After more than a day of intense preparations, Ganzhou Town completed all the pre-war matters, all weapons and armor were distributed to individuals, a large number of fixed gunpowder for the use of bird guns was sent to the camp by the Ordnance Bureau, and Qian Lu also sent the first batch of grain and grass raised. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The day before departure, the Birdmen conducted another afternoon of three-stage drilling, and all four guns were test-fired.

Although the morale of the officers and men was good, Pang Yue still summoned each battalion for pre-war mobilization as before, and the Gangfeng battalion was the first to receive the lecture.

"Tell me, who are you?!" Pang Yue on the stage asked this sentence again.

"Daming Ganzhou Army!!" Nearly 2,000 officers and soldiers in the audience said in unison, and a tsunami-like sound suddenly sounded and then quickly receded, moving and still only in an instant.

After training for so long, it's finally a little bit of a look! Pang Yue sighed secretly and continued: "I know that many of you are complaining that training is boring and boring, thinking that you have almost trained enough. All right! Now is your chance! A few days ago, a large group of thieves ransacked Chengfeng County in broad daylight, and countless innocent people were slaughtered! As the official army of the Ming Dynasty, what should you do?! Can we let those scum who are angry with everyone and God continue to go unpunished? Can you watch more people's wives and wives scattered? Answer me, can you?! ”

"Can't!!" The shouts of nearly 2,000 people converged into a huge wave that shook the earth.

"Good!" Pang Yue nodded with satisfaction, "I believe that none of you want your family members to be innocently killed and your property to be taken away by thieves!" This is human nature! However, those thieves do not think so, for the sake of their own selfish interests, they regard other people's lives as a mustard and the law of the land as nothing, which is really an unforgivable sin! Since you all think that you have trained well, then when the time comes, please show your true skills, completely eradicate the scum who are the victims, and play the prestige of our Ganzhou Town! Can you do it?! ”

"Yes!!" Another tsunami-like wave swooped in.

"What is the slogan of our Ganzhou town?!"

"Use me in the first battle, use me to win!!"

After a short period of pre-war mobilization, the morale of the officers and men, who were already eager to try, rose to a new level. That night, the night training was canceled, and the officers and men began to recharge their batteries after dinner, or silently wiped their weapons in the barracks, waiting for the next day to leave for Chengfeng County to start the first battle since the establishment of Ganzhou Town.

On the morning of September 12, under the curious eyes of the people of Ganzhou Town, and under the expectation of Qian Lu and other local officials, more than 4,000 soldiers from the Feihu Battalion, the Trap Camp, and the Gangfeng Battalion in Ganzhou Town slowly marched out of the city from the south gate in a neat queue and embarked on the journey. Zhang Yunli and Shi Lang

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After the long journey began, the effect of the hard training of the officers and soldiers of Ganzhou Town immediately appeared. Although it was a rapid march, the officers and men still maintained a relatively tight formation, and not a single person was left behind. By noon on the 13th, the cavalry of the Flying Tiger Battalion had arrived at Chengfeng County.

After entering the city, I saw that the whole city was in a mess, traces of burning could be seen everywhere, and many people hung white flags in their homes, and in the face of such a tragic scene, Shi Youliang and the officers and soldiers of the Flying Tiger Battalion gritted their teeth with hatred. However, limited to Pang Yue's military order, Shi Youliang did not act without authorization, but entered the city to appease the people and gentry, and sent several scout teams to the county town to guard and wait for the arrival of the main force led by Pang Yue. The people of Chengfeng County, who had just suffered a great disaster a few days ago, were frightened at first when they saw the arrival of the Flying Tiger Battalion, but when they found that this official army was strictly disciplined and had not committed any crimes, they stepped forward one after another to denounce the crimes of the thieves with tears in their eyes. As a result, the desire of the officers and men to seek war has become somewhat stronger. …,

In the evening, Pang Yue led the follow-up main force to Chengfeng County, and after entering the city, he met You Zhengxin, the county commander of Chengfeng County, in the chaotic county ya.

This You Zhengxin is about fifty years old, with a thin figure, and at this time his face is haggard, his hair is scattered, and he looks even older. When he saw Pang Yue coming, he hurriedly stepped forward and shook it to the end, with both sadness and excitement in his tone: "The lower official has seen Pang Zongbing!" The people of Chengfeng County are looking forward to the imperial army like a long drought and looking forward to Ganlin, and they finally look forward to you! ”

Pang Yue helped You Zhengxin up and comforted: "Lord You don't worry. This time, the army of our town will definitely exterminate all the thieves and robbers, and return the people nearby to a peaceful place, and if they do not achieve their goal, they will never withdraw their troops. By the way, where is Cao Qianhu (Chengfeng Qianhu Cao Yong)? ”

You Zhengxin's eyes dimmed a little more: "When the thieves invaded the county a few days ago, Cao Qianhu had already died in battle with dozens of his subordinates. ”

Hearing this news, Pang Yue's heart also sank. In the final analysis, the main reason for this situation is the corruption of the guards. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the officers of the guards in various places did almost everything for their own selfish interests, eating empty quotas, swallowing military fields, and turning the guards into their own tenant farmers. In the long run, the military households, who were supposed to shoulder the responsibility of protecting their homes and defending the country, completely degenerated into a group of peasants who could only farm the land, and could not help but have a serious shortage of personnel, let alone combat effectiveness, and the only people who had some combat effectiveness were just some family members recruited by the officers in order to protect themselves. Otherwise, with the strength of Chengfeng Qianhu's troops, even if he can't win the thief, he won't even be able to defend the county seat.

But Pang Yue already knew that this kind of problem was not something he could solve at present, and now he still tried his best to exterminate the gang of thieves in front of him, so he asked You Zhengxin again: "Where did this gang of thieves come from?" How many people are there? How dare you attack the county seat in broad daylight? ”

You Zhengxin said: "This gang of thieves is entrenched in Jiulong Mountain in the southwest of the county and at the junction of Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces. This thief is scheming, and good at the art of trapping, so in less than a few years, he pulled up a team of thousands of thieves, and occupied a key place on Jiulong Mountain to build a camp. In recent years, this thief has taken advantage of the opportunity of most of the officials and troops of Jiangxi Province being transferred to the north to expand their strength and annex several nearby bandits, and now there are no less than 3,000 minions under his command, and most of them are outlaws. Because the nearby guards and village soldiers were embarrassed to fight, this gang of thieves had the courage and arrogance, not only in their own county, but also in nearby counties. ”

"I see! However, Lord You doesn't have to worry, in the past, the emptiness of Gannan's defense would make this gang of bandits rampant for a while," Pang Yue's tone was full of confidence, "In the future, this town will never let this happen again!" ”

"With Mr. Pang's words, then the lower officials will be much more relieved!" You Zhengxin bowed his hand respectfully, but he still had no bottom in his heart. Because he had long heard that most of the recruits in the army under this Pang Zongbing had only been trained for more than a month after recruitment. What will happen to such an army in the face of thousands of ruthless thieves? Anyway, You Zhengxin felt a little hanging.

Pang Yue also saw the confusion on You Zhengxin's face, but he didn't break it, but continued: "Since Cao Qianhu has been martyred, where are the deputy Qianhu and all the hundred households?" ”

"Xia Guan hasn't seen them for two or three days," When he said this, You Zhengxin himself felt a little ashamed, "If the adults want to see them, then Xia Guan will immediately send someone to find them." ”

Pang Yue suddenly cried and laughed: "Okay then!" Please send more people to look for it, this town needs to know something from them as soon as possible. ”

However, before You Zhengxin sent a team to find people to set off, Wu Shenglong, a deputy thousand households who did not know where to hide in the ravine, and several hundred households rushed back to the county seat, and when they learned that the reinforcements had arrived, they naturally had nothing to fear. …,

"See the gigantic man!" In the same mess of the Thousand Households Official Hall, Wu Shilong and the Hundred Households saluted Pang Yue anxiously. In addition to Pang Yue's Dingwu Earl, the Jiangxi Dusi Commander Tongzhi and the Ganzhou General Army are not something they can underestimate, not to mention that the Chengfeng County was lost a few days ago, and they all have an unshirkable responsibility.

After looking at Wu Shilong and the others coldly for a long time, Pang Yue opened his mouth to break the atmosphere that was almost stagnant: "Lord Wu, when did the thieves break through Chengfeng County, and when did they leave?" ”

This is difficult for Wu Shenglong, he has been laying eyeliner around the county in the past two days, and it is precisely because of this that he learned the news of the arrival of the army in Ganzhou Town in time and rushed back, so he said respectfully: "If you go back to your lordship, the thief broke through the county seat on the eighth day of the first month, and left on the ninth day of the first month." ”

"So the thieves have been gone for four days?" Pang Yue said expressionlessly, "Then I want to know, why did Lord Wu only return to the city now?" ”

"Humble duty, humble duty...... Wu Shenglong couldn't say a reason for holding back for a long time, and the hundreds of households behind him also lowered their heads, silent. For them, this question is indeed a bit troublesome, and if they answer it truthfully, they will soon be held accountable, and they will not be able to make up a decent reason for making it up for a while.

However, fortunately, Pang Yue didn't embarrass them too much, and after scaring them into trembling, he began to ask them about some details when the thieves attacked the county that day, such as the number of thieves, combat effectiveness, how to succeed, and so on. Wu Shenglong and the others, who had long been frightened by Pang Yue, naturally did not dare to hide it, and came together like beans poured into a bamboo tube.

According to Wu Shenglong and others, the thieves first sent several groups of people disguised as civilians to enter the city, and then suddenly attacked, killed the soldiers guarding the gate and controlled the city gate, and then the thieves took the opportunity to attack the city. This gang of thieves totaled more than 1,000 and nearly 2,000 people, almost all of them were outlaws, and they were experienced, and after entering the city, they first attacked the yamen of Qianhu, and Qianhu Cao Yong and his team of family members were all killed in a hurry. After destroying the resistance of Chengfeng County, the thieves began to plunder the whole city, and did not leave the city until the afternoon of the next day with a large amount of looted property, grain, grass, weapons and armor. During this period, hundreds of people's homes were destroyed.

In addition, Pang Yue also learned a message from Wu Shenglong's mouth: the thief leader "Sui Tianlong" was born in the army, and he was an officer of a guard post in Guangdong.