Chapter 162 Recruiting Veterans
Although the number of 3,370 Sui army captured slaves was not much compared to the 300,000 troops left in Sashui, it was also a big number. The logistics battalion specially prepared a camp, tent, and clean military uniform for them.
Under the arrangement of the logistics camp of the camp, the Sui army prisoners who had just taken off their anklets, each of them took off their already ragged clothes. They did not care that it was already mid-autumn time, and they rushed into a small river not far from the camp, rubbing every inch of their skin over and over again, as if doing so could rub off the days like nightmares that had been dreaming over the past few hundred days.
In the autumn sunshine, the Sui army prisoners washed for almost an hour and rubbed their skin red and swollen. Then they reluctantly went to the shore and put on the clean and familiar Great Sui army uniforms.
The same prisoner slaves were about to fall when the wind blew. After taking a shower for more than an hour, they changed into neat and clean military uniforms, combed their hair, and after a full meal, they immediately changed.
Although it looks very different from those of the Northeast Army soldiers, the spirit of the whole person immediately changed. He could no longer find any sign of slaves from them, and his every move was full of the feeling of a soldier.
After eating and drinking, the investigating department began to register the more than 3,000 people one by one, registering their names, which army they served before being captured, what commanders of the troops were, and so on. Even the family situation of each person in the Central Plains was asked about it. They also asked about the situation after being captured, such as knowing who was captured, what were the superiors and chiefs of each person who died in battle, and which were captured. They also specifically asked about Luo Lin's father, General Zuo Yiwei, as well as Li Benlei's two sons, Li Hu, Li Bao, and his three grandsons, Li Chengyi, Li Chengli, and Li Chengzhi.
These six people are all officers of the Zuo Yiwei. Luo Lin's father Luo Hu is the third-rank general of the Zuo Yiwei. The two brothers Li Hu and Li Bao are the fifth-rank general of Yingyanglang, and the three brothers Li Chengyi are the sixth-rank Yueqi lieutenant, both of whom are high and intermediate-rank officers. Among the prisoners, there are also some soldiers of the Zuo Yiwei. The old man Zhou Jin who stood up to speak was also the Yingyanglang of the Zuo Yiwei. After asking for a long time, most of them said that they knew these five people, but no one had seen them.
However, although there was no result to be found, no one was sure that the five people had been killed. This made Luo Lin and Li Benlei, who had been in the camp all day, both disappointed and happy. What was disappointed was that they did not receive any news from their family members. What was happy was that since there were 60,000 prisoners and no one saw their relatives dead with their own eyes, it means that there was still great hope that these people were alive.
In the evening, Chen Kefu personally summoned the officers of the more than 3,300 people. More than 3,300 people, and 270 officers above the ranks. However, the ranks were not high, and the highest was Zhou Jin's General Yingyanglang. There were three generals under him, and there were twelve generals of Yueqi lieutenants. After all, Yueqi lieutenants were all cavalry with horses, and basically they either died in battle or ran away. These twelve were injured and unable to leave during the war, and they lost their war horses.
There were many infantry captains, thirty-one of them. These people were basically captured by the entire siege in the end. The rest were more than 200 officers, including the Cangcao Consul, the Military Consul, the Chief Secretary, Sima, the Chief Executive, the Deputy Team, and other officers.
And the more than 3,000 soldiers were basically all cavalry and infantry. After statistics, there were more than 500 cavalry and more than 2,500 infantry. It can be said that this can be regarded as a small mixed force.
"I don't know what you plan?"
At the central army account that broke the military camp, Chen Kefu sat in the upper head and asked more than 200 officers of all sizes below.
Chen Kefu actually had some ideas about these people. These are real soldiers, and now they have experienced life-and-death battles. If possible, he certainly wanted to incorporate them into his team. After all, no matter what, these are real veterans, and they are much stronger than the tens of thousands of new recruits under his command.
Even if it cannot be fully incorporated, even if it is adapted a small part, it will definitely increase the combat effectiveness of the entire Northeast Army to a higher level. For Chen Kefu, the Northeast Army was basically the Pojun Camp. The Pojun Camp was originally a cavalry unit, with cavalry officers all over the top and bottom.
Nowadays, the Pojun Barracks are limited to expansion of their scale, but are no longer a simple cavalry unit. Instead, they are heading towards an infantry unit. Although the cavalry is a high-tech army, the original cavalry officers in the Pojun Barracks, except for Mr. Li Benlei, are basically just small cavalry officers, and have no experience in leading infantry troops at all.
It was a bit unreliable for Chen Kefu to use a group of middle and lower cavalry officers to expand an army dominated by infantry. However, it was hard for a good cook to cook without rice. He wanted to get some infantry officers, but where did he do it?
The seven people Li Jie brought in, plus himself, were all regular generals, all veterans who had led troops for many years, and each had rich experience. However, Chen Kefu had not had time to defeat Li Jie and his group, so how could he give them a chance again?
Now is undoubtedly an opportunity. Although there are not many generals among these people, they are basically grassroots officers. These people can make up for the shortcomings of their lack of solid military officers at the bottom. However, all this depends on their opinions. After all, it is not sweet to be forced.
Zhou Jin and others stood in two rows in the tent, and were stunned when they heard this. They were all officers, but now both the court and the relatives in their families thought they were dead. Now that they had just been rescued, they really didn't have time to think about what to do next?
Chen Kefu smiled, "I think this is the case. You will write a few letters to your home in a while, and then write a statement to the court to explain how they were captured. After being captured and rescued until now, I will briefly write it out. As for you, I will also write a memorial to Your Majesty to explain the situation in detail. When you write it, I will send a team of soldiers to send these letters to the Central Plains. Everyone, although they must be homesick, they have been demoted to slaves by Goguryeo and were driven to do hard labor for more than a year, and their bodies have almost all been crossed. If you set out on the road now, you may not be able to reach the Central Plains. It would be better to just rest here first, and wait until your health is well prepared before making the next plan. If Your Majesty summons you back to the Central Plains at that time, it would be even better if you are willing to stay in my Northeast Army."
"You don't know that when we stayed, there were only 10,000 people, and there were Goguryeo people on all sides. I couldn't sleep all day and night. Later, after conquering Liaodong City, I finally had a place to settle down, but there were still many Liao people surrounding us near Liaodong City."
"In desperation, I remembered that Your Majesty once ordered me to add ten new Eagle Yang Mansions after I captured Liaodong City, and allowed me to temporarily recruit people and build a military force. In the end, the troops were pulled up, and there were no shortage of armor and weapons, but there were not many skilled soldiers. I sent 6,000 soldiers into the new recruits, and the new recruits were still a mess. Last time, we used a trick to deceive Anshi. More than 20,000 Goguryeo people from Baiyan Zhucheng came to Liaodong City to ambush. As a result, the defense line composed of more than 10,000 new recruits was broken by thousands of Liao people. Alas, it's embarrassing."
Chen Kefu was like an old lady, dragging two hundred prisoners to complain there. Those who knew that he was the general of Zuotun Guard, and those who didn't know that he really thought he was a chatterbox.
"This time, I brought 100,000 people here, of which 70,000 were new troops after reorganization, each with excellent armor, sharp weapons, and strong war horses. But that's it. Ten thousand people attacked Yuan Taizuo for 30,000. After seven days of fighting, more than 20,000 slaves in Yuan Taizuo surrendered in front of the formation. We won. We had a good canyon and a chance to raid, but in the end more than 3,000 people died in battle. Although the problem near Liaodong City has been temporarily solved, I am sure that in less than three months, the Liao people will definitely gather troops and go north. At that time, relying on those new recruits alone, how can I defend this Liaodong City? How can I face His Majesty's instructions?"
After listening for a long time, Chen Kefu asked them to think about it himself, but he only asked them to write letters but did not let them leave. He said that they were asking them to recuperate, but if they could really leave, who would really have the intention to stay here to nourish their bodies.
This is obviously to tell them that they were inseparable from the court's handling opinions. They followed him and said that their troops were all recruits and there were no suitable middle and lower-level officers. Their meaning was that they wanted them to be incorporated into his army.
After all, they have been captured for so long, and the court has already thought they were all dead. At this time, no one knows what the emperor's attitude is. But today they know that when Sashui was defeated, the nine generals who attacked Pyongyang, one of them was killed, and the rest were all imprisoned by shackles. Although Yuwen Shu and Yang Yichen and other generals were relieved of their crimes based on their relationship with the emperor, General Yu Zhongwen was finally a scapegoat and was killed by surgery.
Chapter completed!