Ever since the First Army of the Tianwu Army went to the south with the retired emperor, they have been restricted and harassed everywhere since returning.
The soldiers of the First Army felt very frustrated.
You thief! We didn't want to go south either, we were just following our superiors' orders.
What's more, they were blocked by Tong Guan's Shengjie Army halfway through their journey and were not allowed to move forward.
He never followed the emperor to Jiangnan.
But the new emperor and his ministers ignored this and transferred all the officers in the First Army who were close to Zhang Tianshi, such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong.
As for the ordinary soldiers, they also suffered a lot of grievances. They were often locked up in the barracks and not allowed to leave the camp.
Today, the military leader finally came back and took them out to show off.
The soldiers of the First Army love to show off.
The last time they showed off was when they went to suppress King Yang. The military leader led them in marching in neat steps on the avenues of the capital.
The people of the capital lined the streets to watch, all with envious looks.
At that moment, the soldiers of the First Army were in the limelight.
However, when Zhang Shixun went to the Palace Front Office to collect equipment, he was harassed by the deputy commander-in-chief Wang Zongchu.
"It's just a bandit, why do you need armor?"
"Shi Qian, Lu Zhishen, and Li Kui are all formidable thieves, skilled in martial arts. Even the Emperor's guards couldn't stand up to them. Last time, when the retired Emperor was assassinated in Fanlou, all his guards, except for Jiang Xuan, were either injured or killed. This time, I'm leading the First Army to clear out the enemy, and we must minimize their casualties."
Although the reason was far-fetched, he spoke it with confidence.
Wang Zongchu puffed out his belly and held his chin high. "No! I can't give you armor or long weapons."
Zhang Shixun then looked him over carefully and nodded, saying, "In that case, I won't be taking these soldiers with me... Let me be frank, if Shi Qian escapes again, the responsibility won't be mine."
Wang Zongchu glared at him and said, "You are blackmailing your superiors."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not an official now. I'm not under your control. It's useless for you to act arrogantly in front of me."
Zhang Shixun said this, then turned and walked away, saying, "If Shi Qian runs away, it'll be all your fault... Oh! I'm not trying to scare you. I really will put the blame on you. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Wang Zongchu panicked when he heard this, "Master Zhang, we have something to discuss."
Zhang Shixun paused and turned back, saying, "There's nothing to discuss. If you want me to lead the troops, you must provide the equipment I require, without missing a single thing."
Wang Zongchu gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give it to you. Isn't it okay if I give it to you?"
"The armor is complete, and both long and short weapons are available, and bows and crossbows are indispensable."
"Weapons can be supplied as you requested, but there is no iron armor, only paper armor. Do you want it?"
"It's just paper armor. Just make do with it."
The so-called paper armor is a simple protective armor. Good paper armor can not only withstand bows and arrows, but also has a certain degree of protection against chopping. However, its durability is lower than that of iron armor.
The use of paper armor has a long history, having appeared in the Tang Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, the technology of paper armor was quite mature and had been used on a large scale in the military.
When he led the First Army to suppress Yang Tianwang, many soldiers were equipped with paper armor.
After some dispute, Zhang Shixun successfully obtained what he wanted from Wang Zongchu and immediately equipped the soldiers of the First Army.
When the soldiers put on their newly received equipment and stood in line on the playground, Li Gang, Zhang Shuye and others who were supervising the battle on the stage all had their eyes light up.
The soldiers of the First Army were indeed very different from the other imperial guards. Their formations were neat and orderly, and when viewed from the platform, they looked straight and level.
What impressed them even more was that the soldiers were full of energy and spirit, with their heads held high and their eyes looking straight ahead.
"Shixun, are these the soldiers you trained?" Zhang Shuye stroked his beard, admiring them greatly. "Putting aside their actual combat experience, just this aura alone shows that they are a force of fierce warriors."
"It's just so-so." Zhang Shixun shook his head. "If it's up to my standards, it's still far from good enough."
"Oh, what's your request?"
"Stand like a pine tree, sit like a bell, obey orders and discipline, respond to calls, fight when called, and win when fought, possessing the courage to overwhelm all enemies."
Li Gang laughed and said, "Shixun's requirements are a bit high and difficult to achieve."
Zhang Shixun said, "Prime Minister Li is mistaken. If I were given time, I would definitely be able to train such a strong army. Unfortunately... Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's set off."
"Set off?"
Li Gang and Zhang Shuye were stunned.
It's still broad daylight, and Shi Qian and the others are still hiding somewhere. Why are you leading the team out?
"Prime Minister Li, Lord Zhang, do you think he broke into the palace just to kidnap the retired emperor and take him to a brothel?"
When Zhang Shixun asked this, Li Gang and the other man were both stunned.
Yes, as the saying goes, there is no gain without pain. Shi Qian did not gain any benefit from doing this. What was his purpose?
Before the two could ask, Zhang Shixun continued, "Kidnapped the emperor and shaved the ministers' heads. These may seem like silly and ridiculous acts, but in fact, these actions are sending a message to the court."
"What information?"
"The heroes of Liangshan are heroes of the time. Whether it's the emperor or a corrupt official, if they don't like someone, they will punish them."
Li Gang frowned slightly, "You mean to say that all their actions are just for punishment?"
"If it wasn't for the purpose of punishment, there would be a bloodbath... Prime Minister Li, haven't you noticed that, apart from the first assassination attempt on Fanlou, which killed several guards, no one was injured in the other cases?"
Li Gang thought for a moment and said, "That's true. If they want to hurt someone, it's much easier than shaving their head."
At this point, several people laughed together.
Zhang Shuye said, "Shi Qian made quite a bit of money this time. I calculated his assets, and if converted into copper coins, I'm afraid they're worth hundreds of thousands of strings of cash."
Zhang Shixun said, "There's a deeper meaning behind his extortion and theft of so much money."
Li Gang glanced at him and said, "Robbing money is just robbing money. What deeper meaning does it have?"
"Prime Minister Li, you are the Prime Minister. You should focus on the overall situation... How much gold and silver were extorted during the siege of the city by the Jin soldiers? Where did all this gold and silver come from?"
Li Gang seemed to understand something after hearing this.
"Most of that gold and silver was looted from officials, soldiers, and civilians in Beijing... Oh! I understand now. Shi Qian plundered Li Bangyan, Geng Nanzhong, and others, and finally emptied the inner treasury. His purpose was..."
Zhang Shuye also understood, "He is telling the people of the capital that the government officials and ministers are not giving away their own gold and silver, but are instead plundering the lower-level officials, soldiers and civilians."
Zhang Shixun smiled and nodded, "That's right."
As they were talking, Song Jiang hurried in. "Sir, please know that there are many notices all over the capital, all posted by the Liangshan Marsh bandits. I'll take one down, please take a look..."
As he spoke, he took out a notice.
Zhang Shuye took it and looked at it together with Li Gang. Their expressions became strange.
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