Chapter 46: Grain Robbery (1)

Zhao Gang was an impatient, and as soon as he heard that he could go north to kill the enemy, he immediately shouted as if he had been beaten with chicken blood.

However, Li Chao emphasized that Shi Bin's order was "mainly to rob the Yuan soldiers' baggage", that is, to produce a war of attrition as little as possible than the Yuan soldiers.

Although Zhao Gang was rough, he was also very smart, and when he understood that this was just a guerrilla operation, he immediately lost interest, and in his concept, the battle was fought by a horizontal sword and a hurricane to defeat the enemy army like a hurricane.

In his opinion, this method is very obscene and not enough "big husband".

Li Chao was much calmer, and hurriedly persuaded: "Brother Zhao, don't be impatient, think about how many of those horse bandits are fighting a war of attrition?" Isn't it all about fighting if you can win, and running if you can't win? Besides, our centaurs haven't been trained yet, and the gang of bandits hasn't been tamed yet, how can we be so sloppy? ”

"Isn't it just stealing food? How many soldiers and horses can there be in the Yuan soldiers, at most two battalions of men and horses. Those bandits dare to come up with something, I slaughtered him, pulled out his cottage, and let them all go to Hades! Zhao Gang said loudly.

Li Chao sighed and looked at Zhao Gang with a smile, but this time he didn't say anything for a long time. just lowered his head and drank tea, as if he hadn't heard Zhao Gang's words.

Zhao Gang, who had never seen this set, was embarrassed, it felt very bad to be hung there, and he was a brother in life and death.

"Brother, am I wrong? It is impossible for the Yuan soldiers to send heavy troops to escort them for a few hundred stones of grain and rice. What military order are we waiting for, let the eldest brother report it, why don't we set off first? Seeing that he was still silent, Zhao Gang was annoyed: "Li Chao, speak quickly, I can beat people like this again." ”

Li Chao snorted after hearing this, still bowing his head to drink tea, but he spoke: "Brother Zhao, there are only so many soldiers and horses. However, sending troops without permission is a capital offense, not even the eldest brother. So he still has to go to the court, and Meng Heng can order it. ”

This time it was Zhao Gang's turn to be silent, knowing that if he was guarding Xiangtan by himself, he would cause a big disaster, so he couldn't help but condemn himself for being too reckless, and he didn't know how to use his brain except to fight.

Like a child who has done something wrong, he sits dejectedly, does not speak, does not drink tea, and only gently taps the table with his hand.

Li Chao knew this and immediately comforted: "The younger brother knows that Brother Zhao is for the eldest brother, and he also asks Brother Zhao to think about it." Big Brother has risen very fast. ”

"Isn't it good to rise fast? The Yuan soldiers are about to fight, and the sooner we are, the less afraid we are. Zhao Gang asked suspiciously.

"Brother Zhao, it is not caused by the Yuan people that our Great Song Dynasty has fallen to such a point, it is infighting. The so-called 'wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it; Heaps out of the shore, and the flow will be turbulent; Walk above men, and all will not'. Therefore, it is better to develop in a low-key manner, at least on the surface, so that others can't grasp the handle. ”

Knowing the reason, Zhao Gang immediately calmed down.

It's really not good to act too publicly, not to mention that it is not the interests of one person now, but the interests of a group of people, once something goes wrong, many people will be implicated, then he Zhao Gang will become a sinner in this interest group.

He no longer clamored to attack and rob food immediately, but discussed with Li Chao the details of recruiting troops and how to use those bandits to fight.

In Zhao Gang's opinion, a battalion of the army under his command, a battalion of the navy army under Li Chao, plus the gang of bandits, should be enough to rob grain.

The number of troops is indeed enough, but Li Chao always feels that something is missing. Zhao Gang didn't have so much patience, but just persuaded Li Chao and himself to go to Changsha to discuss specific matters with Shi Bin quickly.

There are priorities in things, and Li Chao thinks that Zhao Gang's idea of reorganizing the bandits from all over the country into a battalion of men and horses is good, after all, if there is a little organization, it will be easier to accept the command and obey the order.

Before he could think clearly, Li Chao's thinking was interrupted by the sound of firecrackers in the city.

Zhao Gang, who was already unhappy, was shocked when he heard such a loud cannon sound, and the cow's temper immediately came up, ready to go out and beat the guy who was indiscriminately setting off firecrackers in the city.

But Li Chao was not unhappy because of this cannon sound, he pressed Zhao Gang's shoulder, and muttered: "Brother Zhao, you said that if we use these firearms to rob grain, will it be inappropriate?" ”

Square peg? Zhao Gang believed that the use of firearms was the most appropriate, which could end the battle as quickly as possible and reduce casualties to the greatest extent.

Li Chao didn't speak, just pointed in the direction where the firecrackers were just outside just now.

Such a small firecracker can spread so far, the tiger squat cannon, the wooden handle shaking the sky, and the Shi Bin gun can be hit all at once?

Wouldn't the Yuan soldiers in all directions be alarmed, then what kind of food would they rob, purely suicidal attacks. Thinking of this, Zhao Gang immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

So both of them thought that weapons should only be used in standard cold weapons, and after discussion, they sent the document to Changsha to ask Shi Bin to decide.

And Shi Bin didn't dare to decide on his own, so he immediately sent it to Meng Heng. This is not just a process of requesting military orders, after all, there is a sensitive issue: recruiting and assisting bandits in looting food.

Seeing Shi Bin's paperwork, Meng Hui was happy and worried, happy that he had won a fierce general with both wisdom and bravery, and worried that such a bold fierce general might be difficult to tame. However, this strategy is really good, and he immediately approved it, but he still added the word "cautious".

With the military order in hand, Shi Bin immediately began to prepare and recruit bandits. As soon as the training is over, the food is immediately pulled.

Seeing the bandits on the hill coming to defect, Li Chao was very happy and had a sense of accomplishment. However, as soon as the reorganization began, a big problem arose: the various hills were crowded out of each other, and no one was subservient to the other.

Originally, I wanted to disrupt all these mountain bandits and stir them into a pot of porridge, so that they could assimilate those green forest heroes.

But how can you stand in this treacherous place without a little resourcefulness? Therefore, Li Chao's little trick was immediately recognized, and he said very strongly: The officials and troops can reorganize them, but they will never accept the leadership of other mountain people.

This made Li Chao a little embarrassed, these bandits had already had a gap between attacking each other, which was both an advantage and a disadvantage for Li Chao and them. The advantage is that he can use these gaps to divide them, which is more conducive to his own control; The disadvantage is that it is not possible to form a resultant force, which will greatly affect the combat effectiveness.

However, Shi Bin's opinion is to agree with their conditions, which is more conducive to controlling and exterminating them, and he will have a "snipe and clam competing for fishermen and profits".

So they simply organized this battalion of bandits into cities of different sizes according to their intentions.

In less than two months, the soldiers and bandits have been trained, at least the basic formation can be mastered, and there is no problem in assisting the attack and retreat between the squads.

Then Li Chao and Zhao Gang were recruited to Changsha to discuss the details of the attack with the brothers.

As soon as the two entered the hall, Shi Bin's face was full of joy, and the other brothers in the hall were also envious. Both of them have two battalions of men and horses, and they can also go to the grass valley and kill the Yuan soldiers, what a pleasure it is.

Although Zhao Gang was reckless, he also understood the truth, and immediately nodded modestly, and said that they would definitely be more powerful than him and Li Chao. Everyone didn't expect this reckless man to be so good at talking, and they were even more happy.

"Brothers, don't envy the two of them, you will have that good thing soon, they are just one step ahead. Sit down and start talking about how to get in. Shi Bin said with a smile.

"Big brother, little brother thinks that we should use the sailor to set up a transfer station near Dongting Lake, and the intercepted materials will be hoarded there first, and elite soldiers will be stationed there. When a certain amount is reached, it is transported back to Changsha, which not only saves manpower and material resources, but also reduces risks. Wang San was the first to stand up and say.

Shi Bin nodded approvingly.

Li Chao said in a deep voice: "It's good to be so good, but there is a lot of money, food and troops needed, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to support it for the time being." The troops on our territory are already insufficient, and I am afraid that we will be powerless to transfer troops to Dongting Lake. ”

When the people heard this, they immediately inclined not to build a transfer station, and there were batches of transport. They also did not think that anyone in the Great Song Dynasty would dare to rob their materials, and no one would be able to rob their materials.

"You seem to have forgotten one thing, we still have collaborators." Liu Xiao said with a confident smile.

"Collaborators? Where are the collaborators, aren't they the bandits? What if they swallow up our bread and grass? Do those merchants dare to get involved? Although Zhao Gang had no plan, he could also think of some things, and said immediately.

"Naturally, it's the merchants."

Zhao Gang was about to ask Liu Xiao why he was so unreliable, but Shi Bin stopped him and motioned for Liu Xiao to continue.

It turns out that those big merchants do not arrive at their destinations in a boat during transportation, and they also have to replenish supplies halfway, but in order to prevent bandits, they will have a dart master, and have their own special transfer stations, most of which are built together. Since it is a collaborator, it should be possible to lease it temporarily, but it is a big deal to ask for less protection money at that time.

As for the defensive problem, it is jointly undertaken by several families, and of course, Shi Bin's official army is the main force. The officers and soldiers themselves hired some battalion dart masters to help Shi Bin rob grain, but it was good to beat the side drums without going into battle to make a move.

Zhao Gang was still worried, but the rest of them thought so, and Shi Bin also nodded yes. Seeing this, he was silent.

Shi Bin thought about it carefully, so Xiangtan left a battalion of troops to guard; The transfer station left a battalion of sailors to guard it; It was a battalion of sailors, a battalion of bandits, and a battalion of dart divisions who went north to rob grain.

Xiangtan has a defender, plus his own battalion of the army, which can be guaranteed; The Yuan soldiers were not accustomed to water warfare, and they had not yet broken through Xiangyang, and the large army could not go south, and the transit station could also be held; The only thing that worries people is that there are too few officers and troops in the north, and they are not used to land warfare.

In the end, he gritted his teeth, ignored everything else for the time being, and then transferred a battalion of men and horses from Changsha to join the ranks of grain robbery.

The layout was changed to: 1st Battalion Army Guards Xiangtan; The first battalion of sailors guards the transfer station; A total of four battalions, including the 1st Battalion of the Water Division, the 1st Battalion of the Army, the 1st Battalion of Bandits, and the 1st Battalion of the Dart Division, went north to rob the grain.

Wang San nodded and said: "What the eldest brother said is very true, so it is actually the third battalion of the army and the first battalion of the water division, which is very suitable." Half of the grain robberies in the north are our own horses, and we are not afraid that they will rebel. ”

Zhao Gang estimated that he had a soft spot for firearms, and when he was about to end the meeting, he said: "Why don't we bring a battalion of firearms soldiers as a cover when we retreat?" ”

In order to take care of Zhao Gang's emotions, he decided to bring half a battalion of tiger squat cannons and wooden handles to protect him during the retreat.

After discussion, Shi Bin issued an order and a military order, ordering Li Chao and Zhao Gang to return to Xiangtan to prepare for the specific matters of going north to rob grain.