Chapter 237
He knew very well that the military officers present were simply intimidated by his personal strength...
Although Cheng Hui easily took control of the military power of Guangping Army, he did not feel complacent.
He knew very well that the military officers present were only intimidated by his personal strength, but if they were allowed to go to the battlefield in their current state, they would end up suffering a crushing defeat.
He asked Zheng Kai to lead the way and inspected the Guangping Army's camp, but the results were not optimistic.
Gao Han is not a particularly outstanding general, he can only be said to be above average.
On the bloody battlefield, monks can use spells with the cooperation of excellent soldiers, and for local generals, they can gather the military spirit.
The image of the military spirit is varied, some are human, some are material, and each one can produce its own unique effect.
Soldiers led by monks can also condense military souls, but they are more accustomed to using themselves to replace the military souls. After all, for most monks, using their own magic power is their accustomed way of fighting.
The Guangping Army led by Gao Han can also condense the military soul. The military soul of the Guangping Army is a bear, and its special effect is to increase the armor of the soldiers.
A single effect like this is the worst among all military souls, but being able to condense the military soul proves that Gao Han is still a qualified general.
However……
That was all many years ago. Gao Han has been making a lot of money in recent years, which means he has withheld a lot of military funds from the Guangping Army.
The soldiers are aging, weapons and equipment are seriously worn out, and there is even the problem of soldiers drawing salaries without working.
You won’t know until you ask, and you’ll be shocked when you do.
Cheng Hui thought that as long as he dealt with Gao Han and trained the soldiers, it would be enough. But now it seems... it's still a long way to go!
Weapons and equipment needed to be replaced, and unqualified soldiers were eliminated and sent home. Cheng Hui was filled with the thought of lawsuits.
After counting the number of men, excluding the old, weak, sick, and those who were not earning their keep, he could only keep about 12,000 soldiers...
Cheng Hui: ...
To unite the military spirit, we must also abide by the Basic Law!
If quality is not enough, quantity can make up for it. In the past, Gao Han was able to condense the military spirit with the help of 20,000 Guangping soldiers. With this number of people now... he can't even condense a bear hair!
There are no people available, and money is needed... well, maybe money can help me find a solution.
Cheng Hui asked Zheng Kai to count the specific number of soldiers who were unable to serve, while he himself returned to the Marquis' Mansion with the personal soldier.
As soon as he entered the door, he went straight to the backyard. Now he was the old marquis's life-saving straw. If he didn't blackmail him now, when would he?
When he passed by the backyard, he happened to meet Madam Qi admiring the flowers in the garden, and... the group of adopted brothers surrounding her.
Oh no!
Is this the large-scale flattery scene he encountered?
That's right, he's the legitimate son, and those illegitimate sons are in opposition to him. Concubine Qi should have had a bad relationship with them, but who made Concubine Qi have no children? So, these people are trying to please Concubine Qi and inherit the title of Marquis of Guangping?
When Madam Qi saw Cheng Hui, the smile on her face disappeared. Seeing this, the other illegitimate sons also restrained their smiles and looked at Cheng Hui coldly.
For a moment, the atmosphere at the scene was very strange. Although they were not far away, Cheng Hui seemed like a reckless outsider, destroying the harmonious atmosphere between them.
Cheng Hui:...?
What? Are you trying to put pressure on me?
Or do you want to wait for me to pay my respects to you, your stepmother?
You're overthinking it...
This is not a role-playing game, Cheng Hui has to abide by the character settings and cannot be OOC.
Now the old marquis has something to ask of his son. If his son refuses to go, he, the father, will have to take action.
Therefore, Cheng Hui is now the old marquis's favorite. Anyone who thinks he can compete with him at this time is simply daydreaming.
Cheng Hui didn't know whether his cheap stepmother and cheap brother knew about this. Anyway, no matter whether they knew or not, he had no intention of giving them face.
So Cheng Hui walked past them without looking at them, as if he didn't see them.
Madam Qi was so angry that she almost tore the handkerchief in her hand. She didn't expect that this little beast would be so bold as to embarrass her in front of so many people.
The old marquis is not dead yet. Even if he is pretending, he should act humble. Isn't he worried that the old marquis will take away his position as the crown prince?
Cheng Hui was unaware of Madam Qi's inner anxiety. He had already arrived at the backyard and entered the old marquis' bedroom after being informed by someone.
The old marquis still had that pale face and looked like he was dying. Cheng Hui smiled and casually moved a chair to the old marquis' bed. He sat on it, put his chin on the back of the chair, and said slowly:
"Dad, our Guangping Army is no good."
The old marquis raised his eyelids and glanced at him: "The Guangping Army is our family's support, why would you say it's not possible?"
Cheng Hui refused to believe that the old marquis knew nothing about what happened that morning. He scratched his ears and said nonchalantly, "What's the state of the Guangping Army now? There are so many people who are drawing salaries without working, and the weapons are all outdated. That Gao Han is so busy making money for himself, he's really ruining the Guangping Army."
The old marquis didn't respond, his eyes half closed as if he might die at any moment.
Cheng Hui was not angry either. Ever since he found out that the old man pretended to be sick and let his son die in his place, he knew that this guy was not a kind person.
In his eyes, the Guangping Army was destined to be buried with his "legitimate son". Since it was to be used for burial, why should he continue to spend money?
Cheng Hui grinned: "Dad, the Guangping army is so weak, I dare not take them to the battlefield. Although your son is unparalleled in bravery, I can't fight with so many people who are holding me back. If you can't do it, you should find someone else."
When the topic of replacing people came up, the old marquis finally lifted his drooping eyelids. He looked at Cheng Hui steadily, and Cheng Hui looked back at him without fear.
The two fought with their eyes, and finally the old marquis had to take a step back: "Qiao An."
"My Lord!" Butler Qiao walked out from the shadows.
"Go get some money from the box..."
"No, don't give me money. I don't know where to spend it even if you give me money. I've never been out of the house since I was a child, so I don't even know how to use money." Cheng Hui said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I don't know how much those weapons cost, so you can just buy them for me. As for the food, please find someone to deliver it directly to the Guangping Army camp."
"Oh, by the way, if you exchange another 100,000 taels of silver for me, I'll need those small ingots that are five taels each. I can't keep my soldiers fighting for me if I delay their food payments. If I don't feed them, what if they run away before going to the battlefield? Dad, you don't want that kind of tragedy to happen, right?"
The old marquis looked at Cheng Hui deeply, and Cheng Hui looked back at him with a smile.
"Okay, here you go! Qiao An, these things are handed over to you, remember to get them done."
"Yes, my lord!"
Qiao An left quietly. The old marquis looked at Cheng Hui impatiently: "Is there anything else? No, I need to rest."
Cheng Hui thought for a moment and said, "Yes, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten."
The old marquis stared at him coldly, feeling a little regretful for bringing the person back.
"It's Madam Qi..."
"You should call him mother..." the old marquis reminded.
"Whatever. Please keep him under control and don't come around unless necessary. I'm not in the mood to play the role of loving mother and filial son with her. I'm very busy in the coming time, and I don't think you would want me to get into any accidents and have to go to the battlefield alone, right?"
Old Marquis: ...
The old marquis took a deep breath and said, "I understand. Do you have anything else to say?" His face showed: If you have nothing to say, get out of here.
Cheng Hui got what he wanted, and stopped making him angry, and just walked away.
He also saw Xiao Liuzi on the road. As soon as he saw him, his face changed drastically and he knelt down with a thud.
Cheng Hui: ???
It seems, maybe, probably... his notoriety has spread.
He walked past Xiao Liu'er without looking at him. The moment they passed each other, he clearly heard Xiao Liu let out a long sigh.
Cheng Hui: ...It's really not that bad...
He returned to the camp and spent a day sorting out the various relationships in the camp.
Those centurions and thousand-householders who were captured by Wei Wuzhou have all been dealt with. Those who deserved corporal punishment were punished, and those who deserved deprivation of their official positions were deprived of their official positions.
What Cheng Hui found most interesting was that there was actually an honest kid among them. He really followed the rules and asked for leave from his superiors. The recorder also had a record of him. When Wei Yuanzhou came to ask how to deal with him, Cheng Hui looked at him as if he were a fool.
"Did he violate military discipline?"
"No." Wei Yuanzhou shook his head.
"Then why should we deal with him?" Cheng Hui asked.
Wei Yuanzhou looked at Cheng Hui silently, as if to say, didn't you say you wanted to bring them all back?
The corners of Cheng Hui's mouth twitched, and he secretly decided to be more cautious with Wei Yuanzhou in the future. Why did he feel that he was a bit stupid...
In fact, this is unfair to Wei Yuanzhou. He usually behaves quite smart, otherwise he would not be able to maintain a certain neutrality under Gao Han's oppression.
It was just that he was frightened by Cheng Hui's brutality yesterday, and was afraid that he might have done something wrong and angered the new military leader, so he asked for instructions carefully on everything.
The unlucky guy was released soon. Cheng Hui even went to visit him and expressed his condolences before approving his leave again.
Yesterday, Wei Yuanzhou brought his men and took him away in a threatening manner, which scared the unlucky guy's family. It was a good opportunity for him to go back and comfort his family.
After sorting out all the relationships in the camp, early in the morning of the third day, Butler Qiao brought a pair of personal soldiers to deliver a large amount of rations and weapons.
Cheng Hui did a random inspection and luckily, the old marquis did not dare to mess around with this matter again. He was probably afraid that he would really give up and refuse to fight. The weapons sent could not be said to be sophisticated, but at least they were qualified products.
So early this morning, he gathered all the soldiers, first announced that new weapons would be made in a while, and then moved several huge boxes to the front of the training ground.
He kicked the box open, and a large amount of silver ingots fell out of the box, forming a silver "stream" on the ground.
"Wow!!"
Countless exclamations were suddenly heard in the martial arts arena.
This is a lot of silver. The vast majority of the soldiers in the Guangping Army have never seen so much silver in their lives.
Cheng Hui returned to the platform and shouted, "Many of you didn't know me before, but I believe you must have recognized me now. After all, I was the one who chopped off General Gao's head."
Suddenly there was a whisper.
"My name is Cheng Ziyun, and I am the commander of the Guangping Army. From today on, you will serve under my command and follow me wherever I go."
He pointed at the silver scattered on the ground, "These are just some appetizers. As long as you can complete my training and fight bravely on the battlefield, promotion and wealth are not a dream! It all depends on whether you have the luck!"
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