"Besides, the furnace here is not suitable. It would be better to get a new one." Old Man Shi said to Zhang Cheng.
"Well, that's easy to say. When I return to Xuan Town this time, I asked the imperial court for 300 craftsmen's households, including a few who make iron and forge. I'll arrange for someone to come over and take charge, that's all." Zhang Cheng said as if nothing had happened.
said.
Hearing this, Old Man Shi said happily: "Okay, that's good. We've looked at the mine here. The output should be guaranteed, but the furnace is not very easy to use."
The group left the iron smelting field near the iron mine and headed for Tietou Valley two miles away. Zhang Cheng said to Liu Quan who was following him: "The military strength here needs to be changed again."
Liu Quan, Sun Dashan and others listened attentively, and Zhang Cheng continued: "In this way, the original sixty civilian braves and young men will be organized into soldiers, and the original twenty knights will be combined into one place, and then they will be fined.
Select thirty suitable soldiers, form a cavalry team of fifty riders, and station them in Xiaoxiaoyu;
The remaining infantry were organized into two teams, each with a hundred men, uniformly equipped with armor and weapons. Each team was equipped with twenty gunmen, thirty sword and shield bearers, and fifty spearmen. Each of the sword and shield bearers was equipped with two throwing spears.
, the spearman with four poles;
The first team was commanded by Ma Huijun and was stationed in Xiaoxiaoyu. The second team was commanded by Sun Dashan and was stationed in Tietouyu. The remaining thirty young men were organized into a separate team to take charge of the iron mines and iron smelting yards.
The guards are led by Sun Dashan."
Ma Huijun, twenty-six years old, was originally a horse farmer in Mafang Village, the northern suburbs of Beijing. He has been familiar with horses since he was a child. He knows how to raise, feed and train horses. He has no problem riding horses. He can chop and chop horses.
He has never practiced riding and shooting.
However, although this man is not tall or broad, he is very strong. In time, he will definitely be a qualified cavalry warrior.
Several people agreed loudly, especially the Ma Huijun. They felt that after being rescued from the horse farm by Zhang Cheng, their whole lives had changed, and now they were the leader of a group of hundreds of people.
These changes made him extremely proud, and also made him extremely grateful and admired Zhang Cheng, and even regarded Zhang Cheng as his reborn parent.
…………
In the hall of the meeting hall in the middle of Tietouyu, everyone was having a banquet, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the hall.
Zhang Cheng sat at the top, with wine and meat on the table in front of him. Chen Zhong, Wei Zhice, and old Shi Tiegen sat at the bottom on the left, Liu Quan, Sun Dashan, and Ma Huijun sat at the bottom on the right.
Another group of officials gathered together, everyone was eating and drinking. After Liu Quan's introduction and Sun Dashan's addition, Zhang Cheng learned more about Tietou Valley.
The space in the valley here is not as wide as that of Diaohua Valley, but the cultivated land on the east and west sides of the valley is more than 3,000 acres more than that of Diaohua Valley. There are already more than 8,000 acres of arable land. Moreover, there are still large areas of wasteland in the valley on the west side.
Reclamation can continue.
In addition to usable farmland, there are many valleys and woodlands in these two places. You can also graze some cattle and sheep to make up for the lack of food production. What's more, if the trial planting of peanuts, sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn and other crops is successful in the future.
You can try to plant these crops in the mountains and forests here. It will definitely alleviate the pressure on grains to some extent. You may be able to garrison more soldiers. Hidden here is a force and food reserves. Maybe they will be put to great use at some time.
.
What's more, there is an iron ore in Tietou Valley that is easy to mine.
According to Zhang Cheng's idea, he wants to continue to retain these two places. A large amount of materials are stored in Diaotou Valley, using Tietou Valley as a production and farming base, and using Diaotou Valley as a place to station troops. These two places can at least
Gather two thousand strong soldiers.
Previously, Zhang Cheng had sent his own soldier Lin Fangping to lead a team that stayed up all night to find Chen Zheng, asking him to leave two iron-making families in Tietou Valley, which would become an iron-making base.
According to the old man Shi, there were some captured Tatar armors left at that time, as well as bandit armors and weapons captured at the official road at the foot of the mountain, and now they have been properly repaired.
There were originally six blacksmiths in Tietou Valley. One of them ran away during the chaos and was never found. Now there are only five blacksmiths left. Old man Shi Tiegen said that although their skills are not very refined, they can repair armors and weapons and forge them.
There is still no problem with general farm tools and knives.
Zhang Cheng decided to take Old Man Shi back to Xuan Town with him, and in the future he would go directly to station at Shangbei Road. Only the five blacksmiths would be left here, and for the time being they would mainly make farm tools for farming, iron pots, and kitchen knives for daily necessities.
…………
At noon on the second day, Zhang Cheng and others were watching the leveled land on the valley floor on the east side of Tietou Valley.
There are about a dozen military households who have fled here. They have cultivated a field and work here on weekdays. When they have a harvest, they hand over half to the village and keep half for themselves.
"Liu Quan, don't you still have two abandoned village forts outside Xiaoxiao Valley?" Zhang Cheng asked.
Liu Quan answered from behind Zhang Cheng: "General, there are two abandoned forts, both of which are about a hundred households in size. There are more than 8,000 acres of wasteland around the two forts. If more ditches are built, they can be reopened."
Give us three to four thousand acres of land."
Zhang Cheng said in a deep voice: "Go back and occupy the two abandoned forts, repair them, and arrange for some infantry and family members to live in them first. For the time being, we will allocate land to everyone based on the standard of no less than fifty acres per household.
As for the harvest, each household first pays 40% to Yunei for raising troops and reserves, and the remaining 60% is reserved for their livelihood."
"Don't have any scruples. In these days of war and chaos, if there are refugees or military households who have escaped, we will just take them in and register them. If there are any problems in the local area, just report them directly to the general."
"The space in the west of Tietou Valley is limited. It is not easy to cultivate two thousand acres of arable land. However, the valley in the east is wide and narrow. If the people have enough power, we can cultivate more arable land."
Liu Quan agreed repeatedly, and Sun Dashan also looked thoughtful, but Ma Huijun stepped forward and said: "General... General, we have something to say."
Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "Come on, tell me, what do you think?"
"General, we see that the trees between these two villages are not lush, but there are many pastures. There are still three horse families from our horse farm staying here. Can we ask them to raise horses for the general?"
Ma Huijun said timidly.
Zhang Cheng smiled, looked at Ma Huijun and said: "This is a good thing, Ma Huijun, you should think more about this matter, and it will be your responsibility. Tell those horse owners to use the existing war horses, mules, etc."
Choose some suitable horses and try to breed them first.
Also, send some people to the nearby security guards and Huailai to buy some cattle and sheep, and scatter them in the mountains and forests to herd them first..."
While everyone was talking and laughing, they saw a cloud of smoke and dust rising in the direction of Tietou Valley, and dozens of people on fast horses were galloping toward them.
Zhang Cheng looked over there and listened to Wei Zhice beside him say: "General, could it be that you have submitted a petition?"