Empire

Dexing Prefecture is about 200 miles southwest of Qinghe Province. There are many fertile fields in the territory and it is relatively rich.

Chen Ziang did not stand idly by in the face of the crisis. At the suggestion of his chief of staff Li Qiye, he led the Ninth Battalion to leave Erlong Mountain and move to Dexing Prefecture.

There was originally a thousand-man team of the Qinghe Army stationed in Dexing Prefecture, which was directly incorporated by Chen Ziang.

After Chen Ziang moved to Dexing Prefecture, on the one hand, he sent a large number of scouts to investigate the enemy situation, and on the other hand, he gathered the defeated soldiers and actively prepared for war.

The Black Cavalry was so fierce that they defeated the main force of the Qinghe Army in the provincial capital, so that the Qinghe Army in various places fled in panic.

When the Qinghe Army was leaderless and scattered, Chen Ziang stood up and undoubtedly played the role of a stabilizing force.

A large number of messengers sent by Chen Ziang spread the news, and those defeated soldiers who had nowhere to go came to Dexing Prefecture in groups.

Along with these scattered and defeated soldiers, a large number of refugees also arrived at Dexing Prefecture. In a short period of time, Dexing Prefecture was overcrowded.

Now teams of black cavalry were burning, killing and looting everywhere. People were looking for benefits and avoiding harm, and they would go wherever it was safe.

Chen Ziang did not flee, but raised the flag of the Qinghe Army again in Dexing Prefecture, which immediately attracted countless people to flock here and take refuge.

Outside the gate of Dexing Prefecture, teams of Qinghe Army soldiers in armor stood guard everywhere, guiding the defeated soldiers and refugees who had fled here.

"Brothers of the Qinghe Army go to the city west camp to rest, and the people go to the city south camp!"

On the official road outside the city, a thousand-man general Yang Zhong stood on a stone with a tin trumpet in his hand, shouting hoarsely.

Beside Yang Zhong, a team of soldiers from the ninth battalion were trying to maintain order and guide the soldiers and the people to the two camps respectively.

In the temporary city south camp, a porridge shed had been built, and the boiling porridge was steaming.

After the hungry people arrived here, everyone could get a bowl of porridge.

"Young and strong people can come here to register. Those who go to repair the city wall will be given two more steamed buns!"

In addition to these porridges that will not let people starve to death, if you want to get more food, you have to help Chen Ziang and others repair the city wall, carry arrows, etc.

Although the whole camp was crowded, everything was in order and there was no chaos.

Those defeated soldiers and stragglers who went to the camp in the west of the city were also well settled. After they escaped, they didn't bring anything and were starving.

These defeated soldiers with green eyes, the wounded were sent directly to the back for treatment, and those who could still maintain their combat effectiveness received food and rested on the spot.

Since the Black Cavalry raided the provincial capital, many troops of the Qinghe Army were directly defeated, and the losses were relatively heavy. Many defeated soldiers They had been running for their lives in fear, avoiding the pursuit of the Black Cavalry Rangers.

Now that they have arrived at Dexing Prefecture, they have been gathered and resettled, and have also received food, and they have finally stopped to take a breath.

Chen Ziang incorporated the bandits of Erlong Mountain and also obtained a large amount of food, so there is no shortage of food in the short term.

But the mouth is soft when the food is eaten, and the hand is short when the things are taken from the people. Giving these defeated soldiers and civilians food is not in vain.

When a large number of defeated soldiers who had been gathered were eating pancakes and resting in the camp west of the city, the deputy battalion commander Zhang Bao brought Chen Ziang's order for the incorporation.

Seeing a group of soldiers surrounding Zhang Bao and arriving at the camp west of the city, those groups of defeated soldiers looked at each other, wondering what had happened.

"All officers above the rank of 100 men stand out!"

Zhang Bao was also straightforward and decisive. He climbed onto a wooden box and shouted from above.

There were many officers among the fleeing soldiers, and soon more than a dozen officers above the rank of 100 men stood out.

"You should report to the temporary headquarters in the city as soon as possible and wait for arrangements.

Zhang Bao said, and asked a soldier to lead the dozen officers to the temporary headquarters in the city.

"I am the commander of the 17th Battalion. How come I have never heard of any temporary command?" an officer could not help but question.

Zhang Bao glanced at the commander and said,"The whereabouts of the commander-in-chief are unknown. My general has temporarily established a temporary headquarters to gather the troops from all the divisions."

"Chen Ziang is just a battalion commander now. Who gave him the power to set up a temporary headquarters privately?!"The battalion commander said disdainfully.

Zhang Bao glanced at the battalion commander coldly and said,"Why, do you have any objections?"

"I......."

When the battalion commander was about to speak, he saw the soldiers behind Zhang Bao staring at him murderously, and he immediately swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

Although he was a battalion commander, his troops had been defeated, and he only broke out with more than ten people.

Facing Chen Ziang, who had a large number of troops, he was now seriously lacking in confidence. Although he was very unhappy to obey the command of people of the same level, he had to bow his head under the eaves.

These more than ten officers were soon taken to the temporary command headquarters in the city to await arrangements, and those left behind were some scattered soldiers.

"Brothers, my general said that we are a family in the Qinghe Army. The situation is very critical now. If we don't unite, no one can escape the pursuit of the Dynasty Army. If we want to survive, we must unite as one!"

Zhang Bao saw these anxious scattered soldiers and defeated soldiers and began his speech.

The soldiers who fled here also knew that Zhang Bao was right. Groups of three or five were indeed no match for the Dynasty Light Cavalry. They would only die.

"No matter which general you served under before, or which battalion you belong to, from now on, you will all be under the command of the provisional command!"

"Now you begin to reorganize, form your own teams of 100 people."

After Zhang Bao announced Chen Ziang's order, he immediately reorganized these scattered soldiers and defeated soldiers.

They were leaderless, and facing Chen Ziang's reorganization, although some of them were reluctant, they could only obey orders obediently.

Because if they did not obey the order, leaving here would not only face the danger of food shortage, but also the pursuit of the dynasty's light cavalry. Staying here would at least allow them to survive.

After these defeated soldiers were reorganized, Chen Ziang and his original army team of the Ninth Battalion immediately played a role.

Their army team was all officers with more than 100 generals, but there were not so many positions at the time, so they could only be gathered together and wait for vacancies to be filled.

Chen Ziang has also been training them as reserve officers. Now, in order to effectively control the reorganized defeated soldiers, Chen Ziang also became a dictator and directly dispatched these reserve officers to lead the troops.

At the same time, Chen Ziang also transferred a part of the veteran backbones from the Ninth Battalion to the newly mixed troops, serving as officers at all levels to consolidate the grassroots

"General, so far, we have gathered more than 25,000 people and organized them into five battalions, including more than 1,000 cavalry."

As more and more deserters arrived at Dexing Prefecture, Chen Ziang's team became stronger and stronger, which finally made Chen Ziang feel relieved.

With the small number of troops in their ninth battalion, they would probably only be able to run away if they encountered a large group of black cavalry.

But now they have tens of thousands of people under their command, as long as they don't encounter a large group of black cavalry, they are already capable of fighting.