The quaint streets of Cili County were sparsely populated, and occasionally a group of soldiers ran by in full uniform. There was no martial law in the county a while ago, so many people in the city went to the countryside to avoid trouble. For thousands of years, people have faced reality.

Migratory birds have formed the same habits as migratory birds. Migratory birds fly south in autumn and return in spring; while people live in the city during times of peace and go to the countryside when trouble occurs. At this time, many people in the city who have a relatively well-off family have land in the countryside.

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However, even if you don't live in the city, you are still within the jurisdiction of the county government, and the situation has not reached the point of abandoning your home and fleeing. Some strong men have been recruited and are repairing the damaged city walls.

Zhang Ning rode his horse around the construction site. The construction of the city wall seemed to be mainly made of slabs built with rammed earth and then covered with bricks. The material for covering the bricks on the city wall was glutinous rice juice, plant ash, tung oil, etc. mixed together and boiled in water. The disadvantage was that

The cost is higher, but the bonding effect is still good. Everything is still under control. At least the officials and civilians are willing to help build the fortifications, and there is no too fierce resistance.

The war is about to begin, and the troops are insufficient. The day before yesterday, someone suggested an open recruitment of soldiers, but this suggestion was unanimously rejected by Zhang Ning and the "Council Department". There is not enough training time, and ordinary people are even less willing to work for the "rebels" for fear of being too busy before the battle.

It is easy to collapse and does not enhance combat effectiveness. On the contrary, it affects military morale.

He thought of the group of prisoners released from various places. There were more than 100 prisoners in total, and they were temporarily organized into the Second Brigade of the Right Sentinel. There were more than 140 prisoners in the second team, divided into ten teams; there were two more

The team is a veteran who has been inserted into the team. In this case, prisoners are more useful than good people: at least the prisoners who have been released and exonerated are definitely not willing to surrender to the government again. There is no way to escape, and the end result is that they are likely to be recaptured.

Zhang Ning asked his subordinates and learned that they were training temporarily in the open field outside the West City Gate, so he went over with his entourage to have a look.

When we arrived at the place, we saw more than a hundred people lining up there. As you can imagine, the hasty practice can only be about the formation, and we can't let this group of people fight in a huddle when they go into battle. The swarming method is not enough to fight in the streets.

Okay, it will definitely be vulnerable in battle.

The prisoners were given the uniforms of the Suzaku Army, which consisted of field gray clothes and helmets. With the horizontal and vertical rows, they looked passable. At first glance, the military appearance was not as bad as imagined. After all, humans are social animals, and they need to be organized

Much easier.

The person in charge of the list of prisoners who were expelled from the army was Wang Yu, the former magistrate of Shimen County, and the person who compiled them was Zhang Chengzong. Zhang Chengzong was also accompanying Zhang Ning now. He explained: "Your Highness, please rest assured. I have arranged for more than 20 people to go in. Xiaoqi

When there are hundreds of households, all of them are our people, we guarantee that the criminals will not be able to act as they please."

While talking, hundreds of officers from the "Swimming Team" ran over and raised their left arms to salute. According to Zhang Ning's request, the army officers did not need to kneel down, but only this special etiquette was required, and only those belonging to

His talents used this kind of etiquette. The official of Baihu was named Kong Wuyang, and he was originally a military general. Only those with experience in leading troops could manage this group of people well.

Zhang Ning, riding on his horse, returned the favor and complimented casually: "You have practiced well. You must train hard these days. The soldiers' food and military pay must not be short-changed."

"The general will obey his orders."

Zhang Ning looked back at Chengzong again, and remembering what he just said, he added: "We still have to select someone from among the prisoners to be the deputy."

This idea came to him temporarily. As for the reason: when the Ming army captured a large area of ​​Vietnam, they did not rely entirely on the Han people to directly manage the place. Instead, they spent a lot of effort to cultivate and win over the local indigenous people; the same principle was probably used for recruiting prisoners.

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After saying that, he and everyone came to the front of the swimming team. Kong Wuyang shouted to the soldiers: "This is the third prince, the highest man in the Suzaku Army! The clothes you wear, the weapons you carry, and the food you eat...

The salary you receive is all given by His Highness; therefore, brothers must also work hard for His Highness, it is only natural and right, remember it all!"

"Yes!" A group of people shouted in confusion for a while.

Zhang Ning's eyes swept across the crowd, and someone suddenly caught his attention. People who are noticed in a crowd of more than a hundred people usually have someone who looks a little special, and this person is no exception. His height

He was very tall, so it was easy to be seen by Zhang Ning, and his face was white with green spots, making him look scary. Zhang Ning only glanced at it, and then immediately turned around and looked again.

This person was special, but his appearance was not good. Instead, he was a bit scary, with a bloodless and cold look. Zhang Ning was curious for a moment, so he patted his horse over, pointed his riding whip at the person and said, "You, come out and answer me."

The man was stunned for a moment, then walked out. After hesitating for a moment, he raised his arms and performed a newly learned etiquette. Zhang Ning nodded and asked, "What crime did you commit?"

"Sir, I am not guilty!" the man said neatly.

Wang Yu on the side suddenly cursed: "How come you are locked up in the government prison when you are not guilty? What is your name? I can find out what your ancestors have done for three generations with just one investigation!" Kong Wuyang, a member of the 100th household, laughed.

"Don't blame Your Highness and Mr. Wang. Many people here say that they have not broken the law. Let me ask him... Li Zhen, who is your surname? First, report the truth to Your Highness!"

The military officers and officials next to him couldn't help laughing when they heard this. Zhang Ning also smiled. Let's take it as a kind of "humor" of Kong Baihu? The man named Li Zhen still had a bloodless face.

He bowed and said, "As the adults from one hundred households said, my surname is Li Mingzhen and he is from Cili County."

Zhang Ning turned to Kong Baihu and said, "There are more than a hundred people here, do you recognize them all in just a few days?"

"The general's memory is not that good. He can only name a few people, and Li Zhen is one of them. Because he was the prison chief in prison, many people were afraid of him," Kong Wuyang said.

After hearing this, Zhang Ning became interested and thought that this kind of person was the most suitable person to recruit to take charge of this group of prisoners. He was probably more effective than military officers and officials. He then asked: "Li Zhen, you said just now that you are not guilty, so what?"

Imprisoned in a government prison?"

Li Zhendao: "In the past, the villain's family was doing business in a restaurant in the city. They met a group of green men who ate food and refused to pay. Instead, they tried to extort property. The villain argued with them, but unexpectedly they started fighting. My brother was beaten.

He was injured, and lost his life after a while. He reported it to the police, but those people were still not caught. The villain's shop was smashed to pieces at that time, and the business was no longer able to continue. Later, he went to the city and countryside as a knight

"Zhengyi", I accidentally killed a man who was unkind because of his wealth. It was originally because that man took advantage of his power and bullied others. I was not at fault, but I was caught in prison..."

Wang Yu sneered: "How is your behavior different from those green-skinned men who injured your brother?"

Li Zhen said calmly: "The difference is only in whether there is morality. What is right and wrong among the people, many things are beyond the control of the government. Someone has to eat this bowl of rice."

"Tai Shigong said that people have their own priorities, and knights are anxious for other people's urgent needs." Zhang Ning said, "But knights use force to break the ban. You hurt another life, and the government did not make a mistake in arresting you."

After saying a few words on the school field, Zhang Ning did not stay long and asked Kong Baihu to seize the time to train. When they walked into the city gate, Zhang Ning said to Zhang Chengzong: "You can find Kong Wuyang tonight and ask him to come forward to recommend

Li Zhen is the deputy."

Zhang Ning organized the dozen or so people who volunteered a few days ago into the Chinese Army Guards, and first let them practice some rules in Wei Bin's camp.

In the afternoon, the scout team came to report that the army forwards had arrived on the east side of Tianmen Mountain. Tianmen Mountain is not far south of Yongding Acropolis. When Zhu Yong's troops arrived there, they were more certain that his first target was Yongding Acropolis.

The generals in Zhang Ning's army discussed that after Zhu Yong's army established a foothold in Yongding Guard, they would definitely attack along the Lishui River. Going down the river from the Lishui River to Cili County would make it easier to transport food and supplies. To this day,

The opportunity to retreat and attack the Yongding Guards has been lost. The military generals Zhou Mengxiong and Wei Bin who came from Jianwen also come to the Council Office located in the county government office every day to discuss matters. How to meet the enemy? Many people still place their hope on the Miao people to support them.

Many people are still in the dark about the extent of their relationship with the Miao people.

At noon the next day, a group of people who claimed to be Miao envoys suddenly came to see them. Before that, they had not seen Chen Maocai's letter, and the guard on duty at the city gate also reported that there was no seal from Chen Maocai. This matter was a bit strange. The person responsible for communicating with Miao

Chen Maocai, who had made friends with others during the negotiations, would usually send someone to notify him in advance if he brought the Miao envoy back to resume his duties.

Zhang Ning immediately ordered the general to keep everyone under guard, and only asked Miao Shi and his deputies to come to the county government office to meet him; he also asked Hou Mao and a group of county officials to go out to the government office to greet them. No matter how strange it was, he had to prepare his enthusiasm in advance

It's a good etiquette to understand the situation first.

The envoy was first welcomed to the hotel to settle down and rest, and servants were assigned to take care of him and guards to protect his safety. Hou Mao, who quickly welcomed the envoy, returned to the custody room and reported that there were four envoys staying in the hotel, two men and two women.

Zhang Ning hurriedly asked: "Where is Chen Maocai?"

Hou Maodao said: "I didn't see Chen Maocai, but one of the Miao envoys is Bai Qi who came back last time. It seems that he is indeed a Miao envoy, and it doesn't look like a fake."

"Bai Qi is the Miao envoy, and there are three other deputy envoys?" Zhang Ning asked in confusion. What he was most concerned about was Chen Maocai. As the envoy sent there, why didn't this person come back with the Miao envoy?

Hou Mao replied: "Bai Kui is not the chief envoy this time, but the deputy; the other Miao woman is the chief envoy and is also the maid beside Bai Fengjiao, the daughter of the Miao King. They said that because the Miao King Princess is a woman, she used a lot of

Woman. By the way, they also handed over a letter for His Highness to read."

As Zhang Ning took the letter, he was about to ask Hou Mao what the messenger looked like, but he felt that it was not serious to ask Miao Nv about her appearance in front of Hou Mao, so he gave up immediately and looked down at the letter. On the cover,
Chapter completed!