Volume 1 Nightfall Border City Chapter 45 Reorganization

  Han Village first repaired was the gate.

  The path up the mountain was paved with a mixture of earth and gravel, and a gate wall two zhang high and half a zhang wide was built. Newly felled trees were tied together to form a fence, with their tops sharpened to point towards the sky.

  Fifty trusted men were in charge of the gate, and every day, except for the refugees who went out to cut wood and fetch soil, no one else was allowed to go out.

  On the seventh day after entering Han Village, the weather became warmer and warmer, and various unknown small flowers bloomed on the grassland and in the mountains. At this time last year, it was the time when horse bandits went out to move around and plunder.

  Di Zhe suddenly ordered the collection of knives and arrows in the village.

  "Except for the guards of the Han residence, everyone else's swords and arrows must be handed over first!" The imperial guard relayed the order everywhere.

  Never has such an order been given in the bandit's lair! The crowd looked at each other, Che Feng and Wang Yi led dozens of people to patrol around, the herders were the most obedient, they could keep their lives, fill their stomachs, and even leave their knives and arrows unused.

  But Di Zhe's target was not them.

  The newly built earthen wall of the Han village, leaning against a group of people.

  "This is my eating buddy, how can I hand it over to you kids!" A burly man with a red birthmark on his left cheek sneered at the approaching guards, surrounded by more than a dozen people, all with their hands clasped together in front of them, looking like they were watching a show. His nickname was Hong Fan Tian, and he had been lurking outside the city for over a decade, with dozens of people having died at his hands.

  "This is the order of the master!"

  "Big boss? I want to hear it from his own mouth!" Hong Fan Tian sneered. Just a few days ago, these people actually made him lift stones, it's simply humiliating.

  The commotion here attracted attention, and more and more people gathered around to watch secretly. After being informed, Di Zhe led his personal soldiers to rush over.

  The guard and a group of people were at a standoff.

  Di Zhe rushed to the scene and said, "This is indeed my order!" His tone was very calm, but the discontent hidden in it could be heard even by a fool.

  Hong Fan Tian gave Di Zhe a white eye and said: "The horse thieves have rules on the grassland, how can you put down the food!"

  "In my humble abode, my word is law."

  Behind him, a tall and dark-skinned personal soldier placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and quietly took a step forward. His name was Ji Hong, who had been a herdsman slave in the grasslands since childhood and was the strongest and most skilled in martial arts among Zhai Zhe's personal soldiers.

  "Since the master of the house doesn't follow rules, I, Red Flies High, will no longer stay here. Please let me leave!" Red Flies High stood up, his height surpassing Di Zhe's by half a head. Unable to make it in the grasslands, with his skills he could join the Ming dynasty's rebel army and at least become a small leader.

  "Do you think you can just come and go as you please in our organization?"

  Di Zhe waved his hand, and the personal soldiers beside him stepped forward with big strides, their long knives chopping down on their heads.

  It happened suddenly, with Red Whirlwind's attention fully focused on Di Zhe, without even time to draw his sword, he dodged sideways. Ji Hong swung his sword again, the blade slicing through Red Whirlwind's waist, fresh blood splashing onto the ground.

  The trusted followers behind Hong Fan Tian looked at each other, seeing that there were more than a dozen people standing behind Di Zhe with their swords drawn, and the guards from the Han camp who were loyal to Feng were rushing over, none of them dared to move.

  "You!"

  Ji Hong's blade didn't stop, the long knife rolled up again, and Hong Fan Tian dodged to the side just in time to arrive in front of Di Zhe. Di Zhe quickly retreated a step, and with a fierce kick, he struck Ji Hong's hip bone. The kick was solid and powerful, causing Hong Fan Tian to roll over and fall to the ground. Ji Hong took advantage of the opportunity to pounce forward, stabbing his knife into Hong Fan Tian's back, the blade entering from behind and exiting through the front chest.

  A shrill cry rose, Ji Hong's boot sole heavily trampled on the body of Red Fan Tian, and with a swift motion, he pulled out his knife. With one hand grasping Red Fan Tian's hair, the long blade flashed in the cold light, and the shrill cry abruptly stopped. A bright red head was lifted in his hand, and from the broken neck, fresh blood gushed out in bursts.

  "Ji Hong, hang his head on the mountain stronghold gate, whoever disobeys orders will be made an example of!"

  "Roger!"

  Ji Hong nodded and walked towards the gate of the village with his head held high.

  Hong Fan Tian didn't manage to turn the sky upside down after all. This person must not be the only one in Shan Zhai who is not convinced, but he must be the most foolish among those who are not convinced.

  The headless corpse was still at his feet. Di Zhe ordered Wang Yi, who had just arrived: "Bury this man under the mountain!"

  He borrowed the prestige of Hong Fan Tian to establish his authority, but in his heart, not a single wave was stirred. Perhaps it's just like what Xiao Zhi Yan said back then, one day killing people would be as insignificant as eating and sleeping to him.

  After Hong Fan Tian's beheading, the mountain stronghold became much more peaceful. Even if someone was still dissatisfied in their heart, no one dared to question Di Zhe's orders again.

  "In the mountain stronghold, every twenty people form a team, each team selects one leader, and every five teams form a hundred-man team. Five leaders are selected from among them to be the overall leader. In the Han stronghold, there is a main affairs office, all matters are issued by order of the main affairs office."

  Taking advantage of the momentum, Di Zhe began to implement a system in the stronghold. This was an inevitable path. The biggest difference between bandits and the army lay in discipline. He did not come to this prairie to be a bandit.

  The elderly and weak in the mountain stronghold were assigned to auxiliary camps, mainly engaged in labor. The original craftsmen among the refugees were also selected and set up an ironwork shop at the northeast corner of the mountain top to repair weapons. Wang Yi also urged the refugees to build a dozen or so fishing boats, so that they could cross the Tuomao River when necessary.

  Out of a thousand people, only over 600 were selected to form the Di camp, under the command of Di Zhe's battle force, and had to participate in daily drills.

  In the past, bandits would be roaming and plundering at this time. Now there are no merchant caravans to rob, and at least for now, Di Zhe doesn't want to provoke the Chahar people, nor are there any livestock to steal. Drilling can exhaust their accumulated energy while preparing them for future battles. After all, the next enemy won't be bandits, but either Chahar cavalry or the even more fearsome Jurchen people.

  It's another busy week, and I've just finished arranging all the personnel in the Han village.

  After the establishment of the Main Affairs Office, Wang Yi became the steward of the Han camp, and all money, grain, and goods went through his hands. However, all orders had to be issued by the personal soldiers of the Main Affairs Office, who were also the personal soldiers of Di Zhe.

  Everything was arranged, and Di Zhe ordered Wang Yi to set up a school in the Han camp, where his personal soldiers could learn to read and write during their spare time from training. After all, his personal soldiers couldn't be illiterate.

  Under the strong request of Di Zhe, grains were slowly transported out of Sai. Only what's in hand is real, and the border situation was changing rapidly, he worried that if they didn't hurry, they would miss the opportunity. In March, he sold another 500 horses to Sai, finally gathering enough food for a year. In March, the storm in the Ming dynasty's officialdom also slowly subsided. The grains transported out of Sai were no longer as difficult as at the beginning of the year, and Liu Quan voluntarily lowered the price of rice and millet to four liang five qian silver per stone.

  Ping Kui's establishment only stirred up a storm within the Kill Hu Kou, and soon subsided.

  From the beginning of the year with full expectations, to the later trading volume that has been sluggish, many businesses without opportunities began to downsize, and peripheral miscellaneous workers were gradually laid off. Only Liu Quan's Dexiang Pavilion relied on its relationship with Ning Sheng to expand its scale step by step, becoming a new star in Kill Hu Kou.

  Zhangjiakou thousands of miles away is now compared to Shaoguan is just like ice and fire two extremes.

  Without the return of Hohhot, the 100,000 Chahar people on the south of the Gobi Desert could only obtain essential goods such as tea and salt from here. Tribes came to purchase continuously, and the market regained its former prosperity. However, it was impossible for Lin Danhan to obtain grain and ironware from here again. Since the eight major business firms had already relied on the Manchu people, they naturally could no longer cooperate with the Chahar people.

  The change of the Jiwei made the Great Ming border and the grassland tribes witness the strength of the Jurchen people, and those who gained power helped. The Chahar tribe of Lin Dan Khan became increasingly isolated in the south of the Mongolian grasslands.