"Independence is impossible. Either Linghu Chong is faking his surrender, or …" Song Qingshu sank into deep thought. "Or something has happened in Sichuan."
"Something has happened?" The women looked at each other, unsure of what he meant.
"There is too little information to judge. Ping 'er, arrange for the spies of the Laundry Brothel to investigate what has happened in Sichuan, especially if Wu Xi is different from usual." Song Qingshu said.
"Okay, I will go now." Wanyan Ping nodded and turned to leave.
"Hey, wait a minute," Song Qingshu called out to her. "There's one more thing. Later, arrange a place for Pucha and Ahu to be placed under house arrest, and then go to the prison to release them."
Wanyan Ping said with a smile that was not a smile, "You want to do something to make up for taking advantage of Qiu Cao?"
Song Qingshu's face darkened. "She is also your good sister. Don't you want to help?"
"Qiu Cao did come to find me a few times, but I was worried that I would ruin your plans, so I did not let her go." Wan Yan Ping sighed. "If I had known that you would let them go in the end, I would have let them go earlier. I could have done Qiu Cao a favor."
As she spoke, she sighed and left, leaving the people in the room to look at each other.
Song Qingshu's face heated up and he felt somewhat awkward. He quickly changed the topic. "We cannot passively wait for the Laundry Brothel to investigate. We need to work from two fronts. Send an army to probe and attack. Then we will know if he has really surrendered or is faking it."
"Who should we send? Right now, Fu San Zhongyi and Heshi Lie Zhining are leading the main force of the court to guard Huainan West Road and Dengtang Prefecture. Fu San Anzhen is leading an army to confront the Red Coat Army. It is difficult to defend Guanzhong. If we take the initiative to attack … "Ge Bi said with a worried expression.
Song Qingshu said with confidence, "I already have a suitable candidate in mind. How is the formation of the loyal army that Taj-tish asked you to form?"
Naturally, Taitish knew what was on his mind. She hastily replied, "We've already selected several valiant soldiers and promoted several middle-ranking officers. However, we haven't been able to find a suitable commander. Moreover, the entire army hasn't been trained for long. I'm afraid …"
"I've already found a commander. As for the short training time, it's not a problem. Since they're all brave soldiers selected from the army, they naturally can't be trained like ordinary soldiers." Song Qingshu looked towards the southwest. "The best training ground is always the real battlefield. Only through the tempering of blood and fire can a true tiger and wolf be trained."
"Will they suffer heavy losses if they enter the battlefield directly?" Ge Bi asked worriedly.
"Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be wise to let them enter the battlefield directly. However, we're only letting them test the waters. If the surrender is fake, they'll immediately retreat. If the surrender is real, then they'll be working together from the inside. Regardless of the situation, the danger they'll face will be much smaller than in a normal battle." Song Qingshu paused for a moment before continuing in a deep voice, "If they can't even overcome such difficulties, then there's no need for their army to exist."
His goal in establishing the loyal army was to create an elite of elites loyal to him. Moreover, with a historical general like Monk Wanyan Chen leading them, he didn't believe that they couldn't accomplish such a simple task.
"First, bring me to the loyal army's barracks to take a look." During this period of time, he had been constantly on the move and hadn't had the chance to meet this army that would belong to him in the future.
"Alright. The Loyal Army's barracks is ten li west of the city. Do you want to take a look now?" Taitish's eyes were filled with excitement. After all, she was the one who planned this matter. If she did it well, she would be able to raise her position in the other party's heart.
Although she possessed a peerless beauty that could turn all living things upside down, she wasn't used to seducing people with her looks. Therefore, it was impossible for her to take the initiative to seduce Song Qingshu. Therefore, she could only prove her worth in another way. The more he valued her, the higher the chances of persuading him to send troops to assist the Persian Main Altar.
"Alright, there's no time to lose." Song Qingshu understood that the opportunity was fleeting. If he couldn't grasp the opportunity of the other party's' surrender ', it would be too late for regrets if an unforeseen event were to happen.
As Ge Bi had to pretend to be the Emperor to oversee the palace, it was naturally inconvenient for her to accompany him. After bidding farewell to her, Song Qingshu and Taitish rode towards the barracks in the west of the city.
The two of them rode side by side, with Monk Wanyan Chen and the numerous imperial guards in front and behind them, faintly protecting them in the middle. Taitish took this opportunity to whisper to Song Qingshu, "According to the selection criteria you mentioned earlier, only three thousand loyal and filial soldiers have been selected. However, once the war in the south is over, there should be more soldiers to choose from."
"The quality of the soldiers does not depend on the quantity. Three thousand is more than enough." Song Qingshu understood that due to the Southern Song Dynasty's Northern Expedition, most of the Jin imperial court's main forces had been transferred to the south. It was already a miracle that she could still select three thousand elite soldiers.
As for the number of soldiers, as a transmigrator, he naturally understood that in ancient wars, the more soldiers the better. Battles involving hundreds of thousands or even millions of soldiers would often end in failure.
With the communication system of ancient times, it was impossible to effectively command hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Often, when the vanguard troops were routed, the follow-up troops would not be able to reach the battlefield in time. When they saw the defeated vanguard troops, they would also flee. This was because fear was contagious. The number of people who died from trampling each other far exceeded those who died in battle.
Another fatal factor was logistics. The most important factor in a war was logistics. Once there was a problem with logistics, even the most elite troops would instantly lose their combat strength. With the transportation system of ancient times, it was practically a fantasy to supply food to an army of hundreds of thousands. In the past, the wealthy Sui Dynasty sent an army of a million on an expedition to Korea. However, due to the long supply line, the government forced the people to rebel, causing the entire empire to collapse.
Therefore, in history, those battles involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers were either exaggerated boasting by one side or the entire logistics force was taken into account. The actual combat force was only a fraction or even a tenth of the total.
Therefore, in ancient times, an elite army of tens of thousands was the optimal choice. It balanced combat strength, flexibility, and logistical pressure. It was far more effective than simply sacrificing hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Although there were only three thousand soldiers in the Loyal Army, after the baptism of blood and fire, these three thousand elite soldiers were the seeds of the Loyal Army. They were the skeleton of the Loyal Army. As long as the skeleton remained, the Loyal Army could expand to several tens of thousands of soldiers at any time without a drop in combat strength.
Taj-tish then introduced him to the middle and high ranking officers of the Loyal Army. "Currently, the Loyal Army has a total of six Deputy Commanders. They were all selected according to your requirements. They are talented but have always been down and out. The first is Pusan Feihan. He used to be the Deputy Envoy of the Imperial Guard Bureau and the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard Bureau. Because he discussed the affairs of the Imperial Guards in private, he was reported and eventually dismissed. I've investigated him. He is an upright and decisive person. Moreover, in his early years at the border, he had outstanding military service. He is a rare talent. "
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