Niu Baoguo was quite pleased with the flattery, and couldn't help but raise his head a little higher.
Zhang Jiadi looked troubled: "His Majesty said that the troops from the capital were to be sent out, but he didn't say that your personal guards should also be sent out."
"The provisions, weapons, and armor for this large army's journey are all paid for by the imperial court. I'm afraid it will be difficult to manage your own troops."
Niu Baoguo was displeased upon hearing this: "Lord Zhang, you can't do this."
"How come these soldiers can go and support the prince, but we noble soldiers can't?"
"We don't need to go through the imperial court's accounts for food, armor, and weapons. We have some savings and can prepare them ourselves. We don't need anything from the imperial court. Is that alright?"
"We have no other requests, we just want you to let us go and support the prince."
Zhang Jiadi thought for a moment, still somewhat hesitant: "Duke Niu, it's different. These soldiers are the army of the Ming Dynasty, and they are patriotic."
"Your guards can go if they want, but it's probably not possible for you to send your own descendants to lead the guards there."
Zhang Jiadi had no good feelings towards these noble families.
These people basically live off the achievements of their ancestors. All they do is walk their dogs, hunt, and frequent brothels. They cause trouble all the time, like good-for-nothings. They have no ability to lead troops into battle. If they are allowed to go, it would be a blessing if they don't cause any more trouble.
“We can also be the army of the Ming Dynasty, and we can also love our country.”
Niu Baoguo spread his hands, his tone somewhat agitated: "Can these greenhorns compare to us noble families?"
“In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, it was all people like us, or our fathers, who helped the founding emperor to conquer it.”
As he spoke, he took off his clothes, revealing his scars: "Look, this scar is from when I attacked the capital with Emperor Taizu. I cut my stomach open and my intestines came out."
"I fought the Liao people while clutching my intestines, and led the charge into the capital."
"This one was from the border battle against the Manchus. It was so close, so very close, that my manhood would have been gone."
"And here, and here..."
Niu Baoguo pointed to the scars and said, "Lord Zhang, to put it bluntly, the entire Ming Dynasty is covered in my blood."
“I love the Ming Dynasty more than these military generals. This is the country that my brothers and I risked our lives to fight for Emperor Taizu. How could we not love it?”
"And you can't discriminate against someone just because they are a descendant of nobles. So what if they are a descendant of nobles?"
"No matter what, they received some guidance from their own father, they just didn't have the opportunity to lead troops into battle."
"I believe that as long as His Highness gives them a chance, they will be the best soldiers."
Other nobles also confidently assured that they were capable of leading troops into battle, as their families had all received the old man's true teachings, they just hadn't had the chance to show off their skills.
Looking at their confident expressions, Zhang Jiadi felt a headache coming on.
Niu Baoguo tugged at his sleeve, lowered his head and whispered, "Lord Zhang, just let them go to Jiangnan. These soldiers are just wasting their time in the homes of nobles. It's better to hand them over to the prince to command."
"You know how capable the prince is. Once they're under his command, do you think they'll ever go back to these noble families?"
“Those soldiers are different from the soldiers in the capital. Some of them are veterans who have received the true teachings of the previous generation of famous generals. They are all talented people, and Your Highness will definitely be able to use them.”
"Moreover, the prince doesn't need to provide the rations and armor for these soldiers; the nobles will take care of it. I can have them prepare even more, so the prince can gain a well-equipped army of fifty or sixty thousand for no reason. Isn't that a good thing?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiadi's eyes lit up, and he looked at Niu Baoguo with a hint of approval.
It's said that old people are cunning and shrewd, and the older they get, the more shrewd they become. It seems that this is true. I was worried that these nobles would cause trouble, but when I think about it, my worries were unnecessary. With these people by Li Chang'an's side, there's nothing to worry about at all.
Thinking of this, he nodded: "Alright, I agree that your soldiers can travel with the army."
Upon receiving this answer, Niu Baoguo smiled broadly, and the nobles behind him cheered. Several of them even expressed their gratitude to this Duke Niu.
Looking at these people, Zhang Jiadi shook his head. They had been sold out and were even thanking the perpetrators. The previous generation of nobles were fierce as tigers on the battlefield and cunning as shrewd officials. How come their descendants are all worse than the last?
The nobles received a satisfactory reply and left one by one. They needed to go back and make arrangements for the deployment of the local troops, as well as instruct their sons on how to go to Jiangnan to assist Li Chang'an.
The capital city, the Niu family mansion.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Niu Baoguo jumped down immediately: "Have the eldest son bring his eldest grandson to my study."
"Steward, arrange for our personal guards and household soldiers to come over and prepare to go to Jiangnan with our eldest grandson."
"yes!"
As Niu Baoguo's orders were issued, the Niu residence began to bustle with activity, and the estates under the Niu family's name also became noisy.
Inside the study of the Niu family mansion, Niu Baoguo looked at his eldest grandson with a hint of heartache on his face.
He was a veteran of the battlefield and knew how brutal it was. But now the Ming Dynasty was changing, and if the Niu family wanted to maintain a stable life, someone had to step forward and take up the banner of the Niu family.
I'm too old to carry on the Niu family's legacy anymore, so I have to hand it over to the Niu family's descendants.
"grandfather!"
Niu Wude is twenty-eight years old this year, which is the prime of a man's life.
He was two meters tall, spoke in a deep, resonant voice, and had a calm and composed demeanor.
He already knew what had happened, but since his grandfather didn't say anything, he wouldn't say anything either. On the contrary, his father, Niu Bi, looked somewhat anxious.
"Father, is there going to be a war? Where are we going to fight? I heard that many people from Tai'an City have gone to Jiangnan. Are we going to go and support the Regent too?"
Niu Baoguo took a sip of tea, looked at his impetuous eldest son, and then at his eldest grandson, whose face remained calm but whose eyes were firm. He couldn't help but sigh.
When I was educating my eldest son, I didn't do it properly and spoiled him, which resulted in him becoming a bad person.
Fortunately, he was very strict with his eldest grandson's education and prevented him from becoming a good-for-nothing like his father.
"Wu De, what do you think of the Niu family now?"
Niu Wude thought for a moment and then slowly said, "A castle in the air looks impressive, but it can't withstand any risks."
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