In late autumn, the grass and trees wither and the fields are deserted.

Around Chen hour, on a mountain ten miles southeast of Ruyang City, Runing Prefecture, Henan Province, Lu Xiangsheng, who was in the military affairs of the five provinces, was observing the camp of bandits dozens of miles away in the distance. He was tall and thin, wearing a mail, an eight-petal hat and helmet, and had iron arms on his left and right arms. Yang Maogong, an officer in the Tianxiong Army, stood beside him, and Wu Dading, the personal guard of Lu Xiangsheng, stood behind him with a 20-pound sword.

After observing for a long time, Lu Xiangsheng frowned and turned around and walked down the mountain. Yang Maogong and Wu Dading hurriedly followed behind him.

Yang Maogong asked, "General, the bandits are powerful, how should we deal with it?"

Lu Xiangsheng walked without looking back and said while walking: "The thieves have always been our biggest opponent. His subordinates have many foreign Han cavalry, which is easy to defeat them, but it is almost impossible to kill them. This time, the thieves and Zhang Xianzhong jointly increased their troops to hundreds of thousands, and it is indeed difficult to defeat them in one fell swoop. After returning to the camp, they will summon the generals to discuss!"

After arriving at the main tent of the camp at the foot of the mountain, Lu Xiangsheng ordered the summoning of officers above the thousand generals under his command, as well as the generals such as Zukuan and Li Chongjin, who were dispatched by the Ministry of War to discuss matters.

After a while, the generals and officials of the Tianxiong Army came to the big tent, while generals and officials of Liaodong such as Zu Kuan and Li Chongjin came late.

After everyone arrived, Lu Xiangsheng looked at everyone with a calm expression and slowly said, "It has been several days since the trespasses and sieges to siege Ruyang, and the city is in danger. As the imperial army, we have always taken the responsibility of suppressing the thieves and defending the territory. This official just checked the enemy's formation. Although there were many people, wài    wéi did not set up camps at all. The garrison was very lazy. Only by approaching the city, can we see a slightly more neat camp.

It was just a group of mobs. Our army was currently on the flank of the bandit army. I decided to shoot and kill with gōng    nǔ first, then attack with a cavalry, and then defeated them, and drove the defeated soldiers to attack their old camp. In this battle, I didn’t want to kill the thieves in one sentence, but I wanted to kill the main force of the old camp, weaken their living power, and lift the siege of Ruyang. After returning to the camp, the generals buried their pots and cooked food, and then launched an attack and killing. What do the generals mean?"

The Tianxiong Army was built by Lu Xiangsheng from Daming Mansion. He was loyal to him and received orders from Yang Maogong. Zu Kuan and Li Chongjin's subordinates were buzzing.

Lu Xiangsheng looked over. Zu Kuan, who was sturdy and bearded, stepped out carelessly and said, "The commander, the bandits are powerful, with hundreds of thousands of troops. The commander's Tianxiong army has only 5,000 troops, the commander's commander's commander has only 3,000 cavalry, and General Li has only 1,700. There are less than 10,000 troops. If you want to attack hundreds of thousands of bandits, you may suffer a lot of losses. The general is not afraid of the enemy and is afraid that the bandits from these valleys will be timid. The general does not take these bandits seriously yet, but the bandits are numerous and powerful. The general is afraid that their men will suffer too much loss!"

When Yang Maogong and other generals of the Tianxiong Army saw him confronting the commander in person, they were very angry and looked at Zu Kuan with bad eyes. These barbarians from Liaodong relied on their elite troops and were arrogant and domineering, and no one took them seriously.

Lu Xiangsheng looked motionless and said, "What do General Zu thinks should?"

Zu Kuanman said indifferently: "The last general thought that the bandits would attack Runing in a few days. After the city was broken, the bandits would plunder the whole city. Wài     Wéi robbers would also participate in the plunder. At that time, we would follow and kill them, and we would definitely defeat the bandits!" The generals of Liaodong agreed to support their plans.

Lu Xiangsheng was angry, but he did not show any of it. He spoke, "General Zu looked at the strategy of leading troops to fight. Although this method is feasible, have you considered the officials, gentry and people in Runing City? Under the breaking of the city, according to the nature of the bandits, how many families will be destroyed in the city?"

Zu Kuan looked up at the sky and said proudly: "We are the official army of the court, and we only care about suppressing the thieves. As for the people, it is the affairs of the government and we have nothing to do with us!"

Lu Xiangsheng finally couldn't help but look displeased, and his tone became stern: "Since it is the official army of the court, we should be responsible for protecting the territory and ensuring the people! I was ordered by the Prime Minister to the military and political affairs of the five provinces, and we must never sit idly by and watch the city be destroyed and people die. The tragedy of my official's eyes will happen under my nose! General Zu doesn't need to say much. The Ministry of War dispatches you to wait for the Liaodong troops to be under the jurisdiction of my official, so you must obey my official's orders! Once the horse team attacks, I will take the lead in charge and go back and prepare!"

The generals of the Tianxiong Army knelt on one knee to receive the order, and Zu Kuan was still waiting to continue to disobey his orders. Li Chongjin behind him secretly pulled his armor, and he gave up. He bowed to Lu Xiangsheng in a hurry and led his subordinates away.

After the generals in the tent left, Yang Maogong said angrily: "That Liaodong barbarian named Zu is so arrogant, the commander-in-chief should order him to be killed on the grounds of disobeying his superiors! Destroy the prestige of the Liaodong men! Do you dare to speak to the commander like this? Does he still have the court in his eyes?"

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head and said, "How could there be any killing generals before the war? The generals in Liaodong have developed a arrogant and domineering attitude because the court needs to rely on their resistance to Jianlu. Now, the 180,000 troops in Liaodong have become a big force. Although the emperor and the court's officials are clear, they can only let them go if they are both internal and external troubles! Alas, the current plan is that only after the thieves can we find a way to solve these problems!"

Yang Maogong looked confused and said, "General, can this bandit be wiped out? Since the second year of Chongzhen, his subordinates have followed the general to fight in all directions. However, the bandits have gone from tens of thousands to tens of thousands to tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands now, and the more they suppress, the more they are, the more they are, and the old brothers under his command, feel less and less confident!"

Lu Xiangsheng slowly walked to Yang Maogong, looking at this loving general who had followed him for six years and had experienced hundreds of battles. He put his hands on Yang Maogong's shoulders, stared at his eyes with bright eyes, and said in a gentle voice: "Hanchen, you have followed me for so many years, and we have fought side by side, and have emerged from the sea of ​​blood several times. In name, I am your Shangguan, but in fact, I treat you as my nephew in my heart, and the friendship between you and me is the same as my relatives. I have been as confused as you are now, and the road ahead is difficult, not

I know where to go. When I was tired and socializing, I missed my mother who was sick in my hometown and the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan. But now my border affairs in the Ming Dynasty were destroyed, and thieves were raging in the Central Plains, natural disasters and man-made disasters followed one after another, the people were displaced, and the family was destroyed. As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, I read the books of sages and knew that I must stand up and shoulder the responsibility that belonged to me. As for the result, God has his own arrangements! You and all the brothers of the Tianxiong Army, we are all for a common goal, that is, to clear the world.

Give the people a peaceful world so that they can live and work in peace and no longer suffer from military disasters. Just last month, I received a secret letter from the Lord. In the secret letter, the Lord confessed that he was too anxious about the suppression of the thieves. He asked me and Dwong to change the original strategy of suppressing the thieves in the era of defeating the thieves, slowly plan it, and express their unconditional trust and support for me and Dwong. Let us let go of it, and do not have to be afraid of the detriment of the court's remarks to us. The Lord bears all the consequences! Han minister, do you know? Before June, in order to complete the thieves assigned by Dwong

I was so frightened and anxious that I was afraid that the priest’s major event would be delayed due to my lack of ability! You also know that in order to pursue the priest and complete the mission, I have been sleepless for several days, just because I am afraid of letting the priest’s expectations down! Although I knew it was impossible, I still tried my best to fight! Thank you, the old brothers who have been with me for many years, have not returned home to visit for several years. Some of them have been sleeping in a foreign land!" When he said this, Lu Xiangsheng’s eyes were slightly red and his voice was choked.

Soon he adjusted his emotions, put his hands down from Yang Maogong, and walked slowly in the tent with his hands behind his back, saying as he walked: "Hanchen, I felt the change of the saint from the letter. Although this change is very subtle, I still noticed it. The saint is like a person, no longer impatient and irritable, no longer fight for victory. He has become calm and peaceful, wise and responsible, which makes me very excited! Hanchen, tell you, the saint thinks that our troops have always lacked food and wages, and have already come from the treasury.

Allocate money and grain to me. Due to the unstable local area, the food and wages have been transported to Ruzhou. After this battle, I will lead you to Runing and lǐng    qǔ Food and wages, and make some repairs on the spot, so that the soldiers can report their safety to their families, and send the money and silver home to subsidize their family income. Han ministers, we must hurt the thieves in this battle and drive them back to the mountains, so that the people of the Central Plains can have some peace. You can tell the news to your brothers so that they can boost morale!”

Yang Maogong admired Lu Xiangsheng from the bottom of his heart. As an important official in the court, whenever he faced the enemy, Lu Xiangsheng charged forward as a civil official and was brave enough to take charge, which greatly encouraged the morale of the entire army.

The army had no food for three days, and Lu Xiangsheng also did not eat or drink, so he was deeply loved by the soldiers and fought bravely. In the absence of food and salary, Lu Xiangsheng could only infect his subordinates with his personal charm, lead by example, share the joys and sorrows with his subordinates, and constantly inspire loyalty and righteousness, which allowed the Tianxiong Army to gradually grow into an elite army in the world.

Now that he heard that the emperor had allocated food and salary, Yang Maogong, who had not seen military salary for more than a year, was so happy that he was like a child. He clenched his fists and waved it for a moment, grinning and laughing.

As he smiled, tears slowly flowed down his eyes, and the laughter gradually turned into sobs, and later he burst into tears.

Lu Xiangsheng empathized with Yang Maogong's behavior. Tianxiong's military pay was cut off for more than a year, and the food was also intermittent. When Yunyang was chasing Lao Huihui and passing the bandits such as Tianxing, he spent several days in the mountains and valleys, and lived with soldiers and servants without food and grass. He was hungry for several days. In this state, he led his subordinates to kill tens of thousands of bandits, won nine battles and nine victories, and finally disappeared from the bandits in the Yunyang area.

He walked over and patted Yang Maogong on the back, and smiled, "What? Are you so stupid when you heard about the paying sacrifice?"

Yang Maogong stopped crying, touched the tears on his face with the back of his hand, and said with red eyes: "Mo Jiang thought of those brothers who died. Their family still doesn't know the news of their passing. The young and old in the family still hope that they can send the money back home to support their families! Mo Jiang had just thought about it, and divided his money into several parts and sent it to the family of the brothers who were familiar with Mo Jiang. Although there was not much, it was also considered the wish of Mo Jiang!" Before he finished speaking, he choked up again.

Tears rolled down Lu Xiangsheng's eyes, and he opened his mouth several times and was unable to speak. It took him a long time to calm down.

He spoke solemnly: "Since the second year of Chongzhen, hundreds of brothers who followed Lu to fight, and more than a thousand disabled people have died. Lu is ashamed of his father, wife and children in his family! Although the court has the supervision of pension, for a living life, that little pension is insignificant. His family will have to survive after the pain of losing their relatives! But although I am determined, I am unable to change these. Fortunately, we have a wise ruler! Han ministers, the emperor has issued a clear order to issue the world. All those who bravely fight against the enemy and die in the battle with the thief Jiannu will give their family a pension of 100 taels of silver, 20 acres of land for eternity, and halve the disabled! The emperor still wants to be in

The capital was built and the names of all the soldiers who died for the country were engraved on the monument. During festivals, officials were sent to sacrifice, and the Ming Dynasty would not perish, and the incense was constantly on the rise! I was also the news I just saw from the newspaper. You tell the news first. After this war, I will let the officers jì count the names and origins of the soldiers who died and were injured in the past six years with you, and then report to the Ministry of War. The affairs of the Ministry of War will be handled according to the rules. In order to prevent the pension silver from being encroached, the Emperor specially asked the Ministry of War, the Inspectorate, and the Jinyiwei to send people to supervise this matter. With such a wise ruler, why worry that the soldiers will not fight bravely to kill the enemy? There is great potential for eliminating the thieves!"

Yang Maogong couldn't believe his ears. He was stunned for a while and shouted loudly: "Master General, is what you said just now true?"

Lu Xiangsheng looked at him with a smile, nodded with affirmation. Yang Maogong howled and turned around and rushed out of the tent. After a while, what Lu Xiangsheng said quickly spread throughout the Tianxiong Army camp, and the deafening cheers resounded throughout the entire military camp.

At the Liaodong Horse Team Camp not far from Tianxiong Army Camp, Li Chongjin was persuading Zu Kuan's big tent. Zu Kuan felt that the tent was hot, so he took off his armor and semen and his upper body was naked, luǒ    lù with thick chest hair, and was cursing.

Li Chongjin, who was over 20 years old, was younger than Zukuan. His ancestors were Li Chengliang's family generals. Li Chongjin learned a lot of skills since childhood, but because the Li family had long declined, he did not gain much. He also made great progress. He started with a small soldier and was promoted step by step. Now he has earned merits and served as a guerrilla general in Liaodong, with a team of 1,700 horses under his command, becoming a force that cannot be ignored among the Liaodong warlords.

He said, "Sir, we are the imperial army after all, and we can be more casual in daily life. But this time the Ministry of War dispatched us to the mainland and under the command of General Lu to serve, so we are attracted by the sharpness of our Guanning Iron Cavalry. Now it is in Henan, not in Liaodong. If General Lu cuts our heads on the grounds of disrespect for the order, it will be unfair! Please bear it for a while. Isn't it the local gang in front of us? No matter how many people are, they are still natives. After fighting this battle, let's find a reason to go back to Liaodong. When we return to our hometown, no matter how much we make trouble, are you right?"

Zu Kuan glanced at him and said, "He dares! If he dares to chop my head, it will be an enemy of the entire Guanning Iron Cavalry. At that time, the brothers in the family will start to make trouble. The court will definitely let him pay his life. Now civil officials are worthless. We who have guns, swords and horses are the master!"

Li Chongjin smiled and said, "Of course I know what the adults said is true, but a hero does not suffer any loss in front of him. Let's just give the court a face!"

Zu Kuan snorted, Li Chongjin used a color, and Zu Kuan's personal soldiers came over to put on armor on him.

Li Chongjin said, "I'll go back and greet the men for dinner. Let's see if Du Shuai Lu really can charge forward. If that's the case, I, Li Chongjin, will be convinced!"
Chapter completed!