June 17, the fifth day of settling in Lion Bay.
In the morning, Liu Chengzong visited the wounded soldiers at the baggage post and asked the doctor to change the dressing for the wound on his right arm.
After changing the medicine and walking out of the baggage post camp, he saw from a distance the mule team returning with full loads, meandering through the river valley.
As we got closer, the leader of the mule team was Cheng Yu. He reported with a complex expression: "One hundred loads of rice and grain, a total of one hundred and thirty-six shi, sent by the leader of the Lone Wolf from the north."
"Lone Wolf... I don't know him."
Liu Chengzong did not remember dealing with this leader and asked: "Why did he send food?"
"Li Lao Jackal's good brother used to have more than 2,000 people. This is the food Li Lao Jackal borrowed from him."
Li Laojiao's good brother?
Liu Chengzong asked doubtfully: "I didn't go to join the water with Li Laojiao, and I didn't help him when he was in danger. How can he be a good brother?"
"Hey, it's not that he doesn't want to save, he just doesn't have the ability. The lone wolf went to Bao'an County, and ended up bumping into two groups of frontier troops in the mountains. He was beaten to the point where there were only 300 people left. He couldn't save himself. How could he save Li? Old Jackal."
Liu Chengzong paid special attention to the numbers of the two teams.
If we say one team, it may refer to one team, but two teams... Liu Chengzong thinks they may be very accurate military units.
He asked: "Two teams, are they one hundred border troops?"
"Put the food away and count it." Chengyun ordered his men to go into the camp to do the work. He turned around and sighed: "Yes, one hundred people chased two thousand people and defeated them. Except for the Lion Camp, everyone else survived. not easy."
Liu Chengzong deeply believed this.
But then, Chengyun said another more important news.
It took Li Laojiao four days to transport a total of 240 shi of rice and grain to Shishiwan, including grabbing, transporting and borrowing money.
During these four days, the war horses, donkeys and mules of the Lion Camp were grazed, and the soldiers' meals were also mixed with bacon made earlier.
Even so, he still ate two hundred and twenty kilograms of rice.
The dried meat they had accumulated was enough for twenty-three days, and the rice grain was enough for twenty-two days.
Liu Chengzong knew that there was not much time left for him to make a decision, and the Lion Battalion had to divide its forces.
After seeing Chengyun, Liu Chengzong returned to the battalion headquarters to meet with Shangtianhou, and asked about the psychological conditions of the sentry officers and soldiers who had learned from the commander. After learning that there was no abnormality, he summoned his men to discuss the matter.
The so-called battalion headquarters is a dilapidated courtyard that has been in disrepair.
Six of the seven rooms in the compound collapsed, and the remaining one looked unreliable, so no one dared to use it, so Liu Chengzong treated it as a camp headquarters and set up ten chairs and nine stools.
The map was hung in the north of the courtyard. When the seven sentry commanders arrived, Liu Chengzong got straight to the point: "We defeated He Huchen and should have been repairing in the mountains for more than a month, but Li Lao Jackal's grain and grass were abandoned in the mountains and supplies were insufficient."
"There are too many people and horses in the camp now, and it is difficult to raise food. We will eat up wherever we go."
"Right now, Yanzhou in the south of Yan'an and Ningzhou in the south of Qingyang are both safe." He turned his head and pointed at the map: "The baggage post is not moving, and the six sentry troops are foraging in various counties."
Cao Yao asked: "General, how long will you be out for?"
"Let's give it a month for the time being. These places are not far away. With Yanzhou City as the center, the distance from southeast to northwest is no more than 300 miles. You can return in five days at the latest in case of trouble."
Liu Chengzong had been trying his best to avoid this situation, but by this time, the Lion Camp had become unavoidably fat.
"General, shall I go to Ningzhou?"
Outpost Commander Yang Yao had been to Pingliang via Ningzhou earlier and was quite familiar with it. With Liu Chengzong's approval, he looked around and asked, "There are a lot of fertile fields for the wealthy gentry over there. Who can join me?"
Liu Chengzong naturally looked at Wang Wenxiu.
However, Wang Wenxiu was not enthusiastic about this mission. He shook his head and said: "General, there are too many wounded soldiers in the back sentries. I want to go to Yichuan, which is closer to Shizizi Valley."
In their battle with the Ningxia soldiers, many sergeants were killed and few were seriously injured. However, the minor injuries in the camp were basically soldiers at the back post. Wang Wenxiu did not have many people at his disposal.
Liu Chengzong nodded and said: "Then the outpost will go to Yichuan, and the other one will go to Ningzhou in Qingyang Prefecture. Who will go there?"
Cao Yao glanced at Feng Rui, and Feng Rui said knowingly: "General, let me go to Ningzhou with Commander Yang. With him leading the way, it will be more convenient."
Ningzhou's manpower was decided, followed by Yanzhou, which was closer and had a north-south road, so it was easier to arrange.
It was finally decided that Cao Yao, Zhong Hu, and Gao Xian would go to Luochuan, Central, and Yijun counties in Yanzhou respectively.
Yang Yao and Feng Ru went to Ningzhou in the southwest; Wang Wenxiu led his troops to station in Yichuan.
After deciding where to go, Liu Chengzong warned the generals: "This time when the troops are divided, you will keep the wounded soldiers. Raising food and grass is of top priority, but the rules for collecting food are still the same."
"Each sentry will carry a thousand taels of silver. You, the clerk, will take note of what I say next."
Liu Chengzong paused and waited for the clerks to take out the banknotes they carried and started recording. Then he said: "Innocents are not allowed to be harmed, and common people are not allowed to be harmed. Even wealthy gentry must be selective."
"Those who bully men and women, seize people's fields, usury loans, harm the people, annex the fields, and create refugees, these are the people who will be beaten, and they will be beaten with great fanfare, so that all the people will know that it was the Lion Battalion that beat them."
"But for those virtuous gentry who build bridges and roads, relieve the poor, reduce rents and interest rates, or in other words can win the support of the people around them, not only cannot they be beaten, but they must also behave like a lion camp and respect them. Others know that we should stay in Yuqing. Also have some mercy.”
"To get along with the people, soldiers need to buy daily necessities. They spend money when they need to. If the people are willing and dare to do business with us, they can give more as appropriate. These things must be clearly told to all the sergeants in the battalion."
"Northern Shaanxi is our hometown. If the elders in our hometown don't support the Lion Camp and regard us as bandits, then sooner or later we will be wiped out by the army."
After Liu Chengzong said this, all the sentry officers nodded in agreement. After the clerks finished recording, he continued: "We have just fought a tough battle and need time to recuperate. Don't think you are powerful and go attack the county, Prefectures and prefectures.”
As soon as he finished speaking, several sentry commanders chuckled, and Cao Yao said: "Don't worry, general. We are all tired and have no energy to attack the city."
Liu Chengzong also laughed, and then said: "By the way, I will leave five clerks at each sentry. You can go collect food. I can't be lazy in Lion Bay. I will use this time to teach the wounded soldiers. These wounded soldiers All soldiers are heroes. In the future, all sentry officers should be promoted from among them first."
After saying that, he watched everyone pause for a long time, and then said with a smile: "I have been thinking recently that each post will operate more independently in the future to prepare for future military expansion."
"Are we going to expand the army?"
Wang Wenxiu said in shock: "Six thousand people and six thousand large animals can hardly be fed. If we continue to expand the army, General... Where can northern Shaanxi support so many non-working sergeants?"
"The expansion I am talking about does not mean the expansion of troops. If everything goes well in the next two years, I plan to first divide the two posts into one battalion, and then divide the two posts into one battalion, and finally form a three-battalion Lion Army."
In more than a year, as the Lion Camp took shape, Liu Chengzong had plans for the next step.
"Based on the left battalion, the right battalion, and the central military standard battalion, the two battalions on the left and right each have a staff general and deputy general, and are under the jurisdiction of six sentries in the front, rear, center, left and right, and baggage. The center post is directly under the command of the staff general and the artillery team."
After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, several sentry commanders were counting with their fingers below. After the calculation, Wang Wenxiu raised his head and said, "We still need to expand the army, General."
Based on the calculation of 500 men per sentry, six sentry posts are equivalent to 3,000. It seems that the Zhongjun standard battalion will be directly under the general army, and the division will be added to my work sentry, which means the total strength will reach 9,500.
Counting the general Ma Bian, the troop strength will be over 10,000.
Liu Chengzong smiled and said: "The biggest advantage of dividing the battalion is that one battalion is stationed in one place and can be combined during war. In this way, the local area can afford to support it. There are still one and a half years. Who can say the changes in the future?"
"Besides, you don't want to move up. Bring more troops, ten thousand soldiers... Brothers, with ten thousand soldiers, we can march sideways in Shaanxi."
The crowd roared with laughter.
Du Wenhuan didn't even have ten thousand troops that could be mobilized out of the defense zone.
Cao Yao asked with a smile: "The general, no, it's time to call him the marshal. When should I set off for the marshal?"
Being called a commander for the first time, Liu Chengzong couldn't help but smile and shake his head, and then said: "Let's set off tomorrow. I have something else to do. Everyone happens to be here. I want to discuss with you about where we should go from here."
Speaking of this, the captains immediately stopped smiling and became serious.
"Last night, we brothers chatted very late in the mountains. When talking about where to go, Mr. Yang gave three ideas: go to Qinghai, go to Hanzhong to station in Sichuan, and go to Nanyang to occupy Huguang."
There was silence in the yard.
Liu Chengzong originally thought that this would have a huge reaction for the sentry commanders, and that one stone would stir up a thousand waves.
But when he told this explosive news, the captains looked at me and I looked at you, but no one said anything.
He first looked at the monkey in the sky, who seemed not to have heard.
Looking at Cao Yao again, Cao Yao was very calm, as if he was waiting for others to speak; but when he looked at other people, he couldn't.
Yang Yao met his troubled eyes and said: "Commander, I grew up in Guyuan Prefecture and served as a soldier in Guyuan Town. You can name these five places. I have heard of them all, but apart from their names, I have no idea about these five places. I understand half of it.”
Wang Wenxiu also said with a grimace: "I am just like him. The farthest place I have been to is called Xizhou."
Zhong Hu didn't have to count on it: "I am from Yanshuiguan. I have been to Xizhou when I was a child. The farthest place from home in my life is this, Huanglong Mountain."
Gao Xian knew everything from Ansai to Yuhebao.
Feng Ru and Cao Yao were both from Henan.
Cao Yao was happy. He tilted his mouth and bit the dry skin on his mouth, and bowed his hands to everyone: "Cheng Rang, Cao has been to Liaodong, North Zhili and parts of Shanxi and Henan. He is familiar with it, but he has never been to these five places."
you win.
Liu Chengzong sighed.
"Don't sigh, Commander, that's all my experience, brothers." Cao Yao said with a smile, "Commander is a scholar. If you know these places, just tell me about them."
Liu Chengzong thought about it, and he took it for granted. There were probably not many people in the world who could tell the topography, terrain, advantages and disadvantages of these five places at the same time.
The one in his mind counts as one.
"In fact, none of the three roads is good. Going to Sichuan from Hanzhong and going to Huguang from Nanyang. Given the current situation, going there is a dead end. But looking at the general trend of the world, we can consider it in five or ten years."
"Hanzhong is surrounded by mountains. There are more than 200 miles of mountain roads from Fengxiang Prefecture to the north, and more than 200 miles of mountain roads from Ruchuan to the south. If you block it, you will die. Nanyang is also surrounded by mountains, and Huguang is probably wrapped by mountains."
Liu Chengzong raised two fingers and said: "But these two places have fertile soil, which can be used for farming and raising soldiers. They will be battlegrounds for military strategists for ten to eight years."
"The bad thing is that Sichuan has been fighting for 20 years since the establishment of the country, and the people's livelihood is in ruins and needs to be revitalized. Not to mention that it is difficult to enter Sichuan and even more difficult to get out of Sichuan. At the same time, we want to penetrate Guanzhong first."
"It is not easy to go to Huguang from Nanyang. That place will also be surrounded by heavy troops from the imperial court. To go to Nanyang, you need to penetrate Shanxi and Henan."
"So these two roads can't even be mentioned as a rainy day, so all outposts should pay attention in the future. If they meet locals from Sichuan, Huguang, and Henan, they should try to keep them in their hands."
The monkey in the sky asked very seriously: "What about Qinghai? Are you going to meet the locals in Qinghai?"
"Monkey, Qinghai... that place used to be called Gagandusi. After the Wanli Dynasty, the Tumut tribe invaded Qinghai in a large scale and occupied that place."
Liu Chengzong organized a speech to explain the matter, saying: "If Lintao Town had not been destroyed, it would not be easy to meet Qinghai natives."
Only then did the monkey understand that the Qinghai Liu Chengzong mentioned was not under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and there was Lintao Town nearby. He thought very seriously: "You can't go there, it would be the same as going to the north to occupy Guihua City. .”
"Du Wenhuan may not stop him if he runs out. It's easy to go out but hard to come back. Not only are you very handsome, but you also want to be a prodigy?"
"Hey, you have a big heart."
Liu Chengzong said with a smile, and then continued: "It was not easy in the past. We had to go west through Shaanxi. Have you read The Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Ma Chao has Qiang people under his command, and that place was the territory of the Qiang people in ancient times."
"Even in the past, we couldn't avoid fighting with the Hai Tatars. That place can only support so many people. We occupy more land, and they occupy less land. So unless it is difficult to stop the army in Shanshan, even if we move here, Fighting is better than that."
"But there are two advantages over there. The first is that there is no Great Wall. Gansu is separated by mountains in the north, and Xining faces Xining at the small mountain pass in the east."
"Secondly, if we outlaws can carve out a niche there, it should be easy to absorb the deserters from the border troops in the two towns of Lintao, Gansu."
"The good thing about it is that it's farther west, either in the desert or in the snow-capped mountains. You don't have to worry about being attacked from the front and back. But that's it. Don't think too much about it. Let's talk about Guihua City, which everyone knows."
"Going to Qinghai is better than attacking Taiyuan, Xi'an, Taiyuan, Guihua City, Xuanfu, Datong, and Beijing City. If fighting these places is a life-and-death battle, going to Qinghai is a life-and-death battle."
"Since no one has any other suggestions."
Liu Chengzong stood up and raised his hand to tap twice on the hung map: "Then let's regard it as a retreat for the time being. If one day the imperial court mobilizes all its national strength to clean up Shanxi, we will temporarily run over and hide for two years, and even pull out the city of Xining. That’s fine, you don’t have to go to Qinghai.”
"When the world changes, it might not be a bad idea to regroup and fight out from the corners of the world."
