Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 230: I'm Going to Die Today (1)

The night wind was slightly cold, Xu Detai stood in front of the tent, quietly watching thousands of strong men lined up.A group of common people just arrived today, together with hundreds of "women" and children gathered around the open space for the review, curiously watching the excitement and discussing it.The orderly reclamation scene in this valley made many people feel a little more at ease from their panic.Bright torches were lit all around the open space. In order not to be reprimanded by the sergeant, and to lose face in front of their wives and children, although they were already exhausted, the men had to pull themselves together, holding the sticks in their hands tightly, and keeping their waists straight.Although many people are at a loss, they already look like they are in the army.

"Han Xin ordered troops, the more the better." Xu Detai's mind suddenly flashed this sentence. The people trapped in Xia Guozhai are not many, there are only one or two thousand young people, and the old and weak women and children add up to less than [-] people, but so quickly Kneading these people together is terrifying.The long sticks in Ding Zhuang's hands were like slowly falling into the woods. Following the sergeant's command, the ten-man team and the hundred-man team were advancing and retreating freely. "There are millions of Han people in Liaodong. If they can organize households and organize troops like this, it is not impossible to compete with the Khitan Jurchens. However, given time, who is the master of Liaodong?" Xu Detai couldn't help squinting He opened his eyes and woke up, suddenly heard someone behind him say "Xu San is the head of the family", when he looked back, it was Jin Changtai.

According to the rules of the Shadow Army, the specific duties of the sergeants are kept secret from the outside world, and outsiders don't know that Jin Changtai is the paramount commander of the army.Seeing that he had a high status in the battalion, Xu Detai also guessed that he was probably a military adviser, and politely cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Jin." Among the straight-faced Xia *** officers, he was an outlier.He took the initiative to come over to say hello, which made Xu Detai suspicious.

"Mr. Jin has some doubts about the alliance, so I came to ask the third master for advice." Jin Changtai smiled, pointed to the tent, and signaled to go in for a detailed discussion. Xu Detai hesitated for a moment, and then talked with him. Step into the tent together.His camp was made of greased sheepskin, with felt blankets on the floor. Although it was not comparable to the houses in the Han army camp, it was much better than the thatched huts where the common people lived. Through the skylight, the smoke from the candle flames rises up one after another.Two soldiers from Chengying Battalion then guarded the door, warning others to eavesdrop.

Xu Detai was very strict with himself, and he didn't drink casually when he was out on errands, so he poured Jin Changtai a bowl of oil tea to treat his guests.Jin Changtai took the teacup, feeling a strong fishy smell rushing straight to his nose, frowned slightly, Xu Detai put the salt, milk and ghee very heavily, and the northern Han'er was in the habit of meeting Hu People are miscellaneous.After the founding of the Song Dynasty, the imperial court vigorously banned Hu Fu and Hu vulgarity. After a hundred years, these Han people in the Northland, in the eyes of the Central Plains people, are almost the same as the Fan people.

Xu Detai said in a deep voice: "If Mr. Jin has any doubts, I will tell you everything."

Jin Changtai smiled and said: "Xu San is the head of the family, Ming people don't speak dark words, and more than forty Han villages will form an alliance. Who wants to be the leader? Let us have a spectrum, right?" He took a sip of oil tea, Swallowing the hot tea, he continued, "I now only know that the Han family is the co-lord of the Liaodong Han people in the Huguo Mansion. All the military equipment, supplies, and even reinforcements were obtained by Miss Han in the Huguo Mansion. Now suddenly there is another Leader, the Jurchens are also involved..." He looked at the other side with embarrassment, and asked Xu Detai to give an explanation.

Xu Detai was taken aback for a moment, subconsciously trying to avoid this topic, forced a smile and said, "The Han family is naturally our co-lord, and the chosen leader is only at the order of Miss Han."

Jin Changtai smiled slightly and said: "Really? I am a little worried that the Huguofu will misunderstand and delay the next step of cooperation between you and me. You know, our artillery, food, grass and military equipment are still floating at sea. In case the escorting general finds out the situation It’s different, it’s hard to say whether these things can be handed over to us.”

Xu Detai heard the threat in Jin Changtai's words, bowed his head in silence, and secretly said, "If you don't get in the way, how can the escort officer know our details." Jin Changtai was not in a hurry, and looked at him while drinking tea.There seemed to be a sense of embarrassment in the air, Xu Detai only felt that the gaze from the other side seemed to be piercing, and he couldn't help thinking to himself, why didn't he see that Mr. Jin was so powerful before.

Eastern Liaodong was under the jurisdiction of the Pinglu Jiedu envoy in the Tang Dynasty. The mixed culture of the Hu and Han people made the Han people here very deeply. Many of the ancestors of the generals of the Han army first rebelled with An Shi, and then separated themselves. Since the Anshi Rebellion in the previous dynasty, they have And the Central Plains are separated from Germany.The conflicts of interest among the Han villages in Eastern Liaodong are intricate, but they all have a strong sense of precaution against the Central Plains court.The kingdom of Xia and Liaodong were far apart, and the system of sergeants was practiced, and it was also the place where Han Chang's mother and son were buried. After more than a hundred years, they were attracted by Liaodong Han generals as allies.Although Xia Guo is a friend rather than an enemy, Xu Detai still does not want outsiders to know about the strife among the Han army.But Jin Changtai had to 'find out' the inside story of the Han army no matter what, so that he could explain to Zhao Xingde and the General's Mansion, so that the manpower and material resources that Xia Guo invested in Liaodong could get the maximum benefit.

After a long time, Xu Detai sighed, and said in a deep voice, "To be honest with Mr. Jin, Mr. Han Da from the Huanglong Mansion proposed the matter of electing the leader." Mentioning Mr. Han Da, Xu Detai's tone was a bit bitter He didn't wait for Jin Changtai to ask, and said, "Mr. Han Da can be regarded as the descendant of the Han family. He is an all-rounder in civil and military affairs. He first established a stronghold at the northern foot of Taibai Mountain, and later became a counselor for Wanyan Aguda. This time the Liaodong Han When he heard the news of the Zhai Huimeng, he suggested that the leaders of each village should nominate an alliance leader to be in charge of the army."

Jin Changtai said in surprise, "There are such people, why didn't we know before?" He secretly thought that the Military Intelligence Department had failed in his duty, and wanted to find out the origin of Mr. Han Da from Xu Detai.

Xu Detai smiled wryly and said: "Mr. Da has always kept a low profile, even I don't know what his name is, but he is indeed a character. The Han camp under his command is also considered elite among the Jurchen army. He has contributed a lot. If it weren't for this, how could he, a Han, be regarded as the honored guest by the Wanyan tribe. Mr. Han Da had already said something about the alliance. The leader of Hanzhai has nothing but admiration for him, and he has no other ideas." He paused, and said in a deep voice, "But I think that Mr. Han Da's spare no effort to promote this matter may have ulterior motives. "

Jin Changtai doubted: "If he is after the Han family, and he is so powerful and won the hearts of the people, then why did it take so much trouble?"

Xu Detai sneered and said: "His branch is adopted, not the blood of Marshal Han, but he just refused to settle down. This is a family matter of the Han family, so we didn't tell it at the beginning."

"That can be regarded as a hero in a 'chaotic' world." Jin Changtai murmured, "Is this Mr. Han Da also going to the alliance?"

Xu Detai nodded and said: "For the alliance between the Han army and the Jurchens, he will go." He knew that Xia Guo had always opposed the alliance between the Han army and the Jurchens, and said, "Mr. The power is weak, if we don’t get a strong support, I’m afraid there will be no shelter in the future, this is a last resort, please also explain to General Zhao and the court more.” Xu Detai usually has a tough temper, but at this moment, for the sake of the Han army As for offending Xia Guo, another strong supporter, because of marrying Jurchen, he became humbled.

Jin Changtai was silent for a moment and said: "Thank you Xu San for your frankness. I'll go report to General Zhao and see how to make a decision." He got up and left, and Xu Detai sent him outside the tent.In the open space not far away, Sergeant Xia commanded Ding Zhuang to practice a large infantry formation. Children excitedly waved swords and guns made of branches, laughing and making noises. The voices of more than a thousand people shouting together echoed in the valley. Absolutely.Erli also folded his arms and watched from the sidelines. Seeing Xu Detai coming out, pointing at Ding Zhuang in the field, he said with a sneer, "Should the soldiers sent to death be scared to death by shouting loudly? A hundred Jurchen cavalry can kill them all." .”

In the tent of the Chinese army, Zhao Xingde is finally reviewing the drawing of the iron-making bellows. This drawing was drawn by Zhao Xingde himself. It is a simple crank-link mechanism, and four cows pull the bellows. He estimates that the temperature of the furnace is enough to get molten iron in a 'liquid' state. It's a pity that the preparations for refractory materials are insufficient, and molten steel cannot be obtained directly. To make weapons, the only way is to go through repeated forging.There was a severe shortage of craftsmen in the shady households, so Zhao Xingde had to hoard ore and charcoal while asking the sergeants to urge the shady households to continue the construction.The alliance of the Han army was related to the overall situation of Liaodong, Zhao Xingde had to go there in person, and he didn't want to delay the progress, so he had to draw a picture, and made a very detailed explanation, and handed it over to Jin Changtai's supervisor.

The sound of soldiers saluting came from outside the tent, Jin Changtai and Wang Tongdeng came in together, Zhao Xingde raised his head and said with a smile: "It's just in time, I'm going to join their Han army's alliance, many important events in the village will fall on the shoulders of the two of you. It is estimated that the artillery and craftsmen will arrive soon, in addition to coercing the shady households to reclaim wasteland, first build an iron smelting furnace according to the design. The specific details of iron smelting are subject to the arrangement of the craftsman."

Jin Changtai picked up the pattern and said with a smile: "Could it be that you thought of coercing the people when you were in Dunhuang? The power of such a temple is comparable to Guan Zhongleyi." When Zhao Xingde decided on this plan to coerce the people, everyone felt the weapon Iron, agricultural tools, armor, everything needs iron, I only regret that I didn't bring the blacksmith with the team.But even ordinary craftsmen can only forge iron, and cannot design an iron-making furnace by themselves.Zhao Xingde took out this drawing with detailed instructions, and Jin Changtai only thought it was brought by him in Dunhuang in advance.

Zhao Xingde said with a smile: "It's always good to plan ahead. After I leave, you can burn some pottery armor to match the regiment's training." He took out another drawing, which was made of hard pottery fragments. The side armor, the helmet looks like an upside-down clay pot, and it also comes with a ceramic mask.

Wang Tongdeng frowned and said, "Can this thing work? It shatters when you hit it with a gun stick."

Jin Changtai smiled and said: "Nowadays, everything is lacking, this pottery armor is better than no armor. Although it is a bit heavy, this armor can at least resist the arrows, and it is good to be brave." He took a look at the pattern carefully, If he didn't know, he asked Zhao Xingde everywhere, and Zhao Xingde explained it to him in detail.After getting a general understanding of the patterns, Jin Changtai rolled up the two patterns and put them away, saying to Zhao Xingde: "We are in charge of the reclamation camp, so you can go and deal with those snakes, insects, rats and ants at ease."