stubborn thief

Chapter 192 Unified Preparation
night.

In the barracks tent, the flames of the large candles snatched from the temple flickered.

Liu Chengzong and Gao Yingxiang were sitting opposite each other on a small kang table with a rotten corner. There were a few books on the table, and a pot of tea was warmed in a small earthen stove next to it.

The teapot is extremely beautiful, blue with sea patterns, and is a fahua glazed pottery produced by a kiln in southern Shanxi.

Gao Yingxiang tore off the white hair scarf, disheveled his hair and leaned against the candlelight, reading a book carefully.

Liu Chengzong drank tea slowly with a porcelain cup.

After a while, Gao Yingxiang asked: "Lion, can this Lion's Bay really be reclaimed? I have never been a farmer, but I know that reclaiming land is not an easy task."

"Yes, it's hard."

Liu Chengzong put down his tea bowl and nodded, "Especially in Shiziwan, which has been neglected for many years, the land is full of weeds and thorns, and the land is rough and uneven. Those who break into the camp can count as five thousand people who can work, and when winter comes, they can turn the two small hills north of our camp It’s good to drive out.”

Gao Yingxiang frowned: "How much land is there in that mountain, two thousand mu?"

"Where are there so many? Xishan Mao has 570 mu, and [-] mu can be used; Dongshan Mao has [-] mu, and [-] mu can be used."

After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he raised his hand and drew a line on the kang table: "It's not bad if we can open [-] mu."

Gao Yingxiang stared and said: "I have so many people, can't I still not be able to do this?"

"That mountain is connected to the big mountain in the north. If you set fire to it, the mountain will also be burned; the mountain lacks irrigation, and the land is as hard as a rock. All the wild grass must be pulled out and burned into plant ash; every inch of the land must be burnt. smash."

"The trees on the hills have to be dug up by their roots, and after all this is done, we have to pick up the soil shoulder by shoulder to level the land."

As Liu Chengzong spoke, he spread his hands and said, "Why is no one willing to open up wasteland? This is a huge and long job, and the most important thing is to have food on hand."

"Because of this, don't expect the hungry people in northern Shaanxi to open up the wasteland. It's impossible. Only people like Master Gao, who have both food and people, will take a few more years to open up the land."

But pull it down, Gao Yingxiang doesn't want to open up wasteland after hearing what he said.

He reached out and said, "So, next year there will be 2000 mu of land in this place, and [-] mu of land in the next year. In the next year, [-] mu of land will be developed, and [-] mu of land will be harvested in ten years. Food, to feed [-] people?"

This is obviously not directly proportional to the return on investment!
"No, no, that's not how it works."

Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said, "Master Gao, you have two problems with this calculation. Firstly, the speed of reclamation will be much faster after the canal is built. Secondly, the land here cannot be used for growing grain. Some places have severe salinity and can grow cotton."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to look for a book on the table, flipped through the pages, then pointed to Gao Yingxiang and said, "Master Gao, look, this is the product that my younger brother has transported into the mountains many times, and the products he found are very rich. "

"There are all kinds of wild vegetables and wild fruits in this mountain, especially pine, birch, wild apricot, and sour thorns. There are also many medicinal materials. There are pheasants and wild boars in the mountains, and fish in the rivers."

"The land that can be reclaimed in the valley is roughly estimated to be [-] to [-] mu. As long as the water conservancy is done well and the land over there is soft, it will be much easier to reclaim it next year."

"Although not all fields can grow grain, they can grow cotton, fruit trees, vegetables, grass, cotton and linen, and it is convenient to raise cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens. This is a place where you can settle down."

Liu Chengzong flipped through the book again as he spoke, pointing and said: "Paper workshops, oil workshops, pastures, military clothing, and military weapons can all be made in time."

"What's more!"

Liu Chengzong raised his hand and tapped on the table: "Didn't Master Gao collect the cornfield in Huojiabao, Yonghe County? How much?"

Mentioning the corn field, Gao Yingxiang became interested and said, "I heard from my subordinates that this stuff is indeed harvested a lot, and one mu of land can yield more than 160 catties."

"Yes, and it is drought-resistant. If it is reclaimed here, for example, if there are [-] mu of land and [-] mu of land is planted with grain, then [-] mu of it can be selected for planting corn."

"There are also sweet potatoes and potatoes. I don't know where they are. Anyway, if you meet them, you can ask the person who can plant them to see what kind of land you need, and you can also choose a tenth of each from the grain-growing land."

Speaking of this, Liu Chengzong warned again: "Don't take these things as your staple food just because the yield per mu is higher."

"If you plant all of this, if you get sick, there will be nothing left."

Gao Yingxiang nodded, indicating that he already understood, and said with a smile: "When you put it that way, I really think this place is much better than it looks!"

Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "Actually, it's not very good, but it's not easy to live outside for a long time. It's the best place we can stay."

"Anyway, when it is opened, the good fields will be cultivated intensively, and the fields will be planted extensively and the harvest will be low. It may not be possible to be self-sufficient in two or three years, but if there is a little, it is a little."

Gao Yingxiang let out a long breath, slapped the table and said, "Okay, then I'll follow your orders, stay here and reclaim the land!"

After finishing speaking, he leaned forward again and asked, "But Lion, I really need to talk to you about the rest of the matter."

"My people need to rest. There are too many Shanxi people in the team. I happen to plan to train them here. I can't go to Guyuan with you. You have to give me an idea."

Liu Chengzong was very happy to see that he agreed to reclaim the Lion Bay, so he simply nodded and said, "Master Gao, tell me."

As long as Gao Yingxiang is willing to cultivate here, there will be a retreat here.

Even if the westward expedition is unfavorable in the future, it will not be a waste of time to return.

"First, I want you to help me organize the Chuang camp according to the method of the lion camp; second, what will I do in the future, Liu Ying will go to Guyuan and Wang Ying, I guess I will find a way to escape and then enter Shanxi, I will stay Shaanxi?"

The idea of ​​reorganizing Chuangying according to the Lion Camp method was born by Gao Yingxiang in Shanxi.

But what to say to Gao Yingxiang about the latter matter, it is very complicated, he can't talk to his subordinates.

Gao Yingxiang and his subordinates gathered together to discuss matters, and the discussions were never about matters. They always had an idea in their minds, and they just used the discussion to observe the thoughts of the department.

Gao Yingxiang knew the level of education of his group of people.

No big things happen, and everyone talks about small things.

Once encountering a major event, his think tank may not be able to solve the problem when he gathers together, but he will definitely be able to avoid the correct choice accurately.

"According to the Lion's Camp?"

Liu Chengzong leaned back and asked, "Why does Master Gao have such an idea?"

Gao Yingxiang looked normal, raised his hand and said, "I think, those of us rebels in the world are all one family, but now we belong to different groups, even if we join forces, we all have different establishments."

"Like Wang Jiayin's troops, the troops are led by various generals; they don't get muddy, and the number of soldiers under him varies, ranging from thousands to hundreds. He said he would send three teams to support you, but you don't know how many reinforcements are between three and five thousand. It's still three to five hundred."

After Gao Yingxiang finished speaking, he raised his hand and said, "But I think the Lion Camp is very well organized. It is similar to the Ming army, but it is different from the Ming army. It has supplies, craftsmen, and soldiers. It is easy to move around, and it is good at sharing Official battle."

In the end, he came to a conclusion: "All of us should use the same organization, and even establish a stronger subordinate relationship among the leaders of various walks. If someone in the court dispatches troops and horses in the center, we should also twist into a rope from top to bottom. !"

Seeing Liu Chengzong's strange expression, Gao Yingxiang quickly waved his hands and said, "Don't think too much, this is just my wishful thinking. I didn't intend to annex you. I'm afraid no one will be able to annex you."

Liu Chengzong smiled and said, "No, I didn't think about that."

He just felt that it was not easy to come up with such an idea at this time.

Gao Yingxiang said: "I also know that it is difficult, but in the long run, we will suffer too much."

This compliment made Liu Chengzong very embarrassed.

He said: "To tell you the truth, Master Gao, since these Ningxia soldiers surrendered to me, I have been thinking about further reorganizing the Lion Battalion. A battalion with so many people is already too bloated."

"There are more than 5000 people. Wherever they go, they will eat up wherever they go. Even if they carry three people and four mules manage a cart, they can't carry a one-month ration."

Gao Yingxiang felt very empathetic about this matter, he had just brought someone back from the east to collect grain.

The transportation capacity was seriously insufficient. If there were too many grain trucks, it would be a fool's battle. If there were too few grain trucks, it would not be enough for people to eat. The grain he looted from Shanxi alone was divided into countless batches before being transported from the east bank of the Yellow River.

He had a headache, nodded and said, "That's right! My 8000 people are walking outside in fear, dividing our troops into several groups, fearing that they will be defeated by the officers and soldiers one by one. If we don't divide our troops, we will be blocked on the road again. It's difficult to handle."

Liu Chengzong said: "So I think a battalion of [-] to [-] is the most appropriate situation, especially for big leaders."

Gao Yingxiang asked: "Big leader, what is a big leader?"

"There are [-] or even [-] soldiers. I don't mean that combat power counts as soldiers. People are strong and weak. I'm talking about people who specialize in fighting."

Liu Chengzong said: "Master Gao has also discovered that our cannons are small, and they are not powerful enough to shoot with iron bullets and the range is not far. Even if they are used intensively, the effect of shooting is actually mediocre."

"Once upon a time, my Lion Camp had eight posts, five sentry posts, one artillery post, craftsman post, and supply post."

"Each sentry has 500 men, because when I established the Lion Camp, I had [-] soldiers under my command, but in fact there were only one sentry, so the team, sentry, and battalion all had pond soldiers and supplies."

"Now that the situation is different and there are more troops, this shelf is no longer suitable."

Hearing that Liu Chengzong began to analyze the organization of the Lion Camp, Gao Yingxiang rubbed his hands excitedly, which meant that they could chat about the organization together.

"I've also thought about these things a lot recently. Outside of the standard battalion, directly under the artillery post is of little significance. There is no need to allocate troops to each battalion. The baggage and pond riders of each post are also of little significance. It is better to Five hundred soldiers come comfortably."

"The luggage can be managed by the auxiliary soldiers. The main function is the battalion's luggage post. There is also no need for every post to have work posts."

When Liu Chengzong talked about rising, he simply went out of the tent to find a charcoal pencil, took out paper, and began to sketch Gao Yingxiang.

"The five combat posts remain the same. Now the most powerful subordinates of the leaders of all walks of life are the frontier soldiers. The frontier soldiers are most familiar with the method of dividing the troops into five posts, and add a supply post..."

"Wait."

Gao Yingxiang raised his hand and said, "Lion, what are you talking about with five sentries?"

Liu Chengzong blinked and asked: "Master Gao, you have frontier soldiers under your command, don't they use it?"

Gao Yingxiang took a deep breath and gave a long hum.

In fact, the frontier troops under him are rarely dispatched. As the most elite troops, they are always used to suppress the hungry people and bandits under his command, and they are not used under normal circumstances.

It is rare and distressing, and it is fed with a lot of food on weekdays, and it is only when the horsemen need to be dispatched to make a final decision that they will give it a go.

Looking at his appearance, Liu Chengzong could probably guess it, so he said: "The so-called division of troops into five sentries means that there are five divisions in the front, back, left, middle and right. It doesn't matter whether it's five teams or five sentries. They all know the soldiers who fight.”

"It has a miraculous effect when you fight more with less, and it is also useful against an enemy with equal or weaker strength."

"When encountering the enemy, first engage the front post, and then use the left and right posts to outflank the enemy's field of vision. The rear sentry cavalry will take the easy passage from the left and right posts, go around to the enemy's back, and leave the middle post for preparation."

"If there are many enemy troops, they will collide on all sides after the encirclement, and when the formation moves, they will drive straight in; if the enemy army is small, in order to cope with the strength of the three sentinels, they will stretch their width. If the horse army bumps into the belly and back of the large horizontal team, it will be dead."

After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he waved his hands forward and said with a smile: "It's very simple. I generally use this idea in battles. However, since my opponents are always frontier troops, I have never used it. I only used it once when I was fighting against the guards in Shanxi."

Although simple, it gave Gao Yingxiang a feeling as if he had opened the door to a new world.

"Oh, it means that the rear sentry will use cavalry."

Liu Chengzong quickly smiled and waved his hands and said: "Don't stick to this, our troops are hard to come by, like Yang Yao, Master Gao also knows, and Gu is the former chief of the army."

"He is my outpost chief, leading the horsemen, and can serve as a rear post on the battlefield without conflict."

Gao Yingxiang understood for a moment, nodded and said, "I'll use it later."

"However, this is still good for fighting thieves. When fighting border troops, you can prevent them from using this."

After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he picked up his pen and continued: "I will continue to say, one battalion has six sentries, and the whole battalion has 500 to 4000 people. This is the left and right battalions. Reach [-] people, three battalions and brigades, [-] troops."

"Is there no distinction between five whistles?"

"It doesn't matter." Liu Chengzong said with a smile: "These three battalions are not stationed in one place, but one battalion is stationed in about two or three counties. In this way, at least it is as good as I can raise soldiers."

"Of course, if Lion Bay is reclaimed, maybe this river valley can support soldiers."

Gao Yingxiang nodded: "I understand. In your army, the leader has artisans and cannons. The two battalions don't have cannons. Then they will suffer a lot when fighting with the officers and soldiers!"

"No, it's just that the two battalions on the left and right don't have artillery posts. They can organize light artillery under each post or even each team, and use Sanzi to wait for the enemy to break through the range of bows and guns, and then suppress them with artillery."

"When it's compiled to the posts... What about the future?"

"After what?"

"What are your plans in the future." After Gao Yingxiang asked, he said to himself: "I still plan to go to Shanxi. I think Shanxi is the place where soldiers can be raised and people can be hidden. Moreover, if you advance, you can push into Gyeonggi, and if you retreat, you can go to Henan."

Gao Yingxiang asked: "That's what I think. You are in the west, I am in the east, and Wang Jiayin is in the north. They contain each other's troops. If you go to Guyuan and finish the raid, can you stop the western army?"

Liu Chengzong applauded and laughed: "I'm thinking about it. I planned to go to the west, but I don't know if I can stop it..."

Liu Chengzong thought to himself: Guyuan, Ningxia, Lintao, Gansu, and the five towns of Shaanxi, let me deal with the soldiers and horses of the four towns alone, do I have such great ability?
-
Note:
According to the statistics of the National Government in 1938, the corn yield per mu in Shanxi Province was 87 kg.

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)