The teaching ground in Wangjiazhuang is located three miles south of the city, covering an area of more than an hectare. The teaching ground was built during the Yongle period. In the past, it was a place where the officers and soldiers of the hundred households held autumn exercises. However, as time passed, the teaching ground was in dilapidated condition, and several team officers, including Wang Wenzhen, had no intention of repairing it.
At this time, the teaching field was already filled with the Dunjun troops in Wangjiazhuang. Chief Flag Officers Liu Yu and Sun Mingyuan stood at the front of the team, looking at Liu Yan on the high platform.
In March, the weather was still very cold in the coastal areas of Daming Shandong. The humidity mixed with the cold wind blew on the body, making people extremely uncomfortable. And today there were even a few tiny snowflakes falling, and when the north wind blew over, it made people tremble all over.
Liu Yan stood on the high platform and looked at the many soldiers from Wangjiazhuang below. Although the soldiers were all wrapped in thick cotton and leather jackets, most of them were huddled together, standing there rubbing their hands and stamping their hands. Stomping his feet, he didn't look like a military figure at all.
What makes people sigh even more is that there are 223 people recorded in the Wangjiazhuang military register, but Liu Yan looked at the Dun army on the field and wondered if there were 150 people.
And among these people, half are still old and weak, and all of them are covered in tattered military uniforms. Many of them are sallow and thin, wearing thin military uniforms, shivering in the cold wind, and even the weapons on their hands are rusty. Banban, at first glance, it seems that it has not been maintained.
When these people came into contact with Liu Dian's gaze, their expressions were numb, and there was no expression in their eyes or faces. In Liu Yan's view, these people were already useless.
The only ones who are better are the servants beside the flag officers Liu Yu and Sun Mingyuan. Behind each of them are eleven or two people. Most of them are young and strong, and their armors and weapons are quite complete. However, their array discipline is also sparse and typical. of rabble.
When these servants were placed in Dapanbao, they were all unqualified Dunjun troops. However, when placed in Wangjiazhuang and other Ming guard posts, they were already the main combat force.
On the high platform of the martial arts training hall, Liu Yan glanced at the Wangjiazhuang Dunjun soldiers with an ugly expression on his face. The destruction of the Wangjiazhuang army was beyond his expectation. Can these soldiers fight? Liu Yan was deeply suspicious. It was no wonder that Wang Wenzhen had to pull out dozens of his servants several times before when he sent out troops. These troops were indeed of no use.
Liu Yan was wearing iron armor, which attracted a lot of attention from the audience. In addition, since he was the new team officer inspecting the troops, there was constant discussion among the audience. Beside Liu Yan, Chief Flag Officer Xu Ming and Chief Flag Officer Miao Shao also stood with swords in their hands.
Xu Ming had a straight face, the same expression that remained unchanged for thousands of years. Miao Shao was wearing a suit of iron armor, which made him even more tall and burly. At this time, he also had an ugly face. He glanced at the Dunjuns in Wangjiazhuang from time to time, and at the same time frequently looked at the Dunjuns on the other side of Dapanbao. Only then did his face show A smile comes.
The Dunjuns of Dapanbao are the real good soldiers. Not only are they all young and strong, but they also have outstanding discipline. They are wearing armor and just stand with their swords in the cold weather. There is no trace of chaos.
At this time, the central sentry officers led by Miao Shao formed three horizontal formations. Each flag was a row. No matter which way it was viewed, it was a straight line. The three newly promoted flag officers were Wu Xingzhou and Lu Ying. In the north of Hotan Town, the three of them stood in front of each flag, wearing armor and standing tall, with the unique pride of the Dapanbao Dun Army on their faces.
Although the weather was so cold that the Wangjiazhuang Dunjun next to them were all shrinking, but these Dapanbao Dunjun soldiers were breathing thick white air and just remained motionless, letting the snowflakes float on their bodies. They all had serious expressions and looked ahead. .
This kind of military discipline and appearance made the Wangjiazhuang Dunjun next to them feel fearful, especially those who had participated in the battle to exterminate the bandits some time ago, and their expressions were even more awe-inspiring.
Liu Yu stood on the right with his team of servants, looking at the Dapanbao Dunjun soldiers next to him, he felt very unhappy. Liu Yu spent many years to raise a team of servants that wasted all his strength. However, the appearance and combat power of this group of servants are far inferior to those of Dapanbao's rough training for several months. How can this not be allowed? Did he feel a deep sense of frustration?
It is precisely because of this that the hostility in Liu Yu's heart towards Liu Yan gradually evolved into hatred.
After looking at the audience for a long time, Liu Yancai said in a deep voice: "General Yue Banner, why is the military affairs in Wangjiazhuang so dilapidated?"
Although Yue Ming was not in charge of Wangjiazhuang's battalion training troops, the army was so ruined, and Yue Ming was the transitional person designated by Wang Wenzhen before leaving. Of course Liu Yan wanted to ask Yue Ming.
Yue Ming clasped his fists and said in a deep voice: "Sir, training soldiers and horses requires money and food. There is not enough food and rice in the hundreds of households in Wangjiazhuang. Xia Guan and the previous Lord Wang are also powerless!"
The Dunjun soldiers must carry out basic training and eat at least a full diet of coarse food every day. Otherwise, they are weak and will easily fall into a coma from exhaustion even if they run around the training ground a few times. If you want to increase the amount of training, you should also add some meat every day, otherwise you will soon urinate blood and die.
Wangjiazhuang is indeed in ruins, and Baihu House is indeed running out of money and food. It seems that at this time, it is indeed difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without straw.
But does Wang Wenzhen really have no money or food?
Liu Yan knew very well how much grain Wang Wenzhen had in his hands, but Wang Wenzhen regarded the money as his own private property. It was okay to use it to train his servants, but it was not used to train the court's soldiers and horses. It is impossible to develop Wangjiazhuang.
Liu Yan said: "Then why are there so few officers and soldiers in Wangjiazhuang?"
Yue Ming said in a deep voice: "My lord, the military families in Wangjiazhuang are constantly fleeing, and the officers have to support their own servants, and the lower officials are powerless! This situation is common in Huolu Dun and Tunbao all over Wangjiazhuang. Of course Dapanbao is an exception, and adults know that."
The Border Guard Station of the Ming Dynasty has always been divided into seven parts for the villages and three parts for the city guards, which is called the preparation of the officers and troops. After the grain collected from the garrison was collected, part of it was turned over, and part of it was used to support the officers in the fort and the training officers and soldiers. The rest are mixed with the official army and the garrison, and they work in labor and farming.
In the early Ming Dynasty, the military garrison output could almost fully meet the needs of the entire army, so the soldiers and horses were strong and the soldiers felt at ease. However, since the year of Xuande, a large number of troops from various garrison stations have fled, and a large number of garrison troops have been drafted into garrison troops, and the original garrison land has been transferred to Yuding for cultivation. Things changed over time. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the generals were recruited into the regular army, and Yu Ding was assigned to the camp.
At this time, not only the officers and soldiers prepared by the various military stations continued to flee in large numbers, but the rest were mostly superficial. They rarely practiced for a few days a year, and they were only busy with their own homes and fields. Even if there are young men and women, they are reluctant to serve as regular soldiers and just let the old and weak members of the family take their place.
Moreover, in order to support their own servants, officers at various health stations not only deducted food and salary, but also encouraged this phenomenon so that they could take advantage of it.
All it takes is two words: food and salary.
After listening to Yue Ming's words, Liu Yan kept thinking. After he asked the Wangjiazhuang Dunjun to perform formations and martial arts again, his face showed no expression. He just said to Yue Ming: "General Yue Qi, please pass on the order. From now on, Starting tomorrow, I will inspect all the forts and fire roads under my control!"
From the next day, Liu Yan asked Miao Shao to lead a team that stayed overnight, and Xu Ming led the cavalry sentry to stay in Wangjiazhuang. Then he took Yue Ming, Liu Yu, Sun Mingyuan and others, braving the severe cold, to inspect his subordinates one after another. Each fort.
In addition to Dapanpu and Huangshan Dun, Wangjiazhuang also has Fengshan Dun, Shagou Dun, Xujiadun, Chedieshan Dun, Zhaojiaying Fort, Beixiangou Dun, Xiaotan Dun and Haiwangzhuang Fort. There are eight fire road piers and forts.
Not to mention the hard work of the armor commanders everywhere, according to what Liu Yan saw, the situation in the Huolu piers and forts everywhere was very bad. The fields were abandoned, the cattle were thin, and the military households in the piers and forts fled in large numbers. There are fewer and fewer young people everywhere. Seeing these situations, Liu Yan couldn't help but frown.
Two days later, Liu Yan led a group of people to Huangshan Dun. Shen Tuo, the commander of Huangshan Dun, greeted Liu Yan and his group respectfully.
The terrain of Huangshan Dun is important, but there are potholes everywhere inside and outside. There are also some shabby buildings such as mud huts and thatched huts inside the pier. Most of the people walking on the road are men and women in ragged clothes, shivering from the cold.
The best building in the pier is the General Flag Office. Although Shen Tuo has the ability to lead troops, he is short of money. Even though the pier troops in Huangshan Dun are much stronger than those elsewhere, in Liu Yan's opinion It is still far inferior to the Dunjun of Dapanbao.
At this time, Shen Tuo couldn't come up with anything good to entertain Liu Yan and his party, so he killed a pig to entertain these big shots from Wangjiazhuang.
For Shen Tuo, Liu Yan encouraged him with a smile, and then overheard Shen Tuo mention an important piece of information while eating with everyone.
"Mr. Shen, what are you talking about? There is an iron mine near Tiechu Mountain to the north of Huangshan Dun?"
Liu Yan was most concerned about the iron mines within the territory that could be used to make weapons and armor, so he immediately started asking.
Shen Tuo pondered: "There is one. I heard some people in the north talk about it. It is said that it is a Guaoshi mine. The quality is also quite outstanding, but mining is inconvenient. Only some villagers from the north go there to dig some ore for use. , everyone is interested in it on weekdays!”
After listening to Shen Tuo's words, Liu Yan suddenly felt happy and said, "Take me over and have a look!"
"Now?"
"Yes, right now."
So amidst everyone's surprise, Liu Yan, led by Shen Tuo, went to Tiechu Mountain.
This on-site exploration made Liu Yan even more happy. According to the estimates of the people accompanying him, the local hematite reserves in Tiegu Mountain are nearly two million tons, with an iron content of 30 to 40%. This After the ore is mined, it can fully meet Liu Yan's needs.
Even though mining is somewhat inconvenient, as the head of a factory, Liu Yan can still smelt a large amount of steel as long as he deploys manpower and has enough money and food.
After Liu Yan inspected Wangjiazhuang and Huangshandun these days, he estimated that there were 70,000 to 80,000 to 80,000 acres of farmland and wasteland within the territory. Moreover, this was a piece of land that was entirely his own. Looking at the beautiful scenery everywhere, Liu Yan's heart surged with pride. He knew that he could manage Dapanbao well under extremely difficult conditions. He could also manage the entire Wangjiazhuang well and gain a foothold in the world.
Calculate that in June or July of this year, the slaves will join the invaders. Now Liu Yan only has three or four months to prepare. Time is tight.
Liu Yan remembered the historical description. During the invasion of the 11th year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji mobilized more than 100,000 Eight Banner soldiers to attack the Ming Dynasty. They captured 179,820 people and animals of the Ming Dynasty, and the slaves returned home after being plundered.
This is a massive invasion, and there is not much time left. By then, the slave-building army will definitely send troops to plunder everywhere. By then, the slave-building army will appear all over Shandong, especially in Wangjiazhuang. how many people? A thousand people or ten thousand people?
Liu Yan didn't know that even though there weren't many Jianu soldiers and horses rushing into Shandong in history, and there were no records of going deep into southern Shandong, no one could tell what the actual situation was like!
Whether they are rogues or barbarians, Liu Yan hates them from the bottom of his heart and looks down on them from the bottom of his heart! No matter in the past, present or future, I would never consider the idea of surrendering from thieves. When the army comes to the city, the worst is to die in a vigorous battle. I would rather die in pieces than in ruins!
But how could he be willing to accept his fate? Ever since he came to this world, he has been working hard, from being a general flag officer that everyone looked down upon to his current position as a team officer. He has thousands of strong troops in his hands and built the base of Dapanbao. He worked hard on his own, and Liu Yan would never give up even at the last moment.
Liu Yan was ambitious and planned to be fully prepared for the war before the Qing troops came this year. He expected the worst in his plan. If he didn't have enough money and food, he would go and grab it! At present, the Ming Dynasty is in turmoil, and bandits are everywhere. Killing them will not only bring peace to the people, but also support the army. If they don't die, it will be your turn to die.
Looking in the direction of Tiegu Mountain, Liu Yan took a breath. After this period of busy work, it was time to find someone to come over and run the business.
