Chen Xin visited Chengshan and Jinghai Liangwei again in February, and set up a relationship, because he was from Weihaiwei, and Wendeng Sanwei was originally relatively close, so the relationship was also very good, and Zhang Tongzhi of Chengshanwei also suppressed bandits together, and he was even more familiar.

There are many good harbors in Chengshan and Jinghai, and there will always be useful places in the future, and the other is the bandits in their place, Chen Xin also has to test it to see if it has anything to do with them, many officials and soldiers are a little involved with the bandits, helping to sell stolen goods and provide information, etc., which has some benefits, so Chen Xin also has to ask clearly, so as not to be suppressed and offend people for no reason.

At the beginning of March, he returned to the Wendeng camp, the outside of the Wendeng camp has changed greatly, full of all kinds of shacks, groups of farmers under the leadership of the first chief digging canals to make irrigation wells, there is no school here, the first batch of teachers trained by Liu Minyou have not yet graduated, the children are playing in the shack area, Liu Minyou is not here, the older ones are not let go by Chen Xin, he asked Xu Yuanhua to organize to work.

The 20,000 acres of land occupied were sown last year, 3,000 acres were sown, and the rest was also turned over at the beginning of winter, and spring wheat could be sown in March.

After the beginning of spring, some displaced people came to the Wendeng camp one after another, and the number of selected villagers reached more than 500 people, and the queue and some weapons were practiced, and the combined machine guns could produce 70 pieces per month, and the replaced bird guns were given to the villagers to use, and Zhu Daichun's training team had no new recruits, and the training of veterans was carried out by the bureaus themselves, and only the training plan was reported, and they were responsible for inspection and supervision.

Chen Xin attached great importance to the invisible army of Xiangyong, returned to the Wendeng camp to inspect the soldiers first, and according to Zhu Guobin's intelligence, arranged a plan to suppress bandits in March, and a few days later summoned Xu Yuanhua, Zhu Daichun, and Dong Yu to discuss Xiangyong.

"My lord, among the more than 500 township warriors selected, there are only 180 people who are suitable to be killers, and the others can only be firearms hands." Zhu Daichun handed over a piece of paper, on which some statistics were written crookedly.

Chen Xin took a look at it, there were three hundred and eighty people written on the back of the musket practice, and more than one hundred and eighty people in other cold weapons, these were his reserve soldiers, and they were trained once every three days, which was also much more practiced than the ordinary Ming army, and it could be used directly at a critical moment. Coupled with the purchase of a few hundred more people from the Dongjiang River, the total number is about 2,000, plus a hundred cavalry and a small amount of baggage, which is the maximum force he can deal with this year's Houjin, with nearly 1,000 village warriors.

The annual military expenditure of the 2,000 infantry team is 60,000 or 70,000 taels, and if the sea trade comes back earlier, there is no problem in raising more, but if it is too much, I am afraid that it will be participated in if it is taken out. In addition, he has to keep developing new business networks, producing and selling new products, and increasing new sources of income to make himself more financially stable.

After thinking about it, he said to Dong Yu: "These people's monthly salaries are all increased to five yuan, and they practice once every two days, Xu Yuanhua, you should make some steps on your side and arrange them to do farm work as little as possible." ”

Xu Yuanhua was originally dissatisfied with these people being often transferred, and he had quarreled with Zhu Daichun many times, and arranged a lot of work for these people when they were not training, which made them lose strength when they trained. But as soon as Chen Xin spoke, he couldn't, so he had to agree.

Zhu Daichun glanced at Xu Yuanhua with some smugness, and asked Chen Xindao: "My lord, are those three hundred and eighty people all practicing muskets?" ”

Chen Xindao: "I am all accustomed to muskets, and I almost drew 180 people, and I matched the more than 100 killers to form a preparatory bureau." The better ones are added to the Sentinels. Is the detachment full of turtledoves deployed? "Chen Xin's firearms team no longer uses turtledoves, and the original soldiers who use turtledoves are all drawn out, and then some people are selected from the second batch of recruits and village warriors, all of whom use turtledoves, a total of 200 people, divided into two separate games, 50 people and a flag team, and a captain for every 10 people.

Zhu Daichun asked: "My lord, they have all been drawn out, but there are two hundred people to make up, and the turtledove is not enough." ”

Chen Xin asked Dong Yudao: "Dong Yu, how many turtledoves are there now?" ”

Dong Yu hurriedly opened his booklet and read it for a while before saying, "There are only one hundred and fifty in the warehouse." ”

Chen Xin calculated and ordered: "You can order another hundred with the workshop, and distribute them to these two bureaus." He turned his head and said to Zhu Daichun: "If it's not enough, use the original bird gun to practice." ”

"Yes, my lord, are they the same as the firearms corps?"

"The flag is in the same style, and I'll think about it again." Chen Xin has not decided for the time being, these two pure firearms bureaus are ready to be used as detachments in a certain place on the battle line, and the Baihui will have greater autonomy to command, and it is best not to have the same orders as the firearms team. At present, according to Qi Jiajun's trumpet drums, there are six or seven types in total, Chen Xin himself has been learning, but he is also quite a headache, the scale of fighting bandits is small, and there is not much time to use trumpets and drums, once a large-scale battle, he must use it, but learning this thing, even he feels a little difficult, not to mention those farmers who used to purely farm the land. The flags and drums are too complicated, and they are also an obstacle to the assembly line of the army.

Now for the time being, Chen Xin shook his head, "Their assessment is still based on shooting speed and action standards. Those who have reached the assessment level of the firearms team will receive a monthly salary of one or two. ”

Zhu Daichun then handed over a soldier training plan, Chen Xin took it, and Zhu Daichun explained on the side: "This is according to the request of the adults, the training plan for next month reported by the commanders of each team, and a dagger practice has been added. ”

The dagger is Chen Xin's new equipment for all soldiers, one for each person, many uses, the dagger's lethality is far beyond the knife slash, the effect is fast, the stopping effect is very good, and it is necessary to add a dagger that does not hinder the hands and feet as a hand-to-hand combat weapon. The musketeers were equipped with waist knives, and a waist knife training was added.

Chen Xin is not very clear about the training regulations now, he is busy with affairs, and he is no longer as professional as Zhu Daichun, so he read it hastily, and then returned it to Zhu Daichun and encouraged him a few words.

Then Dong Yu handed over this month's military salary table, Chen Xin also hurriedly read it, signed his name, now that there is a quartermaster, Chen Xin's own work is easier, the monthly salary distribution, the order of equipment are all handled by several quartermasters.

Xu Yuanhua was then about to report on the progress of Tuntian, when the door suddenly rang a few times, and Nie Hong came in and said in Chen Xin's ear: "My lord, Mr. Liu sent a letter here, Weihai caught a few people from Dongjiang Town, who came from Fuhai, and Mr. Song, they are back, Mashan is going to sea, Mr. Liu said that you had better go." ”

Chen Xin didn't care much about Tuntian, and hurriedly asked Xu Yuanhua a few words, and then asked Nie Hongdao: "Can you float to the sea so far?" ”

"I just froze and stole the boat out."

"Which island?"

"Dachangshan Island. The rest of the subordinates are also unclear. ”

Chen Xin really wants to stay in the barracks and practice well with the army, this army is his capital, and he can't hand it over to others to command and manage, there will be a big war this year, and he must also learn, he even wants to practice his sword skills and physical fitness, he may be able to save his life on the battlefield, Li Guozhu gave him a Shangku knife last year, and he has not taken it out to practice.

But the matter of Dongjiang is also very important, and Song Wenxian is leaving, so he should send it off. In desperation, he had to set off to Mazidun again, his riding skills improved, and several guards were on two horses, and he arrived at the dunbao that night.

When I arrived at Mazidun, I saw Liu Minyou and Song Wenxian and others who rushed to hear the news, and after a few words of greeting, I asked about the people of Dongjiang, and the scar was also there, and the defense of the harbor was in charge of the sailor, but he was short of manpower recently, so he borrowed a killer team to guard the port, and by the way, he took Chen Xin and others to a barracks in many places of the sailor.

There were more than a dozen skinny people inside, snuggling up to each other, numbly looking at Chen Xin and the others who came in at the door, men, women and children, all wearing the mandarin duck jackets of Chen Xin's army, so they looked better than ordinary homeless people.

Scar said beside him: "My lord, when they first arrived, they were disheveled, and many of them didn't have pants, so the lower official asked Mr. Liu for the military quartermaster he borrowed." ”

Chen Xin didn't care about these little things, nodded and asked him, "Who among them is the leader?" I brought it to the office and saw it. ”

Scar responded, Chen Xin took Song Wenxian and Liu Minyou to the official room first, and Nie Hong and another guard stood behind him, and after a while, Scar brought in a middle-aged person, this person has a simple face, thick joints in his hands and feet, and at first glance he is a person who has worked for a long time. But there is a kind of indifference between Gu Pan, forming a strange temperament.

Chen Xin looked at him carefully and asked, "Since you are from Dongjiang, why did you escape?" ”

The man said indifferently: "Adult, the small one is no longer a person, the island is beginning to eat people, and the small ones have also eaten, if it weren't for these neighbors, the villain would not want to live for a long time." ”

Liu Min heard the word cannibalism, moved slightly, put his hand on his lap, and put it on the table after a while, he had heard people say that it was not uncommon for Shaanxi and Henan to eat people, but there was really a living example in front of him, he still felt very disgusting.

Song Wenxian listened with a smile and asked, "Aren't you not frozen?" How can people send food, they want to come and have it after a while, so why run out. ”

Chen Xin knew that he was going to talk to him, so he listened quietly, and the man really said again: "My lord, our Changshan Island is not a Phi Island, it freezes early, and it can also dock in February. On the island of the first month, there was no food, and there were not many fish to catch in winter, so they had to endure hardship, and the island was not like the original shore, and the famine could still go out to beg for food, and at the end of the month, many people starved to death, and others began to eat people who died of hunger. It's already March now, and if you don't have enough to eat, you eat women. ”

Song Wenxian knew this very well, not only the military rations in Dengzhou, but even the merchants were not allowed to go to the Dongjiang River, and the sailors were inspecting, so naturally there would be no ships going over.

Chen Xin remained silent, since Changshan is like this, then the other islands in Dongjiang Town should be the same. He kindly continued, "Then where did you find the ship to go to sea?" Do you know that you are a deserter? ”

The man's voice still had no emotion at all: "Adult, the villain is a fisherman, there are also some fishing boats on the island, the villain doesn't want those neighbors back then to be eaten, so he took them to steal the boat and go to sea at night, the villain is a deserter, if you want to kill or chop up, follow the adult, those neighbors are not soldiers, it is a big fate to live here." I just ask the adults to let them live. ”

Saying that, he knelt down and looked at Chen Xin, Chen Xin didn't intend to kill him, but this person was a deserter, although there was a good reason, he was still worried that this person was a soldier.

However, there are some problems with the soldiers in Dongjiang, there are more than 1,000 people now, and a unique system has been formed, all of them are under the management of separate functions, and there is no set of things like family members.

"Have you ever beaten a Tartar?"

"I have fought, the villain went ashore seven or eight times a year, and he also went to Shenyang with Mao Shuai, and he also killed a Tartar in Zhenjiang the year before last."

"Oh." Chen Xin is also faint, but he already has some interest in this person, there are people who have killed Tartars, and organizing several appearances in the army can greatly reduce the fear of soldiers.

"What weapons do you have?"

"What is the use of the villain, he likes spears and sledgehammers the most. Bows and arrows can also be shot. ”

Since it is the first one, it should be an example to set, Chen Xin still tested it first, and said kindly: "If I let you go, what are your plans?" ”

There was a kind of confusion in the man's eyes, he used to fish at home, and then fled to Dongjiang to serve as a soldier, if he really let him go, he really didn't know what to do.

After thinking for a long time, he said, "Go and ask for food." ”

Chen Xin shook his head and smiled: "It's honest, then would you like to do farm work in my dungeon?" ”

The man's blank eyes looked at the guard standing straight behind Chen Xin, the guard was wearing a red training uniform, very energetic, the man's eyes suddenly had some brilliance, he kowtowed and said: "The villain doesn't want to do farm work, the villain and Jiannu have a deep enmity like the sea, and he lives only to kill Jiannu, as long as the adult wants to kill the Tartar, the villain wants to be a soldier for the adult." ”

"Why?"

"I don't know why, I've seen the adults' soldiers these days, and they're just what I want to do."

Chen Xin looked at his appearance, at least thirty years old, he turned his head and asked the guard beside Nie Hong, "Liu Pojun, you turned out to be a military commander, what kind of soldier is he suitable for?" ”

Liu Pojun is a Liaomin coolie bought from Dengzhou, he likes to practice martial arts since he was a child, and he has also learned some words, but he can't hand over the silver, and was arrested by Yang Guodong as a coolie, Chen Xin sent people to buy and sell people, and he was promoted to the commander of the army when he suppressed the bandits, and was injured after he arrived at the Wendeng camp, and after he recovered from the injury, because he was literate and had combat experience, he was taken by Chen Xin and prepared to be trained as a staff officer.

Because they are all Liaomin, he listened to the familiar accent, and had a sense of closeness to the honest middle-aged man in front of him, thought about it carefully, and said to Chen Xin: "My lord, it's okay to be a spearman, I wish the instructor said that the spearman written by Ji Xiaoxin should be a strong and courageous person around thirty years old." ”

Liu Min looked at the slightly thin appearance of the man on the ground, and said with some doubts: "He is already thin and weak, how can he be considered strong." ”

The Dongjiang soldier explained in a low voice: "The villain is hungry and thin without food, and the villain was originally a strong man. The really thin ones have starved to death, or they have been eaten. ”

Chen Xin pretended to hesitate slightly, and Song Wenxian laughed and said: "Since you have killed the Tartars, even if you are thinner, this murderous aura can be replenished." Seeing that his hands and feet are thick, his foundation should be very good, and he eats meat every day with the soldiers, and he will be a strong man for two months at most. ”

The man glanced at Song Wenxian gratefully, and Chen Xin finally nodded, as a model project of the Dongjiang River, this person must also be left: "Okay, you will return to Wendeng camp with me and train with Xiangyong." If you can pass the assessment, I will let you be my soldier and keep you with Tartar to kill. What is your name? ”

The man's voice had some emotion for a while, and he trembled slightly: "The villain's name is Li Yonghua, and the neighbors all call me Li Laosan." ”