Of course, Li Xiang also admired General Niu very much. If General Niu's moral character was not up to standard, Li Xiang would definitely find an opportunity to push him out. If he could handle such a big thing, how could he not handle something like this?
Later, Li Shimin also hinted that in order to ensure the smooth progress of the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo, if Li Xiang was dissatisfied with the people in the army, he could replace them at any time. However, Li Xiang also knew Niu Jinda and Su Dingfang. These two were also powerful generals of the Tang Dynasty and there was no need to replace them at all.
When they arrived at the military tent, Niu Jinda was the only one left there. Everyone else was already sitting on the ground. Niu Jinda thought that Li Xiang was a royal son, so he had to enjoy some things. However, he didn't expect that Li Xiang was also sitting on the ground. Everything was according to wartime standards.
"I, General Niu Jinda, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and thank you for the gift of the sword!"
Niu Jinda had heard many times about the swords sold by Zhidaobao and wanted to buy one, but the problem was that the queue was too long and the number sold each month was limited. He waited until the day of the expedition, but it was still not his turn.
Everyone in the Niu family tried their best, but everyone wants good things, and you can't get them just by wanting them. Moreover, the Niu family is not the top powerful family in Chang'an City, and many people will not come to curry favor with them.
What's more, those who are queuing up are not ordinary people. If you want to move your name to the front, you may offend an entire family. The guys who have won the treasure dare not do such a thing, so Niu Jinda is also very depressed. He didn't expect that on the first day of the expedition, the sword he had been longing for was already on his body.
"General Niu, please stand up. What are you talking about? We are brothers who eat from the same pot now. If I encounter any problems on the battlefield, I will have to rely on General Niu to save my life. A precious sword is nothing. Those who follow me know that as long as you follow me to war, a precious sword and a precious horse are essential."
Li Xiangxu gave Niu Jinda a hand and he finally got up.
Looking at the people in the room, basically everyone holds a precious sword. I originally thought that the legend was false. After all, the value of this sword is very high. The cheapest one can be sold for more than 4,000 strings of cash. If one is given as a gift for following Li Xiang to go to war, how much money will Li Xiang have to spend?
So Niu Jinda thought it was not true before, but now seeing that everyone in the tent has one in their hands, he naturally believes it. Our Crown Prince's ability to make money is unquestionable, and he spends his money wisely. With this precious sword, what kind of people's hearts can't be bought?
For these military generals, although they also love gold and silver things, who would not like to have a sword that can cut iron like mud in his hand when going to the battlefield? This may be equivalent to his second or third life. When you fight with the enemy, you can cut off the enemy's weapon with one sword, and then take the other person's life, while your own life will be saved.
Cold weapon combat is different from hot weapons. It's true that killing one thousand enemies means losing eight hundred of your own. When it comes to leading the troops to fight the enemy, these people also hope to have a better chance of survival. Who wants to throw their life away on the battlefield? This precious sword is equivalent to several more lives. Li Xiang used this to win people's hearts, which touched their hearts.
After everyone was ready, today's meal was served. It was basically the same as what the soldiers ate. Li Xiang's system had a variety of canned foods, and the first meal of the day was canned soup.
Niu Jinda could tell that although this thing was not pure meat, it was very fragrant, especially the canned soup, which contained so many delicious seasonings that everyone enjoyed it with relish.
Of course, he felt that the army's supplies were normal just after leaving Chang'an. After passing Luoyang, the supplies along the way might be less, and even the generals in the army would not be able to eat better than they did now.
But he forgot that the commander of this army was Li Xiang. When fighting against Tuyuhun, thousands of elite soldiers under Cheng Yaojin had to live on canned food. Although they could find some supplies on the grassland, the problem was that cooking took time, which was no match for eating canned food. At that time, speed was the key.
Although there are now 200,000 people, Li Xiang's points are not a small number. Feeding these 200,000 people is not a pressure at all for Li Xiang. In order to reach Goguryeo as soon as possible, Li Xiang has already ordered the officials below to speed up as much as possible.
As for these canned foods, they were naturally delivered by the system soldiers early. Every time when cooking, the cook only needs to boil a large pot of water, and then throw in the canned foods and various vegetables, as well as the various seasonings sent by His Highness. According to the quantity specified by His Highness, we just throw them in all at once, and immediately the fragrant soup will come out.
The cooks only needed to find a way to get some dry food, and their work was much slower, so they could eat fresh dry food for every meal, instead of having to eat a meal of dry food for several days as before. Later on, the dry food was even harder than stone and could break people's teeth.
At that time, many people were unwilling to eat, but if you didn't eat, there would be no food in your stomach, and you would not have the energy to walk. In the end, you might be left behind. Not to mention going to Goguryeo to make merit, you would be caught by the supervising team behind and might be judged as a deserter. At that time, you would have no place to cry.
Li Xiang was different from others. After dinner, he urged everyone to go down and rest. Around the big tent, he arranged a small tent for each general. The camp beds inside were something he had never seen before, but they were very comfortable to sleep on. Although all kinds of soft items could be spread on the ground before, they still felt not as good as this camp bed. Niu Jinda also studied this camp bed for a long time.
Just now when we were having dinner, we discussed that although forty miles a day is the court's regulation, we can save time in other places. In addition, the soldiers eat and drink less, so we can march fifty miles a day. Don't underestimate the extra ten miles a day. If you calculate it in a month, it's a lot.
After careful consideration, the other generals agreed that Li Xiang's proposal was correct. When the army set out from Chang'an, Goguryeo's spies had already received the news. If we could arrive ten days earlier, the gains we would gain would be...