At present, all parts of the Ming Dynasty are full of swords, many places need a lot of steel, Shanxi is an important iron production place in the Ming Dynasty in the early years, and Yangcheng is one of the three major iron producing areas in Shanxi, only in recent years, Yangcheng bandits are becoming more and more serious, so that the iron production of Yangcheng has plummeted, so that it has gradually been abandoned, and the merchants who operate steel trading can only purchase iron materials from other places, and the Fan family has also been greatly affected.

But when the Xingtianjun entered Yangcheng last year, Fan Yaoshan learned from Fan Xi that Xiao Tianjian vigorously mined iron ore in Yangcheng and restored the iron-making furnace, in just over half a year, the number of iron furnaces in Yangcheng recovered to more than half of the heyday, and the amount of iron produced increased day by day.

This time Xiao Tianjian categorically refused to recruit the imperial court, Fan Yaoshan was very angry at first, so he had the idea of cutting off contact with Xingtianjun, but the reason why he was a little hesitant was because he originally wanted to purchase iron materials through Xingtianjun, if he turned his face with Xingtianjun, then for him, it would be equivalent to cutting off this financial road, and later after receiving Fan Yutong's letter, he decided to come here first to see the situation, but when he followed Fan Xi to Dongye Town a few days ago, he saw that Dongye Town is now full of iron furnaces, There was a busy scene everywhere, a large number of iron ore and coal mines were transported to Dongye Town, and then smelted into iron in iron furnaces, which made Fan Yaoshan even more surprised, he didn't expect Xiao Tianjian to be so powerful, in such a short period of time, he could restore a decayed industry to such an extent.

So he talked to Xiao Tianjian about wanting to purchase iron from Xingtianjun, Xiao Tianjian listened to Fan Yaoshan's request, touched his chin and thought about it, in fact, he knew very well that after this period of recovery, the iron output he controlled now far exceeded Xingtianjun's own needs, especially after the completion of several large-scale iron-making furnaces in Dongye Town and Shuangfeng Village in the past few months, the iron output has reached the output of thousands of catties per day, so it is necessary to sell a part of it to supplement the consumption of the Xingtian Army, and now there are more and more craftsmen engaged in mining and iron smelting in Yangcheng, reaching more than 3,000 people, even if some of these people are prisoners captured in several battles, they don't have to pay for them, but at least they have to take care of the food, plus the repeated expansion of the Xingtian Army, as well as the silver awarded in several battles, the bereavement of the dead, the silver he reserved earlier, and the silver looted during this time, have been almost consumed.

So if you don't open up the source of money, just to maintain, there will be financial difficulties, at the moment they can't collect taxes on the people's side, and they are all supported by their own strength, which is indeed very difficult, which is also the reason why Xiao Tianjian sent three battalions of people out this time, that is, to grab another batch of silver to come back and support the operation of the Xingtian Army.

And Fan Yaoshan took the initiative to purchase the iron produced by Xingtianjun this time, which was the right time for Xiao Tianjian, so after thinking about it for a while, Xiao Tianjian said: "Shopkeeper Fan has also helped me a lot during this time, so Xiao is naturally not hesitant to repay Shopkeeper Fan!" It's easy to say! As long as the shopkeeper Fan is willing, then it doesn't hurt that I can sell you some iron, but I have a request, after selling these irons to you, the shopkeeper Fan must ensure that these irons will not flow out of the customs and become a weapon used by Jiannu to deal with our Han people, otherwise, I will immediately cut off the supply of the absolute shopkeeper Fan! As for the price, it's easy to say, and it doesn't matter if it's a little lower! ”

After Fan Yaoshan heard this, he immediately stood up and said: "The general's rest assured is that the reason why Fan's business has been declining over the years is actually because he is unwilling to be in the same stream with those who collaborate with the enemy, so he will be squeezed out, although Fan is just a profit-seeking businessman, but he also knows that the Dongyu Tartars are the enemies of our Han people, and he will not do anything to fund the enemy, otherwise, I guess I Fan will not talk to the general here!" ”

Xiao Tianjian immediately nodded and said: "Those bastards who secretly build slaves deserve to die, as long as one day, they fall into the hands of my Xiao, they will definitely regret being a human being in this life!" In this case, as long as Shopkeeper Fan can do this, this matter is settled, how much iron does Shopkeeper Fan need, even if it comes, I Xiao Mou is open to supply! ”

After Fan Yaoshan heard this, he was overjoyed and quickly got up to thank Xiao Tianjian.

At this time, Tietou suddenly came in and said to Xiao Tianjian: "General Qiyu, all battalions are ready to shoot their guns!" Is the general going to see them off? ”

Xiao Tianjian immediately stood up and nodded: "Of course I want to send it!" We'll get over here! ”

As soon as Fan Yaoshan heard that Xiao Tianjian had something to do, it seemed that the Xingtian Army was about to make some big moves, so he hurriedly got up and retreated, but Xiao Tianjian smiled and grabbed Fan Yaoshan and said: "Since Shopkeeper Fan is here today, you should see how my Xingtian Army looks like!" Let's go! It doesn't hurt to go with Xiao to have a look! ”

Of course, Fan Yaoshan is very willing to see the military appearance of the Xingtian Army, although on the way here, he also saw some patrol teams of the Xingtian Army, but at most it can only be regarded as a peep in the tube, and the real main force of the Xingtian Army He has not seen it yet, so he really wants to take this opportunity to see what the main force of the Xingtian Army looks like, why the official army has been defeated repeatedly against the Xingtian Army, and what is the difference between the Xingtian Army and other righteous armies, so he hurriedly said: "It is better to be respectful than to obey!" General please! ”

"Shopkeeper Fan, please!" Xiao Tianjian took the lead and took Fan Yaoshan and Fan Xi towards the outside of Lotus Village.

After going out, Xiao Tianjian ordered someone to bring a car to Fan Yaoshan and Fan Xi, let the two of them ride, and he himself turned over and jumped on his yellow horse, and the group immediately went out of the Lotus Village, down to the camp under the mountain, and now the strength of the Xingtian Army is increasing, and there are no more soldiers and horses in the village, so Xiao Tianjian moved the barracks to the bottom of the Lotus Village during this training, vacated the original barracks of the Lotus Village, and distributed it to the soldiers and generals who have recently married, and placed their families to use, As a result, the Xingtian Army basically moved to the barracks at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as they arrived at the barracks, they heard the sound of the artillery company in the barracks, and a roar like thunder came from the barracks: "The Xingtian Army is mighty......

Xiao Tianjian smiled at Fan Yaoshan, who was lifting the curtain, on horseback: "These guys have already finished their oath early in the morning, and they have been ordered to pull out at this time, so they don't have to wait for me to see them off here, they will start on time!" Let's go to the arrow tower of Yuanmen to see them off! ”

After saying that, he turned over and dismounted, and took Fan Yaoshan and Fan Xi to the top of the arrow tower at the gate.

At this time, I saw a group of neatly dressed Xingtian soldiers coming out of the camp, and when they saw Xiao Tianjian ascending the Yuanmen Arrow Tower to see them off, the officers who led the team roared on horseback: "Salute!" ”

Then each team of people marched to the gate, and immediately made a standard Xingtian Army military salute with their right hands to their chests, which was neat and uniform, and Xiao Tianjian, who was standing on the arrow tower, also immediately made a return salute action, and beat his right hand on his left chest.

Looking at the soldiers and horses of the Xingtian Army marching out below, Fan Yaoshan's face suddenly turned a little pale, although he had seen a lot of officers and soldiers in his life, and even seen several teams of the People's Army on the business road, but he had never seen such a military force and horses, only to see the soldiers and horses of the Xingtian Army below, all dressed up, all lined up in a dense square, such a square team is as neat as a knife cut, looking in rows horizontally, vertically, and even the legs that move are just stepping on a point. Looking at the weapons they were holding, the spears were like forests, the shields were like walls, and there were many soldiers of the Xingtian Army who carried a black and shiny bird gun on their shoulders that had been wiped down, and all of them moved in unison in the voice of the officers' commands, as agile as the arms and fingers, and the faces of every general of the Xingtian Army were filled with an indescribable vitality, without the same decadence as officers and soldiers, and when they looked at Xiao Tianjian on the arrow tower, their eyes were full of a look of fanatical worship.

After seeing the appearance of the Xingtian Army, Fan Yaoshan did not doubt at all that if Xiao Tianjian ordered these people to die now, their generals would probably not hesitate to carry out Xiao Tianjian's orders, and he no longer had any doubts about the combat effectiveness of the Xingtian Army.

He really couldn't figure out why Xiao Tianjian, a young man from a reckless background, had such a strong ability to command troops, and could actually train such a real male soldier, so he knew why Xiao Tianjian would so categorically reject the court's recruitment, holding such a male army, no one would easily obey the mercy of others, no wonder Xiao Tianjian would be so confident, dare to say that let the government let the horse come, if it was him, it is estimated that there is such a force, he also dares to be so arrogant.

The team of 4,000 people marched out of the camp, and it took nearly two quarters of an hour, and when the team that came out behind them came to the gate, Fan Yaoshan's mouth was wide open.

It turned out that this was a team composed of pack horses, a sturdy pack horse, dragging a cannon, rumbling out of the gate, these cannons were placed on a novel gun carriage, dragged behind a two-wheeled van, dragged by two horses together, on which can also take a few soldiers and boxes of ammunition, it is very convenient to move, he counted roughly, and actually found that there are as many as one or twenty cannons like this in the Xingtian Army, such firepower, it is no wonder that the officers and soldiers will be deflated again and again, Anyone who touches it will have a numb scalp.

Moreover, behind these artillery carriages, there were nearly 100 pack horses, many of which were carrying a swarthy tiger squat cannon on their backs, and there were at least forty of them, and the rest of the pack horses were carrying some ammunition boxes and other things on their backs, and the gunners led the pack horses and walked out of the gate neatly.

These people with a kind of fanaticism, exuding a kind of self-confidence, faintly revealing a formidable murderous aura, like an overwhelming torrent, in front of Xiao Tianjian, with a military salute, walked out of the gate and went to their killing field, while Xiao Tianjian stood on the arrow tower with a solemn face, always maintained a straight military posture, also saluted his soldiers, and then watched them rush to the battlefield.

Now Fan Yaoshan finally completely understands where Xiao Tianjian's courage came from, he no longer doubts that the Xingtian Army is a male army that cannot be underestimated, if it is really the imperial court that wants to send troops to suppress the Xingtian Army again, I am afraid that without tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, it will be difficult to exterminate such a majestic Xingtian Army in this lofty mountain!

For this reason, he couldn't help but feel afraid that he had almost cut off contact with the Xingtian Army at the beginning, if he really cut off contact with the Xingtian Army at the beginning, with the ability of the Xingtian Army, he would definitely not worry that someone would be willing to associate with them, once the Xingtian Army expanded one day, then for him, I am afraid he could only regret it.