“What I mean is!” Zhao Muyun said seriously, “If you are willing to serve me, I can let you lead the old troops. When the Great Yin Dynasty recovers Jiannan, you will be the Jiedushi of Jiannan.”
These words not only stunned Yang Chao, but also surprised Yin Ji, Pei Lun, Fan Nan, Wu Shangzhi and others behind Zhao Muyun.
“Master, this…” Yinji hesitated.
Zhao Muyun raised his hand to stop him, and continued to say to Yang Chao, "I'll give you three days to consider. In these three days, you should carefully observe how I manage the army, how I treat surrendered soldiers, and how I treat my officers and soldiers."
After saying this, he instructed his men: "Invite General Yang to the guesthouse and treat him with the courtesy due to a guest. Do not neglect him."
When the prison cart was opened and Yang Chao was "invited" out, he was still in a daze, allowing two soldiers to help him walk into the city.
After he had gone some distance, Yinji said anxiously, "Master, Yang Chao is fickle and is Yang Yan's nephew. How can we persuade him to surrender?"
Wu Shangzhi frowned as well: "Grand Commander, this man will eventually become a disaster."
Zhao Muyun watched Yang Chao's departing figure, then glanced at the surrendered Jiannan soldiers who were secretly watching their direction, and smiled slightly:
"Your Highness, gentlemen, I am not trying to persuade Yang Chao to surrender."
His voice was low, but every word was clear:
"I'm 'spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones,' to show those three thousand surrendered soldiers from Jiannan, and to show Li Jingang's men!"
"If I, Zhao Muyun, can tolerate and employ even a culprit like Yang Chao, what chance do I have of others?"
Everyone suddenly realized.
Yinji's eyes lit up: "Master wants to..."
“That’s right.” Zhao Muyun looked south. “Jiannan Road will be taken back sooner or later. But the terrain is treacherous, and a direct assault would result in too many casualties.”
"If we had the help of the 'Jiannan Jiedushi' who is familiar with the inside story of Jiannan and has fallen out with Yang Yan, we might be able to subdue the enemy without a fight."
He paused, then his smile deepened:
"Of course, if Yang Chao is truly obstinate, we can kill him in three days."
"And in these three days, when those surrendered soldiers see how we treat their 'former masters' with respect, most of their resentment will disappear. This is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it."
The people looked at each other and saw admiration in each other's eyes.
Wu Shangzhi clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Grand Commander, your wisdom and foresight are truly admirable!"
Zhao Muyun waved his hand, turned and looked in the direction of the inn in the city, and muttered to himself:
"Yang Chao, do you want to be the 'horse bone' that I set up for the world to see, or the 'chicken' that I kill to scare the monkey?"
The choice is yours.
The wind blew from the direction of the great river in the southeast, carrying the chill of early spring, as well as the breath of new life.
The bells of Xijing City rang out, melodious and lingering, spreading far and wide.
......
In the courtyard of the inn, an old locust tree has just sprouted tender green buds.
Yang Chao stood under the tree, unconsciously stroking a locust leaf in his hand, his thoughts drifting far away.
In these three days, he seemed to have come to know the new world that Zhao Muyun had created all over again.
On the first day, he was allowed to go to the West Market of Xijing, accompanied by two guards.
The sight there shocked him—not the post-war desolation he had imagined, but a bustling crowd.
The goods on the stall were not abundant, but they included grains, cloth, and ironware.
What caught his attention even more was the price of goods: a dou of millet cost eighty wen, and a bolt of coarse cloth cost three hundred wen, which was 20% lower than the market price in Jiannan.
"Why are grain prices in Xijing so stable?" he couldn't help but ask the young captain accompanying him.
The captain's surname was Chen, and he spoke with a Hedong accent.
“The Grand Commander built the Ever-Normal Granary last autumn, which will sell grain at a fair price during wartime, eliminating the market for unscrupulous merchants to raise prices. Besides, the first batch of spring wheat from the military farms in Longyou will be harvested this year.”
Yang Chao remained silent.
When he was in Jiannan, in order to raise funds for the army, he allowed grain merchants to hoard and speculate, and a dou of rice was sold for as much as 200 wen at its most expensive.
The people were full of complaints, and there were also discontent among the military.
The next day, he went to the military camp in the west of the city.
It's not about watching elite heavy cavalry or long-handled sword battalions, but about watching new recruits train.
On the training ground, more than a thousand newly recruited soldiers were practicing forming ranks.
The instructor was a one-armed veteran with a booming voice: "Remember! You are not fighting alone! Your comrades are on your left and on your right! The formation cannot be disrupted! If it is, it won't just be you who dies, it will be your entire squad!"
A young soldier, in his nervousness, stepped on the foot of the person behind him as he turned around, and the entire squad's formation immediately fell into disarray.
"Stop!" The one-armed instructor strode over, but instead of hitting or scolding, he made the young man step forward. "Scared?"
The young man, pale-faced, nodded.
"It's good to be afraid." The instructor patted him on the shoulder. "I peed my pants the first time I went in. But you have to remember—if you're afraid, you have to practice even harder!"
"Practice until the spear in your hand becomes part of your arm, practice until you can tell who's on your left and who's on your right with your eyes closed, practice until your legs move on their own when you hear the drumbeat!"
"Only in this way can you survive on the battlefield, and only then can your brothers survive!"
Yang Chao was engrossed in watching.
During training, the generals of Jiannan Army would often whip and scold the soldiers, who appeared to be afraid but were actually disloyal.
And this method of training...
"This is a rule that the Grand Commander established in Shuozhou," said Commander Chen from the side. "Instructors are not allowed to beat soldiers without cause; teaching must come first. Monthly assessments are conducted, and the winning squads receive a raise, while the worst squads receive extra training but no pay reduction."
Why?
"The Grand Commander said that soldiers are fed to survive, not to die. Soldiers must be treated as human beings before they will treat their generals as human beings."
Yang Chao was shocked.
On the third day, he went to the camp of surrendered soldiers.
More than 3,000 surrendered soldiers from Jiannan were settled in the old camp area in the east of the city. Although the barracks were simple, they were clean and tidy, and there were special medical tents for the wounded and sick.
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