GBP Chapter 430 Helping in times of need
Chapter 430 Helping in times of need
After listening to Ma Wei's explanation, Lu Gengyu felt it made sense. He pondered and said, "You're right, but it was the general who decided to gather the starving people to Qiongzhou. There's nothing we can do about it. We can't just poach people from the general. We can only try to find a solution in Shandong. Or, how about we expand the search to other prefectures in Shandong?"
Ma Wei hesitated and said, "I am a rough man, but I know that the territory under the jurisdiction of the Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor is only Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Qingzhou. Further west, Jinan, Gunzhou, and Dongchang are all under the jurisdiction of the Shandong Governor. Is this appropriate?"
Lu Gengyu was also uncertain: "Mr. Sun instructed that the Shandong Governor Zhu Dadian has a good relationship with the General. I don't know if he will give us face. Why don't we set off for Jinan tomorrow, find the Governor's Office and ask to see Lord Zhu, and try our luck?" After the appointment of the Dengzhou and Laizhou Governor was issued, Zhu Dadian, who was temporarily stationed in Dengzhou, returned to Jinan. If he wanted to recruit soldiers in the three western prefectures, he had to get his approval.
Ma Wei thought of something and clapped his hands, exclaiming, "I remember it was Officer Su who persuaded me to join the Qiongzhou Camp... Oh, according to the local terminology, it was Platoon Leader Su. After the rebellion was quelled, he didn't return to Qiongzhou but stayed in Shandong to assist Governor Zhu in training the new army. If asking Governor Zhu doesn't work, we can try asking him."
Lu Gengyu asked in surprise, "Is that so? I've never heard Mr. Sun mention it, but we can give it a try."
The next day, the two prepared to set off for Jinan. But as soon as you speak of Cao Cao, he arrives. Su Hongtu traveled from Jinan to Dengzhou, found out where they were staying, and went straight to their door.
He smiled at Ma Wei and said, "Brother Ma, you've been here for half a month, why haven't you come to see me? I've been waiting for you in Jinan, but you didn't come, so I had to come to you myself."
Ma Wei was both surprised and delighted: "Platoon Leader Su, how did you know I came to Shandong? We were just about to go to Jinan to find you."
Su Hongtu grinned and said, "The general sent someone to inform me a long time ago. I received the news as soon as you arrived in Dengzhou. However, I am no longer a platoon leader. Governor Zhu has given me an official title. I am now a captain in the Governor's Battalion."
Lu Gengyu asked cautiously, "So, is Commander Su working for Governor Zhu or General Liu now?"
Su Hongtu's smile vanished, his eyes widening. "What are you saying? If the general hadn't pulled me out of that hellhole, I'd still be a blacksmith's apprentice. My parents, siblings, and I would either have been tortured to death by Gou Dafu in the village or starved to death. Do you think I, Su Hongtu, am the kind of person who forgets kindness?"
Ma Wei advised, "Brother Su, don't get angry. This is Mr. Lu, the former magistrate of Changhua County. He's working for the general now. We're all on the same side."
Upon hearing that he was a scholar who had served as a county magistrate and was also a fellow general, Su Hongtu's expression softened considerably: "I am a rough man, and I speak and act straightforwardly. Please don't take offense, Mr. Lu."
Lu Gengyu shook his head: "It's alright, just make it clear so that everyone doesn't keep things to themselves. We're all working for the general."
Su Hongtu slapped his forehead: "Speaking of serving the general, I almost forgot the main matter. The general sent me a message saying that Brother Ma is training cavalry in Dengzhou. I also gathered some men in Jinan, all young and strong and good at riding horses, and brought them over. I don't know if Brother Ma will need them?"
Ma Wei was overjoyed: "I was just about to doze off when you delivered a pillow! We were worried about finding people, which is why we went to Jinan to find you. Are you Zhuge Liang, able to predict the future? How did you know we were short of people?"
Su Hongtu scratched the back of his head and replied embarrassedly, "I was originally illiterate. I only learned some characters to become a platoon leader. How could I compare to Zhuge Liang? I'm not a fortune teller either. Here's what happened..."
He recounted the whole story to the two men in detail. It turned out that he had been entrusted by Liu Ye to stay in Shandong to help Zhu Dadian train troops, and he had done his best, without being perfunctory. However, when recruiting soldiers, he had been careful, keeping the able-bodied men who could ride horses separately from the newly established governor's standard battalion, intending to reserve them for his own general. When he recommended Ma Wei, he guessed that Ma Wei might be given an important position, because Qiongzhou lacked warhorses and cavalry, and a wise general like him would not sit idly by while such a significant weakness existed in the army. During the suppression of the rebellion, the mobility and power of the rebel and Guan Ning army cavalry proved that this type of soldier was indispensable.
“It’s not that these people can’t be trained as ordinary musketeer infantry, but it would be a waste. Governor Zhu does have cavalry in the areas under his jurisdiction, which are under the command of various generals in Shandong, so he’s not very interested in training cavalry. But I think those seasoned soldiers under the generals are not suitable for us. It would be better to find some honest civilians and train them from scratch. So I took it upon myself to detain these people, and when I learned that you were coming to Shandong, I brought them all over with me.”
Ma Wei grinned from ear to ear: "Brother, you are truly my benefactor. First, you recommended me to join the army, and now you've given me such a timely help. You've really done me a great favor."
Lu Gengyu asked doubtfully, "But, won't Governor Zhu blame you for doing this?"
“Governor Zhu trusts me a lot. He has entrusted me with the entire task of organizing and training the new army, from recruiting men to training them. As long as I train a decent standard battalion for him in six months, he won’t interfere with anything else,” Su Hongtu explained. “Anyway, there’s a limit to the number of standard battalions. Governor Zhu can’t afford to support more than that. These cavalry talents are just sitting around doing nothing anyway. Even if Governor Zhu finds out, he won’t care. If he really blames me for this, I’ll quit and go back to Qiongzhou immediately.”
Ma Wei didn't care about any of that. He grabbed Su Hongtu's hand and said, "Come on, let me take you to see the person you chose."
At the horse ranch south of the city, the air was filled with dust, and the thunderous sound of hooves filled the air. Thousands of riders on horseback were running back and forth, performing actions according to Ma Wei's commands. Sometimes they trotted, sometimes they sprinted, and sometimes they circled the ranch. At first glance, these riders were all quite skilled, and their movements were executed with great precision.
Half an hour later, covered in dust, Ma Wei found Su Hongtu and Lu Gengyu on the sidelines and said loudly amidst the sound of hooves, "These people are all good, better than the ones we recruited. After all, the three prefectures in the west have suffered less from the ravages of war, so it's easier to select suitable young men."
Lu Gengyu asked him, "With the men Su Qianhu brought, do we have enough manpower? Do we need to recruit more?"
Ma Wei nodded repeatedly: "That's enough. With the people we recruited, it's almost two thousand, and they're all good riders, all promising talents. Luckily, Brother Su helped us, otherwise we would have been stuck in the Eastern Three Prefectures, completely at a loss."
Su Hongtu said with a hint of pride, "I only know how to handle a gun, not how to ride a horse. I'm an amateur. Fortunately, the person I chose is someone who meets your standards."