That night, Liu Yan didn't feel sleepy at all. After settling the conduct officer Hu Zongming, he sent people overnight to bring in the hundred generals of each general office, as well as Tian Huixu, Yue Ming, Song Gongming and other hundreds of households to discuss matters.
It was not until early in the morning, when the sky turned slightly white, that everyone rushed to the Qianhu Official Hall one after another. Because they were traveling at night, everyone's face was blue from the cold, and they were all out of breath from exhaustion. But at this time, everyone was sitting in the main hall, full of energy, and even more excited.
When everyone heard that the imperial court was recruiting soldiers from Xiahe Village to fight against the Qing army, they cheered immediately. Zhang Yi and Wang Bo even jumped up, very bellicose.
Unlike the Ming army elsewhere, the officers and soldiers of the New Army in Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village were not afraid of war. Instead, due to strict drills, sophisticated equipment, abundant money and strong morale, all officers and soldiers from bottom to top had enough strength. Self-confident, very militant, and eager to rely on his strong strength to gain military exploits.
Especially after the great victory in the battle on Yaoshan Mountain Road, all the soldiers' fear of the Qing army disappeared. It turned out that the Qing army, which everyone feared like tigers, was also raised by their mother's biological father. , were still beaten to death in pieces!
At this time, everyone was eager to fight against the Qing army and gain military exploits.
Liu Yan looked at his subordinates who were highly motivated to fight, with a look of relief on his face. The army he had built with his own hands had finally condensed its military spirit, so that the new army could be used!
So Liu Yan said loudly: "This time I have decided to attack with the whole army. All the seven generals, totaling more than 3,700 soldiers, will go out. The craftsmen, veterinarians, medical officers and other personnel accompanying each general will be recruited within three days. Rush to Qianhushuo City within two days to assemble, without any delay!"
"yes!"
Chen Xun, Wang Bo, Wang Yue, Zhang Yi, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, and Shen Tuo stood up to accept the order.
"Xun Jingyun, the governor of the town, also went to war with the army to supervise the military discipline of various ministries."
Xun Jingyun still looked the same as he had for thousands of years. He stood up with a straight face and said, "I obey."
Liu Yan then looked at Tian Huixu and said: "After the army goes out, Tian Baihu will continue to recruit new army soldiers according to the infantry drill code, and seize the time to train soldiers and horses." 33
"This officer predicts that this battle will not be settled overnight. It will most likely involve time. The army will not come back within a few months, so the reserve soldiers must be trained in time."
"yes!"
Tian Huixu clasped his fists and asked, "May I ask, sir, after my subordinates train new soldiers, how do they replenish the army?"
Liu Yan said: "After the new soldiers are trained, they will all be stationed in Qianhusuo City in front of Xiahe Village. If the army needs to be replenished, I will send someone back to contact you and we will act in accordance with my instructions."
"I obey my orders!"
Then, Liu Yan looked at Song Gongming and said: "After I go on the expedition, Jia Hongyu, a hundred households of Lingshan Guard, will lead his troops to Wangjiazhuang and be responsible for guarding the properties of Wangjiazhuang and Dapanbao. During this period, Song Baihu can summon some military households. Qingzhuang is practicing secretly to prevent anyone from seizing my property in Xiahe Village."
Now that Jia Hongyu from a hundred households has led his troops to take care of it, who else will take advantage of the leopard's gall and come to snatch it away?
Song Gongming is a smart man, so he naturally understood the meaning, and immediately clasped his fists and said: "Don't worry, sir, I know what to do, and I will definitely take good care of your property!"
Liu Yan knew that Song Gongming was not given in vain, and felt relieved, so he said to Yue Ming: "Yue Baihu immediately raised money and food. Although our army has money, food and military pay allocated by the court for the expedition, everyone knows that these supplies will not be It's sufficient. Coupled with the current situation, life must be very difficult for Lu Duchen, so we must do everything without asking for help."
"yes!"
Yue Ming asked: "How much food are you planning to bring? I will help you raise it as soon as possible."
Liu Yan thought for a moment and said: "The army must carry at least two months' worth of military pay and three months' worth of military rations. The rest of the medicine, clothing and other materials must be prepared for two months based on four thousand people!"
Yue Ming looked solemn after hearing this. He had prepared all the money, food and supplies Liu Yan requested. It would require at least 20,000 taels of silver and more than 18,000 dan of grain. The warehouse of the Thousand Households in front of Xiahe Village was almost emptied. Most of it.
"My subordinates are going to prepare for the transfer overnight. We will have all the money, food and supplies within two days. Please rest assured, sir."
"Ah, very good."
Then Liu Yan said loudly: "Starting from tomorrow, I will go to Wangjiazhuang for inspection. Please complete your duties as soon as possible and don't neglect. If anyone fails to complete the order on time, don't blame me for being ruthless and lawless!"
"I obey my orders!"
Early the next morning, Liu Yan bid farewell to the conduct officer Hu Zongming and set out lightly for the Wangjiazhuang Baihu Office. General Manager Chen Xun also went there and rushed back to Wangjiazhuang to gather troops.
After arriving at Wangjiazhuang Baihu Station, Chen Xun went to work on gathering troops and horses. Liu Yan, accompanied by Xu Ming, inspected the Firearms Supervision Department and the Armor Supervision Department, and urged the two supervision departments to continue Increase production and maintain normal operations even after leading his troops on an expedition.
At the same time, Wang Yunhe ignored the obstruction of Shang Shan and Ruoshui, and went to the military camp in Qianhusuo City to express his condolences to the soldiers. He also visited many families of the New Army soldiers and tried his best to help Liu Yan stabilize people's hearts and improve his morale. .
When the officers and soldiers of the new army saw their mistress in such a state and came out to inspect all parties, they were all moved, and the morale of all departments increased greatly. Even the family members of the New Army soldiers were grateful to Wang Yunhe and rushed to the military camp spontaneously to encourage their sons to fight the enemy bravely. On the battlefield, they must not lose their reputation as a defensive master.
On this day, Liu Yan was preparing to return to Qianhusuo City from Wangjiazhuang Baihusuo. Before leaving, he was going to Wanfu Youfang to visit Lao Taishan Wang Jing. Outside Wanfu Oil Shop, Liu Yan saw a huge crowd of people, at least several hundred people gathered here.
Liu Yan sent people to inquire. It turned out that Wang Jing was leading a group of merchants here to raise money, food and materials for the expedition. Merchants and people from Wangjiazhuang and surrounding Huoludun and Tunpu responded one after another. The crowd outside Wanfu Oil Shop is getting bigger and bigger, and they are constantly gathering money, food and materials.
Several large trucks have been parked at the street ahead. Some workers from Wanfu Oil Shop began to load the donated materials into the trucks, and many people stepped forward to help.
At this time, the merchants and people collecting donations in front were so enthusiastic that no one noticed Liu Yan and Xu Ming who were not far away.
"Sir, let's go over and take a look."
Liu Yan shook his head and said, "No need, we'd better not go over and disturb him. We'll just send someone to deliver the gift later."
"yes."
At this time, Liu Yan felt happy. What does it mean that the one with the same desire wins? This is!
After coming out of Wangjiazhuang, Liu Yan was full of confidence. He had never been so confident: I will definitely win this battle!
Two days later, the seven generals arrived one after another at Qianhusuo City in front of Xiahe Village. Liu Yan immediately reviewed the army. The morale of more than 3,700 soldiers was high.
At the same time, Bao Xuezhen, who was appointed by Liu Yan as the medical officer for hundreds of households, also invited himself to join the army. He took more than a dozen medical craftsmen he taught and moved into the military camp in the city with their luggage on their backs.
On this day, Hu Zongming, the conduct officer who had just returned, sent someone to deliver armaments. This batch of armaments included 460 pairs of armors, as well as a large number of spears, waist knives and shields. In addition, there were three thousand kilograms of gunpowder, and four One hundred and ninety thunderbolts.
The power of the gunpowder and thunderbolts in it was definitely not as powerful as that produced in Wangjiazhuang, but it was still better than nothing. Liu Yan took all of them into the army and carried them with him.
The next day, Zhao Hao sent someone to deliver the last batch of new fixed-load ammunition, as well as 500 thunderbolts filled with granular gunpowder that were rushed out.
On the morning of the fourth day, an artillery team of more than 50 people arrived at Qianhu Station in front of Xiahe Village. This artillery team was transferred from Jimo Camp after coordination by the guerrilla general Li Jiwen of Jimo Camp. It was led by a man named Qian Cong's small flag officer led the team and assigned it to Liu Yan for command.
Liu Yan was overjoyed when he heard the news and hurried to the military camp. However, after seeing Qian Qianbu, the smile on Liu Yan's face froze.
Qian Qian led not so much an artillery team, but actually only five Tiger Cannons. There were none of the sharp weapons such as Folang Machine Cannon, Divine Machine Cannon, Rockets, and General Cannon that Liu Yan expected!
"Your Majesty Qian Qian, I have met Lord Defender!"
Liu Yan looked at the little flag official in front of him and saw that Qian Qian was twenty-seven or eighty years old, but he had a beard and spoke in a loud voice, which showed Qian Qian's fiery temper.
"This time I am going to fight against the Qing army. Does Qian Xiaoqi know?"
"Don't worry, sir. My subordinates and the brothers under me are all very capable. They will definitely not hold you back on the battlefield!"
Liu Yan raised his eyebrows. Qian Qian had a really hot temper, but Liu Yan liked it, so he asked some questions about artillery operations.
Qian Qian also answered one by one, and finally said: "I hate that the officials in Jimo camp are so corrupt that they have reported the damage to the general cannons in the camp. Otherwise, if I give my subordinates a few general cannons this time, they will surely defeat the Qing army." The Tatars can’t eat anything and are walking around in circles!”
When Liu Yan saw this, he understood a little bit. This Qian Qian must be the same kind of character in Jimo camp. He has certain abilities, but he hates evil and wants to scream when he sees injustice, but he is punished by Shangguan.
"So, with only these five Tiger Cannons, they are still useless on the battlefield?"
Qian Qian said: "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong! Although the Tiger Master Cannon is a small cannon with a short range and low power, once it is used properly, it can still win by surprise!"
Liu Yan regained his energy and asked Qian Qian to sit down in the side hall of the military camp, and then said: "Then tell me in detail how to make good use of these five Tiger Cannons."
"Got the order!"
Qian Qian said: "This Tiger Cannon is a weapon favored by Grandpa Qi. Although it is not as good as those general cannons in terms of range and power, it is better because of its fast firing speed, long duration, and it can also fire shotguns!"
"As long as there are enough Tiger Cannons, my subordinates and these brothers can suppress the nearby Qing army with continuous firepower, hit the Qing army's shield vehicles and shields hard, and use shotguns to kill a large number of enemy troops!"
Liu Yan understood that the Tiger Master Cannon was still very useful, but the five cannons were too few and not enough.
So Liu Yan asked: "With your ability, how many Tiger Cannons are needed to exert its combat power?"
Qian Qian thought Liu Yan could get the Tiger Cannon, so he immediately calculated it and said, "Twenty cannons, and if I give my subordinates another twenty Tiger Cannons, they will definitely work wonders!"
Liu Yan said with a smile: "There are no twenty Tiger Cannons now, but I promise you that as long as we can come back victorious this time and you and I are still alive, I will give you twenty more Tiger Cannons!" "
Qian Qian asked doubtfully: "Sir, can you still borrow the Tiger Master Cannon?"
"I can't borrow it, but I know how to make the Tiger Cannon."
After listening to this, Qian Chong felt as if his intelligence had been insulted and was speechless for a moment.
Some people died, but not completely...
