The days passed like this, and in the blink of an eye, five days had passed since the town guards had defeated the bandits for the first time.

In the space of five days, there was no second large-scale bandit attack in the Sanzhi area.

Two days ago, a small group of bandits took advantage of the night to enter the town from the farmland and robbed dozens or hundreds of households along the periphery.

The guards who got the news quickly arrived and fought with a small group of bandits of more than 200 people, and the guards annihilated the group of bandits at the cost of one death, three serious injuries, and thirteen minor injuries, and captured more than 30 people.

The most important thing is that during the interrogation, the town guards got the news that there were five or six bandits from small and medium-sized forces who were ready to join forces to rob the Sanzhi Zone, and the total number of people was about 3,000 people.

After getting this news, Ji Liang immediately found Xu Chuan to discuss countermeasures.

"Interrogation, interrogation first, find out from the mouths of those bandits, which gangs of bandits have united, and how the route is going."

"Then let the special team set off immediately, bring enough dry food, go to the mountains to investigate the situation, and come back immediately to report if there is news."

"Let the special team remember that this time they are going to investigate the situation, don't clash with those bandits, don't need them to delay the steps of the bandits for the time being, and come back immediately after inquiring about the news."

"In addition, let the town guards stop the construction of the barracks first, and immediately prepare for battle, and those prisoners will be retied up and separated first."

After understanding the situation, Xu Chuan immediately made arrangements.

There are more than 3,000 bandits, and even if the town guards have catapults now, they are a big threat.

What's more, this is a joint attack by several bandits, and not all of them will be invaded by the Stone Forest, so the threat will be greater.

Therefore, it is necessary to find out the path of those bandits in order to make the best response.

......

After receiving the order, the whole barracks quickly moved.

The members of the special squad of one hundred elite members selected from the guards carried enough materials, divided into ten squads according to the group of ten, and burrowed headlong into the mountains and forests, and quickly touched the corresponding direction according to the information obtained from the interrogation of the prisoners.

Their task was to find out the approximate number and direction of the group of bandits who were attacking the Sanzhi Zone, and then quickly return to report.

In order to pass the news back more quickly, according to Xu Mo's suggestion, each of the ten teams carried three horses, and then found a place to tie one horse at intervals, so that if the news was obtained, the horse could come back quickly.

This suggestion made Xu Chuan and Ji Liang's eyes light up, and they nodded directly in agreement, dividing the dozens of horses that were captured from the bandits last time.

.......

Two days passed quickly, and the town guards and the villagers of Sanzhi Town were ready to meet the bandits again, but no one from the special team that had been on set off for a long time sent back news, which made Xu Chuan and Ji Liang worried.

One is worried that the special team will encounter the bandits head-on and be killed, and the other is worried about the damage that this bandit attack will do to the three areas.

With worries, everyone waited until the third day, and Xu Mo was the first to come back, directly found Xu Chuan, and brought back two news, one good and one bad.

The good news is that his team successfully found the bandit army, which numbered about 3,000 people, and the direction of progress was the Chaotic Stone Forest, which came directly to Sanzhi Town, and there were about two days before they could rush to the place where the trebuchet was deployed.

The bad news is that when they were lurking and observing, they found that this group of bandits had gotten a batch of strong crossbows from somewhere, the number was about two or three hundred, plus bows and arrows, which was a great threat to the town guards.

This news made Ji Liang gasp, and immediately said: "Nephew Chuan, this time it is dangerous, if it is really a strong crossbow, the range is 600 steps at least, and 800 steps at most, which is more than the range of our trebuchet." ”

Six hundred to eight hundred steps, which is almost six hundred to eight hundred meters, is indeed more than the range of two hundred to five hundred meters of trebuchet.

Xu Chuan frowned, he was also a little big when he heard that the bandits had a strong crossbow, didn't he say that the crossbow arrows were very strictly controlled in ancient times? How can even bandits have it?

"Uncle Ji, how powerful is the crossbow, and how thick can it shoot through wooden planks or bamboo?"

After thinking for a while, Xu Chuan raised his head and asked, he thought of the protective equipment he considered a few days ago, although things like iron armor can't be made for the time being, it doesn't mean that the shield can't be used.

There is no need to think about the iron shield, there is not so much iron for the time being, and it can't be made in two days, but the wooden shield and bamboo shield can be made.

If the villagers in the three areas are mobilized, they will be able to work overtime and stay up late for two days, and they will be able to make a batch of shields.

Ji Liang thought for a while and replied: "This depends on the type of strong crossbow in the opponent's hand, an ordinary strong crossbow can probably shoot through the plank behind one finger or two fingers, if it is a large strong crossbow or a bed crossbow in the army, no matter how thick the plank is, it can't be stopped." ”

"Xu Mo, do you see the appearance of those strong crossbows clearly? Can you draw it? Just draw it and I'll see what it is. ”

On the side, Xu Mo, who was standing silently, nodded, and Xu Chuan hurriedly found a pen and paper.

Soon, a rudimentary diagram of a bow and crossbow was drawn, with the front end looking like a normal bow and arrow, but with a slender wooden handle at the back.

Although it was simple, Ji Liang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it, and said: "This is the most ordinary strong crossbow, it should be a bow and crossbow made by the Chu State, the range is only about five hundred steps to six hundred, and the power can probably shoot through a finger thick plank." ”

"But the gathering of three hundred bows and crossbows is also a big threat to us."

Hearing this, Xu Chuan nodded and said, "Gather the town guards, as well as the villagers, we need help now." ”

"We have to make a batch of shields in two days, whether they are wooden or bamboo, as long as they can defend against crossbow arrows."

"In addition, make another batch of trebuchets, refuse horses to come out, and arrange them in the ......."

As his instructions followed, the entire barracks, including the villagers and people in the Sanzhi area, moved.

There is no need to say much about dealing with bandits, for the residents of Sanzhi Town, as long as they can help, even if they are not paid, they will take the initiative to bring their own food and drink.

With the help of tens of thousands of residents, in just two days, all the things Xu Chuan asked for were made, and these villagers also helped the town guards to move the things to the chaotic stone forest and arrange them.

.......