The scheming Yang Bingyin expected it well.

While he was talking, the third battalion of the caravan led by Chen Youfu, Luo Jingyun and He Yongnian had already set out from Xinzheng Dam and arrived at Changping Village at the foot of Changping Mountain through the official road between the hills and ravines. It was only because of the sudden change that the plan of the caravan to ambush and destroy the enemy was disrupted. They had to pick up pickaxes and shovels and build strong fortifications on the hillside in front of the three-way junction, that is, in Changping Village, in preparation for the coming fierce battle.

In this dispatch, Chen Youfu and Luo Jingyun, the two commanders, agreed on their determination to fight.

They all believe that since the local rioters came out to rob under their own noses, then the local rioters must be taught a profound lesson. According to the Li family's news and the information of the Intelligence Bureau, Yao Yuchuan is not only very famous among the local rioters, but also known for his ferocity and ruthlessness. He has been surrounding Yilong County for several years, trapping this unfortunate county like a dead city. Yao Yuchuan is the son of Shaking Huang (Yao Huang), and is the so-called "Zhengshuo" with a long history among the local rioters. If it can be beheaded or captured in front of the battle, it will definitely have a great positive significance for stabilizing the hearts and minds of the people and the army in northern Sichuan. Therefore, Chen Youfu and Luo Jingyun both believe that this battle is not whether to fight or not, but how to fight, win beautifully, and their casualties are smaller.

After comprehensively analyzing this information, the third battalion gradually formed a consensus: although Yao Yuchuan had four or five thousand troops, the real threat was the group of thieves. These officers and troops belonged to the Chu army's Mo Chongwen Division, Jia Deng's Company Division, and Zhang Zhuokai's Division, as well as a small number of remnants of the Qin Army. Most of these thieves were thieves at the end of last year and the beginning of this year after Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, and the number was about 300, and they were led by Chen Xin. Due to their late career as thieves, they often serve as Yao bandits' forwards.

There are not many veterans of the Qin army who are thieves, and the number is only a few dozen, but because they joined the gang early and have a deep relationship with Yao's father and son, they formed Yao Yuchuan's old team with them as the core. This group of about 500 people, led by Yao Yuchuan's general Jiang Chengren, was the main force of Yao bandits.

As for the other local rioters, most of them are ordinary people who have not been in the gang for a long time. Their combat effectiveness, the officers of the caravan guard directly discounted two, five counted as one. As a result, the actual combat effectiveness of both sides is about the same. But the problem is that Zhu Pingjin's primary task for the northbound advance detachment is to ensure the safety of the Xinzheng Dam, an advance base, so that the reinforcements that arrive later have a safe foothold. If a large number of defensive troops are left in Xinzheng Dam, the combat effectiveness of the attacking troops will inevitably be greatly weakened.

At this time, Li Ke, on behalf of the Li family, the Zhou family and other indigenous gentry of the New Political Dam, proposed in time that they could hand over their families, guardians and others to the command of the caravan. If necessary, they can also mobilize all the men in the city to go to the city with weapons in the name of the government, and the new political dam can definitely be defended for three or five days. He Yongnian also said that as long as the horse quickly informs Hejiazhuang, Hejiazhuang can also draw 200 to come by boat to reinforce.

In the end, the operational decision was that Chen Youfu, Luo Jingyun and He Yongnian led the team to attack; Sun Deren, commander of the third battalion and the fourth company, led two platoons of the company (one squad owed) to defend the Xinzheng Dam and the key points of Dadongshan; Li Ke mobilized the people in the city to help defend the city.

The total strength of the sortie was about 900 men, including the headquarters of the third battalion and its two and a half companies, the artillery platoon and the Tusi infantry platoon, the first battalion and four companies, the baggage team composed of 70 Hejiazhuang guards, 10 Li Jiading and 50 porters in the city.

After the two hundred Zhuang Ding supported by Hejiazhuang arrived, they drove directly to Nanmuchang as a battlefield reserve. They can not only reinforce the main force, but also respond to the target of the Tu Tyrants, Beiyuan Temple, and if necessary, they can also return to the Xinzheng Dam.

It should be said that Chen Youfu and Luo Jingyun's deployment is bold and firm. With Yao Yuchuan as the target of the battle, they concentrated all the military forces that could be mobilized, and prepared to fight the first battle of the caravan in Baoning Province, an area where local riots were rampant. But the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and it can never be predicted on paper. The two sides of the Great War have never fought each other, and the estimation of each other's combat effectiveness is only an estimate and a guess.

That night, Chen Youfu, Luo Jingyun, and He Yongnian led their troops to leave the east gate of Xinzheng Dam, and with the help of the cover of the dark night, they rushed to Changping Mountain, which was more than 60 miles away. Their purpose was to seize Changping Mountain, a key point that could control two avenues at the same time. Then, the main force was concealed on both sides of the road leading to Nanmuchang on the left side of Changping Mountain, waiting for the enemy to pass halfway, and suddenly attacked from both sides, cutting off the enemy's waist, and then completely annihilated. Under the guidance of Li Kejiading, they marched in the middle of the night, and when the sky was bright, they had approached the small village at the foot of Changping Mountain...... Changping Village.

The goal is in sight. At this moment, a rapid gong sounded in front of him, and many torches were shaking on the top of Changping Mountain. Chen Youfu and Luo Jingyun glanced at each other in annoyance, their ambush plan was in vain.

The ambush plan was ruined, so it had to be changed to a dignified formation. In the vocabulary of the caravan, the dignified array is not sitting and waiting, but building fortifications.

The caravan had brandished pickaxes and shovels to build fortifications, and their opponent Yao Yuchuan had driven thousands of thieves through the Jincheng Walled City, the county seat of Yilong.

Bi Jiucheng, the magistrate of the county on the city wall, and thousands of hungry and deformed men, women, old people, and children, holding wooden sticks, iron forks, door bars, stones, or bricks, trembled as the murderous local tyrant swaggered through the ravine at the foot of Jincheng Mountain.

They prayed that the thugs would look down on their little city that was about to starve to death, and that the thugs would spread their terrible tyranny on other unfortunate places. Until the rioters were far away, they still didn't dare to relax, staring at the road up the mountain. At most, when the ignorant child pesters his father and mother to cry, distract his attention...... He took out the last piece of rice cake that he had stolen in his arms, broke off a small piece and stuffed it into the child's mouth. And they themselves can only moisten their chapped lips with the drool.

……

He Yongnian ran down the hillside, his clothes were torn, and there were some flowers hanging on his face. He snorted, spat out the mud and sand in his mouth, and brushed his face with his sleeve.

Chen Youfu and Luo Jingyun greeted the water hyacinth and asked with concern, "How is it, Brother He, the people in the village still don't believe us?" ”

"it!" He Yongnian scolded angrily.

He broke open the mouth of the gourd and poured a few sips of water.

"The dog bites Lu Dongbin, and he doesn't know the hearts of good people! We're going to help them fight the thugs. It's good that they took the lead in occupying Changping Mountain, and they also beat the gong and let out smoke! I shouted a few words on the mountain path, and they threw stones down. Look, fortunately, I was agile, and a fish jumped under the big rock, so I didn't overturn in the gutter! ”

"Brother He, don't blame the people, they were miserably harmed by the officials, the army and the local tyrants. You can see that they are on duty in the middle of the night, so you can see how nervous they are! ”

Luo Jingyun looked at He Yongnian's appearance and knew that his persuasion strategy had failed. He stared at the road that came in the distance and said: "The son of the world once said that the human heart is a rod and scale. When we have fought a good battle, the people will naturally be close to us. If they don't fight well, and the local thugs turn to retaliate, won't they suffer? ”

As he spoke, Luo Jingyun called his little herald and ordered: "You go to each unit to give orders, our caravan is an army that protects the country and the people, not an officer and soldier who brings disaster to the country and the people." The door panels and beds of the people's houses shall not be demolished during the repair of fortifications. Not a single grass or tree in the people's homes shall be tampered with. Those who violate the order will be killed! ”

Seeing Tan Jin running away quickly, Chen Youfu suddenly and solemnly shouted Luo Jingyun's official title: "Luo Jianjun, I am the military commander, you are the political commander, the arrows are flying on the battlefield, you can't stay in my command position." We must separate! You go to the village and command the Tusi infantry platoon, as our general reserve! In addition, the battalion commander reminds you that as a battalion supervisor, you should be a model for officers and soldiers and dress up neatly! It's not about death, it's about leaving it to be useful......"

The standard armor of the caravan is the leather armor produced by the Yazhou Leather Bureau. In the original style, leather armor was divided into several large pieces: cuirass, dorsal armor, crotch guards, shoulder pads, arm pads, leg guards, and wrist guards. Because it is an emergency production, it is only divided into three models: large, medium, and small. The various parts of the leather armor are connected by shoulder straps and ropes, which can be adjusted appropriately if they are not suitable to suit soldiers of all sizes. Later, it was found that the adaptability of this large piece of armor was poor, so the large piece of armor was changed to a standard small piece of armor. When the small pieces of armor are worn together, they become a complete armor.

The weight of leather armor is not heavy, about ten catties. The armor worn by a small piece of armor weighs slightly two pounds. When the hereditary officers of the Left Guard joined the caravan, they immediately took advantage of the lightness of the leather armor. They make full use of their ancestral iron armor or iron cotton armor and wear it on the outside or inside of the standard leather armor. In this way, the defense capability can be further strengthened.

Zhu Pingjin keenly observed this phenomenon. He immediately instructed the Firearms Bureau to make a batch of iron sheets using high-carbon crucible steel. The iron sheets are hot-forged and quenched, one inch wide and one and a half inches long, with holes in the four corners and rounded on the sides and corners. Two days ago, the first batch of iron pieces and newly produced firecrackers and other weapons were transported to Xinzheng Dam by a convoy of pack horses. The remaining three platoons of the first company were finally equipped with firearms, and the armor leaves were issued to officers and sergeants of all levels of the participating troops, allowing them to wear their own armor according to their respective figures, forming a well-fitting iron armor.

The defensive power of iron armor is not comparable to that of light and soft leather armor. If the leather armor inside and the iron armor outside, it can not only defend against cold weapons, but also against hot weapons.

Chen Youfu got the iron piece and immediately used the fat pig for experiments. The fat pig wore silk underwear and was covered with two layers of iron armor. A thin lancet can't cut through at all. The short spear stabbed at close range, and the tip of the spear unloaded most of its strength on the iron blade, and finally pierced through the gap between the iron blades.

Even the powerful firearms used by the caravans have been greatly reduced. The firebolt was fired thirty paces away with a single bullet, and the lead struck the iron blades and leather armor, and only ninety percent barely penetrated, and the other ten remained. Or it doesn't penetrate deep into the flesh, or it gets stuck in the silk in the leather armor, or it gets stuck in the leather armor at all. The poor fat pig was beaten by Lin Yan's fire and released in a round, and was hit by countless leads, although his whole body was covered in blood and several ribs were broken, but it was not enough to kill him immediately, and he even screamed and struggled back and forth on the stake.

It's just that although this iron armor is good, there is also a big problem, that is, it is too heavy. Tu Shi and Miss Zhou joined forces to decorate Luo Jingyun with iron armor, and even the black leather helmet was not spared. As soon as the little guy put it on, he immediately shouted and took it off—even the half-body armor above the hips was more than thirty pounds!

Hearing that he was wearing armor, Luo Jingyun suddenly had a big head, but he still readily agreed. The troops were intensively building fortifications, and it was when Chen Youfu was the busiest, and he didn't want to argue with Chen Youfu about this matter. Besides, Chen Youfu is also thinking about his safety.

"I don't know if it's the Tu family or the Zhou family's daughter!" Luo Jingyun thought viciously, "Wait until I find an opportunity......

At this time, he was tapped on the shoulder from behind, and when he turned his head, it turned out to be He Yongnian.

"I've seen your iron suit, the armor is wearing brocade, and the chest is nailed with a double layer." He Yongnian smiled with a funny smile, "There are women who care about you!" ”