I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 71 Secretly Training Troops to Prepare for the Battle Against Fang La

The document issued by the Ministry of Personnel appointing Zhao Zicheng as the magistrate of Gusu was finally delivered to Suzhou on the ninth day of March.

Along with this, there was also an appointment to transfer the original County Magistrate Li to another place and promote him half a level to become a Tongpan.

Suzhou is the richest and most upper-class prefecture. The magistrate of Suzhou's first county was transferred to a slightly remote prefecture to serve as a magistrate. In fact, it was not considered a promotion, so there was no need for Magistrate Li to have made great political achievements last year.

When the appointment was delivered, County Magistrate Li was working in the county office, so he got the news before Zhao Zicheng. His first reaction was not regret, but relief.

Over the past six months, he had clearly felt that something was amiss in the atmosphere in Suzhou. Although his government performance in certain areas was good, with corvee labor, agricultural encouragement, and local stability seemingly improving, interpersonal relationships within the officialdom were becoming increasingly delicate and tense.

Zhao Zicheng was getting closer and closer to Wei Tongpan, who was upright and opposed to the Flower and Stone Gang. The signs that he might offend Zhu Zhen were gradually showing the initial signs.

Although Zhu Jie hadn't clearly shown any fear of Zhao Zicheng, that was simply because his political achievements were growing bigger and bigger, and all parties were able to share in the benefits, thus covering up the contradictions. Given Zhu Jie's status, he didn't think Zhao Zicheng could threaten him and simply didn't bother to pay attention.

After all, Zhao Zicheng's achievements in encouraging agriculture and sericulture, and the auspicious signs he presented to the emperor, were all real. Zhu Zhen controlled the flower and stone tribute and also controlled the channels for presenting auspicious signs to the emperor. When Zhao Zicheng presented his achievements, Zhu Zhen also indirectly pleased the emperor.

County Magistrate Li saw all these situations. It was really difficult to be the magistrate of such a county, and he did not want to be involved in these power struggles.

Now, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hurry up and find County Magistrate Zhao and tell him the appointment from the Ministry of Personnel. Ask him to come and hand in the work to me as soon as possible." County Magistrate Li took the document from the Ministry of Personnel and ordered the clerks in the county government to convey it as soon as possible.

Several county clerks immediately rode on fast horses and went out of the city to look for Zhao Zicheng, who was said to be outside the city encouraging agriculture and inspecting work.

……

When the county officials were looking for Zhao Zicheng, he was at the shore of Taihu Lake in the western suburbs of the county, smuggling contraband under the pretext of encouraging farming and inspecting spring plowing.

The thousands of hectares of lakeside paddy fields in front of him were the result of Zhao Zicheng's hard work for a whole winter last year after he recruited soldiers from Yang Zhi's army and some civilian laborers, combined them with new tools and cement.

Because the fields were created from dredged Taihu mud, the soil was incredibly fertile, unlike other newly reclaimed land. This type of lake mud field yielded a bountiful harvest in the first year of cultivation, and the results were immediate.

A total of more than 1,000 hectares of new land was planted with rice, while some land that was too low and wet to drain was planted with taro.

Before planting rice, because rice needs to be raised and transplanted, it does not occupy the fields in the early stage, so people can be organized to find time to plant a season of water bamboo or other fast-growing aquatic vegetables.

In some places where the soil is very soft and the embankment needs to be fixed by plant roots, some mulberry seedlings or fruit tree seedlings are transplanted using the cutting method during the winter.

Seventy percent of these newly developed polder fields were designated as official polder fields, becoming government-controlled land. The remaining thirty percent, relatively fragmented plots, were allocated as compensation to wealthy households who had contributed funds and apportioned their land the previous winter. These plots became private polder fields, a reward for their contributions of money and grain. Zhao Zicheng also strictly adhered to the law and issued new land deeds to all of them.

Only 30% of the distribution was given to wealthy merchants who contributed funds. This figure was relatively low compared to previous years. In previous years, when the government did not provide any funds and only organized the construction of dikes, the wealthy merchants who contributed funds were required to take at least half, otherwise others would simply not bother to respond to the government's call.

But the situation last year was very special. Even though Zhao Zicheng finally gave 30%, the rich families agreed and reported it to Wei Tongpan for approval.

A key reason for this was the introduction of new construction tools and cement, which significantly reduced construction costs. The wealthy households spent the same amount of money and grain, but were able to create significantly more new polder fields than in previous years.

On the premise that the total size of the cake has become larger, the conflict over the distribution of the cake has not been so intense, and the rich households have tacitly accepted that the government will take 70% of the official market.

In the end, the official market area was approximately 800 hectares, and the civilian market area was about 400 hectares. Of these civilian markets, the Murong family's manor occupied another 200 hectares. After all, the Murong family donated the most money last year and was the first to spare no effort to participate in the event.

The behind-the-scenes dealings between Zhao Zicheng and the Murong family have remained undisclosed to this day. They were merely a private, gentleman's agreement between the two parties, so there was no illegal transfer of benefits. Zhao Zicheng heeded his father's advice in this regard, having decided that while he was serving as the County Magistrate, or even the Magistrate, of Gusu County, he would never marry a woman from a prominent family in the area.

Anyway, he is only eighteen years old now, so there is no rush. It will not be too late to talk about it after he is transferred to another place in the future.

However, some might be curious: Isn't it said that Zhao Zicheng is currently using the banner of "encouraging agriculture and sericulture" to smuggle out his own agenda? Why is he only seen farming? Where is his agenda?
Don’t be impatient, there are definitely some private goods.

Since the end of the winter labor service, Zhao Zicheng had continued to provide financial support to Yang Zhi's battalion, and had also secretly hired out the five hundred civilians selected through the arduous labor last winter as long-term laborers.

The reason for hiring was that the newly reclaimed paddy fields still needed to be repaired and the planting season had to be rushed, so it was difficult to hire tenants at the moment, and so the soldiers were asked to participate in the farming.

But in fact, Zhao Zi said that he had found enough people to farm the land through other channels, especially through the Murong family to find tenants.

Yang Zhi only needed to lead the thousand men to conduct professional military exercises. Because Guanwei was mainly located on the shore of a large area of ​​Taihu Lake, which was originally a wetland swamp, the surrounding area was relatively undeveloped and therefore relatively secretive.

Not far from Guanwei, several miles across the water, lie several small islands on Lake Taihu. These were originally the water strongholds of Shi Sheng, the pirate and leader of the Haisha Gang, who was killed by Zhao Zicheng the previous year. It was Shi Sheng who had colluded with Duan Ming of the Yingfeng Bureau to sink the Huashi Gang ship and seize Huang Shang's "Wanshou Daozang Xinde".

This is equivalent to Zhao Zicheng developing and utilizing the deserted lakeshore and islands in the lake that were originally controlled by the thieves. Since there was no other government power in this place, Zhao Zicheng could do a lot of things in this small base, temporarily cultivate his own private power here, and hide for half a year without being exposed.

The one thousand elite soldiers controlled by Yang Zhi and others, who secretly obey Zhao Zicheng's orders, are the key to his confidence in withstanding the Fang La Rebellion in the future.

Zhao Zicheng knew that Fang La's rebellion was getting closer, so he often took time to inspect the troops in person and even personally instructed the troops' training.

……

"How many times have I stressed this? Wolf Whip Hand requires the use of waist strength, waist and horse integration, and the ability to gather all the strength of the body to move the wolf whisk forward and backward freely. How can you use such a long wolf whisk so comprehensively by relying solely on arm strength? Don't try to imitate Lu Dutou's moves! Lu Dutou was born with supernatural powers!"

"When charging through the mountains and forests, if there's a slope ahead separating the terrain, the sword and shield soldiers must rush to either side and protect the flanks. The wolf-spear soldiers and spearmen can't hesitate either. They should seize the opportunity when the sword and shield soldiers squeeze out of the way and rush over as quickly as possible to re-establish their position. Don't linger in rugged terrain where formations are impossible!"

"This is how the Mandarin Duck Formation can be temporarily transformed into the Three Talents Formation in rugged terrain! Pay attention to the orders, observe the flags and drums, listen to the whistle, and remember every order to change the formation repeatedly! Anyone who is slow to react will be fined half a day's military pay!"

At this moment, Zhao Zicheng was in the water fort left by Shi Sheng of the Haisha Gang by the Taihu Lake. Under the banner of encouraging people to engage in agriculture and sericulture, he personally instructed the one thousand soldiers to train according to the new method.

If the soldiers perform poorly or their understanding of the coach's requirements is insufficient, Zhao Zicheng will point it out personally.

That’s right, the new tactics he taught were the Mandarin Duck Formation mentioned in Qi Jiguang’s “Ji Xiao Xin Shu”.

This is not surprising. The Mandarin Duck Formation is a powerful tactic for mountain warfare, but the military preparations of the Song Dynasty were lax, and none of the so-called crappy formations that the Song army originally mastered were suitable for this environment.

After Zhao Zicheng got to know the original "Privy Council Formation Diagrams" of the Song Dynasty a little, he could not bear to complain and simply swept them into the garbage dump of history.

Zhao Zi said that since he knew that the enemy he had to deal with in the first stage was Fang La, and Fang La came from the mountainous area around Wuzhou, which was the border between Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui in later generations, Zhao Zi said that if he wanted to make a contribution in the battle against Fang La, he must of course practice mountain warfare hard.

The entire training process was still very difficult. At the beginning, the soldiers were not even familiar with the military orders, nor could they listen to the adjusted flags and drums. In order to enforce discipline, to convey effective orders on the chaotic battlefield, and to ensure the cooperation of the soldiers, Zhao Zicheng spent a lot of effort designing every step.

During the actual training, Yang Zhi's strict requirements, Lu Da's unity of purpose, and most importantly, Lin Chong's tactical understanding as the former Imperial Guards instructor, all played a significant role. Zhao Zicheng only provided an outline, and the subsequent details were gradually refined by the three of them.

After nearly half a year of gradual progress, these 1,000 people have finally achieved relative ease of movement. There are still some flaws in the coordination of the use of various weapons, but with a few more months, they will definitely be able to get it done.

With a thousand elite soldiers as seeds, it will not be so difficult to expand the army in the future by replicating them.

After Zhao Zicheng gave some personal instructions, Lin Chong wrote down his requirements one by one, combined them with his previous training lesson plan, and made slight adjustments.

"Young Marquis is truly a man of both civil and military talents, knowing everything. I have lived in the north for a long time, accustomed to fighting on the plains. I never expected that in these mountainous areas, where long spears are inconvenient, the use of the Mandarin Duck Formation would completely compensate for the disadvantages of long spears, and even allow the longer and more unwieldy wolf-whip to be put to good use."

The summary of the wolf-whip techniques just now is indeed much better than the method I taught you before. Soldiers with less strength can also use it better."

Zhao Zicheng smiled calmly, "It's not your fault. You're all highly skilled in martial arts, having cultivated your craft for many years. When you devise methods for training your troops, it's natural that you tend to overlook the limitations of ordinary soldiers' arm strength. The wolf-whip technique that Brother Lin originally envisioned would undoubtedly be many times more powerful in the hands of an expert. It's a shame that ordinary people simply can't pull it off."

A person with great martial arts skills may not necessarily be a good coach.

Lin Chong's spearmanship and other long weapon skills are superb, but it is easy for him to find it difficult to imagine the pain of beginners and those with less strength, as he has been practicing spearmanship for many years.

Zhao Zicheng, on the other hand, understood the struggles of martial arts beginners, having only been practicing martial arts for a year. A year ago, he had no martial arts skills at all. He first practiced the Murong family's inherited basic techniques for six months, then gradually interspersed them with another six months of practice based on the fundamentals found in the Wanshou Daozang Xinde, before achieving his modest accomplishments today.

The soldiers had just finished a phase of training and were sitting there to rest. Zhao Zicheng and Lin Chong were chatting about training techniques, while Yang Zhi and Lu Da had gathered around to watch. Even Li Jun, who was in charge of training the sailors, stole a moment to watch.

Everyone was completely convinced by Zhao Zicheng now, and they had no second thoughts. Hearing Zhao Zicheng's humble words, everyone also agreed and said:
"Young Marquis, you are too modest. Your martial arts skills have improved so rapidly that I am envious. Back then, I practiced for three to five years, but I couldn't make the progress I have in this year."

"I have some free time today, why not have some more sparring?"

Lu Da and others were talking about it, and Zhao Zicheng felt a little itchy after listening to it. Recently, due to the busy spring plowing, he often inspected the crops. Although he still practiced hard every day, he had not competed with others since the New Year.

I don’t know how much my future mother-in-law Duan Yuyan’s analysis of the “Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian” will actually improve my combat power after practicing it.

"Let's have a sparring match," Zhao Zicheng said, ordering several wooden swords and spears tipped with lime powder. These wouldn't injure anyone, but if the lime touched their clothing, they would be considered deadly. In his first three months of martial arts training, he struggled to defeat Zhang Heng alone. After six months, he could barely match the strength of Zhang Heng and the three Ruan warriors, while also holding his own against Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, and others for dozens of rounds.

Now that I have been practicing more advanced techniques for another half a year, I should be able to make a breakthrough.

Zhao Zi said that he did not immediately challenge a master like Lin Chong. He knew his own limitations. In order to gradually get a better understanding of his true strength, he first asked Lu Fang and Guo Sheng to practice with him for a few times.

Zhao Zicheng and Guo Sheng each held their own wooden spears, then began to exchange blows with great frequency. Their moves were clean and precise, their advances and retreats measured, and their weapons didn't clash too often.

Once he finds that his opponent can defend against his attack, he will immediately change his tactics without waiting for his moves to become old.

After twenty moves, Guo Sheng was secretly shocked. He hadn't had the chance to practice with the young marquis for half a year. He didn't expect that the other party had improved so quickly. Half a year ago in Xuzhou, he could still have the upper hand, but now he was suppressed.

The two exchanged barely fifty or sixty moves, and Guo Sheng grew increasingly flustered, overwhelmed by Zhao Zicheng's many novel techniques. He figured he'd be defeated before seventy, eighty, or even a hundred moves, so he took advantage of another narrowly avoided attack with a backward leap and stepped out of the fray to concede defeat.

Zhao Zi said that he might still be interested in continuing sparring with others, and Guo Sheng didn't want to consume too much of his energy, lest it turn into a round-robin battle.

Although he conceded defeat voluntarily, everyone around him was knowledgeable and saw it with their own eyes. They could honestly say that the young marquis's martial arts skills were indeed better than Guo Sheng's.

This is really fast progress.

After Guo Sheng, Lu Fang also tried a few moves, but his martial arts were similar to Guo Sheng's. After more than ten moves, he was sure that he was no match for him, so he admitted defeat to avoid wasting Zhao Zicheng's energy.

After the two battles, Zhao Zicheng took a long break. After recovering, he sparred with the top three masters under his command.

After defeating Lü Fang and Guo Sheng, Zhao Zicheng's only remaining stronger fighters were Lin Chong, Lu Da, and Yang Zhi. Regardless, Zhao Zicheng himself was at least the fourth strongest fighter in his faction.

Lin Chong and the other two also knew that they could not take advantage of each other in terms of physical strength, so they agreed that each of them would only fight for twenty moves. There was no need to determine the winner, as long as they knew the outcome.

After Lin Chong was substituted in, Zhao Zicheng's pressure suddenly increased. Lin Chong's spear skills were extremely tricky and impossible to defend against. Moreover, the rhythm changed very quickly. The previous shot was like a boat breaking through the waves, light and steady, and the next shot might be like a dragon, flying across the sky.

Zhao Zicheng relied on his solid basic fighting skills and the preliminary grasp of the countermeasures against various weapons in "Wanshou Daozang Xinde". He managed to resist for a long time. When in danger, he tried to use the secret method of "returning the favor in his own way" that he had just learned to break away from Lin Chong's unpredictable offensive. Unfortunately, he was hit twice by the lime spear head within twenty moves and was obviously defeated.

"Brother Lin's decade-long experience in sexual intercourse is truly remarkable. I'm convinced. But come on! Brother Lu, Brother Yang, don't be shy! I still have the energy!"

Zhao Zi said that after practicing the Murong family's breathing method and the later Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter, his breath and endurance became more sustained and resilient. Although his martial arts have not yet reached the level of a first-class master, his improvement in endurance is more obvious.

Lin Chong and the others were slightly shocked to see that after he finished exchanging moves, he only took a short rest and then looked for the next person to exchange twenty moves with.

Regardless of his spear and sword skills, at least his endurance is amazing enough.

Then it was Yang Zhi's turn to fight. Yang Zhi's martial arts were not much inferior to Lin Chong's, but his skills were more diverse. He was proficient in both sword and spear, and his fighting style was both powerful and fast. Unlike Lin Chong, he was not known solely for his precision, swiftness and ruthlessness.

After a few moves, Zhao Zicheng quickly discovered that since he started practicing the art of fighting back, he seemed to be getting better and better at dealing with opponents who were powerful but slow in their moves.

Because the more powerful but slow the attack, the more advantageous it seems to be for one to use the opponent's force to counterattack, and the more powerful the attack can be offset by one's own secret technique. And when the opponent's moves are slow, the pressure on oneself to counter them is much less.

Yang Zhi's martial arts skills were originally comparable to Lin Chong's, but in this particular scene with Zhao Zicheng, onlookers quickly noticed that Yang Zhi's performance seemed significantly inferior to Lin Chong's. After twenty moves, he still couldn't pose a significant threat to Zhao Zicheng, as he had completely neutralized them.

Yang Zhi thought to himself that although he could still win if the fight continued, it would take at least thirty or fifty moves. Convinced, he stepped out of the circle and conceded the draw.

Zhao Zicheng's one-down, one-down draw gave him greater confidence. This high-intensity combat also allowed him to gain more experience in applying the new secret techniques he had been practicing for six months. By the time he finally faced Lu Da, the strongest but most powerful and slow-moving opponent, he already knew how to perform.

Lu Da's moves were truly powerful, each one akin to splitting rocks and splitting mountains. Zhao Zicheng's blade often dared to engage Lu Da directly, but at the moment their weapons clashed, Lu Da could always sense a strange force, like a lingering silk thread, growing heavier with each entanglement.

If one is not prepared at first, it is easy to be pulled off track, and Lu Da needs to use more strength to pull the weapon back on track.

Lu Da was more and more surprised, but it also aroused his fighting spirit. He attacked fiercely again and again, shouting that he was fighting fiercely, and almost forgot that this was a sparring match among his own people.

Twenty moves passed quickly in this frenzied and selfless attack. In the end, Lin Chong and Yang Zhi both jumped off the field and blocked Lu Da's crazy attacks.

"Brother! Twenty moves have already passed! We are just sparring with each other!" Lin Chong reminded him while putting away his weapon.

Lu Da was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses. He stood there for a moment, then dropped his staff to the ground. "It seems that you and Brother Yang's martial arts are indeed superior to mine! Even if I were to fight for a few more rounds, I wouldn't dare to say I could definitely defeat the young marquis. Besides, if I take advantage of him in a round-robin fight, I would actually lose."

Lin Chong, however, was a bystander. "Brother, don't be discouraged. Let me be fair. The young marquis's martial arts seem to be particularly effective against opponents with powerful and slow moves. There's an inexplicable subtlety to it, making him stronger against stronger opponents. His endurance is also a major advantage. Perhaps it's the skills he cultivated as a child."

Senior Brother is just not used to fighting with such an opponent. If he were to fight me, we would probably be evenly matched."

Zhao Zicheng, upon hearing Lin Chong's analysis, agreed deeply with it. It seemed that in the future, if he were to go to the battlefield, his martial arts would be best suited for fighting the enemy's sluggish strongmen, leveraging his increasingly sophisticated advantage in leveraging the enemy's opponent's force.

Of course, this was just a casual thought. He was a son of a wealthy family and would not sit idle in the hall. He would not put himself in danger unless it was absolutely necessary. If he really wanted to fight with someone, how would he have the chance to choose his opponent?

However, it is always good to know yourself, your enemy and yourself.

They exchanged martial arts skills for a while, when suddenly a military messenger arrived with a message: "Report! County Lord Li has sent a message saying that a document has arrived from the Tokyo Ministry of Personnel. Please go and deliver it as soon as possible."

Zhao Zicheng was slightly stunned, then he was the first to react: "You guys continue to practice, I'll go back to the city to take a look."

Yang Zhi and Lin Chong also hurried to congratulate him: "Congratulations, young marquis, on your promotion!"

……

Zhao Zicheng rode back to the city alone without changing his clothes, and came to the county government office in a tight suit.

Because he was promoted to a regular position as a deputy in the county, the handover work was much simpler than the normal rotation of county magistrates. Zhao Zicheng was familiar with many situations in the county.

County Magistrate Li gave him a general explanation, and most of the handover work was completed.

In the end, there was only one core problem left, which was the financial deficit left by the predecessor.

This was a common problem throughout the Song Dynasty, and indeed throughout most feudal dynasties. When each successive ruler left office, there would be some discrepancies or deficits in the treasury's accounts.

If you insist on pursuing a lawsuit, the handover could drag on for two or three months. Generally speaking, the longer it drags on, the more harassed the other party becomes, forcing them to either pay back a little or contribute to the compensation.

But the longer it is delayed, the more it will affect the successor's term of office, and he will lose two or three months of window to make money.

Therefore, the holes left by the predecessor are generally calculated. For example, if I know how much more you can earn by working for three more months, I will only leave a deficit equivalent to the income you can earn in one or two months, so that you will be reluctant to reduce your earnings due to wrangling, and settle the matter as soon as possible.

If the successor insists on holding on to the responsibility, the predecessor will usually admit defeat and give in.

When County Magistrate Li left Suzhou, a wealthy place, he certainly was unwilling to give up the opportunity to make a fortune before leaving. He still left Zhao Zicheng with a hole roughly equivalent to "the amount of money a normal County Magistrate of Suzhou could embezzle in two months" in order to test Zhao Zicheng's reaction.

Zhao Zicheng didn't have time to argue with him about these details.

Let him take charge for now. Master Zhao has more important national affairs to attend to. How can he waste three months with you?

Anyway, once Fang La starts the rebellion, it is guaranteed that taxes from all over Jiangnan will not be collected this year, and by then all the accounts will be settled.

In wartime, money is nothing.
So Zhao Zicheng generously waved his hand and admitted the loss of the gray income equivalent to two months of his job, and only asked that County Magistrate Li get out of Gusu City that day.

Seeing how straightforward he was, County Magistrate Li quickly and smoothly left. But in his heart, he regarded Zhao Zicheng as someone who "couldn't wait to take office and make money as soon as possible."

All this can only be proven by history.

-

PS: I wanted to catch up on my appointment, but I realized there was too much stuff I hadn't written down during the six months of farming. I had to quickly go over the progress of all parties and fill in the timelines.

I don't know how to break down the chapters after 6,000 or 7,000 words. Stitcher has stitched so much together that it's too much and too complex. That'll be it for now.

(End of this chapter)