In the eighteenth year of the emperor's reign, winter.

It snowed for days, and it became colder and colder on the dam. Every household in the city has already built a fire kang, purchased a dual-purpose iron stove with a chimney, made new curtains, and pasted new window paper. At the gates of various towns in Wuzhou, there are four-wheeled carriages carrying truckloads of charcoal into the charcoal fields in the city every day. Then the charcoal shops set up all over the streets moved truckloads of charcoal back to the charcoal shops on the streets from here and sold them to the soldiers and civilians who queued up to buy charcoal every day. Wealthy businessmen and officers and soldiers with better conditions directly buy honeycomb coal that has been pressed and processed in charcoal shops, while ordinary people directly buy charcoal and go back to process it into charcoal cakes. There are also some people who like to be thrifty, and they will invite those men who come from the border areas of Youzhou and Daizhou in Guannai to earn some money for the New Year and drink on the street to go home to make briquettes. Using the charcoal cores and charcoal powder bought at low prices from charcoal factories and charcoal shops, plus yellow mud and water, and using a large sieve, you can make very cheap briquettes.

With the fire pit and the coal, although the wind is still blowing and the cold wind is howling on the dam as in previous years, the people in the city are no longer cold. There is an endless supply of coal from the coal mines in the town of Takayama, and although the smell of charcoal is a little pungent, the stove with a chimney does not make the house smell unpleasant. On the contrary, with the charcoal and this stove and ondol, it is much more convenient to heat the house, boil water for cooking, and even cook at night. No matter how cold the night is, I don't feel cold anymore. The price of charcoal, which brings such convenience, is not expensive, and it is even much cheaper than ordinary charcoal. Such a cheap charcoal can be used by everyone.

The town of Takayama is located to the east of Huaihuang. Not far from the west of Yuyi Town, the coal mined by the Gaoshan Coal Factory in the territory today supplies the daily charcoal of the people of the entire Huaihuang Town, and also supplies the iron and steel yards of Xiwan Town to the east of Yuyi Town. The iron and steel yards in West Bay Town are well protected. Many people don't know what the real face of this walled yard in the valley is, and many people just think that it is a small iron factory. But in fact, this has long been the secret ordnance research and development base of Huaihuang, not a research base under the United Ordnance Workshop, but a secret ordnance research and development base that only belongs to the Huaihuang Army. Although for the time being, this ordnance research and development base has not yet researched any particularly sharp ordnance, but the ironmaking and steelmaking here are progressing rapidly, and the coke extracted from the alpine charcoal plant is progressing. It was continuously transported here, and a large number of crude iron ingots from the iron ore mine in Wild Fox Town were also transported here. Coke is used to further refine iron and even better steel.

Several iron-making furnaces and steel-making furnaces are hidden in the valley though. But now a lot of results have been achieved, and the iron and steel produced in trial production are better than in the past. However, the cost of iron and steel smelted in West Bay City is cheaper than that of ordinary iron-making methods, and the production speed is also higher. More efficient. In the town of Huangshan, to the south of Xiwan Town, several new windmill workshops have been built. A large number of craftsmen gathered here to study how to use wind power to drive heavier forging hammers, and use this heavier, faster and more stable wind forging hammer to create plate armor, horse chopping sabers, cavalry knives, arrows and other ordnance designed by Yi Feng.

From Huaihuang to Yuyi, from Wild Fox City to Huangshan Town, from Yancheng to Dushi Fort, the entire Huaihuang Dam not only has business and travel exchanges, but also prosperous trade. And in places that ordinary people can't see, mines, iron works, steel mills, forging mills, etc. are being built one after another. Among the warehouses in the towns. Steel, iron, and charcoal from all over the country were hoarded, as well as grain that merchants from all over the country brought from the Central Plains to exchange salt, wine, and sugar. After Huaihuang had a population of hundreds of thousands, not only did it not sit on the mountain, but became more and more stable.

Yi Feng is secretly stockpiling all kinds of critical war materials, and ordinary people are also stepping up their stockpiling of various winter materials when the cold winter comes.

Every day, I push the cart to the coal shop to buy coal, go to the grain store to buy grain, and go to the vegetable market to buy Chinese cabbage and radish for winter storage.

After Yi Feng swept the dam before, even if he didn't have much food in his hands, he didn't let people hoard land and cultivate grain. Even after the pacification of Qinshan, Yi Feng did not go to grow grain.

The dam is in a semi-arid area, but it does not mean that it cannot grow food, and as long as the canals and wells can be repaired on the river, lake, and even some flat places, it can also produce good results. But Yi Feng didn't go to grow grain, he arranged for people to reclaim the land in these areas that could be transformed into watered land, and finally planted all kinds of vegetables. Especially after autumn, most of the land is planted with Chinese cabbage and radish. Now that winter is coming, every day in the vegetable fields outside the city is harvesting cabbage and radishes, and then truckloads are transported into the city. The people of the city, with their household registers, received a corresponding amount of cabbage and radishes for winter storage. Each family member of the military household can receive 500 catties of cabbage, another 200 catties of radishes and some green onions. Ordinary people can also get 400 catties of cabbage and 100 catties of radishes per mouthful. Chinese cabbage and radish within the ration are very cheap, but if you exceed the amount, you have to increase the price, and the more excess, the higher the price. For many people, this was something they did not expect. In the past, in winter, except for dried vegetables and pickles, there were basically no fresh vegetables.

However, this year, the people of Huaihuang can enjoy better treatment than those people in the metropolis of the Central Plains. They were able to buy enough fresh winter vegetables for a winter at a cheap price.

The winter on the dam is very cold and long, if you calculate according to the winter temperature in the Central Plains, then the winter on the dam can last up to seven months.

Many people have objected to Yifeng's Chinese cabbage planting plan, believing that it is better to grow grain with those locally grown cabbage and radishes. However, Yi Feng insisted on his plan, the place on the dam is not suitable for growing grain, even if the place where vegetables are planted is grown, it will not be able to meet the food demand on the dam. Moreover, there are border markets on the dam, entrepot trade, especially the salt, wine, sugar, paper, books and other products on the dam, as well as all kinds of newly opened minerals, iron-making and steel-making furnaces, and ordnance workshops on the dam, and so on, the dam has jumped out of the traditional self-sufficiency development model, but is similar to a special economic zone, not to mention the grain of hundreds of thousands of people, that is, the population is doubled. Not anymore. Since the food problem can be solved, the problem of non-staple vegetables must also be solved, and people cannot only eat grain. Eating only staple foods is not only nutritionally unbalanced, but also consumes more food. And unlike grain, it is neither convenient for long-distance transportation nor suitable for long-term storage. Nowadays, Huaihuang's grain can be transported from the distant Jianghuai region, and the newly built underground grain cellar in Huaihuang can even preserve grain for nine years. However, it is difficult to transport the vegetables and non-staple foods needed from other places, and they are only suitable for local cultivation. And growing vegetables is not like growing grain. The requirements for land are also lower, but the yield is not too low. Use the wasteland to grow vegetables. can let the people in Huai Famine have food to eat.

This can increase the happiness of the soldiers and civilians of Huaihuang, Yi Feng once said, although the happiness is a little illusory, but since growing vegetables will not affect the food problem of Huaihuang. People don't insist on opposing it anymore. Now winter is coming. On the streets of the city, the people dragged their wives and children, and the whole family went into battle, pulling thousands or even thousands of catties of cabbage, radish and green onions from the family to the house, just like a squirrel preparing for the winter. Looking at the smiles on everyone's faces, I actually knew that Yi Feng's step was actually very good.

The family has surplus food, and there is no panic in the heart. Yi Feng has a favorable attitude towards the people storing grain and vegetables at home. As long as the people store grain in a standard amount set by the government. Then he would not object. When the people have food at home, their hearts will be at ease. At the same time, storing grain for the people can also greatly save the difficulty of official grain storage. More granaries can be vacated in the official warehouses to store the grain that the grain merchants have continuously transported.

This year's dam is particularly cold, but it is not bleak at all, on the contrary, the more winter it becomes, the more lively the dam becomes. The caravans are still coming, and the young soldiers who are nostalgic are all hurrying to hold weddings and complete their marriages, and ordinary people are also hurrying up their time to transport coal, grain, and vegetables to their homes.

Before the expedition, the White Tiger Terrace, the center of the Wuzhou Governor's Mansion, was like a huge tiger rising up, which was particularly majestic.

Now he is only eighteen years old, and the general, the governor of Wuzhou, the assassin Shi, and the prince of Changning County, who has only a little stubble under his chin, can't help but feel hot after dancing with a big sword in both hands. There is no fire kang in the house, but it burns the earth dragon, and the fire channel is buried underground, connecting the empty walls, which are all fire channels extending in all directions, and when the weather is cold, the fireworks will be filled with fire along the way, making the house warm like spring, and it is more convenient and warm than directly in the house to plate the fire kang.

Putting away the seven-foot-long sword of slashing horses, Yi Feng let out a sigh, and Cheng Biting Jin and Wei Chi Gong stepped forward to remove the armor for Yi Feng.

This set of armor is used to match the horse chopping sword in Yi Feng's hand, and his horse chopping sword is not the new horse chopping sword that is now equipped by team-level officers. The swords of the team-level officers were only five feet and weighed five pounds. And the one in Yi Feng's hand is seven feet long and weighs nine pounds. Compared with the team-level officer's horse chopping knife, this big sword is a real heavy long knife, and this kind of knife has another name in later generations, that is, Mo knife. Nowadays, the longbowmen are the most advantageous in the Huaihuang army, and the cavalry has been intensively trained, but there are still a large number of pikemen and sword and shield bearers in the infantry battalion. The position of Huaihuang is destined to be the main enemy of the Huaihuang army in the future, and it is the Hu people who fight on horseback. Against cavalry, a spear formation may be an option, but the short knives of the sword and shield soldiers are difficult to resist these horsemen who come and go like the wind.

The weapon of the Mo knife came from the sword of the Han Dynasty, the Mo knife in the Tang Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty, the name of the horse. There are many changes in the shape, but one thing remains the same, that is, whether it is a horse sword, a Mo knife, or a horse sword, they are all infantry weapons, and they are all infantry weapons, and they are all infantry killing weapons. This kind of long soldier and big sword has the power to break the horse.

Now Yi Feng's coke, coupled with some steel-making methods in later generations, has made him have a set of advanced steel-making methods, and also made him have a good steel that can refine sharp weapons and swords.

If you have good steel, you can have good weapons, and if you have good steel, you can create a sharp sword. Yi Feng had already planned to change some of the light shield soldiers into heavy infantry, and equipped them with this nine-pound seven-foot two-handed horse slashing sword to protect the main formation against Hu Qi.

Of course, with a good knife, you must also have good armor.

Whether it was the Mo sword soldiers in the Tang Dynasty or the horse swordsmen in the Song Dynasty, they were all heavily armoured, so that they could not be afraid of the gallop and impact of the cavalry.

Huaihuang now has enough steel to make a high-quality sword for chopping horses, and of course it can also make good armor. However, Yi Feng did not choose the Mingguang Armor, and the Mingguang Armor was the Iron Armor. The process of making zuò is complicated, but the defensive performance is not very strong. Yi Feng chose plate armor, which seems to be more processive. But it's not that complicated. The key is the hand forging hammer, and good steel, the dam is short of water, but it is windy, as long as it is used well, it is the same to replace the waterwheel with a windmill to drive the forging hammer.

Now the set on Yi Feng's body is a set of newly made iron cans using wind forging hammers. The full set weighs fifty pounds, and if you put a piece of chain mail inside, it may weigh seventy pounds. Such a heavy infantry is equipped with a seven-foot-nine-pound sword, which is really invulnerable, but it is invincible.

However, Yi Feng tried it by himself just now, and he was approving two sets of armor and seventy catties. Then hold a nine-pound horse chopping sword. It's really tiring to wield and it's hard to last. This kind of heavy infantry is just like the longbowman, sharp and at the same time, more demanding of soldiers. Such heavy infantry requires extremely strong soldiers.

But if you only wear a set of plate armor, it is much easier.

Yu Chigong and Cheng Yanjin had already taken off the full set of plate armor and put it on the wooden man to put it back together, and the wooden man with the full body plate armor immediately looked like a guard ready to fight. It looks particularly powerful.

A burst of white mist suddenly appeared on Yi Feng, who took off his armor, and he picked up the towel handed by Cheng Mingzhen and wiped two handfuls of sweat. Yi Feng was barefoot, with a bearskin draped over his body, and sat on a mahogany soft chair.

"Marshal, should this armor be equipped in the army?" Wei Chigong asked, he was originally a blacksmith, and he was also amazed by this new type of plate armor, in his professional eyes, it was too difficult to create such a set of plate armor by hand, and it would take a lot of time. But Yi Feng told him that now the plate armor workshop in Huaihuang already has the ability to mass-produce plate armor. As long as it is mass production, then the production of such a set of plate armor, whether it takes time or cost, is far lower than a set of Mingguang armor, or even only one-third of the cost of Mingguang armor, and the time required is only one-tenth, but the results obtained from the test show that the defensive performance of this plate armor is far superior to that of Mingguang armor. And this is the role that Huaihuang now plays by the combination of wind forging hammers, steel-making furnaces, furnace iron furnaces, and coke.

"This kind of full-body armor is still too heavy, and the requirements for soldiers are extremely high, but at the moment, our cavalry is not as good as the Hu people, and it is difficult to train a large number of excellent cavalry in a short time. Especially now that our longbowmen have extremely strong combat effectiveness, our tactics will generally be arranged around the longbowmen, so the longbowmen's position protection is extremely important. This is also the original intention of creating the horse slashing sword and full-body plate armor, all of which are to protect the longbowmen and allow them to output with peace of mind without interference. For the time being, the arrow array is the capital of our Huai Huang army, and it must be protected. However, the heavy infantry did not have it before, so it is impossible to set up too many at once now, and it has to be done step by step. ”

In the Tang Dynasty, there were 20,000 troops, 6,000 auxiliary soldiers, and 14,000 soldiers. Among the soldiers, there were 4,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. Among the 10,000 infantry, there were 2,500 Mo sword soldiers, and the number of Mo sword soldiers was very large, accounting for a quarter of the infantry.

However, at present, although a two-handed sword and full-body plate armor have been created, the heavy infantry still needs to be selected and trained, and the weapon armor also needs to be built.

"The establishment of each battalion remains unchanged for the time being, and 500 strong, brave and capable fighters are selected from the army first, and they are organized into a single battalion and directly under the command of the military headquarters. Whether a soldier is strong or not, whether it can achieve the expected goal, you have to try it first. Yi Feng said to a few teenagers with a smile.

The army has been assembled, a large amount of grain and grass has been transferred to Baiyun Town and Dushi Town in the north, and Yehu Town and Yanhu Town have also been prepared for war and strengthened patrols in preparation for the Turks.

Now just wait for Zhang Jincheng to send back the news from the Khitan, and immediately send troops to recruit the Baye Gu people.

"Why hasn't there been any news from General Zhang yet?" Yu Chi Jingde wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered quietly.

"What's the hurry, Brother Zhang will definitely not delay things." Li Wenxiang, one of the several teenagers, spoke for Zhang Jincheng on the side, and he, Cheng Mingzhen, and Wu Heimin had all followed Zhang Jincheng before, so he never forgot to help him say a few good words in front of Yi Feng.

At this time, a report from the guards came from outside, "Zhang Jin said that the general sent someone back to ask to see the marshal." ”

"Good news for sure." Wu Heimin said with a smile.

The messenger was brought in, covered in dust and sweat, apparently galloping all the way. As soon as he saw this, Yi Feng's heart couldn't help but sink slightly, the messenger rushed back in such a hurry, most of the things had changed.

After checking the seal, Yi Feng opened the letter sent back by Zhang Jincheng, and then took out a book of poems from Huaihuang Xinyin, and slowly translated it against the letter. Zhang Jin's letter is a secret letter, not only there is a seal on the letter, but also the content of the letter has an agreed secret language, if you don't know the decoding of the secret letter, even if you get the letter, you can't know the content. The letter didn't last long, and Yi Feng quickly translated the content.

Holding the translated letter, Yi Feng's face became more and more gloomy.

"Ba Yegu defeated the Khitan Su Ben Department, and the Tiele Servant Bone Department attacked the Khitan Duhuo Department with 3,000 light cavalry. I also heard that Tiele and tens of thousands of elite horsemen from the Luo tribe were killing the Benxi tribe! The rest of the Tiele tribes in Mobei have also heard of abnormal movements" (to be continued......)