Chapter 5

Snake Head Island, Gourd Land, small circles connected to large circles, with an area of a full hundred thousand miles.

Blackwood Town, square-shaped, with two-zhang giant trees as a perimeter wall, ten miles in size, which is like a small sesame seed on a large sesame cake compared to the giant island.

But as a town, it is already not small.

The foundation of the town is a "Spirit Gathering Array" eye stone erected in the center of the town.

Humans in this world face the "Heaven and Earth Dual Tribulations."

The Earth Tribulation is the "Great Earth Cave."

The Heavenly Tribulation is the shattering and falling of heavenly stars, which turn into "Heavenly Wind Stones."

The character "Wind" is a phonetic loan for "Crazy."

When Heavenly Wind Stones fall, they are attracted by the spiritual energy gathered by the humans living in groups on the ground and fall into them.

This triggers madness.

Everyone kills and eats each other.

Only by using supernatural means can this be avoided.

The "Spirit Gathering Array" is one of them.

Although the cost is extremely expensive, it is indispensable if one wants to develop a foundation on wild islands at sea.

However, after Zhang Gui awakened the old Divine Authority and created a new "Territorial Authority" through rituals, the entire Giant Snake Island has returned from a wild area to "civilization."

There is no longer a need for means like the "Spirit Gathering Array" to resist the disaster of "Heavenly Wind Stones."

It is just that for Zhang Gui's enemies, how much better this kind of territory, where the Divine Authority is held by someone else, is compared to a wild area is a matter of opinion.

And besides the "Spirit Gathering Array" protecting basic safety, Blackwood Town has "One Great Star" of soldiers patrolling and responsible for protection...

The regular armies of the great nations of the Dongsheng Continent are divided into four grades from weak to strong:

The first is called "Soldier."

Select young men aged eighteen to twenty-two, over 170 centimeters tall, strong and sturdy, choose either long weapons, short blades, or crossbows to practice, eat and drink well, and train with instructors for three to five months, and they become small soldiers.

The second is called "Regular Soldier."

After the small soldiers are trained, they go to the battlefield to hone themselves for three years, without injury or disability, and follow orders in battle to become "Regular Soldiers."

The third is "Light Armor."

After a hundred battles without dying, the best of the best are selected, those who can wear 36-jin half-body ring armor, march 70 miles a day in formation, and march for 15 days without breaking formation can become "Light Armor."

The fourth is "Heavy Armor."

Carefully select natural strongmen over 183 centimeters tall who can carry 100 jin and lift 100 jin of stone at the same time, eat medicinal meals every day, nourish Qi and blood, and practice long-handled heavy weapons or Ox Strength Crossbows.

After the army is formed, they can wear 100 jin of full-body heavy armor and wield heavy weapons of over 30 jin for long-term assault combat, which is terrifyingly extreme.

As for cavalry.

Whether the military force is strong or not depends largely on the small animals they ride.

For example, if a small soldier is lucky and becomes partners with a Qilin, he might be able to trap a formation and kill a thousand heavy armor soldiers alone, but this is meaningless.

It can only be measured according to the technical conditions of each country and the various horses that can be raised on a scale.

"Regular Soldiers" riding pack horses can be upgraded to "Bow Cavalry," which means riding horses to move quickly and shoot to harass, upgrading from a second-grade branch to a third-grade.

Light Armor riding warhorses are upgraded to "Light Cavalry," listed as a fifth-grade branch.

Because warhorses are valuable and useful, they must be upgraded two grades at a time.

Heavy Armor riding exotic treasure horses such as Sweat-Blood, Black Hoof, or Solid-Color horses can be a sixth-grade branch, which is also an upgrade of two grades at a time, and is already the highest-grade branch in the establishment of major powers.

Other special branches such as the Flower Dragon Cavalry of the Ming Song Dynasty; the Canglang Guard and Bailu Army of the Yuanshan Empire; and the Red Qilin Cavalry of the Han-Jin Empire, firstly, it is impossible to form a scale of thousands or tens of thousands, and secondly, they will not be dispatched easily, so they can only be considered deterrents.

In addition to the different branches, the strength of the army is also closely related to the "Battle Array."

For example, although the Ming Song Dynasty has changed dynasties for over ten thousand years, the God of War worshipped by the whole country is still the "North Dipper Star Lord" who is in charge of killing and conquering.

The North Dipper has seven stars, so the most basic battle array in Ming Song is the "Small Star Array" composed of seven soldiers.

And the most basic unit of the military establishment is also the "Small Star" composed of seven soldiers.

Its officer is called the "Small Star Commander."

Then seven Small Stars can form a "Flat Star," the battle array combines into a "Flat Star Array," the military establishment is a "Flat Star," and the officer is a "Flat Star Commander."

Seven Flat Stars form a "Great Star," the war combines into a "Great Star Array," the establishment is a "Great Star," and the officer is a "Great Star Commander."

Thus, the basic battle array and establishment are completed.

Because the military system adopted by the Ming Song Dynasty is a combination of recruitment, there are military households who have been in the army for generations.

A "Great Star" is a small military town, with its own farms, workshops, and everything else needed for life, forming its own system.

Seven Great Stars form a "Thousand Commander Office," the highest officer is named the "Thousand Commander Head," although he manages the Great Star Commanders of seven military towns, he usually works in the government office in the city.

Managing the big and not the small also eliminates the possibility of secretly raising private soldiers.

Then seven Thousand Commander Offices form a "Ten Thousand Commander Yamen," the highest officer is the "Ten Thousand Commander Head."

As the highest standing military officer in non-war periods, he is even more high and mighty; not to mention ordinary military households, even Great Star Commanders might not be able to see him a few times in their lives.

Being called a military general, in reality, he is as pampered as a high-ranking civil official...

Blackwood Town sells military supplies, and the guards they raise, although called "Patrol Inspectors," usually wear paper armor, but each one is strong and powerful; if they really encounter something, they change into equipment and become heavy armor elites.

The town also has farmland and vegetable plots.

It has built Town Halls, restaurants, eateries, brothels, and markets.

It can truly be said that although the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs.

The next morning, when Zhang Gui followed the caravan into Blackwood Town, he felt as if he had returned from the wild to civilization.

But in the eyes of his friend, who was ignorant of the world and naturally picky, this civilized paradise, built bit by bit on an overseas wild island over several decades, was full of problems everywhere.

"There are actually Light Armor soldiers wearing armor, carrying swords, and holding spears; isn't this a capital crime punishable by beheading!

And the clerks with scholar scarves on their heads are eating bean foam and sesame cakes, and even collecting market taxes at the stalls.

Is he a child scholar that he dares to wear a scholar scarf? Does he have a government plaque that he dares to collect taxes?"

Seeing all kinds of illegal things, Zhang Jiujiang scolded angrily, but his voice was very low, and his eyes were full of longing.

"Dagui, is the legend that all the Stewards in Blackwood Town wear gauze caps true?"

In the Ming Song Dynasty, only officials of a certain rank could wear gauze caps, which was the yearning of countless scholars.

Looking at his friend's burning gaze, Zhang Gui nodded affirmatively:

"Isolated islands overseas are far from the royal transformation, the system cannot reach them, and they can only rely on private military force to supplement it.

In this situation, copying the official management method, although there is a suspicion of drawing a tiger's skin, is the simplest and most comprehensive.

Even proper vassal states like Hanli and Yingri are like this, let alone an industry in the Outer Wild Ocean operated by a noble family like Blackwood Town."

These words already had a fundamental difference from his usual conversation and knowledge, but because Zhang Jiujiang was fantasizing about what he would look like wearing a gauze cap in the future, he didn't hear the flavor.

He just kept saying: "Is that so, is that so, that is not bad either.

Then, then when in Rome, do as the Romans do; on Giant Snake Head Island, I will also take a risk, and change it back when I return home."

(End of chapter)