Chapter 237

"By then, you can also move their families to Jingzhou;"

"Wait until you can't recruit more young men in Nanyang, then go to other commanderies in Jingzhou to recruit young men!"

"After all, Nanyang has not truly fallen into your hands;"

"Leaving Lord Yuan Shu to continue to develop here and recruit young men is equivalent to aiding the enemy;"

"It's better for you to do it yourself!"

"Avoid him exhausting the young population of Nanyang!"

"The young men in the territory that has already fallen into your hands can wait until you need them in the future to recruit them;"

"Or, recruit and train a batch in your reserve way first;"

"When needed, they can quickly become an army."

Su Xuan's eyes lit up, and he said: "Father, your reminder is so timely!"

"If you hadn't said it, I would have really forgotten about this!"

"Indeed, we should recruit from Nanyang and even Yingchuan first;"

"I will have the Secret Guards send letters to Huang Hansheng and Old Dian Wei, asking them to secretly send people to recruit young men in various counties of Nanyang;"

"As for Deng County, leave it to Zhang He!"

"I plan to let Zhang He replace you, Father, to sit in Deng County and Gaoyang;"

"At the same time, recruit and expand the Brave Cavalry Battalion."

The Brave Cavalry Battalion with only 3, 00 people should also be expanded.

The expected number should be 8, 00-10, 00.

At the same time, it will no longer be a pure cavalry unit, but must be mixed with infantry and cavalry.

To adapt to the needs of future wars.

Cavalry for raids, infantry for siege and defense.

"Zhang He? Fine!"

Su Lie nodded knowingly, waved his hand and said: "Then hurry up and arrange it! I'm starting to pack my things here too!"

"The recruitment of young men must be fast, and it must be secret in the early stage. Don't let Lord Yuan Shu find out. By then, he will definitely sabotage and snatch people;"

"Can't let him squeeze the value of Nanyang dry."

"Even for taxes, you must have the Secret Guards pay attention to Lord Yuan Shu's dynamics at any time, don't let him cheat you."

This is something that must be guarded against.

"Good!"

Su Xuan nodded solemnly: "I will arrange it! I'm leaving first!"

Saying this, Su Xuan said goodbye to his parents, first found Zhang He, and ordered: "Junyi! Next, you will lead the Brave Cavalry Battalion to sit in Deng County and Gaoyang;"

"At the same time, quietly recruit a large number of young men from the areas in Nanyang not occupied by our army, expand the Brave Cavalry Battalion to 10, 00, including 6, 00 cavalry and 4, 00 infantry. The Brave Cavalry Battalion will also be changed to the Brave Cavalry Army, changing from pure cavalry to a mixed infantry and cavalry army;"

"Recruitment must be fast, and the news must be hidden as low-key as possible, let Lord Yuan Shu know later, understand?"

"Yes!"

Zhang He was overjoyed and said solemnly: "The end general will definitely not fail the Lord's high expectations!"

This time, the troops in his hands had more than tripled!

How could he not be happy?

More troops mean being valued, and also mean that in the final battle, he can earn more military merit.

"Hmm!"

Su Xuan nodded in satisfaction and then instructed: "The matter of recruiting soldiers is of great importance. Remember to contact the Dark Division and have them cooperate closely."

"Also, remember to coordinate well with Huang Zhong and Old Dian Wei in Xinye!"

"This time, the Black Armor Army and the Black Tortoise Battalion must also expand their ranks, even by 5, 00 more than the Brave Cavalry Army."

"Only with proper coordination can we snatch these tens of thousands of young, able-bodied men from Nanyang before Lord Yuan Shu reacts."

"Additionally, for warhorses, send men to call upon the Dark Guards to go to the No. 3 Exotic Beast Stud Farm in the suburbs of Xiangyang City to draw them out."

"Understood!"

Zhang He accepted the order with a solemn expression.

At this moment, he also understood the intention behind his lord's move.

It must be said, this move is truly insidious!

Going to someone else's territory to snatch and recruit young men—which clever person came up with such a wicked trick?

He believed that once they succeeded, Lord Yuan Shu would likely be furious.

That day, in Zhang He's view, this was merely collecting a bit of interest back from Lord Yuan Shu.

After all, strictly speaking, Su Xuan, as the Inspector of Jingzhou, was the true master of Nanyang.

He had the inherent right to recruit soldiers in Nanyang.

After briefing Zhang He, Su Xuan immediately wrote a secret letter to Huang Zhong and Old Dian Wei, having the Dark Guards deliver it to them via golden eagle at the first opportunity.

He also instructed Huang Zhong and Old Dian Wei to contact Zhang He immediately, finalize the plan, and act together.

Ten minutes later, Huang Zhong and Old Dian Wei, who were in Xinye, received Su Xuan's letter.

The two opened it together, were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other and said in unison: "Recruiting in Nanyang?"

"Haha!"

Then, both of them laughed heartily.

Huang Zhong said meaningfully: "I wonder who suggested this idea to the lord? I must say, it's beautifully done!"

"This is exactly how it should be done!"

"Old Old Dian! Let's put our heads together! Then, contact Zhang He as soon as possible, finalize the action plan, and strive to succeed in one stroke."

"Once this matter is exposed, it cannot continue, so it must be secret and fast!"

Recruiting young men from one's own territory is nowhere near as satisfying as recruiting them from someone else's.

The young men in their own territory can continue to stay behind to farm, work, or even have children and make contributions.

Of course, they understood that it wouldn't do to exclusively recruit young men from other people's territories.

The young people in their own territory might have objections.

Because the treatment in Su Xuan's army is just too good!

The military pay is high, and the food is excellent.

The key is that there is a very complete path for promotion and advancement.

Moreover, one can learn martial arts, master extraordinary powers, and change one's destiny.

Even though there is danger on the battlefield, the young men in Su Xuan's territory flock to join the army.

Hmm! Currently, this is mainly in Nan Commandery. Although many people in other commanderies of Jingzhou know about the situation of Su Xuan's army and want to join, it is not as deeply publicized as in Nan Commandery.

But he believed that once these territories fell into Su Xuan's hands, in a year or so, the people in these areas would all know about this.

That will be the explosive period for Su Xuan's source of troops.

As for Su Xuan, he stayed in Dengxian for another 2 days before taking his parents, the people of the Su Mansion in Dengxian, and 800 men from the Personal Guard Battalion, and marched grandly toward the Hanshui ferry.

Afterward, they crossed the Hanshui by boat and arrived at Xiangyang City.

"Hmm... Jingzhou, except for Nanyang, has already fallen into my hands. It seems I must first expand Xiangyang City and prepare to move the Inspector's Mansion here!"

After touring Xiangyang City, Su Xuan stroked his chin and pondered. "The lord is wise!"

Guo Jia, who was by his side, immediately praised: "Although Jiangling City has been built into a place of immense prosperity by the lord, it can no longer meet your needs!"

"By comparison, the location of Xiangyang is indeed more suitable than Jiangling City to serve as the seat of the Inspector's Mansion."

"However, the Xiangyang naval forces will likely need to be expanded again, preferably to 20, 00 men."

"At the same time, the Xiangyang naval camps and docks must also be further expanded and their defensive capabilities improved."

"After all, Xiangyang is too close to the Hanshui."

"In addition, the roads and waterways leading to the four commanderies of Southern Jingzhou must be well-repaired to improve traffic capacity."

"Only then can we strengthen our army's control over the four commanderies of Southern Jingzhou."

"And accelerate the development and exploitation of the four commanderies of Southern Jingzhou."

"In the future, the four commanderies of Southern Jingzhou still have great potential to be tapped."

— Author's Notes —

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