Chao Gai said: "Don't be delusional, he is an official of the imperial court, we are just a militia group, this gap is not a little bit, let's talk about it later." "The next day, three waves of teams scattered to search, never saw the figure of Yanshun Wang Ying, Qingfeng Mountain only has a clear road, but there are two secret roads, the dark road is mostly ancient wood wolf forest, the trees are tall, there are many traps, this trap is very vicious, there are sharp and sharp branches inside, and the thorn seed is dead, so the search is very slow and careful.

Huang Xin said: "Although the bandits have gone, I am afraid that they will make a comeback as soon as the official army retreats." ”

"I don't think the terrain of this Qingfeng Mountain is dangerous, mainly because there are too many trees in the mountain, and the bandits have built traps along the rugged mountain roads, which has created their nests. Chao Gai said.

Huang Xin clicked his lips and said: "The method is a little stupid, but it is very effective, and the nearby people can also collect three or five thousand, although they don't have to pay, but they have to take care of the food." ”

"There's no need to worry about this, all the seized money and grain can be used to collect people's husbands, is it just this cut wood?" Chao Gai said with a smile.

That Huang Xin is also a human spirit, so he naturally understands it very well, and says: "All the wood belongs to Chao Tuanji." ”

Chao Gai immediately reached an agreement with Huang Xin, and the main credit for capturing Qingfeng Mountain and capturing many bandits was all given to Huang Xin, and Chao Gai, like Dong Ping, took the credit for making soy sauce, Chao Gai gave up the seized grain and money, and Huang Xin was responsible for collecting people to cut down trees.

Huang Xin is the commander-in-chief of this use of troops, and the power is still quite large, and he has recruited 3,000 people under an order, and there are not many poor people on the ground in Qingzhou.

Although the 3,000 people were not professional tree cutters, they were outnumbered, and they cut down more than 20,000 trees in three days, and then it took another three days to transport them to the river. Qingfeng Mountain is almost governed, just like a shaved head, and there is no way to hide lice at all.

Huang Xin reported his military merits and handed over the prisoners, although he failed to find the 60,000 treasures lost by Yuan County's order, but the pacification of Qingfeng Mountain was also a great contribution, and Murong Prefect was very happy, and immediately sent sheep and wine to express condolences, and Huang Xin and Hua Rong's credit was taken steadily.

Wu Yongdao: "There is a way that it is easy to be a thief in a thousand days, and it is difficult to prevent a thief in a thousand days." I think that Dong Ping can't wait to eat us, since this matter is over, let's go back early, so as not to be taken advantage of by this guy. ”

Chao Gai thought about it for a while, and immediately said goodbye to Huang Xin, and the garrison went to the river to fight with the navy, so it was also a team of 600 people, even if Dong Ping had bad intentions, he didn't have the guts. The navy seconded hundreds of cargo ships to transport timber, and it took Rao half a month to transport all the timber from Qingfeng Mountain. During this period, Liu Tang, Xuye, and Wen Zhongrong led a hundred cavalry to conduct military exercises, which to put it bluntly was to scare Dong Ping. In terms of martial arts, Liu Tang is not as good as Dong Ping, but when it comes to the combat effectiveness of the light cavalry, Liu Tang's team is still very strong, Dong Ping saw that there was no cheap to make and was not frozen in this winter, so he took a little benefit from Huang Xin and returned to Dongping Mansion in a gloomy manner.

When I returned to Yuncheng again, it was already low in October, the weather was starting to get cold, and the river was beginning to freeze.

Just arrived at home a few days, Hu Cheng arrived, the original and Hu Sanniang set the day arrived, Chao Gai handed over the matter to the elders Chao Xun, neither extravagant, nor petty, although the gold and silver money is a little cheesy, but naturally it is indispensable, Chao Gai chose a good red rouge horse from the horse market, as a gift to Hu Sanniang. Li Kui also married Zhang Lan, although it is said that Zhang Lan is a righteous daughter, but although Zhang Lan seems to be arrogant, she actually knows very well about the people who advance and retreat, and the bride price is symbolic, so she and Li Kui are married. Of course, Zhang Lan has been busy forming a women's platoon, and there are a lot of things.

In the living room of the Chao family, Chao Gai and Hu Cheng sat at the table, four side dishes, a pot of wine, and the two of them ate with relish.

Chao Gai said: "Yuncheng regimental training has developed to the limit, with 800 infantry, 200 cavalry, and 600 sailors. 1,600 people is enough for such a small county, and I am afraid that the Jeju prefect will not be happy to recruit more. ”

"Chao Tuanlian's thinking is fixed, soldiers can not be recruited more, but there is no limit to the employment of mines, recruiting Lujia gold mines, iron mines, which mines are not thousands of miners. When it's really time to use it, an order is given, and the soldier is replaced with a knife and gun. I think the scale of the ironworks can be expanded to 2,000 people. There are a lot of stone mountains in Yishui County, stone is a necessary thing to build city walls and houses, you can recruit 2,000 craftsmen to mine, one can be used for your own use, and you can sell it, as long as the operation is good, it will not lose money. Just in the winter, I recruited people for initial training, and when I had something, I could convert into soldiers. Hu Cheng said.

Chao Gai nodded yes and said, "This is a good way, but this kind of soldier is not elite, at most it can only be said to be a reserve, and it is better to train an elite soldier overseas, is there a larger island nearby?" ”

Hu Cheng thought for a moment and said: "At the southern tip of Goryeo, there is an island, the island can be dozens of miles long, and it can catch up with the size of Yuncheng County, there is a small country on the island, I can't remember what the name is, that island is said to be the territory of our Tang Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty, but later the war and chaos had no time to manage." The climate on the island is warm, which is very suitable for growing food, and if you carefully cultivate hundreds of thousands of acres of land, there are still some of them. I think with the strength of Chao Tuan's training, whether it is strong or mild, this island can be captured. ”

Isn't the island in the south of Goryeo Jeju Island, in terms of area is much larger than Yuncheng County, the land on the island is fertile, which is very suitable for growing rice and other crops, not to mention that there are only three or four thousand original inhabitants on the island, which is not a problem.

"How long is the journey from Yuncheng to this island? Is it still possible to sail in this weather? Chao Gai asked.

Hu Chengdao: "Sail south from the mouth of the Huai River to the east, take the bird boat as an example to reach it in fifteen days, although the weather is cold now, but the sea is not frozen, and the sailors only need to wear warm clothes." Now the shipyard has just begun, and there are no warships yet, so it's better to make a hard trip, with three bird ships, you send three more centipede ships as escorts, and the fleet will go to this island to reconnoiter the situation first, after all, it is a big deal to occupy an island. ”

That night, Chao Gai summoned military advisors and generals to report the incident.

Everyone felt that it was too far away, and it would take fifteen days. However, there are also people who don't take it seriously, Li Kui smiled and said: "Isn't that a fecal country, in the past, I pressed an axe on my neck and asked if I wanted to surrender, if I wanted to surrender, I stayed, and if I didn't surrender, I could cut it." ”

Everyone laughed, and Gongsun Sheng said: "Otherwise, since this place is my country's land in the Tang Dynasty, now the Great Song Dynasty has jurisdiction over him, and since my brother is a group training in Yuncheng, even if he is an official of the court of the Great Song Dynasty, I think it is better to convince people with virtue, understand it with reason, and move it with affection, and the small country will naturally return to obedience, which is the best policy." ”

Xu Guanzhong said: "I have also heard about this island, but I don't know what the relationship between this island and Goryeo is now, so I am worried that once we occupy this island, it will be a troublesome matter to start a war with Goryeo." ”

Niu Gao said: "What are you afraid of, he dares to fight us." ”

Chao Gai said: "No matter which method is adopted, you must first understand the enemy's situation and find out the geography, population, and strength of this island. So it is necessary to organize an expedition to the ocean, who wants to go. ”

The generals of the navy army expressed their positions one after another, and they rushed to go one by one. Niu Gao, Li Kui, Bian Xiang and others also shouted to go.

Chao Gai said: "Since everyone is willing to go, then I will order troops." Considering that Ruan Xiaoqi and Kong Yang had just returned from going to sea and needed to recuperate, Xu Guanzhong was sent to lead the team this time, and three centipede boats were sufficient, with thirty people per boat. ”

Xu Guanzhong was a little surprised, but he didn't expect Chao Gai to assign an important task to himself, a newcomer.

Chao Gai said: "Although Xu Guanzhong has little experience, it is not the first time to go to sea, mainly because he is proficient in many languages, this time it was not a war in the past, and reconnaissance should be the first, so there is no need to send too many people." Not to mention the fact that the caravan had three bird ships and one hundred and fifty capable sailors. ”

Xu Guanzhong said: "Guanzhong will do his best. ”

The caravan had in their hands the personnel of the intelligence department arranged by Li Han, and these personnel would stay on the island to carry out detailed reconnaissance activities.

Three days later, Gongsun Sheng rode four different ways and took the Taoist boy to pray for the blessing of the sailing fleet. Not to mention, Gongsun Sheng really has the potential to be a god stick, fooling ordinary soldiers one by one. A Taoist robe and four dislikes, I don't know if people still think it's Jiang Taigong.

The prayer was over, and the fleet sounded its horn and set out. Chao Gai was also a little reluctant to go, Hu Cheng, the cheap uncle, had just returned from Liao and was going to take the caravan south. Said to Hu Cheng: "I'm going to work hard for you again this time, try to come back as soon as possible, don't delay the New Year." ”

"This trip is not in vain, I can bring a lot of goods, and when I come back, I can bring some fine silk and tea from Hangzhou." Hu Cheng said with a smile.

After the fleet left, Wu Yong said to Chao Gai: "Xu Guanzhong is new, why didn't my brother send Chao Xiong to assist him, so that he could enhance his combat effectiveness." ”

Chao Gai said: "Xu Guanzhong can be literate and martial, but he is biased towards literati. Chao Xiong and I have been with me for a long time, and I may not be willing to obey Xu Guanzhong, so that two leadership centers have been formed, which is not conducive to the team, so it is better to let him lead the team alone, not to mention that this is reconnaissance, Xu Guanzhong should be competent. ”

Wu Yong said: "Okay, I have started to promote the boxing championship in the past few days, and I believe that it will be crowded by February 2 next year." It's just that the prize is so high, can we get back to our capital? ”

Wu Yong was a little worried, Chao Gai smiled: "When did you see me doing a loss-making business, there are only nine people who get bonuses, not to mention that we will recruit a few masters from it, just say that the guests who come at that time will have a large amount of income from eating and lodging, and our own store will be the most, and all the money will be earned back at that time." ”