The situation in the world is changing, and on the Qingzhou side, preparing for war has become the main direction of work in the future.

All the soldiers of the new battalion have been added to the front-line field battalion, and the formation of the Yuyuan battalion is also progressing smoothly.

There are indeed many people in the forbidden army who are not attached to the stable life in Jiangnan (not to mention that it is not stable now) and agree to join the Qingzhou army.

For example, Lin Chong, Xu Shiyang saved his wife once in Jiangnan, and with Lu Zhishen, a good brother, on the side, Lin Chong has a strong habit of the rivers and lakes, and it is natural that someone who has hated his superiors in Jiangnan will choose to stay.

In fact, he had nowhere to go without staying.

Another forbidden army officer, Xu Ning had a lot more choices, but in the end he also chose to stay.

It's not because he saw that the Xu family didn't want to release them at all, but Xu Ning thought he was a warrior, and he really wanted to really try his skills with the Tartars.

There is one thing he never said, when Xu Shiyang was in the south of the Yangtze River, the Tartars were shocked at the gate of Lin'an City and the later fire burned the Dutingyi, Xu Ning was at the scene.

Seeing with his own eyes the two big increases in the prestige of the Han people, Xu Ning felt that the Tartars were not as powerful as rumored, and he really didn't need to be afraid of them.

Xu Ning believes that if he can fight Tartars in Jiangbei, he will be able to make a name for himself better than going back to Jiangnan to fight those rabble.

Most of the forbidden soldiers had similar ideas to Lin Chong and Xu Ning.

Some people feel that they can't go back because they can't go back after being incorporated into the team of relatives, and they can't escape the responsibility of being robbed by the team after they go back, so they simply stay in Jiangbei.

Others are confident in their own skills and think that the militia can fight the Tartars, and of course they should compete with the Tartars!

Therefore, of the 5,000 forbidden troops, there were more than 2,400 people who volunteered to stay!

In Xu Shiyang's view, this proportion is very high, after all, the forbidden army is the professional army of the Great Zhou, especially the officers in it, under the influence of the rich family in the south of the Yangtze River, under the influence of various reasons, nearly half of the people can take the initiative to stay, which is not easy.

As for those who were unwilling to stay...... Xu Shiyang certainly did not intend to let them go easily.

Since they are unwilling to join, then they are still the forbidden army and not the Qingzhou army, so there is no reason for the Qingzhou side to provide them with supplies, so the other more than 2,000 forbidden troops who want to go home should pay for their own food, accommodation, and boat ride home in Qingzhou.

Accommodation is actually okay, but the fare to go home is not cheap, Xu Shiyang asked them to sign a six-month contract, during which those forbidden troops who want to go home should obey Qingzhou's orders and serve the Qingzhou army.

Short-term service, as food and lodging expenses during the period in Qingzhou and return to Jiangnan.

During this period, Qingzhou would not order them to carry out mortal missions, nor would they go to fight the Tartars, and if the Tartars went south within six months, Xu Shiyang would send a ship to send them away.

Xu Shiyang planned to use this team, plus part of the militia team, to deal with Yanzhou in the west of Qingzhou and some dock forts in Laizhou in the east, expand the area under Qingzhou's control, and increase the population and reserves.

Originally, this task was supposed to belong to the new army, but the training task of the new army was too heavy, and there was almost no rest and repeated battles, although the fighting was not very fierce, but after all, people's physical strength and spirit have a limit, and it is impossible to squeeze them indefinitely.

Xu Shiyang planned to let the soldiers of the New Army take leave in batches, and after a good rest, they would enter the next stage of training and war work.

Anyway, to deal with the local dock fort master, more than 2,000 forbidden troops are enough, these people are well-equipped, their physical fitness is also good, they used to be professional soldiers, if they can't even deal with the militia who are not out of production, then it is better to kick them back to Jiangnan quickly.

With the addition of more than 2,400 soldiers from the former forbidden army, almost all the battalions were overstaffed, and the infantry battalions were each increased by 100 on the basis of the original 600 soldiers.

As a result, the formation of the eight infantry battalions swelled to 700 men, and because there were many people who could ride horses in the forbidden army, the Jingyuan battalion, which was dominated by mounted infantry, also expanded to 700 men.

The Zhiyuan battalion, which consisted of regular cavalry, was expanded to 500 men.

The new army instantly swelled to a total strength of 6,800 men, not including the 300-man trap soldiers, the new battalion instructor group that was replenished with the forbidden army and was able to use veterans, and the pacification unit used to maintain military discipline.

In addition, Xu Shiyang took out a hundred forbidden soldiers recommended by Lao Xuanfeng and Lin Chong, who were very good at horse and step kung fu, and formed his own direct janitarian guard.

While the strength of the Forces nouvelles was rapidly expanding, various problems also emerged, the most important of which was the insufficient number of veterans.

The veterans who had participated in the war against the Tartars and had confidence in victory were diluted several times, and now there are very few who can be placed on the front line.

This problem can hardly be solved, because the experience of war and the confidence to defeat the Tartars can only be obtained from the battlefield, and no matter how well trained, it will not work.

Another problem is the horses of the Zhiyuan battalion, although the strength has expanded to 500 people, there are still only 200 qualified war horses, not to mention the regular cavalry with one person and two horses, even if two people and one horse can't do it.

Only one horse for every three people, taking turns to carry out riding training, except for the two hundred people who can go to the battlefield in wartime, the rest can only be used as ordinary selection soldiers.

This problem is also difficult to solve, because Jiangnan itself is also short of horses, even if you have money, don't want to buy horses from Jiangnan, let alone qualified war horses.

If Xu Shiyang wants to get a war horse, it seems that there are only three ways to go:

First, find a way to get in touch with a certain road Tartar and smuggle war horses - it is not impossible, although horses are strategic materials, but the Tartars can't exchange better things for Han products, and sometimes they have to agree.

In the past, when the imperial court was able to maintain the northern defense line, the tea and horse trade has always been an important source of national war horses, and it can also bring high profits to both smugglers.

Second, battlefield capture.

Needless to say, it just depends on the amount of loot.

As for the third ......, it will take a long time, but it is a good idea.

That is, to breed their own horse breeds, raise their own horses, and train their own war horses!

At the end of August of the thirteenth year of Jianxing, a Pars drench sailed into Rizhao Port.

I don't know if it was to open up the door, the Pars businessman who signed a war horse purchase contract with Xu Shiyang in Shuangyu Port brought twelve good Pars stallions to Xu Shiyang in one go!

These horses have small, delicate heads, and have a bright eye, and appear extremely intelligent; With a short but powerful back, slender limbs, well-developed tendons, an average height of more than 145 cm, and a weight of more than 400 kg, it is obviously a very good war horse!

Luan Tingyu, Sun Li, Lin Chong, Xu Ning and other riders couldn't take their eyes off when they saw these smooth and smooth horses, as if this was not 12 young stallions, but 12 peerless beauties!