Wu Huai was not surprised that Chongzhen let his third battalion retreat for repairs, after all, after the third cavalry battalion suffered heavy losses, there were about less than one company of people who could still fight. In this situation, the third battalion had almost lost the ability to continue fighting, and he would not object to letting them retreat for repairs.

The loss of so many companions in a battalion who get along day and night is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the remaining people, and according to Wu Huai's past experience, the morale of the remaining sergeants in the battalion is almost certain to be depressed in the future. On the battlefield, this low morale will continue to be contagious, and Wu Huai does not want other troops to be affected by this.

However, the emperor not only arranged for the third battalion to go down for repairs, but also erected the third battalion as a model of anti-Jin, and he was a little incomprehensible. In his opinion, the third battalion suffered such heavy losses, it would be good if it was not punished, how could it still be erected as a model?

In the Ming Army, it has always been the practice that the soldiers will be there, the winners will be rewarded, and the losers will be punished. Although the third battalion fought to the end when it was attacked by Houjin reinforcements, it waited for reinforcements from the Fifth Cavalry Division, and finally surrounded and eliminated the Houjin reinforcements of less than 100 people.

However, according to the military merit system of the Ming Dynasty, the first merit should be the Fifth Cavalry Division that finally surrounded and annihilated the Houjin reinforcements, as for the third battalion of the First Cavalry Division, it did not capture many enemy troops, and suffered such heavy casualties, it can only be regarded as the final merit of this battle. This is also the reason why Wu Huai kept sulking, paying such a big price, but the fruits of victory were picked by the Fifth Cavalry Division.

However, now the emperor actually wants to erect the third battalion as a model to praise it, and ignore the first merit of the fifth cavalry division, which makes him feel a little distraught. On the one hand, he thought that the performance of his third battalion in this battle was not inferior to the others, and it was worthy of the emperor's high look.

However, he was also worried that the emperor's excessive praise would cause dissatisfaction among the other troops. After all, this is not quite in line with the conventions in the military. After hesitating for a long time, Wu Huai couldn't help but hesitate to persuade the emperor: "Your Majesty, although the third battalion did not retreat in the battle, it was the troops of the Fifth Cavalry Division that defeated the enemy in the end. ”

Zhu Youzhen glanced at him, and then said calmly: "Some rules in the army are about to be changed, why do I call you the new army?" This does not just mean that the military should be reformed in training, organization, and combat technology and equipment. The most important thing is that the thinking of the armed forces should be more innovative.

The annihilation of the number of enemies is certainly a great achievement, but subordinating ourselves to the overall situation and gnawing hard bones for the victory of the battle should be a greater merit. In a word, I can't let honest people suffer.

In addition, before the start of this war, I had already said that this was a national war. The so-called national war is a war in which the whole country is unanimous, and everyone from the emperor to the peddlers and pawns should support and care about this war.

In order to get the people of all walks of life in the country to care about and support this war, we need to make all the people respect and love our army.

For a long time, in the Ming Dynasty, the army and the people were two isolated groups. The army and the people guard against each other and hate each other. In the eyes of the people of the Ming Dynasty, even if it is its own army, it is no different from bandits.

In the eyes of the Ming soldiers, they shed blood and sacrificed to defend the country and the people, not only did not get the due reward, but were disgusted by the ordinary people, in their eyes the Ming people are a group of people who do not know how to be grateful.

If we want to bridge this divide, we must create a group of heroes who can be recognized by all levels of the country. What is a hero in the hearts of the people? Kill a million enemies? Siege the city and pull out the village, and hold the king of the enemy country at the bottom of the stairs?

I don't think it's any, such a soldier will only make the people feel awe, not love. Turning the tide of the tide, supporting the general of the building, and fighting against the powerful in order to protect the weak, only such a soldier can make the people respect and love.

The current situation of the 3rd Battalion fits this image very well, they have defeated an enemy that thousands of Ming troops have not been able to defeat in the past, but they have also paid heavy casualties themselves. The people will respect their merits, but they will not be afraid of their strength, but will sympathize with them because they are the weak against the strong.

With the third battalion as an example, the people of the Ming Dynasty will know that not everything in this world is decided by the strong. As long as they dare to fight, the seemingly powerful Houjin is just a paper tiger.

As for the civilian officials in the court, the new army paid heavy casualties to win a victory, so that they could rest assured that they would not be afraid of the strength of the new army, thus dragging us back.

Wu Huai, although you are only an army general now, you will eventually enter the General Staff in the future. I hope that when you encounter something in the future, you should think about it more. ”

Wu Huai thought for a long time, and finally shook his head and replied: "The minister would rather lead the army to fight on the battlefield for His Majesty, and the work of the General Staff should be handed over to those smart people." ”

Zhu Youzhen shook his head at Wu Huai's answer, he glanced at the soldiers waiting outside the lobby door, beckoned to him, and motioned for him to come in and report.

"Your Majesty, Zhuo Erbi and Lin Shixian are already waiting outside, who does Your Majesty want to summon first?"

Zhu Youzhen thought for a few seconds, and then replied: "Let Lin Shixian come in first, Zhuo Erbi?" Or let him wait a little longer. ”

When Lin Shixian was brought into the lobby, he was still quite excited. Although he was also a graduate of the army officers, he was rarely able to meet the emperor himself because of his special status and the requirements for training venues.

However, his loyalty to Chongzhen is no less than that of the graduates of the military academy.

Regarding Ye Bushu's performance in this battle, Zhu Youzhen is still satisfied. After talking to Lin Shixian for a few words, he brought the topic on the right track.

"I'm very satisfied with Night's performance in battle. But I'm sure you should also know that the first task of Nightfall is not to fight, but to be able to go behind enemy lines to gain information.

Our army defeated the Houjin army in Shimenzhai today, and the passage to Zunhua City has been opened, and before the main force of the Houjin has not yet received the news here, I hope that you will pick out a team of elites to investigate the situation of Zunhua City.

If you arrive and the city of Zunhua has not yet fallen, send someone into the city to get in touch with the city, tell them that reinforcements have arrived, and ask them to defend it. ”

Lin Shixian immediately bowed his hand and said: "The minister will personally bring people to go, and he will bring back the news of Zunhua City tomorrow evening at the latest." ”

After waving his hand to let Lin Shixian leave, Zhu Youzhen asked Zhuo Erbi to be brought in. The young leader of the 36th department, who had closed the door, didn't seem to have much fear of his current situation, and after seeing Chongzhen, he also bowed seriously.

Seeing that this young Mongolian was so honest, Zhu Youzhen asked with some curiosity, "Aren't you worried at all?" ”

Zhuo Erbi blinked, and replied inexplicably: "I don't know what the emperor asked?" Xiao Chen was a little puzzled. ”

Zhu Youzhen touched his chin and said: "As early as the founding period of Taizu, the 36th Department of Guanmen had already surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. The kindness of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, you abandoned it so easily?

Last year, you sent people to cry to me, saying that there was a drought outside the gates, and asked me to release grain for relief, didn't I send someone to send food to you? Eating the food provided by the people of the Ming Dynasty, and then leading the way for Houjin, is this your reward for my kindness?

For a little profit, you took refuge in Houjin, forgetting my more than 200 years of kindness in the Ming Dynasty, and being ungrateful so far. Do you think I will spare you and your tribe? ”

Zhuo Erbi's face was blue and white, and he knelt down to Chongzhen again, and whispered to defend his own tribe: "Our 36 departments have guarded the border for the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, how dare we completely forget the kindness of the Ming Emperor."

In fact, in recent years, the Daming Bian generals have been too mean to our 36 departments, forcibly buying leather goods and horses at a lower price, not to mention that most of the grain sold is high-priced old rice. 36 And among the tribes, there are people who complain.

However, even so, the 36 departments have never betrayed the Ming Dynasty. However, since the Chahar moved westward, several tribes that had always paid tribute to the Ming were wiped out by the Chahars, and the Ming did not pay attention to them.

The leaders of our 36 tribes were in a panic, lest the Chahar tribe raise troops to annex my 36 tribes, and the Ming Dynasty stood by and watched, so they had no choice but to sign an alliance with the Houjin State.

When I signed the alliance with the Houjin in the 36th Ministry, it was just to fight against Lin Dan Khan of the Chahar Department, and I really didn't want to conspire with the Houjin State to conspire with the Ming Dynasty.

However, in October of this year, the Great Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty brought a large number of soldiers to the border, saying that he wanted to raise troops to attack the Ming Dynasty, and asked my 36 troops to send troops in accordance with the letter of the alliance.

The Houjin army is fierce, and it is not something that my 36 departments can contend with. Therefore, as a last resort, we followed the Houjin soldiers into the customs. However, my 36 troops are outnumbered, and in the Houjin army, they are just looking after the back road, waving their flags and shouting, and they really have never done anything to harm the people of the Ming Dynasty. I also hope that the emperor will see clearly.

If the emperor wants to blame, the minister is willing to resist it with his body. I also hope that the emperor will give some grace to those ordinary people in my 36 departments for the sake of more than 200 years of guarding the border for the Ming Dynasty, and finally for the sake of some hard work. ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at Zhuo Erbi, whose forehead was firmly attached to the ground, and thought for a while before saying: "Since you said that the entry of the 36th Department was forced by Houjin, then I will also give you a chance to prove yourself."

There are 36 tribes that send troops, and who is the leader of the team, and you will write it honestly after you go down. Then you pick the men to inform the leaders and get them out of the Wall as soon as possible.

If I continue to meet the people of the 36th Division on the next battlefield, then what you say today is to deceive me, and what punishment you will receive for the crime of bullying the king, I think you know very well, and I don't have to repeat it. Go down and write a list. ”