Chapter 91: Annexing friendly forces is a fine tradition

Chapter 91: Annexing friendly forces is a fine tradition (for the leader Yuxian Qitian)
The drums are still beating.

Inside and outside the Great Xia Gate, corpses of people and horses were strewn everywhere, and it felt like a pool of blood in hell. Even veteran warriors couldn't help but feel nauseous. They had never seen such layers of blood and flesh. It was too tragic.

The Wang Guo army had already rushed out of the Daxia Gate, hacking and killing anyone they saw. Not to mention the Western Army, even their own defeated soldiers did not dare to come this way and fled away.

Until He Lun came over with only a few hundred remaining soldiers...

"General He, please hurry into the city and report to the governor." Shao Xun ordered the soldiers to clear a passage for He's soldiers to pass through.

He Lun thanked him in a low voice, not daring to look Shao Xun in the eye, and went into the city in shame.

There was the sound of horse hooves in the distance, those were the Western cavalry who were unwilling to accept defeat. They were cruising from a distance, wanting to charge, but not daring to.

In the tragic defeat just now, more than 600 cavalrymen were killed, and their bodies stretched from the Imperial Street to outside the city. Even the main general Zhi Fu was injured, and the casualties were heavy.

After watching from a distance for a while and seeing that there was no chance, they finally retreated reluctantly.

Since there is no possibility of seizing the gate, let's wait for the main force to arrive and then make long-term plans.

Shao Xun has been standing outside the door.

More than two thousand soldiers, wearing armor and holding swords, stood silently.

A resounding victory can easily boost morale.

This temporary burst of morale may decline soon, but at this moment they are indeed full of fighting spirit and extremely brave.

All the battlefield messengers were sent out, running around cautiously, looking for groups of defeated soldiers and letting them enter the city through the Guangmo and Daxia gates - Mi Huang had taken over the city defense with 4,000 soldiers, and it was he who ordered the Guangmo Gate to be opened.

A total of 13,000 infantry and cavalry went into battle, but only 3,000 returned in the end. The loss was still huge.

The remaining 10,000 people were not all dead. Perhaps some were still hiding somewhere, but not too many, probably around 2,000 at most. It would be difficult for them to come back unless someone was specially sent to search and shelter them.

It was not until the sun was setting and the city was empty that Shao Xun led his troops back to the city.

The Great Xia Gate slammed shut, the drawbridge slowly rose, and the entire battlefield returned to calm. All that was left were the dying and groaning wounded soldiers lying on the ground, and a flock of crows cawing in the sky.

On the way back, Chen Yougen whispered: Three student soldiers died.

Shao Xun just nodded and didn't say much.

Life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by God. As long as there is a war, people will die, and this is inevitable.

"Mr. Shao is really able to turn the tide." Mi Huang and Wang Bing hurried over, looking relieved.

When Shangguan Si's army was defeated, Mi Huang was really worried that the bandits would take advantage of the situation and attack Luoyang. At that time, he even wanted to give up the effort to save the city and just defend Jinyong City.

Fortunately, he did not show weakness at the critical moment and decided to "struggle" and try his best to defend Luoyang.

The result is naturally good.

Zhang Fang was too anxious and actually sent cavalry to rush over to seize the gate. As a result, Wang Guojun was caught up and gave him a good lesson in the narrow streets and city gates, and the situation turned from critical to safe.

There were so many unexpected things happening throughout the day that it was really frightening.

"Sima Shao." Another person came over and bowed.

"General Chen...?" Shao Xun took a look and saw that the man's face was covered in blood and his hair was disheveled. It was Chen Jing, the General of the Left Guard. Shao Xun almost didn't recognize him.

"Sima Shao has made great contributions today." Chen Jing complimented him indifferently, then pulled a general behind him and introduced him to Shao Xun: "This is my old general Chen Yong."

"Sima Shao." Chen Yong bowed.

Shao Xun returned the greeting and asked, "What does General Chen mean?"

Chen Jing sighed and said, "After today's defeat, there are only a few soldiers left, about four or five hundred. Chen Yong, bring your men over to meet Shao Sima. From now on, you will be his soldiers."

"Yes." Chen Yong replied.

Seeing Shao Xun was about to say something, Chen Jing spoke first: "Sima Shao, these are all veterans of the Luoyang Central Army. Some are from the Left Guard, some are from the Right Guard, and some are from the Cavalry. Naturally, their skills are not bad. Now their morale is a little low. If they are well trained, they will be strong soldiers in the future. I am - discouraged, and I don't want to think about anything else at this time. I only hope that Sima Shao will treat you well."

After saying this, he staggered away without waiting for Shao Xun's response.

Shao Xun was silent for a moment, then asked Chen Yougen to take the teaching team to gather more than 400 people including Chen Yong.

Mi Huang came closer and said in a very low voice: "Chen Jing heard about your arrow shooting at Shangguan Pu."

Shao Xun suddenly realized.

He originally thought that Chen Jing had become discouraged after experiencing a series of disastrous defeats. But now it seems that it is difficult to tell what the real reason is.

Maybe Chen Jing was afraid that he would be used as a scapegoat, so he simply handed over his military power to avoid disaster. There were only a few of his men left anyway, so it was better to sell him off.

The people in Luoyang City are all smart people, hehe.

"Where is Man Fen?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Dead." Mi Huang sighed and said, "Beheaded by the Western Army."

"Man Fen still has more than 2,000 people in the city, right?" Shao Xun asked.

"I just sent someone to their camp, and the two generals, Hou Hu and Fan Cheng, expressed their willingness to obey orders." Mi Huang said. "What are the origins of these two people?"

"They are all veteran generals of the Luoyang Central Army, over fifty years old, retired at home. Before the Northern Expedition, the Minister of Works hired them out and brought dozens of veterans to train the new soldiers."

Man Fen and Miao Yuan had a total of 5,000 soldiers, all of whom were new recruits recruited more than three months ago. At that time, they invited many veterans from the central army to help with training.

"Find a way to gather them together." Shao Xun whispered, "There can't be another army in Luoyang City. The governor doesn't want Miao Yuan to let people into the city without permission to happen again, right?"

Mi Huang nodded hesitantly.

This time Miao Yuan took the initiative to let the prince, Shangguan Si and others into the city, which caused a huge disturbance and almost ruined Luoyang. Mi Huang was also a little scared. Therefore, although he felt that annexing friendly forces was not a good idea, he finally agreed.

"Shangguan Si may have escaped." Mi Huang said: "Someone saw him fleeing south with his entourage, and the Western soldiers could not catch up. Miao Yuan came back and hid directly in the military camp."

"Don't pay attention to him for now." Shao Xun said, "The most urgent task is to repel Zhang Fang and save Luoyang. Have you gathered all the defeated troops that entered the city?"

"Except for the followers of Chen Jing and Miao Yuan, the remaining 2,300 people have all been gathered."

Shao Xun calculated and said, "I need 300 people. As for the rest - General Wang, do you want to lead the troops?"

Wang Bing was startled, his eyes were uncertain, and he suspected that Shao Xun was testing him.

"General Wang, don't think too much." Shao Xun said with a smile, "I have a lot of soldiers under my command, and I really can't bring them all. I know you have many old acquaintances from Donghai and fellow villagers in the upper army. I will go and talk to General He. He will release the one you want. How about you lead these two thousand defeated soldiers?"

Wang Bing was somewhat tempted.

He had been sidelined by Shao Xun for a long time, and originally wanted to seek a job in the Imperial Guards to avoid this plague god. But now the Imperial Guards are gone, and all his plans have come to nothing. Hearing that he could regain control of the military power, it would be a lie to say that he was not tempted.

After hesitating for a moment, he bowed and said, "If Sima has any orders from now on, just let me know."

"There will be such an opportunity." Shao Xun helped him up and said, "How about your troops still marching to the front?"

"Of course it's fine." Wang Bing said, "But where is the original lower army?"

"Of course, the Central Army should be our headquarters." Shao Xun said without hesitation.

Mi Huang was a little surprised, but didn't say anything.

Only large countries have three armies: the upper, middle and lower armies. The middle army has 2,000 soldiers, and the upper and lower armies have 1,500 each, totaling 5,000.

Donghai is not a big country, so according to the rules, it cannot have a central army.

But then again, what time is it now? It's a mess, let's talk about it after we defeat the enemy.

Wang Bing quickly said goodbye and went to see his new subordinates happily.

Mi Huang stood there for a moment, and finally couldn't help asking, "Young Master, are you going to appoint yourself as the General of the Central Army?"

"It's all for the great cause of Sikong. We just acted on the urgency of the situation." Shao Xun sighed and said, "When Sikong returns to Luoyang in the future, everything will be left to him to decide. If he deprives me of my concurrent positions, I will certainly obey without hesitation."

Mi Huang had nothing to say.

After Wang Bing left, Shao Xun could directly control about 4,000 troops, including 3,000 combat troops and 1,000 auxiliary troops. If we count the more than 400 troops of Chen Yong and the 300 defeated soldiers gathered today, the total number would be more than 4,700.

Of course, he believed that Shao Xun's ambitions went far beyond this.

Hou Hu and Fan Cheng still have more than 2,000 new soldiers, but he hasn't assigned them yet...

In fact, Shao Xun had already made plans for these soldiers: most of them would serve as auxiliary troops, and another four to five hundred people would be selected to merge with the three teams of Wang Que'er, Jin San, and Lu Heigou in the original army to form one group.

Shao Xun considered it.

Since we are recruiting soldiers, is it still necessary to have a sergeant?
During the Tang Dynasty, the military household system collapsed and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang started an era of large-scale conscription. The soldiers' professionalism and skill levels became increasingly higher and matured in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.

At that time, many local military forces abolished the rank of sergeant because the army's organization had improved and there was no need to establish this level of officer.

The East Sea Kingdom Army is now a de facto conscripted army. Although they are still very immature overall due to their short formation time, the intensity and frequency of their training are higher than those of ordinary career soldiers, and their degree of organization is naturally high as well.

So, can we seriously consider abolishing the rank of corporal?
Shao Xun was not very sure, but he decided to observe for a while.

In the three teams of Wang, Jin and Lu, all the student soldiers were promoted one level, the sergeant became the squad leader, the squad leader became the team leader, and the team leader became the supervisor. The vacant sergeant position was elected by the new soldiers themselves.

Shao Xun served as the leader of this newly formed army, while Jin San and Lu Heigou served as supervisors.

Chen Yougen's army now had 100 men, which would be expanded to 200 men immediately and organized into a group. Chen would be appointed group leader, and Wang Que'er would be transferred over to serve as the group commander.

These two troops have nearly 800 people and are vaguely independent of the Kingdom Army system.

Shao Xun did this on purpose to avoid unnecessary trouble when "dividing property" in the future.

He would rather have fewer soldiers under his command, but he must ensure that they are "pure".

He can command some soldiers, and Sikong can also command some soldiers.

There are some soldiers that only he can command.

The latter is obviously more important.

(End of this chapter)