Chapter 23: The Stormy Weather of Yu Guan (Part 2)

  Li Chengzhong received the appointment letter, which was issued by the Lulong Jiedushi Prefecture and co-signed by the Governor of Pingzhou and the Military Commander of Pingzhou. The letter appointed Li Chengzhong as the Left Camp Aduan Lieutenant of the Pingzhou Town Army, with the rank of Pei Rong Xiao Wei, ninth grade upper. When Zhou Zhiyu personally handed over the appointment letter to Li Chengzhong, he said with a hint of apology: "Li Pei Rong, considering your merits, you should be at least a Du Tou, but nowadays, military positions above Du Tou need to be specially requested from the Jiedushi Prefecture. I'm temporarily appointing you to this position, and we'll make it up to you when there's an opportunity in the future."

  Li Chengzhong was the most knowledgeable about the inside story of this transfer to Pingzhou, and he would not have any complaints or dissatisfaction. Moreover, he had also obtained Zhou Zhiyu's promise that the five partners under his command could be selected by him first, so he happily accepted the appointment.

  When selecting his own subordinates, he carefully considered them. He only had five officer positions under him, namely the five team leaders. Among the brothers of Yuantou, Zhang Xingzhong, Zhou Kandao and Jiang Miao were all promoted to team leaders and were on an equal level with him, so he couldn't choose these people. In the end, he chose Wang Dalang, Meng Xuxing, Jiao Chengqiao, Zhao Da and Zhong Silang. Wang Dalang was someone who had always followed him closely, of course, he was the first choice. Meng Xuxing and Jiao Chengqiao were both skilled in riding and shooting, and were also people he had long appreciated. Zhong Silang was a soldier he had recruited by the side of the Yongji Canal, and with a responsible attitude, he had to take care of him.

  Finally, there was Zhao Da. Zhao Da had always been a hot-headed soldier. Although he had been promoted to squad leader, no one took him seriously. All the team leaders were not very interested in him, and finally, they came to find Li Chengzhong. Li Chengzhong looked at the pitiful Zhao Da in front of him and softened his heart, so he decided to take him in. When he heard that Li Chengzhong was willing to accept him, Zhao Da's eyes turned red. This old soldier in his thirties stuttered, repeatedly assuring Li Chengzhong that he would take good care of the team's food, letting the officers feel at ease and the brothers eat well.

  Li Chengzhong asked: "Zhao Da, don't you want to lead troops and fight?"

  Zhao Da was taken aback and lowered his head, saying: "Captain, I'm only good at cooking, and as for leading troops, I really don't understand it very well..."

  Li Chengzhong could only helplessly sigh and waved his hand to let Zhao Da leave. Zhao Da immediately became anxious: "Officer, shouldn't we...?"

  Li Chengzhong rubbed his temples and patted the back of his head: "Want, want, Old Zhao can rest assured, just focus on cooking your meal."

  Zhao Da did not satisfy Li Chengzhong, and he was somewhat disheartened by the old general's lack of progress. However, Jiang Miao gave him a surprise next. This close comrade-in-arms who had also made great contributions in the Battle of Bei State and was now promoted to team leader brought him a token of loyalty.

  "Li Lang, which of these people under his command do you think are suitable?"

  Jiang Miao's question was equivalent to handing over the personnel power of the entire right team to Li Chengzhong, who was initially puzzled: "You are already a team officer, you think whoever is suitable just choose."

  "Li Lang, I'll listen to you, my second team is yours to command." Jiang Miao's naked declaration of loyalty immediately made Li Chengzhong understand. Someone has defected and cannot be pushed away, especially when the person who defected is Jiang Miao. He didn't hesitate either, letting Jiang Miao bring over those brothers from Youdu who were assigned to him on the northern retreat route. Jiang Miao nodded in agreement without hesitation and left. Watching Jiang Miao's departing back, Li Chengzhong felt a sense of relief in his heart, thinking to himself, could it be that the aura of a transmigrator is showing itself?

  After the officer's frame was built, Pingzhou Town began to recruit soldiers. The governor's office and the military commander's office jointly issued a notice, which was posted in various places in Pingzhou, Macheng, and Shicheng, stating that anyone who enlisted in the Pingzhou Town Army would receive a share of military rations and 50 mu of wasteland under the Yiguanshan Mountain. In just a few days, there were endless streams of refugees, young and old, rushing to enlist with their families, gathering outside the military camp, eagerly waiting for their loved ones to successfully join the Pingzhou Town Army.

  Because many people rushed to join the army, the recruitment went very smoothly. The soldiers were replenished according to their physical strength, with priority given to filling up the middle camp. After the middle camp was full, the first to be replenished were the left and right squads of the Left Camp Adu, with a total of 90 people allocated. This number was based on an allocation of 45 people per squad, which means that the Pingzhou Garrison allowed each squad leader to embezzle the wages of five soldiers. Of course, there was no salary in the treatment of the Pingzhou Garrison, which meant that Li Chengzhong and Jiang Miao could both receive the rations for five soldiers as well as 250 mu of nominal wasteland at the foot of Bi Shi Shan.

  When all the recruited young and strong men gathered in front of Jia Du's camp, Li Chengzhong was somewhat disappointed. This batch of soldiers... is really not good! Li Chengzhong joined the army during the heyday of Lu Long Military, even if he only joined the newly established Jian Zuoyi Camp, but at that time, his companions were all real Jian Zuoyi, even the relatively thin Jiang Miao was much stronger than these soldiers in front of him. Among the dozens of people in front of him, although they were weak and thin, they could still be used, their faces had a sickly color, but that was because they were hungry, after eating well, Li Chengzhong believed they would recover quickly. What made Li Chengzhong disappointed was that he saw humility and cowardice in the eyes of these soldiers. Soldiers without courage, can they still be called soldiers? They are sheep!

  Li Chengzhong suddenly missed the days of the southern expedition, when he was surrounded by brave and ambitious companions, and the army he belonged to was a vigorous and elite force.

  There were no platoon leaders, only two team officers, Li Chengzhong and Jiang Miao. However, all ten squad leaders understood who was in charge, so they looked to Li Chengzhong for instructions. Li Chengzhong recalled the expressions and mannerisms of his former company commander when he gave speeches during his time in the army, and mimicked them. He gesticulated wildly, but only saw the new recruits exchanging bewildered glances, realizing that his speech had not had the desired effect. Feeling somewhat disheartened, he awkwardly dismissed everyone to rest in their quarters.

  Intensive training! Must be intensive training! Li Chengzhong, who had thought of getting rid of his "company commander" addiction but ultimately failed, held back his breath and returned to his own military tent. He began to ponder the methods for training this batch of recruits. Physical strength, discipline, and formation drills must all be practiced! He racked his brains thinking about the experiences he had endured in the army, and started writing a training outline behind closed doors.

  The night after, this leaky training outline was worked out. When Li Chengzhong was about to make further modifications and additions, he was urgently summoned to the central army headquarters, along with Jiang Miao.

  The Zhongjun Yatang is located just west of the Dabao camp, adjacent to the Xixiao field. The Yatang house is not large, with a row of flat buildings surrounding a small courtyard. The Bingmashi has another residence in Pingzhou City, but Zhou Zhiyu's family is all in Youzhou. At this time, when recruiting soldiers, everything is chaotic, so he stays here.

  Li Chengzhong and Jiang Miao followed Zhao into the main hall, where they saw two people sitting on the platform. They were Zhang Zaiji, the governor of Pingzhou, and Zhou Zhiyu, the military commander. Behind Zhang Zaiji stood a young Confucian scholar, who was talking to Zhou Zhiyu. As soon as Li Chengzhong and Jiang Miao entered, Zhou Zhiyu pointed at them with his hand, letting them sit down, and said: "Li Chengzhong, Jiang Miao, there is an urgent military matter now, listen carefully." Zhang Zaiji gestured to the Confucian scholar behind him, who then repeated what had happened to Li Chengzhong. It turned out that just two days ago, the Khitan cavalry had broken through the Yu Pass!

  Yuguan has always been an important pass for Pingzhou's border defense, with a long wall dividing the inside and outside of the pass into two sides. It can be said that it is related to the stability of the local area of Pingzhou. Although the guards were only a few dozen old and weak soldiers left behind after the southern expedition, the city walls were solid, and the Khitan cavalry outside the pass was not good at attacking cities. There has always been concern about harassment, but no worry about losing it. However, I don't know how this time was broken by the Khitans. After breaking through the pass, the Khitans looted extensively before withdrawing from the pass. This is something that has never happened in nearly a hundred years.

  Since the Tang Dynasty established the Youzhou Metropolitan Government, the area outside the pass has always been a place where the Tang army exercises its authority. The Hu people have always been subject to the iron hooves of the Tang Dynasty and did not dare to make any mistakes. After the Tianbao Rebellion, although this land was occupied by the vassals, although the Youzhou Metropolitan Government gradually declined, control over the area outside the pass did not weaken much. Even after General Liu Ren-gong took office as the Jiedushi, the military power of the Lulong Army still suppressed the Hu people and they did not dare to have any hope of invading the interior. But everything went wrong in the southern expedition...

  When the Confucian scholar reached this point, Zhang Zijin couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, and Zhou Zhiyong even slapped his palm heavily on the table. After the Confucian scholar finished speaking, Zhou Zhiyong said: "Li Peirong, Jiang Peirong, now that the Guancheng is unguarded, it has become a major problem for Pingzhou. The Khitan people do not know the internal situation of Pingzhou, so after looting, they hastily retreated, and once the wolf-like enemy invades again, they can directly point to the heart of Pingzhou, which is indeed a major problem! I want you two to lead your subordinates to take back Guancheng first, what do you think? Do you have any requirements?"

  Li Cheng understood that at present, the Pingzhou Army was still in its recruitment period. Except for the two middle camps, only the left camp's A battalion had two teams that were fully manned. This vanguard affair could only be undertaken by them. Li Cheng glanced at Jiang Miao and saw Jiang Miao nodding to him, so he responded straightforwardly, only requesting to select the best soldiers and equipment.

  It was well known that Zhou Zhiyu also knew Li Chengzhong's difficulties. The new soldiers had just entered the camp for less than two days, and it was indeed a bit unreasonable to let them rush to the border. Seeing Li Chengzhong answer very readily, he felt relieved in his heart, and ordered Li Chengzhong to inspect the Adu head, leading two teams. This inspection is temporary, meaning that Li Chengzhong is currently the acting head of the Adu. But looking at Zhou Zhiyu's appearance, the two words "inspection" would not be taken away for the time being, that is to say, as long as Li Chengzhong made achievements, Zhou Zhiyu would recommend him to the governor's office as the head of the Adu.

  Zhang Zaiji was worried and anxious, urging Li Chengzhong to hurry to Yu Guan, fully cooperating. According to Li Chengzhong's requirements, he ordered people to select twelve sets of leather armor, thirty knife shields, fifty wooden spears with iron spearheads, ten bows, and dozens of quivers of arrows from the government warehouse, hastily sending them to the military quarters in Jia Du, which was already one-third of the remaining military equipment in Pingzhou. A team of 50 young men also came, escorting ten horse-drawn carts loaded with military equipment and supplies, led by a Confucian scholar who had been seen at the Zhong Jun Tang, apparently urging Li Chengzhong to depart immediately.

  The Confucian scholar bowed his hands and said: "Is your surname Li? I dare not ask for your great name."

  Li Chengzhong introduced himself and politely asked for his counterpart's name.

  "My surname is Feng, and my name is Dao. I am currently serving as a junior official in the mansion of Zhang Daoren. When he calls me, he simply says 'Feng Dao' without mentioning my courtesy name..."

  The meaning of 佐吏 is somewhat vague, generally referring to a clerk or an aide who has not yet entered the mainstream bureaucracy. However, Li Chengzhong did not dare underestimate his opponent, as these attendants who followed the governor might be young or unknown, and it was common for them to be unable to formally take office, but this did not mean they had no say in the matter. Therefore, he hastily said: "I have not yet received a letter."

  The Confucian scholar nodded, and without saying anything else, he waited for Li Chengzhong's orders. Li Chengzhong carefully pondered the name "Feng Dao", seeming to have heard it before, but having no particularly deep impression, so he temporarily put it out of his mind, only ordering the left and right teams of armored cavalry to immediately form up.