Chapter 366 Slave Soldiers

On the vast grassland, the north whistled, and the green grass that once looked endless now turned a hint of yellow.

Autumn is here, and the winter season of the year is not far away

Walking on the vast grassland on horseback, Xiao Ming looked at the land once occupied by barbarians, and felt a lot of emotion in his heart.

It took him almost three years to finally drive the threat from the north of the fief beyond Shanhaiguan. From then on, the grasslands outside Cangzhou would become his horse breeding land and plantation.

After pacifying the rebellion in Jizhou, he returned to Qingzhou, and after five or six days he received the news of breaking Shanhaiguan.

Surprised, he didn't rest and rushed to Shanhaiguan all night to see this once belonged to the Great Yu Kingdom's No. 1 Great Pass in the world.

"His Royal Highness, look, the Governor Niuben is here."

Zhan Xingchang pointed to the front and said.

Xiao Ming saw that it was indeed Niu Ben and other generals. After regaining Shanhaiguan, Xiao Ming decided to strengthen this world's No. 1 pass and make it a complete fortress.

So he brought the construction camp for the construction of Cangzhou City to Shanhaiguan and let Zhan Xingchang take charge of the matter.

At the same time, their fortress promotion strategy will continue to be implemented. They will build fortresses along the Shanhaiguan line, step by step to compress the living area of ​​the barbarians.

The battle of Jizhou made Xiao Ming see the fierceness of the Golden Horde, and he had to pay attention to this opponent.

The brave and fearless charge of the barbarian soldiers left his generals with lingering fears. ,

What's more, this time Bei Shan almost destroyed Jizhou with his own blood wolf tribe. Jin Wuwei and his Qingzhou army, if Bei Shan was not accidentally injured by the shell, even if they won, they would have won a terrible victory at this time.

If so, he would not be able to take this opportunity to capture Shanhaiguan and change the offensive and defensive situation from now on.

"Your Highness."

Niu Ben and the others quickly arrived in front of them. They were all excited and excited. They were obviously still indulging in the joy of capturing Shanhaiguan.

"Let's ignore the salute. You are a great hero now, but this king is going to salute you." Xiao Ming said with a smile.

The sky is very clear, and the open field of vision makes people feel happy. Coupled with this victory, Xiao Ming is in a better mood.

When everyone heard this, the joy on their faces grew stronger.

At this time, Niu Ben said: "Your Highness, Shanhaiguan is in front, but the front gate was blown open by us, and it was seriously damaged."

"So this king brought you the construction camp. With them, within a few months, Shanhaiguan will become stronger than Cangzhou City."

Luo Xin glanced at the artillery behind the long line, and he was taken aback, "Your Highness, this time, a lot of artillery pieces have been sent."

"Not many, just two hundred artillery pieces. This time, the construction camp will build two bastions next to Shanhaiguan. These cannons are prepared for the bastions. This king wants to make this Shanhaiguan an insurmountable barrier for barbarians."

Xiao Ming was ambitious at this time, Shanhaiguan was in hand, and his fief was truly safe. From then on, he didn't have to worry about living his life, and he could always develop steadily.

However, he also understood that although the barbarians were defeated this time, their strength was still strong.

Because of this, he brought the construction camp to repair Shanhaiguan. Since he has taken it back, he can no longer lose it.

Entering Shanhaiguan from the bombed-out city wall, Xiao Ming and Zhan Xingchang patrolled the city under the leadership of Niu Ben.

On the outside of Shanhaiguan is a high city wall, and behind it is a complete military town.

Now because of the war, this military town has been severely damaged.

"This military town is a bit small. Since it's all been smashed to pieces, it's better to rebuild it and directly extend the city wall to five miles long on each side." Xiao Ming pondered and looked at Zhan Xingchang.

"His Royal Highness said that the ability of the barbarians to hijack the grain route is still very strong from the perspective of the battle of Jizhou. Therefore, the expansion of the military town should build more grain warehouses, so that the military town and other prefectures and counties must prepare at least three year's war preparations."

Zhan Xingchang saw Xiao Ming's idea.

"Three years!" Lu Fei laughed loudly. "This is a good idea. If we are besieged, we are not afraid of not eating. When we were in Jizhou, we almost ran out of food."

Xiao Ming and Zhan Xingchang laughed at the same time. A solid city has three years of food reserves, and any enemy will have a headache.

After talking about the food, everyone talked about the armory, the ammunition depot, and other necessary facilities in the military town.

After the agreement was reached, Niu Ben said solemnly: "Your Highness, now that Shanhaiguan has been won, what should we do about the issue of the garrison?"

Xiao Ming understood what Niu Ben meant. The Qingzhou army could not stay in Shanhaiguan all the time. After all, the domestic situation in the Great Yu Kingdom was complicated, and the most elite Qingzhou army should defend the Qingzhou stronghold.

"The pressure on the front line in Cangzhou is much less now. Let the Cangzhou army take the lead first, but this is not a lasting solution. After all, every state's army has its responsibilities." Xiao Ming frowned.

Niu Ben and Lu Fei, Luo Xin exchanged glances and said, "His Royal Highness, the old minister has a suggestion, I don't know if it should be said or not?"

"Even if you say so." Xiao Ming patted the city wall of Shanhaiguan.

"About 35,000 slave soldiers surrendered in the battle with customs, and many slave soldiers were also captured on the battlefield in Jizhou. These slave soldiers are young adults and high-quality soldiers. It is better to choose their elites and form the Youzhou army. Guard Shanhaiguan."

Niu Ben and Lu Fei once participated in the battle of Youzhou that year, and have a strong affection for Youzhou.

Lu Fei also said: "His Royal Highness, just like the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, the people who hate the barbarians the most are the people from Youzhou. These slave soldiers are only under the cruel oppression of the barbarians before they refuse to succumb to the barbarians. Now they have escaped the control of the barbarians. There is only hatred for the barbarians in my heart, and now select some elite people to build a strong army, this strong army will inevitably become a nightmare for the barbarians."

"Youzhou City!" Xiao Ming suddenly remembered.

The slave soldiers driven by the barbarians all came from the city of Youzhou, which was turned into a "sheep pen" by the barbarians.

These slaves were born on the land of Youzhou and were oppressed by barbarians since childhood. He still remembers the tragic scene that Lei Ming once told him.

This time he was in a hurry to go to Shanhaiguan, but he did not go to Youzhou City, because the barbarians who had ruled them for more than ten years had left, and Xiao Ming was not sure how the people of Youzhou City would view him now.

"What do those slave soldiers think?" Xiao Ming asked.

"His Royal Highness, it is precisely because many slave soldiers proposed to join our Qingzhou Army to kill the barbarians that we mentioned this." Niu Ben said.

Zhan Xingchang said to Xiao Ming: "His Royal Highness, the lower officials should not take this matter too hastily. The identities of these slave soldiers are unknown, and they are uneven and must be strictly reviewed to determine that they are from Youzhou, and they really hate the barbarians. Let them join the army, otherwise if there are people with bad intentions to join the army, this Shanhaiguan will be dangerous."