Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

Chapter 342 Border Crisis

With this windfall, Wu Tao will have more resources to support his future work.

The farm is now expanding and attracting more and more people.

It was almost like a city outside the city, with farms stretching out in one area, which made it easier for Qian Hu and his guard team to protect them.

Such a commotion wasn't unnoticed, nor was the Cangzhou government blind. It's just that their people were killed outside before they could investigate.

The major case of murdering a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) officer ultimately unfolded just as Wu Tao had predicted.

Apart from the five individuals involved having their homes ransacked and their families wiped out, there was no further disturbance.

Wu Tao was not awarded the position of deputy commander because a major incident had occurred at the border.

Not long ago, General Wu Laosan, who was in charge of guarding the border, actually surrendered to the Tartars.

The once impregnable border was now wide open, as the Tartars dispatched 300,000 elite troops to strike directly at the heart of the enemy.

Wu Laosan also led his men to follow, charging at the forefront whenever they encountered a city.

Wu Laosan's surrender also extinguished the last glimmer of hope for the Great Yan Dynasty.

In the past, even small-scale Tartar attacks could leave cities helpless.

With hundreds of thousands of troops attacking, how could the cities along the way possibly stop them?

The city guards, including the garrison commander, brigade commander, and guerrilla general, would only lead their troops to retreat further inland.

The same thing happened in Cangzhou Prefecture. The moment the border was breached, the garrison commander of Cangzhou Prefecture fled with his men.

It was the prefect who personally led the yamen runners to organize the people to defend the city walls.

Wu Tao immediately led his squad leader Chen Chao and his personal guards, along with his concubines and maids, to the farm outside the city.

Their role is even greater here, as they forge farm tools and weapons, since the farm needs quite a few blacksmiths these days.

Commander Guo Wei and Commander Ling Tian naturally noticed that the centurion was missing. However, given the current chaos of war, they dared not go out.

Staying in the city, people could huddle together for warmth and have a glimmer of hope.

The imperial court repeatedly mobilized troops, hoping to stop the aggressive Tartar army.

Unfortunately, these soldiers had long since become corrupt, and their pay was frequently short, with deductions made by their superiors at every level.

In addition, the various units were receiving salaries without actually working, and their weapons were in a terrible state. Facing a Tartar soldier with two horses, they were simply human targets.

Often, a few thousand Tartars could chase down and kill tens of thousands of Han Chinese.

The local garrison troops are no longer the strongest land force; now they are just old, weak, sick, and disabled farmers who are barely clothed.

The Great Yan Dynasty collapsed even faster than Wu Tao predicted; in just six months, the entire Great Yan Dynasty had been completely transformed.

At present, the only resistance against the Tartars in the entire Great Yan Dynasty is the uprising of various rebel armies.

Of course, besides the rebel armies, some generals also directly declared themselves emperors.

They used the banner of expelling the Tartars and restoring the Great Yan Dynasty to win people's hearts.

Wu Tao intensified his training of soldiers at the farm while observing everything from the sidelines.

The farm now has a population of nearly 20,000, and the surrounding land has been developed to more than 50,000 mu.

The guard force has now expanded to ten battalions, and with Wu Tao's arrival, he has directly become the highest commander of the entire guard force.

Wu Tao also officially named the guard team the Black Dragon Army.

Military rank uniforms are also being gradually implemented, with soldiers divided into three ranks: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.

First-class soldiers received one tael of silver per month, second-class soldiers received two taels per month, and third-class soldiers received three taels per month.

Serving in the military for three consecutive years automatically results in a promotion of one rank.

The squad leader's salary was two taels of silver, the platoon leader's was five taels, and the company commander's was ten taels.

The battalion commander's salary is fifty taels of silver per month, and the regimental commander's salary is one hundred taels of silver.

The division commander receives 300 taels of silver per month, and the army commander receives 500 taels of silver per month.

Currently, the Heilong Army has ten battalions, divided into the Heilong First Regiment, the Heilong Second Regiment, and the Heilong Third Regiment.

The First Regiment was responsible for the First, Second, and Third Battalions; the Second Regiment was responsible for the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Battalions; and the Third Regiment was responsible for the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Battalions.

The 10th Battalion, also known as the New Recruit Battalion, was mainly a reserve force, serving to replenish the ranks of the troops in front.

Qian Hu became the first division commander of the Black Dragon Army, in charge of the entire Black Dragon Army.

The special operations company reports directly to Wu Tao and is not part of the military order.

This combat formation is similar to the Imperial Guard of the Qing Dynasty; they only gather intelligence and monitor the movements of various parties.

Wu Tao knew that no matter what he did, intelligence work was the most important thing, even though the special forces company only had 150 people.

In reality, they had already planted more than several hundred spies, and Wu Tao paid the special forces company tens of thousands of taels of silver every month.

Wu Tao is now waiting for an opportunity. He will wait until the Tartars break through Cangzhou Prefecture and massacre the enemy for three days before leading the Black Dragon Army to ambush outside.

When the more than two thousand Tartars came out of the city, carrying large and small bags and full of pride, they were met with a blow.

More than two thousand Tartars, not one of them was left; they were all left here forever.

After arranging for people to clean up the battlefield, Wu Tao left again.

Now is not the time to occupy the city; hiding in the wilderness is more in line with his plan.

If one were to seize a city and declare oneself king like others, one would become the target of the Tartars' concentrated attacks.

Wu Tao didn't think that the few thousand men he was leading could resist the hundreds of thousands of Tartar troops.

In addition, there were many traitors who surrendered; they were ineffective against the Tartars, but incredibly fierce against their own people.

Accumulating grain and delaying the declaration of kingship was a decision Wu Tao had made long ago.

Wu Tao's encirclement and slaughter not only killed more than two thousand soldiers, but also obtained countless gold and silver treasures.

Over the years, it is thanks to Wu Tao's Black Dragon Army that their power has grown stronger and stronger.

The gold and silver jewelry in his personal space is now worth no less than five million taels of silver.

Besides gold and silver jewelry, they also accumulated over a million dan of grain.

These were all supplies that Wu Tao had accumulated bit by bit, and of course, raiding the Tartar tribes also counted as accumulation.

The Tartars soon discovered that more than two thousand men who had attacked Cangzhou Prefecture had disappeared.

Now the Tartars have discovered that the Great Yan Dynasty is nothing special after all, and that they themselves are actually quite powerful.

How could they possibly allow anyone to provoke them? They should have started the war much earlier.

The five thousand Tartar troops marched in a grand procession toward Cangzhou Prefecture.

Wu Tao had long anticipated this outcome; on the one hand, he did not occupy the city because he did not want to become a target.

Another reason is to launch a surprise attack. The Tartars don't even know who their enemy is, so how can they retaliate?

Last time there were two thousand people, this time there are five thousand.

Although there were quite a few people, Wu Tao wasn't afraid at all.

Because he now has more men, thanks to the previous annihilation of the Tartars.

Besides gold and silver jewelry, they also captured a large number of young men.

After dealing with the Tartars, Wu Tao gained several thousand more able-bodied men.

In addition to giving most of his share to the farm, Wu Tao also selected two thousand people to supplement the various companies.

Veteran soldiers mentor new recruits, with one veteran guiding another. Wu Tao hopes the new recruits can quickly grow through several battles.

More than 2,000 people were reorganized into nine battalions, and three new regiments were added.

The Black Dragon Army's strength has increased dramatically, with six regiments now providing Wu Tao with a greater challenge.

Facing the overwhelming ferocity of more than 5,000 enemies, Wu Tao remained completely calm.

If we can surround and kill all the enemies this time, the Tartars will definitely not dare to come here again for a short period of time.