Sun Tu originally thought that Yuan Wang, who had not been nice to him before, would be angry when he heard his answer, but it turned out that the other party was stunned for a moment and then showed a smile of approval: "Sun Tuanlian can be so courageous in doing things." It is truly a blessing to the court and to me. Since you have made up your mind, I will not stop you. Just as you asked, if you come to see me again tomorrow, I will have someone take you to the military camp."
Does this mean you agree to your request? Sun Tudu was a little surprised. After hesitating for a moment, he smiled and thanked me: "Thank you Yuanzhou for trusting me. I will do my best to let my officers and soldiers regroup as soon as possible to protect the peace of Jiangzhou."
"But there is one thing I still have to say first." Yuan Wang suddenly and stingily put away his less obvious smile: "If you cause any trouble in the army, I will not look down upon the prefect. I'm just going to show you some mercy. The prefect also knows that subordinates always make clear rewards and punishments, otherwise they won't be able to convince people."
Cai Dezhang smiled nonchalantly: "Of course, but I believe that Sun Tuanlian has the ability to train his rural soldiers."
Only then did Sun Tu feel a bit of pressure and uneasiness. It was obvious that Yuan Wang would definitely order his men to do something next, but he didn't have too many worries. It was just that the soldiers came to cover up the water and the earth, so he said seriously again: "I will definitely not disappoint you two. If I make any mistakes, I will be punished!" This is tantamount to issuing a military order.
It wasn't until he personally escorted Cai Dezhang and others out of the official hall and turned around that Yuan Wang's face suddenly darkened. After a moment, he called out: "Come here, go to the military camp and summon Wu Huan and Zhu Lin to me. I have something to tell them."
After Sun Tu followed Cai Dezhang out of the official hall, he thanked the latter and said goodbye. As expected, the other party did not try to persuade him to stay or give him any advice. He just smiled and said: "Since Yuan Tuiguan has approved your going to the military camp, then it will be up to Sun Tuan to practice your own skills. I can only help you." Here we are.”
Sun Tu secretly thought of hypocrisy in his heart. If he hadn't pushed him to this point, he wouldn't have completely opposed Yuan Wang. Now that Cai Jiu had achieved his wish, he decided to watch the show and no longer care about his situation. But now, Sun Tu can only accept this fact. After all, in the eyes of Cai Jing and others, he is really just a knife that can be used. If something goes wrong later, they will abandon it at any time. This is a little person. It is difficult to establish a firm foothold in the officialdom.
Watching Sun Tu leave firmly, the smile on Cai Dezhang's face grew brighter: "Although he is young, he is very courageous and good-natured. It depends on how much ability he has to solve Yuan Wang's next problem. If it is true He is a talented person, I can give him some opportunities."
After learning from Sun Tu what he had experienced in the government office, the faces of Yang Zhi and the others were not so good-looking, especially Ruda, who slapped his palm on the table: "In addition to overt and covert fights among these officials, Is there nothing else? Back in Weizhou, there were many civil servants who always made things difficult for Mr. Xiaozhong, and the Sa family really wanted to give them a punch. I didn’t expect that it would be the same in Jiangzhou. "
"You can't be an adult if you're an adult, and you can't be an adult if you're comfortable. Brother Lu, please calm down." Sun
Tu chuckled and said: "Since we are already in the officialdom, we can only endure it temporarily until we have the strength to compete with them."
"You can still laugh? Being treated as a weapon like this, and having to say thank you to others at the end, really makes the Sa family feel unhappy!" Ruda has been a monk for two years and has become accustomed to freedom. In addition, he already has a temper. He is bold and unrestrained, and is really not used to all kinds of conspiracies and calculations in the officialdom.
"Actually, if I think about it carefully, I didn't suffer any loss today. On the contrary, I got benefits. At least I don't have to worry about not being able to see Yuan Wang's face, and I can enter the military camp after tomorrow." Sun Tu said with relief, smiling.
At this time, Yang Zhi frowned and expressed his concerns: "But if this happens, Sanlang, you will be recognized by the world as a disciple of the Cai family, which is not good for your reputation."
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, what's the problem with this? Nowadays, many high-ranking officials in the government have to look up to Cai Jing as their official responsibilities. Don't they have any concerns in this regard? Moreover, when I accepted this assignment, I already knew that there would be Such a result was just a matter of luck at the time. Since you can't do it alone, you can only live with the light.
"Given the current situation in the DPRK where Cai Jing has absolute power, it is not necessarily a bad thing to leave the marks of his lackeys on one's body. We military men don't have to think about our reputation as much as civil servants do. We just pay attention to our errands. Once things are done well and you have military power in your hands, why should you fear the gossip outside?"
"Sanlang, you still see things clearly, but I'm a little worried." Yang Zhi then nodded in agreement. As for Lu Da and Tang Feng, one didn't want to think too deeply, and the other simply followed Sun Tu's lead, so naturally they would not raise any objections at this time.
In this regard, the four finally reached a consensus and decided to work hard in the army and use their performance to justify themselves.
￥￥￥￥￥
However, when the four of them were led by two state government clerks to the rural army camp outside the city at noon the next day, they all had the idea that they had been too optimistic yesterday and wanted to make a difference here. It's really not that easy.
It is said that the Song Dynasty has set rules since the founding of the country by Taizu. In order to prevent the mistakes of the former Tang Dynasty, which was destroyed by the separatist rule of vassal towns, the imperial court not only continuously suppressed the status of military generals, but also mobilized stationed generals every few years. In addition to the effect of soldiers not knowing their generals, they also made innovations in the military system, that is, the three-fold division of the imperial army, the Xiang army and the rural soldiers.
The Imperial Guard selected elite soldiers from outside the border towns and sent them to Tokyo every few years to strengthen the defense of the capital and achieve the effect of strengthening the weak branches. The so-called 800,000 forbidden troops were the most combat-effective existence in the entire Song Dynasty besides the border troops.
As for the Xiang army, they are those with slightly less combat power among the local armies. However, these soldiers and horses will not stay in one place for a long time. They will often be mobilized by the court after five or six years to avoid mutiny and the like. Disaster. The only people who really stayed in the local area were the rural soldiers, but in the eyes of the imperial court, the combat effectiveness of this equivalent of the militia of later generations was almost negligible. At most, it only helped the local government arrest some bandits, and it would not cause trouble in the local area. Any trouble comes.
However, based on Sun Tu's personal experience, he found that
Now things have actually changed. The Xiang army, which was originally supposed to be stronger than the rural soldiers, has long since become corrupted due to various reasons. In comparison, the rural soldiers still have a certain deterrent effect at least locally. He had already experienced this personally when he was suppressing bandits in Yuncheng County. At that time, his brothers who fought against Hutou Village were much more heroic than the army.
As for the reason, it naturally lies in the military system set by the imperial court. Those Xiang troops cannot stay in one place for too long, so they naturally have no sense of identity. For them, eating food as a soldier is just like working. It is just a way to survive. I will naturally not let go of laziness. But the rural soldiers, because they cared about their fellow countrymen, worked harder to defend their homeland. So there was a paradox that the rural soldiers were stronger than the regular army of the imperial court.
There are naturally both Xiang troops and rural soldiers in Jiangzhou city, and Sun Tu, as the new local regiment commander, leads the latter. In his opinion, this is much better than training a Xiang army that has long been disorganized.
But when he came to the military camp today and saw the chaotic environment inside, with a group of weak men wandering around, Sun Tu really couldn't equate this place with a military camp. This was not a military camp, it was clearly a military camp. Just a dilapidated slum.
Look at the so-called soldiers who are looking at him and others with curious eyes. They are all listless, sallow and thin, and they don’t even have a decent military uniform. Moreover, the so-called soldiers here are almost old and young. There are not many young and strong people in their prime.
Are these Jiangzhou officers and soldiers? No wonder they were completely defeated when fighting the water bandits on the Xunyang River. No wonder a few years later, when the Jin people came from the north, the entire Song Dynasty collapsed so quickly. When the Jinmen cavalry, they really only have one option: lead the neck and kill them.
Just when Sun Tu and the four others were stunned by the scene before them, the two scribes who accompanied them had already entered the military camp in a swaggering manner and shouted into the relatively complete barracks in the middle: "Wu Huan and Zhu Lin are here." Are you in the camp? Sun Tuanlian, the new member of the imperial court, has arrived, why don’t you come out to see him!"
After a while, the curtain in front of the barracks shook, and two strong men hurried out. They immediately smiled and saluted the two scribes: "It turns out that two messengers are here. What are your orders?" But they didn't pay any attention to the four people from Sun Tu who had already arrived.
Fortunately, the two scribes told Sun Tu's identity again, and said with a serious expression: "From today on, your battalion will be controlled by Sun Tuanlian and obey his orders. This is Yuan Zhoutui's military order. Do you understand?" Yet?"
"Yes, yes... I understand." Wu and Zhu nodded again and again, like chickens pecking at rice, and then turned to Sun Tu and saluted with clasped fists: "I will bid Wu Huan, the head of Jiangzhou Township's Bingjia Camp (deputy capital) Tou Zhulin) See the group training." But neither the smile on his face nor the angle of his bend could compare to the attentiveness he showed to the two scribes just now.
Then, without waiting for Sun Tu to react, they shouted to the surrounding soldiers: "Are you all blind? Why don't you come with us to the group training?"
"Young men, please see Sun Tuan for training..." hundreds of rural soldiers shouted feebly with their fists clasped, without the slightest chilling atmosphere that should exist in the army.