"Hey, is that a promotion? Congratulations, congratulations!" Zhao Jingzi quickly handed over his hand.
"Stop talking nonsense, come here quickly!" Li Dan stopped him with a smile: "I asked you to come here to help me copy this picture. I need three copies. They need to be sent to the Yamen for filing very carefully."
As he spoke, he took out his draft and as soon as he handed it to Zhao Jingzi, he saw Chen Salmon coming in. He pointed to the temporary "table" and said:
"Xianfu (Zhao Jingzi), you can draw here, don't be restrained." After saying that, he turned around and took out another piece of paper and handed it to Chen Sanwen: "Look at this first."
Chen Sanwen opened his mouth at the first sight and turned to look at Li Dan who was laughing at him:
"How about it? Take it back and think about it. Think about it.
There are four hundred vehicles in the camp that need to be refitted. All the carpenters, blacksmiths, and carriage makers in the city will come soon. A factory will be opened on the north side of the camp to refit and number them on site.
You take charge of this matter. I will send Goshiro to you, and you can find two or three highly respected craftsmen as assistants.
A thousand trained people go to your factory to do three hours of work every day, and it must be completed within seven days! "
Chen Sanwen went out in a daze. Li Dan looked back and saw Zhao Jingzi still holding the draft there, and asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything you don't understand?"
"W-what is this?"
"Oh, let me explain it first." Li Dan pointed to and explained roads, rivers, contour lines, cliffs, woods, houses, etc. to him.
Zhao Jingzi looked at him in surprise, shook his head, and reached out to grab the pen. In fact, he was murmuring in his heart, who taught this kid all these things?
Working for four cents a day is still very attractive to craftsmen. Han Shoubei talked to the local county magistrate. Hearing that the money was coming out of the Shoubei Yamen, the county magistrate immediately sent someone to post the notice.
People started to sign up soon, and a long queue quickly formed in front of the door.
But livestock and vehicles were more difficult to deal with, and it took a lot of effort for the county magistrate to go to the garrison office to bargain. The main reason was that four cents of silver a day was too little, and it was difficult for the people to respond.
Finally, Han Shoubei raised the price of the livestock to six cents, and the rent of large vehicles was increased to one cent a day. If there was any loss, the livestock and vehicles would be compensated according to the price. The county magistrate then agreed.
Even so, it took three days for the truck to collect enough. Animals were even more troublesome, including cattle, and by the seventh day there were still sixty horses (heads) short of the expected number.
Fortunately, Lin Baihu recruited more than a hundred mules and donkeys when building roads in Xing'an. Li Dan agreed to use some of the mules and donkeys they had if it didn't work.
By the seventh day, there were still more than thirty cars that had not been fully modified, but the group had to set off.
Sheng Huai'en, who was walking at the front, had just left the north gate of the city with two hundred officers and soldiers of his headquarters, when Su Piantou and Han Si drove two brand-new carriages to the west gate camp.
Li Dan was overjoyed when he saw the two of them, and hurriedly hung up the two spare shaft logs stored at the bottom of the carriage, took them out and hung them on the iron rings. The scene was changed into a four-horse carriage, and the remaining supplies were loaded into the carriage as much as possible and set off.
"You don't have to be too hasty. After the other vehicles have been modified, twenty more will be sent to chase us. Ten will be loaded with livestock feed, and ten will be left empty as backup vehicles.
The rest can be left in the camp for dispatch. Remember to give the documents to the garrison yamen. "
Li Dan mentioned in the document on how to dispatch vehicles, horses, and personnel that he would be escorted to Chen Sanwen, and he also left a group of bamboo spears to guard him.
Then he boarded Zaoliu, taking these two cars and the eight newly refitted cars (the sergeants were given 10% of the rations for the entire twelve days, and the civilians were given 60%). Behind them were forty spare mules and horses, and Zhao Jingzi and Hei Laosi went to chase the brigade.
On the way, he learned that Su Piantou was sent by Yang Dayi to deliver the two new cars (and four horses), while Han Si was preparing to replace Ma Jiuna Wu who left first (but he didn't know that this Wu Wu had already left). was dismantled).
They met Li Biao who was rushing back in Guixi. When they heard that they were about to set off, they walked through the night and finally met up with the team.
"You two arrived in time, just stay with me as my personal bodyguards." Li Dan's words surprised and touched the two of them. They didn't expect that a lowly person like themselves could be Li Sanlang's personal bodyguards, and their chests suddenly stood out. Woke up.
Because it was the first day, the team didn’t move very fast, but it was much easier to follow the train empty-handed than to carry a heavy load.
In addition, this section of the road was wide and flat, so they had already passed Xing'an County that night, passed outside Beiguan and arrived at Hengfeng Station at the foot of Tashan Mountain in the east, and settled down and camped not far away.
Sheng Huaien (General Manager Sheng) went into the city to meet with the county magistrate. There were guards stationed and patrolling outside the camp. Li Dan arranged for everyone in the camp to eat, drink and rest.
Li Dan divided these 1,200 people into four battalions, front, rear, left and right, into twenty teams, with each team having sixty people (five or more). He himself led the front camp composed of Raozhou and Nankang people.
Zuo Yingying was Xiao Wanhe, a twenty-seven-year-old native of Ji'an. Legend has it that he was a Miao descendant of the emperor. His ancestor had served as a young minister of Taichang Temple in the Southern Song Dynasty. His family was very prestigious in the local area.
The people of Fuzhou recommended Youyingyingzheng Zhou Qin. This man was in his early thirties and seemed to be taciturn. It was said that he had a good reputation as a chivalrous person among the Shuishui people in Rushui.
Hou Yingying was Tan Zhongxiao, a book printer from Jianchang Prefecture, who was famous for his righteousness and wealth. Half of his people are silver miners and should have strong fighting ability.
The captains of each team are appointed by the battalion commander himself. The five members of the front battalion are Gu Da, Yang Yi, Song Jiuyi, Zhang Bo and Liu Hongsheng. Gu Da and Yang Yi are the left and right battalion deputy.
Ma Jiu was appointed as the general supervisor to lead the escort team and the archery team. He placed Master Ba in the position of chief executive, and Zhao Jingzi became a staff officer.
Hei Laosi is not easy to arrange, so Li Dan keeps him with him as a bodyguard first.
Setting up camp is an old trick, so we used bamboo stakes to fence as instructor Yu Gan taught us.
The Ji'an people also invented the method of cutting a hole in a bamboo pole and using another pared pole to support it on the ground. Everyone soon learned it.
Each battalion also learned to cut bamboo into soldiers, and a large number of bamboo spears appeared in the camp. During the march on the second day, the green poles became a forest, which was quite spectacular.
Ma Jiu selected 20 of the guards he taught to serve as governors for Song Xiaoniu. Huang Qin's 30 archers rode on mules on both sides to observe and protect him.
Behind Li Dan, in addition to ten messengers riding mules to deliver messages back and forth, there were also two axemen under Zhang Bo who carried square wooden shields and had knives hanging on their waists with hatchets stuck in their backs.
This is a group of flexible and courageous guys, the commando of the entire team, dedicated to dealing with the most difficult situations.
The two hundred people under Ma Jiuye did not expect to have the opportunity to hold guns and knives when they went out to the civilians. Today, they all walked with their heads held high and their chests high.
Unexpectedly, after camping, others can rest, but they still have to stand guard and patrol at the camp gate, fence, and behind the cart. Fortunately, no one dared to joke with them, so they only kept a respectful distance.
In fact, the governors of Mavericks are the most tiring. Not only do they have to patrol in separate shifts, but they also have to mediate various disputes and suppress those who are emotionally unstable. This job is much harder than standing guard!
After the first night, I became much more experienced when I camped the next day. However, because this section is a mountainous road and there are two or three crossings of streams and water, the walk was quite strenuous at the end of the day, and the distance was not as far as the previous day. .
Camping at the shop that night, Li Dan finished washing his feet and sat down on his bunk. He had just picked up a pen and was about to lay down on the folding table to record what he saw along the way today. Suddenly, Mao Zaidi walked into the tent and reported: "Defense, General Sheng." Coming."
"Ah?" Li Dan was a little surprised. Sheng Huai'en came so late, something strange must have happened. He quickly put on his shoes and came out to meet her.
Li Dan's tent was a military tent built for him by Sheng Huaien. It was divided into two parts by a curtain, with the front one for discussion and the back one for sleeping.
I saw Mr. Sheng wearing his usual homely quiver sleeves and blue cloth turban, standing in front of the map (one-third of the copy copied by Zhao Jingzi) with his hands on his hips and his brows knitted together.
"My lord, you haven't taken a break at this late hour. Is there anything important?" Li Dan asked with his hand in hand.
"Sanlang, there's something strange that I'm not sure about. I feel uneasy and can't sleep, so I came to discuss it with you." Sheng Huaien turned around and sat down first, beckoned Li Dan to sit over, and said in a low voice:
"I sent two brothers on horseback to contact Lin Baihu and see how they were building the road.
As a result, they met two or three panicked savages on their way back. Their eyes flickered and they responded in a panic, which was quite suspicious. "
The so-called "savages" refer to people like mountain villagers. Li Dan blinked: "What kind of savage? Do you have any questions?"
"A muscular man with a fierce gaze, short clothes and linen trousers, and a dark complexion." Mr. Sheng's voice became deeper and deeper:
“They said they were catching fish in the ditch, but there was no catch and no fishing gear.
When I came up from the river bed, I saw the officers and soldiers approaching on horseback. They didn't turn around and run away. Instead, they knelt on the roadside and waited for questioning. How is it? Is it suspicious? "
"My lord, do you think... they are spies for the bandits?"
"Humph." Sheng Huai'en sneered twice: "It's fine if he's a country man. If he's a bandit, then we may be in trouble."
"But... doesn't it mean that there are no rioters on the north shore, and this road has always been safe?"
"That was before, and I believe that Mr. Han is indeed telling the truth. Is it possible that the bandits met my people by accident?
Because they said that the three people were slightly panicked when they first walked onto the shoulder of the road and saw them, but they quickly calmed down. "
"If that's the case," Li Dan gasped, "then he might be an old gangster! Have you ever asked, sir, where did they meet these guys?"
"Xitang."
Li Dan looked up at the picture and murmured: "Xitang?
There is a road to the south there, passing through Shiling, between Jianshan and Xianrenyan, you can go to Bangshan West Ferry. Opposite the ferry is Ehu Town. Three miles up the Shuo River is Pangrendu, and Pangrendu is four miles to the north. Here is the mouth of Tongmu River.
Sir, is Ehu Lake lost? Or maybe the bandits crossed the river by boat and occupied Bangshan Ferry, and then sneaked here quietly? "
"It's hard to say, everything is possible!" Sheng Huai'en shook his head: "We brothers are here without a clue, walking around like fools.
Being ambushed is not a big deal, but if they lose their food, grass, baggage, property, and life, Shangrao and Guangxin will not be able to defend themselves! "
"Well, there are more than a thousand lives outside." Li Dan said, tilting his head and looking at the night outside.
"I don't care!" Sheng Huai'en was careful, thinking that Li Dan was a little scared and wanted to back down. He shook his head: "If we don't deliver the food, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians will fall into the hands of the bandits.
Shangrao cannot be saved, the situation is very bad, and several surrounding prefectures and counties will be corrupted. No way! At this time, there is no other way but to rush forward and deliver the food.
In this way, when we arrive in Xitang tomorrow, I will order people to form a formation to cover you and lead the team through quickly...! "
Seeing that Li Dan seemed to be lost in thought, he stretched out his hand and waved it in front of him: "Sanlang, what are you thinking about and you are so absorbed in it, but you didn't listen to my words?"
Seeing him complaining, Li Dan bowed his hands apologetically: "Excuse me, sir, but I suddenly remembered that if that group of people are really spies for the bandit, then it seems that... their number is not large!"
