The next day, Pang Yue went to the Longjiagou Iron Works again to inspect the production there. According to Long Wenzhou www.biquge.info, who has just been appointed as the director of the iron plant (Pang Yue's own position), if the iron plant is running at full capacity, it can produce more than 30,000 catties of wrought iron every month. Hearing this figure, Pang Yue was greatly relieved, at least the raw materials for the Ordnance Bureau did not have to worry. Although it is necessary to purchase coke for ironmaking separately, I don't know how much more cost-effective it is compared to buying iron directly.

After condolences to the miners and craftsmen as usual and paid the rewards on the spot, Pang Yue explained that Long Wenzhou usually had to be responsible for the affairs of the iron factory, sympathize with the workers and technicians, etc., and said that he would come to inspect from time to time, and once he found any problems, he would first ask him. In the face of Pang Yue's advice, Long Wenzhou did not promise.

Both the iron factory and the ordnance bureau began to get on the right track, which was undoubtedly a major breakthrough for the development of Ganzhou Town, and Pang Yue was also relieved, and he no longer had to ask his grandfather and grandmother to ask the imperial court for ordnance in the future. However, he also knew that the reason why things were developing so smoothly was mainly due to Ganzhou's superior geographical location and some previous foundations, and he was just integrating these advantages. In any case, it is a remarkable step forward to move from relying on appropriation to producing ordnance independently.

Seeing that the production system had been gradually improved, Pang Yue continued to focus on the training of the army. It's been half a month since I started training. With this period of running-in, and through the leading and exemplary role of Pang Yue and other Ganzhou town generals, the soldiers have gradually adapted to the training plan. But Pang Yue didn't seem to be very satisfied with this, and increased the difficulty and intensity of training on the original basis. For example, let soldiers stand still and train in the heavy rain, change the five-kilometer light cross-country into a weight-bearing cross-country, conduct emergency gatherings at night from time to time, conduct long-distance training every five days, and so on. Under such a training intensity, almost all the soldiers were miserable, and there were even a very small number of soldiers with poor physique who fell on the training ground and never woke up. In the face of this situation, Pang Yue still did not lower his standards, but did his best to keep the soldiers well fed, and counted the soldiers who died unexpectedly during training as martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country, and distributed pensions to their families.

The reason why Pang Yue did this was not because he was ruthless and unkind, but because he understood that the foundation of the army under his command was relatively thin, and only after rigorous training could it form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, otherwise, it would be too late when Jiannu went south again next year. Fortunately, Pang Yue's food standards for the soldiers are also very high, not only three meals a day, but also a meal of meat every few days, and the oil in the dishes he usually eats is also very sufficient. As a result, although the intensity of the training was great, almost no soldiers complained of being hungry. After the training standards were raised, Pang Yue and the generals of Ganzhou Town still trained with the soldiers from time to time as before, so the military morale of the whole town did not fluctuate greatly.

Time passed day by day, and by the beginning of September, the officers and men of the entire Ganzhou town had undergone marked changes in both physical strength and mental outlook. Especially those recruits, the original absent-minded eyes have vaguely revealed firmness, and their slightly vegetable faces have gradually turned red, and every move during training shows an explosive force. Regarding this scene, Pang Yue was naturally happy in his eyes. In addition, some events in the original history did not happen, Huang Daozhou, who was supposed to lead his troops north at the end of July, is still in Fuzhou to help Emperor Longwu deal with the Zheng brothers' dominance, and Emperor Longwu did not mention the Northern Expedition again for the time being under the persuasion of Zhu Dadian and others.

Still, some things happened according to the original trajectory. On the sixth day of the ninth month, the news that the soldiers and civilians of Jiangyin swore to die and that the whole city was killed reached Ganzhou. Hearing the tragedy of "only 53 people left in size", all the officers and soldiers of Ganzhou Town were shocked, and then they were full of anger, and many officers and soldiers rushed to the superior commander to ask for battle, and even some young officers and soldiers who were strong and strong bit their fingers and wrote a bloody letter asking for war. Pang Yue, who was the chief soldier of Ganzhou Town, silently locked himself in the study, did not eat or drink, and knelt all night facing the north. The next morning, Zhou Tianzheng, who entered the study to tidy up, found that there was a pair of words on the back of the paper on the bookcase, and when he looked at the handwriting carefully, it was "Eighty days with allegiance, a figure of the seventeenth dynasty of Taizu; 60,000 people died with one heart and left 300 miles of rivers and mountains in the Ming Dynasty! ”…,

Thinking of Pang Yue's eyes as mad as a hungry wolf when he walked out of the study, Zhou Tianzheng let out a sigh of emotion: It seems that the adults are really angry this time!

*********

On the morning of the tenth day of September, on a road to the south outside the city of Ganzhou.

A carriage was hurrying forward, and several horsemen on horseback were constantly whipping their mounts below, and everywhere the group went, smoke and dust were stirred up everywhere they went. The person sitting in the carriage was none other than Qian Lu, the prefect of Ganzhou. This morning, after receiving an urgent official letter, his face suddenly changed greatly, and he hurriedly went to the Yamen of the General Soldier of Ganzhou Town to discuss with Pang Yue, but was told that Pang Yue had gone to the school outside the city to supervise the training, and he would not be able to return to the city until the evening. But Qian Lu didn't seem to be able to wait for a moment, and immediately prepared a car to go to the school field outside the city in Ganzhou Town.

When Qian Lu and his entourage were still about a mile away from the school ground, they had faintly heard the sound of shouting and killing. Listening to the uniform and imposing voice, Qian Lu's heart calmed down a little, and asked the coachman to continue to speed up. Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the gate of the school, Qian Lu was stopped by the soldiers on duty, and this time, his four-grade civil official uniform and black gauze hat did not play a role. In desperation, Qian Lu had no choice but to let the soldiers go in to inform Pang Yue, saying that he had something important to discuss.

"My lord, Lord Qian, the prefect of Ganzhou, is here." Just as Pang Yue was guiding the training of the Bird Gun Team that had not been in the army for a long time, Wei Yuan came to his side and said.

"Oh? Then please go to the rest area and wait first, and I'll go over in a while. Pang Yue said without thinking, although he didn't know Qian Lu's intention, but when he saw the prefect come in person, he knew that something big must happen.

After a while, Pang Yue came to the rest area next to the gate. Qian Lu, who was waiting there, said eagerly as soon as he saw Pang Yue: "Huge man, Xiaguan has finally found you!" ”

"What's wrong with being born, Lord Qian? Don't rush, just sit down and talk slowly. Pang Yue comforted.

"This morning, Xiaguan received an urgent official letter from the county order of Chengfeng County, and the day before yesterday, more than 1,000 thieves ransacked Chengfeng County!" Qian Lu's tone was full of anxiety.

"What?" Pang Yue was also shocked when he heard this, "Where did this thief come from?" ”

Qian Lu sighed: "It's a gang of thieves nearby, occupying the mountains and forming villages, robbing and killing the people and merchants in the past, and it has been a long time. And the local guard station is erosive, and many times of raiding and suppressing have been fruitless, and this matter has always been a problem for the lower officials. Unexpectedly, this gang of thieves has recently made an inch, and they dare to invade the county town to rob and kill the people, which is really mad! ”

Pang Yue nodded: "This kind of thief is really hateful!" Mr. Qian, is there anything I need to do? ”

Qian Lu said: "Huge people know clearly, now this gang of thieves has reached the point where they must be exterminated. But the lower officials didn't have enough strength to go to the attack, so they had to come to the huge people for help. ”

Although the main enemy of the Chinese nation is Jiannu at present, Pang Yue also hates this kind of scum who harms one party, and the current situation is unstable, and these unstable factors should be eliminated as soon as possible. Thinking of this, Pang Yue immediately agreed: "Please rest assured, Lord Qian, this matter will be left to me, if nothing happens, my Ganzhou Town will send troops to eradicate this tumor within these two days." ”

"Then the lower officials will replace the people of Li in Ganzhou Mansion and thank the huge people here!" Qian Lu stood up and gave Pang Yue a deep squeeze.

Pang Yue hurriedly helped Qian Lu up: "Lord Qian, this can't be helped. We are originally the officials and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and it is our duty to protect the territory and the people, eliminate violence, and be safe, so why should Lord Qian be so polite? ”

Qian Lu continued: "Xia Guan is a literati, and he has no power to restrain the chicken, and he can't help much. However, the grain and grass needed for Ganzhou Town's troops to attack this time were all on the lower officials! ”…,

"In this way, there will be a labor-sama!" Pang Yue is no longer polite.

*********

In the afternoon, Pang Yue summoned Zhang Yunli and the battalion officers to discuss the matter of sending troops to Chengfeng County to exterminate the thieves. Zhang Yunli and the battalion officers of all battalions all agreed with the dispatch of troops, after all, the bad behavior of that gang of thieves had already aroused the anger of the heavens and people, and besides, the training for more than a month had already made everyone hold back their strength and have nowhere to go, and now that they have such a good opportunity to vent, how can they miss it?

Pang Yue also saw this dispatch as an opportunity, an excellent opportunity to train troops and expand the influence of Ganzhou Town. Since the establishment of Ganzhou Town, it has been more than a month since the new and old soldiers were mixed for training, and although on the surface they have already looked decent, it is still unknown what their combat effectiveness will be. Then, this time to exterminate the thieves can be tested, and at the same time, it can also allow the recruits to see the blood and increase some actual combat experience, so as not to be at a loss when facing Jiannu in the future. In addition, if this gang of thieves who are harmful to one side can be eliminated, the influence of Ganzhou Town will inevitably increase greatly, and it will be able to gain more support from the people, and it will not be difficult to recruit soldiers.

After quickly finalizing the dispatch of troops, Pang Yue discussed the specific details with several subordinates. At present, there are more than 4,000 soldiers in Ganzhou Town, and the weapons and armor can be matched, including more than 700 cavalry and more than 400 birdmen. Not long ago, Pang Yue also asked Kang Dingen to lead people to repair the four exterminating cannons in the Acropolis arsenal, and found twenty or thirty guards who could operate the cannons from the military households of Ganzhou Wei to form an artillery team. With such strength, it should be no problem to deal with one or two thousand thieves who belong to the rabble. Although the recruits in Ganzhou Town accounted for more than half, Pang Yue was not too worried, if he couldn't even win the bandits, he would go directly to hang himself when he faced Jiannu in the future.

After fully analyzing the various materials and latest information about Chengfeng County sent by Qian Lu, Pang Yue decided that the Taishan battalion would stay in Ganzhou, and the other three battalions would all be dispatched, and he and his subordinates formulated a preliminary battle plan. Then, everyone started to get busy according to the assigned tasks at hand.