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Ang Lee only knew that the Gourd Cave was an uninhabited wasteland. He did not know that there were bandits around the Gourd Cave. This immediately piqued his interest.
"You mean, there used to be civilians living here, but the bandits harassed them frequently. The civilians could not survive, so they left the Gourd Cave. Am I right?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Yes, General. There used to be a few hundred families in the Gourd Cave. It was a prosperous village. However, 15 years ago, a group of bandits appeared near the Gourd Cave and harassed the villagers. The civilians were unable to live in peace, so they had to leave their homes. Since then, the village in the Gourd Cave has been in decline. Now, there are probably only ruins left."
Ang Lee nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Since there are bandits around the Gourd Cave, why did the imperial court not send troops to exterminate them? Is it because there are too many bandits, or is there another reason?"
"General, no one knows how many bandits there are. Moreover, the bandits' nests are deep in the mountains. It is extremely difficult to exterminate them. The imperial court has tried to exterminate them before, but the results were not great. They lost many soldiers and horses. They had no choice but to let the civilians leave their homes."
Ang Lee understood that the guide was telling the truth. The bandits hid deep in the mountains and were indeed difficult to exterminate. Moreover, the bandits were very familiar with the terrain of the mountains. Therefore, once the siege was launched, the bandits could use their familiarity with the terrain to launch a surprise attack on the imperial army. This would cause great losses to the imperial army. This was also the reason why the bandits could not be completely eradicated since ancient times.
"Since ancient times, there could be bandits in places with mountains. However, these bandits are very unlucky. Now that I, Ang Lee, am here, how can I let them continue to be so arrogant?"
Li An's lips curled into a smile. He was already thinking about how to deal with this group of bandits.
"General, I don't want to talk too much. Most of these bandits are from the Barbarian Tribe from the south. They are very ferocious and are not to be trifled with."
The guide kindly reminded him.
"Big Brother, it seems like we have met a tough nut. Why don't we get rid of him first?
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Li Kunxiong interrupted.
Ang Lee shook his head and said, "Let's keep them for now. Aren't we going to train the soldiers? Let's train the soldiers first, then use these bandits to train the new soldiers. Killing two birds with one stone."
"Big Brother is right. We'll use them to train our troops. Haha!"
The group of people ran along the 30-degree slope to the entrance of the valley. Here, Ang Lee stopped his horse and observed the surrounding terrain and environment. He discovered that this valley was a dangerous place. As long as there were soldiers and horses blocking the entrance of the valley, the people inside would be trapped to death. Of course, standing at the entrance of the valley, he could not see the situation inside the valley. Was there any other way out?
"The markings on the map aren't very clear. Are there any other entrances to this valley?"
"Reporting to the general, this valley is in a straight line, so there are naturally two exits. Between the two exits, there is a total of three open spaces, one big and two small. It is a dangerous place. Although the local people were forced to leave, the bandits would not dare to set up camp here, because as long as the soldiers block the two exits, none of them will be able to escape."
"Danger zone, danger zone is good. The commoners and bandits don't even dare to stay here. This is really good for us, haha!"
Li Kunxiong laughed and joked.
"Big Brother, if we want to train three thousand soldiers here, we won't have to worry about being surrounded by bandits."
Li Feiyu obviously did not think much of the bandits.
Ang Lee looked at the group and said in high spirits, "Once my three thousand soldiers are trained, the first thing I will do is to use these bandits as a sacrifice. Let's go inside and take a look."
The group of people ran through the narrow entrance of the valley and arrived at the first valley. The area of this valley was not very big, but it was at least two miles wide. There was no pressure for a few hundred soldiers to be stationed here.
Because this valley was the easternmost, it was also called the East Gourd Valley, or the East Valley for short. The largest valley in the middle was called the Middle Valley, and the westernmost valley was naturally the West Valley.
It had been a long time since anyone had lived in this valley. Weeds and trees grew everywhere, and from time to time, a group of wild hares and pheasants would jump out. Everyone couldn't help but feel their hands itch. They drew their bows and shot a few of them.
"Big Brother, the pheasants and wild rabbits here are big and fat. It's really good, haha!"
Li Kunxiong held up a wild rabbit that he had just killed, his face full of excitement.
Ang Lee had also killed many wild animals. He looked around and said loudly, "The East Valley is just a small valley, but it has become a paradise for birds and beasts. There are even more birds and beasts in the Middle Valley. It seems that if we don't clean up this place properly, we won't be able to train our soldiers."
"General, the valley is surrounded by cliffs. As long as we set fire, all the wild grass and trees will be burned to ashes. Moreover, it will not affect the forest outside."
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Well said. The valley here is overgrown with trees. If we don't set fire to it, how long will it take to clean it up? Haha, let's go to the Middle Valley and take a look."
Along the west side of the East Valley, which was only ten feet wide, Li An led a group of people into the larger Middle Valley. The Middle Valley was about five to six miles wide. Even an army of more than ten thousand could be stationed here and trained, let alone three thousand. If not for the constant harassment of the bandits, this place would be a land of fish and rice that could feed several villages.
"Big Brother, the wild grass here is even more lush than the East Valley. It has probably become a paradise for birds and beasts."
"Big Brother, there are also traces of fields here. It seems that they used to be the fields of the commoners, but now they are all covered by wild grass."
Li Feiyu jumped off his warhorse and found the traces of fields under his feet.
Ang Lee dismounted and observed for a moment. He was sure that these were indeed the traces of fields.
"General, there used to be thousands of acres of fertile land here. These fields were indeed built by the commoners. I think there are still many fields here."
The guide knew Calabash like the back of his hand and introduced it seriously.
Ang Lee nodded and asked, "Didn't you say there was a village? Why can't I see it?"
The guide looked around and pointed into the distance. "General, the village should be in that direction. It's summer now, and there are too many wild grass. It's probably all covered up, so you can't see it at first glance."
"Let's go to the village."
Ang Lee followed the guide's direction and galloped over.
It wasn't until he was close enough to the village that Li An could see the broken walls clearly. Weeds and trees blocked his line of sight, and vines covered the broken walls completely, making it difficult for people to notice.
Gently parting the creepers, Ang Lee saw the ruins of the original village. This used to be a paradise for the commoners, but now it was abandoned because of the existence of bandits. This made Ang Lee and the rest very emotional. At the same time, they were even more determined to eliminate these bandits and return a peaceful life to the commoners.
The situation of the West Valley was similar to that of the East Valley. It also had a radius of two miles. These three valleys were excellent places to station and train the troops. After Li An inspected them, he was very satisfied and made up his mind to station and train the troops here.
Of course, the three valleys were still barren lands. Within ten days, Li An had to clean this place up to welcome the new recruits who were about to enter this place.
Before leaving Gourd Cave, Ang Lee decided to mobilize the people of Luzhou as soon as possible to clean up Gourd Cave. He also hired craftsmen to build tall city gates at the east and west entrances of Gourd Cave. This way, they only needed a small number of guards to guard the entrance of Gourd Cave and ensure the safety of the new soldiers.
After returning to Luzhou City, Ang Lee immediately wrote down the situation of Gourd Cave that he personally inspected in a document. He also requested the local officials of Luzhou to mobilize the people and build the barracks within ten days.
After the Luzhou Provincial Governor carefully read Li An's analysis report, he was very satisfied. He immediately passed down the order for the officials to immediately mobilize the nearby craftsmen and commoners to head to Gourd Valley to build the city pass, clean up the ground, and build barracks. They were fully prepared to welcome the new soldiers.
Of course, this was because the officials of Luzhou already hated the bandits around Gourd Cave. These bandits used Gourd Cave as a buffer zone and fought with the soldiers all year round. This caused the soldiers who went to suppress the bandits to suffer losses and affect their political performance. Many officials were unable to get promoted because of this, so one could imagine how angry they were.
As soon as Li An arrived in Luzhou, he chose to set up camp in Gourd Valley. This naturally made the local officials very satisfied. Not only did it reduce their interference, but it also intimidated the bandits in the mountains, allowing them to watch the fire from the other side of the river. Of course, it was essential to give Li An the necessary support. Moreover, Li An was sent by the Emperor. They did not dare to not help him. Otherwise, it would be disobeying the imperial edict and going against the Emperor.
With the support of the provincial governor of Luzhou and the other officials, the mobilization work was carried out very quickly. Just in Luzhou City alone, there were hundreds of craftsmen and thousands of commoners who joined the team heading to Gourd Cave.
In order to ensure the safety of these commoners, Ang Lee sent the remaining 100 Dragon Martial Army to protect them along the way. The provincial governor of Luzhou also sent 500 strong commoners to assist the Dragon Martial Army in protecting the commoners.
The construction of Gourd Cave's barracks was a big project. In order to ensure high efficiency and reduce the number of unemployed workers, the provincial governor of Luzhou sent talents from various fields to divide the commoners into groups.
The east and west gates were outside the valley, so they could be built at the same time. However, the three valleys inside had to be cleared of the weeds and trees first before construction could begin. Otherwise, just the weeds and trees alone would be enough to make the commoners suffer.
After the weeds in the valley were set ablaze, the huge flames caused the color of the sky to change. The entire sky seemed to have turned fiery red.
The fire would take a long time to burn. Before the fire was extinguished, the commoners and craftsmen couldn't enter the valley. During this time, they all helped to build the checkpoints. They had already built the checkpoints on both sides of the valley as quickly as possible.
In the morning, the fires in the three valleys had been lit one after another. However, until the sun set, the fires in the valleys continued to burn, illuminating the entire sky. The commoners and craftsmen in charge of building the city gates at night didn't even need to light torches. They could work normally.
Hearing the crackling sounds of wood cracking, looking at the blazing flames, and seeing the construction workers working at the city gates at night, Ang Lee's mood was very good. Based on the current progress, the various facilities of the barracks could be completed within ten days. Thus, the newly recruited soldiers would have a comfortable environment and be able to start training as soon as possible.
"Big Brother, based on the current progress, the fire should be extinguished by tomorrow afternoon. At that time, thousands of craftsmen and commoners will flood into the valley. What a spectacular scene that will be!"
"As long as everything goes smoothly, there won't be a problem building the barracks within ten days. Hopefully, the recruitment of soldiers will be as smooth."
Ang Lee nodded.
"Big Brother, His Majesty asked us to come to Luzhou to recruit three thousand soldiers. This is enough to form an army. We have to give them a domineering name. Has Big Brother thought about it?"
Li Kunxiong asked.
Ang Lee grinned. "When His Majesty gave me the title of General, I had already thought about it. This newly recruited army will be called 'Army.' I submitted a memorial to His Majesty, and His Majesty happily agreed. However, Big Brother has always been busy, so I didn't tell you the name of this army. You didn't ask either."
"Army. This name is very nice and domineering."
"Army. Pacifying the Barbarians of the South. This name is very good."
Li Kunxiong and Li Feiyu both thought highly of this name. They felt that this name could show the might of this army to pacify the South.
Because he was worried about the situation at Gourd Cave, Ang Lee did not leave the entrance of the valley. He and his Dragon Martial Army were stationed at the entrance of Gourd Cave.
In the direction of Luzhou's Jiang An County, Li Feiyu and Erniu led ten soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army. Accompanied by five or six local officials, they entered a village and put up a notice to recruit soldiers.
Because they rarely saw outsiders, the people of the village seemed rather timid. This was especially so after seeing the officials. They were so scared that they all hid in their homes.
In order to get these people to come and listen to the recruitment policy, the officials had no choice but to sound the gong over and over again, calling for all the villagers to come out.
Under the repeated calls of the officials, the people hiding in their homes slowly left their homes and gathered at the entrance of the village.
This village had more than two hundred households, and each household had an average of five or six people. In total, there were more than a thousand people. Among them, there were more than two hundred young people. It should not be difficult to recruit a few dozen qualified soldiers.
After the villagers had more or less gathered, the official simply informed the people of the conditions for conscription, as well as the requirements for conscription, pay, salary, rewards for meritorious service, and other conditions. He also persuaded the people to enthusiastically join the army, to contribute to the court, and to obtain merit for themselves.
The conditions offered were quite tempting to the simple people in the mountains. However, the mountain people seemed to have a natural distrust of the imperial court. This was also caused by the imperial court repeatedly breaking promises to the people. Therefore, even though they were eager to try, no one took the initiative to ask to join the army.
Some seventeen or eighteen-year-old youths wanted to sign up, but they were stopped by their elders. In short, an hour had passed, but not a single person had come forward to sign up.
This situation made Li Feiyu very anxious, but he could not make a move to capture anyone. He could only make the people join the army willingly. To be continued …
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