Thousands of miles away, in Dujiangyan, northwest of Chengdu, a huge canal leads to a huge canal on the left side of the Yuzui water diversion project, which is a great project built by the ancients. This canal flows into the Chengdu Plain. On both sides of the canal, the Ming army dug a number of small aqueducts to bring water from the main canal into the nearby rice fields.

Before the arrival of the Western Expeditionary Army, although the main aqueduct of Dujiangyan was still intact, due to years of war, all the small aqueducts had long been abandoned. After the arrival of the Western Expeditionary Army, they joined forces with the Kuidong Righteous Army and achieved a great victory in Badong, and Chengdu returned to the hands of the Ming Army again.

After the reconquest of Chengdu, the Ming army used prisoners to repair the aqueducts. After more than a year of hard work, the original damaged and abandoned aqueducts have been repaired, and the water of the Minjiang River has irrigated the 500-mile Chengdu Plain. The captives, who were converted into military reclamation households, planted a large area of rice fields, planted various fruits and vegetables, planted various crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, and also planted other cash crops such as sugar cane, tea, and mulberry trees.

Lin Erhu, a prisoner of the original green camp, has already lived in a big house built by himself, and he can't eat the rice and white noodles he grows at all, he and several prisoners of the original green camp who became military reclamation households together opened a pig farm, dug a fish pond, raised countless chickens and ducks, and lived a very good life, the only fly in the ointment is that there is no daughter-in-law.

But there is no way, after years of war in Sichuan, the local population has decreased too much, only one-twentieth of the original is left, the military reclamation households adapted from Qing army prisoners are all men, and the local women are pitiful, even middle-aged widows have become sought-after goods, and it is a dream to marry a young daughter-in-law.

Lin Erhu was very envious of those officers of the Western Sichuan Army, and many officers looked for Tibetan girls in Western Sichuan. Although the young girls were a little darker-skinned, many of them were good-looking, young and hard-working, kept their homes in order, and did all kinds of farm work.

The canal that leads to the outside of the village flows to a high ground where there is a, and the water flows through the sluice gates, driving all kinds of hydraulic machinery to operate. This embankment was also built by Lin Erhu and those military reclamation households, and the hydraulic machinery can be used to grind flour and rice flour, and the blacksmith shop located at the entrance of the village is also used to drive the blast furnace blower and drive the hydraulic hammer, as well as various mechanical equipment such as hydraulic drilling machines and hydraulic rollers.

It is said to be a blacksmith shop, but it should be a small factory to be exact. Sichuan has a lot of forests, and even the processes of digging coal and coking can be saved, and trees can be cut directly to burn charcoal, and charcoal is used to make iron, and various agricultural tools and weapons can be produced.

At present, although the western Sichuan army is not yet able to produce high-end weapons such as rifled guns and swarm rockets, it can already produce flintlock guns, field guns, and mortars on its own, as well as sophisticated armor and cold weapons. In the city of Chengdu, there is also a gunpowder factory. The output of saltpeter and sulfur in Sichuan is quite abundant, Yazhou, Lushan, Gaoxian and other places are rich in sulfur mines, Guangyuan, Emeishan, Mingshan, Mianyang and other places are rich in nitrate.

In fact, Sichuan is a large source of gunpowder raw materials, but during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Sichuan minerals were not developed in large quantities, so a large part of the gunpowder raw materials came from the Dongying islands.

The arsenal and gunpowder factory opened by the Western Sichuan Army in Sichuan can not only be self-sufficient, but also provide a large amount of weapons and ammunition to the Kuidong Righteous Army. Every month, a large number of flintlock muskets, compound bows, Miao knives, spears, armor, shields, arrows, and ammunition were provided to the Kuidong rebels.

Li Laiheng, Liu Tichun and others were very fond of the flintlock pistol produced by the Western Sichuan Army, and felt that this weapon was powerful, had a long range, and was much faster to reload than a bird's gun. The composite bows, Miao knives, spears and armor produced by the Western Sichuan Army were also the favorite weapons of the Kuidong Righteous Army. Li Laiheng had a lot of gold and silver treasures in their hands, and they couldn't spend it in their hands anyway, so they took them out to buy weapons and food from the Western Sichuan Army.

The price of weapons and food provided by Wang Jinzhong to the Kuidong Righteous Army is the most favorable price, because now the two armies are dependent on each other, if the Kuidong Righteous Army is destroyed, the Western Sichuan Army will not be able to hold the Chengdu Plain, and can only retreat to the deep mountains and old forests again to live the life of savages, and it will lose the most important production base.

With the continuous supply of food and ammunition from the Western Sichuan Army, the weapons and equipment of the Kuidong Righteous Army have been greatly improved, and their stomachs can be filled and their food will be better.

Moreover, the Kuidong Righteous Army also cooperated with the Western Sichuan Army, and the Western Sichuan Army sent instructors to help the Kuidong Righteous Army conduct training, and built every soldier into an elite soldier.

The weapons produced by the blacksmith shop at the entrance of the village were not only supplied to the Western Sichuan Army and the Thirteen Kuidong families, but also to Lin Erhu and others in the village.

After the Qing army captured prisoners and became military reclamation households, Liu Qilin, the village head, selected a group of people with good performance and hard work among them, issued them weapons, and formed a militia. This Lin Erhu became a member of the militia.

Although the militia had no armor, it was highly weaponized, and the muskets and the blockhouses, walls, and ditches around the village made it a heavy price for the Qing army to attack. In addition to farming, the militia also has to undergo a certain amount of military training, and when necessary, can be transformed into a regular army. It's just that some military reclamation households are reluctant to transform into regular soldiers because they feel that the life of farming is good.

"Village Chief, didn't you say last year that as long as we have a good harvest and a good life, you will find us a daughter-in-law? Now we have a better life, but we don't have a daughter-in-law! Lin Erhu asked Liu Qilin a question.

"Don't worry, we bought a group of young women from Guizhou, Yunnan and other places a while ago and came in, but when we arrived at Emei, we were stopped by the military reclamation households over there and robbed them all. Who made that side closer than us! They are close to the water and the tower is the first to get the moon. We're still trying to figure out how to help you all marry daughters-in-law. Liu Qilin said.

Lin Erhu suddenly asked a question: "Village elder, if I go to be a soldier, can I marry a daughter-in-law more than others?" ”

Liu Qilin replied: "If you go to be a soldier, as long as you make military achievements, you will definitely be given priority!" ”

"Then I'm going to be a soldier!" Lin Erhu also fought hard in order to marry a daughter-in-law as soon as possible, "I have only one son in my family, and if I don't find a daughter-in-law, I'm really sorry for my mother." ”

"It's dangerous to be a soldier, maybe you die on the battlefield before you have made military achievements?" Liu Qilin asked rhetorically.

Another military reclamation household also said: "Erhu, how good is life here, being a soldier may not be able to live as well as now, you better wait for a while, wait for the woman outside to come in, with our conditions, I'm afraid we won't find it?" ”

"Can't wait!" Lin Erhu said, "Originally, I was a soldier, and when I followed the Tartars before, I was lucky not to die on the battlefield!" As a soldier, I am still looking forward to returning to my hometown in Shaanxi one day sooner! I want to call home early and see my mother and my sister! ”

"Since you want to be a soldier, then I'll give you a name, but after you go, you have to go through recruit training first, and only after passing can you become an official soldier. Those of us who served as soldiers here were all assigned to the area of Sword Pavilion, and even further away to the area of Yangping Pass, where we were stationed in case the Tartars attacked, and it was likely that we would have to fight. Liu Qilin said.

"I'm not afraid of war! I'm lucky to be alive today! "Lin Erhu cut the railway.

Liu Qilin showed a satisfied smile on his face: "Since that's the case, then you should go and become a soldier!" You keep the fields here, and when you come back, you can plant them again, of course, you can also sell them to others, and when you make great contributions in the future, you can return to your hometown, and with this silver, your family can live a good life! ”

Three days later, Lin Erhu walked into the recruit training camp in Mianyang with a package on his back. He looked left and right all the way, and the wide colonel field was full of people, and countless recruits lined up and walked in line under the supervision of the instructor. Although it was early spring and the Sichuan Basin was still very cold, these recruits were sweating like rain.

The recruitment of recruits after the year has passed, and Lin Erhu is a few days late, but because of Liu Qilin's help, the people in the recruitment office made an exception to accept him.

Lin Erhu walked up to a team of recruits who were training and asked the instructor: "I'm new, where can I report?" ”

"Recruit eggs? Why is it so late? The instructor turned his head.

"I didn't sign up, but I signed up temporarily the day before yesterday." Lin Erhu replied a little unnaturally.

"What's your name?" The instructor asked.

"Lin Erhu, I was introduced by our village chief Liu." Lin Erhu replied.

The instructor called a veteran in charge of military discipline: "You took this recruit to the registration office, it was introduced by Liu Qilin's old fellow, and our adults made an exception to accept him." You take him to report for duty. ”

Lin Erhu followed the veteran to the registration office, drew a charge on the form, and became a recruit.

The veteran took Lin Erhu into a barracks, pointed to an empty bed in the corner and said to him: "Your bunk is here, put your things away, just wait here, go to eat with others at noon, and start training this afternoon!" If you don't understand, ask others! They came before you! If you don't understand, ask your instructors! ”

Towards noon, the recruits who had been training outside returned to the barracks one after another. At a glance, they saw Lin Erhu sitting in the barracks waiting. Someone came up, greeted Lin Erhu warmly, and introduced himself: "Hello, I am from the bunk next door to you, my name is Xu Ming." ”

A group of recruits surrounded Lin Erhu and asked long and short questions, and through conversation, Lin Erhu roughly knew a little about the situation.

The recruit named Xu Ming is a local from Sichuan, and in order to escape the war a few years ago, the family hid in the mountains. After the Ming army recovered Chengdu, Xu Ming's family went out of the mountain again. The family was allocated farmland, and he had two younger sisters at home, both of whom could help with farm work, and his father and mother were still strong, and he did not need his help with farm work at home, so he signed up for the army.

"Why did you come to be a soldier?" Xu Ming asked.

"I, I, in order to make military merits, I will marry a daughter-in-law as soon as possible." Lin Erhu said with a red face.

"Hahaha!" Everyone in the barracks laughed. (To be continued.) )