C51 Reforming the Military System to Build a Strong Army(part Ii)

The discussion in the Zhou Steel Manor had come to a halt. Apart from Gongsun Zan, everyone's expressions had changed greatly, including the Guan Jing who was close to Liu Tie and the Single Classic. They were all guessing a question in their hearts: "What did Gongsun Zimin do to actually make his men so fervently support him?"

In Ji County's magistrate court, Liu Yu, who had been slumped on a chair, was pale. He didn't say a word despite Liu He's repeated attempts to persuade him.

"I've fallen into his trap," Liu Yu sighed as Liu He's heart burned with anxiety.

"Father, what do you mean?" Liu He asked, puzzled.

Liu Yu asked dejectedly, "You should know everything that happened that day on the court floor, right?"

"Your son …" Liu He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Your son understands."

Liu Yu smiled mournfully, "Since you know, you should also understand why your father has fallen into his trap!"

"Um …" Liu He didn't dare to answer. He was a bit cowardly, but he was very quick-witted. Otherwise, things in Changli County wouldn't have been resolved so easily and Qiu Liju's life wouldn't have been in danger. Such a smart person had long since figured out that Gongsun Xu had actually dug a pit for his father to fall into, but his father had happily jumped in. As his son, how could he have the heart to say it out loud?

Besides, Liu He was already very impressed by Gongsun Xu after this period of contact. Compared to what the royal family was doing now, even though he was a relative of the royal family, he still had a trace of wicked thoughts in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. No matter if it was to prevent his father from feeling pain or to protect himself from having to hide his thoughts, Liu He had never said what his father had said about him.

"Hehe, this old man has put in so much effort to maintain the people. I originally wanted to provide a powerful boost for Your Majesty, but I did not expect that I was actually acting in the service of my opponent and did not know that I had done such a foolish thing yet I was pleased. This old man is worthy of the ancestors of the Great Han Dynasty. Oh heavens, why are you like this to this old man?"

Putong! Liu Yu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the ground.

"Father, someone come! Call the medical officer! Hurry and ask Godly Doctor Hua to come!"

On the high platform of the military camp, Gongsun Xu naturally didn't know that Liu Yu had fainted. Everywhere he looked, he saw kneeling figures. Every one of them revered him.

"My lord!" Guo Jia seemed to have seen through Gongsun Xu's thoughts as he called him softly.

Gongsun Xu suddenly came to his senses. He quickly shook his head and put that strand of silk to the back of his head. He raised his hands and called out, "Brothers, please rise. This general still has something to tell everyone!"

"Thank you, General!" After everyone thanked him, they stood up one after the other and looked at Gongsun Xu with respect.

Gongsun Xu laughed, "Someone just asked what the use of the small bronze plate was, and someone else asked what the rank was. Before I answer the question, I would like to ask you guys, who has thought of the answer to these two questions?"

One of the men in the crowd called out first, "Reporting to the general, I've already thought about it!"

Gongsun Xu praised and asked, "What's your name?"

"Small men are like iron eggs." The person who spoke was a dark and muscular young man who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

"But the iron is the iron, the egg is the egg." Gongsun Xu asked with a smile, "Don't tell me you want to use a hammer to smash the egg? Isn't that a waste?"

Ma Tiedong was clearly older than Gongsun Xu, but he called the other party a brat. He appeared to be a bit old. However, everyone took it for granted and upon hearing his words, they all began to laugh.

"That's right. This little one knows this name and it sounds terrible … Hehe …" Ma Tiezi scratched his head with a silly smile.

"Since that's the case, this general will change your name. Are you willing?"

"Of course I'm willing! Of course I'm willing!" Ma Tiezi was overjoyed and quickly knelt down on one knee.

Everyone looked at him with envious eyes, regretting that they had not stood up just now. However, after this interesting event, when everyone looked at Gongsun Xu, their gazes were filled with reverence and a sense of intimacy. It turns out that General Gongsun also likes to joke around like us sometimes …

Gongsun Xu muttered to himself, "Just change one word. Do you know how to write the pill for the Blood Jade Core?"

Ma Tiedan kowtowed three times before saying, "Thank you for giving me this name, General. This lowly one is deeply grateful for this name. This little one knows how to write this character."

"It's good that you know how to write. Small matters are nothing to talk about." Gongsun Xu smiled and waved his hand. "Stand up. Tell me what you just thought of."

"Here!" Ma Tiedan raised the small bronze token above his head and loudly said, "Reporting to the general, this little one thinks that this bronze token is the same as the Feathered Guard's identity token. As for it …"

"Wait!" Gongsun Xu suddenly interrupted Ma Tiedan and asked in surprise, "You've seen Yu Lin Wei's identity token!"

"Yes." Ma Tiedan nodded with a dejected expression. "One of my brothers was a former Yu Lin Wei. Unfortunately, he died in Dong Zhuo's chaos."

"So that's how it is. Continue speaking."

"Here!" Ma Tiedan turned the bronze plate over and pointed at the small stars on it. "The ranks are such small stars. For example, the small ones have three small stars, which are the third rank soldiers. According to the general, the small ones can receive a salary of four parts per month."

When the others heard this, they all took the bronze medallion into their hands to inspect it. There were small stars that seemed to be incomparably happy, and those that didn't have a small star could not help but feel somewhat dejected.

"Ma Tiedan's words are correct. You're not bad, kid!" Gongsun Xu praised Ma Tiedan and laughed. "Haha, brothers who haven't obtained Little Star, don't be depressed. There will be many opportunities in the future."

Gongsun Xu's words stirred up everyone's mood and they started to discuss among themselves.

"Fourth Bro, you only have one star and you dare to show off in front of me. After the next battle, we'll show you who's the real good guy in the guild!"

"Fuck you!" milk. "Of course! If you can make a meritorious contribution, then you're a man who will eat for free. If you want to compete with a lord, how about in your next life?"

"I haven't even spoken a word about the four stars, why are you two arguing so much?"

"He … Mother. "Yea, even if I have to risk my life in the next fight, I still want to get a little star to play with!"

"It's only one! Me, I need at least three!"

Gongsun Xu could not help but feel proud of himself as he looked at the commotion.

Guo Jia, Zhao Yun, and Yan Rou were all looking at Gongsun Xu's back and praising him in their hearts.

After the noise died down, Gongsun Xu pressed his hands together and shouted, "Brothers, calm down. This general still has one last thing to say and it's the most important thing."

There was one more thing that was more important than military pay. At this moment, everyone looked at Gongsun Xu with burning gazes, hoping to hear another earth-shattering piece of good news from his mouth …

Gongsun Xu stopped smiling, and said solemnly: "From today onwards, you are all professional soldiers, meaning that from now on, all you guys will do is train and fight, you don't have to bother with other chores. This general guarantees that he will be fed and paid on time every day. All of you must also strictly abide by the military laws. Other than the seven prohibitions and fifty-four cuts previously issued, there will still be other military laws that will be passed down. This general has been kind to you and others, so don't put me in a difficult position. Once I break the military law, there will be no mercy!

"As you command, general!" Everyone heard his command, and immediately cupped their fists in response. However, many people found it strange that this was not a piece of good news, right? If they broke the military law, they would be beheaded, which was definitely a bad thing for them.

Following that, Gongsun Xu's words caused their worry to turn into joy.

"To the east, beside the coast, there is a large piece of barren land. It is Tianjin, which is only one hundred and eighty Li away from the Ji County. At this time, Tianjin is still mostly the ocean, and it is also forty to fifty Li away from the Ji County. "This general has already asked the marquis for that piece of barren land. A preliminary estimate would be around three to four million mu." Gongsun Xu paused here and cleared his throat.

The quick-witted soldiers pricked up their ears when they heard the words' wasteland '. Their hearts thumped in their chests. From this, it can be seen how precious land was to the common people. The Chinese people have always focused on farming, so who doesn't want the land to be even more precious in the wasteland? As long as we can cultivate and properly handle it, after a few years of farming, it will become fertile land. Could it be that the general actually wants to share the land with us?

As expected, Gongsun Xu's next words confirmed the thoughts of these smart people.

"You can cross the sea there to go to the Japan, so I will name it Tianjin." Gongsun Xu gave the wasteland the names of his descendants, and then shouted loudly: "This general intends to move the White Horse Camp's encampment to Tianjin, and anyone with a rank can obtain a piece of land. Level 1 soldiers can be divided into 10 mu of wasteland, level 2 soldiers can be divided into 15 mu, level 3 20 mu, and so on. Within two years of opening the wasteland, there is no need to pay taxes, but the surplus food that is produced must be sold to the White Horse Camp.

The moment Gongsun Xu finished his words, ecstatic exclamations could almost pierce the heavens! Let alone money, there was even land! We are not dreaming today right? If this is a dream, I hope this beautiful dream doesn't wake up!

"General!" Ma Tiedan summoned up his courage and called out. Trembling, he asked, "General, you just said that according to the rank of the military, we will split the wasteland among the youngsters. Furthermore, we won't collect taxes for two years!"

"Yes!" Gongsun Xu nodded solemnly. He shook his arm and shouted, "You did not hear wrongly. This general will give you as much land as you deserve for your meritorious service."

Guo Jia took a deep breath and thought to himself, "Good guy, you are really bold, to actually dare to restore the military merits of the former Qin! Luckily, it is only a large piece of wasteland without a master, otherwise, all of the aristocratic families in the entire Northern Territories will come to Master Hou for an explanation tomorrow. But even if the aristocratic families did not take action, those corrupt scholars would probably jump up and cause a ruckus. How could they agree to restore the so-called tyrannical government?"

Zhao Yun and Yan Rou looked at each other and saw shock and disbelief in each other's eyes. Gongsun Xu did not vent his anger on them in advance when it came to military merits teaching, so they were as shocked as the rest of the soldiers.

Dong Zhongshu had abandoned all non-Confucian doctrines, especially the previous dynasty, and was called Qin Tyrant, Qin Tyrant, Qin Tyrant and so on. Gongsun Xu seemed to be giving away a piece of barren land to his subordinates, but he was actually provoking the Confucian bottom line. If it wasn't for the collapse of the imperial court, the military generals of various kingdoms and the temporary suppression of the Confucian power, Gongsun Xu wouldn't have dared to do so …

Outside the camp, the stranger in black, Gongsun Xu, trembled when he said that. She stared at Gongsun Xu with her beautiful eyes, while her right hand was excitedly holding the hilt of her sword.

Hua Chan saw the expression on the girl in black and asked softly, "Senior Sister, what do you think now?"

"Eh …" The girl in black sighed lightly. Her tone was cold as she said, "I am not alone."

Hua Chan nodded with a smile and continued to look at Zhao Yun.

Ma Tiedan was the first to react as he kneeled on the ground and kowtowed continuously, shouting, "General's kindness is as great as the sky! Even if this lowly one were to be smashed to pieces, I cannot repay this lowly one … In the future, I will be the general's. I am willing to go through fire and water for the general. If I break this oath, I will die with arrow piercing my heart!"

Including Guo Jia, everyone fell to the ground at the same time and shouted, "We are willing to go through fire and water for the general. If we break this oath, arrows will fly through our hearts!"

A berserk roar rose into the sky, nearly spreading throughout the entire Ji County.

For the third time, the enthusiasm of the university field reached its peak

Gongsun Xu raised his head and looked at the gentle sunlight behind the clouds. His heart was filled with pride. "I have such a strong army. If I were to exercise diligently, where wouldn't the world be?"

Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lv Bu, and Sun Ce, the heroes of the three kingdoms, I, Gongsun Xu, will definitely fight with you guys for a few moves to see who is the true hero of this world.