Wu Sangui was worried day and night in Shaanxi. He saw that his troops were transferred 3,000 to Liaodong today and 500 more tomorrow to be trained. He was always missed. In just a few months since the King of Kings restored Beijing, there was only 30,000 troops left in 50,000 troops, and the small soldiers who should be thrown out have been thrown out. If they were poached, the foundation of the Guan Liao army would be shaken.

The taste of cutting flesh with a blunt knife made Wu Sangui extremely painful. He didn't think about fighting for the death to fight and rushing out of the Great Wall to become a savage king in the Mongolian grassland. However, his eldest son Wu Yingxiong was sent to be a hostage, and his old father was also monitored in Beijing. He could have rebirth after his son was gone, but his father was only this one!

Finally, in early September of the 19th year of Chongzhen, Wu Sangui received a written message from the Ministry of War, asking him to select 20,000 elite troops and go to Jinzhou to participate in the war. At the same time, he wanted to defend the Daling River until the construction of the three cities of Jinzhou, Daling River and Youtun was completed.

This kind of meat buns fell from the sky made Wu Sangui, who was as cunning as a wolf, be extra cautious. Who doesn’t know that once Wu Sangui returns to Liaodong, the sky will be high and the sea will be wide. How can an outsider, Xiaodonglou, fight with him, a local snake? The crown prince is not a naive person, so what is the intention of such a mobilization?

"The army gate is probably not defeated by Liaodong." Guo Yunlong, a subordinate of Wu Sangui, stepped forward and said, "Now the men are in the guest place for a long time. If they don't go back, the morale of the army will probably disperse."

Wu Sangui narrowed his eyes, looked at the dimming sky outside the tent, and said quietly: "I know this is a fleeting opportunity, but I am always a little uneasy, as if the night is facing the abyss and disappears, but I feel cold in my heart."

"Military Sect, let's go back on the way!" Guo Yunlong gritted his teeth, waved his arms and made a cutting gesture.

Wu Sangui was almost angry and laughed: "Ignorance! How could Kong Youde be like Li Jiucheng back then? He was in chaos in Shandong. In the end, he could only escape to the east by sea? Our army has left the pass all the way, and there are elite Ming troops stationed along the way. Can the situation be compared with Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde?"

Guo Yunlong had long been accustomed to using his "ignorance" to highlight his boss's "wisdom". He immediately followed Wu Sangui's tone: "The military gate can only take action after leaving the customs."

Wu Sangui thought about it and slashed his head. Instead of being trapped to death with the bad reputation of repeatedly villains, it would be better to act like a loyal and wise man to bet on him. Even if he didn't win the bet in the end, maybe someone in the future would overturn the verdict!

"Reply to the Ministry of War. Our headquarters will start on September 2nd. Please prepare food and grass along the way." Wu Sangui finally made a decision.

That night, the news spread throughout the Liao army camp, and the camp was filled with joy.

The only thing that makes the soldiers worry is that they are reluctant to leave the instructors. With the instructors, the generals cannot insult the soldiers at will and regard them as slaves. If they leave the pass, will these instructors remain in the army?

"The instructor is a permanent position in the army. No matter where he goes, he will share the joys and sorrows with everyone in the army!" The instructors sent to the Liao army were also very excited. After being idle for so long, it was finally his turn to play his role. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the instructor is the vanguard camp where the crown prince competes for the morale of the army. As long as the morale of the army is on the side of the instructor, Wu Sangui may not have the ability to fight back.

Guo Yunlong stood in the dark and saw with his own eyes how the instructor comforted the restless soldiers. He was very worried. He wanted to report this to his benefactor, but he was worried that these instructors would really incite the soldiers to rebel from the Wu family. It would be unbeautiful after all. Even if Wu Sangui wanted to take action, he would get some excuses outside the pass, such as the local environment and the epidemic, and the epidemic could eliminate these annoying flies.

...

"My son is not worried about Wu Sangui's rebellion at all." Zhu Cilang said: "Wu Sangui sells Haoge, and the Donglu will definitely not be able to go back. He has no foundation in Mongolia and can't even support himself if he goes." Grabbing and driving sheep seems simple, but it is not something that can be done by outsiders.

"If he dares to have civil strife in the pass, the Third Guard Division and the First Guard Division along the way can solve him. Moreover, once the food and grass are broken, the morale of the army will be dispersed." Zhu Cixuan said: "What's more, there are also instructors."

Emperor Chongzhen finally felt a little more at ease after listening to the report of the Crown Prince. But he couldn't understand why he sent a eunuch to Tang Tong, and Tang Tong immediately rebelled. The Crown Prince sent a bunch of "eunuchs" to supervise the army, and even reached the level of a hundred people. Instead, he firmly controlled the morale of the army... Don't everyone hate eunuchs to the core?

Zhu Cilang actually explained this point, but "ideological education" and "humanistic care" really went beyond the emperor's understanding. Not only Chongzhen, but most civil servants and generals in the Ming Dynasty had very simple ideas, and nothing more than "power" as the main and "blessing" as the auxiliary. Power then made subordinates fear, and blessings were used to buy people's hearts. After this idea was put into practice, the effect was "power" to be hated, and blessings were more like giving, which made people unable to develop a grateful heart.

The final result is that the soldiers are unwilling to work hard at all. They go to battle and go out if they get the military pay, and refuse to go out if they can't get it. Not to mention honor and dignity, even the professional ethics of mercenaries are denied.

This situation continued until Zhu Cilang was in charge of the army. He was not worried about the domineering soldiers and even deliberately promoted it. Because the Ming Dynasty's military spirit is not too domineering, but too little dignity. Soldiers have no dignity, just like bandits, it is okay to rob families, but it is delusional to kill enemies. Therefore, cultivating the sense of honor and dignity of soldiers is also one of the responsibilities of the instructor.

"What if I arrive in Liaodong?" Chongzhen asked again.

"Xiao Donglou can definitely solve his problem." Zhu Cixuan said.

It makes sense that the Ministry of War transferred 20,000 Wu Sangui's troops, because he knew that even if he brought all his troops, there would be only about 25,000. These Liao soldiers were indeed more powerful than the strong men who were covered with the straits, but there were only 3,000 real elites. These 3,000 people were what Wu Xiang said to Chongzhen: his "adopted son" and Wu Sangui's "brother" - he and Wu Sangui were wearing cloth clothes, while these 3,000 people were wearing silk; he and Wu Sangui were eating braised vegetables, but these 3,000 people were big fish and meat.

As long as these three thousand iron troops are subdued, the other troops will either collapse at once, or move at the top of the wind.

How many soldiers are there in Xiao Donglou's hands now?

In August of the 19th year of Chongzhen, the Second Guard Division, located in Ningyuan, was officially expanded into the Second Guard Army, with three reorganized divisions under its jurisdiction. Each division has a quota of more than 13,000 personnel, so the main combat power of the entire army reached 40,000. In addition, the army's direct department and the personal guards of senior officers, the newly assigned three divisions belonged to the 5,000-jin heavy artillery bureau, and one army-level general artillery bureau. The total strength of the Second Guard Army was close to 50,000.

Under the policy of prioritizing the establishment of the army, the distribution rate of flintlock rifles of the troops of various phalanxes was close to 50%, and the popularity rate of firearms of the main first division was close to 60%. With the battalion, division, and military-level artillery troops, how much incense should Wu Sangui burn to escape this disaster?

...

"How does our army look at the Wu army's situation?" Xiao Donglou sat on the reading stand, beside Wu Sangui, who was once the king but now has an undecided reputation.

On the school ground, teams of elite soldiers who had put on new military uniforms marched along with the banner and shouted to kill the sky.

Before this, Wu Sangui had watched the live ammunition exercise of muskets and saw with his own eyes that the dummy was covered with bullet holes as the target. He also saw the live ammunition target of artillery. The mounds as big as a small army fort collapsed one by one with the order. Xiao Donglou even asked him to set the shooting order to prove that these gunners were "shooting wherever they pointed".

As long as anyone has such a strong army in hand, it is not a dream to run rampant in the world. However, what scared and puzzled Wu Sangui was that Xiao Donglou was extremely loyal to the crown prince and the Ming Dynasty. Until Yang Kun, the counselor around him, revealed the mystery in one sentence: This army is terrifying, but what is really terrifying is that he can build such a strong army in a short period of time.

This sentence is also the declaration that Yang Kun himself turned to the "upside". After saying this, Yang Kun told Xiao Donglou and Pan to Xiao Donglou and Pan, and thus obtained the title of major staff officer to participate in the military camps of Ningyuan.

In October and a half year of the 19th year of Chongzhen, Liaodong was already cold and windy, and Wu Sangui's heart was like the ice-dropped world outside. In just ten days after arriving in Ningyuan, he became a defeated general who was betrayed by his relatives and under house arrest. Originally, he thought that Liaodong was going to fight, and no one had to borrow the power of his Wu family. However, after showing him the power of the Two Guards, Xiao Donglou completely destroyed his last glimmer of hope.

Liaodong does not need the Wu family army.

What Liaodong needs is more than 25,000 young and strong men to reclaim vast land, build fortresses, and transport supplies. This is like hard labor to ordinary people, but it is a relief for the Guanliao soldiers who are struggling to travel.

They finally saved themselves from hunger, fullness and slavery, and death. Now, the officers and soldiers of them performed well were all assigned to the land and drank first soup. Those who were slow to react and timid also had their own work. Those who could farm became tenants, and those who could not farm could sell their strength.

He is truly determined to rely on military merits and feels that he can do nothing except to fight and kill people, and he doesn't want to do anything. He can also receive training and join the Second Guard Army to continue to serve in the army and eat food. Moreover, the military pay and treatment here are much higher than those given by the Wu family, so he doesn't have to change his surname to "Wu" and be a servant and adopted son.

The entire army of 25,000 people was like the cold ice encountered the scorching sun, and it melted cleanly.

Wu Sangui was not relieved. The officers of the Fifth Army Supervision Department and the police from Shuntian Prefecture came to "greetings" one after another, trying to squeeze out the wealth that had been swallowed up by the Liaoxi generals for decades.

This is also why Wu Sangui is still alive. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!