The Rise of the Marquis

Chapter 24 War Preparation
On the 41st of Brumaire, the air of Boulevard Castle was full of solemnity, and the peach blossom flags in Heyang had been replaced with plain flags, and a large area stood on the top of the city.

Today is the date that the stargazers in the fortress speculate based on the celestial phenomena, and it is also the day that Duyang Hou Wang Lie will be buried.

The people outside the city, many soldiers, all of them solemnly lined up on both sides of the avenue. Wang Jian was dressed in plain clothes. He carried the coffin and walked out of the main gate with the team. He walked along the avenue and accepted the people's kneeling. .

Many people were on both sides of the road, and some people shouted "revenge!"

It also attracted a wave of echoes, "Revenge!" "Revenge for the Marquis!" "Send troops!"

Most of them are "citizens" in the city, with a high status and can influence the decision-making of the lord. They are the main source of personal soldiers.

Wang Jian looked sad and pretended not to hear those words. Many people threw banknotes on the coffin, and many people burst into tears, crying heartbreakingly. Of course, Wang Jian also heard a few people gloating , secretly happy, he roughly wrote down those people.

The funeral was held that day and Wang Jian participated in it on a regular basis. The lengthy funeral lasted until the afternoon, and there was no time for the coffin to be lowered.

People at the scene have been petitioning him constantly, hoping to take revenge on Ma Ling and Li Shi in the north, and avenge his father.

Many of them are former generals and veterans of Du Yanghou
Wang Jian didn't agree or veto. In the end, he simply pretended to be overwhelmed with grief and couldn't be a director at all. He barely supported them with Uncle Gong's support, and couldn't listen to them at all.

It took three days before and after the funeral before all the procedures came to an end.

It wasn't until all the guests left the castle that Wang Jian, who had been overwhelmed with grief, suddenly recovered, fully recovered, and everything was as usual.

The evening wind howled on the roof, and the statue of the leader of the mountain whimpered in the wind. The flying swallows were clear to the south, and many black crows landed on the roof. The whimpering wind was still there, but the house on the roof had changed its owner. Wang Jian pointed to the sand table in the middle and said: "The sentinels lead an additional team."

"My lord, will it be too few? If Duke Ma Ling wants to send troops northward, the Sentinels will be the first to bear the brunt." Sun Difang said.

Wu Yi also looked over, "My lord, the Sentinel Leader is our most outpost. Before, there was only one team (50 people) stationed there, because there was no need to guard against Heyin in the south. Now the situation has changed, and the threat is the greatest in the south.

There is definite news from the north that Mr. Lishi is seriously ill, so his son is in charge of the government.

Now the most important thing is to prepare for the south. I think we should gather troops as soon as possible. Now is not the farming season. We can mobilize more people. At least half of the people in the territory should be strengthened to Sentinel Ridge. One battalion (two thousand) is the most suitable . "

"Will the first battalion be too many? Sentinel Ridge can't have so many people stationed there, and that's almost half of the people in the territory. Is it appropriate to put them all on the border?" Uncle Gong frowned.

"It is also impossible for us to be threatened by other threats. If there is a battle at Sentinel Ridge, it will take at least one day and one night for support from Fort Boulevard, and only the cavalry can arrive, so it will be too late." Sun Difang expressed his concern.

Wu Yi also agreed, "Marquis, what I am worried about is just like what Secretary Sun said, we must plan ahead, and whoever wins the battle will gain a huge advantage."

Uncle Gong didn't speak anymore.

"If you are worried about the camp and supplies, you can cut down some of the peach trees on the flat ground north of the Sentinels to allow the troops to garrison. This will lose some of the best peach trees, but now the key is to prepare for the war, and those are irrelevant." Sun Difang planned.

"What if the owner of the local peach forest comes to make trouble?" Wang Jian asked.

"Then give some compensation with coins, and they don't dare to have any doubts after the troops are stationed, not to mention that this is protecting them." Sun Difang immediately gave a solution, "You can tell them clearly that if there is no army at the sentinel, wait and see. Let alone some peach forests when the enemy troops come, they can't even save their lives."

Facing the gazes of the three people, Wang Jian did not express his opinion immediately, but stared at the sand table for a long time, and poked the position of the sentinel leader with a wooden stick, "It is reasonable to use half of the troops to guard against the biggest enemy, but Maling If they send troops, how many troops can they gather?"

"More than 1 people," Wu Yi said.

"There is no chance of winning with 2000 people guarding against 1 people." Wang Jian looked at the sand table and compared it with the map hanging in front of him, "The sentinel collar is a good place to rest, but it is not a dangerous place. A battalion of men and horses is useless."

As he spoke, he pointed to the rear, "Here, about ten miles behind the Sentinels, in Tiejin Town between the two mountains, there is only this river valley about one mile wide in the middle. It is enough to station troops here to stop the army and it is also convenient to get water. As for Sentinel leader, leave two teams of men and horses as outposts to investigate the situation, and if there is an enemy situation, immediately light the beacon and retreat to the valley."

Both Sun Difang and Uncle Gong looked over in surprise: "My lord, are we going to give up the sentinel collar?"

"Is there anything wrong?"

"This..." Both of them had shocked and puzzled expressions on their faces.

Wang Jian immediately realized that their thinking was still in the era of feudal princes, land was sanctified, and they attached great importance to feudal territories. In their opinion, the operation of land as a bargaining chip in the empire era and even post-modern diplomacy It is very abnormal and unacceptable.

Wang Jian thought for a while, and said: "If you save people and lose land, all people and land will survive; if you lose people, you will lose all people and land; the sentinel collar is not suitable for defense, nor is it suitable for a military center, it can only be used as a frontier." Sentinel Base.

I have my own opinion on this matter, so it is settled. "

"The sentinel leads 32 households, with more than 100 mouths."

"Let them evacuate with the soldiers. If they don't leave, they will fend for themselves." Wang Jian said, Wu Yi and Sun Difang frowned slightly when these indifferent words came out, only Uncle Gong looked normal.

Making such a decision was due to his calm thinking about objective conditions and geography, and secondly, his indifference to mortals as a monk deep in his heart.

Seeing that they were silent, Wang Jian frowned slightly and repeated: "This is an order that must be carried out, and the residents of Sentinel Land will be notified within three days."

Then he looked at Uncle Gong: "Commander Gong is in charge of gathering the troops, and Commander Wu is in charge of commanding the scouts of the sentinel leader, always monitoring the movement of Heyin.

Now is the foggy month, there is no need for farming or autumn harvest, the manpower is sufficient, and the food has just been harvested. This is the time when they are most likely to launch an attack, so don't be careless.

As for Secretary Sun, you are in charge of enlisting slaves and coordinating the transportation of grain and grass. Take the avenue south from the Boulevard Castle, go south along the pavilion post, and advance along the river valley. The grain and grass must be transported before the army arrives without any delay. "

(End of this chapter)