As elite troops mobilized from all over the country arrived in Chenyang one after another, the city became noisy.

Ding Baiying changed into men's clothes. This time she was under the order of the Grand Protector to contact the Zhejiang Army who aided Liao to see if she could recruit some veterans of the Qi family army to the Shuofang Army.

Nowadays, more than half of the Da army in Shuofang's army, especially the cavalry. Except for the White Horse Cavalry and Beiwei Camp, the vast majority of the remaining soldiers are warriors from various Mongolian troops, which inevitably makes Gao Jin's generals a little worried. Although the fifth battalion of Shuofang is powerful, especially the Zhonglei, infantry and Shooting Battalion, they are powerful soldiers who can defeat cavalry with their infantry.

The Shuofang Army now has its own experience in training new recruits. Since Gao Jin started his career, he has also focused on cultivating grassroots officers, but he still lacks veterans with rich battlefield experience as the backbone officers. The only veterans who could allow Gao Jin to use in the Ming Dynasty were the Zhejiang soldiers who inherited the tradition of the Qi family army.

As a military fortress, Chenyang City is a large military camp itself. The camps stationed by 4,000 Zhejiang soldiers are easy to identify. The cleanest and tidy thing is that although the Zhejiang soldiers declined and there were no so-called famous generals, their military appearance and discipline are the same as those of the Qi family army back then.

"Who?"

Ding Baiying, who was stopped in front of the camp, looked at the two white-haired veterans wearing old ochre-red leather armor, and felt sad. It has been almost forty years since Grandpa Qi passed away, and the court has been suppressing the Zhejiang soldiers.

"I'm here to see Ding Baiying, please see Shuai Qi."

Ding Baiying did not hide his name, and the general flag guarding the camp gate did not drive people away. He only sent his subordinates to report to the Central Army General's tent.

Their Zhejiang soldiers have always been because their grandmother doesn't love them and their uncles don't love them. Few people come to them to find the Grandmaster, so the general flag couldn't help asking, "What's the matter with you, young man, to find my Grandmaster?"

"I'm not hiding it from Jun Ye, I'm looking for Qi Shuai, but I have something important to you, but it's inconvenient to disclose it. Please forgive me."

The chief flag was so happy that he saw Ding Baiying claiming his name. Besides, no one had the courage to come to the army to cheat, but he didn't think his commander met with this young man.

But the general flag soon couldn't laugh because the officers and soldiers he sent came back with the personal soldiers beside the general.

Ding Baiying followed the two personal soldiers who were also nearly 50 years old into the military camp. Nearly half of the Zhejiang soldiers she saw along the way were veterans, and the rest were new recruits who seemed to have been recruiting not long ago.

The two personal soldiers didn't say much, but just took Ding Baiying to the commander's tent and waited freely outside the tent with a knife.

"Meet Sir Qi!"

Looking at the old man in armor, Ding Baiying said in a deep voice. Qi Jin looked at Ding Baiying in front of him, who was dressed in men's clothes and remembered the stubborn little girl back then.

"Xiao Ding, haven't you given up yet?"

"Shishuai Qi, my father and Uncle Chen died unjustly. So many soldiers of the Qi family army were slaughtered. Shouldn't the court give them an explanation?"

Qi Jin sighed when he heard this, "There has never been many Qi family troops in this world!"

When Qi Jin was young, he followed his uncle to fight south and north, but because of the title of Qi's army mentioned by the common people, his uncle ended up in depression, and the Zhejiang soldiers were suppressed by the court.

"Shishuai Qi, I came here for the Zhejiang soldiers outside and no longer repeat the mistakes of my father and others back then."

Ding Baiying raised his head and said in a deep voice to the respected old man in front of him. Most Protectors were right. The court never took the Zhejiang soldiers seriously. If it was useful, it attracted him to work hard for the court. If it was useless, it would abandon his shoes. Now that the expedition to the Eastern Captains is about to be imminent, the Zhejiang soldiers have not received enough weapons and armor.

Although the Zhejiang soldiers are famous for their good use of firearms, the armor and armor are completely different from the fact that soldiers wear armor and do not have armor. After Ding Baiying entered the military camp, he observed that the Zhejiang soldiers she saw were all leather armor protection, and not many of them even wore cloth armor.

"Strange words."

Qi Jin was still extremely tolerant of Ding Baiying. If someone else had said such a rebellious word to him, he would have been able to take it down long ago.

"Shishuai Qi, you forgot how Grandpa Qi died. When the Jizhou mutiny broke out, how did the court treat our Zhejiang soldiers."

Ding Baiying's words immediately made Qi Jin's face dark. Of course, he knew how his uncle died. He was so angry that he died of blood pleating by the court. His uncle, who was both brave and virtuous, was finally describing his withered appearance, and even died with his eyes closed when he was put into the coffin.

"Xiao Ding, I pretend that I didn't hear such a rebellious statement. If you have nothing else, then leave!"

Qi Jin helped Ding Baiying back then, and he also hated the ruthless court in his heart, but the Qi family was full of loyal and martyrs, so he could only be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

"Shishuai Qi, I came here on the order of my family's escort. I must ask Shishuai Qi to protect the Zhejiang soldiers."

Ding Baiying suppressed his emotions, then expressed his intentions, and presented a list of them, "This is the military supplies sent by the Protector of the Great Destiny. Please send someone to accept them."

Qi Jin stared at Ding Baiying and then took the list of supplies. The Ming Dynasty said that there was only one person who protected the capital, and even he had heard of it. Rumors said that this guardian Gao was also a descendant of the Zhejiang soldiers, but now it seems that it is not a false statement.

The supplies Gao Jin supported the Zhejiang soldiers, including more than 4,000 woolen military uniforms, 150 collars, full-body armor, 4,000 spears, a thousand steel knives, 400 coal stoves, 20 brigades of coal balls, and several other materials were also included.

"If you are polite to others, you must have something to ask for. What exactly does Gao Dumai want?"

Qi Jin looked at the weapons worth at least 20,000 taels, and looked at Ding Baiying with a burning look. The little girl from that time has now become a hundred households in the army, which is simply unimaginable.

"Shipman Qi, Dadubao only hopes that you can protect the Zhejiang soldiers and have no other request."

Ding Baiying faced Qi Jin's sharp gaze, held his head up and his chest with clear eyes looking at him.

"Preserve the Zhejiang soldiers, is this to preserve my strength or escape in the last battle?"

Qi Jin said coldly, and Ding Baiying was excited, "Ship Qi, are you going to die in this wilderness in Liaodong with the remaining Zhejiang soldiers?"

"The court conquered the Eastern Barbarians, but did the officials of the court understand the strength of the Eastern Barbarians? The thief chief Nurhaci has been deliberately accumulating strength since the eleventh year of Wanli. After decades, he first pacified Jianzhou, then subdued the Ye Jurchens and the Haixi Jurchens, and also had a good relationship with the Mongolian tribes such as Korqin. Now, the Eight Banners of Jianzhou Jurchens are no less than 60,000 soldiers, and they are all armoured..."

Qi Jin was silent, and the art of war said, "Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles." He thought that the officers and soldiers were weak, so the Donglu seemed to be strong. But if Ding Baiying did not exaggerate, the Donglu's strength would be far beyond the expectations of the court.

According to the imperial decree issued by the court, about 30,000 elite cavalrymen were sent in Xuanfu, Datong and Shanxi; about 30,000 troops in Yansui Town, Ningxia Town, Gansu Town, Guyuan Town, and totaled about 25,000 troops; Sichuan, Guangdong, Shandong, Shaanxi, northern Zhili, and southern Zhili, sent a total of about 20,000 troops; Zhejiang was good at fighting the Zhejiang army's infantry; Yongshun, Baojing, and Shizhou, the chieftain soldiers and the eastern and western Hebei soldiers, each ranging from 2,000 to 3,000, totaling about 7,000 troops.

The army totaled 85,000, which was all the number of war soldiers that the Ming Dynasty could pull out today, but among them, those who were called armored people were afraid that there were not even 50%.

Qi Jin couldn't figure out what Gao Jin wanted to do, but he couldn't refuse what Gao Jin sent, especially the woolen military uniforms. The Zhejiang soldiers under his command were all from the south and were most afraid of the cold. However, the court provided insufficient clothes to protect the cold. If he didn't accept it, the four thousand Zhejiang soldiers would probably be hungry and cold.

"Ship Qi, the Protector of the Ministry of Justice told me to say it bluntly that when Jizhou mutiny was in chaos, the court did not give us an explanation, so let's give us an explanation."

Ding Baiying said this before leaving, making Qi Jin ponder for a long time until his personal soldiers called him, and then he laughed silently, "What does that matter to him if the guardian Gao Dudu was a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty?"

Half a day later, Qi Jin's personal soldiers led 400 soldiers to receive the supplies escorted from outside Chenyang City. When the 4,000 Zhejiang soldiers in the military camp changed into black woolen uniforms, and each tent received a coal stove to make a fire to keep warm, Qi Jin felt a vague decision in his heart when he heard the cheers from the soldiers.

The strength of the Donglu is far beyond what Yang Jinglu said. No matter what the winner is, the 4,000 Zhejiang soldiers he brought will suffer heavy casualties, and perhaps he should not be so selfish.

Some thoughts, once arise, are difficult to dispel. Qi Jin knew that he shouldn't think about it, but he still couldn't help it.

In the military camp, the Zhejiang soldiers regarded Gao Jin as their own people. Rumors in this world could be faked, but they could not wear clothes and swords and guns in their hands.

From the long swords that were rolled up, Qi Jin picked a random hand. After drawing the sword out of the sheath, he felt that it was quite important to buy it, but it didn't show any weight. The key was that the blade was hit by the best steel material. After waving it a few times, Qi Jin used it to slash the sword of his personal soldiers. He found that the steel knife did not collapse, which surprised him. Then he looked at the spears sent by Gao Jin, and the spearhead was also made of the same steel material.

"Such a sword or a gun is given if you say it."

Qi Jin murmured to himself that the quality of these swords and guns was not weaker than the ordnances built by his uncle in Dengzhou. However, at that time, the Prime Minister Zhang was the chief minister, and his uncle had never been worried about military pay. Local officials dared to make things difficult for him. However, this Gao Dufu started from scratch and officials in the court did not like it.

Just as Qi Jin lowered his head and thought about things, several personal soldiers who had been following him for many years suddenly became surprised and whispered, "Master, this is full of armor!"

The 150-collar armor given to Qi Jin was not cloth armor, but steel armor that covered the head from the head to the feet. Of course, this so-called steel material was only much stronger than the iron material of this era, but there is no doubt that this was indeed a full-steel armor. Although the thickness was not as thick as the original Ming armor of the Ming Dynasty, its defense was not inferior. The impatient personal soldiers directly stabbed the whole body armor with a knife, but without exception, they could not do anything about this less than 40 kilograms of full body armor.

Qi Jin has learned the wealth of Shuofang Army this time. No wonder Shuofang Army can defeat the Tartars repeatedly. That Gao Dupu is indeed a nurse lover. He may be able to entrust all the old brothers under his command to him.
Chapter completed!