Nationalism is a double-edged sword, and if it is not used well, it will hurt others as well as oneself.

After all, this is actually an attempt to squeeze out the last bit of strength of the nation and use it on the battlefield.

But now that the Han people have been injured enough, how serious can they be?

Xu Shiyang repeated the practice in Fort 153 and then in Fort 151 and Fort 152 - first, the Dingyuan Battalion marched while singing, showing the majesty of his army in front of the people of Fort like a military parade.

Then there was Xu Shiyang's almost racist speech in front of all the people of the castle.

It worked out well, at least for now, and everyone still has confidence in defeating the Tartars.

Of course, in the previous year, Xu Shiyang's several victories also improved the confidence of the fifteen-tun system, after all, there was an experience in defeating the Tartars, and it seemed impossible to do it again.

Finally boosted morale, the next step, of course, is to strike while the iron is hot and make some preparations quickly.

No matter who he fought with, if he could let the enemy fight a decisive battle on the battlefield he chose, he would win one point first, so Xu Shiyang sent Hu Lanshan and others to a few dock forts near the canal to make some trades.

The canal dock fort was not raided by the Tartars, and the grain stock was usually much more than that of other dock forts, and Xu Shiyang did not care about the high price of grain, so he ordered Hu Lanshan to purchase a part of the grain from the multiple canal dock forts in the past.

At the same time, he also left an important piece of "information" in the local area - it was Xu Shiyang who killed the Tartar Mouke Haihuli last year.

Along with this news, the location of 153 Tun was also left, as well as Xu Shiyang's declaration: he said that he would cut Haihuli's father together this year so that their father and son could be reunited.

The Canal Dock Fort existed because the Tartars needed them to transport the New Year's coins, and usually had a good relationship with the Jurchens, and every time the Tartars went south to raid, the Canal Dock Fort would also be responsible for helping them transport some of the grain and grass, and transport the looted valuables along the canal to the Yanyun generation.

This time will naturally be no exception, and what the Canal Dock Fort knows is actually equivalent to what the Tartars also know.

Xu Shiyang hoped that through these news, the Tartars would be stimulated to besiege Fort 153 directly.

This method of agitation is very lame, but Xu Shiyang believes that there is a good chance of success.

The reason is simple, the first Tartar Meng'an who will definitely come is here to avenge his son, and he has a debtor, of course, he has to come to 153 to find Xu Shiyang's trouble.

Second, the Tartars were full of contempt for the Han Chinese, and no matter how lame Xu Shiyang's strategy was, I am afraid that they would not realize that this was attracting them to a decisive battle. The Tartars would only regard this as Xu Shiyang's lucky victory, and couldn't help but brag around.

And they must have wanted Xu Shiyang to shut up completely sooner.

Since the main battlefield chose 153, Xu Shiyang naturally made every effort to strengthen the defense capability of 153.

He planned to transfer the militia of 151 and 152 to 153 immediately after the autumn harvest, so that he would have 500 soldiers and about 1000 militiamen in the Dingyuan battalion.

In terms of strength alone, 15 tun alone still has a certain advantage over a Meng'an.

The weakness is that the militia is far inferior in combat effectiveness and equipment, and may only be comparable to the slave soldiers under the Jurchens, and completely unable to confront the real Tatars.

This is also the reason why Xu Shiyang did not dare to directly fight the Tartars, he had to weaken the Tartars' attack power and mobility through defense.

At the beginning of July, Xu Muhe personally came to Fort 153 and brought 20 stone of grain.

At this time, Xu Shiliu had already boarded a ship to Jiangnan, loaded with the gold and silver that Xu Shiyang and Xu Shiliu brothers had received from the previous battle, and his main purpose was to buy food, and at the same time to make advance propaganda for the upcoming war.

Xu Shiyang hoped to promote himself as a hero who fought alone in Jiangbei and resisted the Tartars alone, so as to gain some fame benefits.

Originally, this role should have been the entire Xu family, but now that Xu Shiyang has fallen out with Changfang, he doesn't plan to give Changfang any more benefits.

Xu Muhe's purpose in coming to see Xu Shiyang was, of course, because of Xu Shiliu, and he privately hoped that Xu Shiyang would be able to divide the honor of this war (regardless of victory or defeat, as long as he fights the Tartars, it can be counted as honor from the Jiangnan main battle faction).

In exchange, Xu Muhe promised to give Xu Shiyang another 100 stone of grain after the autumn harvest and before the arrival of the tartars.

Food is never too much, not to mention that Xu Shiyang had originally discussed with Xu Shiliu, and this battle required two people to cooperate with each other, and it was only natural to share his honor.

Therefore, he happily agreed to his father's request.

Xu Muhe was a little surprised by this, this is not like the character of Xu Shiyang who dared to draw a knife and scold the head of the family at the ancestral hall.

Then he felt a little relieved, after all, it was his own son! No matter how domineering you are, your heart is still towards your real relatives.

In fact, Xu Shiyang's perception of his relatives is not very good now, including Xu Muhe, and Xu Shiliu may be a little better.

After he realized that Xu Shiliu had not revealed the plans of the two, he immediately asked his father for more benefits.

Xu Muhe, who was satisfied, was also generous, and he promised to give Xu Shiyang Yun 20 muskets within this month.

These weapons were produced according to the standards of the 15th Tun, but the people of the 2nd Tun did not like to use them, because the effective range was too close, and it was too difficult for the poorly trained militia to shoot at the enemy with a pipe within 10 paces.

There were many people in Ertun who told Xu Muhe that the fire gate gun was useless, and that it was better to use it to make a spear with so much iron.

Xu Muhe didn't have much knowledge of weapons, so he couldn't put forward reasonable suggestions, and the people below said that it was not easy to use, and he didn't know what to do, so he decided to give these things that he couldn't use to Xu Shiyang.

Xu Shiyang did not refuse to come, and his arquebus production has increased, but it is impossible to fully equip all the magic soldiers, and these muskets can just fill the gap.

Another benefit, or help, given by Xu Muhe was to allow women and children who had little combat effectiveness in the fifteen-tun system to go to Fulai Mountain to escape the war.

Especially Zhao Shan, who is now pregnant with the blood of the Xu family. Xu Muhe thought that Xu Shiyang's decisive battle with the Tartars this time was a bit fierce and unlucky, so he should at least leave a little blood.

Xu Shiyang promised to let the women and children in the 15 tun system take refuge in the mountains after the autumn harvest, but he refused to let Zhao Shan leave.

"It's okay for the families of ordinary castle people, Zhao Shan is my woman, she can't go." Xu Shiyang explained: "I need her to stay here, to stay at the front line, so that I can stabilize the morale of the army and let the soldiers know that I will never abandon them." ”

Zhao Shan is just Xu Shiyang's concubine, not a real wife, and she has no right to be a wife, but she has to bear the obligations of a wife, which is actually not fair.

But there is no way, the war that is about to start is of great significance to Wutun and Xu Shiyang, and he must use every bit of strength he can use to meet this decisive battle, which naturally includes his own women.