The site selection of several workshops has been completed, and there is no situation in Huangyang Road where the project cannot be built because of the too cold weather, so after the site selection, Wu Yidao sent people to recruit a large number of craftsmen to start work. Fang Jie wanted to build the Zhuque Mountain camp into a real foundation, and the advantage of not lacking in money and food was that he could implement any ideas immediately.
The several workshops under construction are large in scale, mainly providing weapons and armor for the army.
Fang Jie has all the local channels to buy iron ore in Huangyang Road, and coupled with the unparalleled commercial strength of Huo Tong Tian Xing, a batch has been prepared for use.
The weapons commonly used by the Sui army generally include horizontal swords, plain swords, Mo swords, and long spears. Mo swords are heavy swords, so they are generally only equipped for heavy armored infantry, and ordinary soldiers will be physically weak. Long lances are divided into hard lances and composite lances. The manufacture of hard lances is relatively simple, and the cycle is shorter, but it is still extremely complicated. And the manpower and material resources consumed to produce a good composite lance are absolutely staggering.
Generally speaking, the infantry used mostly hard lances, while the cavalry who were scarce in the Sui Dynasty would use compound lances.
Therefore, Fang Jie gave up the plan to let craftsmen mass-produce long spears from the very beginning, which is unrealistic. Make spears instead.
A long lance with a hard pole is heavy and should not be practiced well. Although the long spear with ash rod is cheap, it is extremely practical. Before the popularization of firearms, the main weapons used by infantry for a long period of time were spears. Compared with lance, it consumes much less iron ore.
Fang Jie now has two paths to take. The first is to expand his territory as soon as possible and control it in a real way. In this way, the more people under the rule, the wider the source of soldiers. He must increase the number of infantry now, and in the future when he launches troops to the southwest, the infantry will still be the main force for attacking cities and villages.
The second is to improve the logistics facilities for replenishing supplies for the army as soon as possible. The Sui Dynasty has many well-crafted and large-scale workshops, which have continuously provided weapons reserves for the imperial court over the years. You must know that one Xiangcheng palace provided Li Yuanshan with enough weapons and armor to equip 200,000 people, and there were not many such palaces in various parts of the Sui Dynasty.
When the rebels forced the court to recruit civilians on a large scale, such a strong reserve could start to play a role. When the main combat power of the imperial army and the rebel army is exhausted and both have to recruit civilians, the imperial court's advantages in this regard will be brought into play. They are also recruits, and the quality of equipment is sometimes the key to victory or defeat.
Therefore, Fang Jie must also prepare these things for the Black Flag Army. Of course, some people advocate that such huge financial and material resources should not be wasted, and they can be plundered while fighting. It's not that this method has never been used before. When we were on the grassland, we used war to raise soldiers.
But Fang Jie's temperament determines that he will pursue everything as far as possible without any worries, and he will not intensify the plundering of places in order to replenish supplies.
Standing on a high place, Fang Jie felt a little happy watching the craftsmen working in full swing. He didn't just regard the Suzaku Mountain camp as a temporary simple barracks, but to build a large base that could provide support for the army in the next few years, decades, or even hundreds of years. The human and financial resources that need to be invested will naturally be huge, but once it is put into operation, it will provide continuous support for the army in the later stage.
"After the completion of these workshops..."
Wu Yidao pointed to the construction site in front of him and said: "If there is no accident, we will provide the army with weapons and armors that can equip at least 100,000 people every year, and we will continue to expand in the future. The waterway of the Yangtze River is not very smooth these days. The fleets of the world line are not very free to come and go. Although there is Duan Zheng's navy escort, but the number of his warships on the Yangtze River is not enough to ensure the safety of the merchant fleet, so I have gradually reduced the number of ships that come and go. It seems that the supplies provided will be less, but because the number of ships is small, Duan Zheng will not be overstretched for protection.”
"Wait until the Southwest is taken."
He glanced at Fang Xie and said, "We still have to prepare for the expansion of the navy. Our current goal is not in the important areas of Jiangxi and Beijing, nor in Jiangnan, where the waterways are crisscrossed. So there is no big disadvantage in the navy being a little weaker. We can do it later. Once out of the southwest, without the support of a strong navy, it will be difficult to move forward."
"Um."
Fang Jie nodded: "Let's wait a little longer, wait until these workshops are completed, and then take down Beihui Road. Now our manpower and material resources are basically not enough to get rich, although we have financial resources. With your support, Lord, it can be divided into several lines and go forward at the same time. It is conceivable that the consumption will be huge. Therefore, we can only take one step at a time, even if the goal is only in the southwestern roads, it is not something that can be stabilized in a year or two."
"The Sui Dynasty wanted to build a more powerful navy than Nan Chen, and it took decades of preparation. The preparation of Emperor Taizu Yang Jian's life was only in exchange for Emperor Taizong's momentary glory. We are short of everything now, and we lack talents. , lack of troops, lack of territory, if blindly develop, consume a lot of financial resources and may not be able to gain anything."
Wu Yidao nodded: "I know that a fat man can't be eaten in one bite. It's just that these things can't be completely let go. Even if you don't have this plan now, you must make preparations."
"I plan to build a small shipyard in the lake under the mountain. I don't want to build giant ships. I first recruit craftsmen who know how to build ships, raise them, and then let them train more craftsmen by building small boats. If you want to mobilize troops, you will also need a large number of small and brisk ships like the centipede clippers, and they are starting to prepare now, and they will eventually be used in the future."
Fang Jie said after he finished speaking: "Master Hou should take more care of these matters. Lord Hou sees far and knows a lot. I can only be called a layman in this area, so I might as well leave it to Master Hou." Work hard, I'm just being lazy."
Wu Yidao smiled: "I don't understand military affairs, but I can help you with these matters. When it comes to military affairs, how sure are you against Liangcheng?"
Fang Jie was silent for a while, then shook his head: "We will not attack Liangcheng."
…
…
Standing in front of the map, Fang Jie pointed out to Wu Yidao: "Liangcheng, Hui'an, and Wuxing, these three cities are the three important towns on the northernmost side of Beihui Road. Zhong Xin has deployed heavy troops in these three cities. It can be said that he is now Half of the troops are in these three cities. These three cities can support each other, and the cities are tall and strong, so it is not easy to fight. It is precisely because of this that Zhong Xin has the confidence to talk to us."
"When the Great Sui eradicated the Shang Dynasty, if it wasn't for the anger and dissatisfaction of the Shang Dynasty court, the Sui army would not have destroyed a powerful country that had lasted for hundreds of years. It can be said that the Sui army won by taking advantage of it. Coupled with the harmony of the weather and the people, it did not receive too tenacious resistance."
"But now we are different..."
Fang Jie pointed to Liang Cheng and said, "These three cities are connected in a line, and each city is guarded by at least 15,000 county soldiers, which are the barriers of the North Hui Road. With the strength we have now, even if we can win Go down to these three cities to open the access to Beihui Road, and you will suffer heavy losses, and if you go south, you will be powerless."
Wu Yiyi frowned: "You mean not to beat but to scare?"
Fang Jie shook his head: "Of course we have to fight. If we don't fight, how can those famous families in Beihui Road be scared. But now that we are starting a business, we can't fight such a fierce and expensive battle. I will send troops to Wuxing, Hui'an. The first is Let Zhong Xin and the others see the strength of my Black Banner Army, not pretending to be strong. Second, it is to paralyze Zhong Xin and the others, making them think that my target is these three cities."
After meditating for a while, Wu Yidao finally understood: "This is a serial game."
He straightened his words and said, "Let Sun Kaidao go to negotiate with Zhong Xin and the others. Even if Sun Kaidao refuses to let Zhong Xin and the others think that you are just trying to extort money and food, Zhong Xin cannot relax his vigilance against these three cities. If you send troops again, Zhong Xin and the others dare not take it lightly, all their attention is on these three cities, but you want to attack other places?"
"yes."
Fang Jie smiled: "It is difficult to win these three cities, but it is not difficult to fight some battles with small losses but considerable impact."
Fang Jie pointed to the map and said: "There is no danger in Beihui Road. I put my troops outside these three cities, but it's just a show. I have already issued military orders to Cui Zhongzhen and Chen Qianshan, asking them to make countermeasures. The troops from Koucang appear to be mobilizing, and the Yong army in Xinyang City and Xinkoucang will be on full alert and will not dare to fight easily. However, Chen Qianshan led the cavalry of the Flying Eagle Army to go around from the side of Xinkoucang and enter the north. Huidao, cavalry can't attack the city, but it's not that they can't rob..."
Fang Jie said with a smile: "Those people from aristocratic families have manors in places with beautiful scenery. I plan to let Chen Qianshan's Flying Eagle Army run in circles on Beihui Road. How many famous people can be invited to come?" Please come as many as you like. At that time, the old ladies and gentlemen of those families will gather dozens of people, and I will take them to continue the conversation with Zhong Xin."
"Blackmail..."
Fang Jie said: "You have to have some capital to blackmail, otherwise the other party will not be afraid of anything. Don't those big families think they understand it, think that I don't have enough troops to attack by force, so I will let the cavalry go around the North Hui Road to play well." Well, they can't keep up anyway. Let those who are really in charge of them know that even if I don't take Beihui Road, they will not be safe."
Wu Yidao glanced at Fang Jie with squinted eyes, and said with a smile, "Although I don't know much about the art of war, I can tell that this is not an upright tactic."
"As long as it works."
Fang Xie said: "If the loss is big in a dignified fight, why can't you be a little more rogue?"
…
…
Chang'an City
Tai Chi Palace
Dongnuang Court
The emperor was wrapped in three layers of quilts and was still shivering from the cold. In order to keep himself alive for a while, he did not hesitate to use Heren's poisonous Gu to keep his life alive. After Su Buwei died in battle outside Chang'an, the prince Yang Chengqian set up a grave with his bare hands, and the emperor returned to Chang'an. Of course, few people know about this.
Yang Chengqian stood under the kang with his head down, not even daring to breathe.
The queen pretended to be nonchalant and wiped off the blood from the corner of the emperor's mouth, but she couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, stop talking and rest for a while."
She persuaded softly.
"No!"
The emperor shook his head: "Before I die, I have to explain everything that needs to be explained clearly. Although Chengqian can also be alone, but after all, he is still young, and many things are not well thought out. Especially when it comes to making choices, it is the most difficult. He doesn't understand what I just said. It’s the truth that everything can be lost for the sake of the Yang family’s survival, so I want him to understand more.”
He beckoned to Yang Chengqian with difficulty: "Come here, I have one last thing to tell you. You have to remember every word I said, because it is related to the life and death of my Yang family. Since you already know the secret, you can You should know how to do it. But I know you may not have that kind of courage, so I must let you know what it means to give up everything."
When he speaks, he no longer calls himself I, but me.
Yang Chengqian hurried over, the emperor held him close to his ear and said a few words in a very low voice, but the queen didn't hear it, but watched Yang Chengqian's face instantly become extremely ugly.
"Remember... after I die, this will be the arrangement!"
The emperor grabbed Yang Chengqian's collar and stared at his eyes, ordering, there is no doubt about it!