Guan Shigu was taken to the commander's tent in the military camp. Chen Qing waved his hand and said with a smile: "Guan Dutong, we haven't seen each other for a long time. Please sit down!"
Guan Shigu sat down silently, feeling quite emotional in his heart. When he met Chen Qing, Chen Qing was just a commander, and Qinzhou established envoys. In just a few years, Chen Qing became a prince.
Chen Qing was also quite polite to Guan Shigu, after all, more than half of the mid-level generals in his army were Guan Shigu's old subordinates.
"Guan Dutong also saw it. Although I was nicknamed the Human Demon, it was actually only for the Jurchens and Xixia people. I tried not to kill anyone in this battle. Only a few thousand puppet Qi troops were killed and more than 80,000 were captured. Everyone.
We are all Han people, and we should unite to fight against the outside world, expel the Tartars, and restore the mountains and rivers of our Han family. This is the bounden duty of our soldiers."
Guan Dutong sneered in his heart. He knew very well where Chen Qing's nickname of Human Demon came from. Wasn't it because he killed all the Qi soldiers in Guanzhong and left no prisoners of war in the Qi army? There was not a single Jurchen soldier in Jingguan outside Jingzhao City.
Human heads, now we need prisoners of war, so you say such beautiful words.
But he did not expose Chen Qing's words, but simply said: "Restore the Han family's empire, isn't it the Song Dynasty?"
Chen Qing smiled and said, "The Song Dynasty is just a passer-by in the land of China. How can it last forever? If the Song Dynasty is destroyed by the Jin people, will we give up resistance?"
Guan Shigu smiled and shook his head: "I understand Chen Dutong's current situation. Chen Dutong came to me not to say this!"
Chen Qing nodded, "Guan Dutong should know what I want to say, I will give Guan Dutong a chance."
Guan Shigu pondered for a moment and sighed: "I am over fifty years old. I have been in the Western Army for thirty years and served in the army for half my life. I am really tired. My biggest dream is to teach a few students and cultivate a few acres of land in my spare time.
, raise a pond of fish, and have grandchildren around my knees, can Chen Dutong understand?"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "I can understand. Don't worry, Guandu Tong. I will send someone to bring your family back!"
...........
Chen Qing ordered people to take Guan Shigu down to rest. At this time, Liu Cui came in and clasped his fists and said, "Capital, can you allow me to intercede for Guan Shigu in this lowly position?"
Chen Qing looked at him in surprise: "Why are you asking for mercy? Do you think I want to kill him?"
Liu Cui was startled and said happily: "Is he willing to surrender?"
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "No one is willing to work for Puppet Qi. He has no future and is useless. But his family is in Bianliang and he cannot express his position, so our top priority is to rescue his family."
"Then simply declare that he has been killed in battle, and the puppet Qi court will not pay attention to his family."
Chen Qing nodded, "That's my idea."
Liu Cui said quickly: "Leave this matter to the humble official!"
"It seems you care about him very much!"
Liu Cui smiled bitterly and said: "When my father served as the military envoy of Xihe Road, Mr. Guan was the deputy envoy. Our families are family friends. If I can't handle this matter well, I won't be able to explain it to my father."
Chen Qing said calmly: "I understand, go ahead and reorganize the soldiers, and I will take care of Guan Shigu's affairs, so you can leave it alone."
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Chen Qing immediately walked out of the military camp and climbed onto the inner city wall. The 80,000 surrendered soldiers were all sitting in the outer city to rest. Groups of Song soldiers carried large baskets filled with steamed buns and distributed steamed buns and hot soup to the prisoners of war.
Some prisoners of war who had finished lunch had already begun to queue up to register their names, ages, places of origin, family circumstances, etc., and then went to the outside of the city for reorganization.
Zhang Xiao said from the side: "I just walked around and found a lot of old and weak soldiers. There are quite a lot of them. I am worried that we will not be able to achieve our goal in the end."
Chen Qing smiled and said: "Don't worry, we are not just recruiting soldiers. We give them land, give them tax exemptions, and give them the opportunity to live and work in peace and contentment away from the war. They will naturally bring their families to Xihe Road and Tao River Valley.
The land and the Hehuang Valley will be developed, and our military rations will be guaranteed."
There was a trace of shame on Zhang Xiao's face and he said: "The commander-in-chief still has a far-sighted vision. In his humble position, he only thinks about the army, so his vision is narrow."
At this time, the soldiers came forward and said: "Du Tong, Yang Zhizhou is here."
Chen Qing turned around and saw Yang Yuanqing standing far away, looking much thinner.
Chen Qing nodded, gave Zhang Xiao a few more instructions, and then walked towards Yang Yuanqing with a smile.
Yang Yuanqing now knows the affairs of Qinzhou, but he has done a really embarrassing job as a governor. Not only has his power been taken away by the Jinglue Mansion, but the state government officials have also violated him openly and secretly. The fundamental reason is that he was born in the army and has no academic qualifications. In the civil service system
Can't mix internally.
Now Yang Yuanqing began to regret it. He was originally from Wu Jie, but Wu Jie was transferred back to the court and sat on the bench. He also received a letter from Wu Jie, in which he felt Wu Jie's frustration.
In particular, Liu Zan and Cao De successively defected to Chen Qing. Yang Zaixing and Zheng Ping were promoted to commanders. Gao Ding, Liu Cui, Liu Qiong, Niu Gao and others were promoted to commanders. However, his knowledge of Qinzhou affairs was delayed by the imperial court.
Only then did he finally wake up and realize his stupidity.
Chen Qing walked up and asked with concern: "Why has Lao Yang lost so much weight? Is he not in good health?"
The sound of "Lao Yang" made Yang Yuanqing's nose sore, and he quickly said: "I'm in good health. Thank you for your concern."
Chen Qing nodded, waved his hand and said, "Let's go for a walk!"
The two walked slowly along the city wall. Chen Qing said with a smile: "When I led the army to Jingzhao to kill Wanyan Lou's house, there were only 500 people. Now our army has more than 100,000. It's only been a few years. It's really hard."
It’s like a dream.”
"The next step for the capital should be to seize the Shaanxi Road!"
"It will be a matter of time to seize the Shaanxi Road, but we still need to train our troops and use time to digest the 80,000 surrendered soldiers. We still have to wait for the opportunity."
After walking for a while, Yang Yuanqing sighed and said: "Beizhi did not handle the matter of supervising the army well. He should not have allowed the supervising army to enter Chengji County. Beizhi trusted the imperial court too much."
Chen Qing smiled and said: "The matter has passed, so don't mention it!"
Yang Yuanqing said with some excitement: "How could you not say it! If Beizhi had not allowed Wang Mian to enter Qinzhou, he would not have been killed, and the governor would not have broken with the imperial court because of this. This was all caused by Beizhi's momentary confusion."
"Do you think I have broken with the imperial court?"
"I was ignorant in my humble position before, but now I understand some things. Xihe's army has reached 100,000. How can the imperial court still tolerate Dutong? The death of the supervisor is just an excuse. The emperor summoned Dutong to Lin'an to report on his duties. It must be
In order to win the capital, if the capital refuses to go back, it means a break."
Chen Qing laughed and said: "If I take Xihe Road, the court may want to break with me, but if I take Shaanxi Road, then the court will be afraid of my independence and will definitely coax me and even make me king.
Do you believe it?"
"I believe that everything depends on strength."
Chen Qing nodded, "I know you are not happy being the governor. If I asked you to return to the army and be responsible for training the army, would you be willing?"
Yang Yuanqing was so moved that he almost shed tears. He bowed and said: "The humble position is that the commander-in-chief can use the power of dogs and horses!"
...........
It took ten days to reorganize the army. The 60,000-strong army met the standards and officially became a member of the Song Army on Xihe Road. Chen Qing immediately appointed Zheng Ping, Yang Yuanqing and Huyantong to be responsible for training the army and asked them to within three months.
The 60,000-strong army will be fully trained.
As for the remaining more than 20,000 unqualified soldiers, Chen Qing did not release them back to their hometowns. Instead, he sent them to farm in the Taohe Valley and Hehuang Valley. At the same time, he promised them that after one year, they could choose to return home.
, or bring your family over to settle down. If you choose the latter, each person can get a hundred acres of land and be tax-free for ten years.
Of course, soldiers who join the Xihe Army will be treated even better. Their families will receive 150 acres of land, and will be tax-free for life. In addition, there will be military merit rewards. The minimum reward for one meritorious service is ten acres of land. Even if they retire and return home,
You can also receive awards from honorary officers and receive the same treatment as scholars with meritorious honors. You can be an official without having to worship them, and you will be exempt from taxes and labor for life.
It was these military merit awards that formed the basis of the morale of the Xihe Army and were the secret to the Song Army's undefeated victory at Xihe Road.
Sixty thousand fresh blood was injected into the Xihe Army, bringing the total strength of the Xihe Army to 156,000. Xihe Road alone could no longer support such a large army, and outward expansion had become an inevitable option.
But whether to expand northward or eastward has become a major strategic option that Chen Qing needs to consider.