Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 423 Garrisoning Troops
After more than a year apart, Zhao Hehua was overjoyed to see her general and knelt down with a thud: "General!"

Pei Yun was also beaming with joy, and reached out to help her trusted general up: "Get up and talk to me quickly."

Zhao Hehua quickly reported the handover process with the Beiping army: "...We had a total of one thousand people, half of whom were unwilling to leave. I left them with General Meng Liu and brought five hundred men over."

Pei Yun relaxed her brows and chuckled softly, "This is already much more than I expected. Even if they all wanted to stay in the Beiping military camp, I wouldn't have said anything. Now that five hundred veterans have arrived, that's wonderful! I'm short-handed!"

These five hundred men were all veterans she had personally recruited and trained; they were both skilled fighters and loyal. They were far superior to the surrendered soldiers of the Bohai Navy.

Zhao Hehua is even more shrewd and capable; she can do the work of ten people.

The veterans quickly settled into the Bohai military camp. Zhao Hehua was appointed as a captain and served as Pei Yun's attendant. A few days later, Pei Yun asked with a smile, "Hehua, in your opinion, what's different about this place compared to our previous military camp?"

After a moment's thought, Zhao Hehua replied, "First, the source of the soldiers is different. In the past, the soldiers in the military camp were recruited and trained by the general. They obeyed the general's orders and had excellent military discipline. Most of the soldiers here are surrendered soldiers from the Bohai Navy. Although the general has put his heart into training and disciplining them, their military discipline is still lacking, and their loyalty is also insufficient."

"Secondly, we used to have about 20% female soldiers. Now the number of female soldiers is extremely small, less than 10%. It seems that the general did not recruit many female soldiers when he was recruiting new recruits."

Pei Yun smiled and sighed, "You are indeed meticulous and perceptive. You've only been here a few days, but you've already noticed quite a few problems. We've captured Bohai County, and we've cleared out several thousand of the more than 20,000 surrendered soldiers. The original military leaders have all been killed, and the troublemakers in the army have also been eliminated. The remaining ones who are relatively well-behaved have been assigned to various military units."

"The military camp has four thousand men, more than two thousand of whom are surrendered soldiers. Most of them are seasoned soldiers or slackers, making them particularly difficult to discipline and train. Moreover, the reputation of the Bohai Army is too bad. Even now that the Pei family's army flag has been changed, no women dare to come when recruiting. The current female soldiers are basically all brought here by me."

“Training troops is not something that can be accomplished overnight. I need to put a lot of effort into reorganizing the barracks. In the next two or three years, I will recruit new soldiers and train a truly elite force.”

Sending troops to the grasslands to fight the Xiongnu barbarians was a bold statement made by Pei Qinghe, and it was also Pei Yun's ideal and ambition.

Looking into her general's shining eyes, Zhao Hehua was filled with emotion and cupped her hands, saying, "I am willing to serve the general with all my might."

Pei Yun smiled and patted Zhao Hehua's shoulder: "You're my right-hand woman; I can't do without you."

Zhao Hehua couldn't help but ask, "Why hasn't Vice General Gu returned yet?"

The Deputy General Gu that Zhao Hehua mentioned was none other than Gu Lian. Gu Lian was a true veteran of the Pei family army, who had volunteered to follow Pei Yun to the Beiping military camp and had made countless meritorious contributions in battles across the country.

Pei Yun smiled slightly: "Gu Lian has another important use for her. You'll find out in a few days."

Zhao Hehua was somewhat puzzled, but did not ask any further questions.

Several days later, the latest news came from Liaoxi City: Pei Qinghe ordered Gu Lian to lead two thousand soldiers to garrison Changle County.

Zhao Hehua then suddenly realized what was happening.

General Xie of the Chang Le Army, oblivious to the danger, dared to send troops to attack Bohai County, only to be killed by Pei Yun. More than half of his troops were killed or wounded, and the rest fled in all directions. The Chang Le Army's former territory naturally became the spoils of war for the Pei family army, and it was only right that the Pei family army take over.

In terms of military achievements, seniority, and ability, Gu Lian is the best candidate.

I wonder who General Pei will send to take over the Runan Army and the Daifang Army.

……

Gu Lian took two thousand elite soldiers and garrisoned them in Chang Le County. This was a powerful blow to the veterans in the Pei family army.

The first one to get restless was Feng Chang.

After hesitating for a few days, Feng Chang decided to take the initiative to seek an audience with the general and express his true feelings. When he arrived outside Pei Qinghe's military tent, he discovered that someone had arrived before him.

"The general is speaking with Chief Sun, please wait a moment." Pei Yan, whose injuries had mostly healed, stopped Feng Chang.

Feng Chang respectfully agreed and waited patiently outside the military tent.

Inside the military tent, Pei Qinghe, whose injuries had mostly healed, asked Sun Cheng, "Do you want to go to Runan County or Fang County?"

There weren't many people with military achievements, experience, the ability to lead troops independently, and the deep trust and favor of Pei Qinghe. Pei Qinghe first sent Gu Lian, and then thought of Sun Cheng.

Sun Cheng composed himself and bowed, saying, "I do not wish to leave the general's side."

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "I know your loyalty. We have won a great victory this time. The Xiongnu barbarians have suffered heavy losses and are not going to send troops out again for a while. I will recruit and train soldiers in the next two or three years to prepare for future battles. The Runan army and the Fang army have been defeated and their commanders have been killed. The two counties have been vacated. We must take them out calmly."

"To put it bluntly, the place where you station your troops is the real territory of the Pei family army. Gu Lian has gone to Chang Le County, so we need to send people to Runan County and Daifang County as well. You can choose one first. Then we can have Jiao Niang go with you."

Sun Cheng's thoughts were exposed, and his face flushed red. He bowed and thanked the general for his kindness, and then chose Runan County.

Pei Qinghe said, "I will also give you two thousand elite soldiers. You will lead the troops to the Runan military camp to clear out the remaining soldiers, wipe out the local bandits and thieves, and recruit new soldiers to train diligently."

Sun Cheng immediately pressed, "How many new soldiers can I recruit? Please give me a fixed number, General."

Maintaining an army requires a large amount of money and supplies; it's not something you can just talk about casually.

Pei Qinghe had already considered this and calmly said, "The quota should be the same as that of the Guangning Army, Fanyang Army, and Liaoxi Army, which can be 10,000 soldiers."

Sun Cheng was overjoyed and bowed again to express his gratitude.

Back then, Sun Cheng was just a low-ranking captain with no powerful connections or background, and he wasn't well-regarded in the army. So he often had the arduous task of escorting exiled criminals.

Who could have imagined that the journey to exile the women of the Pei family would completely change his life and destiny?

From now on, he would be a general under the Empress, leading an army of ten thousand men. As a military commander, how could he not be happy?

Pei Qinghe handed two thick military registers to Sun Cheng: "Here are the military registers. You can muster your troops according to these registers and set off in three days."

Sun Cheng carried the military register out of the military tent and ran into Feng Chang.

When Feng Chang saw the thick military manual in Sun Cheng's hand, his eyes gleamed with a burning desire. Sun Cheng noticed this, smiled calmly, and walked past Feng Chang with his back straight.

He was personally appointed by the general, while Feng Chang took the initiative to seek an audience with the general. The difference in their status is obvious to anyone who understands.

Feng Chang watched Sun Cheng's retreating figure, his heart filled with extremely complex emotions.

He was clearly the first one to arrive.

It's one thing to lose to Gu Lian, but why did Sun Cheng also surpass him?

(End of this chapter)