The sky is high with birds flying, there are no clouds in the sky, the sun is shining brightly, and the wind is gentle and the air is fresh. It is a rare good weather in the cold winter.
Several guards at the gate of the parade ground were sitting on the ground, basking in the sun and shaking dice when they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves. Looking up, they saw a group of people coming in front. The first few people riding tall horses were wearing official uniforms, and behind the group of people were tiger guards wearing armor and holding swords. Each of them was as strong as an ox. Although they didn't recognize them, they could tell at a glance that they were important people.
Several guards stood up in a hurry, and a clever guard kicked the dice into the dry grass to avoid it from being hit.
Soon, an armored tiger guard rode up first and shouted, "General Zhang Jing, Imperial Envoy Zhao Wenhua, Vice Minister Huang, Duke of Wei, the garrison commander of Yingtian, and Governor Hu of Zhejiang are here to inspect the Grand Parade Ground Camp. Why don't you open the gate quickly and welcome the gentlemen into the camp?"
When the guards heard Zhang Jing's name, they rushed forward and opened the gate without saying a word. It is true that a man's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Governor Zhang is the highest military officer in Jiangnan. All the generals and soldiers in Jiangnan are under his command. Not to mention opening the gate to welcome him, it would not be too much to worship him as an ancestor.
The clever guard who had just kicked the dice hurried in to report to their commander that Governor Zhang and his entourage had arrived.
"Your Excellency the Governor, and all the others, are here to welcome you." The other guards knelt on both sides of the gate to welcome them.
Zhang Jing and his entourage didn't even look at them. They rode past them and headed straight into the depths of the camp.
"See? This is the Governor's aura. The sense of oppression is as overwhelming as a tiger."
A guard who was kneeling on the ground waited until Zhang Jing and his party rode deep into the military camp before he dared to raise his head. He looked at the backs of Zhang Jing and his party as they rode past, and said with a look of regret on his face.
“Pooh, pooh, pooh. I don’t know whether the governor is as brave as a tiger or not, but when the governor and his men rode past me, I swallowed a lot of dirt…” A guard next to him pooh-poohed several times and spit out several mouthfuls of turbid saliva.
Zhang Jing and his entourage went straight to the camp, where the soldiers were divided into two distinct groups: one group was training, and the other was watching. The group watching was the soldiers from the Daxiaochang Camp, whose armor and weapons were obviously of a higher grade; the group training was the soldiers from other places, whose armor and weapons were not as good as those of the Daxiaochang Camp, but their spirit and energy were even better.
After Zhang Jing took office as governor, in addition to ordering the recruitment of wolf soldiers from Guangdong and Guangxi and spearmen from Shandong, he also recruited soldiers from Fujian, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang and other provinces. Some of these soldiers from other places had already arrived one after another, and Zhang Jing had them arranged in different Beijing camps.
This arrangement can not only solve their problems of food and accommodation, but also make it convenient for the soldiers of the Beijing camp to train them.
The Beijing Camp itself also has this function. In addition to guarding Yingtian and the imperial tombs, it also has the function of training officers and soldiers from other places.
This group of foreign soldiers consisted of about 3,000 people, transferred from Hubei. Zhang Jing arranged them in the Daxiaochang Camp.
"Your humble servant greets the Governor-General, Your humble servant greets Lord Zhao, Your humble servant greets the Duke of Wei, Your humble servant greets Lord Huang, Your humble servant greets Censor Hu... I didn't know that you gentlemen had come to visit me, and I am sorry that I failed to welcome you from afar. I hope you gentlemen will forgive me."
After receiving the report from the guards, the commander-in-chief of the Daxiaochang Camp, Lord Zhang, did not dare to delay and trotted over. He walked forward breathlessly, bowed and greeted Zhang Jing, Zhao Wenhua, Duke Wei, Hu Zongxian and others, and expressed his forgiveness.
"Master Zhang, there is no need for red tape. Please introduce to us the situation of the Great Parade Field Camp. How many soldiers are there in your camp? How many foreign soldiers are there? How is the food and fodder? How is the equipment? How is the training..."
Zhang Jing waved his hands impatiently, and without wasting time talking to Lord Zhang, he asked directly about the details.
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, I have a total of 30,000 soldiers in the Great Parade Ground Camp..." Lord Zhang bowed and replied.
"I asked about the actual number of people on the register in your camp, not how many troops you have. Does your camp actually have 30,000 soldiers?"
Zhang Jing glanced at the soldiers in the Great Parade Ground Camp, interrupted Lord Zhang with an unfriendly look, and asked.
Zhang Jing had just taken a quick look at the soldiers and tents in the Great Parade Ground Camp and knew that Lord Zhang was lying.
Mr. Zhang immediately blushed with guilt, and said with a lack of confidence, "Actually, the actual number of people in the camp is 23,500..."
"Do you have 23,000? Tell me the truth." Zhang Jing looked at him with burning eyes and interrupted him again with an impatient look on his face.
"Cough cough..." Lord Zhang couldn't help coughing, and kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with one hand.
"The actual registered number of the Daxiaochang Camp is 12,798, of which there are 8,351 strong soldiers under the age of 45, 3,893 between the ages of 45 and 55, and the remaining 500 are over 55. Among them, there are 3,890 elite soldiers who have been trained for more than three years, and the rest have been trained for less than a year. There are 3,180 foreign soldiers from Hubei, all of whom are strong soldiers under the age of 45, but most of them are new recruits who have been trained for less than a year; the Daxiaochang Camp currently has 3,000 sets of armor, 3,000 bows, 900 crossbows, and 800 fire guns..."
At this moment, a magnetic voice sounded, describing the situation of the Daxiaochang Camp in detail as if it were a treasure trove.
Who is speaking
How come he knows the situation of the Great Parade Field Camp so well, like he knows everything about it, is he the deputy commander of the Great Parade Field Camp
Everyone turned to look at the person who was speaking in surprise, and then couldn't help but widen their eyes, unexpectedly discovering that the person speaking was not from the Daxiaochang Camp, but Hu Zongxian who was standing with Zhao Wenhua.
How does Hu Zongxian know so much about the situation in Daxiaochang Camp?!
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
Of course, the most surprised person was Zhang Da of the Great Parade Field Camp. Although he was the commander of the Great Parade Field Camp, he did not know the situation of the Great Parade Field Camp as well as Hu Zongxian did. He could not tell the exact number of soldiers at the moment. He could only give a rough estimate, up to a hundred at most, but not any more, because many new soldiers had been recruited during this period, and some old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers had been laid off. He had to look at the military register to tell the exact number of soldiers. As for the number of armor, bows and crossbows, and muskets, he could not remember them, and had to look at the warehouse records to know clearly; not to mention the specific training situation of the soldiers, he would not bother to record such details.
As the commander-in-chief of the Daxiaochang Camp, he did not know the specific situation, but he did not expect that Hu Zongxian knew it so clearly, like he knew it like the back of his hand.
"How come Censor Hu knows so much?" Zhang Jing asked.
"Reporting to the Governor, I am responsible for rectifying the military appearance and discipline. After taking office, I often come to each camp to inspect and supervise. I have a basic grasp of the situation of each camp. Moreover, I just came to the Daxiaochang Camp the day before yesterday. It has only been two days. I think the situation in the Daxiaochang Camp should not have changed." Hu Zongxian bowed and replied.
"Imperial Censor Hu is thoughtful."
Zhang Jing nodded approvingly, but frowned again when he saw Hu Zongxian and Zhao Wenhua standing together.