On August 6, the Changqing battalion was building a pontoon bridge over the section of the Tuhe River northeast of Yucheng, preparing to cross the river and attack the city. The spies reported that the rebels burned the bridge and there was a possibility that they would hold on to Yucheng, so the Ming army also redoubled its vigilance. As of today, the front team of the Evergreen Battalion has been progressing faster than expected by more than a day, and the pioneer Xu Ping has plenty of time to make careful arrangements. While supervising the construction of the bridge by the engineering team, Xu Ping received a report that several old men had been found in a nearby village. At present, the location of the army is an area where the rebels and the official army have been fighting back and forth for a long time, and the magistrate has been vacant for more than a year.

Several old people who were found had bad legs and feet, and Yu Shenhe, who was ordered to go to lead people, immediately ordered his soldiers to make stretchers and carry several old people all the way to Xu Ping. When a few trembling old men were brought to the horse, Xu Ping hurriedly dismounted and walked over, and asked politely, "How is the old man?" ”

After seeing a big man, the old men all knelt on the ground: "General, the grass people are not fine." ”

"What is the old man's surname?"

"General, the grass people are not fine."

"Is the old man a local?"

"General, the grass people are not fine."

No matter how good Xu Ping tried to appease him, they repeated it in one sentence, justifying that he was not a spy of the rebels. Xu Ping saw that he really couldn't ask anything valuable, so he had to give up for the time being. It was time to start the meal, and Xu Ping ordered a hot meal to be delivered to these old people.

After eating, the spirits of several old people improved slightly, and they were no longer as sluggish as they were just now. One of them mustered up the courage to answer Xu Ping's questions. According to him, because the war had been raged for many years in the neighborhood, the peasants could not pay the rent of the government at all, so everyone generally abandoned the land. However, after Ji Huisi's bandits beat all the magistrates away, some people who fled to become bandits went home to farm, and the fields that Xu Ping saw were planted by these former bandits. After hearing that the officers and soldiers had come back, these people did not dare to delay much, but fled back to the cottage after hastily harvesting. Of course, all that food is now in the rebel camps. The old people vigorously argued that there were no bandits in their village, that all of them were good citizens, and that they had to flee the village for fear of war.

"Where are all the young people in the village now?" Xu Ping wanted to publicize the military discipline of their new army, and also hoped to appease the people as much as possible to assist the officers and soldiers in transporting the baggage.

This old man is very honest, since the beginning of the sentence, he will say whatever comes to mind: "The men are afraid of being arrested by the officers and soldiers, so they hide in the mountains and ditches." ”

"What about the women and children in the village?"

"The women were afraid of being seen by the officers and soldiers, so they also hid."

"There are only a few of you old people in the village?"

"Those who can move are gone, and a few of us who can't walk have to stay."

Several of the other officers around him were speechless. Xu Ping ordered a few elderly people to be treated well, and at the same time sent soldiers to search the surroundings, and if they encountered fleeing civilians, they told them that they were the new army. Xu Ping repeatedly stressed to his subordinate officers that it was absolutely forbidden to harm the people, as long as they publicized the military discipline of his army to them, and if the people were really unwilling to return to their hometowns, they should never be forced.

On the afternoon of the 7th, Zhang Chengye rushed to Xu Ping's place, and he had already handed over the right to command the rear team to Wu Zhong. When Zhang Chengye arrived at the outpost, he saw that there were no sappers continuing construction on the half-built pontoon bridge, but a temporary warehouse was being built. At this time, 1,800 officers and soldiers of the Changqing Battalion had arrived near the Tuhe pontoon bridge, but Xu Ping was only 300 people with him. Zhang Chengye's brows furrowed when he saw this, but he didn't get angry in public, but beckoned Xu Ping to come and talk to him alone.

Xu Ping handed over the work at hand to Zhou Dongtian and a few other staff officers, and followed Zhang Chengye into his temporary tent. After entering the door, Zhang Chengye motioned to Xu Ping to drop the tent door, and then asked: "The pioneer should have crossed the Tuhe River yesterday and searched for the thieves in the Yucheng area, why hasn't the pontoon bridge been built today?" ”

Xu Ping moved a chair unhurriedly, respectfully invited Zhang Chengye to sit down, and said, "Your Excellency, please sit down, there will be something for your adult to see." ”

Zhang Chengye still stood motionless, urging impatiently: "If you have something to say, just say it quickly." ”

"Yes." Xu Ping spread out a few pieces of paper on the table and placed them in front of Zhang Chengye's eyes, while reading the numbers on them: "Until noon today, our army found 1,372 people within a radius of 30 miles in this place. When they saw our scouts and soldiers, nine hundred and sixty-five of them tried to flee, three hundred knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, and twenty tried to attack our soldiers with weapons. ”

Zhang Chengye quietly looked at the statistics on the paper, sat down on the chair that Xu Ping had brought him, and said, "Go on." ”

Xu Ping took the first piece of paper aside and pointed to the numbers on the second piece of paper to show Zhang Chengye: "My lord, after the soldiers of our battalion provided food to these people, nearly nine hundred of them accepted it, and the rest said that they didn't want anything. Many of the people were hungry, but there were only fifty people who ate in front of our soldiers, and all of them were old people and children. From beginning to end, Qing Zhuang maintained a guard against our battalion soldiers, and even when they were told that we were the new army under the Marquis of Zhendong, they were still hostile. ”

Zhang Chengye glanced at these statistics and asked without raising his head, "What does Keqin think about this?" ”

"Your Excellency!" Xu Ping propped up the table with both hands and said loudly: "There have been no magistrates here for more than a year, and under the long-term bewitchment of thieves, the people's hearts are already very worrying. As soon as they saw the officers and men coming, they fled in all directions, which was very unfavorable to our army. The thieves are in the dark, I am in the light, it is difficult for our army to obtain information about the thieves, but the thieves know the actions of our army well. ”

Zhang Chengye raised his head and looked at Xu Ping, and said, "The plan of the General Staff Department in advance is to ask our army to occupy Yucheng as soon as possible, and then enter the Qi River as quickly as possible. If we hold back, we will not only disrupt the plans of the General Staff Division, but will also have to slow down the 100,000 troops following our battalion. ”

"In the previous plan, the General Staff Department did not expect that the bewitchment of the thieves had been so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and in the plan, he even wanted to use the people's power to assist our army in transporting baggage." Xu Ping kept his posture unchanged, looked directly into Zhang Chengye's eyes, and said loudly: "My lord, the end of the year is going to completely break the bewitchment of the thieves here, and completely eliminate the suspicions in the hearts of the people, please ask for your permission." ”

Zhang Chengye was silent, and Xu Ping looked at him hopefully. Zhang Chengye picked up those statistics again and looked at them, and said to Xu Ping: "What are you going to do?" ”

"Your Excellency, the last general has ordered a search for nearby refugees, and it will not be an echelon, but a multi-layered process, so as not to let any of the people's gathering areas slip through the net......"

Even before Zhang Chengye arrived, this plan had already begun to be implemented. Thousands of soldiers searched separately in the headquarters to further expand the search area, and at the same time patrolled back and forth to various places where people gathered within a radius of 50 miles. The plan also includes a supply plan for the soldiers and a detailed rest schedule.

Xu Ping believes that suggesting that the people will increase their sense of insecurity by returning to the village, and he feels that not making demands on the people will help them trust the officers and soldiers: "The last general guessed that they were in a hurry to flee and that their houses must be poor, so he immediately asked the soldiers to help them repair their houses, and at the same time vigorously publicized the benevolence of our army." ”

Zhang Chengye did not nod but asked rhetorically: "Do you act in strict accordance with the regulations?" ”

"Yes." Xu Ping nodded heavily.

"The vanguard of the Shanlan battalion will arrive here in two days, the Adamantite battalion in three days, and the other battalions will soon follow. There are only two days from now, and the Tuhe River must be crossed at noon on the ninth day. ”

Xu Ping was confident: "The last general understands, so he wants to start pacifying the people immediately, but he will never slow down the pace of the army because of this." ”

"Then, the regulations do not permit the provision of money, food or clothing for more than a day's needs to the people, even those who seem to be in difficulty, can this Keqin know?"

Xu Ping immediately replied: "Yes, the last general knows this very well and will never waste a large amount of military supplies. ”

Zhang Chengye looked at Xu Ping and asked, "Why is a lot of military supplies wasted?" ”

Xu Ping lowered his head and pondered for a while, and after thinking about the regulations repeatedly, he replied: "Because once a position is opened, it is inevitable that some people will rely on our army, right?" Such...... It will come every day, and more people will follow suit when they see it. It will become a heavy burden for our army, and it is really ...... to be like this for a long time."

Speaking of this, Xu Ping's voice suddenly froze, and he looked up at Zhang Chengye: "My lord, the last general understands, and the last general knows that he is wrong." ”

Zhang Chengye nodded slightly, and asked another question: "Why is there a regulation that tries to help the people repair their houses?" What is the significance of this? ”

Xu Ping had never had the experience of appeasing the people before, and after hearing Zhang Chengye's question, he was stunned again, he repeated the regulations many times in his heart, and finally shook his head and said: "My lord, the last general will be stupid, is there a problem with this one?" ”

"This regulation happened to be because of me, twenty years ago, when the rebellion of Lu'an was peaceful, I led a team to pacify the people near Chishui, and eighteen years ago I was on the coast of Fujian to guard against pirate landing, Hou Ye asked me in detail about the situation of these two times and decided on this article." Zhang Chengye said unhurriedly: "For the first time, I was stationed in the rebel area that had just been pacified, which is somewhat similar to the situation of Keqin today, the rebellion has been quelled, I know that the Hou Ye does not want to kill people and demonstrate, but he still has to deter the local young people, and send people to repair their houses every day, which can not only make people feel good, but also make those who still have bad intentions in the shadows realize the military prestige of our army; The second time, the people of Fujian did not need our force to deter them, but the pirates were so beaten that they hardly dared to go ashore, and if the days were too peaceful, I was afraid that the soldiers would relax, so I had to find something for them to do every day, and at the same time win the hearts and minds of the people. ”

Xu Ping nodded silently when he heard this, his face showed a look of thought, Zhang Chengye waited for a while, and said: "At that time, the Funing Army did not have regulations on the security of the people, and these regulations were formulated under this circumstance. ”

"The Admiral understands." Xu Ping said loudly: "Thank you for your teachings, these regulations obviously do not apply to this place today, so I will revise this and then report the reasons." ”

Speaking of Xu Ping's expression when he reported it, Zhang Chengye saw it in his eyes, and said: "The regulations must be simple and easy to remember, so it is impossible to describe the situation in detail when they were formulated, for example, the rules of war chess that you revised last time were formulated according to the experience of our army in Liaodong and Yunnan many years ago, and have not been amended since the closure of the Dadu Governor's Office." Knowing what it is, knowing why it is true, this is what Hou Ye repeatedly emphasized when he was on Changsheng Island, but most people did not go to their hearts at all, and a few who went to their hearts, as far as I know, have become Hou Ye's right-hand men in the future. ”

Seeing Xu Ping's expression, Zhang Chengye continued: "Keqin, you are very talented, I see that when you read the regulations, you often think about the reason, but you only think about the situation you have encountered, and you are tired of this kind of regulations that you have never had personal experience. ”

Xu Ping was stunned for a moment and replied: "My lord, the last general has no experience, how do you think of this?" ”

"Didn't you answer some of the questions I asked you just now? Whether it's right or wrong, there is always an idea, so that once you encounter it in the future, you will have a reflection. Besides, our army has changed from crusading against foreign enemies to countering internal rebellions, using the regulations of 15 years ago, and the teaching team must need a lot of reports and teaching materials. Five or ten years later, when you look back and see that you wrote so many textbooks and reports, and you have done so many things when others are doing nothing, what will happen then? Zhang Chengye didn't wait for Xu Ping to answer, then got up and planned to leave: "Okay, two days!" Ben will only give you two days! It's easy to do, and some things will be opened and closed. ”

"Yes, my lord." Xu Ping replied confidently, and when he watched Zhang Chengye leave the tent, he said, "Lord Xie." ”

As soon as Zhang Chengye left with his front foot, Zhou Dongtian shouted a report outside the door. After Zhou Dongtian came in, he handed over the follow-up search plan that the staff officers had just drawn up to Xu Ping, and Xu Ping immediately made corresponding modifications to the plan: "Execute it immediately!" ”

"Yes, my lord."

Zhou Dongtian was ordered to withdraw. Yu Shenhe had just eaten before he took a breath and led the team to set off again. Xu Ping's orders to these officers were clear: it was strictly forbidden to imply that the people should leave their cottages and return to their villages, and that they must be asked again and again if they needed anything.

Whether there was a shortage of clothes, medicines, or any other shortage, Xu Ping planned to transport them as soon as possible, and for this reason he also urged the sappers to speed up the construction of temporary warehouses and ask the rear army for more urgent supplies.

Although it was only a short two days, Xu Ping still had considerable confidence in his plan, and he even had time to take out the "Source of Battle" that Huang Zijun copied for him to take a look at it. As Huang Zijun said, there are no vivid and powerful examples in this book, nor does it teach the tactical skills written in other textbooks of the team. Only some boring regulations that Xu Ping found very boring, and some terms that he didn't know well, such as the word "mobilization", it took Xu Ping a long time to barely understand its meaning.

“…… General Mobilization Program, Road Mobilization, Manpower Mobilization, Transportation Mobilization, Economic Mobilization, ......" Xu Ping counted the titles one by one, although he felt that this book was extremely boring, but since Huangshi spent a lot of effort to compile it, it is better to continue reading. In addition, this is also Huang Zijun's heart, every word of this book is copied by her painstakingly. Besides, there is nothing else to do in the army, so it is better to read a book than to be idle. Because this book is extremely boring, Xu Ping skips the chapters he has read every time, and he doesn't bother to reread them again: "...... 'build new units' and 'replenish old units', okay, let's read these two sections tonight." ”

As soon as he turned to this section, Xu Ping was suddenly stunned: "I'll re-read it in the future, starting from today's two sections, I want to think about why Lord Hou formulated these regulations." ”

On the afternoon of the 8th, the soldiers reported that some people had returned to their hometowns, and this immediate effect greatly surprised Xu Ping. His original plan was to plant the seeds first, and then rely on the word of mouth of these people, coupled with the strict military discipline of the new army to expand his influence. But now that someone is back, of course Xu Ping wants to meet them in person, in order to buy a thousand dollars.

The dozens of people who came back were all from the same village as the old men Xu Ping had seen last time. In the past two days, Xu Ping has been taking good care of several elderly people, and after finding the people in their same village, in order to dispel the doubts of the villagers, Xu Ping also asked the soldiers to carry the old people to reunite with their families. After Xu Ping entered the village surrounded by Zhou Dongtian, Yu Shenhe and other officers, an old man who had not seen him last time had already kowtowed at the door of the room, and said: "Knock to see the general." ”

"Uncle, please." The so-called one does not do one, two endlessly, Xu Ping politely helped the old man up.

"Caomin is the head of this village......" the old man reported respectfully to Xu Ping. As the weather cooled down in August, they would not have been willing to go to the ravine to eat the wind if they weren't really afraid, especially if there were elderly people and children at home. The old men who were first found by the officers and soldiers all said that the new army had good military discipline, and when they saw that they were old, they let them live in warm tents and even have meat to eat.

After hearing that it was a subordinate of Zhendonghou, the people in the village were a little moved, and after some discussion, they decided to come back to live. Anyway, after the imperial court recovers this territory, the people will also have to farm and pay the land, and it is impossible to hide from the government forever, not to mention that if the officers and soldiers are unhappy, there is also a risk of being exterminated as bandits, since the hiding place has been searched out by the officers and soldiers, it is better to go home honestly to show that they are good citizens.

The village chief claimed to be surnamed Zhang, and this village was called Zhangjia Village, and most of the people in it were either surnamed Zhang or surnamed Wang. As he spoke, the village chief introduced Xu Ping to another young man kneeling on the side of the road, saying that this was his son, and that kneeling next to his son was his daughter-in-law. Xu Ping looked at the group of people around him, and there was only a young woman named the village chief's daughter-in-law, and most of the other women were either hiding in the house or had not yet returned.

Xu Ping casually chatted with the village chief for a few words, and took out a string of small money from his arms: "Uncle, it will be a peaceful day in the future, and I will wish the old man a grandson next year." ”

"Thank you, thank you." The old man knelt down and kowtowed again and again, Xu Ping didn't stop him, just smiled and waited for him to thank him, and then asked the family to get up and talk.

Although the father and son were smiling all over their faces, Xu Ping could see that they were still very nervous, which made Xu Ping feel a little regretful. The daughter-in-law next to her seemed to notice Xu Ping's unhappiness, and hurriedly complimented loudly: "The women have also heard of the name of Huang Houye, and I only hope that his old man will have many sons and blessings, and that his old man will have many children and grandchildren." ”

Xu Ping smiled slightly, and took out another string of money to this woman: "This is a reward for you." ”

"Master Xie." The woman was overjoyed, and said a lot of good things in a row, and naturally she didn't forget to add it to Xu Ping: "The general is promoted to become rich, and he has many sons and grandchildren." ”

Xu Ping couldn't stop laughing, and the guards and officers around him also snickered. Seeing that the officers and soldiers were in a good mood, the people in the village were also relieved. Zhou Dongtian and other staff officers took the opportunity to ask about the hydrological situation. The village woman who had received the reward was particularly enthusiastic about the inquiries of the officers and soldiers, and hurriedly went from house to house, bringing in several villagers who often fished in the Tuhe River for the new army. Zhou Dongtian told these people that if they had nothing to do tomorrow, they might as well go to the Changqing Camp to help the new army understand the situation, and they would also earn a reward.

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