At noon a month later, at the gate of the Gate of Yanmen of Zhao Kingdom, all the officers above the rank of general gathered at the gate to welcome Li Mu.
At noon, a cloud of dust appeared in the valley south of the Gate of Yanmen. Soon, a team of hundreds of cavalrymen escorted Li Mu to the gate of the camp.
Li Mu was riding on a tall red horse. He had a long beard and was wearing armor. He controlled the reins with his left hand. His eyes were as calm as the sea. He had a special temperament. No matter how manic a general was, he would calm down when he saw him.
"Greetings, General …" When the generals and officers at the gate of the Gate of Yanmen saw Li Mu, they all bowed to him.
Li Mu jumped off the horse and glanced at the faces of the generals and officers who greeted him. He seemed to be confirming and looking for them.
These faces were not unfamiliar to Li Mu. They were all his old subordinates.
"Are these the only ones left?" Li Mu sighed softly.
Only after hearing this sentence, many valiant generals' eyes turned red as they shed tears. Some of them even lowered their heads out of shame.
Who said that men did not cry only because they were not sad?
When Li Mu was in the Gate of Yanmen, there were almost 180,000 soldiers and cavalrymen in the camp. It could be said that the soldiers were strong and the horses were strong. After a few years, there were less than 100,000 soldiers. More than half of them had been lost.
When Li Mu was there, many generals and officers under his command were quite critical because Li Mu avoided battles. They did not agree with Li Mu's way of doing things. In the Gate of Yanmen, some people even gave Li Mu a nickname, "General Coward". When Li Mu left and King Zhao replaced him with "General Fierce", these generals and officers really understood Li Mu's good points.
"General Meng" had been in the Gate of Yan camp for many years and had never shied away from battle. Everyone in the Gate of Yan camp had become "General Meng's" pawns and cannon fodder for "General Meng" to win fame and future and King Zhao's recognition. .
"General Meng" knew how Li Mu left, so he only paid attention to what that person in Handan City thought of him. Since that person in Handan City wanted to fight, then he would fight. As for the life and death of the soldiers, hehe, how could there be no deaths in a war …
After a few years, General Meng left the Gate of Yan unscathed and returned to Handan. Most of the soldiers in the camp at the Gate of Yan had turned into white bones under the yellow soil.
Now that they saw their former commander-in-chief again, the soldiers in the camp all had complicated feelings. They were sad and ashamed, and they were indescribable.
Li Mu walked through the gate of the camp and led the generals directly to the main tent of the camp. He sat on the Commander-in-chief's seat and showed everyone the tiger seal that Lord Zhao gave him according to the procedure. Then, in the respect of everyone, he officially sat on the main seat and began to take charge of the Gate of Yan.
On the main seat, Li Mu's eyes flashed. His gaze swept across the faces of all the generals on both sides of the tent.
"Pass down my order. From now on, without my order, anyone who dares to go out and fight the Xiongnu will be killed!" Li Mu's first order was still the same as before. They were not allowed to fight the Xiongnu. When they heard Li Mu's order, everyone in the tent was shocked and obeyed in unison.
"This time, Lord Zhao has handed over all the tax and financial rights of the Gate of Yan in Dai County to me. These tax and financial rights will be used to reward the army and raise the soldiers. As usual, I want all the soldiers in the army to have the meat of cows and sheep in their daily meals. If any of you dare to eat less, it will be the same as scraping my flesh and bones. I will kill you!"
The generals in the tent bowed again and obeyed.
After giving two orders and having a few words with the generals, Li Mu asked the generals to disperse and return to their respective camps after learning about the situation inside and outside the Gate of Yantai camp. Then, he led a few generals and began to personally inspect the situation inside the Gate of Yantai camp.
The situation inside the Gate of Yan was not out of Li Mu's expectations.
At the moment, there was a shortage of soldiers in the camp and morale was low. Everything had to start over and slowly accumulate.
Li Mu patrolled in the camp and unknowingly came to the wounded camp.
Li Mu was very clear about the situation of the wounded soldiers' camp. However, when Li Mu came to the wounded soldiers' camp this time, he was shocked by what he saw.
Before he reached the wounded camp, Li Mu heard a burst of cheerful and passionate singing coming from the wounded camp.
Someone was singing with the wounded soldiers in the wounded camp. Outside the wounded camp, Li Mu heard a voice …
"Come, everyone, sing with me. This is the melody, one, two, three, rise … Solemn rabbit, Ding Ding Ding. Valiant warrior, Dukes and Marquises are in charge of the city. Solemn rabbit, Ding Ding Ding Ding. Valiant warrior, Dukes and Marquises are vengeful. Solemn rabbit, Ding Ding Ding. Valiant warrior, Dukes and Marquises are loyal … Old Black, the second line, you're out of tune again. Can you not be so loud when you're out of tune? If you sing like this again, I'll punish you to face the wall today … "
"Hahaha, I think it's more exciting to sing like this. Next time, I'll lower my voice …" A weak voice said.
"Hahaha …" More people laughed.
"Okay, one more time. This time, pay attention to the melody. Don't go out of tune again …"
Many people in the wounded camp were singing along, which sounded quite interesting.
The general next to Li Mu was about to send someone to pass the message. Li Mu gently waved his hand and walked to the wounded camp.
As soon as he entered the barracks, Li Mu found that the ground of the wounded soldiers' barracks had been leveled. It was no longer full of potholes as before. Not only that, neat ditches had been dug around the wounded soldiers' barracks. The waste water in the barracks flowed out from the ditches. It was no longer as filthy as it used to be.
This was only the surface. When he entered, what he saw was another scene. The walls of the rooms in the wounded soldiers' barracks were painted with lime. It was snow-white and looked very eye-catching. The rooms of the wounded soldiers were clean and tidy. They were even cleaner than the barracks of the normal soldiers.
Some ropes were tied to the open space in the south of the wounded camp. Strips of linen were hanging on the ropes to dry.
In the open space where the linen was drying, there were dustpans and straw mats, on which were various kinds of medicinal materials that were being dried according to their categories.
In the kitchen of the wounded camp, there were several big pots, and the smell of boiling medicine came out.
In the large open space in the middle of the wounded camp, more than a thousand wounded soldiers were singing under the sun. There was a relaxed and happy smile on the faces of the wounded soldiers. A young man in his twenties was teaching the wounded soldiers to sing to the beat.
In addition to these people, there were more than a hundred people in white linen sleeves who were busy in the wounded camp.
Some of those people were processing medicinal herbs, some were washing linen and preparing to dry it, and some were boiling medicine in the kitchen. Even those who were working in the wounded soldiers' barracks were in high spirits. As they worked, they listened to the wounded soldiers singing in the distance and hummed along with them.
Such a wounded camp was full of vitality and joy. Li Mu had been in the army for so many years, but he had never seen such a place.
Li Mu looked outside the circle and blinked his eyes. He almost thought that he was seeing things.
"Who is that young man?" Li Mu pointed to Xia Pingan in the crowd and asked the people around him. With Li Mu's eyesight, he could tell at a glance that the young man who was teaching the wounded soldiers singing was the soul of this camp. Those wounded soldiers looked at the young man with light in their eyes, and those who were busy around him looked at him with respect.
"Reporting to the general, that person is called Xia Pingan. Xia Pingan used to be a ranger of the Gate of Yanmen. He met an extraordinary person in the mountains and was imparted with superb medical skills by that extraordinary person. He is brave and valiant. He was once shot by two arrows and killed four Xiongnu cavalrymen. Last month, when this general went out, I found him and saw him treat my wounds with silver needles and identify the medicinal properties of the wounds. This general then brought him to the camp and put him in charge of the wounded barracks to treat the wounded soldiers. After he came to the wounded barracks, no one else died in the wounded barracks. Hehe, once that Xia Pingan came, the wounded barracks became very lively …" Liu Chi explained.
How could it be just impressive? Li Mu thought …
"Aren't there three wizards in the wounded camp? Who are those people wearing linen sleeves? Why are they working here?"
"General, that Xia Pingan said that it wasn't enough to have only three Shamans here. He wanted some soldiers who were usually free to come here and take care of the wounded soldiers. At first, no one came, but Xia Pingan said that he would teach them the medical skills and prescriptions to take care of the wounded soldiers. They could become doctors in the army, so many old soldiers in the camp rushed to come here to work and learn skills. We felt that letting a few old soldiers come to the camp wouldn't affect the military affairs in the camp, so we acquiesced and let Xia Pingan be a soldier …" Another general explained.
In this camp, a captain could take care of 100 people.
Li Mu knew that some old soldiers could not stay in the military camp for the rest of their lives. When those old soldiers got older and their physical strength declined, they could only leave the military camp and go home. And those old soldiers who went home could only make a living by farming. For many people, the opportunity to learn medicine in the military camp was completely unimaginable. If those old soldiers had the ability to cure diseases and save people, even if they left the military camp, they would not have to worry about food and clothing and would be respected by others.
No wonder those people were so happy to work here.
Li Mu asked someone to call an old soldier not far away to come over and ask him.
That old soldier, who had been happily cutting herbs and listening to music, was suddenly called over. As soon as he saw Li Mu, he became excited. He recognized Li Mu at once and hurriedly bowed to him. "Ah, General Li, you're back …"
"You still remember me?" Li Mu also smiled.
The old soldier laughed, and his eyes were a little red. "When you were here, we ate beef every day. The beef I ate in my life was not as much as the beef you ate in the years when you were in this camp. Once when you came to patrol the camp, you ate in the same pot with my brother. How could I forget you? It's just that, these years, many of my old brothers are gone …"
Li Mu gently patted the old soldier on the shoulder and also felt a little emotional. "What skills did you learn here?"
Additionally, he taught us how to pick herbs, boil and apply medicine, stop bleeding and pull out arrows. He also taught us how to use linen bandages to cover wounds and how to boil lime to paint walls. His medical prescriptions were marvelous. After taking Captain Xia's medical prescriptions, none of our brothers in the casualty barracks died anymore and recovered quickly. Captain Xia also knew how to treat patients with silver needles. However, his skill was too profound for us to learn … "Speaking of Captain Xia's medical prescriptions, the old soldier became spirited at once as his eyes lit up," Now, all the brothers in the barracks know that there's a miraculous doctor in the casualty barracks. They're all very happy … "
"Can you treat diseases?"
The old soldier nodded and said confidently, "According to what Xia Pingan taught me, it's no problem to treat arrow wounds and wounds. I never thought that I could be a doctor in my life!"
Li Mu glanced at Xia Pingan who was singing with the wounded soldiers in the distance and nodded. He did not walk over, but turned and left the camp. After leaving, he ordered the people around him, "Ask Xia Pingan to come to see me in the main tent later!"
"Yes!"
…
More than an hour later, Xia Pingan finally met Li Mu, whose name would go down in history, in the main tent of the Gate of Yanshan.
Xia Pingan's eyes swept over Li Mu's face and then looked at Li Mu's right hand. He found that Li Mu's right hand was habitually behind his back, which was a little unnatural. Xia Pingan thought that some historical records said that Li Mu's hand was injured and could not draw a bow. It seemed to be true.
"You are Xia Pingan?" Li Mu looked at Xia Pingan seriously and asked softly, "Do you know why I asked you to come here?"
"First of all, General, you want to ask me if I have a prescription to treat typhoid fever?" Xia Pingan said calmly.
Li Mu's eyes flashed and he suddenly looked as sharp as a tiger. "Why are you so sure?"
"I heard that when you were in the Gate of Yanshan camp, you did not allow the soldiers to go to war. Very few soldiers died on the battlefield. Instead, it was because the Gate of Yanshan camp was in the bitter cold that many died of typhoid fever. General, you love your soldiers like your children. Today, you came to the camp and saw that I have medical skills and the ability to treat illnesses. Therefore, the first thing you want to ask me when you summon me must be the method to treat typhoid fever!"
Li Mu nodded. "That's right. You just said first. What's the second thing?"
"The second thing, General, you want to see if I have the ability to help you quell the Xiongnu disaster other than my medical skills!"
"What's your answer?"
"I have a prescription to treat typhoid fever. I can teach the cooks in the army to make the decoction. As long as the soldiers in the army take my decoction, their chances of contracting typhoid fever will be less than one percent of what they used to be. It can basically eradicate typhoid fever in the army!"
Hearing this, Li Mu stood up and said directly, "If you have the ability, I can make you a general!"
Xia Pingan knew that in the army of the State of Zhao, the position of the Grand Marshal was not a small one.
During the Warring States Period, the military structure of each country was influenced by the Zhou Dynasty and was basically the same. For example, in the army of the Zhao Kingdom, five people formed a troop with a captain. One hundred people formed a soldier with a captain. Five hundred soldiers formed a brigade with a colonel. Five brigades formed a division with a general. Five divisions formed an army. The so-called general led more than ten thousand soldiers.
Li Mu made him a general. In the Gate of Yanshan camp, his position was only below a few generals. It was an important position.
"General, aren't you going to ask me if I have the ability to help you quell the Xiongnu disaster?" Xia Pingan said with a smile.
"Then do you have the ability?" Li Mu asked.
"If you only want to quell the leader of the Ruandi Clan, Chanyu, across the Gate of Yanshan, even without me, you already have a card up your sleeve. It won't be difficult for you to defeat the Ruandi Clan in a few days!"
Li Mu laughed and narrowed his eyes at Xia Pingan. "What an arrogant tone. In the whole world, there is actually someone who dares to say that it won't be difficult to quell the Xiongnu Clan. Do you know how many Xiongnu soldiers there are in the Ruandi Clan? There are more than two hundred thousand of them. The cavalry of the Ruandi Clan is twice as many as the soldiers in the Gate of Yanshan camp.
"If it weren't for the fact that the general had to leave the Gate of Yan camp back then, I believe that the Ruandi Clan would have been pacified by the general by now. The reason why the general didn't allow the soldiers in the camp to join the battle was because he wanted to nurture the arrogance of the Xiongnu Clan towards the army of Zhao Kingdom. At the same time, he wanted to nurture the bravery of the soldiers in the Gate of Yan camp. Once the Xiongnu Clan was nurtured, they would think that the army of Zhao Kingdom was weak and easily bullied, and they wouldn't dare to join the battle. The general would then wait for the right opportunity and set a trap.
Hearing Xia Pingan's words, Li Mu's expression changed. This was his grand plan to quell the Xiongnu Clan. He had never told anyone about it, not even the king of the Zhao Kingdom. He didn't expect that the moment he arrived at the Gate of Yanshan camp, a small soldier would see through it.
When he looked at Xia Pingan again, Li Mu was shocked. How could such a person be just a small ranger?
Li Mu hurriedly walked over from the general's seat and came before Xia Pingan. He bowed and invited Xia Pingan to sit down. Then, he asked seriously, "You just said that quelling the Ruandi Clan isn't difficult. What do you think is the difficult part?"
"The Ruandi Clan is just one of the Xiongnu Clans. Other than the Ruandi Clan, there are also many other clans among the Xiongnu Clans, such as the Huyan Clan, the Lan Clan, and Xubo Clan. They are very powerful. The Xiongnu Clan has occupied a large area of the grasslands in the north, and their influence extends for tens of thousands of miles. They are a great threat to Huaxia. Even if the Zhao Kingdom and General can quell the Ruandi Clan, after a long time, the other Xiongnu Clans will rise again and bring disaster to the world after recuperating. Therefore, I said that quelling the Ruandi Clan is easy, but quelling the threat of the Xiongnu Clans in the north, eliminating the threat of the nomads occupying the vast grasslands in the north to the descendants of Huaxia, and establishing a lasting legacy is the most difficult part!" Xia Pingan said.
"I also know that the nomads in the north are the biggest threat to Huaxia. On the grasslands, all the men are warriors and have been practicing archery and horse riding since they were young. They are really frightening. With the strength of the Zhao Kingdom alone, it is already our best effort to quell the Ruandi Clan. If we want to quell the entire north, even if we unify the world and spend the world's money and taxes, it is still impossible to do so. It is already not easy for us to hold the fort!"
"General, what you said is common sense. However, have you ever thought that the world is bustling and bustling for profit? Right now, all the countries, including the Yan Kingdom and the Zhao Kingdom, want to quell the Xiongnu only because of the threat of the Xiongnu. We have no choice but to do so. We are passive in our desire to quell the Xiongnu. Our war with the Xiongnu will consume a lot of money and food, and both the Yan Kingdom and the Zhao Kingdom will not be able to support it. However, if we use a different method and let all the countries and people think that we can take the initiative to quell the Xiongnu, it will make it profitable for everyone to fight the Xiongnu. Not only will it not consume money and food, but it will also make a lot of money. As long as we occupy a piece of grassland, we will have a lot of profits. We can raise the army and enrich the people, make the country rich, and make all the merchants in the world scramble for it. General, do you think that Huaxia can quell the threat of the grasslands in the north?"
Li Mu raised his eyebrows and his eyes flashed. After thinking for a long time, he said, "If that is really the case, it is possible. However, there are only cows and sheep on the grassland. Cows and sheep cannot be transported long distances and cannot be preserved as meat. Even if we can drive the Xiongnu away and occupy the grassland, we can only benefit from one piece of land. How can we make all the merchants scramble for it? How can we raise the army and enrich the people, make the country rich, and use war to support war?"
"General, if you believe me, as long as you lend me a thousand taels of gold, give me three thousand men, a piece of grassland, and twenty thousand sheep, I can show you how the Zhao Kingdom's army can squeeze out gold from the grassland and make all the merchants scramble for it in three months!"
"A thousand taels of gold, three thousand men, a piece of grassland, twenty thousand sheep, and three months?" Li Mu's voice suddenly became louder.
"That's right!"
"Okay, I will give you this. I will now appoint you as the field scout of the Gate of Yanshan camp. I want to see how you can squeeze out gold from the grassland in three months!" Li Mu nodded and said.
The field scout of the Gate of Yanshan camp was responsible for managing the border trade between Gate of Yanshan and Dai County and collecting money and food for the army. He was equivalent to General Li Mu's logistics and finance minister.
One of the conditions that Li Mu proposed to King Zhao when he came to Yanshan Pass this time was to resist the Xiongnu. He had full control over the finance, personnel, and military of Yanshan and Dai County, and King Zhao agreed.
At this moment, Li Mu's words in Dai County and Yanshan Pass were even more powerful than King Zhao's.
…
Walking out of Li Mu's main tent, Xia Pingan looked at the distant sky and let out a long sigh …
Helping Li Mu destroy the Ruandi family was too easy. Even without him, Li Mu, as a peerless general, could also do it.
If he personally went into battle, he would not be able to kill a thousand Xiongnu even if he died.
Since this Realm Pearl summoned cavalry, Xia Pingan wanted to try another way. He wanted to challenge it and see if he could achieve greater results.
He wanted to do one thing. From a system perspective, he wanted to empower the cavalry of Yan, Zhao, and Huaxia. He wanted to turn the cavalry, which was the most expensive in the eyes of the emperors of the other countries, into the most profitable machines.
Xia Pingan did not know whether this could succeed or how far it could go. He just wanted to try.
…
Li Mu did as he said. On the same day, the news that he appointed Xia Pingan as field scout spread throughout the camp.
Xia Pingan did not stay idle either. After handing over the wounded camp to his subordinates, he chose three thousand weak old soldiers from the camp. The next day, he brought them to Dai County and took over a ranch and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.
After that, Xia Pingan found carpenters and blacksmiths to start building workshops next to the ranch in Dai County. He also hired some women in Dai County who knew how to weave linen and had them learn how to pull wool.
Xia Pingan had never weaved wool before, but he had a rough idea of the process and the conditions and equipment needed to weave wool.
If there was something he did not understand, he could try to correct it bit by bit.
As a result, it only took him more than two months. In less than three months, Xia Pingan put a bolt of wool in front of Li Mu.
When he touched the wool, even though Li Mu was experienced and knowledgeable, he was still stunned.
In a few days, the snow-white, soft, and very textured wool appeared in the border market of Yanmen. As soon as it appeared, it caused a great sensation and attracted countless businessmen from all directions.
The price of wool set by Xia Pingan was one tael of wool and one hundred taels of gold. However, the demand could not meet the demand. The wool that had just been put on the market was instantly snatched up by those businessmen …
When the wool appeared in Handan, a carriage of wool was sold at the price of ten taels of gold. This wool attracted the attention of countless rich and powerful families, who were proud of having a piece of wool …
Everything was as Xia Pingan expected.
In this era where there was no such thing as a rare raw material, the appearance of wool caused a great sensation.
A piece of wool could make everyone crazy, make people chase after it, and make the nobles bow down. For businessmen who pursued profit, wool was simply a white gold mine.
For a time, because of the wool, merchants in Yanmen and Daijun were like clouds in the sky. The originally ordinary grassland and sheep were suddenly popular.
Li Mu recruited new soldiers in the camp of Yanmen again and began training. He did not fight in closed-door training.
After the Xiongnu outside Yanmen Pass learned of the wool, every time they went out to plunder, wool became the most desirable thing for those Xiongnu.
The situation outside Yanmen Pass was still the same as in history. What was supposed to happen was still happening, step by step. However, many things were already quietly changing …
Two months after the woolen cloth appeared, some rich merchants from Zhao State sent more than a thousand fine horses to Li Mu's camp at the Gate of Yanshan. They began to build a relationship with Li Mu and began to reward the soldiers. Merchants who wanted to see Li Mu lined up outside the camp at the Gate of Yanshan …
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