Chapter 172 The Bull is Angry
Zhao Yulin was very satisfied, and together with Lao Cao, he led the group in applauding them.
Lao Cao said that the training of the Third Column by General Yuhou Huofenghuang in Jinzhou has yielded great results. The whole team has a new look and is eager to fight. It is very good. In the future, all columns should learn from the Third Column to carry out training and improve the supervision and education of military discipline.
We must make our brothers understand that the people are our bread and butter. We are the people's army, the people's children, and we are born to protect the people.
Everyone immediately gave Lao Cao a round of applause.
The meeting lasted for two days. Zhao Yulin asked his brothers to give him their opinions to the central army tent, and asked each column to open their hearts and find problems after returning, just like they did when they held meetings in Chang'an, and unite the brothers to meet greater challenges.
The next day, Cao Youwen asked him to have tea and said that all the generals had already gone to their respective garrisons and he was also leaving to go to Chengdu to talk to Mr. Ding about the issue of military funding for Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Over the years, the military camp had always kept enough money for itself before releasing it to other troops. If there was not enough money, each army would raise money on its own. Now that he saw that the food, drink, defecation and urination of hundreds of thousands of people were all on Zhao Yulin's shoulders, he felt that this burden was too heavy.
Zhao Yulin said that the journey to Chengdu was long and the social situation was different from the past, so he advised him to adjust and strengthen the guards. They were all the backbone of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Army, and the enemy wished them dead.
Lao Cao accepted it with a smile, saying that he was not afraid to walk around in his own home.
He told Lao Cao not to expect Lord Ding to change his mind, and just let him know that their situation is not easy.
Lao Cao said that there were fewer and fewer soldiers in the border areas, and he planned to open a large camp training center in Chengdu to pull out soldiers from the inland areas to guard the border.
Zhao Yulin thought of the lax military preparations on the Chengdu Plain, and the few garrisons that were already unable to deal with sudden civil unrest, so he advised him to be cautious. Chengdu was in the core of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and it had been peaceful for a long time. The so-called soldiers had long become playboys, and they should be centralized and reorganized first, and do a good job in eliminating bandits and fighting tyrants in their jurisdiction, so as not to hinder the border defense. The two talked all night long, and they seemed to be brothers who had known each other for generations.
At dawn, Lao Cao rarely set out with his wife and went straight into Ziwu Valley to Hanzhong.
Zhao Yulin was just about to ask the guards to arrange a return to Fengxiang Prefecture when Lai Chuanfang brought Yang Jia from Bozhou to find him. After this man led his troops to receive training in the Lishan camp, he finally realized the huge gap between themselves and the outside world.
Yang Jia, who had changed into a new military uniform, no longer had the resentment on his face that he had when he first arrived. He happily told Zhao Yulin that according to military rules, the Bozhou Army had also established a soldiers' association, and officers and soldiers were united, and there was no longer the bad habit of insulting, beating or scolding people as punishment.
Zhao Yulin said that the Bozhou Army is an army with a long history, and the sons of Bozhou can climb mountains and wade through water as if they were walking on flat ground. This time, the camp assigned them to the Second Column of Zhejiang and Sichuan in the hope that the Bozhou Army can give full play to their expertise and achieve extraordinary achievements.
Yang Jia immediately expressed his position to him, saying that he would absolutely obey orders when he arrived at the base, take the lead in hard training, and accept the most dangerous tasks without fear of sacrifice.
It seems that the Bozhou Army still has a strong foundation.
Zhao Yulin was very happy and called Lai Chuanfang to go out of the city together to see off the Bozhou Army. He saw that the troops were already leaving the city. The team of 5,000 people crossed from the north to the south of the city. The soldiers were all wrapped in brand new quilts on their backs, wearing brand new cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles, and marching in neat and steady steps.
Yang Jia wanted to line up for the review, but he refused. He stood at the city gate, greeted his brothers with a smile, and watched them go away until the last soldier left the city. Zhao Yulin led the horse for the old general, who jumped on it, bowed to them, and rode away to catch up with the troops.
Chuanfang said on the side that he couldn't tell, but the boy still had the Bozhou Army in his heart.
He said to himself that every soldier in the Shenwei Army was his brother or sister, and every brother and sister was in his heart.
When they returned, the kitchen had already prepared wine and food. He raised his glass and clinked it with Lai Chuanfang's, then drank the glass in one gulp and asked Lai Chuanfang: How do you feel about being the chief steward of more than one hundred thousand people in the Dong Group?
Lai Chuanfang said honestly that he felt the burden on his shoulders had become heavier and his heart was heavy.
Zhao Yulin picked up two fried soybeans and put them in his mouth and said, "It's good to have some weight. Only when there is pressure can there be motivation."
He said that the current stalemate is not a matter of doing nothing. The enemy will never sit still. We must plan and predict, and think of countermeasures. There is no need to sit and wait for death. We can give him a hammer when we have the chance.
Lai Chuanfang drank a glass of wine and said unconvincedly that what he wanted to do most was to take over Yan'an Prefecture. He stayed in Luochuan every day and felt itchy and anxious looking at that place.
Zhao Yulin said that taking over Yan'an Prefecture is no small matter and needs to be carefully considered. Any move will definitely lead to a major war, which is not conducive to our recuperation.
He thought that some of the enemy's less important salients could be used as actual combat training grounds for military training. After the team's training was completed, actual combat exercises could be carried out, trying to regain some lost territory like cracking taffy.
Zhao Yulin was in a hurry to leave, and reminded Lai Chuanfang that he was already the commander-in-chief and must not act rashly.
After they finished their meal, they set off. As soon as he got on the carriage, he fell asleep on the soft couch. He was awakened by the captain of the guard just as he was dozing off.
Zhao Yulin got off the carriage and saw that it was Taoist Master Zeng from the Quanzhen Sect who wanted to see him. He had to give him face. Not to mention that they were working for the Shenwei Army, they had to receive him well just for Wu Yuqi's mother's sake. She gave them the Su Nu Heart Sutra.
Taoist Zeng was very polite and invited him to the roadside pavilion for a drink. Zhao Yulin was a little surprised because he had just had a drink and his head was still dizzy.
The stone table in the pavilion was already filled with side dishes and wine cups. He saw a boy making tea and said he would not drink the wine, so how about he accompany the Taoist priest for tea?
Have some tea.
The two men followed etiquette and sat down to have tea.
After asking about the monk's well-being, Zhao Yulin asked if there was anything the monk needed him to do.
He was thinking in his mind that this old Taoist priest stopped him for definitely not just to invite him to drink and have tea.
When Taoist Master Zeng saw that he had passed to him, he said that he had been traveling in Qingcheng recently and saw that the mountain road of Qingcheng Mountain was winding and going straight up to the sky, and the Taoist temples were bright and splendid. He wanted to ask Brother Zhao if he had any way to repair the Taoist temples in Zhongnan Mountain so that the pilgrims coming and going would not get wet in the rain and catch a cold, and would be safer and more convenient to go up and down?
When Zhao Yulin heard what he said, he knew that it was Yu Yangzi from the Qingcheng Sect who sold him out. The old man was determined to show off in front of this big shot, saying that he had donated millions of taels of gold to renovate the Taoist temple and paint the Bodhisattva in gold.
Zhao Yulin imagined Yu Yangzi's smug look in his mind and kept shaking his head.
Niubizi saw his strange expression and thought that he would not agree. He became anxious and said unhappily, "Then I will ask the commander for five hundred kilograms of earth and cement to repair the mountain road. Is that okay?"
He smiled and shook his head, saying, "What can you do with 500 kilograms of cement?"
Seeing that he was so disrespectful, Niu Bizi got angry, threw away the small tea bowl in his hand, stood up and left.
The little boy beside him was so nervous that he froze, mumbling, "Master, this is your beloved child, why don't you give it up?" He immediately bent down to collect the broken pieces of porcelain, and hurriedly packed up the tea and wine utensils, shouting, "Master, please slow down, wait for your disciple..."
Zhao Yulin shook his head in confusion, thinking that this big-nosed guy was just like his late Taoist priest Qiu, who lost his temper without even asking questions clearly.
He smiled and helped the little boy to pack up, and told him to go back and report to the master and be patient, as everything would be arranged.
Zhao Yulin got on the carriage and continued on his journey. It was two days later that he returned to Fengxiang Prefecture.
Shen Baiyi brought his group of businessmen to Fengxiang and were checking it out.
Zhao Yulin felt that these people were quite cautious in their investments. Ma Linger and several officials from the government office took turns accompanying him to walk through the old city and see the new district. They were very busy. After knowing that Zhao Yulin had returned, Shen Baiyi came to ask him to have a few words with his colleagues.
Seeing that he couldn't refuse and still thinking about the matters of Zhongnan Mountain, Zhao Yulin asked Wu Yuqi and Ma Ling to prepare a reception and invite these businessmen to have a drink at Beggar's Chicken in the old city.
After three cups of wine, Zhao Yulin stood up and bowed to everyone, telling them that he had something to ask for their help. Mount Zhongnan and Chang'an City are close to each other and have a profound Taoist culture. It is also a good place for people in Guanzhong to go for an outing and spend the summer.
However, the mountain roads are extremely dangerous and have fallen into disrepair over the years. The Quanzhen Sect wants to repair the Taoist temple and transform the road to facilitate the travel of pilgrims. This official would like to ask all the local celebrities and merchants to generously donate money to help.
Here, I would like to make an initial move by donating five thousand taels of silver.
When everyone heard that the commander had personally come forward to arrange the donation and took the lead in donating silver, they immediately expressed their support. Shen Baiyi then donated 10,000 taels, and the other merchants kept reporting numbers such as 8,000, 5,000, and 1,000 taels.
Zhao Yulin stood up and toasted everyone to express his gratitude. He asked them to elect representatives to preside over the overall maintenance of Zhongnan Mountain. His family would have Madam Yuqi as the representative. The Shenwei Army also specially approved 3,000 kilograms of earth and cement from Fengxiang Prefecture and 1,000 Jiajiang glazed bricks.
Shen Baiyi was shocked after hearing this. Earth cement is a military material and is under strict control. Yu Fuming, the former logistics officer of the Shenwei Army, was found out and beheaded for reselling earth cement for huge profits. There were several businessmen in Guanzhong who took advantage of the situation and ended up in jail.
Jiajiang colored glaze is the best building material today.
Now, Zhao Yulin opened his mouth and supported 3,000 kilograms of cement and 1,000 pieces of glazed tiles from Zhongnan Mountain, which is not a small amount.
Everyone present realized that the relationship between Zhongnan Mountain and the Shenwei Army was definitely special.
Everyone returned to the meeting hall. After Zhao Yulin explained the principles of building a new city and opening a bank, Shen Baiyi took the lead and said that everyone knew and would run the business with integrity. First, they would open the bank. If they still needed money to build the new city, they could also gather it. The soldiers were bleeding and fighting in the front, and they were just sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor. What was the point of spending some money?
Zhao Yulin said with a smile that it was not that no money could be made, but that what we did with our Shenwei Army was legitimate business, and it was absolutely impossible to get rich overnight. However, the central military account of Fengxiang would send people to participate in the accounting to ensure that you would not lose money.
Everyone took a reassuring dumpling from him and happily discussed the detailed rules.
