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"This is a talent." Zhao Han sighed.

Fei Ruhe continued: "Yuanzhouwei has its own weapon shop, and he recruited some craftsmen from Nanchang. Now there are hundreds of bowmakers in Yuanzhou. They can make hundreds of bows and tens of thousands of arrows every year. Some were transported to the capital, and some were kept for his own use. This man has more than 3000 soldiers, of which 1000 are archers."

Pang Chunlai sighed suddenly: "It seems that our strong enemy is not Li Maofang and Wang Siren who suppressed the bandits in Duchang, but Tian Younian, the prefect of Yuanzhou. This man has been training for at least a year, and he is not a temporary beggar soldier. No wonder The rebel army in Pingxiang was easily wiped out by him."

"If the rebel army in Duchang is wiped out," Li Banghua said, "Tian Younian is likely to bring his elite troops and come south with the governor to attack us."

Yuanzhou is just north of Anfu County. At first glance, it seems to be a very close neighbor, but there are mountains in the middle, so it only needs to defend a few main roads.

If Tian Younian was smart, he wouldn't have come over the mountains, that way he might be defeated in an ambush, and he would most likely have to travel by water with Governor Li Maofang.

Pang Chunlai said: "We can't wait for others to fight. We don't even have a pair of armor. It will be a disadvantage to meet thousands of archers."

"Then take the initiative!"

Zhao Han stood up and said, "Attack Yuanzhou first, without occupying the city or dividing the fields. It is purely to destroy Tian Younian's elite. It would be even better if we could 'invite' the bow maker back!"

Chapter 143 [March in the Snow]

The big mountain between Anfu County and Yuanzhou Mansion is called Wugong Mountain.

If you send troops in spring, you may be able to get over by luck if you go around in the mountains.But it is absolutely impossible in winter. After entering the mountains, they will either freeze to death or starve to death if they cannot find food.

Then you can only take the route further east, still need to cross mountains and ridges, go straight from Anfu County to Fenyi County, which is equivalent to crossing the remaining veins of Wugong Mountain.

At the beginning of December, Zhao Han personally led an army of [-], without any supplies, food and grass, and set off on the snow into the mountains.

Half of the mountain journey this time belongs to Anfu County, and the work of dividing the fields has been completed.Moreover, the land was divided after the autumn harvest, and the rent had not yet been handed over to the landlord, so it could be said that every family had surplus food.

Every time he went to a village, Zhao Han would borrow food from the villagers to keep enough food and grass with him.

All the way to Taoyuan Village, which is a relatively wealthy village, mainly because there is a small river flowing through the village, alluvial fertile and flat mountain valleys.

"The whole army rests, don't sit down in the snow!"

Including Zhao Han, all four thousand soldiers stood at the entrance of the village, stamping their feet on the spot to warm up.

The missionary officer went into the village alone and contacted the village head and the peasant association: "Village Chief Li, I am Zuo Zhao, the missionary officer, and I came here with Mr. Zhao on an expedition. Please arrange for the villagers to borrow food for cooking, and all the food borrowed will leave receipts. After the spring of the villagers , you can go to the county to collect grain, and you will be repaid at one cent interest. It can also be used to offset the summer grain tax, which will also be calculated at one cent interest.”

"No interest, no interest." Village head Li, Li Huairen, was originally a boy from this place, but was so poor that he gave up the imperial examination. Now the whole family is allotted the land.

Li Huairen first assigned work to the members of the peasant association, and then immediately went out of the village to meet Zhao Han.

"Greetings, Mr. Zhao!" Li Huairen suddenly knelt in the snow.

"Get up quickly." Zhao Han said with a smile.

After Li Huairen got up, he quickly said, "Mr. Zhao, go to the village to rest."

"Please." Zhao Han said with a smile.

Fei Ruhe ordered: "The whole army advances!"

The herald raised the command flag, and four thousand soldiers marched on the snow.Although I walked staggeringly, I tried my best not to step on the field, and I couldn't help it if I fell into the field.

When they entered the village, every household was boiling water, mainly to soak the soldiers' feet.

The military clerks and heralds were too busy to issue grain loan receipts to the villagers, and the military judges repeatedly warned the soldiers not to disturb the people.

Seeing thousands of soldiers living in the villagers' homes very politely without any crime, Li Huairen couldn't help feeling: "A teacher of true benevolence and righteousness, in terms of military discipline, the soldiers of Yue Wumu are no more than that."

Zhao Han smiled and said, "I can't compare to Yue Wumu. Village Chief Li, if you cross the Taoyuan Ridge in the north, will you reach the boundary of Fenyi County?"

"It's just turning over, but the snow is not easy to walk, and it's more convenient when the snow melts in spring." Li Huairen said.

Zhao Han said: "No matter how difficult it is to walk, you have to turn over."

The army must be dispatched in winter. Once spring begins, Yuanzhou's elite will join forces with governor Li Maofang and go straight to Jishui County by boat along the Ganjiang River.

Moreover, the dispatch of troops in winter will definitely make the prefect of Yuanzhou unprepared.

When I came to Li Huairen's house, I saw that the village head's wife had already killed a chicken and was boiling water to scald the hair.Zhao Han immediately said: "The poultry killed by the villagers will be compensated according to the price! All the meat in the village will be given priority to the sick and wounded."

"Mr. Zhao, there's no need to do this," Li Huairen said hastily, "Mr. Zhao is our great benefactor who gave us the land, so what's the point of killing a chicken?"

Fei Ruhe said with a cold face: "This is a military order, don't ruin our morale."

"Don't dare, dare not." Li Huairen couldn't say anymore.

After cooking the chicken from the village head's house, the mission officer took it out and gave it to the wounded and sick.Along the way, some people fell ill, some got frostbite, and more than a dozen people have been "reduced".

Fortunately, there was no severe frostbite, so he could rest at the villagers' house.

Zhao Han, Fei Ruhe, Huang Yao, Huang Shun and other high-ranking officers in the army all ate ordinary food at Li Huairen's house, and didn't take a sip of the wine they brought out.

The composition of the army is simpler, and it is far easier to train than civilian officials.

Regardless of the off-duty soldiers in Zhao Han's hands, there are only a few hundred people, and the rest are all half-cultivating and half-warning farmers and soldiers, but their military discipline is far superior to any current army.Those who are disobedient and who make mistakes have long been eliminated.

Even a few soldiers who were born as gangsters became strictly prohibited after being severely punished.

The main credit must go to the missionaries in the army, and the other thing is not to treat the soldiers badly!

The soldiers who participated in the winter march this time not only received overpaid wages, but also gave each of them a free cotton coat and two pairs of cotton shoes for free.

Zhao Han ordered a lot of cotton and cotton cloth from merchants.

The elderly, widowed and disabled in the nursing home, as well as the homeless women in the city, let them make clothes and shoes, and the General Military Office paid for the purchase.

At night, Zhao Han didn't occupy Li Huairen's bed, but slept on the floor with others.It is paved with straw and covered with straw mats. The quilts and straw mats are brought by the soldiers.

Li Huairen saw that the main room was lying on the ground, even Zhao Han was lying in it, and was suddenly shocked beyond measure.

He had never seen such an army, nor such an officer.

Li Huairen thought to himself: Mr. Zhao should be the emperor, and the people in the world will be blessed.

"Zi said," Fei Ruhe said suddenly in the darkness, "I'm a little worried about my family. Some time ago, there was news that the county town was captured by bandits."

Zhao Han said: "The prefect of Guangxin has already recruited soldiers to suppress the bandits. Maybe the county will not be able to return for the time being, but your home is definitely fine, after all, it is so close to the prefecture."

Fei Ruhe sighed, "Shanglu Town is a den of thieves, it's too close to my house, and it takes less than half a day to get there by boat."

"As long as the gentry is not stupid, they will definitely not sit idly by, so you can rest assured." Zhao Han comforted.

Qianshan County is really too rich, and the gentry can recruit a lot of township braves with just a little money.

And the Secret Esotericism is not something that can be accomplished. After the leader conquered the county, he has already begun to take the lead in enjoying it.Apart from killing the landlords and distributing food, the bottom-level believers' lives have not improved much, and the land has been occupied by the top leaders of the Tantric Sect.

The prefect of Guangxin also changed, and he was somewhat responsible. He immediately recruited troops after taking office.

It is estimated that the rebels in Qianshan County will be wiped out by the magistrate within half a year.

Although Fei Ruhe's house is very close to the thief's nest, it is the safest.In order to block the den of thieves, the magistrate set up a barracks at the confluence of the two rivers, which happened to be bodyguards for the Ehu Fei family.

Fei Ruhe didn't bother to think about family matters, he suddenly said: "Gucun Li, you want to get married with me."

"In Li Mengan's house?" Zhao Han asked.

Fei Ruhe said, "It's Mr. Li's grand-niece. I dare not agree. Those scholars in Jishui made too much noise."

Zhao Han sighed and said, "These scholars are really wicked. Don't promise them. I'll ask your sister to come forward and find a better one for you."

Some gentry are still thinking about recruiting peace, while others think that Zhao Han can do something.

Even though Zhao Han already has a regular wife, these guys are making insincere words. If they want to send their daughters and younger sisters, they can be Zhao Han's concubines.

Zhao Han kept procrastinating and refusing to agree, and they turned their attention to other people.

Fei Ruhe, who is the number one military officer in the General Military Mansion, has not yet officially married a wife, and he has become a sweet mom in an instant. I don't know how many gentry want to get married.

Not only that, all the high-level civil servants in the General Military Mansion, including Zhao Han's three major secretaries, were secretly contacted by gentry.

Zhao Han can't control those who are formally married.

Anyone who dared to accept the daughter of a gentry as a concubine, or marry a wife after divorcing his wife, Zhao Han would definitely not forgive him lightly!

The next day, after the soldiers soaked their feet, they left the wounded and sick in the village, and immediately set off on their way. They had no time to help the villagers clean up their houses.

The further you go into the mountains, the more difficult the road will be, especially when you cross Taoyuan Ridge.

In fact, this mountain is not steep. Later generations also built an inter-provincial highway, which is the shortest and best route from Anfu County to Fenyi County.

The snow is too thick!

More than 20 soldiers who were good at mountain climbing were sent out as pioneers.They stepped on the snow to climb up, and from time to time some people slipped and rolled down, and the snow accumulated all the way, but they couldn't fall to their deaths.

After tossing for a long time, some soldiers finally climbed up, looked for a big tree, tied the rope, and then got it down for the main force to climb.

Zhao Han's feet were numb from the cold, and his hands were blue from the cold.His physical strength was not bad, so he grabbed the rope and climbed hard, but the knee-deep snow was disgusting.

The soldiers who climbed to the top of the mountain first were struggling to make a fire.

The fire was not seen, but a lot of smoke came out, and it went out after it was blowing.

"call!"

Zhao Han climbed to the top of the mountain and was pulled up by a soldier. He was so tired that he wanted to lie down and sleep.

Fei Ruhe also came up, stomping his feet and rubbing his hands, and was still in the mood to joke: "I used to read about ancient famous generals, marching in the snow, and crossing mountains and mountains, but I didn't think it was very powerful. Now that I think about it, I am worthy of being a famous general. How far have we traveled?"

"Counting the winding mountain road, it's about two hundred miles." Zhao Han laughed.

They started from Anfu County and walked all the way to this place. The straight-line distance was actually only sixty miles.

"Burn, burn!"

The soldiers who lit the fire shouted excitedly, but Fei Ruhe ordered them to silence.

Many dead branches were picked up to dry, and then moved aside to light fires, and more and more fires were lit.

The soldiers who climbed to the top of the mountain also took off their shoes and changed into dry ones, and even took off their leggings to warm themselves by the fire, because the leggings had been soaked by the snow.

Between each other, they warmed up by the fire while helping to rub their legs and feet, otherwise they would definitely suffer from frostbite again.

After resting for an hour and a half, the clothes had been dried and his stomach was full to recover his strength. Zhao Han immediately ordered to continue marching.

The way down the mountain is almost rolling down, and it is already half afternoon at the foot of the mountain.

This place is under the jurisdiction of Fenyi County. The villagers were terrified when they saw the army, and they hid in their homes and dared not come out.

Zhao Han forcibly knocked open a residential house, asked where the biggest landlord in the neighborhood was, and quickly led his troops to the landlord's house.

"Encircle!"

There are no real big landlords in the mountain villages, and they can have hundreds of acres of land if they are exhausted.Zhao Han sent soldiers to surround the house, tied up the landlord's men, asked the women to help make the beds and fold the quilts, and asked the women to fetch food for cooking.

This house was not big enough to accommodate four thousand soldiers, so many more were allocated to borrow houses from common people's homes.

Rest overnight and start again the next day.

The landlords and peasants here are all confused, and they can't figure out where the army came from, and it's too benevolent.

Yes, benevolence!

Although the whole family of the landlord was tied up, they did not do anything to the woman.I just robbed some food from the landlord’s house, really only robbed a little bit, because it’s inconvenient to march because I robbed too much. There must be soldiers who steal petty things. The official can't check it either.

As for the common people, the soldiers did nothing but go into the house and sleep.

Compared with the officers and soldiers, this is a true teacher of benevolence and righteousness, and the landlord even felt like he was having a dream.

Chapter 144 [Catch a scientist]

Zhao Han's marching route is only the remnants of Wugong Mountain.

After turning over the ridge at the beginning, the rest are relatively flat hills or valleys.Only when we go out of the mountain, we have to climb over a ridge. At this time, the snow is not so thick.

"General, the Wannian Bridge is in front of you. It was built by Yan Ge in the past. After passing the Wannian Bridge, you will be the county seat... Can you, can you let Wansheng go home..."

The person who spoke was a poor scholar who was forcibly invited by Zhao Han to lead the way before he left the mountain.

Jiangxi is really amazing, there are scholars in the mountains.Xiao Shizhong, the number one scholar in the ninth year of Yongle, came from Dashan. At this time, it belonged to Fei Yinggong's territory, and it was a very remote place in his territory.

Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking out, Zhao Han could vaguely see the bridge and the county seat, so he couldn't help but ask, "You mean Yan Ge, but Yan Song?"

The poor scholar said: "Although Mr. Yan Ge is a traitor, he has a good reputation in his hometown and has done many great things to benefit the village."

While the soldiers were resting, Zhao Han asked again: "Tian Younian, the magistrate of Yuanzhou, how is this man doing?"

Poor scholars complained: "Tian Zhifu can do things, and it will inevitably disturb the people. He recruited soldiers to suppress... the rebels, and the people in the whole government had to share. My family shared three buckets of rice last year. He also likes to make bows and arrows. It is said that it is sent to the capital as a gift to the emperor, and the materials for the bow and arrow have to be apportioned. A piece of beef tendon is apportioned in five miles. How can the people in the mountains be willing to kill cattle? Isn’t it just a matter of collecting money? I heard that fishermen in Yuanjiang have to apportion additional Fish maw was taken advantage of by officials, and many fishermen fled. I heard people say that the rebels in Pingxiang County were forced to rebel by the magistrate."

This is very interesting.

When Tian Younian heard that the Tartars were besieging the capital, he immediately recruited craftsmen to make bows and arrows, and then sent them all the way to the capital.