Chapter 440: Admiral Yan inspects the Nanjing Guard Camps
"what!"

"Huh!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The sounds of killing in his ears were clearly the courageous momentum on the battlefield, but they made Li Tingzhu, the deputy governor of Nanjing Garrison Office and Marquis of Linhuai, frown.

The deputy governor of Nanjing and the Marquis of the Ming Dynasty stood on a high platform on the parade ground of the West City military camp, looking at the soldiers from various Nanjing guard camps who were training in the parade ground in front of him, with a look of worry on his face.

This Marquis of Linhuai and the Li family behind him have a long history and profound origins.

This is because his ancestor was Li Wenzhong, the adopted son of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, the Left Generalissimo of the Grand Marshal's Office, and Duke of Cao.

However, the Caoguo Mansion reached its ancestor Li Jinglong. After inheriting the title, he was stripped of his title and placed under house arrest by Emperor Chengzu because he took the wrong side during the Jingnan Campaign.

Later, Li Wenzhong's son Li Zengzhi was awarded the title of Honored Guard and was promoted to the position of Left General of the Front Army.

It was not until the Jiajing period that Li Tingzhu's grandfather Li Yi inherited the title of Marquis of Linhuai, which reopened the hereditary marquisate of the Li family, a family of founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Tingzhu himself is also an accomplished martial artist.

After inheriting the title, he served as the admiral of the Yangtze River in the Nanjing Left Army Commander-in-Chief's Office, led the navy to resist the invasion of Japanese pirates, and garrisoned Huai'an. Later, he was promoted to the governor-general and commander-in-chief of the grain transport system.

Now he has been transferred to the Nanjing Garrison Office as deputy governor.

After all, Li Tingzhu, the son of a family of meritorious officials, also has experience in leading troops and military achievements.

Now, looking at the soldiers from the various Nanjing guard camps training in such a sloppy and unsightly manner, he was naturally worried.

Seeing Li Tingzhu full of worry.

Cao Wenbing on the side smiled and said: "Nanjing is located in the south of the Yangtze River. The Japanese pirates have invaded repeatedly in recent years, but the coastal troops have resisted them. It is already quite good that the Nanjing guard camps can still train now."

The Cao family originated in the reign of Emperor Chengzu. Their ancestor Cao Yi was the assistant commander of the Left Guard of Yanshan in his early years, and was promoted to the rank of Left Commander-in-Chief due to his meritorious services.

After Emperor Yingzong was restored to the throne, he was specially conferred the title of Earl of Fengrun.

He can be said to be a meritorious minister of Emperor Chengzu, and he can also be said to be a meritorious minister of Emperor Yingzong.

But compared with Li Tingzhu, not to mention the shallowness of his hereditary succession, he also had no experience of personally leading troops to kill the enemy.

Faced with Cao Wenbing's consolation, Li Tingzhu still shook his head uneasily.

"Wen Bing thinks that I'm worried about Yan Shaoting's investigation?"

After saying this, he looked at the person beside him, Cao Wenbing, the Marquis of Fengrun, whose experience and image best matched the son of a Ming dynasty meritorious official.

Cao Wenbing nodded. "Brother Tingzhu, aren't you worried about this? This time, Yan Shaoting was ordered to go south to supervise the military affairs in Nanjing. He had not yet arrived, but he had already ordered us, the generals in Nanjing, to check the various guard camps and fill in the vacancies."

Li Tingzhu shook his head silently and looked deeply at the soldiers on the parade ground who were being trained by the captains of each battalion.

He walked quickly to the edge of the platform.

"Practice hard!"

"If you are lax again, you will be required to train harder. If you still don't change, you will be punished by military law!"

He shouted angrily.

On the parade ground, both the captains in training and the low-level soldiers finally began to use some strength under the scolding of the angry Nanjing Deputy Governor and Linhuai Marquis.

The shouts and cries of killing finally took on some of the feel of a battle.

Cao Wenbing followed and looked at Li Tingzhu with some confusion.

Before he could ask.

Li Tingzhu turned around and explained: "Wen Bing, you and I are both descendants of meritorious officials of the imperial court. We have inherited the title for many years and are the role models of the millions of Ming troops in our dynasty."

Cao Wenbing nodded: "Of course, we are meritorious officials and should set an example for the other armies."

Li Tingzhu smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "But now you have seen what the Nanjing Guards Camp has become. How magnificent was it when our ancestors were leading the army? Have we lost the glory of our ancestors?"

After saying this, Cao Wenbing shut up.

something.

is well known.

But knowing is one thing, whether to do it or not, and whether you can do it well are another.

What do the civil servants say?
Just blend in with the world!
Cao Wenbing's eyes became somewhat evasive.

Li Tingzhu sighed and said, "The country is only two hundred years old, and now the nine borders are strong. Last year, the Mongols sneaked into the walls of the capital. The Japanese pirates in the coastal provinces have not been completely wiped out, and the army is fighting bloody battles. The southwest has also been repeatedly rebellious by local chieftains. Not to mention the prosperous Han and Tang dynasties, the Western Regions where we Central Plains people could ride horses are now isolated overseas."

Cao Wenbing frowned, "Brother Tingzhu, why are you saying this? How can you and I change these things so easily?"

He felt that these were huge problems.

Even the high-ranking officials in the court couldn't solve it, and even the previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty couldn't improve it. They are just a marquis and an earl, what can they change?
Li Tingzhu still shook his head: "Wen Bing, you and I are just meritorious officials and generals who stayed in Nanjing, the secondary capital, and our words are not taken seriously. But the Nanjing Guard Camps are under our control. Even if Yan Shaoting was not there, shouldn't we train the soldiers of the Guard Camps to be brave and shouldn't we strictly investigate the officers and lieutenants in the army who withhold and exploit the soldiers?"

Cao Wenbing opened his mouth.

He felt that Li Tingzhu was probably distracted by Yan Shaoting's arrival.

Li Tingzhu glanced at Cao Wenbing and said, "Wenbing, you must understand one thing. We, the noble officials, will live with the country, but if one day, the Ming Dynasty is gone, what will we, the noble officials, live with?"

He was filled with worry.

Cao Wenbing looked around in horror, then lowered his voice and looked at Li Tingzhu in disbelief: "How can you say that! How can the Ming Dynasty be destroyed! You and I are here, it's okay to talk nonsense, but you must not let outsiders hear this!"

After all, they are all meritorious officials.

Cao Wenbing didn't want the Linhuai Marquis family to fall because of a single sentence.

Li Tingzhu shook his head and sighed as he walked forward, patting Cao Wenbing on the shoulder: "Why can't we die? If a strong enemy attacks, or if there are wars everywhere, will we rely on you and me to suppress the enemy?"

Cao Wenbing was stunned for a moment.

His gaze shifted to the officers and soldiers who were training on the parade ground, and he was speechless.

Finally, he could only whisper: "The court is still recruiting soldiers... We are waiting for the guards..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

But the meaning is clear.

Now that the imperial guard posts have collapsed, except for the border troops, other places are supported by the recruited battalion system.

For example, Qi Jiguang's troops, which are currently suppressing Japanese pirates in the five southeastern provinces, were named Shanying by the emperor and were recognized by the emperor. They were recruited using the battalion system.

At this moment.

Li Tingzhu said, "It's probably the news from the past two days. The court has decided to let Yan Shaoting reorganize the Loyal and Brave Bandit Suppression Camp in Nanjing with 3,000 soldiers. The Qi Family Army Captain will be transferred to Nanjing to train the army. If I were not a meritorious official and the deputy governor of Nanjing, I would love to join the Loyal and Brave Camp and serve as a commander of 1,000 soldiers, or even a captain."

The first half of his sentence was meant to convey a message to Cao Wenbing.

The second half of the sentence left Cao Wenbing a little puzzled.

Could it be that Li Tingzhu, the Marquis of Linhuai, was going to become Yan Shaoting's disciple?
Cao Wenbing was thinking about what to do with these meritorious officials who stayed in the south in the future.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard.

Look back.

Then he saw the captain of the camp who was on duty at the camp gate rushing over with his men.

The captain of the camp gate went up to the high platform, and when he came in front of the two men, he clasped his fists and nodded: "My Lord, Lord, Yan Shaoting has brought people to patrol the camp!"

Cao Wenbing, who had just mentioned Yan Shaoting, suddenly had a trace of panic on his face and couldn't help but look at Li Tingzhu.

Li Tingzhu looked at the camp commander who came to report, but he had a headache. He frowned and said in a deep voice: "That's Admiral Yan!"

Without waiting for the captain at the camp gate to change his words.

Li Tingzhu waved his hand again and said, "Hurry up and lead the way. Come with me to meet the admiral."

……

At the gate of the West City Camp.

Yan Shaoting looked at his elder brother-in-law Zhu Shitai, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, with a smile on his face.

Zhu Shitai is now in the Shanzi Camp of the Qi Family Army, and has been promoted to the rank of Qianzong due to his meritorious services.

This was the achievement made by Zhu Shitai, the prince of Chengguo Mansion, who led his troops to kill the enemies.

Beside him were Zhu Yu, the commander of the Shanzi Battalion of the Qi Family Army, and Li Yun, the sentry officer, who came with them this time, as well as several squadron leaders of the battalions under Qi Jiguang who were sent together to train the Loyal and Brave Bandit-Suppressing Battalion.

Although the official edict from the court has not yet arrived.

But the news was delivered to Yan Shaoting and Qi Jiguang as quickly as possible.

In view of the urgency of training a new army, Qi Jiguang sent Zhu Shitai and his men to Nanjing in advance on the pretext of inquiring about the army's food and fodder.

Asking about military rations is naturally a serious matter.

Once it was done, the imperial edict would probably have arrived, which saved Qi Jiguang the trouble of sending Zhu Shitai and his men again after receiving the official edict.

A group of people stood outside the West City Camp, listening to the sounds of training and shouting from inside the camp.

Yan Shaoting smiled and asked, "Brother-in-law, what do you think of the Nanjing Guard Camp?"

Zhu Shitai tilted his ear and listened to the West City camp for a while, with an ambiguous look on his face.

It was Li Yun, the sentry officer of the Shanzi Battalion of the Qi Family Army beside him, who was the soldier who charged into the front line under Zhu Shitai in the battle of Huajie, who spoke first: "The Shanzi Battalion is more than capable of defeating three of these people alone!"

Zhu Shitai immediately turned around and looked at Li Yun, who released the little soldier.

"How dare you! You are not allowed to speak nonsense and criticize other departments in front of the admiral!"

Li Yun shrank his head.

Zhu Yu, the brave soldier who beheaded the most people in the Huajie battle and now the commander of Qi's army, helped Li Yun and pulled this former rookie behind him.

Yan Shaoting just smiled and looked at his elder brother-in-law Zhu Shitai, who had been working in the army for several years and had become more and more stable.

He smiled and said, "I think he's understating it. The guards in Nanjing, let alone the Qi family army, are probably not worthy of your Shanzi camp's attention."

Zhu Shitai smiled awkwardly, then took a deep look at the West City Camp, and whispered, "To train a new army, we need to recruit able-bodied men from the local area, but the Nanjing Guard Camps have been abandoned for a long time, but we can also draw some experienced veterans. If we demote them too much, it will not look good later."

This was the plan Zhu Shitai and Yan Shaoting made after they arrived.

It is impossible for the Loyal and Brave Anti-bandit Battalion of more than 3,000 people to recruit all the local men. It is still necessary to mix some clean and experienced old soldiers from the various guard camps in Nanjing to play the role of old leading new.

Finally, the new army was trained using Qi Jiguang's military training methods.

Only in this way can the soldiers in the camp form combat effectiveness as quickly as possible.

Yan Shaoting teased, "My elder brother-in-law has been in the army for many years and is extremely brave, but I didn't expect that he still has some worldly wisdom in him."

Zhu Shitai rolled his eyes at Yan Shaoting, without explaining anything, but just moved his mouth towards the camp gate.

Yan Shaoting turned his head and looked over.

"I am here to see you, Admiral!"

"I didn't expect the Admiral to come inspect the camp today. I am late in welcoming you. Please forgive me, Admiral!"

Li Tingzhu, accompanied by Cao Wenbing, the captain of the camp gate and his personal soldiers, hurried over. Before they even walked out of the camp gate, they had already loudly apologized.

Yan Shaoting smiled and took two steps forward. Before Li Tingzhu could bow his head and kowtow, he had already stretched out his hands and grabbed the other person.

"I think it must be the Marquis of Linhuai!"

"I finally got to see him today. He really has the legacy of the great governor and the Duke!"

Li Tingzhu didn't expect that Yan Shaoting could guess his identity just by meeting him.

There was a sense of surprise in my heart.

He nodded and said, "I am ashamed of my ancestors' heroic spirit. How can I compare with them? I only hope that I can live up to their reputation and maintain peace for the court."

Yan Shaoting patted the back of Li Tingzhu's hand with a smile on his face: "Marquis Li is loyal and brave, I have heard of it for a long time in the court. Now that the country needs people, it is the time for Marquis Li to repeat the great deeds of the Duke in the past!"

After finishing speaking.

He turned his head and looked at Cao Wenbing, who had some uneasiness in his eyes.

"I think this is the Marquis of Fengrun who stayed in Nanjing with Marquis Li to command the army."

Cao Wenbing hurried forward, bowed and clasped his fists: "I am Cao Wenbing, the Deputy Governor of Nanjing, and I pay my respects to Admiral Yan."

Received a salute.

Yan Shaoting stepped forward and lifted Cao Wenbing up.

"Lord Cao and Lord Li are staying in Nanjing to manage the army. The court has great trust in them. This time, I am the governor of Nanjing. I will have to rely on you two for the next three to five years. Otherwise, I will be unable to move forward in Nanjing."

Cao Wenbing still had his head down at this time, but his brows jumped.

Because what Yan Shaoting meant was very interesting.

He couldn't help but glance sideways at Li Tingzhu.

Li Tingzhu hurriedly said with a smile: "The admiral is deeply trusted by His Majesty. This time he went south to supervise the military affairs of Nanjing and is the prime minister of the six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. The admiral is young, but he has made great contributions in the court for many years. Now he is sitting in Nanjing as a frontier official. We who stay in Nanjing should obey the orders of the emperor and follow the admiral. How dare we say that we rely on him?"

Yan Shaoting smiled faintly and glanced sideways at Zhu Shitai standing beside him.

He smiled and introduced: "You two, this is Zhu Shitai, the captain of the Shanzi Battalion under the Zhejiang Deputy General Qi Jiguang, and he is also from the Chengguo Mansion."

Cheng Guogongfu.

That is not comparable to the current Linhuai Marquis Mansion and Fengrun Earl Mansion.

This was the most prominent noble family during the reign of Emperor Chengzu. They had been employed in the capital for a long time, were trusted by successive emperors, and had countless students and old friends in the army.

Although Zhu Shitai is now only a thousandth commander in the army.

But that was in the Qi family army, and everyone who understood the situation naturally understood the importance of this thousand-man commander.

But Li Tingzhu smiled and said, "My brother, with the honor of being the heir of the Duke's Mansion, joined the army and fought against the Japanese pirates, and made many outstanding achievements. This time, he must have followed the order from the capital and came to Nanjing to train a new army. You and I should have more exchanges in the future."

He didn't care about the actual seniority between the two of them, and just called Zhu Shitai "younger brother" according to his age.

Cao Wenbing also echoed.

Yan Shaoting, however, glanced at Li Tingzhu, the Marquis of Linhuai, indifferently.

It seems that these meritorious officials are different after all, and each of them has sources of information in the capital.

Obviously he already knew that the old Taoist priest wanted to train a new army himself, so he could naturally see why Zhu Shitai came to Nanjing.

then.

Yan Shaoting said, "I came to the West City Camp for no other reason. I received a message from the capital, asking me to organize a loyal and brave bandit-suppression camp to wipe out the White Lotus rebels in the Jiangnan area. I came to the camp with Zhu Qianzong to inspect the camp and draw brave veterans from the Nanjing guard camps. I estimate that the order will be delivered to you this evening."

Since other people already know the news, Yan Shaoting doesn't need to hide it and can just speak out directly.

Li Tingzhu's heart tightened.

Sure enough, the person who came here was ill-intentioned.

But he had other plans in mind.

Not to mention that Yan Shaoting came to inspect the camp or to transfer veteran soldiers from the Nanjing guard camps, these were probably not his real purposes.

It's just a matter of tonight. The imperial edict has arrived. Why should Yan Shaoting rush to the West City camp now?

It was obvious that he knew that he and Cao Wenbing were training troops in the camp today, so he came early.

Li Tingzhu then stepped aside and opened the camp gate in front of Yan Shaoting.

"All the guard camps in Nanjing have received the order and have been training day and night in the hope that the admiral will come to inspect the camp. Today, the camp is conducting a military exercise. If the admiral sees someone who catches his eye, he can transfer him to the new camp."

Yan Shaoting smiled slightly and glanced at everyone present.

"Then let's go in together and see the brave and majestic appearance of the soldiers of the auxiliary capital's guard camps!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)