Compared with Xia Chengde's simple "obey", Lu Pinqi's answer was much more positive.

However, Yang Zhen saw that the two people had expressed their opinions one after another, and he didn't want to say anything more about it.

This kind of thing is originally a good thing for the two of them, and they have good intentions. If they accept it, then everyone will be happy.

If they don't accept it, I don't have to be angry with them because of it.

After talking about the previous things, the sky outside had darkened, and the whole afternoon was basically spent on unifying thoughts this time.

Thinking that he still had many things to arrange, Yang Zhen waved his hand, motioning for Xia Chengde and Lu Pinqi to sit down, and then said to everyone:

"I have said so much before, but in fact, they are all strategies for guarding Songshan! In addition to these strategies, if we want to hold on to Songshan for a long time, there are two more things we must do!

"One is enough soldiers, and the other is enough food! So, how can we ensure that we have enough soldiers and food?! Are we just sitting in Songshan City, waiting for the court to provide food and pay to the soldiers?!

"Of course not! - But on the issue of sufficient soldiers, the imperial court has already made a decision! Next, we only need to form the advance battalion for the Eastern Expedition ordered by the Holy Emperor. There will be 5,000 elite men in the city who dare to fight and guard Songshan.

That’s about it! After all, Songshan City is small and narrow, and there are too many people, so it’s just a waste of food and wages!

"Right now, if we want to hold on to Songshan City for a long time, the problem is having enough food! Songshan City is small and the food road is far away, so supplies have always been difficult! If we rely entirely on Ningyuan and the imperial court, once we are besieged in the future,

The food route is cut off——

"When that time comes, if our food route is cut off, I don't need to tell you the consequences. You can also imagine - by then, we will either die in battle or starve to death! It's all a word of death!

"So, we have to be prepared on both sides! On the one hand, we have to face the sea and prepare an extra pay road! On the other hand, we have to take matters into our own hands to solve the problem of adequate food and clothing!"

Yang Zhen himself was speaking impassionedly when he heard Xia Chengde suddenly answer: "Master General! You said facing the sea and preparing an extra pay road, I understand this!

"As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. A smart rabbit knows how to prepare three nests for himself! What's more, we are in Songshan City, which is in danger of war?!

"I know what you mean, sir, is to create a sea supply channel in addition to the land route from Ningyuan to Songshan! I absolutely support this with both hands!

"If you are short of manpower at Xiaolinghekou Hand Camp, I am willing to provide help. Anyway, those bastards are idle now!

"But Mr. Yang, what do you mean when you say that we can have enough food and clothing by doing it ourselves?! Could it be that you want us to make our own clothes and grow food?!"

After Xia Chengde's question was raised, everyone else looked at Yang Zhen, wanting to hear what Yang Zhen meant.

In the army of this era, many generals and top soldiers joined the army with the idea of ​​serving as soldiers and providing food, and few had the idea of ​​simply serving the country.

If after joining the army, they still have to make their own clothes and grow food to support themselves, it is really beyond their understanding.

But the method Yang Zhen is imagining now is to let them do this, that is, while working on their own, they will step up preparations for war.

"Vice General Xia, you are right! That's what I mean!"

"ah--?!"

As soon as Yang Zhen said this, all the generals present, except for a few of the city's deepest ones, immediately went into an uproar. Yang Zhen had said so many incredible ideas before, but none of them caused such a big response as this sentence.

"Sir! We have never farmed before! Brothers, we don't know much about it! Let's not waste food because we won't be able to grow anything by then!"

Most of the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty came from military households for generations, and they were not completely incapable of farming.

Because the guard military household system is originally a system that combines farming and warfare.

It's just that these military households who joined the army have long been separated from farming. Besides, they are used to eating food as soldiers and living a life of licking blood from the tip of a knife. How can they think about farming on their own!

Therefore, as soon as Yang Zhen said that he wanted to build a military camp, even Zhang Degui, a veteran of the advance camp, came out to question him.

"That's right! Brother Yang! I, Old Xu Ke, have never farmed before! Not to mention the Mongolian soldiers under my command, they can't even tell what grains are! It's no problem to let them herd horses and sheep.

They are opening up wasteland for farming—I’m afraid it’s going to be too much!”

Xu Changyong also stood up to question and object.

But for these two people, Yang Zhen knew their personalities very well. No matter how much they verbally opposed him, as long as he insisted on doing so in the end, they would definitely comply.

Therefore, after hearing what these two people said, he did not rush to refute, but looked over one by one, waiting for the other people to express their opinions.

"It's not like there's no precedent for setting up a military settlement, nor is there no chance to do it! In the past few years, Jinzhou, Ningyuan, Xingshan, Tashan, they are all doing this! We can do this outside Songshan City, what's wrong?!

What is really worrying is not whether the soldiers in each department are good at it! But after we plant the food, whether we can get it back in the future!"

Zu Keyong was still as cold as ever, but the words he spoke were different from others.

Although the words also questioned Yang Zhen's intention to establish military camps, they sounded completely constructive.

The reason why Yang Zhen valued Zu Keyong and wanted him to stay in the advance camp was not only because of his bravery in combat, but also because of his ability to put forward constructive suggestions.

After Zu Keyong finished speaking, Lu Pinqi, who had not spoken much, suddenly echoed Zu Keyong's opinion and said: "Vice General Zu is right! The military and civilian settlements outside Jinzhou City have been in operation for many years, but every day

When the harvest season is about to come, the Tatar soldiers and horses will surely come to attack the city and seize the territory!

"In the city, we have gone through a lot of hard work to cultivate the farmland and grow the food outside the city. During the harvest season, there is often not even a tenth, or even no harvest! Or it was deliberately destroyed by the Tatars.

Or it was harvested first by the Tatar army!

"General Yang! Before you came to Songshan, the large number of military and civilian settlements outside Songshan City were gradually abandoned like this! If General Yang can't think of a way to prevent the Tatar invasion, we'd better not do it anymore.

It’s such a waste of people and money, and the gain outweighs the gain!”

"General Yang! Vice General Zu, General Lu and others are right! Xia means the same thing! Rather than taking advantage of the Tatars, why not do it at all? Wouldn't it be better to save manpower and material resources to do other things!?"

When Xia Chengde heard that everyone was questioning Yang Zhen's formulation, he immediately became more courageous. Following Lu Pinqi's words, he expressed his opinion again:

"We went out and worked hard to open up large fields and planted a large amount of wheat and sorghum. When the harvest came in October, the Tatars came. What should we do?! Should we watch it fall into the hands of the Tatars, or should we leave the city?

Wild battle with the Tatars!?”

Having said this, Xia Chengde looked at Yang Zhen and said solemnly: "I know that General Yang led the advance battalion and defeated the Tatars in the wild. He is very high-spirited! But how many of the troops in Songshan City dare to be like General Yang?

If you are like a soldier, will you risk leaving the city and fight to the death with the Tatars just for a bite to eat?!"

After Xia Chengde finished speaking, the other generals in the room stopped talking. Everyone was waiting for Yang Zhen to take back his thoughts.

Yang Zhen looked around again, looking at everyone's face, and finally landed on Xia Chengde's face. He looked at him expressionlessly for a while, until Xia Chengde averted his eyes first and stopped talking to him.

Yang Zhen looked at each other.

At this time, Yang Zhencai looked back, smiled slightly, and said: "What you said all makes sense! Don't mention whether you know how to farm or not!

"I believe that among the old people in Songshan Minzhuang Camp, there will definitely be someone who knows how to farm! Even if there is not one, when we recruit people from Denglai, there will definitely be someone who does!"

At this point, Yang Zhen paused for a moment, and while considering his words, he said slowly: "As for the issue of Tatars coming to harass or even destroy, I believe that such a situation will definitely occur! However, this is what I think

——

"First point, we will never reclaim so much land, and we will only reclaim land under the four walls of our Songshan City. All reclaimed land must be within the range of the city's cannon!"

After Yang Zhen said this, he looked at Xia Chengde's expression again, only to see Xia Chengde raising his head and squinting his eyes, looking at him thoughtfully.

Yang Zhen nodded slightly at Xia Chengde, then withdrew his gaze, and then said to everyone: "This is first, then second! -

“Since we know that the Tatars will definitely come to harass, destroy, and even seize our food before the harvest season, why don’t we set a trap early and let them fall into the trap and never come back?!

"To deal with the Manchu Tatars, we can't fight them head-on for the time being, so we have to set up an ambush to outwit them! Since we know that they will definitely come, and we know about when they will come, then what's the difficulty in setting up an ambush and outsmarting them?
Chapter completed!