Han ride

Chapter 13
"Uncle's heroic spirit is really a great blessing to me!" Li Xin came out to praise him no matter what.

"The old man is getting old, and this Ming Dynasty will have to rely on people like you in the future." Qiu Hejia shook his head and said, "Nephew, I have already written to Fusheng, and I think Fusheng will write a letter soon, hehe! You also know , The imperial court is short of money, it is not so simple for the old man to recruit soldiers and horses, even if I want to build a mansion, you have seen it too. The old man just let Jiang Yi be the general manager, how many people does the general manager have? 440 People, the old man with 440 people can’t provide swords, guns and equipment, let alone horses. Last time the old man wrote to Fusheng, Fusheng decided to support me with ten thousand taels of silver. Maybe he can barely support such an army. Hey! As an official For my sake, it is rare in ancient and modern times.”

"Ten thousand taels of silver?" Li Xin, the boss with his mouth open, showed a wry smile. Li Xin didn't know the amount of ten thousand taels of silver, but he believed that there were at least a hundred taels of wine and vegetables on the table in front of him. With such savings, I am afraid that it will not take long to form a large army.

"Does my nephew think it's easy to form a large army? The old man still needs to open up the upper and lower joints and ask the court to allocate military equipment. The guys in the military department are a bunch of wild dogs that eat even bones. Let's do business." Qiu Hejia had indescribable exhaustion on his face.

On the other hand, Li Xin was heartbroken when he heard it.I have seen corrupt dynasties, but I have never seen such a corrupt dynasty.I have to say that in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, an emperor like Zhu Youjian was a good emperor. When it comes to diligence, there is nothing to say. There are so many emperors in the old Zhu family. Yes, only the Emperor Chongzhen was so diligent in his administration. During the Chongzhen period, it was rare for eunuchs to criticize him, because the Emperor Chongzhen himself did all of this.It is a pity that there is such a diligent emperor, but the officials under him are not good. Party struggle, corruption, corruption, and incompetence have become synonymous with these officials.How could such a declining and decadent dynasty be able to compete for the top from the later Jin Dynasty? Li Xin was completely disappointed with the Ming Dynasty now.

"Hehe! I'm getting old too. Why are you telling me this? You can just study here with peace of mind." Qiu Hejia looked at Li Xin's surprised face, but shook his head and said, "But with the support of resurrection, I don't think so. After that, the old man will have more troops to guard Jinzhou City."

"Then congratulations to Uncle." Li Xin raised his glass and said loudly.It's just that he doesn't care about it in his heart.

"Okay, okay." Qiu Hejia nodded happily, the two ate again, and then Qiu Hejia asked the maids to take Li Xin to the backyard to rest.

It has to be said that although Qiu Hejia is not a very good person, he can do well on the surface. What Li Xin was given was a private courtyard with a quiet environment, and there were pavilions, terraces and waterside pavilions, just like Jiangnan.It is an excellent place for self-cultivation, as if Li Xin came to Liaodong not as a prisoner, but as a son of an aristocratic family.

"My lord." Among the waterside pavilions, Li Xin was dressed in green, looking up at the sky, and there was a sound of footsteps behind him.It has been more than three days since he came to Jinzhou.Qiu Hejia served him with good food and wine, and regardless of the busy schedule, he came to test his knowledge in person.And the memory in his mind was slowly awakening.

"You are here." Li Xin turned around and looked at the three people in front of him. Jiang Yi was still so calm, Yang Xiong was still so carefree, and Gao Meng was even more excited.

"I haven't seen you for a long time, but I am relieved to see that you are well today." Seeing Li Xin's rosy complexion, Jiang Yi was extremely pleasantly surprised in his words.

"It doesn't have to be like this." Li Xin swept around and said softly, "How about the recruiting?"

"Returning to your son, Liaodong people are good at martial arts. I heard that the governor is recruiting soldiers, but they are eager to sign up. Now there is only a shortage of dozens of people, and it must be filled within today." Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Young master, of course there are soldiers, but there are soldiers but no weapons. What should I do?"

"Weapons? Master Qiu will naturally have a solution." Li Xin said disdainfully: "Even if you don't have weapons, you should train them first. However, Jiang Yi, these 440 people only need to be single and don't have families. remember."

"Single?" Jiang Yi and the others were taken aback when they heard this.

"If there are too many families, there will be troubles. And you have to train him into a loyal army. Only the army is the way to save life." Li Xin's voice was extremely flat, but Gao Meng and Yang Xiong heard it. It's nothing, but to Jiang Yi's ears, it sounded like thunder, with his eyes wide open.

"Yes." Jiang Yi finally answered in a deep voice.

"Look at me. I study in this small courtyard all day long. It looks good, but in fact, life is not guaranteed." Li Xin suddenly sighed: "I got the news from Governor Qiu that the rebuilding of Daling The river city has been approved by the imperial court, and it is about to be implemented. Hehe, the princes in the imperial court think it is simple. If you want to build Dalinghe city, then Donglu will let you not build it? The previous defeat, Donglu's strength did not suffer any loss, and after obtaining North Korea, there was a steady stream of food and grass behind it. It can be said that Donglu's strength not only did not decline, but increased a lot. I don't know such a simple reason, and I still want to build a large Linghe City? What a joke."

"My lord, speak carefully." Jiang Yi lowered his head and said hastily.

"Do you know how much silver these 440 soldiers and horses need? It took tens of thousands of taels of silver to assemble them. Maybe it's just to form you into simple infantry." Li Xin said disdainfully: "The ten thousand taels of silver still needs me. The old father-in-law who has not met provided it. Half of the ten thousand taels of silver will flow into the hands of those big men in the Ministry of War, and it is possible that it will only be a few thousand taels or even less for you."

"How could this happen?" Even Gao Meng and Yang Xiong were shocked.

"Young Master, this has always been the rule." Jiang Yi said bitterly.

"I don't want this, such a court, hey! You say, I am in Jinzhou, can I still count on these to protect my life? Not to mention me, even you can't do it, so I need you to These more than 400 people are in the hands. Maybe they can play an important role at the most critical time. Hehe, you know? Master Qiu’s food and wine cost dozens of taels of silver for each meal, which is really amazing!" Li Xin's eyes were full Showing a gloomy look, since it is impossible to go back to enjoy the peaceful days, then protect yourself by yourself.

"Ah! So much?" Yang Xiong and Gao Meng opened their mouths wide in surprise, and Gao Meng stretched out his hand to figure out how much he ate for each meal, only to realize that he only ate a dozen copper coins for each meal. That's all.

"Then Sun Er?" Jiang Yi hesitated.

"It's good if you can win him over. If you can't win him over, then hang him up. If you can't hang him up, then find an opportunity for him to complain." Li Xin said without thinking.Jiang Yi beside him was silent. He knew that even though he was the general manager among the 440 people, if it was a real governor's confidant, he would still be named Sun Er.If it weren't for Sun Er's lack of military force, I'm afraid it would never be Jiang Yi's turn.Such a confidant can't be bought if he wants to.The only thing that can be done is the latter two.

"Master Zun, just tell me." Jiang Yi nodded.

"Hey, since the army is composed of money from the young master, the troops are naturally the young master's. Does it matter?" Gao Meng said with a cold snort.

"Others can't save our lives, so we have to protect our own lives." Li Xin clenched his fists. In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, how to save our lives is the most important thing.Qiu Hejia was unreliable. He could tell from the fact that he wanted to win Jiang Yi and the three of them away from him when they met for the first time. It was obvious from the fact that every meal of his meals cost dozens of taels of silver.Maybe he is very patriotic, but one thing is true, that is, he will not desperately save himself because he is the son of his old man.He will not save his life in the upcoming war between the Ming Dynasty and the Houjin Dynasty.

"Don't worry, my lord, as long as we are here, we can guarantee that these 400 people will obey your orders." Jiang Yi also cupped his hands and said.Yang Xiong and Gao Meng also followed behind and shouted loudly.

"You should come to this place less often in the future. Lord Qiu will not be unhappy if you come more often." Li Xin seemed to have thought of it.

"Hmph! Why?" Gao Meng said in dissatisfaction: "The money for recruiting soldiers is also a gift from Master Taishan, and we are the son's subordinates, why can't we come to see you." Yang Xiong also nodded.

"The less we have with the young master, the less people know that is the best. Only in this way can we help the young master at the most critical time." Jiang Yi thought for a while, looked at Li Xin and said: "Young master is still thoughtful. Since Jiang Yi Promise to follow the young master, and you will definitely not spoil the important affairs of the young master." Jiang Yi's stern gaze seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, and Li Xin turned his head unconsciously.

"Jiang Yi, do you know what kind of army is the most powerful in Liaodong?" Li Xin asked softly.

"Cavalry." Jiang Yi said after thinking about it.

"Why isn't it the red cannon? I heard that Donglu's old Khan was killed by the red cannon. Isn't that amazing?" Gao Meng asked in surprise.

"Cannons are powerful, but they are heavy and inconvenient to operate. They can only be used for siege or defense. If they are used for ground combat, they can stop infantry for a while, but they are not very powerful against cavalry." Jiang Yi thought Liao thought about it and said: "The cavalry is fast and easy to move, and Liaodong is a prairie, which is just right for the power of the cavalry."

"What Jiang Yi said is very true." Li Xin nodded.The cannons at this time were not as powerful as the cannons of the later generations. One shell went down and killed a lot of people. It is rumored that in the late Ming Dynasty, it was possible to use blooming shells, but there were very few such shells.Jinzhou City may be equipped with some equipment, but it is rarely used in field battles.

"But we don't have war horses? How can we form an army?" Gao Meng said dissatisfied.

"Are you afraid that there will be no horses in Liaodong?" Li Xin said with a smile: "My father-in-law has heard that he has come to Jinzhou in person, and then we will see if there is a chance for him to buy us horses. Jiang Yi, you know cavalry What kind of weapons do I need to equip?"

"Long knife." Jiang Yi said without thinking.

Hearing this, Li Xin looked at Jiang Yi thoughtfully. The origin of this guy was unknown, but it was only because Li Gu saved him back then and made him feel grateful and virtuous. Otherwise, Li Xin would not have dared to use him.

"It's more convenient to come with a spear." Yang Xiong said dissatisfiedly: "The spear is very long, and can stab the opponent to death from a long distance. Isn't that the reason why the so-called one inch is longer and one inch is stronger?"

"Infantry use guns, one inch long and one inch strong, but cavalry is different. It seldom relies on the strength of the person itself to kill, but relies on the speed of the horse to kill. Sometimes, as long as you hold the knife horizontally and gallop along the horse You can use your saber to kill others without any effort. Therefore, what Jiang Yi said is right, horses use long swords.” Li Xin nodded. Sometimes, the director will say a few words.

"My lord, you mean to use the long sword?" Yang Xiong asked suspiciously.

"That's right, use a long knife." Li Xin thought for a while, and suddenly remembered the more famous Xuefeng knife in later generations. On the anti-Japanese battlefield, the Xuefeng knife was extremely famous. How many Japanese devils were killed.Although this is the era of cold weapons, who would wear full body armor except for those generals.Unless it is a heavy cavalry, but even if you switch to a long spear to deal with heavy cavalry, it will have no effect.

"Bows and arrows are also needed." Jiang Yi interjected, "In cavalry combat, apart from using knives for close combat, there are also bows and arrows for long-range attacks."

"This, this is too difficult!" Yang Xiong said nervously.

"Otherwise, how can you say that one cavalry is equal to three or five infantry, or even more, that's the reason." Jiang Yi looked strangely, looked at Li Xin and said, "I'm afraid the young master will have to raise money at that time."

"If it really doesn't work, then go grab it. Hehe, Liaodong is adjacent to the grassland. There is nothing else on the grassland. There are quite a few war horses. Young master, let's find a chance to make a big one. Hehe, and That Zu Zerun, we killed the horse bandits back then, but he took away many war horses. It’s really abominable." Yang Xiong suddenly thought of something, and said viciously, clenching his fists.

Li Xin also nodded, if he could have captured all those horses back then, maybe it wouldn't be as embarrassing as it is now.

"By the way, my lord, I saw that guy Zhang Yifu in the city yesterday, that guy has nourished a lot!" Gao Meng said suddenly.

"This guy? Last time I heard from him, can he get a batch of weapons?" Li Xin rolled his eyes and said suddenly: "Since he can get some weapons, he can get horses."

"That guy is extremely cunning, how could he get horses for us so easily?" Yang Xiong said dissatisfied.He didn't believe that guy Zhang Yifu.

"It's good to be cunning, but he is also a person who values ​​credit." Li Xin thought for a while and said, "It's just that this kind of business without money is really hard to do. It's a pity last time, if we can take the opportunity to take the It would be good to take back the war horses, or just steal their lair."

"It's all the fault of Zu Zerun. Next time I see him, I will definitely not make him look good." Gao Meng said coldly.Li Xin could only sigh deeply. In Jinzhou City, it seemed that there were Sun Chengzong and Qiu Hejia on it, but in fact, both of them knew that there was also Zu Dashou inside. It belonged to the imperial court, but in fact it already belonged to the ancestral family. Looking at the ancestral family, not only the brothers and sons of the ancestral family were in it, but also Zu Dashou's brother-in-law Wu Xiang, etc. also belonged to the local forces in Liaodong.It has to be said that although Yuan Chonghuan helped the Ming Dynasty build the Liaodong defense line and trained an elite cavalry, he was also very far-sighted in using Liao to govern Liao, but the same also had limitations. After the loss of Liaodong, the top and bottom generals of these Guanning iron cavalry first considered not the safety of the court, but their own strength.Back then, Wu Sangui surrendered to Dorgon, and got the response of the whole army. This was not only because Guanning Iron Cavalry was the private army of the Wu family, but more importantly, it was the reaction of the local forces in Liaodong. It is impossible to represent this Guanning cavalry.Look again, the current Zu Dashou hid in the barracks in order to avoid being captured by the court guards.This is enough to show that the army is full of his cronies.

Undoubtedly, Qiu Hejia saw the risks at this time, so he asked Li Xin's three cronies to form a team of hundreds of people. At this time, he no longer believed in Guan Ning's local power.

"At a time when the country is in crisis, these people are still plotting against each other. How can the court be undefeated like this." Li Xin sighed deeply.However, he didn't realize that when he said these words, there was a hint of joy in his heart.

However, what he didn't know was that when he was discussing Guan Ning's cavalry here, someone was also discussing him, Li Xin, on the large school field in the north of the city.

Tens of thousands of Guan Ning's iron cavalry are located on the large campus, with countless tents. In the middle of a huge tent, there is a burst of meaty smell. In the middle of the big tent, a tall middle-aged man, Sitting behind the commander-in-chief with a gloomy face, there are more than a dozen generals around him.Among them was Zu Zerun whom Li Xin knew.Needless to say, besides Zu Dashou, who else could sit in this position?The rest of the generals are almost all the local generals of Liaodong, such as He Kegang and other generals are sitting in it. In the middle of the big tent is a huge roasted whole lamb.

"I heard that Mr. Qiu is recruiting troops in the government office?" Nazu Dashou put down the wine glass in his hand and said softly.Seeing this, all the generals in the big tent put down their wine glasses one after another.

"That's right, our Lord Governor didn't know where to invite three or two people, and set up a few recruitment spots at the city gate. Tsk tsk, I heard that there will be hundreds of people coming to apply in a short period of time." Zu Zehong Said coldly.

"Does anyone know the origins of the recruits? As the governor's personal guard, not any cat or dog can do it." Zu Dashou's voice was extremely flat, and he couldn't see the joy or anger in it.

"Father, those children do know." Zu Zerun rolled his eyes and said coldly.

"Oh. You know?" Zu Dashou asked in surprise.

(End of this chapter)