After returning to the camp, Li Yanzhi ordered Cao Jian to take two soldiers to the river to fetch clay and bring it back to the camp. He himself went to the workshop and ordered a large wooden box eight feet wide, one foot long, and about half a foot high for the carpenters. The craftsmen had never made anything like this before, and they were puzzled. However, when asked, Li Yanzhi did not say the use, but only asked those craftsmen to make it in the same way.

Cao Jian took a group of soldiers to the river and took ten stones of clay. Back in the camp, Li Yanzhi asked them to place the clay in his own big house, along with the wooden basket containing the clay. Cao Jian was quite puzzled by this, but Li Yanzhi still didn't say the use, but just told Cao Jian, and in a few days he would know the use of these clays by himself.

Cao Jian was puzzled, and on the way back, he had been pondering Li Yanzhi's intention to take these clays. It's just that under hard thinking and meditating, there is still no way to know.

Li Yanzhi took out all the maps of Longxi that he had kept over the years and compared them carefully. Among them are rough sketches drawn by the cavalry when they were scouting, as well as sketches drawn by himself based on the reconnaissance situation. Even the map that Liangzhou originally drew himself, he had prepared a copy in his hand. Stitched together these maps separately, and then carefully compared, Li Yanzhi circled many of his doubts, and then wrote down several warrants. Wait for the next group of cavalry to go out to the sentry posts, and then send them to these locations, and after the inspection, draw a map of the specific terrain and landforms, and report back to him.

Give the warrant to the patrol soldiers and ask them to pass it on to Zhou Xing, who is in charge of the cavalry battalion. Although Liu Jiwu's injury was not serious, he was definitely unable to preside over the daily work of the riding camp before he recovered from the injury. Of course, this burden fell on Zhou Xing's shoulders again. After Zhou Xing read the warrant, he instructed the next group of alternate horsemen to set off and prepare to replace the horsemen who had been scouting before. In order to complete the things that Li Yanzhi explained, Zhou Xing specially asked Cui Yang, who has a high level of education, to lead the team. The sentinels went to the arsenal to collect weapons, prepared sufficient dry rations, and went to the stables to lead the two horses on which they were riding, and then set out early the next morning and headed for Longxi.

After Li Yanzhi settled down this series of work, he went to the dungeon of the county government and interrogated the ten rebels who were suspected of being thieves and spies. After a series of torture and interrogation by the cell boss and the jailer, three of them confessed. The other seven, no matter how they were punished, refused to admit that they were spies sent by the thieves.

Li Yanzhi personally went to the prison to interrogate these people, and in the dark and cramped damp dungeon, the blood marks on these people who were drawn from the whip dipped in salt water were still shocking. Several people were whipped to the flesh, and no one treated them with medicine, resulting in suppuration and ulceration of the wounds.

Li Yanzhi witnessed this scene, and knew in his heart that even the three people who confessed their sins might not be spies for the thieves. As the old saying goes, there used to be clouds, under the three trees, why not ask for it. After all, there are very few people who can survive torture to extract confessions. Most people will be tortured under this harsh torture to alleviate their own pain.

It's just that in the current situation, there are strong enemies in war outside. The forced relocation of these displaced people from inside has constituted a new factor of internal instability. In any case, Li Yanzhi needs a few heads to calm people's hearts and use them to warn those who have bad intentions.

The torture that Li Yanzhi witnessed with his own eyes lasted about an afternoon. Until the orange-yellow sunlight that shone in from outside the prison window, the remaining seven people still did not admit it. During the interrogation, the scribe sitting next to him did not get Li Yanzhi's approval, and never took a written record. After an afternoon of futile work, Li Yanzhi called the cell boss in front of him expressionlessly, and then severely criticized him.

Since that gambling game, he was caught by Li Yanzhi first, and also won a penny from Li Yanzhi. The cell boss kept a lot more of a low profile. Not only did he no longer dare to shout when he was on duty, but every time he saw Li Yanzhi, he was always respectful, lest he offend this uncle one day and make him settle old accounts with himself. And Li Yanzhi never deliberately embarrassed him after that. It's just that in the matter of interrogating these chaotic people, Li Yanzhi is really dissatisfied with him.

After being reprimanded, Li Yanzhi and the others were sent away, and the cell boss ordered his subordinates to take out the torture tools used in the execution. The torturer sandwiches the five fingers of the victim between the wooden rafts, and when the torture is performed, the two of them struggle to pull together. When the inmate receives this kind of punishment, he is often heartbroken, unable to speak, and even faints because he cannot bear the severe pain.

The cell boss ordered the jailers to take an unconfessed rioter from the prison and bring him to the duty room. Before the man could react, he was beaten in the back by a jailer. Immediately, several jailers stepped forward and pushed him to the ground, and his right hand was held down. A jailer snapped his fingers open. The cell boss grinned and put the wooden raft between his fingers.

"Pull!" As the cell boss gave the order with a blank face, the two jailers beside him quickly stepped forward, each pulling the rope on one side, and then pulling it up without hesitation. As the two ropes that held the row of logs together were pulled, the prisoner's fingers creaked and creaked. The prisoner's hand shook involuntarily. From his throat, there was a low, loud wail that did not resemble a human voice.

His whole body struggled violently, holding him down, and the three jailers holding his legs felt a little more difficult to control him. The two jailers who pulled the rope were still pulling at the rope with a hideous face. In just a dozen breaths, the five fingers of the prisoner's right hand have turned blue and purple due to poor blood flow.

"Loose!" As the cell boss gave another expressionless order, the two leash guards let go of their hands. The prisoner's hand suddenly lightened, and his whole body felt a sense of detachment. It's just that the pain between his fingers is still coming continuously, making him sigh of relief and still moaning incessantly.

"To say or not to say?" The cell boss stood up and stepped on the tip of the prisoner's right finger, causing him to scream again.

The man gasped for a moment, but still reluctantly turned his head, and asked stubbornly in his eyes, "What did you say?" I don't know anything! ”

"Pull!" The cell boss stomped on the prisoner's fingers with his toes, and spun around vigorously. A scream was followed by a continuous, high and low howl.

When the cell boss gave the order to let go again, he saw that the prisoner had fainted on the ground. He summoned a jailer to bring a basin of cold water and doused him with his head. Then, a new round of interrogation began......

Such interrogations continued for most of the night. The remaining seven people who refused to confess also confessed one after another. There was a tough guy among them, and even the torture couldn't pry his mouth open. The cell boss looked for ten thick bamboo sticks with a blank face and ordered the jailers to nail them into his fingernails one by one. Seven were nailed in succession, and the prisoner had already fainted three times. After being woken up by a basin of cold water for the third time, this last tough guy also confessed under torture.

The cell boss happily wrote the confessions of each person, and then brought red clay, and the seven of them were charged according to their fingers. When he had done all this, he left his room and ordered a jailer to call for a warden. The cell boss went to the county government again, reported to the Xinming Mansion, and asked for several servants to strengthen the guards of the dungeon to prevent these important prisoners from escaping or someone robbing the prison.

Early the next morning, the confessions of the ten men were sent to the county government. After Xin Yan got up, he read these confessions on the bookcase, and was shocked and even more frightened. He sent a messenger to invite Li Yanzhi over, and with a shocked and frightened face, he handed over the stack of confessions to Li Yanzhi for a look.

Li Yanzhi carefully looked at everyone's confessions, and repeatedly weighed and deliberated in his heart whether there were any omissions. However, although the cell boss is a good gambler, he does a good job of these things. After confirming that there were no obvious contradictions or omissions in the confession, Li Yanzhi handed the confession back to Xin Yan's desk with a shocked face, and said in disbelief: "There is such a thing? If it is true as these criminals confessed, it is inevitable that the thieves will be taken prisoner and committed crimes. The Ming Mansion and I should have dealt with it as soon as possible. ”

"At the moment, Han Governor and the thief Liu Yin are holding each other in Woganling. Our troops are twice as strong as the thieves, how can the thieves invade the north? Although Xin Yan was shocked that the thieves openly sent spies out of the state, he felt that Li Yanzhi's statement about the thieves and the northern criminals was alarmist.

"Han supervised the people of Longxi before the Ministry moved to Longxi. In the process of relocating the people, there were many looting and killings, causing the displaced people to be bewitched by spies and attack our soldiers. From this point of view, it has lost the hearts of the people. In addition, the supervision and protection of the use of troops are more than enough and not enterprising. At this moment, the overseer force is twice as large as the thief, but he is still holding on to the thief in Woganling, and does not seek to advance quickly. ”

Li Yanzhi took out a sketch of Longxi from his arms, and then put it on Xin Yan's desk: "Please see in the Ming Mansion, our department is based on Jincheng, and it is more than 50 miles away from Woganling. And the thieves are based on Di Dao, and they are only a dozen miles away from Woganling. If the overseer asks for victory, he should quickly defeat the enemy in front of him, and then take Di Dao, then most of Longxi can be determined. ”

Seeing that Xin Yan could listen attentively, Li Yanzhi changed his words: "However, the supervision and protection of the Woganling Ridge are holding each other, the supply distance of grain, grass and ordnance is farther than that of the captives, and the military strength is twice that of the captives, which adds to the disadvantage!" Only fast progress can win. In such a stalemate, it is already an invincible game! ”

Hearing that Li Yanzhi said so seriously, Xin Yan also frowned: "However, at the moment, the supervision and others are still ahead. Our county still must receive its grain, grass and ordnance. In this way, how is it good? ”

"Mingfu doesn't have to worry." Li Yanzhi said with a calm expression: "In the future, if you transfer grain, grass and ordnance, you must leave a margin for this county." Then we will receive the army. I am waiting for a county, the land is few and sparsely populated, presumably the Ming Duke and the Fujun will not embarrass us. In the camp, I have hoarded 8,000 stones of grain and grass, enough for 3,000 soldiers to spend half a year! If the war ahead is unfavorable, we can go to the aid and retreat to protect the whole county. Even if the situation is really too corrupt to be contained, we can move forward and retreat freely. ”

"However, if the situation really comes to that point, please also ask the Ming government to move to the county government with the county households and the government's grain stockpile, so as to preserve it. I brought my own lieutenant general and defended the county seat. ”

"Sima has a strategy in his chest, but I am far behind. I hope everything goes well in this battle......" Xin Yan listened to Li Yanzhi's analysis, and suddenly felt a deep pain in his heart. He didn't feel sorry for Han Pu. It's just that now in the army led by Han Pu, there is also his own close relative, Uncle Xin Yan. If the army is defeated, Xin Yan may not be able to escape the blame.

"It's just that Sima thinks, how should these criminals be handled?" Xin Yan picked up the stack of confessions on the table again, and looked at Li Yanzhi with some hesitation.

"The Ming government will definitely make its own decision on this matter." Li Yanzhi hugged his fists and bowed, extremely respectful: "The cold and martial artists only know how to lead the troops." This kind of civil affairs will decide the life and death of ten people, and he will not dare to put his beak ......"

"The thief is still pitiful. However, instigating the livelihood of the displaced people to cause chaos, and they will never be spared! Xin Yan slapped the stack of confessions on several cases, and got up angrily: "I will immediately write an official letter and report it to the county government." These ten people are immediately killed! ”

"Mingfu is decided, and I admire it to the extreme!" Li Yanzhi quietly arched the fire at Xin Yan, and secretly rejoiced in his heart. With Xin Yan's decision, the fate of these ten people has also been sealed.

Three days later, when the sentinels who had gone to Longxi to reconnoiter returned to the county seat, they first saw more than a dozen bloody human heads hanging at the city gate. Surprised, the sentinels urged their horses into the camp. Cui Yang, who led the way, went to Li Yanzhi's house to report to him. What I saw was a huge sand table placed in Li Sima's house.

On the sand table, from the county on the north bank of the river to the Di Dao, which is heavily guarded by thieves, it is vividly displayed on it. Li Yanzhi ordered the left and right guards to go to the front and back of the house in the camp to shovel a lot of moss, and at this time they were concentrating on covering the moss on the dirt mountain piled up in the sand table. Cui Yang couldn't help but be stunned, and after a long time, he came back to his senses at Li Yanzhi's call.

Cui Yang handed over the results of this sentry to Li Yanzhi. Li Yanzhi took the stack of simple drawings he had drawn, and then instructed the guards on the side to repair this sand table, and after more than half an hour of busy work, this sand table was preliminarily finalized.

Cui Yang is still carefully studying this sand table, in his cognition, he has never seen such a visual means to show the battlefield. In the past, when he rode with a map sentry, he always suffered from the fact that the information that the map could display was not intuitive and extremely limited. At this time, seeing the big sand table that Li Sima had piled up, he felt that he had opened his eyes.

When Li Yanzhi saw that the sand table had been completed, he took a small flag painted red and blue from the side, and according to the results of Cui Yang's reconnaissance post, he planted them on the sand table and the positions occupied by the enemy and us. The red color represents the Liangzhou army. The blue color represents Zhao Jun. Immediately, the situation of the entire battlefield was clear at a glance in the sky overlooking several people.

"What's the Overseer doing lately?" Li Yanzhi looked at the sand table and asked Cui Yangdao.

"The overseer still ordered the armies to form a stronghold, and there was no movement." Cui Yang looked at the sand table and said in a deep voice.

"What about the thieves? Liu Yin has ever stormed the villages? Li Yanzhi frowned and asked again.

"At the beginning of the village, Liu Yin took advantage of the unstable foothold of our army and led his troops to attack several times. However, they were all repulsed by our troops. At this point, there was no movement. but dwelling under the Wagan Ridge, holding on to the superintendent. ”

"It's broken!" Li Yanzhi held a bamboo pole in his hand and pointed to a small road that winds on the sand table and leads directly to the back of Woganling: "If the army is short of food, and the thieves send light cavalry around this road to attack our grain road, the army will be defeated in an instant!" ”

As soon as the voice fell, the room was shocked!