Zhang Ning sat in the Ordnance Bureau's room for a full half day, trying to figure out what this organization had done recently from the information and accounts in the newspaper. The winter months had arrived, and it was not pleasant to sit for half a day in such a season.
, mainly cold.
Zhang Ning had long forgotten the geography knowledge he had learned, and Zhang Ning didn’t know what kind of climate the southwest region had. Anyway, winter was not that easy to experience firsthand. During the day, the water outside did not freeze, and the temperature should not be lower than zero, but it was extremely cold and humid.
, as long as the body is inactive, you will find that the body heat is constantly being lost, and then you will shiver with cold. Everyone does not burn charcoal to grill the fire during the day. It is said that the more you grill, the more afraid of the cold you will be.
However, the several military generals who were also chatting in the room were in high spirits and did not feel that they were in any discomfort. Zhang Ning also felt that he was used to living a good life "externally", and in comparison, it was very difficult for these generals.
Not long ago, farmers who were half farmers and half warriors, even Wei Bin from a hundred households, had a prestigious position in the village, and they still had to work in the fields.
Zhang Ning has seen the farming situation of the people in the southwest. In this era, there are obviously no agricultural tools derived from mechanization and chemistry. Everything relies on human power. Animal power is most useful when plowing the ground. Especially when harvesting rice, all human power is required to remove the rice ears.
The grain on the table is packed into a container called a "half bucket". It is nothing if the blood blisters are rubbed on the hands and then broken. Then the wet millet has to be transported back to the village. A load of wet millet is almost two hundred kilograms.
Relying on people to carry them back from the mountain path, not even animals can be used. In such a living environment, Zhang Ning believed that these people were high-class soldiers who were used to enduring hardships and hard work.
There is food to eat and meat. Such treatment makes it not difficult for the soldiers to walk hundreds of miles to fight. It is not difficult to train every day because they have food provided by the public.
"Every day, the leader of the sub-altar sends people to ask to join us, but there is not enough food." Zhang Ning said casually, "This barren land cannot support many people. If there is no food, we cannot raise an army."
Monk Yao, who was drinking tea, said: "You can exchange silk and satin with the nearby Tujia village for food, but it can't be exchanged for much. They also have to keep food rations. Why don't you tell Mrs. Yao about this? I remember teaching Nei and Yong
The chieftain officials of Shunsi are in contact, and it seems that there are still chieftains who have joined the religion. If we can buy food from Yongshunsi, we don’t have to worry."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ning nodded hurriedly and said: "It would be easy if we could get a large amount of food from Yongshun Division, but transportation is a bit difficult... Weapons and armor are even more of a problem. Everything is lacking." He poked with his finger.
Looking at the file in front of him, "Firearms are only enough to equip two brigades, and less than 300 soldiers can be equipped. There is a lack of iron, and artillery is out of the question; if the army is expanded, each person can get a spear and a single sword."
Not bad. Iron armor is definitely not equipped. Firstly, there is a lack of iron, and secondly, forging requires manpower, and people need to get fuel... Paper armor and cotton armor are also very difficult, there are not so many raw materials and manpower; if you don't wear armor,
Facing the regular armed forces of the army, bows and crossbows cannot withstand long-range damage."
He murmured for a while and understood that in the final analysis, it was still the limitation of productivity. Without territory and population, there would be no productivity, and it would be impossible to raise soldiers.
At this moment, the voice of someone speaking outside came in, "There are officials here, go and ask, maybe His Highness is also in there." After a while, a man wearing a robe and a square scarf appeared in the room.
At the door.
I saw that the man was in his twenties or thirties, with regular features and a tall figure, and his behavior was somewhat elegant. When he came in and looked around, he bowed to Monk Yao and said, "Master Yao, you are well." Then he went to the house again.
Everyone inside greeted him one by one.
Zhang Ning pointed at the stranger who came in and asked, "Do you know each other?"
Monk Yao said: "He is from the Dayong branch. I have met him a few times. His name is Chen... Maocai. Everyone calls him that. Chen Maocai, isn't this the third prince you were looking for just now?"
Chen Maocai turned to look at Zhang Ning, stunned for a moment, and made a move to kneel down. Zhang Ning hurriedly said: "No need." However, he still knelt down and bowed three times, then stood up and clasped his fists and said: "The leader has sent a letter.
He said that Your Highness was short of an envoy, so my father ordered me to come to Fengxia Mountain and wait for Your Highness to send you."
"It turns out that the person we want is Mr. Chen." Zhang Ning suddenly changed his title and stood up with enthusiasm, because it was not easy to find someone to go to Miao territory, and he didn't know how the Miao people would treat him to negotiate.
The Han people are a bit dangerous anyway.
Chen Maocai was a little flattered when he saw this, and hurriedly said: "Don't dare, don't dare."
Zhang Ning hurriedly asked him to sit down and talk. After checking the letter he handed over, he said straight to the point: "Mr. Chen should understand the situation? The Miao people are currently active in Chenzhou, and we need to send someone over to discuss the alliance... Of course.
Those Miao people may not be interested in forming an alliance all at once. Your mission this time is mainly to express our goodwill to the Miao leader and then establish contact with him; I will prepare some financial gifts for Mr. Chen. You have to find a way to make an alliance with the Miao people.
Make friends with the higher-ups."
"In that case, this errand is not a bad one." Chen Maocai said with a fake smile, "We have no ill intentions, and we are also sending property, so the Miao people will not turn against us."
Zhang Ning said: "The customs of Miao and Han are different. Make more preparations before setting off. Don't violate other people's taboos as soon as you arrive."
Chen Maocai cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness's words are reasonable, and I have been prepared. There are many Miao and Tujia people near our Dayong sub-altar, and we often have interactions with each other. When I came here, I brought an entourage with me, who is the Miao people of Hela'er Mountain.
A clan of Miao people.”
Zhang Ning was very satisfied after hearing this and nodded.
At this time, Wei Bin joked: "I heard that the Miao people can use poison, so you have to be careful not to get tricked."
Chen Maocai smiled calmly and said: "I have no grudges with the Miao people in La'er Mountain, so why did they use poison to harm me? As far as I know, the Miao people who use poison are also ostracized by their own tribe.
, it is not elegant. What’s more, saints don’t talk about strange powers. Although I have heard of that thing, I don’t believe it can really harm people. If the witchcraft is effective, why don’t the Miao people use it to make the Han officials who oppress and persecute them curse to death?
If you lose, you have to take the risk and start an army to rebel?"
Wei Bin looked back at Zhang Ning and said, "This gentleman is very eloquent, and his mouth is very impressive."
Chen Maocai smiled and said nothing, making no comment.
Chen Gai, the chief flag officer sitting next to him, laughed and said: "Mr. Chen is a talented person, so there is no need to bring any property. I heard that the Miao girl is passionate, and she might fall in love with you. We might as well make a marriage, and everything will be solved."
Yet?"
After hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. Chen Maocai was not angry at all, but shook his head slightly and said: "It's a pity that I have already been married, and the dogs can run away all over the mountain. The ancients had the virtue of 'a wife of chaff will not go to court.' I will never divorce my wife and marry another one."
Thoughts: If that young girl is willing to be my concubine, she will marry a beautiful woman of mine and get her, so why would she be reluctant?"
"Haha..." Everyone laughed again.
Zhang Ning had a smile on his face, which did not affect everyone's good mood, but he had no interest in spending time making jokes with the generals here to have fun. He stood up immediately: "Uncle sent someone to settle Mr. Chen down, I'll go
Take a look at the grassland. It’s really cold if you don’t move around.”
Wei Bin said: "Zhang Baihu (Chengzong) and others are training sergeants on the grassland, and my subordinates will accompany you."
"That's fine." Zhang Ning nodded and said goodbye to Monk Yao, Chen Maocai and others.
There is a flat grassland outside the east entrance of the village. It used to be the place where Wei Baihu and others trained armed villagers. It is naturally a school ground. It was quite lively during this period. More than 700 people were active there every day. The grass in the middle has been completely trampled.
It was gone, leaving only a solid wasteland.
More than 700 people were divided into five brigades, forming the complete structure of Zuo Shao. The first team was veterans of the attack on Shimen County. They were relatively well equipped, but lacked armor, and their blue military uniforms were also very neat. They usually trained their fighting skills separately.
; The second team is the soldiers of Hou Mao's Dashengzhai. This group of people barely passed the formation training. Because the Ordnance Bureau still has more than a hundred matchlocks, they are equipped with them. They usually train musket skills, loading, shooting, and formation.
Transformation, maintenance of firearms, etc.
The other three teams are young men recruited from several villages under the rule of Yao Monk. Zhang Ning has almost maximized the soldier potential of the villages in Fengxia Mountain. These farmers are still practicing military discipline and waving their whips.
Beating and scolding are indispensable.
Hundreds of people from the third team were divided into two sides, with a wooden board tied to their chests and each holding a wooden stick more than ten feet long, waiting in formation. Zhang Chengzong shouted, and the two sides lined up to confront each other from a hundred steps away.
"Stand back and run around, tie them up and give them twenty whips!" Zhang Chengzong stared at the approaching queues on both sides and shouted loudly. After a while, the two sides collided with each other, and most of the long wooden sticks directly poked people's chests, some
Those who were unlucky were stabbed in the stomach and screamed in pain; others who were in poor physical condition were stabbed to the ground directly. Zhang Chengzong shouted: "The ones behind will make up for it and maintain the formation. If there are more people, we can defeat the opponent!"
Several generals on horseback rushed forward, waving their whips, and swung anyone they didn't like, shouting curses.
...Hundreds of people from Fengxia Mountain are usually trained to bring food from their own homes. Because the food that Zhang Ning can allocate and supply is really tight, he asked them to bring their own food and subsidize their military pay by three yuan. During this period, the first brigade's military pay was reduced by three yuan per day.
One, two or three yuan for each person, except for the other people in the second team who are eight yuan. Those people from Dasheng Village have no choice. They have no land and no food here. They can only rely on Zhang Ning to find a way to supply it, and Dasheng Village comes over.
Their families also have to rely on food relief, which is really a burden.
The clothes on the school ground are in a mess. Almost all the people in the first team are wearing old cyan clothes issued before, the second team is wearing gray clothes equipped in Shimen County, and the others are wearing what they wear at home. Zhang Ning plans to pay for the sergeant
The family members ordered uniform military uniforms... In his opinion, what kind of army does it look like if they don't even dress neatly?