Waves of dust rose up on the official road.

War horses galloped past, and a few flying birds panicked and hovered in the air.

The weather gradually turned colder. Looking around from the official road, there were desolate scenes everywhere. The war horses galloped for a quarter of an hour, and not a single house was visible.

This is the actual situation in Dengzhou and Laizhou after the war. It has been more than a month and there is still not much improvement.

Wu Zongrui's face was gloomy and he did not speak. Liao Wenru beside him lowered his head and did not speak either.

Eight thousand sergeants from the Xinyi Escort Division have arrived in Dengzhou, and the remaining more than 2,000 are temporarily staying in Qingzhou to deal with the aftermath. After all escort tasks are completed, these sergeants will all move

Arrive at Dengzhou Fucheng.

The Xinyi Escort shop in Qingzhou Fucheng has been preserved, and a Xinyi Escort shop has also been opened in Dengzhou Prefecture.

The new army was re-established, with Liao Wenru and Liu Ning serving as guerrilla generals, and Luo Dianming and others serving as Qianzong. The governor's Yamen had already reported their appointments to the Ministry of War. From this time on, Liao Wenru and others became members of the Ming army.

One member.

The ordnance and war horses are sufficient. When Gao Qiqian led the army, he left almost all the war horses and ordnance, as well as a lot of grain and grass, but there was not much silver left in the treasury.

The current total number of the New Army is just over 10,000, with 7,000 war horses, 24 red barbarian cannons, 200 French guns, 800 Western artillery pieces, and nearly 1,000 artillery carriages and two-wheeled vehicles.

Teixeira is still the chief instructor of the new army, and Correa and Henry are the deputy chief instructors. While teaching the sergeants how to skillfully control red cannons, French artillery and Western artillery, they also carefully research and improve various types of artillery.

As for those bird cannons, hand cannons, etc., Wu Zongrui really doesn't like them. The range is not far and the lethality is not great. Filling the ammunition takes time. By the time you fire one round, the cavalry will have already rushed to you.

The large increase in war horses and ordnance means that the expenses have also increased significantly. The emperor has already said that he will no longer bear the expenses of the new army, including the expenses of the new army in Laizhou. The garrisons in Dengzhou and Laizhou will follow the example of the sergeants in the guards.

That is to say, the farming system was implemented, and the income from cultivating the land was used to support the army.

It is simply not feasible to use farming to meet the expenses of the army. The corruption of the Ming Guard system has shown everything.

This shows that the status of the new troops in Dengzhou and Laizhou has been completely reduced, and they are treated the same as the troops in other guard posts.

"Report, there are traces of bandits ahead. There are more than thirty people and five war horses..."

"Continue the investigation, locate the detailed locations of the bandits, and try to detect their lair."

The scout went to investigate again.

Liao Wenru turned to look at Wu Zongrui.

"Brother, I will take a hundred sergeants to destroy the bandits."

"Okay, remember, these bandits must be completely wiped out, don't be sloppy."

...

In less than half an hour, Liao Wenru came back with the sergeant.

The bandits in Dengzhou and Laizhou were severely injured after the rebellion by the rebels, and had almost no fighting capacity. The new army in Dengzhou sent a large number of scouts to investigate and find out where the bandits were hiding. The sergeants of the new army attacked.

Within a short period of time, a large number of sporadic bandits were eliminated, and the situation in Dengzhou and Laizhou gradually stabilized.

There were about ten prisoners, all of them disheveled, and at first glance they thought they were refugees.

Liao Wenru came over with one bandit, and the other bandits were escorted off.

Wu Zongrui looked at Liao Wenru but did not speak.

"Sir, this bandit said that he turned out to be a member of the Dengzhou rebels."

Wu Zongrui's eyes instantly became sharp.

Liao Wenru pushed the bandit and signaled the bandit to speak. The bandit's body trembled and he spoke tremblingly.

"Sir, my lord, I know that there are more than 500 rebel soldiers nearby..."

Wu Zongrui smiled coldly.

"How do you know there are more than 500 rebel sergeants nearby?"

"Little one, little one was with them not long ago, but, little one couldn't bear it anymore, so he escaped..."

"It has been two months since the rebels were wiped out. How did more than 500 rebel soldiers survive for such a long time?"

"Well, when many people fled, they took money with them. They all used money to buy in the city, and sometimes they also grabbed some food in the villages and towns..."

Wu Zongrui no longer looked at the bandit in front of him, but looked at Liao Wenru.

"Wen Ru, ask him to tell the area where the bandits are located, as detailed as possible, and draw it into a map. If the scout investigation is true, then dispatch two thousand sergeants to completely wipe out this rebel army."

...

After everything was arranged, Liao Wenru came to Wu Zongrui.

"Brother, more than five hundred people, are you going to wipe them all out?"

"Tell me what you think."

"If possible, ordinary sergeants among the rebels can be recruited into the new army. After all, they have experienced many battles. If they can survive, they must have good combat effectiveness."

Wu Zongrui thought for a moment and shook his head.

"No, these rebel sergeants cannot directly enter the new army in any case. Since they can escape from the war and have strong combat capabilities, it also shows that their status among the rebels is extraordinary. It is very possible that

They are elite officers and sergeants of the rebel army. It has been more than two months since the rebel army was wiped out. I am quite surprised that these people can persevere."

"If the intelligence is true, they must be completely eliminated."

"When I say annihilate them, I don't mean to kill them all. If any of them are willing to surrender, their lives must be spared. It is unlucky to kill and capture prisoners. Our new army cannot do such a thing."

Liao Wenru was a little confused. Since he didn't kill and couldn't join the new army, how to deal with the prisoners.

"Wen Ru, I'm afraid you don't quite understand how to deal with the prisoners. Let me give you a suggestion. Dengzhou and Laizhou are short of people, especially those who cultivate the land. Put these surrendered prisoners under centralized custody and ask them to farm.

They must work in the fields and sow food, and wait until they truly change before considering whether to let them join the new army or let them become farmers."

Liao Wenru slapped his forehead hard.

"Brother, you are really amazing. This method is great. It's great. There are so many sergeants in the new army that the military camp in Dengzhou Prefecture can no longer accommodate it. I'm thinking of choosing a place outside the city to build a military camp. These

The prisoners are just right for building barracks."

"It's a good idea. When I was in Qingzhou, I didn't agree with the large-scale construction of barracks. It's different now. You have to build a large-scale military camp outside Dengzhou City. The new army will continue to expand its scale. If it can be restored,

Once we reach the original 40,000 people, we will be able to do a lot of things."

...

Two days later.

Liao Wenru entered the governor's office with an excited expression and went straight to the wing.

"Brother, there are indeed more than 500 rebel sergeants. When we went to encircle and suppress them, most of them surrendered. They completely lost their fighting spirit and even killed and ate their horses."

Wu Zongrui sighed slightly.

"Wen Ru, in fact, these rebel sergeants must have been very powerful when they were in the army, but once they lose their fighting spirit, they are not even as good as ordinary people. Do you know why?"

"Brother, I don't quite understand. Maybe it's because they don't have anyone to direct the battle."

"No, they will not be able to fight if anyone commands them now, because they have no faith."

"What is faith? Brother, why have I never heard of you talking about it?"

Wu Zongrui stood up, walked to Liao Wenru, patted Liao Wenru's shoulder hard, and spoke meaningfully.

"The so-called faith is the belief and admiration for a certain person. It shows unconditional obedience and trust, and is even willing to sacrifice one's life for this person."

Liao Wenru was stunned for a moment and suddenly understood.

"Brother, as long as it is for you, I am willing to sacrifice my life."

"Oh, what would you think if you were facing the emperor and a high-ranking official with a good salary?"

"The Emperor has nothing to do with me. I only have my eldest brother in my heart, and I don't like high-ranking officials and generous salaries."

"Do all the New Army sergeants think so too?"

"Of course, they will only obey the orders of their elder brother. They only have elder brother in their hearts, and there is no emperor or court at all."

"That's not necessarily the case. There are always people who want to achieve great success. Once they get the emperor's attention, they can achieve their goals. And high officials and high salaries are the goals that many people pursue throughout their lives."

"Brother, don't worry, such people have no place in the new army."

"Ten fingers have different lengths. Everyone has their own ideas. If you want them to completely change, it will take time and cannot be achieved overnight. However, Wen Ru, the officers in the New Army, from the guerrilla generals to the Qian Commander,

The general, garrison, and inspections must be consistent with your ideas. There must be no dissidents among the officers. If found, they will be eliminated resolutely, or even beheaded. I have said that everyone hopes that high-ranking officials will be loyal.

Everyone wants to live a prosperous life. This is human nature. No one wants to be poor all his life or even be unable to support his family."

Speaking of this, Wu Zongrui's tone became deeper.

"You, Liu Ning and others followed me, struggling, even putting their lives at risk. If you can't live a good life, I feel ashamed of you, so one of my beliefs is to let you live a good life.

Let everyone who follows me live a comfortable life."

"You must let all the officers and sergeants of the New Army understand this. They will not have to endure hardship all their lives by following me. One day, I will make them feel proud."

"But if we want to live a good life, we must make the place rich and let the people live a good life. This requires us to work hard and even risk our lives. It's like eating, it only comes in the pot and in the bowl. We must first ensure that

Only when there is enough rice in the pot can we ensure that there is also enough rice in our bowls.”

...
Chapter completed!