Outside Xingyang City, spring plowing has begun.

Both sides of the Sishui River are full of busy people.

There were several red flags planted in the fields, and regardless of whether they were under the jurisdiction of Heiyun Mountain or not, the word "Heiyun" was written on them all.

All the beggars passing by were respectful, and no one stepped on the fields.

The soldiers of Heiyun couldn't help but look at the red flags with pride in their eyes.

Occasionally, a farmer raised his head and shouted to the soldiers: "Be careful, we are all from Heiyun Mountain, be careful of our military law in Heiyun Mountain!"

The soldiers laughed loudly, leaving the farmers busy in the fields baffled.

But after laughing, everyone became more cautious, taking every step very carefully, as if they were afraid of stepping on the ground.

Military discipline is mutual. The Black Cloud Army gains the trust of the people and the people gain peace.

I was used to seeing bloody battlefields, and suddenly encountered this peaceful scene, which gave me the illusion of a paradise.

In troubled times, it is quite rare to see this scenery.

Passing by Jingxian County, I saw in the distance that the city was also covered with red flags, with the word "Black Cloud" written on the largest one.

In the past, Han Xu was timid, but after participating in the Liangdu War, Heiyun Mountain proved that he was capable of protecting the land and water.

During the spring plowing season, Han Xu had no time to entertain guests and was busy in the fields all day long.

Li Yue didn't bother him, and the Black Cloud Army didn't even enter the city. They rested under the city wall for one night and continued on their way the next day.

Arriving at the boundary of Heiyun Mountain, Li Yue felt relieved.

As far as the eye can see, there are flat and fertile fields with crisscrossing streets and winding ditches. Adults are working in the fields and children are running on the ridges.

When he saw the Black Cloud Army, he shouted: "We're back!"

Then there were cries of "I'm back" everywhere.

Zhou Qian came running up on his horse covered in mud, with an apologetic look on his face, "Spring plowing is urgent, and refugees from all over the country have been arriving in recent days. Everything is complicated, and I am not able to meet you from afar. General, please forgive me."

Looking at his thin and dark face, Li Yue felt for a while, "There is no need for this between you and me."

Zhou Qian wiped the sweat from his face, but his hands were full of mud. The more he wiped them, the dirtier they became. However, he could not hide the excitement on his face. "Since the general showed his power, people from far and near have come to surrender. Within ten days,

During this time, there were as many as 20,000 people!”

These are all within expectations.

When the family members of the begging army from all over Yuzhou are sent here, the population will be even larger.

"General, who do you think this is?" Zhou Qian pointed to the person behind him.

Li Yue's eyes lit up, "Tian Baozi?"

Tian Baozi walked forward with a slight embarrassment, "I have seen the general."

After two years of separation, I feel a lot calmer. Maybe life is not easy outside, and thieves are getting more involved these days.

Wei Shan stepped forward and punched him on the shoulder, "Haha, how can you do this now?"

"It'll be good to come back, it'll be good to come back!" Li Yue was naturally happy to see his old friend again. Although he was a thief, he also had his ways. When he left without saying goodbye, he left all his armor behind.

Li Yue still remembers this kindness.

"From now on, I will wait for my brother to go to the battlefield to kill Jie Hu!" Wei Shan was quite excited.

Unexpectedly, Tian Baozi was not very interested and handed over to Li Yue, "To tell you the truth, I have been wandering around for two years, and my brothers have dispersed one by one. I am very discouraged. It is enough to have a piece of land to cultivate peacefully...

"

This change is really too big.

Back then, Tian Baozi led the thieves and fought with Wei Shan against the Gaoli Imperial Guards with an ax in his hand. Unexpectedly, he would become like this in just two years.

But it’s normal to think about it. Where do the thieves come from? Are they just farmers who can’t survive and are gathering in the mountains and forests?

Li Yue said warmly: "From now on, if you want to farm, just farm. In two days, I will find a woman for you and start a family first!"

"General..." Tian Baozi choked up.

Seeing him like this, Li Yue felt a sense of loss. He didn't know where Meng Kai had gone. For such a long time, no news came back.

The army returned to the mountain, except for the scouts, who rested and recuperated.

However, the soldiers couldn't sit still. They took off their armor and immediately went to work in their fields.

Li Yue visited the families of the fallen soldiers one by one. Each family received thirty pieces of cloth, ten stones of grain, one mule, two sheep, and one stone of grain every month.

The lonely old man was sent to live in Beishan, and the youngest son was sent to Shangwu Hall.

With the current conditions of Heiyun Mountain, this is all that can be done, but Li Yue will not forget these people and will inscribe their names on the cliffs of Beishan.

To respect the fallen soldiers is to respect yourself.

Within two days, beggars from all over Yuzhou sent their families one after another.

Some small groups of beggars simply moved in.

The population of Heiyun Mountain has expanded rapidly, and there are people everywhere up and down the mountain.

In the past, they were always worried that others would attack, either Zhang Yu, the governor of Yuzhou, or Liu Guo, the governor of Luozhou. But now, it is not Heiyun Mountain that is worried about them, but they are worried about Heiyun Mountain.

Both of them very wisely reduced their troops and gave up the Mishui River Basin.

Li Yue also moved the population from the mountains to Sishui Fort and Jishui Fort at the foot of the mountain, as well as to Jingxian, Gongxian, Chenggao and other places.

A rough calculation shows that I own thirteen large and small city docks.

Except for Xingyang County where the Zheng family is entrenched, the entire Xingyang County actually belongs to Heiyun Mountain.

In addition, there are beggar army enclaves everywhere like sparks of fire.

Such as Jiaxian, Fucheng, and Wuyang in Yingchuan County, Zhaoling, Shangcai, and Aoyang in Runan County, Mangxian, Fuyang, and Xiaqiu in Peiguo, Mengxian, Stexian, and Jishi in Liangguo, etc.

.

Although the county seat is in the hands of Jie Zhao officials, the world outside the city has long been dominated by the beggar army.

Many county magistrates, like Han Xu, the capital magistrate, hung black cloud flags directly on the city walls...

These areas are scattered all over the place and cannot be integrated into a whole, making them extremely difficult to manage.

The choke points such as Xiangcheng, Xuchang, and Mi County are all in the hands of Zhang Yu, the governor of Yuzhou, and Zhang Yu's contacts with the south have become closer recently.

Li Yue stared at the sand table and thought hard about how to unite these scattered places.

Attacking Zhang Yu is not feasible in the short term.

If there is a move on my side, Xie Shang from Huainan will definitely support him.

And the 30,000 to 40,000 Xiongnu troops of Liu State in Yangcheng would definitely not stand idly by.

Heiyun Mountain cannot afford this level of melee. The entire Heiyun Mountain only has five troops, plus Zhu Xu's two thousand Jingxiang troops.

Zhang Yu and Liu Guoze were able to pull out an army of 20,000 to 30,000 troops in an instant.

The most urgent task is to expand the army first. Spring plowing is the priority right now, and other things must be postponed.

There was no one around to discuss it, so Yue Ji happened to come to visit. When she saw Li Yue staring at the small red flags on the sand table, he smiled and said, "Since we can't gather together, why not send someone over."

"How to send people?" Li Yue smiled.

Yue Ji is extremely intelligent, knowledgeable, and has excellent medical skills. When Black Cloud Mountain was attacked by the Gaoli Imperial Guard, she also contributed a lot.

Li Yue asked her to take care of the medical camp and the women on the mountain, but it was only in an orderly manner.

"The major affairs of the country are nothing more than farming and war. Why don't my brother send field envoys to supervise farming, and then send General Heiyun to train his soldiers?" Yue Ji spread her hands, looking charming and charming.

"What a plan!" Li Yue was surprised. With these two hands, he had grasped the lifeblood of the beggar armies everywhere.

The field envoys are in charge of grain and grass, and the black cloud generals are in charge of the army. When the time comes, the army is mobilized, and a single spark can start a prairie fire!

No, it is not enough to manage food, grass, and the army. We must also focus on the ideological level.

The model of telling Qin and Han stories in Heiyun Mountain can be generalized. As a trinity, even if the beggar leaders have other ideas, they cannot sway the people below.

"If you have any ideas in the future, you can teach me as a brother!" Yue Ji is a good seedling. She is enough to be a staff member. The key is to be loyal. She and Li Yue are like brothers and sisters. There is no top mastermind in Heiyun Mountain for the time being, so she can only survive.

coming.

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