The Thief Prince

Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

It's only early autumn now, but the weather has already cooled down considerably.

Liangshan has mountains and water, but it is cooler than other places, and even the nights are a bit chilly.

The others didn't think much of it; on the contrary, they felt comfortable. But Li Zheng was somewhat wary.

I remember learning in high school history class that from the late Northern Song Dynasty to the early Southern Song Dynasty, the winters were extremely cold, and Taihu Lake once froze over, allowing carriages and horses to pass through, which was a period of the Little Ice Age.

The world's historical trajectory is different; if you think about it, it might be during this period.

This is definitely not good news for the Great Zhou Dynasty and the people of the land.

The sudden drop in temperature during the Little Ice Age would have led to a decrease in food production, making the already precarious livelihoods even more difficult.

But for Li Zheng, it was a mixed bag.

After all, the more chaotic things are outside, the more the imperial court will be preoccupied with its own affairs, and the more opportunities will arise.

It's just that the common people suffer.

Li Zheng hasn't been idle these days, but he's been diverting half of his energy from building the mountain stronghold to Yuncheng County.

Because Li Zheng acted extremely quickly, the events in Yuncheng County were not leaked at all.

Ordinary people only remembered that the county magistrate had mobilized the county troops half a month ago, but they did not know that Yuncheng had changed hands.

Every day, you can still see the county magistrate going in and out of the county office, but it seems that the county officials have been replaced.

Moreover, grain prices have come down, and the Liangshan bandits have never come down to plunder, so life has become more peaceful.

However, there is one problem: the number of carpenters, tailors, and barefoot doctors in the county is decreasing, and no one knows where they have gone.

After the situation in the county stabilized, Li Zheng began to focus on training his troops.

Before his transmigration, the only way for someone like Li Zheng to come into contact with military training was through military training in junior high and high school.

Stepping in formation and standing in queues are fine for training obedience, but they shouldn't be regarded as some kind of revolutionary training manual.

Once on the battlefield, basic skills will still be tested.

The original owner also had some ancient military training methods in his memories.

In ancient military strategy, there were two types of troop organization, corresponding to two completely different training methods:

They are the "Pure Team" and the "Flower Team".

Before the Tang Dynasty, shield soldiers were shield soldiers and spearmen were spearmen; they were only responsible for their own duties and had no other skills.

Even in combat, different types of soldiers are divided into different formations, which is called a pure formation.

By the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasties had become more martial and vigorous, and the conscription system replaced the militia system, which raised the requirements for soldiers.

Professional soldiers must be able to shoot arrows, must be proficient in one primary weapon, and must also learn to use a secondary weapon, usually a spear, a bow and arrow, or a sword.

Elite soldiers like the Mo Dao soldiers need to master even more skills; this is the Flower Team.

Qi Jiguang's Mandarin Duck Formation is the pinnacle of the flower team's work.

When the Great Zhou Dynasty arrived, the situation changed again. Pure teams began to replace Flower teams because Flower teams required soldiers to be proficient in multiple weapons, which was too costly to train.

The imperial court put it nicely, saying it was to save on the budget and so on.

Ultimately, it's because the imperial court is too cowardly! Officials dare not fight! The army cannot fight!

Li Zheng now has 800 capable soldiers under his command, including more than 100 cavalrymen. Apart from the men brought by Wu Anqing, the rest are barely able to use crossbows and guns on horseback.

As for mounted archery, that's not something you can learn in a short time.

Li Zheng handed all these people over to Wu Anqing, letting him train them on his own.

The group of over a hundred people were all brought by the Zheng siblings; they were just a bunch of fishermen.

Li Zheng only required them to complete the most basic training, namely the use of broadswords and spears.

The archer unit numbered over a hundred, mostly crossbowmen and a small number of archers.

The rest were all infantry, nothing much to say, focus on spear training and use crossbows as a secondary tool.

Li Zheng also wanted to train a flower team, but the quality of the recruits couldn't keep up.

With their small stature, these refugees struggled to even get enough to eat, let alone use their latissimus dorsi muscles for archery. How could they possibly manage?

The spear is different; it's simple to learn and has great destructive power.

Behind the mountain stronghold, a battlefield was cleared out, where more than two hundred henchmen stood in two rows, holding wooden spears with their heads covered, facing each other.

Li Zheng weaved through the military train, shouting loudly: "Grip the rifle barrel tightly, don't shake it, you only have one thing to do: stab!"

"In a battle between two armies, there's not much room for you to maneuver; it's a contest of who can thrust faster and more accurately!"

"The front ranks of the government troops are all wearing heavy armor. If you can't hit a vital spot, you'll be stunned and your hand will go numb, and you'll lose your life in an instant."

"On my command, draw your guns... and thrust!"

"Damn it, Li Si and Liu Wu, how could you two throw away your bayonets? This is so childish, are you lining up to die for the government troops?"

The two henchmen, empty-handed, their spears flying far away, looked at Li Zheng with mournful faces.

Li Zheng, his face dark, roared, "Where are their leaders? Come out here! Give each of them ten lashes! Beat them hard!"

Luo Pan walked forward with a gloomy expression, pulled two henchmen out of the line, and gave them a good beating.

Li Zheng sighed softly, preparing to continue training.

Suddenly, Ma San's voice came from behind: "Brother, brother!"

As the leader of the patrol team, Ma San was in charge of patrolling the mountain and was also responsible for connecting the communication between Liangshan and the marshland.

When Li Zheng saw Ma San arrive, he knew something had happened down the mountain.

So he said to his henchmen, "Take a 15-minute break, then form your own teams to practice. If anyone slips up again, that team won't get dinner!"

Then he approached Ma San and asked, "What is it?"

Ma San jogged up the mountain, his breathing still steady, and said, "Brother, three large ships have come down the mountain. Sister Zheng Qing sent me to deliver a message, saying that the Jin Fan pirates are here."

"Oh?" Li Zheng was slightly taken aback.

Gan Zhu? What's he doing here?

Luo Pan stepped forward and asked, "Brother, shall we must muster the troops?"

Li Zheng shook his head: "Zheng Qing didn't say they were coming to attack, so they shouldn't be hostile. We'll just welcome them at Dazhai."