Chapter 20: Reorganizing the Army (Three)

  After a moment, Zhou Zhiyu sighed and was about to signal everyone to disperse when someone inside the tent suddenly asked: "Commander, is this a final verdict or..."

  Everyone knows that it's Yu Yi who is speaking, so he patiently explains: "It's basically settled, the governor's office is making arrangements and I estimate that the documents will be issued in about ten days to half a month." He still feels somewhat guilty towards Li Chengzhong, this person has made great contributions, but the reward money he promised hasn't been fulfilled. Originally, he had planned to promote him as compensation, but now he can barely save himself and can only wait for opportunities in the future when he arrives at the yamen military.

  Li Chengzhong asked cautiously, "I wonder if the commander has any acquaintances at the border?" This question seemed a bit out of place and had nothing to do with today's discussion. However, Zhou Zhiyong still patiently replied, "There are indeed several acquaintances. What about it? Li Chengzhong wants to go to the border to make contributions? If so, I can introduce you to one or two people."

  Li Chengzhong smiled and stopped talking. Zhou Zhiyuan also followed suit and dismissed the crowd.

  After the military meeting was dismissed, Zhou Zhiyu did not get up. After saying all this to everyone, he felt that his whole body seemed to have been drained of energy, and even his legs didn't have the strength to stand up. He sat in the main tent for a while, when suddenly he saw his personal guard Zhao lift the curtain and enter, saying softly: "Commander, Li is here to see you."

  Zhou Zhiyu rubbed his cheeks with both hands, somewhat recovering his spirits, and gestured for Li Chengzhong to enter.

  After Li Chengzhong came in, Zhou Zhiyu pointed to him and asked him to sit down and talk. Then he said: "Li Pei Rong, are you thinking of going to the border? I have some dealings with several border governors and town generals, and I can write a letter of introduction for you. The town generals of Beikou and Yancheng are all my fellow villagers, and they will take care of you when you arrive. Oh... Zhang Pei, the governor of Pingzhou, is also familiar with me, but recently he wrote to me saying that the Khitan people there are not very stable now, so if you go, there may be some risk..." As he spoke, he took up the paper and pen on his desk and began to write a letter of recommendation for Li Chengzhong.

  Zhao Zhiyi was grinding, Zhou Zhiyong sighed and said: "There are only you brothers left under my command. To be honest, I really don't want to let you go, but I'm incompetent, can't protect the camp, dragging down my brothers... It's better to leave... Where does Li Peirong think of going?"

  After listening to Zhou Zhiyu's words, Li Cheng felt moved and hastily said: "Commander, you've misunderstood. I didn't mean to leave, but rather wanted to ask about some things, it's just that I don't know if I should say them."

  Zhou Zhiyu was taken aback: "But it doesn't matter what you say."

  Li Chengzhong thought for a moment and asked, "Li Mou has been to Youzhou City several times recently and saw many families fleeing in distress. The commander just said that the Khitan people on the Pingzhou side are not very stable. Is it because of the Khitan border disturbances?"

  Zhou Yu sighed, "Governor Zhang's letter arrived, and the Khitan people took advantage of our southern expedition to repeatedly invade the border, kidnapping civilians. The common people suffered at the hands of the enemy, and had no choice but to flee to avoid disaster. This is a great shame for us military men! General Zhou is also very worried, but our army has just been defeated, and our military strength is weak. General Zhou has no solution either. Once we regroup our troops in the future, I, Zhou, will ask for orders from General Zhou, lead the troops to fight, and avenge our previous shame!"

  Li Chengzhong nodded and said, "Just give the order, and Li will follow closely behind the commander, charging into battle without hesitation! However, with the border situation being urgent, we can't afford to wait slowly in Youzhou, but the people on the border probably can't wait either. Li wishes he could grow a pair of wings and rush to the border immediately to fight the Khitans to the death."

  Zhou Zhiyu was taken aback for a moment and said: "But now the army is about to be reorganized..."

  Li Chengzhong immediately said: "What if we voluntarily demote ourselves to local garrison troops?"

  It is well known that Yu frowned and said: "If it is reduced to a garrison, the brothers' rations will be greatly reduced, far less than when they were in the central army. The brothers may agree? ... Moreover, the reason why the military government is rectifying the army is because the funds are insufficient for use. I am afraid that even if so, the military government will not allocate money and grain."

  Li Chengzhong said: "We can let our brothers choose voluntarily, those who are willing to go to the Yanei Army, we will not stop them. As for the grain allowance... Can we let the local government raise funds? For example, Pingzhou, which was mentioned by the commander-in-chief earlier, isn't it a place where the Khitan people have been causing trouble? I wonder if Zhang, the governor, is willing to take on this responsibility? The affairs of the border are related to the safety and security of our entire Lulong Town's rear, and involve the livelihoods of tens of thousands of ordinary people. As a member of the Lulong Army, Li is willing to follow the commander-in-chief and fight bravely against the enemy, to protect the local area and ensure peace and stability, with unwavering determination!" He also knew that this matter of letting the local government supply the army's grain allowance was not something that could be easily achieved. Whenever military officers made such a request to their commander-in-chief, they would often be met with suspicion. Therefore, his words were laced with the implication that he was considering the interests of the entire Lulong Town and its people, and was reminding Zhou Zhiyu to hold on to justice and righteousness.

  He could reach the high position of Jianzu Wuying Zhihui Shi, Youji Jiangjun, and Zhou Zhiyu naturally had a plan in mind. As the saying goes, "those who are in power are confused", he had always been within the military system of Lulong Army and never thought about taking the road to leave the town, but now that Li Chengzhong has pointed it out, he immediately understands. He can't sit still anymore, gets up and paces back and forth in the account, carefully weighing the pros and cons.

  As a general who has been in the army for half his life, he naturally understands what it means to leave the town. The treatment of military pay is not to be mentioned, and the routine will inevitably be reduced by half. The supply of grain, grass, and military armor equipment will also naturally lose its priority rights. At the same time, after leaving Youzhou, contact with the governor's office will inevitably become distant, and opportunities to meet with the commander-in-chief will be extremely rare. In the future, opportunities to rise to prominence will also be greatly reduced. Moreover, how many brothers under his command are willing to follow him to garrison the border? Compulsory things will not work, and in this chaotic world, as a main general who is not supported by his soldiers, the consequences are extremely tragic.

  However, Zhou Zhiyu, who had once led an army alone, was no longer willing to return to the embarrassing situation of being ordered around at all times. When he was a cavalry general, he didn't feel it before, but when he independently formed the Jianzu Front Camp and finally became the commander of the five camps, he suddenly felt that the days when his words counted were really great. Even though there are only a few hundred people left in the Jianzu camp now, he wants to stay here rather than return to the Yanei army to be a seemingly high-ranking but unresponsive Left Deputy Commander.

  Alright, even if only half of the people are willing to follow, I will still be the commander. I don't want anything else, just this position! Moreover, being at the border is not necessarily a bad thing, fame and fortune can be obtained on horseback, achieving military merit is better than nothing! I'd like to see, when I lead my troops to retake Yingzhou, protect the border and bring peace, and make the various tribes of the grasslands surrender again, will your headquarters dare to withdraw my elite camp?! Will the general look down on me?!

  Zhao Zili saw Zhou Zhiyu pacing back and forth in his tent, deep in thought. He finally couldn't bear it anymore, bowed his head and said: "Commander, I also wish to follow the commander to the frontier. I believe that most of my brothers are the same!"

  This sentence thoroughly determined Zhou Zhiyu's heart, he nodded and immediately ordered Zhao Zaili to write a letter. As he dictated the general idea, Zhao Zaili wrote it down quickly, and soon wrote a letter to Zhang Zaiji. Zhou Zhiyu was a typical military general who rose from a low-ranking position since childhood, with skills in charging into battle and leading troops on the battlefield, but his literary skills were ordinary. He had only learned to recognize some characters in recent years and could understand military texts, so he still needed the help of Zhao Zaili, a scholar and his personal guard, to write letters, which was also one of the reasons why he couldn't leave Zhao Zaili.

  In this letter, Zhou Zhiyu talks about his life after returning to Youzhou. He mentions visiting relatives and friends, getting drunk with someone, his wife finding a good piece of silk and preparing to make new clothes, as well as some romantic affairs. However, at the end of the letter, he briefly mentions the current situation in Youzhou where the army is being reorganized. He tells Zhang Zai that although he himself is worried about the border situation, due to the lack of resources and food, it is impossible for the Jiedushi (military governor) to send troops to support them in the short term, and even he himself has no power to do so.

  After finishing writing, Zhou Zhiyu dripped wax on the envelope and looked up at Li Chengzhong and Zhang Zaigi with some hesitation. This matter was too important, and he would rather believe his personal bodyguard Zhao Zaili, who had followed him for several years. However, firstly, he was used to giving orders to Zhao, and secondly, this time when meeting the governor of Pingzhou, he needed to grasp the right tone in their conversation. Many things were meant to be understood by Zhang Zaigi himself, and could not be explicitly stated, lest they become a liability. After hearing Li Chengzhong's words earlier, Zhou felt that Li seemed more suitable for this task.

  Then Zhou Zhiyu finally said: "Li Peirong, are you willing to go to Pingzhou for a trip? I have a letter to give to Governor Zhang. When the time comes, if Governor Zhang asks, just say that I am also worried about the border, but only temporarily unable to do so. At the right time, I will definitely advise the general." Zhou Zhiyu's words were clearly emphasized on the phrase "at the right time".

  Li Cheng received the letter and put it in his pocket.

  Zhou Zhiyu said, "This matter is not trivial. What should be said and what shouldn't be said, I think you should understand." The local officials and high-ranking military officers were colluding with each other, so this was indeed no small matter. Li Chengzhong naturally understood and solemnly promised.

  Zhou Zhi Yu was still worried and instructed, "You go alone, hurry up and come back quickly, be extremely careful!" After finishing speaking, he ordered Zhao Zai Li to bring Li Cheng Zhong down to prepare.

  Li Chengzhong tidied up a bit, put on his dry rations and bandages, took over the fine horse led by Zhao Zaili, listened to Zhao Zaili's detailed explanation of the route, and then mounted his horse ready to set off. As he was about to leave, Zhao Zaili held onto the reins of his horse and said: "Li Lang, the future of my brothers in the Jianzuoying camp is all counting on you!"

  Li Chengzhong nodded and left the camp without looking back. Fortunately, he had ridden horses several times in his previous life's army unit and had also learned a few tricks as an extra actor, so he could sit steadily on horseback and not fall off, otherwise it would have been really embarrassing. As he gradually got used to it along the way, he began to try to make the horse trot, and by the time they arrived at Lushan for lodging when the sky was getting dark, both his inner thighs had already been rubbed bloody.

  It's now a matter of competing with the Jiedu Fu for time, he wanted to rush overnight, but the horse couldn't take it, so they could only stop in Luzhou for one night. The next day before dawn, Li Chengzhong continued eastward, gradually getting used to riding and running.

  At that time in the troops, the equestrian instructor was a retired battalion commander of the cavalry regiment. Later, when acting, the coach who taught the crowd actors to ride horses was a trainer from an equestrian club, and their knowledge of equestrianism was very high. However, Li Chengzhong had few opportunities to ride horses, so there was no progress. At this moment, those skills finally came in handy, and Li Chengzhong rode his horse while recalling the instructor's pointers from back then. Equestrianism is indeed a skill that can be mastered quickly. By the time he arrived at Yutian, he could already ride freely. He sped up, hurrying towards Pingzhou.