Zheng Guan was shocked when he suddenly realized this. Only then did he realize that Sun Tu had taken the initiative unknowingly. This was a situation he had rarely encountered in the past.
As the young minister of Dali Temple in charge of prisons, Zheng Guan's official power is heavier than that of ordinary officials. Not to mention the common people, even ordinary officials will feel nervous when they see him, especially when he inquires about the officials involved in the case. Big officials will also behave with trepidation. But today, the situation was completely reversed. This Sun Tu was indeed extraordinary.
"This may have something to do with the fact that I was anxious to see him today and was alone. Otherwise, if the imperial envoy came here without the imperial guard, the situation would be very different." After finding a way out in his mind, Zheng Guan continued He looked at Sun Tu and said, "Superintendent Sun, I heard that you in Qingzhou have done something ridiculous this time, and you actually intend to recruit women into the army. Is this possible?" This was the reason that made him change his established policy.
Being stared at by the other party, Sun Tu did not feel any discomfort and still smiled calmly and said: "Zheng Shaoqing is indeed well-informed. He knew about this matter just after he came to Qingzhou. Yes, as the superior officer said before, because of the loss of troops in the past six months, the generals will be lost. , the number of our Qingzhou Army has dropped sharply, and we cannot recruit suitable soldiers and horses for a while, so we can only recruit some women into the camp first... "
"Absurd!" Zheng Guan immediately reprimanded loudly: "Sun Dujian, what you are doing is too ridiculous! I have never heard of any official army being composed of women since ancient times. Now you are recruiting with great fanfare here. Once word spreads about a woman entering the camp, how will the people in the world view our Song Dynasty court? This will not only damage your reputation, but also make the court a laughing stock!"
After a pause, he patted the coffee table and said: "Prisoner Sun, listen to my advice and stop your ridiculous behavior immediately. It's not too late to remedy the situation!"
For the first time, Sun Tu frowned in displeasure: "Zheng Shaoqing, because you are the imperial envoy, I have always treated you with great respect, but are you saying this too much? I am the best in the Qingzhou Army. When did you, a young minister from Dali Temple, need to come and ask questions?"
"You... I said what I said from the bottom of my heart. Aren't you afraid of being impeached by the government and the public after the matter is publicized? Don't say that you have a clear conscience. Once some things are done, there will be problems in the eyes of others. Recruiting female soldiers in the army, hey , I am afraid that in the eyes of many people, Dujian Sun wants to install military prostitutes in the army!"
This time, not only did Sun Tu look unkind, but the soldiers around him also showed anger. If they hadn't been worried, these officers would have already scolded Zheng Guan. After Sun Tu's expression changed several times, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, suppressed his anger and said: "It seems that Zheng Shaoqing is still too prejudiced against women, and he would actually say such things. But in my case, Sun Tu From my perspective, although women are physically weaker than men, in fact, as long as they have the heart to serve the country and protect their families, they will be the best soldiers in the Song Dynasty just like they join the army."
Faced with his remarks, Zheng Guan still had a disapproving expression. In his mind, those weak women and warriors were completely unrelated things, so how could they be confused with each other.
Seeing that he was so stubborn, Sun Tu could only say: "Since Zheng Shaoqing doesn't want to believe what I say, then let's speak with the facts. Didn't you just say that you doubted what I said
Is it true? Then simply go to the military camp now and ask the soldiers there what they think of Homer and others. Also, our Qingzhou military camp has recently recruited hundreds of female soldiers. Zheng Shaoqing can also go to the scene to see if those women are really weaker than men! "
Zheng looked at Sun Tu for a few times and saw that he didn't seem to be talking politely. After weighing it for a while, he finally nodded and said: "Then I will follow your words and go to your Qingzhou military camp to gain experience. "He couldn't accept the statement that women were no weaker than men as soldiers.
Sun Tu was a man who did what he said, so he stood up immediately and invited Zheng Guan to go out with him. A few people rode horses and headed straight for the military camp. When they were still some distance away, everyone heard the shouts and shouts from the drills, which made Zheng Guan look at Sun Tu with a high regard.
Zheng Guan, who has been serving as an official in Bianjing, has seen the situation of the Forbidden Army. On weekdays, the Forbidden Army does not have any training at all. Only when some big celebrations are held, they will practice for a period of time. Moreover, the shouts of tens of thousands of people there were all soft and soft, and could not be compared with the majestic sound heard at this time.
From this alone, it can be seen that Sun Tu is indeed good at training troops, and he has won the hearts of his soldiers, otherwise they would not train so hard. Zheng Guan also knew that this was not a deliberate performance by Sun Tu to show him. One of them revealed his identity too suddenly, and the other party had no time to prepare. The momentum of such training could not be produced by performances.
When he came to the camp gate, which was relatively deserted and no other people were wandering around, Zheng Guan just raised his eyes and felt a chill in his heart again. I saw more than a dozen processed heads hanging above the camp gate, which was really scary to look at.
Sensing his reaction, Sun Tu smiled and explained: "Zheng Shaoqing, don't panic, these heads are He Mo and others. They caused our Qingzhou Army to lose troops and generals. They should be dealt with in this way to serve as a warning to others!"
"I see..." Zheng Guan, who was a little panicked, was no longer as aggressive as before in the government office, and he did not accuse Sun Tu of being too presumptuous and insulting the dignity of the court. He just glanced at the row at the head of the row sadly. After reaching the rank, he dismounted and followed Sun Tu and the others into the military camp.
To his surprise, even though the leader was Sun Tu, the Qingzhou Military Supervisor, the gatekeepers still dutifully stepped forward to block them. Only after checking their waistbands did they salute and let them in. After seeing such strict rules, the words "Xiliu Camp" immediately flashed in Zheng Guan's mind.
Entering the military camp, the shouts and shouts became even louder, and Zheng Guan finally got to see with his own eyes how the Qingzhou Army drilled—
I saw several phalanxes and thousands of soldiers lined up in the large open space on the left side of the military camp. At this time, they were all holding wooden guns. Following the order of a general in front, they shouted the word "kill" and took a step forward. , the spear thrust forward hard, as if there was really an enemy charging ahead.
What amazed Zheng Guan was that the movements of these soldiers were almost identical and uniform. Whether they were taking steps, drawing out guns, closing guns, or retreating, everyone advanced and retreated at the same time, without distinction. In this way, even though the team is only a thousand people, it has already displayed a frightening momentum that even tens of thousands of people would be difficult to display. Coupled with their high level,
The loud shouts were even more powerful as if thousands of troops were attacking.
"Turn left!" A sudden shout from behind made Zheng Guan stunned again. Then he subconsciously turned his head and looked back, and then he saw a scene that stunned him - he saw that he had ignored him just now. On the school field on the right side, there are more than 300 short and handsome young soldiers standing proudly. No, they are not young soldiers, they are female soldiers!
After taking a closer look, Zheng Guan was surprised to find that these more than 300 people were actually the female soldiers he thought were useless. At this time, although their bodies looked thin, the stubbornness and unwillingness to admit defeat that they stood there were still shocking.
Everyone stood there upright, and even if someone among them was trembling slightly, no one complained. Although the sun above the head is not as fierce as in midsummer, it is still unbearably hot just after noon. However, even though these female soldiers are sweating profusely, they do not show any signs of slackening. The sweat continues to flow down their cheeks, but they do not. A person who reaches out to wipe it is like a bronze statue.
Although these female soldiers simply stood and did the simplest actions such as standing at attention and turning around in response to the orders of the female general in front of them, the impact on Zheng Guan was greater than the training of the male soldiers on the other side. It made him stare blankly for a long time before he finally came to his senses: "This... this... is the female soldier you recruited into the camp, Captain Sun?"
"Yes, they are real female soldiers." Sun Tu also said with some joy: "Not everyone can come in our Qingzhou Military Camp. Even female soldiers must be strong enough, endure hardships, and be willing to obey. You can only do what you are told. Most of these female soldiers now are actually the widows of soldiers who died in battle. Their husbands were killed by Liangshan bandits, so they want to avenge their husbands. Even though the training in my camp is extremely harsh, they still Got through it.”
At this point, Sun Tu's face became solemn again: "So I hope Zheng Shaoqing can give them some respect and stop insulting these real heroines with words like military prostitutes. Because in the hearts of our Qingzhou soldiers, they Just like us, he is also Paoze, the most trustworthy comrade who can be trusted with life and death and his back!"
"I... I would like to be taught a lesson. I was indeed a little rude before." Faced with this shocking scene, no matter how prejudiced he was against female soldiers, Zheng Guan had to admit that they did have the potential to become real soldiers. , and even in a sense, these women are more like an army than most of the men who served as soldiers in the Song Dynasty.
But after a moment of silence, he still said hesitantly: "But after all, there are differences between men and women. With such a female soldier in the military camp, the military atmosphere..."
"My governor has already taken preventive measures for this. Shaoqing, have you seen that line?" Yang Zhi pointed to a specially drawn eye-catching red line in front of him and said: "With this line as the boundary, male and female soldiers are separated, not only They are ordinary soldiers, even generals like us. Anyone who dares to cross the line without military orders will be killed without mercy. At least in the past ten days, no one has dared to cross the line against orders."
After hearing this explanation and seeing with his own eyes the training scenes of male and female soldiers in the Qingzhou Army, even Zheng Guan had to admit that his previous prejudices were too deep and that female soldiers might actually be worthy of a fight.