After Zhang Jing carefully inspected the troops, equipment, and other conditions in the Daxiaochang camp, he confirmed that the situation was consistent with what Hu Zongxian had said, with no difference in terms of the number of troops, age, equipment, or training conditions.
Therefore, Zhang Jing admired Hu Zongxian even more, but he felt uncomfortable when he saw him walking with Zhao Wenhua, just like seeing a golden roc with a bright future landing on the back of a pig in a mud pond.
It’s not good to be with someone, why hang out with him!
Zhang Jing shook his head secretly, called the commander of the Great Parade Field Camp, Lord Zhang, to his side, and commented slowly:
"There are 13,000 soldiers in the 30,000-man garrison, about half of which are vacant, 90% of which are combat-ready, and the weapons and equipment are generally in good condition... Compared with the guards below, where 70% to 80% of the soldiers are vacant, most of the soldiers are old, weak, sick and disabled, and their weapons and armor are also damaged, you, Lord Zhang, are more or less conscientious."
Is Governor Zhang laughing or angry? Is he praising me or mocking me? Is he commending me or blaming me
The commander of the Daxiaochang camp was confused and didn't dare to look at Zhang Jing's expression. He knelt down in a hurry to apologize.
Zhang Jing looked down at Mr. Zhang for three full seconds, until a layer of cold sweat broke out on Mr. Zhang's back. Then he said expressionlessly, "You are guilty, but as I just said, you have a conscience. I used to be the Minister of War, and I know a lot about the vacancies and empty salaries in the various camps and guards. If you are not sent, even the capital will be unavoidable. Last year, the Hulu Altan led his troops into the pass and surrounded the capital. When the then Minister of War Ding of Shuntian counted the troops of the three major camps and twelve regiments in preparation for war, he found that there were only more than 50,000 people in the 180,000 troops in the capital, and many of them were old, weak, sick and disabled..."
Hearing this, Lord Zhang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and then looked at Hu Zongxian with gratitude.
When Hu Zongxian first inspected the Daxiaochang Camp, there were only 6,000 soldiers in his camp, most of whom were old, weak, sick and disabled. It was Hu Zongxian who asked himself to make up the number of soldiers in the camp to more than 10,000 and to reduce the number of old, weak, sick and disabled to less than 10%. If he met the requirements, he would be rated first-class in the annual assessment. Otherwise, he would be rated poor and impeached.
Under the coercion and inducement of Hu Zongxian, he recruited 9,000 young and strong people and laid off several thousand old, weak and sick people.
If it weren't for Hu Zongxian, Governor Zhang's sudden inspection today, I would definitely not have been able to get away so easily, and I would definitely not have suffered the consequences.
Therefore, Mr. Zhang was very grateful to Hu Zongxian.
Just when Lord Zhang felt relieved, he heard Zhang Jing above his head continue speaking.
"Although you have a conscience, it is still not enough. A vacancy is a vacancy, and drawing a salary without working is drawing a salary without working. However, considering that you have a conscience and this is a special period, I will put your crime aside for the time being. You will be given one month to replenish all the troops and intensify the training. If you succeed, I will forgive you for your past mistakes. If you fail to do so, I will never let you off easily. Do you remember this?" Zhang Jing said in an irresistible tone.
"I understand. It won't take a month. I can fill in all the troops within half a month and train them strictly."
Lord Zhang kowtowed repeatedly.
Although he held a high position, he was just a younger brother in front of Zhang Jing, the governor of Jiangnan. According to the power granted to Zhang Jing by the emperor, Zhang Jing could issue letters to mobilize troops from Jiangnan, Jiangbei, Hunan, Guangdong, Shandong and other provinces. The governor, the censor of Jiangdu, the deputy general, the three military guards and the officials were completely under Zhang Jing's control. If anyone did not obey orders in battle, military officers below the rank of commander-in-chief and civil officials below the fifth rank were allowed to be directly prosecuted by Zhang Jing through military law. If anyone was above the rank of commander-in-chief and civil officials above the fifth rank, Zhang Jing could report the crime to the emperor.
If he didn't do as Zhang Jing asked, Zhang Jing could directly punish him by military law, and no one's plea would be of any use!
That's why he took Zhang Jing's words as his golden rule!
"Good!" Zhang Jing nodded in satisfaction. "Master Zhang, please get up. Now that the Japanese invasion is at our head, we must work together to fight for our country."
"Thank you, Governor. I will keep it in mind." After Lord Zhang stood up, he expressed his opinion repeatedly.
Zhang Jing came quickly and left quickly. He sternly rejected Lord Zhang's invitation to host a welcome dinner, told him to spend the money where it should be spent and not think about eating and drinking all day, and then rode away on horseback with his entourage.
Before leaving, Zhao Wenhua whispered something to Hu Zongxian. Hu Zongxian nodded, walked to Lord Zhang, patted Lord Zhang on the shoulder gently, and whispered something to Lord Zhang unnoticeably.
Seeing the backs of Zhang Jing and his party going away, Lord Zhang sat down on the ground without caring about his image, and breathed a long sigh of relief. They were finally gone... ... Thinking of what Hu Zongxian whispered to him, he quickly called his trusted subordinates and ordered them to prepare a generous gift. He would visit the Imperial Commissioner's Office tonight.
These are turbulent times, the political and political situation is unstable. What's wrong with having more backers and more paths to take
Although money is indispensable for visiting graves, no matter how good the money is, it is not as important as life. As long as you are alive, there are plenty of opportunities to make money.
After coming out of the Daxiaochang Camp, Zhang Jing and his party inspected three military camps in succession. There was no trace of Zhang Jing's inspection route, and he went east, west, south, and north. Every time he was almost at a military camp, everyone realized that he was going to inspect that camp. This basically eliminated the idea of some people tipping off the enemy in advance.
The basic conditions of these three military camps were not much different from that of the Daxiaochang Camp. They also had vacancies and unpaid salaries, but they were much better than the lower garrisons. Zhang Jing also forgave their sins and allowed them to make up for their mistakes with their merits and fill the vacant troops.
After inspecting the conditions of the three military camps, it was found that the commander of one of the military camps knew the situation of his own camp very well and was able to answer whatever Zhang Jing asked; the commanders of the other two military camps were just like the commander of the Daxiaochang Camp, Lord Zhang, who could not answer the questions of Zhang Jing for a while and needed to ask their adjutants and check the books.
However, every time at this time, Hu Zongxian could describe the basic situation of the military camp one by one as if he knew it by heart. After a careful inspection, it was found that what Hu Zongxian said was exactly the same, which made everyone look at him with admiration.
Especially when inspecting the third military camp, Zhang Jing and others learned from the commander-in-chief that it was Hu Zongxian who used the end-of-year inspection as an excuse to coerce and bribe the Beijing camps to make up for the vacancies and intensify training. Only then did the Beijing camps become what they are today. The military appearance and discipline have also improved compared to before, and the morale has also recovered. They looked at Hu Zongxian with even greater admiration.
Zhang Jing's evaluation of Hu Zongxian also changed from "Censor Hu had intentions" to "Censor Hu really had intentions."
Zhao Wenhua looked like he had found a treasure.
He was very pleased that such a talented and willing person like Hu Zongxian took the initiative to join him, and he valued Hu Zongxian even more.