In Mingsha City, Wu Zhongfu and Wang Congshan sat opposite each other. While drinking tea, he looked at the scenery outside the window and gossiped.

Putting down the teacup, Wu Zhong replied: "Pavilion Chief, it's been more than ten days since you arrived here, what do you think?" ”

Wang Congshan said: "Does the imperial history say that Di Taiwei is in the army?" I used to be in the army outside, and to be honest, Captain Di Tai's military discipline was strict, and all his departments obeyed orders, which was far from being comparable to when I was in the army before. ”

Wu Zhongfu nodded, and shook his head again: "If you say that compared with before, it is true that the military discipline is strict. Now, though, it's different. I've heard people talk about crossing the river and listening to their lectures in the military academy, but I don't see them now. Not to mention, in addition to the army, there are many things to plunder the people's property in the places occupied by the army. Moreover, there is no place in the army where the people are allowed to complain, and military discipline cannot be said to be strict. ”

Wang Congshan nodded: "This is also the truth. Let's just say that in Mingsha City, since the army has been stationed, the shops outside have been forcibly occupied, and there are no people even doing business. I heard that the same is true in other places, such as Weizhou, which was looted by the army after the city was broken. ”

Wu Zhong replied: "Now the imperial court requires that the seizure be returned to the public for military discipline, and the soldiers are not allowed to have private wealth when fighting in principle. But where can it actually be done? Once the city is broken, there will be looting, and the army is not strictly controlled. Just like Qinggang Gorge, why did the prisoners of war rebel? It was the general who forcibly seized the wife and was suddenly killed by the owner of the village. This kind of thing, is it just a Qinggang Gorge? ”

Wang Congshan nodded, and said after a while: "Yushi, that's how things are, there's nothing unusual. Just, what do we do next? Captain Di has exchanged orders in Lingzhou City, do we want him to restrain military discipline, or do we want to return to Beijing? ”

Wu Zhongfu looked at the bleak cold wind outside, exhaled, and said, "When I went out of Beijing, Zhongcheng specially told me that when I got to the front line, I should listen and watch more, but talk less. At the time, I didn't know what Zhongcheng meant, but now I understand it a little. With an army of 300,000, if we directly ask Captain Di to change his approach, how can we change it? If one is not good, it will anger the army, and it will cause trouble in vain. Things are clear, and there is no point in staying here any longer. It's better to inform Captain Di, and we'll go back to Beijing. ”

Wang Congshan nodded. He was ordered to come with Wu Zhongfu this time, as the emperor's eyes and ears, and knew the situation on the front line. Now that we know clearly, there is really no need to stay any longer. Since the first battle of Sanchuankou, Huang Dehe fled without a fight, and accused Liu Ping of surrendering to the enemy, and the inner servants were resisted by the bureaucracy at the front. Before leaving, the emperor repeatedly warned that this time Wu Zhongfu would be the main one and not make his own decisions.

Wu Zhongfu took a sip of tea and said, "If you say that Captain Di is in the army, judging from the previous forbidden army, the military discipline is actually not bad. But if compared with the army of Hequ Road, it is too much worse. Han Qi came all the way east from Xingxing Gorge, traveled more than 2,000 miles, and broke countless cities, but there was never such a thing. A few days ago, we crossed the river and saw that Captain Han was in the army, and it was in order. Moreover, Captain Han's combat in the army is combat, and he has never heard of such a thing as paying money before he is promoted. It's different here, the 300,000 army has made a lot of money in three months. I heard that if you want to attack Lingzhou, you have to send money from the imperial court, otherwise it will be difficult for the army to enter. ”

Wang Congshan shook his head: "The forbidden army has been fighting since the founding of the country, and it is not that it is special in the army of Captain Di. Captain Han's Zhao Zi's subordinate originally came from the Yingtianxiang army, and the rules were of course different from other armies. ”

Wu Zhongfu sighed: "That's it, we can't say anything about this kind of big thing." Write them down one by one, because the court just reports it truthfully. How the DPRK and China handle it is none of our business. ”

Wang Congshan smiled: "It's best for Yushi to say so. In fact, what is the rebellion of the prisoners of war in Qinggangxia? If it was before, as long as the commander of the unified army sent troops to exterminate it in time, where would anyone say something. It's just that it's different now, but it's up to the ministers to decide where it's different. ”

Wu Zhongfu nodded. After more than ten days on the front line, he finally understood Du Zhongxiao's hard work before leaving. The forbidden army has been training for several years, but in fact, most of the habits have not been changed. For example, if you need money for a promotion or a battle, if you defeat and appease people's hearts, if you win a battle, you need money, and if you win a battle, you need more money, how can you change it for a while?

The army is well stationed, why should it fight? Money, of course. An army that fights is to be able to get more money than an ordinary army. It is Zhao Zi's department, and there are subsidies when fighting, but they are uniformly distributed, and they are no longer motivated with money as before. Di Qing's army is different, it is still the previous rule, pay money first, and then talk about the rest.

The discipline of the army, once it is stained with money, many things are not clear. Just like the capture and return to the public, it is impossible to do it in an army motivated by money, and that is the welfare of the soldiers who participated in the war. If the capture can go into your own pocket, then after defeat, the enemy's money will of course be your own money. If this is the case with wealth, why is it not the same with the woman?

In the final analysis, in the old forbidden army, the Qinggangxia incident was normal, and the prisoners of war rebellion was just an accident. What if the imperial history comes? This is what the army looks like, you can only look at it, but you can't say anything.

Standing up, Wu Zhongfu looked at the vast land outside and didn't speak for a while. When he left the capital, he had a lot of pride, and felt that if there was a violation of military discipline in the front-line army, he would correct it with his own hands. When I really came here, I knew the situation here, but I felt helpless. What did the army do wrong? This is what the army looks like.

Wang Congshan said: "Yushi doesn't have to worry, I waited here to find out what caused the Qinggangxia Rebellion." Now I know that Bu Sheng, who caused the chaos, has also died in the army, so go back and report it. ”

Wu Zhongfu smiled bitterly: "What the cabinet chief said is right, let's go back and report it." I just can't figure out why Zhao Zi's department is like this. They do not pluck out money, but they go farther than any army. If you defeat it, you don't need to pay a bounty, and you still have a hundred times more morale. On the contrary, in the army here, everything needs money, and the battle costs countless people, but the battle is far inferior to Zhao Zi's army. ”

Wang Congshan said: "This can only be said that Du Zhongcheng led the army, and it is indeed not comparable to other generals." is also under the account of Taiwei Han, and Taiwei Liu's department is not as good as Zhao Zi, and most of the rules in the army here are there. I heard that when the military division of Xishou was first broken, Mrs. Liu also wanted to change his previous practice, which caused an uproar in the army. It was not until the money was distributed that the army calmed down. ”

Wu Zhongfu nodded: "Yes, many things are easy to say, but difficult to do." Now the imperial court is marching in two directions, and Zhao Zi's military merit is the first, but the money spent is far less than that of other armies. It's all about fighting a war or fighting money and grain, but how to spend this money and grain is very particular. ”

Du Zhongxiao opened up the river meandering road, and there are many legends in Beijing. Later, the whole training, a complete set of teaching materials were dedicated to the imperial court, including Wu Zhongfu, and many ministers in the court and central government have read it. After reading too much, I felt that there was actually nothing. Who knows, after several years of training, when it comes to the front line, there is still such a big difference between the two armies. Only by seeing it for yourself can you know how big the difference really is.

It is difficult to set up grain and grass officers in Di Qing's army, and it is still the same as before, and it is not possible to form a top-down supply system, which has something to do with this tradition. The money and food in the army are not only to ensure food, but more importantly, to reward them. How can it be enough just to calculate grain and grass?