Chuzhou, an important town in the northwest of the Southern Song Dynasty, is located in the adjacent area of Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan, known as the Qin-Shu key chong, Shaanxi-Gansu link, for thousands of years, has been regarded as the place where soldiers must fight and business travel.

Chuzhou is the bridgehead of Sichuan, bordering Jinjing in the north, reaching the Longxi Plateau in the west, and going straight to the Hexi Corridor in the northwest; It can also be based on the risk of Chuzhou, out of the Dasan Pass to the east, straight into the Guanzhong Plain of Shaanxi, for the first fortress of the three passes and five states.

In the early winter, the air is humid and cold, the river bank has seen ice floe, and the military camp on the west bank of the city is crowded with people, and it is very lively.

Two years after the Song and Jin wars, overnight, the deserted camp of Canzhou came and went, and it seemed to be rejuvenated.

A few days ago, the Lizhou Metropolitan Command Department issued an official document ordering all the border troops under his rule to gather in the Chuzhou camp and wait for the review of the Lizhou Metropolitan Commandery.

Fortunately, Song Jin rested his troops, and there was nothing to do on the north side, but fortunately, the military states on the Lizhou West Road were only 100 miles away from Chuzhou, and they could be reached in a few days at most, but they did not delay the assembly of the troops on time and complete the review.

On the high platform of the teaching field, Cao Youwen was not allowed to sit in the middle, Guo Zhengsun, the pacification envoy of Lizhou West Road, Gao Jia, the transfer envoy of Lizhou West Road, and other civil officials and generals of Lizhou West Road, only Wang Jian sat on one side.

The pacification of Lizhou West Road made Guo Zhengsun white and pure, which was completely different from the tall and black Zhuang of the Zhizhou Zhizhou of Chuzhou. However, these two people are honest and honest, and they both have political voices, which can be regarded as complementing each other.

Historically, the Mongol army invaded Shukou, and Guo Zhengsun, who was the pacification envoy of Lizhou Road, retreated with 100,000 soldiers and civilians, and was slaughtered by the Mongol army.

It was also the invasion of the Mongol army, which broke through the prefecture, and Gao Jia, the governor of the prefecture, was martyred.

Gao Jia is the leader of the Wei Gao clan in Pujiang, Sichuan. In terms of seniority, Gao Dingzi, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, is Gao Jia's brother, and Wei Liaoweng, the squire of the military department, is Gao Jia's cousin, which can be described as a man-man doctor.

For Guo Zhengsun, the pacification envoy of Lizhou Road, Cao You was a little unhappy when he heard the arrival of this protégé of the Son of Heaven, after all, the military power was next to it, and it was in the hands of Wufu, and the loss in his heart could be imagined.

However, the side generals were domineering and did not listen to the announcement, which gave him a headache. Now that Cao Youwen has taken over the military power, he is a little relieved and much more relaxed.

The letter from Cui He, the new Sichuan system envoy, openly and secretly asked him not to interfere in the military, and he was also idle.

He also wanted to see how these upstarts of the emperor appeased these arrogant generals in the border army?

Cao Youwen looked at the Huanghuang scholars and doctors with wide robes and big sleeves on both sides, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Once upon a time, he was worthless in the eyes of these scholars. Now, he can be their equal.

The emperor's grace is vast, the love of teachers and students, and the righteousness of the monarch and ministers, he only has his liver and brain to repay the king's kindness.

"Guo Xianggong, Gao Xianggong, colleagues, the last general, thanks to His Majesty's kindness, came to the northwest to reorganize the armament and train the new army. I will do my best, work diligently, and live up to His Majesty's trust. I also hope that there will be more support in terms of money and food affairs. Thank you! ”

Cao Youwen spoke first, all the civil officials faced each other, and Guo Zhengsun spoke first.

"General Cao rest assured. The rectification of the border army is a major matter of the country, and we will do our best to support the general! ”

"The defense of Shukou is in vain, and Your Majesty is in charge of the northwest and has a far-sighted vision. Money and food are servants, but if there is a need, we will do what we can. ”

Gao Jia, the transfer envoy of Chuzhou Zhizhou and Lizhou West Road, followed and said.

"General rest assured! We will do our best! ”

"I will do my best!"

Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia spoke, and all the officials gave their hands one after another.

The upstart in front of the emperor, besides, is military, and if he can help, he will help, and he is just a favor.

"Thank you!"

Cao Youwen returned the salute and thanked him.

The reason why the civil officials were polite was to see the emperor's face, and he knew it. However, Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia are honest officials, and the political affairs of Lizhou West Road are smooth, which also makes him less constrained.

"The general gathered all the officers and troops of the Lizhou Rong Division here, what is the matter?"

Guo Zhengsun asked as if he understood or not.

"Dasanguan, Tianshui Army, and Xihe Prefecture are all important border towns, and the officers and soldiers rashly gather in Chuzhou, what should they do if a border incident happens?"

Gao Jia frowned and said something stupid.

"The two prime ministers, Your Majesty entrusts you to let the last general reorganize the border army. If you can't make any changes to the border affairs before Your Majesty inspects the border stops, won't the last general be disappointed by the emperor's grace? ”

Cao Youwen looked at everyone, and his face did not change.

"There is no need to worry about the two ministers. If there is a war in the Biansai, the end will bear it with all his might. ”

The emperor earnestly advised, as in yesterday. National affairs, how can he be fooled?

Cao Youwen's words made Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia speechless for a while. The two looked at each other, and neither said anything more.

Since the emperor has a will, let Cao Youwen toss.

The cold wind was cold, looking at the crowded teaching field, Cao Youwen nodded lightly to Wang Shixin and the others.

"Let's get started."

Check the empty salary, eliminate the old, weak, sick and disabled, and reshape the border army, 10,000 years is too long, and seize the day.

"Order!"

Wang Shixin, Ma Zhong and other generals clasped their fists and saluted, and entered the queue one after another.

"Name, the officers and soldiers of that department?"

Wang Shixin stood in front of a sergeant and asked coldly.

"General Hui, villain Zhang San, Xihe Prefecture official army."

The sergeant replied with a smile on his face and composure.

"Who is your Shangguan? How many years have you been in the military? How many people are in the army? ”

Wang Shixin asked sharply.

"I ...... I ......"

The sergeant looked flustered and speechless.

"Pull it out!"

The impostor was pulled out, dejected, and stood at the front of the queue.

"You, age, how many years have you been in the army, which officer and army?"

Ma Zhong stood in front of an officer in his forties.

"Hui Jiang...... Army, villain...... Li Si, who has been in the army for seven years, is a member of the Great Scattered Customs...... Army. ”

Ma Zhong was majestic and mighty, like a mountain, and the officers and soldiers were a little panicked and stumbled in reply.

"Seven years? The palms are smooth and there are no calluses at all. You liar! Take! ”

Another "foreign product", was dragged out.

"How old are you? What is the last name? How are you doing at your fish stall? ”

Standing in front of a fishy sergeant, Cheng Xin's eyes widened, and his hand rested on the handle of the knife.

With his decades of military experience, this guy looks like an imposter fake.

At this time, Wang Shixin and Ma Zhong both found out a lot of "fakes", if he found nothing, it would inevitably make Cao You suspicious.

"The general spares his life! Commander He let the villain come! If the villain doesn't come, he will smash the villain's fish stall! ”

Where had the fishmongers seen such a scene, they hurriedly knelt down and began to kowtow.

"Pull it out!"

Cheng Xin secretly scolded his mother.

He Tao, a fool, pulled these farmers and traders to fill up the numbers, and he didn't screen them, he was really stupid and bold.

"Start practicing!"

The sergeants began to drill in detachments, and soon, those Xibei goods who knew nothing about the drill were pulled out one by one.

One by one, the counterfeiters were found out, and there were a variety of people, and there were two or three thousand people. Cao Youwen on the high platform watched coldly and remained silent.

"General, almost all armies have vacancies, especially the Tianshui Army, which is still mostly scattered, and the number of empty salaries in both is about 1,000 people."

Ma Zhong and Wang Shixin stepped forward to report, and Cao Youwen nodded lightly, his face solemn.

"Good work!"

Not to mention that the empty salary reaches 20%, that is, these soldiers are old and young, and when they go to the battlefield, what is their real combat power?

And the reason why these two people were sent to personally handle the screening of the two border passes of Dasanguan and Tianshui Army is also because these two people are famous black-faced generals, fair and strict.

Cao Youwen secretly exclaimed. If it weren't for the "intelligence" provided by the Sichuan Anti-Corruption Division, he would not have been able to prescribe the right medicine and purge the border army so quickly.

"Bring it up!"

Cao Youwen immediately passed down the military order.

Dealing with this kind of thing, cutting through the mess with a quick knife, and catching the arrogant soldiers and generals off guard, he has no time to waste.

"What are you going to do? Let go of Lao Tzu! Guo Xianggong and General Cheng, wronged! ”

"Why arrest someone, let me go! Gao Xianggong, please say something! ”

As the soldiers watched in amazement, two officers with disheveled capes were escorted over, and the officers struggled and shouted loudly, but they were held down by the sergeants.

Cheng Xin saw it clearly and was taken aback.

"General Cao, is there a mistake?"

The two officers who are tied up are both border army generals on the West Road of Lizhou, one is Gao Yifeng, the commander of the Tianshui Army, and the other is He Tao, the commander of Dasanguan. Both of them have a close friendship with him and can be regarded as his confidants.

Unexpectedly, the soldiers of the military states on the West Road of Lizhou gathered, and the two were taken down silently.

"General, you have to find out, and you can't wronged good people."

Guo Zhengsun frowned and persuaded softly on the side.

He Tao, the commander of Dasanguan, has a good relationship with him on weekdays, and the two are still a little related. Although He Tao is greedy for small profits, he is generous, generous and benevolent, and has a good reputation in the border army.

Take it directly, isn't this a bit too much of a fuss?

"The general is cautious. Both of them are border army generals, but they must have real evidence, otherwise the army's morale will be unstable. ”

Gao Jia was also taken aback.

Gao Yifeng is a branch of the Gao clan of Pujiang Wei, and he still has to call Gao Yifeng "uncle" in terms of seniority.

Why did Cao Youwen take Gao Yifeng as soon as he came up? Isn't that a disgrace for him?

"Guo Xianggong, Gao Xianggong, General Cheng, colleagues, Gao Yifeng, the commander of the Tianshui Army, cheated, not to mention empty salaries, and even spoiled women. He Tao, the commander of Dasanguan, tortured and killed the people, and pretended to be public and private. The evidence of the two crimes is conclusive, and the Sichuan Anti-Corruption Branch has made a secret visit, which will have been reported to the emperor. ”

Cao Youwen looked at the two generals of the traitor section under the stand, returned to the table and sat down, and took out a stack of papers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I didn't deliberately embarrass the generals under my command, take a look."

Gao Jia and Guo Zhengsun were both suspicious, and the two took the paper and looked at it, Gao Jia's face turned red, and he slapped the paper on the table.

"The crime is so heinous that there is more than enough to die!"

After Guo Zhengsun finished reading He Tao's guilt, he smiled coldly, shook his head and put it on the table.

No wonder Cao Youwen dared to be so tough, it turned out to be well-founded.

"General Cheng, please."

Cao Youwen took the paper and handed it to Cheng Xin.

Cheng Xin took the paper and looked at it, his face turned pale, and his hands trembled slightly.

Cao Youwen shook his head secretly. This former veteran of the battlefield, under the wine and wealth, the heroic spirit seems to have worn out.

I don't know, why does Cui He, the envoy of Sichuan system, think that this gentleman is available?

"Ladies and gentlemen, how can you lead the troops to fight when you deduct military salaries, drink soldiers' blood, and oppress the people, and your conscience is broken? It's not that the general is ruthless, but that he has to do it as a last resort. Reorganize the border army to prepare for the big war, and the last general will not be able to bear the grace of God and the trust of His Majesty! ”

Cao Youwen said it lightly.

Just these moths, for their own little selfish interests, and want to unite against themselves, let's go to the wall and think about life first.

However, they don't seem to have that opportunity anymore.

"Will ...... Jun, what are you going to do...... What to do with them? ”

Cheng Xin's fingers trembled slightly, and he handed the paper back.

According to the statement paper, Gao Yifeng and He Tao are inevitably committed. This young Shangguan won't kill the killer, right?

"The general is arbitrary, and the law of the country is corrected."

"The general doesn't have to take care of us, just deal with it according to the law!"

Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia replied solemnly.

The law of the land is ruthless, and no one can encroach on it. Moreover, Cao Youwen heard that there was an emperor standing behind him, killing chickens and monkeys, and it was clear at a glance.

What else can they say at this time? What do you dare to say?