Chapter 344: Reform is inevitable! (Thanks to the book friend, the unknown water army, for the reward!)
Ye Mingsheng, with a smile on his face, put down the list of gains in his hand and asked Ye Tie beside him:
"How is the trial of those bandit leaders going?"

Ye Mingsheng initially handed the task of trying these bandit leaders over to He Jingyun, even though there were some dirty dealings between him and He Jingyun at the beginning.

But as time went by, perhaps because he faced the reality and felt Ye Mingsheng's mind and methods, He Jingyun became stable and honest, and worked diligently for Ye Mingsheng!

It must be said that although during this period, the strength of the Fengzhou Army has made great progress, the military strength has increased several times, and Ye Mingsheng has many more generals under his command...

But even so, Ye Mingsheng still had to admit that, except for the military advisor Gu Sansi, all the generals under his command, one by one, in terms of ability alone, He Jingyun was unique and no one could match him.

After seeing the changes made by He Jingyun, for the better development of Fengzhou Army and to be able to stand at the forefront in this chaotic world, Ye Mingsheng was willing to make the best use of his talents, so he gradually began to delegate power to He Jingyun.

The task of trying these bandit leaders this time could be said to be a small test of He Jingyun by Ye Mingsheng. Each of those bandit leaders was worth a lot of money, and they were willing to do anything to survive, so this was a very lucrative task. Ye Mingsheng wanted to secretly see what He Jingyun would do...

However, he did not expect that He Jingyun actually assigned the task to Ye Tie and kicked the ball back to Ye Mingsheng.

Originally, Ye Mingsheng was looking forward to what He Jingyun would do, but for He Jingyun's actions this time, Ye Mingsheng still gave him a passing score in his heart. At least this showed that He Jingyun recognized his identity and learned how to advance and retreat!

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Ye Tie said respectfully:
"There are a total of 387 bandits who should be tried. Currently, more than half of them have been tried. Among them, 29 bandits can be sentenced to death for serious crimes, 36 can be sentenced to forced labor, and 151 can be sentenced to minor crimes!"

"The fines collected so far are already close to 170,000 taels of silver, and the various gold and silver items have not yet been taken into account!"

After hearing Ye Tie's story, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction. These bandits were really ignorant, just like the nobles of the Ming Dynasty before Li Zicheng conquered the imperial capital. They insisted that he do it himself. They were really ungrateful. Since you are not decent, I will help you to be decent!

"How are the soldiers below now?" As if thinking of something, Ye Mingsheng asked Ye Tie:

Hearing this question, Ye Tie hesitated, as if he didn't know what to say. Seeing his expression, Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly and said in a deep voice:

"Tell me the truth, and I will make my own judgment!"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng seemed a little angry, Ye Tie quickly said:
“Many brothers below began to relax. Some molested the families of the bandits, and some robbed some property. However, those who did these things were basically those who joined later. The old brothers we brought with us from Fengzhou rarely do such things…”

Ye Mingsheng looked somewhat helpless when he heard this. Harassing the wives of the defeated and looting their money after winning a battle was a very common phenomenon in this feudal era. Moreover, in order to expand his military strength, Ye Mingsheng also absorbed about 10,000 captured bandits into his Fengzhou army.

Although Ye Mingsheng had already selected those who were extremely evil and killed them to establish his authority just in case, bandits were still bandits after all. It was naturally unrealistic to want to completely change them in just a dozen days, make them abide by the law, and become qualified soldiers.

Ye Mingsheng had actually known about this kind of thing when he was expanding the army. He used both kindness and force, using blood to awe people and heavy rewards to make people grateful. He immediately recruited Ye Dong and ordered:
"Pass on my military order. Anyone who violates military discipline will be severely punished! Also, take out 50,000 taels of silver and distribute it to the brothers!"

After dealing with the most difficult problem at hand, the next thing Ye Mingsheng had to do was to arrange personnel to take over the towns and villages of Liaoyang. As the prefecture with the most serious banditry in Liaoyang, the government of Posa Prefecture had basically been in a state of existence in name only...
However, when Ji Qiwei was defeated, Baihu Mountain was breached, Zhen Sanshan was killed, and there was no force in Posuo Prefecture to contend with Ye Mingsheng, these counties and towns could basically be conquered by passing on weapons.

However, in order to better control his own territory, allow the common people to live and work in peace and contentment, and lead a happy and fulfilling life without fear as soon as possible, Ye Mingsheng has decided to eliminate all the bandits in Posa Mansion and bring peace to hundreds of thousands of people!
After a brief thought, Ye Mingsheng ordered Ye Tie, Guo Zhiping and Xun Ke to take over the towns and villages from different directions and eliminate the banditry wherever they were.

Ye Mingsheng planned to make the territory of Posa Mansion completely belong to Ye within a month, so that his orders could be carried out unimpeded in this tortured land.

As for Ye Mingsheng himself, after completing the trial of the White Tiger Mountain bandits, he will lead his troops to Posuo City and take over the political and economic center of Posuo City...

"Sir, this is the training plan for the newly recruited brothers. Can you take a look and see if there is anything wrong with it?" He Jingyun and Chen Chuanwu walked into Ye Mingsheng's tent together and presented a plan to Ye Mingsheng.

Although these absorbed soldiers expanded the military strength under Ye Mingsheng and enhanced the strength of the Fengzhou Army, everything has its pros and cons, and their existence also brought some problems to the Fengzhou Army.

First of all, their qualities are uneven, and their fighting style still follows their past habits of fighting alone and relying on personal bravery when they were bandits. They do not have a good sense of coordination and mutual cooperation among the various arms.

Moreover, because they were not equipped with firearms when they were bandits, they were very unfamiliar with the use of firearms.

Secondly, although Ye Mingsheng has dealt with some people who violated military discipline and refused to obey, that is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution. They still need training to strengthen the military discipline and obedience consciousness in their minds...

The third and last point is that Ye Mingsheng does not want these people to become a group of mercenaries who only know how to do things for money. They are extremely brave when the battle is favorable, but scatter like birds and beasts when the battle is unfavorable. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng wants to improve these people's loyalty to himself, their ability to withstand pressure, and their resilience in combat, so that they can work for him honestly.

In view of the above three reasons, Ye Mingsheng asked He Jingyun to draw up a training plan as soon as possible two days ago in order to achieve his goal.

Looking at the plan written by He Jingyun, Ye Mingsheng felt that there was no big problem, so he put the plan down and looked at Chen Chuanwu standing next to He Jingyun and asked with a smile:

"This time, I'm asking you to be General He's deputy. What do you think, Chuanwu?" Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Chen Chuanwu said respectfully:
"Thank you for your arrangement, General. I will definitely do my best to assist General He and train these new recruits into a victorious army!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:
"Chuanwu, if I remember correctly, you are already twenty-five this year, right?"

Although he didn't know why Ye Mingsheng mentioned this, Chen Chuanwu also said truthfully:

"Your Excellency is right. I was born in the year of the tiger, and I am exactly 25 years old this year..."

Ye Mingsheng nodded and said with emotion:

"When I first met you, I knew you were a priceless gem that just needed to be polished. I never thought you would become a talented general so soon and be able to stand on your own!"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's praise, Chen Chuanwu was not a fool. He could vaguely feel what Ye Mingsheng meant, and his heart gradually became excited, but he still said very sincerely:

"Thank you for your promotion and training, sir. If it weren't for your appreciation, I would still be a small captain in the Shenwu Army!"

Seeing Chen Chuanwu being so humble, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction and said:
"You performed very well in this battle, Chuanwu. Now it's time to give you more responsibilities!"

"After the new recruits are trained, you will select 3,000 men to form the Sixth Battalion, and you will be the commander!"

Although Chen Chuanwu had been mentally prepared by Ye Mingsheng's words just now, he was still very happy when he really heard Ye Mingsheng's words. He bowed to Ye Mingsheng sincerely and said:

"Your Excellency's kindness is beyond my ability to repay. I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

When Chen Chuanwu said this, his words were sincere and full of heart. Back then, he saw that his position as a small captain was about to reach the top in the Shenwu Army, and he did not dare to sink and be buried. Relying on his uncle Chen Yannian’s way, he recommended himself to Ye Mingsheng, and was taken to Liaoyang by Ye Mingsheng. It was Ye Mingsheng who promoted him from captain to sentry captain, and from sentry captain to deputy commander, and now he has become the commander...
Chen Chuanwu came to Liaoyang full of hope a year ago. Although he firmly believed that following Ye Mingsheng was the right choice, he never expected that Ye Mingsheng would promote him so quickly!
In response to Chen Chuanwu's loyalty, Ye Mingsheng stood up, patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Work hard! Your future is limitless!"

"Yes!" Chen Chuanwu said excitedly:
After arranging for Chen Chuanwu to leave, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment, then turned his attention to He Jingyun and asked:

"What do you think of the organization and deployment of our army?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, He Jingyun fell into deep thought. Ye Mingsheng's question was actually within his expectations.

After all, although the Fengzhou Army has only increased by 10,000 people, given the current situation in Liaoyang where war clouds are gathering, and the large amount of money and grain seized in this battle, the Fengzhou Army has solved its most difficult financial problem.
Therefore, it is foreseeable that the Fengzhou Army, which is no longer constrained by financial problems and is facing a situation where a war is imminent, will inevitably expand the army and recruit soldiers on a large scale without any suspense...

Once large-scale recruitment and expansion of the army is carried out, it means that the original five battalions of the Fengzhou Army will no longer be suitable for the current situation, and changes to the organization and deployment will be imminent.

According to Ye Mingsheng's previous style of doing things, he would not act arbitrarily or work behind closed doors. He would listen extensively to the opinions of his subordinates, and then integrate these opinions to come up with a feasible plan.

In He Jingyun's opinion, being good at listening to and absorbing other people's opinions is one of Ye Mingsheng's great strengths. It is also one of the important magic weapons that enables him to lead the Fengzhou Army to develop so rapidly in such a short period of time.

And once Ye Mingsheng wants to seek advice from someone, He Jingyun, who has always been regarded as the second-in-command of the Fengzhou Army, will inevitably be the first to be consulted. Therefore, He Jingyun has prepared ideas for this early on.

However, some unexpected situations have occurred now. Ye Mingsheng formed the Sixth Battalion and appointed Chen Chuanwu as the commander. In He Jingyun's eyes, Ye Mingsheng's promotion of Chen Chuanwu was justified.

Although Chen Chuanwu was not like Ye Tie and Lin Huaiwu who followed Ye Mingsheng's group at the beginning, he joined later with himself and Yuan Song.

But he has been following Ye Mingsheng for quite some time and is loyal to Ye Mingsheng, having made many contributions. In addition, Ye Mingsheng is in need of people right now, so promoting him to the position of commander is the greatest reward for his loyalty and contributions...
What really surprised He Jingyun was that Ye Mingsheng actually asked Chen Chuanwu to form the Sixth Battalion with 3,000 new recruits. Does this mean that Ye Mingsheng has already made comprehensive considerations for the subsequent reforms in the organization and deployment of the Fengzhou Army?

If this is true, are my thoughts consistent with Ye Mingsheng's considerations?

Because he couldn't figure out what Ye Mingsheng was thinking, He Jingyun decided to say less. If he disagreed with Ye Mingsheng, he would have room to maneuver. He had already made up his mind, and after considering his words, he said:
"The situation in Liaoyang and even the entire Great Zhou may change dramatically in the future, so our army needs to expand its forces on a large scale to cope with the changes in the situation. In addition, it would be best to stabilize the Khitans, so that our army can focus on the current changes in Liaoyang!"

Seeing He Jingyun's words were so vague, Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly, a little dissatisfied with his cautiousness, but since He Jingyun was so cautious, he couldn't say anything, so he could only throw out some ideas and say:

"Mr. Gu did not go with the army this time. He is dealing with the Khitan affairs. Now there are some signs of progress. I plan to transfer Yuan Song and Lin Huaiwu, let Xun Ke garrison Xinfa County, and let Ye Tie garrison Fengzhou City. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)