Chapter 81 Lu Hua, Secret Guard
Yang Zhengshan stood up suddenly, walked to the door and looked up at the sky.

Boom~~
In the southeast sky, thick dark clouds rolled in accompanied by dull thunder.

Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and dark clouds like thick smoke spread to Yang Zhengshan's head in an instant.

“It’s really going to rain!”

Yang Minghao’s eyes almost popped out of his head in surprise.

Yang Zhengshan narrowed his eyes.

His feelings are real.

Can you actually feel the weather changes?
Do I still have the ability to predict the weather?

Yang Zhengshan was also surprised and happy. He was surprised that it was about to rain and he was surprised that he had a special ability.

Wow~~
The heavy rain came suddenly, and raindrops as big as beans fell, wetting the ground in the blink of an eye.

Soon after, cheers rang out throughout the entire garrison, and many children ran happily inside the garrison.

"It's raining, it's raining, my lord, it's raining!"

The woman who helped them cook shouted in a somewhat inappropriate manner.

The soldiers from the front yamen also came running to report the good news, but in fact there was no need for them to report, as Yang Zhengshan was neither deaf nor blind.

Too many people are looking forward to this rain.

Yang Zhengshan stood under the eaves, stroking his beard, watching the heavy rain pouring down with a faint smile.

Hua Hua Hua~~
The rain lines came in a continuous line, completely extinguishing the heat that had lasted for several months.

At this time, Yang Zhengshan felt that this rain would be heavy and would completely solve the drought in Chongshan Town.

……

Inside the Chongshan Pass city.

In the governor's office, Lu Chongde looked at the heavy rain and let out a long breath.

“It’s finally raining!”

After Chongshan Town was defeated, he was immediately appointed as the governor of Chongshan Town, which was considered a task he was given in a time of crisis.

Before coming here, he had thought that the situation in Chongshan Town would be very tricky, but after arriving, he found that the situation in Chongshan Town was far more tricky than he had imagined.

Not only did he have to face the threat of the Hu people outside the Great Wall, but he also had to deal with a drought that lasted for several months.

The most important thing is that he took over a mess that had been in decline for more than ten years.

He hasn't received any good news in Guancheng for a month. Today's rain is the happiest day for him since he came to Guancheng.

"Futai, it seems that God still favors us!"

Lu Chongde's aide Yuan He came to his side and said with bright eyes.

"Yes, if it doesn't rain again, I don't know what to do!"

Lu Chongde turned and walked into the study and took out a document from the desk.

"With this heavy rain, the timing is almost right, go and make the arrangements."

He handed the document to Yuan He.

Yuan He took the document and glanced at it, then lowered his voice and asked, "Why don't you discuss this with the Marquis of Changping in advance?"

"No need to discuss, he will understand my intention!" Lu Chongde said lightly.

Neither he nor Liang Chu, Marquis of Changping, came to Chongshan Town empty-handed. Liang Chu brought five thousand Yunlong Guards, while he brought eight thousand war horses and a large amount of armor.

The military affairs of Chongshan Town have been abandoned for a long time, and the Hu tribe in the East China Sea has risen again. The court has decided to revitalize Chongshan Town.

Their main mission in Chongshan Town this time is to transform Chongshan Town into what it was like twenty years ago.

Now these war horses and weapons are the foundation for him to revitalize Chongshan Town.

The content of the document is about the distribution of war horses and armor.

He could not give all the war horses and weapons to Liang Chu, because he knew that if Liang Chu got these war horses and weapons, he would definitely use them in the five battalions of the town flag.

The Zhenbiao Five Battalions are only a part of Chongshan Town. What he wants to strengthen is the entire Chongshan Town, not the Zhenbiao Five Battalions.

So he distributed war horses and armor to each guard.

As for the need for war horses and armor for the five battalions of Zhenbiao, that was Liang Chu's concern.

Although doing so would make Liang Chu somewhat unhappy, he believed that Liang Chu would understand his intentions.

……

It rained heavily for a whole day and night, but unfortunately it came too late. The autumn harvest was approaching, and the rain at this time could no longer save the harvest of the military farms.

After the heavy rain, Yang Zhengshan began to organize the military households in the garrison to start the autumn harvest. No matter how much the harvest could be, the wheat in the fields still had to be harvested.

But this autumn harvest, no one looked happy.

The yield was too low.

The military farms in Yinghebao are all good fertile land, but the average grain output is less than 100 kilograms per mu. It is even worse in Linguanbao. It is already very good to yield 40 to 50 kilograms per mu.

Half of the harvest from these military farms had to be handed over to the military garrisons, which meant that the military households could only harvest a few dozen kilograms of grain per acre of land.

Standing in front of the garrison gate and looking at the soldiers busy in the fields, Yang Zhengshan was thinking about going to Jianningwei to ask for some money.

This year's harvest is definitely not enough to meet the needs of the military households, and he will have to start training soldiers next. Training not only consumes food, but also meat, which costs a lot of silver.

He had to get some food to ensure the daily needs of the military households and the training needs of the soldiers.

"Dad, we can go now!" Yang Mingzhi came over and said softly.

Yang Zhengshan turned his head and saw that ten soldiers leading horses had come behind him, waiting for his orders.

These soldiers were not from Linguan Fort, but elite cavalry selected from Yinghe Fort, Sanshan Fort and Xiangyuan Fort.

Three garrisons, more than twenty watchtowers and beacon towers were used to pick out these ten elite cavalrymen.

It’s not that Yang Zhengshan looks down on other soldiers, but there is really no choice.

Ordinary soldiers couldn’t even get enough food, let alone practice martial arts.

Yang Zhengshan was already very satisfied that he could pick out ten scouts he liked from more than four hundred soldiers.

Now these ten elite cavalry scouts are his personal guards, helping him to maintain his presence.

Of course, Yang Zhengshan also intended to train them, hoping that they could become the seeds of his cavalry.

"Let's go!"

Yang Zhengshan jumped on his horse and galloped towards Jianning Guard.

Jianning Wei was more than seventy miles away from Yinghe Fort. The group of more than ten people rode on horseback very quickly and arrived outside Jianning Wei in just over an hour.

Jianningwei City is a large city, more than 10 zhang high and 7 li in circumference, which is larger than many provincial cities.

The more accurate title of Zhou Lan, the Lieutenant General of Jianning Guard, is actually the Lieutenant General of Jianning in the Central Route of Chongshan Town.

Her jurisdiction is very large, and includes five garrisons, three ethics officers, and two defense officers.

Yang Zhengshan was one of the two defense officers.

The group arrived at the east gate of the Acropolis. Yang Zhengshan showed his defense officer token and entered the city smoothly.

There are several government offices in the Acropolis, including the Jianning Guard Command Headquarters, the Jianzhou Garrison Office, the Inspectorate, and the Lieutenant General's Office.

When he arrived at the Lieutenant-General's Mansion, Zhao Yuan had already received the news and was waiting for Yang Zhengshan in front of the mansion gate.

Zhao Yuan was also promoted to the position of Jianning Guardian, a fifth-rank official, but his main responsibility was still to help Zhou Lan deal with some miscellaneous matters.

Zhao Yuan had just recovered from a serious injury and had lost a lot of weight, but he was still in good spirits. "Brother Zhengshan! Hahaha, please come in!"

The two met again, but their friendship remained unchanged.

Although the two men had never fought side by side, they went into battle together and worked together for several months, and they forged a deep revolutionary friendship.

Although Zhao Yuan was envious of Yang Zhengshan's promotion to a thousand households, he was still very willing to meet Yang Zhengshan.

During the few months they worked together, Zhao Yuan felt that he had learned a lot from Yang Zhengshan, and Yang Zhengshan also took good care of him, so in his heart, Yang Zhengshan was both a teacher and a friend.

"How is Mr. Zhao these days?"

Yang Zhengshan followed him into the General's Mansion, observing the situation there as he walked.

The General's Office is more accurately a staff organization, and most of the people here are staff and clerks recruited by Zhou Lan.

Just as Yang Zhengshan entered the shogunate, he met a man head-on. The man was very tall, about 1.8 meters, thin, and in his early twenties. He had a gentle appearance like jade, and was dressed in mostly plain colors, with a cold temperament.

Behind the man were two followers, one tall and one short. Yang Zhengshan glanced at the two followers, then retracted his gaze and passed the man.

With just one glance, he could tell that the two followers behind the man were masters, most likely seventh level masters.

As for this man, his strength is equally unfathomable.

After the man walked away, he asked, "Who was that just now?"

Zhao Yuan's eyes flickered, "The one from the palace!"

From the palace?

Yang Zhengshan's expression changed slightly and he nodded slightly.

The new garrison eunuch Lu Hua!

This eunuch in charge is completely different from the previous Zhang Yude. Zhang Yude is extremely greedy and arrogant, while Lu Hua is extremely low-key. Since he came to Chongshan Town, he has rarely appeared in public.

"What is he here for?"

Yang Zhengshan couldn't help but ask curiously.

"I'm not sure, but next time you meet him, just stay away from him!" Zhao Yuan said in a low voice.

"What? Is he dangerous?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"It's more than just dangerous." Zhao Yuan seemed to be very afraid of Lu Hua and spoke carefully, "This guy is from the Secret Guard!"

"Secret Guard!" Yang Zhengshan's pupils shrank.

Even if he didn't pay attention to the court, he had heard of the name of the Secret Guard.

The Secret Guard is a privileged supervisory and secret investigation agency exclusively for the emperor. It monitors officials internally and investigates enemy countries and situations externally.

The most important thing is that the Secret Guards have special permission from the emperor to execute first and report later.

The Secret Guards can arrest any official below the third rank without asking for permission.

This privilege alone is enough to make all officials avoid the Secret Guards.

The reason why Yang Zhengshan had heard of the Secret Guards was because there was a rumor in Chongshan Pass that Zhang Yude was taken away by the Secret Guards.

He didn't expect that he would actually meet the Secret Guard today.

Yang Zhengshan withdrew his thoughts and followed Zhao Yuan into Zhou Lan's study.

"Meet the General!"

In the study, Zhou Lan was writing at her desk. When she heard Yang Zhengshan's voice, she said without even raising her head, "Sit down first. I'll talk to you when I'm done!"

Yang Zhengshan was not shy and sat directly at the tea table next to him. Zhao Yuan winked at him, as if to say that General Zhou was really busy recently.

Then a maid brought tea. Yang Zhengshan was not in a hurry. He just sat there and drank the tea with a calm look on his face.

The tea in Chongshan Town is very expensive, and he usually can't afford to drink it. However, the tea here at Zhou Lan is of the best quality. It is a rare opportunity to have free tea, and Yang Zhengshan enjoys it.

About a quarter of an hour later, Yang Zhengshan had already drunk a pot of tea, and Zhou Lan finally finished her work.

"Oh, there are so many messed up things. If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed in the Zhenbiao Camp!"

Zhou Lan complained while moving her arms and legs.

In Zhenbiao Camp, although she was the chief officer of a battalion, there were not many things she needed to deal with. But after becoming a lieutenant general, she was responsible for a huge amount of things.

She picked up the tea, took a sip and said, "You came at the right time. I have something to tell you."

"General, please speak!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"After the autumn harvest, it's time to put military training on the agenda. I plan to select a thousand-household unit to start with, and you should also start training!" Zhou Lan said.

"General, I'm short of food!" Yang Zhengshan said, rubbing his beard which had grown a lot more.

"Uh!" Zhou Lan was suddenly embarrassed.

Yang Zhengshan was short of food, and she was short of food too.

Yang Zhengshan only governed three garrisons, while she governed five thousand households and more than twenty garrisons.

The situation in every tunbu is actually similar, and this year's harvest is very low.

"No food!" Zhou Lan said with a blush.

"How can we train soldiers without food?" Yang Zhengshan said with his eyes wide open.

"I have silver! I'll give you three thousand taels. Three months later, I want to see a group of elite soldiers with no less than five hundred people!" Zhou Land said.

Yang Zhengshan felt a little relieved, but he still said, "Even if you have money now, you may not be able to buy food!"

The severe drought in Chongshan Town has affected this year's harvest. It goes without saying that food prices will soar in the coming year.

"There's nothing I can do!" Zhou Lan pinched her eyebrows with a headache.

Training troops requires food and fodder. Yang Zhengshan is short of food, and so is she.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and said, "What about the weapons and armor?"

"I have the weapons and armor. I will give you three hundred war horses and five hundred sets of armor. If you can train three hundred elite cavalry, I will give you another three hundred war horses!" Zhou Lan said encouragingly.

Yang Zhengshan's eyes suddenly lit up.

Three hundred war horses!

This is much more expensive than three thousand taels of silver.

But then he thought of a new problem.

Three hundred elite cavalry and five hundred infantry, wouldn’t that mean eight hundred soldiers?
But he had no more than 500 soldiers under his command, plus the 100 soldiers in Linguan Fort.

Moreover, during military training, the vigilance of each watchtower and beacon tower cannot be relaxed, and it is impossible to gather all the soldiers together for training.

"Then can I recruit new soldiers?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

He is a thousand-man commander. Logically, he should have ten hundred-man commanders and more than 1,100 soldiers under his command, but now he only has more than 500 soldiers.

"Sure, but we can only select soldiers from military households!" Zhou Lan agreed readily.

Soldiers can only be selected from military households, which means that Yang Zhengshan cannot recruit soldiers.

However, he could gather refugees and convert farmers into military households.

Chongshan Town has just experienced a severe drought, and there should be many people who can't make a living. It shouldn't be difficult to recruit a group of refugees.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhengshan had a general idea in his mind.

"Subordinate to obey!"

(End of this chapter)