The deputy commanders wished there was a hole in the ground where they could hide after losing five against one. Of course, there were some who were unconvinced. For example, Tang Kuo Shengrong mumbled, "What's so great about brute force? If I had a bow and arrow, I could turn you into a porcupine in a few breaths."
Although the others didn't say anything, it was obvious that they were unconvinced. Many of them believed that if they had weapons, they wouldn't have lost.
Song Qingshu said, "You're a man. If you lose, you lose. Why do you have so many excuses? Do you think your enemies will reason with you on the battlefield?"
Because they were from Tang Kuo's family, he wasn't worried about scolding them. He also took the opportunity to teach the others a lesson.
As expected, after hearing his reprimand, the others all revealed embarrassed expressions. Of course, there were still some who were unconvinced. For example, Fu San Fei Han said, "As a general, you can't just rely on brute force. Everyone in the Loyal Army is the cream of the crop. If you don't know how to lead troops into battle, who would listen to you as a commander?"
Wanyan Chen finally said, "During the drill, you were the one who commanded the offense, right?"
"So what if I was?" Fu San Fei Han's face flashed with pride. Although he had just lost, he had a good grasp of the rhythm of the offense. He was confident that if he met Tang Kuo in a real battle, he would be the final winner.
"Unfortunately, we still lost," Wanyan Chen said.
"That's because the drill has all sorts of rules. When the opponent has the same number of soldiers, the offense is already at a disadvantage. Do you understand?" Fu San Fei Han was enraged that his expertise was being questioned.
At this moment, Song QingShu's eyes were filled with curiosity. Monk Wanyan Chen said calmly, "Just now, there was a pattern to your commands. Wave after wave of attacks, although each wave was stronger than the last, it allowed the defenders to be mentally prepared. If I were the one in command, I wouldn't have increased the intensity of the offense. Instead, I would have made the offense stronger and weaker at times. I would have made it hard for the defense to anticipate, and then suddenly give them a fatal blow. Fists only hurt when you retract them first and then throw them out … "
His words made everyone's eyes light up. Even though they had not practiced it, everyone present was a veteran of the battlefield. Naturally, they knew that the attack rhythm he described was more useful and would most likely be able to break through the defensive camp.
Song Qingshu nodded to himself. As expected of a famous general who left his name in history, he was indeed extraordinary. "Now, it seems that no one has any objections to Monk Wanyan Chen being the commander of the Loyal Army, right?"
The deputy commanders looked at each other. Although they were still unconvinced, they were much more accepting of it than before. "Yes ~"
"Oh, that's right. Let me introduce you to another Deputy Commander, Pu Chazhen. He defeated the Song Nation's army at the borders several times in the past." Song Qingshu beckoned to someone outside the tent. A man with a tired expression but a pair of bright eyes walked in. It turned out that during the time they were sparring with Monk Wanyan Chen, the imperial guards had already brought Pu Chazhen over. After all, she had just been released from prison, so it was inevitable that she looked a little down and out.
"I've heard of his name …" Pu Chazhen was different from Monk Wanyan Chen. He had been stationed at the southern border for a few years and was considered somewhat famous in the army. The other deputy commanders had more or less heard of his name.
"Greetings, everyone." Pu Chazhen cupped his hands and greeted everyone. Finally, he bowed to Song Qingshu and said, "Sinner Pu Chazhen greets Lord Marshal."
Song Qingshu stepped forward and helped him up. "You were just innocently implicated. What crime did you commit? Don't mention what happened in the past anymore. In the future, do your best in the Loyal Army. At least I didn't let you out in vain. "
"Thank you, Marshal!" Pu Chazhen looked at the man in front of him with complicated emotions. Originally, he had been imprisoned because of Marshal Wanyan Chen. However, he understood that he could not blame Marshal Wanyan Chen for this. Anyone else would have done the same. He had originally thought that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Who would have thought that a decree would suddenly come down today that not only would he be absolved of his crimes, but he would also be promoted to the position of deputy commander of the Loyal Army!
Everyone in the capital knew that the Loyal Army was a powerful army that no one dared to approach. Many princes and nobles wanted to send their sons into the Loyal Army to be ordinary soldiers, but they were unable to do so.
Although he was a member of the Pu Chazhen Family, he had not enjoyed the slightest bit of kindness from the family head. Instead, he had been implicated. Now that Tang Kuo Bian had disregarded his former enmity and promoted him, even giving him an incomparably bright future, he felt as if he had fallen into a dream.
Seeing how excited he was, Song QingShu patted him on the shoulder and said to the others with a smile, "He's a newcomer after all, and he just went through prison. In the future, you guys should help him with the matters of the Loyal Army."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Song Qingshu then continued, "I mentioned that I came here for two matters. Now, I will introduce the second matter to everyone. During this period of time, everyone in the Loyal Army has been receiving the highest salary in the army and eating the best meat every day. Countless people in the army have expressed their dissatisfaction to me. Why are you guys receiving the best treatment? So now, you need to prove your worth! "
The few deputy commanders were already filled with anger because they had lost to Monk Wanyan Chen previously. Now that they were provoked like this, all of them were extremely excited. "As long as the Marshal says it, we will not hesitate to go through water and tread on fire!"
Song Qingshu nodded in satisfaction. "Now that the Southern Song Dynasty is about to launch a northern expedition, there is no need to worry about the Right Deputy Marshal and the Privy Emissary overseeing the south. However, the Western Sichuan is beginning to stir. So, I have decided to send the Loyal Army tomorrow to take down Dasan Pass and ShengYuan. This will cut off Sichuan's gateway to Sichuan!"
"We will not let you down!" The group of people had been down and out in the bureaucracy for so long that they had long wanted to make a name for themselves. Now, they were all like starving wolf cubs.
Song Qingshu was very satisfied with their enthusiasm. He then continued, "The Loyal Army has only been established for a short period of time. There is not enough time for us to do too much training. We can only train by fighting on the battlefield. The difficulties involved in this can only be overcome by everyone working together."
The Commanders nodded solemnly. They were also aware of the huge risks involved. If their subordinates were ordinary soldiers, they would have given up long ago when they heard that they were going to train by fighting. After all, in the past thousands of years, only a freak like Han Xin had been able to train a motley crew of peasants into elite soldiers in such a short period of time. But now that the Loyal Army was made up of elites from the various armies, they had the confidence to give it a try.
Song Qingshu returned to the Marshal's seat and slowly said, "I have never interfered with the daily training of the Loyal Army. But there is only one principle that you must follow."
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