Since the Spring Festival, Yan Jizu has been very worried in Jinan.

Since the Spring Festival, five soldiers and horses have passed by the city of Jinan. Two of them are composed of cavalry, each with more than 3,000 people, all wearing the plate armor of the Denglai Army.

This surprised Yan Jizu. Didn’t the Denglai Army have only four thousand cavalrymen? Where did these six thousand cavalry emerge? If these six thousand cavalry look carefully, whether they are horses or just marching, they are worse than Yan Jizu often saw the Denglai cavalry galloping past the city of Jinan, but the six thousand were real.

A few days later, another infantry of nearly 6,000 people came from the west. There were not many horses, but some horses and mules transported the baggage.

But these six thousand people were like the Denglai Army, holding a cold spear, and the spearmen were all wearing armor, and they were all plate armor with more defensive power than the armor.

These plate armors were painted black. When standing on the city wall, they looked like seeing a big black hedgehog. In addition to the spearmen, there were also musketeers, and everyone was holding the musketeers of the Denglai Army.

There were even two hundred artillery guns in that infantry army.

Five days later, another infantry army rushed over under the city of Jinan. It looked a little different from the previous infantry army, but it should not be underestimated.

Before Yan Jizu's life could be born a few days ago, he heard the news that another infantry army was coming. This infantry army was riding horses. It seemed that it was the third battalion that went to Huguang last year to assist Lu Xiangsheng in suppressing the thieves.

The infantry of the Denglai Army was very elite, and everyone had horses. Soldiers rode on horseback, and they could travel 200 to 300 miles. The way to distinguish between cavalry and infantry was also very simple, and it was clear at a glance from the equipment.

The cavalry was equipped with sabers and muskets, and the coefficient was worn with plate armor. The infantry had spearmen, and muskets were equipped with leather armor, which could be distinguished at a glance.

Where did Zhao Yan generate nearly 20,000 troops?

And almost all of them are elite, and their excellent armor is far beyond the reach of other officials. Yan Jizu calculated as far as he knew, and the military strength of the Denglai Army was estimated to be at least 30,000!

Before, Yan Jizu had just taken office and did not know much about General Denglai Zhao Yan, and only then did he realize the horror of this warrior.

Even if other generals support their family members, the largest number of Liaodong generals have only two or three thousand troops, and it is impossible to have such excellent armor.

According to Yan Jizu, Zhao Yan's troops are estimated to be at least 30,000.

This made Yan Jizu extremely worried. Since taking office, he had carefully rectified the military and political affairs of Shandong. All the officers and soldiers he saw were regarded as abandoned and could not even have enough food. Most of the military weapons were stolen and sold by military officers. Although there were many soldiers, his combat effectiveness compared with the Denglai soldiers in front of him. As long as he was not too stupid, he could see the gap at a glance.

What made Yan Jizu even more difficult to adapt was that Zhao Yan's status in Shandong was even higher than him as the governor. Take Denglai military affairs as an example. The officers and soldiers of the Denglai garrison stations did not buy his account at all.

The Bingbeidao was sent to Laizhou, but no one bought it. The Haifangdao sent to Dengzhou, but no one paid attention to it.

But this warrior has a very popular reputation. His followers are everywhere in Shandong. A group of Shandong officials in the court supported him, and he was even more trusted by the emperor.

Last time I cast a small color on him, trying to tame the warrior as his own use, but I didn't expect this guy to be so rebellious.

Yan Jizu, born with Haiden, Fujian, knows Zheng Zhilong's strength very well. Haiden is the most rapidly developing smuggling port in the Ming Dynasty. Zheng Zhilong's activity center is in that area (Xiamen area). There are 100,000 naval troops under his command, and they have to respectfully see the governor.

But in contrast, this guy has only a few tens of thousands of people, all his tails are tilted to the sky.

The more Yan Jizu thought about it, the more angry he became, but the worries also existed. The Denglai Army fought rapidly. In the first month of the seventh year, it took only six days to rush to Fengyang from Shandong to help Fengyang, and even wiped out the bandits who invaded Zhongdu.

At the same time, the firearms of the Denglai Army are even more sharp. As long as you investigate in Denglai, you can constantly hear the sound of artillery from outside the military camp. Sometimes hundreds of artillery fired at once, and sometimes groups of arrows fired in anger.

The sharpness of the Denglai Army's firearms has long been spread among various officials and troops as the bandit suppression progresses. When Zhao Yan's name is mentioned, the bandits are frightened.

What are these bandits most afraid of? One is the firearms of the Denglai Army. The bandits fight in dense formations. With the fighting qualities of the bandits, they can only rely on dense formations to win. What kind of scattered soldiers tactics are all floating clouds for the bandits. Once the dense formations are swept, the firearms of the Denglai Army will immediately be killed or injured.

The second thing I fear is the relentless pursuit of the Denglai Army. The ability of the thieves to survive is to wander, but wherever the bandits run, the Denglai Army will chase them.

If you want to get rid of the pursuit of the Denglai Army, you can only disperse the team. However, once the bandits disperse, it will be difficult to gather the original troops.

Therefore, the bandits would rather fight with King Lu than touch Zhao Shaxing's bad habits. The officials and soldiers from all walks of life were excited, and they wiped out the depressedness of Li Zicheng's killing Ai Wannian and Cao Wenzhao during the Spring of Eight Years.

What makes Yan Jizu most worried now is that what is this guy doing to transfer so many soldiers back to Shandong? Now that Zhao Yan has so many soldiers in Shandong, it makes people afraid to think about it, let alone to punish him.

Seeing that her father was not good, Yan Yuyao, the eldest daughter of the Yan family, saw that she was smart and immediately contacted Zhao Yan's recent military transfer.

"Dad, why worry? Zhao Yan mobilized so many troops back to Shandong, which would be good for Dad." Yan Yuyao persuaded.

"What's the benefit? If he wants to rebel, your father will be the first to suffer." Yan Jizu said boredly, and Yan Yuyao couldn't help but smile: "Dad, your words are too serious."

Yan Jizu couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head. Even if Zhao Yan wanted to rebel, it was not in the past few years. He was talking about his performance in recent years, and there was no reason to say that he wanted to rebel.

However, the strength he possessed has indeed reached a level of suspicion, and that is 30,000 soldiers and horses! The 30,000 soldiers and horses may not seem to be many, but in fact, the soldiers and horses of the Denglai Army are all elite soldiers, and it is not feasible to rebel.

"Even if he wants to rebel, he will need to prepare for at least seven or eight years, or even more than ten years. By then, Daddy has already taken up his position and his responsibilities will not fall on Daddy." Yan Yuyao concluded confidently.

"Then tell me, what are the benefits of transferring so many soldiers back to Shandong?" Yan Jizu touched his beard and thought for a while, and asked his daughter.

Yan Yuyao smiled and said, "First of all, Denglai has more troops and horses, and Shandong will definitely be able to calm down. The general Denglai has always been the most active in suppressing bandits. If the White Lotus Sect resurrects, they will be able to suppress them immediately. Because Denglai requires a lot of labor to build roads, we can ensure that my father is worried."

"Well! It makes sense." Yan Jizu nodded thoughtfully. Zhao Yan has always been very active in suppressing bandits. It is better to say that he is active in arresting people than to suppress bandits.

"In addition, Zhao Yan and his father's methods are actually the same. He also saw the distrust of the emperor's civil and military affairs in the court, and gained the emperor's trust." Yan Yuyao analyzed, "If we join forces with him, it will be easy to make political achievements in Shandong."

"It's nothing to join forces, but this son is unruly and hard to deal with. How can he use it for me?" Yan Jizu frowned.

"Why don't let go of the prejudices of civil and military affairs? In this way, it will be much easier to cooperate. I heard that the prefect of Dengzhou had a close relationship with Zhao Yan. This year, I borrowed a million taels of silver from Zhao Yan to repair water conservancy in Dengzhou. It is estimated that Dengzhou will flourish in less than a few years." Yan Yuyao suggested: "Zhao Yan has a strong capital. If he helps him, his father will definitely make some achievements in Shandong."

"Cough cough..." Yan Jizu coughed twice, obviously not accepting this opinion, but just said: "I'll send some people to Dengzhou to take a look after a while."

"It's better for my daughter to go there in a few days! By the way, I'll go to Denglai for a trip." Yan Yuyao said.

"Yeah! It's OK! But it's best to bring more guards when going out." Yan Jizu did not object and asked his daughter to go to Dengzhou in person. The feedback was the most trustworthy.

"It's okay, I heard from the merchants who come and go that the bandits in Denglai have been completely eliminated, and it should be enough to bring five or six people with him."

...Along the Jiaoshui River, a team of nearly tens of thousands of people were waving tools and repairing the road. These workers were wearing uniform clothes.

There is a word "change" on their clothes on their chests. People can tell at a glance that this is a labor camp in Denglai.

How many labor reform criminals are there in Denglai? Most people don’t know much about it, but a few are 20,000 to 30,000. In fact, the labor reform criminals have reached more than 40,000, nearly 50,000.

Most of these reformed prisoners came from bandits, thieves, criminals from Denley, as well as the defeated and captured Dutch.

As the saying goes, when the heavy punishment is used in troubled times, ordinary members of the bandits who were suppressed and captured in various places will be repatriated for two years, and then distributed to the settlement area.

The bandit leaders were regarded as dangerous people, and they had to be reformed for at least five years, and some even had to be reformed for more than ten years. The backbone of the bandits was regarded as dangerous people, and the labor reform was the least for five or six years. As for the captured thief leaders, there were relatively few, and they were usually cut directly and sent to the capital to report their merits, or they were sent to the capital and were cut alive.

The Sweeping King is one of the typical cases of being cut alive. I heard that he was cut more than 3,000 knives in the capital before he died. The Fighting Monkey Han is the lucky one.

At the same time, there are also some criminals in Denglai. Most of these criminals have committed small things, such as stealing and dogs, and they have been arrested for labor reform.

Generally, this kind of minor crime has a labor reform period of only half a year to two years. If you commit robbery, murder, and forcibly annihilate these crimes, you may even have labor reform for life.

These criminals with extremely bad behavior will be tattooed on their faces to avoid escaping. They will generally not be executed for death and will be arrested for work.

One or two carriages drove from the official road in the distance. When passing by these labor camps, the curtains on the carriage were gently lifted open, and a beautiful shadow flashed through it.

Behind the carriage, there were ten inspectors escorting on horseback, which attracted the attention of passing merchants. Who is so arrogant? Even the salted man from the inspection team is escorted.

The woman in the carriage was Yan Jizu's daughter Yan Yuyao. After entering Laizhou, she was immediately investigated by the inspection team. When the inspection team learned that it was the daughter of the governor, they were afraid that she would have an accident in Denglai, so they quickly distributed half of the troops to guard the whole way.

Seeing that groups of reform prisoners were working hard, Yan Yuyao stopped the carriage with great interest, then walked off the carriage and looked at it on the construction site.

The supervisor on the construction site did not stop him after seeing the soldiers of the inspection team behind Yan Yuyao.

On the construction site, Yan Yuyao immediately saw a supervisor whipping a white man with a whip. The white man was screaming, then quickly picked up the shovel and shoveled the sand and stones. What surprised her even more was that there were at least two or three thousand white men on the construction site.

"Captain Shi, who are these people?" Yan Yuyao asked Shi Jun, the captain of the inspection team.

"These are the red barbarians caught at sea." Shi Jun explained.

"Red Barbarians? Why did they catch so many?" Yan Yuyao was even more surprised. Yan Yuyao, who was in Haiden, naturally understood the situation at sea. The Red Barbarians were a domineering on the southeast coast, and even Zheng Zhilong dared not pick on them and easily provoke trouble.

"They dare to attack Qingdao, so they are naturally seeking death." Shi Jun said with a natural expression, without feeling anything wrong.

As an army, he didn't know much about the situation at sea and did not feel anything great about the Red Barbarians.

Yan Yuyao said oh, looked around at the construction site, then returned to the carriage and continued on the road.

When he arrived at the Huang County boundary, Yan Yuyao saw a different scene than before. He could see some soldiers and horses being frequently mobilized on the road from time to time.

Some were camping, some were marching in a hurry, and it looked like they were training. At this time, a cavalry team of more than 50 people took over Shi Jun's escort mission.

These fifty cavalrymen were not as easy to talk to as Shi Jun. Yan Yuyao had no chance to get close to any place where there were troops.

However, she still saw an unusual smell from these clues, and Denglai's soldiers seemed to be preparing for something.

What are they going to do? This makes Yan Yuyao puzzled.

There was no way to investigate Denglai's military situation, so Yan Yuyao had to wander in other unrestricted places. Since entering the boundary of Huangxian, everything she saw was a prosperous scene.

Almost all the cultivated land was planted, and no wasteland was seen. Yan Yuyao also made a special trip to several garrisons to check carefully and found that the garrisons were training for young and strong everywhere.

These young and strong men are not chaotic and act in the same way. Yan Yuyao even teaches women to use muskets in a village chief.

...From the beginning of spring, Denglai's preparations have been in a tense manner.

The recruits in the recruits have expanded to more than 30,000 people, and the front-line troops have been reorganized again.

Zhao Yong's first infantry battalion was named Dengzhou Camp, Wang Wenyue's second battalion was named Laizhou Camp, and the third battalion returned to Shandong from Huguang was named Qingzhou Camp.

The first cavalry battalion was named the Forward Battalion, the second cavalry battalion was named the Flying Battalion, and a cavalry artillery battalion and an engineer battalion were established.

The infantry battalion was adapted to the troops. Originally, there were only 600 musketeers in each battalion. After the adaptation, it was expanded to 3,000. The spearmen were still 1,500, the artillery increased to 600, and 200 75mm howitzers were equipped. In order to reduce logistical pressure, the longbow soldiers were converted into musketeers, the rocket soldiers increased to 100, and there were 1,000 auxiliary soldiers (engineers, choremen, and baggage soldiers). The scale of an infantry battalion reached about 7,000 people.

The cavalry battalion also began to expand its enrollment, and each battalion expanded its enrollment again, with a number of cavalry of each battalion reaching 4,000. The cavalry and artillery battalion is a newly established mobile artillery unit with 1,000 personnel, 200 artillery pieces, and each person is equipped with four horses. It is mainly to carry ammunition and pull artillery.

The number of engineer battalions was 1,500, most of them were selected from miners.

The five battalions of Dengzhou Camp, Laizhou Camp, Cavalry and Cannon Camp, Pioneer Camp and Rising Wind Camp were organized into the "Denglai Legion" with a regiment-level military system, with a total of 25,000 people.

The adaptation of the Denglai Army was very nervous. After the Spring Festival, it was announced that it would recruit soldiers on a large scale. The original 10,000 reserve troops in the new recruits were in a hurry and had to start recruiting young and strong people from various places.

Fortunately, most of the expansion were musketeers and cavalry. Cavalry has always been the focus of training in the recruit battalion. Originally, there were 5,000 cavalrymen in the recruit battalion being trained.

Although the number of musketeers is not enough, there are many musketeers in each garrison, and the training of musketeers recruited from the garrison is very simple.
To be continued...