Chapter 120 Inspection

Chapter 120 Inspection

Chapter 120 Inspection
The shadow of war suddenly descended, causing great panic among the people of Luoyang, who had just enjoyed a good life for less than a year.

But now that things have come to this, what can they do?
In this eventful time, people from the Hedong Pei family quietly arrived in Yiyang.

"The millet is growing well." Pei Kang got off the carriage, crossed a shallow ditch, stood on the edge of the field, and said as he watched the villagers who were working hard to harvest the crops.

"The land in Yiyang is naturally excellent." Shao Xun stood behind the old man and explained softly, "These fields were not wasteland before planting, but no one cultivated them. After being fallow for two or three years, they became more fertile. After the fortresses cleared the weeds, they planted millet. After the autumn harvest, they will plant wheat again."

"You are a warrior, yet you are so knowledgeable when it comes to farming." Pei Kang's expression was unclear, and he asked calmly, "When the war breaks out, we can just go and plunder. Why bother managing the manor?"

"Mr. Pei is joking." Shao Xun said, "People like Zhang Fang, who kill people and are cruel and inhumane, will surely be despised by the world. How can I do this?"

"Although Zhang Fang is cruel, he is good at fighting and has won many victories. Did you know that the King of Hejian has been reorganizing his troops and Zhang Fang has led a vanguard of 5,000 cavalry to Tongguan?" Pei Kang said, "If he attacks Hongnong directly, he will wipe out all the property you have built. Can you still laugh?"

"Five thousand cavalry?" Shao Xun frowned.

"Is 5,000 cavalry strange? In the battle of Dangyin last year, Zhang Fang had more than 10,000 cavalry." Pei Kang said, "Huangfu Zhong of Qinzhou was defeated and killed, so there is no more worry in Guanzhong. Sima Yong might have hesitated before, but now that he sees the smoke of war everywhere, will he still be afraid of you?"

"Come if you want." Shao Xun sneered, "I killed 600 of his cavalrymen inside the city gate. If he comes again, what's wrong with killing him again?"

Liu Anzhi, who was following behind Pei Kang, couldn't help but glance at Shao Xun, as if to confirm whether he was really confident or just bragging.

Sima Yong occupied Guanzhong, so it was easy for him to recruit cavalry, which would be very troublesome to fight against. It was not as simple as it sounds.

However, Liu Anzhi discussed with Pei Kang on the way and did not think Sima Yong had the courage to move eastward.

He sent more troops to Tongguan, but in the final analysis he was just trying to wait and see.

He would only send troops eastward if Sima Yue was overwhelmed and unable to pacify the situation.

After all, just a few months ago, he had repeatedly submitted petitions to the court requesting that Sima Yue be promoted, which shows how panicked he was.

The power of Sima Yue's faction still has an overwhelming advantage so far.

"Rely on those soldiers?" Pei Kang asked, pointing at the soldiers who were training on the south bank of Luo River not far away.

"Mr. Pei, please look—" Shao Xun clapped his hands, and soon a messenger came to deliver the message.

After a while, the six hundred Silver Spear Soldiers who had assembled temporarily placed their spears at their feet and quickly strung their bows.

"Woo--" The horn sounded, and six hundred people drew their bows at the same time, raised them diagonally upwards, and as soon as they loosened their hands, hundreds of arrows flew into the air and scattered on the large group of straw men seventy or eighty steps away.

"Boom, boom, boom--" the drums sounded, and the soldiers quickly hung up their bows, picked up their spears, and advanced in a wall formation.

Before Pei Kang could figure out what was going on, Liu Anzhi's expression had already changed.

Everyone wears armor and shoots on foot!

Judging from the bow, the pulling force should be good. It can be shot from 80 steps away. Even if it is a projectile or scattered, it is enough to cause some trouble. If they encounter an enemy with weak will, there will probably be a commotion at this time, even if they didn't suffer many casualties in this round of projectiles.

Looking at their marching formation is even more surprising.

The sergeants and squad leaders kept using gestures to remind the soldiers to maintain their formation, which was very active and proactive.

The leader had a small flag with animals painted on it on it, which was very conspicuous. When everyone saw this flag, they knew to align themselves around him. When he ordered to move forward, everyone moved forward. When he ordered to stop, everyone stopped. When he ordered to attack quickly, everyone rushed in a line.

The quality of the lower-level officers is very high!
"Woo——" the horn sounded for the second time.

The soldiers all stopped and placed their spears at their feet.

"Woo——" the horn sounded for the third time.

"Buzz..." A vast amount of arrows shot forward, scattering on the straw man and his surroundings.

"Boom, boom, boom--" the drums sounded, and everyone skillfully hung up their bows, picked up their spears, lined up in neat formations, and strode forward.

At thirty paces, the last volley was fired.

It was almost a straight shot, and the powerful arrow knocked down all the straw men, making people stunned.

"Boom boom boom..." The rhythm of the drums suddenly became intense.

"Kill!" Everyone hit the ground with their spears, roared, then lined up, ran in small steps, leaped forward, and thrust their spears out with all their strength.

The last straw man was also stabbed to the ground.

When the dust settled, everyone was stunned.

Not only Pei Kang and Liu Anzhi, but even the refugees from Bingzhou who were harvesting crops.

"This..." Liu Anzhi swallowed hard.

"How is it?" Pei Kang looked at him and asked in a low voice.

"I'm afraid my troops can't win." Liu Anzhi replied in a low voice. After that, he seemed to think that this tone was too weak, and added: "They have too many iron armors, which will be very advantageous in a fight."

Although Pei Kang didn't know much about military affairs, he understood human nature. He automatically filtered out Liu Anzhi's emotional supplements and only looked at the facts.

He knew that Shao Xun, who seduced his daughter, was indeed capable and had trained a good army.

I heard that the earliest batch of these 600 people had only been in the army for a year and a half, but they had achieved such a level. It can be seen that Shao Xun put in a lot of effort.

Pei Kang even suspected that he was not so dedicated when he was training the imperial guards led by the generals in the palace.

Moreover, this style of play is very weird.

Pei Kang had seen his own troops and farmhands practice, and although he couldn't remember the details clearly, it was definitely not like what he saw before.

He turned his head and looked at Shao Xun, and asked, "Where did you get this fighting method from, sir?"

"Self-created." Shao Xun replied.

Of course it was not created by myself, but I can't say that this was the way Emperor Xuanzong of Tang used when he performed martial arts, right?

The era of cold weapons also emphasized firepower projection.

When all your members can shoot arrows, the density of arrows can be unmatched by any army since the Qin and Han dynasties.

If they are coupled with mounted infantry equipped with war horses, Mo Dao (or heavy sword), and individual crossbows, who can maneuver quickly on the battlefield, dismount and assemble when in position, shoot with crossbows, and chop people with Mo Dao/heavy swords, they will be even more difficult to resist.

Tactical play is constantly evolving with the times. I "invented" this style of play, so roll up and I'll roll you to death. "You're only eighteen years old, how can you know all this?" Liu Anzhi broke his defense and couldn't help asking.

Shao Xun smiled but said nothing.

Jin San couldn't help but say, "Master Shao once met a golden-armored god in a dream, who taught him all kinds of knowledge, military tactics, and martial arts. This is a gift from heaven."

"A gentleman does not speak of strange and supernatural things. Jin San, what nonsense are you talking about?" Shao Xun said angrily.

Pei Kang's face changed.

It's not his fault; it's just that beliefs in ghosts and gods are too popular these days.

Even Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, and Prime Minister of the Jin Dynasty, Zhang Hua, liked to write about ghosts, gods, and strange stories. When scholars talked about metaphysics, they often brought up these topics, and many people believed in them.

Liu Anzhi's face also turned pale.

Yesterday he personally handed over 500 pieces of Shu brocade to Shao Xun. At that time, looking at the messy Yunzhongwu with a large number of wooden boards and rammed earth piled up, he once doubted in his heart: Did Pei Gong choose the wrong person?
But now he didn't dare to have such thoughts. He secretly glanced at Pei Kang and felt that he was experienced and unfathomable.

Pei Kang calmed himself down, stroked his beard, and remained expressionless.

I gave him 500 pieces of Shu brocade to get him away from Hua Nu. Sima Yue was far away in Xuzhou, and he couldn't afford to lose face if his daughter got pregnant.

But now, his mood was very complicated and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Mr. Pei, if there is enough money and food, I can train tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and we can go anywhere in the world," Shao Xun said softly.

He lowered his head slightly and was very respectful, which made Pei Kang feel much better.

Pei Kang waved his hand, Liu An was startled, and then stepped back.

"What exactly do you want to do? Do you want to learn from Liu Yuan?" Pei Kang walked a few steps closer and asked in a low voice.

Shao Xun was unsure why he asked this, so he tentatively replied, "I am a general of the Yue Mansion, so I am here to train the troops for Sikong."

"These are private soldiers." Pei Kang didn't buy it.

"It's common to lead your private troops to fight for your lord," Shao Xun said.

"If you say that again, I'll leave." Pei Kang said expressionlessly.

Lore!

Shao Xun did not dare to play tricks, and could only say: "The world is in chaos, and building a dock to train soldiers is actually for self-protection."

"That's a bit true." Pei Kang nodded and said, "But it's not entirely untrue."

Shao Xun said helplessly: "Mr. Pei, do you think there is still hope for this world? Liu Yuan and Li Xiong founded the country and ruled it, and after the central army in Luoyang was destroyed, the imperial court had no power to protect itself. The ambitions of the governors of various states grew, and they all recruited strong soldiers to expand their troops. It is hard to say what will happen in the future. At this time, if we don't train our soldiers, we will be playing with the lives of our wives, children and elders."

Pei Kang had been listening and nodding secretly, but when he heard the last sentence, he glared at Shao Xun.

How can a man who is waiting to be sold have a wife and children?

This person will do anything to climb up the ladder.

But my daughter is stupid, one is willing to fight and the other is willing to be beaten, they are a perfect match.

"Your fortress is not good enough yet." Pei Kang finally spoke after a long while.

Shao Xun was overjoyed: "I was just about to ask Pei Gong for advice."

"How much food do we have now?" Pei Kang asked.

"We have collected more than 80,000 hu of grain in Hongnong," Shao Xun said. "We have used up many soldiers and more than a thousand refugees from Bingzhou, but most of them have been consumed. We still owe Yiquanwu 20,000 hu of grain. We were planning to pay it back after the autumn harvest, but fortunately, we have the 500 pieces of Shu brocade sent by Pei Gong, which will give us some extra space."

“How much grain did you harvest this year?”

"The three camps of Yunzhong, Jinmen and Tanshan obtained more than 60,000 bushels of millet in total."

"You are spending more than you earn." Pei Kang commented, "You will have to borrow grain next year if this continues. Can you afford it? Have you thought of a solution?"

"Please give me some advice, Mr. Pei." Shao Xun said honestly.

"Are you still taking in refugees?"

"Yes. Jingu Garden has received 400 new households from Bingzhou and is about to move to Jinmenwu."

"Ambitious." Pei Kang snorted, and then asked, "Does Hua Nu know what you are doing?"

"know."

"My daughter is so smart, but she plays along with you. What are you going to do with her in the future?"

"I swear on the Luo River..."

"That's enough! You have no shame, but I still have some." Pei Kang said angrily, "Come with me to Luoyang."

"Okay." Shao Xun responded.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came.

The two looked in the direction of the sound.

Xu Lang, the clerk of the Sikong Mansion, hurriedly dismounted and ran over, saying, "Wang Ying of Chengdu is dead."

"Who killed him?" Before Shao Xun could ask, Pei Kang at the side asked in surprise.

Xu Lang glanced at him and said vaguely, "The emperor issued an edict, and General Wang Bing, the Tiger Guard, led his troops to capture him and sentenced him to death along with his two sons."

Pei Kang sighed.

It is impossible for the emperor to issue an edict. He didn't even want to kill Sima Jiong and Sima Yi, so how could he harm Sima Ying?
Only one person could do this, his son-in-law who was very proud of himself in Xuzhou.

Would killing Sima Ying put an end to the rebellion of the Hebei generals? I'm afraid it's not that easy.

This is not necessarily a good thing!
(End of this chapter)