svetikya Page 54
Page 54
The principle is not complicated at all. The only troublesome thing is that the labor time is very long. A set of armor is made of nearly two thousand iron plates, and each iron plate has ten holes. Finally, they are woven together.
Even so, the superior defensive capabilities of the infantry armor are enough to justify such an extremely cumbersome procedure.
Subsequently, Liu Hong began to assemble his own troops. In addition to the two hundred Liangshan guards and three hundred Liangshan musketeers, he added one hundred imperial guards. The plan was for them to wear infantry armor and carry fire lances and halberds, switching between close and long-range weapons.
However, there are only fifty sets of infantry armor at the moment, and not many other armors either. The halberd also needs time to be forged, so it can't be produced in a short time. We can only take it slowly.
After arranging the blacksmith shop's immediate development area, and watching over a hundred blacksmiths forging iron and over a thousand craftsmen building the Liangshan stronghold with wood, Liu Hong felt somewhat comforted. Subsequently, relying on the knowledge he remembered, he began to strengthen military reforms.
First, there was the training of the soldiers. These six hundred soldiers were originally trained by Suo Chao with great difficulty. Suo Chao knew a little about training soldiers, but not much. Her main role was to charge into battle.
Lin Chong and his father-in-law, Zhang Dutou, were both instructors of spears and staffs for the 800,000 Imperial Guards of Kaifeng! Liu Hong entrusted the training methods entirely to Lin Chong and Zhang Dutou, asking them to help teach the Liangshan soldiers spear and staff techniques.
Guns were used on the battlefield, while clubs were used as temporary backup when entering some areas deep within the Northern Song territory where it was impossible to carry weapons.
Liu Hong, on the other hand, observed Zhao Kuangyin's dragon-patterned staff more closely. It was like a staff, but it was even stranger. The thrust of an ordinary staff had a strong explosive force and damaging power.
However, the construction of the Panlong Staff, with its two sticks of different lengths connected by an iron chain, makes it difficult to poke. The iron chain at the front end connects to the short stick, making it very difficult to poke.
However, if it's used for sweeping or smashing, the explosive power of this thing is simply astonishing. While ordinary sticks can directly intercept or block it, this thing is impossible to stop! The short sticks connected by iron chains at the front have the characteristics of a whip, meaning that the attack speed is extremely fast, and a forceful swing can even create a sonic boom, making it impossible to stop.
If it blocks a long stick or chain, it can also smash forward, sweep horizontally, and fold into various strange angles under the force, making it impossible to defend against or block. The four elemental dragons engraved on the short stick will also collide and explode with each other, causing physical damage and then detonating even more severe elemental damage.
This can be described as an orange weapon that is highly specialized for the stick-chopping style.
Chapter 119: Building the Army's Spirit - A Grand Complaint at Liangshan
After strengthening the training among the soldiers, Liu Hong began to handle the second matter: procuring gunpowder.
Our own gunpowder workshop is too weak. We have to rely on buying and selling to produce gunpowder. We must become self-sufficient in this. Charcoal is easy to obtain. We can get charcoal by cutting down and burning the forests all over the mountains.
However, saltpeter is very troublesome. The main production areas are in Sichuan, Shanxi, and Shandong, all of which are very far from Liangshan Marsh. The nearest one in Shandong is in Laizhou, which is separated by the entire Mount Tai.
But it doesn't matter. Liu Hong remembered a rudimentary method for refining saltpeter. First, dig pits on Liangshan Mountain, pour in water and lime to keep them warm, and finally pour in human and animal urine before sealing it.
In order to collect this urine, Liu Hong specially assigned some people to be urine collectors. They collected all the urine and poured it into these large pits. As long as it was sealed for ten months, it would be the most primitive saltpeter soil when dug out.
Finally, by mixing this nitrate soil with wood ash in a 3:1 ratio, filtering out the nitrate water rich in potassium nitrate, and then boiling it dry, a very high purity potassium nitrate can be obtained, thus solving the shortage of nitrate.
After Liu Hong had arranged the matter properly, he breathed a sigh of relief. The saltpeter he had purchased was enough for ten months. In ten months, the saltpeter fields on Liangshan Mountain would be able to provide him with a continuous and stable supply of saltpeter.
As for the sulfur, Liu Hong was truly at a loss. This stuff was indeed rare. The nearest sulfur mine was in Xin'an, near Luoyang, which was firmly controlled by Emperor Huizong of Song. He could only buy it at a high price on the black market in Daming Prefecture or Kaifeng.
In Liu Hong's plan, firearms need to be mass-produced. Arming three or four hundred people is far from enough. At this time, Liangshan has more than three thousand people, but only six hundred are soldiers. The remaining four-fifths are farmers, craftsmen, or even retired soldiers or farmers who came to join them after hearing about their reputation.
These people should also be put to use. If a large-scale crisis breaks out in Liangshan, such as when government troops break through the naval blockade and rush into Liangshan Marsh, these people can pick up firearms and become barely qualified musketeers, quickly joining the battle.
Finally, and this is the key to training troops: fighting will, that is, why I fight.
Many generals in ancient times were completely unaware of this problem, or they solved it with the simplest and most brutal method of clear rewards and punishments. While this could indeed greatly enhance the morale and courage of the soldiers, it was not the best approach. The Song Dynasty was an example of this.
The reason why the Xiang Army joined the army was to make a living. Their fighting spirit was generally low. They would fire three arrows in battle and then withdraw, as long as they were satisfied with the Emperor.
The reason the Imperial Guards joined the army was also to make a living, but their equipment was too good. They could fight when things were going well, but once they were going badly, they collapsed just as quickly as the local militia.
While the Song Dynasty's concerns about suppressing the military were not without merit—the warlords at the end of the Tang Dynasty were indeed terrifying—the Zhao Emperor went too far in his correction. The direct consequence of suppressing the military was that nobody wanted to be a soldier; they felt that being a soldier was neither prestigious nor rewarding. In short: it wasn't worth it.
Left with no other option, Emperor Zhao had to use a large number of criminals and prisoners to fill the ranks of the local militia. This move, however, exacerbated the contempt and hostility of the entire society towards soldiers, and even fewer people joined the army. This forced Emperor Zhao to use more convicts to replace good men, making the atmosphere of the entire army even more chaotic.
If things had continued like this, it would have been a miracle that the Northern Song Dynasty survived until now and finally perished.
Liu Hong's solution was to improve the soldiers' treatment while telling them why they were fighting. To this end, Liu Hong specially gathered all six hundred soldiers together and asked each of them to explain why they had joined Liangshan.
“I’m from Hebei. My family’s land was taken over by a wealthy landowner. I worked as a tenant farmer for two years, but I couldn’t save any money. I worked hard all year and could only barely make ends meet. I had no choice but to go to Daming Prefecture to find work. By a twist of fate, I was taken in by Sister Song Wan and we went to Liangshan together.”
A ratman musketeer, clutching his firearm, spoke in a somber tone.
“Oh no, that won’t do. The landlords in the city are even worse. I’m from Henan, and my dad works in the city. The landlords in the city are just as ruthless as those outside the city. After deducting the cost of lodging, food, and laundry, I don’t get a penny of the money I earn from working hard all day! These landlords are ruthless in deducting wages. In the end, I was so angry that I went to Ghost Fanlou and followed Master Zhisheng.”
One of Lu Zhisheng's hooligans shook his head repeatedly.
"Is this how things are in Hebei and Henan? I'm from Shandong, and we're almost being bullied to death by that rich man. My mother was quite pretty, and he was going to force her to become his concubine! My father refused, and as a result, he beat him to death right in front of my mother and me! I was only eight years old at the time."
A farmer from Shandong wiped away a tear and said indignantly.
"So, what happened to your enemies in the end?"
Liu Hong patiently and skillfully guided him.
"They're having a great time back home, what can we do?"
The rat people in Hebei were sullen.
“He’s alive and well. Master Lu originally wanted to avenge me, but I stopped him. He’s too high-ranking. Even if he could kill me, we’d be out of a job in Tokyo.”
The scoundrels of Henan sighed bitterly.
"Hey! The boss led his men to my village and captured that scoundrel! I chopped off that bastard's manhood with one stroke! That was so satisfying!"
The farmers from Shandong burst into laughter and clapped their hands in delight, much to the surprise of the other two.
“We are all the same, living at the bottom of society, without relatives or friends. We are bullied by the rich man and oppressed by the government. The things we earn after a year of hard work are mostly taken away by those who never work, just by talking. What is left is barely enough for us to eat.”
Liu Hong sighed and walked among the crowd, attracting everyone's attention.
"But the world shouldn't be like this! We should all live with dignity, not become walking corpses!"
Liu Hong raised his left arm in indignation, and his words were a wake-up call.
"We have now killed most of the wealthy landowners in Yuncheng and liberated the people of Yuncheng, but that is far from enough! The people of the entire Jizhou, the entire Shandong, and the entire Song Dynasty are suffering the same oppression and the same injustice!"
"I'll say it again: I'm here for only three things: fairness, fairness, and fucking fairness! What the government can handle, I will handle; what the government can't handle, I will handle even more! Upholding justice and helping the weak, acting on behalf of Heaven—that's what our Liangshan Marsh is all about!"
Liu Hong pointed to the apricot-yellow flag hanging at the top of Dazhai and recited his oath.
"Today, we fight to protect our hard-won fairness, land, and property; but perhaps in the not-too-distant future, we will fight for fairness for all people of the world!"
We will march into Hebei and capture the landlord who oppressed you. We will march into Henan and give you the chance to personally kill the wealthy landowner who exploited you! The streets will be littered with the bones of officials, and the imperial treasury will be reduced to ashes!
At that time, people all over the world will unite under the same banner, and your fellow villagers and your relatives will be able to live a good life just like us!
"Gentlemen, who among you is willing to follow me?!"
The moment Liu Hong made his appearance, the eyes of the more than one hundred people in the audience lit up. They were all from poor backgrounds and were full of anger and malice towards landlords and rich men. Now that they heard that Liu Hong was willing to play with them like this, their morale soared, and they shouted that they would intensify their training to prepare for the future!
Chapter 120: No Secrets Under the New Governor of Jeju
While Liu Hong was arming his soldiers with technology and morale, the Song Dynasty was not idle either. Gao Qiu, whose family had been wiped out by Lin Chong, turned white overnight. Li Cunshen, who had been injured by Lu Zhisheng and Wu Song, was furious. The two joined forces to issue a bounty, which directly increased Lin Chong's bounty to 300,000 strings of cash, three times that of Liu Hong.
Moreover, after a long investigation, the Kaifeng Imperial Guards finally discovered that these people had been teleported to Chenqiao Post Station and then sailed down the Ji River. As for where they went...
do not know.
The area along the Ji River included three prefectures, four states, and one military region: Kaifeng Prefecture, Xingren Prefecture, Dongping Prefecture, Jizhou, Yanzhou, Puzhou, Huazhou, and Guangji Army. In modern terms, this would be equivalent to three municipalities, four ordinary cities, and one military municipality—a vast area.
If these people were not active on the Ji River, but instead went down the Ji River into the Yellow River, or went down the Si River into the Huai River, then it would be even more impossible to investigate them.
Enraged, Gao Qiu immediately mobilized all his connections in the court. He first sought out some astrologers to make prophecies and pinpoint Lin Chong's location, but they found that no matter how they looked, they could only see the terrifying shadow of the White Tiger Nebula being swallowed by a cluster of pink tentacles, and they couldn't see anything else.
There was no other way, so they decided to investigate directly. Gao Qiu first sent people to the Yellow River and the Sishui River to supervise whether the boat lost at Chenqiao Post Station had passed through that area. After confirming that it had not, Lin Chong's area of activity was naturally limited to the area of one army, three prefectures, and four states on both sides of the Ji River.
After making up his mind, Gao Qiu ordered officials in all the prefectures and counties near the Ji River to immediately begin searching for Lin Chong's whereabouts! He even used his connections to expedite the normally slow process of appointing the new prefect of Jizhou, ordering the new prefect, Zhang Shuye, to take office overnight and quickly investigate whether Lin Chong was hiding there!
Zhang Shuye took office in Jizhou with a bewildered look on his face, succeeding the unfortunate predecessor. He then discovered an even more fatal problem—the Song Dynasty was so afraid of the reappearance of An Lushan and a regional military governor who controlled a separatist area that it adopted two models of decentralization.
Firstly, the number of prefects was too large, which reduced their overall strength. The Han Dynasty started with nine prefectures, which gradually increased to thirteen. However, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, the Song Dynasty had a total of 254 prefectures! That's twenty times the number of the Han Dynasty!
The prefecture was directly downgraded from a provincial-level administrative unit to a municipal-level administrative unit.
Secondly, there was a separation of powers: During the Han Dynasty, the governors of prefectures had boundless power. However, the prefects of the Song Dynasty only had a stripped-down administrative power. Zhang Shuye, the prefect of Jizhou, had his power limited and supervised by the vice-prefect of Jizhou.
You can't control the army; the militia is under the command of the militia commander, and the local militia is under the command of the local military commander.
Taxes are off-limits; the transport commissioner is in charge of that.
The criminal law was completely untouchable; the chief criminal officer was in charge of criminal law in a prefecture.
In short, the Northern Song Dynasty's method of preventing An Lushan was to break down tasks that could be done by one person into four or even forty tasks, with each task restricting and checking the others. This did prevent one person from becoming too powerful, but the cost was redundant officials, excessive expenses, and extremely poor administrative efficiency.
After arriving in Jeju, Zhang Shuye investigated the local situation overnight and found that it was no different from other places. Ninety-nine percent of the minor officials were the sons or relatives of local wealthy landowners. They colluded and intermarried with each other, forming a huge network of relationships and interests in Jeju. He had to integrate into their group in order to exercise his power properly.
These local officials are the permanent masters, while he is just a transient prefect. Moreover, his arrival was too hasty, and Zhang Shuye didn't bring any of his confidants. He's truly a commander without any troops.
Even in the Han Dynasty, it was difficult for a powerful parachuted official to manage the affairs of a prefecture well, as exemplified by Liu Biao, who was quickly sidelined by the local Jingzhou natives. This situation is even more pronounced in the Song Dynasty, where a prefect's power was reduced to less than a quarter of what it was originally.
Moreover, the person he wanted to capture was Lin Chong, one of the most powerful fighters in the entire Northern Song Dynasty.
Moreover, the Jizhou garrison was utterly defeated at Liangshan Marsh some time ago and hasn't even been fully replenished yet...
After seeing a pile of bad news, Zhang Shuye immediately started talking. "What the hell is there to deal with? Just send an official document to all the counties under Jizhou and tell them to go find Lin Chong. I'll just be a good prefect." He then pretended to be anxious and determined to investigate the case, as long as it was acceptable to Grand Commandant Gao.
The situation was similar in other counties. One by one, the county magistrates chose to avoid trouble, drawing up images, posting notices, and imposing martial law for ten days. As long as it looked respectable, that was enough. You tell me, how could a mere county magistrate like me capture Lin Chong, the Leopard Head who managed to escape from the Kaifeng Imperial Guards? The instructor of 800,000 Imperial Guards? Could I possibly win?!
The magistrate of Yuncheng, Shi Wenbin, made an even bigger mess of things. He knew that the situation in Yuncheng was completely ruined. Almost 80 or 90 percent of the rural areas were Liangshan's territory. Under Liangshan's orders, the Liangshan bandits could even openly enter Yuncheng to buy supplies.
But what does that have to do with me? I'll just stay in office for a few more years and then leave. Whoever wants to clean up this mess can clean it up. As long as this "thunderbolt" from Liangshan doesn't explode during my term and ruin my official position, I don't care about the rest.
Anyway, Liu Hong is quite easy to talk to. He promised that as long as Yuncheng doesn't cause trouble for Liangshan, Liangshan will definitely not make things difficult for me.
Besides, Lin Chong might not necessarily be hiding in Liangshan, right?
"Sir, there is an emergency."
Just as Shi Wenbin, the magistrate of Yuncheng, was leisurely drinking tea, playing with birds, and thinking about how to deal with the prefect's orders, Zhu Tong, holding a large golden-ringed sword, carrying nine precious swords, and dragging four deep red heart-stealing tentacles across his chest, walked over from the side.
"Chief Zhu, what is it? Speak."
Shi Wenbin picked up the blue and white porcelain bowl and slowly blew on the surface of the tea.
"The Grand Commandant conveyed a lot of details to us through the military system. Lin Chong did not escape alone; several people helped him."
Zhu Tong said hesitantly.
"Who?"
Shi Wenbin was preoccupied with how to deal with the new prefect and didn't react for a moment.
"Yes, there was a blue fledgling dragon and three burly men, each two meters and four inches tall. One of them was a monk from Tokyo, and the other two... well, one was wielding two swords, and the other had golden wings growing from his ribs. They were probably Wu Song and Liu Hong, the siblings."
"Crack!"
Shi Wenbin's hand trembled, and the extremely expensive blue and white porcelain bowl fell from his hand and shattered on the ground. His aged face showed a look of astonishment and fear.
If the person who helped Lin Chong escape was really Liu Hong, the Great Sage of Chaos, then Lin Chong might actually be hiding in Liangshan right now!
"You didn't tell anyone about this, did you?!"
Shi Wenbin grabbed Zhu Tong's hand and stared intently at her, sweating profusely with nervousness.
"No, I only mentioned it to you."
Zhu Tong knew this matter was extremely serious, and nodded solemnly.
"That's fine, that's fine."
Shi Wenbin felt as if he had been granted a pardon and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Keep this a secret! Remember! There are no secrets in Yuncheng County! There are no bandits in Liangshan Marsh!!!"
Chapter 121: The Dragon King Descends to Earth to Proclaim His Decree
After warning Zhu Tong not to cause trouble, Shi Wenbin sent Song Jiang to Liangshan a second time to deliver a message to Liu Hong.
Great Sage, I beg you, please keep things quiet for a while. Lin Chong is now a serious criminal of the imperial court. Could you please ask her to stay away from Liangshan for the time being and hide in the mountains to avoid trouble?
If the imperial court discovers that Lin Chong is at Liangshan, Emperor Zhao and Grand Marshal Gao will come to attack you, causing endless harassment to Liangshan. If they discover our dealings, you'll lose not only your official hat but also your head.
Please do this for my own good, and for your own good, let Coach Lin lay low for a while!
Faced with Song Jiang's request, Liu Hong nodded and readily agreed, temporarily lying low to build camps, expand the territory, train troops, and manufacture weapons.
At this moment, two more buildings were completed at the Liangshan Seven Peaks Stronghold: the Jidu Dragon King Temple and the Guan Yu Temple. Liu Hong led his brothers to slaughter sheep and pigs, and even killed an ox that could no longer plow the fields. They set out offerings, first to worship the Jidu Dragon King, and second to worship Guan Yu, praying for the two gods to protect Liangshan. The brothers were united. Whether Guan Yu would be of any use, Liu Hong did not know.
However, Liu Hong was the chosen champion of Ao Ying, the Dragon King of Jidu. On the day of the worship, the sky was filled with changing clouds and thunder. A water-ink shadow dragon wrapped in silver lightning appeared from Liangshan Marsh, which was eight hundred miles away, and transformed into Ao Ying's graceful and beautiful appearance once again.
Her skin, as translucent as frost, seemed sculpted from jade. Her eyebrows and eyes were long and sharp, her pupils seeming to hold thunder and storms, and her gaze was so intense that no one dared to look directly at her. Her hair was like an ink waterfall formed from the night, sometimes cascading like a silver river, sometimes tied up like a battle flag fluttering, with the faint luster of dragon scales visible in her hair, leaving the Liangshan heroes mesmerized.
Wow, we had only heard that the Boss had a close relationship with the Dragon King of Jidu, but we never expected that he could actually summon the Dragon King of Jidu directly!
Ao Ying glanced around and immediately spotted Liu Hong holding the Panlong Staff, and a hint of jealousy arose in her heart.
"Oh? It's actually Zhao Kuangyin's coiled dragon staff. You actually found it. What, you don't like the Scale Shadow weapon I gave you?"