Chapter 17: United Hearts Forge a City (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

  From the moment the airship began circling above Tongjia Village, the murmurs in the cabin never stopped.

  As the airship took the Iron Riders' core members on a tour of the vast Tang Family Fortress, the debate in the cabin grew more heated.

  The Tang Dynasty did not participate in or respond to the discussions of Mu Haolin and others, but instead drove the airship calmly. Occasionally, through the wireless radio on the airship, he chatted with Xiaomao for a few sentences, understanding the dynamics of the Mu family in Tangjia Fortress.

  Due to the suddenness of the incident, Tang Chao left "Xin Hua Lou" in a great hurry and even forgot to bid farewell to Lan Xin who was still lying in bed as an invalid.

  In order not to let the little beauty have any wild ideas, Tang Dynasty had no choice but to let Xiao Mao command the armed robot disguised as a "Xinhua Tower" black-clad guard to inform Old Man Mu and arrange for someone to go to "Xinhua Tower" to take care of things.

  This time, Tang Dynasty made a temporary decision to bring the core strength of Tie Jia Alliance for an aerial patrol. The main purpose is to let the leaders of Tie Jia Alliance have a direct understanding of the true strength of Tang Family Fortress, and prepare for the smooth integration of this elite cavalry; another purpose is that Tang Dynasty wants to know if there are truly military talents with strategic thinking and tactical vision among these people.

  The bandits of Heifengzhai intend to join forces with the Tuhu Emperor Niu's family in Ruoqiang, wanting to wipe out the Iron Riders Alliance. This situation is both within and beyond the expectations of the Tang Dynasty.

  It was expected that the Tang Dynasty had long been mentally prepared, because the fat meat of Duanhun Gorge was too rich, and people with a bit of power in Huijiang couldn't help but want to take a bite.

  Unexpectedly, the Tang Dynasty did not expect the enemy to come so quickly, and even the time for the Iron Cavalry Alliance to change its equipment and training to enhance its combat effectiveness was not available.

  At present, the Tang Dynasty can only rely on the powerful long-range firepower of the Tang Family Fortress artillery group, using Canglong Ridge as bait to establish a pre-set blocking position, marking the firing coordinates and other elements, attracting various forces to come and attack.

  After solving the Black Wind Stockade and the Ruoqiang Niu Family, incorporate Ruoqiang into the fold, then look for opportunities to take the initiative to attack, strive to occupy as much territory as possible before Yuan Shikai's downfall.

  This battle is a coming-of-age war for Tang Family Fort, and it will also be the war that makes Tang Family Fort famous throughout the entire Uyghur region, not allowing the Tang Dynasty to have any slight mistake.

  Therefore, unifying thoughts became the top priority.

  With Irina present, the important intelligence brought back by Langying's seventh reconnaissance team was naturally reported in detail to Mu Hailin and others.

  Facing the strong invasion of at least 3,000 enemy forces, how to strike back at the enemy while preserving their own living strength became the top priority for the Iron Cavalry Alliance's core members to repeatedly deliberate.

  Although Tang Chao was in the driver's cabin, he could see and hear everything that everyone in the passenger cabin said and did through the secretly installed surveillance equipment on the airship.

  "Retreat to Tangjia Bu and rely on the treacherous terrain of Duanhun Gorge to block the enemy, although it can have a certain effect in the short term. However, from a long-term perspective, this move is absolutely not feasible!"

  The audio and video transmitted back from the hidden camera, Tang Dynasty knew that this was the fourth master of the Iron Rider Alliance, Bai Rui Liang, expounding his own views: "Just now in the air, I believe everyone saw that Duanhun Gorge is the only passage connecting the Tang Family Fortress with the outside world. If we abandon Canglong Ridge, once the enemy occupies it, it's equivalent to cutting off our entry and exit routes, turning the Tang Family Fortress into a dead land, a desperate land. At that time, there's no need for the enemy to attack, without food and ammunition supplies, we can defeat ourselves!"

  "The food problem, I think with the rich and vast natural pastures and land within Tangjia Town, as well as countless wild livestock, achieving self-sufficiency shouldn't be a big issue." The person who spoke up was Baldaev, the fifth leader of Tieji Alliance, a Mongolian Han, and he said loudly:

  "The key is whether the ammunition can be replenished in time. I don't know how many weapons and ammunition Tangjiabao currently has, but I do know that once we run out of ammunition, we'll become toothless tigers, and what will we use to fight the enemy then? So, I agree with Fourth Master's point of view, we can't lose Canglong Ridge, we must ensure the trade route is unobstructed, at least to achieve 'fighting to sustain fighting'."

  "Didn't Irina say that this time, the Black Wind Fortress and the Niu family have gathered more than 3,000 people to attack?" said Sun DeGui, a leader of the Iron Rider Alliance. "Our manpower, excluding the old, weak, women and children, has less than 500 combatants in total. Relying on the city walls of Tangjia Fortress, we might still have a chance to defend it, but relying on the existing fortifications at Canglong Ridge, if we fight hard, brothers will surely exhaust all our strength."

  "I'm telling you, you're all busy calculating your own family's wealth, haven't you seen the heavy artillery emplacements on the mountain top of Tangjia Fort?" Mu Haitao took over the conversation with a relaxed smile, saying: "According to my observation, those heavy artillery pieces, at least twenty guns can completely cover an area of ten miles around Qinglong Ridge. With such strong firepower support, if Ma Zhongqiang and Niu Huade want to launch an attack using human wave tactics, I guarantee they will be asking for death!"

  "Right! I see that everyone is a bit confused, and actually ignored such an important heavy artillery group." Bai Rui Liang slapped his thigh suddenly, with sparkling eyes said: "I suggest we first confirm this with the boss, if the heavy artillery on the top of Tangjia Mountain can provide fire support, we can completely lure the enemy into the pre-set position and annihilate them!"

  "No need for the boss to confirm, I used to be an artilleryman, I can guarantee that those heavy artillery groups can provide us with sufficient firepower support." Mu Hailin said with a very affirmative tone: "I have carefully observed the heavy artillery positions on the top of Tangjiabao Mountain, from their location distribution, there are more than 24 150mm caliber howitzers, whose angle and range of fire can cover the entire front mountain pass and surrounding areas of Qinglong Ridge. As for the rear mountain pass, I will ask the boss to provide enough heavy machine guns to form a heavy machine gun position, seal off and guard the rear mountain pass, there should be no problem."

  "Since the great leader has spoken, I think we should go all out to defend Qinglong Ridge and fight a classic defensive counterattack battle, annihilating all the enemies who dare to attack. Does anyone have any other opinions on this?" Baldorf asked in a rough tone.

  "No!"

  "It's settled then!"

  "I agree!"

  "Agreed!"

  “……”

  As everyone present expressed their opinions and insisted on defending Canglong Ridge, the proposal was passed smoothly.

  "Alright! It's settled then. Once we return, we'll immediately make arrangements to relocate all the old and young people from our village to Tang Family Fortress. From now on, Cang Long Ridge will no longer be the headquarters of our Iron Rider Alliance, but will exist as a gatekeeper for Tang Family Fortress." Mu Hailin's words were decisive, and he continued resolutely: "Brothers, the Iron Rider Alliance, as a former bandit gang, has fulfilled its mission. Here, I solemnly declare that the entire Iron Rider Alliance will be merged into Tang Family Fortress, officially becoming the armed forces of Tang Family Fortress! Does anyone have any objections?"

  "None, you're the master of the house, whatever you say goes!"

  "The brothers have long been looking forward to joining the Tang Family Fort."

  "Haha, does this count as turning black into white?"

  "Following the boss will definitely have a bright future!"

  “……”

  Unanimously, Mu Hai Lin's decision also got the support of all the brothers present.

  At this time, the airship had unknowingly landed on the Canglong Ridge General Camp amidst the crowd's discussion.

  Tang Chao stood at the entrance of the cockpit, smiling as he gazed out at the crowd in the cabin.

  Mu Hailin and others saw Tang Dynasty appear, stood up simultaneously, and shouted in unison: "Boss!"

  Tang Dynasty's two hands pressed down, signaling everyone to sit down. After scanning the crowd in a circle, he said solemnly: "Today's meeting has been very successful! We have unified our thoughts and established our enemy strategy and tactics for the future. The glorious Iron Riders Alliance will be reborn in the upcoming war! I will lead my brothers with a brand new appearance to conquer the world and compete for the Central Plains! Let all of us, with military honor and merit, expand our territory, bring glory to our ancestors, and bless our descendants!"

  Mu Hailin led the applause, Mu Haitao, Irina and Bai Ruiliang also joined in with enthusiastic clapping.

  The crowd applauded and shouted excitedly:

  "Expand territory, glorify ancestors, bless descendants!"

  "Expand territory, glorify ancestors, and bring blessings to descendants!"

  Warm and loud applause, passionate and high-pitched cheers, resounded throughout the cabin, transmitted from the airship, lingering in the sky above the cavalry training ground for a long time.

  Originally, this group of men were already excited and agitated, but after being stirred up by the Tang Dynasty, everyone was like they had been injected with chicken blood, eager to rush into battle as soon as possible. It seemed that only through fighting could they vent out the fierce passion and combat spirit burning in their hearts.

  Strike while the iron is hot! The Tang Dynasty also seized the rare opportunity in front of them and decided to start reorganizing the Iron Cavalry Alliance immediately.

  The Tang Dynasty had a plan in mind, and in order not to arouse the attention of Yang Zengxin, the governor of Xinjiang, it was more stable to set up a private army that looked like a civilian militia, such as the Tang Family Fortress Militia.

  If they had started by striking out the fake Northern Army's unit number, they would have inevitably clashed head-on with Yang Zengxin, the military governor of Xinjiang. This was not conducive to the growth of this new force in Tangjiabao, nor did it conform to the principle of being low-key as a person and high-profile in doing things.

  Militia, a local militia force, whose scale is directly related to the financial resources of the founder.

  The Tang Dynasty was never short of money, and the base was filled with gold. In these three years or so, nearly two hundred tons have been accumulated, all of which are 99% pure gold.

  In addition to gold, the Tang Dynasty also used a large amount of silver ore associated with gold mines to privately mint more than 5 million "Yuan Datou" coins. This Yuan Datou looks even more authentic than the circulating coins on the market.

  With money in hand and no shortage of weapons, the Tang Dynasty naturally didn't plan to make small moves in the formation of the militia at Tangjia Fort.

  The entire 496 combatants of the Iron Cavalry Alliance were reorganized by the Tang Dynasty into the First Cavalry Regiment of the Tang Family Fortress Militia.

  All elite cavalrymen were formed into three companies, a special reconnaissance platoon and an additional communications platoon.

  At the time of the Iron Riders' Alliance's current armament, they only looked at the Tang Dynasty with a big head, because among the less than 500 guns, there were British-made Lee-Enfield rifles, Russian-made Mosin-Nagant "water droplet" rifles, German Mauser 98 rifles, Austrian-made Mannlicher rifles, domestically produced old-fashioned muzzle-loading firearms, Hanyang-made, and even more than a dozen flintlock firearms.

  Short guns include Colt revolver, Mauser shotgun, Browning M1911 and many other different calibers.

  There were no light machine guns or heavy machine guns, but there were four old-fashioned three-pound muzzle-loading cannons.

  Looking at so many different types of guns, calibers and models, Tang didn't care whether Mu Hailin agreed or not, and asked him to collect all the guns and ammunition and transport them to Tangjia Fort for centralized exchange.

  Mu Hailin now has a nearly superstitious trust in the Tang Dynasty, and he doesn't have any doubts at all. He immediately executes this command.

  Mu Haitao, Bai Ruiliang, and Baldafei were thrilled to hear that their boss was going to give them new equipment. They all knew that whatever Tang Daboss brought out would be good stuff, so they all clamored to follow the big master to Tangjia Fortress in order to get a glimpse of it as soon as possible.

  How Canglong Ridge was defended and how troops were deployed, the Tang Dynasty did not intervene, leaving Mu Hailin and his subordinates to discuss and handle it themselves.

  Tang Chao didn't wait for Lang Ying's seventh reconnaissance team to return at Cang Long Ridge, knowing that Mu Hai Lin had sent a cavalry unit ahead to meet them. Tang Chao took Ilyna and directly flew back to the Tang Family Fortress by airship.

  Collect!