Because of this, Su Rong was in a very bad mood and had a sullen face for several days. He felt that he was incompetent and hated those soldiers for not living up to their expectations. Soldiers who could not go to the battlefield would be better off dead.
Mr. Cui came out wearing a cloak. Seeing Su Rong standing alone in the corridor with a gloomy face, he couldn't help but smile and shook his head: "Who is the Marquis angry with?"
Su Rong sighed. Cui Daru was Xiao Heng's think tank. He was highly respected and wise. Therefore, he told the truth: "I am angry at these incompetent soldiers! In such a big Zhejiang, is it really impossible to find some passionate men? They let the Japanese pirates bully them in vain!"
Cui Daru understood Su Rong's meaning very well. He stroked his beard and said, "That's not the case. It's just that the bad habits accumulated over the years have not been broken. In fact, I would say that it's not that the soldiers are incompetent, but that the army lacks capable and courageous generals. You know, it's easy to get thousands of soldiers, but it's hard to get a general. So, we have to wait a little longer until Lord Qi comes and ask him what he says."
The Lord Qi he was referring to was naturally Qi Tianyou. Su Rong had also heard about this from Su Yao. Now when he heard Cui Daru say this, he said, "I have heard of Lord Qi's name, but even though we are both in Zhejiang, we are in different places, so I have never fought with him... If he has a way, that would be great."
After they talked for a while, they heard Mr. Cui Si coming over and saying that Lord Qi had arrived and invited them to go to the study together.
Su Rong went to Xiao Heng's study with Mr. Cui.
As soon as he entered the door, Su Rong saw a handsome and thin young man. He couldn't help but feel a little strange. Didn't they say Qi Tianyou was here? But why did he only see a scholar
Cui Daru stroked his beard thoughtfully: "This is Master Qi, right?"
Qi Tianyou immediately cupped his hands and said respectfully, "Mr. Cui, I am sorry for being so rude."
This young man who looked like a bamboo pole was actually Qi Tianyou! Su Rong was a little shocked. He didn't know why Qi Tianyou, who was famous in Zhejiang, looked so weak.
He looked gentle and refined, and didn't look like the kind of person who would risk his life.
Xiao Heng had already asked them to sit down, and said to Su Rong with a smile: "Tianyou mentioned you just now, saying that he knew you had led more than a hundred people to the beach, and he admired you very much."
Su Rong was a little flattered.
Qi Tianyou smiled and said, "Yes, I just mentioned it to Your Highness. It is really rare that you can chase the Japanese pirates with more than a hundred people. My Lord, you have been in Zhejiang for so long, you should have known the atmosphere here. It is not difficult to fight the Japanese pirates. In fact, it is more difficult when the atmosphere is bad and your own soldiers are unwilling to fight. The Japanese pirates will naturally be arrogant. It is very rare that you can command so many people."
Su Rong sighed: "In fact, among these more than one hundred people, there were originally more than twenty of my personal soldiers. The others were brought out after I arrived. I was really disappointed at that time, and I don't know why this happened."
"This is actually quite normal." Qi Tianyou explained, "Since the abolition of the maritime ban, the soldiers of Ningbo Guard and Hangzhou Guard have become very lax. In addition, with less military funds, they lack training most of the time. Even after the prefect took office and restored training and coastal defense, they were still somewhat unable to do so."
Cui Daru was listening quietly on the side, and suddenly asked: "I wonder if General Qi has any solution?"
Su Rong also pricked up his ears very seriously.
Qi Tianyou scratched his head. Although he looked very handsome and weak, he was actually not like that. When you listened to him speak, you could tell that he was a man of quick reactions and clear thinking.
He said bluntly: "This batch of soldiers is useless and can no longer be used. They will flee when they encounter Japanese pirates. This is already a deep-rooted idea in them. It is better to recruit new soldiers and train a new batch."
Su Rong was a little disappointed: "We thought of this idea before, but the newly trained soldiers are not much better, they are all the same..."
This can be verified from what happened this time.
Qi Tianyou was very sure: "No, what I mean is that I want to recruit thousands of people and start all over again. I want these people to be selected one by one. It's not that they can join the army when they reach the age, but there are requirements."
He paused, and then said, "Besides, I have to pay more soldiers. Soldiers get two taels a month, and I give them four taels."
This alone is attractive enough.
Cui Daru narrowed his eyes and said, "So what you mean is... you want to recruit soldiers and lead them yourself?"
Qi Tianyou obviously had a plan in mind, and now he spoke it out with great conviction: "Yes! That's what I thought. I want to look around these days and see where to choose when the time comes."
Su Rong felt that this idea seemed a bit far-fetched.
Conscription has always been about selecting those who are of suitable age, and sometimes even those with a good physique may not be able to meet this requirement. Now Qi Tianyou says that we should look for people according to this standard, which is really difficult.
Xiao Heng thought about it carefully and nodded: "In this case, General Qi can go ahead and choose. I will give you time! I can also discuss the conditions you promised with the court."
This really gives Qi Tianyou a lot of autonomy.
Even Pang Qingping didn't dare to agree to this before.
Qi Tianyou immediately bowed in response.
He then told Xiao Heng and Su Rong about the current situation in Japan. The family that is currently in charge of Japan is actually a family called Nishikawa, but it is unknown how long they can control Japan, because a while ago, it was not the Nishikawa family that was in charge, but another daimyo. Japan is now in the turbulent Warring States Period.
It is also because of this that the Japanese pirates have been very out of control recently, with all kinds of elements.
He said bluntly: "They are called Japanese pirates, but most of them are probably from our Great Zhou! They just fled to the sea and became pirates. When people fight against each other, they are often the most ruthless. They are even more ruthless than the Japanese pirates in betraying their own people and civilians. So what we have to eliminate now are nothing more than those pirates who have been lingering for decades, and we must win. Otherwise, the people of our Great Zhou will never have peace."
This battle must be fought and must be won. Qi Tianyou is very clear about this.
Su Rong was half-believing and half-doubting this. He always felt that Qi Tianyou's idea was a little too presumptuous, but for some reason, he vaguely felt that the person in front of him could really accomplish this task.