The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

It travels north from Xiangyang, crosses Baihe River in Yunxian County, and then to Xing'an, a total of more than [-] miles.

Chen Wang led the troops for a total of fifteen days and finally arrived at Xing'an at dusk on October [-]th.

The distance from Xing'an to Baitu Pass is naturally not that far, but it is still more than 150 miles.

Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai are still active in the central and southern parts of Xunyang Mansion.

As in history, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai were not eager to attack Kuizhou, Sichuan at this time. Instead, they continued to gather towards Zhuxi, the city outside Baitu Pass, as if they were about to attack Hanzhong Mansion.

Faced with the onslaught of soldiers and horses from the three towns of Zuo Liangyu, Zu Dabi, and Chen Hongfan to the east, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai chose to mobilize elite cavalry troops to control the enemy by walking, avoiding the real and attacking the weak.

Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai sent many soldiers, pretending to be merchants, hawkers, and mountain people to go around to find out the news.

Even when they were stationed in Fang County and Gucheng, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai invited people to buy people's hearts, and promised that as long as they mobilized useful officers and soldiers, they could exchange them for food or silver.

Many local mountain people and people also became their eyes and ears, often passing on news.

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai were very clear about the movements of the suppressing officers and soldiers. The two gathered their elite cavalry in the east, and based on the intelligence they received, they continuously launched attacks and ambushes against the suppressing officers and soldiers.

Once most of the officers and soldiers came to help, they quickly moved away. The main force of the officers and soldiers either rushed into the air, or suffered losses from ambushes during the pursuit.

Hanzhong was originally the direction of the feint attack, and now Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai are focusing their main efforts on the east.

Cao Bianjiao has also led the cavalry to Baituguan first, so it is safer.

Therefore, Chen Wang was not in a hurry when arranging the march.

The 150-mile road has quite a few mountain passes, so it took almost four days to arrive outside Baitu Pass near dusk on October [-]th.

When Chen Wang led his troops to Guancheng, Cao Bianjiao did not lead his troops to meet him.

Because the rogue bandits outside the pass have been making frequent moves recently, Cao Bianjiao led his cavalry out for reconnaissance, so they were not within the pass.

Cao Bianjiao has always been like this. He often leads the troops in reconnaissance in person. When Chen Wang was still serving as Cao Wenzhao's servant, he often followed Cao Bianjiao in reconnaissance.

As for Cao Bianjiao's safety, Chen Wang was even less worried.

The servants and cavalry who followed Cao Bianjiao were all elites who came down from the battlefield in Liaodong. The rogue bandits gathered in Zhuxi City in the east of Baitu Pass were mostly infantry, and there were not many horse soldiers and elite cavalry.

Just relying on these bandits to keep Cao Bianjiao is simply a fantasy.

According to the prior planning, some camps and towns were stationed inside Guancheng, some camps and towns were stationed outside Guancheng, and some camps and towns were stationed on other important roads.

Each camp and town performs its own duties, and all roads from Yunyangfu South Road to the hinterland of Hanzhongfu are cut off from it.

As the commander-in-chief, Chen Wang naturally led his troops to garrison the city.

The original Guancheng of Baituguan is still intact, including the guard office, enemy towers, barracks, military field, Guandi Temple, inns, teahouses, and wine shops.

There are not many places in Baitu Pass where troops can be stationed, and there are only more than a thousand people who followed Chen Wang into Guancheng.

After taking over the city defense from the original defenders, Chen Wang directly handed over the customs defense affairs to Hu Zhiyi, and then stayed directly in the Chinese military tent.

"It's all free."

Chen Wang raised his hand, and all the generals and officials in the central military tent stood up.

In addition to Chen Gong and Hu Zhiyi, Wang Yuankang, the commander of the Hanzhong Guard, was also in the tent.

Because Hanzhong Mansion's original military strength was weak, the guards were also being called up to fight.

Hanzhong Wei was actually now under the control of Wang Yuankang, and Chen Wang summoned him, so Wang Yuankang led his troops to rush for reinforcements.

Of course, the so-called weakness is only apparent weakness.

When Chen Wang went north to the King of Qin, the troops directly under his command included six infantry and one cavalry, totaling 300 people.

Together with the two newly built Qianhu Stations, each with more than a thousand guardsmen under their jurisdiction, the total strength has already exceeded the nine thousand mark.

These guards of Qianhu Station are trained according to the training regulations of Chen Wang's headquarters. That is to say, when the farming is busy, the intensity of training is slightly reduced and they are allowed to help in farming.

However, according to the data on paper, Hanzhong Mansion currently only has [-] soldiers.

After all, it turned out that there was only Chen Wang as deputy general and Zhou Yumao as guerrilla. The two battalions had a strength of 5000 troops.

Chen Wang led his troops northward, and his headquarters suffered nearly a thousand casualties. On paper, the number of troops capable of fighting was naturally only [-] in Hanzhong Mansion.

Although the town level of Hanzhong Town has been upgraded, the number of troops has been set at 400.

However, Chen Wang has always been cautious about the number of troops that have been determined, so naturally his true strength will not be revealed.

Chen Wang asked Hu Zhiyi to gradually convert the troops originally recruited under the guise of auxiliary troops into regular troops.

At the same time, troops were also recruited from Hanzhong Prefecture and Xi'an and Fengxiang Prefectures. About 3000 people were recruited successively, bringing the number of soldiers to [-], and the remaining ones were slowly recruited.

"You are now a staff general and have received the seal. You will lead the second battalion that I originally organized as your special battalion."

Returning to Hanzhong, Chen Wang felt extremely good.

In the past, I had been restricted by troop quotas, so I had to be cautious in everything I did. Now that these constraints are gone, I am naturally much more relaxed.

And more importantly, Chen Gong became much more stable after following him north to King Qin.

On the road to King Qin, Chen Wang also took the initiative to delegate power to Chen Gong many times to hone Chen Gong's ability to lead troops in war.

Now that Chen Gong is allowed to lead a battalion of soldiers and horses alone, Chen Wang is more relieved, but he still needs to say what needs to be said.

"Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai are not easy-going people. You lead a battalion alone. I'm afraid there will be times when you will face the enemy alone in the future."

"The rogue bandits have been developing in Yunxiang and Yunxiang for nearly a year. Now they are fully equipped with troops and armor, and their combat power is not what it used to be. When you lead troops outside, you must fight cautiously and prepare for each step."

"Now that you have reached the status of a general, I have also become the commander-in-chief, and the scale of Hanzhong Town has reached its peak."

Chen Wang pondered for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"If you perform too many meritorious services and are rewarded by higher-ups, I'm afraid you will be transferred to Jiliao."

"Brother, don't worry. I understand and will definitely have a sense of proportion."

Chen Gong understood it. Chen Wang had revealed his intention to do what he wanted to do a long time ago.

He always kept in mind what Chen Wang said to him that day on Dingjun Mountain.

Troubled times arise in all directions, and if you have soldiers, you will be the grass-headed king!
Chen Gong doesn't care at all about getting promoted and making a fortune, or being given the title of wife and son.

The generals and soldiers don't matter, they will get it when the time comes, but the whole world!

He was diligent all the way, and he saw everything.

In the eyes of most civil servants, these military generals will never be worthy of being on the stage, they are lackeys and minions.

So what if Wu Chen reaches the top?
Even if he is the commander-in-chief of a town, Governor Wen Shuai will kill at his will without even going through the rules set by the court.

Whether they are deputy generals or commander-in-chief, with or without the general seal, when they see those civilian governors, they all have to kneel down and obey orders.

The local magistrates were obviously of a much lower rank than them.

But they, the military attachés, were asked to pay homage first.How aggrieved that a dignified military officer of the second rank was actually bowing to a civil servant of the fifth rank.

Qi Shaobao, who had great military exploits in the past and was famous all over the world, had to rely on Zhang Juzheng, who was in charge, to gain a firm foothold.

After Zhang Juzheng's death, he was immediately transferred to Guangdong. Soon he quit his job and became unemployed. Then he died of illness at the age of 61 due to poverty.

When the imperial court learned of Qi Jiguang's death, it did not even grant any memorial ceremony. It was not until Qi Jiguang's eldest son Qi Zuoguo came to Beijing two years later to request a memorial ceremony that the imperial court issued an edict to bury him.

Chen Wang nodded. Seeing that Chen Gong knew what was going on, he felt much more relaxed and turned to ask Wang Yuankang who was standing on the other side.

"How is Hanzhong Wei doing?"

King Qin comes and goes again and again, and a full year has passed now.

During this year, although Chen Wang had some understanding of the situation of Hanzhong Wei through the letters passed on.

But many things are difficult to write in letters after all, so the letters sent from Hanzhong only record some insignificant and unimportant information. Even if it is leaked, it will not have much impact.

Therefore, Chen Wang's understanding is only superficial, and he only has a rough idea.

Compared with when we first met, Wang Yuankang can simply be said to have changed his appearance.

Today, Wang Yuankang's back is straight, he wears a sword on his waist, wears a fish scale armor on the outside, and wears rich clothes on the inside. He is no longer as submissive as before.

"Reporting back to the general, now the Hanzhong Guard has been cleared according to the plan formulated by the general."

"Except for the newly built two thousand-household offices on the right and the back, the other three thousand-household offices have also been reorganized, and all regular soldiers who have not met the standards have been abolished."

"There are currently 2 military households under the Wei, including 670 regular soldiers, and 830 eight hectares, 23 acres and six cents of land."

Some of the land was acquired through land reclamation, while the other part was bought during the locust drought, and some were taken back through various means.

After Wang Yuankang took control of the Hanzhong Guard, he began to reorganize the other three thousand-household offices.

In the 12th year, Hanzhong suffered from drought in summer and locusts in autumn. All the seedlings were gone and there was a severe famine.

Because Chen Wang knew about it in advance, he was prepared in advance and spent money to buy a large amount of grain and rice in Huguang and go to Hanzhong to stock up.

In addition to the food previously snatched from the gangsters such as Zhang Yuan and others who once roamed the Hanzhong Prefecture, this part alone initially amounted to more than 6000 shi.

Naturally, Hanzhongwei survived the 12-year drought and locust plague without incident.

However, although the drought locusts did not affect Hanzhongwei, they did affect many ordinary people.

Many people fled to Sichuan and Huguang.

Wang Yuankang also took the opportunity to expand the guard base at this time and hooked the refugees into the guard army.

Being able to have a full meal during times of famine is already the greatest gift, so even if they know they want to be a military household, many people can't take care of that much.

The two Qianhu Guard Stations in Xing'an and Mioxian County happened to be the main routes from Hanzhong Prefecture into Sichuan and Huguang.

Guan Qilin and Du Wugang also accepted many more people into the guardhouse.

Because of the large number of refugees, many refugees were not even able to join the military. Instead, they used other means to cultivate the land as tenant farmers.

Anyway, now the two Thousand Household Offices and the Hanzhong Guard have extra fields for people to cultivate.

"Today, the area irrigated by water trucks in Weizhong has reached [-] hectares, and this number is still increasing year by year. At the same time, according to the general's order, deep wells are dug in various places, and the drought resistance ability has been greatly improved. Last year and this year, our defense was affected by drought locusts. Extremely small.”

"Under the general's control, there are seven medium-sized iron mines, 23 small-sized iron mines, two medium-sized copper mines, four small-sized copper mines, and the remaining mines total [-]."

Wang Yuankang took out two sealed documents from his sleeves, obviously prepared.

Chen Wang took the document from the soldier who delivered it.

The first document contained information about the fields. The details of the fields owned by the five thousand households, the harvest status, the number of water trucks, the number of water wells, and even the labor costs of the water trucks and wells were all clearly written down.

The second document contains a detailed list of the details of each mine. Where the mine is located, what kind of ore it is, its quality, monthly mining volume, number of miners, etc. are all recorded.

Most of the newly added mines are in Ziyang, Xing'an and over there.

There were still many remaining rogues operating there. Taking advantage of the reputation of these rogues, Chen Wang directly sent troops to loot the largest mines.

Then naturally, a large amount of minerals were obtained from those gentry at low prices.

Of course, there are also many stubborn mine owners among them.

However, these mine owners all fell into hell soon after.

And their mines have become property controlled by Chen Wang.

Chen Wang looked at the documents in his hand. He relied on the income from the fields and mines, as well as the taxes paid by the caravans and the income from selling private salt. Even if he raised such soldiers and horses, the total revenue and expenditure would still be positive.

It turned out that Chen Wang had already seen a little bit of Wang Yuankang's abilities.

When he first supervised the construction of Xinqianhu Office, Wang Yuankang took care of many things.

At that time, under Wang Yuankang's management of the two thousand-household residences, all affairs were in order.

Now Wang Yuankang is in charge of Yiwei, which is better than Chen Wang expected.

Some people, many times, really just lack an opportunity to display their talents.

And Wang Yuankang is such a person.

"well done."

Chen Wang nodded slightly, showed a slight smile, and praised.

After receiving Chen Wang's confirmation, Wang Yuankang's originally expressionless face also showed a smile.

If it weren't for Chen Wang, he would probably have been stepped on by Tan Yingfeng for the rest of his life. He would have to do some dirty work for him and be careful to please him every day, just like this for the rest of his life.

It was Chen Wang who changed the trajectory of his life.

Now Hanzhong Wei is all under Wang Yuankang's control.

As his status rose, Wang Yuankang came into contact with more and more things.

Through various signs, Wang Yuankang discovered many unusual secrets about Chen Wang, and slowly learned what Chen Wang wanted to do.

But he has no choice now. He can only follow Chen Wang and keep going.

But that day on the bank of the Han River, when Chen Wang extended an olive branch to him, he had already made his choice.

Once you get on the ship, as you come into contact with more and more things, it becomes harder to get off the ship.

Now the guards at Wang Yuankang's side and home are all soldiers dispatched by Hu Zhiyi.

This was naturally Chen Wang's instruction. Chen Wang was not in the habit of leaving his wealth and life in the hands of others.

Wang Yuankang knows too many things, and there must be ways to suppress them.

(End of this chapter)