I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

The three thousand elite troops of the Anding Army have been assembled and are ready to set off at any time.

These three thousand elite soldiers are the main force responsible for resisting the Northern Barbarian cavalry.

Jiangzuo not only needs these people, but also needs a large number of manpower for logistics and fortifications.

Now the entire Anding Army has less than 10,000 people in total, and is still quite short of manpower.

However, Jiangzuo would never allow the Six Garrison Army to participate, for fear of having its military power taken away again.

Three thousand are enough to defend an Arashiyama Road.

But the war will start tomorrow, and I’m afraid there won’t be enough time for preparation before the war.

This is also quite confusing. Why did the Six Towns Army only inform the preparation for war one day in advance? Were they worried about leaking military secrets, or were they afraid of alerting the enemy?

Jiang Zuo didn't have time to think about these things. For him, all he had to do was complete the defense mission and deal with the empress.

As for the credit, let the Six Garrison Army take it.

He just wants to do business.

"Sir, the soldiers are ready to set off."

Yang Feng came to Jiang Zuo and reported: "According to statistics, the Anding Army now has 1,500 flintlock rifles and 700 older matchlock rifles. Sir, this amount of weapons is still not enough to equip 3,000 people. How about taking out the crossbows in the armory as well?"

Jiang Zuo shook his head and said, "No need. The remaining several hundred brothers will be assigned to the engineering battalion and the artillery battalion."

If other people heard these terms, they would definitely be confused, but Yang Feng had followed Jiang Zuo for many years and had already understood them.

"As ordered."

"As for the artillery and firearms, they will be moved out of Qianshi Mountain at dawn tomorrow."

Jiang Zuo whispered.

If we move it there during the day, it will definitely attract some people's attention, and then there might be some trouble.

"How many brothers are in charge of the work now?"

Jiang Zuo asked again.

Yang Feng said: "My Lord, about 5,000 people."

"Not enough." Jiang Zuo shook his head and said, "Go to the city gate immediately and recruit 5,000 civilians."

"Yes."

A moment later, Jiang Zuo and Yang Feng arrived in front of the city gate, stood on a high place, and shouted loudly: "Recruiting people to dig trenches. Each person will be paid one tael of silver. Only one day's work is required. Five thousand people are enough. Two meals are provided. Come quickly..."

Soon, the people gathered around and many able-bodied men signed up.

After all, working for one tael of silver a day is a very good job.

"Master Jiang, look at me, here, here."

"I want to sign up. I'll bring my own hoe."

"One ounce is so much, and it also includes two meals, so count me in!"

Soon, the movement at the city gate attracted Wang Yingjie's attention.

He was just about to leave the city when he ran into Jiang Zuo and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Is Jiang Zuo going to forcibly recruit new soldiers?

Wang Yingjie was quite puzzled. They didn't need the assistance of the Six Garrison Army, but were now forcibly conscripting the civilians.

What exactly does Jiang Zuo do?

It doesn’t matter. If he can’t defend Lanshan Road tomorrow, he will have one more crime.

But what puzzled Wang Yingjie was that this group of people were rushing to sign up. Aren’t they afraid of death?

As expected, he was just a county magistrate and knew nothing about military affairs.

Wang Yingjie shook his head helplessly, thinking that cooperation with people like Jiang Zuo was a disgrace to the Six Garrison Army.

Those two hundred and two thousand battles must be false reports of military exploits...

After half an hour of recruitment, five thousand workers were quickly gathered.

Many people rode donkey carts and carried hoes as they headed towards Lanshan Road.

When they arrived at Lanshan Road, everyone began to dig trenches according to the instructions of the Anding Army.

This is not the first time some of them have done this.

The pre-war defense preparations are in full swing.

By dusk, a large number of trenches had been dug in the Arashiyama Road area.

At this time, an uninvited guest came to Jiang Zuo.

When Jiang Zuo saw this person, he suddenly felt uneasy.

This middle-aged man in armor and with a serious face seemed to be Li Duan, the deputy general under Wang Yingjie.

"What is the purpose of Lieutenant General Li's visit?"

Jiang Zuo took the initiative to step forward and ask.

Li Duan looked around, confused as to why Jiang Zuo had dug up all the potholes on Lanshan Road.

He remained serious and said, "The Governor has ordered that the Six Towns Army will now take over the defense of Lanshan Road. General Jiang, you will return to the rear and be ready to reinforce at any time."

Hearing this, Jiang Zuo couldn't help but frowned and said angrily: "No, I have already prepared the defense of Lanshan Road. If you come here now, it will disrupt my plan."

"This is the order from the Governor General. Are you going to disobey the order, General Jiang?"

Li Duan was quite unhappy.

"Please go back and report to the Governor General that I have my own way to defend Lanshan Road. The Six Towns Army does not need to worry at all."

Jiang Zuo didn't give a good look at all.

Li Duan sneered and said disdainfully: "Only your three thousand men? My Lord is not at all confident in handing over such an important pass to you. These three thousand men should stay behind the Six Towns Army and provide support at any time."

"Okay, since you want to keep it so badly, I'll give it to you. If something goes wrong, don't blame me."

Jiang Zuo no longer refuted, he had already understood that these six generals were worried that he would steal the credit.

However, Lanshan said that he would never hand over to the Six Garrison Army so easily. He ordered his men to retreat the defense line two miles, but not completely.

While it was still light, Jiang Zuo hurriedly ordered everyone to continue digging the trenches. They did not stop until it was completely dark, and would continue work early the next morning.

Before dawn, thirty new and old cannons transported from the gunpowder factory had been placed in the defensive positions.

As daybreak approached, preparations for fortifications continued, and two hours later, solid fortifications were initially completed.

Weapons and ammunition have also arrived, and the Anding Army only needs to wait for the enemy to arrive.

Jiang Zuo had already used a lot of explosives in the last encounter. This time he could only use the remaining gunpowder on cannons and flintlock rifles. It was impossible for him to carry out indiscriminate bombardment like last time.

These thirty cannons are located at the highest point in the rear and can be fired to the front position at any time. As long as they are not too tilted, they will definitely cause large-scale casualties to the Mobei cavalry.

These trenches, which extend in all directions, are enough to stop the Mobei cavalry in front of the trenches.

Even if these northern barbarian cavalry broke through the defense, the soldiers could rely on the trenches to maneuver quickly and avoid the cavalry's attack.

The Anding Army has practiced this set of tactics hundreds of times.

But this time, something unexpected happened to the Six Garrison Army in the front.

Now, there are more than 10,000 troops from the Six Towns stationed in front of Lanshan Road.

Because they were defending ahead of the Anding Army, the cannons did not dare to fire indiscriminately and the firepower was much less.

"This group of Six Towns soldiers are really shameless in trying to grab the credit."

Yang Feng cursed.

"It doesn't matter if we seize the credit, but I'm afraid they won't be able to hold the first line..."

Jiang Zuo was slightly worried.

Time passed and it was already noon.

The intelligence from the Six Towns Army was indeed accurate. The combined forces of the tribes in Mobei were already heading towards the area from Deep Valley to Lanshan Road, and would soon arrive...