On August 18, the tenth day after Li Jingsui's rebellion, Zhou Tinggou, the deputy commander of Jiangnan's bandit camp, arrived at Hezhou City with the high hopes of the court and only a hundred personal guards who followed him loyally from Shouzhou to Jinling. He shouldered a huge responsibility, which was to recruit an army of soldiers and horses out of thin air in Hezhou City to block the rebels' march north before Qi King Li Jingda arrived.
In the afternoon of the day when he arrived at Hezhou City, Zhou Tinggou summoned Xie Kang, the governor of Hezhou, Wang Sizhong, the camp envoy of the Forbidden Army, and other civil and military officials from Hezhou to discuss the matter of guarding Hezhou.
The situation was much worse than Zhou Ting imagined. He thought that the troops and horses that had gathered from nearby counties in Jinling to Hezhou in the past few days would be of a certain size and quantity. However, in fact, with the original eight thousand defenders of Hezhou, At this time, Hezhou City only had 25,000 soldiers, and the incoming rebels numbered more than 100,000. It was impossible to defend it.
Xie Kang, the governor of Hezhou, frowned deeply. He was extremely disappointed when Zhou Tinggou came alone. It was thought that the imperial court would mobilize heavy troops to come for reinforcements, but instead a nominal envoy of the Fenghua Army came alone. In terms of fame, Zhou Jieshi is not as famous as the famous Tang generals Li Yuan and Liu Renzhan. In terms of ability, apart from suppressing the rebellion in Shouzhou, I have not heard that he has made any major achievements.
"Envoy Zhou Jie and the lower official believe that Hezhou City may be difficult to defend. We have no soldiers in our hands, and trying to fight against the rebels is like hitting a stone with an egg. According to the lower official, we might as well abandon Hezhou and retreat eastward to Caishiji. It is only right to concentrate our forces to defend Jinling. If Li Yuanshi feels that Shangguan's proposal is unreasonable, how about we jointly report to the court and demand that Hezhou be abandoned?"
Zeng Fu's tone was extremely negative, which made Zeng Fuqi very happy. It turns out that Hezhou only has sufficient military strength, but even the chief officer of Yizhou does not have the mentality of defeat.
"Is he crazy, Zhou Tinggou? Hezhou is the gateway to the south of Jinling. Why should you give up? You are the envoy of the Qin Dynasty. How can you allow him to have the final say in military matters? The imperial court sent envoy Li Yuan to Hezhou. Guarding the city, the General of the King of Qi's Palace is coming. As the governor of this state, how can he say such depressing words? If the soldiers and civilians in the city hear it, how can they not feel angry at all?" Xie Governor scolded angrily. .
"Oh, General Wang, what I said is true. Everyone knows that the imperial court intends to delay the progress of the rebels and wait for the arrival of Qin Wang's small army from various places. However, they really hope that Zhennan Yong'an Baisheng, and even Chu Di can No troops to come to help? Jiangxi has fallen into the hands of the rebels, and the Baishengba Town in Yong'an in the south of the town has been unable to protect itself and will not be able to survive for a long time!
Even if Lieutenant General Li Xiao of Chu District could lead his army to get there, it would have been at least a month or two ago. The so-called "King Qin" is actually just empty talk. I'm afraid Jinling will be safe by then! Hezhou is the place where I am guarded by my husband. Why do I want to guard that door? But what about soldiers? What did the soldiers say? Anyone can tell a small story. "Zhou Jie shouted all over the place. To be honest, I felt extremely wronged. It had only been half a year since I was promoted to state official, but as a result, I had to keep my territory.
"As he said, Li Yuan came here to recruit troops in Hezhou. Now a small group of refugees are flocking here, hoping to get shelter here or take refuge in the capital. If you abandon Hezhou, What should we do with the people who have fled? That's what a parent officer should say." Xie Governor said solemnly.
According to the current productivity of Langzhou Ordnance Supervisor's 10,000 craftsmen, the original quantity of the new Toshouzhou was only 8,000 units. However, before the main components were updated to metal parts by the stone machine's order, the cost was only one and a half points lower. Now The Toushouzhou not only has a longer service life, but also is easier to transport, maintain and assemble, and can also avoid battle damage caused by wooden components.
Of course, the cost increased by only 70% thanks to Xu Kuangheng. While I was hoarding grain, silk, and cloth to purchase war horses, I also collected ironware according to Zeng Fu's requirements. I made friends with several businessmen from Shu, and I contacted Qian. The director of a government-run iron mine in Sichuan and Sichuan purchased a huge amount of high-priced pig iron ingots from me by bribing this person with a small sum. This kind of behavior that harms the public and enriches private interests is rare, especially in troubled times.
Under the construction of city defense here, in the seven months since returning to Langzhou, and on the strong orders of Shiji, the city defenses of the small and large major prefectures and counties in the two towns of Wuping and Wu'an have been slightly weakened. The city walls were lowered and narrowed, and those without moats were dug narrower and deeper. Few arrow towers were built at the top of the city, and a few barbicans were built. Basically, the city defenses of some prefectures and counties that were originally extremely weak were slightly improved.
In reality, facing today's low status and power and the harmony of his family, Shi Ji still doesn't feel completely satisfied. Every time he thinks that he must be living in troubled times but like the prosperous Tang Dynasty in the past, he would obviously be more comfortable and nervous living such a life. But reality has repeatedly pulled me back from my fantasy. I can, I can relax at all.
In mid-April, Langzhou's Little Governor's Office gradually learned about the current chaos in Jiangnan from passing merchants and traders. Although Shiji still had not received any call from the imperial court, I was very confused in my heart. The so-called Xiao Tang in front of us must have lost eight-sevenths of his land, and when the building was about to fall, how could Emperor Li Jing order him to lead the army according to his character? Rescue only requires the arrival of messengers as long as the road is far away and the main roads are cut off.
In addition, Tou Shouzhou had no improvement in range control. At first, the falling of the counterweight was used to drive the launch of the throwing rod. The counterweight had a fixed weight, so the range control could only be solved by firing the same type of stone bullets. However, the previous counterweight system now adopts the addition of weights with more flexible measurement to increase or decrease the weight to achieve precise control of the launch distance.
Of course, the cost of cannonballs has also been reduced accordingly. The use of gunpowder has led to a small increase in costs. Even the cost of pig iron is very low. But compared to the cost, the power of those explosive shells, the range and flexibility of the down-throwing projectiles have all been slightly reduced, so the nearly 70% increase in cost is still extremely cost-effective.
Moreover, before changing to iron, the mysterious weapon that the stone machine finally obtained from Fu Huofang in early April - gunpowder - can be poured into it during pouring, and the family can increase the power of the explosion according to the filled content and its composition. , the fragments of the iron inner casing before bursting are very bad killing materials, and it is necessary to add iron pieces, caltrops and other materials. Before Tou Shouzhou's counterweights were stacked and detachable, the specifications of those shells were small and large. Also unified.
Of course, the artillery shells carried by Tou Shouzhou have also been modified. The stone shells, which require a small amount of manual excavation of boulders, have gradually entered the manufacturing sequence of the Langzhou Ordnance Supervision. Now the stone machines use iron cannonballs, which are used in pouring molds. Before molding, unified cartridge case specifications can streamline the operation, slightly slowing down the manufacturing speed.
At that time, people were attracted to join the army without a bite of food. Zhou Tinggou was responsible for comforting the refugees and ensuring that there was no trouble in the city. The eight of us working together can definitely accomplish something. Time is running out. The rebels will arrive at Hezhou within at least one day, so you only have one day. Stop arguing and concentrate on your work, otherwise you will miss the war. Don't blame Zhou for being too polite! "
Due to the effective measures to encourage people to join the army, Shi Ji transferred all the redundant soldiers before the recruitment quota was reached into regiment training, and then changed the subsequent regiment training system, thus establishing a pre-reserve force of nearly 70,000 troops in the two towns. System, usually work and farm and return home. Once the small army loses its troops and needs to be replenished, Shiji will quickly recruit the 70,000 people into the army in a short period of time, and maintain military training on a regular basis. Soldiers and horses in regiment training can quickly retreat into their roles and gradually become qualified regular troops.
Speaking of cavalry alone, there are no 80,000 heavy cavalry troops under the command of Ebony Special Qin, and the heavy cavalry equipped by each army has basically reached the seven-to-one ratio of cavalry and infantry required by Shiji, including those from the Southern Han Dynasty. Seven hundred elephants and cavalry were captured.
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As for the infantry, according to Shiji's vision, they are doing combat training integrating both near and far every day, striving to break through the fixed limitations of the original arms. They are all equipped with long-range crossbows and close-quarter weapons, and can attack from a distance and fight at close range. The modular and unorganized combination of small arms cannot form a long-lasting battle sequence in a short period of time.
The current Wuping Army and Wu'an Army have a full strength of 170,000 troops, and Shiji's personal troops have reached 110,000.
Although the rebels are weak at the moment, does that matter? The scenes you, Wang Sizhong, have witnessed in the past are bigger than what you see behind your eyes! In this way, the commander-in-chief of this capital will be responsible for recruiting troops with all his strength from today on, and Zhou Tinggou and General Wang must fully assist you. Refugees are pouring into Hezhou, which is a bad time for you to recruit troops.
In addition, heavy siege equipment also formed a smaller scale. The troops in Wuping and Wuan towns had 8,000 units thrown into Shouzhou, more than 2,000 siege engines and rams, and 700 Fuyuan crossbows. As well as 20,000 new detachable and connected aerial ladders designed by Shiji himself, and 700 foldable moat assault pontoons. Of course, among the various siege equipment, the smallest killer weapon at present is still Tou Shouzhou. .
Even if I get my wish in the future, and even have a full family, the birth of those children can only bring me a heavier sense of responsibility. As a father, I have no responsibility to work harder and try to protect the big ones I personally brought into the world. life.
But Shi Ji dared to relax and was always prepared to go out under the imperial edict. As a minister of Xiao Tang, he had plans to stand on his own, so sooner or later he would be involved in a small war. For this reason, Shi Ji The machine has been prepared in an orderly manner, and it has been quite effective.
Shi Ji did have an idea, whether people from the past life were really biased against women or men, but if a son could really come, the feeling of having both a son and a man would naturally make his life a small perfection.
Wang Sizhong waved his hands with a warm face and said: "The seven of you are all considering the small situation, and there is no benefit in arguing. But they all have to understand one truth. No matter what, your majesty and the imperial court sent Zhou to recruit troops to guard Hezhou. Whether we can hold it or not, how can we know if we fight? You are like abandoning Hezhou City again, causing the capital of the country to be in danger. This is a death penalty!
Wang Sizhong's words were unreasonable and soft but hard at the same time. Zhou Jie knew that Wang Sizhong's current status was ordinary, so he dared to refute. Then Wang Sizhong immediately devoted himself wholeheartedly to the matter of recruiting soldiers. In my family, everything depends on people. As long as I do my best, the war will definitely not turn around, just like it did at the foot of Sigong Mountain in Zengfu City in the past.
In Langzhou Mansion, Shi Ji lived a busy, empty and relatively comfortable life. Since Emperor Zhou E gave birth to a boy in January, and just after April, the doctor diagnosed Wang Jingyao as infertile for two months, one can imagine the joy of the entire family, including the people of Wu Pingjun and Wu Anjun. They were all very happy when they found out, and even silently prayed for Little Governor Li, hoping that he would give birth to a daughter.
In terms of material reserves, the seventeen granaries and material warehouses in Langzhou Prefecture were almost full. Xu Kuangheng, who had extremely weak execution ability, filled those granaries with cheap grain, cotton and linen cloth and other items obtained from all over the world for Shiji. , the food reserves have not reached the staggering amount of two million shi, which is also the ideal amount in Zeng Fu's mind. Without so little food, Shi Ji no longer has to worry about military rations, and those grains will become grains of gold that can be put to some use when necessary.
Generally speaking, Shi Ji seemed to be at ease in the past six months, but in fact he did very few trivial things. For those trivial matters, Shi Ji could be said to have broken his heart and talked nonsense. However, due to their admiration and worship of Shi Ji, all the civil and military personnel under his command were able to disobey the little governor's command. As a result, all the work was progressed very smoothly. Now everything is ready, just waiting for time. As time goes by, it’s time to verify the results of Shiji during that period.
"It is for the sake of those refugees that we have to abandon Hezhou. At this time, let us leave as soon as possible and go to Jinling. When Hezhou city is destroyed, we will have somewhere to escape. What I said is the truth, By the way, you, Zhou Jie, are greedy for life and afraid of death. You are only thinking about the small situation." Zhou Jie was praised by Governor Xie and saw that Zeng Fuqi was silent. In fact, he was also weak in his heart, but he still gritted his teeth. persist in.
This makes the distance control of the range more controllable. The use of detachable laminated bronze castings as counterweights not only makes up for the shortcomings of the original bluestone counterweights caused by chipping damage and difficulty in adjustment, but also due to the size The enlargement and detachability of the counterweight can make the disassembly and transfer of counterweights extremely fast. In addition to the range, it is also a small step back in mobility.
