Chapter 34 Broth
Yingkou County.
At that time, China did not yet have the very typical phenomenon of emphasizing civil affairs over military affairs. After paying a visit to the county magistrate, County Magistrate Hu welcomed him and called his county lieutenant over. The key point was the cooperation between the two.
Although the county lieutenant was an eighth-rank official, one rank higher than Zhang Xuanning's current ninth-rank official, Zhang Xuanning belonged to one of the emperor's sixteen guards, so of course they were different, and therefore they were almost on the same level.
After a banquet at noon, it was already noon when we arrived at the county military camp below. It was relatively small, but there were still 300 able-bodied men summoned. Of course, their weapons were a bit uneven.
County lieutenant Zhou Liang said with a smile: "Master Shi, we really welcome you here. Please take a day off. The county magistrate has ordered me to send you wine and food."
This man is over thirty years old and looks tough.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Zhou. However, please tell us about the situation in the county and how the traitor Wang An is acting so that we can complete the Wei Zhong military order as soon as possible." Zhang Xuanning was already full of food and wine, but he was still very sober.
"Master Shi is indeed diligent in the king's affairs."
He paused, thought about it, and then said, "In August of the ninth year of Daye, Brother Wang An refused to serve as a laborer and cut off his own hand. So we forced him to serve as a laborer, and he fled to the mountains and forests. There were only a few people on the run. In the tenth year of Daye, he gathered a hundred people and attacked the village. This year, there are more than a thousand of them, and there is already chaos. It is difficult for the county to suppress it, so we invited Lord Shi to come."
One of the important conditions for peasants to overthrow a court is that they should launch riots in almost the same period, making the original ruling institutions overwhelmed, power dissipated, and gradually paralyzed. Emperor Yang of Sui attacked Goryeo three times and recruited soldiers and laborers across the country year after year. Every working people was not only poor but also threatened with death. Some people even cut off their hands and feet to avoid death, which was called "lucky hands" and "lucky feet". Therefore, under such circumstances, large-scale uprisings were launched vigorously.
However, the rebels were basically undisciplined and engaged in plundering. Few of them had the qualities of a royal army. This actually determined the strength of the force. Therefore, Zhang Xuanning nodded and asked, "Are there any soldiers participating in this?"
Scholars should not even think about it, there definitely aren't any. The question now is whether there are soldiers involved. If there are soldiers from the original army or even junior officers involved, then the nature of the matter will be different from that of simple farmers.
"Yes, it is said that there are dozens of soldiers who escaped." County Lieutenant Zhou Liang said with a gloomy face.
"Have you ever been in power?"
"It is said that he is a relative of Wang An and is a key figure in his group."
"No wonder, there are over a thousand people, and some of them are former soldiers. It's not easy for the county to wipe them out." Zhang Xuanning's face was a little solemn: "Good report. If we wait a little longer, they may become even more powerful and difficult to control."
"That's what the county magistrate is thinking, and he's taking some risks."
"Yes, I know this too. I will wipe him out as soon as possible to avoid complications or worsening of the situation. Also, no one from the village has participated yet, right?"
In the wave of uprising, the original landlord class may join in and seize control, carve up land and form their own power. This will be a different nature.
"not yet."
"That's not bad. Although there are more than a thousand people, there are only four or five hundred men who can fight." Zhang Xuanning breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the people who participated in the uprising followed their entire family because rebellion would implicate the entire family. Even the young and the old had to follow, otherwise they would die. "However, they must be strangled quickly, otherwise, there might be trouble again."
This year, Emperor Yang of Sui ordered the construction of cities in counties, post stations, and villages because of the peasant uprisings and the drastic reduction in population. All people were moved into the cities to live and cultivate the fields near the cities. The fields near the cities were limited, and people living in the cities could not make a living. This forced a group of people to join the uprising army. Therefore, if it was not quickly suppressed, it would immediately lead to a big incident.
County lieutenant Zhou Liang said with a wry smile: "Master Shi is absolutely right!"
After a pause, he continued, "I have gathered three hundred soldiers from the village, equipped with weapons from the county arsenal. Please ask Lord Shi to take unified command and quell the situation quickly."
Zhang Xuanning smiled and said, "Let's make contact first. If we can lure them out, we can kill them on the ground. If they retreat to the forest or the mountain, that will be troublesome. We may not be able to kill them completely even after searching for several months. This will not only affect your county, but also me."
That's true. If the first battle is not completed neatly and efficiently, it will be embarrassing to be evaluated in the army. Although Zhang Xuanning is not really prepared to develop in the Sui army, he must do a good job.
County lieutenant Zhou Liang certainly didn't know what he was thinking, but he thought he wanted to establish military merit, so he said, "Don't worry, we still have an insider in our county who knows where he is going."
Zhang Xuanning laughed and said, "Then I'm relieved. I'll rest in the military camp. Once Lord Zhou gets the news, we can go all out to attack."
"Since Lord Shi is so confident, I feel relieved." County Lieutenant Zhou Liang said happily, and the two of them inspected the camp and watched those people being arranged to move in one by one. Seeing that one of the fifty people was assigned to guard the camp gate, it can be seen that their military discipline is strict, and they were full of confidence at the moment.
"Please let me see the local soldiers' drill, Master Zhou, so I can know how many there are."
"This is a matter of course." County Lieutenant Zhou Liang immediately gave the order.
Immediately, orders were given and the 300 militiamen were divided into two teams, engaging in continuous confrontation. After a few glances, one could tell that it was the simplest and most traditional battle in ancient times. They each held a wooden sword or spear and fought each other.
"Have you ever been to the battlefield?" After watching for half an incense stick of time, Zhang Xuanning said to his senior brother standing next to him.
County lieutenant Zhou Liang watched the drills on the field and said, "There were a few small battles."
After observing carefully for a while, Zhang Xuanning smiled faintly: "It's good enough to have a few small battles. The only thing to worry about is that the whole army has never experienced fighting."
After another half an incense stick of time, the situation on the field changed dramatically. All the people fighting began to breathe heavily, and their hands and feet began to slow down.
A battle lasting as long as a stick of incense. This is one of the real key points of ancient warfare.
Unlike modern armies that hold guns and pull the trigger, in ancient times, it was like running a thousand meters. After a few strokes, the physical strength was exhausted. If there was no arrangement for rest in turns, the high-intensity battle would actually not last for long.
It can also be said that the so-called mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare, even if not completely useless in ancient times, was close to suicide. There was also a saying that morale would decline after three rounds of fighting within a limited range. If the soldiers had to run for dozens of miles without horses, how would they have the energy to fight?
Pulling the trigger and hand-to-hand combat are two completely different concepts. In ancient times, the only way to get there was death!
It can be said that only when hot weapons freed soldiers from the simple measurement of physical strength did the soil for large-scale mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare exist.
Zhang Xuanning understood the spirit of ancient military tactics and realized something. He immediately despised the act of moving Taizu's guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare back to ancient times - that would be bandits who would never amount to anything and would usually commit suicide.
After a while, the second team was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Seeing this, Zhang Xuanning knew that they had reached their limit, so he laughed and said, "These soldiers are ready to fight, so let's withdraw!"
"Very good."
He stopped watching the militiamen withdraw and walked towards his own camp with a smile.
When he entered his barracks, he saw Tao Ji handling official business. For a moment, he did not notice Zhang Xuanning coming in. Zhang Xuanning looked at his deputy carefully, and then he realized that when no one was around, he was wearing the official uniform of a ninth-rank military officer, and he exuded the unique efficiency and murderous spirit of a soldier.
Those who can climb up are not idiots and have their own strength. Zhang Xuanning's heart moved slightly.
The voice of the county lieutenant Zhou Liang, who was coming over to collect the troops, startled him, and he immediately put on his habitual flattering smile: "Greetings to the county lieutenant, greetings to the captain."
"Forget it, no need to be so polite. Have the food, wine and meat that the county gave us been delivered?"
"It has been delivered. Food and fodder are delivered once every three days, and there is also enough wine and meat. Would you like to see it, sir?" Tao Ji said as he stood up and bowed.
"No need, I'm at ease with you doing the work."
In fact, how did elite soldiers come from in ancient times? It was nothing more than wine and meat. People who don’t eat meat don’t have much fighting power, so the consumption of elite soldiers is to accumulate enough meat and rice.
As for the morale and the will of officers and soldiers, if we talk about them apart from this, it would be almost funny. Modern armies have strengthened training, and those who know a little bit know that the food allowance should be doubled according to the intensity of the training plan. Without sufficient nutrition, a week of intensive training can cause soldiers to urinate blood.
This was the era of triggers and buttons. If it was in the ancient times of pure physical combat, without enough rice and meat, there would be no point in training, and a group of people would die every day!
Fifty soldiers who are well fed with wine and meat and are well trained, even without the help of horsepower, can indeed defeat the three hundred militiamen who are fed with coarse grains. In Chinese history, except for the Taizu era in modern times, any so-called peasant uprising only ended up paving the way for others.
Supplies are undoubtedly a very large factor.
The army Zhang Xuanning was in had meat every day, and alcohol was prohibited. Their fighting power was far superior to those skinny peasants. Thinking of this, Zhang Xuanning immediately became confident that killing them would be as easy as killing a dog's ear.
As long as the era has not entered the era of hot weapons, the peasants will never be able to revolt, even if Taizu is here, it will be the same. This is his understanding.
"Is there any news from outside?" he said casually.
"Recently, there was an internal conflict in Wei Yue's rebel group, but Wei Yue is not dead. The rebellion was suppressed, and the rebel generals who plotted rebellion were killed or their military power was stripped away. In my humble opinion, the vitality of this group must have been seriously damaged. It depends on whether they can concentrate power in the future and turn a disaster into a blessing." Tao Ji said after a brief thought.
"Wei Yue is a traitor... Wei Yue..." After hearing this, Zhang Xuanning didn't care. He had never heard of this name before. It was just a small part of the countless traitors.
"Wei Yue..." County Lieutenant Zhou Liang silently repeated, saying: "This man is also a great thief, who once gathered thousands of soldiers. I didn't expect that he would be caught in such a turmoil today. It seems that his luck has come to an end."
"Maybe. The imperial court's elite troops are here. Even if there are rebels, what is there to be afraid of?" Zhang Xuanning said.
Everyone nodded, without any doubt.
Although there were many turmoil in the world and the three attacks on Goryeo also resulted in serious losses, people of insight understood that Emperor Yang of Sui still maintained nearly 300,000 elite troops. Even if he did nothing, as long as he stayed in Chang'an, it would be more than enough to extend the rule of the country for another 30 years. Even if he still had some of his original talents and strategy, he could use Guanzhong and Chang'an as his base to regain control of the country in a matter of seconds.
No matter what family it is, even if the four major families join forces, they are no match.
Therefore, in fact, at this time, the core armies of Emperor Yang of Sui in Guanzhong and Chang'an were all very calm and did not feel at all that the world was about to perish.
Even if it was the Li clan, they could not start a rebellion as long as Emperor Yang of Sui was in Chang'an, because it was very easy for Emperor Yang of Sui to destroy them. Therefore, the Li clan's plan to use various methods to make Emperor Yang of Sui go to the south must have been a grand strategy. But it is incomprehensible why Emperor Yang of Sui actually abandoned his roots and moved south. Did he run away just because he was scared by the Turks?
How can the south compare to Guanzhong? You know, the best soldiers in the world are all here, and the economy and population are extremely rich. In history, after the Li family occupied this place, they swept the world in a few years and had almost no rivals, which shows how rich their imperial capital was.
If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. Just think that Emperor Yang of Sui is crazy. Anyway, the fact is like this. You can't change the reality even if you don't figure it out. Zhang Xuanning laughed and said, "Distribute the wine and meat, one portion for each person. Those who are on duty will temporarily withhold the wine. We need to win more military merits so that we can give our wives and children titles."
"Yes, sir." When people present heard about military merit and the titles for wife and children, their hearts were warmed. It was only ten years since the heyday of the Sui Dynasty, and the army had not yet become corrupt. Rewards were based on military merit, and the implementation was quite good, so it was attractive.
"How about the horses?" Zhang Xuanning was pointing to the twenty captured war horses.
"Those who are not injured can be used as such and do not need to be handed in. Those who are injured can be sold."
"Don't worry, Lord Shi. These injured horses have no serious injuries and can be sold at a high price. I will take care of it." County Lieutenant Zhou Liang said this. In his heart, he had already decided to buy them at 20% higher than the market price. This was a bribe to him.
"Okay, thank you, Master Zhou."
By then, it was almost dusk and the aroma of meat wafted through the military camp, making the soldiers drool. However, they had no meat to eat, and being able to eat enough coarse grains while serving in the army was already very good.
Only at this moment did Zhang Xuanning understand all kinds of things about the ancient army. He thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Is there a horse with a serious injury that cannot be healed?"
"Yes, one."
"Kill them. Give everyone in the camp a bowl of broth today. Make it thicker. We'll have to fight in a few days, so we'd better save some energy for them."
Hearing this, Tao Ji responded, "Yes!"
County lieutenant Zhou Liang also smiled and said, "If this happens, the morale of the soldiers will surely be boosted!"
You eat the meat and I eat the soup, so that the upper and lower parts are balanced. Zhang Xuanning knows this very well. Even if a bowl of meat soup is little, at least he gets to drink it, and he feels balanced psychologically.
Otherwise, the militia will surely be envious, and full of envy and resentment. Although this is not obvious in peacetime, it will be evident in times of war.
However, even Zhang Xuanning did not dare to give the militiamen meat, even if there was some extra. If he gave the militiamen a bowl of soup, everyone would say he was kind, but giving them a piece of meat would be a violation of the rules, which would cause imbalance in the hearts of his elite soldiers and would also give people gossip - was he trying to win people's hearts?
In ancient times, these points must not be violated, otherwise, there would be death.
Although horse meat is coarse, it can be cooked well and make excellent broth. Those guys who ate coarse grains and had not eaten meat for who knows how long, all received a bowl of broth with a smile. There were 300 people in the camp, and almost one-fifth of the meat was used up just for the broth.
If everyone had meat to eat, the horse could be eaten in just one meal.
"Team Shi is right!"
After drinking the broth, Zhang Xuanning immediately felt welcomed. It was not only the taste of the broth, but also a style of everyone having the same fruit to eat. In this world, what countless people pray for is for their master to remember to eat the meat while they drink the broth.
In fact, the master’s greatest weapon is nothing more than “I eat meat and you drink soup”. This is the real invincible weapon, no matter in ancient or modern times or even in the future, but this point is the easiest to be forgotten.
Of course, this would not immediately make the militiamen kneel on the ground and shout "Long live the lord". It would only require a little more willingness in dispatching and giving orders. This willingness alone was sometimes enough to determine victory on the battlefield.
I have broth for 300 men, how can I have broth for a million soldiers? Zhang Xuanning saw everyone laughing and shook his head and sighed in his heart. If there are no supplies, then everything is empty talk. Benevolence lies in the material things, not in the heart!
I thought to myself, this broth can still be drunk for a few days.
