After arriving in Fenyi County, Zhao Han obtained more detailed information.
The core elite of the prefect Tian Younian come from the official kiln craftsmen of Binjiang Town. Now that the Chinese New Year is coming, the soldiers must go home, and if they go straight there, they can get twice the result with half the effort.
When Zhu Yuanzhang built Nanjing City, the inner layer of city bricks was white, all produced in Binjiang Town.
This kind of white city bricks are made of kaolin, also known as "white mud bricks" and "white ceramic tiles". They are stronger than ordinary cyan city bricks. Yuanzhou Tongpan Sui Yun, who supervised the creation of this brick, was highly praised by Zhu Yuanzhang
, directly promoted from the sixth rank to the third rank.
There was an official kiln in Binjiang Town, but it was messed up by the officials. A few years ago, the kiln workers caused trouble, and the prefect Tian Younian personally took care of it.
He recruited five hundred kiln-burning workers as soldiers, wiped out the bandits in Wugong Mountain, and then went to wipe out the rebels in Pingxiang County. When he heard that giant bandits appeared in Luling County in the south, he immediately expanded the army of local warriors. Now there are three thousand troops.
Those five hundred kiln workers were elite soldiers who had been trained for two years!
On the night of meeting Song Yingxing, Zhao Han personally led his troops to set off and handed over the task of defending the city to Fei Ruhe.
Because the mobilization of ships made too much noise, Zhao Han led his troops across the Wannian Bridge and marched along the south bank of the Yuan River at night. He marched forty miles overnight and arrived at Binjiang Town early in the morning. He launched an attack without rest.
The residents of the town didn't even react when they saw three thousand soldiers passing through the town, heading towards the kiln workers' settlement to the west of the town.
"Surrender without killing!"
Each group of ten people formed a small team and rushed into various houses, and then escorted the kiln workers and their families out.
…
Xiong Yao's ancestors have been kiln workers for generations, and their household registration is that of craftsman. The official kiln has long since ceased to function, and they all work for private kilns to make a living. Although life is hard, they can still survive.
Just five years ago, the then prefect suddenly had a seizure and said he wanted to build an additional ring around the city.
The kiln-burning households such as Xiong Yao were recruited to serve and brought their own dry food to the government to bake city bricks.
According to the rules, although the servants did not receive wages, the government had to distribute rations. However, the rations were also withheld by the officials. The kiln workers could not survive, so they simply killed the officials (officials supervising the kiln) in rebellion.
After half a year of turmoil, the prefect was promoted with money, and the new prefect Tian Younian took office.
Xiong Yao admired Magistrate Tian very much. He dared to come alone to surrender, but in the end he only killed two leading rebels.
Xiong Yao was recruited as a village warrior by the prefect, and he was paid two bushels of food every month. He also worked every five days. He was very close to the capital, and after taking into account the time spent traveling back and forth, he could work on his own and make money for three days.
Magistrate Tian was very good at training his troops. He said he would pay two dou of monthly salary and never withheld anything. When he went to Pingxiang County to suppress thieves, he still had money to earn. Xiong Yao even hoped to fight every day.
Life is much better this year, and my family has bought new year’s goods.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Xiong Yao had been tired for a year and wanted to sleep in this year.
Suddenly, he heard a noise outside. Before he could put on his clothes, a group of soldiers rushed in.
"Surrender without killing!"
His wife, children, and children were all arrested. Xiong Yao had just put on his trousers. Considering the lives of his family, he did not dare to resist at all.
After being taken to the open space outside to gather, Xiong Yao found that many people had been arrested. Women, children and the elderly were standing together, while the young men were asked to stand on the other side.
what's the situation?
No one knows what's going on, they're all waiting for the Chinese New Year, it's just like this.
"All soldiers, please stand up and don't force me to interrogate you!"
Xiong Yao looked around and saw that everyone was hesitating. Then he looked at his wife and children, who were being pointed at with a long gun.
In desperation, someone stepped forward, and Xiong Yao followed suit.
Zhao Han said: "Count the number of people."
The flag commander quickly counted and reported: "In the main town, there are 436 people in total!"
There must be more than that. Tian Younian recruited kiln workers as soldiers. At the beginning, he only recruited 500 people, but later he recruited more than 300 people.
After some interrogation, Gao Gao found out that some people left their wives and children and ran away, while others lived further away.
Zhao Han quickly ordered the arrests, and in another kiln worker colony, more than a hundred households were arrested one after another, many of whom were just ordinary kiln workers.
Finally, Zhao Han asked: "Who has practiced bow? Raise your hands."
"I have practiced." Xiong Yao raised his hand.
At this moment, a small boat docked in Binjiang Town.
After the official got off the boat, he ran wildly and shouted: "The royal family must gather the troops, the royal family must gather the troops. You must arrive at the military camp outside Fucheng before noon on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year! The royal family must gather the troops, the royal family must gather the troops..."
The official ran so fast that the residents of the town did not stop him, and the sentry did not react. In the blink of an eye, he had already run out of the town.
"The masters of the government gather together...Mother, you are a traitor!"
The officer was so frightened that he turned around and ran away. He quickly returned to the town and was caught by several sentries.
This guy was dragged in front of Zhao Han, and he immediately knelt down and shouted: "General, spare your life, general, spare your life!"
Zhao Han smiled and asked: "Prefect Tian wants to gather troops?"
The official responded hurriedly: "Fenyi County is gone, and the governor must gather his troops on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year."
"Prefect Tian is considerate of the soldiers, but he actually has to wait until after the new year," Zhao Han complained, and then asked, "How many people are guarding the city?"
The official sent someone to pour beans out of a bamboo tube and said: "The governor heard that Fenyi County was occupied by..., so he gathered hundreds of troops to defend the city last night."
The situation was already clear. Tian Younian was very nervous and did not regard Zhao Han as an ordinary rebel.
Most of the hundreds of soldiers who defended the city were from around the city. During the New Year, the defense of the city would definitely cause a lot of complaints.
Zhao Han walked up to Xiong Yao and asked, "Who are you?"
"Yes." Xiong Yao said.
Zhao Han asked: "How many kiln workers are practicing bows?"
"Only a hundred or so." Xiong Yao said.
"Where are the other archers?" Zhao Han asked again.
Xiong Yao said: "They are scattered in various villages."
Some villages are relatively far away. They gather troops on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Taking into account the round trip, five days to complete the assembly is already very impressive.
It's hard to say whether Tian Younian, the prefect, is good at fighting, but he definitely has his own way of training soldiers.
Zhao Han did not inquire about the military affairs anymore, but went to inspect the kiln with his personal guards.
The officers under his command organized the prisoners, packed their belongings, and prepared to take them away together. Regardless of whether they had served as soldiers or not, they all had to be brought back to Ji'an Mansion. Zhao Han's territory also had kaolin, and there was a shortage of many kiln workers for firing porcelain.
When he came to a private kiln, the boss and manager ran away. Zhao Han picked up the porcelain and inspected it, and found that the quality of the product was not very good.
The pros and cons can be seen at a glance, and they are completely incomparable to Jingdezhen porcelain.
"Where is this thing sold?" Zhao Han asked.
A manager of a private kiln who didn't have time to run away said: "A merchant came to buy it, ship it to Fujian and Guangzhou, and I heard it was going to be sold overseas."
It turned out to be an export product. Presumably these inferior porcelains could be sold at a good price even when shipped to Europe.
Zhao Han continued walking a few dozen steps, pointing to a cave dwelling that had grown grass and said, "Why is this abandoned?"
The steward quickly ran into the cave and took out a white city brick: "The leftovers from the construction of Nanjing City by Emperor Taizu have been piled there for more than two hundred years, and no government dares to use them."
"How many of these city bricks are left?" Zhao Han asked.
The steward replied: "There are fifty or sixty brick kilns nearby, and they are all piled with city bricks. They don't dare to throw them away, and they don't dare to use them, so they just keep stacking them there."
These white city bricks have been burned to porcelain and are extremely strong for building the city. Zhao Han decided to pick them up whenever he decided to build the city.
The three thousand sergeants took turns sleeping, and at noon they opened a warehouse to collect grain from the town's big households. They rested until the next day (New Year's Eve). Zhao Han finally left Binjiang Town with nearly 4,000 kiln workers and their families in a swagger.
“Back to the county town to celebrate the New Year!”
Zhao Han asked the soldiers to shout, and everyone laughed and sang, while the kiln workers looked sad.
After walking a few miles, Zhao Han suddenly divided his troops and entered the mountain.
He ordered five hundred soldiers to escort the kiln workers and their families to Fenyi County, and he led a detour of 2,500 soldiers.
The three kiln workers with the largest family members and former soldiers were left by Zhao Han as guides.
Zhao Han spent New Year's Eve in the mountains.
For lunch, he ate wheat cakes and pickles. Zhao Han clasped his fists all the way to the soldiers and kept saying: "Happy New Year, happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year to our town!" the soldiers responded one after another.
Coming to the mountains during the Chinese New Year, it was inevitable that some soldiers would feel resentful. However, Zhao Han greeted New Year greetings one by one and shouted "Happy New Year" thousands of times, which immediately made the soldiers feel enthusiastic.
If you don't dare to march during the day, you will find dead branches and grass as a cushion, and put a quilt on top to sleep.
The cold wind blows at night and people with colds and fevers have to keep up. The terrain is hilly along the edge of Wugong Mountain. After the snow melts to the ankles, marching is very convenient.
Xiong Yao is one of the three guides, and none of them dare to mess around.
Zhao Han said that if the army is defeated this time, all their family members in the county will be killed!
"General, ahead is Yuegong Ridge, and the prefect's training ground is located at the foot of the mountain." Xiong Yao pointed to the front and said.
Walking all the way day and night, with stops and starts, when Zhao Han arrived at the ambush site, it was the afternoon of the second day of the Lunar New Year, and Magistrate Tian had not yet finished gathering his troops.
A sentry was sent down the mountain disguised as a woodcutter, went to the city to sell firewood, and then came back.
Zhao Han initially obtained military information. There were thousands of defenders in Yuanzhou's capital city, but the school grounds and military camps at the foot of Yuegong Ridge were empty. Tian Younian's soldiers were all fed and housed in the city.
Zhao Han could only stay in the mountains to rest and make torches for night attacks.
The soldiers took off their leggings and put them in their arms to dry them. Before taking action, they used wooden sticks to make torches. When they left Binjiang Town, they also obtained a lot of vegetable oil, which was also used to make fire starters.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the spies came back to report.
There are many ships outside the city, loading food. They are the rations for the troops sent by Tian Zhifu.
Judging from the number of ships, there are definitely not enough for three thousand soldiers to take the boats. Most of the supplies are transported by water, and the soldiers follow along the river. Even if they are ambushed, the grain ships can escape immediately.
Moreover, soldiers have begun to live in the military camp at the foot of Yuegong Ridge.
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the spies reported again.
The number of soldiers in the military camp was far more than three thousand, maybe five or six thousand, and I don't know where the prefect could recruit so many local warriors.
Zhao Han now had two options, one was to set up an ambush halfway by the river, and the other was to directly attack his military camp at night.