The tenth year of Chongzhen, February 17.

In the east of Shiquan City, the city of the right thousand households of Hanzhongwei has begun to take shape at this time.

Although the walls are still unbuilt, many of the buildings in the city have been repaired.

Not far from the east of the castle is the mouth of the Chihe River, which is the only way for Shiquan to Hanyin, where the mountains on the north and south sides converge and become narrower and narrower.

Except for the area around the mouth of the pond, the rest of the place is quite gentle.

Most of the barracks were set up in the southern urban area, and if there were barracks stationed, there was naturally a training place.

Although the main purpose of setting up the guard post was to develop the tuntian, it did not mean that the training of the army could be put aside for the time being.

After the barracks were set up, Chen Wang ordered the craftsmen to build a martial arts arena in the open area south of the city where the right thousand households were located.

The demarcated area of the martial arts field is about 100 acres, which is about the size of ten standard football fields in later generations.

There are still a lot of things that are not perfect, but they can almost be used.

There are also low walls for separation, horses and roads that are easy to travel, and the shooting garden, bell and drum towers, and general platforms for observation are almost completed.

There were not many barracks built in the guardhouse, and the battalion soldiers under Chen Wang's command did not live in the barracks, but directly camped and lived a little west of the martial arts field.

At this time, dozens of phalanxes were distributed on the martial arts field, and the sound of shouting and horns resounded in the sky above the martial arts arena.

Han Fuliang sat on the cold ground, he put his hands together and rubbed them gently.

Although it was already February and spring, the weather was still a little cold, and his ears and hands were already frozen for almost two moments.

He was originally a peasant in Fengxian County, and later followed Lu Shi's army all the way south, was captured in Hanzhong, and then was recruited into the army in a daze.

He is 27 years old this year, and his family lives in the suburbs of Feng County, about ten miles away.

Han Fuliang has never entered Feng County in his life, nor has he left his home too far.

But many times, people can't help themselves, and he is carried all the way to the south by the mighty flow of people.

"Bell ——————"

A crisp bell rang in the distance, attracting everyone's attention.

The bell is clear and melodious, and it rings constantly.

He had been in the martial arts arena for five or six days, and he had learned to hear the number of times the bell rang to tell the time of day.

Training for three hours a day, one in the morning and two in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, they started training at 13:00, and now the bell means that the time has arrived and they need to train for another hour.

When the bell rang, Han Fuliang's body subconsciously tensed.

"Stand upright!"

A familiar voice came from the side, and Han Fuliang picked up the spear that was placed aside, and then immediately stood up.

Not only Han Fuliang reacted, but almost at the same time, everyone who was originally sitting on the ground resting bounced up as if they were electrocuted, picked up their weapons, and stood up straight.

Han Fuliang looked at his side slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Huang Hu, the flag chief carrying a military stick, was already striding over.

As expected, the sound of military sticks slapping on people began to come out one after another, and you didn't need to look at Han Fuliang to know that there must be some people who didn't take their weapons when they stood up.

"How many times have I told you!"

Huang Hu's curse came from the side, and Han Fuliang's heart couldn't help but tighten again.

"As soon as you hear the trumpet and the command, when you stand up, take your blades!"

"You don't even take a blade, and you use your fists to smash people on the battlefield?!"

Huang Hu's curse made Han Fuliang subconsciously clench the wooden gun in his hand.

"Liu Zhongwen, you have already made mistakes three times, and one more time, you can go to the logistics team."

Han Fuliang glanced to the side again, the person their flag chief Huang Hu is now scolding is called Liu Zhongwen, who is on the same team as him, he is the soldier in the team, and he stands at the end of the team because he is the lowest in height.

"Liu Zhongwen deducted one penny of monthly salary, and captain Zhou Changfu was not strict in managing the team, and half a penny of monthly salary was deducted."

Hearing the logistics team, everyone's faces were nervous, and no one wanted to go to the logistics team.

They are now all battalion soldiers, and each of them can get a tael of silver every month, and those with excellent performance can get a tael and a half.

I heard that as long as they passed the assessment, everyone would be one or two halves of silver, and at that time, those with excellent performance could get a full two taels of silver.

They now don't need money for food and clothing, and they have extra money after being promoted to the military.

And the logistics team has nothing, going to the logistics team is equivalent to leaving the battalion sequence, only six dollars of silver a month, doing miscellaneous things every day, all this time has been helping to repair the house, more tiring than training.

Han Fuliang subconsciously raised his head, looked over the shoulders of the sergeant in front of him, and looked at the military formation not far away that was also lined up, looking quite chaotic.

Those people are newly recruited military households, and they have been training with them since the past few days.

A notice has been issued in the army, and the next three-month assessment will follow.

They and these military households will be competitors, and only those with excellent training can truly become regular soldiers, while the rest of the eliminated people can only be used as logistics teams and military households.

"Load!"

Huang Hu held the military stick in his hand, glanced at the group of soldiers standing honestly, and began to give orders.

Han Fuliang's face changed slightly, but he still didn't dare to delay, and took out the iron bar from the small backpack behind him and tied it to his arm and calf.

The rest of the soldiers were also like Han Fuliang, and quickly tied their hands and feet.

Huang Hu looked at the group of recruits in front of him, and he couldn't help but think of when he was in Pizhou.

At that time, he was inferior to these recruits, who had already seen blood and fought in battle.

When he was in Pizhou, he was a homeless person, and he didn't eat a full meal for more than ten days, and he was so hungry that his chest was almost close to his back.

Later, when he became a soldier, he had a full meal, and he had to be paid.

"Change the marching line and run around the school yard!"

Han Fuliang leaned his spear on his shoulder, then turned to the left and began to adjust the queue.

They have been training since February this year, and they spend their strides running and formation.

Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I first form a formation and run around the martial arts arena.

Then in the morning, I will work on my physical fitness and skills, and in the afternoon, I will continue to line up and run with weights.

The cycle goes on and on, boring and boring, with little variation.

However, Han Fuliang just thought about it in his heart and didn't show it.

"Rumble ————"

Just when they were still in the team, Han Fuliang suddenly heard a sound like thunder.

Han Fuliang subconsciously turned his head to look in the direction where the voice came from, and the scene in front of him was a little weird.

Not far away, nearly a thousand cavalrymen were manipulating, the cavalry in the front row was holding a spear with the tip of the spear forward, while the cavalry in the back rows were holding a bright saber and leaning on their shoulders.

They were cavalry, but like infantry, they marched in several rows, maintaining a tight formation.

……

On the stage, Chen Wang stood behind the railing, looking at the soldiers who were practicing in an orderly manner on the martial arts field.

These Liao cavalry under his command are excellent in riding skills, and after only about half a month of training, they can almost guarantee that they will maintain a basic formation when they are marching.

The two new cities are still a long way from completion, and at least three months away from getting back on track.

But some things don't happen until everything is ready.

The torrent of the times is still rolling forward, although many things have changed because of Chen Wang, but the 72nd Battalion is still divided as in history.

Gao Yingxiang's death was like a huge earthquake, destroying the confidence in the hearts of many people in the 72nd Battalion.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, in October, Gao Yingxiang's head was rumored to the land of the nine provinces to demonstrate the letter.

In November, the world already knew the news of Gao Yingxiang's death.

As soon as Zhang Xianzhong received the news of Gao Yingxiang's death, he knew that the battalions still in Xunxiang joined forces together, and broke through the heavy encirclement network of the Ming army when Lu Xiangsheng went north to King Qin.

Until they break through, they can still do their best.

But after the breakout, a huge dispute broke out within them.

When Zhang Xianzhong first received the news of Gao Yingxiang's death, his heart was first shocked, and then he was afraid for a long time.

It was only as time passed, after the fear dissipated, that long-standing desire came back to him.

Zhang Xianzhong began to have the idea of replacing Gao Yingxiang's original position.

As soon as the idea came to me, it was out of control......

The seventy-two battalions are leaderless, and he is now the strongest among all the battalions, and no one can match him......

Zhang Xianzhong's idea is understandable, and now the entire seventy-second battalion has enough strength and prestige at this time, and the person who can provoke the big beam is really only Zhang Xianzhong.

Whether it is Cao Cao, Luo Rucai, or He Yilong of the Fifth Battalion of the Revolution, their prestige and strength are difficult to subdue everyone.

But Zhang Xianzhong can, his prestige is enough, and he, like Gao Yingxiang, joined the team at the beginning of the civil uprising.

Zhang Xianzhong and Gao Yingxiang were once generals under Wang Jiayin, and compared with Gao Yingxiang, the relationship between Zhang Xianzhong and Wang Jiayin was closer.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong was the only one who had the ability to provoke the girders, save the peasant army, and bring everything back on track.

But......

Zhang Xianzhong failed to seize this opportunity.

Zhang Xianzhong is not Gao Yingxiang, he does not have Gao Yingxiang's courage, he does not have Gao Yingxiang's mind, and he does not have Gao Yingxiang's vision.

After breaking through the encirclement and getting out of danger, Zhang Xianzhong showed his fangs and wanted to swallow Gao Yingde, as well as Scorpion Block Tuoyangkun, Zhang Miaoshou Zhang Wenyao and other forces that originally belonged to Gao Yingxiang.

Zhang Xianzhong was too domineering, and the first time he received the rejection, he didn't think about how to persuade, but wanted to show his sword......

Zhang Xianzhong's actions were not able to conceal Gao Deserving, Gao Deserve sensed the danger, and when Zhang Xianzhong had not yet made a move, Unicom Tuoyangkun, Zhang Wenyao and others chose to leave the brigade.

Then several people took their soldiers and horses all the way north, fled into Nanyang Mansion in Henan Province, and fled to Xi'an Mansion on the west side, wanting to join forces with Li Zicheng.

At this point, the 72nd Battalion, which was originally twisted into a rope under Gao Yingxiang, was split.

Gao Yingde, Tuoyangkun, Zhang Wenyao and other six battalions, a total of more than 20,000 elite cavalry soldiers, at the end of December of the ninth year of Chongzhen, went north and entered Xi'an Mansion.

And Lao Hui Ma Shouying, Cao Cao Luo Rucai, Liu Guoneng, Hengtian Wang Zishun, Yizi Wang Tuo Xianling and Ge Zuo Wuying are still with Zhang Xianzhong.

However, although the troops were gathered in one place, because of Zhang Xianzhong's previous behavior, everyone was on guard.

After all, no one wants to be swallowed up by others, even if they belong to the same camp.

Although Zhang Xianzhong is the most powerful, he has no room for people, and he has no master's spirit.

They huddled together and vaguely formed an alliance to prevent being annexed by Zhang Xianzhong.

No matter how Zhang Xianzhong moved, they would never mention the re-election of the alliance leader.

Compared with Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng did show his outstanding ability in the Battle of Longzhou at this time.

Hong Chengchou personally came to Gongchang Mansion, Cao Wenzhao, He Renlong, Gao Jie, Sun Shoufa and other people, and joined forces of 18,000 troops to suppress Li Zicheng.

The 72nd Battalion was split in Xunxiang, while Li Zicheng relied on the deep mountains of Longzhou and sent troops from all sides, fighting alone.

The Ming army attacked thirteen times in a row, but all of them ended in defeat.

The most thrilling time, when the two armies were fighting, Li Zicheng came to the front and happened to encounter Cao Wenzhao.

During the encounter, Li Zicheng was shot in the left arm by Cao Wenzhao, but he still calmly commanded his subordinates, and finally stabilized the situation again, leading the army to escape into the mountains again, getting rid of the pursuit of the Ming army.

At the end of the ninth year of Chongzhen, Chen Wang received more than a dozen messages from northern Shaanxi in five days.

These news were not sent by Sun Chuanting, but released by Hong Chengchou.

Gao Yingde, Tuoyangkun, Zhang Wenyao and others had already infiltrated Xi'an Mansion at the beginning of December.

Sun Chuanting led his troops to a big battle with him, and in the end Sun Chuanting won the victory, but he could not stop his march.

Gao Yingde and Tuoyangkun were all elite cavalry troops, and in order to prevent Zhang Xianzhong's pursuit, they left behind all the infantry and hungry soldiers.

They bypassed the defensive position set by Sun Chuanting and approached Fengxiang Mansion all the way.

The news that Li Zicheng was now in Gongchang Mansion had been intercepted by them, so Gao Yingde and Tuoyangkun naturally led the troops to prepare to rush to Li Zicheng's aid.

Li Zicheng also seemed to have gotten the news through some means, and soon after, Li Zicheng suddenly led his troops to the northeast and marched towards Fengxiang Mansion.

The messages Chen Wang received were all told him to guard the Jitou Pass, and he must ensure that there is no room for mistakes, and he must not let Li Zicheng or Gao Deserve go south to enter the Hanzhong Mansion.

(End of chapter)