choke element

Chapter 996 Shock (Part )

The imperial palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty has always been a ceremonial place. The emperor likes to live in the Marshal's Mansion, and it is the same today.

The martial arts training ground deep inside the Du Yuanshuai Mansion had been renovated a while ago, and a large shooting range had been opened up near the outer wall. The so-called shooting range, according to official documents, was a shooting range for the emperor to practice archery, but Guo Ning often brought many of his subordinates here to compete in shooting for fun.

Since ancient times, the military martial arts have been based on riding and archery, because good horses and good bows are not easy to come by, and those who have both skills are usually the backbone of the army, or the sons of generals who have been in the army for generations. For someone like Guo Ning who was smashing around with an iron bone flower, it was obvious that he did not have a good background.

But Guo Ning's status is different now. At the beginning of the year, when he was on a border tour, he suddenly gathered troops and rushed into the grassland, which really frightened the ministers. Later, many people advised him from various angles to stay in the capital as much as possible. Guo Ning was an emperor on horseback, so of course he would not agree.

Those people made the second best choice and begged Guo Ning to at least not fight with others easily. If you really want to find an opportunity to enjoy it, then shooting arrows from a distance is better than fighting bloody battles at close range.

This is not without reason, so Guo Ning has been practicing martial arts recently and has been very active in archery.

At this time, Guo Ning opened his bow like a full moon, and his arrows flew like meteors. Soon, the target a hundred steps away was densely filled with arrows, except for a few that were slightly off target, the rest all hit the bull's eye.

Such shooting skills are outstanding. To be able to maintain such a stable performance during continuous shooting requires strong physical fitness and a stable mentality. For a while, people on both sides praised him repeatedly. Guo Ning heard it too much, shaking his head and laughing.

After shooting many arrows in one breath, he was a little tired, so he put down the bow and asked the soldiers around him to try. Just as he turned back to the pavilion to wipe the sweat off his face, he saw a middle-aged military officer walking quickly outside, with a hurried look and holding something in his hands.

The visitor was Huo Yi, one of the leaders of the Red Turban Army back then, who now serves as a people-friendly official based in Jinan.

When the Red Coat Army was at its peak, Huo Yi once ruled Pizhou and was one of the powerful leaders. After the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Red Coat Army accounted for a large proportion of the army, but Huo Yi refused several transfers because he could not leave his homeland. He stayed in Shandong to settle the military settlements and land distribution for the families of the former Red Coat Army members.

Because of this, his promotion speed was much slower than others, and he was hardly regarded as an important general in Zhongdu. Today, Liu Erzu summoned his old friends, and he also went, but he was with the last few people to arrive, and he didn't say anything the whole time.

However, those who didn't take Huo Yi seriously at that time might be surprised now. Because Huo Yi came hurriedly from a distance, so many guards on duty along the way did not check him, allowing him to pass unimpeded until he came to Guo Ning. This is not a treatment that ordinary people can have.

"Your Majesty, your sword."

Huo Yi knelt on one knee in front of the steps and held up the long sword with a sheath in both hands. It was the golden sword that Guo Ning had been carrying for a long time. He held up the sword, paused and said, "The generals are still motivated and loyal to Your Majesty. There is no need to use this sword."

He was entrusted by Guo Ning to go to Liu Erzu's mansion to attend the banquet.

According to Guo Ning's instructions, he listened to the whole process and just made a preparation. That was Guo Ning's personal instruction: if Liu Erzu could not suppress the laxity and timidity of the senior generals, so that the contradictions intensified, he would really take action. He immediately came out with a knife to support Liu Erzu.

In fact, Huo Yi was completely confused when he received this order. He was not well-informed, so he did not understand why the generals behaved like this, and why Liu Erzu suppressed them. It was not until he talked about the movements of the Mongolian army at the banquet that he understood what Guo Ning meant.

Huo Yi had nothing but sympathy for his colleagues who were full of nonsense. It was obvious that Guo Ning's perception of Liu Erzu, and even of the generals of the Red Coat Army, was not wrong at all. He had already anticipated the worst situation, and even generously brought the golden sword with him, so as to prevent Liu Erzu, who had always been a kind character, from becoming a villain.

Thinking of this, Huo Yi lowered his head again.

In fact, he should have reported the truth of what everyone said at the banquet, but after all, they were all old friends. He couldn't say who was scared and who wanted to go back to Shandong. Anyway, Lao Liu was reliable and he was able to control his subordinates.

So he said nothing more, just kept his head bowed with the knife in his hand.

After a while, Guo Ning took the knife and said with a smile: "It's best if it's not used."

He hung the golden knife back on his waist and patted the scabbard: "I have had this knife for many years, and I like it very much. When Marshal Liu threatened people with the short knife for cutting mutton, if you stood up, wouldn't you have to use my golden knife to cut the mutton? I couldn't bear to do that!"

Sweat suddenly appeared on Huo Yi's forehead.

There was a saying among people at that time that the Red Coat Army was to the Zhou Dynasty what the Qingzhou Army was to Cao Cao, the King of Wei. Both the Red Coat Army and the Qingzhou Army were the first to raise the flag of rebellion, and both dealt a heavy blow to the continuously weakening dynasty. In the end, neither of them achieved anything great, but instead provided important resources for the rise of the ruler with their huge manpower.

The difference is that the Qingzhou soldiers were just tools in Cao Cao's hands and never gained anything. So when Cao Cao died, the Qingzhou soldiers felt relieved and immediately left. However, Guo Ning treated the Red Coat Army soldiers very well and boldly let them occupy many important positions.

As for Huo Yi, he was not a strong general in the Red Coat Army, but he was able to gain Guo Ning's private trust, not because of his outstanding talents, but because he was the first to join Guo Ning.

Huo Yi had surrendered long before Master Huifeng came forward to communicate with Liu Erzu. Soon, the various tribes of Mount Tai almost broke out into internal strife due to the huge pressure. The internal strife first originated from the fight between Shi Qing and Huo Yi, but in fact it was Huo Yi's active provocation.

Later, the various tribes in Mount Tai responded to Guo Ning's call to send troops, and Huo Yi followed Liu Erzu throughout the process.

However, Huo Yi was very self-aware. He never mentioned his family's connections to others and was content to enjoy his wealth and status. Until the beginning of the year, many warriors secretly colluded to take advantage of the weak, and the matter gradually became a big deal. Many of those involved were old members of the Red Coat Army.

The old comrades of the Red Coat Army were all over the army, and their roots were deep. However, serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Once Guo Ning was dissatisfied, Yin Chang, the leader of the south, was immediately thrown overseas, and Shi Qing, who originally controlled the Tongzhou hub in the north, went to the northern border and now even lost his life.

Huo Yi was willing to accept the order and make this trip. Secretly, he couldn't help but have the idea of ​​easing the old brothers' troubles a little, so that their bad habits would not be noticed by the emperor. He also hoped that the emperor would continue to trust them, continue to give them opportunities, and preserve their wealth.

But now, after listening to Guo Ning's words, Huo Yi understood that at that banquet, there was more than one person who received the emperor's order privately. He left Liu Erzu's mansion and only stayed in the mansion for a while before reporting to the emperor. As a result, the emperor knew exactly what he had eaten!
Guo Ning seemed oblivious to Huo Yi's nervousness. He patted Huo Yi on the shoulder and said, "Well, you've had a hard time on this trip. Now that you're in Zhongdu, don't rush back. The Ministry of War has set up a new office in Jinkou Camp as a training ground for new recruits from all over the country. You, an old soldier, can go there to help for a few months, earn some merit, and keep an eye on the young men in the army for me."

Your Majesty's imperial mind and skills in controlling your subordinates are becoming more and more sophisticated.

Huo Yi performed the ceremony as usual, not daring to be negligent in the slightest: "Yes, yes, thank you, Your Majesty."

Watching Huo Yi retreat cautiously, not even daring to look up and meet his gaze, Guo Ning sighed.

When the enemy is pressing in, he has to distract himself to do these things, which is not pleasant. But these things must be done, and those who can't do them or are not good at them can't get this position.

To be honest, Guo Ning didn't care about the factions in the army. In his dream, he had seen a great man who was extraordinary, but even such a great man had to recognize and take care of his own faction. Guo Ning asked himself, his own ability was far inferior to that of that man, so he understood this very well.

Even from the perspective of the emperor, the existence of factions and cliques is, to some extent, beneficial to the superiors' balance, differentiation and control, and to their control over power.

The problem is that the leaders representing the mountains must not lose their fighting spirit and must not become a burden to the army!

This is very difficult to grasp. In Guo Ning's dream, the great man and his companions had the highest banner in the world, but in the end, they could not avoid their own private schemes... let alone Guo Ning?
Guo Ning knew that suppressing the rise of Mongolia would lead to a completely different future, but this could not be a banner to call on everyone. What so many subordinates wanted was always wealth and honor.

As a leader, if you don't give people wealth and honor, what will happen? The freezing cold water in Tangluo, Hebei Province has already told Guo Ning. So if you give people wealth and honor, will it breed a group of corrupt soldiers?

This tendency was foreseeable, but Guo Ning could not tolerate it. He knew that power came from the barrel of a gun, and that the army was the guarantee for the resurgence of the Han people and the foundation of the new dynasty's rule. Therefore, he had to cut off this tendency from another angle.

Soldiers can be rich. In the past few years, the military group that has risen rapidly with the rise of the Great Zhou has almost no scruples about reaching out to all aspects. They set up business companies, participated in maritime trade, participated in the development of grasslands, participated in the excavation of various minerals and the explosion of handicrafts, and there was no problem with that.

All these things were closely related to the development of the Great Zhou in the frontier. Under Guo Ning's intentional or unintentional promotion, the more enthusiastic the warriors were about wealth and glory, the more they reached out to grab the benefits that they could not even imagine on their own in the Central Plains.

Just like the group of people invited by Liu Erzu today, they are not only ruthless people from the Taishan lineage of the Red Coat Army, but also rich people who have been keen to invest in the Northern Frontier for a long time. They themselves are like this, and so are their companions, old subordinates, and relatives. When the interests of the court in the Northern Frontier are threatened, if they remain indifferent, Guo Ning will not need to take action, and many people who share interests with them will tear them apart!
Liu Erzu saw this very clearly, so this good-natured man did not hesitate to use harsh words and use knives to remind his old subordinates not to lose their minds. And among his old subordinates, there were also several smart people who made the right choice in advance. That was very good.

Guo Ning not only cares about the old members of the Red Coat Army, his army has various hilltops, and it is inevitable that there are people who indulge in pleasure and peace everywhere. However, when the enemy comes, you have to fight; when the interests are damaged, you have to snatch them back; when the happy life in front of you is threatened, you have to fight back fiercely.

This is the simplest truth, and every warrior understands it. Even if they are afraid and shaken for a while, they will eventually understand it under various pushes.

Not far to the east of the martial arts training ground, there were several gates directly connected to the largest military camp in Zhongdu. At this time, a voice was faintly heard from the military camp. The latest news about the Mongolian army's actions had obviously spread here. These soldiers would soon know that the Mongolian army had new weapons. This time, the enemy was even more powerful and came with ill intentions.

However, compared with senior officers, Guo Ning was much more confident about ordinary soldiers.

He walked a few steps out of the pavilion, listened carefully, and heard soldiers shouting. At first, it was the voices of one or two people, and then there were ten, twenty, one hundred, and two hundred. At this moment, all the soldiers in the barracks were on rotation. No one organized them, and no one commanded them. But their shouts became louder and louder, gradually deafening.