Chapter 59: Ten Thousands of Troops Marching, Promotion

With the strong support of Jin Mao's 20,000 stones, Zhu Jun no longer recruited local militiamen into the army, and went directly to the next step, conscripting civilians to set off.

In three days, 6,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians, escorting 15,000 shi of grain and fodder, set out from Shangyu County in a mighty force.

Among the 15,000 shi of grain, there were also 5,000 shi of grain that Jin Mao borrowed from Tang Mao at high interest rates.

You should know that among the food and fodder collected by Zhu Jun, grain accounted for the minority, while straw was the majority.

In other words, in order to overcome this difficulty, Jin Mao spent a lot of money. Not only did he immediately send out 25,000 shi of grain, but he also had to return more than 7,200 shi of grain to Tang Mao three months later.

The autumn harvest was wasted in one go.

Fortunately, there are still 6,000 acres of late rice ready to be harvested.

"Oops!"

Jin Mao suddenly remembered that he had sent Lanzhi to Songgu and Yaoxiang to cause chaos, and there happened to be two thousand acres of late rice planted there.

"If we lose two thousand acres, how will we survive this winter?"

Jinmao could only pray that Lanzhi would move slower, otherwise, he would probably starve this winter.

In view of Jin Mao's great contribution, Zhu Jun generously promoted him to the position of Sima of an individual department and ordered him to be the pioneer, responsible for exploring and clearing the way.

This can be considered an unexpected surprise. After all, this is an official position with a rank of 1,000 stones, much better than the acting county magistrate!
most important thing!

“Hehe, this matter has not been discovered.”

Who understands how one can be promoted even though he went deep into the enemy camp?

There is a world of difference between a march of a thousand people and a march of ten thousand people.

With over 10,000 people, there really is no one to look after.

Looking from the air, it looked like a long dragon stretching for more than ten miles. Zhu Jun and his two thousand private soldiers were stationed in the central army, Jin Mao's troops were the vanguard, and the county soldiers and Zhu's private soldiers were responsible for escorting food and fodder.

Originally, Zhu Jun wanted his two sons to lead a thousand private soldiers to supervise the transportation of food and grass, but Tang Mao intervened.

Zhu Jun didn't want to offend Tang Mao easily, so he agreed.

The benefits of this are obvious.

Since the daily consumption of Jin Mao's subordinates is twice that of the regular army, if Zhu Fu and the others have the final say, Jin Mao and others will definitely starve. Now with Tang Mao, there will be no such problem.

Zhu Jun had his own way of marching, and the marching speed of his 3,000-man central army was not much slower than that of Jin Mao's 1,000-man army.

Looking back, Jin Mao suddenly realized: "I learned it. It turns out that regular marches do not require soldiers to wear armor."

No wonder the county soldiers under Tang Mao looked so weak before. It turned out that Tang Mao didn't understand military affairs. Seeing Jin Mao marching fully armed, he also asked the county soldiers to follow suit.

It turned out to be a big mistake.

Even so, Jinmao does not want to change.

“What if there is an emergency?”

On-site armor piercing?

For the sake of your life, you should let your subordinates work harder.

Three days later, Jin Mao led his troops to Zhuji County for rest.

Because the vanguard troops only needed to carry three days of rations, this was another experience of large-scale marching, which Jin Mao kept in mind.

Zhuji County Magistrate Zhang Yan led all the officials to welcome him and set up a banquet, but Jin Mao did not dare to accept it.

"I have a military mission, Magistrate Zhang, please don't harm me."

Before setting off, Jin Mao had seen that Zhu Jun killed a chicken to scare the monkeys and establish military prestige, and military law was no joke.

Zhang Yan understood immediately, and pulled Jin Mao to a secluded corner to ask, "Can you give me some advice on Jin Wu's injury?"

"Military secrets must not be leaked!"

Jin Mao spoke loudly, and secretly wrote the words "suppress the rebellion" on Zhang Yan's palm.

We are all in the same boat, so we should take care of each other if we can.

Zhang Yan didn't know about the Southern Commandery of Kuaiji, but he knew what it meant to quell the rebellion, so he thanked him silently.

A day later, Zhu Jun's large army arrived.

It was the first time that Jin Mao saw how an army of several thousand people was commanded.

He commanded his men with flags. There were no complicated flag signals, just simple instructions such as front, back, left, and right.

Zhu Jun's command was based on the sound of drums. Not only Zhu's private soldiers but even the state soldiers could understand his command.

It feels like Zhu Jun commanding a few thousand people is not much more chaotic than Jin Mao commanding a thousand people.

With the arrival of the baggage train in the rear, Jin Mao discovered that there were even more powerful methods of command.

Messenger car!
The sound of the drum can only be heard clearly within one kilometer. If it is farther away, we can only rely on a messenger vehicle to guide the direction of travel.

An army of more than 10,000 people could be seven or eight kilometers long. Without a messenger vehicle, the team would have dispersed long ago.

Zhuji County. Zhang Yan presented thousands of shi of grain and grass in a simple and unpretentious manner, and received a compliment from Zhu Jun. Zhang Yan was immediately overjoyed and thanked Jin Mao again.

The main force needed to rest for a day, and Jinmao had to be replenished and continue to lead the way.

Before leaving.

Jin Mao asked Zhu Jun for instructions: "General, Wushang County is ahead. I would like to ask for your order to go to the county to collect grain. Please allow me to act independently."

Zhu Jun asked: "Where shall we gather?"

Jin Mao had already thought it through: "I will meet the general in Lizhou Township."

"A geomancy map."

This was the first time Jin Mao saw a map of this world. It was very rough compared to later generations, but much more accurate than Xi Zhicai's previous sketch, and there were some unfamiliar landmarks on it.

Zhu Jun checked it and said, "Accurate!"

"Thank you, General."

Two days later, Jin Mao led his troops to Xinyang Township.

He spent a day sorting out the Xinyang Township granary and obtained a total of 2,000 shi of grain.

After giving some instructions about supplies, he continued to lead his men south.

In the following Dongxiang and Tangxi Townships, Jinmao followed the same method and kept going, passing through Lizhou Township and Shangyufan, and then rushed all the way to Jinyun Mountain.

Time is tight.

Although they were not discovered this time, Zhu Jun had to make adjustments as he changed his marching route.

Jin Mao didn't waste any words and called Xi Zhicai and Yu Fan to discuss countermeasures.

The two first congratulated Jinmao on his promotion.

As the development of the matter deviated from what was expected, the three of them filled in the gaps in the current situation.

A total of three adjustments were made.

First, there is no need for the 500 female soldiers to pretend to be Shanyue invaders and they must be recalled as soon as possible.

Second, Gong Lei and Pan Lin led the second team to migrate westward to the mountainous area of ​​Yuzhang County, and they needed to be prepared for long-term free development.

Third, all captured equipment must be hidden away and not a single piece of it can be used, at least until the right time.

Only the third point is the most controversial. Xi Zhicai and Yu Fan both believe that it is better to bury them directly than to take the risk of hoarding them.

Only Jin Mao insisted on doing so, on the one hand, he knew that they were about to enter a chaotic era.

On the other hand, after suppressing the rebellion, Zhu Jun would resign and stay in Shangyu County to mourn for his mother. At that time, it would become extremely difficult to obtain iron.

After making a plan, Jin Mao and Yu Fan took action at both ends, while Xi Zhicai was captured as a soldier and temporarily took charge of county affairs.

Xi Zhicai did not say anything about this. At least for now, Jinmao's performance is very impressive and worth his short-term job.

Yu Fan's work is not going smoothly. Gong Lei and Pan Lin have no problem with it, but Lan Zhi has different opinions.

She said that she would bring her military equipment and go to the mountainous area of ​​Yuzhang County with Gong Lei and Pan Lin, and wait for them to make achievements in the future. She hoped that Jinmao would not break his promise.

Before coming, Jinmao delegated power to Yu Fan and asked him to try his best to meet the needs of several people.

Therefore, Yu Fan made an agreement with Lan Zhi: "Female soldiers are not allowed to have contact with officials."

"These weapons and equipment must not be used in public."

Lanzhi agreed readily.

So, under Pan Lin's envious and jealous eyes, Lanzhi led 500 fully armed female soldiers and followed the second team to the Yuzhang County area.

the other side.

Zhu Jun received the food and fodder raised by Jin Mao along the way, but unexpectedly received a report from his subordinates.

"All 20,000 shi are grain?"

"Are you sure there isn't a stone of fodder?"

The subordinate reported truthfully: "Tang County Magistrate and the Second Young Master personally checked and found that the 20,000 shi of grain included corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans..."

The subordinates reported several truthfully: "It's all grain and no fodder!"

Zhu Jun was stunned and shocked, feeling that something was fishy.

Jinmao has taken over Wushang County for less than two years. Even if it wants to rob, the villagers must have food in their pockets.

"Understood, let's go down."

At this time, Zhu Fu, who had heard the news, happened to pass by the general's tent and happened to have something to pay him a visit.

After finishing the business, Zhu Fu casually said, "General, I heard that Sima Jin once confiscated the property and exterminated the great families in Taimo County and Shan County."

"These grains, aren't they stolen goods?"

(End of this chapter)