Since Cao Huachun asked him not to interfere, Luo Chen was also happy not to have much to do.

He has already thrown the bait, and he believes that as long as Cao Huachun is ambitious, he will not be unmoved. Dongchang and Jinyiwei are now broken spines, and Cao Huachun is trusted by the emperor again, and no matter how great his power is, it is limited to the palace.

The trouble of bandits in Jingshi Shandong is a sharp blade that can cut through the shackles for Cao Huachun and Luo Chen.

Let Chongzhen clearly realize the huge hidden dangers in this, and even Cao Huachun can expand the crisis.

The bandit is the sword, and the three battalions are the whetstones used to sharpen the blade.

Under Luo Chen's order, Beizhen Fusi had already begun to secretly prepare, not only secretly borrowing a large number of bows and crossbows and bird guns from Dongchang, but also urging the Staff Bureau to hurry up and make more flintlock pistols.

At the same time, the people of the North Division have been sent out to infiltrate those gangs of giant bandits.

After the three battalions hit the streets, it was their chance for the North Division to emerge.

Three days later, Cao Huachun sent someone to send news, Chongzhen was really shocked and uneasy, and decided to send three battalions to clear the bandits in Beizhili and Shandong. In fact, now the Beijing division has no other soldiers to fight except for the three major capitals.

The three battalions were born in the Yongle era, and although they were stationed in the Beijing Division, they could be positioned as field armies, not city defenses. For example, Emperor Yongle's six northern expeditions to Mongolia and his troops in Qinghai, Gansu Province, all had the figure of the Beijing camp, and most of the time they were the main force of the war.

The tasks of the three battalions are: the five battalions are the main combat forces; The Shenji Battalion is the firepower output; The three thousand battalion commanders were responsible for reconnaissance and raids. The actual number of guards is compiled according to the "guards", with a total of 72 guards, about 400,000 people.

However, this was the state of the early Ming Dynasty, after the Tumubao Change, the three major battalions were devastated, separated from Wuxun, and fell into the control of civil officials and eunuchs in turn, and were constantly sucked in the hands of many powerful people.

The soldiers were kept like cattle, hungry, weak, unable to wear armor, unable to hold weapons, and cavalrymen could not even mount horses. And he was often pulled by the powerful in the capital to catch strong coolies and build mansions.

It is even more common to drink the blood of soldiers, eat empty salaries, and rent out military resources, which leads to a continuous decrease in combat effectiveness.

Just like this Ming Dynasty, the three major battalions are just a microcosm of them. When it fell into the hands of Chongzhen, it was already difficult to return, not to mention that it was like serving as the main force of the field during the Yongle period, even the city defense would have problems.

At that time, the actual number of soldiers in the three major battalions was only 17,000, and less than one-tenth of them were capable of fighting, the training quality was extremely poor, and there was a serious shortage of equipment and materials in the army.

Thanks to Li Banghua's efforts, the three battalions did improve, but because of this, the interests of relevant interest groups were harmed, and Li Banghua was removed from power. Since then, the three major battalions have been rotten again and again, and even if they have been reformed many times after that, they have no power to return to the sky.

Chongzhen knew that the three camps were rotten, but in his mind, it should be enough to deal with a group of rabble. In fact, the elite of the Ming Dynasty today is either guarding against the Jiannu outside the Guan, or fighting against the Liukou, where can they still free their hands.

As for the other armies, the sound of the soldiers was not even, and Chongzhen couldn't adjust it even if he wanted to.

Perhaps the governors of the three battalions also knew what kind of things they were under them, and while secretly complaining in the face of this errand, they could only seize the first-mover advantage as much as possible, and decided to surprise them and not give the target a chance to react.

He selected the Qingzhu Gang, the largest bandit gang in Beizhili, and wanted to gnaw the hardest bones first, and then clean up other small and medium-sized bandits, which greatly reduced the difficulty.

Interested people noticed the transfer of the three battalions, but did not get any more information other than that. Except for a few people such as the emperor and the eunuch Cao, no one knew the whereabouts of the three major battalions, nor did they know their purpose.

Luo Chen didn't do anything superfluous except to keep an eye on it secretly.

On the contrary, it was a bit surprising that he sent people to find famous doctors, Taoist priests, and monks within the scope of the capital and the Beijing Division.

Some people mistakenly think that he is another fool who wants to seek immortality.

After all, some dignitaries have done similar things before.

……

Thirty or forty miles west of the capital, in an old village abandoned by the depletion of water sources, Luo Chen and Zhang Jin stood on a dirt slope.

Under the dirt slope, Meng Fan and Guan Tianhao led their men to prevent anyone from approaching.

In this village, you can see a lot of plainclothes brocade guards patrolling, in addition to a large number of teenage and half-old children receiving some ordinary exercises.

There is a building in the village that is still intact, and the relatively clean house is surrounded by many years and brocade guards, and there are constantly teenagers entering it, and they are carried out soon after, and blood stains can be faintly seen under the crotch.

Zhang Jin said humbly: "My lord, this is only the first batch, there are many orphans among the refugees, but only these more than 500 people are selected by the humble position, and people will be sent to search for some farther places later, because of the distance, it will be later." ”

Luo Chen nodded slightly, looked at Zhang Jin, and said, "You should be able to see that I didn't plan to send these people to the palace at all." ”

Zhang Jin's heart tightened, there were times when he really didn't want to know too much, but he knew that he had no choice.

"Humble... Just do things for the adults! ”

Luo Chen said flatly: "I know what you want, it's good, I appreciate self-motivated people." These teenagers will be very important in the future, so important that I dare not let people understand. I want to give them to you, but how can I trust you? ”

When Zhang Jin heard this, his breathing suddenly stagnated, and his back sweated uncontrollably, he understood what Luo Chen meant, and asked him to accept the name.

If he refuses, or pretends to be stupid, he may face the last thing he wants.

After all, he had already begun to get in touch with something.

But in the same way, this is also an opportunity to gain Luochen's trust.

Does Zhang Jin still have a choice?

"Humble... I am willing to smear the liver and brain of adults, and I will not hesitate to break my bones! ”

Luo Chen looked at Zhang Jin deeply, and only nodded slightly after half a sound.

"Do you know where the Green Bamboo Gang is?"

Zhang Jin was stunned and replied truthfully: "I have fought with Cheng Qingzhu before!" ”

Luo Chen took out a letterhead and handed it to Zhang Jin, and said, "Find a way to let Cheng Qingzhu get this letter, don't worry about the rest, don't say more, and don't ask more." ”

Zhang Jin took the letterhead with hesitation and anxiety in his heart, guessing that this was most likely the letter of submission that Luo Chen asked him to accept, and the things in the letterhead were afraid that they could kill him.

"Humble command!"

Luo Chen nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Zhao Qianhu is dead, his seat is still vacant, this letter is sent, within three months, I will find a way for you to fill the vacancy." ”

Zhang Jin was immediately overjoyed: "Humble position, thank you, my lord!" ”

……

When Luo Chen returned to Beizhen Fusi and led a group of people to compete in martial arts on the school field, it didn't take long for Wei Wuxian to find him.

"Your Excellency, there is progress in what you commanded earlier!" Wei Wuxian said in a low voice.

When Luo Chen heard this, he was a little surprised, this progress was a bit fast.

He dismissed everyone in the school grounds, leaving only him and Wei Wuxian.

"What's the situation, say."

Wei Wuxian immediately told Luo Chen about the matter.

After Luo Chen listened, he immediately understood.

Previously, he coveted the martial arts of various factions, and secretly sent some loyal and credible Jinyi Wei family sons to infiltrate each faction, which was presided over by Wei Wuxian. Luo Chen didn't think that there would be much progress in the short term, so he didn't ask too much.

According to Wei Wuxian, it is Shaolin that is the first to make progress.

Because Shaolin has the strongest heritage and the most fame, the few Jinyi Wei family sons who infiltrated it are also the most outstanding.

As Wei Wuxian said at the beginning, even if they managed to infiltrate the Shaolin Temple and performed well, they were not immediately taught advanced martial arts. Therefore, they immediately changed their strategy, and through their secret investigation, they quickly set their sights on the first seat of the Luohan Hall.

Through the cooperation of the Jinyi Wei scouts lurking around the Shaolin Temple, they soon discovered that the first Luohan Hall had a lot of concubines outside the temple, and a large number of children were born.

And in order to support his family, the first Luohan Hall also concealed that the Shaolin Temple secretly accepted some disciples, allowing them to specialize in business.

So, Jin Yiwei took this as a breakthrough, and used the details he secretly mastered as a threat, and began to contact and test the first seat of the Luohan Hall.

Since the first seat of the Luohan Hall is not a high-ranking monk who has no desires and no desires, in the eyes of Jinyiwei, who has been a spy for more than 200 years, it is naturally a bunch of flaws and weaknesses.

"How long will it take?" Luo Chen began to pay attention.

Wei Wuxian said: "It shouldn't be more than a month, and there will be good news!" ”

Luo Chen nodded with satisfaction: "You have done a good job, I have already mentioned your matter on Gonggong Cao's side, and your position in the East Factory will not be lower than that in the North Division." ”

Wei Wuxian smiled and said, "Humble duty, thank you, sir!" ”

Seeing Wei Wuxian resign, Luo Chen stood in place and thought, "The marrow washing pill and Zhu Guo that I got from the last lottery should also be used." In addition, people have to be urged to find famous doctors and monks, and the secrets of Buddhism are not easy to understand. ”