After Feng Dao returned to Bailang Mountain, Li Chengzhong was hung up for several days before he finally calmed down. Regardless of how much material and military support the Pingzhou Governor's Office and the Army Envoy gave him, the power he desired most was finally obtained.
He recognized that this was the biggest gain, and his uneasy heart was truly relieved. Looking at the poor mountains and rivers in front of him, he actually felt at home from the bottom of his heart. Yes, here, there is nothing.
Bailang Mountain will be his first home after traveling to this era. No matter how poor or dilapidated the home is, it is still his home. It is the place where he can truly settle down after being homeless for half a year.
"I want to have a home, a place that doesn't need to be too big..." Humming that familiar tune, Li Chengzhong was in a good mood.
"Li Yuhang considers this place his home?" Feng Dao suddenly appeared from behind Li Chengzhong and said with a smile.
Looking at Feng Dao with a smile on his face, Li Chengzhong was very happy and couldn't help laughing and said: "Huh? Uh... Brother Ke Dao is really, haha, that elusive person. This time, thanks to brother Ke Dao, our old Li got his wish
If anything happens in the future, just tell me, I, Old Li, will definitely help you as much as we can." Li Chengzhong was a little carried away and couldn't help but show his fox tail in front of Feng Dao.
Feng Dao didn't seem to hear the meaning of Li Cheng's words. He just grabbed the last sentence and said: "Li Yuyi will follow his words, and he will not regret it when the time comes!"
Li Chengzhong patted his chest and said, "Of course," but he gradually felt guilty under Feng Dao's strange smile: "Uh... But brother, what are your wishes... How can I help you if you need Lao Li... But whenever we do, Lao Li will help you
If you can help, you must try your best!" Although it is the same as what he said just now, Li Chengzhong specially emphasized the word "can help".
"Wish?" Feng Dao was a little unfamiliar with this word.
"It's ambition, or ambition!" Li Chengzhong quickly translated.
"Well, so-and-so's ambition... to save the common people from dire straits, to support the Ming emperor in his rightful place in the world, to return envoys to their ministers, and to follow the law, to maintain order and obedience..." Feng Dao began to talk eloquently,
Li Chengzhong felt dizzy after hearing this.
"Uh... I'm afraid this is a bit difficult..." Li Chengzhong said with some embarrassment.
Feng Dao laughed and laughed: "Don't take it seriously if you are joking with you." Seeing Li Chengzhong's soothing expression, he suddenly came over and smiled mysteriously: "Someone wants to be the governor of Yingzhou. I wonder if Li Yuying would be willing to help?"
For such a naked request, Li Chengzhong could not answer directly, so he could only smile: "Well... Brother Dao is joking again. How can I do this..."
Feng Dao said lightly: "I still have great confidence in Li Yuyang. I heard Captain Jiang...oh, Jiang Dutou said something. Li Yuyang must not belittle himself." After he finished speaking, he wore his signature look.
With a mysterious smile, he turned around and left, leaving only the baffled Li Chengzhong standing there blankly.
Li Chengzhong didn't understand what Feng Dao was playing, so he had to put the matter aside and take a serious inventory of his belongings.
At present, Li Chengzhong has 180 soldiers from Zuoying's Jiadu and Bdu. Although these soldiers cannot be said to have truly formed combat effectiveness, except for the more than ten recruits who were replenished due to battle losses, most of them have experienced Yu's life at least.
The fighting on the wall of the city had seen blood. In addition, Zhou Zhiyu also sent him ninety soldiers. These soldiers were complete recruits who had just been recruited to join the army.
The postures for holding the sword were incorrect, and most of them couldn't even tell the difference between left and right. Li Chengzhong had already predicted the quality of these soldiers, so he was not frustrated. The fact that Zhou Zhiyu was able to send him these soldiers was far beyond his imagination.
What's more, these soldiers were fully equipped with swords and guns, so he was not only not depressed, but also very satisfied.
In addition to these soldiers, what Li Chengzhong can really rely on are his old brothers who were originally strong soldiers in Yingyoudu. These are the real strong soldiers left from the heyday of the Lulong Army. They have experienced Beizhou, Weizhou, Yuguan and other many times.
He is not only experienced and good at fighting, but also has the courage to fight. At the same time, these brothers have been following Li Chengzhong for a long time and are very familiar with his style of conduct and leadership methods. The most important thing is that these brothers support him
, support him! Li Chengzhong plans to use these old brothers as his team to train his soldiers in Lieutenant Bailang Mountain.
Accompanying Feng Dao were fifty civilian men sent by Zhang Zaiji to escort the truck. They transported ten carts of supplies. Transporting supplies to Bailang Mountain, fifty miles away from Yuguan, was a very dangerous job. In order to recruit these civilian men,
The governor's office spent a lot of money. In addition to the usual generous rewards for each person, every household who was willing to participate in this transportation was also given a bucket of grain.
Although Li Chengzhong was grateful for such a bold move by the Governor's Office, he didn't quite understand. Feng Dao smiled and asked Li Chengzhong, "What do Li Yuyang think of these people?"
Li Chengzhong was puzzled: "These civilians? Well, yes, some of them are much stronger than the soldiers under a certain person. But... you know, why are there so many people? It's just a car, and there is no need for so many people to escort the car...
In fact, just let the new soldiers escort them. When these civilians return to Yuguan, I have to send troops to escort them, which is really troublesome..."
Feng Dao laughed a little: "Li Yuyang doesn't really want them to leave, does he?"
Li Chengzhong was stunned: "What do you mean, brother?"
Feng Dao added: "Li Yuying took a closer look. These people were selected by a certain person from Yuguan. Most of them were the first batch of people who followed us to garrison in Yuguan."
Li Chengzhong checked carefully and found many familiar faces, including a fifty-year-old man, who was the old craftsman who was in charge of building Yuguan Gate. The old craftsman's surname was Zhang, and he was directing the men to unload the car from the car.
Although Li Chengzhong was old, he was full of energy. Li Chengzhong also saw a few young civilians who had the courage to stand at the head of Yuguan City with guns as a facade when they were guarding Yuguan. In order to train their stance, Li Chengzhong also
It took a lot of effort.
Li Chengzhong was a little surprised, but also said with doubts: "But Brother Dao is saying... to keep them? That is of course the best, but... will they be willing? This place is much more dangerous than Yuguan..."
Feng Dao smiled mysteriously: "I have my own means, so don't worry Li Yuhang." Li Chengzhong was still very confident about this young Confucian scholar who liked mysterious smiles. After hearing Feng Dao's assurance, he was overjoyed and hurried over a few steps.
, helped Mr. Zhang who was bending down to salute, and happily surrounded the workers who were unloading the goods and looked at them as if they were treasures in their hands. For Li Chengzhong, who is currently impoverished, these workers are the real treasures.
In a certain sense, it is even more valuable than the recruits under his command.
The arrival of ten carriages greatly eased Li Chengzhong's material shortage. Feng Dao was very well prepared. In addition to five carts of grain, there was also a cart of preserved meat and salt, two carts of cloth, and a cart of iron ingots! The last one
The cart was loaded with various tools commonly used by Mr. Zhang and his several apprentices, including files, hammers, awls, chisels, axes, planes, wax molds and other items, which made Li Cheng so happy that he could not close his mouth.
The military stronghold in Bailang Mountain has been established for an unknown number of years. It is said that it was a grain storage place set up by the Anton Protectorate during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. Among the large and small cave dwellings dug on the mountain wall, the larger
They are all grain warehouses used to store grain. The wooden boards on the floor of the grain warehouse have long since rotted, and most of the ventilation holes have been blocked. However, the ten carts of supplies brought are not much, and the food can only last for a month at most, which is not the case.
There was no need to worry too much about long-term storage, so Feng Dao found a larger cave dwelling, briefly cleared the ventilation holes, and simply put all the materials in it.
Since this place is about to become Li Chengzhong's new home, Li Chengzhong naturally wants to have a deeper understanding of Bailang Mountain. He has not been idle in the past few days while waiting for Feng Dao. He found three elders in the village and learned more about Bailang Mountain.
The topography and landforms of some places were verified by personal field inspections.
Bailang Mountain is divided into two parts: West Mountain and Dongshan, separated by Xuanshui. The military village is located at the southern foot of Dongshan, just over a mile away from the mountain pass. Although the mountain road is difficult to walk, it is covered by weeds and shrubs.
Under the cover, Li Chengzhong also saw a partially damaged mountain road. The mountain road was said to be wide or narrow, and it could accommodate carriages and horses. Feng Dao did not find these mountain roads when he led the convoy into the mountain, otherwise it would have been possible in an hour.
It only took half a day to reach Junzhai from the mountain pass. After simple leveling and maintenance, the mountain road can be reopened. Li Chengzhong was very satisfied with this.
Li Chengzhong is most concerned about safety issues. If you want to reach the military camp from outside the mountain, there are many roads to choose from, but this is only for hunters, because most of the passages need to be climbed with the help of ropes, which is difficult for the army to pass.
It is said to be worthless. There are two mountain roads that really need to be guarded against. One is entering the mountain from the south entrance, which is the mountain road directly opposite the military village. This mountain road is the widest. The other is relatively hidden and needs to be entered from the north of the mountain.
Entering, passing through two mountain streams and crossing three mountain ridges. The Tang army who set up the military camp at that time obviously also noticed this narrow mountain road. In addition to setting up a post on the cliff on one side of the mountain road, the Tang army also set up a post on the cliff on one side of the mountain road.
A small checkpoint was also built in the narrow mountain stream. When Li Chengzhong inspected it, he was very satisfied with this defensive facility. He planned to immediately recruit manpower to repair the checkpoint. As long as a team of soldiers were placed here, the Khitan people
If you want to attack from here, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky!
Li Chengzhong and Feng Dao sat down and had a detailed talk and discussion. First, they defined each other's authority and responsibilities. Li Chengzhong planned to hand over the specific civil affairs of Bailang Mountain to Feng Dao. For Li Chengzhong, these matters were quite trivial and
At the same time, he is not very good at it. He wants to focus more on military affairs. This is the distinction between civilian officials and military officials. Feng Dao has no objection at all. But Li Chengzhong made one point, that is, when it comes to
When necessary for combat, even civil affairs must be subordinated to the military first. Based on the special situation of Bailang Mountain and the general trend of military men in power in this era, Feng Dao fully agreed with this point.
The issues discussed next left the two of them scratching their heads. One was the food issue. No matter how many carts of food Feng Dao brought back, after simple calculations and evaluations, even if they were frugal, the food would be at most
It can maintain the survival of nearly a thousand soldiers and civilians in Bailang Mountain for less than a month. At this moment, there are at least more than three months until the fields cultivated in the back mountain are harvested. In other words, the food gap in Bailang Mountain is about two months. Feng Dao
When leading the convoy into the mountains, we also discovered the Khitan Rangers. Therefore, the risk of continuing to transport food from Yuguan to Bailang Mountain will be even greater, especially after the two armies go to war, this possibility is slim.
Another troublesome problem is how to survive the winter. There are ready-made cave dwellings in the military village that can be lived in, but winter is coming soon, and these cave dwellings need to be renovated. The doors at the cave entrances must be completed to block the cold wind. This project
The quantity is not small and needs to be started immediately. Another issue is the issue of winter clothes and quilts. Feng Dao brought back two carts of cloth, which can be used to sew winter clothes and quilts. However, because Feng Dao stayed in Yuguan for a short time, he did not bring them back.
The cloth is only enough for soldiers and civilians to make winter clothes and quilts, and there is no more cloth to take care of the people who fled into the mountains. How to solve the problem of winter clothes and winter quilts for these people?
When discussing the third issue, Feng Dao and Li Chengzhong had a dispute, that is, how to deploy the labor force. Among the more than 700 refugees who fled into Bailang Mountain, there were less than 200 young people who could do energetic work.
, there are many things that need to be started immediately, including renovating the military stronghold, repairing the cave dwellings, improving the military stronghold wall, strengthening the back mountain pass, making winter clothes and quilts, going to the back mountain and even hunting in the west mountain, etc., just relying on these two hundred
There are definitely not enough people, so in addition to asking all fifty civilians to devote themselves, Feng Dao also wants the soldiers under Li Chengzhong to share some of the affairs. But for Li Chengzhong, the war with the Khitan people is unknown.
will break out. He needs to step up the training of these soldiers. At the same time, he also wants the two hundred young men to be used as reserve soldiers for military training. Both of them have their own opinions and reasons, and they also agree with the other's opinions and reasons.
But it's very difficult for me to compromise.
When the two were in trouble, Wang Dalang, who was placed on guard at the mountain pass by Li Chengzhong, hurried back and shouted: "Dutou, the Khitan people are about to enter the mountain!"