I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 117 Yue Fei Comes to Join Us
Through his struggle with Zhang Shuye, Zhao Zicheng not only placed a heavy burden on himself, but also set a "deadline" for launching an attack on Song Jiang within a month.

But fortune favors the bold, and he obtained three extra privileges that he would never have dared to dream of before.

The temporary command and dispatch authority over the Jinan Prefecture cavalry and the Dengzhou Pinghai Army, as well as a broader and more legitimate recruitment plan.

Within three to five days after the negotiations ended, Zhang Shuye's transfer orders were sent to Jinan Prefecture and Dengzhou. Guan Sheng and Hu Yanqing did not disobey the orders and set off after making some preparations to receive Zhao Zicheng's temporary command.

On a side note, more than two years ago, Lin Chong, one of Zhao Zicheng's subordinates, accidentally killed Wang Lun, the former leader of Liangshan. At that time, he sold Wang Lun's head to Guan Sheng as a favor, which allowed Guan Sheng to get a promotion for this achievement.

More than two years passed in the blink of an eye. Zhao Zicheng knew nothing of Guan Sheng's struggles and twists and turns in the officialdom during that time. However, after arriving in Laizhou, he made inquiries from various sources while preparing for the battle against Song Jiang, and soon found out about Guan Sheng's latest appointment.

Two years ago, Guan Sheng was serving in Jizhou, which is quite far from Jinan Prefecture. However, it was reasonable for Guan Sheng to be transferred to Jinan Prefecture after being promoted to the rank of commander of the state cavalry; there was no need for any special coincidence or special circumstances.

Historically, five or six years later, after the Jingkang Incident, when Liu Yu, the prefect of Jinan, surrendered to the Jin Dynasty and became a traitor, Guan Sheng was the garrison commander of Jinan. Guan Sheng had already been transferred to Jinan in the third year of the Xuanhe era, which can be considered in line with the historical trend.

If Zhao Zicheng hadn't intervened, Guan Sheng could have easily risen to the rank of commander guarding a prefecture if he had diligently accumulated five or six more years of hard work and experience.

Guan Sheng, of course, has not forgotten the kindness Zhao Zicheng showed him more than two years ago by helping him achieve his goal and giving him credit instead.

At the time, Zhao Zicheng was just a county magistrate of Suzhou on his way to take up his post, a civil official of the eighth rank. Yet he was so righteous to Guan Sheng, who was just a county constable at the time, and traveled a hundred miles to cooperate with him in setting up a scheme.

Although the main motivation for letting him succeed was that "Lin Chong's identity could not be exposed, and the source of his head could not be explained if it remained in Zhao Zicheng's hands, so he could only make use of it," Zhao Zicheng's willingness to choose Guan Sheng to cooperate shows that he knew Guan Sheng's reputation for righteousness and trusted that Guan Sheng would never betray his friends.

This trust alone moved Guan Sheng to tears.

Time flies, and Guan Sheng has risen from a county constable to a prefectural cavalry commander. Zhao Zicheng has also risen from an eighth-rank county magistrate of Suzhou to a fifth-rank prefect of Laizhou.

When the two met again, it was a poignant moment for many.

The two reunited in Licheng County, the seat of Jinan Prefecture.

Guan Sheng originally intended to visit Zhao Zicheng in Laizhou, but Zhao Zicheng gave him an order to stay put and wait. Zhao Zicheng would personally come to inspect the defenses and bring some cavalry reinforcements from Laizhou.

Guan Sheng had no choice but to obey orders. Every day, he would only instruct his troops to strengthen their combat readiness and prepare for battle, so as not to lose face in front of Lord Zhao.

On September 20th, Zhao Zicheng led two hundred cavalrymen from Huyan Zhuo's command, traveling by sea from Laizhou along the coastline to the territory of Jinan Prefecture, and then by land to the prefectural capital, Licheng County.

Guan Sheng received advance notice and led his cavalry out of the city to greet them from a distance of nearly fifty miles, almost from Licheng to Zhangqiu.

Upon seeing Zhao Zicheng and his party from afar, Guan Sheng dismounted and stood by the roadside.

"This humble general, Commander of the Jinan Cavalry, pays respects to Duke Xiu!"

When Guan Sheng bowed, he did not address Zhao Zi as "Lord Zhao," but omitted words such as "founding father" and simply referred to him as "Duke."

"General Guan, how have you been?" Zhao Zicheng gracefully dismounted, kindly helped Guan Sheng up, and then rode alongside him.

However, Guan Sheng insisted on staying half a horse behind Zhao Zicheng to ensure the proper order of seniority, while also not interfering with Zhao Fujun's conversation with him.

"I am truly ashamed of my lack of gratitude for Your Excellency's concern. At the beginning of the year, when I heard that Your Excellency had turned the tide in Jiangnan and achieved consecutive victories against Fang La, I was filled with patriotic fervor and wished I could fly to Jiangnan to help Your Excellency kill the traitor. Fortunately, the court has reassigned Your Excellency to Dengzhou and Laizhou, and I finally have the opportunity to serve Your Excellency!"

Guan Sheng, still on horseback, spoke with great respect, repeatedly expressing that he could hardly repay the great kindness and trust he had received in the past.

Zhao Zicheng didn't want to waste time with formalities, so he directly changed the subject: "Since you are so dedicated to serving your country, seize this opportunity to kill the enemy properly. We must not let Song Jiang pass through Jinan Prefecture and flee north into Liao. I made that promise to Magistrate Zhang."

Guan Sheng quickly stopped his pleasantries and solemnly replied, "Rest assured, Your Excellency! With me here, I will not allow Song Jiang to cross the Ji River even half a step north!"

Zhao Zicheng let the horse roam freely with him: "A few days ago, Magistrate Zhang sent a document instructing us to recruit volunteers from Hebei in Jinan Prefecture. How is the matter progressing?"

The matter Zhao Zicheng mentioned was assigned just a few days ago. Although Guan Sheng didn't quite understand it, he still resolutely carried it out and implemented it thoroughly as soon as possible.

He quickly replied, "We have recruited several hundred men, all strong and courageous. Although many have never been trained in battle, they have a good foundation and can be deployed to the battlefield with a little training. However..."

Zhao Zicheng: "But what?"

Guan Sheng hesitated for a moment, but finally asked for advice: "This humble general has never understood why the Duke did not recruit soldiers in Laizhou, but instead came to my Jinan Prefecture to recruit soldiers, and even specifically mentioned that he wanted to recruit refugees from other places."

In the past two years, Hebei has been in chaos due to war, with the Liao and Jin dynasties fighting each other, and a large number of refugees from Yan and Yun fleeing south. In addition, Zhang Di is causing havoc in Hebei. In our Jinan Prefecture, there are already many people who cannot survive, and the same is true in neighboring Qingzhou. Otherwise, Song Jiang would not have been able to find so many insiders to respond and coordinate the killing of Prefect Murong Yanda as soon as he arrived.

If the Duke allows the recruitment of local soldiers, I can gather more qualified troops in a shorter time and reduce the risk of impoverished local people joining the bandits. If we insist on recruiting refugees from Hebei, once the news leaks out, it could easily lead to further influx of impoverished people from the various prefectures of Hebei suffering under Zhang Di's rule into my Jinan Prefecture, making the situation even more difficult to manage.”

The "Zhang Di" mentioned by Guan Sheng is a newly emerging bandit leader in Hebei this year, following the escalation of the Liao-Jin war. This man is the prototype of "Tian Hu of Hebei" in the novel *Water Margin*. In other words, there are now two rebel armies in Hebei: Zhang Di, who roams the Hebei plains, and Lu Jinyi, who operates on the edge of the Taihang Mountains.

Zhao Zicheng listened to Guan Sheng's concerns, but simply waved his hand and insisted: "I have my own considerations. Actually, you've misunderstood. Prioritizing the recruitment of refugees and outsiders is the best way to alleviate local discontent."

Moreover, those who could move around in such a chaotic world must at least be physically strong and young. Those who were weak might have already lost their lives in the looting by Zhang Di and Lu Jinyi. How could they have traveled so far to Jinan?
There's no need to discuss this further. Just do as I say and expand the garrison in Jinan Prefecture as soon as possible. I will further refine the specific recruitment criteria as needed.

Zhao Zicheng insisted that Guan Sheng recruit soldiers in this way, and of course there were other reasons as well.

However, only the time traveler knows the reasons, and to avoid the trouble of not being able to explain them, it is not something to be told to outsiders.

……

In any case, Song Jiang was still plundering autumn grain and replenishing supplies within Qingzhou, and had no immediate intention of breaking out. Furthermore, Zhao Zicheng had already promised Zhang Shuye a date for a counterattack.

Zhao Zicheng's trip to Jinan Prefecture was not easy, so he planned to stay there for a while to find out the situation on Guan Sheng's side, make some arrangements, and also familiarize himself with the army in Jinan Prefecture.

Song Jiang posed little threat; the real threats were the increasingly imminent Song-Liao war and the future humiliation of Jingkang. Zhao Zicheng had to seize every opportunity to wage war, gather as many troops as possible, and become well-known among the soldiers to gain more support in the future.

Guan Sheng didn't know why Lord Zhao insisted on "micromanaging" his recruitment and training work, but since Lord Zhao insisted, he fully cooperated and had no complaints.

The only one slightly displeased with this matter was perhaps the prefect of Jinan. However, this prefect of Jinan was now a purely civil official who knew nothing about military affairs. With orders from Zhang Shuye, the Pacification Commissioner of Jingdong East Circuit, he simply chose to turn a blind eye and let Zhao Zicheng handle the mess.

Guan Sheng's recruitment work was divided into two parts, as requested by Zhao Zicheng.

One part was recruiting infantry to defend the city and block roads in the future. The quality requirements for these soldiers were relatively low. They did not need to master any martial arts skills. As long as they were physically healthy, had a clean background, and could obey discipline, they could basically be selected.

The other group recruited fewer people to serve as cavalry, so a certain level of martial arts skill was required, but the benefits were very generous. Zhao Zicheng used Zhang Shuye's approval authority to offer very high military pay and resettlement allowances, and promised excellent food, clothing, and military supplies.

The shortfall in funds and provisions was even covered by Zhao Zicheng himself, using the gold and silver he had brought from Hangzhou. Moreover, to ensure fairness, Zhao Zicheng also improved the treatment of the cavalry under Guan Sheng's original command in Jinan Prefecture.

Guan Sheng initially didn't understand this. Firstly, he was worried that Lord Zhao's private treasury wouldn't be able to support it, and secondly, he felt that expecting the newly recruited soldiers to be used directly as cavalry was too much to ask.

After all, many of the original soldiers in Jinan Prefecture's Xiang Army were infantrymen who wanted to improve their treatment and become cavalrymen. Now, by not providing these veterans with a path to advancement and instead recruiting cavalrymen directly from outside, it might lead to discontent among the veterans.

In response, Zhao Zicheng explained that "there is currently a fierce battle between the Liao and Jin dynasties in Hebei, as well as the Zhang Di Rebellion. There may be defeated soldiers skilled in riding and archery or civilian volunteers. We should try to recruit them."

Zhao Zicheng's true intention, of course, was to try to attract some heroes who were still of low status by offering generous rewards and making a high-profile recruitment drive.

After all, Zhao Zicheng knew history. If he were to encounter a future general or a Liangshan hero who had escaped capture and hadn't yet joined the bandits, he, Zhao Zicheng, would certainly be able to identify and select them more discerningly than ordinary people.

Moreover, these soldiers will be sent to war soon after recruitment, and those without real skills are prone to rapid casualties. They can't fool anyone into living off high salaries for more than a few months, so offering high pay isn't a problem. Those who can consistently receive high pay must have some real skills.

Given his high standards and strict requirements, coupled with Jinan Prefecture's strategic location at the crossroads of the Yellow River and the Ji River, making it easily accessible from all directions, news of Jinan Prefecture's large-scale recruitment of elite troops quickly spread, and indeed, more and more down-on-their-luck heroes came to test the waters. ...

The ten-day inspection period passed in the blink of an eye, with seven or eight days gone by.

It's already the end of September, and the Daxiao Field in the western suburbs of Licheng is bustling with people every day as usual, with many coming from other places to apply for jobs.

As the news spread further and further, the quality of soldiers applying for recruitment has been increasing recently.

Everyone has heard that the Jinan Prefecture offers extremely high salaries for recruiting cavalry, but the requirements are also extremely high. Those without real skills wouldn't dare to come and embarrass themselves.

Early that morning, as usual, a large group of strong men from the west and north arrived one after another.

The recruiting officers had not yet arrived, and the assessments had not yet begun. The applicants could only reluctantly line up under the guidance of the veterans.

A middle-aged man in his forties, along with several young people who looked to be under 18, were also in the queue of applicants.

The middle-aged man had a large beard and was not tall, but he looked strong and muscular. His muscles weren't particularly developed, but they supported a large, sturdy skeleton.

Those young men all looked agile and nimble. One of them, in particular, was over six feet tall, with broad shoulders, long arms, a square face, and strong muscles and bones.

They all came from the direction of Daming Prefecture in the west. They had heard that Jinan Prefecture was recruiting soldiers to quell bandits and that the treatment was excellent, so they did not hesitate to travel a long way to come. They had traveled more than 300 li along the way.

In the autumn of the third year of Xuanhe, in Hebei, Liao soldiers and civilians who had been defeated by the Jin army continued to flee south. In addition, there were two bandit groups led by Lu Jinyi and Zhang Di. Many people could no longer survive and were already forced to wander around.

Anyone with even a little martial arts skill would try their luck if they heard of a well-paying opportunity to join the army. After all, they needed to eat if they stayed in their hometown, and they were just sitting around doing nothing anyway. The autumn harvest season had just passed, and there was no farm work to do in winter, so finding something to do could supplement their income.

After queuing for a while, the group felt uneasy when they saw that the recruitment review had not yet started, so they started chatting with other people.

The tall, broad-shouldered man bowed to the person in front of him and asked, "Brother, I heard that Jinan Prefecture has recently recruited cavalrymen, and their monthly military pay is five strings of cash, plus additional provisions of grain, cloth, and housing. Is that true?"
The imperial court only pays its imperial guards two strings of cash a month, plus grain, so how could the soldiers recruited in Jinan Prefecture earn so much more than the imperial guards?

The person being questioned must have arrived earlier and had already gathered detailed information. He immediately boasted, "How can that be the same? When the imperial court recruited imperial guards, it was during years when there was no war, and they only gave two strings of cash, which were then deducted from their pay."

The cavalry in Jinan Prefecture these days, recruited soldiers who won't even have a few months' worth of rations before going to the battlefield, who would join if they weren't paid well? As the saying goes, "An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one," but this is a case of using soldiers without any prior training. Five strings of cash in pay simply won't attract enough men. If it weren't for the fact that they immediately offer a twenty-string settlement allowance upon hiring, not so many people would come.”

The tall, burly man was startled upon hearing this: "Really? As long as I'm hired, I'll immediately receive a settlement allowance of twenty strings of cash?"

The other party merely sneered: "Where did you come from, young man? Do you really think that twenty strings of cash as a settlement allowance is easy to come by? See that pile of stone weights on the training ground? You have to be able to lift a 120-pound stone weight above your head and then gently put it down, repeating this five times to pass. You also have to be able to draw a 200-pound hard bow three times. Finally, you have to pass the basic horsemanship test, riding a horse and galloping around the training ground three times without falling off."

Even if you do all of that, you'll only be a common soldier. Only those who can lift more stone weights and draw stronger bows will qualify for later assessments, where they'll be tested on their martial arts and may be awarded ranks such as squad leader. If you don't have the skills, you'd better just enlist as an infantryman defending the city.

The tall, burly man humbly cupped his hands in greeting: "I am from Xiangzhou, my surname is Yue, my given name is Fei. This is my master of spear and staff, Master Chen from this county. This is my younger brother Yue Fan. The rest of us are from the same county and we learned spear and staff together. Although we are not very skilled, we have some experience in strength, archery and horsemanship, and we are willing to give it a try."

Those who had just spoken in advice to Yue Fei burst into laughter upon hearing this: "This young man is truly ignorant of his own limitations! He may not know about other places, but the commander of the cavalry in this prefecture is a master of martial arts, and even the civil officials who came to supervise the recruitment of soldiers are extremely capable. Anyone who dares to come to Jinan Prefecture and boast about their martial arts has never come out on top!"

Yue Fei's younger brother, Yue Fan, was only fifteen years old. Young and impetuous, he was angered by the words and immediately retorted, "Master Chen is a renowned master of spear and staff techniques in Daming Prefecture. My elder brother has mastered his skills under his tutelage..."

"Sixth Brother!" Yue Fei, being more composed than his younger brother, immediately stopped him from refuting.

He has his pride, but he just wants to wait for an opportunity to prove himself through his abilities. What's the point of talking now?

The rest of the people in line burst into laughter, filling the room with a joyful atmosphere.

……

An hour and a half later, in the martial arts hall on the north side of the training ground.

After completing his routine inspection of the recruitment work, Zhao Zicheng had Guan Sheng accompany him for a friendly sparring session.

The main reason is that Zhao Zicheng did not find any outstanding talents who would be remembered in later generations this morning. To be precise, he has been inspecting the recruitment work in Jinan Prefecture for seven or eight days and has not encountered any generals who have slipped through the net, so he has become somewhat complacent.

They even began to doubt the effectiveness of their strategy of recruiting elite troops with great fanfare and high-profile rewards.

Since he didn't encounter any famous figures from historical records, Zhao Zicheng didn't bother to personally preside over the event. After wandering around for a while, he continued to spar with Guan Sheng and strengthen their bond.

Although Zhao Zicheng has been busy with political and military affairs these past few months, he still manages to set aside at least two hours each day to practice martial arts and strengthen his body whenever he has a spare moment. On days when he goes out to inspect military affairs, he spends even more time practicing martial arts and riding horses, so his progress remains rapid.

He only received the Mani Shifting Technique with his mother-in-law's comments in May, and it has only been four or five months since then. So this period can still be considered the beginner's bonus period. By combining it with the Murong family's secret technique of using the enemy's own methods against them, he can gain a little bit of new insights every time he practices.

And the faster you progress, the more you can spar with different masters. This is because both teleportation and counterattacks rely heavily on real combat experience. The more types of enemies you encounter and the more techniques and routines you fight against, the more proficient you become in your movements and the more you can apply your knowledge to other situations.

Previously, Zhao Zi said that he did not have any famous generals who wielded broadswords by his side, and that he could only spar with Lu Da, who wielded a monk's staff, if he was a master who used heavy weapons.

After arriving in Jinan, Zhao Zicheng was finally able to spar with Guan Sheng's Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and he entered a period of rapid growth where he made progress every day.

"Your Excellency truly deserves to be called a genius. Even in the art of martial arts, you are exceptionally gifted. In just a few days, you have made such rapid progress. This humble general is truly in awe of you."

After a thoroughly enjoyable sparring session, Guan Sheng was also covered in sweat. He couldn't help but cup his hands to Zhao Zicheng, expressing his heartfelt admiration.

They had just exchanged over a hundred blows in a row, and although Guan Sheng had a slight advantage, there was no clear indication of victory. It was uncertain how long it would take to defeat Zhao Zicheng.

Just seven days earlier, the day after Zhao Zicheng arrived in Jinan, the two fought for the first time. Zhao Zicheng only lasted for about sixty moves against Guan Sheng before revealing his weakness.

Zhao Zicheng also put down his finely crafted double-edged, double-hooked spear, wiping his sweat and laughing heartily:
"Brother Guan, you flatter me. Your martial arts skills are unparalleled in my life. However, my martial arts are naturally characterized by dense and intricate moves, which are quite effective against those wide-open and sweeping fighting styles. I once had a commander under my command named Lu Da, who was originally under the command of General Zhong, the old commander of the Western Army. He was skilled in using an iron staff."

His martial arts skills are also quite good, but because his weapon is heavy, he wouldn't stand a chance against me. Brother Guan, you also know Yang Zhi, who went to my post with me back then, and Lin Chong, who killed Wang Lun. Frankly speaking, their martial arts skills are slightly inferior to yours.”

Zhao Zicheng offered a fair assessment.

He genuinely believed that Guan Sheng was the pinnacle of individual martial arts among all the generals he had ever seen.

Of course, Zhao Zicheng's crazy father-in-law is an exception; those who are not normal humans and whose abilities are sometimes effective and sometimes not can not be included in the comparison.

Zhao Zicheng, through his competition with Guan Sheng and his own reflections, also took the opportunity to assess his latest strength.

He felt he had improved noticeably compared to a few months ago. His ability to barely draw with Guan Sheng was a result of his restrained playing style.

If we disregard the issue of restraint, Zhao Zicheng's true strength should now be comparable to Yang Zhi's—when he first arrived in Laizhou, he was only comparable to Huyan Zhuo and Xu Ning, and slightly inferior to Yang Zhi. It is quite remarkable that he can now be comparable to Yang Zhi.

Among our side, only Guan Sheng and Lin Chong possess true superior strength compared to Zhao Zicheng. While Lu Da might theoretically be slightly better, he is too severely countered in actual combat and certainly cannot defeat Zhao Zicheng.

Zhao Zicheng felt quite elated and was already thinking about who he could spar with if he made further progress in the future.
Following this trend, even if I train for another year or two at most, and without any new opportunities, if I just rely on my existing martial arts skills and work hard step by step, I'm afraid Lin Chong might not be able to gain the upper hand in a real fight.

Just as Zhao Zicheng was lost in thought and drinking hot tea, a series of loud exclamations suddenly erupted from the training ground outside.

"What's going on?" Zhao Zicheng put down his teacup and asked casually.

"Reporting to the Prefect! Reporting to the Commander! There's someone outside who's come to apply for the job, and he's lifting a 120-pound stone lock in each hand! He's also drawn a 300-pound hard bow! And he can ride and shoot, and his spear technique on horseback is also very sharp!" Guan Sheng's officer in charge of assessing martial arts immediately came in to report.

Zhao Zicheng, who had been bored for several days, perked up immediately upon hearing this: "Oh? It seems that a generous reward does indeed attract brave men. Come on, Brother Guan, let's go out and have a look."

(End of this chapter)