The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

Wen You was stunned when he heard Liu Sheng's words.

He said that the new battalion's combat strength was insufficient, and participation in the siege would result in greater casualties. His original intention was to have the two new battalions of the second regiment stay to guard Suiping, so that they could take the opportunity to train more.

Unexpectedly, Liu Sheng asked him to lead the original second battalion to guard Suiping.

Liu Sheng saw the surprised expression on Wen You's face and said: "The first regiment and the third regiment only have one new battalion, but the second regiment has two. Their combat effectiveness must be improved as soon as possible, so that the overall combat effectiveness of the second regiment can be improved." Not too far behind the other two groups.

From Suiping's army to Ruyang, and then experiencing the Battle of Ruyang, the combat effectiveness of each new battalion was also improved.

As for casualties - there will definitely be casualties in battles, and siege battles are something every army must go through, and they cannot be avoided blindly. Understand? "

Wen You sighed secretly, cupped his fists and said, "I will eventually understand."

He did get it.

Liu Sheng's words just now had a hidden meaning that he didn't say - an army can only become a strong army after being tempered by blood and fire.

What's more, the rebels are now more in need of time than soldiers.

Therefore, in Liu Sheng's opinion, the Battle of Ruyang is the best training opportunity for the newly built fifth battalion and should not be missed.

Liu Sheng continued: "Look carefully, the Minyong camp who stayed in Suiping selected the five with the worst training progress.

In addition to those assigned to the various regiments as heavy supplies, other civilian brave battalions also served as accompanying soldiers and civilians to Ruyang. "

"As ordered!"

The three of them clasped their fists together and accepted the order.

Because during the general reorganization in the past few days, hundreds of people were selected from various civilian brave battalions to supplement the vacancies in the new fifth battalion standing army.

Another two to three hundred miners, after a period of cultivation and training, were determined to be seriously ill due to exhaustion in the mines. Not only were they unable to serve as soldiers, they were also unable to work as civilian laborers. They could only be arranged to do light chores elsewhere.

Therefore, after the general reorganization, the number of Minyong camps here was reduced to eighteen.

Each battalion has 600 men, totaling 10800 men.

Among them, the three most outstanding civilian brave battalions were selected as the supply battalions of the three regiments.

Five of the ones with the worst training progress were left to assist in the defense of Suiping, and ten were left at the Minyong camp that followed Liu Sheng to Ruyang.

The straight-line distance from Suiping County to Ruyang City is only more than 70 miles.

But the rebels couldn't go in a straight line.

Because from the west to the northwest of Ruyang County, there is a swamp area that stretches for dozens of miles.

In later generations this was the Suya Lake Reservoir.

However, the Suya Lake Reservoir was built in the 11s. people worked hard for four months to complete it. After that, it took another thirty years to complete, and it has the reputation of the "man-made cave" in the north.

This was not a "man-made Dongting" in the Ming Dynasty.

Because more than a dozen large and small rivers such as Ru River, Lianjiang River, and Huangxi River flow through this area, and most of them have been in disrepair for many years, they often burst and flood during normal rain years, making this area a flood discharge area for many rivers.

Once the flood breaks out, everything from the original Suya Lake to Siping Lake will be connected together, and even some slopes such as Guanchang Slope will be submerged, turning it into a real vast swamp.

Some people may think that since there are floods in normal years, and now there have been droughts for several years, wouldn’t this become a good place for reclamation and farming?

If there is a strong organization, a lot of food can indeed be grown here in years of severe drought.

The problem is no.

Not only that, but during the Yuan Dynasty, King Ruyang directly enclosed this area as a hunting ground and horse racing land. People were not allowed to farm in the surrounding area at all. Even the original villages were demolished to restore the original appearance of nature.

In the Ming Dynasty, King Chong was transferred to Ruyang.

Although he did not occupy land like the princes of the Yuan Dynasty, he also occupied the surrounding areas suitable for transformation into fertile farmland.

If ordinary people want to live here, they can only take risks and compete with wild birds and beasts for territory in the swamp.

In recent years, droughts and other disasters have occurred, and refugees have arrived, quickly eating up all the wild ducks and other wild birds in the swamps (in fact, most of them migrated away).

Without natural enemies, this place becomes a locust breeding ground in drought years!

For example, the locust plague in Ruyang in midsummer this year was quite large. Not to mention crops, weeds, leaves and even tender bark were all eaten away by you.

In autumn and winter, this place becomes a wilderness with nothing left.

But even if it became a wilderness, it was still a swamp, and the army could not pass through it.

Liu Sheng prepared for the rebels to march along Ru River.

Although the Ru River has not dried up during the nearly hundred miles from Suiping to Ruyang, the water level is also very low. It is difficult for boats with dozens of materials to move and may be stranded at any time. The only options are small fishing boats and awning boats.

There are more than 10,000 rebels, and it is not practical to rely on small fishing boats to transport them.

Therefore, Liu Sheng only used the collected ships to transport grain, grass and other supplies.

The rebel team walked along the river bank, and their main baggage, such as artillery and armor, followed the team overland. (During long-distance marches, heavier cloth armor, iron armor, etc. are kept on the car or on the mules and horses, and then put on before the battle.)

The army marches neither quickly nor slowly.

Because the attack on Ruyang required arrangements, Liu Sheng had already made arrangements.

Marching for hundreds of miles like this is a good exercise for both Liu Sheng and the generals under his command, as well as the soldiers below.

···

In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, November 18th.

The cold wind is biting.

Ruyang city is still prosperous.

The smoke from thousands of houses adds a lot of warmth to this tall city that has stood for countless years.

Of course, beggars on the street and refugees outside the city cannot feel this warmth.

All they can feel is hunger and cold.

in the afternoon.

Fu Ruwei, the prefect, finally managed to escape from the busy official duties and squeezed out some time, so he quickly sent his servant to invite Miss Qu Xiaoxiao of Ming Cuiliu to meet him at the other courtyard in the west of the city.

Mingcui Tower is a brothel, and it is not easy for someone like him to go there.

Madam lives in the back house of the government office and likes to be quiet. He certainly can't disturb Madam's purity just for the sake of learning the piano.

Therefore, the other courtyard given by the wealthy businessman Wu Shihao came in handy.

When Fu Ruwei was about to leave the government office, a petty official rushed over.

"Your Majesty, Master Zhu Tong invites you to discuss the matter of letting the enchantress Bai Taiwei 'ride a donkey through the streets' tomorrow."

"Ride a donkey through the streets?"

As soon as Fu Ruwei heard this, he knew that the donkey must be a wooden donkey. Thinking about the appearance and temperament of this woman, he felt a pity.

However, Bai Taiwei was captured by Zhu Guobao's design, and the sentence was within his duties.

Although he, the palace master, could intervene, he couldn't offend Zhu Guobao for a witch.

Thinking that the famous prostitute Qu Xiaoxiao was still waiting in the other courtyard in the west of the city, he waved his hand and said: "Go and tell Zhu Tongpuan that there is no need to discuss this matter with the government. Just do what he wants."

If it were in the past, a witch like Bai Taiwei who dared to collude with the White Lotus Sect to rebel would have been sent to the capital and handed over to the Ministry of Punishment.

But in the past ten years, too many people have rebelled in the world, and there are countless rebels related to the White Lotus Sect and other folk sects.

In troubled times, heavy codes should be used. Nowadays, local officials like them can deal with ordinary rebel leaders on the spot and judge them at will, as long as they follow the official rules.