novelSusiti Chapter 130: The troops split into four routes and set out on the expedition.
Chapter 130: The troops split into four routes and set out on the expedition.
Now that we have a strong and well-trained army, and plenty of money and supplies, we should take this opportunity to strengthen the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army. There is no reason for us to stay in Jizhou and live a peaceful life.
When Wang Lun mentioned going to war, the vanguards became excited. As military generals, they naturally wanted to gain merit on the battlefield.
Wu Yong said, "Brother, we are not afraid of anyone now if we want to fight, but we already have more than 20,000 troops and occupy the entire state of Jizhou. If we attack other states, the imperial court might send a large army to suppress us. If it is the imperial guards, it will be fine, but if the Western Army is used..."
Guan Sheng and the other generals frowned slightly. Wu Yong's words made sense. Liangshan now had 20,000 troops, which was quite a force. Although the imperial court had sent troops to suppress them, and although the generals were Guan Sheng, Hu Yanzhuo, and others, these people were not actually considered famous generals in the imperial court.
Apart from Huyan Zhuo's heavily armored cavalry, the soldiers brought by Huyan Zhuo and Guan Sheng were not very strong.
Lin Chong was the instructor of the "800,000" Imperial Guards, but this was just a slogan. The actual number of Imperial Guards was naturally less than 800,000. In addition, there were issues of receiving salaries without working and vacancies, so the number of Imperial Guards was probably around 600,000.
If a large force of imperial guards were to attack, Liangshan would naturally be unable to withstand it.
As for the Western Army, Wang Lun naturally knew that the possibility of the Western Army coming to Shandong to wipe out Liangshan was very small, but the Western Army's combat strength was incomparable to that of the Imperial Guards. Even though Liangshan's 20,000 troops were now well-trained, they might not be a match for the Western Army.
He looked at Lu Zhishen, who was from the Western Army.
The Zhong family army, led by the brothers Zhong Shidao and Zhong Shizhong, is renowned for its prowess. Zhe Keqiu's Zhe family army has also fought against the Western Xia and Liao dynasties many times, and it is no exaggeration to call them a battle-hardened elite force.
Wu Yong's reminder immediately made Wang Lun realize that the path to developing and expanding Liangshan should not be taken too quickly.
He laughed and said, "Military Advisor Wu is right to remind us, so what I was talking about wasn't a real battle. For the Liangshan Flying Tiger Army to grow stronger, maintaining a force of less than 30,000 is sufficient for now. The key is to quickly acquire resources such as iron ore and stockpile provisions for the future."
After Wang Lun finished speaking, seeing everyone nodding, he perked up and said, "All generals, listen to my command."
Everyone then stood up and clasped their hands in greeting.
"Yang Xianfeng, your First Route Army will remain in Jeju to train new recruits."
Yang Zhi then clasped his hands in agreement.
"Instructor Lin, your second army will march to Yanzhou, but not to invade. Simply station troops on the border between Jizhou and Yanzhou, then send a letter to the prefect of Yanzhou, requesting that he send money, provisions, and military supplies to support the troops. If he refuses or provides insufficient supplies, then you should enter Yanzhou and cut off all routes. Yanzhou has less than five thousand troops and dares not engage your second army in direct combat, but if they launch a large-scale attack, you must respond cautiously and promptly inform me."
Everyone understood Wang Lun's meaning: he was essentially placing his army at Lin Chong's doorstep, forcing him to hand over money and provisions. If Lin Chong refused, they would attack him; if he gave too little, they would attack him again, until he gave enough to satisfy Lin Chong.
Lin Chong happily accepted the order.
"General Qin, make some adjustments to your three armies. Brother Hua Rong will be temporarily transferred out, as I have other important matters to attend to. You will remain the left vanguard of the three armies, Mu Hong will be the right vanguard, Mu Chun and Lü Fang will be the deputy vanguards, and Wu Yong will be the strategist. Your third army will march on Danzhou, following the same method as Instructor Lin. If you are satisfied, return with what you have obtained."
Qin Ming, Hua Rong, Mu Hong, Mu Chun, Lü Fang, Wu Yong, and others received the order. The brothers Mu Hong and Mu Chun, as the newly arrived leaders, were the first to be assigned tasks by Wang Lun, and they were all happy.
"General Huyan, your Fifth Route Army is heading to Guangji Army. Your brothers Tong Wei and Tong Meng will be assigned to your army and await orders."
Huyan Zhuo, Zhu Tong, Guo Sheng, Tong Wei, and Tong Meng received the order together. Since their Fifth Route Army had no strategist to assign, all matters naturally followed Huyan Zhuo's orders.
"General Guan, your sixth army is heading to Puzhou. Xue Yong and Hou Jian are to be assigned to your army and await orders."
Guan Sheng, Hao Siwen, Yang Xiong, Xue Yong, and Hou Jian then clasped their hands in obedience to the command.
Wang Lun assigned a whole host of tasks, but Song Jiang's name was nowhere to be found. This displeased Song Jiang, but seeing that Wang Lun had not finished speaking, he perked up and listened intently, leaning forward slightly.
"I intend to establish the Seventh Route Army, with Pang Wanchun and Hua Rong as the left and right vanguards, and Li Li under your command. This army will be a mounted archery corps, and you will select three thousand men from the entire army and carefully teach them archery. In this campaign against the raids on nearby prefectures, your Seventh Route Army will be the mobile force. Go wherever there is danger to provide support. I will arrange for Du Qian and Song Wan to select the best mounts for you."
Upon hearing Wang Lun's words, Pang Wanchun and Hua Rong were overjoyed. This was precisely what they excelled at, and they never expected it would come in handy now. The two of them, along with Li Li, immediately accepted the order.
"Brother Li Jun, Brother Zhang Heng, Brother Zhang Shun, I have already established a navy, which was led by the three Ruan brothers. They did a good job, but the force was only five hundred. Jeju is surrounded by water, and in the future our battlefield may have to be on the sea. So I will establish another navy, led by the three of you, with Li Jun as the vanguard and Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun as the deputies. For now, the force will also be five hundred."
Li Jun and his two companions were overjoyed; they were happy to be back in their old profession.
"You guys train 500 online trolls first, I have more important things for you to do later."
After giving the instructions, Wang Lun smiled and said, "Alright, the tasks have been assigned. Does anyone have any objections?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"You, the chieftain, are assigning tasks back and forth, how could you forget about me, Tie Niu, and Brother Gongming?"
Wang Lun looked down and saw that the one speaking was Li Kui, who was dressed entirely in black, staring with wide eyes and a face full of dissatisfaction.
Song Jiang, who was standing nearby, quickly said, "Tie Niu, shut up. The chieftain has his own arrangements. Don't talk nonsense."
Wang Lun then exclaimed, "Oh dear, I forgot about you two. Let me think... I wonder what your opinion is, Gongming?"
When Song Jiang saw that Wang Lun had not only not assigned him any affiliation, but had instead come to ask him, he was taken aback. But then he realized that he really didn't know anything, and that becoming a strategist in any army was not something he was good at.
If he were to be in charge of money and provisions, firstly, Du Qian and Song Wan already existed, and secondly, Wang Lun would certainly not trust him.
If I were to lead the charge in any army, my martial arts skills would be utterly inadequate.
His eyes darted around, but he realized that he had no position to be assigned to. He was immediately anxious but couldn't say a word.
Seeing that Li Kui was about to speak again, Wang Lun quickly interjected, "I do have a good job here, but I can't lead troops or go to the battlefield. I'll have to trouble you, Gongming."
Song Jiang hurriedly replied, "I was a criminal, but it was the chieftain who rescued me from afar and gave me a chance to start over. I will do anything the chieftain says, even at the cost of my life."
He glared at Li Kui, who swallowed his words and, after thinking for a moment, said, "I'll follow Brother Gongming."
Wang Lun smiled slightly and said, "There is a very important task that requires a meticulous and attentive person. After much thought, I believe only Gongming is capable of handling it."
Song Jiang bowed again, indicating his obedience to the arrangement.
Wang Lun said solemnly, "Commissioner for Colonial Farming."