A light rain in mid-August added a bit of chill to the Hexi grassland. It was cold, not cool! The sky was overcast and the sun could not be seen. Cao Peng subconsciously tightened his white fur coat and spat out with all his strength.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is this the labor Shiyuan gave me?"
His face was as gloomy as the weather, and there was a chill in his words.
Cai Di stood behind him and couldn't help but shudder. He glanced at Cao Peng secretly, and a strong fear suddenly arose in his heart. After following Cao Peng for three days, he had never seen Cao Peng angry. He thought that he
This teacher has a good temper and is gentle to everyone. But now it seems that he was wrong! When Cao Peng turned cold, the surrounding temperature seemed to have dropped a lot. Including Jia Kui, Yin Feng, Liang Kuan and others,
No one dared to stand up. They all stood solemnly behind Cao Peng with their hands lowered, silent and cautious...
In the past three days, Cai Di heard many stories about Cao Peng.
The gentleman in front of me is not a weakling with no strength. He once fought with more than a thousand soldiers against a brave army that was ten times his size, and he also risked his life to set a white horse on fire, causing nearly ten thousand people to die in the sea of fire.
, he himself was almost burned to death...Cao Peng's prestige in the Central Plains was gradually known to Cai Di. He began to feel lucky that his mother had found a good husband for him. But at this moment, even Cai Di, Cao Peng's direct disciple
, and was so scared that he didn’t even dare to breathe.
Wang Shuang knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "Commander Pang said that the general will be outside, and you will not accept your order!"
A total of 7,400 Xiutu were resurrected this time, but the military division also needed manpower, so almost all the young men above 25 and below 40 were left behind, leaving about 2,700 people.
The rest of the people will be sent over one after another. Although these laborers are not old, they are enough to take on the work of building the city... After that, there are still more than 3,000 old and weak people on the way. The military advisor said that they can be sent to Hongze first, where they will build a crude city.
campsites for habitation.”
Behind Wang Shuang, groups of prisoners in ragged clothes were sitting on the ground with their heads in their hands.
At first glance, the oldest of these laborers is probably in his early twenties, and the youngest is only fourteen or fifteen years old. Wearing all kinds of clothes, he looks very thin. According to Wang Shuang, these people are already the best.
It’s hard work...
Cao Peng also knew that the two thousand soldiers and horses in the northwest Muyuan were indeed somewhat dangerous.
In fact, he asked Pang Tong to go there because he was worried that Deng Fan would be under too much pressure. Cao Peng had some understanding of the temperament of his fifth brother. If Cao Peng asked him to send all the prisoners, Deng Fan would definitely keep none of them.
, shouldering all the burden on him without any complaints. Pang Tong went to the northwest Muyuan, and Cao Peng was ready to be detained. However, he did not expect that Pang Tong detained almost all the young men.
.
The age of twenty-five to forty is the age when one is strong and has rich combat experience.
Men in the land of Qiang and Hu grew up on horses, and even learned the skills of killing and fighting from soldiers.
But after all, there is a difference.
How strong can a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old be when his body is growing?
But considering the pressure Deng Fan of Northwest Muyuan was under, even if Cao Peng was unhappy, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
"Cizen."
"The end will be here."
"Can these people...be okay?"
Yin Feng scratched his head and said with a smile: "Nothing is impossible. With a few whips, it must be possible even if it is not possible."
Cao Peng frowned, hesitated, and said softly: "Try to ensure their food and clothing.
The progress of Lianbao cannot be delayed. I will keep all these thousand people, and at the same time, I will mobilize a thousand soldiers and horses, and prepare to accept the remaining labor in Hongze... Shiyuan this time, is really giving
I have a big problem.
How about one thousand sergeants, can we guarantee the completion?"
Yin Feng hesitated for a moment and looked at Jia Kui.
Jia Kui pondered for a long time and said in a low voice: "There is no problem with the completion, but I am afraid I will be a little nervous about the food and grass."
"How long can it last?"
"Mid-September, at most mid-September..."
"I have ordered people to rush to Chang'an and ask General Wei Jian for help. If everything goes well, it will be delivered at the beginning of the month. I will allocate part of the food and fodder by then, and you must be prepared to store it.
Liang Dao, from now on, you will be the commander of Fort Lian, and you have temporarily taken over the post of Lieutenant of Lian Fort.
Liang Kuan immediately ordered a thousand soldiers and horses, took enough food, grass and baggage, and headed for Hongshui, and I will go to meet you later."
When everyone heard this, they bowed their hands and obeyed.
Cao Peng took another look at the group of teenagers in the prisoner camp, with a look of compassion on his face.
"Let them rest for a day and eat before we talk."
"As commanded."
As Cao Peng spoke, he turned around and walked towards the barracks.
The feeling of being on my own for the first time and holding great power turned out not to be as wonderful as I imagined.
Population, population, population…
For the first time, Cao Peng was so eager to increase the population.
In his previous life, the population exploded, and the small county town was overcrowded, which made people feel upset. But now, he finally understood why the great man said, "It's easier to do things when there are more people". If he has enough people,
Why are they so tied up? It's a pity that the Hexi grassland has a large population, but it is difficult for him to use it.
The situation is different from Haixi.
Although Haixi is chaotic, it has a usable population base and a city there.
But in Hexi, there is nothing!
There is no city, no land, and no usable population... Although there are tens of thousands of Han people in Hongze, they will not obey Cao Peng's orders. Cao Peng even believed that Dou Lan and others must be waiting to see his joke at this time.
They were even ready to take action at any time to drive him out of Hexi. Naturally, those Qiang and Hu herdsmen could not obey Cao Peng's orders.
Trouble, really trouble!
I thought that by winning Xiutu, everyone could fill the manpower vacancies in my hands.
Who knew that Pang Tong was so vicious that he wiped out all the young and strong men in one fell swoop, leaving only a bunch of old, weak, sick and disabled people?
"General, actually there is no need to be so nervous."
Jia Kui walked in and persuaded in a low voice: "In two months, the immigrants sent by the imperial court will arrive, won't there be someone available?"
"That's true, but it's not that simple."
Cao Peng rubbed his cheek gently, stood up after a while and said, "Liang Dao, I have a task for you."
"Please give me your orders, General."
"How many herdsmen are there in the hundreds of miles around Lianbao?"
"The last general has investigated and specifically asked Yu Qiuben to inquire about this time. Lianbao stretches from Xiaopine Forest to the west, to the river to the east, to Lingwu Valley in the north, and to Tianma Plain in the south. It covers an area of a hundred miles and contains more than fifty tribes, large and small...
...the tribe members are also very mixed. Except for a few tribes, which are family-based tribes similar to Qiuben, most of them are mixed tribes. The population is large, about four to five hundred people; the small one, even
There are less than a hundred people. All together, there are almost ten thousand people. But they have no contact with each other, and some tribes still have deep hatred."
"How's the combat effectiveness?"
Jia Kui smiled.
"What kind of fighting power can a group of ragtag people have?"
After Cao Peng pondered for a long time, he said to Cai Di: "Go and find Cizeng."
"Here!"
As a student of Cao Peng, Cai Di not only studied with Cao Peng, but also shouldered the responsibility of a messenger.
He quickly ran out of the tent, and after a while, he saw Yin Feng running into the tent in a hurry, "General, what are your orders?"
"With these thousands of laborers working at the same time, when will the outer wall of Lian Fort take shape?"
Yin Fengdao: "Ten days at most!"
"Well, during this period of time, you can do more acting.
Liang Dao, please move around more and try to win over some tribes that can be used by me. Ten days later, Zeng Zeng began to train his troops. Every five hundred people will be one unit, and they will take turns to attack. Anyone who is hostile to me or is unwilling to obey my orders
All the tribes were wiped out. The captured people were used as coolies to participate in the construction of the fort... Tell the men that 40% of the plundered finances can be kept for themselves and 60% will be confiscated. In short, when the construction of Hongshui County starts, the fort must be built.
The rectification is completed.”
When Jia Kui, Yin and Feng heard this, they couldn't help but look horrified.
If Cao Peng's order reaches Xudu...
However, looking at Cao Peng's gloomy face, the two of them did not dare to persuade him. They cupped their hands and said, "I will definitely live up to the general's trust."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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A day without incident!
The next day, just after dawn, the Lianbao construction site became lively.
After a day of rest, the young men from Xiutu walked out of the prisoner-of-war camp under the supervision of the soldiers and began their day's work.
I have to say that Pang Tong’s arrangement makes sense.
He only left young men aged between twenty-five and forty to serve as servants of the Han army in the northwest pastoral plains. At the same time, he divided the old, weak, sick and disabled into two groups, and sent all the old women and children to Hongshui. In this way, the three parties exchanged views on each other.
Even with their elbows, they had some worries. In addition, Cao Peng was not too harsh on these young people, at least he ensured that they could have full stomachs.
This is the Three Kingdoms!
An era of endless wars and exchange of children for food.
Having a full stomach is already an extremely luxurious thing.
In addition, the family was under the supervision of Cao Peng. Before they set off, Pang Tong had asked them to register according to their family status. If one person escapes, the whole family will die; if one person rebels, all the neighbors will be implicated, so the young people are also very honest.
And what about Cao Peng?
On the day when the construction of Lian Fort began, he took Wang Shuang, Cai Di, and a hundred soldiers and left Lian Fort.
"Sir, where are we going?"
After leaving Lianbao, Cai Di couldn't help but asked softly.
Cao Peng rubbed his cheek and replied after a while: "Hongsha Gang."
Red Sand Hill?
That's the territory of the bastard Xianbei.
Cai Di shivered for no reason, because he knew that it was the bastard Xianbei who snatched their mother and son away from Shen Tuze.
Although, he also knew that it was his teacher's order.
But Cai Di has always been a little afraid of the bastard Xianbei.
"Sir, what are we going to do in Hongsha Gang?"
Cao Peng smiled slightly and said, "Go and see if Tan Zhe is ready. If possible, I will squeeze out some oil and water from there. Tan Zhe has been in Hongsha Gang for many years. I don't believe it. His tribe has
, there is always something good.”
Wang Shuang couldn't help but laugh!
It seems that Young Master already has a countermeasure...
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So what, at the beginning of the month, please two ***? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation at *** (***.***), ***, your support