The weather was so sultry and hot that it felt like being in a big steamer, but not even a trace of sunlight could be seen in the sky. The leaden clouds were low and seemed to fall from the sky at any time.

With this look, I'm afraid there will be a heavy rain soon.

"Wang Jun, is there a place to take shelter from the rain around here?" Xiao Ding wiped the sweat from his head and looked to one side at a man who was arranging his saddle and saddle.

Xiao Ding, who will turn twenty-three in almost two months, is the leader of Tianmen Village, an extremely important military stronghold on the border of Song and Liao Dynasties. He commands five battalions of horse infantry. According to the establishment, it is enough

With a total of 2,500 people, this army was also called the Guangrui Army, and Xiao Ding was the real general in command of the border troops.

Although he may be young, he is extremely prestigious in Tianmen Village and can be said to be a man of his word.

And this prestige does not come from his family background.

Or when he was promoted, Xiao's family lintel could make his advancement smoother, and no one would secretly obstruct him, but if he wanted to establish prestige in the military, these were of no use.

The soldiers below may be afraid of you and fear you, but it will be difficult for them to respect you and obey you.

The only people who respect the fighting men, especially the fighting men in a place like theirs, are those who can lead them to win battles continuously and survive.

Xiao Ding is such a person.

Five years ago, when Xiao Ding was less than 18 years old, he was just a horse soldier who was about to command the Tianmen Village. The original horse soldier of Tianmen Village was unfortunately injured in a conflict with the Liao Army and had to

Quit the army.

Xiao Ding came by air, greatly disappointing the deputy general Wang Jun who had the best hope of taking over the position of general.

Xiao Ding's youth and family background destined him to be ostracized and hostile when he first came to the cavalry army. What's more, Wang Jun, the deputy general, Ke Yi, would make things difficult for him?

And Xiao Ding's handling method was also extremely simple and crude. He set up a stance in the cavalry camp. Whether it was equestrian skills, riding shooting, weapons, or bare hands, as long as there was anyone in the cavalry army who could defeat him, he would immediately kill him.

Pack up his bed and leave, but if no one can defeat him, then he will be the boss of the Ma Army from now on.

It is indeed extremely simple and crude, but it is also extremely effective.

Chen Duo, the leader of Tianmen Village at that time and deputy commander, maintained a coldly on the sidelines attitude.

For him, he naturally does not want a noble man like Xiao Ding to come to his command. For him, it is not a good thing at all for such an extravagant person to appear under his command. If he takes it,

Or maybe there is something wrong with him. On the surface, the Xiao family will naturally not do anything to him, but secretly he may hold a grudge against him. As a general, he can never afford to offend such a family.

Now Xiao Ding calls the formation himself, and if he loses, he can be driven away openly and openly, so why not?

So after Xiao Ding arranged his posture, Chen Duo even brought other generals and deputy generals to watch the battle, euphemistically saying that he was helping both sides.

In fact, Chen Duo wished that Wang Jun would beat Mr. Xiao to a pulp and drive him out of Tianmen Village.

Although Wang Jun was not his confidant, he was still someone he had worked with for many years in Tianmen Village, and he was always at ease whether he was a person or a leader in battle.

Unexpectedly, the result was beyond his expectation.

For three days in a row, the unconvinced members of the cavalry army went into battle one after another, and everyone including Wang Jun was beaten to a pulp.

Not only was Xiao Ding not driven away, but he took advantage of this incident to become famous among Tianmen Village and even the entire northern border army.

Everyone knows that the Guangrui Army stationed in Tianmen Village has the strongest combat effectiveness among all the armies. Both Chen Duo and Wang Jun are famous warriors.

After establishing his authority in the first battle and establishing a firm foothold, Xiao Ding gradually turned this army into his brothers and followers step by step. Regardless of their age, when they met Xiao Ding, they were obedient and did not dare to

There are two things to say.

In fact, Xiao Ding's method of dealing with these soldiers is simple. The first step is to establish his authority and let them see his true ability. The second point is to truly treat them as his good brothers.

There are many people who have the first point, but there are really not many people who have the second point in the army of the Song Dynasty. Many generals even treat soldiers as slaves and send them to do private work for themselves at will.

Scolding and beating are commonplace.

Unlike these generals who bought homes in the border areas, Xiao Ding did not do this at all. Instead, he tried his best to find ways to subsidize these soldiers.

Xiao Ding was not short of money.

But since he took up an actual position in the military, the money has not been enough.

He used his salary, rewards, and even his wife's dowry to subsidize the soldiers.

Whenever there is a wedding or funeral, he has to follow a big man. If someone is short of money, tell him and he will be given immediately. If he can't afford it, he doesn't want it anymore. When he goes to the battlefield, he can't do it again if he is injured.

When he was in the army, he tried to find a way to settle down. He found a way out for those who had no family, no job, and no one to rely on. When he died, he vigorously supported him. The little money the court had was withheld by his superiors, and by the time he got it, there was very little left.

He made up the money himself.

Before he took up the post of General of the Horse Army, the establishment of the 400 Horse Army was supposed to have 400 cavalry and at least 800 horses of various colors. However, in fact, there were only a few hundred people and less than 600 horses.

.The vacancies among them were naturally taken up by the generals.

Xiao Ding would not allow this to happen.

Within one year, he had the cavalry army fully equipped. As for the losses suffered by those generals, he, Xiao Ding, also made up for it.

Xiao Ding took care of every aspect, so naturally everyone had nothing to say.

And more importantly, Xiao will be able to lead them to victory.

Soldiers' salaries are not high, and rewards for military exploits are one of their important sources of income. If they lose a battle, they will naturally have nothing. Before Xiao Ding came, everyone only had victories and defeats against Liao.

, barely maintaining a balance of income and expenditure. If they fail to suffer a disastrous defeat, they will lose blood. But since Xiao Ding came, for several consecutive years, in the confrontation with the Liao army, they always won a complete victory.

This reward is very impressive.

Year after year, Xiao Ding's official position became higher and higher. Chen Duo, the original deputy commander of Tianmen Village, was promoted one level and transferred to other places. The Guangrui Army of Tianmen Village became Xiao Ding's

What's in the bag.

After three years, the five battalions of Tianmen Village have been managed like iron barrels by Xiao Ding. Everyone from top to bottom admires Xiao Ding. A big victory two months ago made Tianmen Village's reputation even worse.

reached its peak.

As the imperial censor from the capital came to Tianmen Village to inspect the heads, and after confirming the merits of Xiao Ding and others, everyone in Tianmen Village was at ease waiting for the rewards.

Everyone is extremely excited.

Ordinary soldiers look forward to receiving large sums of money.

The military merits of the Song Dynasty were calculated based on the head level, and different heads received different rewards. For example, the heads of Zhen Liao people were the most valuable.

As for the officers, even those in charge of logistics, they can at least transfer several levels of merit this time.

In Tianmen Village, there is a fair and equitable general, so no one will worry about their achievements being wiped out. Everyone only needs to do their part.

In Tianmen Village, the rewards are heavy and the punishments are naturally severe. If you do something wrong, you will be beaten with military sticks without mercy. Some individuals even violated military discipline and were beheaded by Xiao Ding.

Wang Jun, who was called by Xiao Ding, walked over with a smile and looked at his boss opposite.

Twenty-two-year-old Xiao Ding has a full beard. Judging from his appearance, it is difficult to tell his true age.

This was what Xiao Dingke intended. His true appearance was that he was quite handsome. Wang Jun, who first saw Xiao Ding, subconsciously thought that this was just another person relying on the protection of his ancestors.

A dandy with mixed military exploits.

He wanted to drive Xiao Ding out of the army. In addition to this guy falling from the sky, blocking his way to promotion, more importantly, he didn't want to put his life in the hands of such a guy.

Being a civil servant, even if you are a little bastard and corrupt, it will not cost you your life. But in a place like Tianmenzhai, when you are an officer leading the army, you have to lead the troops to fight. If you encounter an incompetent boss, your life will be small.

, after ten stops, it was already 40% to 50%.

But Wang Jun didn't expect that this humble boy could fight much more fiercely than an old soldier like him. When they first fought, whether on horseback or on foot, he couldn't survive ten rounds at his opponent's hands.

Wang Jun is also a bachelor. If he loses, he loses. Since the other party is a man of real ability and has a profound background, following him will naturally bring great benefits.

In fact, Wang Jun has indeed received a lot of benefits in the past few years. Not only is he now a general of the Ma Army, but this time Xiao Ding has been promoted to commander, and the position of deputy commander belongs to him.

In the army of the Song Dynasty, the status of cavalry generals was always slightly higher than that of other infantry generals.

Even when the Song army fought against the Liao people, they still relied more on infantry.

Xiao Ding's beard came from a drunken conversation with Wang Jun.

At that time, Xiao Ding realized that when he was in the army, his original appearance gave people the first impression of being uneasy. From then on, he began to grow a beard.

Xiao Ding does look much more fierce now.

"Controller, let me tell you, you are required to do patrolling like this?"

"Does it mean that if I don't come, you can be lazy?" Xiao Ding wiped his face again, wiping a handful of dark sweat stains from his beard.

"Commander, you have wronged me. Patrolling and scouting, our cavalry army has all arranged a shift. On which day the general will lead the squad, and on that day the deputy general will lead the squad. The schedule is clear and clear. Today is my turn.

Even if you don't come, I will still go out on patrol." Wang Jun called Chong Tianqu.

"Deputy Commander!" Xiao Ding corrected.

"Isn't this going to be the rule soon?" Wang Jun said with a smile: "I also want to congratulate the rule. After this trip to Bianliang and back, you will be a serious senior officer."

"You are eagerly looking forward to my promotion soon, right?"

"That's right!" Wang Jun said without hesitation, "Only if you are promoted can I have hope. Once I reach the level of deputy commander, I will be able to get a commander when I retire in a few years."

"That's all you're thinking about?" Xiao Ding scolded: "It's just control. Don't you think about commanding envoys, commanding envoys, Jiedu envoys or even Hengban, Taiwei?"

"Where's my grandpa!" Wang Jun laughed and shook his head: "Of course you can expect this if you are at your age and have this ability. Wang Jun, I am in my thirties. In a few years, I will

I'm afraid that I can't even mount a horse, and I can't even swing a sword, so how can I have such hope? It's more realistic to hope to control this level."

There is one thing that Wang Jun did not say, that is, Xiao Ding has a strong backing, but he is a bird?

"I really have no ambition. Come on, don't talk to me. You are familiar with this area. Where is the shelter from the rain?"
Chapter completed!