"Is this Yan'an Fort?"
The next afternoon, the black four-wheeled carriage of the Zhong family appeared at the entrance of the fortress of the renamed Liuhe Town. Zhong Hongzhang opened the window of the carriage and looked at the brand new fortress in front of him.
-The blue fortress wall, which is more than four meters high, is already an extremely luxurious configuration for a town. Under the high fortress wall are piled huge blue stones, and on top are large blue bricks, which fit tightly together. The high fortress wall looks extremely solid. At the same time, there are dense arrow slits and shooting holes on the fortress wall. There is also an arrow tower every hundred meters, which looks full of deterrence. In broad daylight, on the fortress wall, you can see teams of guards in uniform patrolling, and on a stone plaque above the doorway are three large golden characters - Yan'an Fort!
It was very lively under the gate of Yan'an Fort, with carriages and pedestrians constantly coming and going. There were two teams of guards at the entrance, but the guards were only there to maintain order. Everyone could enter and exit Yan'an Fort freely.
"The specifications and configuration of the walls of Yan'an Fort are beyond those of Qinghe County. It's like a fortress in a frontier village. As long as there are enough soldiers defending a fort like this, even tens of thousands of people may not be able to attack it!" Zhong Hongzhang said, and then turned his head to look at Shopkeeper He who was also sitting in the car. "I heard that the Manufacturing Bureau in Huangling County is also like this. It looks heavily fortified from the outside..."
"If Master Er and Miss Ruolan have time this time, they can also go to the Manufacturing Bureau for a look. Ever since Yan Liqiang returned to Ganzhou to take over the Manufacturing Bureau, the Manufacturing Bureau has been constantly being rebuilt and expanded, and the speed is not slow. Over the past year or so, the Manufacturing Bureau has changed its appearance. If the defense of the fortress walls here is comparable to that of an army's camp, then the Manufacturing Bureau is simply a giant stone fortress. The outer fortress walls of the Manufacturing Bureau are more than five meters high, and the inner core area's fortress walls are more than ten meters high. There are also many towers surrounding it, and many workshops are set up separately, but they cooperate with each other. The Manufacturing Bureau calls the workshops factory buildings. I heard that there are many powerful agencies arranged inside, and the guards inside are no less than those in the deep palace. Who are they?" There are strict restrictions and regulations on what areas can be entered. If you are not a member of the Manufacturing Bureau, no matter how skilled you are, your flesh and blood body will be vulnerable to those steel mechanisms. Just half a month ago, a gangster named Nine-tailed Cat, who was wanted by the court, sneaked into the Manufacturing Bureau at night. It is said that he wanted to find out the secrets of spring manufacturing in the Manufacturing Bureau. However, the Nine-tailed Cat was already a master of the Grand Master level. After entering the Manufacturing Bureau, no one knew what happened. He was carried out the next day with at least hundreds of holes on his body and most of his bones were broken, while the Manufacturing Bureau did not lose a single person..."
The carriage of this four-wheeled carriage had two sets of soft benches with leather backrests in the front and back, which could easily seat four or five people. Manager He of Datong Money House sat alone on the soft bench at the front of the carriage, speaking to Zhong Hongzhang and Zhong Ruolan, but he did not feel crowded.
"The Manufacturing Bureau is the money bag of the Yan family, so naturally Yan Liqiang would take a fancy to it. Everyone says that Yan Liqiang's skills in mechanical devices are comparable to Zhang Yourong's. It is normal for him to set up some mechanical devices in the Manufacturing Bureau. The so-called masters are not invulnerable to swords and guns, or immune to water and fire. If a person falls into a passage and is pierced by thousands of arrows from all directions, no matter how skilled you are, there is only one way to die. I think after this incident, those who dare to target the Manufacturing Bureau will be restrained a lot..." Zhong Hongzhang nodded and said.
"That's true. After the Nine-tailed Cat incident, most of the eye-catching outsiders in Pingxi City disappeared..."
"Uncle, don't you think that Yan Liqiang has made Yan'an Fort and the Manufacturing Bureau impregnable? Maybe he is worried about something?" Zhong Ruolan said suddenly while looking at the lively scene outside the window.
"Oh! Why do you say that, Ruolan..."
"Nothing, just a remark!" Zhong Ruolan smiled, like a hundred flowers blooming, causing Manager He to lower his eyes quickly, not daring to look any further. "A person always has a reason for doing something. Yan Liqiang made Yan'an Fort like this. It's not that he just had too much money and didn't know where to spend it..."
"Well, we can take a closer look in Yan'an Fort. Are the wool that the Yan family buys from everywhere also kept in Yan'an Fort?" Zhong Hongzhang asked Manager He.
"Yes, it's in a warehouse by the Yan'an Fort River. There are people guarding it at all times. Look, Second Master, the wool on that cart is taken to Yan'an Fort..." Shopkeeper He said, pointing outside the window. Zhong Hongzhang and Zhong Ruolan looked over and saw a four-wheeled carriage pulled by an old ox. There were more than a dozen bulging burlap sacks piled high on it. From the gaps in the openings of the burlap sacks, they could also see piles of wool. A driver was driving the cart towards the entrance.
While a few people were talking, the carriage had already entered the town. Opposite the doorway was a circular square in the town. Three wide streets extended from the left and right sides and the front of the square. On both sides of the streets, there were shops lined up one after another. People and horses were coming and going on the street, and it was very lively.
"Why is this town so lively? I think Qinghe County is probably no more lively than this..."
"There are two large markets with tiled eaves in this town. They are bright and clean, and are protected from the sun and rain. The Yan family has divided many stalls in the two markets and provides them to people for free. In addition to the people in the town, those small businesses and craftsmen in the surrounding towns and villages who want to go to the market to buy things are willing to come here to do business and buy things. In addition, Yan Liqiang is now too famous, and many outsiders come here to see what the hometown of the number one archer in the northwest looks like, and buy some swords, iron gourds and other things from the Yan family's blacksmith workshop to take back. As a result, more and more people are coming to Yan'an Fort, and business in all walks of life is getting better and better!"
The Zhong family's black carriage circled the town, looked everywhere, and then went around to the Yan family's mansion. Then, Manager He handed over the Zhong family's visiting card.
…
When the Zhong family arrived at Yan'an Fort, Yan Liqiang was in the Archery Club, with the scorching sun above his head, watching the hundreds of Archery Club students on the horse farm shooting their bows while riding on rhinoceros horses. Yan Liqiang's roar resounded throughout the horse farm...
"Use your legs to control the horse and projectile. When you use the charge formation, the people in the first row can shoot straight, and the people in the back can only projectile. You don't have to worry about not hitting the target, as long as the arrows can cover the target area. The most important thing is to unify the rhythm of the projectiles, not to be sparse, and the arrows should be shot like a wave of falling raindrops. When you are riding on the horse with a bow, you should think of yourself as a wolf, a group of wild wolves. The bow and arrow in your hand are your teeth and claws. Don't be reluctant to give up the arrows. Arrows cost a few copper coins each, you can have as many as you want, but your life is more than a few copper coins. Riding a rhino horse allows you to run faster than the enemy and prevent the enemy from catching up with you. Holding a bow allows you to hit others while others cannot hit you. Remember, speed is your life. When you stop, you will die..."
Amid Yan Liqiang's roar, the iron hooves of the rhinoceros horses roared, 500 longbows were drawn on the horses, and then a rain of arrows flew out. Amidst the sound of hissing, a large number of two or three hundred human-shaped targets made of straw on the ground a hundred meters away fell down in an instant. The 500 rhinoceros horses made a beautiful turn while running, and went around the two sides of the scarecrows. Then there was the sound of vibrating bowstrings, and most of the remaining scarecrows that had not fallen down fell down at once, leaving only a few lonely scarecrows still standing on the ground. When the bowstring sounded for the third time, all the scarecrows fell down, and there was only a dense patch of arrows on the ground...
These 500 men finished their training and immediately dismounted. Then the next 500 men mounted their horses again and began to charge around the scarecrow, drawing their bows...
"Not bad. The training has been less than a year, and it is already commendable that these students have been able to practice the art of combining archery and horsemanship that you taught them to this extent..." Shi Changfeng watched from the side and nodded gently, "But why do I feel like something is missing..."
"It's just a matter of bloodshed!" Yan Liqiang narrowed his eyes and watched the 500 cavalrymen galloping on the dusty horse field, and said calmly, "If there is no bloodshed, no matter how well you practice with scarecrows here, or how well you fight with arrows wrapped in cloth balls, you will always lack a spirit of bravery and eliteness!"
Shi Changfeng turned his head and looked at Yan Liqiang. Based on his understanding of Yan Liqiang, since Yan Liqiang said this, he was probably brewing something in his mind.
At this moment, a falcon flew from the sky. A guard beside Yan Liqiang raised his hand, and the falcon landed on the guard's arm. The guard untied a copper tube from the falcon's foot and handed it to Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang took the copper tube, removed the wax seal, and took out the note inside. His expression suddenly became strange.
"Who came to your house to look for you again? He seems to be an extraordinary person since he can ask your family to use a carrier falcon to deliver messages!" asked Shi Changfeng.
"It's Zhong Hongzhang, the second in command of the Lanzhou Zhong family!" Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and put the note away. "I'll give it to Chief Shi. I'll go back..."
(End of this chapter)