Luoyang,

"Brother Xu is still more than 10,000 soldiers, I don't know what's going on." Since Xu Ping jumped out of the Great Zhou Mountain, attacking the city and plundering the land all the way, Li Ziwei thought that his forces would be greatly expanded.

"It seems that Brother Xu is still good at military training and short at government affairs." Niu Jinxing is a lot more at ease with Xu Ping, whether it is him or Li Zicheng, they are more assured of Xu Ping's military talent, Li Zicheng took the eighteen horsemen out of the mountain not long ago, not to mention those old brothers, even he himself does not have much confidence to surpass a battalion commander under Huang Hou in military talent. Niu Jinxing had a similar opinion about Xu Ping, and the successive victories of the Guards Battalion were not too surprising to him, although he did not expect to win so easily in advance. In the past, Li Zicheng believed that Xu Ping would not rebel and go back, and the huge threat of the new army was at hand, Li Zicheng did not plan to hinder Xu Ping, but Niu Jinxing was worried that Xu Ping would stand on his own, and now seeing that Xu Ping was expanding his army slowly, this worry has also disappeared.

Yang Sichang was a huge threat to break into the camp, and the imperial court intended to let Kaifeng's troops flank Li Ziben's troops, Niu Jinxing suggested: "Brother Xu only has 10,000 people, and he is alone, and the Jin army and the Hebei army are also ready to move, I don't know when I will come back to Henan, so it is better to let Xiying help him." ”

Li Zicheng didn't agree immediately, but said: "Now doesn't seem to be a good time to play in the nest, aren't you afraid of being wiped out by the imperial court?" ”

Niu Jinxing smiled and said: "The king misunderstood, although Li Dingguo and Xu Ping have some discord, but I think Sun Kewang is still tolerant, and they will not fall out with Xu Ping." ”

Chuang Ying didn't know much about the two generals of Xiying who had just defected, Niu Jinxing felt that although they might not have any ability, but at least they had followed Zhang Xianzhong to fight for many years, and the expanded troops were always better than generals like Xu Ping. Moreover, Xiying is also a person who has just defected, and has just been defeated by Yang Sichang's bandit army, Niu Jinxing is worried that their morale is not high, and it is a little worrying to take them to fight Yang Sichang, and in the last point, they will compete with Xu Ping.

……

In early April, Xu Ping met with Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, and the two of them commanded the western camp to rush to reinforcements. They told Xu Ping that King Chuang was a little puzzled by Xu Ping's actions, and why he didn't immediately expand his army since he had conquered a large number of county seats. Sun Kewang also told Xu Ping that for the time being, he should not expect further assistance from the camp, Yang Sichang had moved to Henan after settling down in Sichuan, and was preparing to launch an attack on the camp, and King Chuang hoped that Xu Ping could cover his back, so that the main force of the camp could deal with Yang Sichang with peace of mind.

"I will do better than King Chuang hopes, I have already drawn up a plan to attack Kaifeng." Xu Ping was very happy to see the reinforcements from Xiying, he had been suffering from a lack of troops, and now the problem was solved at once: "Originally, I thought that I would not be able to start the operation until May or June, but now I can start going north in ten days." ”

"Brother Xu, have you started to expand your army?"

"Not yet, it's very hard to train recruits, and it's a waste of food to use displaced people." Xu Ping had just gotten the last seven hundred guns, which made his vault empty a lot at once. The monthly military expenditure of the Guards Battalion was as high as 15,000 taels, and several counties could only provide him with less than 3,000 taels of income per month, except for the maintenance expenses.

"If we don't come, you're going to attack Kaifeng with 10,000 men?"

"Yes, I don't have the money to raise more troops, if I can't take Kaifeng - I don't have much hope, but the surrounding counties can always be relieved." Xu Ping was silent for a moment, and then said, "There's no time to wait any longer." ”

The new army has always been a heavy burden on Xu Ping's heart, and he knows very well that he cannot use the strategy of accumulating strength, but must try his best to fight for even a glimmer of opportunity: "If we have not opened up the situation when the new army defeats Ji Huisi, we will have no future." ”

"Money?" Sun Kewang asked strangely: "Brother Xu, you have already controlled five counties and millions of people, and you actually told me that you can't afford to raise tens of thousands of soldiers?" ”

"Yes, my soldiers are very expensive." Xu Ping explained to Sun Kewang that his soldiers needed to replenish a lot of meat, gunpowder and many other supplies, which would consume his silver treasury and thin savings: "King Chuang used to use the strategy of keeping officials without leaving soldiers, which was not very good, and the remaining officials were quickly eliminated by the officers and soldiers of the imperial court. Today, the people I left behind have trained tens of thousands of practitioners, and these militia groups will be a strong support for our army in the future, but they also require a lot of money, so my headquarters cannot be expanded......

"Of course, the people can get local food and grass, but they are all locals, they have family houses, and how much money do they need?" Before Xu Ping finished speaking, Sun Kewang interrupted him: "With the land of five counties, it costs money to provide meat, clothes and straw sandals to 10,000 soldiers?" Well, let me ask you, how much can these five counties pay you every month? ”

"Three thousand taels of silver."

After Xu Ping finished speaking, he saw that Sun Kewang's eyes became very unkind, as if he was looking at a big fool. Li Dingguo, who was on the side, turned around and patted Sun Kewang on the shoulder, as if to comfort him.

"General." Sun Kewang said to Xu Ping in a different tone: "The last general asks the general to hand over these chores to the last general, and the general only needs to concentrate on attacking Kaifeng." ”

Xu Ping argued: "But the king has an order, we will not levy grain, and we must not disturb the people. ”

"Who said I was going to take food?" Sun Kewang rolled his eyes: "Let's not waste time, please ask the general-army to immediately introduce the situation of these counties to the last general." ”

Li Dingguo smiled at Xu Ping and said: "Brother Xu, if my third brother says that these chores are second, then no one in the Xiying camp dares to say first, when my father-in-law is here, the chores in Xiying have always been taken care of by my third brother." ”

These government affairs have always made Xu Ping very distressed, although he has put a lot of effort into it, but the counties are all in a mess. When Xu Ping introduced the situation, Sun Kewang listened and asked some questions from time to time: "It's still the set of Juntian free grain, but it's better than King Chuang." ”

"Brother Sun, does he have any tricks?" Xu Ping heard it a little strangely: "What can I do if the uneven land is free of grain?" Our army wants to win the hearts and minds of the people. ”

"Yes, yes, there are a lot of people who have used this trick for two thousand years, but as far as I know, they have generally become defeated," Sun Kewang was quite disdainful: "Many of our soldiers are worried about Zhao'an, if there is no food and no land, they will go with us, in the past, the king always wanted to divide the land, but he didn't do it for half a day, and now Brother Xu divides the land, the people's hearts may not be won, and the number of displaced people who defect to us will be greatly reduced; I am worried that more soldiers will not want to fight, and if the land is divided on a large scale, maybe some soldiers will go home as deserters and go to farm. ”

"Does Brother Sun mean that I did something wrong?"

"Land division, of course, is right, if we make good use of it, it can reduce our burden, increase food income, and strengthen people's hearts. However, if Guang Fentian doesn't think about how to get benefits from it, such as Brother Xu, it will be really thankless, and he will make wedding clothes for others in vain. Sun Kewang inquired carefully, and after learning about the conversation between Xu Ping and the Taoist priest of Qingzhi, Sun Kewang laughed and said: "This Taoist priest is really half a bucket of water, if Brother Xu asks about the evil luck in the future, you might as well ask him, these chores are still forgotten." Well, now the Great General—" Sun Kewang dragged out his voice: "How did the prison do it?" ”

"No literati are willing to join our army, so there is no way to decide the case, and all the lawsuits can only be fought fifty boards each, and then the matter is blown out." When it comes to judicial disputes, Xu Ping is even more helpless. Strict military law cannot be used against the people, but no one in the army knows the law of the Ming Dynasty at all: "I have asked a few staff officers to learn the law of the Ming Dynasty, but I can't use it in a hurry, and every time I am confused by the quarrels between the two sides, I can't tell right from wrong at all." ”

"Brother Xu's approach is not urgent, the prison is a major matter of government affairs," Hearing this, Sun Kewang immediately asked: "Have you killed all the county officials and county officials that Brother Xu caught?" ”

"No, they're all in prison." Xu Ping kept a few officials alive, not because he wanted to recruit them, but because he wanted to humiliate the Ming court. So far, except for Niu Jinxing, no one has raised people to defect to the army, if the county officials publicly surrender to the army, it will be a major blow to the prestige of the Ming court and the confidence of the scholars, and Xu Ping also hopes to receive the effect of buying bones with a thousand gold, so as to call on more county officials to surrender in order to save their lives.

"That's going to be easy." Sun Kewang stroked his palms and smiled: "Let them go out and judge the case." ”

"That's not good." Xu Ping expressed his worries, these officials did not surrender, how can they be assured to let them go out to do errands? Even if they don't have the rights, it's not a good thing to let them re-establish their authority in the county.

"Brother Xu is too worried," Sun Kewang laughed: "I asked them to take the flail to the court to judge the case, if they don't do it well, they will take off their pants on the spot and hit the board, and if they are stubborn, they can also let them stand in the cage." The good face of these scholars is more important than their lives, and letting them ride a donkey through the streets is more uncomfortable than killing them with a knife. ”

Both Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang thought that they should wait a little longer, let the West Battalion rest for a while, and then send troops together with the Guards Battalion. However, Xu Ping disagreed. After handing over the rear garrison to Xiying, Xu Ping immediately mobilized the Guards Battalion, and on April 15 he set out from Xinzheng to advance to Zhongmu, and on the 18th the whole army arrived at the foot of Zhongmu City.

Kaifeng Fu had noticed that the style of this army was very different from the past, they were not a large-scale transfer, but a step by step sweep of the strongholds controlled by the Ming army, so Xuanwuwei's Ming army had rushed to Zhongmu to reinforce them, and they camped on the north bank of the Shahe River, across the Shahe River from the Guards Battalion.

The ferry was under the cover of Zhongmu City, and it was impossible to cut off the ferry without obtaining Zhongmu, and if the Ming army camp on the south bank of the Shahe River could not be cleared, then the Ming army could continuously transport troops and supplies into the city. Therefore, Xu Ping decided to cross the Shahe River first to eliminate the surrounding Ming army, and then attack the city after Zhongmu was isolated.

After the lights went out in the camps at night, Xu Ping, who was patrolling the camps, met the officers of the teaching team of the guards battalion, and after the meeting, Xu Ping smiled at Chen Zhe: "Brother Chen is patrolling the camp again." ”

"Yes, I've recruited hundreds of recruits recently, so I don't dare to do otherwise."

After these soldiers left the training team, Chen Zhe still came to talk to them every day, and tonight the wind was strong, Chen Zhe was afraid that someone would bully these recruits and snatch their quilts, until the recruits in the camp were placed in an impermeable place near the brazier, Chen Zhe left the camp and went to the next one.

"Have you ever read the humble "On Military Training"?"

Xu Ping shook his head, he didn't know about the report on the improvement of regulations written by Chen Zhe before the Battle of Shandong, and he didn't have a chance to see it after the Battle of Shandong.

"The adults are too proud, although they humbly admit that they do have this capital, but this kind of underestimation of other people's hard work will always make others feel cold. The adult's report has been read word for word. ”

Xu Ping didn't argue either, and nodded: "What Brother Chen taught me is that it's my fault." ”

"Forget it, I know that the adults have been very busy," Chen Zhe waved his hand generously, indicating that he would no longer pursue Xu Ping's faults: "The Lord said that the head of the Hou Ye's military training is to treat the soldiers well, and if you want to train strong soldiers, you must first treat the soldiers well, I agree with this, but it is too empty, and the implementation of this kind of regulation is too big and too empty." In my "On Training", I think the first important point of Hou Ye's training method is to treat recruits well, recruits will one day become veterans, and how they treat recruits will most likely be based on their own experience when they were still recruits. In order to avoid his comrades from being wary of each other and shooting black guns in the back, he would rather give those who have a common hatred for each person a sword to decide their own life and death, but he did not send someone to come down to see how the recruits are treated in the new army, I think this is a big mistake. ”

Since the Changqing Battalion, Xu Ping has patrolled the camp almost every day and treated the soldiers well, but this work is really tiring, and conflicts between old recruits and recruits also occur from time to time: "Doesn't Brother Chen fight recruits?" ”

"Fight, of course the training is fighting! If you don't fight, you can't remember it for a long time. But by no means a random beating, all recruits must be beaten under my supervision, my countermeasure is to favor the recruits, protect the recruits, veterans are absolutely not allowed to bully recruits, if there is a not too big contradiction, I will personally go to them and say: you are also an old man, how can you be as knowledgeable as a recruit, of course, I will try to compensate the veterans in other places, but on the surface, to make the recruits feel at ease, so that they will be ashamed, will train hard, and when they become veterans, they will also treat the newer soldiers well. I have always said that treating recruits well should play at least half of the role in military training, and I think this is the foundation of Hou Ye's training of a strong army. ”

……

The selection battalion resting in the Beijing Division.

Zhang Biao, who had just resumed his post as chief of staff, was assisting the battalion officers in reorganizing the battalion's affairs; after several months of review, the combat effectiveness of all battalions of the New Army has been greatly enhanced.

A group of soldiers who had just been brought in from the training team were assigned to the infantry team, and today was the first time they participated in the collective run of the whole team, and the leaders of the cross-country running training were several veterans of the selection battalion, who ran without hurry, completely ignoring the cries of many other veterans in the back row to run quickly. After repeatedly asking to run faster to no avail, these veterans began to encourage the recruits to run two steps faster, rushed to the front to lead the whole team, at first the recruits were still unwilling, but couldn't help but persuade again and again, finally a person nodded proudly, quickened his pace to overtake some of the veterans in front of him, and ran to the back of the leader, he was just about to open his mouth to ask: can he try to lead the way as those veterans behind him. Suddenly, I heard a loud roar from behind, and I was hit the vest, kicking the recruit in the mouth and gnawing on the mud.

The person who kicked him down was the one who had persuaded him the most just now, and the other veterans who had said similar things also kicked him twice when they ran past this soldier: "Call you Chao!" Call you Super! ”

Seeing this familiar scene happening in front of him again, Zhang Biao smiled slightly: "I'm still teaching newcomers to obey the rules." ”

"Yes, we have to make them sensible," another staff officer said, "Otherwise, if they don't know how old they are, how can the army do it?" ”

……

Just as Xu Ping was in full swing preparing for the battle to cross the river, the staff officer reported that a messenger that Xu Ping did not expect came to the camp.

"What? Yu Dong wants to borrow troops from me? ”

"Yes, that's what the messenger said," replied the staff officer, "that General Yu wants to borrow two thousand elite soldiers from your lordship." ”

Yu Dong is the deputy general of the Bianjun, and this time he brought Xuanwuwei's Ming army to reinforce Zhongmu, and it was also the target that Xu Pingzheng planned to eliminate.

"Is he an idiot? Or did he think I was an idiot? Xu Ping almost jumped up in surprise, did Yu Dong think that Xu Ping would be so stupid as to lend troops to the enemy so that the other party could fight him?

"My lord misunderstood, General Yu said that he wanted to borrow 2,000 soldiers a day to deal with the review of the governor of Henan." Facing the shocked Xu Ping, the staff officer said without changing his face: "Don't hide it from your lordship, I couldn't believe it when I first heard it, and I thought my ears were wrong." ”

After the fall of Luoyang, the former governor Li Fengxian was deposed, and the governor Gao Mingheng was promoted to governor. According to Yu Dong's envoy, Governor Gao was very nervous when he heard that the Chuang army was approaching Zhongmu, and he dispatched troops to prepare to defend Kaifeng. As the gateway to Kaifeng, Zhongmu is naturally best if it can be held, and if it can't be held, Governor Gao also hopes to delay it for a few more days, so as to give himself more time to gather troops and ask for help from the imperial court.

"General Yu said that Governor Gao arrived on the south bank two days later to review the troops, and General Yu wanted us to lend him 2,000 strong soldiers, and in order to show his sincerity, he was willing to withdraw all the horses and troops to the camp, so as to show that there was absolutely no ambush."

"Why should I trust him?" Xu Ping retorted flatly, and he sneered and asked the officers in the battalion: "Have you ever heard of such a ridiculous thing?" ”

To Xu Ping's surprise, Chi Shude and Hei Baoyi replied at the same time: "I've heard of it." ”

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