The beards in Kanto each have their own way of life. Most of them farm at home during the busy farming season, and during normal times, they go out to rob and kidnap people. Therefore, the beards are very taboo about exposing their real names and origins.
They come and go under pseudonyms and nicknames.
The situation here in Guo Changfeng is roughly the same, with some differences. The Hongtuya area only began to be inhabited and opened up in 1877. Most of them were refugees fleeing famine in Shandong. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the area that can be worth a county is only 600 yuan.
The people of Yuhu, even if they want to go out to rob, they don't know which family they want to rob of their food and money.
They have done it before, robbing women.
Guo Changfeng has been operating in Hongtuya for a long time, but there are no enemies around, and the imperial court will not come to encircle them. The defense of the village is very lax. It is far from having a solid wall like Niujiabao, and there is only a tall wooden fence.
Song Biao led the team into the stockade to check it out. He saw that there were more than 200 beards here of different ages. Some were fifty years old at the top and some fourteen or fifteen years old at the bottom. He was filled with emotion. He really saw Guo Changfeng clearly.
With family background, Song Biao realized that he might have praised Fourth Master Guo a little too much. To be honest, he really didn't have much strength at all. If he really wanted to fight, he would probably be wiped out by a machine gun.
Guo Changfeng knew that there were more than 200 people in his team, half of whom were old, weak, sick and disabled who could not fight a tough battle. He immediately took Song Biao to the warehouse to check the goods at the bottom of their Hongtuya Village packing box. It turned out to be two boxes.
There are about two thousand taels of loose gold nuggets.
This handful is as scattered as grains of sand. There are also gold ingots the size of fingernails and a piece of gold nugget weighing half a catty. It is also a rare big gold. It can be regarded as the one in Hongtuya Village.
Press box baby.
The broken gold particles in Song Biao's hand were round, golden, and very dazzling. After squeezing them in his hand for a moment, he scattered all the gold back into the box and said to Guo Changfeng who was accompanying him: "So, there is gold.
Mining is a good thing, you can make gold flowers by yourself, where do the miners find them?"
Guo Changfeng said: "The miners are basically deserters captured from North Korea. There have been famines in their poor places. Every year, people come to our place to reclaim wasteland. In the past few years, there are people from Japan who have supported us. The trouble is too great.
In a fit of anger, I killed them all and occupied the land. The women were snatched away to be our wives, and the men were thrown into the mines to mine gold. I had dozens of brothers over there watching the business, so I couldn't be more ruthless.
But the Japanese told me a few days ago that we were not doing well and they wanted to partner with us. They would transport the gold back and sell us some foreign yen, Japanese yen and so on. I think the Japanese yen is so damn good.
Isn't this a clear robbery of their paper money, using that thing to exchange for our gold? But we can't afford to offend you, obviously I have no objection, I just said that I want to discuss it with the brothers, and I will come to you as soon as possible.
Make the decision for us Guandong people."
Having said this, he continued to add: "Master Biao, we have discussed it with our brothers, and we are going to join you with this gold mine. We can't take advantage of little Japan. Do you think this is right?"
Song Biao nodded slightly, and did not blame Guo Changfeng for not explaining it clearly to him beforehand, and said: "Okay, from today on, you will continue to manage the gold mine here under my banner. How much gold can this mine earn every year?
We use it all locally.”
Guo Changfeng was overjoyed, but said: "Master Biao, you are too polite."
Song Biao replied: "Why are you so polite? We are all from the same Guandong family. The soil and water support one person, and the gold must also support our brothers and sisters."
Guo Changfeng laughed and felt very happy. He always felt that he had made a wise decision.
After walking around the village of Hongtuya, Song Biao had a rough idea of Fourth Master Guo's family background. Song Biao knew in his mind that this brother's family background was said to have more than 200 people who could really be spared for fighting.
There were only about a hundred people, and less than half of them were looking after the gold mines. A team of more than thirty people guarded more than two hundred North Korean miners.
Their firearms were originally private goods bought with gold, but the thirty old guns turned out to be the legendary Minie rifles. They bought some Murata 18-type rifles from the Japanese last year, all of which were eliminated by the Japanese Army.
It was a second-hand item. I originally bought 60 rods, but the Japanese Manchurian Army later gave me another hundred or so rods.
There was a banquet to be held in the evening. The brothers were preparing it outside, while Song Biao and Guo Changfeng were arguing in the room. The people below brought two large pots of fried peanuts, each of which was big and plump.
Guo Changfeng couldn't wait to bring it to Song Biao and said with a smile: "Master Biao, the land in our Hongtuya area is not good. It is all sandy soil. It is not easy to grow anything except peanuts and potatoes. Especially for planting.
Peanuts are harvested this year. When you lift them and shake them, all the mud will fall off. Unlike the black soil at the mouth of the Hunjiang River, which is very sticky and will not stick to the peanuts. We just pick them up casually here. When harvesting
Just pull it and shake it. We also specialize in raising peanuts here, and the seeds we grow are all good, big and fragrant. Do you want to try them?"
Song Biao happily grabbed a handful in his hand, peeled a few and tasted them. Sure enough, they tasted very fragrant. He praised: "It's really good. I really like this one."
Guo Changfeng smiled and said: "From now on, I will plant a few loads of land for you every year and roast peanuts for you. Do you think it is right?"
Song Biao snorted and said: "Okay, why not? The peanuts here are indeed very fragrant. In fact, when it comes to Hongtuya, I have a lot of ideas. Let me take a look around and see that the peanuts here are delicious.
It's really quite a lot, and there's a lot of land, but no one is farming, and the roads are not accessible. Having said that, it will take a lot of effort to cultivate all this large wasteland into fields. Let's collect some money to build the roads first.
Later, we will build a large horse farm here and raise thousands of good horses. With the horse power, we can go to the county town to sell horses. We can sell wild goods and medicinal materials here, and we will slowly open up wasteland.
Just grow peanuts and the like, and use the peanuts to exchange for food. In the future, we will build more big villages, use the money from the gold mine, open more private schools, and invite some teachers to teach the children to read and read. If life is
If you use this method, it will definitely become popular."
Guo Changfeng praised: "Master Biao is still well-informed. If we build a horse farm here, it will be really easy. There are good horses in the mountains and outside. No matter how you raise them, they will be good."
Song Biao said: "Then let's do it. Fourth Master, I originally wanted you to be a battalion commander for me, but now that I've come to your Hongtu Cliff, I think you shouldn't go to my place to bother me.
Hongtuya will be the captain of the patrol brigade. From now on, the mayor of the town will be in charge of the entire Hongtuya and make a good living here."
Guo Changfeng was dubious and didn't know how to answer.
Song Biao comforted him and said: "Fourth Master, if you believe me, serving as an official will benefit the whole country. Hongtuya cannot even be controlled by the imperial court, so it is up to you to manage it. In the future, if I can take over the imperial court first
Just an errand, I will continue to let you take care of things here. If Hongtuya is run well, you can make some money, I will also have a harvest, and you can also raise horses here, give me an armed cavalry unit, and then take care of it for me.
It is always a good thing to have a patrol brigade and take good care of this piece of land."
After hearing this, Guo Changfeng smiled and said: "Okay, then it's all up to you. To be honest, if you really let me leave Hongtu Cliff, we will still be reluctant to leave!"
Song Biao nodded slightly, and after pondering for a moment, he added: "Anyway, you know what's going on in your heart, and I know what's going on in my heart, so I'm determined not to treat you badly."
Guo Changfeng immediately said: "Don't worry, Mr. Biao, I understand in my heart that even my brothers, do you still want to send some cannon heads to the reconnaissance company?"
Song Biao waved his hand and said: "The old people and children have all dispersed. I estimate that after a little rectification, you will only have 150 or 60 people left here, which is basically enough for a patrol squadron. This patrol brigade of yours
I have to be responsible for several things. First of all, I need to retain two patrol squadrons, one to look at the red cliffs and the other to look at the gold mines. I also need to organize a horse breeding team and open up some forest farms. In total, there will be more than a thousand people. New recruits.
It’s too late for everyone, so what’s the point of extracting people?”
When Guo Changfeng heard that he could manage more than a thousand people, he became even more satisfied. He immediately said: "Okay, as long as you have your words, Mr. Biao. Mr. Biao, you are more knowledgeable, have many ideas, and have many methods."
Ah, we really can’t compare, I admire you, I admire you!”
Song Biao smiled, changed the topic and continued to talk about the situation of Hongtu Cliff.
He really took a fancy to this land, and he was indeed capable of doing something good. This place used to be North Korea, and big things might happen in the future. He had to prepare for it in advance and manage it well in advance. Having more people is the last word.
That night, another banquet was held in Hongtuya Village. Song Biao got to know everyone on Master Guo's side. The next day, accompanied by Guo Changfeng and these new brothers, Song Biao went to the gold mine again.
After checking it out, he returned to Niujiapu and continued to personally take charge of recruiting new soldiers.
Song Biao's plan was to recruit the full establishment in three batches. The first batch recruited 8,500 people to fully recruit the three main infantry regiments. In addition, he would fully recruit a division command battalion, a cavalry battalion, and an artillery battalion.
In terms of quality, his requirements are much higher than before.
There were actually only 3,000 people in front of Song Biao. Although Xue Changqing had many people, most of them were horsemen recruited from outside. Zhao Tingzhu, Zhang Yahu, and Chen Wu's infantry regiments only had more than 600 people each.
His Manchurian infantry division adopted organizational characteristics similar to those of the Japanese army. The full strength of each battalion should reach 1,200 men. Each regiment had a reserve battalion in addition to the three main battalions. Therefore, one of his infantry regiments actually
The full complement should be close to 5,200 people.
According to Song Biao's plan, the Manchurian Infantry Division would have a cavalry brigade, an artillery regiment, a baggage regiment, an engineering regiment and a division headquarters command battalion based on four infantry regiments. If Song Biao really allowed it to be built,
He has a force of more than 30,000 people. If he is given two years to train, he will be absolutely confident of taking on a main Japanese division alone.
He has a huge vacancy in military strength, and recruiting 8,500 more men can only be regarded as a prelude to a major expansion.
In order to recruit more qualified soldiers as effectively as possible, Song Biao personally took charge of recruiting troops in Hunjiang and Tonghua. Zhang Yahu went to Liaoyuan, Huinan and Meihekou to recruit troops. Chen Wu returned to Shenyang and recruited troops in Fushun. Yang Tiesheng and Yuan
Chang Wanchun, the second leader of the Huichun Caravan, returned to Huichun, Mudanjiang, and Shuangchengzi to recruit soldiers, while Zhao Tingzhu went to Harbin and Changchun alone to recruit new soldiers. Although he had little influence in that area, he had full cooperation from the Russian army, so he was not worried.
Can't recruit anyone.
Everyone has to go out with their troops, not only to recruit troops, but also to cooperate with the Russian army to defeat the overly active bandit forces along the way. In this regard, the Russian Far East Army will provide full cooperation, recruiting troops while fighting the bandits.
Song Biao considered leading the team himself to defeat the largest gangs first. After some deliberation, he decided to give these capable subordinates some opportunities to lead troops alone in battles. Their teams had generally fought hard battles and had received a certain level of training.
Military training, with the cooperation of a small group of Russian troops, with well-equipped weapons and equipment, and a few machine guns when going out, there is no reason why they cannot defeat the bandit armed forces.
What's more, his army has many caravan brothers. These people have been running caravans since they were sixteen or seventeen years old. They are well-informed and well-informed. It is easy to find bandits' lairs. Unlike the Russian army, which is all in groups in Kanto.
Blind man, deaf man.
With all his capable men gone, Song Biao was left alone. Only Li Fugui, Li Dayun's two companies, an infantry regiment and a cavalry regiment of the Russian army were personally stationed in Tonghua County, in Niujiapu.
, Balichuan, and Hongtuya each left a security team of more than a hundred people.
In the years of war and chaos, as long as you had money, guns and food, it was not easy to recruit troops and buy horses. The Qing government abolished the martial arts examination in the 27th year of Guangxu, and significantly reduced the number of places for the imperial examination in the 31st year of Guangxu. This year
It is basically a known fact that the imperial examinations are to be officially abolished, and the governors of all provinces are writing letters. As a result, those who want to take the imperial examinations and military examinations have no way out.
Song Biao recruited three young talents in Tonghua and Hunjiang areas, but they all fled from Shenyang and Liaozhong areas. They happened to have insufficient food and clothing, and they met the recruitment conditions of the Manchurian Infantry Division, so they were recruited together.
Come and take refuge.
In these days, being able to read was considered a talent. Seeing that they basically had no qualifications to be soldiers, Song Biao kept several of them at the division headquarters to do paperwork.
Five groups of people were recruited separately. At the end of April, the first batch of 8,500 people was successfully completed. Yang Tiesheng and Zhang Yahu defeated multiple bandits supported by the Japanese army respectively, which was considered a decent explanation to the Russian army.
During this period, Song Biao also completed his first transaction with the Japanese army, exchanging more than 20,000 Mosin Nagant M1896 rifles and fourteen Maxim machine guns, including a large amount of ammunition, from the Japanese army.
The Japanese army was more interested in the 31-year-old artillery in Song Biao's hands, and the artillery transactions were more rapid. They even traded the captured second-hand materials such as Japanese lunch boxes, military boots, and tents, because after the continuous losses,
5. After the Eighth Division, the Japanese army was forced to carry out large-scale mobilization in the country again, and urgently recruited more than 70,000 troops to reinforce the Japanese Manchurian Army. Although many of the newly recruited soldiers were also reserve forces, they were almost ready when they arrived at the front line.
He had nothing on him, and even his rifle was the oldest Murata Type 18.
Throughout April 1905, Tonghua City was almost a secret transit station during the Russo-Japanese War. With the help of Major Turgenier and others, Song Biao bought the Russian trophies from the Japanese army at low prices and exchanged them with the Japanese.
A large number of military supplies were traded in Tonghua City.
Among the many transportation routes of the Russian army, the Hunjiang Line was the first to stabilize. It had never been so calm and smooth throughout the war. A large amount of military supplies were purchased from the United States and Germany, including four thousand Winchester M1897s.
Lever-action shotguns and more than a hundred German-made Maxim machine guns passed through Tonghua County.
Out of the importance and rewards for Song Biao's Manchurian Infantry Division, the division building materials promised by the Russian Far East Army also arrived in batches as planned. Of course, if Song Biao did not ask his Russian friends to step up the communication, these
Whether all the supplies can arrive before the end of the war is really a question.
Song Biao also asked Yang Tiesheng and the commander of the cavalry battalion Chang Wanchun to purchase a batch of firearms and ammunition in Vladivostok, especially shotgun ammunition and grenades. These materials, like machine guns and artillery shells, were beyond the ability of the Russian army to distribute to him.
The main force of the army was so nervous that even with the help of Brigadier General Madnidorf, they couldn't do anything.
Although the Japanese army traded a batch of Russian 76mm howitzer shells to Song Biao, the number was still very limited. Although the Japanese army exchanged some Russian artillery pieces for him, the part that remained in Japanese service required a large number of artillery shells to support it.
Song Biao naturally wanted to buy artillery shells, but they were really too expensive, so he could only endure it for now. He stubbornly believed that he would never return to the front battlefield again, so he did not make preparations in this regard.
Just leave Yihe for occasional training.
There are always unexpected developments in the situation. When Song Biao "stubbornly believes" ten times, one of them will definitely be wrong, because there is nothing in this world that people can really predict and control.
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