When the Ye family team that picked up Yun Jianhan returned to Zhenhai City, the operation was completely over.
This time, everyone treated Ye Xiangyang like a god.
They couldn't believe that all this was true.
Lingyu Peak in Guibei Mountain was razed to the ground, and only about 300 of the more than 1,000 bandits were left.
In front of the people of Zhenhai City, the Ye Family Xuanshi Group questioned some of the most heinous people and beheaded more than 40 people. As for the remaining 200 people, Ye Xiangyang said to them: "If you are willing to go home, give 30 Xuanwu silver coins as resettlement expenses; if you want to join the court team, give 30 Xuanwu silver coins to find a future for yourself."
Who would be willing to be a thief? Who would not want to find a way out? When they heard that they could become the country's regular army, all of them, except for a few elderly people, joined the army.
Ye Xiangyang remembered that there were also four or five hundred criminals in the Zhenhai City prison, and they could also be given a chance to mend their ways.
Therefore, these more than 700 people were put together and allowed to be trained well by the golden armored guards. They were treated as real soldiers without discrimination. In the future, they would be able to gain merits if they made contributions to the Kyushu Empire.
When Xuanwu County was in chaos, the bandit problem was eliminated overnight, and the city lord Murong Zhi wrote a memorial to the court.
Ye Xiangyang's action eliminated the banditry, saved the people of Xuanwu County from suffering from war, stabilized the people's hearts, and his merits were immeasurable.
The emperor immediately issued an edict: the new top scholar Ye Xiangyang was appointed as the military commander to handle the bandit suppression affairs of the Kyushu Empire.
Ye Xiangyang took the imperial edict and said, "Please report back to the emperor. I will do my best to eliminate the banditry as soon as possible."
So, Ye Xiangyang summoned all the families in Xuanwu County to hold a meeting in Xuanwu County.
In the princess's mansion, Ye Xiangyang sat in the middle, with his grandfather, Marquis Zhenhai, Yun Jianhan's grandfather, Marquis Yuhai, Princess Murong, the four family heads, the four presidents, and several leaders of the Xuanshi Group on his left and right.
Ye Xiangyang conveyed the emperor's order, and then said: "Fellow family heads, all heads of families, we have begun to gather teams some time ago. I don't know how many people each family has gathered. Each family should leave enough guards, enough, and the rest of the people will all be merged into the team."
Princess Murong smiled slightly: "Our mansion can send out 8,000 troops."
"The Zishu family can send out 6,000 people."
"There are five thousand of us."
"We are three thousand."
…
The final result was that there were 50,000 people.
These 50,000 people still need to be trained well.
Ye Xiangyang began training troops at the training ground in Xuanwu County.
The 50,000 people were divided into 100 teams, each with 500 people, and handed over to the 100 golden armored guards that he brought with him, one for each team, and trained according to the model that was explored previously.
Sell the financial assets of the Yuan and Hong families to use as funds to equip the army.
He divided his 10,000 trained men into 50 teams, and let another 40 golden-armored guards under his command lead the 40 teams. He also let the young men from the seven major families, including Murong Gaojie, the son of the City Lord's Mansion, lead a team each to the other three counties of Tianhe State.
There are four counties in Tianhe Prefecture: Xuanwu County, Pingwu County, Xingwu County, and Shangwu County.
After a month, Tianhe Province was completely cleared.
Ye Xiangyang's team also grew from 60,000 at the beginning to 200,000.
The governor of Tianhe Prefecture wrote to the emperor, telling him about how Ye Xiangyang eliminated the bandit problem in Tianhe Prefecture within a month, and also about the people in various counties who made outstanding contributions in these battles.
The emperor was in the court, holding the good news sent from Tianhe Province, his face full of joy.
Fighting on the front lines, the commanders were all famous generals of the Kyushu Empire. There were wins and losses on the battlefield. Whoever wanted to destroy the other in one go was wishful thinking. No one dared to have such an idea. Facing a cunning opponent, whoever was reckless would face destruction.
The battle at the front has reached a stalemate.
The bandit problem in Jiuzhou was eliminated in Tianhe Prefecture, the Xuri Prefecture to the north of Tianhe Prefecture was basically eliminated, and the Nanyun Prefecture to the south of Tianhe Prefecture was almost eliminated.
Xu Rizhou collected a total of 120,000 soldiers and generals, Nanyunzhou collected 100,000 soldiers and generals, and Tianhezhou collected 200,000 soldiers and generals.
These 400,000 troops joining the battlefield will definitely be a new force.
The emperor said to all the ministers, "Some people say that our top scholar in the military exam was promoted too quickly to the position of Sima of the Ministry of War. Today, you have seen that Sima Ye Xiangyang helped us pacify Tianhe Prefecture and stationed 200,000 troops. This contribution alone is enough for me to reward him."
"My dear ministers, you should know that I only gave Ye Xiangyang an official position. Ye Xiangyang did not ask the court for any food or salary. Just think about it, relying on one's own strength, he supported such a huge military expenditure. What kind of move is this?"
"The governor of Tianhe Prefecture and the governors of Xuanwu, Pingwu, Shangwu, and Xingwu counties all said that the Ye family army has strict military discipline. They never commit any crime wherever they go. They trade fairly and never extort others."
"The regent sent people to investigate. They have never forcibly collected military expenses, nor have they charged fees to the people. It is truly commendable that they are so dedicated to the country."
"If all our subjects can be so loyal to the country, how can our Kyushu Empire not prosper?"
The emperor issued an imperial decree, and the 120,000 troops of Xuri Prefecture crossed Beilu Prefecture and went to the northern battlefield; the Ye family army of Tianhe Prefecture crossed Yinlong Prefecture and went to the middle battlefield; and the army of Nanyun Prefecture went to Daxing Prefecture.
Yinlongzhou is adjacent to Jiuding City and is an important national area. There is no banditry in this place.
Ye Xiangyang led his army and marched a hundred miles every day, and the rest of the time was used for training.
The general's golden armored guard asked: "Sir, we can obviously catch up with more than 200 miles a day, why are we only traveling 100 miles a day?"
Ye Xiangyang smiled slightly: "Let me ask you, what are our troops doing at the front line?"
The golden armored guard was slightly stunned: "Sir, of course we are fighting."
Ye Xiangyang smiled and said, "Yes, you know, we have to fight at the front line. We have traveled thousands of miles and are an exhausted army. How can we march and fight?"
The elders of the Zishu family couldn't help but admire Ye Xiangyang's meticulous mind, but this was only one aspect. The fact that there were no bandits in Yinlong Prefecture did not mean that there were no bandits in Daxing Prefecture and Beilu Prefecture. On the contrary, the bandits in these two large prefectures were now very rampant.
You rush over to show that you are capable and that others are useless, which unknowingly leaves a bad impression on others.
Marshal Long was commanding the middle battlefield. He had not originally budgeted for his own 200,000 troops. Based on Marshal Long's ability to lead troops in battle, he would definitely be able to hold on.
On this day, someone reported that the instructor from Long Shuai’s military camp came to ask for a meeting.
Ye Xiangyang laughed loudly and came out with his generals to greet them. When he saw twenty instructors, Ye Xiangyang welcomed them with great courtesy and welcomed them into the general's tent.
Ye Xiangyang asked people to prepare the best meals, which were all essence dishes made from monster meat or medicinal extracts.
At the banquet, Ye Xiangyang introduced the 200 generals on his side to these instructors.
At the banquet, Ye Xiangyang's attentive toasts and dishes made the instructors flattered. They originally thought that Ye Xiangyang was a young and successful man, and they didn't know what kind of playboy he was. Who would have thought that he was so polite and approachable? These instructors felt that he was a close friend.
The battlefield between Fengxiangzhou and Yinlongzhou is still more than a thousand miles away. Ye Xiangyang assigned scouts to report to General Long that his team will have another half month to go to the battlefield. If General Long has any needs, he can just let him know.
The real military training has begun here. Every day we advance with all our strength. Once we arrive at the base, we train all the time except eating. The instructors said that the hard training now is the capital to save our lives on the battlefield. If we want to be cannon fodder on the battlefield, we can do it on our own.
Ye Xiangyang took out different rewards every day, sometimes it was Xuanwu silver coins, sometimes it was inferior medicinal extracts, sometimes it was healing medicine, and sometimes it was weapons... Every time something was taken out, it whetted everyone's appetite.
With this vigorous training, some soldiers and generals suddenly made a breakthrough. This was a bottleneck that had not been loosened for a long time, and the military training broke through in this way.
It further boosted the morale of the soldiers.
Another hundred miles away is the battlefield. Marshal Long sent people to meet them, and Ye Xiangyang told them that the half-month time cannot be changed, so now we should conduct a large-scale military training for you officers to see, and then let the soldiers repair for a day so that they can be used on the battlefield.
Two hundred thousand people were divided into two groups, lined up and began training.
Each of these soldiers and generals was extremely powerful, and their excellence was demonstrated in every aspect, whether it was marching, team discipline, troop deployment, attacking and defending, or charging and guarding.
The generals who came to lead the troops were all very satisfied. The battle line at the junction of Fengxiangzhou and Yinlongzhou was 500 miles long. The involvement of these 200,000 people could relieve a lot of pressure in this regard.
With well-trained soldiers, sufficient food supplies, and bravery and skill in fighting, this team would definitely be a formidable force on the battlefield.
After bringing the soldiers to the battlefield, Ye Xiangyang took Yun Jianhan and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
General Long looked at the letter left by Ye Xiangyang:
General Li: Ye Xiangyang pays respects. General Li is a famous general of our empire, invincible in every battle. Ye Xiangyang is a young junior, and knows little about military tactics, attack, kill, fight and defend. These 200,000 brothers are all handed over to the general. I hope the general can make meritorious contributions to the border and quell the war...
As General Li read the letter, he suddenly felt warm in his heart. When General Long came, he had told him that Grand Marshal Ye Xiangyang was in great favor and asked him to follow Ye Xiangyang.
Who could have thought that Ye Xiangyang, the Grand Marshal, would be so righteous that he handed these 200,000 people over to him without asking any more questions. This was his trust in himself.
General Li read the letter to all the generals. Finally, General Li said, "Brothers, Grand Marshal Ye Xiangyang trusts us so much. We must repay him with real merits."
After saying this, many brothers had sparkling eyes: "Fight a hundred battles and serve the country."