Lu Yi and more than 30 craftsmen who stayed in Lingju County each carried the latest batch of arrows that were rushed to be made, and counted the number with Zhou Xing, who came to hand over. Zhou Xing casually took out a few arrows, looked at them carefully, and fiddled with the front end arrow or the rear tail feather from time to time, and saw that their joints were relatively firm, so he showed a satisfied expression.

Seeing Zhou Xing's satisfied expression, Lu Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Li Jiangtou, as a craftsman talent under the key protection of the county government, has set off with the first batch of households who have withdrawn north. Several elderly craftsmen in the county were evacuated one after another under Xin Yan's arrangement, along with the evacuated households in batches. After about half a month, he was the only one left in the county government workshop with these twenty or thirty young craftsmen to make the last batch of weapons and ordnance for the city defenders.

Hearing that the captives had arrived, and they also slaughtered the households of a mile outside the county, Lu Yi was also beating a small drum in his heart. As time passed, more and more enemy military information was transmitted into the almost empty county town through the sentinels who went out to reconnoitre. Lu Yi heard that there were only about 20,000 thieves who came this time, and he was secretly glad in his heart. When I thought about it for eleven years, the army of hundreds of thousands of thieves was not blocked under Jincheng County on the south bank of the river. Now more than 20,000 people, what can they do!

However, with the military intelligence brought back by the sentinels, there were still many atrocities of burning and looting along the way. Hearing that a few miles outside the county near the backwater had been burned and looted by the thieves, Lu Yi's heart sank again. After all, he is still trapped in this Lingju county town with the army. In all fairness, he is not a general, and naturally he has no consciousness of defending the land against the enemy. If he had left this dangerous place earlier, he would have set out on his way immediately.

However, the county government arranged for those older craftsmen to leave first, and the rich remuneration that everyone could get for the young craftsmen who stayed behind, so Lu Yi reluctantly stayed. Lu Yi's old mother and his newly married wife also stayed in the city with him, waiting for the last batch of ordnance to be completed and handed over, and they would leave here as the last group of households to withdraw from the county seat.

Zhou Xing beckoned his subordinates and checked it firmly, confirming that the quantity was correct and the quality was also excellent. He arched his hand and said, "Little craftsman Lu has worked hard." I've been busy for so long, I guess I haven't eaten yet. I ordered my subordinates to go to the army to get some hungry meals, and asked Lu Xiaojiangtou to wait for a while, and after eating with the craftsmen, Li Sima sent troops to escort you and others north to avoid the military disaster. ”

After that, Zhou Xing didn't wait for Lu Yi to respond, so he turned his head to the general on the side and said: "Chen Qian, go and bring a few people to bring those porridge and bread from the camp room and give them to the craftsmen!" ”

The general Zuo responded with his fists in response, beckoned a few soldiers, and soon disappeared from Lu Yi's field of vision. Half an hour later, the soldiers were carrying several pots of rice porridge and dozens of dough cakes. Back in the workshop. The craftsmen in the workshop were obviously hungry for a long time, and they didn't even bother to wash their hands, so they each picked up the wooden bowl with their hands stained with soot and slag, picked up the bread, and devoured it.

Seeing that Zhou Xing was so enthusiastic, Lu Yi couldn't refute his face, so he also picked up a bowl of corn porridge and ate it. It's just that he has been thinking a little absent-mindedly about the relatives who are still waiting for him at home.

Zhou Xing seemed to see Lu Yi's concerns, and said warmly: "Lu Xiaojiangtou doesn't have to worry, just earlier, he had already sent someone to send porridge and rice to his home. Presumably, Ling Tang and his sister-in-law should have eaten porridge at this time......"

When Lu Yi heard this, he was surprised and even more admired, and hurriedly thanked him: "Zhou Bairen will be thoughtful, and he can take care of his family in his busy schedule, and he will be grateful......."

While the two were talking, the craftsmen around them had already eaten their fill. Many of them were still wiping their mouths with unfinished care. Seeing this, Lu Yi also hurriedly picked up his wooden bowl and poured all the bowl of porridge that he had drunk half of it into his mouth. Because I knew that everything was okay with my family, I also had a full meal. So the appetite is great. Fang Mo didn't finish the porridge for half a day, and he ate it in two bites. After drinking the porridge, Lu Yi picked up a piece of bread on the side and hurriedly put it in his arms. Seeing Zhou Xing looking at him, he also smiled quite awkwardly, and then said, "Keep this, wait for a while, and eat it on the way later." ”

Zhou Xing saw this, but he didn't care. To Lu Yiyi: "In accordance with Sima's order, dry food has been prepared for all craftsmen. This time to go to Guzang Zuo to live temporarily, it will take about two days on the road. The camp has been prepared with sufficient dry rations, which is about enough for each person to last for five days. The truck has been loaded, and Sima will arrange for someone to escort you later, and the dry food will set off with you. ”

"Li Sima and Zhou Bairen will be thoughtful, I deeply admire......" Lu Yi has not yet planned how to leave Lingju and go to the temporary refuge, these details on the way have been carefully thought out by the generals in the army, and he can't help but feel a warm current in his heart.

After Zhou Xing finished assigning the task, he ordered his generals to escort all the ordnance, arrows and other things they had received earlier to the camp. After that, he grabbed Lu Yi and said, "Master Lu may wish to follow me into the camp for a while." At home, I will send soldiers to help pack and carry my belongings......"

A group of craftsmen were brought into the camp, and Zhou Xing took them to the slightly more spacious house where he lived to settle down temporarily, and then went to look for Li Yanzhi and reported to Li Yanzhi the process of handing over ordnance and other materials. Li Yanzhi took the form registered by the scribe next to Zhou Xing and looked at it carefully.

"Now the ordnance in the city consists of 2,016 swords, 1,634 spears, 505 riding bows, 387 crossbows, 331 iron armor, 1,057 leather armor, more than 26,100 bows and arrows, more than 47,700 crossbow arrows, 890 round cards, 469 long cards, more than 300 rolling wood stones, and more than 11,000 liters of soybean oil......"

When Zhou Xing talked about all the ordnance and other items in the camp today, he was simply a treasure. Without turning his heels, he counted the armaments, ordnance, and even all kinds of miscellaneous items that were now prepared in the city and intended to be used in the defense of the city. Li Yanzhi silently read the number reported by Zhou Xing in his heart, and checked the account book brought by the scribe. Although I didn't calculate it carefully, I don't know if it was exactly the same, but after checking it, it was roughly the right number.

"It's hard work." Li Yanzhi closed the account book, and then said with a smile: "Take these to the military scribes to buy some wine to drink, and I will invite everyone." Yan took out a heavy money bag from his arms, threw it with his right hand, and was steadily caught by Zhou Xing.

Zhou Xing responded with his fists clenched, but the clerk who had taken the account book on the side was surprised, and expressed his gratitude to Li Yanzhi again and again. Li Yanzhi waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to be polite. Then he looked at Zhou Xing and asked, "Are those craftsmen ready now?" ”

Zhou Xing said: "After the handover of the head of the little craftsman Lu, he is looking forward to it, and the color of returning is very eager. The subordinates have been reassured, and the soldiers have been ordered to help them pack their belongings at home. Now the remaining craftsmen in the workshop are temporarily waiting in the subordinate rooms. ”

Li Yanzhi nodded: "These craftsmen are all good talents in the county. We must not waste ourselves in the midst of war. Zhou 100 people will send your original subordinate old battalion 100 people to escort them north to avoid trouble. After they arrived, the soldiers did not need to return, as long as they were well protected. In the future, if they succeed in retreating from the enemy, they will be escorted back to the county seat. Don't let the rest of the counties dig up the footing. ”

Zhou Xing hugged his fists and said: "My subordinates obeyed the order, and thanked Sima Xinzhong." Li Yanzhi hurriedly took the pen and paper on the table, wrote an order, stamped his own seal, and handed it to Zhou Xing. It was used to facilitate his deployment of troops and arrange for manpower to escort the craftsmen back north.

Zhou Xing took the military order, and then retreated with his fists clenched. Li Yanzhi sent away the scribes on the left and right, and he was also in a mood of excitement. The situation is no longer critical. Letters of help to the parties have long been sent. It's just that there is almost no positive response from all sides.

These days, those who go back and forth between inside and outside the county are the various detective guards under the battalion. The news they brought is getting worse day by day. Some of them have not been heard from since they left the city to investigate. Apparently something has happened.

Although the cavalry of Lingju County has also undergone strict training, and Xin Mingfu and Li Sima, who have become more and more wealthy due to the previous trade, have also spent a lot of money to equip this small but elite cavalry with two horses. However, when the number of Lingju cavalry and Hu cavalry were almost the same, it was basically the brave Hu cavalry who had a greater chance of winning. Even if the Lingju cavalry has stirrups and sophisticated weapons as bonuses, in the face of Hu Qi, who grew up on horseback, his combat skills are still slightly inferior.

Li Yanzhi has drawn more than a dozen topographic maps of the surrounding areas of Lingju County on straw paper. Whenever Tao Heng reported which part of the cavalry was missing, he would focus on delineating the area where this part of the cavalry was missing, and wait cautiously in the subsequent reconnaissance. After all, war horses can be bought with money, but well-trained horsemen with rich combat experience cannot be trained in a short period of time. As the battlefield is consumed, there will be fewer and fewer soldiers who play a major role. It is difficult for a new cavalryman to form an effective combat force in a short period of time. This is precisely a major problem that cannot be avoided by the division of a hundred battles.

As the fighting progressed and intensified, there were fewer and fewer experienced and tough veterans. This will inevitably lead to a decrease in combat effectiveness. Hastily trained recruits are often sent with a lot of veterans who are not able to do what they are far fewer than they can do. This situation requires the generals to be able to correctly recognize the combat effectiveness of the army in their hands and to be able to make arrangements that are suitable for this combat effectiveness. So as to preserve themselves to the maximum and destroy the enemy army.

After drawing the key areas on the map, Li Yanzhi also felt a little tired. Since the retreat to the county seat, there have been many affairs, and he has hardly slept well. The previous arrivals were nothing more than thieves and rangers. The county soldiers were still able to deal with it effectively, and then escorted a large number of households to the north for refuge. As the number of incoming enemy forces increased, so did the security areas that the prefectural soldiers were able to control. Up to now, except for the road leading to Guzang and the county town in the north, there are still few enemies, and the other three sides are gradually losing control.

Li Yanzhi understood that the more times like this, the more energetic he was to watch the movements of the enemy army and adjust his deployment strategy accordingly. However, the gradual sleepiness still made him feel the urge to fall asleep on the couch.

The sudden sound of a report from outside the house interrupted his sleepiness. He stepped forward to open the door, and saw a sentry kneeling outside the door.

"What's the report?" Li Yanzhi was slightly displeased. But knowing that the military situation was urgent, he did not say anything to embarrass this conscientious sentinel.

"Sima, my department is probing. The main force of the thieves is about 12,000 people, and they have set up camp on the bank of the water 15 miles north of the county seat. The rest of the sentry is still closely watching the movements of the captives......"

"Immediately go to the commander of Tao Bairen and ask him to send more men to pay close attention to the movements of the thief camp. But there is a wind and grass, and it is immediately rewarded. At the same time, send sentry cavalry to find out the movements of thousands of people outside the Chinese army of the captives! ”

"Yes!" The sentinel got up at the report and immediately ran towards the camp. Li Yanzhi was still not very relieved, so he immediately turned around and went to the shelf in the house to take off his iron armor, and it took a lot of effort to put it on. With his helmet in his right hand and his sword hanging haphazardly from his belt in his left hand, he left the room and went out.

Half an hour later, a hurried assembly drum sounded on the camp general's platform. Several horsemen trotted through the camp, shouting as they ran: "Sima has an order!" More than 100 generals in each battalion will gather in front of the stage! ”

Li Yanzhi stood steadily on the platform, holding a helmet in one hand and a knife in the other. But the scene of about half a pillar of incense. More than 30 generals and generals of more than 100 people in the battalion gathered in front of the point platform.

The incense stick in Li Yanzhi's hand was burning slowly, and the drum had been beaten for the last time. In the previous military order, there was a clear annotation on the assembly of drums: the trumpet drum sounded three times, and the rod of the rod did not reach after one stick of incense. However, the assembly drum was usually used only in an emergency, so this military order was almost forgotten by the battalion commander over time.

When the last sound of the drum sounded, a figure rushed in at the gate, apparently also hearing the sound of the assembly drum, and ran forward in three steps and two steps. Everyone turned their heads one after another, concentrating on it, but it was Sima Cao Jian from other departments.

Cao Jian panted and stood still under the stage, clenched his fists and knocked on the ground: "Sima, the last general will go out to patrol the city, and when he hears the trumpets and drums, he will come immediately......"

"Military discipline in the army, gather the drums three times, and the incense does not come, what crime should be done?" Li Yanzhi pressed the knife in his left hand and looked at Cao Jian expressionlessly.

Cao Jian looked up hesitantly, and when he saw Li Yanzhi's expressionless face, his heart fell like an ice cave for a moment. He lowered his head and said, "Be ...... Thirty ...... with the rod."

"As a Sima of another department, you are in charge of military discipline, and now you know the law and break the law, and your crime is added to the first degree! However, the big war is imminent, and this military stick is written down. I hope you will make meritorious contributions in the future! If you don't succeed in defending the battle, you will receive sixty military sticks after the war! ”

"Yes!" Cao Jian secretly rejoiced in his heart, and then got up and entered the column under Li Yanzhi's signal.

"I just received a report from the sentry cavalry that the enemy army had reached fifteen miles away and set up camp on the bank of the Reverse River. Later, the last group of craftsmen and county officials will be evacuated from the county seat. After that, all departments need to be vigilant and don't let the thieves take advantage of the loopholes! ”

"During the war, the supply of grain and rice in the city was the responsibility of Zhou Bairen. There must be a sufficient supply of grain and rice every day! All the weapons and ordnance in the arsenal will be distributed to the auxiliaries to defend the city! I hope you will work together to defend against the enemy. Don't forget, your relatives, wives and daughters are all behind us. We are fighting to the death so that they may live! ”

"Lingju is the place where we are waiting to die, and before the enemy retreats, no one is allowed to retreat alone!" Li Yanzhi looked around the audience and cut the railway.