Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 60 Evil trends
On the flat ground outside the military camp, as the running drill continued, most of the soldiers were exhausted, and more and more people fell behind. Even the military law enforcement officers who were running with them were almost too tired to hit anyone.

Zhao Zhengdong was barely able to keep the team together, but he was already exhausted and out of breath. If it weren't for his stronger physical strength than ordinary people, he would probably have fallen behind by now.

You know, as an officer, he had to run and shout orders, and he also had to restrain the soldiers who fell behind from time to time. He was much more tired than the ordinary soldiers in the team.

"Damn it, running so many laps!" Zhao Zhengdong was so angry that he couldn't help but blame the battalion officer Zhao Guanhu who gave the order. They didn't usually train like this.

However, he only dared to curse in his heart. Once the military order was issued, he, as a grassroots officer, had to carry it out without fail.

Chen Tao had also fallen behind at this time. He carefully paid attention to the military law soldiers around him, and secretly prayed in his heart that no one would see him, especially Mao Qing, the military law soldier following his flag team.

That guy has a bad temper to begin with. He feels uncomfortable if he doesn't beat someone up in a day. He always says that he receives a monthly salary from His Majesty and he can't let the emperor down by eating for free without working!
Chen Tao quietly slowed down his pace and blended in with the other soldiers who had fallen behind, which would make him feel safer.

Soon, he saw Mao Qing. The guy was chasing the other two lagging soldiers to catch up with the team, and then he actually set his eyes on Gu Defu, who had just fallen behind and was left alone.

Chen Tao was secretly surprised that even Gu Defu had fallen behind. This guy usually trained very hard and had strong physical strength. He had always been the target of everyone's pursuit.

Mao Qing seemed a little surprised when he saw Gu Defu's back. He also didn't expect that even the other party had fallen behind. But after he came to his senses, he ran over with his military stick without hesitation.

However, after running so many laps, he was already exhausted and could not catch up with Gu Defu, who had just fallen behind and was still trying to catch up with the original team.

At this time, the outskirts of the "Xinpukou Camp" military camp were densely packed, and hundreds of people had fallen behind. The originally neat running formation had long been in chaos, and even the military order urgently issued by the battalion commander Zhao Guanhu could not be conveyed quickly.

Zhu Cilang watched everything that happened below, and the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed. Chang Denggui and Zhao Guanhu knelt in front of him, not daring to speak at all. Zhao Guanhu's body was even shaking.

As the big drums in the army sounded, and after hearing the drum sound representing stopping the action and waiting on the spot, nearly 3,000 soldiers of the Tianwu Left Camp finally stopped.

"Zhao Guanhu, are you so confident in your soldiers?" Zhu Cilang frowned and asked sternly, "Is this how you usually train your troops? Or are you doing this just for me to see?"

"Your Majesty, it is my fault that I did not handle the situation properly, causing the soldiers of the Tianwu Left Camp to suffer!"

Chang Denggui quickly took the initiative to take responsibility. He was the commander-in-chief of the Palace Army, and Zhao Guanhu was his old subordinate, whom he had promoted. At this time, he absolutely could not play deaf and dumb.

You know, as a high-ranking military official, he was well aware of what happened with the Fujian Navy yesterday. If something went wrong with the Palace Army now, His Majesty would definitely be angry and might even kill people.

"I didn't ask you to speak." Zhu Cilang waved his hand to stop Chang Denggui, and then said to Zhao Guanhu, "You answer me, are those soldiers usually trained like this?"

"No, it's not." Zhao Guanhu replied in a trembling voice.

After learning about the Fujian Navy, he wanted to let his soldiers show off their skills and win Zhu Cilang's appreciation. So he snapped his head and ordered the entire battalion to run around the barracks, and required them to run eight laps at a time.

You know, the "Xinpukou Camp" is not small. One circle is nearly five miles. Running eight laps at a time and requiring soldiers to carry heavy loads would exhaust even the Iron Army.

"Is this the first time in the entire battalion that nearly three thousand people have run around the camp?" Zhu Cilang frowned. If so, Zhao Guanhu would have to be severely punished. "Yes," Zhao Guanhu said with a determined heart.

He was filled with regret at this moment. He had originally planned to make a big move to impress the Emperor, who was leading a group of generals to review his troops for the first time after ascending the throne, with his ability to train troops, so that he could be appreciated and rise to prominence. However, he did not expect to make a fool of himself and make a big mistake.

You know, when he was still in the Beijing camp, the late emperor would always praise the formations that the noble ministers had the army deployed in.

Zhu Cilang took a deep breath after hearing this. Chang Denggui and several other officers and deputy officers of the Palace Army quickly spoke up for Zhao Guanhu. Lin Changfeng wanted to say something as well, but seeing Zhu Cilang's expression, he swallowed the words back.

He now also saw through Zhao Guanhu's thoughts. Since he was messing around for his own selfish interests, completely disregarding reality and engaging in fraud, he touched the Majesty's reverse scale and should be punished.

Otherwise, wouldn't everyone inside and outside the court be trying to please His Majesty, whitewash their political achievements, or even fabricate military exploits?
"Chang Denggui, did you know about this matter in advance?"

Zhu Cilang ignored their pleas. The soldiers of the Palace Army were not prepared to be tormented like this by their generals. Most importantly, this completely contradicted the purpose of his review of the army. It was simply a show of face-saving for Zhao Guanhu to curry favor.

You know, when Chongzhen first inspected the Beijing garrison, he was deceived by these fake tricks, thinking that the Beijing defenders still had strong fighting power. Zhu Cilang would never allow such a thing to happen to him. As soon as the signs of such evil tendencies in the officialdom emerged, he had to nip them in the bud.

Not only that, he also realized that behind this incident, the management and decision-making system of the Palace Army was imperfect, which allowed such a military order to be issued and executed.

What Zhu Cilang is most concerned about now is whether Chang Denggui knows about this matter. After all, he changed his itinerary at the last minute.

"If you knew in advance, then say you did. If you didn't know, then say you didn't. Don't try to defend your subordinates. Otherwise, you'd be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor."

"I don't know!" Chang Denggui replied immediately after hearing Zhu Cilang's words.

He was not one to be unaware of the situation; upon hearing this, he knew the seriousness of the situation. Coming from the Imperial Army, he naturally guessed that Zhao Guanhu was trying to imitate the nobles of the Imperial Army and curry favor, but ended up in this state. He deserved severe punishment.

"Then I understand!" Zhu Cilang nodded, then glanced at the generals in front of him and asked:

"Do the rest of you have similar thoughts? Do you also think that I enjoy watching these empty things and think that I'm so easy to fool?"

"We dare not!" All the generals knelt down and said repeatedly.

If Zhao Guanhu succeeds this time, they will probably send people back to their respective military camps overnight to plan an ingenious or even earth-shattering performance.

"You want to fool me by showing off your ceremonial weapons? Do you think I don't know anything about military affairs?" Zhu Cilang looked at the generals he had promoted and shouted sternly:

"Today's incident must be thoroughly investigated. Summon all officers, both captains and generals above the rank of Qianzong in the Tianwu Left Camp, before me. I will personally investigate who was involved in plotting this. I will personally stamp out this perverse and evil spirit!"

　Thanks to the book friend "Yueken Road Dazhuang" for the reward
　　
　
(End of this chapter)