After court, Li Zhi went to find Changsun Wuji with a bitter face.
Because he doesn't understand military affairs at all, what if his six princes mess up the inspection?
Just by looking at Li Zhi's expression, Changsun Wuji knew what the boy was thinking.
"Don't worry, the generals in the Crown Prince's six guards are all veteran soldiers handpicked by your father. You don't need to do anything, just tell them to participate in the inspection!"
Li Zhi was immediately delighted upon hearing this.
"Really, we don't have to do anything?"
Changsun Wuji pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Just visit them from time to time to show your concern for the soldiers!"
"Oh, oh, oh... that's easy!"
After Li Shimin issued the order to review the troops, the entire Zhechong Prefecture in Guanzhong was in an uproar.
The militia during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty were extremely warlike, even more so than those during the Qin Dynasty.
This is because fighting wars not only brings them military merits, but also real wealth.
Although Hou Junji was executed for treason, the soldiers who followed him on his expedition to Gaochang were all incredibly wealthy.
The wealth that Gaochang had accumulated over hundreds of years was all emptied by this pack of wolves and tigers!
Therefore, upon learning that Li Shimin was going to personally lead the expedition, all of the more than two hundred military garrisons in Guanzhong were eager to participate in the military exercises and follow His Majesty to conquer Goguryeo!
Upon hearing that Li Shimin only planned to lead 50,000 men on this expedition, these soldiers became extremely anxious. They urged their commanders to submit petitions for battle every day, and even threatened to bury their commanders alive if they failed to get a chance to fight!
They certainly wouldn't dare bury their own superior alive; they were just saying it to scare people.
This shows just how enthusiastic they were about fighting.
After court, Yuchi Jingde took Li Jing to Sanglin Manor in Xianyang. Upon seeing that the Sanglin General's Office had been completed, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Old Bear, is it too late for us to start recruiting soldiers now?"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jingde nodded.
"Guanzhong has a long-standing tradition of martial prowess. If we spread the word, we can recruit enough people in less than three days!"
"The real challenge is how to select the right trainees and how to train them!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jing immediately took on the task of training the soldiers.
"You don't need to worry about training the troops. I've recently observed my eldest grandson training troops and come up with a better method that will surely train them into elite soldiers within three months!"
Upon hearing Li Jing's words, Yuchi Jingde immediately burst into laughter.
"I'm relieved to hear that. You stay and oversee the military headquarters, I'll go recruit soldiers right away!"
"etc!"
"We can't recruit completely new soldiers; we need to recruit some veterans!"
"veteran?"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jingde was immediately stumped. The veterans of the Tang Dynasty were all stationed in various military commands, making it a perfect situation where one person was in a difficult position while the other was in a difficult one.
It's not easy to snatch someone from someone else's military headquarters!
"Old Li, where are we going to recruit veterans?"
Li Jing smiled dismissively upon hearing this.
Are you stupid?
"How many soldiers have been expelled from the garrison over the years for violating military law? Gather them all!"
"You mean those troublemakers?"
"right!"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jingde immediately objected.
"Those troublemakers don't even listen to His Majesty, how can you expect them to listen to the eldest grandson?"
Upon hearing this, Li Jing rolled his eyes at Yuchi Jingde.
"What do you know? Every troublemaker must have some skills; those without skills can't cause trouble even if they want to!"
"They may have bad tempers, but with proper training, they can still become elite soldiers!"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jingde curled his lip in disbelief.
"You said it yourself. If I really bring them here, you'll be responsible for training them!"
Don't worry!
In fact, Yuchi Jingde knew quite a few troublemakers. As Li Jing said, those without real skills couldn't possibly cause trouble.
He even kept several troublemakers in his mansion, and they were all scoundrels who would be executed according to military law if they were not dismissed from the mansion's guards.
However, the person he was most concerned about was someone else. This person was an extremely excellent scout, but he had one flaw: a bloodthirsty nature!
In his early years, when he followed me in battle, he killed dozens of Turkic prisoners, which was reported directly to His Majesty by Qibi Heli.
According to the military law of the Tang Dynasty, even ten beheadings wouldn't be enough for him to commit such a crime.
But Yuchi Jingde really liked the boy so much that he crossed him off the list of soldiers and gave him several dozen strings of cash to go to the Western Regions to make a living.
Now that he had the opportunity presented by Sanglin Village, he immediately wanted to call the man back and help him clean up his act and return to the right path.
As Yuchi Jingde thought of this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Yes!
I've accumulated some troublemakers over the years, and others certainly have them too. Why not gather these troublemakers from the veterans together and give them a chance to rise to the top?
"Old Li, tell me the truth, do you have other motives for wanting to take in troublemakers?"
Li Jing chuckled upon hearing this.
"You guessed that?"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jingde snorted coldly.
"I'm not stupid!"
"The moment you bend over, I know what you're going to poop!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jing sighed inwardly.
"Poor eldest grandson!"
"He's so young and already has no parents, only an old man who doesn't even acknowledge him. If I, as his teacher, don't take care of him, he'll really become an unwanted wild child!"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jingde curled his lip in disdain.
"Stop lying through your teeth. His Majesty didn't even return to Chang'an for the New Year; he spent it with this grandson instead. Is this grandson supposed to be pitiful?"
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