Not to mention that Zhang Fengyi ordered the Wuwei Army to attack everywhere, plunder herdsmen everywhere, and drove the Mongolian tribes a hundred miles away from Lucheng; not to mention that Sheng Kunshan gave up driving the Xitumote tribe, turned his horses back to Sanniangzi City, and confronted Dorgon's army at Sanniangzi City and Ulanqab. Only said that a whole army of troops galloped back and forth in the southern suburbs of Dezhou, Shandong Province, and the competition was full of enthusiasm.

This group of people is naturally the Imperial Guards.

The Imperial Guards took General Sun Yingyuan as the army commander, Zhou Yuji as the deputy army commander, and the central official Chen Kui as the army supervisor. They led three battalions, with nearly 7,000 people. Similar to the Jingzhou Army, the Imperial Guards led five sentries in one battalion, and one sentry led five teams...

Most of the soldiers of the Imperial Guards came from Shandong, and all of them had experienced the battle to resist the invasion of the Tartars. In addition, since ancient times, the heroes of Qi and Ludo have been recruited by the Jingzhou Army. Compared with the soldiers recruited by the Jingzhou Army, the quality of the Imperial Guards was even better than that.

The officers in the Imperial Guards were all wearing plate armor, but the soldiers were wearing leather armor. According to a sentence that Chen Kui often said: The Ministry of Works is stepping up the pressure on plate armor, which will eventually make everyone wear plate armor!

The black and shiny plate armor is almost exactly the same as the Jingzhou army. These plate armors naturally do not come from the workshops in Huguang, but are made by the court. It is not surprising to say that the technology of plate armor is simply that it is just to borrow the power of water trucks for cold rolling. Among the Han people, skilled craftsmen cart to carry the load. Once the court attaches importance to it, it is not a problem to build water trucks or use water trucks for cold rolling.

The only materials for making steel crossbows were unknown, so the Imperial Guards did not equip steel crossbows, but replaced them with composite bows. The two veterans, Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji, knew very clearly that although the accuracy of composite bows was not as accurate as steel crossbows, their firing rate was much faster than steel crossbows. When used on the battlefield, their combat effectiveness was not weaker than steel crossbows.

Chen Kui knew the Jingzhou Army very well and revealed the mystery in one sentence: the Jingzhou Army had no choice but to be unwilling to equip the composite bow. After all, the cost of making steel crossbows is much lower than that of the composite bow.

In addition to the organization and armored equipment similar to the Jingzhou Army, the Imperial Guards even learned tactics from the Jingzhou Army, emphasizing the cooperation of long and short weapons and the application of battle groups.

In addition, after the governor of Shandong by Song Xuezhu, he spent all his efforts to draw out tens of millions of fertile land from Shandong as the land of the Imperial Guards, encouraging soldiers to kill the enemy and serve the court. Therefore, the Imperial Guards have high morale and the soldiers trained very hard.

In addition to lacking practical experience, this army is enough to be called the most elite unit of the court.

Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji tried their best to pull the Imperial Guard to the front line for training, but they never did what they wanted. After all, Yang Sichang and Song Xuezhu started a new job to form the Imperial Guard, with their own political considerations. How could they push the Imperial Guard to the front line without the opportunity?

War is the extension of politics. Obviously, with the wisdom of the Han people, how can we always fight a brainless battle like Japanese pirates?

However, the Imperial Guard did not wait too long. In the mid-spring of the 13th year of Chongzhen, a transfer order was issued to go straight from the Ministry of War to the Imperial Guard camp, and ordered the Imperial Guard to rush from Dezhou to Xuanfu within 15 days to prepare to take out the border wall to expel Dorgon's army.

After receiving the order, Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji looked at each other and could not believe that this order was true. The Imperial Guards were all infantrymen, and the chances of victory were almost zero when they took the initiative to attack Dorgon's more than 10,000 cavalry.

"This... how is this possible? The men wanted to fight, but they looked forward to such a confused war!"

Zhou Yuji patted his head and said stutteringly.

Sun Yingyuan was silent for a moment and said decisively: "Military orders must not be violated. The entire army will set off the camp and take a boat north in one day!"

"Master General..." Zhou Yuji was anxious and was about to persuade Sun Yingyuan, but was interrupted by Sun Yingyuan's wave:

"No need to say more. The general will inform Eunuch Chen and understand the pros and cons. Eunuch Chen is a man who knows the military and will not want to watch the Imperial Guard standing under the dangerous wall. Hope... I hope that time will still be too late to let the imperial court change its original intention before the Imperial Guard arrives at Xuanfu."

Sun Yingyuan puts his hopes on the inner court, which is obviously the best strategy at present. Zhou Yuji nodded and sighed: "Hope is too late..."

On the second day, more than 7,000 troops of the Imperial Guards set off to the north. When they arrived at Hejian Mansion, Chen Kui suddenly asked to see Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji, and said in a trembling voice: "...Zu Dale led two thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry and was secretly moving towards Xuan Mansion. Eunuch Gao intends to incorporate Zu Dale into the Imperial Guards series..."

Life is so exciting! Happiness comes too suddenly, Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji are obviously knocked out by the news, and they are speechless for a moment, and they can't speak.

After a while, Zhou Yuji laughed: "With two thousand Guanning Iron Cavalry and infantry and cavalry cooperation, what are the fears of more than 10,000 Tartars? Haha... No wonder they have to come out of the side wall, haha..."

Seeing that Zhou Yuji's voice was too loud, Chen Kui was very nervous and advised: "General Zhou, please be careful. Such a secret matter will be leaked but it will be a matter of losing one's head!"

Zhou Yuji smiled and said, "I know, I know... Eunuch Chen said it!"

Zhou Yuji was heartless and ignored anything except for fighting and training. However, Sun Yingyuan and Chen Kui knew the tremendous struggle within the court, and a hint of worry emerged from his heart: Is Guanning Iron Cavalry so active? The Zu family, Wu family and other military generals would watch the Imperial Guards eat more than 2,000 Iron Cavalry?

In the struggle between senior officials, Sun Yingyuan and Chen Kui could not join forces, let alone influence and dominance, so they had to leave it to fate and continue to go north.

After the Imperial Guards arrived in Tongzhou, they abandoned their boats and landed, passed Juyongguan and Badaling, and finally arrived at Xuanfu. It only took twelve days in total.

This achievement not only made Sun Yingyuan, Zhou Yuji and Chen Kui quite satisfied. Even after receiving the report, Yang Sichang was overjoyed and said to Li Shaoyi: "Gao Qiqian is not a false reputation. The general he likes is indeed not a mediocre person, very good and good..."

There was no look of joy on Li Shaoyi's face and sighed: "Oh, it's a pity that Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji both came from the Beijing camp..."

Yang Sichang smiled and said, "It is true that Cao Huachun controls the Jingying. Gao Qiqian wants to seize food from Cao Huachun, so he will naturally stand on the stage to fight. I don't have to pay attention to this matter. We just need to do our own things well. Wang Pu also comes from the Jingying, Xu Dingguo is too far from Xuanfu. As for Yang Guozhu... Hehe... Thank you for your hard work this time, Mr. Li will go there!"

Li Shaoyi had just been promoted to Minister of War a few days ago. When he saw Yang Sichang talking about this, he hurriedly stood up and bowed, "The Master of Ge is joking. All the students are promoted by Master of Ge, how can they not do their best to do their best?"

Yang Sichang was in a good mood and smiled and said, "Go and go, the court has been in decline for too long, and there must be one or two things to boost confidence!"

Let’s talk about the Imperial Guard’s armor and shiny swords and guns. After entering Xuanfu with high morale, it immediately caused a sensation. The one who paid the most attention to the Imperial Guard was of course the border troops of Xuanfu.

"It's just a bunch of master soldiers, what's the point? During the Beijing Camp drill, don't you make a good move? But you'll catch it when you fight..."

"Why can these master soldiers wear such good armor? We are fighting hard at the border without covering our clothes?"

...

There are all kinds of arguments, and they are generally jealous and despised. Later, the Imperial Guards were ordered to take over the grain warehouse, treasury, and armory of the Xuanfu, which suddenly aroused the anger of the border army. The border army became angry, cursing and provoking, and used it to vent their inner dissatisfaction. However, their leader, Yang Guozhu, the general of the Xuanfu, did not even have the chance to vent his anger. He was in panic all day long, like a death row prisoner waiting for Qiu Jue.

Yang Guozhu was extremely regretful. If he had known this, he would have completely defected to Lin Chunhong at the beginning. How could he face today's dilemma? Yang Guozhu tried every means to save himself, including rebellion and escape, etc., but he did not have the courage to fantasize that the court was just acting.

Yang Guozhu's fear did not last long. Just two days later, Li Shaoyi and Wang Jimo arrived in the army together, holding an imperial edict, claiming that Yang Guozhu was greedy for Mo, and took out a lot of evidence to take Yang Guozhu back to Beijing, and issued an imperial prison.

The ironclad evidence is as strong as a mountain, and the Imperial Guards are close at hand, which controls the key points of the Xuanfu. Although Yang Guozhu's subordinates are unfair, they have to abide by the facts and have no intention of causing storms.

After Yang Guozhu was executed, Li Shaoyi announced the order of the Ministry of War, and the Imperial Guard was upgraded to the Imperial Guard Corps. The Imperial Guard was originally organized into the First Army of the Legion, and Sun Yingyuan served as two positions, leading the commander of the Corps and the commander of the First Army. Yang Guozhu's more than 9,000 soldiers were organized into the Second Army of the Legion, with Zhou Yuji as the army commander.

Sun Yingyuan, Zhou Yuji and Chen Kui were not happy at all, and were full of reluctance. The three believed that the most ideal way for the expansion of the Imperial Guard was to fight several fierce battles with the Tartars, train officers, then draw officers, recruit soldiers again, and form the Second Army.

Now, the court has thrown Yang Guozhu's old subordinates to the Imperial Guard Corps at all costs. These old subordinates are all veterans. They may not only lead the old imperial guards to ruin the atmosphere, but may even slack in combat and drag down the First Army.

Seeing Zhou Yuji and Chen Kui's faces full of decay, Sun Yingyuan forced a smile and said, "This is a happy event. There are many soldiers, and it is better than few soldiers. It depends on how General Zhou takes him!"

Zhou Yuji had a bitter face and said, "It is difficult to change these soldiers in a short time! The last general has an idea. It is better to draw honest and brave soldiers from the border army of Xuanfu, and how much can they draw? It is better to add them to the Imperial Guards. Then, draw the same number of veterans and officers from the Imperial Guards to set up the racks of the Second Army. As for the remaining soldiers in the border army, they should be treated as reserves. It is better to transport food and supplies than civilians. In a hurry, they can also go to the battlefield."

Sun Yingyuan and Chen Kui were overjoyed and both praised: "General Zhou is so scheming! He is so scheming, so do it!"

That being said, it is very troublesome to implement. In the army, any staffing adjustment or personnel transfer are a major event, and Sun Yingyuan has no right to decide on this matter. Therefore, Sun Yingyuan immediately wrote to the Ministry of War to request approval.

Yang Sichang has been in charge of the Ministry of War for many years. Although he no longer serves as the Minister of War, Sun Yingyuan's strategy is still placed in front of Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang was overjoyed and agreed to Sun Yingyuan's strategy.

Without further ado, Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji immediately selected more than 1,500 worthwhile men from the border army of Xuanfu, and then transferred more than 1,500 soldiers from the Imperial Guards. With these soldiers as the backbone, they stood up as the stance of the Second Army of the Legion.
Chapter completed!