There is no means of transportation at this time, and the general army can only rely on walking when it is transferred, Yang Cong also built thousands of chariots for transportation when he was in Xuanfu Town, but the southeastern provinces did not have this convenience, because he did not have the time to build chariots, and the chariots did not have much advantage over the Japanese who were mainly foot soldiers, and it was not cost-effective to build them at all.

Originally, when the Ming Naval Division was strong, the march in the coastal areas could also be transported by warships, although the sailing ships were slow, there was no problem in traveling two or three hundred miles a day, but unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty always cut off his hands and feet, implemented a sea ban, and the number of naval warships was getting smaller and smaller, and the 50,000 troops could only go to the coastal provinces to garrison or only by land.

If you want to say that this is by land, Shandong and Zhejiang are a little better, because these two places are already at the junction of Nanzhili, and the marching distance is at most four or five hundred miles, go faster, and you can arrive in less than ten days, Fujian and Guangdong will be in trouble, these two places are more than a thousand miles away from Nanzhili, and the army will have to go at least a month.

In other words, why didn't Yang Cong convene the tunwei locally, but instead sought the distance from the near and far, and summoned the tunwei from the south of Zhili, wouldn't he be asking for trouble?

Of course, he has his own considerations, and he knows very well that the local guards are inextricably linked with the maritime giants and even pirates, and if the guards are recruited from the locality, it is basically impossible to wipe out the pirates and pirates.

If nothing else, there is no way to prevent this point of ventilating the news, and people must know the whereabouts of the army at all times, and how can these pirates and pirates be eliminated.

This may also be one of the reasons why pirates and pirates and pirates finally relied on the Qi family army to exterminate them, because the Qi family army recruited not garrisons at all, but the miners who volunteered nearby, and they basically had little intersection with pirates and pirates, so there was no problem of ventilation and reporting.

It was with this in mind that Yang Cong was reluctant to seek the near and far, and specially summoned the guards from Nanzhili, so that even if he spent more time on the road, at least he didn't have to worry about the problem of ventilation and reporting.

After the army was raised, he began to consider the issue of expanding the scale of musket and artillery production, although the muskets and artillery needed for 50,000 foot soldiers are not much, but the muskets and artillery needed to form a naval fleet in the future are terrifying, think about Spain, the Netherlands and other maritime powers, a super warship is equipped with hundreds of artillery, relying on the current output, he is afraid that he will not be able to build a fleet that has been advanced for more than ten years.

Fortunately, this South Zhili is the same as North Zhili, there are many craftsmen, and it is not very troublesome to recruit, and the vicinity of the Daxiao Field is basically either a wasteland or a garrison, so there is no need to worry much about safety, Yang Cong decided to build a large military factory next to the Daxiao Field to produce muskets and artillery.

On this morning, just as he was taking Xue Nantang and Li Du to plan a factory near the Daxiao field, a personal guard suddenly came to report: "My lord, Mao Lie asks to see you." ”

Mao Lie is Wang Zhi's godson, from the very beginning, he was sent to contact Yang Cong, and after a long time, he was also familiar with the people around Yang Cong, so every time there was something Wang Zhi would send Mao Lie to contact Yang Cong.

Yang Cong also had a good impression of Mao Lie, and when he heard that this young man came to ask to see him, he directly ordered the guards to lead people over, and he didn't mean to shy away at all.

This Wang Zhi, what's the matter, didn't he ask him to send his subordinates to investigate the movements of other pirates and pirates, could it be that there was news so soon?

This time is really a bit unfortunate, because he has just sent out the army, and it is estimated that the nearest Zhejiang road has not yet arrived at this time, even if there is news, there is no way to send someone to deal with it.

While he was thinking about it, Mao Lie had already followed the guards to the front.

This Mao Lie's face seemed to be a little anxious, and as soon as he saw Yang Cong, he hurriedly said: "My lord, it's not good, the bandit leader Li Guangtou has gathered a large number of pirates and pirates, and is preparing to loot Yangzhou Mansion." ”

When Yang Cong heard this, his brows couldn't help frowning.

The so-called "there is heaven above, and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below." Suzhou and Yangzhou are not only beautiful scenery, handicraft industry is also very developed, it can be said that the richest place in the Ming Dynasty is Suzhou and Yangzhou, the cloth and silk satin produced by these two houses account for almost seventy percent of the entire Ming Dynasty, and its wealth can be imagined.

There is no doubt that pirates and pirates must covet these two provinces, but under normal circumstances, pirates and pirates do not dare to plunder these two places, because Suzhou and Yangzhou are too close to Yingtianfu, and there are many guards in both provinces.

What kind of Li bald head is this, did you take the wrong medicine?

Yang Cong couldn't help but be surprised: "How many people are coming?" ”

Mao Lie said a little anxiously: "We don't know very well, this time Li Guangtou said that he would come to the big one, and the pirates of all sizes alone have gathered more than ten shares, and if you add the Japanese who came to hear the wind, I am afraid there will be at least twenty or thirty thousand people." ”

Twenty or thirty thousand?

Yang Cong was stunned suddenly, this is someone who reported the news!

Otherwise, why didn't this Li Guangtou come late and early, he had just sent out the army and people came over less than three days ago.

It seems that there is still a connection between this Yan Song and the pirates and the pirates, and the people must have already understood their own strategy to suppress the Japanese, knowing that it is not so simple for the guards of Nanzhili to be scattered along the coast and then think of plundering everywhere.

At this time, people must also know that there are only 10,000 elite guards left in Ying Tianfu, and the guards that can be transferred near Ying Tianfu are almost finished, and there is no more manpower at all, so Li Guangtou dares to be so unscrupulous and threatens to come to the big one.

Yan Song wants to take his army, if Yangzhou Mansion is looted by pirates and pirates, he, the governor of Zhejiang, may be able to do it.

Twenty or thirty thousand people can't clean it up by themselves?

If there are only 10,000 elite guards left, I am afraid it will be really enough, because these guards have just been organized and trained, and their combat power is not very strong, and their muskets and artillery are not yet fully equipped, and the long-range attack is even worse.

However, he not only has 10,000 elite guards in his hands, but also 1,000 elites of the Shenji Battalion, and these 1,000 people are holding new muskets, and the artillery is also equipped with dozens of guns, and the long-range attack ability is not ordinarily strong.

Thinking of this, Yang Cong couldn't help sneering in his heart: "Hehe, if you want to take my army, you want to be beautiful, and it just so happens that I also want to try the power of the Mandarin Duck Array." ”

He thought for a moment, then asked calmly, "When will they arrive in Yangzhou Mansion?" ”

When Mao Lie heard this, he was slightly embarrassed and said: "We really can't be sure about this, because they didn't rush over together this time, and it is very likely that they will almost arrive at Yangzhou Mansion at this time." ”

Hmph, a group of rabble, I'm afraid they don't know how to write dead words.

Yang Cong shouted: "Order, order Qi Jingtong to gather all the horses and prepare to go to Yangzhou Mansion to suppress thieves." ”

When the herald guards beside him heard this, they ran to find Qi Jingtong as soon as they slipped away, but Mao Lie stood there and asked stupidly, "My lord, do you need us to send someone to support?" ”

What are you kidding, you are not a rabble, run over and don't disrupt my formation.

Yang Cong shook his head without hesitation and said, "No need, you just need to guard your own territory." ”