In June, 3,000 Yuyang soldiers drove to Xinhui County on the border with Hejian County, and at the same time, Ye Zhen's Central Army also sent 1,000 foot soldiers to arrive at Anlu County, which is adjacent to Xinhui.

But under the military confrontation, there is another wind and rain hidden, the salt and iron of Yuyang County, the weapons of Liaoxi, and the war horses are constantly communicating with each other from these two places, and these two armies are not so much confronting each other, but rather escorting these transactions, and at the same time covering up this secret.

Of course, with such a large transaction volume, it is naturally difficult to keep it completely secret for a long time, but in the eyes of both parties, even if these people are known to the world, they still have to maintain their face.

In addition to these transactions in strategic materials, the people's caravans are getting closer and closer, and Xinhui and Anlu, which were originally on the edge of these two counties, are slowly prospering, gathering more and more people and merchants.

The Yan Imperial Court controlled the strategic materials in Hejian Liaoxi, and it was extremely difficult for salt and iron to flow in, in addition to self-production, it relied on smuggling, but under the Zhengdong Prefecture system, the salt and iron deposits were too small, which was completely insufficient to supply their own needs, although there were bold Yan merchants and the efforts of the four seas to trade, but they could not guarantee an endless supply. Once the imperial court is ruthless, this road will also be broken, from Zhao Guodai County, and the road is far away, although this line has not been broken, but the cost is too great. And after opening up the line of Yuyang County, Gao Yuan temporarily went to this worry.

But this is not a long-term solution, throwing his lifeline to an ally who may bite him at any time is not what Takato wants, but in front of Takato. It is to take Donghu, the land of Liaodong, rich in mineral deposits, and the Donghu people are in Baoshan without knowing it, or they know that they have, but they cannot be reclaimed in large quantities because of the lack of technical strength.

Fighting Donghu is not only a hostile situation between the two sides, but also because Gao Yuan must control this area, only by taking Liaodong, Gao Yuan really has the capital to compete in the world.

It is for this reason that it is also possible. Gao Yuancai did not hesitate to use weapons and war horses to ensure that Yuyang County would send these strategic resources over in an endless stream before he and Donghu decided to win or lose.

Both sides take what they need.

Jiang Xinliang and Gao Yuan are both busy, very busy.

Jiang Xinliang was busy strengthening the army, and he knew very well that as long as the 30,000 Yuyang Army in his hands became a strong army like the Eastern Army, even if he could not dominate the world like Gao Yuan, he could become a decisive force in the Yan Kingdom, which was enough to influence the power of the Yan Kingdom. Otherwise, even if it's a thigh. There is also a time when you can be kicked open by this thigh at any time.

What's more, he is now independently supporting the Zai domain bordering the Zhao State, and the external military pressure of the Zhao State has been greatly eased with Jing Rufeng's great victory at Hangu Pass. The Qin people had to shrink from the front, and the pressure on the Western Front was reduced, and perhaps they would look to the east again. He had to guard against it.

And Gao Yuan is also busy. On the go. The big battle with the Donghu people is imminent, and he must be prepared in all aspects, the last time. It was Yan Guo who gathered all his strength to start a war with Donghu, but this time, it was his independent support, last time, all parties sent more than 100,000 troops, and this time, he was full of troops, and the number of troops was only 30,000. This has to be coupled with Xu Yuan's outstanding tricks in the Pioneer City, so that the Northern Field Army has expanded to 20,000 men in just half a year. In the direction of the Eastern Group Army, He Lanxiong currently has only more than 10,000 people under his command, and this has to include all non-combatants.

This is not a battle of equal strength.

Grain and grass reserves, transportation, and the manufacture and distribution of ordnance are all headaches.

In June, it is much hotter than in other places. When the wind was still blowing outside the city, the city felt a little breathless, and this was because of the countless workshops gathered in the west city.

In the western city, there are fine iron refining and various weapon factories, and countless furnaces are blazing, and the heat rises from these factories one by one, slowly spreading to the whole city.

Walking in this neighborhood made up of countless factories, even outside, you can feel the boiling heat, and in a moment, Gao Yuan feels sweaty and heavy.

"How can the craftsmen endure such a high heat, and do you have any solutions in this regard?" Looking back at Wu Kai, the county warden of Jishi County, who accompanied him, and Fan Dengke, who was in charge of all military production, "Although the mansion is in a hurry now, it can't let the craftsmen have an accident because of this." ”

"Dengke, you can explain it to the governor!" Wu Kaidao.

"Yes, Keeper!" Fan Dengke was originally a native of Langya, a senior housekeeper of the Ye family, and was married to Liaoxi with more than 10,000 craftsmen, but now he is Sima in Jishi County, and one of the most important tasks is to manage the military workshop in this western city.

"Governor, in order to improve work efficiency, we divided the workers into three shifts, under normal circumstances, it is a shift of four hours, rest people do not stop, even at night, are also working, the weather is getting hotter these days, and the factory is extremely hot, so it has been transferred to two hours of a shift, and at the same time, in the factory, herbal tea, mung bean soup and the medical officer to configure the decoction of the solution, are fully prepared."

"Well, think about it carefully, even so, you can't be careless, it's better to have a few more medical officers here on standby." Gao Yuan nodded.

"Yes, I will go to this matter right away."

"In addition, according to the requirements of the fighters at the front, how are some weapons changed?"

"In addition to the stocks that were previously produced, the latest ones have been changed according to the feedback of the front-line soldiers, such as iron helmets with eaves, blood grooves on weapons such as spear blades and short daggers, etc., which are extremely simple things, and as soon as they receive suggestions for improvement, they immediately change all the previous methods of making zuò."

"What about the others?"

Van Dengko's face was embarrassed, "Dudu, like the problems reported by the soldiers that the bed crossbow is bulky, the rate of fire is too slow, and the crossbow has a short range, but it is difficult to solve it for a while, but the lower officials are organizing people to explore." ”

Gao Yuan stopped, "At present, our enemies are the Donghu people, the Donghu people are based on cavalry and archery, mainly cavalry, if we can strengthen the strike ability of long-range weapons, we can reduce the losses of soldiers to hard shock cavalry with flesh and blood, so this aspect of research should be strengthened, so let's do it, you organize experienced masters to set up a Zhenshang Research Institute, which will be funded by the Governor's Office, and the work of these masters is to study how to improve the performance of weapons, including bed crossbows, and the improvement of the performance of riding crossbows, but not limited to these, these craftsmen, As long as the results are made, the Governor's Office will not only reward them, but also give them to the officials.

Fan Dengke was in high spirits and awarded the craftsman an officer, which was the first of its kind in the Central Plains, but thinking about Guo Quan, he was relieved, "In this way, the enthusiasm of the craftsman will be greatly improved, and he may be able to find a way." ”

"Research institutes, don't be afraid to spend money!" Gao Yuan looked up at the rising smoke, and said: "No matter how much money is spent on research, it can't withstand the preciousness of the lives of the soldiers in front, our Eastern Army takes the elite route, there are not many soldiers, but they are all one block of ten, Fan Dengke, don't underestimate your work, every time you research a sharp weapon, maybe you can save the lives of countless soldiers on the front line, and determine the outcome of a war!"

"The lower official understands, even if he doesn't eat, drink, or sleep, the lower official will definitely solve the opinions raised by the front-line soldiers in the shortest possible time, and take out a weapon that the governor is satisfied with."

"If you want to hurry, you can't get there!" Gao Yuan shook his head, "To do this, you have to calm down first."

"Yes!" Van Denko replied respectfully.

"Governor, let's go to the treasury and take a look, as our iron-smelting technology improves step by step, now our weapons are getting sharper and sharper." Wu Kaidao on the side.

"Okay, let's take a look!"

A little bit away from the workshop area, rows of identical tall warehouses stand majestically, in front of the door, the guards stand solemnly, and every other pillar of incense, there is a group of patrolmen walking in neat steps. Pushing open the door of a storehouse, huge wooden compartments were stacked from the ground to the roof, and above the open space of the warehouse, there were soldiers neatly putting huge shields into the wooden compartments, filling one, nailing the planks and lifting them to the stacks on one side.

casually lifted a shield and danced a few times, but Gao Yuan sighed, "It's a lot lighter than before?"

"Yes, Dudu, with the improvement of our iron-smelting technology, the quality of the refined iron produced is getting better and better, in the past, the wooden shield was covered with iron sheets, and the resistance to blows was poor, and it was impossible to stop the heavy weapons of the cavalry from smashing, and the iron shield was too heavy, and it was extremely inconvenient for soldiers to use, but now, the iron sheet made of newly smelted fine iron is covered on top of the wooden shield, although the resistance to strikes is slightly worse than that of the iron shield, but it is light, so now it is mainly produced this kind of shield."

Refined iron, in Gao Yuan's eyes, is steel, but the quality of this steel is obviously far inferior to the quality of steel in his era, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. The half shield in front of him still weighs more than ten catties, but compared with the previous iron shields that weigh dozens of catties, even if a small amount of protective power is sacrificed, it greatly increases the combat power of the soldiers.

In this storehouse, there are all kinds of shields, including half-human shields used by foot soldiers, large shields used to form formations, and small round shields used by cavalry.

After connecting a few warehouses, seeing the warehouses full of weapons, Gao Yuan's heart finally stopped a little, and the Northern Army suddenly increased by more than 15,000 soldiers, which was not expected before, so that the weapons reserves of the Northern Army were suddenly urgent, and for the past few months, weapons have been being transported there, and when these weapons arrive in the Prophet City, the Northern Army will really have a certain strength.

Donghu's action of increasing troops to Hetao has not stopped, and the pressure faced by Sun Xiao is increasing day by day, and he has no reinforcements to send here, so he can only solve their worries on top of weapons.

Is the Battle of the Hetao finally about to begin? (To be continued......)