The Child Emperor

The emperor's patrolling with a small number of soldiers will be escorted by garrisoned troops from all over the country. It can also be regarded as a form of military training and military parade, but it should not be too close to the emperor.

Dozens of generals recommended by Fang Daye before his death rushed to the camp one after another. The generals selected by Han Ruzi by reading the memorial were always with him. The two groups together had more than 70 people, and the task was to temporarily manage the local army. Since their departure from the capital, they have taken over seven armies.

Han Ruzi was very satisfied with these generals, and he believed that all of them would be great generals with time.

The local army allowed Han Ruzi to see the other side of the great Chu. Compared with the elite army in the capital and outside the Great Wall, the number of the local army was insufficient, ranging from a few hundred to as many as a thousand or two thousand. After training, many times even the queue is not even, and from a distance, it looks like a group of defeated soldiers being chased.

In this case, the ability of the generals is especially tested. Some people are helpless, and some people can turn a group of rabble into a slightly decent army in a very short time.

Chen Xiao is such a general.

This man was in his thirties and came from an aristocratic family. He had been in the army for several generations until his grandfather was a small military officer. Chen Xiao joined the army at the age of sixteen and stayed in the frontier for seven or eight years before being transferred back to the south. He was responsible for eradicating the Yunmengze group of thieves. Because of the small number of soldiers, he did not make any outstanding military exploits, but the city he guarded was never plundered. Therefore, Han Ruzi noticed his name in the memorial.

Han Ruzi rode on a small hill, looked at the army of the East China Sea in the distance, and said, The East China Sea often fights against pirates, and the army is really different from other places, Chen Xiao, what do you think?

Chen Xiao was not in charge of the army this time, and stayed by the emperor's side as a consultant.

There are many people around the emperor, layer upon layer, as soon as Chen Xiao's name is called, someone immediately pushes him forward.

Chen Xiao was completely different from his name, and he was not arrogant at all. He walked forward in small steps, saluted the emperor, and replied, Your Majesty is watching carefully. , this is not the East China Sea National Army, but the navy army established by His Majesty's decree.

Han Ruzi remembered and smiled, That's right.

The navy army that Han Ruzi ordered two years ago has now taken shape, but his most important general has disappeared.

Chen Xiao, such an army, plus an ordinary local army, will be handed over to you, how will you use it?

Chen Xiao pondered for a while, It depends on the situation.

You can assume several situations yourself.

In the case of land warfare, if the enemy is weak and we are strong, then the navy and the local area will be mixed into an army, and the elite soldiers will lead the weak soldiers to fight together. To defeat the enemy, if the enemy is strong and we are weak, the elite soldiers will fight the first battle, show their courage to both the enemy and us, and then the whole army will retreat to the place where they can be defended.”

What about a water battle? Han Ruzi asked.

You can't use weak soldiers in water battles. If the last commander uses soldiers, it is better to leave the weak soldiers on the shore to meet them, and not let them get on the boat.

Chen Xiao had already omitted many of the what if situations, but when it comes to the battlefield, the situation will only become more complicated, and there are no certain rules.

Han Ruzi nodded, turned his head to look for the accompanying officials of the Ministry of War in the crowd, looked at him and asked, The navy is the imperial army, what about the local garrison in the East China Sea?

The official stepped forward in a hurry and replied, In the outer periphery, it is farther away, and you can't see it here.

Who is the takeover?

This army is only responsible for clearing roads and setting up checkpoints, so ... no generals are sent to take over.

The decree was clearly stated, and when it was actually implemented, there would still be various interpretations that went against the original intention. Han Ruzi did not show anger, but said flatly: There are so many generals around me who are idle, and more people will be sent to take over the East China Sea National Army. .

The officials of the Ministry of War hurriedly charged the crime, received the order to retire, and immediately arranged for the generals to go to the East China Sea National Army.

Han Ruzi said to the East Sea King again, Aren't you going to take a look?

The King of the East Sea was right next to the emperor, and he was one of the few horse riders. Hearing this, he was stunned, Ah? Your Majesty asked me to go... I'll just go and have a look. In fact, there is nothing to see. The local army is all like that, not usually. Farming means building roads and walls, and there is no time for training. It’s not so much an army as it is… um, I’ll take a look.”

The King of the East Sea was the chief Sima of the Suwei Army. He went to a scattered local army, a little bit of condescension. He was reluctant, but the emperor stared at him, and he could only agree.

Han Ruzi watched for a while, and then designated Chen Xiao as a temporary navy general to go to the navy to lead the generals.

Han Ruzi rode down the mountain and continued on the road.

The frontier is the border of the East China Sea, and there is still a day's journey from the government office. According to the regulations, the East China Sea country only sent the army and a small number of civilian officials.

In the evening of the same day, the patrolling team set up camp, and Han Ruzi temporarily summoned his ministers and announced a decree that surprised everyone: stay at the border of the East China Sea for three days, the navy and the East China Sea National Army will practice tactics, and the emperor will come to see it in person.

Today's emperor has too many ideas, which often change every day. Officials are used to it, but they still have a headache in private. If the emperor has any idea, they have to stay up in the middle of the night, write orders, and then send them to all parties. If there is an accident, don't even think about going to sleep.

In fact, the emperor was not idle either.

Han Ruzi knew how much trouble his decree would bring. When the officials were busy, he didn't sleep, and issued several decrees alone.

Qu Zixi, the censor of the right patrol, will go out of the city ahead of time to see the emperor, and he will probably arrive the day after tomorrow.

Chen Xiao was summoned again that night.

It's just a distant view during the day. How does General Chen feel about this navy after taking over?

The emperor's tent was extremely simple, but there was a table, a chair, a few stools, and seven or eight boxes on one side. The contents were not taken out. Only the carpet under his feet showed something special.

Chen Xiao didn't care at all, instead he became more respectful and bowed back and said, This navy is not large in number, more than 2,000 people, but it was once trained by the general of the building ship, and after the temporary management of the last general, I feel that it is a team. Elite soldiers.

Han Ruzi nodded, Huang Pugong is a rare general, and the army he trained will naturally not be bad.

Do you think this army can fight?

Chen Xiao was stunned for a moment, The last general dared to ask, who do you want to fight?

pirate.

Chen Xiao is a prudent general, and he does not want to pretend to be brave even in front of the emperor. This kind of character has made him unknown in the army for more than ten years, and he can't change it now. There are more than fifty warships, of which nine are large ships, which can be the main force, if it is an ordinary bandit suppression, it is enough, if it is facing the group of pirates who ambushed General Huang, I am afraid it is not enough.

There are still a large number of pirates who have been surrendered in the East China Sea, can they be used?

Chen Xiao thought for a while, The pirates who are surrendered are unstable, they can only be used as guidance, not as a reliance. If they can find a few people who are familiar with the sea, they may be able to fight.

Let's just treat it as a topic. You go to write a battle book, and I want to see it.

According to the order.

The emperor often asked similar questions on the way of hunting. He had to ask how to attack and defend when passing through a certain city, a certain mountain, or a certain water. Sometimes he even designated one side to attack and the other to defend, each with his own tactics, and arguing endlessly, but most of them were just on paper, not really. When it was really implemented, many people were startled at first, but they got used to it later.

Chen Xiao was not surprised because of this. After receiving the order, he returned to his army and summoned all the generals overnight to inquire about the situation at sea and formulate a combat plan.

In the afternoon of the next day, Han Ruzi went to the army parade. The navy was fine, but the East China Sea National Army was a mess, and the King of the East China Sea couldn’t make them change overnight. There were more than 1,500 people in total, and even the armor was not complete. The soldiers were holding knives and guns, and they all looked nervous. They wanted to see the emperor, but they were afraid of being seen by the emperor.

Hundreds of old guards are separated in the middle, which is the practice insisted by the Ministry of War. The local army is mixed, and they cannot be allowed to get too close to the emperor.

Although the Donghai National Army is weak, it is not worse than other counties and counties, so the Donghai King does not hide it and presents it directly to the emperor.

The navy and the East China Sea National Army conducted a confrontation exercise, and they rebelled against each other. The number of sailors was larger. After several changes, the East China Sea National Army was divided into three parts, which were not connected to each other. A must win.

Han Ruzi rewarded the two armies without making any judgments.

Back at the camp, Han Ruzi had just sat down in the tent when Cui Teng walked in and said with a smile, Your Majesty really likes military parades. How many troops have you seen along the way?

The Great Chu region is vast, and there cannot be only a few elite soldiers, the more the better.

Of course.

Are you okay? Han Ruzi asked.

Cui Teng followed the emperor every day, but unless something really happened, he wouldn't take the initiative to talk.

That...Is the King of the East Sea suitable for managing the army?

What's wrong?

He's... Cui Teng made some inexplicable gestures.

It's only temporary, three or five days at most.

Cui Teng breathed a sigh of relief, That's good, that's good, um... When will His Majesty give me an army? My requirements are even lower, and it's fine for a day.

The King of Donghai knew some ways to manage the army, but Cui Teng was ignorant and could not even talk about soldiers on paper, let alone lead them in person.

Cui Teng slapped his forehead, Yes.

Han Ruzi just wanted to ask something, and said casually: Cui Teng, your family has a lot of fields, right?

There should be quite a few. Anyway, every autumn, there are long queues of people who go into the house to pay bills and deliver things.

There are a lot of servants, aren't they?

It's definitely not comparable to the palace, but it's quite a lot. I've seen rosters stacked so high together. Cui Teng gestured, I have a headache just looking at it.

Cui Teng is a person who always answers any questions. Han Ruzi hummed and didn't ask any further questions. He looked down at the memorial.

Cui Teng still didn't finish his thoughts, and wanted to brag a few more words. Seeing that the emperor didn't seem to be interested, he had to step back.

At the second watch that night, Jin Chunzhong came from Huxian with great speed, and the news he brought was related to the fields and servants.

Han Ruzi refused to go to the East China Sea State Administration immediately, and he was the one who was waiting.