The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 164: Lackeys
According to the military order of the court, the troops under Yinyu's command, in addition to the Eight Banners of the Imperial Guard brought from the capital, also included nearly 3,000 soldiers transferred from the four provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Sichuan.

Among them, the 500 Green Camp soldiers transferred from Xuzhou, Sichuan were the farthest from Xi'an.

Xuzhou Prefecture is today's Yibin City.

From Xuzhou to Xi'an, it is almost two thousand miles. Even if we march fifty miles a day, it will take at least 40 days of marching.

The imperial court was not foolish. They did this because they were worried that the generals on the front line would win over the troops, which would be detrimental to the imperial power.

It must be acknowledged that the tiankengs that were everywhere during the late Ming warlord era were all avoided during the early Qing dynasty.

The old tradition of the Eight Banners Army going into battle was a combined force consisting of five arms: light infantry, heavy infantry, light cavalry, heavy cavalry and firearms battalion.

Now, the Eight Banners soldiers under Yinyou are also a mixed synthetic force.

The way the Qing army fought was fundamentally different from that of the Mongols.

War horses were merely the vehicles for the Qing army's mobile warfare. The real offensive forces that broke through the enemy's forces were actually the firearms battalion and heavy infantry.

It is worth mentioning that the heavy infantry of the Qing Dynasty, without exception, were all armored monsters wearing three layers of cotton armor.

This is completely different from the scene of arrows raining down as most people imagine: just three heavy arrows were worth only eight taels of silver.

Moreover, the Eight Banners soldiers had to provide their own bows, arrows, horses, armor, and servants.

In other words, the Eight Banners soldiers could not afford to fight a war of attrition with arrows raining down on them.

Therefore, the classic tactic of the Qing army was that the heavy infantry would maneuver to the battlefield on horseback, then dismount and fight on foot, approaching to about ten steps, and then fire a volley of heavy arrows at the enemy.

A light bow, coupled with heavy arrows, can be shot at close range, and no matter how thick the armor is, it cannot block the attack.

After the heavy armored infantry broke through the Ming army's defense line, the heavy armored cavalry mounted their horses and launched a charge, completely defeating the Ming army's main force.

From the Battle of Sarhu to the Battle of Songjin, the Ming army never learned from its lessons, and suffered huge losses, which earned the Eight Banners a reputation of being invincible.

With the gradual return of troops from various places, Yinyu's subordinates are now basically fully staffed, except for the few hundred Sichuan Green Camp light infantry.

100 submachine guns, 350 Sauron cavalry, 1000 heavily armored Eight Banners infantry, 1000 light cavalry, 500 heavily armored cavalry, and 1000 Green Camp light infantry; this is the complete combat organization.

Objectively speaking, in the era of cold weapons, such a powerful force was enough to fight against the Dzungars, who were mainly composed of 30,000 light cavalry.

However, Yinyou knew that the Dzungars had a large number of matchlock rifles sold by the Rakshasa Kingdom.

Therefore, the Qing army’s traditional tactics would definitely not be used.

In the Battle of Nagashino in Japan, Oda Nobunaga used a three-stage attack tactic with 3,000 arquebusiers as the core, and defeated the Takeda Red Army, which was once feared by all of Japan, into pieces.

Moreover, during the Battle of Zhamodu, the Qing army suffered a heavy loss when the Dzungars hid behind the camel city and fired at them, and the heavy armored infantry, which was the main assault force, suffered heavy casualties.

Yinyou had 100 submachine guns in his hands, which was the key to victory.

The power of the submachine gun is definitely not as strong as that of the red cannon.

However, both in terms of range and killing effect, it is definitely far superior to the matchlock guns in the hands of the Dzungars.

In the military camp outside Xi'an, Yinyou was directing the coordinated tactics between the firearms battalion and the light cavalry, when he suddenly heard that Yongtai, the governor of Shaanxi, had come to entertain the troops with a large number of pigs, sheep, and vegetables.

Yinyou couldn't help but smile slightly. According to the date, Yongtai should be here soon.

Kangxi made arrangements in advance and placed Nian Gengyao on the throne of Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Yinyou could also use Yongtai to contain Nian Gengyao.

After all, the governor has no control over the governor, and the governor has the power to govern the entire province of Shaanxi.

The excuse Yongtai found was indeed something that Yinyou could not refuse.

When the army marched west, the most important thing for the generals was the supply of logistical materials. Among them, meat was easy to deal with, but juicy green vegetables were very precious.

Yinyou met Yongtai in the central military tent.

"Governor of Shaanxi, I am Yongtai, your servant, greetings to the fifteenth master." After Yongtai entered the tent, he saluted with extreme respect.

There was only Wulin in the tent, so Yinyu changed his attitude to a gentle one, smiling and saying, "Mr. Yong Zhongcheng has done a great job in rewarding the troops and sent a lot of much-needed vegetables. I am very pleased."

Yongtai has been in official circles for decades, and his basic skills of listening and observing are still very solid.

Noticing that Yinyou's attitude had softened, Yongtai quickly expressed his attitude and said sincerely, "To be honest with you, Master Fifteen, I did put a lot of thought into getting these vegetables..."

Yinyu nodded and praised Yongtai: "If I can eat fresh vegetables every day, I will report to the court and commend you for your achievements."

In the Qing Dynasty, the rewards for military merit ranked first among all rewards!

Until Zhang Tingyu granted the title of earl, no civil official without military merit could be granted a title.

Despite his great contributions, Hong Chengchou was only awarded the hereditary title of third-class light cavalry commander.

However, the Qing Dynasty did not treat Hong Chengchou badly. The Hong family had a hereditary position of assistant commander, which was very valuable!
Yongtai sensed something was up and said quickly, "Thank you for your kindness, uncle. I will do my best to ensure a continuous supply of vegetables to the army." Yinyou could tell from the change in Yongtai's address. Well, this guy is indeed a veteran in officialdom. Not only is he extremely thick-skinned, but he is also good at climbing up the ladder.

Many people always complain that they have no opportunities. In fact, after Yinyou loosened his lips, if Yongtai couldn't hear it, then the door to establishing connections would definitely be closed.

Except for the current emperor, the official resources controlled by any top dignitary are always limited.

Since resources are limited, Yinyou must weigh the pros and cons.

You can't just invest your precious hat resources on a fool who can't understand the hidden meaning, right?
Oh, you boasted that you were a thousand-mile horse, but after identification, Bo Ma found that you were a poor horse that could only pull dust bags. Of course, it is impossible for him to throw resources at you.

As the saying goes, a wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in, and a wise ruler selects virtuous and capable people to serve, and they complement each other!

Yinyou did not object to the title of uncle, which gave Yongtai hope!
Yongtai was deeply encouraged, and hurriedly bent his waist and whispered: "To be honest with you, Master Fifteen, at the foot of Mount Li, the pomegranate flowers are like fire, all over the mountain, which is pleasing to the eye, and can be regarded as the most beautiful flower among all flowers."

Yinyou understood that Yongtai was looking for a good excuse to invite him to visit Mount Li and arrange some special programs.

People in high positions, especially bigwigs at a certain level, are very averse to blatant transactions and prefer to hide their true intentions in seemingly elegant social activities.

It can only be understood, not expressed in words, there is a tacit understanding between each other, that's it!
However, many people do not understand this and insist that the person receiving the gift make a clear promise.

The question is, how could the person in a higher position possibly be without the little gifts you give him?

To be frank, people who wanted to give gifts to Yinwei could line up from Kaifeng all the way to Xi'an!
Investing involves risks!
However, without investment, there will be no future!

Yongtai didn't take the initiative to get close to Yinyou, and Yinyou was too lazy to pay attention to him.

The logic behind this is not complicated. If you don't want to take the initiative to get closer to me, do you want me to condescend and beg you to get closer to me?
Yinyu nodded and said, "It just so happens that I have some free time the day after tomorrow."

Yongtai was so overjoyed that he immediately knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "Nephew Yongtai, greetings to uncle!"

Yinyu thought that Yongtai was indeed a clever man, and he was also the crucial governor of Shaanxi. If he could be accepted as a disciple, it would have immeasurable strategic significance for the overall situation in the future.

Mount Li is also known as "Xiu Ridge" because of its beautiful scenery.

The place where Zhang Xiaoliuzi captured Principal Chang was on Mount Li.

Accompanied by Yongtai, Yinyou rode in a carriage and headed eastward. After an hour's journey, he successfully arrived at the foot of Mount Li.

On the way up the mountain, when they were resting at a pavilion halfway up the mountain, Yongtai brought an extremely pretty maid to Yinyou.

"Uncle, you can't be without someone to serve you. I, your nephew, have thought about it and found a maid for you. She can also help serve tea and water, make the bed and fold the quilt..."

Yinyou took a quick look at the maid in front of him. Wow, she had a thin waist, big hips, and was extremely beautiful. It was obvious that she was not a little girl, but a mature young woman.

Given Yinyou's status, he certainly wouldn't lack beauties to serve him.

However, Yongtai must have felt uneasy since he had just started to become his disciple.

If there was a woman by Yinyou's side, Yongtai would feel much more at ease!
Interpersonal communication is definitely complicated.

To put it simply, you only need to understand one principle, that is: empathy and thinking from other people's perspective!
As a provincial governor, Yongtai also wanted to test Yinyou's true attitude towards him.

If Yinyou accepted the beautiful maid, Yongtai would feel relieved as the saying goes: "He who takes the favor shall be obliged to return it"!
If Yinyou rejected Yongtai's corruption, Yongtai would inevitably become indecisive.

Since Yinyou wanted to use Yongtai, he also wanted to give him some reassurance, so he nodded and accepted the gift from the beautiful girl.

That night, staying overnight in a villa on the mountain, Yinyou took the opportunity to stab the beautiful girl.

As expected, the beautiful girl in his arms was a mature young woman!
However, after several fierce battles, the beautiful girl told Yinyou that she was actually Yongtai's widowed eldest daughter-in-law.

After hearing the word "widowed", Yinyou felt relieved.

After this incident, Yinyou finally understood that his bad reputation of having a liking for flirting with decent women had probably spread throughout the Qing Dynasty.

In the Qing Dynasty, generally speaking, any wealthy family with a little power would require their widowed daughter-in-law to remain chaste for their deceased husband.

Now, Yongtai actually offered his daughter-in-law to Yinyou, showing his full sincerity.

With this foundation, Yongtai could then serve as Yinwei's lackey with peace of mind!

Yinyu had not touched a woman for a long time since he was away from home. Now, with the company of the beautiful girl, he was relieved.

After their relationship changed, Yinyou became much more easy-going towards Yongtai.

"Mr. Yong, I would like to ask you a question." Yinyu opened his folding fan and asked Yongtai with a smile.

"I am really not worthy of your advice, but if you have any questions, uncle, I will tell you everything I know!" Yongtai's spirits suddenly lifted, and he took the opportunity to find out Yinyou's needs.

In the upper class society of the Qing Dynasty, the closest relationship is when people need each other!

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(End of this chapter)