The next day, the Zhou clan started a vigorous joint troop training in the name of preparing for thieves and protecting the clan.
The reservists who originally belonged to the reserve team all became regular soldiers. In the end, there were more than 500 regular soldiers from the Wudu Huzhuang Team. Zhou Bai led the camp himself and Zhou Yuan led the deputy battalion.
The Zhou clan had just been attacked by bandits some time ago, and at this time there were conflicts between Cangbei County Bianqiang and the Jin Kingdom, making the situation unstable. Therefore, all the clans in Pingcang County also added their own soldiers to patrol the countryside.
The training of five hundred clan soldiers may be a bit eye-catching in a mere Hongni Township, but it is nothing to the entire Pingcang County.
However, for the sake of caution, when Zhou Bai went to the county government to sign the mountain rental agreement, he also sought Ji Hongzhe's permission to fill in the paperwork for the temporary training of Hongni Township patrol.
This is a common practice in the face of emergencies in the Daxu countryside, especially in border states, where the situation is often unstable and the government troops sometimes fail to take care of the countryside, so they allow the rural tyrants to form rural soldiers for self-defense.
In addition, Zhou Bai spent 50,000 taels of silver from the family treasury, and successfully purchased 20,000 acres of wasteland at the foot of Cangshan Mountain, plus the right to use 100,000 acres of Cangshan Mountain land with a five-year lease.
In fact, to put it bluntly, these 100,000 acres of mountain land are incidental to the purchase of serious land.
The barren mountainous land that others look down upon is, in Zhou Bai's eyes, a treasure land that will be treasured in a few years. Unfortunately, the lease period is only five years, so he still has to find a way to really get Cangshan Mountain.
Maybe the conditions for becoming a Jinshi can be used here? Or maybe he was granted a title for meritorious service and used Cangshan Mountain as a fiefdom?
At the foot of Cangshan Mountain, the Zhou family's village guard team, who serve as soldiers of Hongni Township, have just finished a cross-country training. They have been trained according to the classic military strategy and have shown the style of a strong army. No one is left behind during the ten-mile attack, and they can still remain intact and strong. sequential queue.
It is a pity that although the quality of the soldiers is sufficient, the real generals are still lacking.
Except for Zhou Yuan, the rest of the team has top-notch core generals. At most, they are ordinary red lives. They can hardly lead an army of hundreds of people.
The importance of generals cannot be seen now. When the territory becomes larger, qualified generals will be very critical talents.
After Zhou Yuan accompanied Zhou Bai on the military parade, he wanted to share his worries, so he put forward his own suggestion: "My lord, there are not only bandits and bandits in Cangshan Mountain, but also many people who lived in the mountains to escape the war. There are many of them. Elite soldiers and strong generals.”
From Zhou Yuan's story, Zhou Bai learned the cause and effect. It turned out that before they went into the mountains to suppress bandits, they accidentally raided the settlements of the mountain people. The quality of the mountain people left a deep impression on Zhou Yuan.
"You said there are generals among the mountain people and I need to recruit them personally? Then I want to see what kind of general the general recommended by my Zhou family's top general is!" Zhou Bai was in a good mood when he heard the news about the generals. .
On Cangshan Mountain, the mountains are densely forested and the roads are difficult to navigate. There are various paths that are not accessible to locals, making it difficult to find the direction.
However, Zhou Yuan led his troops to clear out the bandits in Cangshan, and he was already very familiar with the terrain nearby. After all the thirteen villages in Cangshan were destroyed, what was left worth remembering was the settlement of the mountain people.
After going over mountains and ridges, walking through seven forked mountain roads, passing through two caves and tunnels, and then jumping through a mountain forest full of poisonous snakes and beasts, Zhou Yuan brought Zhou Bai to a mountain dweller's residence. ….
This is also a mountain village. Unlike bandits, the mountain people living here are self-sufficient and do not make a living by looting.
Looking at its luck from a distance, it is all in pieces, mostly filled with rising wisps of white air. It is much less common than the normal villages at the foot of the mountain, and the people are not attached to it.
Moreover, there is often a gray air surrounding this village. It is obvious that the mountain residents do not live a stable life in this mountain, and even survival is an issue worthy of constant consideration.
In the past, the bandits in Cangshan Mountain were the main body of the conflict, and the scattered mountain people were ignored by Zhou Bai. But after all, Zhou Bai wanted Cangshan Mountain as the foundation for management. At this time, he only briefly recalled it, and a steady stream of memories emerged in his mind.
It turns out that the ancestors of these mountain people were not real mountain people, but came to live in the mountains to avoid war and heavy taxes. Therefore, they can communicate with outsiders normally and their habits are not very different.
"Dong dong dong~" When the guards guarding the gate of the village saw Zhou Bai and other strangers arriving, they hurriedly rang the gong to call out to the people in the village.
Soon, hundreds of Wuyangyang mountain people rushed out with hoes, wood-chopping knives and other weapons. They were wearing all kinds of simple fur clothes and looked like a ragtag group of people.
But for such a large village to be able to gain a foothold in the mountains, it must have warriors. The dozen or so people walking in the front were all holding swords, and some were even holding long bows.
"Who are you? Are you the mountain boss who is new here and wants to build a mountain?!" A strong mountain man with his arms exposed seemed to be the leader. He did not order a rash attack, but took the initiative to negotiate and inquire.
The leader is not stupid. Although the dozens of people in front of him are small in number, they are all well-armored and strong and tall. It is obvious that they are not simple in origin.
"My name is Zhou Bai, and I am the leader of the Zhou clan. This year's Dingzhou Jieyuan, I am here to recruit you on behalf of the Zhou clan." Zhou Bai smiled slightly and explained his purpose directly.
"Quick, but our village is accustomed to life in the mountains and forests, and we don't want to go down the mountain and accept the rule of the court." The leader responded equally cleanly.
"Then if I tell you that the government has approved 100,000 acres of forest for the Zhou family to use, will you be willing to cultivate the mountain fields? These fields will be tax-free for the first five years, and as long as you join the Zhou clan, you can farm them for free." Zhou Bai continued.
"us……"
Without waiting for the other party to hesitate and refuse, Zhou Bai directly stated his conditions: "You can still trade with the outside world for salt, food, and clothing. Don't you want to bring a better life to your people?"
"You know that we wiped out the bandits in Cangshan, but do you know that our Zhou family has gods to help us? The mountain ghosts who came to you for blood food were killed and driven away by the gods who protected you. Join us so that you can have a safe place to live! "
There were obvious benefits and naked threats, and all the mountain people fell into silence.
In the past, where these mountain people settled, they would also be persecuted by mountain ghosts. However, the mountain people were unwilling to sacrifice humans, so most of the hard-caught prey was dedicated to the mountain ghosts.
In addition, the yield of food grown in the mountains is pitifully low, which makes their lives very difficult, and they are often hungry and full.
The leader of the mountain people glanced at the soldiers who were waiting around Zhou Bai, and sighed: "Alas, we must remain independent and cannot be annexed by you."
Power cannot be violated, and after these few months of getting along, they found that the Zhou family outside was indeed easier to deal with than the imperial court, and now that the patriarch of Yizhou Jieyuan came to visit in person, it was no longer possible.
Living in the mountains and forests does not mean that the mountain people do not understand the value of Jieyuan. This means that the Zhou people must have a lot of say in the court.
Zhou Bai promised: "This is natural. You can even continue to live here. I will send people to station in your village to communicate with you."
"I've met the clan leader!" After the mountain people looked at each other for a few times, they all put down their crude weapons and leaned over to pay homage to Zhou Bai.
Suddenly, the originally scattered white energy in the village began to gather, and every trace of the mountain people's energy tended towards Zhou Bai. This was the initial way to gather the crowd.
In the dark, Zhou Bai seemed to hear the sound of carps jumping out of the water. These strange outsiders could nourish the growth of dragons and carps.
This gave Zhou Bai a clear understanding that he might not be able to rely solely on one clan. The right way to fight for the dragon and gather people was to embrace all rivers and rivers. .
Travel from the south
