These days you've been too morose; it's been so long, you should have moved past it.
Although I haven't been with you for long, and haven't had much interaction with the brothers from the Third Division and Second Regiment, I know those thousand brothers wouldn't want to see you so downcast.
General Zhang is right, death is inevitable in war.
If they caused us harm, we'll get revenge! But we can't live in hatred. If you ruin your health because of it, wouldn't that be playing into the hands of those rats?
Wang Xuance had held these words back for several days, never finding an opportunity to speak them. It was only after Zhang Gongjin began that he mustered the courage to speak.
Well said!
After he finished, Zhang Gongjin suddenly roared, then burst into laughter.
Hahahaha, brother, your guard is quite interesting!
Let's eat heartily and drink deeply! We can't let those rats make a mockery of us, can we?
After speaking, he shouted towards the door: "My men, bring good wine and good food!"
Yes!
The guards outside responded loudly and then went to prepare the food and wine.
Hoo~~~
Fang Er exhaled the smoke from his mouth, letting out a long sigh.
Right, we can't let them laugh at us!
Seeing that his counsel had been successful, Zhang Gongjin also breathed a sigh of relief.
This young brother is good in every way, except that he's like a woman, unable to bear the loss of his subordinates.
When he heard the news of the treasury bonds being hijacked, he had been worried that Fang Er would not be able to cope. Seeing him today, his face was indeed somber and unhappy.
So many days have passed and he still can't let go. If this continues, he'll surely suffocate himself to death.
That's why he played this trick; not to solve the problem, but to first ease the mind.
Who says military men can only wield swords and spears? We're not inferior to those scholars when it comes to using our tongues!
Hiahiahiahia~~
Soon, wine and meat were served, and Fang Er's previous gloom vanished, a long-lost smile appearing on his face as he clinked glasses with Zhang Gongjin.
Perhaps it was due to the long period of suppression, but they ended up drinking from afternoon until nightfall without realizing it.
That night, they stayed at the Governor's Mansion.
The next morning, Zhang Gongjin had Fang Er woken up early.
Hahahaha, come, brother will take you to vent your anger today!
Upon meeting, Zhang Gongjin slung an arm around Fang Er's shoulder and said with a laugh.
Fang Er looked at him in confusion.
What, you don't actually think I haven't taken the treasury bond incident to heart, do you?
Let me tell you, my men have been catching rats non-stop these past few days! Zhang Gongjin said smugly, "Shall we go?"
Listen to your brother. Fang Er nodded heavily in agreement.
He really wanted to know how many people in Yangzhou were secretly causing trouble.
The two left the Governor's Mansion, with the special forces and Zhang Gongjin's personal guards following behind. The group headed towards the east gate of Yangzhou Prefecture.
As they passed the Yangzhou Prefecture Prison, the jailers saw Zhang Gongjin and quickly bowed in greeting: "Governor!"
"Send all the people caught these days to the Divine Spear Army camp!"
"Also, send someone to summon the Prefect, tell him I'm inviting him to watch a show!"
Yes, Governor!
After giving instructions to the jailer, they headed straight for the Divine Spear Army camp.
In Zhang Gongjin's words, the prison was too gloomy, and he didn't want to enter it for even a moment.
The nine newly reorganized Governor's Armies in the Great Tang each had a pure firearms unit of ten thousand men. The Divine Spear Army was the firearms unit under Zhang Gongjin's command.
Upon entering the barracks, they heard the sounds of drilling commands from the training grounds.
"Brother, how are they? Do my soldiers meet your approval?"
Reaching the edge of the training grounds, Zhang Gongjin asked Fang Er with a smile.
Fang Er took a careful look. The training subjects of these soldiers were clearly copied directly from his own.
Suddenly, he spotted two familiar figures in the training grounds: "Those two... they look like soldiers from the Annihilate Barbarian Army?"
Hahahaha, good eyes, brother!
To be honest, those two were traded for at great expense from Old Black Yuchi!
After speaking, Zhang Gongjin ordered the two soldiers Fang Er pointed out to be summoned.
Upon seeing Fang Er, the two became instantly excited and immediately knelt on one knee, performing a formal salute.
"Former Annihilate Barbarian Army, current Divine Spear Soldier instructor, Meng Zhong, pays his respects to Your Excellency!"
"Former Annihilate Barbarian Army, current Divine Spear Soldier instructor, Lv Huo, pays his respects to Your Excellency!"
"Quick, get up!" Fang Er quickly pulled them up.
These two had trained alongside the Heavenly Fire Army at Fang Family Village, and were then recalled by Li Shimin to form the Annihilate Barbarian Army.
This army, after fighting in Goguryeo and Silla alongside him, was transferred to Chai Shao's command, fighting in Wa and Nanyue. Later, after the reorganization of the Governor's Mansion, they were assigned to Yuchi Jingde's command.
Among all the armies of the Great Tang, besides the Heavenly Fire Army, the Annihilate Barbarian Army had the most actual combat experience using firearms.
And Meng Zhong and Lv Huo were the cream of the crop in the Annihilate Barbarian Army!
The two had become much more robust than when they trained under him. Just standing there, they exuded a formidable aura of battle-hardened soldiers.
Tsk tsk tsk tsk~~, those two brats never gave me such a grand salute! Zhang Gongjin's voice sounded from the side, full of a hint of jealousy.
Fang Er shot back directly with a single sentence: "You should be grateful you managed to snatch them from Old Brother Yuchi!"
Among the soldiers of the Annihilate Barbarian Army back then, Meng Zhong had the best marksmanship, while Lv Huo was a master of stealth and reconnaissance. What he said was absolutely not an exaggeration.
He truly wondered what benefits Yuchi Jingde had received to let these two go.
As they were speaking, someone reported that the prisoners escorted from the prison had arrived.
With a command from Zhang Gongjin, all the soldiers who were training on the grounds immediately stopped and cleared the area.
This left Fang Er completely stunned. Just how many "rats" had this guy caught to clear out the entire training ground?
Although this was just a small training ground, it was still three to five mu in size. Was such a grand display necessary?
At this moment, jailers, one after another, began escorting prisoners into the training grounds.
Each jailer escorted at least five or six people, all bound together by ropes.
After entering the training grounds, they were brought before the reviewing stand and knelt in a neat row.
It took nearly an hour just to bring these prisoners here.
Fang Er roughly estimated there were at least a thousand people!
"How about it? Did brother handle this well?"
"I'm not boasting, but as soon as these traitorous rats showed themselves, brother discovered them and immediately sent five thousand men into the city."
"Two thousand protected the banks, and three thousand disguised themselves as civilians. We caught one each time they showed themselves."
Speaking of which, Zhang Gongjin pointed proudly at the prisoners and continued.
"That group over there incited the populace to withdraw their subscriptions to the treasury bonds."
"Those few over there intended to rob the bank."
"Look at those shifty-eyed ones. They actually relied on their superior martial arts skills and tried to sneak into my Governor's Mansion to set it on fire!"
"Also, that group in the middle is the one that instigated the public to intercept the treasury bonds leaving Yangzhou."