Chapter 68: The Old and Young Conspire Together

  "My intention is to emulate General Qi."

  "Speak clearly." Sun Chengzong was very dissatisfied with Zhong Jinwei, who couldn't even make himself clear.

  "Just stand at attention. Regardless of whether they are strong or weak, they must have undergone training, right? In military training, discipline is the most basic thing. Let them all line up together and eliminate those who can't stand still first. This way, those untrained civilians who were temporarily recruited can be eliminated, as well as those in the army who didn't receive training." Zhong Jinwei said a lot at once.

  Actually, when Zhong Jinwei said "stand at attention", Sun Chengzong, who was familiar with military affairs, immediately understood what Zhong Jinwei meant.

  It is indeed being in this mountain, with deep clouds and unknown whereabouts.

  Sun Chengzong's mind quickly came up with a feasible plan after being reminded by Zhong Jinwei, and a smile appeared on his face. He then said to Zhong Jinwei: "It's okay, but just lining up is not enough, we need to add some extra ingredients to deal with those old generals."

  Zhong Jinwei looked at Sun Chengzong's confident appearance and felt relieved, thinking that there was finally a solution. However, he was also curious about what Sun Chengzong meant by "adding some extra ingredients".

  Gu Bai Chuan and Wang Peng also deeply admired Zhong Jin Wei, who had never been to a military camp before, yet was able to pinpoint the commonality between strong and weak soldiers with just one sentence. Regardless of how it happened, this kind of insight is rare.

  The last time they saw Zhong Jinwei, he was reckless and kind-hearted. Adding this time's experience, they couldn't help but feel that following him in the future wouldn't be a loss.

  Zhong Jinwei did not know that he had gained two more fans, and was asking Sun Chengzong: "Sir Sun, what do you mean by '料'?"

  Sun Chengzong chuckled a few times, stroking his long mustache under his forehead, and then said: "This time we'll get them with one blow, not giving them any more excuses to push back. Otherwise, there will be no suitable reason to deal with them again. You are the supervisor of the army, you have to be present when discussing matters, just stand by and watch, maybe you can even cooperate with me a bit."

  "Director Sun, you have to make it clear to me, otherwise I won't be able to cooperate with you." Zhong Jinwei said helplessly.

  "You are the supervisor, representing the Emperor. You can play the white face and scare them as much as you want. I'll play the red face and coax them when necessary. The goal is the same, to get them to line up and eliminate the weak soldiers."

  Zhong Jin thought for a moment and then asked: "If it's a standing formation, how long is suitable? Half a day or one day?"

  Sun Chengzong had already considered the whole situation, so he didn't hesitate on the issue of Zhong Jinwei and said directly: "No. With the number of eliminated people as the limit, among these military leaders' soldiers, those who can really fight, I estimate that even one in five may not be able to have. I'll give them some face, can't force them too much, just eliminate the soldiers according to the current total number at a ratio of one to five."

  Zhong Jinwei thought: If there were 50,000 people, in fact only 10,000 could barely fight, isn't this too exaggerated?

  In fact, there is no exaggeration, only more exaggeration. In the late Ming army, basically only the family soldiers of the generals could fight, and the existence of other military households was just to make money for them, let alone combat effectiveness.

  "Your Excellency Sun, how many Loyalist troops are there now?"

  Sun Chengzong thought for a moment, then said: "In recent days, some loyalist troops have also arrived one after another. There are about 400,000 in total. This time we should squeeze out most of the water and leave around 80,000 or so, which would be just enough."

  Zhong Jinwei also knew that Sun Chengzong said so, the numbers must be fine. If it goes smoothly and gets rid of so many, the emperor should smile, and the white hair of the Minister of Revenue Bi Ziyuan should also decrease a bit.

  Sun Chengzong shouted out of the tent: "Come in."

  One of his personal bodyguards darted in.

  "Go and summon Zudashou, the General of Liaodong, to see me."

  The head of the imperial guard nodded and said "yes", then bowed his head and retreated.

  "Is it just calling Zhu Dashou over?" Zhong Jinwei was somewhat puzzled.

  "This time, the reinforcements from Guanning are all cavalry, and they are also the elite of the Guanning army. Now they are all under his command. These cavalry do not need to be eliminated." Sun Chengzong explained carefully to Zhong Jinwei this time.

  "Uh-huh, that's no problem." Zhong Jinwei nodded and then added, "All cavalrymen should not be eliminated."

  "It's true. Therefore, this time I don't plan to eliminate the cavalry troops." Sun Chengzong also appreciated Zhong Jinwei's ability to turn one into three.

  "What's the point of calling Zudashou over?" Zhong Jinwei's questions seemed endless. "I need him to suppress the other generals, just watch and see."

  "Alright." Zhong Jinwei roughly understood Sun Chengzong's meaning.

  Before long, Zu Dashou signed up and joined. His camp was not far from Sun Chongzong's central army account.

  "I have seen the soldiers, I have seen the military officers." Zu Dashou bowed his fist and paid respects.

  Sun Chengzong and Yan Yuese asked Zu Dashou: "Fuyuzi, have you been under a lot of pressure lately?"

  Zhu Dashou was taken aback, "The pressure is too great, I don't know if Emperor Chongzhen will settle accounts with me after autumn." He dared not speak out, and only said: "This general worries about the national affairs, hating that he cannot immediately drive away the bandits, the pressure is too great."

  Zhong Jinwei still didn't know how to coordinate, he just looked at these two people, you one sentence, I one sentence speaking.

  Sun Chengzong suddenly changed his face, sank it, and said: "I know you very well, don't think you can deceive me."

  Zu Dashou's heart tightened, but his mouth remained unyielding: "The end general is indeed under a lot of pressure. You see, I haven't been sleeping well every day, and my eyes even have bloodshot." He relied on Sun Chengzong being an old leader, daring to say this in front of Ben Bing.

  "Your pressure is great, I know, but what you deceived me about wasn't this, it's the reason for your worry."

  Zu Dashou knew that he couldn't deceive Sun Chengzong, an old and worldly man. He glanced at Zhong Jinwei and the two men from the Eastern Depot standing beside him, and realized that Sun must have had a reason for bringing up this matter in front of these three people.

  So, he frankly admitted: "This soldier, it was you who made me return. It's strange that I made a big mistake at the beginning. After returning, I couldn't sleep well and was even afraid in my dreams."

  Sun Chengzong saw Zu Dashou and told the truth, then suddenly smiled and said: "Fu Yu, now there is an opportunity to let you sleep peacefully. I specially called you over for this reason. After all, it was I who brought you back to the capital."

  Zu Dashou glanced at the supervising army officer beside him, weighed it in his mind, and suddenly, without caring that he was still wearing armor, directly knelt down on the ground, crying with a mournful face: "Ben Bing save me, Jian Jun save me."

  He knew that Zhong Jinwei must have a share, so Sun Chengzong would mention this matter in front of him, so they sought help together.

  Zhong Jinwei was a bit bewildered by this, wasn't he just talking to Old Man Sun? Suddenly he was shouting for help too. He didn't say anything and watched as the two of them continued their performance.

  Sun Chengzong chuckled and said, "What are you doing? Get up and talk. Otherwise, I won't say anything, and it's just as well that I can take a rest. You've been making my old bones tired for the past few days."

  Zu Dashou took a look at him and then glanced at Zhong Jinwei, finding that kneeling seemed to have no effect, so he had to get up and listen to what the old leader had to say.

  Sun Chengzong saw Zu Dashou get up and said: "Fuyuzi, you should understand the recent situation?"

  Although Zu Dashou didn't quite understand what Sun Chengzong meant, it all came down to the matter of building a new capital and the imperial city, so he just nodded.

  "Do you know what is most important at this moment?"

  "Repel the construction of the enemy's nest?" Zu Dashou guessed.

  "That's right, but to repel the Jin invaders, what should be done first?" Sun Chongzong seemed to have an old habit of teaching, liking to guide others step by step, whether it was towards Zhong Jiwei or Zu Dashou.

  Zu Dashou thought for a moment and replied: "Could it be that this is the strategy of eliminating the weak and keeping the strong?"

  "Exactly!" Sun Chengzong slapped the table and praised.

  Zhong Jinwei was watching Zu Dashou answer questions when Sun Chengzong suddenly slapped the table, giving him a slight fright.

  Zhong Jinwei looked at Sun Chengzong with dissatisfaction, and muttered in his heart: You're so old, but still so energetic. Speak properly, do you have to slap the table so loudly?

  "But the ones I brought are indeed elite soldiers, and there's really no way to eliminate any more of them. General Ben, you should take charge now, I truly don't have any hidden motives." Zu Dashou picked up Chui Tian Qu.

  "Nonsense, how would I not know you're bringing the best?"

  "Uh, uh..." Zu Dashou was at a loss for words.

  "I didn't say you must eliminate soldiers, I said that this time's elimination of the weak and retention of the strong is extremely important. Your Majesty is very concerned, currently the imperial court cannot supply such a large army with food and grass. As long as you help Your Majesty accomplish this matter, it will leave a good impression on Your Majesty, an impression of loyalty to the king's affairs, and naturally it can offset the previous disadvantage."

  Zu Dashou blinked his eyes, so that's it. But how to help? Is it easy to go and reason with those people? Ben Bing's position is higher than himself, and his prestige is also high, do they still need him? So he asked: "Ben Bing, as long as I can serve the emperor, I am willing to die for it. I just don't know what to do?"