"Sanlang, do you really want to ask him to fight again tomorrow? Why not take advantage of today to get the flower arms?"
"Yes, I think he is very tired. Why don't I wait around him for a while and keep him here?"
On the way back, Heimu and Liu Hongsheng said one after another.
Li Dan looked at them, smiled and said:
"It's easy to keep him, not difficult. But if one of you accidentally makes a mistake, where can I make up for it? Isn't it worth the loss?
Trading the head of a rebel thief for my brother's siblings is not a worthwhile trade, let alone worth it! "
The four people looked at each other, ran to the horse, knelt down, and said one after another:
"Li Sanlang led me like the sun and the moon in the sky, and I will do my best to repay you!"
Li Dan smiled and got off his horse and they stood up, saying: "From now on, we can only talk about this in private. If it gets spread, I'm afraid there will be gossip.
Dan and all the brothers are destined to meet together, and the four brave generals descended from heaven will join me. I will trust you and love you. I make a promise to you all: As long as you are rich and noble, don’t forget each other! "
All four of them had tears in their eyes, and even Feng San, who was behind him, felt his heart surge. "I hope I really follow the right master this time!" He muttered silently in his heart.
Back on the mountain, Li Dan told Gu Da:
"Hang up the battle-free card tomorrow, and tell me that I came up to Feng Pavilion at night to watch the sky. When I came down from the mountain, I accidentally caught the wind and caught a cold, so... I will rest for two days!"
Only then did everyone realize that he had no intention of actually keeping the promise, and was deliberately trying to trick Lou Shifan in vain. They all suppressed their laughter and exchanged glances, but no one foolishly exposed the mystery.
"We don't have time to play with him." Li Dan walked into the Chinese army and said.
At this time, Sheng Baozong was concerned about the safety of the east side. He couldn't slap his words in the face, so seeing that the two sides broke up and refused to fight, he turned around and took his soldiers back to Yunfeng Peak to arrange the defense there.
Li Dan sent an order to inform the leaders of the guards at the Nanshan protrusion to rest for half an hour and then gather together the central army to discuss matters.
At this time, he walked towards the military tent. Two pieces of oilcloth were connected together and propped up with bamboo to form a rainproof tent. Below was a table made of bamboo and split bamboo strips. On the table, Zhao Jingzi followed him around Nanshan and took advantage of the opportunity. In the early morning light, I took two messengers to make a sand table made of red mud.
There are all kinds of hills and slopes, cloud peaks and stone stairs, small bridges and rivers represented by grains of sand.
"How does the defense look? It looks similar, right?" Zhao Jingzi rubbed his hands proudly: "This method is really good. You can see everything at a glance, as if it were under your eyes."
"Yes, that's what it means, but we need to continue to refine it." Li Dan waved to the two messengers to come and listen:
“I’ve left some spare space just because I want you to build it in Beishan, Xishan, and Fengling Town as soon as possible.
There are also details, such as where there are woods or bamboo forests, where are gun platforms and fences, and who is the guard general.
Xianfu (Zhao Jingzi) is talented. You will join the army and take care of this matter.
Go to the migrant workers team to pick out those with good legs and feet, those who can shape accurate shapes after looking at mountains, or those who can shape clay figurines. Those who are good at bamboo and wood craftsmanship recruit three or five people to make sand tables, and teach them to read pictures and draw. "
"Then...are they still with me?" Zhao Jingzi finally had a formal position, and he was beaming with joy and pointed his middle finger at the commanders.
"Follow me, and then pick six people from the front camp to form a detective team, which will be dedicated to surveying the battlefield terrain and drawing maps along the way. They will lead the team.
The vacancies in the front camp were filled by people from Raozhou in the migrant workers' teams, or from prisoners. "
After Li Dan finished speaking, he asked the messengers to leave, waved Master Ba and Wu Mao who were standing outside the shed to come in, and gave instructions to Song Xiaoniu:
"In the future, always keep a group in the central army, especially to guard the sand table and the map. They can only approach from above, and the others must be ten steps away.
Oh, the personal guards have been expanded to two thousand, and we have gone to each battalion to recruit volunteers. I told you that there are two good personal guards, let them be released as corps commanders. "
As he was giving instructions one after another, he suddenly saw a familiar face. Li Dan immediately stood up from the bench and walked out with a smile: "Hey, isn't this...?"
"Dou San'er, sir, you have such a good memory!" Dou San'er bowed his hands humbly.
"Hey, I haven't seen you for a while, but I'm still thinking about you? Look at your clothes, has the general flag been raised?" Li Dan looked at him and congratulated him, and Dou San'er was so panicked that he couldn't return the favor.
"It's all thanks to you! Ever since I met your Excellency, things have been turning around for me!
Indeed, my subordinate accidentally beheaded a thief who came out to relieve himself in Siyunpu, and later received seven consecutive military merits of the thief's head.
It happened that the subordinate's original general banner was killed in battle, so Shanda people promoted the subordinate. "Song Xiaoniu brought a bamboo stool to each of them. Dou San'er thanked him and sat in the shade under the shed to tell Li Dan.
"Then are you guarding Yunfeng now or...?"
"It's at the north entrance of Dadongqiu." Dou San'er cupped his hands and said, "Because it's close, I came to say hello to you. Hehe, I just want to get close to you."
"I haven't seen the situation at the north entrance yet. Has the fence been put up? Are the brothers from the back camp still there, or have they already gone to the south hill after the handover?"
"We've all gone to Nanqiu. But..." Dou San'er pursed his lips, as if he had something to say that he couldn't say.
Li Dan looked at him and thought for a moment, when Song Xiaoniu brought him a bowl of warm tea. After he took a few sips, Li Dan said, "Brother, what do you want to say? We are acquaintances, but there is no harm in talking."
"Ahem, actually it's not a big deal, even this fence can be used for now.
If there are enough manpower, it is best to re-reinforce it, such as replacing it with wood. When my subordinates participated in the battle this morning, they saw that the first fence was knocked down, and they felt that this fence was only a temporary solution and would not last long. "
"Hey, you think a fence is not enough?" Li Dan always thought this man was glib and didn't expect him to have such an opinion.
"But... isn't the north slope a bit steep? It's unlikely that the enemy will come up there, right?" He asked, meaning that he felt that the north side was not the immediate priority.
"That's it, that's it." Dou San'er nodded quickly and added: "However, there is a section with a slope, just like the one below Beiqiu.
It's okay now, just in case the thief figures it out and feints to attack, then makes a sneak attack... "
Li Dan sat up straight, looked at him seriously and said to Zhao Jingzi: "Go there in person, walk along Laifengge Road, and come back to report and modify the sand table according to the actual situation."
"No!" Zhao Jingzi went to do it immediately.
"If the Beilu intersection is safe this time, I will definitely ask for merit for Commander Dou in front of Shanda people!" Li Dan said and solemnly clasped his fists to Dou San: "Dan was negligent, thank you for reminding me, brother, thank you!"
"Oh, how can a noble man like me salute a humble official like me? Kill him, kill him!" Dou San'er returned the salute in a hurry, and then sat back on the stool.
"You're not only looking for me about the fence, but also about other things, right?" Li Dan came closer and asked in a low voice with a smile.
"Uh, sir, you have a keen eye. Hehe..." Dou San'er first praised and then explained the reason.
The three hundred officers and soldiers stationed at Beilukou were a mixed force, including Sheng Huaien's subordinates, people from hundreds of households in the original forest, and some who were temporarily assigned to Sheng's department.
These people now belong to five teams (that is, there are five general flags), but it is difficult for them to belong to the same team.
This morning, Commander-in-Chief Sheng came down to personally lead the attack, but back at Dadongqiu, Sheng Huaien was minding his own affairs at Laifeng Pavilion, and no one was in charge of the fifth team here.
"Sheng Shanda's temperament is similar to that of his subordinates. They are all veteran soldiers and rough and accustomed." Dou San'er said in a low voice:
"It's a good thing that the enemy hasn't come yet. Let's just take care of our own defense. But if it's like I said, and they attack in the east and west... it will soon turn into a mess.
My subordinate reminded Mr. Shanda that he did not think this was a big deal. After much thought, I still thought it would be a good idea to come and talk to you. "
This is really important. If there are five teams of people and the five teams are not in charge of each other, it will cause big trouble.
Li Dan knew that Dou San'er was motivated by public motives, and of course he wanted to come closer to express his good will, but his reminder was indeed pertinent.
"Okay, I understand." He nodded: "Brother, please come back. I'll have a meeting with the regimental commanders and team commanders to consider how to solve this matter. Don't worry, brother, everything will be taken care of by Li Sanlang. On the body."
After sending Dou San'er away and letting Master Ba and Wu Mao discuss building a rammed earth wall, Li Dan walked to the sand table and meditated.
Zhao Jingzi ran back panting and reported that there was indeed a slope formed by the collapse of the cliff at the foot of Yunfeng. The slope was covered with lush shrubs, so it was not visible when looking from above.
Li Dan nodded and asked him to modify the sand table and map immediately. Then he summoned a messenger to ask him to come to Feng Pavilion.
When all the battalion officers and team officers in Nanshan arrived, Li Dan first asked about the construction progress of the Xishan Camp, and then told them that in actual combat, it seemed that the fence could be used as a barrier, but it could not be used for long-term defense. Therefore, it was decided to use the bamboo reinforcement method to build the walls of the two villages.
What is "bamboo reinforcement construction"?
That is to first dig a shallow trench along the construction line. Lay large pebbles in the ditch as the bottom, and build it up two feet with grass and mud (one foot is exposed above the ground, use plywood as a groove, and smooth the top and both sides). Insert a bamboo pole as thick as your thumb as the wall bone, and the height of the pole is the wall. The set height is nearly a punch short.
Then on the bottom layer of stone, we began to use the slab-building method to ram it layer by layer. Indent one punch on each side (to facilitate splinting). First, put two fingers of floating soil on it, and lay bamboo strips on top to serve as ribs (three feet thick, four ribs, five ribs four feet apart). .
The two outer strips of the bamboo tendons are one punch apart from the outer edge and are about half a finger wide and thick. The width and thickness of the other strips are halved, and the two ends overlap by about three finger widths.
After paving, add layer by layer upwards, each layer is one punch high, and the thickness of every two layers can be reduced to form a trapezoidal wall section.
The interior of the wall built in this way is like a net composed of bamboo poles and strips, which has an excellent effect on the wall's resistance to vibration and stability.
Considering security needs, Li Dan decided to give priority to building walls in the north and east directions of Xishan Daying.
The ditch was one foot deep (32cm) and four feet wide (130cm), and the camp gate and key defensive parts were thickened to five feet (165cm); at the same time, warehouses and stables were built for vehicles to enter and shelter from rain.
Concentrate most of the road construction workers to build it. The prisoners mainly dug mud along the river, carried pebbles, cut down trees and bamboo, and collected and processed straw, grass, thatch and other materials.
Because straw stalks that have been soaked for an hour and then chopped must be mixed into the soil of the wall, not only is the demand for straw large, but hundreds of people are also required to process it.
The people in the right camp probably had to search all the straw around, but fortunately there were enough carts, especially the six four-wheel carts in the front camp that were loved by everyone.
Nanshan gave priority to converting part of the fences at Toudaozha, Erdaozha and the north intersection into earthen walls. The Toudaozha (outer wall) was built about fifteen steps inside the current fence, and was carried out by Houying and two hundred civilians.
The base of the outer wall is one foot wide and five feet high, and then a battle wall two feet five inches thick and four feet high is built with crenelations two feet high.
The second wall (inner wall) is about twenty steps forward than the second gate. It is four feet thick at the bottom and three feet four inches thick at the top. There is a circular watchtower at the north end. Construction of the interior walls will begin after the exterior walls are completed.
In addition, Li Dan decided to build gun platforms on Xiaobei Qiu, placing three in the west and two in the northwest and northeast.
At the same time, a defensive shed and a warehouse for storing gunpowder were to be built. This project was left to Liu Er to cooperate with Shou Jingang.
At the end of the meeting, the five commander-in-chiefs of the government and army were left behind, and Li Dan showed them the reply from Commander-in-Chief Sheng to his letter.
In the letter, Li Dan said that because Nanshan was about to overhaul the fortifications, all the militia groups were involved. In order to prevent the rebels from taking the opportunity to attack, Li Dan hoped that Sheng Huaien would allow him to command and mobilize the three hundred officers and soldiers at the foot of the mountain to be on alert or to respond at any time.
Sheng Huaien replied in agreement and asked the five teams to follow the instructions without neglect. The five people looked at each other, bowed and saluted, expressing their willingness to accept the jurisdiction of the defense envoy.
Li Dan felt that there seemed to be a smile on the corner of Dou San'er's mouth, but he couldn't see it if he looked closely.
At dawn the next day, I came down from the mountain and reported that Lou Shifan, the flower-armed man, was shouting at the foot of the mountain. "Mo Li, you just insist that I am recovering from the cold and ask him to come back tomorrow." Li Dan said with a smile.
On the third day, Lou Shifan saw that the no-war card was still hanging high, and he was so angry that he cursed.
But the attitude here is very good. They asked the three generals to come back. My defense said that I will definitely go to the appointment tomorrow and will never break my promise.
Lou Shifan returned to camp angrily, and a confidant approached him and asked: "Young Marshal still hasn't seen Li Feng today? What does this guy mean? He is building a wall on that mountain while repeatedly showing off the war-free card. Don't he have other agendas?" ?”
"Hey! I've fallen into a trap!" Lou Shifan suddenly woke up:
"He is stalling for time. When the wall is completed and he has established a foothold, he will not be afraid of any attack. But this is the truth? No, I can't let this tricky boy get his wish!"
After saying that, he wanted to call up the men and horses to fight, but several confidants stopped him and said: "The young marshal has sent someone to inform the marshal. Today he sent a letter saying that he will immediately order Guangxin to dispatch a thousand people to help in the battle.
Reinforcements will arrive tonight. Why can't the young commander endure for half a day? What are you doing with this breath? "
"Forget it, I'll just tolerate him a little longer." Lou Shifan said bitterly: "This guy broke my offensive, killed my favorite general, and found excuses to delay and humiliate me!
By the way, the girl in Laifeng Pavilion must also have fallen into his clutches. Tomorrow four thousand people will go out. I will flatten the Nanshan Mountain, capture that boy, cut him up and make him drink! "
Li Dan personally went to Xiaobeiqiu to see the placement of the gun platform, and discussed a few words with Coach Song. Then he walked back along the north side, thinking about finding a tree to sit down to record some thoughts.
Suddenly, Zhao Jingzi's shout came from behind. Looking back, I saw him running up, panting, even his bun was crooked. He couldn't help but laugh and said:
"What big thing can happen on this sunny day to make you, a yellow belt, run like this? Taizu and Taizong designated this moment to say from the sky, 'Look, pay attention to your appearance!'"
"Hey, the military situation is so fierce, how can we care about appearance?" Zhao Jingzi waved his hand, then pointed to the west:
"The defense has moved. The enemy has just begun to move out of camp. The entire army is retreating to the north and stationed upstream."
"Really?" Li Dan hurriedly ran west along the north wall. After running for a while, he came to a prominent platform. Several sentries were gathering here and pointing, and when they saw him coming, they crossed their arms and stepped back.
Li Dan looked north for a long time and murmured: "It finally moved. I thought you were so stupid that you couldn't even understand this." After speaking, he didn't look back and said, "Xianfu, what does the movement of your arms mean?" ?”
"The enemy's reinforcements are coming, so he goes to join the camp."
"Is there more?"
"Well, maybe the handsome guy scolded his son so much that he had to be cautious."
"Any more?"
"besides?"
"Of course!" Li Dan turned around, glanced at Nanshan with a sharp gaze that is rare for a young man, and said, "Tomorrow, he has gained a new force, and I'm afraid he will have a serious fight with us!"
Just as he was about to return to the Zhongjun account, he saw Zhou Qin and Wu Mao standing not far away with smiles on their faces. Wu Mao greeted him: "Li Sanlang is here to climb up and look into the distance. Could it be that he wants to write a poem?"
"Ahem, my head is full of lawsuits, how can I have such leisure?" Li Dan waved his hand and asked Zhou Qin jokingly: "Why is Zhou Yingzheng here, but he misses his little brother and comes to visit?"
