Han’s Son is Not a Slave

Chapter 69: General Flag

Among the ten newly released chief banner officers of Taiping Camp, six were bandits from Daqiao Mountain, namely Zhao Sihai, Peng Dazhu, Ge Wu, Ge Liu, and the bald man who went to Laofengzhuang Copper Mine and had not returned. It was Qin Zhisheng, who served as a soldier in the Chubiao Camp of Guangdong Governor Ding Kui during the Shaowu period.

Qin Zhisheng was in his 40s. He was a former battalion commander. In the battle of Deqing Green Camp, his performance was outstanding. He led a team to kill more than ten Qing troops. There were only two casualties in this team, so he was pushed as the general flag by everyone. official. There are also three soldiers in his corps who were mentioned as corps commanders.

When Duke Xiang of Song wrote the roster of flag officers, he named Ge Wu and Ge Liu two brothers, one Ge Zheng and one Ge Yi, and the bald man. His surname was Jiang. Words, in this way, the ten general banner officers all have big names.

The five brothers Ge were very satisfied with their new names, but whether the bald man was satisfied or not would not know until the others returned.

Zhou Shixiang originally planned to give Shao Jiugong’s Jiangxi soldiers two general banners. First, they numbered nearly a hundred people, so they could form two teams; second, the combat effectiveness of these Jiangxi soldiers was relatively high, because of future wars. And to win over what they needed, Zhou Shixiang wanted to give them two places for the general flag. One candidate was Shao Jiugong, and the other was Lin Yousan, a personal soldier of Kong Guoliang.

However, Song Xianggong firmly opposed this matter, and only agreed to let Shao Jiugong serve as the general banner officer himself, and did not agree to the appointment and removal of Lin Yousan’s general banner. Then there is the appearance of the chief flag officer. Moreover, he deliberately emphasized to Zhou Shixiang that Jiangxi soldiers should not be divided into two teams, but should be used in different teams, and they must not be separated into groups.

Zhou Shixiang can roughly guess what Shao Jiugong is worried about. It is nothing more than to prevent Jiangxi soldiers from expanding in Taiping Camp. In the future, the imbalance of power will lead to infighting in the camp, or a situation where the superiors cannot command the subordinates. The essence of the situation of “the strong and the weak” is the same.

In view of the fact that there is a problem with the power allocation of the Taiping Battalion, the core strength has not been built, so Zhou Shixiang did not hold his own opinions, but heeded Song Xianggong’s advice and only gave Shao Jiugong a general flag quota, and then sent someone to invite Shao Jiugong. He came over and “discussed” with him about the disruption and reorganization of Jiangxi soldiers.

To Zhou Shixiang’s surprise, Shao Jiugong was not dissatisfied with his arrangement, but tried his best to agree with him. His words also revealed that he could not choose another chief banner officer under him.

After Shao Jiugong left, Zhou Shixiang asked Song Xianggong what he thought. Song Xianggong smiled and said, “Zongqi Shao is also someone who has an idea.”

Zhou Shixiang was at a loss, the difference between two general banner officers and one general banner officer for Jiangxi soldiers seemed small, but in fact it was very big. Naturally, the weight of a general flag’s speech in Taiping Camp is not as high as that of two general flags speaking together. For example, in the military conference, one person’s speech will definitely attract more attention than two people’s speech.

But Shao Jiugong said that he did not want Lin Yousan to be able to attend the military meeting in Taiping Camp like him, and even suggested that these Jiangxi soldiers agreed with him Shao Jiugong, and there was no need for another person to share Shao Jiugong’s burden, which made Zhou Shixiang I do not understand. Song Xianggong also said that Shao Jiugong was a person of mastery, which made him even more puzzled. Where did the idea come from?

Song Xianggong saw that Zhou Shixiang really failed to understand the way, so he explained to him with a smile, the reason why Shao Jiugong did not want Jiangxi soldiers to issue another general flag was ultimately a question of power.

Unlike Zhou Shixiang’s opinion that the weight of two general flags is much different than that of one general flag, in Shao Jiugong’s view, these Jiangxi soldiers are all his subordinates, and now they follow the Taiping camp under his leadership, and everyone depends on him. With the strength of the Jiangxi soldiers, Shao Jiugong was able to sit firmly in the Taiping Camp. Although it was only one of the ten general banners, its gold content was obviously higher than that of the other general banners, because he had the support of nearly a hundred Jiangxi soldiers. In the future, the Taiping Camp has grown, and his status as Shao Jiugong has also risen. But if another general flag that can be on an equal footing with him appears outside him, it will be the biggest threat to his status.

Just think, how do those Jiangxi soldiers who have always been accustomed to relying on Shao Jiugong’s leadership view the new general banner of Lin Yousan, and how do they view Shao Jiugong?

Under the current system of Taiping Camp, the status of the general banner is equal. Shao Jiugong cannot suppress Lin Yousan by relying on his previous identity, and Lin Yousan does not have to obey Shao Jiugong any more. In this way, there may be no major conflicts between the two in a short period of time. , But over time, whether Shao Jiugong is willing or not, his weight in the hearts of Jiangxi soldiers will be greatly reduced, and Lin Yousan will unknowingly assume the mission of the commander-in-chief and compete with Shao Jiugong in court. To put it bluntly, the existence of Lin Yousan will make Shao Jiugong’s position in the Jiangxi soldiers he thinks depend on greatly reduced. This is naturally intolerable to him, so he will imply that the Jiangxi soldiers only need a general flag.

After listening to Song Xianggong’s explanation, Zhou Shixiang suddenly realized that everyone really has a mind, and everyone has a small abacus in their hearts. Before this major event has been planned, the power is coming.

But that’s fine, at least for now, it is in the Taiping Camp and Zhou Shixiang’s interests to disrupt and reorganize the Jiangxi soldiers.

Of the six general banners from Daqiao Mountain, Shao Jiugong, the Jiangxi green battalion leader, accounted for one, and the remaining three were all outstanding recruits from Luo Ding.

Appointing three Luo Ding recruits as general banner officers, Zhou Shixiang can be said to defy all opinions and use talents without sticking to one pattern.

The three were Song Erniu, a flag soldier from the former battalion. This man used the big flagpole to stab a leader of the Green Battalion to death during the First Battle of Deqing. He then rushed forward and killed two Green Battalion soldiers. Ke Jia, let him be the general flag officer, and set an example for the whole battalion.

The other was Zheng Tiezhu, who was the first to sign up when Zhou Shixiang was recruiting troops in Luoding Dongcheng that day. In the battle of Deqing, his performance was also commendable. Although he did not have the record of fighting the enemy’s Qing troops, he always insisted and refused to take a step back. After Zhou Shixiang learned about this man’s deeds after the war, he immediately decided to promote him to an official position when he went back. When discussing the candidates for the general banner, he recommended Zheng Tiezhu. The reason he gave to everyone was that although this man was not very brave, he did not kill The enemy’s record, but the fact of not retreating in a deadly fight is enough to make everyone here ashamed, and there is no need for this person to use anyone.

In the battle of Deqing, when Hu Shuishin died, Ge Wu and the others all retreated, so no one could object to the reason for Zhou Shixiang’s appointment. The appointment of the com flag was passed naturally.

The last person is also an unrecognized and honest man among the recruits. The nearly forty-year-old Zheng Daniu rolled down the **** with a Qing soldier in his arms and smashed the Qing soldier with a stone after he was hit with several knives in the Deqing battle. After his death, he swayed and rushed into the deadly battle among the Qing soldiers. This person was still recovering from his wounds. In order to show his valor and to show the wounded soldiers the fairness and justice of the Taiping Camp, Zhou Shixiang mentioned him as the leader of the banner.

Compared with these three lucky ones who were raised as the general flag, there were not many Luo Ding recruits in the Deqing battle. Most of them had been afraid of the battle and retreated. However, it can be considered that he has experienced the test of blood and fire. Zhou Shixiang thought that twenty small banner officers could be selected from among them. This matter was handed over to the new staff member Liao Ruixiang, and there were no conditions. The tall one, as for who can get the appointment and dismissal of Xiaoqi, I am afraid that most of them depend on Master Liao’s vision.

Chen Mo, who was in charge of the dead soldier’s battalion, was temporarily awarded the small flag officer, and Duke Xiang of Song conveyed to him the fighting rules of the dead soldier’s battalion, that is, those who participated in the three dead soldiers’ battalion could withdraw from the dead soldier’s battalion and be transferred to each team as the small banner officer. Outstanding performance is of great importance. Those who deserve credit can be raised to the chief flag officer.

In this regard, Chen Mo didn’t say anything. After going back to blast the prisoners, he brought wine and meat to eat and drink, and he didn’t take future battles seriously.

The reorganization and appointment and dismissal of officers have been busy for two days. During the past two days, Song Xianggong was also busy sorting the captured spoils. Everyone in the Taiping Camp was busy, and no one was idle.

On the third day, Zhou Shixiang put forward a proposal on the actions of the gentry and the forcing the rest of the city’s residents to join the army. Before he could formulate a policy, news of the miners in Laofengzhuang came.