Leaky Cauldron

Spring February.

Baozhong County, Hanzhong County, at the northern foot of Dingjun Mountain.

The Baoshui that meanders from the Qinling Mountains flows into the Mianshui River here, forming a small lake.

Four or five houses are built along the mountains and rivers, guarded by sparse metasequoia trees.

The light snow in early spring puts a silver coat on the mountain peaks behind, and dyes the roof of the house and the metasequoia with a thin layer of white. The pure silvery white, the green-gray fence, the reddish-brown house, and the dark green vitality,

Everything is reflected in the lake; and the smoke from the kitchen is floating from the roof to the sky and the earth, as calm as an ink painting.

It is a kind of distant and profound beauty.

On the bank of the lake covered with thin ice, a man fishing alone in the cold snow with a fishing rod in one hand is dotted in this tranquility.

He must have been sitting quietly for a long time, and the tiny snowflakes blowing in the wind had lingered on his shoulders for a long time, and even dyed his halberd-like beard and hair white.

It's just that the good times don't last long.

"Kick!"

"Kick! Kick!"

The sound of a war horse's trotting hooves broke the silence here.

The man fishing alone could not help but look sideways at the sound, and his other hand habitually fell on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

There were about ten riders who came on horseback.

About twenty steps away from the fishing place, he reined in the reins and dismounted.

And the division of labor is very clear, including finding stones to build a stove, getting water to kill prey, making fire and warming wine, etc.

Only the leader came slowly.

He stepped closer, looked at the empty fish basket, and couldn't help but sigh, "Brother An Yue is very leisurely, but the catch of this fishing is really beyond praise~~~"

Well, the fisherman is none other than Zhou Tai.

It has been more than three years since he was defeated and captured in the fifth year of Jian'an to when he set up a memorial tomb to observe mourning.

According to the previous agreement, after his filial piety is over, the Han Dynasty will introduce his family members from Nanyang County, Jingzhou to Shu; he will be loyal to the Han Dynasty in the conquest.

However, last year's war disrupted this agreement.

The General of the Expedition to the West and the Governor of Yong'an, Chen Dao, dispatched careful work. Taking advantage of Sima Yi's large-scale march into the three eastern counties, all Zhoutai's family members were brought to Hanzhong. Now, Zhoutai's filial piety has been over for half a year, but because the Han Dynasty is now busy

As people's livelihood recovered after the war, and Zhuge Qiao and Zheng Pu continued to serve in Longyou, no one recommended him to the prime minister for conferment.

Therefore, in addition to experiencing the warmth of his family's company every day, he spends time fishing here all day long.

Now Zheng Pu came without warning and said joking words, which made him vaguely realize something.

If nothing unexpected happened, Zheng Pu had already obtained the permission of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and accepted him as his general.

“The joy of fishing lies in cultivating one’s body and mind.”

Throwing the fishing rod to one side, Zhou Tai joked with a gurgling smile, "It's not my desire to catch fish. However, Zijin was not even thirty years old, and he was already the general of Pingbei. It can be seen that he is a member of Jiji Yingying!"

"

"Men of my generation are born into a time of great strife. We should make contributions and gain fame both before and after our lives."

Waving his hands, Zheng Pu lifted up his sleeves and robes and sat on the floor with Zhou Tai, "Brother An Yue is so indifferent to Ming Zhi! He clearly meant Sang scolding Huai and blaming me for being late."

"Haha~~~"

With a chuckle, Zhou Tai did not refute, but nodded solemnly and asked, "As Zijin said, a man is on the battlefield looking for a title. I have already been thirty years old, and I don't have much time to waste, so I will

No more modesty. I wonder if Zijin came here this time with his life in mind?"

"Yes, yes."

Nodding slightly, Zheng Pu also calmed down and said, "After I returned to Hanzhong this time, I went to find the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister asked the court to confer brother Anyue with the post of General Shaoyi, and also lead Liangzhou Prefecture, and temporarily put it under my command."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhou Tai to say anything, he handed over his hand and confessed, "I'm ashamed! There are frequent wars in the Han Dynasty today, and all the generals and generals have made meritorious deeds. Therefore, I cannot ask for a title for my brother. Please forgive me."

General Shaoyi?

With his eyebrows raised slightly, Zhou Tai stroked his beard and smiled happily.

He was originally a state officer during the rebellion against the Wei Dynasty, and he was still a bit different from the miscellaneous generals who led an army.

As for the title, forget it.

He surrendered after being captured, and he did not surrender on his own initiative. He was not worthy of the treatment of being made a lord.

Furthermore, even if you are given a title, it is just a fictitious title and has little meaning.

"With Zijin's undefeated record in recent years, it's a blessing that I can obey his command!"

Zhou Tai, who was beaming with joy, nodded repeatedly and asked the topic he was most concerned about, "I wonder if Zijin wants me to take part in the military affairs, or as a general to supervise the soldiers?"

Indeed, this is the key.

Those who take part in the military affairs are like assistants and assistants, and those who lead the army alone are like those who are trusted advisors.

Mencius once said: "If a king treats his ministers like his hands and feet, then his ministers will regard him as his own heart; if a king regards his ministers as dogs and horses, then his ministers will regard him as a fellow countryman."

After all, Zhou Tai was a descendant and had no sense of belonging to the Han Dynasty. He acted according to the standards of a scholar.

How Zheng Pu uses him and whether he dares to trust him is related to his loyalty to the Han Dynasty.

"With Brother An Yue's talents, taking orders from me is already condescending. How can I not lead an army to go with him for another governor?"

Waving his hand, Zheng Pu also smiled, "However, the number of troops under my command has not yet been determined. I have two options for you to make your own decision."

Um?

When the Han Dynasty conferred troops, there was also a theory of letting the generals decide their own numbers?

Hearing this, Zhou Tai looked surprised.

But looking at the serious look on Zheng Pu's face, he didn't look like he was joking anymore, so he said softly, "Forgive me for being stupid, I don't understand Zijin's words very well, I would like to hear the details."

"Oh, I was negligent."

After confessing his crime, Zheng Puqian smiled and said, "I forgot to inform Brother An Yue about the details of my troops and horses."

After saying this, he waved and asked the retinue not far away to bring warm kumis, handed a bag to Zhou Tai, and explained in a soft voice while drinking.

Zheng Pu, who had less than 2,500 soldiers and horses, returned to Hanzhong County, and the Prime Minister allowed him to expand his army to 6,000 infantry and cavalry.

Among them, the armored cavalry that my wife's brother Zhang Bao has not yet established is not included.

There were still more than 3,000 soldiers who needed to be supplemented. The Prime Minister originally wanted him to recruit new soldiers and slowly train them in martial arts.

The source of troops was selected from the 5,000 men recruited by Lu Yi, the governor of Brazil this year.

But Zheng Pu felt that the sudden addition of so many new soldiers who had never seen blood might affect the combat effectiveness of his troops.

Even if you train for one or two years, you can't compete with the veterans.

And it's good to just use it on the blade.

The prime minister assigned him 500 heavy infantry and armor. When the battle comes again in the future, they will inevitably play the role of attacking the enemy or guarding the front. Recruiting too many new soldiers will reduce the morale and combat effectiveness of the army.

Therefore, after the Prime Minister transferred Zhoutai to his command, he once again asked for the Prime Minister's permission.

He set his sights on the more than a thousand Wei troops who had surrendered with Zhou Tai.

Previously, Sima Yi sent Zhou Tai to rescue Xicheng, and the two thousand soldiers he was awarded can be called an elite division!

Now he was sent by the Han Dynasty to work as a coolie in the Mianyang Iron Mine and Ordnance Department. He had been there for three years, and both his temper and his loyalty to Ni Wei were worn out.

If the old Shangguanzhou Tai were allowed to recruit them, they might be able to make them willing to fight for the Han Dynasty.

After all, elite soldiers are somewhat arrogant. I believe they would rather die on the battlefield than bury their bones in iron mines.

As for whether Zhou Tai can suppress them and prevent them from defecting in the face of battle.

Zheng Pu planned to return the more than two hundred original troops of Zhoutai, and also completely dispersed the current Xuanwu Army, forming a mixed situation of "wei surrendered soldiers, new soldiers and old soldiers".

Let every unit and every team have veteran soldiers, and use the old soldiers to lead new soldiers to quickly increase combat effectiveness.

This is one of the choices Zheng Pu gave Zhou Tai.

If he is willing to persuade those Wei surrender soldiers to serve, then Zheng Pu will recruit new soldiers to make up the full amount of six thousand soldiers, and give two thousand soldiers to his supervision.

If he was worried that there would be mistakes in the Wei Jiang soldiers in the future, which would have a negative impact on his career, Zheng Pu would not force it.

In order to ensure combat strength, just recruit another five thousand soldiers and be done.

Naturally, the headquarters assigned to Zhoutai will also be reduced to a thousand people.

Because the Xuanwu Army led by Zhang Yi will be expanded to 3,000 soldiers, Zheng Pu's personal guards will also be expanded to 500 people, and the other 500 heavily armored infantry will be separated into separate camps due to special tactics.

"Brother An Yue, I really don't hide anything from you."

After a moment of dryness, Zheng Pu just explained and said softly, "It's not that I deliberately made things difficult for my brother and didn't want to recruit too many new soldiers. It's just that time is running out for me. Now the Hussars General is already attacking the Shenlang Qiang.

Solve the worries of my Han Dynasty's march into Liangzhou. If nothing unexpected happens, the Prime Minister will send troops to Liangzhou early next year! Even after the autumn harvest of grain this year, we will begin to deploy various troops and horses."
To be continued...