newbobooks Chapter 330
Chapter 330
The Tiger Legion arrived in Datong a day or two earlier than Zhou Chu had anticipated.
Lin Lu and the Tiger Legion soldiers were extremely excited to see Zhou Chu. During this time, they had been training non-stop in Suzhou Prefecture. Without Zhou Chu's command, Lin Lu and the entire Tiger Legion were lost.
Both Lin Lu and the Tiger Army believed that Zhou Chu was their superior.
After all, the Tiger Legion was personally established and trained by Zhou Chu. It can be said that in the eyes of these Tiger Legion soldiers, although Zhou Chu was the same age as them, or even older than them, they regarded him as a strict teacher.
With Zhou Chu around, they had a leader. When Zhou Chu left Suzhou Prefecture, the Tiger Army was like a ship without a leader.
Even Lin Lu was no exception. Although he had led troops on the border before, those garrison soldiers were far inferior to the Tiger Legion in every aspect.
Lin Lu even felt that these two thousand Tiger Warriors could easily charge into the formation of fifty thousand garrison soldiers, and those garrison soldiers wouldn't even have any effective means of counterattack.
Lin Lu learned a lot from Zhou Chu, and he got used to Zhou Chu giving him all sorts of orders when he was around. He just had to carry them out without having to think about whether they were right or wrong.
Because countless facts have proven that Lord Zhou's decisions are always just right.
"grown ups!"
Lin Lu came before Zhou Chu and bowed.
Looking at the dusty Lin Lu and the Tiger Army before him, and at the admiring and excited looks in the eyes of the Tiger Army soldiers, Zhou Chu was momentarily dazed.
He had only intended to build an army and train soldiers to solve the problems of the gentry in Jiangnan. He never expected that the Tiger Army would grow to such a level without him realizing it.
The Tiger Army is now well-fed and clothed; the military pay that Zhou Chu had reserved for them was enough for the next one or two decades.
Each member of the Tiger Legion has two sets of armor, one light and one heavy. The Tiger Legion came from Suzhou Prefecture this time, and they are all wearing light armor. The heavy armor is transported by a special logistics unit and will take some time to arrive in Datong.
However, light armor is sufficient for fighting on the grasslands; heavy armor would only be a burden. The key to fighting on the grasslands is to move swiftly like the wind and strike the enemy unexpectedly.
Countless blitzkrieg campaigns have proven this point: only by attacking the enemy unexpectedly and when they are caught off guard can the enemy be annihilated at the lowest cost.
Zhou Chu did not send the Tiger Legion to the capital, but instead set up camp in a relatively secluded place a dozen miles outside Datong.
Most people were unaware of the existence of the Tiger Legion, and Zhou Chu had no intention of exposing it to the public eye.
In this way, the Tiger Legion can become Zhou Chu's secret weapon and trump card.
The Tiger Warriors have always been the source of Zhou Chu's confidence, both in Jiangnan and now in Datong.
Zhou Chu brought only a few people, such as Lin Lu and a few Tiger Legion centurions, into Datong City.
While the individual combat strength of a centurion in the Tiger Legion might not be much different from that of a regular centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, if three or more centurions cooperated, a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard would be no match for the Tiger Legion.
"Go and call Hu Duo and Wang Qianshan over."
Zhou Chu returned directly to the house that Yu Hai had prepared for him. The training in the military camp had now gotten on track. In the past few days, Zhou Chu had appointed most of the commanders of a thousand. As for the commanders of a hundred, there were too many and too complicated, so Zhou Chu let the commanders of a thousand choose for themselves.
The training methods for these 30,000 soldiers could not be the same as those for the Tiger Legion. The Tiger Legion was the elite of the elite, and Zhou Chu trained it by combining military training records with special forces training methods from later generations.
Zhou Chu's requirements for these 30,000 soldiers were much lower, focusing mainly on physical training and supplementing it with battle formation training.
Without good physical fitness, everything else is nonsense.
These 30,000 soldiers had only trained occasionally for many years and had never experienced such intensive and high-intensity training. At the beginning, Zhou Chu trained them to the point of exhaustion.
However, they had no complaints about Zhou Chu. After all, Zhou Chu had given them so much military pay. They would be willing to fight and die on the battlefield, let alone train them.
Before this, many soldiers' families were struggling to make ends meet, and Zhou Chu was like a second life to them.
The skinny horses that Zhu Junzhang had sent over rushed forward to serve Zhou Chu when he finally appeared.
"Okay, back off."
Zhou Chu waved his hand and said.
It's not that Zhou Chu doesn't know how to enjoy life; these women are very skilled at massaging legs and shoulders, after all, they are specially trained. But it was the dead of winter, and Zhou Chu was wearing a cotton-padded coat. The leg massages were like kneading cotton, and the shoulder massages were also like kneading cotton.
It's like scratching an itch through a boot—it's meaningless.
Upon hearing this, the women all curtsied and then respectfully withdrew.
As for these women, Chunlan will make arrangements herself; Zhou Chu doesn't even need to give any special instructions.
Chunlan always made Zhou Chu feel at ease. She would handle all the trivial matters and always had what Zhou Chu needed readily available.
This is something that not everyone can do; in fact, very few people can.
"How is the situation in Jiangnan?"
Zhou Chu looked at Lin Lu and said casually.
"During this period, everything in Suzhou Prefecture and Jiangnan is normal. Lord Yan is very capable. I didn't realize this when you were in Suzhou Prefecture."
Lin Lu told the truth.
Zhou Chu nodded upon hearing this.
If Yan Song wasn't capable, the emperor wouldn't have specifically transferred him to Suzhou.
Yan Song was very useful, especially in his control and management of his subordinates.
"But after you left, Lord Yan seems to have changed. He's not as timid as before. He gives off a completely different vibe. And during this time, many officials in Jiangnan have been trying to get in through Lord Yan's connections."
Lin Lu thought for a moment and then said.
He simply told Zhou Chu what he saw and heard; he did not draw any conclusions or offer any opinions.
He didn't need to use his brain in front of Zhou Chu, because he knew that his brain was far inferior to that of an adult. Adults could see through the essence of many things at a glance, while he was far behind.
Zhou Chu was not surprised to hear this.
Yan Song had his strengths and weaknesses. He hid his ambition well when he was in Suzhou, but Zhou Chu could see it clearly.
After all, he was an official in his forties who used to be so aloof, yet he was always full of flattery towards me, a mere teenager in the Imperial Guard. If there wasn't a desire for power behind that, no one would believe it.
Yan Song was adept at forming cliques, creating a community of shared interests among countless officials. Only in this way could he climb the ranks step by step by leveraging these people.
Zhou Chu was not surprised by this.
Yan Song was a double-edged sword, but for Zhou Chu and the emperor, he was a good one.
After all, Yan Song was now a staunch supporter of the emperor, and Zhou Chu was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; there would be no conflict between them in terms of their positions.
Moreover, Zhou Chu knew very well that Yan Song would be very useful for at least the next five to ten years.
"Young Master, Wang Changshan and Prefect Hu have arrived."
Chunlan came before Zhou Chu and reported the news.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu immediately smiled.
The money-giver has finally arrived.