The imperial palace of the Zhou Dynasty has always been a ceremonial place. The emperor liked to live in the marshal's mansion, and it is the same today.
The martial arts training ground deep inside the Capital Marshal's Mansion has been renovated a while ago, and a large shooting garden has been opened close to the outer wall. The so-called shooting garden, according to official documents, is a shooting range specifically for the emperor to practice his shooting skills.
But Guo Ning often brings many of his subordinates here to shoot for fun.
Since ancient times, the martial arts in the army have been based on riding and shooting. Because good horses and good bows are hard to come by, those who have both skills are usually the backbone of the army or the children of generals who have been in the army for generations. People like Guo Ning hold the
Tieguduo was smashing things everywhere, and it was obvious at a glance that he had no good background.
But Guo Ning's identity is different now. At the beginning of the year, when he was patrolling the border, he suddenly gathered his troops and broke into the grassland, which really frightened the officials. Later, they persuaded him from various angles and asked him to sit still in the capital as much as possible.
There were a lot of people. Guo Ning was the emperor immediately, so of course he would not agree.
Those people retreated to the next best thing and begged Guo Ning to at least not fight with others easily. If you, old man, insist on finding a chance to enjoy yourself, then shooting arrows from a distance is better than fighting in a bloody fight up close.
This is not unreasonable, so Guo Ning has been practicing martial arts recently and is very active in archery.
At this time, I saw Guo Ning opening his bow like a full moon and shooting arrows like shooting stars. In a short time, the arrow target a hundred paces away was densely packed with arrows. Except for a few that were slightly missed occasionally, the others all hit the red center.
Such shooting skills are outstanding. To be able to maintain such stable results during continuous shooting requires strong physical fitness and stable psychology. Guo Ning was praised repeatedly for a while, and Guo Ning overheard, shaking his head and laughing.
After shooting many arrows in one breath, he was a little tired. He immediately put down his big bow and asked the soldiers around him to try it. Just as he turned back to the pavilion to wipe away his sweat, he saw a middle-aged military attache walking quickly outside, looking hurriedly.
, holding something in both hands.
The visitor was Huo Yi, who was one of the leaders of the Red Coat Army and is now stationed in Jinan as a people-friendly officer.
When the power of the Red Coat Army was at its peak, Huo Yi once separatized Pizhou and was one of the powerful leaders. After the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the officers and soldiers of the Red Coat Army accounted for a large proportion of the army, but Huo Yi
Because it was difficult to leave his homeland, Yi refused several transfers and stayed in Shandong, responsible for the settlement of military villages and land allocation for the families of the old Red Coat Army.
For this reason, his official promotion rate was much slower than that of others, and he was hardly regarded as a major general in the army. Today, Liu Erzu summoned the old guys, and he also went, but he was with the last few people who arrived, and the whole process was
No words were said.
However, those who did not pay attention to Huo Yi at that time may be surprised now. Because Huo Yi was walking in a hurry from a distance, so many soldiers on duty along the way did not check and allowed him to pass unimpeded until he was in front of Guo Ning. This is
This is not a treatment that ordinary people can have.
"Your Majesty, your sword."
Huo Yi knelt on one knee in front of the steps and held up a long sheathed sword in both hands. It was the golden sword that Guo Ning had carried for a long time. He held up the sword, paused and said: "The generals' fighting spirit is still there.
Your Majesty is also loyal and has no use for this sword."
He was entrusted by Guo Ning to attend the banquet at Liu Erzu's mansion.
According to Guo Ning's instructions, he listened to the whole process and made only one preparation. That was what Guo Ning had personally ordered before: If Liu Erzu could not suppress the looseness and timidity of the senior generals and the conflict intensified, he would seriously take action. He would immediately hold a knife.
Come out and support Second Ancestor Liu.
In fact, Huo Yi was completely confused when he accepted this order. He was not well informed, so he didn't understand why the generals behaved like this and why Liu Erzu wanted to suppress them. It wasn't until the banquet that the Mongolian army was mentioned.
Only then did he understand what Guo Ning meant.
Huo Yi only sympathizes with those colleagues who talk nonsense. It is obvious that Guo Ning's understanding of Liu Erzu and even the generals of the Red Coat Army are not wrong at all. He has already prepared the worst situation
They all expected it, and even took the golden knife with him to prevent Liu Erzu, who had always been a kind character, from becoming a villain.
Thinking of this, Huo Yi lowered his head again.
In fact, he should truthfully report what everyone said at the banquet, but after all, they were all old guys. If he was asked to name someone who was scared and who wanted to go back to Shandong, he really couldn't say it. Anyway, Lao Liu relied on
Seriously, he is also capable of suppressing his subordinates.
So he didn't say a word, just kept the posture of holding the knife and bowing his head.
After a while, Guo Ning took the knife and said with a smile: "It's not used, so that's the best."
He hung the golden knife back on his waist and patted the scabbard: "This knife has been with me for many years, and I quite like it. When Marshal Liu used the short knife to cut mutton to scare people, if you stood up, wouldn't you use my golden knife?"
To cut the mutton with a knife? I won’t let it go!”
Huo Yi's forehead suddenly became sweaty.
There was a saying at the time that the Red Coat Army was responsible for the imperial power of the Zhou Dynasty, and the Qingzhou soldiers were related to Cao Cao, the king of Wei. Both the Red Coat Army and the Qingzhou soldiers were the first to raise flags in the uprising, and both dealt a heavy blow to the continued decline of the Wei Dynasty.
The dynasty did not achieve anything major in the end. Instead, it provided important resources for the rise of the Lord with its huge manpower.
The difference is that the Qingzhou soldiers were just tools to work hard in Cao Cao's hands and never received anything. As soon as Cao Cao died, the Qingzhou soldiers were relieved and left immediately with the sound of drums. However, Guo Ning's treatment for the Red Coat Army soldiers was comparable to that of Cao Cao.
It is said that they are very generous and boldly allow them to occupy many important positions.
When it came to Huo Yi, he was not considered a powerful general among the Red Coat Army, but he was able to gain Guo Ning's private trust not because of his outstanding talents, but because he was the first to join Guo Ning.
Huo Yi had surrendered long before Master Huifeng came forward to deal with Liu Erzu. Soon the various tribes in Taishan almost broke out into internal strife due to the huge pressure. The internal strife first originated from the conflict between Shi Qing and Huo Yi, but in fact it originated from Huo Yi.
Yi's active provocation.
Later, the various ministries in Mount Tai responded to Guo Ning's call to send troops, and Huo Yi followed Liu Erzu throughout the whole process.
However, Huo Yi was very self-aware, and he never mentioned his connections to the outside world, and was content to enjoy his wealth. Until the beginning of the year, many warriors secretly colluded with each other in an attempt to pinch the weaklings. As a result, the matter gradually escalated, among which the relevant
, many of them are former members of the Red Coat Army.
The old robes of the Red Coat Army are all over the army, and it can be said that the foundation is not deep. However, accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. Once Guo Ning was dissatisfied, Yin Chang, the leader in the south, was immediately thrown overseas, while Shi Qing, who originally controlled the Tongzhou hub in the north,
Then he went to Northern Xinjiang, and now he is dead.
Huo Yi was willing to accept the order to go on this trip. She secretly wanted to give the old brothers a little peace of mind to prevent their bad habits from falling into the eyes of the emperor. She also hoped that the emperor could continue to trust everyone and continue to give everyone opportunities.
Protect everyone's wealth.
But now listening to Guo Ning's words, Huo Yi understood that at that banquet, there was more than one person who privately accepted the emperor's mission? He left Liu Erzu's mansion and only returned to the mansion for a short stay before reporting to the emperor. As a result, the emperor even ate
Everything is clear!
Guo Ning seemed to not notice Huo Yi's nervousness. He patted Huo Yi on the shoulder and said, "Okay, you have had a hard time on your trip. Now that you have come to Zhongdu, don't be in a hurry to go back. The Ministry of War is at the Jinkou Camp.
A new yamen has been set up over there as a training place for new recruits from all over the country. You, an old soldier, will go there to help out for a few months, earn some credit, and also keep an eye on the young men in the army for me."'
Your Majesty's imperial scheming and control skills are becoming more and more sophisticated.
Huo Yi bowed politely and did not dare to neglect anything: "Yes, yes, thank you, Your Majesty."
Seeing Huo Yi retreating cautiously, not even daring to raise her head to look at him, Guo Ning sighed.
When strong enemies press the situation, he has to be distracted to do these things, which is actually not pleasant. But these things must be done, and those who cannot do them, or are not good at them, will not be able to reach this position.
To be honest, Guo Ning doesn't care that there are mountains and factions in the army. In that big dream, he once saw an extraordinary great man, but even such a great man had to acknowledge the mountains and take care of them.
Guo Ning asked himself, compared with that person, his own abilities were completely different, so he understood this very well.
Even from an emperor's point of view, the existence of mountains and factions is conducive to the weighing, differentiation and control of the superiors to some extent, and is conducive to the superiors' control of power.
The problem is that the leaders representing the mountain cannot lose their fighting spirit and cannot become a burden to the army!
This is difficult to grasp. In Guo Ning's big dream, the great man and his companions had the most noble banner in the world, but in the end it was inevitable that they would have their own secret schemes... let alone Guo Ning?
Guo Ning himself knows that suppressing the rise of Mongolia will lead to a completely different future, but this cannot be a banner to call on everyone. What so many subordinates always want is wealth.
As a leader, if you don't give people wealth, what will happen? The icy cold water in Tangluo, Hebei Province has told Guo Ning. So if you give people wealth, will you create a group of corrupt soldiers?
This sign is conceivable, but Guo Ning cannot tolerate it. He knows that political power comes from the barrel of a gun, and he knows that the army is the guarantee for Han'er's re-emergence and is the foundation of the new dynasty's rule. Therefore, he must cut off this sign from another angle.
.
Soldiers can be rich and powerful. In the past few years, the military group that has become prosperous with the rise of the Great Zhou Dynasty has almost without scruples extended its hands into all aspects. They have established trading houses, participated in maritime trade, participated in the development of grasslands, and participated in the excavation of various minerals and handicrafts.
It's no problem if it breaks out.
And these things are closely related to the development of the Zhou Dynasty in the frontier. Under Guo Ning's intentional or unintentional promotion, the more enthusiastic the warriors were about wealth, the more they reached out to seize every acre and three acres they had in the Central Plains.
Benefits that are simply unimaginable on earth.
For example, the group of people invited by the Second Ancestor Liu today are not only ruthless men from the Taishan lineage of the Red Coat Army, but also wealthy people who have been keen to invest in Northern Xinjiang for a long time. They are like this, and so are their companions, old tribes, and relatives. Of course.
The imperial court's interests in northern Xinjiang are threatened. If they remain indifferent, many people who share their interests will tear them apart without Guo Ning taking action!
In this regard, Liu Erzu saw it very clearly, so this good old man did not hesitate to use harsh words and use a knife to remind these old subordinates not to lose consciousness. And among his old subordinates, there were also several smart people who made the right choice in advance.
That's good.
Guo Ning is not only paying attention to the old troops of the Red Coat Army. There are all kinds of mountains in his army, and there are inevitably people who are addicted to pleasure and peace everywhere. However, when the enemy comes, he has to fight; his interests will be damaged.
, you have to snatch it back; if your happy life in front of you is threatened, you have to fight it back hard.
This is the simplest truth, and every martial artist understands it. Even if they are frightened and shaken for a while, they will eventually understand it under various pushes.
Not far to the east of the martial arts training ground, there are several portals that directly lead to the largest military camp in Zhongdu. At this time, there was a faint sound coming from the military camp. The latest news about the Mongolian army's actions had obviously spread here, and these soldiers would soon
You know, the Mongolian army has new weapons. This time, the enemy is even more powerful and the attackers are evil.
However, compared to senior officers, Guo Ning felt much more at ease with ordinary soldiers.
He walked a few steps from the pavilion, listened carefully, and heard soldiers roaring. At first it was one or two people, then ten or twenty, one hundred or two hundred. At this time, there were more than 100 soldiers in the military camp.
, they were all soldiers on rotation, no one organized them, no one directed them. But their voices became louder and louder, gradually deafening.