The shouts of the foremen came one after another, echoing all around the city wall. All around the city wall, there were extremely busy people, transporting wood and stone, building on the city wall, and even behind the city wall, some women, children and young people were among them.
Busy.
The number of people on various construction sites has increased significantly compared to the past few days. This is because the price of work in the city has increased again. If you work in the city for a day, you can earn a full thirty cents, and if the city opens
The steamed buns and pancakes provided only cost a penny each.
With such a price, and the fact that the government settles wages so easily, the common people would be fools if they didn't come.
Even at night, standing on a high place, you can see a circle of fires winding into a fire dragon, extending into the endless night in the distance. Although the night in the wild of Zhenjiang Fort is full of dangers, those fully armed
The officers and soldiers gave courage to those who worked at night.
If only days like this could last forever!
Feng Changxin smacked his lips with regret. Unfortunately, people in the government said that the construction of the city wall would gradually stop when the first snow fell. At most, a small number of people would be left to slowly
Well, most people want to go back to their respective places.
This means that such a good opportunity to make money should not be left for a few days.
However, thinking about the fact that he had to work at night these days, which affected him from learning literacy from the manager of the woodyard, he felt a little relieved. It would be better if he didn't work at night, he could learn a few more words. How can he settle accounts with learning?
He can even write his own name. If he keeps going like this, he might be able to recognize dozens of characters by the time winter is over!
There was a commotion in the distance, as if the sound of horse hooves was approaching, and people on the construction site turned to look where they came from.
Is this the patrol back?
Feng Changxin also looked over, but he saw several cavalrymen rushing out of the night. In the flash of fire, he could clearly see that there were black and red blood stains on those cavalrymen, and he didn't know it was them.
Your own or someone else’s.
A group of officers and soldiers went out to welcome the cavalry into the city. After a period of chaos, the construction site resumed its usual work rhythm.
"Brother Feng, something seems to have happened!"
Gao Laoer, who was close to him, came over and said, "They are from the cavalry battalion. According to the usual rules, if there are five people who go out, there should be five when they come back. But here there are only four horses and three people!"
"How do you know so clearly!"
While Feng Changxin was busy with the work in hand, he said without raising his head: "You were just lazy when you were working. Believe it or not, your money will be deducted today!"
"Who is lazy!"
Gao Laoer shouted: "Didn't the cavalry battalion recruit people a few days ago? I also signed up, but I was rejected. People don't like me. If I want to be a soldier, I naturally have to find out their situation.
, what’s weird about knowing more!”
"Whatever happens, the Tatars won't be able to get through!" Feng Changxin shook his head: "Don't worry about the officers and soldiers, just do your job well. Even if the Tatars come over, we have so many officers and soldiers here, what are we afraid of!"
"I'm really worried about this!"
Gao Laoer said mysteriously: "Five people from the cavalry battalion went out together. They were definitely scouts. Do you think this man died, lost his horse, and escaped back covered in blood? Can it be a good thing?"
"Are there really Tatars?"
Feng Changxin stopped what he was doing and looked behind him with some confusion. The few cavalrymen had disappeared. It seemed that nothing had happened to the others and they were all doing their own things.
"Haha!" Gao Laoer gloated and chuckled: "There really are Tatars, and those guys outside the city are in bad luck. Now they are looking for a house to live in the city, but there are not many free places. Let them stay outside the city.
Those who don’t come in, from now on, we will be city dwellers, and they will just stay outside and be frightened!”
Feng Changxing was stunned for a moment, looking at the dark night in the distance, and suddenly became worried: "If the Tatars really come over, it may not be safe to stay in the city. I wonder how the adults above are willing to spend so much money on repairs."
Where is the city wall!"
"Yes!" Gao Laoer also became worried: "Why can't these damn Tatars die!"
The two people on the city wall naturally didn't know what was going on outside. However, in Zhenjiang Fort, Jiang Wan, who had just received the report from the scouts, knew clearly what news the injured scouts had brought back.
.
"...As expected, Lu Xiangsheng fought a well-prepared battle. Amin's troops arrived at the city. After a tentative siege, they changed the siege to a siege and no longer attacked the city!"
In front of Jiang Wan were Li Zicheng and Gao Xingsheng. He was discussing with Li Zicheng about changing the uniforms of the guard camp, and Gao Xingsheng was here with a message.
"What do you think!"
He handed the scout's information to Li Zicheng, as if he wanted to test the other party.
"Besieging but not attacking, are you trying to persuade them to surrender?"
Li Zicheng's first reaction was like this, but Jiang Wan's words immediately rejected his idea: "In the past six months, Lu Xiangsheng has been like a grate, raking Liaoyang countless times. He must be on guard against the Tartars' internal and external cooperation. He is
Those who came to Liaoyang carrying a coffin should forget about trying to persuade them to surrender!"
"That's hard to say. He is determined to fight to the death. However, except for the Tianxiong Army, other generals may not share his heart!"
"He dares to kill people!" Jiang Wan smiled: "Shang Fang's sword is not a decoration, but it is what His Majesty gave him to use at this time!"
"Then it must be a pretense of siege, but in fact it is to intercept and kill the reinforcements, whether they are from Jinzhou or from us!"
"No!" Jiang Wan once again rejected Li Zicheng's idea: "Jinzhou will not rescue Liaoyang. There are 12,000 troops stationed in Xiguan Town between Jinzhou and Liaoyang, which is already a very powerful reinforcement force. It is not possible to rescue Liaoyang.
It can only be the soldiers and horses of Xiguan Town, and Lu Xiangsheng will never ask for help from Xiguan Town until the last moment!"
"Yes, Xiguan Town connects Jinzhou and Liaoyang, there is no room for error!" Li Zicheng nodded.
"And Xiguan Town won't send troops, why would Dongjiang Town send troops?" Jiang Wan looked at him with a smile.
"Xiguan Town!"
Li Zicheng suddenly realized: "The Tatars' attack on Liaoyang is a lie, but the removal of Xiguan Town is true!"
"It may not be false, but if you want to take Liaoyang, you must first take Xiguan Town. If Lu Xiangsheng dares to send troops to rescue Xiguan Town, then the Tartars surrounding Liaoyang may not be able to fight without fighting!"
"The Tartars are really good at calculating!" Li Zicheng sighed and put himself in Lu Xiangsheng's position and thought about it, but there was no good solution.
"Commander, if Liaoyang is in crisis, do we in Dongjiang Town really not send troops to rescue them?" Li Zicheng asked: "If the Tatars free up their hands, they will definitely attack us next, not Jinzhou!"
"Do you want me to send troops?" Jiang Wan smiled faintly: "As long as we survive this winter, my Zhenjiang Fort is lined with four forts and has tens of thousands of troops. If the Tartars want to capture my Zhenjiang Fort, it will be more difficult than conquering Liaoyang.
It’s hard work, are they willing to come and chew on this hard bone of mine in Dongjiang Town?”
"The commander-in-chief has his plans, I just asked casually!" Li Zicheng was stunned, and then said with a smile: "I just want to remind the commander-in-chief that if the commander-in-chief wants to send troops, he must let my personal guard battalion be the vanguard.
Panjiakou has been digging trenches for more than a month, and now the brothers call me General trench!"
Pooh!
Jiang Wan was amused by Li Zicheng's words and laughed: "General Gou, who called this? It's very appropriate!"
"If we can face the enemy openly, who would be willing to dig ditches every day!" Li Zicheng sighed: "These guys have never seen the power of the Tartar cavalry. If they are not allowed to see it, I'm afraid such weird words will become more common.
Lots of them!”
"Is it awesome?" Jiang Wan shook his head: "There are almost a thousand of these improved fire guns. I will equip your guard battalion first. I don't care how you train. I will change your fire gun team as soon as possible.
And adapt to new weapons and tactics. If more powerful cannons are built, your artillery team will be the first to be equipped. You are called a Guards Battalion, so you should look like a Guards Battalion!"
"I have taken the commander's orders to heart!"
"Whether the Tartar cavalry is powerful or not will be known when we meet them. The firecrackers and cannons were originally designed to deal with them. If they can't even defeat your personal guard camp, then the other soldiers and horses in Dongjiang Town will be able to defeat them.
The only way to fight is with human life, do you understand what I mean?"
"The Guard Battalion is your Lord's Guard Battalion. Li Zicheng will never let other battalions look down upon him!"
Seeing Jiang Wan nodding with satisfaction, Li Zicheng asked tentatively: "Are we the only ones who have these new guns and cannons in the Guards Battalion? The Nanhai Battalion is also under the Marshal's old subordinates, right...
…”
"Nanhai camp, don't worry!" Jiang Wan waved her hand: "First you will guard the camp, and then Nanhai camp, I am very clear about the distance between us!"
"Li Zicheng understands!" Li Zicheng's chest felt hot: "The humble position will definitely live up to the commander-in-chief's respect!"
"So, even if we have to send troops, it won't be your personal guard battalion..." Jiang Wan's eyelids drooped: "If all the personal guard battalion is dead, who will protect me! Rely on the hundreds of people around me?"
"I know what to do!"
Gao Xingsheng had been watching Jiang Wan and Li Zicheng talking. He waited until Li Zicheng resigned and he and Jiang Wan were the only two people left in the room, then he slowly said: "This is the fourth time. It's basically certain.
The Tartars are scouts coming from the direction of Liaoyang. They should not be many in number, but their whereabouts are secretive and they are divided into many small teams. They should be responsible for monitoring and harassing our Dongjiang Town at the same time!"
"Soon, news of civilian casualties should be coming from outside the city..."
Jiang Wan said slowly: "This is a good thing. It shows that the Tartars are still a little afraid of us. If they really don't even send scouts, then they are looking down on me, Jiang Wan!"
"Wei Qi said that according to their usual practice, there should be a troop of soldiers and horses outside the Liaoyang camp, with a number of about three to two thousand, patrolling between Liaoyang and our Dongjiang Town, looking for opportunities! These scouts should
They were the ones sent!”
"Forts A and B are stationary, and Geng Jingzhong of Bingzi Fort and Kong Youde of Tingzi Fort are asked to strengthen patrols within ten miles of their respective stations. As long as traces of the Tartars are found within ten miles, they must be expelled or eliminated no matter what the cost.
, ten miles away, don’t care about them..."
"The cavalry battalion is not allowed to move!" Jiang Wan thought for a while: "Tell Zu Zehong that if the cavalry of more than fifty people is mobilized, I must personally give the order. I will be responsible for treating it as mutiny and arrest it immediately!"
"Understood, I will draft your military order right now!" Gao Sheng nodded and left in response.
"Has Zu Dashou arrived at Pi Island?" Jiang Wan thought for a moment and called to him before he left.
"Here we are, General Yao Shen has already sent a message. Zu Dashou arrived at Pi Island three days ago, and everything is under your control!"
Jiang Wan nodded and said nothing, and Gao Sheng slowly withdrew.
Pi Island, near Huwei Camp.
There is a small military camp here, which can accommodate four to five hundred people. At this moment, Zu Dashou is in front of the military camp, watching the recruits who have been summoned and now belong to his cavalry camp.
These recruits come from the opposite side of the sea, and each of them speaks Shandong. But what makes Zu Dashou strange is that these recruits are not unfamiliar with equestrian skills. Although most of their equestrian skills are some wild ways, they are nothing compared to nothing.
Basic recruits, these guys are much better.
The war horses he wanted to receive seemed to be brought by these guys. He was very curious about how Jiang Wan got such a group of people. Based on his many years of experience in leading troops, the unruly and indifferent look in these people's eyes might be...
These people have had blood on their hands before.
Isn't this a bunch of bandits?
He suddenly had a headache. He didn't worry about training the new recruits, because the new recruits were all very obedient. If they were disobedient, they would be obedient after being beaten several times and starved for a while. If it didn't work, they would be put on the battlefield.
When the people around them die, the new recruits become veterans and become obedient.
But if it is really about horse thieves, then there are some horse bandits. These military rules may not be suitable for them. If these guys are really forced to have no choice, it is not surprising that they will take risks and kill their bosses.
"Take them to test their riding skills and check their horses. I don't care about people. If they don't obey orders, I will tell them to get out. The horses must stay! Also, by the way, I want to find out their origins!"
After giving orders to the few followers around him, Zu Dashou returned to his room.
Of course, how to train new recruits did not require him to show up personally, but he still wanted to find a few useful people among these new recruits, so he was slightly disappointed.
There was no one from Liaodong among the new recruits, so naturally he couldn't be happy.
A man was thinking about himself in the room, and a relative came in from outside.
"explain!"
"Master, these people are not ordinary recruits!" The personal attendant opened his mouth: "They are all prisoners of Dengzhou, Shandong Province, who were exiled here. They knew it when they came. They must either make military exploits to atone for their sins, or