Chapter 387 Reorganizing the Garrison
A few days ago, Zhao Yulin carefully examined the course of the attack on Pingxiang.
Although the Pingxiang battle was small in scale, it showed that the guards under Cao Youliang responded quickly, had clear heads, and acted decisively when faced with sudden crises.
He is a rare talent.
He told Cao Youwan that there was no need to build the entire Jiangnan region into a Shenwei Army. Places like Jinghu South Road and Guangnan East and West Roads did not need a powerful standing army at all, and the Ministry of War could not provide a large amount of military equipment to arm them at the moment.
He decided to establish an armed garrison to maintain public order as he had done in the past, and to build four columns, each with 30,000 people, for a total of 120,000 people to guard the south of the Yangtze River. He would recruit qualified soldiers, train them, and then send them to fight in the north of the Yangtze River.
Miao Gui fully agreed with his opinion and told him: The military staff also had this idea. The territory of the New Song Dynasty was constantly expanding and it was impossible to transform it all into the Shenwei Army field corps.
In particular, the garrisons in the south of the Yangtze River have no combat missions, so appropriate adjustments should be made.
After Zhao Yulin finished explaining things to his brothers, he asked them to sit down and drink.
The generals had a rare gathering, and they drank happily with Zhao Yulin. After seeing off the generals, he told Miao Gui that he also had to go back, as the Minister of War of the New Song Dynasty had just arrived at the front, so he would have to work for a while longer.
Miao Gui said with a smile that he and his brothers were planning the garrison in Jiangnan.
He called Miao Gui to the back hall, took out piles of manuscripts and handed them to Miao Gui. These were the manuscripts that he had been thinking about during this period of time.
Zhao Yulin had been thinking a lot these days. The area south of the Yangtze River would be a relatively safe place as long as the bandits and militias who were doing evil were wiped out. The various routes that had recently surrendered were all stable rear areas, and it was urgent to explore a new garrison model.
Because of years of war, Jiangnan had been thoroughly plundered by the Lin'an court, and taxes in many places had been collected for thirty to fifty years.
The New Song Dynasty simply could not afford the huge military expenditure.
As he walked along, he saw many refugees migrating and starving people lying on the ground everywhere. He felt very sad . Even if he had silver, he could not buy the food he needed.
Therefore, we must consider the people's ability to bear it, implement recuperation and gradually restore the production and life of the people in these places.
Otherwise, it would be meaningless even if you got these roads.
Not only that, but the country will also be exhausted from running around to maintain stability due to riots caused by hungry people in various places, wasting national strength.
Miao Gui listened and nodded continuously, feeling that he had not read enough and did not have as much knowledge as the Third Young Master, so he could not keep up with the pace a bit, so he asked him what to do specifically.
When Zhao Yulin heard Miao Gui actually use the word "rhythm", he burst into laughter and pointed at the manuscript just given to him and said to take a closer look before discussing it.
The next day, Zhao Yulin attended a meeting where the people of Pingxiang denounced the crimes of the evil landlords. The farmhands, child brides and children whose parents were forced to death because of rent collection who had suffered greatly came to the front and cried hysterically, making Zhao Yulin feel that the local people recognized his Shenwei Army and his ideal society of equality for all.
He was in a good mood and persisted until the end, supervising the beheading of the capital criminals before returning.
Miao Gui was also very happy. He did not expect that the people of Pingxiang would be so enthusiastic and support the Shenwei Army's proposal. It seemed that it was not impossible to take over the Jiangnan West Road.
Zhao Yulin said that if they advanced by force, it would only be a matter of time before they occupied Jiangnan.
But if we want to use cultural struggle, we must mobilize the people.
The next step is to transform Yuelu Academy in Changsha and teach new knowledge like Caotang Academy, publish newspapers in Changsha to publicize the Shenwei Army and the ideas of the New Song Dynasty, and let the awakened people consciously participate in the action of changing the dynasty.
Miao Gui nodded vigorously, telling him that he had finished reading the manuscript. The Third Young Master then asked him what to do.
Zhao Yulin said that we must first use our old method to eliminate bandits and fight tyrants to gain the support of the people, and then seize the grain from the wealthy families to stabilize the situation.
He asked Miao Gui to mobilize a group of staff officers from the Ministry of War to come down and supervise the military reform in Jiangnan.
Each column must have a corps programmed according to the organization and weaponry of the Shenwei Army, and each garrison corps must have a battalion programmed according to the configuration of the Shenwei Army.
In this way, the garrisons in various places in Jiangnan will have a super-powerful fist force on top of the ordinary garrison troops that can be deployed at any time for emergencies, and general riots can be handled well.
Miao Gui nodded happily, feeling more and more that his brain was not enough.
Zhao Yulin said that we will all play the role of planning in the future, and we cannot do without reading. We must also boldly use educated young people. The future of the new Song will always belong to the young people, and we must rely on them.
Miao Gui seemed to understand but not quite. He looked at him blankly and said, "Brother, you are only thirty years old. How can you say such ?"
At the age of thirty, the boy is in the prime of his life, full of vigor and vitality. He wants to lead his brothers to attack Huanglong and conquer the Wolf's Lair.
Zhao Yulin said with a smile that young people are still needed to take over the work.
The two brothers drank the wine with tea. He said there was no need to send it tomorrow because he knew he could go back by himself.
Miao Gui agreed with a laugh.
In Lin'an, the false emperor Zhao Bing had already learned that Zeng's army in the west of Jiangnan had been annihilated, and was drinking with several of his confidants.
Because of his prominent family background, Zhao Bing had lived a life of luxury since childhood. His body was very weak due to lack of exercise. In addition, he was very lustful and only looked for married women for pleasure. He even had sex with his wet nurse when he was only twelve years old.
He has survived to this day, relying entirely on nutritious meals. His sickly body has been hollowed out, and he often yawns as soon as he gets out of bed, looking like a drug addict. He is no longer able to cope with the chaotic state affairs.
He had a dull expression and a tired face as he shouted, "Drink, drink." Even in the warm spring time when flowers were blooming, he was sweating profusely from eating, showing obvious signs of physical weakness.
The captain of the imperial cavalry said that if the situation continued like this, Lin'an would soon face the mighty army, and the brothers would have to go out to guard the border for the emperor.
The captain of the infantry said angrily that the envoy still had 5,000 soldiers guarding the city, and they should all be handed over to me, but I just refused to hand them over. What did this mean?
Are they really going to rebel?
The chief steward of the Imperial City reported to Zhao Bing that the Prime Minister had secretly bribed chivalrous men from all over the world, and there were no less than a thousand assassins hidden in his three mansions.
Zhao Bing felt a little uneasy.
In the past, although Jiangbei had often suffered defeats, they were all wars with the Mongol Empire, and victory or defeat didn't matter across the river. Now that the Shenwei Army had entered Guangnan, Fujian, and Jiangnan, they would push the border right in front of him in a matter of minutes, and he immediately felt unable to sleep or eat.
At this time, Shi's son was secretly communicating with the New Song Kingdom, recruiting soldiers and preparing to take action.
He was really a little worried that he would be sold out by Shi's son and captured and handed over to Zhao Qier for the reward.
His Minister of War said that there seemed to be no place to stand on land, but we still had a place to stay. He looked to the east and told them that there was a large island of Izhou across the sea, which was surrounded by the sea, with flowers blooming all year round and fresh fruits.
Your Majesty can go to Yizhou for temporary refuge. We only need the navy to resist all enemies. It is not impossible to plan a resurgence in Dongsan in the future.
Zhao Bing knew it very well, but they were just nice words.
What capital do you have to make a comeback?
If he really went to Yizhou, he would just die overseas. If he wanted to work hard to govern the country, would Zhao Qi'er be willing to stay put and do nothing?
But think about it, at least when we sleep on Izu Island, we don't have to worry about the Kamui Army attacking us.
Zhao Bing, with drunken eyes, told Wuluo and others to keep an eye on Shi's son first.
He said "Cheers." He drank the wine in the glass in one gulp and ordered the party to end.
Five days later, Zhao Yulin's official ship was sailing on the Yangtze River waterway in Luzhou.
Chu Yuxuan walked into the cabin and asked him, we are almost in Luzhou, shall we stop the boat?
Zhao Yulin thought that his brothers were tired from the continuous sailing, so he asked them to rest for a night before leaving. Not long after, the official ship docked at Luzhou Port.
As soon as we got to the dock, Cui Hao, the prefect of Luzhou, came hurriedly.
Zhao Yulin said with a smile that he did not follow Lord Cui when he left Cuiping Mountain, so he came today to enjoy Lord Cui's wedding.
Cui Hao's face turned red and white due to his teasing, and he said incoherently that the Third Young Master was making a joke. There was a place called Wangyue Tower in the city that sold very famous Artemisia annua pork elbows, and he was going to ask the Third Young Master to taste it.
Zhao Yulin laughed loudly, pointing at the guards behind him and said that his brothers had worked hard along the way, and that he would not differentiate between them when eating, and that everyone must have a share.
Cui Hao said with a smile on his face, "Of course, we have them all, we have them all." He immediately ordered his attendants to go and make the arrangements.
Cui Hao was originally the prefect of Xuzhou. Because he was slow in dealing with the crime committed by his elder brother Zhao Yulin, he was timid and was pushed here to serve as the acting prefect of Luzhou.
When this girl was angrily criticized by Zhao Yulin in Cuiping Mountain, she was worried that she would lose her official position and have bad luck.
Unexpectedly, after dealing with his brother Zhao Yujiang according to the law, he immediately received a letter of appointment from the Central Council and was promoted to be the prefect of Luzhou. Cui Hao was so happy that he would not only let all the people eat pork elbows, but also eat the best delicacies from the mountains and the sea.
However, Zhao Yulin quietly asked Chu Yuxuan to pay the bill.
The group started eating in the Moon Viewing Tower. The Artemisia annua elbow was really fat but not greasy, and not mushy. The guards ate it with the Grain Plum, which tasted sour and refreshing.
The shopkeeper saw that the soldiers were eating with relish and served more dishes. All the pork elbows in the restaurant were eaten by the soldiers brought by Zhao Yulin, which really scared Cui Hao.
Zhao Yulin drank happily and said with a laugh that he was afraid that he would have to eat up the prefect's salary for three months. How would he explain to his wife when he returned?
He has already asked the captain of the guard to pay for it.
Cui Hao shouted at the side: How can this be done? How can this be done?
It was agreed that he would host a banquet for the third young master.
Zhao Yulin waved his hand and said that there was a large group of people, and the Shenwei Army had always paid for their own meals.
Let's just have a good meal together, it doesn't matter who gives the money.
Cui Hao felt very sorry, so he prepared a lot of fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits and sent them to the ship the next morning. After Zhao Yulin personally checked them, he said happily that it was well done and that they were all his favorites, so he accepted them all.
He turned around, jumped onto the boat, bowed to the officials who were seeing him off, and ordered the boat to set sail.
