Throughout the territory of the Wei Dynasty, there were six permanent garrisons, located in six key geographical locations: Nanyan, Chenggao, Dangshan, Suiyang, Fenxingsai, and Daliang.
The number of these six armies is based on battalions. There are two to five battalions in each place. Each battalion has 5,000 soldiers. They are the main force of the Wei Dynasty. They can be called "elite", which is about 80,000.
Soldiers around.
Of course, it is absolutely impossible for the huge Wei State to only have these 80,000 troops. The conclusion of these 80,000 troops is based on excluding the local garrison. In other words, these 80,000 troops can be mobilized at will.
It will not put the local guards in a dilemma that cannot be used, that is, it can be used for military campaigns.
If all the soldiers in Wei were included, then the number should exceed 300,000, but unfortunately, more than 200,000 of them were garrison troops, distributed in large and small cities and border fortresses in Wei State, responsible for local security.
Anti-theft, city gate closing, etc., will hardly be mobilized under normal circumstances.
The military camp permanently stationed on the outskirts of Daliang was named Dredging Camp because it was stationed in the northern part of Daliang, the capital of the Wei Dynasty. It had a total of five battalions with a total of 25,000 troops.
The largest military camp within the territory, accounting for nearly one-third of the 80,000 men, was responsible for guarding the capital and supporting the border areas.
On the morning of September 14, the 16th year of Hongde, Zhao Hongrun took his ten clan guards and the ten clan guards temporarily borrowed from his younger brother Hongxuan, and left Daliang for the first time, and came to Junshuiying, a garrison in the capital.
Military camp on the outskirts.
Passing through was not only the imperial chariot of Emperor Wei, but also many other accompanying members.
For example, officials from the Ministry of War who came to see how Zhao Hongrun ended up, officials from the Ministry of Rites and Household Affairs who were curious about how Zhao Hongrun, the eighth prince, convinced the general of the Junshui Camp, and the ministers Zhongshu Yuyang and Yu Ziqi who accompanied the emperor.
In addition, those who came after hearing the news were Yong Wang Hongyu, Yan Wang Hongjiang, as well as the sixth prince Hongzhao and the ninth prince Hongxuan.
After arriving at the Junshui Camp, Emperor Wei and the others rested for a while outside the camp. Zhao Hongrun led the twenty clan guards into the Junshui Camp and negotiated with the general of the fifth battalion of the Junshui Camp. After all, Wei
The emperor had his word first. Although he agreed to Zhao Hongrun's suggestion this time, he would not give him the slightest help.
After the announcement, General Bailiba of Junshuiying's fifth battalion was waiting for Zhao Hongrun and twenty clan guards outside the commander's tent.
Seeing Bailiba standing outside the handsome tent waiting for his group from a distance, Zhao Hongrun quickly quickened his pace, stepped forward and took the initiative to salute with his hands and fists.
Because Bailiba, the general of the fifth battalion of Junshuiying, has a very special status. He was one of the ten imperial guards before Emperor Wei sat on the throne. According to the close relationship between princes and imperial guards in the past, even if Zhao Hongrun called him
It's not too much to call him uncle.
However, because they were in the Dredging Camp, Zhao Hongrun still honestly addressed him by his military title.
"General Baili."
Baili Bayi, the general of the fifth battalion of Junshui Camp, returned the salute with a smile and cupped his fists, and asked Zhao Hongrun to enter the account.
They sat down in order of priority in the tent. Bailiba sat on the commander's seat, and Zhao Hongrun sat in the tent to accompany the banquet.
Looking at Bailiba's majestic appearance in armor, both Shen Yu and other clan guards, as well as the ten clan guards of the Ninth Prince Hongxuan, couldn't help but feel a little envious of him.
It's no wonder, after all, Bailiba was also from Zongwei, and could be said to be their predecessor. After Emperor Wei ascended the throne as the emperor, this former emperor Zongwei rose to the top and became a powerful general.
It is undeniable that Baili Bahui is the target that all the princes and guards around him chase after and long for.
Bailiba also seemed to notice the fiery gazes of the twenty Zongwei behind Zhao Hongrun. He smiled slightly and nodded to them and said hello. After all, he also came all the way from Zongwei, so naturally
I understand what these clan guards are thinking at this moment.
"Your Majesty the Eighth Prince, Your Majesty sent a letter to inform me of this matter yesterday... I'm sorry, but I can't help you with anything."
Bailiba's first words were to express his position apologetically to Zhao Hongrun.
Zhao Hongrun didn't care about this. After all, Emperor Wei had already spoken. As Emperor Wei's former imperial guard and now his most trusted general, how could Bailiba dare to disobey his master of decades and give Zhao Hongrun private help?
"General Baili's words are serious. Hongrun had already predicted this before he made a bet with his father. But..." Rolling his eyes, Zhao Hongrun asked tentatively: "What does General think of Wei's request for peace with Chu?"
Bailiba frowned slightly when he heard the words, and after looking at Zhao Hongrun, he said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince, there is no need to test me. As a general, I naturally cannot tolerate the Chu barbarians invading our Wei territory... But the premise is that
, His Highness has to persuade the generals in a certain military camp according to the agreement with His Majesty..."
Bailiba made his position clear without hesitation. Obviously he was also inclined to declare war on Chu. Of course, the premise was that Zhao Hongrun could win this bet.
Zhao Hongrun was very satisfied with this. After all, after understanding Bailiba's attitude, even if the general would not give him any help, he could still acquiesce in allowing Zhao Hongrun to do some more outrageous things.
"Don't worry, General Baili. I will definitely give the general a chance to defeat the Chu people."
Seeing that Zhao Hongrun seemed to have a plan in mind, Baili Ba couldn't help but be a little surprised, and kindly reminded: "Your Highness, I'm afraid you don't know yet, right?...Yesterday you and Your Majesty made an agreement in Chui Gong Hall, and in the evening, the news spread about our dredging camp.
, Your Highness said that in order to protect Princess Yulong, you did not hesitate to push tens of thousands of soldiers from our Junshui Battalion onto the battlefield, treating the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers as if they were nothing... It is no exaggeration to say that the soldiers and generals in a certain battalion are eager to eat them alive right now.
Your Highness is here!"
Zhao Hongrun was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and said: "The news from your camp is so well-informed... Does General Baili know who spread the news?"
"Except for the Ministry of War, who else can enter and leave the camp freely?" Bailiba said without caring, curling his lips.
"The Ministry of War..." Zhao Hongrun muttered a few words, and said to Lu Mu, the Zongwei behind him: "Lu Mu, remember to write down the names of the officers and men above the Military Department afterwards."
"Yes." Zongwei Lu Mu clasped his fists.
Baili Ba watched this scene with great interest. Because he was the emperor's former imperial guard, he could naturally know the character of the eighth prince from special channels. He was definitely not a prince who would swallow his anger. Why did he write down the Ministry of War?
The names of the officials are self-evident.
However, Bailiba was not concerned about this. After all, although the army was controlled by the Ministry of War, the relationship between the two was not superior and subordinate. Furthermore, Bailiba had not been very pleased with the officials of the Ministry of War in the past, so how could he meddle in others' affairs?
.
What he cared about was whether the eighth prince could do what no one else could and could still convince the soldiers and generals even when the whole camp was filled with anger.
"Your Highness doesn't seem to care that the soldiers in a certain battalion will hate Your Highness to the core?"
Zhao Hongrun laughed when he heard this and said: "Love and hatred only exist between one thought... What are you afraid of? What you are afraid of is that the soldiers in your camp will know nothing about me, and that is the worst... The Ministry of War thinks that they
They cheated me, but in fact, they did me a big favor."
"Oh?" Bailiba smiled slightly: "Yes, we'll see."
Seeing that the general was about to get up and summon all the soldiers in the battalion, Zhao Hongrun quickly called out to him.
"General, wait a minute...please give me ten sets of armor for the generals of the Junshui Camp."
"Armor?" Bailiba glanced at Zhao Hongrun in surprise, thought for a moment and said, "This is okay...is there anything else?"
"And...the military flag of your camp!"
"..." Bailiba was stunned when he heard this. After frowning and thinking for a long time, he nodded hesitantly.
After all, Emperor Wei had informed Bailiba in advance that besides openly supporting Zhao Hongrun, he could satisfy his other needs as long as it did not affect the attitude of the soldiers in the camp towards Zhao Hongrun, the Eighth Highness.
"The military flag is tied to the soul of the army... I hope, Your Highness, you understand what you are doing."
Because the matter was so important, even if Zhao Hongrun was treated like a nephew, Bailiba couldn't help but remind him in a solemn tone that after all, the Eighth Prince's character had always been eccentric. If he insulted the Junshui Camp's military flag, the whole situation would be in trouble.
All the soldiers in the camp would riot.
In response to this reminder and warning, Zhao Hongrun bowed his hands with a calm expression.
After taking a deep look at Zhao Hongrun, Bailiba prepared to go on his own. During this period, he sent someone to deliver ten sets of armors for the generals in the camp. Zhao Hongrun asked his younger brother Hongzhao's ten clan guards to wear them, namely Zhang Ao, Li Meng,
Fang Shuo and others asked them to find a way to sneak in among the soldiers and generals in the camp.
After all, for a speech like this, it’s best to have a few people under the stage to lift the atmosphere.
For this reason, Zhao Hongrun begged Baili Ba in advance not to line up according to the usual order in the camp, but to order all the soldiers in the camp to stand in random order to prevent Zhang Ao, Li Meng, Fang Shuo and others from being seen.
Bailiba agreed. He ordered people to build a high platform with wood for Zhao Hongrun on the north side of the camp's playground. He immediately summoned all 25,000 soldiers in the camp and waited for Zhao Hongrun to come on stage to persuade those who were angry with him.
Proud and mighty generals.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhao Hongrun led Shen Yu and other ten clan guards slowly onto the wooden platform.
It is said to be a high platform, but in fact it is a wooden platform about one foot high, not that high.
But at this moment, this high platform has become the focus of attention of the 25,000 soldiers and generals of Junshui Camp, and a total of 25,000 eyes are staring at this place coldly.
It has to be said that even Shen Yu and the other clan guards couldn't help but feel their scalps go numb when being stared at by the twenty-five thousand pairs of cold and angry eyes, because they could clearly feel the people below the platform.
The soldiers looked at them with ferocious eyes as if they wanted to eat them alive.
"Your Highness, you are... ready." Zong Wei Gao Kuo swallowed his saliva and reminded in a low voice.
I'm afraid even he didn't expect that one day he would be so frightened.
Zhao Hongrun nodded and glanced at the huge "trumpet" set up by the clan guards.
There was no way, because his voice was not strong enough to reach the ears of the 25,000 soldiers, so Zhao Hongrun asked the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works yesterday to build a trumpet that was similar to his height.
It's called a speaker, but it's actually just the simplest amplifier with a wooden frame underneath. It's purely a kid's thing, but I'm afraid not many people here can think of making this thing.
"Hey, hey, hey, cough..."
Zhao Hongrun tried the effect of the amplification, and immediately threw out a sentence that stunned the 25,000 soldiers and generals on the ground.
"Hmm... hello to all the soldiers of Junshui Camp, I am the one who hates you to the bone because of a certain news... Zhao Hongrun!"
"..."
The Junshui camp soldiers who were still discussing in low voices and guessing Zhao Hongrun's identity suddenly fell silent.