Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 351 Student Soldiers

Yu Jin also returned to Gaoping County.

As the prefect of Gaoping County appointed by the court, Yu Jin himself had great prestige in Gaoping County.

After expelling Hu Chen and Su Qinmingda, most of the rebels in Gaoping went to Jingzhou for refuge.

After experiencing a long period of imprisonment, and hearing that Su Qinmingda was also suspected by Hu Chen and Mozhetian fled to Qinzhou, Wanqi Chounu finally decided to surrender to Yu Jin.

But it was too late at this time. Yu Jin already had enough talented people under his command. According to military regulations, Wanqi Chounu and his trusted followers were finally organized into a team of 100 people, with Wanqi Chounu as the brigade commander.

After Wanqi Chounu followed Yu Jin back to Gaoping County, Yu Jin gave him a task, asking him to lead his troops to the grassland north of Gaoping County to recruit nomadic tribes to join the army and fight.

At that time, Gaoping County was a blend of farming and nomadism. There were a large number of Qiang and Gaoche tribes in the county. Once a war broke out, these tribes might go south to plunder, so under normal circumstances, these tribes had to be recruited first before going to war. They could serve as light cavalry and reduce the threat to post-war public security. It could be said that this achieved multiple goals with one stroke.

Wanqi Chounu was the military leader of Gaoping County and had some prestige among these tribes, so Yu Jin sent him to do this.

As time went by, Wanqi Chounu's loyalty to Hu Chen faded.

There is no way, the situation is stronger than the person.

The tribal population was all under Su Ze's control, and how could Hu Chen, with only one state, possibly defeat General Su's six states and two counties?

Wanqi Chounu, who had seen the elite troops in Su Ze's army, felt that Su Ze's strength was unfathomable. The reason why he kept Jingzhou and did not fight was probably because he had great ambitions.

In this case, Wanqi Chounu might as well serve under Yu Jin with peace of mind. At worst, he might have the chance to recruit Hu Chen's descendants in the future, which would be considered as repaying his past kindness.

Once the mindset changes, the person immediately becomes different.

Wanqi Chounu also decided to complete this mission well and show off his skills in front of Yu Jin. In other words, he also wanted to improve.

"General Wanqi, can we go along that river and take a look?"

The only thing that made Wanqi Chounu somewhat dissatisfied was the military commander sent to his army by Yu Jin.

Before this expedition, Su Ze adjusted the military system again.

In each team of 100 men, there were a certain number of military officers, all of whom were scholars who could read and write. Their job was to supervise the army and perform clerical duties in the barracks.

The military commander does not have the right to command operations in the army, but his role in the army is also very important.

The military commander had to be involved in counting military merits and enforcing military law, and some even had to serve as medical officers as well.

The person sent into Yu Jin's army was a kid. Chen Chong was only eleven years old, but he had already become the military commander of Wanqi Chounu.

Wanqi Chounu looked down on this child soldier at first, but he soon discovered that Chen Chong, who was from the Six Garrisons, was even more skilled in riding and archery than Chen Chong. Except for being a little shorter, Chen Chong's riding and archery skills were the best in the entire hundred-man team!
In addition, this military commander could read and write, and he was very methodical in enforcing the logistics and military law of the hundred-man team. His prestige was vaguely comparable to his own.

What a monster!
Later, he heard that Chen Chong was the younger brother of Chen Shun, a fierce general under Su Ze. Then Wanqi Chounu felt that it made sense. It turned out that he was the son of a general from the Six Garrisons.

After Chen Chong arrived in Yongle City with Dugu Xin, Chen Shun asked Su Ze for grace to allow his younger brother to study in Chongwen Pavilion.

Chen Shun wanted his younger brother to follow the path of a civil official. The probability of dying in a war these days was too high. This younger brother was the smartest, and if the family could follow the path of a scholar, it would be better than practicing martial arts since childhood.

But Chen Chong obviously didn't think so. He had excellent academic performance in Chongwen Pavilion, and even Wang Sizheng, who was in charge of teaching, was amazed. But after hearing his brother say that there was going to be a war, he immediately took the initiative to sign up to join the army.

Chen Shun had a big quarrel with his brother over this matter, but Chen Chong was very opinionated and even persuaded Wang Sizheng to help him write a letter to request a fight.

Finally, Su Ze waved his pen and recruited a group of scholars in Chongwen Pavilion who were willing to join the army and asked them to serve as military commanders.

Only then did Chen Shun give in. He also had a military Sima in his camp, who in his opinion was a teacher in the army. Since there would be no direct fighting, Chen Shun agreed to let his brother join the army.

Chen Chong was assigned to Wanqi Chounu's 100-man team and became his military commander.

“Why go up the river?”

Chen Chong said:

"There should be pastures upstream of this river. We can go there and see if there are any tribes we can recruit."

Wanqi Chounu's dissatisfaction reached its peak, and he said unhappily:
"The map of Gaoping County is burned into my mind! The upper reaches of this river are in the Gobi Desert, there is no way there is a tribe there. We will cross the river and head west tomorrow!"

Chen Chong was not angry, but said:

"Before this trip, Wang Jianxiao of Chongwen Pavilion hoped that Chen could draw a map of the counties of Gaoping County. I need to go upstream to draw a map."

Hearing this, Wanqi Chounu lost his temper.

Wang Jianxiao is Wang Sizheng. After Wang Sizheng took the position of Jianxiaolang, he still served as a teacher in Chongwen Pavilion.

However, he did not dare to claim himself as the teacher of these Chongwen Pavilion students. Their nominal teacher was General Su Ze.

In other words, these students are all Su Ze's students, and can be considered the general's disciples.

Wanqi Chounu remembered Chen Chong's status and the identity of a censor. He, a brigade commander of a hundred men, could not afford to offend him.

I should have surrendered earlier.

Wanqi Chounu could not help but regret that Yu Jin's condition was to become a lieutenant general. If he had accepted it at that time, Wanqi Chounu might be a lieutenant general of the shogunate now, and his status should be higher than Wang Sizheng. But there is no if. Wanqi Chounu is just a brigade commander. Although Chen Chong is only a Sima in his army, he has a brother who is a general of Su Ze's personal guards, and a mentor who is a censor. His connections are incomparable to his own.

Drawing the county map was also General Su's order. Many military officers were also responsible for this task. Wanqi Chounu could only agree to go up the river. The following scene left him dumbfounded.

Wanqi Chounu was not bragging when he said he was familiar with Gaoping County.

When he was young, he liked to make friends with heroes. He had connections in various tribes in Gaoping County and traveled all over Gaoping County.

Therefore, he knew exactly where the fertile grasslands were in Gaoping County and where each river was.

This is also the reason why Yu Jin still wants to employ him. There are some things that only locals can do.

What surprised Wanqi Chounu was that there was actually a grassland upstream of the river. Although the grass and trees were sparse, it was indeed a grassland.

Ten years ago, this place was still a wasteland.

At this time Chen Chong said:
"The water in this river is clear. Teacher Wang once said, 'When the water is clear, the grass grows.' It should be that the temperature has risen in recent years, and the wasteland has started to grow grass. The mud and sand are no longer carried into the river, so the water has naturally become clear."

Wanqi Chounu understood every word Chen Chong said, but when they were put together he had no idea what they meant.

Can we tell the condition of grassland upstream by looking at the clarity of the river?
Is there such a magical thing?
Wanqi Chounu became curious about Chongwen Pavilion. What kind of magical things can be learned here?
Wanqi Chounu once again had the idea of ​​making progress. He planned to work hard to make some achievements and send his son to Chongwen Pavilion to study?
A brave general like Wanqi Chounu is also flexible. Since he wants his son to study, he must make friends with Chen Chong, so his attitude changed immediately.

"Sima Chen is still the best. Let's set up camp here today."

His men immediately began to build temporary tents and let the livestock they brought with them out to graze.

Carrying livestock with the army is a key technology that enables nomadic peoples to travel thousands of miles to fight.

Cattle and sheep can produce dairy products to meet the food needs of soldiers, and the army composed of these nomads is half-herders and half-soldier, and herding itself is their racial talent.

Cattle and sheep can walk on their own and do not need to be transported by laborers. As long as they can find pasture along the way, they can keep moving.

Therefore, for the nomadic army, finding pasture is the most important ability of a general.

Since Chen Chong has this ability, he will naturally gain the support of the soldiers.

Wanqi Chounu got off his horse and put his hand into the soil. The soil was very loose. It was indeed grassland transformed from the desert. He became more determined to let his son go to school.

Wanqi Chounu was about to take off his armor when his face suddenly changed. He quickly opened his voice and shouted:

"Don't take off your armor! Get on your horse!"

Chen Chong was the first to mount his horse. He rode up to catch up with Wanqi Chounu and asked:

"Commander-in-Chief, what happened?"

Wanqi Chounu looked at Chen Chong with approval. People like Chen Chong are also first-rate soldiers. He said:
"Someone."

"Someone?"

Chen Chong looked around but found no trace of the enemy.

Wanqi Chounu smiled and said:

"This is my ability. As long as I listen carefully, I can hear the sound of horse hooves. There is a cavalry not far ahead. Men, cheer up!"

As expected, these Hu army leaders also have two unique skills, which are the experience they have accumulated in long-term battles. Chen Chong put away his contempt for Wanqi Chounu and followed him to prepare for the battle.

Sure enough, in the direction Wanqi Chounu pointed, Chen Chong also heard the sound of weapons clashing. Wanqi Chounu ordered everyone to take out their weapons, and sure enough, they found two fighting teams not far away.

"That's the Shogun's merchant group!"

Chen Chong immediately recognized the flag of one of the factions. Just as Chen Chong was about to ride his horse to the rescue, Wanqi Chounu stopped him.

"How can we prove that this is the Shogun's army just by the flag? What if it's an ambush?"

"That?"

"Go around them first, and then attack them when they are tired."

Chen Chong thought about it and decided that this was indeed the most correct method for his side. He followed Wanqi Chounu's orders and slowly advanced towards the battlefield.

When the horse bandits besieging the merchant caravan saw the government troops, they lost the will to fight and began to turn around and flee.

At this time Wanqi Chounu ordered a pursuit and captured the group of horse bandits in one fell swoop.

To everyone's surprise, the short Chen Chong took the lead and rushed into the enemy camp.

Just as Wanqi Chounu was personally beheading the bandit leader and rushing back, one of his men rushed over and said:

"Commander-in-Chief! There's a divine beast!"

(End of this chapter)