The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 212 The Rise of Great Harmony
Liu Tong returned to Yanmen Pass from the capital, bringing news of the general. Many people rushed to inquire about the matter. Zhao Yong was still in Datong and had not yet returned.

Although it had only been less than a month, Liu Tong sensed that the atmosphere was different, lacking the unity and cohesion that the general had when he was present.

"Liu Tong".

Tang Ping rushed over, gave Liu Tong a warm hug, and asked impatiently, "How is the general?" Upon hearing this, Liu Tong smiled and said that Tang Ping was still the same as before, and his personality had not changed much.

"The general is doing well in the capital."

"When will the general be able to return?"

Liu Tong sighed.

Tang Ping understood and said with disdain, "The imperial court has always been like this. Back in Yangzhou, they were also wary of the general. The imperial court doesn't do good deeds themselves, and it doesn't allow others to do good deeds either. What a damn imperial court."

Liu Tong quickly looked around, stepped forward to stop Tang Ping, and said with a laugh, "You're a garrison commander, how come you still can't keep your mouth shut?"

"I'm not afraid of anything, and it's not something I've only done for a day or two. Back in Yangzhou, I said even harsher things. What's there to be afraid of? You may be afraid, but I'm not." Tang Ping was unconvinced, thinking that although Liu Tong was highly skilled in martial arts and had outstanding abilities, he was still a bit timid.

Liu Tong shook his head without refuting, but reminded him: "In the past, when we were of low status, no one was watching us, so it didn't matter what we said among ourselves. But now that we're successful, we've attracted a lot of attention, and we need to teach you the lesson that 'trouble comes from what you say.'"

Tang Ping disagreed, instead sneering: "If you don't even dare to express your attitude, how can you prove your loyalty to the general?"

"The general's judgment of people is never wrong."

"That's not necessarily true. You can know a person's face but not their heart. If a general doubts someone, he won't use them; if he uses someone, he won't doubt them. That's because the general is good to his brothers and values ​​relationships. Not everyone is loyal to his brothers." Tang Ping had his own opinion.

Liu Tong couldn't answer, so he asked, "Did you discover something?"

"Hmph." Tang Ping snorted twice, his eyes turning fierce, and said sternly, "If I find out that someone dares to betray the general, I won't wait for the general to speak. I'll kill that person with my own blade, so as not to dirty the general's hands."

"What exactly happened?" Liu Tong asked with a hint of worry, fearing that Tang Ping might do something reckless.

"It's nothing." Tang Ping hoped he was just worrying unnecessarily; the events in Datong had truly shocked him.

Although Feng Yong was the general's enemy, his trusted generals had received his favors for many years. As a result, the governor and censor managed to win over many people to his side in a short time without lifting a finger.

Tang Ping believed that these people were all traitors and disloyal.

Feng Yong was no ordinary man. Moreover, as a military governor, he had spent more than ten years trying to understand people's hearts. In his daily life, everyone must have acted as loyal and sentimental in order to gain Feng Yong's trust.

Liu Tong patted Tang Ping on the shoulder and reassured him, "Old buddy, the general really didn't encounter any difficulties in the capital." When the Yangzhou camp was disbanded, Tang Ping was the one who reacted the most strongly, even giving up his official position.

Tang Ping sneered: "If he wasn't being harassed, why didn't he come back? I'm not blind. The court is hoping that the governor will consolidate military power in Datong, along with the general. Zhao Yong has been gone for three days and hasn't returned. I think that governor is trying to win Zhao Yong over."

"Zhao Yong will not betray the general." It turned out that Tang Ping was worried about Zhao Yong. Liu Tong realized this and personally guaranteed it.

Zhao Yong was originally a trusted general under Luo Ming. After the Yangzhou camp was disbanded, he was ordered by the general to go to Luo Ming's side to continue fighting against the Japanese pirates. He had a good relationship with Zhao Yong. Later, when the general returned to the southeast, Zhao Yong joined the general and played a great role.

Tang Ping didn't say anything more. If only the general could see through people's hearts.

Liu Tong's heart sank. When the general was around, no one noticed anything amiss, but now that the general was gone, only a month later, everyone seemed to have lost their backbone and became restless.

While following the general in the capital, he was unaware of the changes, but upon returning to Yanmen Pass, he clearly sensed a shift.

Suddenly, Liu Tong thought of something incredible that they had been overlooking.

How long has the Hexi Battalion been established? Moreover, its several thousand men come from incredibly diverse backgrounds, including former members of the Beijing Garrison, Luo Ming's former troops, and the Yangzhou Battalion, among others. Under such circumstances, internal discord and numerous conflicts are to be expected and are a major taboo in military strategy. No general would lead troops in such a way. However, under the general's leadership, the Hexi Battalion was united from the very beginning.

When the general was around, no one thought much about it, but now that he's gone, everyone's thoughts have become active, and the unresolved conflicts have begun to surface.

Liu Tong could only change the subject, asking about Yanmen Pass and bringing back the general's instructions.

Day two.

Liu Tong arrived at Guangwu City.

On an open space outside the city, there is a running track around the foot of the mountain. Many half-tied wooden stakes are planted on the track, and a scarecrow stands on top of each stake, as tall as a person.

"Bahhhhh."

Many men dressed in training uniforms rode horses around the track, holding the reins in one hand and a wooden sword in the other, quickly slashing at each scarecrow as they rode. Since it was for training purposes, they did not actually cut the scarecrows.

"Many people aren't familiar with it," Liu Tong remarked upon seeing this.

"It would be strange if they were proficient after only a short time of training." Zhang Can was also wearing a uniform, partly because it was getting hotter and partly because it was just training, so he didn't wear armor.

"The general isn't too worried about anything else, but the cavalry is the only thing he's concerned about. He told me to tell you when I get back so that you don't slack off and to take advantage of your free time to train the cavalry quickly."

The Hexi Camp initially had only one hundred cavalrymen, each with only one horse, resulting in weak sustained combat capability. This was not a problem in peacetime, but once on the battlefield, many riders would likely be without horses after a battle. Now, with seven hundred horses, not all of them are suitable as warhorses, but five or six hundred can still be supplied. According to the general's request, the number of cavalrymen should be expanded to three hundred.

Some were selected from captured armored cavalry, while others were selected from their own troops and infantry to train as cavalry.

The selection of armored cavalry prisoners was personally arranged by the general before he left. These people were experienced and did not need to be trained. Daily drills were sufficient. The most troublesome were the infantrymen selected from his own troops.

Many people have no experience riding horses and need to be trained from scratch, which is very time-consuming and resource-intensive, resulting in less than half the effort.

"Sigh." Zhang Can sighed and couldn't help but say, "General, you are too cautious. If it were me, I would recruit all the soldiers who remained after removing the original officers from those armored cavalry prisoners."

These men were already elite troops; keeping them would only lead to further refinement. Zhang Can believed it was a huge loss for them to have to train infantry into cavalry from scratch.

Although Liu Tong also couldn't understand it, he said, "The general has his own plans. If we can understand them, we'll be very capable."

This is true.

Zhang Can was convinced and nodded in agreement.

"Your cavalry is good, but it's too expensive." Liu Tong looked at the empty hills and the lush green grass, feeling great. He could even see a group of horses grazing on the hillside, and he couldn't help but sigh.

Zhang Can revealed a smug smile and said confidently, "It's so expensive, yet the general still wants to maintain the cavalry. Doesn't that further illustrate the importance of the cavalry?"

Liu Tong nodded.

Previously, when fighting in the southeast, I didn't realize the importance of cavalry because there were many rivers, and horses couldn't easily cross them. So, in many cases, cavalry was not as convenient as infantry.

When they arrived in the north, even in mountainous regions like Datong, the role of cavalry was extremely crucial.

Just like when we fought outside the Great Wall, even though we won the battle, we were still very frustrated. We were completely on the defensive, relying on the situation to let others take the initiative to attack. Even if we defeated the enemy, we could not annihilate them.

Fortunately, the general did not forget to train cavalry while fighting in the southeast.

The difference between having and not having even just a hundred cavalry is like night and day. If we hadn't had a hundred cavalry at our disposal, the situation would have been completely passive, and the casualties would likely have exceeded double digits.

The general fought against the Japanese pirates for two years, and the total number of casualties was only the same as the number of casualties he suffered when he fought against the enemy cavalry after leaving the pass.

Recalling the concerns the general had raised when he left the capital, Liu Tong felt only vexation in his heart.

The greatest advantage of the Hu cavalry was their inability to settle down.

The boundless desert is the greatest asset of the nomadic cavalry. Their nomadic lifestyle allows them to employ unique combat tactics. Their previous attack on the Chanyu tribe has greatly intimidated other tribes, and now is the perfect opportunity.

By leveraging Datong's current prestige, we can re-establish rules on the grasslands and create a system that everyone must abide by. Once things stabilize, everything will become much simpler.

What I fear most is instability.

Just as a century of peace in the southeast is not scary, what is scary is a century of war in the southeast. During the war, the people are displaced and suffer unspeakably. On the other hand, human life is worthless, and people are willing to risk their lives when fighting, and a few tyrants will always emerge.

The strife in the capital, the infighting in Datong, and even the ideological loosening in the Hexi Camp gave Liu Tong a strong sense of crisis.

The imperial court should allow the general to return to Datong as soon as possible.

Wouldn't it be better to let the general establish a peaceful and prosperous era for the court?
-
June, Tuanshan.

At the border pass where trade was conducted, herders drove their cattle and sheep, bringing goods such as horns and furs to the area. Trade would not resume until September or October, and the last market was a must-see for herders who had not yet had the chance to trade.

Merchants traded with herders at the market, taking advantage of their control over the market and pricing power, and since it was the last trade in the next few months, they drove prices down to extremely low levels.

Tea, salt, cotton cloth, silk, cotton-padded jackets, sesame oil, combs, bronze mirrors, rouge, spices—everything was needed by the herdsmen or Taijis. The abundance of goods made them both love and hate them.

A group of riders left Tuanshan, and Ouyanhu, dressed in ordinary herdsman's clothes, reined in his horse.

"The greed of the Zhou people will ruin them."

Ou Yanhu sneered a few times, turned to look at his men, and said loudly, "The Zhou people are very bad. They are greedy to the core and have always bullied us. The happiest thing is to kill them, rob them of all their goods, kill all their men and children, and ride their wives and daughters."

Everyone was greatly encouraged.

The women of the Great Zhou Dynasty have fair skin, are clean, and smell sweet. Just thinking about them makes one restless. However, the Great Zhou army is too powerful, and no one dares to act recklessly. They look at Taiji with complicated expressions.

Ou Yanhu saw the desire in his subordinates' eyes and became even more smug.

Mo Bisheng is definitely not a Hu person. He is old and conservative like the Zhou people, afraid of losing this and worried about losing that. What is there to be afraid of? They were born on horseback and it is only natural for them to be homeless.

(End of this chapter)