As night fell, the noise of the day fell silent, the insects began to sing in the grass, and the stars hung one after another on the canopy. Chen Qingzhi lit a campfire at their station outside the city, and the soldiers sat or lay down around the fire, some were still talking softly, and some were already asleep......

Xu Jin and Hui Ze went into the city to go to Yanran. Chen Qingzhi, Song Jingxiu, Yu Tianchou, and Chen Sibao sat on the ground around a small bonfire, talking about the current situation.

"This time, we killed a total of 647 brothers, and many more were injured...... "Yu Tianchou said to Chen Qingzhi in a sad tone.

"Our top priority is to recover as quickly as possible." Chen Sibao said, "Fortunately, the first time we went to Xuzhou, we broke the Wei army and captured a large number of ordnance materials, as well as hundreds of pairs of horse armor. But the point is that even if there is a large number of recruits, it is simply impossible to train these recruits into elites in a short period of time. ”

"Now that the war between the North and the South has begun, I don't know when the next battle will start, where do we have so much time to train new soldiers." Song Jingxiu whispered helplessly.

"It really won't ......be too long," Chen Qingzhi, who had been silent, spoke, "This first battle was fought in Shouyang. Now there is a stalemate on Shouyang's side, and I have suggested that Your Majesty order Xiahou to build a weir in Huaishui, wait for the rainy season of the coming year, flood Shouyang, and definitely take it in one fell swoop. When the time comes, we should be ready to fight. ”

"In other words, if we go to war then, we will only have a year at most?" Song Jingxiu asked.

Chen Qingzhi nodded silently. "We have to find a way to do it quickly." He suddenly raised his head and said to everyone, "In addition to our army, there are other Liang soldiers in Xuzhou, there will definitely be those who are unwilling to join the Northern Wei Dynasty and flee back, can you try to recruit these soldiers into our army first?" ”

"I think it's doable!" Yu Tianchou was the first to agree, "These are all trained soldiers, and those who can escape back, it can be seen that they are all loyal and righteous people, we can select soldiers who meet the requirements, and we will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!" ”

"Well, but in addition to these soldiers, we have to continue to expand our military strength, if there are only more than 2,000 people, it is really difficult to make a big difference." Chen Qingzhi continued.

"Then where do you think you can find qualified soldiers?" Yu Tianshu asked.

"Can you recruit some local tycoons?" Chen Qingzhi said worriedly, "In the past, we recruited troops from the children of the township and the displaced people, because of limited military resources, and I was only a civilian at that time, so I couldn't make a big show. But now it's different, as Chen Sange said just now, we are now full of ordnance and materials, and I also have a military position, so it can be said that it is justified now. ”

"It's really a good choice for the local tyrants." Song Jingxiu said, "If Ziyun feels that he can recruit them, I have a suitable target." ”

"Oh?" Chen Qingzhi suddenly became interested, "Brother Song, tell me quickly, where is your goal?" ”

"Have you ever heard of Jiang Zuo Xiao Ganning?" Song Jingxiu looked at everyone and asked.

Chen Qingzhi and Chen Sibao both shook their heads, saying that they didn't know what kind of character this was.

"Hey, one of you is an official in the court, and the other is busy doing business as a shopkeeper, of course you don't know the characters on the rivers and lakes." Yu Tianshu said with a smile.

"Old fish, do you know who this is?" Chen Sibao stared at the small eyes and asked Yu Tianshu.

"Of course I do!" Yu Tian said proudly, "Old Song, it's better for you to introduce them." ”

Song Jingxiu took over the conversation and said with a smile, "Actually, it's not a big deal, this person is a river thief on the Yangtze River." ”

"Thief?" Chen Qingzhi frowned, "This kind of person, I'm afraid it's difficult to restrain it, right?" ”

"Ziyun, don't worry, listen to me first." Song Jingxiu said to Chen Qingzhi with a smile, "He is by no means an ordinary thief, and he is not the kind of person who robs homes and houses. ”

"This person's name is Gan Xiaokun, when he claimed to be the descendant of the famous general Gan Ning of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms, his behavior also deliberately imitated Gan Ning's appearance when he was young, wearing feather ornaments and bells, and even the group of river thieves he gathered together was also called 'Jinfan Thieves', which is along both sides of the river, but no one knows it, no one knows it."

"Ahh I remember! Chen Sibao suddenly shouted, "I heard those merchants talk about it in the Vermilion Bird Inn, but this person seems to only rob the merchant ships of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and only rob the big merchants who supply the court of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but ordinary private merchants do not rob, and never rob the merchant ships of the Great Liang." ”

"Why?" Chen Qingzhi asked puzzled.

"How do I know this," Chen Sibao shook his head and said to Song Jingxiu, "Old Song, you continue, you continue." ”

"This Gan Xiaokun's father died in the battle against the Northern Wei Dynasty, and his mother died of illness soon after, and he became an orphan at a young age, so he decided that it was the Northern Wei Dynasty that caused him to lose his parents, so he can be said to hate the Northern Wei court to the core."

"He begged and wandered everywhere, and was later adopted by the leader of a river thief, and grew up in a group of outlaws since he was a child, and he also honed his good skills."

After the death of his stepfather, he was elected as the new leader because of his ability. In fact, he hated this kind of robbery life in his bones, but he also knew that so many subordinates were waiting for food, and they also had wives and children to raise, so how could they survive if they didn't rob? ”

"So, he set his sights on the big merchants who supplied the Northern Wei Dynasty - first, to avenge the hatred of the Northern Wei Dynasty for taking away his biological parents, and second, not to harm the common people."

"Those big merchants' ships have many guards, how easy is it to grab such a target?" Chen Qingzhi asked with some surprise.

"To say that this Gan Xiaokun does have some skills, he is brave and strategic, relying on the tide and fog on the river, etc., he can always sneak attack successfully. Gradually, his fame grew, and more and more helpless people came to join him. Because he never attacked the merchant ships of Daliang, the government turned a blind eye and did not send troops to recruit them. ”

"Brother Song, why do you know so clearly about this person?" Chen Qingzhi asked suspiciously.

"Ziyun, don't be suspicious, I haven't been a river thief." Song Jingxiu said with a smile, "When I was traveling around, I once passed by his water village, and there were some conflicts with his subordinates at that time, so I started to do it. Gan Xiaokun rushed to hear the news, but he was also defeated at my hands. But he admired my skills, so he graciously invited me to stay in his water village for a few days, so that he could ask me for advice. I saw that he was also a good man, so I stayed for a while, so I knew these things. ”

"Then Brother Song wants to recruit them to our army?" Chen Qingzhi still had some concerns, "These people outside the law are afraid that they will be used to indulgence and will not be able to abide by military discipline......"

"There's nothing to worry about." Song Jingxiu said confidently, "Although he is a river thief, Gan Xiaokun's restraint on his subordinates is not at all easier than that in the army - in addition to morning and evening drills, shifts on duty, etc., he also has several rules to restrain his subordinates, especially not to harass the people." Moreover, these subordinates of his, not everyone can go if they want, he also has to choose, they are all strong, brave and loyal people, in my opinion, not much worse than our brothers. ”

"If Lao Song said this, if you can recruit them over and practice a little, they will definitely be elite!" Yu Tianshu said with some excitement.

"How many men do they have?" Chen Qingzhi asked.

"From what I observed at the time, there were nearly a thousand of them."

"Haven't other generals recruited such a force of soldiers and horses?"

"Haha......" Song Jingxiu laughed, "Even if they are all one against a hundred, they are always just river thieves." Ziyun, do you think those generals from high-ranking families will look down on them? ”

"As long as you can kill the enemy and serve the country, what is your background, does it matter?" Chen Qingzhi said in a low voice.

"You think it's okay, and we all think it's okay, it's because we don't come from big families." Song Jingxiu crooked his mouth and smiled, "But those generals don't think so." ”

"No matter how much he does, I think I'll go and solicit it first!" Yu Tianchou straightened up and said.

"I thought I could give it a try." Chen Sibao also agreed.

"Okay, then let's recruit this Jiangzuo little Ganning." Chen Qing made up his mind.

"Then I will set off tomorrow, you go back to Yixing first, and wait for my good news." Song Jingxiu volunteered.

"Brother Song, I think it's better for me to go and solicit it in person."

"You're going in person?" Song Jingxiu looked at Chen Qingzhi puzzled, "Ziyun, are you afraid that I won't be able to come to this Gan Xiaokun?" ”

"No, I still want to see it with my own eyes and make a decision."

"It's okay, if you see it with your own eyes, you won't have any worries, and it also seems that we are Corporal Lixian, then I will accompany you tomorrow."

"What about us?" Yu Tianshu asked, "Let's go back to Yixing first?" ”

"Brother Yu, don't be busy returning to Yixing, I want to ask you to go and recruit those Liang soldiers who fled back from Xuzhou first. I believe in your vision, please pick out the available soldiers and bring them to Yixing. ”

"Okay, don't worry, leave it to me!" Yu Tianshu patted his chest and said.

"Third Brother Chen," Chen Qingzhi turned his head and said to Chen Sibao again, "Tomorrow, I will bother you to join the army with Ma, and bring the brothers back to the Yixing camp first, so that they can recuperate for a few days." ”

"Don't worry, Ziyun." Chen Sibao should admit.

"What about Xu Jin and Hui Ze's two boys?" Song Jingxiu asked Chen Qingzhi.

"Hmm......" Chen Qingzhi pondered for a while, "Let the two of them come with us, that night in Pengcheng, thanks to their alertness, I was not harmed by Xiao Zong." Moreover, they are still young, and I want to take them with me, so that they can have more experience, and in time, they will become the pillars of our army. ”

"Well, the two of them are indeed rare, and the whole army likes them very much. Take them with you, and we'll have a bit more excitement on the road. Song Jingxiu said happily, obviously he agreed with Chen Qingzhi's statement.

"Okay, then tomorrow we'll go our separate ways. I hope that God will bless you and that this trip will have the expected harvest......"

"Hehe, it's the first time I've heard Ziyun say such a thing as God's blessing," Yu Tianshu said jokingly, "This is not your style!" ”

Chen Qingzhi smiled embarrassedly, "Maybe when you get older, you will start to believe in those fate, fortune and the like......"