Chapter 65: The Military Supervisor

  "Alright." Zhong Jingwei saw that it was Emperor Chongzhen calling him, so he had no choice but to obediently return to the palace.

  "Can Master Zhong go to the military camp outside the city and see what situation Master Sun has encountered, and can he help him come up with a plan to solve the problem?"

  Originally, Zhong Jingwei's usual performance had given Emperor Chongzhen an impression: whenever there was a difficulty, Zhong Jingwei would have a way to solve it. So when he saw Zhong Jingwei just now, this idea occurred to him.

  Go to the ancient military camp, haven't been there yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Zhong Jinwei thought for a moment and replied: "Yes, Your Majesty."

  Chongzhen Emperor turned his head and said to Wang Chengen: "You send a few East Factory guards to escort Master Zhong to the large camp outside the city."

  "Your Majesty, Zhongxing Bo currently only has a title but no position, on what grounds can he go to the military camp outside the city?" Wang Cheng'en reminded Chongzhen Emperor.

  The Chongzhen Emperor thought for a moment and said, "You can go in the name of an inspector."

  Zhong Jinwei heard this and thought, "Being a supervisor is great, I like it. The power is huge, and you don't have to do any work."

  Bid farewell to Emperor Chongzhen, Zhong Jinwei followed Wang Chengen out of the palace gate.

  Wang Chengen turned his head and said to Zhong Jinwei, "Please ask the Duke of Zhongxing to wait at the Meridian Gate for a while. Our family will send someone to the East Factory to select the guards to come over and report to the Duke of Zhongxing."

  Zhong Jinwei, upon hearing him mention the guards, remembered the two he had used before and said to Wang Chengen: "Wang Gonggong, last time's Gu Baiquan and Wang Peng were not bad, if they are free, have them accompany me to the military camp."

  Wang Chengen smiled and said, "It seems that these two young men are doing a good job and have been remembered by Zhongxingbo. Alright, our family will send these two over."

  "Oh, and there's another thing, I'll have to trouble Old Man Wang with it." Zhong Jinwei thought of something else.

  "Zhong Xingbo, speak." Wang Chengen did not dare show dislike for Zhong Jinwei's many words.

  "Trouble Wang Gong to send someone to tell Ah Qi that I'm going out on a business trip and don't know when I'll be back, so she doesn't have to worry about it." Zhong Jinwei said this with a slightly embarrassed tone.

  Wang Chengen smiled and said it was no problem, Zhong Xingbo still had a soft spot for women.

  Soon, Gu Baihe and Wang Peng rushed to the Meridian Gate to pay their respects to Zhong Jinwei. Both of them were clever people, and this good thing that was remembered by their leader was naturally welcomed with open arms. The two immediately expressed their gratitude to Zhong Jinwei, saying they would do their best to serve him, and as soon as they saw Zhong Jinwei, they sent a basket of gifts over.

  Zhong Jinwei was also delighted, and they were all familiar with each other. Thereupon, the three of them, along with a eunuch who had been sent to deliver an imperial edict, set off towards the large military camp in the northern part of the capital.

  Zhong Jinwei is still riding a horse, has been riding for a day, today's horse control is more skilled, trotting along.

  The two servants did not wear casual clothes this time. They rode horses and followed behind Zhong Jingwei, occasionally attracting the attention of passersby on the road.

  After leaving the city gate, I saw a dense array of tents about two miles away from the city. They stretched out in all directions, with no end in sight, and were quite spectacular.

  As they got closer, they found that the military camp was not as described in the book. There were no trenches or abatis, just scattered groups of soldiers here and there, like a temporary bivouac.

  Even many soldiers didn't have tents and were exposed to the open air. Compared with refugees in Beijing, it was a bit better here as there was a relatively sufficient supply of charcoal, which could be seen piled up at the edge of each military camp.

  They went in a group, and it wasn't until they entered the camp gate that several soldiers sitting on the side lazily stood up to block them. Without even checking their credentials, they took a look at their attire and let them pass directly.

  All the way to Sun Chengzong's central army account, because it was closer, the camp situation could be seen more clearly. Zhong Jinwei found that some soldiers only had wooden long guns with handles, and their clothes were all kinds of tattered and worn out. Not to mention those with helmets or leather armor, there were very few. Moreover, Zhong Jinwei also discovered that among the soldiers, there were old men and young children.

  Zhong Jinwei was speechless, this is an ancient soldier, can go hand-to-hand combat with Jian Yu?

  As they approached the Chinese army's headquarters, they could see the guarding soldiers. Those few soldiers were all robust young men, fully armored, one hand holding a red-tasseled spear and the other grasping the hilt of their waist knife, standing rigidly.

  As the sound of horseshoes approached, a small flag emerged from the other side with its right hand raised, blocking the way: "This is a key location in the central army, dismount and proceed on foot."

  The eunuch sat upright on horseback and shouted in a shrill voice, "There is an imperial edict for Sun Chengzong, Minister of War and Chancellor of the Zhongji Hall." Then he urged his horse forward.

  Xiao Qi listened and saw that the guards were following behind, so he didn't dare to block them. He led the way to the central army account while sending someone to quickly report to Sun Chongzong.

  Zhong Jinwei entered the central army account and sighed that it was really big inside. It's estimated that it would take a lot of time to set up this tent.

  Soon, Sun Chenzong appeared before everyone's eyes. The eunuch who transmitted the imperial edict did so in a routine manner and conveyed Emperor Chongzhen's intentions to Sun Chenzong before patting his buttocks and leaving.

  Sun Chengzong thought to himself: This matter has given me a headache, and I have no solution. This young man, who has never had any military experience, what kind of strategy can he come up with?

  However, Sun Chongzong was also a man who knew how to treat others. Secondly, Emperor Chongzhen valued the Duke of Zhongxing highly and he was a red person in front of the emperor. Thirdly, the Duke of Zhongxing had recommended him before, so although he looked down on Zhong Jiwei in his heart, he did not show it in his words and deeds.

  "ZTE Bob has worked hard, have you had dinner?"

  "Ah, Lord Sun is right, I haven't even had breakfast yet and was dragged away by the Emperor, I'm starving to death." Fortunately, someone finally remembered to ask if he had eaten, Clock Jingwei replied gratefully.

  Sun Chengzong was taken aback, his own words were just a perfunctory courtesy, he didn't expect to get such an answer from someone who hadn't eaten yet, and the tone of this response was so distinctive, with a hint of resentment towards the emperor, only Zhongxingbo could say something like that, no one else dared.

  At this moment, Sun Chengzong hastily arranged for Zhong Jinwei to have dinner. Gu Baiquan and Wang Peng had already eaten this time, so they didn't need to accompany Zhong Jinwei for another meal.

  Although the military food was simple, Zhong Jinwei still ate with satisfaction and patted his belly, saying: "Finally solved."

  Sun Chengzong saw that Zhong Jinwei had finished eating, so he invited him to the main tent to discuss matters. Zhong Jinwei was also curious, how could Sun Chengzong, such a famous and capable person, still not be able to resolve the issue of troop reduction? What kind of difficult problem was it exactly? It was a good opportunity to ask.

  As soon as he sat down, Zhong Jinwei eagerly threw out his own question: "Sir Sun, isn't it difficult to reduce the number of troops?"

  Sun Chengzong had seen Zhong Jinwei's behavior in front of the emperor many times, so he directly asked himself this question, although it was a bit interrogative, but not unexpected, and Zhong Xingbo was still the supervisor sent by the emperor for this matter.

  "I have a heavy responsibility entrusted by His Majesty, and I feel uneasy. Fortunately, His Majesty has sent Duke Zhongxing to help me devise a plan, so we should be able to understand the situation soon."

  Isn't Old Sun supposed to be a straightforward person? How come he's also good at flattering people? Zhong Jinwei was slightly surprised by what he had just heard. Actually, if he thought about it for a moment, he would have known that someone who has been through the ups and downs of officialdom in ancient times couldn't possibly be so simple-minded.

  What difficulties there are, Zhong Jinwei doesn't know, so he naturally dares not boast, and humbly asks: "Sir Sun, what is the reason why the troop reduction plan cannot be implemented?"

  Sun Chengzong habitually stroked his long mustache under his forehead, then said: "It just so happens that I want to summon all the generals to come and pay their respects to the supervisor of the army. I will ask them in person about the situation with the troops being dismissed, and Zhongxingbo will understand as soon as he hears it."

  Soon, the sound of a big drum "Dong Dong Dong" started. Sun Chengzong sat in the middle of the military account and pressed a chair for Zhong Jinwei to sit on. Then he himself sat on the commander's seat waiting for the generals to come and pay their respects. Gu Baiquan and Wang Peng stood behind Zhong Jinwei, guarding him.

  Zhong Jinwei sat there, unable to help but feel a little excited and a little nervous. In the past, he had only seen such scenes on TV, where rows of generals would attend meetings with an air of grandeur. Now, he was about to participate in one himself, and what's more, he was sitting here waiting for those generals to come and pay their respects. Wow, he couldn't wait!

  However, what surprised Zhong Jingwei was that the first person to rush into the central army account was not a warrior wearing armor and helmet, but a civil official. What's even more surprising is that this civil official was not one of those slender and elegant ones, but a robust and sturdy man in his prime, with very white skin exposed.

  The sturdy man in official uniform stepped forward and clasped his fists: "Reporting for duty."

  Sun Chengzong nodded and said, "Wait for a moment at Jiutai."

  Zhong Jin's eyes widened with a string of question marks: "Nine Tais, who is that? I've never heard of such a person at the end of the Ming dynasty!"

  That sturdy official also found it strange that there was a man in plain clothes sitting beside Sun Chongzong, with two Eastern Depot guards standing behind him. What kind of person is this? Is he from the Eastern Depot? Then why isn't he wearing the depot's uniform?

  Just as the two men were sizing each other up, various leaders from all sides began to arrive one after another.

  Each of the arriving generals was very curious about Zhong Jinwei, but didn't ask much, standing on both sides waiting for orders or whispering to each other.

  After the three drumbeats, Zhong Jingwei saw that there were still not many people standing inside the large tent. He couldn't help but think to himself, how could such a vast military camp have so few generals? His heart was filled with some doubt.