The bright sun shines on the earth. Although it is not very hot, it is still very dazzling. The mountains in the northwest of Huailai are already green and reflected in the bright sun.
Accompanied by Liu Quan, Zhang Cheng and others inspected the internal and external conditions of Xiaoxiaoyu. After several months of maintenance by Liu Quan, the place had become a new scene.
Two watchtowers were built at the entrance of the valley, relying on the hills, and a new watchtower was built on the gate of the valley. In the valley, on the left side of the entrance are rows of barracks and stables, and on the right side is a small school ground.
There is a parapet separating the houses inside, which is the residential area. The houses have been repaired and a number of new buildings have been built. In the innermost part, there are various workshops and warehouses.
Even so, there is still a large open space in the Xiaoxiao Valley. Liu Quan introduced it: "General, these barracks can accommodate five hundred sergeants, and those stables are enough to house hundreds of war horses.
The houses inside are one by one. Now that we have moved in from Xiaoxiaoyu and Tietouyu, there are still more than 300 empty houses. There are still many vacant houses behind, and it is estimated that there will be another 300 to 500 houses.
It can also be placed,
In this valley, we have built two watchtowers here and on the opposite side. Standing at these two places, you can see everything in the valley."
They were currently on a hill on the right side of the waist in the Xiaoxiao Valley. This place was relatively flat and easy to climb, so Liu Quan built a watchtower here to observe the situation in the valley.
"Well, that's good. Liu Quan, your valley is well planned. How are the fields outside?" Zhang Cheng was very satisfied with the situation here.
"Everyone has been busy this winter, digging trenches and repairing canals, leveling fields, and reclaiming wasteland. Now there are less than 5,000 acres of fields outside the Xiaoxiao Valley, and a lot of them are newly cultivated. The harvest will not be very good.
, the output cannot be too high, it is still possible to feed the more than 1,000 people now." Liu Quan introduced.
Zhang Cheng pondered to himself that the village occupies a good location, but there is not enough cultivated land to accommodate many soldiers and soldiers. At this time, Liu Quan seemed to have thought of something.
He slapped his thigh and said, "Oh..." before continuing: "General, I almost forgot to report it. Zhao Shihu from Hawthorn Point has sent people here three times."
Zhang Cheng was slightly startled, turned to look at Liu Quan and asked, "What does he mean?"
"The guy wanted to join the general, so he sent people three times in succession. We didn't ask the general for instructions and didn't dare to agree to it, so we sent him back. Finally, he got on the road, and sent a total of one hundred shi of grain three times.
Let's keep the five hundred taels of silver." Liu Quan replied carefully.
After Zhang Cheng heard this, he was a little surprised. He did not expect that Zhao Shihu would actually surrender.
Wei Zhice, who was standing next to him, interrupted at this time and said: "General, since this person has taken the initiative to defect, if he had not been a bandit on ordinary days, and his misdeeds are not serious, he can attract his subordinates and set an example for those who come after him."
Zhang Cheng couldn't help but ponder for a moment after hearing this, and then asked Liu Quandao: "How is your inquiry going? Is Zhao Shihu occupying the mountain as a bandit, and does he do many evil things from all over the country?"
"In the second half of the year, we will send out two brothers from the valley in turns to survey the terrain within a hundred miles of the surrounding area and also inquire about the situation in various villages. This Zhao Shihu usually doesn't do much evil.
He was originally a deserter from the Longmen Institute, and he usually sold some private salt. Later, he was reported by another group of salt dealers, so he killed the whistleblower and landed here with a few of his brothers in the army.
feet,
He has been running that village for four or five years. Now there are about two hundred families who have fled from various places living in his village. Thousands of acres of fields have been opened in front of and behind the mountains. They can barely support themselves.
He is a very clever man, and he still makes several illegal salt business trips every year. He also travels far away when committing crimes, and his notoriety is not obvious in the area.
This Zhao Shihu is a good person. He usually helps some poor households in the surrounding areas and has frequent contacts with various forts. There are more than 300 soldiers in the village.
The last time he followed us to attack us, he only managed to get out more than a hundred bandits, and the rest were farmers. Now there are more than 200 horses in his village, and there are more than 30 horse bandits, which is quite powerful.
"
"Oh, by the way, the one we captured on the official road last time was his bandit leader, named Zhao Liang. He was an old bandit who had been with him for more than three years, but he was a nice person. He also abided by our rules during this period.
Now he is a team officer, leading more than thirty young men and practicing every day."
Zhang Cheng walked to the edge of the watchtower, looked at the Xiaoxiao Valley downstairs, and fell into deep thought. Chen Zhong, who had been silent next to him, said at this moment: "Huh, it's not that easy to join the gang. You have to ask him to get a certificate of surrender."
come out!"
"Haha" Zhang Cheng laughed when he heard this, turned around, patted Chen Zhong on the shoulder, and said to Liu Quan: "Liu Quan, do you think this Zhao Shihu sincerely surrenders to him?"
Liu Quan thought for a while and then said: "I think 90% of the 10% is true. The news that Zhao Shihu fled back to the stronghold at the beginning and never showed his face again was the news that the general was promoted to guerrilla and was personally crowned the best among the three armies by the emperor.
After hearing the news, the guy had a desire to seek refuge.
Not long ago, the general broke into the slave camp, and after the news came that the slave chief Yue Tuo was killed among the thousands of soldiers, Zhao Shihu came to our Xiaoxiao Valley in person to show his sincerity of surrender."
"Is there a man with ears to tell the gods in Xiaoxiaoyu?" Wei Zhice said.
Zhang Cheng raised his finger and pointed at Liu Quandao: "Just ask him."
Liu Quan took two steps forward, came to Zhang Cheng's side, and said carefully: "Last time, the news came that the general was promoted to guerrilla. The brothers were very happy, but when Zhao Shihu got the news, he wanted to take refuge and sent
A confidant came to find Zhao Bing.
This Zhao Bing was also honest and led that man to me at that time. It was I who arranged for Zhao Bing to keep in touch with Zhao Shihu and wait for the general to arrive before making a decision."
Zhang Cheng walked down the watchtower and said, "Liu Quan, what's going on with Hu Sihai in Beiliangtou?"
Liu Quan followed behind and reported: "That guy is very arrogant and has the most notorious reputation. He usually relies on his large number of troops to do evil in the countryside. Last time he was defeated by us on the official road. He only waited for six riders to escape.
There are only less than a hundred of the more than 500 bandits left."
"Tell Zhao Liang to find Zhao Shihu. If you can kill Hu Sihai tomorrow night, you will be my subordinate, Zhang Cheng, from now on!"
…………
In the evening of that day, in Tietou Valley, which is less than twenty miles east of Xiaoxiao Valley, the old man Shi Tiegen and Sun Dashan were accompanying him, introducing the situation here.
The houses in the valley here have been renovated, and there are two valley gates on the east and west sides. They were rebuilt according to the mountains. Watchtowers were built on the hills on both sides of the valley gate.
In the original village, there were more than 70 people who had been mining iron ore all year round. They were exploited like slaves by the dead Qi Lianzuo. After the old man from the stone came, he redistributed clothes and fed these people.
, their motivation is even stronger than before.
Now everything from mining to iron-making is going more smoothly than before. However, there is only one old master who knows how to make iron in this village, but he was injured and died when the village was destroyed.