Volume 7 Getaway Chapter 3 Fuyao (Eight Up)

The folk customs of Hebei are already very strong. What the people lack in their veins is not courage, but the government's recognition of this courage. As soon as the autumn harvest was over, the recruiting points in the counties under the general administration of Boling were crowded with people. Among them, there are many big men in the prime of life, and there are also some old and weak people who are over forty years old and have careless legs and feet, trying to sneak into the barracks to seek hot food.

In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the Boling Army, several recruiting envoys strictly implemented the regulations that had been formulated in advance. In line with the principle of preferring less to rot, they carefully select among the applicants. Those who looked too old and too young were persuaded to return home, and were rejected without a neighbor to prove their origins. Only children in the family and the parents are old are also strictly forbidden to enlist in the army. There are no eyes on the battlefield, and once the only son dies in battle, it is equivalent to ruining the hope of the family.

At the same time as the large-scale expansion of the army, the development and construction of Zhuo County was also in full swing. Thanks to adequate resources and proper staffing, the resettlement of displaced persons proceeded very smoothly. After the first batch of displaced people arrived on the banks of the Sanggan River, they immediately built simple houses on open land in Feng Shui Ji under the organization of Tuntian envoys from all over the country. The newly built houses are mainly made of wooden frames, and there are many large trees in the four fields of Zhuogun, so you can use local materials. As a result, hundreds of homes were built in just over two months. Then, based on the experience gained last year in the fields on both sides of Laishui, Yishui, and Xishui, the organizers led the displaced people to build a high wall of wet earth on the outermost periphery of all the houses, so that a fortress that could house thousands of people was immediately born.

In order to cope with possible anomalies, each fortress has only one gate. On both sides of the gate and at the corners of the high wall, watchtowers were continued with polished stones. All the forts were lined up along the banks of the Sangan River, no more than twenty miles from each other. If a fort is attacked, as long as it lights up wolf smoke before it is breached, the nearby fort will relay the alarm. Within half a day, the Boling army stationed in Huairong who received the alarm would rush to the scene of the accident. Unless the attackers planned to completely turn their faces with Li Xu, the chief of Boling, they could only retreat in disgrace.

It's not just homeless people who have come to settle on the banks of the Sangan River. Some wealthy families with long-term vision also moved a small part of their family business to Zhuo County by purchasing land. Although they are only doing preliminary testing, the organizational skills and financial resources of the heroes are very amazing. A few large families can build an entire village on their own, with the same specifications as a village to house displaced people, but the defenses far exceed the former. According to Cui Qian's estimates, ordinary horse thieves attacking an immigrant village will pay about 100 to 200 lives if both sides fight to the death. And the horse thieves attacked the simple manor of the big family, although it was ten times more crude than the manor in the Boling and Shanggu areas, and it would take at least three days and more than 200 lives from the beginning of the attack to the complete defeat of it.

With the increase in immigration, the depressed and dilapidated city of Huairong gradually became lively. Caravans that ventured back and forth to make their hard-earned money instinctively chose the city as a transit point. Tea, porcelain, lacquerware, and linen sold to the outside of the city were hoarded in the city, and the leather, wool, and dried meat returned from the fortress were also dispersed and resold to various parts of the Central Plains.

Of course, these deals remain in the range of minor fights. The bulk goods are still the traditional Jixian, Miyun and Yanle channels. However, the taxes and centiths collected by Luo Yi were more than three times that of Zhuojun, and the traders who took the risk of taking a trip to Huairong all vowed that they would never go to Youzhou again next year.

Cui Qian didn't dare to bet next year's taxes on the promises of the traders. This year, the Great Governor's Office will develop Zhuo County, no matter how huge the investment is, it will be supported by the income from selling the official mantle. But sooner or later, the surplus wealth of the people will be absorbed. It will take at least a whole year for the displaced people to settle down and be able to hand over the land to the local government. In order not to cause the embarrassment of Yin to eat more grain, he organized a part of the displaced people who did not need to participate in the construction of forts to cut wood and mine in the mountains in the name of work-for-relief. The timber and ore were transported to the city and sold at very low prices to traders and local people. Some bold traders saw the opportunity and took advantage of the snow to transport timber and ore to Boling, Hengshan and other places, and made another windfall.

After all, the shipping capacity of the vendors is limited. Most of the felled giant trees and mined ore were hoarded in Huairong City. In view of this situation, the Boling General's Mansion requisitioned a large number of craftsmen from all over the country to Zhuo County to set up workshops on the spot to smelt iron, make weapons, and armor for the army.

Everything is going according to plan, and the challenges that are expected are coming. After the winter, the word horse thief began to appear in the official documents sent by Cui Qian to Boling. These guys first hit *** outside the range of the scout's feather arrows, and then slowly began to chase down the lone scout. Recently, they have been tentatively attacking several forts relatively far from the county seat of Huairong. Although due to the timely arrival of the Boling army, the horse thieves did not succeed. But the attack on Zhuojun has already become more and more intense.

"Those people aren't horse thieves!" Wang Suba put down the loot that Zhuo Jun had sent in an eight-hundred-mile hurry, and reminded everyone in a low voice.

He was born in the green forest, and before he was recruited by Li Xu, he plundered in Hedong, Hebei, and Youzhou all the year round, and had experience in dealing with officers and soldiers in various counties. Therefore, the judgment is quite authoritative. Hearing him speak, everyone immediately stopped talking and cast their eyes on him. Sensing the suspicion in the eyes of his colleagues, Wang Xuba smiled, pointed to the armor on the ground and explained: "When Lao Guo and I were messing around on the road, who dared to use this kind of goods under my command, I will hang him up and beat him up first!" ”

After the official document arrived, everyone's minds revolved around the situation introduced in Cui Qian's letter. Wang Suba was the only one who put his mind on the armor and weapons that the Zhuojun brothers had taken off from the corpses of the enemy. As a result, the channels for reaching conclusions are also unique.

Everyone looked closely and found that the armor of the intruder was indeed very different from that of the Boling army. The equipment of the soldiers and soldiers of the Boling Army continued the style of the Great Sui Border Army, and the main weapons were horizontal knives and bows and arrows. The armor is a leather helmet and stacked leather armor, and iron bars can be placed in key parts to enhance the defense. Among the trophies sent by Cui Qian, the three leather armors were all sewn from whole pieces of raw hide. The front chest and back are as smooth as a mirror, and there are several pockets sewn with old strings on the key parts, and thick willow planks are stuffed inside.

"This thing is rudimentary! But it has strong protection against feather arrows! Zhao Ziming is worthy of being a military commander, and he can see the strength of its protective power from the two armor systems at a glance. In the Boling Army, there has also been a controversy about which defense is better, plate armor or stacked armor. However, to the extent that the current level of craftsmen can reach, it is generally believed that stacked armor is better protective against feathered arrows than hard armor made from whole rawhides. It also has little effect on one's dexterity and does not hinder the movement of the brethren in battle.

However, the removal of sleeves from the armor of the incoming offender and the addition of wooden planks on the chest made up for the shortcomings of the plate armor to a certain extent. The target of the arm is small, and the chance of being damaged by the feather arrow is much less than that of the chest. The willow planks can not only defend against feathered arrows, but also reduce the damage caused by spear bayonet slashes to a certain extent.

"Sima Zhao misunderstood what I meant!" Wang Xuba heard Zhao Ziming's sigh that the other party could be simplified because of ugliness, and hurriedly shook his head with a smile. "I mean, if you are a horse thief, you must have the consciousness of being a horse thief. Don't use yourself as an official. This kind of armor does minimize the possibility of being injured by feathered arrows, but it also doubles in weight. When a horse thief pays attention to coming and going like the wind, he should try his best to reduce the weight he carries. When Lao Guo and I mixed in the green forest, no matter whether we had money or not, the armor of the cavalry was for the purpose of lightness. A big boss with more than 100 horsemen will not wear heavy armor, let alone an ordinary little minion? It's not that I don't care about my soldiers, you think, wearing such thick leather armor and a few wooden planks. The protective power has been improved, but the weight has also increased by more than ten catties. Once the officers and soldiers chased after him, he was wearing such a heavy thing, how could he outrun people! ”

The generals laughed dumbly. What is the so-called doing, what is familiar. Pretending to be a horse thief in front of Wang Suba is not playing a big axe in front of the grandfather? "Suba, tell me, who should be the enemy in disguise?" After a while, Li Xu put away his smile and asked.

"Who else. Around us, the most important defense is the Tiger Iron Horse. If it weren't for the fear of being seen by us and ending up with a notoriety of not keeping promises, I guess the man surnamed Luo would be eager to put the iron tool on his minions! Wang Xuba pursed his lips and replied loudly.

"But no, if you replace the wooden board with a fine iron plate, and put on two sleeves, what is the difference between it and the equipment of the Tiger Ben Iron Rider!" Zhao Ziming shook his head while laughing. That is, Luo Yi, the general of Huben, will be burdened by fame and only dare to sneak into the underground black hands. If Liu Wuzhou and other Turkic tribes were replaced, it was estimated that they would be killed with a roll of flags. As long as he doesn't get caught red-handed with important people, he won't admit it after being killed, anyway, Li Xu can't take the initiative to provoke a war for the time being.

"If it's really a tiger and an iron horse, the troops on the retreating side will be a little insufficient!" Lu Qin frowned and reminded worriedly.

Li Xu thought about it and thought that it was unlikely that the two sides would officially tear their faces in a short period of time. "Luo Yi didn't grab military rations from us in the summer, so the supply must be a problem. The village in Zhuo County had just been established, and there were no supplies he urgently needed. The reason why he did this was because he didn't want us to develop smoothly. Therefore, the whole winter must be harassment-based, and it is estimated that it will be harvested next summer to really pull down the face and declare war with us! ”

"Others probably have the same thoughts!" Zhao Ziming took Li Xu's words and continued to add. "Cultivating fields, farming, and clearing wasteland, these constructive things are too complicated, and no one in the north has the heart to do them. But we have planted the crops, and when it is time for the harvest, they will all smell the wheat! ”

Zhang Jiang hated this kind of unearned behavior the most, sneered a few times, and said: "How can there be such a cheap thing." If you dare to reach out, let's break his dog paws first! ”

Zhao Ziming shook his head lightly, "It's not a question of whether to fight or not, but how to fight." The terrain on both sides of the Sanggan River is flat, and it is really against the Tiger Ben Iron Cavalry, and with our current strength, there is no chance of winning. Even if the opponent is not the Youzhou army but the Turks, we can only defend passively. They have a lot of horses and run fast. Although we have built some fortresses here, in a short period of time, we can't form an overall defense line at all! Besides, once the army is attracted to Zhuojun, I guess the others will also be crooked! “

The format has changed a lot from a few months ago. At the beginning of August, when the six counties of Boling were busy relocating displaced people, the soldiers and horses of Hedong slaughtered along the trail to the outside of Huoyi City. The guard general Song Laosheng deceived the Taiyuan soldiers to be tired from afar, and led 30,000 troops out of the city for a decisive battle. Li Yuanxian ordered Liu Hongji to lead his troops and horses to ambush Huoshan in the southeast of the city, and Li Shimin led the way around the south of the city, and he led a large group of soldiers and horses to set up camp in the east of Huoyi. Then, he ordered Li Jiancheng to step forward to lure the enemy.

Song Laosheng saw that Li Jiancheng only brought thousands of cavalry, and immediately stepped forward to attack him. Li Jianwei planned to fight and retreat according to the established battle plan, but was accidentally defeated into a rout. Song Laosheng chased and killed hard, until he reached the front of Li Yuan's camp, and rushed to Li Yuan's handsome banner to sway. At the critical juncture, Liu Hongji killed from Huoshan in advance and defeated Song Laosheng's flank. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Sui army hurriedly retreated, but was dragged by Li Shimin on the way. Half an hour later, the Taiyuan soldiers surrounded the Sui army, and Song Laosheng couldn't support it, so he fought a bloody way from Li Shimin's side and fled to Huoyi. Liu Hongji chased after him on horseback, and beheaded Song Laosheng under the wall of Huoyi in the rain of arrows of the defenders, and ended the battle perfectly.

Subsequently, the Taiyuan army conquered Jiangxian and captured Chen Shuda. Then, Sun Hua, the giant of Longmen, led 20,000 troops to surrender to Li Yuan. Feng Yi's big guard Xiao Zao saw the Taiyuan soldiers rolling in, and he was so frightened that he didn't dare to resist, so he directly opened the city and surrendered. Immediately after, Li Yuan followed the advice of his generals, bypassed Hedong County, which was heavily guarded by Qututong, and killed the Jingshi from Feng Yi.

In September, the Taiyuan soldiers conquered Yongfeng Cang and opened a position to recruit troops. Li Wan'er led the heroes of Wangwushan to the west and joined forces with Li Shimin in Weibei. Li Yuan's younger brother Li Shentong, the giant thief He Panren, Li Mi's uncle Li Zhongwen, and Li Yuan's other son-in-law, Wei Wenzhen, waved their troops eastward from all over Guanzhong, and gathered near the Beijing division with the Taiyuan army.

Others are overwhelmed, and their own side is stretched, which can't help but make Boling anxious. But Luo Yi was like a maggot attached to the bone behind his back, and Dou Jiande and Liu Wu were drooling one after the other.

If Li Xu could have been in charge of Boling a year earlier, maybe his situation would not have been so embarrassing. If Li Xu had such strong connections as the Li family in Hedong, maybe he would have already killed the six counties.

But those are ifs. In fact, he can only accumulate strength step by step, little by little, and slowly develop in the challenges that come one after another.

This is the innate condition of him personally and the six counties, if he wants to break through the sky above his head, he will need more opportunities and a longer time.

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