Several elders smiled and called the young man a virtuous nephew, and Yang Zhiyuan and others said: "There is no need to be so formal in the army. ”

Zhendonghou had also said this before, but Huang Xiwen still kowtowed one by one, and after getting up, he did not follow his father to the center, but stood at the end of the two sides with his hands tied, standing with the other staff officers.

Zhendonghou sat firmly on the chair in the middle, and pressed down with both hands at the same time: "Gentlemen, sit." ”

"Yes, Master Hou."

The men on both sides sang in unison, they bowed in unison, and then sat down at the same time.

"Jiang Dashuai of the Jin Army also said that he would send troops to help Inspector Wang and relieve the siege of Kaifeng." Zhendonghou had no joy on his face, and bluntly told his subordinates: "Jiang Dashuai also asked Xiao'er to bring me a letter, saying that he hoped to buy some flintlock rifles from us, and now the Qin army, Jin army, Chu army, and Jiangbei army all regard flintlock pistols as a sharp weapon to defeat the enemy, or intercept or smuggle, or ask people to intercede like Jiang Dashuai, and use all their resources to get rifles, but I am worried that the more they get, the more they will support the enemy." ”

"But without them, Henan Chuang Camp also has its own channels," Zhen Donghou said as he looked at Li Yunrui: "As far as I know, Chuang Camp still does not have the ability to produce rifles on its own, they just have to repair damaged rifles, and many accessories have to be smuggled from the south." ”

"Master Hou, the last general is incompetent." Li Yunrui bowed down and apologized: "The last general has not yet found the merchant who smuggled arms to the thieves. ”

The Marquis of Zhendong had a lot of connections in the south, but the power was not in his hands, and many of the connections could not be publicized, so the inventory work of the New Army in the south did not go smoothly. Moreover, there are more and more smuggling merchants, and as the war in Henan intensifies, the invasion army penetrates into Sichuan, and the Ming army adjacent to the camp all privately buys weapons from the south, and many provinces that are still some distance away are also taking precautions and equipping the garrisons of their provinces with various new weapons. Under the bribes of the merchants, the magistrates turned a blind eye to this kind of behavior, and the Hou of Zhendong was powerless to stop this kind of behavior, and it was impossible to find out how many weapons were produced and sold abroad.

"However," Li Yunrui was not very opposed to the imperial court urging the Qin army and the Jin army to send troops to Kaifeng to relieve the siege: "In the past, thieves were running around, weapons, food, and baggage, either by breaking through the city and opening warehouses, or by defeating the encirclement and suppression of officers and soldiers, but now Xu Ping is defending the land in Kaifeng and Guide, building water conservancy, and rewarding agriculture and mulberry. The last general thought that the thieves would inevitably keep the enemy out of the country, and would never let the officers and soldiers enter their territory that had been in business for a long time. Even so, Xu Ping used the land of two provinces to fight against the two capitals and eleven provinces, and if the continuous war was not idle all day long, he would sooner or later be unable to hold on. The last general thought that we were not afraid of the defeat of the Qin army, but we were afraid that they would lose too quickly, if every battle was fought for a month, and after a few battles, Xu Ping's business savings in Kaifeng and Guide would inevitably come to naught, and then our new army would be able to capture it again. ”

"Brother Li's words are good, but if the imperial army is about to collapse at the first touch, the thief will definitely make a profit. In the final analysis, the strength of the new army is too limited," Jin Qiude said: "Although our new army was defeated this time, Xu Ping was also exhausted, and the price of grain in Kaifeng Prefecture increased several times in a month, and several counties were scorched. What is hateful is that the Guide thieves attacked Nanjing again and again, and continuously supported Kaifeng Prefecture, but they simply pushed down the price of grain. Jin Qiude estimated that without the support of the Guide Mansion, the losses caused by this battle would have to make Xu Ping uncomfortable for at least half a year before he could take a breath: "Today's plan, I still ask the Hou Ye to implore the imperial court again to allow the new army to expand, if we can expand to fifteen battalions, and then fight with Xu Ping for many years, so that he has no time to plunder our friendly army, then he will be three heads and six arms will also be consumed." ”

The staff officers below followed Li Yunrui and Jin Qiude's ideas to discuss, Yang Zhiyuan also agreed that the expansion of the new army was a top priority, Zhendonghou waited for a long time, did not hear the topic he wanted, and opened his mouth to say: "I think the rules of the new army are going to be changed, have you ever thought about learning the regulations set by Xu Ping?" For example, the rank system. ”

Jin Qiude arched his hand and said: "Hou Ye Mingjian, the last general thinks that this system is extremely ridiculous and absurd. ”

"Why?"

"There has been no such practice since ancient times, Xu Ping has always been unconventional, I heard that this rule was created to solve the problem of veterans bullying new recruits, it is simply inexplicable." Kim felt that this rule would probably cause more trouble than it wanted to solve.

Zhendonghou shook his head slightly: "I think this method is good, we can also use it." ”

"Master Hou, this is against the imperial court system."

"I know, but you can let it go, and I'll resist the blame of the court."

"For such an absurd rule?" Jin Qiude did not agree to waste Zhendonghou's connections in such a way, and he admonished: "Master Hou, the last general thinks that it is better to try his best to ask the imperial court to expand the new army." ”

Yang Zhiyuan agreed with Jin Qiude on this question: "Master Hou, the military rank system seems to make sense at first glance, but the last general thinks about it carefully, there are many drawbacks to such a rule, for example, if the general orders two fruit chiefs to attack at the same time, and the two fruit chiefs are one big and one small, the big one can order the small one to suffer hardships, and he actually acts like this. ”

"Of course not," Zhendonghou retorted, "If a sergeant is carrying out the orders of the colonel, the lieutenant has no right to cancel it, let alone other sergeants who are slightly older than him." Only an officer who is higher than the one who originally gave the order can cancel the original order. ”

"It's troublesome after all," Yang Zhiyuan said: "The last general thinks that simplicity is good, Daming has used this set of rules for hundreds of years, and it is better than a thing that Xu Ping patted his head and drummed up." ”

"Simple isn't necessarily good," Zhendonghou argued, "When we were on Immortal Island, we also set a lot of new rules, didn't we?" There is also Xu Ping who added a wing between the battalion and the team, which I think is also good, so you might as well learn it. ”

"The last general feels that he is asking for trouble," Yang Zhiyuan still disagreed: "We are very familiar with this set, and we do not insist that the battalion adjutant command certain teams so that our commanders can control the troops more flexibly." ”

Jin Qiude also disagreed: "Master Hou, Xu Ping is not you, he won two battles by luck, but not because of the good rules he made up randomly, but because our hands and feet were tied." ”

Zhendong Hou sighed and cast his gaze on the silent staff officers: "You all go down first." ”

Accompanied on both sides were senior staff officers of the General Staff Department of the New Army, and everyone except Huang Xiwen saluted and retreated. After these people left, Jin Qiude, Li Yunrui and Yang Zhiyuan all stood up with panicked faces and apologized to Zhendong Hou together: "My lord, forgive my sins, my subordinates know that they are wrong." ”

"What's wrong? Do you think I'm thinking you're backlashing and blaming you for not giving me face? Zhendonghou asked the three old subordinates to sit back in their positions: "Starting from Changsheng Island, the rule I have set is to say loudly when I have something to say, although I have not been in charge of military affairs for many years, I will not forget this rule." Zhendonghou hesitated, as if he was making up his mind.

Finally, Zhendong Houkou said: "The system of military rank was conceived by me, not Xu Ping. ”

"Ahh Except for Huang Xiwen, the other three people in the room all let out surprised sounds.

"Yes, it was my idea." Zhendonghou nodded and looked at Jin Qiude and Yang Zhiyuan: "Do you remember that I compiled the book "The Source of Battle", I wrote this idea in it, but I have never had the opportunity to practice it in the army, and our army does not need to make major changes before." ”

"My lord," Yang Zhiyuan asked cautiously, "You passed this method to Xu Ping?" ”

"Yes." After speaking, Zhendonghou sighed softly again, and Huang Xiwen, who was sitting in the distance, changed his face slightly, but he still sat there motionless.

"So, how are the regulations on military rank written?" Kim immediately became interested.

"What I wrote is probably not as good as what Xu Ping is using now, after all, I just have an idea, and he has practiced it in the army." Zhendonghou planned to directly copy Xu Ping's existing regulations and use them directly in the new army.

Jin Qiude's face looked a little reluctant, and Yang Zhiyuan didn't agree very much: "My lord, Xu Ping has some talent, but it's not good for us to copy him completely, after all, he learned it from you, you are the master, you must understand the truth better than him." ”

"A teacher doesn't have to be better than a disciple, and a disciple doesn't have to be inferior to a teacher." Zhendonghou is still stubborn: "The battlefield is the most ruthless referee, whose rules are set well, the battlefield has the final say, since Xu Ping has won, then we should learn from him." ”

"A lot of it is about luck, learning Xu Ping in a hurry, if you lose again, you will be laughed at." Because there were no outsiders in the house, Jin Qiude made no secret of his opposition: "Is it also the idea of adults to add wings under that battalion?" ”

"Not really."

……

The officers of the three battalions of the guards, the west head, and the armored ones lined up in a neat formation, standing quietly in front of the cemetery, and today Xu Ping personally presided over Hei Baoyi's funeral, and after these officers arrived, they found that there was more than one person to be buried, and at the same time as Hei Baoyi, there was also General Pu Guanshui of the new army, and his cemetery was next to Hei Baoyi's. Although many people were a little surprised in their hearts, everyone remained quiet, no one turned their heads to each other but quietly waited for Xu Ping's speech.

Xu Ping walked in front of everyone with a glass of wine, he first bowed to the two corpses side by side, and then turned his head to face everyone: "Today, we are going to bury two generals, one is our black brother, and the other is General Pu of the officers and soldiers. ”

"Speaking of Brother Black, I asked myself to be better at managing the army than him, and I asked myself to know a little more about fighting than him, so since I became an army, he has been my adjutant, and everyone takes it for granted, and Brother Black also thinks it is normal. But there are two points that I am far from being able to compare with the Black Brother, one is his compassion, and the other is his modesty. Xu Ping recounted to the officers present that Hei Baoyi and he rushed to Luoyang together, Hei Baoyi always saw unevenness on the road, drew his sword to help, and distributed the last dry food to the hungry people: "Brother Hei is full of compassion for the world, and he always hates that his strength is not enough to help more people." The sage said that compassion is for everyone, whether it is human or not, but it is as simple as that. Why do we pick up an elderly person who has fallen on the side of the road? Why do we reach out to children who have fallen into the water? It's because of the compassion in our hearts. Why do we know that our elders and children can get a helping hand from strangers when they need help? For we know that we live in the homeland of saints, a land full of compassionate humans and not cold-blooded beasts. If we don't have compassion, even if we walk in the middle of the city, it's like being in a no-man's field. Brother Hei ......" Xu Ping bowed to Hei Baoyi who was lying there: "Whenever I think of him, I feel that I am one step closer, and I am far away from tigers, wolves, and beasts." ”

"There is also the humility of the Black Brother, he is enthusiastic about helping the world, and would rather starve himself than see others fall into hunger and cold, but the Black Brother never takes credit, because he really can't attribute this virtue to someone else, so he has to attribute it to the God in his heart." Xu Ping looked at Hei Baoyi and said solemnly: "The sage does not allow us to talk about God, but I respect the god that Brother Hei believes in because of his modesty. ”

Xu Ping spilled the wine in the cup in front of Hei Baoyi's coffin: "Black General through the ages." ”

The officers present spilled the wine in their cups one after another, and echoed: "Black General Eternal. ”

"General Pu," Xu Ping raised another glass of wine: "He was friends and enemies with us during his lifetime, but he came all the way to Henan, not out of hatred or murderous intentions for us, but because of his compassion for the people of Kaifeng; Because the governor of Henan pricked the children, General Pu took pity on the children and their parents; Because Kaifeng ran out of food, General Pu took pity on the people who were about to starve; Because Kaifeng would not surrender and might feed on people, General Pu had pity on those who were about to suffer misfortune. ”

Speaking of this, Xu Ping let out a deep sigh, he saluted Pu Guanshui's body, and continued: "General Pu is also a modest person, he treats those who have been his enemies well, treats the people well, and is full of the heart of saving Kaifeng Lishu, but he keeps saying that it is for his emperor who treats human life like a mustard, and even ......" Xu Ping smiled bitterly: "It's like attributed to me, I, the person who deliberately wanted to put him to death." ”

"General Pu through the ages." Xu Ping once again took the lead in spilling the wine, and the coffins of Pu Guanshui and Hei Baoyi were sent into the tomb. Xu Ping made a final speech before the soldiers prepared to merge the soil:

"The two generals who had compassion for the world had to fight desperately on the battlefield, and the black generals who wanted to save the people of Henan had the consequence of pushing the people of Kaifeng into the fire pit; And General Pu, who is bent on saving the lives of Kaifeng Mancheng, if he succeeds, will he unknowingly become the culprit who killed countless people in Henan? Why? Why do two righteous people become mortal enemies? Why do people who are full of desire to save the people go against their ideals? Xu Ping was silent for a moment after asking this question aloud, and the officers around him were silent, and could only hear some deliberately suppressed breathing: "Because we are in troubled times, this is an era in which right and wrong are reversed, black and white are confused, and in this era, justice is distorted into evil and absurdity. ”

"Two generals, I have the courage to bury you together, I hope you can have a heart-to-heart conversation under the Nine Springs," Xu Ping led the surrounding officers to pay one last tribute to the cemetery of Puguanshui and Hei Baoyi: "The two generals have spirits in the sky, please help Xu Ping keep his heart and never forget his compassion." If Xu Ping can really end the troubled times as soon as possible, please ask the two generals to take care of it. ”

……

Kim has been in a worse mood lately, as the Son of Heaven's trust in the New Army has begun to shake due to successive defeats of the New Army, but this suspicion has not been very serious due to the worse performance of other officers and soldiers.

The day before yesterday, Shaanxi's 800-li urgent document was delivered to Beijing, which was the second extremely sad military information received by the imperial court in just one month: Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, returned to Luoyang, fought in Mengjindu, and defeated the Jin army that rushed to aid Henan, losing more than half of the 20,000 Jin army, and Jiang Ping and other generals fled back to Shanxi with thousands of people; Then the main force of the 50,000 troops fought a decisive battle with Wang Qiaonian's 60,000 Qin army in Yiyang, and after a day of fierce fighting, the Qin army collapsed and was chased and killed by the army until Lingbao. Wang Qiaonian led an army of 60,000 when he left the pass, and when he fled back to Tongguan, there were less than 200 people left.

Among the five general soldiers of the Qin army who went out of the customs, He Renlong was the only one who escaped back to Shaanxi alive, seven of the eight deputy generals were killed, and countless generals and guerrillas were killed and captured. After two defeats by Fu Zonglong and Wang Qiaonian, the Qin army lost more than 80,000 soldiers and horses in Henan, and half of the sons of the Qin generals were killed.

Under the anger of Chongzhen, the emperor ordered Wang Qiaonian to be arrested and brought to justice, and Sun Chuanting was released from prison the next day for questioning. Sun Chuanting was an expert in the massacre of fleeing and starving people in the Ming court, and more than a million refugees — including women, children, and the elderly — had died under his hands. As soon as they met, Sun Chuanting told the emperor that it would be easy for him to eliminate the exiles, and that the previous defeat of the official army was entirely due to the incompetence of the supervising army and the civil ministers, and if the Son of Heaven was willing to hand over all the remaining military power of the Qin army to him, Sun Chuanting promised to eliminate the invading army within half a year. After listening to Sun Chuanting's assurances and vividly explaining how the camp (the experience of a few years ago) was vulnerable, Chongzhen's distrust of the new army increased, and he ordered Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, to command the Zhili army to set off immediately, and before Li Zicheng could remember that the squad division was attacking Xu Ping's headquarters in Kaifeng, and striving for internal and external attacks to relieve Kaifeng, at least some grain and grass should be transported in.

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