In the early morning when the sky is slightly bright, Tongcheng's chickens are crowing, and a thin layer of cooking smoke is floating in the sky above the county town.
There were bursts of footsteps on the city wall, and several groups of people dressed in black were running in formation on the city wall, carrying various weapons on their bodies.
A burst of thick smoke came out of a chimney not far from the city, and the wind just happened to cover the place where Pang Yu was standing. Pang Yu waved his hand a few times, and then walked to the tower next to the east gate.
The current strong squad is far from the army Pang Yu imagined in his mind. The people selected are indeed strong. The intensive static training during this period has improved their discipline and concentration, but the level of organization is still far behind.
It was far from enough to carry out military operations, and there were even deserters.
Pang Yu naturally didn't know that in the era he lived in, whether in the East or the West, the consciousness of the military was incomparable to the era after the rise of nationalism.
Even in Europe, which was beginning its modern military reform at this time, the consciousness of soldiers was no different from that in the feudal era. Once they broke away from the queue, they would desert in large numbers.
Officers should guard against soldiers escaping like thieves and restrain soldiers in formation at all times. Skirmishing combat by infantry in later generations was a tactic that was difficult to implement at this time.
So Pang Yu gave up his fantasy and added the three extra people to the team. The city tower was more difficult to escape than the Ye family's old house, so he mobilized the strong squad to the city wall, with each team stationed at one tower and the captain sleeping at the door to prevent deserters.
In the morning, I would run around the city wall, and then stand on the city tower with weapons to familiarize myself with the terrain. At the same time, it could be seen by the people passing by, which had a somewhat calming effect on people's hearts.
After a few days of chaos in the city, things gradually calmed down. Anqing Prefecture sent another official document saying that no actual rogue bandits had been seen in Qianshan and Taihu, and they were suspected to be local bandits.
The local bandits were no longer afraid, so those who entered the city returned outside the city. The social soldiers who had been cobbled together in various quarters in the city were gone, and the work of building grass mills on the city wall was also suspended. Only the strong squads were fixed every day.
Carrying stones to the city wall is a physical training task.
The six gates of Tongcheng were opened normally as before, and farmers from various townships who had not yet paid their autumn taxes continued to go to the city to sell grain and pay taxes. Everything seemed to be peaceful again.
The two warnings about rogue bandits came from mountainous areas. Pang Yu always felt that it was not that simple. Looking at the mobilization situation in Tongcheng this time, it was still relatively chaotic. Pang Yu recorded all the problems he discovered one by one and prepared to write it down.
Leave it to Yang Erming.
People from the fast class appeared under the city tower. Dongzuo Gate is Ruan Jin's jurisdiction. They are responsible for guarding and checking the city gate during the day. The situation has been tense recently. Yang Erming ordered the fast class and the strong class not to go to the county government to attend the morning meeting.
Several strong squads arrived at the tower one after another, and stood on the tower holding their weapons and gasping loudly.
The city wall of Tongcheng is six miles long, and the garrison positions of each team are scattered. The meeting point is Dongzuomen, so Pang Yu designed a return route for each of them. The approximate distance is six miles.
These farmers have no rules for running exercises. They always run fast at the beginning and then run slower and slower, which consumes a lot of energy. Pang Yu doesn't bother to remind them that they will figure it out on their own if they run too much.
His only request was that the entire team arrive together. There were people in the queue carrying two spears, all of whom were spontaneously helping their teammates. Pang Yu hoped that they could develop team spirit as soon as possible.
The position in front of the city tower was slightly wider than other city walls. Six strong squads stood in two rows. Pang Yu waited for them to finish resting and then came to the front of the queue.
"Today's training mission, the first to fourth teams will move along the city wall after breakfast to the location of Zhidu Temple between Nanxun Gate and Xiangyang Gate. The city wall section is numbered No. 112. The first team will practice setting up bamboo ladders to attack
City, the other three teams took turns to practice spear defense tactics. The key point of the training was to master the timing of assassinating the enemy who climbed the city. When each enemy who climbed the city appeared on the battlements, three spears and one javelin must attack him at the same time. The drill command is as follows
Wang Zenglu, captain of the second team, please pay attention to the safety of the bamboo ladder. Before dinner, the team leader will conduct a spot check. Do each team understand?"
Several captains stood up and replied loudly, "I understand."
Pang Yu waved his hand and said, "Teams 1 to 4 will take them away."
Wang Zenglu took a step forward and led four groups of people to the south.
Pang Yu turned to the remaining two teams, "The fifth team's pre-noon training today is about bows and arrows. They only have five bows. They can use them in turns. No matter how accurate they are, they just shoot far. The training location is outside the North Arch Gate. Try not to disturb the people passing by."
"
The captain of the fifth team went out and took five bows and arrows from the Dongzuomen Gate Tower.
In fact, bows and arrows in the late Ming Dynasty were not strictly controlled instruments. In areas facing the threat of rogue bandits, notices issued by local government offices often summoned people who were good at archery within their jurisdiction, and many encouraged people to practice archery for self-protection.
.
There are many people practicing archery among the people, but not many can reach the level of practicality on the battlefield.
Two of Pang Yu's five bows were given by Ruan Dacheng. Ruan Dacheng claimed to be good at riding and shooting. Pang Yu had seen him shoot an arrow once, and he had some strength. However, Pang Yu had not practiced it himself, so he could not judge his level.
But Ruan Dacheng told Pang Yu that beginners should only focus on distance and not on accuracy. Pang Yu thought it made sense.
Pan Yinglou also gave Pang Yu a bow. He was Fang Kongzhen's relative. According to him, the Fang family had more weapons. If Fang Yizhi, Sun Lin and others had not gone to Nanjing, Zeshe might have been able to
Get together ten bows.
After the fifth team left, Pang Yu looked at the remaining sixth team. The captain of this team was Yao Dongshan. Although he was a bit reckless, he could control the people in the team. At this time, Pang Yu was most reassured.
Pang Yu waited for a while and then said, "The three people who escaped a few days ago have been hiding outside for a few days. The fast class got the news. These three people returned to their respective homes yesterday. The people from the fast class asked me if I wanted them to help Zhuang Zhuang."
Catch the man back."
The members of the sixth team were a little confused. They still couldn't understand the meaning of Pang Yu's words.
Pang Yu must capture these three people, not to force them to serve as soldiers, but to supplement their punishment, otherwise it will not be enough to warn the rest of the Zhuang Ban.
Pang Yu turned to Yao Dongshan, "Captain Yao, how do you think this class leader should respond to the fast class?"
Yao Dongshan raised his head and said loudly, "The squad leader should tell those bullies in the fast squad that we can make up for the shame that the strong squad has suffered. We don't need the quick squad to meddle in other people's business. Someone can catch them back."
"
"That's exactly what I replied to Kuaiban. Zhuangban can handle all the matters that Zhuangban has.
Captain Yao's mission today is to lead the team to capture those three people, with one member of Kuaiban as the guide. I hope that in front of him, you can help Zhuangban regain his face."
"Don't worry, squad leader. If Lao Yao can't get anyone, he'll live in their house and see where they escape. If they dare not come, Lao Yao will demolish their house."
Pang Yu looked at Yao Dongshan for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "That's right, what this team leader wants is the determination to get things done.
Those three people are in three villages respectively, and they are not close to each other. Captain Yao will lead the team to set off immediately. The leader of this team is waiting for your good news."
After Yao Dongshan set off with the last group of people, the tower of Dongzuomen suddenly became empty. Pang Yu came to the battlements and looked around. People were coming and going on Zilai Street outside the city, and children were chasing each other in the alleys.
There was an endless stream of horse-drawn carriages on the official road here, creating a scene of peace and prosperity.
Looking slightly south, Liu Xiucai's tall wooden building stands abruptly on a roof.
... During the afternoon express shift, Pang Yu saw the two Ma Kuai who had just returned, accompanied by Jiang Fan.
"You two have had a hard journey, so you both sat down to talk."
After Pang Yu finished speaking, he stood up and stretched out his hands to signal the two horses to sit down quickly.
The two of them had a look on their faces, and each carefully sat on a corner of the chair. Jiang Fan took a stool and sat next to Pang Yu.
.
Ma Kuai on the left handed over to Pang Yu and said, "My two subordinates arrived at Qianshan and saw that there was no panic everywhere, so they went to Taihu Lake again. The people they met had heard about the bandits coming out of the mountain and said they were just scattered bandits.
, Yingshan was not captured by rogue bandits."
"That means the warning signal reported from Qianshan is not reliable."
The two horses quickly looked at each other and nodded to Pang Yu.
Pang Yu thought for a moment and asked, "Where are the things I asked you to help me buy."
The two of them quickly took out a few things from their bags, "This is the reply from Qianshan County Government. This is an oil-paper umbrella from Baiji Umbrella Shop in Qian Street, Taihu County. Their store logo is engraved on the wooden handle."
Pang Yu took it and took a serious look at it. These horses were about to be released far away. No one knew where they had gone. Pang Yu was worried that they were hiding somewhere and fabricating information, so he thought of this method of verification.
Qianshan County had sent a letter to Tongcheng, so it was appropriate for Tongcheng to reply and send a quick horse. However, the Taihu County government had not contacted Tongcheng, so it was not appropriate to go there rashly.
So Pang Yu inquired about it and found out that there was a famous Baiji umbrella shop in Taihu, which could be used to verify that they had actually been there. However, Pang Yu said that he asked them to bring the goods, which was not so straightforward.
"This umbrella is really good. A relative and friend said that they only like umbrellas from this company, so I asked you to bring them here."
Pang Yu opened the oil paper umbrella and looked at it and said, "From what you can see, what defense preparations are there in Qianshan and Taihu Lake? Are there any troops stationed there?"
"No preparations were seen, and no army was seen."
"Are there any wood, stones, cannons or anything like that on their walls?"
The two horses were stunned for a moment, and finally one of them said, "To return to the team, there are only city gates in Qianshan and no city walls. Taihu only has earthen walls, and many places have collapsed, so there is nothing to put on the walls.
As for Susong, I have never seen it in person, but when I was in Taihu Lake, I asked about it and said that Susong also has no city wall."
Now it was Pang Yu's turn to be surprised. He thought that Tongcheng's defenses were lax, but at least it still had city walls to protect it. As long as the social soldiers were mobilized as planned and each battlement was guarded by one person, it would still have a certain degree of defense. Now he heard that Susong, Taihu,
The situation in Qianshan is that there are neither soldiers nor cities, and it is almost undefended.
"Did the people escape from the city and go to the countryside or the river?"
"From what I can see, people in Qianshan have moved to the countryside, while people in Taihu are living their own lives. There are not as many bandits in the streets as there are in Tongcheng. The county government is busy collecting autumn taxes, and there is no one even at the city gate.
Guard, it’s said that the third team has all gone to the countryside to compare money and food.”
Jiang Fan came over and whispered to Pang Yu, "Board leader, are we too worried? There is not much in Qianshan, but we are so far away that we are making trouble. Maybe there are really just local bandits in Yingshan, and the sweeper king has been captured."
The officers and soldiers destroyed it."
"Don't relax until you have confirmed it. It's only sixty miles from the Qianshan County boundary to Tongcheng County. The cavalry can arrive in half a day, and it can take a day's walk. If something happens, it will be too late to prepare."
Pang Yu said quickly to the two horses, "You two are not afraid of bandits and have brought reliable information to our squad leader. Jiang Fan, please take them to Pang Ding and receive five taels of silver each as a reward."
The two horses thanked him profusely. After they went out, Pang Yu sat back in his seat and tapped the table with his right hand.
Three of the five counties in Anqing Prefecture have Buddhist defense preparations, and the Anqing Prefecture is also very calm. This does make Pang Yu a little frustrated. Maybe Anqing Prefecture has information about the rogue bandits and knows that the rogue bandits cannot come to Anqing. Otherwise, explain
Not as easy as Qianshan, Taihu Lake and other places.
I practice strength training here, and I might become a joke in the end.
Pang Yuba spit on the ground, "Is it true that the rogue bandits can't attack Tongcheng?
Then why do I need to spend money and effort to practice so many strong classes?"