She Song

Chapter 300 The new generation of generals of the Western Army

The legend and passion of the Western Army of the Song Dynasty created the glory of the generals. However, with the rise of hot weapons, the effect of strong branches and weak branches became more obvious.

King Yun Zhao Kai successively trained 15 new troops, which played a role in turning the tide against the Jurchens and Dangxiang's joint invasion. On the other hand, the Western army, which had a large number of people, lost troops and generals. Naturally, the court's attitude was not much better.

Zhongshi was both civil and military, and his qualifications and prestige were enough to serve as the leader of the Western Army. However, after the battle with Yan'an, he was appointed by the imperial court as the deputy privy envoy and stayed in Tokyo.

The generals of the Western Army had no choice but to elect the spokesperson who would succeed his elder brother. After taking office, in view of the weakness of the party, he launched several offensives and achieved several victories, barely securing the top spot in the Western Army.

In order to improve their strength, the Zhong brothers intended to train the new army in the Western Army. The imperial court sent over materials such as swords, guns, bows and shields that had been eliminated by the new army. As for the new equipment, there was no sign of it. They also tried to reduce food and pay to inhibit the expansion of the Western Army.

Although factions in the Western Army dare not express their anger, private complaints are increasing day by day, and the morale, morale, and discipline of the military are showing signs of decline.

However, some people in the Western Army were able to carry out their work like a duck in water.

The Yao family was defeated in Yan'an, Yao Gu died in battle, Yao Pingzhong defected to King Yun and joined the new army, and the Yao family army declined.

The Zhejia family, who had made a fortune silently in Fengfu and Linsanzhou, had their own way of doing things in the field of cultivation, so they could only be considered half of the Western Army.

However, the Western Army has never lacked the seeds of famous generals. Among the younger generation of generals, Qu Duan saw the opportunity to stand out, so he spent all his wealth to recruit talents from the remnants of the Yao family army. Among them, the infantry commander Long Qing was captured by him.

Although Long Qing's identity and origins are traceable, his style of leading troops in war is very different from that of the Yao family, so he has been restricted by Yao Gu. Therefore, in the battle of Yan'an, Long Qing's infantry battalion escaped annihilation because it served as a rear guard. destiny.But the Yao family was in trouble, and Long Qing and his thirty or forty brothers were in such a state of desperation that they had no one to help them, and they were finally taken advantage of by Qu Duan.

Unlike Yao Gu, Qu Duan admired Long Qing's method of commanding troops and subordinates, and regarded his knowledge of soldiers and war as a treasure. He not only restored the establishment of the commander, but also promoted him to a guerrilla unit by taking advantage of the opportunity to attack Dangxiang. Yes, whenever there is an important action, you will definitely listen to the other party's suggestions.

Quduan's nominal establishment is 500 people, but in fact it only has more than [-] people, but it suffers from insufficient food, wages, and equipment.

In order to build up the Qu family army, Qu Duan tried his best but was unable to do anything. On this day, he dragged Long Qing to drink.

After drinking a little bit, Long Qing smiled deliberately and said while Qu Duan was sighing, "Brother, why do you feel so unhappy when you drink?"

Qu Duan snorted angrily: "We are all brothers, why bother asking so many times?"

Long Qing smiled again and said: "Is it a trivial matter of money and food, but is it worth it when the big brother can't even drink?"

"A small thing? If you get three thousand strings, I will give you the full string!"

Qu Duan deliberately provoked the generals. At this time, Long Qing had only 300 men. According to the tradition of Wu Guan's family allowance, he was generally promised a [-]-[-] split between the two.

Long Qing put down his wine cup and asked, "Is this true?"

Qu Duan licked his lips, patted his chest and said, "Damn it, I spit a nail every time, but my little mother is the one who raised me to tell half a lie!"

But he immediately asked: "Do you really have a way to make money?"

Long Qing hesitated for a moment and said: "There is a way, but it needs to be hidden."

"Come on, tell me!" Qu Duan's eyes lit up.

So Long Qing whispered about a way to make money. Han Ji Caravan had a batch of refined sea salt that was better than green salt. If they could resell it to merchants, they could make a profit of [-] guan, and it would be a long-term business in the future. You have to do it, but this is private salt, so you have to take certain risks.Long Qing finally said: "My younger brother will do the business of buying and selling. My elder brother doesn't know. I'm just here to help take care of it in case the higher-ups find out."

Having said this, Qu Duan was very satisfied. So what if he was found out? That army didn't engage in side jobs?With the little food and pay from the imperial court, the soldiers would have starved to death.

People don't kill heaven and earth for themselves, so Qu Duan sold pots and irons to collect three thousand coins, and then let Long Qing do the business.

In just two months, three thousand guns fell into Qu Duan's pocket. Being a soldier in the barren northwest was a good way to survive, so Qu Duan's military strength instantly reached two thousand.

Long Qing kept up his efforts and quietly set up a brewing workshop, brewed high-quality liquor and sold it to party generals on the opposite side of the defense area. He made a profit of [-] yuan in one fell swoop, so within four months, the Qu Jiajun's airs were set up.

With soldiers and money, Qu Duan wanted to clear up connections and obtain a larger establishment, but Long Qing suggested that he make a fortune in silence. If he wanted to expand, he did not necessarily need a formal establishment. He could recruit auxiliary soldiers who were responsible for transportation and logistics.

After thinking about it over and over, Qu Duan believed that although these people did not occupy the establishment, they could become his own private soldiers. As long as they were paid enough and trained well, they might be more useful than regular soldiers.

Therefore, most of the newly expanded one thousand private soldiers were recruited from Zhenrong, his hometown. As Long Qing's business continued, Qu Duan quietly purchased weapons and equipment to strengthen training.

Nowadays, compared to other Western armies whose [-] to [-]% are on empty pay, the Qu family army is strong enough to compete with two or three troops of the same establishment. Therefore, Qu Duan is more and more confident and stands out among the middle-level generals, and Long Qing is also the reason for this. Won the trust of Qu Duan.

Compared with Long Qing, Huiya initially joined the Zhong family in Qingjian City and engaged in clerical affairs.

As time went by, because of his seriousness and responsibility, his popularity and his beautiful handwriting, he has now been transferred to the planter's account to copy and excerpt, and almost most official documents cannot escape his eyes.

But because of Huiya's good looks, she was actually attracted by Zhong Yi, the granddaughter of the breeder. After getting along for a while, she had reached the point where she had to marry.

However, Huiya, who has a special mission, would not dare to agree to the marriage casually. It is impossible to avoid the consequences.

In the bookstore, when faced with Huiya's complaint, shopkeeper Lu said with a smile: "As a man, it is only natural for a man to marry a wife and have children. I heard that Miss Zhong has a straight face and is not like a crooked melon or a cracked jujube. People hate ghosts. What’s the problem if you get married?”

Huiya couldn't help but smile bitterly. Zhong Yi had been in love with him for such a long time. Whenever he had time, he would go to the army to greet him and send him food and clothing. Even a stone-hearted person would feel warm.

Moreover, among the breeders, they doted on this granddaughter very much. Not only were they reluctant to scold her, but they looked at the pair of young children making love to each other with smiles on their faces. The commander-in-chief was like this, and his subordinates were naturally happy to see it happen.

Huiya said helplessly: "If I were an ordinary person, I would marry as soon as I got married. But since I joined the inner guard, how can I delay my mission because of my children's affair? What on earth did Yan Jing say?"

Shopkeeper Lu chuckled and said, "The camera is on its own."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Huiya was confused.

Shopkeeper Lu curled his lips, don't you understand?

"That's the literal meaning. I leave it up to you. What else do you want?"

When Huiya returned to the military camp, she happened to meet Zhong Yi for a visit. The two exchanged a few words, and Zhong Yi left in tears. She fell ill the next day.

Upon learning of this, Zhongshi was furious, kicked open the door of the clerical residence, and put a sword on Huiya's neck.

(End of this chapter)