At the end of the year, heavy snow fell outside the city of Michigan, and it was covered in snow.

Li Congyan stood at the head of the city wearing a fox fur, and involuntarily tightened the big coat on his body, although he was wearing a flying fish suit-style cotton coat made by the cotton clothing workshop, he still felt the biting cold wind pouring in.

"It's been an unusual weather this year!"

Li Congyan looked at the gray-white sky, and heard the sound of the wind crying wolf-like in his ears, and couldn't help muttering, and at the same time secretly rejoiced in his heart, fortunately he had a cotton clothing workshop in hand, at this time, the field army, the garrison army, and the training army had all issued cotton clothes and quilts, and even the officials at all levels of the shogunate were equipped with cotton clothes, even if it was cold, they were not worried about large-scale frost.

"But this year, the people will be more miserable."

Li Congyan sighed, this is also a helpless thing, although the cotton harvest in Muping County is bumper, but at this time, the yield per mu of cotton is far less than the cotton cultivated in later generations, and the cotton produced in Muping County is not enough to supply Dengzhou, Mizhou, and Laizhou in any case.

What's more, the price of cotton clothes and quilts is also high, and it is not something that ordinary people can afford to buy in large quantities at present.

"Next year, we can choose one place in Laizhou and Michigan to promote cotton, and we must expand production."

Li Congyan thought so in his heart, and Cui Qi, the commander of the Escort Brigade of the Military Headquarters of the First Field Army, came to the side, crossed his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Military Affairs will report it!" ”

At this time, the First Field Army withdrew to Dengzhou to garrison, but the escort brigade of the military headquarters did not withdraw. The escort brigade takes care of the escort work of the Jiedu Embassy, and accompanies Li Congyan on weekdays, which can be regarded as Li Congyan's personal guard brigade. And the brigade commander Cui Qi is also a veteran soldier who has followed Li Congyan for many years, is cautious and steady, and has won Li Congyan's trust.

At this time, Li Congyan opened the report, which was sent by Li Wei, minister of military affairs, to report on the formation of the garrisons in Laizhou and Mizhou, as well as the suppression of bandits in the two states.

After a month or so of transfers, the 6,100 garrisons in Mizhou and the 6,000 garrisons in Laizhou have been fully equipped, and after Li Congyan's rectification, the garrisons in Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Mizhou are all formed with about 6,000 people in one battalion.

The 12,100 officers and men of the garrison set out from the Dengzhou training camp and, in accordance with the orders of the Governor of the Ministry of Military Affairs, went to various places in the two prefectures in batches to garrison them, and all of them have now been put in place.

The second thing that Li Wei reported was about the selection of the commander of the garrison in the three states. Attached is a list of meritorious personnel who participated in this battle, as well as the promotion plan of the Appraisal Department for meritorious personnel.

According to Li Wei's recital, it was planned to transfer generals from the First Field Army to serve as the commanders, with Wang Yong, the commander of the left battalion and the right Guoyi, as the lieutenant of the Dengzhou battalion of the garrison, Xu Hui, the commander of the right battalion, as the lieutenant of the Mizhou battalion of the garrison, and Zhu Ming, the lieutenant of the right battalion, as the lieutenant of the Laizhou battalion of the garrison.

At the same time, Li Siye, the captain of the 1st Regiment of the Left Battalion, was promoted to the lieutenant of the Left Battalion and the Right Guoyi, Chen was promoted to the lieutenant of the 3rd Regiment of the Right Battalion to the lieutenant of the Zuo Guoyi of the Right Battalion, and Zhang Tianzuo, the captain of the 2nd Regiment of the Right Battalion, was promoted to the lieutenant of the Right Battalion and the Right Guoyi.

Li Congyan had no objections after reading it, but on a series of promotion lists, Li Congyan noticed two names: Tang Yi and Tang Ming.

"Huh?"

Li Congyan thought of the brothers in Muping County, and couldn't help but smile: "This Tang Yi was beheaded at the fourth level and was promoted to the commander of the first regiment of the left battalion because of his merits. Tang Ming was beheaded two levels and was promoted to the first team of the left battalion because of his merits! ”

"Hmmm! Well, these two are malleable! ”

Then Li Congyan said: "Notify the assessment department, just implement the plan in the report, and reply to Minister Li of the Ministry of Military Affairs to complete the adjustment of personnel as soon as possible." ”

"Whoa!"

And the third thing that Li Wei asked was the suppression of bandits in Mizhou and Laizhou.

At this time, the Ministry of Military Affairs mobilized the officers and men of the garrisons in the two states to attack several times, and basically eliminated the thieves in the two states. Mizhou and Laizhou are close to Dengzhou, and because Dengzhou has vigorously suppressed bandits, it has already scared away a lot of thieves in the two states, and this crackdown on bandits has been very smooth.

Li Congyan breathed a sigh of relief, so that the people of the two states could have a solid year, so he handed this report to Cui Qi and said: "Send it to the Assessment Department, and send a copy of my reply to the Ministry of Military Affairs, go and do it." ”

"Whoa"

Cui Qi packed the report, wrote down Li Congyan's order, put it in another wooden box, sealed it with fire paint, and sent someone to send it out immediately.

Then Cui Qi took out another report and said: "Lord, this is the report of the Xue Ming Regiment of the Conscription Division, the 6,000 soldiers required for the cavalry battalion have been selected, and they are currently practicing cavalry tactics in the Dengzhou training camp. ”

Li Congyan took the report and read it.

The conscription department has raised more than 1,000 war horses through heavy purchases and mobilization, and together with the captured 5,000 war horses, the cavalry battalion needs it.

Li Congyan said with a smile: "This is good news, let's go back and prepare, and return to Dengzhou early tomorrow morning." ”

"Whoa!"

Early the next morning, Li Congyan, escorted by Cui Qi and other soldiers, left Mizhou City and returned to Dengzhou City.

A few days later, Li Congyan wore a cotton red python robe and a refined Mingguang armor, and rode a horse to the training army camp in the north of Dengzhou City.

Li Wei, Minister of Military Affairs, and Xue Mingtuan, Director of the Conscription Division, welcomed Li Congyan and his party into the camp, and then accompanied Li Congyan to begin to review the 6,000 prisoners of Pinglu Town and the 6,000 cavalry battalion soldiers.

Li Congyan first inspected the more than 6,000 Pinglu Town captives, surrounded by everyone, Li Congyan rode his horse to inspect it, and saw that the spiritual outlook of the more than 6,000 Pinglu Town captives had taken on a new look, and the original twilight atmosphere of Pinglu Town had disappeared, replaced by a high-spirited and energetic spirit.

After the rigorous training of the instructors of the conscription department, the combat strength of these more than 6,000 prisoners has been greatly improved, and after reorganization, they can be replenished to all parts of the army.

After inspecting the stage, Li Congyan walked to the stage, only to see more than 6,000 captive recruits standing still in the cold wind, and couldn't help nodding in approval, and then said loudly: "Brothers, I'm Li Congyan!" ”

"Wan Sheng!"

More than 6,000 people cheered in unison.

"I have come today to fulfill what I promised you. From today on, all of you are my soldiers in Dengzhou Town, and I am Li Congyan's siblings! ”

At this time, these more than 6,000 people were full of excitement, and they finally waited for this day, and they could finally participate in the military system of Dengzhou New Prefecture, which everyone envied.

Li Congyan said loudly: "I announce that the military headquarters of the First Field Army in Dengzhou will be newly established: the military guard brigade will be changed to a personal guard brigade, and the brigade commander Cui Qi; The commander of the scout brigade of the military department is recommended by the assessment department, and Yuan Yi, the former commander of the first regiment of the left battalion, serves as the commander. ”

"And more than 6,000 of you, all of them have been reorganized into battalions directly under the military department, and they exist as troops directly under the military headquarters.

At this time, more than 6,000 people under the stage of the martial arts suddenly exploded, these soldiers originally thought that they were born captives, not descendants of Dengzhou, and they were already satisfied and lucky to be able to participate in the military system of the new government, have a generous military salary, and be able to get a hundred acres of land.

But today, Li Congyan let these captive soldiers serve as his direct subordinate soldiers and horses, as the existence of the guard military department, which suddenly made these more than 6,000 soldiers grateful, and they couldn't wait to be for Li Congyan!

Thousands of people were moved to cry on the spot, these soldiers could not move around at will because of military discipline, so they stood on the spot and cried bitterly, and everyone looked at Li Congyan with such reverence and eagerness.

Li Congyan looked at the more than 6,000 troops with satisfaction, according to his newly changed plan in the past two days, the strength of the First Field Army will reach more than 29,000 people, and the strength of nearly 30,000 troops is enough to deal with any strategic battle.

What's more, there are three battalions of garrisons in Dengzhou Town, with a total strength of about 18,000 people, plus the thousands of people and horses in the training camp at this time, the troops under Li Congyan's command have reached more than 50,000 at this time, and they are all elite soldiers who are fully armored and have undergone rigorous training, which can be described as strong!

Li Congyan made another impassioned speech, and then gave the more than 6,000 soldiers a month's salary on the spot, and then ordered Xue Mingtuan, the secretary of the conscription department, to bring the whole army back, and at the same time ordered Li Wei, minister of military affairs, to inform the planting of birch armor, to report here the next day, and to lead the army to the camp of the First Field Army within three days.

After the more than 6,000 soldiers returned to the barracks, the 6,000 soldiers of the cavalry battalion finally appeared.

With a rumbling roar, 10,000 horses galloping on the snow-white school field, coupled with 6,000 soldiers wearing red battle jackets and bright light armor, Li Congyan only felt his blood boiling, cavalry will always be a man's pride, and he can always ignite a man's high fighting spirit!

After the 6,000 cavalry soldiers were assembled, Li Wei stepped forward and ordered, and the 6,000 soldiers turned over and dismounted in unison.

Li Congyan couldn't help but admire, although these 6,000 soldiers were all halfway monks and had only undergone a short period of cavalry training, they could already be regarded as a strong army.

This also shows that the strong martial spirit of the Han people at this time was not available in later generations. The Han people of this era dare to draw their swords in anger, dare to die for the sake of faith and morality, and can go into battle bravely, and form an army with the courage that is not lost, or even far stronger than the Hu people!

Li Congyan unconsciously raised his arms and said loudly: "You are the first iron horse in my Dengzhou Town, and you will also be the strongest iron horse, one day in the future, your name will be spread all over the world along with the battle flag, shaking the four hu!" ”

"Wan Sheng! Wansheng! ”

That night, Li Congyan stayed in the training army camp, and Li Wei, minister of the military and political department, sat on the side and said: "Does the lord have another profound meaning in enriching the military department this time?" ”

Li Congyan asked with a smile, "Why do you ask that?" ”

"It's just a feeling."

Li Congyan said with a smile: "That's not a feeling, it's an illusion." I increased the strength of the military headquarters, but I felt that the strength of the military headquarters was too thin. In the future, once a strong enemy is encountered, the left and right battalions will have to go to the front line, and who will protect the military headquarters? I don't want to be in a situation where the enemy is attacking the military headquarters and there are no soldiers available. ”

Li Wei smiled and said, "In this way, who is the Lord going to let lead the cavalry battalion?" ”

"Let Zhang Tianzuo, the right lieutenant of the right battalion, I remember that his ancestors were cavalry captains, and they can be regarded as some family heirlooms, and Zhang Tianzuo is agile and flexible, brave and good at shooting, he should be able to do a good job in this cavalry battalion."

Li Wei took the order, and then said for a while before leaving.

When Li Congyan was lying on the bed, he began to ponder the current situation, and said secretly in his heart: "There is a lot of turmoil in Luoyang City, although I know the major events in the world, and I am not ready to change anything at this stage, but it is still possible to arrange a nail in Luoyang City in advance." ”

Thinking of this, Li Congyan remembered someone and said to himself: "It seems that I have to find this tumbler!" ”