Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 77 Momentum
"Infantry Combat Order" was written more than 170 years ago, and many of its contents are not in line with the current situation. Liu Daogui's original intention was to cross the river by feeling the way Wei Wu did, rather than copying it verbatim.

In fact, Wei Wu’s military orders were also derived from the summary of the military laws of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Daogui simplified the military law into twelve words: obey orders from above, do not disturb the people, and those who disobey orders will be executed.

The Northern Army had been through many battles. Within the army, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, would not abandon their loved ones and flee on the battlefield. The battle formations in the infantry combat order could be directly omitted.

The only problem was lax military discipline.

Liu Daogui's military law was extremely targeted. When suppressing bandits in Lanling County, the soldiers burned, killed, looted and did everything.

After making a fortune, he no longer obeyed Liu Daogui's orders, and even asked Liu Daogui to end his trip to Lanling early and return to Guangling...

In the Battle of Yecheng, Liu Laozhi repelled Murong Chui twice and lifted the siege of Yecheng. However, when chasing Murong Chui, the soldiers scrambled for the armor and supplies abandoned by the Yan army, which disrupted their formation. Murong Chui seized the opportunity and defeated the Northern Army. Five thousand elite Northern Army soldiers were killed, and Liu Laozhi escaped alone.

If this unhealthy trend is not stopped, if Liu Daogui fails to meet their wishes one day, there might even be a mutiny.

These twelve words of military law are concise and easy for soldiers to remember.

In history, there were indeed two armies that achieved absolute absolute peace.

One was the Han army of Emperor Gaozu of Han. They made three promises and never harmed the people of Guanzhong, thus gaining the support of the elders of Guanzhong. Although they were repeatedly defeated by the Overlord afterwards, the people of Guanzhong still joined the Han army without hesitation.

The other was Zhuge Liang's Han army, which marched north to Guanzhong, cohabiting with the common people without causing any harm to them. With a single state, they overwhelmed Cao Wei, a force ten times their size, with heavy troops and strong fortifications. Sima Yi retreated into hiding, not daring to leave.

When you see a virtuous person, you should strive to be like him. Even if you cannot reach his level, your heart will be drawn to him.

Whether you can do it is one thing, not doing it is another.

While your reputation is high, you might as well give it a try.

"If we obey military law, will you take us with you next time you go to suppress bandits?" several old soldiers asked excitedly.

As expected, they were all after profit. The old soldiers who came back had delicious food and drinks all day long, which made the other soldiers jealous.

They are all people who are afraid of being poor.

"Of course. When Envoy Huan and Sima Yuan return, I will request orders to march north to suppress the bandits."

Mount Tai was full of bandits. Liu Daogui was worried that if he left Lanling for too long, Liu Guangzhi would be unable to stop the bandits' invasion alone.

"As long as we join the army, we will obey not only one military law, but even a hundred!"

The soldiers became enthusiastic.

"A gentleman's word is as good as gold! You are all men of seven feet tall, don't forget what you said today!"

"Why do you have to say so much, soldier?" Several dubes stepped forward, drew out their ring-handled swords, cut the arm, and blood flowed out.

They are all men of blood and never regret what they say.

"Okay, if you all follow my rules, we will share life and death, honor and disgrace from now on!" Liu Daogui struck while the iron was hot, and also drew his knife and slashed his arm, leaving a shallow wound.

Since his official position was too low, he could only win people's hearts with kindness and favors.

But the soldiers just fell for it.

"We share life and death!" Everyone raised their bloody arms.

All 757 people present raised their arms and roared towards the sky.

Gao Xun, Zhao Lunzhi and others standing by were stunned, but they also slowly raised their arms.

The soldiers were excited and became close to Liu Daogui, shouting "Join the army, join the army" non-stop.

When the atmosphere was heated, more than 30 people half-knelt on the ground and said, "My whole family has been starving and freezing, and no one in the court has asked a question. After you joined the army and took office, you disregarded your own safety and stood up for us, allocating winter clothes and food so that our whole family could survive. Today we are willing to join the army!" The greatest advantage of these days is that once the soldiers recognize their commander, they will become personally dependent on him.

It almost became a trend in the Northern Army.

Almost every general has a group of loyal followers under his command, and even the imperial court has no right to interfere.

These troops are the source of the generals' military power.

Liu Daogui certainly wouldn't refuse, "Since you all trust me, Liu Daogui, we will be brothers from now on!"

He was greatly excited. He was the one who took over. The imperial court ignored them, and the aristocratic families treated them as tools, but Liu Daogui treated them like brothers.

The leaders all had scars on their faces, and they exuded a fierceness about their bodies. They looked like veterans who had fought in many battles.

"Thank you, my lord!" Everyone clasped their hands together.

Liu Daogui helped them up one by one, reading out their names: "Xu Changming, Gou Zhong, Yin Shan, Hu Jianfu... They are all renowned warriors. How lucky Daogui is!"

Everyone stood up, and every time a name was called, they stood silently behind Liu Daogui.

There were thirty-two people in total. Although not many, they were willing to join the army as a ninth-rank soldier. It was obvious that they were not going for power, but were truly loyal to Liu Daogui.

Since taking office, Liu Daogui has been running around to solve their food and clothing problems, and they have seen it.

After Lanling successfully suppressed the bandits, the soldiers who followed them made a lot of money, but Liu Daogui had almost no money left. In the General Zhenglu's mansion, no one was so generous and generous, and they all tried their best to hug him...

A bystander sees things more clearly. They know best who is good to them and who treats them as human beings.

The atmosphere in the camp became increasingly lively, and Li Damu happened to bring back two ships of seafood.

The soldiers lit a bonfire directly in the camp, put fat fish on the grill, cooked fish soup, and feasted together.

"Dao Ze's method of commanding the army is unique and amazing." Gao Xun was really enlightened today and his face was full of admiration.

Liu Daogui smiled and said, "It's just putting yourself in someone else's shoes."

No matter how many military books you read, you must apply them flexibly. Gao Xun is good at everything, both civil and military, and has a good personality. He is willing to make friends with Liu Daogui. His only shortcoming is that he is restricted by his status as a nobleman and cannot integrate with the lower-level soldiers.

Of course, this is the case for most of the gentry these days. They are the superior class, and if they mix with the lower class, it will damage their reputation.

Those wealthy and powerful families are not even interested in military posts. They all want to be honest officials. How could they get close to the soldiers?

Gao Xun looked at the smiling soldiers around him and seemed to be thinking about something.

Li Damu leaned in close and whispered, "Commander-in-Chief, the Tianshi Daoists in Yandu have been... not very friendly to us lately."

"Is this true?" Liu Daogui cut off a piece of burnt yellow fish skin and put it into his mouth. It was extremely tender and fresh.

Most of the fat on the fish is on the skin and internal organs, so the soldiers scrambled to eat the skin.

"After the Yandu incident, the veterans we had previously deployed withdrew, and the two ships were taken by our brothers themselves."

Yunxiu was betrayed by Sun Yizhi and left Yandu to find her brother.

The Tianshi Dao naturally does not like people from the government.

"We are not on the same path to begin with. It is better for us to withdraw to avoid future entanglements. Since our people can fish, I will get two more boats in a while and we can do it ourselves."

"The illegal salt business is booming in Yandu. Now we have people with knives, so why not use the name of suppressing bandits..." Li Damu gestured back and forth on his neck with his hands.

Gao Xun and Zhao Lunzhi also became interested and looked at Liu Daogui.

(End of this chapter)