I

No military plan is set in stone!

After arriving in Fenyi County, Zhao Han obtained more detailed information.

The core elite of the prefect Tian Younian came from the official kiln craftsmen in Binjiang Town. Now that the Chinese New Year is coming, those who serve in the army will definitely go home. If you go straight there, you can get twice the result with half the effort.

When Zhu Yuanzhang built Nanjing City, the inner layer of city bricks was white, all produced in Binjiang Town.

This kind of white city bricks are made of kaolin clay, also known as "white mud bricks" and "white ceramic tiles". They are stronger than ordinary cyan city bricks. Yuanzhou Tongpan Sui Yun, who supervised the construction of this brick, received great praise from Zhu Yuanzhang and was promoted from the sixth rank to the inspector of the third rank.

There was an official kiln in Binjiang Town, but it was messed up by the officials. A few years ago, the kiln workers caused trouble, and the prefect Tian Younian personally took care of it.

He recruited five hundred kiln workers as his army, wiped out the bandits in Wugong Mountain, and then went to wipe out the rebels in Pingxiang County. When I heard that giant bandits appeared in Luling County in the south, I immediately expanded the army of rural warriors. Now there are 3,000 troops.

Those five hundred kiln workers were elite soldiers who had been trained for two years!

On the night when he met Song Yingxing, Zhao Han personally led his troops to set off and handed over the task of defending the city to Fei Ruhe.

Because the mobilization of ships made too much noise, Zhao Han led his troops across the Wannian Bridge and marched along the south bank of the Yuan River at night. After marching forty miles overnight, they arrived at Binjiang Town early in the morning and launched an attack without rest.

The residents of the town didn't even react when they saw three thousand soldiers passing through the town, heading towards the kiln workers' settlement to the west of the town.

"Surrender without killing!"

Teams of ten people each rushed into various houses, and then escorted the kiln workers and their families out.

…

Xiong Yao's ancestors have been kiln workers for generations, and his household registration is that of a craftsman. The official kilns have long since ceased to function, and they all work for private kilns to make a living. Although life is hard, they can still survive.

Just five years ago, the then prefect suddenly had a seizure and said he wanted to build an additional ring around the city.

Xiong Yao and other kiln-burning households were recruited to serve, and they brought their own dry food to the government to bake city bricks.

According to the rules, although the servants did not receive wages, the government must distribute rations. But the rations were also withheld by the officials, and the kiln workers couldn't survive, so they simply killed the officials (officials supervising the kiln) in rebellion.

After half a year of turmoil, the prefect was promoted with money, and the new prefect Tian Younian took office.

Xiong Yao admired Magistrate Tian very much. He dared to come alone to surrender, but in the end he only killed two leading rebels.

Xiong Yao was recruited by the prefect as a rural warrior and was given a military salary of two dou of grain per month. Moreover, he works every five days. He is very close to Fucheng. Taking into account the time spent traveling back and forth, he can work and make money on his own for three days.

Magistrate Tian was very good at training his troops. He said he would pay twice as much as his monthly salary, and he never withheld any deductions. He went to Pingxiang County to suppress bandits and still had money to earn. Xiong Yao even hoped to fight every day.

Life is much better this year, and my family has bought new year’s goods.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Xiong Yao had been tired for a year and wanted to sleep in this year.

Suddenly, he heard a noise outside. Before he could put on his clothes, a group of soldiers rushed in.

"Surrender without killing!"

His wife, children, and children were all arrested. Xiong Yao had just put on his trousers. Considering the lives of his family, he did not dare to resist at all.

Being taken to the open space outside to gather, Xiong Yao found that many people had been arrested. Women, children and the elderly were standing together, while young men and women were asked to stand on the other side.

what's the situation?

No one knows what's going on, they're all waiting for the Chinese New Year, it's just a blur.

"All soldiers, please stand up and don't force me to interrogate you!"

Xiong Yao looked around and saw that everyone was hesitating. Then he looked at his wife and children, who were being pointed at with a long gun.

In desperation, someone stepped forward, and Xiong Yao followed suit.

Zhao Han said: "Count the number of people."

The flag commander quickly counted and reported: "In the main town, there are 436 people in total!"

There must be more than that. Tian Younian recruited kiln workers as soldiers. At the beginning, he only recruited 500 people, but later he recruited more than 300 people.

After some interrogation, it soon became clear that some people left their wives and children and ran away, while others lived further away.

Zhao Han quickly ordered the arrests, and in another kiln worker colony, more than a hundred households were arrested one after another, many of whom were just ordinary kiln workers.

Finally, Zhao Han asked: "Who has practiced bowing? Raise your hands."

"I've practiced before." Xiong Yao raised his hand.

At this moment, a small boat docked in Binjiang Town.

After the official got off the boat, he ran wildly and shouted: "The master of the government gathers troops, the master of the government gathers troops. Be sure to arrive at the military camp outside Fucheng before noon on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year! The master of the government gathers troops, the master of the government gathers troops..."

The official ran so fast that the residents of the town did not stop him, and the sentry did not react. In the blink of an eye, he had already run out of the town.

"The masters of the government gathered together...Mother, you are a traitor!"

The official was so frightened that he turned around and ran away. He quickly returned to the town and was caught by several sentries.

This guy was dragged in front of Zhao Han, and he immediately knelt down and shouted: "General, spare your life, general, spare your life!"

Zhao Han smiled and asked, "Prefect Tian wants to gather troops?"

The official replied hurriedly: "Fenyi County is gone, and the governor gathered his troops on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year."

"Prefect Tian is considerate of the soldiers, but he actually has to wait until after the new year," Zhao Han complained, and then asked, "How many people are guarding the city?"

The official sent someone to pour beans out of a bamboo tube and said, "The governor heard that Fenyi County was occupied by..., so he gathered hundreds of troops to defend the city last night."

The situation was already clear. Tian Younian was very nervous and did not regard Zhao Han as an ordinary rebel.

Most of the hundreds of soldiers who defended the city were from around the city. During the New Year, the defenders would definitely cause a lot of complaints.

Zhao Han walked up to Xiong Yao and asked, "Who are you, the archer?"

"Yes." Xiong Yao said.

Zhao Han asked: "How many kiln workers are practicing bows?"

"There are only about a hundred." Xiong Yao said.

"Where are the other archers?" Zhao Han asked again.

Xiong Yao said: "They are scattered in various villages."

Some villages are relatively far away. They gather troops on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Taking into account the round trip, five days to complete the assembly is already very impressive.

It's hard to say whether Tian Younian, the prefect, is good at fighting, but he must have a certain skill in training.

Zhao Han did not inquire about the military affairs anymore, but went to inspect the kiln with his personal guards.

The officers under his command organized the prisoners, packed their belongings, and prepared to take them away together. Regardless of whether they have been soldiers or not, they all have to be brought back to Ji'an Mansion. Zhao Han's land also has kaolin clay, and there is a shortage of many kiln workers for firing porcelain.

When he came to a private kiln, the boss and manager ran away. Zhao Han picked up the porcelain and inspected it, and found that the quality of the product was not very good.

The pros and cons can be seen at a glance, and they are completely incomparable to Jingdezhen porcelain.

"Where is this thing sold?" Zhao Han asked.

A manager of a private kiln who didn't have time to run away said: "A businessman came to buy it and ship it to Fujian and Guangzhou. I heard that it will be sold overseas."

It turned out to be an export product. Presumably these inferior porcelains could be sold at a good price even when shipped to Europe.

Zhao Han continued walking a few dozen steps, pointing to a cave dwelling that had grown grass and said, "Why is this abandoned?"

The steward quickly ran into the cave and took out a white city brick: "The leftovers from Emperor Taizu's construction of Nanjing City have been piled there for more than two hundred years, and no government dares to use them."

"How many of these city bricks are left?" Zhao Han asked.

The steward replied: "There are fifty or sixty brick kilns nearby, and the bricks are piled in the caves. They don't dare to throw them away, and they don't dare to use them, so they just keep stacking them there."

This kind of white city bricks have been burned to porcelain and are extremely strong for building a city. Zhao Han will come and get them when he decides to build the city.

The three thousand sergeants slept in turns, went to the town's big households to open a warehouse to collect grain at noon, and rested until the next day (New Year's Eve). Zhao Han finally left Binjiang Town with nearly 4,000 kiln workers and their families.

"Back to the county town for the New Year!"

Zhao Han asked the soldiers to shout, and everyone laughed and sang, while the kiln workers looked sad.

After walking a few miles, Zhao Han suddenly divided his troops into the mountains.

He ordered 500 soldiers to escort the kiln workers and their families to Fenyi County, and he led 2,500 soldiers to make a detour.

The three kiln workers with the largest family members and former soldiers were left by Zhao Han as guides.

Zhao Han spent New Year's Eve in the mountains.

What he ate for lunch was wheat cakes and pickles. Zhao Han clasped his fists all the way to the soldiers and kept saying: "Happy New Year, happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year to our town!" the soldiers responded one after another.

Coming to the mountains during the Chinese New Year, it is inevitable that some soldiers will feel resentful. But Zhao Han greeted New Year greetings one by one and shouted a thousand Happy New Year, which immediately made the soldiers excited.

If you don't dare to march during the day, you will find dead branches and grass as a cushion, and put a quilt on top to sleep.

The cold wind blows on the road at night, and those with colds and fevers have to keep up. Along the way is the edge of Wugong Mountain, which is a hilly terrain. After the snow melts to the ankles, marching is very convenient.

Xiong Yao is one of the three guides, and none of them dare to mess around.

Zhao Han said that if the army is defeated this time, all their family members in the county will be killed!

"General, ahead is Yuegong Ridge. The prefect's training ground is located at the foot of the mountain." Xiong Yao pointed to the front and said.

Walking all the way day and night, with stops and starts, when Zhao Han arrived at the hiding place, it was the afternoon of the second day of the Lunar New Year, and Magistrate Tian had not yet finished gathering the troops.

Sent out sentry disguised as a woodcutter down the mountain, went to the city to sell firewood and came back.

Zhao Han initially obtained military information. There were thousands of defenders in Yuanzhou's capital city, but the school grounds and military camps under Yuegong Ridge were empty. Tian Younian's soldiers were all fed and housed in the city.

Zhao Han could only stay in the mountains to rest and make torches for night attacks.

The soldiers took off their leggings and put them in their arms to dry themselves. Before taking action, he tied it to a wooden stick to make a torch. When he left Binjiang Town, he also got a lot of vegetable oil, which was also used to make fire starters.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the spies came back to report.

There are many ships outside the city, loading food. They are the military rations sent by Tian Zhifu.

Judging from the number of ships, there are definitely not enough ships for three thousand soldiers. Most supplies travel by water, and soldiers follow them along the river. Even if they are ambushed, the grain ship can escape immediately.

Moreover, soldiers have begun to live in the military camp under Yuegong Ridge.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the spies reported again.

There were far more than three thousand soldiers in the military camp, maybe five or six thousand, and I don't know where the prefect could recruit so many local warriors.

Zhao Han now has two options, one is to set up an ambush halfway by the river, and the other is to directly attack his military camp at night.