Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 248: Training on the Grassland
"Sixth brother, I have an idea." Just when Zhu Shenzhui was thinking about how to solve this problem, Wang Jinwu suddenly spoke.

Zhu Shenzhui asked Wang Jinwu what ideas he had. Wang Jinwu grinned and pointed to the north.

"Border? That won't do!" Zhu Shenzhui rejected it outright. He had already considered the border. The team he had was small in number and they were private soldiers. How could he possibly send them to the border? Even though he had the Black Cloud Dragon's channel, he still felt uneasy.

Hei Yunlong is not only a lieutenant general now, but also the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou. It seems that there is no problem with this arrangement to bring these people over for training through Hei Yunlong's connections, but it is not safe.

Firstly, Hei Yunlong still doesn't know Zhu Shencui's identity. Until today, Zhu Shencui has been extremely cautious in making arrangements for Hei Yunlong. After all, Hei Yunlong's identity and status are too important. Zhu Shencui does not want to use Hei Yunlong unless it is absolutely necessary.

Secondly, if such a private army was placed on Hei Yunlong's side, the news would be leaked even with Hei Yunlong's cover-up. The Qi family army was too famous, and their military formations and tactics were unique, so it would be impossible to conceal it at that time.

In addition, it also involves the system problems of the guards and border troops. No matter from which perspective, it is not a good idea to send them to the border for actual combat training. Unless Wang Jinwu or Lu Yisheng is in office at the border and leads an army, this can be slightly concealed.

"It's not the border, it's further north." Wang Jinwu smiled and pointed north again.

"You mean... Mongolia?" Zhu Shenzhui was slightly stunned and suddenly looked up.

"Yes! It's Mongolia!" Wang Jinwu nodded and said, "Sixth brother, do you remember the last time the caravan was attacked on the grassland? You won't just let it go, right? The grassland has never been peaceful. Not to mention that the Mongolians often fight among themselves, there are bandits on the grassland who pop up from time to time."

"Since we need to train soldiers, and there is no suitable place in the Ming Dynasty, I think it would be better to bring people to the grassland for training. We have connections and relationships in the grassland, and we can help clean up the surroundings of sister-in-law's tribe. It would kill two birds with one stone. In addition, it would be great if we could catch the horse bandits who attacked our caravan last time, and solve this matter at the same time. Don't you think it's a good idea?"

"That's right!" Lu Yisheng's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh and said, "Sixth Master, Brother Jinwu's idea is indeed good. It would be the best to take people to the grassland to train. Besides, the grassland is large and convenient to maneuver. In addition, even if there is some big noise, no one in the Ming Dynasty will know."

Zhu Shenzhui was somewhat tempted. He had to admit that Wang Jinwu's proposal seemed casual, but upon closer thought it was somewhat feasible.

It is indeed inconvenient to train troops in the Ming Dynasty. Neither Liaodong nor the border are suitable. Instead, the grassland is better.

And just as Wang Jinwu said, there were many conflicts between the tribes on the grassland. Even in peaceful times, small-scale conflicts often occurred. In addition, there were horse bandits roaming on the grassland. This situation had never been cut off.

In addition, there is no need to consider logistics issues when bringing people to the grassland, because with the Ashi Timur tribe there, there is absolutely no problem with logistics. In addition, the previous attack on the caravan has not been resolved yet, and Zhu Shenzhu has always remembered this matter. Now he has already started to take action against other business houses. Next, Zhu Shenzhu is going to take action against other business houses to let the business houses in Shanxi know that Hengtong is not a soft persimmon that can be easily squeezed by anyone, and force out the mastermind behind the scenes.

In this situation, Zhu Shenzhui had already made some arrangements, whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the grassland. The Ming Dynasty would not use force for the time being, but the grassland was not sure. Since he was going to take action, why not use his own people to do it more efficiently?

Apart from these, Zhu Shenzhui did have to go to the grassland recently. Because of Feng Quan, the caravan had been sent to the grassland, and there were only a few people left at Hengtong Trading Company. The trade with the grassland would continue, and according to the previous idea, he planned to wait for the people from the grassland to come back before organizing a team to take the goods there.

If we bring this sentinel to the grassland now, there is no need to wait for people to come back. We can just organize a new caravan based on this sentinel. This will not only improve the efficiency of trade and shorten the time, but also allow the team to be brought directly over.

After careful consideration, Zhu Shenzhui thought this was a good idea and immediately said that he would consider it. Seeing that Zhu Shenzhui seemed to agree, Wang Jinwu was very happy. He had been suffocating in Zhaowuling for a long time. As the troops gradually took shape, Wang Jinwu was eager to practice actual combat as soon as possible. This kid has never been content. When he was smuggling salt, he clamored to go with us. Now that he has become a centurion of the guard and the leader of the new army, he is even more eager to make a move.

Because the company has been doing business with Mongolia in the past two years, Wang Jinwu has long wanted to go to Mongolia to see what it is like, but he never had the chance. Now, once Zhu Shenzhui agrees to his suggestion, going to Mongolia is a done deal. When Wang Jinwu thinks about strolling around the grassland, seeing the vast grassland scenery, and fighting, he feels excited.

That night, Zhu Shenzui thought about this matter carefully. After considering it for a long time, he finally made up his mind to take the troops to the grassland for training.

However, he did not plan to take everyone away. Apart from this sentinel, he was going to leave Wang Jinwu behind. Even among the three of Lao Jin, at most only one would go. Considering that Lou Lao Er and Yan Lao Si were missing a leg and an arm respectively, Lao Jin, who was blind in one eye, would be more convenient to move. If there were no accidents, Lao Jin would be the sentinel to command the team, while Lou Lao Er and Yan Lao Si would continue to stay in Zhaowuling.

After the people leave, the training on Zhaowuling side will continue. Next, Zhu Shenzui plans to train another sentinel. By the time this sentinel is trained, the training on the grassland side will be almost complete. At that time, the two sentries will be replaced and continue training. Based on these two sentries, if the subsequent financial resources can support it, Zhu Shenzui will further expand the scale and train more teams.

Calculated in this way, this sentinel, together with the companions of the caravan and myself, forms a caravan of nearly 60 people. Judging from the scale, it can transport all the goods stored for the winter to the grassland.

At dawn the next day, Zhu Shenzhui called Wang Jinwu and Lu Yishen and told them his plan. When Wang Jinwu heard that Zhu Shenzhui agreed to his suggestion and was going to take the team to the grassland for training, his face turned red with excitement. But when Zhu Shenzhui said that one of them must stay behind, after all, Zhaowuling needed someone to guard it and be responsible for the subsequent training including the management of the hundred households, so Wang Jinwu became the one to stay behind, Wang Jinwu's face, which had been flushed just now, suddenly turned into extremely disappointed. He stiffened his neck and objected, shouting that he was the one who proposed the idea, so of course he would go with them, and he refused to stay no matter what.

Wang Jinwu also said that the Zhaowuling Hundred Household Office was originally under the charge of Lu Yisheng, and he came here to assist Lu Yisheng, so why did he leave him behind when he went to the grassland? Besides, as the Hundred Household Office here, Lu Yisheng was more familiar with the Hundred Household Office, so no matter from which point of view, it should be Lu Yisheng who stayed instead of himself.

Zhu Shenzhui had now abandoned him and taken Lu Yisheng to the grassland. What was this? Did he look down on Wang Jinwu? In terms of ability, Wang Jinwu's martial arts were much better than Lu Yisheng's. Even if it was about leading the army, Wang Jinwu had been training with the team for the past few months and was no worse. As for closeness, it goes without saying that he was Zhu Shenzhui's cousin.

For a while, Wang Jinwu refused to stay and insisted on going to the grassland. His determination was so strong that even Zhu Shenzhui's threat of bringing up his uncle Wang Rong could not change his mind. Seeing this, Zhu Shenzhui was helpless. He originally did not want Wang Jinwu to take such a risk. After all, he was his cousin and the only son of his uncle Wang Rong. Going to the grassland to train soldiers this time was risky. If something happened on the grassland, how would he explain to his uncle?

But Wang Jinwu's determination made Zhu Shenzhui hesitate again. In addition, Lu Yisheng also persuaded him a few words, saying that since brother Jinwu wanted to go, it would be okay to take him with him. Besides, Wang Jinwu was right. He, Lu Yisheng, was the centurion of Zhaowuling. It was Lu Yisheng who led the people to build this centurion office from the beginning. After they left, many things in the centurion office would continue. It was indeed more appropriate for him to stay than Wang Jinwu.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Shenzui had no choice but to agree to Wang Jinwu's request and adjusted the candidates, exchanging him with Lu Yisheng, with Wang Jinwu replacing Lu Yisheng to go to the grassland.

As for Lao Jin, after privately soliciting the opinions of the three people, Lao Jin agreed very readily. From then on, Lao Jin served as the sentry chief of this post. Except that Li You temporarily replaced Lu Yishen as the captain of one of the four teams, the rest of the captains remained unchanged and the teams were taken directly to the grassland for training.

After confirming this, the next step is to make a series of preparations. Since we need to train soldiers, weapons and baggage are necessary. In addition, because this team is also responsible for the duty of a caravan when going to the grassland, these preparations cannot be completed in one day and will take some time.

But it didn't matter. It was just the beginning of spring, and there was still half a month before the departure. This interval was more than enough time. Zhu Shenzhui did not leave Zhaowuling immediately. He sent a letter to Kang Youfu, telling him about his arrangements and asking him to prepare the goods as soon as possible and select a few smart and reliable people to follow the team.

Once everything is ready, Zhu Shenzhui will lead the team to Pingyang first. When they arrive in Pingyang, the team will not enter the city, but will meet directly outside Pingyang, and then take the goods and continue northward until they pass the Great Wall and enter the grassland.

(End of this chapter)