Chapter 104 Sit on the Army

Li Ke and Ruoyi left the boudoir, turned the corridor, passed the garden, and then turned one corridor, and arrived at the front entrance. However, his luck was really bad, and he happened to meet Hou Junji who was returning home in a dusty manner.

As soon as Li Ke saw Hou Junji, he sighed secretly, "I'm really asking for trouble. Why did he be so sad about his ideas? He was about to leave but ran into him." Then, he saw Su Dingfang behind Hou Junji, and said in confusion, "Why is Dingfang back too?"

When Hou Junji saw Li Ke, he looked at his daughter Ruoyi next to him. When he saw her happy look, he felt comforted. He didn't care about Ruoyi's weight loss for months. He stepped forward to Su Dingfang and said, "I have seen Your Highness in the end."

"Duke Lu doesn't need to give this great gift, I really don't dare to accept it." Li Ke raised his hand slightly and said, then followed Su Dingfang, "Dingfang, why are you back?"

When Hou Junji saw Li Ke asking Su Dingfang, he said before Su Dingfang spoke, "I heard from the servants in the mansion that the palace came to the mansion and the general rushed back quickly. Finally, he returned to the mansion before His Highness left. I happened to find that Su Lie had not returned to the Han Palace for a long time, so I brought him over." Then he waved his hand, "Your Highness, please go to the living room to speak."

Li Ke had no choice but to return to the living room, and after sitting down, he said, "Duke Lu has lived in the military camp for several months and has worked tirelessly for the Tang Dynasty. I am deeply impressed."

Since forming the new army, Hou Junji has been staying in the Xishan camp and has not returned home for several months. He has not even visited his most beloved daughter. He is indeed a conscientious general. He heard Li Ke’s praise at this moment and felt a lot of comfort. He said a little tiredly, “The New Army’s military strength of the Tang Dynasty’s future foreign wars is not dared to slack off. Now the soldiers’ selection, the construction of the military camp has been completed, and the training of the new army has been basically in place. The General of the General of the General of the People’s Republic of China finally felt at ease.”

Li Ke was moved when he heard Hou Junji say this. Regardless of whether Hou Junji is like Li Shimin said that he likes to boast about himself and loves vain. But at least his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty is beyond doubt. As a soldier, he has defended the country's sovereign territory and honor and protected the lives of the people. Therefore, with this, he is better than many heroes who have sold their country and sought honor in history.

"Duke Lu is training the new army. Please say bluntly if you need any help from me in the future. I will do my best." Li Ke was deeply impressed by the soldiers who have devoted their lives to the country and the people, so apart from his evaluation of Hou Junji in history, he said this based on his rational understanding.

"I thank Your Highness here. If the new army really needs your help in the future, I will definitely find Your Highness." Hou Junji did not refuse, and then looked at Su Dingfang sitting next to Li Ke, "Su Lie, this is the first time you have come to my mansion. You are so silent. Do you have any worries?"

Su Dingfang was thinking about how to report to Li Ke on his training of heavy cavalry during this period when he heard Hou Junji say, looking up and apologizing, "I am a little distracted. I hope the general and Your Highness will forgive me."

"You are responsible for the establishment, training and other tasks of heavy cavalry, and the burden is not light." Hou Junji said, "If you have any difficulties, you can ask me or your Highness. Never always think about solving the problem alone to increase the pressure on yourself."

"The last general is indeed not very satisfied with the horse problem of heavy cavalry. Now the horses riding on the soldiers are enough to be trained. However, if you really want to kill the enemy, you still lack explosiveness and strength."

After Su Dingfang said this, Hou Junji also noticed this problem. He had been fighting for many years and understood the importance of war horses to cavalry. But he was a little confused. There seemed to be no such problem in terms of war horse equipment and light cavalry.

Su Dingfang seemed to know what Hou Junji was thinking, and added, "The biggest feature of heavy cavalry is short-range charge, so the explosive power of the horse is the top priority. Moreover, if the heavy cavalry charges and rushes into the battlefield, if the horse is too docile, it will inevitably reduce the momentum of the battlefield and even affect the normal performance of the soldiers when charging into the battlefield. Therefore, the last general has this concern, and the mobility of the light cavalry itself covers this point and will not be watched by everyone."

After Su Dingfang explained this, Li Ke agreed in his heart. He had also seen many cavalry fighting against infantry. In addition to the weapons in the hands of the cavalry, their horses did not know how many people were killed with their iron hooves, which played a great lethal force in the fight. Therefore, generally speaking, if it were not heavy infantry, other infantry would have to be harvested by them like summer wheat after encountering heavy cavalry, and they would have no ability to resist at all.

"Well, I think I should pay attention to this issue of Dingfang." He said to Hou Junji as if he was asking, "I don't know where the horses trained by the new army came from?"

"It is the good horse that our Tang Dynasty trained itself." After Hou Junji finished speaking, he sighed slightly, "But such a good horse is equivalent to a bad horse in the eyes of the Turks. Therefore, the strength of the Tang Dynasty and the Turks was not lost to the soldiers, but to the horses." Then he said, "Su Lie is a great talent, who can assist me in forming a new army and participate in the formulation of soldier training plans in the military camp, which has shared a lot of pressure on me. I would like to thank Your Highness."

"Duke Lu is serious, Dingfang is a great talent. If I don't recommend it to him, it will be disloyal to the Tang Dynasty and unrighteous to the people." Li Ke said in a deep voice, "If this is true, then I will become a sinner of the Tang Dynasty."

When Hou Junji heard Li Ke's words, he smiled embarrassedly and thought to himself, "This boy is really powerful. He just said that he was responsible for the Tang Dynasty and the people in one sentence. Who would dare to say that he is not?" But he thought immediately and felt that Li Ke really had the capital to say this, that is, Su Lie is indeed talented.

The three of them talked about the new army in this way. Both of them were the commanders of the new army, and Li Ke was particularly martial. Therefore, after the three of them talked about the new army and talked about the Turks, it was not long before the You hour. Li Ke looked at the sky and said goodbye to Hou Junji. At this time, the family of the Hou Mansion reported that they had prepared supper in the back hall. Hou Junji repeatedly tried to keep him, so Li Ke stopped refusing and returned to the Han Palace after spending supper with Su Dingfang.

When they returned to the mansion, Li Ke and Su Dingfang came to the study. Su Dingfang gave Li Ke a detailed description of the problems he encountered when forming the heavy cavalry. After the two of them solved the problems one by one after another, which made them give up. Li Ke knew that Su Dingfang would return to Xishan Camp early the next day, so he asked him to go back to rest early.

After Su Dingfang left the study, another question came to Li Ke's mind, that is, how should he treat Hou Junji. In terms of his two contacts and Hou Junji's style of dealing with things as a soldier, Li Ke admired him very much. However, he did not forget the past and the subsequent affairs. After all, Hou Junji made a rebellion later. Therefore, whether this was close or alienated became a headache for him. Because this question involved how Li Shimin viewed him, and how Changsun Wuji would deal with him.

Let’s talk about the Hou Mansion. After Li Ke and Su Dingfang left, Hou Junji looked at the backs of the two of them and fell into deep thought. Su Dingfang always kept a certain distance from him, and Li Ke seemed to have no scruples when talking about military aspects, but he was still deliberately keeping his distance from him in other aspects.

He himself admired Li Ke's style of doing things, and felt that a person who accomplished great things could not easily trust anyone. However, how could he solve the gap between him and Li Ke? This became another problem. After all, he thought about it and couldn't solve it, so he shook his head helplessly, "Keep this relationship for the time being!"

There are always many things, and people are unpredictable. Just like when he was promoted to General Shenwu, he was responsible for the training of the new army. Changsun Wuji came to him to reminisce about the past and talk about the past. In fact, it was the old story of the Sui Dynasty. He understood what Changsun Wuji meant, and that was to tell him that Li Ke's identity as the grandson of Emperor Yang of Sui was that he would not touch the position of the Eastern Palace, and no one would support him.

However, he understood more clearly that Changsun Wuji's scheming and means. If he helped him to ascend Li Chengqian successfully, he would not have any good ending with his means. Even if he did not take action against him, even if Changsun Wuji was Li Chengqian's uncle, he could only be inferior to him.

Even so, why should I do such a thankless thing? Li Ke is weak and cannot get too many supporters. Because of this, his support for Li Ke is particularly important. Another point is that Li Ke is a hundred times stronger than Li Chengqian, and he has enough ability to replace him. Furthermore, his precious daughter also likes Li Ke. If Li Ke marry her, Ruoyi becomes the princess, and when Li Ke becomes the emperor, Ruoyi will be the queen. Wouldn't his identity and status be more prominent? Therefore, due to many relationships, he ultimately did not agree to hand over the establishment of heavy cavalry to the person recommended by Changsun Wuji.

Heavy cavalry is particularly important in the new army. It is not that it is heavy cavalry, but that the commander of the heavy cavalry is not bound by the cavalry commander, which means that he is an independent army in the new army. The person recommended by Changsun Wuji can only hold the position of General of the Central Army and can only command up to 5,000 troops. Therefore, Changsun Wuji wanted to win this heavy cavalry that was not restricted by others.

When Hou Junji thought of this, he thought of his daughter's happy appearance today, and sighed slightly, "Li Ke, Su Dingfang is yours, so I handed over the heavy cavalry to him, and no one was arranged to participate. It can be said that the heavy cavalry is Su Dingfang's, and all the generals in it were selected and reported by him personally. Such a unit will probably be of great help to you in the future! This is a big gift, just treat the dowry I gave to you and Ruoyi!"

At this time, Hou Junji had already put all his treasures on Li Ke, including the marriage between Li Ke and Ruoyi, who had not yet concluded. Because he was Hou Junji, and his daughter married Li Ke, Li Shimin would not disagree.
Chapter completed!