The city of Taiyuan was extremely lively. A large signboard was erected next to the city gate with the two characters "Recruiting Soldiers". There were already several long lines lined up under the sign, with thousands of people waiting to register and be selected. txt e-book download
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In front of the team, there is a row of long tables. More than a dozen civilian and military officers are registering and selecting young people one by one. The conditions are very liberal. Regardless of origin or household registration, as long as they are young and strong and can lift three stone locks
, then you can eat food from the army.
In other words, even escaped slaves can still join the army, clear their identity, and regain their freedom. This is undoubtedly a huge benefit, and many slaves and sinners hiding in the Hedong area have joined the army.
The reason for the recruitment of troops in Hedong this time was that after the siege of Yanmen was solved, Emperor Yang Guang took away all the 50,000 soldiers from Hedong counties, leaving Hedong empty without soldiers. The imperial court specifically allowed the counties in Hedong to recruit troops on their own, leaving Taiyuan to guard Hedong.
Ambassador Li Yuan is solely responsible for the arrest.
On the street, a group of more than 300 soldiers rushed over. The leader of the horse-riding general was Li Shimin, the second son of Li Yuan. He wore a silver helmet on his head, bright light armor, a sword on his waist, a bow and arrow on his back, and a sword in his hand.
His wolf fangs and long helmets were flying in the air, making him particularly heroic. In this siege of Yanmen, although he did not kill the enemy and made any meritorious service, Emperor Yang Guang still praised his loyalty and named him the sixth grade.
Jianjiewei.
Today, he was ordered by his father to inspect the eight recruitment points in Taiyuan City to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to cause trouble. As soon as he arrived at the city gate, he saw a group of merchants walking outside the city, driving hundreds of mules and horses.
Most of them were empty, with only dozens of mules carrying heavy sacks.
Li Shimin recognized the leader at a glance. It was Li Shouzhong, the former leader of the generals of the Li family. He had taught him martial arts for a few days and later became an intelligence scout.
"Brother Shouzhong!" Li Shimin came up to him and shouted.
Li Shouzhong had just returned from Wuyuan County. After a long journey, he finally returned to Taiyuan City. He was in a excited mood and rushed to report the situation to the eldest son. However, he heard someone calling him. When he turned around, he saw that it was the second son Shimin. He was frightened.
He quickly stepped forward and saluted, "See you, Second Young Master!"
Li Shimin called him "Brother Shouzhong". It was just a sign of respect for him, but it didn't mean that he could really act like a big brother. Li Shimin was the master, and he was just a general. Li Shouzhong knew this very well, and he didn't dare to do anything about it.
Discourteous.
Li Shimin smiled slightly and said, "Where did you go?"
Li Jiancheng was solely responsible for Li Yuan's intelligence collection, and the secrets were strictly kept. Li Shimin only knew that Li Shouzhong had served as an intelligence scout, but Li Shimin had no idea where he went to spy on intelligence.
There was a look of embarrassment on Li Shouzhong's face, and he couldn't say anything. Li Shimin understood, so he smiled and didn't embarrass him, "Brother Shouzhong, go! I understand in my heart."
Li Shouzhong cupped his hands and said, "Second Young Master, I'll leave first!"
He led his followers towards the city. Li Shimin looked at the wooden barrels carried on the mules and horses. The wooden barrels had the word "大利" on them. He laughed. Li Shouzhong went to Fengzhou, but Li Shimin immediately
He shook his head again, Li Shouzhong was still not careful enough in his work.
At this time, a burst of cheers came from the recruitment office at the city gate, "Good! Good strength."
Li Shimin looked back and saw a big man who was recruiting soldiers dancing a stone lock. The stone lock weighing fifty kilograms was flying up and down in his hand like a child's toy, and was thrown two feet high, causing a round of applause.
Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and he urged his horse to run towards the recruitment office. He saw this big man wearing a black cloth short shirt with a single whip on his back. He was over six feet three tall, with big shoulders and a round waist, and his two arms were particularly long. His skin
Dark, with two piercing eyes like a leopard.
After he finished dancing the stone lock, he didn't blush or breath. He raised his hands and said, "I'm showing off my shame. Is it possible for me to join the army?"
The recruiting officer hesitated for a moment. At this time, Li Shimin urged his horse forward and praised: "A strong man is good at martial arts. May I ask your name and where you are from?"
The big man saw that Li Shimin had an extraordinary temperament. Even an ordinary captain could not wear a silver helmet, let alone hold a long spear that only the noble children of aristocratic families could afford. He did not dare to neglect, and quickly raised his hand and said: "I'm dismounting, Ma Yi."
A native of Shanyang County, I have been practicing martial arts since I was a child. I heard that Duke Li was recruiting troops to fight against thieves, so I came here to join the army to serve him."
The recruiting officer was also from Mayi County, but he knew this big man, and said to Li Shimin in a low voice: "This man is not named Ma, but his surname is actually Yuchi. He is a strong martial artist. He once served in the army to conquer Goryeo, but later fled. He is a deserter."
Although his voice was small, the big man heard it. He was dissatisfied and straightened his waist and said: "Yes, my surname is Yuchi and my name is Gong. There are more than tens of millions of soldiers fleeing Goryeo. Why do you emphasize that I am a deserter?"
Li Shimin said calmly: "The battle of Goryeo was unpopular. If it were me, I would flee. Even if Yuchi, a brave man, joins the army, he will become a general with me from now on. My name is Li Shimin, son of Duke Li."
Yuchi Gong bowed and saluted, but said neither humble nor arrogantly: "Young Master, if you can convince me, I am willing to serve you. If you cannot convince Yuchi, Young Master, Yuchi Gong will surrender to the Ming Lord again."
"To each other, if you don't satisfy me, I won't use you." Li Shimin responded mercilessly.
In the study room of Li Mansion, Li Yuanzheng discussed with Liu Wenjing and Li Jiancheng about recruiting soldiers. For Li Yuan, this recruitment can be said to be a God-given opportunity, giving him a chance to develop his own strength. This made Li Yuan feel lucky and excited.
move.
"This time the imperial court appointed me as the general manager of recruitment, responsible for recruiting 20,000 people from five counties including Taiyuan, Lishi, Xihe, Longquan and Loufan. I was thinking about how to get these 20,000 people directly in my hands. This is an opportunity. I
You must not let it go, sir, what do you think?"
Liu Wenjing nodded, "This is indeed an opportunity. You might as well learn from Yang Yuanqing how to gather the soldiers from the six counties in northern Guanxi, use centralized training to firmly control the military power, and then lead them to suppress the bandits. In this way, 20,000 troops will be
He will not leave Ming Gong's side, and the court has nothing to say."
"Zhao Ren's words are exactly what I want."
Li Yuan sighed and said again: "It's just that the troops are too small, and 20,000 people are not enough to start an uprising. What can we do?"
Liu Wenjing smiled and said: "Didn't the Dugu clan promise to Duke Ming that there would be elite soldiers to help?"
Li Yuan shook his head, "The elite soldiers mentioned by the Dugu clan have all been transferred to the capital to protect the capital, and I heard that the Holy Emperor may patrol Jiangdu southward, and those soldiers may follow him south. Besides, I don't want to be controlled by the Dugu clan, so I can
I accept his money and food, but the army must be under my control. It will be me, Li Yuan, who will conquer the world in the future, not the Dugu clan, so I have some scruples about using Dugu's troops."
Li Yuan sighed quietly. He knew the Dugu family very well. If he wanted to get their support, he would have to pay a high price. Of course, the Dugu family was his mother's natal family, so there was no harm in using it. He was worried that he would end up doing something to the Dugu family.
He took away the wedding dress and conquered the world, but the Dugu family took the throne. Therefore, he was also deeply jealous of the Dugu family and tried not to use the Dugu family's military power unless he had to.
Liu Wenjing smiled slightly, "In that case, the only way to suppress the bandits is to suppress the bandits. Jiangjun Jingpantuo has sufficient troops but extremely poor equipment. Twenty thousand officers and soldiers can defeat them. In addition, the envoy can also exaggerate Jingpantuo's military strength and then report
The imperial court recruits an additional 10,000 troops. In this way, the 30,000 troops plus the tens of thousands of surrendered bandits will have an army of 50,000 or 60,000. When the emperor rises up, he will recruit tens of thousands more troops, which will be an army of 100,000."
Li Yuan was stunned for a moment. One hundred thousand troops were still not enough, but he had no choice but to take one step at a time.
Seeing Li Jiancheng stop talking, Li Yuan smiled and asked, "Do you have anything to say, Dalang?"
Li Jiancheng bowed and said: "Father, my son suggested secretly recruiting troops in Guanzhong, thinking that there should be internal forces. Once my father rebels, Guanzhong will be on tight guard. If there are internal forces in Guanzhong, it will be much easier for us to seize Guanzhong. Although my child also knows that the Dugu family and the Dou family
There are a lot of soldiers in Guanzhong Jiazi, but as my father said, it will be the Li family, not the Dugu family, who will conquer the world in the future, so we still need to recruit troops to wait."
Li Yuan nodded. What the eldest son said made sense, "I'll let Shentong and Chai Shao handle the secret recruitment of troops in Guanzhong. Shentong has many connections and Chai Shao is cautious. In addition, I have a manor in Guanzhong, so this matter is feasible."
The three of them were discussing, when someone outside the door reported, "Eldest Young Master, Li Shouzhong is back."
Li Yuan knew that Li Shouzhong went to Fengzhou. Before Li Jiancheng could speak, he quickly ordered: "Let him come in and talk!"
After a moment, Li Shouzhong hurriedly walked in. He bowed and saluted, "See you, sir, see the eldest son and Mr. Liu!"
Li Yuan nodded and said with a smile: "It's been a hard journey."
Li Shouzhong was Li Yuan's fake son, but the fake son was not an adopted son, but a kind of family general who had a close relationship with his master. In essence, he was still a domestic slave.
Li Shouzhong said quickly: "Serving the master is to uphold one's duty."
Li Yuan stroked his beard and nodded, "First tell me what you have seen in Fengzhou!"
"When I saw Fengzhou in my humble position, I was really surprised. The land was fertile, the wheat grains were abundant, the people were wealthy, and the people's hearts were stable. The people at high and low levels praised Yang Yuanqing highly and were willing to serve for him. The hundreds of thousands of Fengzhou militiamen were well-equipped.
No less than the regular Sui army"
Li Jiancheng was slightly unhappy and interrupted him: "How many days have you spent in Fengzhou to see so clearly?"
Li Shouzhong blushed and hurriedly explained: "Beizhi listened to Han Chang's introduction, but Beizhi really saw the endless wheat fields, stretching for hundreds of miles, and the wheat ears were golden and thick. It was really spectacular. There is none in the Central Plains, and Beizhi asked
Many people, every household has a surplus of food, and they praise Yang Yuanqing highly."
Speaking of this, Li Shouzhong took out the flat wooden box and presented it to Li Jiancheng, "This is some information collected by Han Chang. Please take a look at it, the eldest son."
Li Jiancheng took it, passed it to his father, and asked him: "What are the two things I want you to do?"
"Fengzhou is heavily guarded and it is almost impossible to recruit warriors. As for heavy armor equipment, Han Chang said it will take time, at least two months."
Li Shouzhong told what happened in Fengzhou in detail. When Li Yuan heard that he had been arrested, he couldn't help but asked in surprise: "What happened next? Didn't they pursue you again?"
Li Shouzhong shook his head, "They thought I was suspected of tax evasion. Later, they paid a heavy tax, which was twice the value of my goods. They said it was a punishment, so they let me go. Moreover, Han Chang found a few local people to vouch for this.
Even if the matter was settled, I later learned that the Sogdians were very aggressive in tax evasion. The new rules came out a few months ago. The internal guards have the right to inspect taxes. It is common for businessmen to be caught paying taxes."
"Could it be that you exposed some flaws and they discovered it?" Li Yuan asked again suspiciously.
"There is no flaw in the job, and when he was released, another businessman was also arrested. This is indeed a coincidence."
Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He and Liu Wenjing looked at the information again, mainly saying that Fengzhou had sufficient soldiers and food.
Li Yuan and Liu Wenjing looked at each other, with worry in their eyes. Of all the heroes in the world, Yang Yuanqing was their strongest enemy.