The people chosen were all young people, mostly half-year-olds. These children were young, had good eyesight, learned things quickly, had lively temperaments, and quickly got along with others.
Bamboo crossbows are somewhat different from bows and arrows, but as long as you find the key, it is easier than shooting a bow. These guys get started quickly. Every time it is time to rest, the big guys go into the mountains in groups.
From time to time, I would bring a few pheasants and rabbits back for extra meals.
They also taught the villagers some survival skills in the mountains, such as setting traps, digging simple traps, which plants are poisonous, which snakes and insects should not touch, how to identify directions, etc.
In the Yan family, Yan Laoer is the busiest. He has to practice calligraphy and crossbow training, and he cooks every day.
Their food is the best, with meat and vegetables every day, and occasionally the hens at home can lay two eggs.
Everyone knew that Yan Lao Er and his wife were pregnant, and everyone in the Yan family, from the scholar to the younger ones, paid great attention to her.
Qi Wu made a wooden frame for Yan Laoer and fixed the calligraphy written by his brother inside to save him from twisting and folding.
So as soon as Yan Laoer picked up the wooden frame and sat down on the big flat stone, everyone made a tacit agreement not to disturb him again.
The team walked a little slowly because they had to accommodate the speed of the mountain people.
The mountain people didn’t expect these outsiders to walk on the mountain road so quickly!
Not only can people walk faster, but animals can also be exercised.
Especially the Yan family's ox cart leading the way, it was like walking on flat ground when going up the mountain and down the slope.
On the night of the third day on the road, Uncle An came to see Yan Laoer.
“Several nearby mountain villages are empty!”
Yan Laoer reacted: "They have all entered the bandits' den?"
"Eighty percent yes." Uncle An secretly rejoiced.
It's amazing, they were just a little bit behind.
Yan Huaiwen said: "Approximately how many people are there in these mountain villages?"
Uncle An tried his best to remember.
"The few are dozens, and the many are less than a hundred."
The mountain village where they are located should have the largest population and the largest number of young men nearby.
The mountains that other mountain villages live in are bigger than theirs, and there are more people in the mountains than they do. The reason why there are so few people is because the bandits exploit them too hard.
Yan Huaiwen did the math and had an idea in his mind.
"What do the bandits suddenly want with so many people?" he wondered.
Uncle An and the others were recruited, firstly because of the convenient location, guarding the exit of the canyon, which was regarded as the main entrance and exit of the mountains in this area, and secondly because of the large population, and Chuanyun Village wanted to strengthen itself.
It's so unusual to be able to catch all the mountain villages in one go.
When these people go up the mountain, they eat and drink a lot every day. The bandits will not make a loss-making business, and there must be greater profits.
They require a lot of manpower.
Why?
Yan Huaiwen silently recalled the memorials and dibao in his memory about Leshan Prefecture and several surrounding big houses.
Drought, banditry...
Private mine!
Xizhou Prefecture is adjacent to Leshan Prefecture. After the defeat of King Si's rebellion, the imperial court took over several private mines. These private mines were full of bones. They were caused by raging disasters. King Si came to rob the victims from various prefectures.
There are still several years before King Si raises his army.
It's nothing more than weapons, money and food.
King Si held several private mines and had no shortage of money, food and weapons, but this man was the only one.
Xizhou and Guanzhou were both important border towns and had the responsibility of guarding the border. The conscription under the rule was very heavy. King Si wanted to build a private army, but he was afraid that there would be no one from the feudal town to use it.
Mining and iron smelting require people, and committing rebellion requires people.
It seems logical to target the victims.
After figuring out the key, Yan Huaiwen sighed secretly.
Natural disasters and man-made disasters can cause people to live in dire straits.
The coexistence of the two is suffering.
He could not bring peace to the people by serving as an official and as a prime minister, so what can he do now?
Yan Laoer quickly discovered that something was wrong with Lao Yan.
Lao Yan has always been unable to let go of the scroll, or he keeps writing. Sometimes he writes all day long, and he doesn't know how many articles he has to write. It's so heavy.
But ever since Uncle An mentioned that several mountain villages were vacant, Lao Yan took several children at home to practice archery together.
Will also join the ranks of big guys waving knives and sticks indiscriminately.
Even though it doesn't look very organized, everyone is adapting to these weapons and finding their own comfortable point of exertion as they wield them.
At least it looks much smoother.
Under his leadership, the entire team fell into a martial arts craze.
Not only the children, but also the women of each family would shoot a few arrows at the target when they were free.
Yan Xiaoer rose to prominence by relying on his accurate crossbow.
Among this group of children, Dagouzi vaguely felt that his position as the king of children was not guaranteed, so he simply joined the half-grown children headed by the second and third irons.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xiaoer didn't want to do this, and later joined the group of young men. Seeing that she was able to shoot accurately, no one chased her away.
The children in the mountain village didn't know that she was a girl, they just thought that she, Yan Xiaoer, was the second son of the Yan family, and they were quite competitive with her.
"Yan Xiaoer, how about we compete to see who can shoot more accurately?"
Yan Yu was a little impatient. These boys, whether from her own village or from the mountain village, all coveted her father's iron crossbow. Those who wanted to touch and shoot would challenge her all day long, which made her very distressed.
If you don't agree, it seems that you don't fit in with the crowd. It was hard for her to get into the ranks of these half-grown men.
Agreed, the power of the iron crossbow was there, and she was really worried that they would be accidentally injured.
She really has the body of a baby and the heart of an aunt.
"It's okay, you first beat Brother 2 and Brother 3 before we talk." Yan Yu skillfully pushed the person out.
Brother 2 and Brother 3 don’t know what kind of stimulation they received. They have the same requirements for themselves as adults and practice hard every day.
Such hard work is not without reward. They are the first batch of half-year-old children to be included in the team.
Apart from the two of them, there are also two brothers from the Hu family in this group, and the rest are basically mountain men.
In terms of eyesight and accuracy, the mountain people who live in the mountains all year round are indeed better.
"Don't you dare to compare!"
"I don't have time, I have to practice calligraphy." Yan Yu put away the crossbow and turned around decisively.
It's very unnecessary to start an argument. How old is she? It would be disgraceful for her to win an argument, and it would be even more embarrassing for her to lose an argument.
He said he was going to practice calligraphy, but in fact Yan Yu stayed near his ox cart for a while, then quietly left with Maomao.
"Brother 2 Iron, Brother 3 Iron, let's go." She greeted in a low voice.
The second and third irons looked around and left as if nothing had happened.
Not many people really noticed them.
Taking advantage of the darkness, the three of them walked slowly through the forest.
Cats are the best guiding lights.
Yan Yu has cooperated with Maomao several times.
She carried her backpack in front of her, exposing the cat's head and paws. The left paw moved to the left, and the right paw moved to the right.
Taken together, there are people.
They didn't move very fast and couldn't explore very far each time.
But the three of them enjoyed it endlessly.
Yan Yu suddenly stopped, and the cat's two paws touched each other gently.
She pinched the left side, and the cat stretched out two nails, and pinched the right side, and the cat stretched out one nail.
