Chapter 569: There is no faction in the army, and there are all kinds of strange things
You can't just pull over a soldier or send a horse to be able to serve as a knight, scout, or courier.
It's windy in the northwest, and the sky is filled with yellow sand at every turn, making it difficult to see beyond three steps in front of you. However, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and often not even a village can be seen for a hundred or two hundred miles.
Without extremely rich wilderness survival experience and strong self-rescue ability, one's life can be lost by just a wind.
Therefore, this unit is extremely powerful and rare. It is built entirely with money and human lives. If Li Songruo does not regain control of the army, he has no right to dispatch fast horses, let alone inquire about his whereabouts at will.
He made such a big mistake and almost destroyed Xihai. He even caused his husband to be stabbed to death in the street. Li Song could not escape the blame.
Li Chengzhi was extremely merciful because he was only dismissed from his military post without any other punishment. He originally planned to let Li Song rest for a few years, work hard and then entrust him with important tasks, but he didn't want it to be just one year.
Can we make a comeback?
What’s even more incredible is that no one has ever mentioned it to him?
After Li Chengzhi pondered for a moment, he realized why Li Xiaoxian was so afraid of him.
There must be a deep-seated reason for this. Li Xiaoxian was so secretive because he was afraid that he would only have a partial understanding of it, and he was also afraid that if he asked him, he would cause any misunderstanding.
After a pause, he asked again: "Did Tan Ma ever mention where Li Songyu is now?"
Li Xiaoyan hurriedly said respectfully: "I am here to welcome you from the county seat!"
"Where's Li Shi?"
"At Zhenyiguan!"
"Are these two parties coming from the same place?"
"Not ever!"
Li Chengzhi frowned.
We were along the way, but we didn’t share the same path?
Moreover, the two places are not far apart, only fifty or sixty miles apart, so why do each faction need to go all the way?
How long has it been since then, have there been factional disputes in the West China Sea?
Li Chengzhi thought for a long time before sighing: "I understand, go and do your work!"
Li Xiaoyan responded respectfully, and then asked: "I dare you: if another fast horse comes to investigate, how should I respond?"
"Why need to respond?"
Li Chengzhi smiled slightly: "If you come one, I will deduct one, if you come as a pair, I will deduct a pair. Xiao Xiao, go and do it first!"
Depressing?
Li Xiaoyan was even more frightened.
The two brothers respectfully resigned. When they got out of the felt tent, seeing no one around, Li Xiaoyan asked in a low voice: "Brother, what do you mean, sir?"
"Don't ask more, and don't even mention it in the future!"
Li Xiaoxian reprimanded in a low voice, "You and I, brothers, only need to remember one thing: obey your husband's orders, and the rest is irrelevant..."
Li Xiaoyan felt calm in his heart and nodded hurriedly.
……
There is still some truth in watching the moon and watching the wind. At midnight, as soon as the moon sets, the sky gradually becomes gloomy. Just after the fifth watch, not a single star can be seen.
The surrounding areas were as dark as ink, with not a single ray of light visible. There were only a few sparks in the camp, a roar of people, and the neighing of cattle and horses.
Food for the soldiers was provided by the rear camp, and at three o'clock in the morning, the bell was rung to summon the soldiers to receive the food.
Each team has a car, one with soup and one with cakes. The soup is meat porridge, with a thick layer of oil and fat floating on top, and bones and corn grains underneath.
The preparation method is very simple: after the cattle and sheep are slaughtered, they are soaked in salt, dried in the shade, and then cut into pieces. It can be kept intact for several months even in the middle of summer.
The cake is also a corn cake, and the preparation method is not difficult: it is usually steamed when setting up camp the night before, then cooled and cut into pieces before being distributed to the soldiers.
If you add dried meat and grind it into powder, it will be an emergency ration. If you have the conditions during the march, you can boil it and soak it, just like what you ate yesterday.
If there are no conditions, then swallow it alive.
This is usually the case when marching in a hurry or when it is inconvenient to make a fire. Every soldier must carry it with him, but he is not allowed to steal food except during war. Otherwise, if he is caught, not only the soldiers will be punished, but also the commander, team leader, and even the brigade commander will be punished.
Implicated.
It seems simple, but for ordinary farmers, they may not be able to eat one meal in a month. The reason why the food in this camp is so good, and there is meat for every meal, is that this is a riding camp, so it is naturally given priority.<
/p>
Second, Li Song swept across the Du Lun tribe. Although he left a lot of legacy evidence, it was not all without benefits: the number of sheep robbed alone amounted to five to six million.
Otherwise, Li Chengzhi would not dare to smuggle tens of thousands of households from Guanzhong to Xihai...
Hearing the sound of the food being tied, Li Xiaoxian also brought the food. Seeing the light on in the tent, he knew that Li Chengzhi had already gotten up.
After knocking on the tent door, Li Cong welcomed him in. When he saw that it was Li Xiaoxian, Li Chengzhi sighed leisurely: "You are also the leader of an army now. You can leave such trivial matters to your subordinates. Why do you need to do it yourself?
”
Li Xiaoxian responded with a smile: "The gentleman thinks it is a trivial task, but the servant is very happy to do it, and others even ask for it without getting anything. Just like Li Da, who is now the deputy commander, why not still serve the gentleman tea and water, and lead him
The horse pulls the saddle?"
Li Liang is used to it.
Li Chengzhi also knew that he could not be persuaded, so he simply accepted it calmly.
A vat of broth, a piece of soft cake, and two plates of pickles. Compared with ordinary soldiers, it is not surprising, but it is made by the rear camp alone, and it is better than clean.
Li Xiao first ate some with him, and when he was about to finish using it, he heard the drum order from the front camp being sounded.
Li Cong had already prepared his chariot. As soon as Li Chengzhi boarded the chariot, dozens of soldiers dismantled the tents. In just a moment, Zuoda's chariot camp turned into a bare ground.
As he had explained last night, Li Xiaoyan did not dare to disturb him again. After hearing the report from his close associates that the camp was ready, he gave the order to set off.
The march still uses the wartime regulations: Tangqi explores the road, Jiaqi clears the way, and then the civilian households.
Most of the people in Fanhe County make a living by raising livestock, and every family has no shortage of cars and horses. Moreover, when the army comes, there are many prepared, so there are no people walking alone, and the marching speed is not slow.
After walking for nearly ten miles, I finally saw the sun peeking out. But the wind gradually became stronger. Fortunately, there was no sand or dust, but I just felt a little cold.
Li Chengzhi was bored, so he raised the car curtain and waved to Li Xiaoxian, who was accompanying him on horseback: "Get in the car!"
Li Xiaoxian followed the good example and boarded the car in a few seconds.
Li Xiaoxian was a retainer, and the place where the army was raised was the backbone. Li Xiaoxian could be called his confidant, so Li Chengzhi did not beat around the bush, but went straight to the point: "When did Li Song take charge of the army?"
Li Xiaoxian didn't even hesitate: "I don't know!"
His response was not what Li Chengzhi expected.
If even the intelligence system has lost control and has begun to secretly deceive his master, Li Chengzhi should stop rebelling and hide his name as soon as possible and find a place to spend his remaining years.
Li Chengzhi leaned back lazily: "Then tell me what you know!"
Li Xiaoxian nodded solemnly: "My servant also went out to the tent last night. I only found out something after asking Xiaoyan: Uncle Shi seems to be at odds with his fourth uncle."
Li Chengzhi frowned: "Why!"
"It should be that when Lang Jun sent an order to Xihai and ordered Xihai to move north in spring, the two sides had a dispute. Xiaoyan only heard about it afterwards and didn't know much...
It seems that the fourth uncle proposed to take advantage of the change of generals in Dunhuang and the leaderless dragons to seize the Jiuquan! As it is now, they do not occupy any land, but only seize the Dingkou, grain, grass, and livestock... Because Uncle Shi refused to comply, there was a quarrel between the two.
..."
"Even Li Shi resolutely refused to obey. How can Li Liang, his coach, imagine that? In this way, the uncle is willing to move, but he can only mobilize the new army with little combat power. He can only do this.
Just do it.
But afterwards, the uncle must have felt that there were too many constraints, so he learned from the pain and activated Li Song's troops to achieve balance."
Li Chengzhi sighed, "It seems that the soldiers accompanying Li Song on guard should also be the new army, right?"
When Li Shiliang was involved, Li Xiaoxian didn't know how to answer. Moreover, he really didn't know the details, so he could only keep his mouth shut.
After thinking for a moment, Li Chengzhi made a rough guess.
That must be the case. If the uncle hadn't spoken, where would Li Song have gotten the soldiers?
When the two brothers Li Shixian and Li Shiliang went to the Western Sea, Li Chengzhi gave them instructions to divide the Western Sea power into two.
All the soldiers of the old tribe, such as the Cavalry Camp, Hu Camp, Firearms Camp, etc., totaling more than ten thousand, were all under Li Liang's jurisdiction.
Then Li Shiliang prepared the new army.
Otherwise, with so many rebels transported from Guanzhong, wouldn’t it be a waste to surrender?
It’s even harder to place.
But I didn’t expect that this division of military power would cause problems?
If Li Song hadn't disobeyed the order and destroyed the Du Lun tribe, how could there have been such twists and turns?
It almost brought the Li family's great career to a halt, and even killed Li Chengzhi.
Li Liang, who was often by Li Chengzhi's side, felt the most profoundly. He also knew that Li Chengzhi almost escaped death. If it were not for luck, or if he escaped by chance, he would probably be trapped in Beijing and waste three to five years.
Now that the scene from the year before last was about to happen again, he could bear not to directly conflict with Li Song, but let Li Shi take a detour first, which is already a very mature performance.
With this alone, Li Chengzhi knew that he had seen the right person...
As for Li Song’s proposal, if you look at it from today’s perspective, it can’t be considered wrong.
The general's refusal to grant orders to a foreigner is not entirely derogatory.
The situation is ever-changing and fleeting. If everything had to be submitted to Li Chengzhi, who was thousands of miles away, and only implemented with his approval, the day lily would be cold.
Just like last year's winter solstice, nearly half of the people in Xihai had moved to the north of Junji Mountain, but unexpected changes forced them to move back again.
He even made a big move and took Dongliang Prefecture with great momentum. This was equivalent to delaying what Li Song wanted to do for half a year.
Just because Li Chengzhi didn't expect that his plan could be executed so smoothly, Gao Zhao was forced to counterattack.
Therefore, Li Songjue took advantage of Xiliang Prefecture governor Song Yi to summon him to the capital for accountability. The new Dunhuang town general and Xiliang Prefecture governor Yuan Zhi had not yet performed his duties, so it was not difficult to take Jiuquan County.
It’s not wrong, but judging from the time, Li Song was inevitably a little greedy and lost everything.
You must know that at that time, there were nearly 90,000 households in Xihai, and Dingkou was close to 500,000. To be able to safely move these people to the north of Junji Mountain within a few months, you have to use all your strength.
Moreover, when Rouran withdrew its troops last year, Li Chengzhi had already instructed Li Liang to pretend to be Rouran and rob Jiuquan County.
The thousands of new households that came after that were old and weak people who were transferred from the Qin and Liang states after the Battle of Guanzhong, so they were as close as chicken ribs and of little significance.
The reason why Li Song is unwilling to let go of even this advantage can be summed up in two words: bellicose and greedy.
Too radical and not knowledgeable enough.
It is impossible to reuse him, at least not in a short period of time. At most, he can be given a sinecure and put there as a warning to future generations.
Otherwise, how can we convince the public?
Therefore, Li Song's military power has to be deprived once.
But this is only the second step. What makes Li Chengzhi wary is that there are already signs of factions in the army.
A great man once said something that Li Chengzhi believed deeply: There is no faction in the army, and there are all kinds of strange things.
But he didn't expect to appear so early?
This is an inevitable phenomenon, but it also makes Li Chengzhi scratch his head: Even if there are different factions, the leaders of these factions have to have the final say.
They can’t all have the surname Li, right?
If it really comes to that, Li Chengzhi will not be far away from being killed in his sleep...
He hesitated for a moment, and then sighed sadly: "After arriving at Zhenyi, you will start preparing for the Imperial Guard, and you will also take charge of the Supervision Department. When my uncle comes, I will discuss it with him...
…”
Li Xiaoxian was about to refuse, but when he heard the words "uncle", he felt relieved and agreed respectfully.
"Well, go ahead, I'll be quiet for a while!"
Li Xiaoxian promised to resign, and Li Chengzhi opened the secret compartment again and took out a thick stack of documents.
The small characters on it are densely packed, all written with charcoal. One look at the handwriting shows that it is written by Li Guzhi.
This is the structure of various ministries that he began to draft after he left Beijing.
He wrote about everything he could think of, including military, political, civilian, engineering, academic, business, farming, animal husbandry, etc.
Ancient times are ancient times, and modern times are modern times. Of course, Li Chengzhi was not stupid enough to use them. Instead, he mostly followed the old practices with only slight additions and changes.
But now it is just an idea, not even a framework. Li Chengzhi is not even sure whether his plan can be put into action in the end.
The reason is that there are too few literate people and even fewer literate people dare to use it.
Now is the era when aristocratic families are in power, and Li Chengzhi doesn’t want to create a weirdo with his own hands.
Yang Er a hundred years later is the most obvious example.
Because of this, he was unwilling to reuse the old officials of the Yuan and Wei Dynasties and the descendants of the powerful family before he arrived at Xihai.
This is also the reason why he is so afraid of factions in the military.
But the stall is getting bigger and bigger, how many children from poor families are there for him to use?
Li Chengzhi thought for a long time and circled the page marked "Learn".
……
Li Xiaoyan is still very foresight.
Because he got up early and had enough chariots and horses, he marched at a very fast pace. For more than fifty miles, the general had traveled for four hours. It was not yet time (two o'clock in the afternoon), and the front camp moved in.
To Hexi Racecourse.
Then there was a huge cloud of yellow sand, just like earth rain falling from the sky, and the distance as far as the eye could see was only two feet.
Xihai Buqu has lived in Hexi for two years and is very familiar with this scene. Fanhe County residents have been blown away since childhood. They know at first sight that within half an hour at most, there will be a black wind, and the trees will be connected.
The kind that may break.
Therefore, both soldiers and civilians were all frightened and tried their best.
When the strong wind came like a cliff, the convoy entered the racecourse...