The Three Kingdoms Of The North Are Proud And Heroic

Early the next morning, the county government immediately announced the relevant matters related to the preparation of thieves in the winter of this year, and at the same time entrusted Zuju to be responsible for preparing relevant funds from the local squires to purchase armor, horses, grain and grass. Zujiazhuang is a military family, and it originally reserved a considerable number of armor and horses, but this time the scale is not usual, and the materials needed are naturally indispensable. Because of this, after preparing enough funds, it is necessary to collect good iron and recruit blacksmiths to forge armor.

In previous years, the winter preparation was initiated by the county government, supported by the townships and pavilions, and the county government allocated a part of the money and grain, while most of the other relied on the donations of the gentry. The money and food are generally not used to purchase military armor, but are distributed as rewards to all the people who respond to the thieves, after all, the only people who really have morality in these years are those who have certain economic conditions or have had certain economic conditions, and the majority of ordinary people in the lower classes are still trying to eat two meals a day. Only under the heavy reward can everyone's enthusiasm be aroused, and even some poor families, a few families, are looking forward to receiving a piece of merit money and food to pass the New Year during the preparation for theft.

This year's preparations for thieves are still a period of time later than in previous years, but the thieves in Zhixian County have made such a big disturbance, which really worries many people. As soon as the notice of the county government came out, some large families were somewhat relieved. Presumably, the money and food donated every year can win a reputation, but if the thieves and Hu people rob it, it is not sure how much the loss will be.

Chen Xianjun is the nominal initiator of the thief, and in previous years, several wealthy families in the county took turns to preside over the detailed affairs.

Last year, the ancestral family had come forward to preside over the preparation of theft, but this year's situation was special, and after discussing with Chen Xianjun, Zuju said that the affairs of preparing for theft this year should also be affected by the ancestral family.

Regarding the preparation of donating materials to various townships and pavilions, the ancestral family arranged as usual, and assigned several uncles in the clan who were quite well-known to visit the homes of the major surnames. As for the collection of iron and stone and the smelting of armor, because it was rarely involved in the past, it was specially discussed and planned.

In this matter, Zu Zhao did not interject too much, but only provided a forging method for a new type of armor. He decided to change the traditional armor with complicated production techniques such as chain mail, scale armor, and bell armor, which were not ideal for defense, and instead used more advanced plate armor with a simpler production method. However, he had long expected that there would definitely be many restrictions on casting armor, and what was lacking in this recruitment of volunteers was weapons, and armor and other things would inevitably not be popularized to ordinary volunteers.

The reason why the forging design of plate armor was proposed at this time was that after all, this new type of armor still needs a period of practice to test before it can be more mature and practical. After all, Zu Zhao himself doesn't know much about forging, and his understanding of plate armor is only a concept, and he still needs to explore it slowly.

Zu Ju considered that the number of cast armor was limited, so he did not pay too much attention to the plate armor design provided by Zu Zhao, and completely handed over to Zu Zhao to deal with the casting of armor. As for forging blades, there were several blacksmiths in Zujiazhuang, and the blacksmiths in Honzhuang were the mainstay, supplemented by recruited blacksmiths, and they had a time limit of one month to cast 300 blades of all kinds.

Also on this afternoon, Zu Zhao also made a special trip to Anyang Pavilion and invited the two brothers of the Zhang family to come out to discuss the recruitment of volunteers. After all, the two brothers Zhang Yuan and Zhang Pre participated in the affairs of Lingzhi County to fight thieves, and they often gather at Xihe Bridge to practice horses on weekdays, so they can definitely be regarded as their own people. Even if the two brothers Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yu are a little impetuous, they can always do practical things.

The Zhang family in Anyang Pavilion is also a big family, and after hearing that the county government announced the news of this year's theft in the morning, the Zhang family was also worried about this matter. Large families sometimes worry not about how much to donate, but more importantly, how to maintain the face of large families.

Zu Zhao came to Xiheqiao Town, and met with Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yu in the wine shop where he used to drink a lot. After meeting, I learned that the other party's name is Zhang Qi, the eldest son of the Zhang family's direct third room, who used to take care of some horse farms, accounts and other affairs in the family, and is still a Zhang family member who has the right to speak.

Zhang Qi was about ten years older than Zu Zhao, but he knew that Zu Zhao was the eldest son of the ancestral family, so he didn't dare to pose as an elder in front of him. After sitting down with each other, they drank a glass of warm wine before getting down to business.

"I heard that the eldest prince came back from the county just now, and it is rumored that Liu Taishou was unfortunately killed, I don't know what the situation in the county government is now?" Zhang Qi came this time on the orders of the elders of the family to find out what the chaos of the county government was like, and whether there was any special relationship between the chaos in the county government and the preparation of thieves this year.

"Now that Lord Taishou is in trouble, Sun Changshi is unfortunately seriously injured, and the county government is in chaos. However, the outlook is not optimistic. Because the assassin who assassinated the county government this time went out on the same road as the thieves in the county before. Zu Zhao didn't plan to say Wen Chou's words, after all, Wen Chou trusted himself, so he secretly reminded that if this word was spread too widely, I was afraid that it would cause more chaos in the county.

"Third uncle, earlier I went to Lingzhi County with Ah Pre, those thieves came prepared, and they colluded with the Hu people, it is bound to make a big move, if it weren't for the ancestor and I to break it first, I'm afraid the consequences will be unimaginable. In short, now that such a tragic incident has happened in the county government, there is no need to think about it, this gang of thieves will have bigger moves next. Zhang Yuan echoed Zu Zhao's words and said.

"I see..."Zhang Qi looked thoughtful and nodded slowly.

"Brother Wenyi was invited here this time to discuss how to deal with the upcoming changes in the county. The thieves in the county may be fine, but the Hu people outside the country have to be guarded against. Zu Zhao said solemnly.

After listening to Zu Zhao's words, Zhang Qi is not a stupid person, of course he understands Zu Zhao's inner meaning in his heart.

Although he is older than Zu Zhao, he is in the stage of youth and prosperity, and he also has some ambition to "do great things". Even if he was far less thorough and insightful about what was happening in the county than Zu Zhao did, he knew that this was an excellent time to "do big things" based on his hunch alone.

"Grandfather, I heard that the county government announced this year's preparation for theft, which is very different from the past. Guizhuang seems to be preparing more armor for this matter, I wonder if this is true? Zhang Qi asked tentatively.

The matter of forging armor has not yet been officially announced, but the ancestral family has begun to recruit craftsmen and collect good iron, and this news will more or less attract the attention of those who are interested. After all, privately casting weapons is a great thing, and in the early years, it would definitely attract the attention of the state capital and even the imperial court. Fortunately, the county government came forward this time, and with such a major accident in the county government, it is reasonable to recruit volunteers to strengthen the preparation for theft this year.

"Because of this major accident, and the county treasury has been in disrepair one after another, Chen Xianjun entrusted our ancestors to repair and cast some weapons on our behalf. In this year's preparation for thieves, the people need to be strong, and I am afraid that the weapons will not be enough. And after preparing for the thief, all the remaining blades will go to the county treasury. No matter what Zhang Qi meant, Zu Zhao still maintained a little vigilance and was reluctant to say too much, especially when it came to keeping the truth, so he naturally had to be more cautious.

Zhang Qi nodded slowly, with a slight smile on his face, and he was dissatisfied with Zu Zhao's answer.

"Then the ancestor made a special trip to come this time, presumably not to raise money and food, what do we need to do in Anyang Pavilion?" He simply put it more directly and explicitly.

"After all, this year is very different from usual. Earlier, he practiced horses with Brother Wenyi and Brother Ah Yu at Xihe Bridge, which can be regarded as preparing for the theft in advance. In addition, before going to Lingzhi County to beg for thieves, Brother Wenyi and Brother Ah Wei helped each other. Therefore, how to adjust the county's defense after preparing for the theft, I want to make a special trip to discuss it with Brother Wenyi.

"What does the grandfather think?" Zhang Yuan asked in a positive voice.

"I think that in order to prepare for thieves this year, at least more than 800 strong men need to be recruited in order to defend the county's neighbors." Zu Zhao said calmly.

"More than 800 people? Need so much? Without waiting for Zhang Yuan to be surprised, Zhang Qi said in surprise.

"Yes, yes, it is said that there are only more than 500 guards in the county government, and the total number of border troops in this county is only more than 2,000. Luronse's garrison was probably less than 2,000 men. Zhang Yu hurriedly followed.

In previous years, the counties prepared for thieves, and it was nothing more than recruiting two or three hundred people, even if the thieves were rampant, at most five hundred were enough. You must know that the 800-strong team of thieves can even take the initiative to attack and suppress the thieves, instead of sticking to the county wall. In addition, in the past, three to five hundred people needed to consume a lot of money and food in a month, but now that the number has doubled, where should this money and food come from? Families are not willing to give such a donation.

"It's not like in the past, even the county government is in trouble, let alone a small border county like us? Anyway, this time to recruit righteous people to prepare for thieves, as usual to follow the usual, as long as the limelight passes, the county can also return to the old system. But if there are many thieves this time, once encountered, it will be too late, so we have to prepare for the worst. Zu Zhao said in a firm tone.

"If you say that, it makes sense." Zhang Yuan nodded slowly, he believed that Zu Zhao had made a special trip to find him this time, and he hoped that there would be enough eight hundred people to recruit this year, which must be reasonable.

"Since the county lord has agreed, as long as there is no objection from other townships and towns at the moment, my Anyang Pavilion must also fully support it." Zhang Qi said in a very slow tone, giving people the feeling that there was a sound outside the strings.

"In a few days, my guild and Chen Xianjun held a meeting in the county government to prepare for thieves this year, and took the opportunity to inform the county's elders of the current situation in the county, so that the county's elders could have a general understanding first. I hope that Brother Wenyi and the other elders of Anyang Pavilion will be able to participate at that time. Zu Zhao said again.

"Definitely, definitely." Zhang Yuan, Zhang Qi, Zhang Yu and others solemnly agreed.