Steel Dynasty - Chapter 366

[Chapter 366 Slave Soldiers]

The north roared on the vast grassland, and the once endless green grass now had a hint of yellow.

The season has entered autumn, and the cold winter of the year will not be far away.

Riding a horse on the vast grassland, Xiao Ming looked at the land that was once occupied by the barbarians, and felt a lot in his heart.

It took almost three years for him to finally drive the threat from the north of the fiefdom outside Shanhaiguan. From then on, the grasslands outside Cangzhou would become his horse breeding land and plantation.

After quelling the rebellion in Jizhou, he returned to Qingzhou. Five or six days later, he received news of the breach of Shanhaiguan.

Surprised, he rushed to Shanhaiguan Pass all night without rest to see the most powerful pass in the world, which once belonged to the Great Chongqing Kingdom.

“Your Highness, look, Governor Niu Ben is here.”

Zhan Xingchang pointed forward and said.

Xiao Ming looked and saw that it was indeed Niu Ben and other generals. After recapturing Shanhaiguan, Xiao Ming decided to strengthen the most powerful pass in the world and turn it into a complete fortress.

So he brought the construction camp building Cangzhou City to Shanhaiguan and put Zhan Xingchang in charge of the matter.

At the same time, their fortress advancement strategy will continue to be implemented. They will build fortresses along the Shanhaiguan line and gradually shrink the barbarian living area.

This battle in Jizhou made Xiao Ming see clearly the ferocity of the Golden Horde, and he had to pay attention to this opponent.

The barbarian soldiers’ fearless charge left his general with lingering fears. ,

not to mention that this time Beishan almost destroyed Jizhou with just his Blood Wolf tribe. Jinwuwei and his Qingzhou Army, if Beishan hadn’t been accidentally injured by the artillery shells, even if they won, it would probably be a tragic victory at this time.

If so, he would not be able to take this opportunity to capture Shanhaiguan and change the offensive and defensive momentum.

“Your Highness.”

Niu Ben and others quickly arrived in front of them. They were all beaming and excited. They were obviously still intoxicated in the joy of capturing Shanhaiguan.

“Excuse me. You are now a great hero, so I will salute you.” Xiao Ming said with a smile.

The sky was very clear, and the wide view made people feel happy. With this victory, Xiao Ming was in an even better mood.

When everyone heard this, the joy on their faces became even stronger.

At this time Niu Ben said: “Your Highness, Shanhaiguan is in front of us, but the front gate was blown open by us and was seriously damaged.”

“So I brought the construction camp to you. With them, Shanhaiguan will be ready within a few months. “

It will become stronger than Cangzhou City.”

Luo Xin glanced at the artillery behind the long queue and was surprised. “Your Highness, there are a lot of artillery sent this time.”

“Not many, just that. There are only two hundred artillery pieces. This construction camp will build two bastions close to Shanhaiguan. These artillery are prepared for the bastion. I want to make Shanhaiguan an insurmountable pass for the barbarians.”

Xiao Ming was ambitious at this time. , Shanhaiguan was obtained, and his fiefdom was truly safe. From now on, he did not have to live in fear and could always develop in peace and stability.

However, he also understood that although the barbarians were defeated this time, they were still strong.

Because of this, he brought the construction battalion over to repair Shanhaiguan. Now that he had taken it back, he could not lose it again.

Entering Shanhaiguan from the bombed city wall, Xiao Ming and Zhan Xingchang patrolled the city under the leadership of Niu Ben.

Outside Shanhaiguan is a high city wall, and behind it is a complete military town.

Now the military town has been severely damaged due to the war.

“This military town is a bit small. Since it has been destroyed, it is better to rebuild it and directly extend the city wall to five miles on each side.” Xiao Ming looked at Zhan Xingchang after thinking for a while.

“What His Highness said is that from this battle in Jizhou, it can be seen that the barbarians are still very capable of hijacking grain roads. Therefore, to expand military towns, more granaries should be built, so that military towns, like other prefectures and counties, must prepare at least three Years of war preparation.”

Zhan Xingchang saw what Xiao Ming was thinking.

“Three years!” Lu Fei laughed. “This is a good idea. If we are besieged, we are not afraid of running out of food. We almost ran out of food in Jizhou.”

Xiao Ming and Zhan Xingchang laughed at the same time. , an impregnable city with three years’ worth of food stored in it would give any enemy a headache.

After talking about the food, everyone also talked about the armory, ammunition depot and other necessary facilities in the military town.

After the agreement, Niu Ben said seriously: “Your Highness, now that Shanhaiguan has been captured, what should we do about the garrison issue?”

Xiao Ming understood what Niu Ben meant. The Qingzhou Army cannot stay in Shanhaiguan all the time. After all, the current domestic situation in the Chongqing Kingdom is complicated. , the most elite Qingzhou Army should defend the important area of Qingzhou.

“The pressure on the front line in Cangzhou is much less now. Let the Cangzhou army take the lead first. However, this is not a long-term strategy. After all, the army of each state has its own responsibilities.” Xiao Ming frowned.

Niu Ben, Lu Fei and Luo Xin exchanged glances and said, “Your Highness, I have a suggestion that I don’t know whether to take it seriously or not.”

“Just say it.” Xiao Ming patted the wall of Shanhaiguan.

“About 35,000 slave soldiers surrendered in the battle involving customs. Many slave soldiers were also captured on the Jizhou battlefield. These slave soldiers are young adults and are high-quality soldiers. It is better to select the elite and form the Youzhou Army. Guard Shanhaiguan.”

Niu Ben and Lu Fei had participated in the Battle of Youzhou and had strong feelings for Youzhou.

Lu Fei also said: “Your Highness, just like Guan Ning’s cavalry, the people who hate the barbarians the most are the Youzhou people. These slave soldiers refused to succumb to the barbarians only because they suffered cruel oppression from the barbarians. Now they have escaped from the control of the barbarians. There is only hatred for the barbarians in my heart. Now I select some elite men to build a strong army. This strong army will definitely become the nightmare of the barbarians.”

“Youzhou City!” Xiao Ming suddenly thought about it.

The slave soldiers driven by the barbarians this time were all from Youzhou City, which the barbarians called the “sheepfold”.

These slaves were born on the land of Youzhou and suffered oppression from barbarians since childhood. He still clearly remembered the tragic scenes Lei Ming once told him.

This time he was in a hurry to go to Shanhaiguan, but he did not go to Youzhou City, because the barbarians who had ruled them for more than ten years were gone, and Xiao Ming was not sure how the people of Youzhou City would view him now.

“What did those slave soldiers think?” Xiao Ming asked.

“Your Highness, it was because many slave soldiers offered to join our Qingzhou Army to kill the barbarians that we mentioned this matter.” Niu Ben said.

Zhan Xingchang said to Xiao Ming: “Your Highness, I should not act too hastily on this matter. The identity of these slave soldiers is unknown and they are uneven. They must undergo strict verification to confirm that they are from Youzhou, and they really hate the barbarians to the bone.” Let them join the army, otherwise if someone with evil intentions sneaks into the army, Shanhaiguan will be in danger.”

(End of Chapter)