If it were the Source World, the newly cultivated fields would be raw fields, and it would take two or three years to turn into mature fields.
However, the vegetation in the New World is lush and full of vitality. As long as the grass and trees in the cultivated fields are cleared and rice is planted, branches will sprout and grow rapidly.
The yield of grain per acre is only a little lower than that of mature fields in the source world. This can be seen from the farmland in Donghu Village.
The grain yield per acre of 400 acres of farmland can meet the daily needs of more than 2,000 people under Wang Jing's command. Therefore, after clearing the land for sowing, more than 100 water thieves captives stopped to clear the land.
They were organized into new recruits, retrained using the military rules and regulations of the Beggar Army, and then organized into two teams of one hundred people.
If Wang Jing's original Donghu Village troops are added to the number, his number of soldiers reached 250.
According to the military system of the Beggar Army, five teams form a capital, with a dubo or a garrison commander.
Both are composed of one song, with the leader or captain of the song, and the higher one is the captain of the school.
The position of captain in the Han Dynasty didn't sound like much, but it was actually worth two thousand dan.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the status and authority of the school captain were reduced a lot.
"My current military strength has reached the level of the beggar army when it first came... accounting for more than one-fifth of the total strength of the beggar army today!"
It has to be said that Wang Jing's military strength has grown rapidly these days.
It has only been a month since he was ordered to farm in Donghu. He is about to become self-sufficient in food and grass, and his military strength has also grown.
But these troops could not satisfy Wang Jing.
He was standing by the river, looking towards the opposite Donghu Village and the upper reaches of the river. He was waiting for the spies he sent to Bailian Village and the spies he sent to the Beggar Army to contact Zhang Hun.
According to the agreed time, the spies should come back.
The river flows swiftly and does not change according to human will.
Jiang Zhixiong and twenty sailors were training on boating. The last time they repelled the Liangshan water thieves, they captured a dozen ships.
Except for the ten ships handed over to the beggar army, the other ships were seized by Wang Jing and handed over to Jiang Zhixiong.
This place is adjacent to the river and East Lake waters, so if you don't have a boat, you are naturally at a disadvantage. Others can sail away as they please and fight as they please, making it difficult to develop steadily.
With the ship, there is a means of counterattack, so that the opponent cannot be arrogant.
Jiang Zhixiong is proficient in water warfare, and it is not beyond his ability to lead only twenty people. He can train on the water just fine.
By the river, two captains and their fellow citizens were fishing with roughly made fishing nets made of hemp rope. By the East Lake, there were also many people fishing for fish and shrimps.
The first wave of grain harvested by Donghu Village was not enough to sustain everyone under Wang Jing's command for twenty days, especially the army sergeants who consumed more grain.
During military training, without sufficient meat, it is easy to wear out the body.
Fish, shrimp and prey hunted from the woods became sources of supplementary consumption.
At this time, he saw a boat speeding down from the upper reaches of the river.
The spy who was sent upstream to contact Zhang Hun looked anxious. As soon as the ship docked, he ran down the river. He didn't notice Wang Jing by the river, but ran towards the camp.
"It seems that the situation of the beggar army is not good!"
Just by looking at the other party's expression, Wang Jing could guess that something must have happened in Bailian Village to the north.
Several days had passed since he learned that Murong's men had surrounded Bailian Village. It was beyond Wang Jing's expectation that Bailian Village could persist for such a long time.
From this point of view, Murong's soldiers and horses are not as scary as imagined.
Soon, Shen Yi led the spies to Wang Jing quickly.
"Deputy Lieutenant! Something bad happened. Bailian Village was attacked by Murong's soldiers and horses, and Lieutenant Zhen Hu suffered heavy losses..."
It was as Wang Jing expected.
What the spy said was exactly what he guessed. Wang Jing's expression remained unchanged and he listened quietly to the spies' story.
According to the information received by the Beggar Army, Zhen Hu led his troops to stay tight and relied on the village wall to confront Murong's men.
However, Murong's men and horses were increasing in number, holding more than 10,000 refugees hostage.
Murong's cavalry was behind the formation, forcing the refugees to attack the camp every day.
In just a few days, a large number of refugees were quickly consumed outside the village wall like cannon fodder.
Correspondingly, the men and horses of the beggar army also suffered a lot of losses.
Murong himself had a strong army, but he also chose to use refugees to compete with the elite beggar army and reap profits from the rear.
When the troops in Bailian Village were exhausted, they took the opportunity to launch an elite attack.
This kind of tactics takes advantage of everything.
The Beggar Army had no cavalry and could only rely on passive defense by the village walls, and had no good way to deal with the Murong clan.
After persisting for three or four days, Colonel Ran Liang led the elite troops of the Beggar Army to the north.
The elite beggar army led by Ran Liang was very strong, but it could not reverse the gap between itself and the Murong family's hundreds of cavalry.
He led his army northward, but could not change the situation of Bailian Village being breached.
They could only rely on the infantry array to cover Zhen Hu and others who were retreating from Bailian Village.
"So... when the captain was covering Zhen Hu's retreat, Murong's cavalry did not launch an assault?"
After the other party finished speaking, Wang Jing asked.
The spy quickly replied: "Murong's cavalry was dispatched, but when they were attacking the formation, the captain led twenty cavalry to suddenly charge into the formation and knocked one of Murong's cavalry off his horse."
"The school captain led his guards to counterattack continuously, fighting and retreating. He just returned to Tucheng by the river not long ago!"
After Ran Liang took the troops from Bailian Village back to the newly built Tucheng by the river, Murong's soldiers and horses followed closely. Hundreds of cavalry surrounded the north of Tucheng and watched eagerly.
Zhang Hun also followed Ran Liang to the north for rescue. After Ran Liang came back, the spies contacted him and quickly returned by boat to report.
At this time, the north side of Tucheng by the river was surrounded by Murong's cavalry.
It can be foreseen that if Murong's troops are not defeated, the land of hundreds of miles north of the river will fall into the hands of the enemy.
"You go down first!"
Wang Jing waved the spies to go down and rest. His eyes fell on Shen Yi.
"Mr. Shen, Tucheng upstream is besieged. What should we do? If the captain's troop losses are severe and he sends people to ask us to go to support, should we go or not?"
Shen Yi thought for a while and said: "Lord, in my opinion, although the men and horses in Bailian Village have been seriously damaged, the core elite of the Begging Army is still there. It is not that easy for Murong's soldiers and horses to break through Tucheng! "
"We'd better wait and see what happens, train in the fields, and do what we need to do well. Only when things change can we have room to relax!"
"Just wait and see what happens..."
Wang Jing pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly. His current strength is not the strongest in this area. As of now, he has only one army.
With only this small force, it was of little use in the fight between the beggar army and the Murong clan.
Don't forget, there are still Liang Shanshui thieves entrenched in East Lake. If they know the current situation of the beggar army, they will definitely take advantage of it and make trouble.
By then, Wang Jing will have to bear the pressure of Liangshan Water Village alone.
The situation Wang Jing is facing now is very chaotic. Whether it is Liang Shanshui Village or the Murong clan, he is unable to intervene, even if he wants to use his strength.
"What if I ask the captain to transfer the blacksmiths, carpenters and various craftsmen in Tucheng to Nanzhai? Nanzhai has sufficient resources to produce spears and arrows!"
"With the craftsmen, we can send the weapons and arrows made by the water to Tucheng and provide the captain with a steady stream of supplies! Sir, do you think the captain will agree?"
