Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

Yang Ling ordered the scout, "Go and invite Li Yun and Zhao Ziming over, let's discuss military affairs!"

After waiting for a while, Li Yun and Zhao Ziming walked into the yard.

Li Yun bowed to Yang Ling and said, "Greetings, Yang Sicheng! I wonder what you want from me, Yang Sicheng, in the middle of the night?"

Yang Ling asked, "Brother Li, did you find anything when you led your men to search for the bandits today?"

Li Yun shook his head and smiled bitterly: "There is nothing! Unless they are hiding, they should have been found long ago."

Yang Ling looked at Zhao Ziming and asked, "Where's Brother Zhao? Did you get anything?"

Zhao Ziming nodded and replied, "We have some gains. I took people to patrol the Ji River and captured several ships with cargo piled at the bottom of the cabin. Torches were hung on the side of the ship, and we boarded the ship to check the cargo. In the cabin at the stern, we found a large number of silver dollars and several boxes of jewelry, which are estimated to be worth a lot of money."

Yang Ling exclaimed: "There are so many silver dollars? Such a big thing should be enough to support half a year's expenses, right?"

Zhao Ziming continued, "There are also gold bars. Roughly speaking, there are at least three thousand taels of gold."

Yang Ling's heartbeat quickened: Three thousand taels of gold. If it were converted into silver, it would be at least two hundred thousand taels of silver.

Yang Ling said with emotion: "We made a fortune this time! This gold is enough for us to use for a long time."

Yang Ling asked again: "Where are you and your men going to move the gold and silver?"

"Of course it's a betrothal gift to you, big brother." Zhao Ziming said.

Yang Ling laughed and said, "I don't dare to accept these betrothal gifts, so you should take them."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Brother Yang, this is your dowry, why don't you dare to accept it?"

"That's right, Brother Yang, you are too pretentious." Zhao Ziming echoed.

Yang Ling said: "These gold and silver are too precious, you can take them. You can give them to me on the day of your wedding."

"Since Brother Yang said so, I will respectfully obey your order and accept the betrothal gift." Zhao Ziming said happily, "I have other plans for this gold and silver. I plan to sell it and exchange it for more money and food to help my brother overcome his current difficulties."

"How shameless of you!" Yang Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Li Yun consoled him, "Brother Yang, don't you understand Ziming's intention? The gold and silver we seized this time are too rich, enough for us to arm 3,000 men. 3,000 men are enough to protect Jeju City. With 3,000 men, we can defend Jeju until reinforcements arrive and annihilate this bandit group!
At that time, we can also take the opportunity to recruit this bandit group. The leader of this bandit group, Zhang Shun, the leader of the Jeju bandits, is the confidant of the bandit chief Chen Hong. If we can subdue this bandit group, it will definitely be of great benefit.

Brother Yang, Ziming has spent a lot of effort to raise so much betrothal gifts, so don't refuse. Besides, if these bandits stay in Jeju, it will cause us more trouble. Instead of that, it is better to let Ziming take the bandits away. We can also save a lot of trouble! "

Yang Ling pondered for a long time before saying, "Well, then the gold is yours. I hope this money and grain can help more disaster victims. If you need silver, you can write to me and I will try my best to get some money and grain."

Yang Ling didn't know whether Zhao Ziming would do as he said, but he didn't mind providing some help. After all, they had been through hardships and life and death together, and he couldn't bear to see Li Yun and Zhao Ziming go hungry.

Li Yun smiled and replied, "Okay!"

Yang Ling reminded again: "We don't have enough manpower, you still have to pay attention to safety."

Li Yun said solemnly: "Brother Yang, rest assured, leave the affairs of Jeju City to us."

Yang Ling asked again: "How do you plan to arrange for the people of Jizhou City?"

"Ziming and I intend to move the people into the mountainous areas and let them live there," said Li Yun.

Although the mountainous area is remote, the environment is elegant and people's lives are much more comfortable.

Yang Ling said: "As for the housing construction in the mountainous areas, I also agree that you should build simple shanty towns in the mountainous areas. If you need manpower, you can recruit able-bodied men."

At this time, Zhao Ziming interrupted and said, "Brother Yang, I heard that there are still many bandits in and outside of Jeju Prefecture. If we rashly recruit local militiamen, we may invite wolves into the house."

Zhao Ziming's worries were not groundless. Although their layout in Jeju Prefecture was good, they still faced huge threats.

Li Yun smiled and said, "Ziming's concerns are not without reason. This time we wiped out the bandits in Jeju Prefecture and killed a lot of them. Jeju City will definitely attract a lot of bandits. They will definitely try every means to sneak into Jeju City. I plan to organize local militia to defend Jeju City and will never let the wolf in.

We can choose to drive the bandits out of the city, or even defeat them. This will not only weaken the bandits, but also prevent them from attacking Jeju City and prevent the bandits from taking advantage of the situation to attack Jeju Prefecture. I think this is a good idea, let's do it!"

Yang Ling nodded: "You can make your own arrangements. I will send reinforcements as soon as possible."

"Okay, let's split up. We will immediately gather able-bodied men and prepare to defend Jeju City!" After Li Yun finished speaking, he hurriedly pulled Zhao Ziming away.

Yang Ling looked at the figures of Li Yun and Zhao Ziming going away, and sighed secretly: These two brothers are still too eager for quick success. They have a shallow foundation, and it is extremely difficult for them to defend Jeju.

However, Yang Ling believed that Li Yun and Zhao Ziming had this ambition. Their ambitions were not bound by worldly constraints.

When Yang Ling thought of these gold, silver, and jewels, his face was filled with smiles, and he wanted to roar to the sky.

Li Yun and Zhao Ziming's ideas were exactly what he wanted.

Yang Ling wanted to stabilize the Northern Expedition battlefield as soon as possible and control the military and political power. He had to expand his territory to more states and counties as soon as possible. In this way, he could accumulate more wealth and gain greater power in front of the court.

Now Yang Ling lacks capital, and can only rely on this kind of violent plunder to quickly accumulate wealth in order to quickly accumulate more wealth.

Yang Ling's plan is simple -

The first thing was to recruit soldiers. This was an issue that Yang Ling urgently needed to solve.

Recruiting soldiers is a very complicated task and it is not something that can be completed in a short period of time.

Yang Ling had a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry, but unfortunately he had no reputation, so he had nowhere to buy food.

However, these things can be exchanged for silver, and Yang Ling can recruit soldiers through this method.

Yang Ling had been in Jinan Prefecture for more than seven months and had met many local officials. Some of these officials were greedy, so Yang Ling simply bribed them with a large sum of money. They were willing to help.

Yang Ling also found Master Liu to ask about agricultural technology. Master Liu was an old hand with a wide range of knowledge, so Yang Ling easily learned a lot of professional technology.

With the assistance of Master Liu, Yang Ling used the money to recruit three to four thousand young and strong men and formed a private army of five to six thousand.

Afterwards, Yang Ling used the money to recruit hired laborers to build simple houses on the flat land around the village to store food and fodder and stockpile arrows, swords and axes.

That night, Yang Ling led his troops to the camp in the valley.

"Greetings, General!" Everyone knelt on the ground and shouted respectfully.

Yang Ling got off his horse, helped everyone up, and said loudly: "Everyone, please stand up."

Everyone stood up, their eyes revealing respect.

"From today on, you will be called the Yangshizhuang Corps. You will be responsible for training local soldiers and defending Jeju." Yang Ling ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone in the Yangshizhuang Corps responded in unison.

Yang Ling pointed at Li Yun and Zhao Ziming and said, "They are my sworn brothers. From now on, they will be in charge of the affairs of the Yangshizhuang Corps."

The soldiers of the Yangshizhuang Corps all looked at the two of them, their eyes revealing confusion. Li Yun smiled and said, "Hello, I am Li Yun. This is Brother Zhao Ziming. We are both friends of Yang Ling."

Everyone bowed and saluted: "Greetings, Master Li and Master Zhao."

Li Yun continued, "From now on, you can just call us captain or deputy captain. Brother Zhao and I have discussed that everyone will be under our management temporarily. After we wipe out the nearby bandits, we will redistribute the duties."

Zhao Ziming continued, "We will distribute rewards according to their respective merits to reward everyone for serving the country."

Yang Ling looked at the group of simple men in front of him, and a strong warmth rose in his heart.

These soldiers were indeed simple and kind people, loyal to Yang Ling. Yang Ling admired them very much and was willing to give them the utmost support.

Yang Ling then said to the crowd, "This time we were able to wipe out the bandits in Jizhou Prefecture, and you all contributed. When I return to Liaoyang Prefecture, I will report to the emperor and commend you!"

"Thank you, sir!" Everyone was extremely excited and shouted in unison.

"Okay! Everyone pack up the tents and rest. We'll set off tomorrow morning!" Yang Ling ordered.

The soldiers of the Yangshizhuang Corps immediately dispersed and packed up their tents.

These tents were made of wooden planks, and were rather crude, but sufficient for use. The Yangshizhuang Corps set up camp in the valley.

Yang Ling took out the gold, silver and treasures and began to count them.

The amount was staggering! This batch of gold and silver totaled more than 20,000 taels. Such a huge amount made Yang Ling inexplicably excited.

The main sources of this batch of gold and silver were the stolen money from robbing the magistrate of Jeju and the stolen goods from bandits.

The stolen money of the Jeju County Magistrate was earned through smuggling during his eight years in office, and it was actually not much.

As for the bandits' stolen goods, they were the spoils of war obtained when they robbed the people of Jizhou Prefecture and were intercepted and defeated by Yang Ling and his men.

The value of these spoils is also amazing. In addition to gold, silver and jewelry, there are also copper, iron and other mineral deposits.

This amount of wealth is enough for Yang Ling to squander for a long time.

"It feels so good to be rich! Haha!" Yang Ling couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Yang Ling was in a very good mood. He took everyone back to Jinan Prefecture overnight and handed over the spoils to Yuan Zongde.

As soon as Yang Ling arrived at the Jinan government office, he saw Yuan Zongde walking towards him, looking very tired.

"Greetings, His Excellency the Prefect!" Yang Ling said, clasping his fists.

Yuan Zongdi nodded and asked, "Where have you been these days?"

Yang Ling smiled bitterly and said, "I'll go negotiate with the bandits."

"Negotiation? How about it?" Yuan Zongde asked.

When Yuan Zongde heard that Yang Ling had taken people to negotiate with the bandits, he was so scared that he almost jumped up.

Yang Ling said, "It went smoothly. The bandits agreed to surrender and only asked to stay in Yanzhou City and stop harassing the people."

Yuan Zongdi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If the bandits are willing to surrender, it would be worth it to give them a safe and happy environment. But why did you go to the battle in person?"

Yang Ling smiled bitterly and said, "I was ordered to go to war, so I had to go. If I don't go and wipe out the bandits, I'm afraid I'll be in danger."

Yuan Zongdi nodded and said, "Then be careful. This matter is left to you. I will allocate 5,000 soldiers to escort you. Remember, you must be careful and don't act rashly."

Yang Ling bowed solemnly and said, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I will definitely fulfill your mission."

"Okay. I'll wait for your good news." Yuan Zongde turned and left.

Yang Ling returned to the barracks, summoned his subordinates, and announced the appointment of Li Yun as the deputy captain of the Yangshizhuang Corps. Then he sent someone to call Li Yun over.

Li Yun walked into the hall, bowed to Yang Ling and said, "I pay my respects to the General!"

Yang Ling smiled and said, "Captain Li, please excuse me. This is our first meeting, so we should have a banquet to entertain you. Unfortunately, I am short of money and cannot entertain you. Here are some food, I hope you don't mind."

Yang Ling handed Li Yun two bags of steamed buns and half a bowl of porridge, which were the dry food he got when hunting in the wild. Yang Ling was worried that Li Yun and Zhao Ziming would be hungry, so he left them for them to eat on the way.

"I would like to thank you, sir." Li Yun took the steamed buns and porridge with both hands.

He didn't expect Yang Ling to be so considerate that he would prepare meals for him on the way.

Li Yun was grateful and secretly admired Yang Ling's thoughtfulness.

"Captain Li, please take a seat." Yang Ling waved his hand to signal Li Yun to take a seat.

After thanking him, Li Yun sat down on the stool to Yang Ling's left. He looked at Yang Ling and asked, "May I ask, sir, when will we attack Jeju? I am willing to live and die with you!"

Yang Ling smiled and said, "Captain Li, don't worry. Jeju is under our control and the leader of the bandits has surrendered. We have now occupied Jeju and can launch an attack at any time."

Li Yun was surprised and delighted, and asked hurriedly: "Master General, has the bandit leader really surrendered to us?"

"Of course. How could I deceive Captain Li?" Yang Ling said with a smile.

"Great!" Li Yun cheered happily. He originally just wanted to be an ordinary soldier and never thought that he would have the opportunity to be appointed as a lieutenant by the imperial court. For Li Yun, this was a dream job.

Yang Ling instructed again: "Let's take advantage of the next few days to rest and recuperate. Once we have recovered our strength, we will set out to attack Jeju!"

Li Yun nodded repeatedly and then retreated.

Yang Ling gathered all the members of the Yangshizhuang Corps.

"Everyone, we have become the official army now, and I have decided to change our previous style. We must strictly abide by discipline, and no one is allowed to cross the line without authorization. Violators will be executed immediately!" Yang Ling said in a majestic tone.

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers of the Yangshizhuang Corps responded in unison, clasping their fists.

"Starting today, after daily martial arts training, everyone will first practice sword and shield formations and bows and arrows, familiarize yourself with military equipment and firearms, and learn how to use as many firearms as possible. Then, I will teach everyone how to use infantry and artillery to coordinate combat."

As soon as Yang Ling finished speaking, the soldiers immediately caused a commotion.

"Master General, can you use infantry and artillery to coordinate operations?"

"Sir, I heard that infantry-artillery coordinated combat is very difficult to practice."

"Sir General, can you use cavalry?"

The soldiers started talking at once, asking Yang Ling for information on infantry-artillery coordination. (End of this chapter)