deep into Qin? ”

"Shanxi just these 3,000 soldiers?" Zhu Cihong didn't believe it.

"There is also a deputy general Xiong Tong who led two thousand camps in Beijing and stationed them upstream." Cai Maode said: "General Zhou Yuji, the chief military officer, led 1,000 troops to rectify the defense in Daizhou. ”

Zhu Cihong was speechless.

The nine-sided town of Daming starts from the Yalu River in the east and reaches Jiayuguan in the west, like a giant dragon. The town of Taiyuan in Shanxi is at the "waist" of this dragon. The waist is the home of the kidneys, and those who practice martial arts know that the strength of the body sinks in the waist. If there is a loss of waist, people are destined to die on the sickbed, and there is a danger of destruction in the country.

With such an important town, the Zuihou defense line of Gongwei Shenjing can only drive 6,000 soldiers and horses! The number of soldiers in Shanxi during the Chengzu period was ten times that of this number!

"Your Highness, since the Xuanzong Dynasty, the northern troops have been prepared for the border, and the southern troops have been transferred. Now that Huguang is being armed, the southern transport is insufficient, and Shanxi is located in a bitter cold land, and the land is barren, how can you raise soldiers? Cai Maode had a bitter face. Originally, because he believed in Buddhism and practiced penance, he was so thin that he almost fell out of shape, and even the crown robe looked swaying on his body, but now he is spending time and night, which is comparable to the bitter-faced Arhat.

"That shouldn't be......" Zhu Cihong was speechless, he brought more soldiers than the available soldiers in the entire Shanxi, and he originally wanted to come to eat a big family, but now it seems that he is a big family.

"Your Highness," Cai Maode bowed deeply, "I implore Your Highness to inform the King of Xihe and the King of Jiaocheng." Donate some silver food and clothing! Otherwise, these 3,000 soldiers will be embarrassed to fight! ”

Zhu Cihong took a deep breath and slowly spit it out after a long time. He nodded and said, "I will send someone to say that the two county kings of the Jin Domain, but the guard battalion of the East Palace still has to follow me through Taiyuan and return to the court." "According to the Ming system, the food and salary of the guest army were supplied by the states and counties along the way. If it's in its heyday. The army only needs to find the shortest and fastest way to march, and each state and county has more or less food for the army to eat. Now it is necessary to choose a city with food to march, otherwise it is likely that the army will run out of food.

If Zhu Cihong wants to return to Beijing, he naturally has to follow this law, and he will not be able to fly over from the barren and uninhabited land. Cai Maode heard that the crown prince was going to Taiyuan, and he looked like he wanted to say something, and finally said: "If Your Highness goes to Taiyuan, you can stay in the Jin Palace." ”

The crown prince lives in the palace of the king of Jin, which is inevitable for "etiquette". One only has to think about the etiquette of relatives in the countryside to always live at home, and you can understand how strong the tradition of "kissing" is. However, it was specifically pointed out by the governor. There is a lot of meaning in this.

Zhu Cihong didn't know, nodded, and continued the military discussion, not letting the topic deviate. Because I think that Shanxi is not a place to stay for a long time, first, there are no guards and second, there is no natural terrain available, even if you win a few local battles, it is impossible to turn the entire battle around, but there is a risk of being dragged to death...... Zhu Cihong decided not to engage in unnecessary consumption in Shanxi. Go to the intended base - Shandong as soon as possible.

Now that a strategic decision has been made, Zhu Cihong has assigned tasks in an orderly manner. In addition to Xiao Mo and Xiao Donglou, there was a slight dispute over who sniped the thieves behind the palace and pursued the soldiers. All other matters are in line with the word and are undisputed. This also opened Cai's eyes - he had only seen generals who passed the buck to each other and refused to give their lives, and he had never seen an army competing for a war.

"Above, the military command department drafted the order at a speed, and issued it immediately after the bell seal." After Zhu Cihong finished explaining, he looked around at the scene. Said cleanly: "The meeting is over!" ”

"Ceremony!" Tian Cunshan took a step forward and announced loudly.

The East Palace has simplified all the etiquette that can be simplified, even to the point that it can save a word.

When the officers heard this, they struck their left chest with their right fists, which was regarded as a military salute.

It was the first time that Cai Maode had seen such an army forbidden. I was dumbfounded, and I was at a loss as to how to bow and retreat. He was about to retreat with the officers in a daze, when he suddenly heard the crown prince shouting: "Mr. Cai, take a step slowly, I'll talk to you." ”

Cai Maode hurriedly zhanzhu, respectfully waiting for the training.

Zhu Cihong smiled, stepped off the main seat, sat on a seat casually, and patted the armrest of the chair next to him: "Sir, sit." ”

"Panic!" Cai Maode immediately fell to the ground.

The seat next to the crown prince is all he can do!

"It's okay, please sit down and talk." Zhu Cihong insisted.

Cai Maode slowly got up and sat next to each other carefully, which was even more tiring than standing.

Zhu Cihong smiled in his heart, he really should have asked Wu Fu or Xu Xuan to show him.

But this feeling of being feared ...... It's so much better than being ignored.

Zhu Cihong cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Cai seems to have something to say. ”

"Yes." Cai Maode was grateful for the courtesy of the crown prince in his heart, and stood up and bowed: "Your Highness! Recently, the minister received a handwritten letter from the king of Jin, and he wanted to recall the minister back to Taiyuan, and he hesitated in his heart and begged His Royal Highness to adjudicate. ”

"But what's wrong with Taiyuan?" Zhu Cihong asked.

"With General Xiong patrolling the river and General Zhou guarding Daizhou, what will happen to Taiyuan?" Cai Maode said helplessly: "It's just that His Royal Highness King Jin is too careful." ”

Those who are careful, even the timid.

Zhu Cihong understood what Cai Maode meant. This governor wanted to use him as a shield, as long as the Donggong guard battalion went to Taiyuan, he could continue to stay in Pingyang to prevent Li Zicheng from crossing the river. understands Cai Maode's hard work, Zhu Cihong sincerely feels that the goods have to be thrown away, and people have to die more than others! As the crown prince on behalf of the emperor, he held the Shang Fang sword and the dragon festival, and he could not move Sun Chuanting, saying that he was not satisfied with a county order...... Cai Maode would be distressed by the handwriting of a vassal king who has no real power!

If Cai Maode is allowed to patrol Shaanxi, maybe he can pull some strong men away.

"I'll go to King Jin's side and say, Mr. Cai can keep Pingyang with peace of mind." Zhu Cihong looked at the hanging map of Shanxi from afar: "Hejin lost the code and Pingyang fell; Pingyang lost the code and Shanxi fell. If the thieves get Shanxi, there will be no place to defend it in front of them. ”

"The minister will live up to His Highness's expectations! Live up to the expectations of the Son of Heaven! Cai Maode rose in response.

Zhu Cihong nodded, reassured a few more words, and then said, "Mr. go back to the camp to take care of things earlier, military affairs first." ”

Cai Maode saluted and retreated. As soon as he walked out of the big tent of the Chinese army, he saw Tian Cunshan also come out. Although he was puzzled why this lieutenant official also had the unique military rank of the East Palace on his shoulders, Cai Maode would not doubt the crown prince's vision for employing people. Tian Cunshan smiled at Cai Maode, walked over, and shouted: "Military Command Department!" ”

The clerk on duty at the Military Command Department is a civilian officer, who also has a military rank, but is only a second lieutenant. Seeing that the chief instructor called him, he hurriedly stepped forward and gave a military salute. Tian Cunshan said: "How do you say that you are all gone?" There is no one left in the tent of the Chinese army? Your Highness has a military order to be issued, go quickly. ”

The clerk danced for a long time before he remembered the practice of military salute, and it was obvious that he had not been appointed for a long time, so he hurriedly walked to the Chinese military tent.

Cai Maode saw it in his eyes, thought of the chaotic military camp on his side, and sighed in his heart: There is indeed a strong army here in the East Palace! When he returned to the Pingyang camp, he saw that the Jin soldiers were weak one by one, or they were idle in twos and threes, or lying down in broad daylight to rest, it was like chewing three catties of bitter coptis, and he didn't want to say anything.

Pingyang prefect Zhang Phoran saw that the master of the ministry was back, and hurriedly came to greet him. He saw that Cai Maode was heavy all the way, and couldn't help but say warmly: "But the crown prince doesn't know the pain of love? ”

Cai Maode said loudly: "Duanben is really a genius of heaven, and he has the image of a holy emperor and a king. Today, I listened to his dispatch of troops and generals, and his words were reasonable, and the details were very detailed. Looking at the generals of the East Palace, the heroic spirit is not inferior to the famous generals of ancient times, but in front of His Royal Highness, they all bow their heads to their ears, such as Meng Tong seeing his teacher. It can be seen that His Royal Highness is really handsome. ”

Pingyang Mansion was slightly surprised when he heard this, and knew that Cai Maode would never slap his beard, especially not do such things behind his back, but he was suspicious, suspecting that it was because the governor had too little knowledge.

Cai Maode didn't know that every strategy mentioned by Crown Prince Zhu Cihong today was not an individual who came up with a pat on his head, but the best option from the data collection and summary analysis of the entire staff team. As Zhu Cihong's main military liliang, the Donggong guard battalion has formed a relatively systematic staff system. Although the generals of the Ming army went out to fight in the past, and there were also "Chinese troops" as the chief of staff, the number and influence of the staff officers of the East Palace today are not comparable to those of previous dynasties.

This is also because Zhu Cihong lacked mature officers, so the military commander had to accept the opinions of the staff officers. If it is placed in other military towns, which general soldier is not mighty and domineering, and makes a big statement? Sometimes, even if you know that it is a wrong decision, you have to stick to it for the sake of personal dignity.

However, there is no such problem in the East Palace, and many staff officers are older than the chief officers in the army in terms of seniority and experience, and there are also requirements in the East Palace Drill Code: Every ten days, the staff officers of the combat units above the bureau level should be summarized and the work report should be carried out. This gives the staff officer a greater right to speak, and even if the chief officer disagrees with the opinion of the staff officer, he cannot just ignore it, and must record and explain it in the combat readiness/combat diary.

When there is a lack of real experience, it can only be compensated for by this stupid method. As long as the military commanders are decisive enough and the staff officers are willing to use their brains, the liliang of the team can always outperform those armies that rely heavily on the personal ability of the generals.

And with such a division of labor, the Donggong armed forces have eliminated the possibility of warlord derivation and mountains from the root. Zhu Cihong will not have to worry about who among the generals will be highly meritorious and will be "added to the yellow robe" by his subordinates.

The seed has been planted and a sprout has been drawn, but it will take time and space to grow into a towering tree!

Zhu Cihong sat in the tent of the Chinese army, closed his eyes, and looked at the mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty with his heart, until the news was spread outside the door: "The prince's guest Wu Fu and the governor of Shaanxi, Sun Chuanting, ask to see." (To be continued......)