The number of refugees accepted by Weizhenbao this time is indeed too much, and almost all the old, young, women and children of Zhenshuo Fort have been put in Weizhenbao, and the pressure can be imagined. If food and water were only provided to the refugees temporarily, it would not be a big problem. The grain stock in Weizhenbao is relatively sufficient. The problem is that the needs of these refugees are indeed many, and medical problems alone cannot be handled by Dong Langzhong alone.

Three or five days may be able to barely maintain the mood of these refugees, but after a long time, something will definitely happen. In fact, going to work in a craftsman's workshop can only be an expedient measure, what can a group of old, weak, sick and disabled do? Almost all the strong men in Zhenshuo Fort were taken away by the Tartars, and what was left was a huge burden. Now, it is possible that the Tartars have really withdrawn, but the burden they threw down, Fort Weizhen has really accepted.

Yuan Chonghuan was so overwhelmed by the refugees' problems that he couldn't bear it. If he knew that side affairs were so troublesome, he wouldn't have touched his hands at all. But now, it's too late to say anything. got on Xu Xingxia's thief ship, he wanted to get down, but it was not his turn to call the shots. After another day's hard work, Yuan Chonghuan dragged his half-dead body to Xu Xingxia's side, groaning and saying, "My lord, it's better to send them all to Ningxia City!" ”

Xu Xingxia said casually: "If the Tartars are indeed withdrawn, you are responsible for sending them!" ”

Yuan Chonghuan hesitated for a moment, feeling a little tricky. Even if he is an idiot, he knows that so many refugees are a huge burden even for Ningxia City. It would be strange if Ningxia City was willing to accept it easily. He estimated that Ningxia would probably find all sorts of excuses to push the refugees back. However, the words are said by himself, and if he doesn't do it, he will slap himself in the face. There was no way, he had to agree. Whether it can be done or not is another matter.

The Tartars were temporarily withdrawn, and the tension in Fort Weizhen eased slightly. With the White Coats in charge, the populace could go outside the castle to farm. July is the season of bumper rice harvest, and we must seize the time to harvest. This time, the tartars came and went in a hurry, and most of the rice was not destroyed. Even the vegetables, corn, and sweet potatoes grown in Niujiaodun have had a bumper harvest.

Ming Hao came back in the middle to report once, saying that there was no trace of Tartar around Weizhen Fort and Pingyu City. On the way, he met scouts from Ningxia City, Hongguang Fort, Changxin Fort and other places, and the two sides exchanged information, and found that there were no traces of Tartar activities around Ningxia City. Judging by the horseshoe prints, the Tartar should have gone in the direction of Akagiguchi. It is estimated that the Tartars should have withdrawn from the direction of Akagiguchi.

Compared to Kalong Mountain, the road in Chimukou is much smoother. If the Tartars were carrying looted supplies and a large population, it was indeed the best choice to go to Chimukou. Later, news came from Zhenbei Fort, Leifu Fort and other places, saying that there were indeed large groups of Tartars, escorting a large number of supplies and a large number of strong men, heading in the direction of Chimukou. At this point, it is almost certain that the Tartars have indeed fully withdrawn their troops.

"Let's go, let's go to Zhenshuo Fort."

Xu Xingxia decided to take time and went to Weizhen Fort.

The geographical location of Zhenshuo Fort is very important, it is next to Helan Mountain, and it just forms a straight line with Pingyu City. If there were two strong armies, stationed at Pingyu City and Zhenshuo Fort respectively, the enemy from the south would not be able to pass through this line at all. When the Bobai cavalry rebelled, the Ming army, which did not participate in the rebellion, retreated to Zhenshuo Fort and Pingyu City, and held out until the arrival of the counterinsurgency army of the imperial court, and finally turned defeat into victory and thwarted Bobai's rebellion plot.

However, what Xu Xingxia values most is not the military status of Zhenshuo Fort. He valued the resources around Zhenshuo Fort more seriously. Zhenshuo Fort is next to Helan Mountain, and there are a large number of mines nearby, including iron ore, coal mine, quartzite, silica sand and other ores. If Xu Xingxia wants to build an iron-making factory, a glass factory, a cement factory, etc., Zhenshuobao is an excellent choice. This natural advantage is incomparable to Pingyu City.

It's a pity that the Zhenshuo Fort that appeared in front of Xu Xingxia's eyes has changed beyond recognition. The castle that was broken by the Tartars naturally would not be much better. All the houses that could be burned have been burned down. All that was left was charred and blackened ruins. If there are occasionally one or two houses that are intact, they are pure stone houses. Because of its close proximity to Helan Mountain, there are abundant rocks, so some people simply use stones to build their houses.

Judging from what I have learned so far, the people in Zhenshuo Fort are almost gone. The men were either killed or taken captive, and the rest took refuge in Fort Will. The high-level officials of the Qianhu Institute after the Ningxia Zuotun Weihou were almost all dead. Thousands of households died, deputy thousands of households died, and hundreds of households were basically dead. If there is no accident, this Houqianhu office should be removed from the official and military establishment sequence of Ningxia Town.

Fortunately, the walls of Zhenshuo Fort are intact except for a small section to the north. It is estimated that the Tartars broke through from this corner. In fact, the city wall of Zhenshuo Fort is still relatively high, and the shortest place is more than three zhang. The highest place is even more than five zhang. Moreover, most of the lot is still made of large stones, which is quite solid. Helan Mountain has stones, and the builders naturally use local materials.

It stands to reason that such a strong castle should not be broken through by the Tartars so easily! Xu Xingxia rode his horse around the city wall and found the crux of the problem. The walls of Zhenshuo Fort are too long, there are too many areas that need to be defended, and there are not so many defenders at all! No wonder the Tartars can easily break through the city. According to the combat level of the general guard army, there are not 3,000 people, but I am afraid that I will not be able to hold such a long city wall. Is there 3,000 guards in Zhenshuo Fort? Of course not. As a result, it was a tragedy.

In fact, there are benefits to having a long city wall. The walls are very long, which means that the area inside the city is large and can accommodate a large number of people. Xu Xingxia casually estimated that there would be no problem with the resettlement of thirty or forty thousand people in Zhenshuo Fort. That's probably what the original designers thought about in the same way. It was only later, due to various reasons, that a large number of military households in Zhenshuo Fort fled, and the population was reduced to less than 10,000. If there are 30,000 or 40,000 people, it is estimated that if the Tartars want to break through, they will have to pay a certain price. When the guards defend the city, they still have some combat effectiveness.

It's a pity that such a castle, compared to Weizhen Fort, is much better in all aspects, because the defenders fought poorly, and as a result, it was broken by the Tartars. If the white-clothed army came to garrison Zhenshuo Fort, it would be impossible for the Tartars to break through. The current Weizhen Fort, the population it can accommodate, has almost reached its limit, and there is no possibility of further expansion. If Xu Xingxia wants to continue to expand his strength, I'm afraid he will have to make up his mind in this Zhenshuo Fort.

"Is there really no one?" Xu Xingxia frowned and asked. What he needs most now is not only land, resources, money, and food, but also a large number of strong men. If there is land but no population, it is also for nothing. He didn't believe that there were nearly 10,000 people in Zhenshuo Fort, could it be that all of them were looted by the Tartars? Didn't even run out?

"My lord, maybe you can make an announcement or something." Chen Denglong reminded.

"Good! It's up to you to arrange. Xu Xingxia nodded and said.

After returning to Weizhenbao, Chen Denglong immediately made a big fanfare and sent people to post announcements everywhere to collect the scattered personnel in Zhenshuo Fort. Sure enough, around Weizhenbao, there were still a lot of strong men who escaped by luck, and when they learned the news of Weizhenbao, they all came to Weizhenbao one after another to take refuge. Over the course of a few days, five or six hundred people were gathered one after another.

Some of these people were lucky to find their families among the hostages rescued from Fort Weizhen. When the two sides met, they naturally hugged their heads and cried, and tears rained down, as if they were people in another world. However, most people are not so lucky. They can only squat on the ground silently and continue to endure the pain. The Weizhen Fort, which had been washed and plundered by the Tartars, was already in tatters, and it was miserable. If they want to heal their wounds, it will definitely take a lot of time.

Fortunately, work is the best way to forget the pain. Working so hard that you can fall asleep when you lie down, you don't have time to remember the pain. After Xu Xingxia received these strong men, he immediately arranged them to a craftsman's workshop to make trebuchets and partial vans. These two weapons are pure carpentry, and they don't require any technical content, just need not to be afraid of tiredness and hardship.

Indeed, the arrival of these strong men in Zhenshuo Fort greatly accelerated the work efficiency of the craftsman's workshop. The manufacture of trebuchets and partial vans is also broken down into dozens of processes to form an assembly line production. The average strong man only needs one afternoon of training to be familiar with a simple process. If the number of strong men is not enough, it is also possible to replace them with women.

Basically, throughout the month of July, the workshops are in full swing. The production of five moon guns per day must be guaranteed. After a month, the white-clothed army had another 150 more moon guns. In this way, the other detachments of the White Army were also equipped with muskets. The current white-clothed army can be said to be a pure firearms unit.

Practicing bows and muskets is indeed conflicting. However, in the long run, the Moon Gun will definitely replace the ordinary bow and arrow. Even if he is a good archer like Chi Hu, if he shoots head-on with the Tartar, it is estimated that he will not take advantage of it. However, the moon gun is different. At a distance of 100 meters, it is definitely the world of the moon!

In fact, in July, the focus of the construction of the white-clothed army was not the moon gun, but the tank battalion and artillery battalion. Mo Yuegen's arrival made Xu Xingxia realize that it might not work to make a small fight. If you want to do it, you have to do it big! In order to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the white-clothed army, the tank battalion and the artillery battalion must not be missing!

(To be continued)