Chapter 68: Everything is ready, only waiting for the east wind

  （0068）

  Apart from Peng Bo, there were several other new recruits who also increased their training volume during the intervals. Behind them, the figures of the platoon leader, deputy platoon leader, squad leader and team leader would always be lurking. No way, the competition within the guard team was fierce too, who didn't want their own squad to produce a few awesome new recruits?

  In fact, among the new recruits, there are many who refuse to give up. Among hundreds of new recruits, some will inevitably not be able to hold on and become ordinary people, while others will be tempered and become elite among elites. After the big waves wash away the sand, only gold and essence remain. With the help of officers from each squad, these people can quickly grow up.

  Of course, there is also a bit of personal interest in Peng Bo's enthusiasm. Because Zhang Zhun had already made it very clear in last night's lecture that the guard team would be holding a skills competition in half a month. At that time, some officer positions might be adjusted. In short, if you can fight better than your superior, you may be promoted to become an officer!

  The current Fushan guards are all occupied by the original Yangjiatun old soldiers in officer positions. New recruits who want to become officers must constantly train themselves and improve their combat effectiveness. As long as you can stand out in this competition, you don't need to accumulate seniority, you can become a sergeant or even a squad leader. If you can single-handedly defeat the entire guard team, you may even become a deputy commander or even a commander!

  Judging from the current situation, to become a squad leader, you must be at least a fourth-class soldier. To become a team leader, you must be at least a third-class soldier. In other words, new recruits must jump three levels in a row and defeat at least three enemies. This is not an easy task. Other people's training is just as tough, how can they be easily defeated by you?

  With 400 people now, we can select fifth and sixth grade soldiers. So, the new recruits are eager to try out, striving to become first-grade soldiers, but the old soldiers are also waiting for the opportunity to promote their own ranks and become fifth and sixth grade soldiers? Yang Qiang and other fourth-grade soldiers are already very proud, if they become sixth-grade soldiers, that would be even better.

  This is a one-on-one match, and there's no room for deceit. Once on the stage, even the king of heaven can't show any favoritism, with Zhang Zhun staring from the side. Moreover, among each batch of new recruits, one or two freaks will emerge, who knows if there are any exceptionally outstanding freaks among these over 300 new recruits? That Peng Bo seems to be quite dissatisfied!

  Yes, Peng Bo was indeed unhappy.

  He set his goal as a fourth-class soldier.

  As long as he becomes a fourth-class soldier, a squad leader will definitely not be able to escape, and it is even possible to become a partner! This achievement is absolutely the first-class winner among new recruits.

  There are certainly not a few people who think like Peng Bo. New recruits with ambitions, eager to stand out in the competition, have been holding their breath, waiting for that moment when they can rise above others. Even if it's not for the sake of becoming an official, getting a high-level skill badge is still a glorious thing!

  Zhang Zhun naturally felt the surging undercurrent of the guard's momentum. This was exactly what he wanted. Even in times of no war, the warriors' progress could not be stopped. The knife had to be constantly sharpened to become sharp, and so did the soldiers? Is it realistic to expect that officials and soldiers who do not make an effort to train in peacetime can defeat the fierce Tatars?

  Time flies quickly, and April has passed in the blink of an eye.

  The originally somewhat immature new recruits, after more than ten days of training, have changed a lot. The combat effectiveness of the guard team has taken shape in its most basic form. The practice of the three-edged spear has also begun, and some new recruits with talent have started to show their heads.

  They all became the focus of Zhang Quan's attention.

  Zhang Zhun has been very busy during this period of time.

  During this time, he did not leave the guard team for half a step. The guard team had just expanded and there were still many places to worry about. A team of four hundred people would be a regiment in later generations. He was originally just an officer with at most ten or so people under him. When leading eighty people, he didn't feel much pressure, but now that the number has increased to four hundred, it's still a bit stressful.

  He was so busy that he was exhausted every day, probably even if he saw Xue Zhī Dié, he wouldn't have any desire left. Of course, he didn't have the chance to see her anyway. She wouldn't come to the guard squad and he didn't have time to go back to Yangjia Village. Even Yang Yinghua was rarely seen, let alone her. News from outside came from Haozi. In between, Yang Rui Feng had also come looking for him.

  Wang Shixin also tried to resist desperately, and he desperately developed his combat effectiveness inside Fushan City. He increased the number of people defending the city to over 500. However, what he could do was very limited. All the people in Fushan City, even if they were all Wang Shixin's loyal followers, were only a few thousand people at most. Compared with the tens of thousands of people outside the city, Zhang Zhun had no pressure at all. As long as the guard team trained to have basic combat effectiveness, this attack would be easy.

  Yang Rui Feng came to find Zhang Zhun, mainly to discuss the source of coarse salt.

  Because a large number of young and strong men joined the guard, the salt production in Fushan Village has decreased significantly. The daily output of rough salt is now less than 800 catties, while Yang Rui's daily digestion capacity is 2,000 catties, which cannot satisfy his appetite at all. Coincidentally, at this time, the Ling Mountain Garrison on the opposite bank of Mawan learned that someone in Yangjia Village was offering to buy private salt at a price of 20 cents per catty, so they sent someone to contact them and wanted to sell their private salt to Yangjia Village.

  "This is good, I agree."

  Zhang nodded and said.

  The daily profit of the refined salt business was over 100 taels of silver, so he had to pay close attention to it. Since someone was willing to transport coarse salt here, that would be great. So, starting from late April, a large amount of private salt began to enter Yangjiatun from Lingshanwei, which is across the sea from Fushan.

  From Lingshanwei to Fushan, as long as you pass through the Maziwan water surface, there is no salt Ding or any other obstruction in between. For the military households of Lingshanwei, it is a very good business with almost no risk. Lingshanwei has four thousand-household units: Left, Middle, Right, and Xiahezhai, which governs about 30,000 to 40,000 actual military households. Their private salt floods into Fushan in large quantities, several thousand catties every day, so Yang Ruijing had to think of ways to expand production again.

  Yu Nan and his mysterious master are still in Shanxi and have not returned, but Zhao Lao Ba from Zhaojiazhuang said that no matter how much refined salt Yangjiatun provides, he can digest it all. In fact, 2,000 catties of refined salt per day is only 60,000 catties a month, which is truly not enough to fill the gaps between teeth. Conservative estimates show that Shandong Province alone consumes at least hundreds of thousands of catties of refined salt per month, let alone other provinces.

  The monkey Yang Guohua, who was captured by Zhang Zhun, has also performed well recently, seemingly intending to surrender to Zhang Zhun. In fact, Yang Guohua himself is not a bad person. These pirates are mostly homeless people from the Jiangnan region, and most of them are struggling to make a living. If they could make a living on land, who would want to work with pirates? He followed Liu Xiang for two years and didn't have a family, so it wasn't difficult for him to surrender.

  It is said that joining the guard, everyone can get five mu of military fields, which can be passed on to their children and grandchildren. Yang Guohua and his pirate followers were somewhat moved. They drifted hard at sea, what for? Not just to earn a few taels of silver, and then buy a few acres of land, live a quiet life? Now, as long as they join the guard, they have military fields, they are indeed very moved.

  Just then, the guards themselves had no sailors and no one who knew how to operate a warship. They couldn't even move this pirate ship. Yang Guohua therefore asked someone to pass on a message to Zhang Zhun, indicating that he and the other pirates were willing to work for Zhang Zhun. They would rather not receive any silver, as long as they could get military rations. To show their sincerity, Yang Guohua and the others also indicated that if Zhang Zhun had any poison, they could take it first, with the antidote in Zhang Zhun's hands. If they were to betray him and couldn't get the antidote, they would ultimately be dead men.

  "Joke! I'm not Hong Xiuquan!"

  Just as he finished speaking, Zhang Zhun couldn't help but laugh.

  However, if there really is a leopard fetus easy tendon ball, Zhang Zhun would indeed give it to Yang Guohua and others.

  Actually, Zhang Zhun was quite welcoming of Yang Guohua's initiative. Yang Guohua's guess was correct, the guard team indeed lacked sailors and people who could manipulate warships. If they wanted to protect their coastal security, relying on Yang Guohua and that pirate ship would be the best choice. Moreover, training sailors and expanding the scale of the naval fleet also had to be considered from now on. The construction cycle of the navy was notoriously long.

  As for whether they will change sides, Zhang Zhun is not worried at all. If the course of history doesn't change much, Liu Xiang should be finished soon. What kind of ending can these people who follow Liu Xiang have? Zheng Zhi Long is notorious for his revenge, will he let Liu Xiang's subordinates off easy? Unless they hide in the distant Nanyang, maybe there's still a chance for survival.

  However, Nanyang is the territory of Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands, Western warships are coming and going, Chinese people over there, without strong military support, may not be able to survive! When the British rise in the future, bringing even stronger fleets, it will be even more difficult.

  Zhang Zhun didn't fully understand Yang Guohua's nature and hadn't given a clear answer yet. Yang Guohua also knew his own humble origins and didn't dare to make demands, so he worked diligently every day. The task Zhang Zhun assigned to Yang Guohua was to repair the pirate ship. To prevent them from escaping, the sails of the pirate ship had already been dismantled.

  On May 1st, Zhang Zhun decided to hold the first plenary meeting of Shengxia Zong after its establishment.

  This plenary session has several main contents.

  The first content is to introduce new members such as Hou Shanping, Liu Hang, Wang Mingyu, Peng Bo and others to get to know each other. Due to the re-allocation of land, they are now influential figures. Zhang Zhun basically proposed a general suggestion, and the detailed plan was completed by them. Peng Bo performed outstandingly in the new soldier training and also received praise from Zhang Zhun.

  The second is to announce the expansion of new members in the Guardian Squad. After a period of observation, more than 20 outstanding new recruits were introduced by their respective team leaders and deputy leaders to join the Shengxia Sect, and are currently in the probationary stage. Liu Hang, Wang Mingyu, and Hou Shanping also introduced several promising newcomers to join the Shengxia Sect, who are also currently in the probationary stage.

  Thirdly, Zhang Zhun announced the adjustment of the personnel structure of the guard team to ensure that in each squad (50 people), there are at least five members of the Shengxia Sect. In the future, the number of Shengxia Sect members in each squad will be increased to around ten. Zhang Zhun believes this is beneficial for increasing the cohesion and centripetal force of the guard team.

  The fourth is that Zhang Zu has tentatively decided to launch an attack on Fushan City on May 8, and now a series of preparations need to be made around this matter.

  Due to the stimulation of the "equal land and tax-free" slogan, the current Fushan City military households are already in a state of high enthusiasm, with everyone rubbing their fists and preparing for a big battle. Even the military households inside Fushan City have received the information. Because their days are even more difficult, their longing for land is even more urgent, so there is news that if Zhang Zhun does not immediately attack the city, the people inside will take action first.

  Based on various intelligence, Zhang Zhun had to believe that even if the guards didn't take action themselves, the military households would still rise up and take matters into their own hands. Since the peach was already ripe, it shouldn't be left hanging on the tree any longer, lest it rot. Thus, Zhang Zhun decided to capture Fushan City in early May.

  "Attack the city on May 8th!"

  This news spread like wildfire and instantly swept through the entire Floating Mountain Sect.

  Secrecy is just an illusion, in such an environment, Zhang Zhun can't keep secrets at all. In fact, there's no need to keep secrets either. This news itself has great provocative power and can greatly boost the combat enthusiasm of the military households. At the same time, Huozi's intelligence shows that both Laizhou Prefecture and Jimo County are calm and quiet. In other words, when they attack Fushan City, they won't receive any external interference.

  In fact, the Lai Prefecture might even treat the killings on this side of Mount Fu as a simple case of looting and handle it accordingly. What year has such incidents not occurred? Which garrison has not experienced them? The soldiers at the Liaodong front line have also rioted, let alone those in inland areas? Everyone is already accustomed to these events. Moreover, the Ming army's reaction has always been extremely slow; during the Huanxiang Jiao uprising, they often only reacted after several states and counties had been taken.

  The preparations for attacking Fushan City were proceeding in an orderly manner. First, the two 佛郎机 fire cannons would definitely be dismantled, even if they would cause some damage to the warships. Yang Guohua expressed his willingness to lead the pirates and personally operate the cannons to attack Fushan City, and if he failed, Zhang Quan could take his head. Secondly, they would closely strengthen communication with the military households inside the city and mobilize the poor military households inside as well. If possible, they would open the city gate from both inside and outside, which would be even more perfect. Thirdly, they would collect sulfur, charcoal, and other materials to manufacture more explosive packages and landmines. If the 佛郎机 fire cannons were not effective, they would resort to blasting and forcibly blow open the city gate.

  Everything is ready, only waiting for the east wind.

  However, the preparation plan for attacking Fushan City was interrupted by an unexpected event.

  On May 3rd, Haozi rushed over in a hurry and reported an astonishing piece of news to Zhang Zhun.

  Maojia Village was attacked by pirates!