Ang Lee looked at Nan Jiyun. Seeing that he did not show any signs of injury, he smiled and praised: "Not bad, after such a battle, you actually did not …"
"Hehe, it's the general's plate armor. It's airtight and impenetrable, but it's too inflexible. Otherwise, the credit for capturing these five to six hundred bandits would definitely be ours."
Nan Jiyun was in a good mood, but it could be seen that he still had some regrets. After all, the inflexibility of the plate armor had caused him to lose some of the credit.
"You're really greedy. In this battle, you were the first to reach the wall, so you should have the credit, haha!"
Ang Lee laughed and scolded.
"Hahaha!"
The subordinates all laughed out loud.
"General, there's a cave behind the Hall of Brotherhood."
Ang Lee was startled and looked at the generals: "The remaining bandits must have run into the cave. Let's go and take a look."
Under Ang Lee's lead, the generals strode towards the cave and entered one by one.
The temperature outside was higher, but once they entered the cave, they felt that it was very cool. It was a good place to cool off.
"This bandit's lair is really a treasure. There's actually a natural cave. It's cool in the summer and warm in the winter."
Ang Lee sighed.
"General, there's a light in front. It seems that there's an exit."
Everyone followed the light, and sure enough, they arrived outside. Those bandits who had escaped had already disappeared without a trace.
"I didn't expect the bandit's lair to have an exit. If we had deployed a troop here in advance, these bandits would not have been able to escape. What a pity, what a pity."
The generals all felt that it was a pity that they were not able to wipe out all the bandits.
"General, I have interrogated them. The bandits that escaped are all Wu Barbarians from Cuandi. The ones that were captured by our army are all Luzhou locals."
"General, our army will conquer Cuandi sooner or later. These bandits can run for a while, but they won't be able to run forever. They will be wiped out by us sooner or later."
Ang Lee nodded lightly and looked at the generals: "Let the bandits escape. However, this mountain stronghold is a good place. It would be a pity to burn it down."
"General wants to station troops here."
"That's right. Have the First to Eighth Battle Regiments take turns to guard this place and make it our camp for the southern advance."
Ang Lee made up his mind to turn this camp into a forward base for the army. After all, not far from the south of the mountain stronghold was Cuandi. Furthermore, this location was indeed easy to defend and hard to attack. It was a good choice as a base.
"General, the mountain stronghold has seized a large amount of valuables. There are at least a few hundred boxes."
"General, we found dozens of young women in the prison of the village."
"Dozens of young women!"
Ang Lee was shocked. "Let's go and take a look."
In the private prison of the village, there were indeed dozens of young women who were not fully clothed. Obviously, these women were plundered by the bandits from the nearby villages as slaves for them to vent their desires.
"Find some clothes for them to wear and send them home."
Ang Lee gave the order and turned to leave. He really didn't want to see such a scene anymore.
"General, these Crow Barbarian bandits are too hateful. They actually bully the common people like this."
"At least they ran fast. Next time we meet them, we'll definitely tear them to pieces."
"A group of inhumane bandits. They won't be able to be arrogant for long."
Ang Lee did not comment. He walked to the place where the large amount of valuables had been found and did a rough inventory of the spoils of war.
"There's actually so much valuables. When did the bandits become so rich?"
Ang Lee stroked the gold and silver, feeling greatly amazed. Of course, these valuables all belonged to him now.
"Bring all these valuables back to Gourd Valley. The army will immediately return."
After leaving behind a battle regiment, Ang Lee led his main force out of the bandit lair and returned to Gourd Valley.
On the way back, Ang Lee was constantly reflecting on the success or failure of this battle. He wanted to learn from this experience and prepare for even more intense battles in the future.
The victory of this battle had already proved that the catapults and other construction equipment were extremely important and powerful weapons in siege operations. Plate armor was also suitable for siege operations and could reduce the losses of one's side as much as possible.
However, the weakness of plate armor was also proven. As expected, it was not flexible and comfortable enough, making it difficult for it to be used in a chase battle.
This meant that although plate armor had great defense, it could not be used on a large scale. This was because in the future battles, most of them would be mobile battles. There would not be many places for plate armor to be used, so a small amount would be enough.
Actually, there was another type of powerful weapon for fighting in the wilderness. The war chariot was also very powerful, but due to its poor adaptability on the battlefield, it could not be used in many places. For this reason, it had been eliminated for thousands of years.
This battle filled Ang Lee with even more confidence in the army. It showed Ang Lee that the army was a force that could fight tough battles and had enough confidence to face the situation in Cuandi.
In the following days, Ang Lee's focus was to continue to strictly train the soldiers. He also started to pay attention to the situation in Cuandi and was prepared to strike at any time.
With a large amount of treasure, Ang Lee and the main force of the army returned to Gourd Cave. This triumphant return made the soldiers very excited. The soldiers who had performed meritorious deeds were even more excited.
One had to strike while the iron was hot, and rewards could not be delayed. After returning to Gourd Cave, Ang Lee immediately gave the order to reward all the soldiers. Not only were all the soldiers who had participated in the battle rewarded, but all the Dragon Martial Army soldiers who had stayed behind to guard Gourd Cave were also rewarded.
Of course, this kind of large-scale reward was limited. Only the soldiers who had performed meritorious deeds at the very front would receive the highest rewards.
In view of the meritorious performance of the soldiers, Li An rewarded them handsomely. Among them, Nan Jiyun was rewarded the most because of his meritorious service. Moreover, Li An officially appointed him as the captain of the special forces, increasing the number of soldiers and horses under his command by six times.
The other soldiers who had performed more meritorious deeds were also given generous rewards. Promotions and rewards could be found everywhere.
Such a large scale of rewards was naturally to motivate the soldiers under his command, so that they could train more seriously and prepare for more victories in the future.
The bandit captives who were sent to Gourd Cave were all sent to the manufacturing factory in East Cove Cave to do manual labor. The soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army were in charge of watching over them. In addition, the bandit captives who had been subdued previously were working with them.
"General, congratulations on your great victory. You have made a decision for the people of Luzhou."
Third Fatty Tong smiled and bowed to Ang Lee.
"You flatter me. What's the matter?"
Third Fatty Tong hurriedly handed the accounts of the past ten days to Ang Lee and reported, "General, these are the accounts for the past ten days. Please take a look."
Ang Lee took the accounts and was shocked by the huge numbers. He calmed himself down and patted Third Fatty Tong's shoulder. Third Fatty Tong grimaced in pain and bent his knees unconsciously.
"Third Fatty Tong, you have done well. It's great that you have such a high harvest."
Ang Lee was overjoyed. Naturally, he was willing to praise Third Fatty Tong.
Hearing this, Third Fatty Tong smiled and said, "General, this is what I should do. I've already taken my share, and I didn't take any more than that."
"Good, Third Fatty Tong. As long as you do well, I will give you your share. Continue to work hard. I will always support you."
Ang Lee declared loudly to reassure Third Fatty Tong.
"General, I understand. I understand."
Third Fatty Tong was overjoyed. His voice was trembling. He had nothing to worry about now that he had found a powerful backer.
"Go."
It was true that Ang Lee supported Third Fatty Tong, but he didn't have much in common with Third Fatty Tong. Third Fatty Tong didn't have much to say other than complimenting him.
Third Fatty Tong retreated obediently, and ran toward the mine with a jolt of his buttocks.
Looking at the harvest that was beyond his imagination, Ang Lee was very happy. It was even more satisfying than when he had sex with Zhao Yefu in Dongnu Province.
Since he had so much money, how should he spend it? He couldn't turn it over to the national treasury. It would be a waste to just leave it there.
Li An silently cursed in his heart. He paused for a moment and muttered to himself, "The army only has 3,500 soldiers. Although its strength is outstanding, its military strength is indeed somewhat insufficient. If we want to control the southern border for a long time, it would be better to expand it a little."
"Big Brother, what do you need to expand?"
Li Kunxiong walked in from outside and heard half of the conversation.
"Of course, we need to expand the army."
Li Kunxiong was shocked, "Big Brother, the imperial edict said that we should recruit three thousand soldiers. Now, we have already exceeded the quota by five hundred. If we expand the army again, His Majesty will blame us. It is better to report to His Majesty and let His Majesty decide."
"I will definitely report to His Majesty. However, it will take a lot of time to go back and forth. It is too much of a waste of time. Let's expand the army first and report to His Majesty at the same time. His Majesty won't object to it."
Ang Lee explained.
"Big Brother, how much do you plan to expand the army?"
Ang Lee thought for a moment, "Let's expand the army by one thousand five hundred soldiers first. We will see how it goes in the future."
"Expanding the army by one thousand five hundred isn't a big problem. His Majesty should agree. Let me do it."
Li Kunxiong volunteered himself for the job.
Ang Lee smiled and nodded, "Okay, I will leave this matter to you. Kun Xiong, don't let Big Brother down."
"Big Brother, don't worry. This is not the right time. Now, the army has won many victories and wiped out all the bandits in Luzhou. The soldiers have also received many rewards. The people of Luzhou are fighting to join the army. We will be able to complete the mission in three days."
Li Kunxiong was very confident in the current recruitment situation.
"Okay, Kun Xiong, I will leave this matter to you. Go and prepare now."
"Yes, Big Brother."
Thinking about how he would soon increase the army by one thousand five hundred soldiers, Ang Lee felt an inexplicable sense of excitement. The more soldiers he had, the less pressure he would have to deal with the situation in Cuandi in the future.
In the allocation of this batch of recruits, Ang Lee decided to focus on the special forces and the supply regiment. In particular, the supply regiment's transport team only had one hundred and sixty-five people. The scale was too small. If the army were to go on an expedition, the logistical support provided by such a small transport team was very limited.
War was not only about military power, but also logistics and financial resources. Since ancient times, the golden rule of war had been that the provisions would go before the troops and horses were mobilized. If there were not enough transport team soldiers, how could the troops and horses go before the troops?
Of course, the more troops and horses there were in the transport team, the more they could support the army. If it was a long distance military operation, the transport team would not be able to handle it. A large number of civilian workers would be needed to transport supplies. Thus, there was a phenomenon that when an army of one hundred thousand was mobilized for an expedition, it would often require one million civilian workers to transport various military supplies.
Liangcuandi was not far from Luzhou, but Cuandi was a few hundred li away. If they did not want to trouble the civilian workers, they had to end the war quickly. In addition, they had to increase the scale of the supply regiment so that the supply regiment could provide for the needs of the entire army.
"General, there is a merchant who calls himself Luo Dahu requesting an audience."
"Oh, Luo Dahu is here. Let him in."
Ang Lee knew that Luo Dahu's arrival meant that something big had happened in Cuandi.
"General Li, how have you been?"
Luo Dahu bowed to Ang Lee as a typical merchant.
Ang Lee waved his hand and did not even bother to say polite words. He directly asked, "Luo Dahu, you came in such a hurry. Did something big happen in Cuandi?"
Luo Dahu took a step forward and said anxiously, "General Li, something big happened in Cuandi. Nanning Province's Great Ghost Lord Cuan Chongdao and his son, Li Province's Provincial Governor Cuan Qi, and Qiu Province's Provincial Governor Cuan Shouyi joined forces and suddenly attacked Nanning Province's Governor Cuan Gui Wang and Kun Province's Provincial Governor Cuan Rijin. They killed the father and son that night. Nanning Province and Kun Province both fell into the hands of Cuan Chongdao."
"Oh, such a big thing happened."
Ang Lee was also a little shocked. These days, he had put all his energy into suppressing bandits and training the army in Luzhou. He paid almost no attention to Cuandi. He did not expect that such a big thing would happen in Cuandi in such a short time.
"General Li, Cuan Shouyu, the wife of King Cuan Gui, and her son, King Cuan, escaped from Nanning Province and took control of 6,000 elite soldiers outside the city. They are building a fortress to protect themselves and confront Cuan Chongdao."
Luo Dahu continued.
"Cuan Chongdao's attack failed to eliminate the root of the problem. It seems that he is in big trouble, haha!"
Ang Lee smiled and asked seriously, "Oh, right, why did Cuan Chongdao and the others suddenly attack King Cuan Gui and Cuan Rijin? Did someone instigate them?"
Luo Dahu nodded and said, "General Li is wise. It was Pi Luoge's scheme to marry off his daughter that made Cuan Chongdao want to kill him. He messed up the situation in Cuandi so that he could fish in troubled waters."
"What is the scheme to marry off his daughter? Tell me clearly."
Ang Lee only had a vague impression of this history and did not know much about how Pi Luoge married off his daughter.
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