The winter rain fell for a whole day, and the indoor course at the Bifengxia training base was taught for one day. After Sun Hong's literacy course was completed, Zhu Pingjin temporarily added courses for Song Zhenzong and Song Zhensi. Song Zhenzong talked about the military training plan for the near future, and Song Zhensi talked about the short spear tactic. Finally, in the evening, Zhu Pingjin also came on the field in person and told a story to the soldiers. The synopsis of the story is that on a cold and windy Chinese New Year's Eve night, the homeless Yang Bailao begged for a red head rope for his daughter Xi'er, and the thief Zhang Xianzhong sneaked into the county seat, saw Xi'er's beauty, killed Xi'er and her father, and robbed her as a concubine. Xi'er was unwilling to be humiliated, and fled to the yamen of the state capital to beat the drums in the wind and snow, but the state officials were afraid of the thieves and had already fled without a trace. The official deceived Xi'er and sold her to Liu Fatzi, a big family in the state. Xi'er was humiliated, and when Liu Fatzi was drunk, she fled into the mountains overnight and fed on mountain fruits and wild vegetables.

"Lord Shizi, where is the Xi'er girl now?" Chen Youfu couldn't help but raise his hand to ask a question.

"Still hiding in the mountains of northeastern Sichuan, waiting for the warriors to rescue." Zhu Pingjin replied seriously.

"Will the thief return to our Sichuan?" Another soldier asked.

"Of course will be back! Thieves and sacrificial thieves are thieves, and wherever there is treasure and a woman, they will rob it. The thief Agate Mountain was defeated and lost all the more than a dozen women he had robbed, so he ran to our Sichuan to rob him. A few days ago, Ben Shizi heard that he robbed nine women in our Sichuan! His generals Wang Shangli, Dou Mingwang, Wang Fuchen, Wang Ziyu, Zhang Junyong, Ma Yuanli, Feng Shuangli, as well as his four adopted sons Kewang, Liu Wenxiu, Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi and others, each robbed seven! The thief chief is like this, and his minions will not go home empty-handed, and each of them robs a few women. Remember, the thieves and thieves did not all leave Sichuan! Wherever they go, they leave behind thieves to continue to plague the place! Those thieves who stayed, we in Sichuan are called local tyrants! ”

"My sister was also robbed by a thug...... They also killed my mother......" One of the soldiers below cried bitterly.

"The thugs stoned my father and second brother to death, and also killed my daughter-in-law. The thug ripped her belly open and tore out my unborn child and roasted it over the fire...... Liu Sangen and I hid in the grass and saw it with our own eyes. I'm going to fight desperately with the local thugs......" Speaking of this, the grief-stricken Chen Youfu fell down and couldn't cry.

Zhu Pingjin came over and patted Chen Youfu and asked Chen Youfu, "Do you want to avenge your father?" Revenge for your brother? Avenge your daughter-in-law, your unborn child? ”

Chen Youfu stood up suddenly, his hands turned white, "Why don't you want to?" I'd never dreamed of killing those dog thieves! ”

Zhu Pingjin nodded his chin in affirmation, raised his head and said loudly to all the soldiers: "This son of the world is to lead you to kill all the thieves and corrupt officials!" Return our Ming Dynasty to a bright future! Give our people a stable and prosperous life! Are you willing to follow this son? ”

Before He Youyi rushed to Zhu Pingjian's side again, all the soldiers had already raised their fists and shouted: "Follow the prince!" Kill all the thieves and kill all the corrupt officials! ”

Zhu Pingjin looked at his other cadres and said, "Let the soldiers come up and pour bitter water themselves." Mr. Shu, your Shu family is full of loyalty, you come to take the lead in person. ”

The next day finally cleared. Thinking that the mountain road was still muddy, the troops ran in circles on the drying field. Song Zhensi led the team, Shu Guoping was adjourned, and Song Zhenzong took a bamboo stick to monitor the middle of the team. Zhu Pingjin was dressed in a gray cotton robe, and shouted passwords while running in the inner circle of the drying field.

"Left, left, left and right." Zhu Pingjin ran to the inner circle and shouted, and finally he stood in the center of the circle and circled.

"You're running the wrong way! Take a left foot pad! Song Zhenzong pointed a bamboo stick at a soldier who was not walking in the right step and yelled.

The soldier did not come out with his right foot after his left foot, but padd it with the sole of his left foot according to Song Zhenzong's order, and sure enough, he found that he was walking in the same step as his comrades in front and behind, and couldn't help but smile and said: "General Song, the villain is right!" ”

"No casual talk in the queue!" Song Zhenzong continued to point and yell with a bamboo stick.

Dozens of laps were run, and everyone in the team was sweating. Today's subjects are queue training and short spear training. Song Zhensiping's commonly used weapon was a spear, and Zhu Pingjin decided to make him a short spear instructor. Song Zhenzong is the military commander, and training is his business, so he naturally stays to lead the team; Although Shu Guoping was a scholar, he also stood in the queue with a bamboo gun in his hand, leaving to train with ordinary soldiers.

Zhu Pingjin didn't actually run a few steps, but returned to his small courtyard refreshed. Sun Hong, He Youyi, and Cao Santai were waiting in the hospital. The three of them met the ceremony, Zhu Pingjin returned to his main seat, gave the seat, invited tea, and then picked up the Mengding Mountain tea leaves that Cao Sanbao had just brewed, slowly brushed off the tea foam with the tea cover, drank a few sips, and then spoke: "It is now the end of the first month, and it is more than a month before the Qingming Festival, and the tea leaves on this tea mountain are about to be picked." Manager Cao, this son knows that you have a lot of things, so you will go back today and arrange the spring tea picking first. This prince has already reported to his mother that this year's tea leaves from Mengding Mountain will be transported to Tibet through the tea horse road in exchange for horses except for entering the palace. Now my Ming official army is short of horses, and the fierce town has been chasing the thieves for a month or two, and the lack of horses is a reason. In the future, our army suppressed thieves, and there were many places to use horses. Tea farmers should pay more wages, and they must not cause any trouble. Mr. Cao, you have to be more attentive and do this well. ”

Cao Santai responded, and then said: "Looking at the rain on this day, this year's tea harvest should be good." In recent years, the market of Tibetan bud tea has been very good, and this year the slave maid is ready to produce more bud tea, less coarse tea, and the sifted tea powder is also crushed into tea pieces and taken out for sale. Since the slave and maid were promoted to the army by the prince, the slave and maid often think about this thing in the army. Lord Shizi, can you come back with some cowhide this time, so that you can make some leather armor for the soldiers. ”

Zhu Pingjin took a few sips of the teacup and said: "Cowhide is a good thing, in addition to leather armor, it is also good to make leather shoes." ”

He Youyi interjected: "The beef is salted and dried, and it can withstand hunger, and it will be sent to the soldiers to make dry food to carry by itself during the war, which will save a lot of baggage." ”

Zhu Pingjin nodded and said, "What Mr. He said is extremely true. Tianquan doesn't produce salt, it's all up to us to transport it. But salt and tea are all controlled and monopolized by the imperial court, and the Salt Division, the Tea Bureau, and the Tax Division are all keeping an eye on it, and how to get out of the customs needs to be carefully considered. ”

Cao Santai said disappreciatively: "Lord Shizi, who dares to check the goods of our palace." He's not afraid of losing his head? ”

Sun Hong also said: "If the prince is not at ease, it is better to send a small team of people to pass the customs under the banner of my palace." ”

He Youyi followed Sun Hong's words and said: "If General Guan is sensible, we might as well give some benefits." ”

Zhu Pingjin thought about it and felt that there was only the biggest problem of transportation now, so he said: "There is no salt stock now, only some will be replenished later." How is the horse team preparing. ”

Preparing the horse team is Cao Santai's business, he said: "The slave maid has contacted several horse gangs in Qiongzhou and Yazhou, and they are all willing to transport our goods. The slave and maid themselves have prepared dozens of horses, but the gang leader has not yet been found. ”

Zhu Pingjin shook his head and said: "The leader of a horse gang is not important, if you can't find it, you can dig people, or we can cultivate it ourselves." The key lies in the trade road from Yazhou to Tianquan and Lushan, and we must fully control it. We controlled the trade routes, and the goods on this road, whether it was tea, salt, iron, cotton, silk, and porcelain, we naturally controlled them. Whoever doesn't obey, we'll clean him up halfway! Isn't this what we put the army to train here on Mengding Mountain? Manager Cao, how far is the journey from Bifeng Gorge to Feixian Pass? ”

Cao Santai estimated in his heart and replied: "Seventy to eighty miles, there are mountain roads at both ends, and a flat road outside Yazhou City in the middle. ”

Zhu Pingjin smiled and said, "That's it!" The infantry marched in a hurry, and could arrive in one day, and the cavalry only needed two hours. Manager Cao, I heard you say that the road from Yazhou to Tianquan is to trace the left bank of the Tsing Yi River. Yazhou is on the right bank of the Tsing Yi River, so how many bridges are there along the road from Yazhou City to this trade road? ”

Cao Santai didn't know the purpose of Shizi's questioning, but he still replied truthfully as far as he knew: "Yazhou City is separated from the avenue by a river. Coming out of the north gate of Yazhou, there is a large stone bridge. Going up the Tsing Yi River for about two miles, there is also a wooden bridge outside the small north gate. No matter which bridge you cross, you can go up to the pipes after crossing the bridge. In addition, there are several fishing boat wharves on the riverbank on the north side of Yazhou. Lord Shizi, the fish in Yazhou are very famous! The flesh is beautiful and there are few thorns, and there is a fish bone in the head of the fish like a sword. Therefore, one of the most famous dishes in Yazhou is casserole tofu fish! Lord Shizi, you might as well go to Yazhou to try it before you go home, this is also a little filial piety for the slaves and maids......"

Follow the gourmet, life is too good, but unfortunately Zhu Pingjin is not here. He smiled and said to Cao Santai: "Mr. Cao has a heart." Since you want to do Tianquan's tea and horse business, you must prepare in advance. You send someone to Yazhou to have a look, and if someone is willing to sell recently, you might as well buy a Zhuangzi between the two bridges on the other side of Yazhou. The yard must be big! This Wangzhuang can be used as a transit station for our goods! ”

He Youyi felt that Zhu Pingjin's words were not as easy as he said, and he was about to ask clearly, but found that Sun Hong's eyes were glancing at him, so he stopped talking in time. Cao Santai was asking Zhu Pingjin how big this Wang Zhuang would be, and Zhu Pingjin replied simply: "It's enough for one or two thousand people to eat and sleep!" ”

Cao Sanbao came over to renew tea for Zhu Pingjian, He Youyi, and Sun Hong, and several people discussed several key issues such as the price of tea and horses this year. At the end, Zhu Pingjin said to Sun Hong: "Wait for Mr. Gao to come, this prince is going to go to Tianquan in person to meet with General Gao and General Yang of the Six Recruitment Divisions." In the past few days of military training, in the opinion of this son, these homeless people are some good soldiers, and Mr. Sun chose well in the city this time! ”

Sun Hong hurriedly humbled him.

Zhu Pingjin said: "Last year's disaster, this Shizi estimates that there will be no fewer displaced people in Sichuan this year. When the son of this world arrives in the sky, Mr. Sun should not follow him. You need to get back to the CD as soon as possible and buy another batch of homeless people. This son always felt that these more than 300 people were too few. There is really something, and it is not very useful. The tooth boy Bao Zhong that Mr. met last time, this Shizi thinks he has some way. Sir may wish to talk to him, in addition to the CD house, you can also buy some homeless people in other state capitals. ”

Sun Hong hurriedly asked how much to buy this time, and Zhu Pingjin replied: "A battalion of soldiers is at least 800 people. Now there are only less than three hundred and five people except Wang Daniu and dozens of them, and Mr. Sun can buy them according to the replenishment of a battalion of soldiers. It doesn't hurt to buy more, even if you make merit. As the saying goes: Saving a life is better than building a seventh-level floating slaughter! ”

Several people hurriedly complimented, and Zhu Pingjin sighed and said: "It's a pity, there are too few people in the world who have such a compassionate heart as Ben Shizi, otherwise why would I be in such a mess tomorrow!" ”