If we talk about the most lost cities in history, Yangzhou is not only ranked first, but it can also be ranked in the top three.
Since the completion of the Grand Canal, Yangzhou has been located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, guarding the key points of the canal, with inter-river transportation, and its location is invincible. It is probably the Shanghai of later generations. After all, there has long been a saying that Yangzhou is the most prosperous place in the world.
Yangzhou's advantage is not just as simple as its location. Yangzhou is close to the main production area of sea salt. Salt merchants from Huaihe and Huaihe Rivers gather in Yangzhou. These salt merchants, who hold the world's wealth, have piled up the prosperity of Yangzhou with countless gold and silver.
It may be dry to say this, but in fact, it can be seen from Zhou Huiniang that except Yangzhou, which place is willing to spend so much effort to cultivate a brothel singer.
If we were in Haozhou, we would go bankrupt before the customers came to our door. We would have no market and no spending power.
Only Yangzhou, where the world's wealth is gathered, can be so ambitious.
And once a woman becomes an oiran, her songs will be worth a fortune, and countless people will admire her. The relationship between the brothel and the oiran is not just a master and servant, but a partner, and they can even enjoy some dividends.
Of course, the premise is that you must reach that level. Ordinary girls, or even outstanding ones, are just dolls and cash cows in other people's hands, and they have no qualifications to be treated as equals.
But when it comes to Zhou Huiniang, the situation is different. She can make those wealthy young men obey her. When the brothel is in trouble, she needs to resolve it. If the squeeze is over, she will simply break the jar and encourage those benefactors to attack the brothel.
If you start, it will not end well.
It was precisely because of this that Zhou Huiniang had the opportunity to escape from Yangzhou.
It is ironic to say that the brothel worked hard to train Zhou Huiniang to study more. She did read a lot, and it was beyond the control of the brothel. She realized that she no longer wanted to be a cash cow. She wanted to live for herself and decisively join the Zhu family army.
This is quite similar to the feeling that the British MI6 worked hard to select talents and sent them to learn Russian to prepare for Moscow. In the end, they learned Das Kapital and in turn sold out the British.
But no matter what, Yangzhou is still one of the top metropolises at the moment. In terms of population size, it even exceeds Jiqing, which Zhu Yuanzhang was so fond of.
By plotting Yangzhou and occupying this city, Zhu Yuanzhang's strength will increase by leaps and bounds.
Now that Yuan Ting has decided to depose Tuotuo, these hundreds of thousands of Yuan troops are not worth mentioning. The next step is to snatch the spoils of war.
The only people who were qualified to participate in this grand banquet were Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng, but at this moment, Lao Zhang was still surrounded in Gaoyou and was dying.
Lao Zhu, on the other hand, completely seized the opportunity.
Judging from the current situation, Gaoyou, Baoying, Taizhou, Yancheng, these Huaidong cities were all controlled by Zhang Shicheng in the past, and they were mainly salt workers. They were across the canal from Lao Zhu's main force. It is really difficult to annex them all.
No matter how difficult it is, there is a high probability that it will still fall into Zhang Shicheng's hands.
But Yangzhou was on the lips, and Feng Guoyong was sent to seize Zhenzhou, which paved the way for attacking Yangzhou.
In order to maintain the lives of 800,000 people in Yangzhou, not only the exchanges of merchants and prosperous trade, but also the city's handicraft workshops, textile and iron smelting, papermaking and printing... these industries are quite developed, with a large number of employees and a very high level.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Yangzhou is captured, the treasure planned by Zhang Ximeng will be implemented immediately.
The existing weapons production scale can also be expanded tenfold.
There are also artillery and firecrackers!
As long as Yangzhou is here, it will be able to grow explosively in a few years.
There are so many things behind Yangzhou.
Zhang Ximeng kept talking about his fantasies on the road, which made Lao Zhu's blood boil and his mind agitated.
I have long heard that Yangzhou is good, but I didn’t expect that it would be so important!
"No matter how much it costs, we must capture Yangzhou!" Lao Zhu made up his mind.
No matter what you do, you must know yourself and your enemy.
Now there is an urgent need to explore the situation in Yangzhou.
"Sir, if you don't mind, let me go!" The person who spoke was Xiaoju, Zhou Huiniang's little maid... Ever since Zhou Huiniang and Jiang Puxin went to Dadu, Zhang Ximeng kept the little girl by his side.
He didn't mean to be a bastard at all, he just wanted to take good care of her and wait until Zhou Huiniang came back to return the little girl to her.
It happened that at this time, Xiaoju stood up and wanted to go to Yangzhou to investigate the situation.
Not to mention, looking around Zhang Ximeng, there is really no one who knows Yangzhou better than Xiao Ju.
But the problem is how she, a teenage girl, Jiaojiao Didi, sneaks into Yangzhou, and what should she do if something unexpected happens?
Zhang Ximeng firmly disagreed, but Xiaoju's attitude was very firm. This girl is also a bit stubborn!
"The girl went to Dadu, and so did my third uncle. They are all a hundred times more dangerous than me! Can't I go back to Yangzhou? I was sold to Yangzhou when I was eight years old. I know the situation best. Who else can be used besides me?
?”
Zhang Ximeng said with a sullen face: "Having said that, do you know what to check? Do you know what information is useful? You went on a trip in vain, took risks, and couldn't figure out anything. Why did you go there?"
Xiaoju lowered her head after being criticized. She fiddled with her clothes and suddenly raised her head again, "I want to repay the favor! You, you gave me so much land, I, I can't eat for free! This is what the girl told me, we were originally
It’s just despicable, and if you don’t know how to repay your kindness, you’ll be even more despicable!”
The little girl got excited when she said it, with tears in her eyes. She tried hard to hold herself tight, but she still rolled down, looking pitiful. As expected, there are servants like masters. This girl is really similar to Zhou Huiniang, although
She is a weak woman, but she is also very heroic.
At this moment, a boy suddenly squeezed in.
"I, follow her! I can protect her!"
It was Lan Yu who spoke.
Zhang Ximeng was also startled, "You want to go?"
"Yes, I haven't been to Yangzhou yet. Let me go. I'm very smart and good at martial arts. A few people can't beat me."
Zhang Ximeng actually admitted that Lan Yu was very strong, like a little calf.
After joining the army with his brother-in-law, Lan Yu studied and practiced martial arts every day. He grew taller, like bamboo shoots in spring, and his skills improved a lot every day.
He is not very young yet, and he has the ability to confuse people. Let him accompany Xiao Ju into the city. Not to mention, there is hope that he can achieve great things.
"Then do you know what news you should check after entering Yangzhou?"
"You know, it's not just about the morale of the army and the people. Let's see how the Yuan army is stationed in Yangzhou and see if there are any opportunities..." Lan Yu talked eloquently and was full of confidence.
Gu/span> Zhang Ximeng nodded, but thought for a long time, and then said: "You can enter Yangzhou, but remember, you can't bump into each other. It's best to take photos of the people in the brothel. Xiao Ju goes to strike up a conversation, Lan Yu, you
If you want to find a way to bring the person out, I will ask directly, which is safer!"
When Lan Yu heard this, Le Diandian agreed. He grabbed Xiao Ju, who was crying and smiling, ran out in one breath, and quickly disguised himself.
Zhang Ximeng rolled his eyelids, why does it smell a little sour? When did Lan Yu and Xiao Ju get so good?
"Sir, you are too slow."
Li Wenzhong said unceremoniously.
Zhang Ximeng rolled his eyes in anger, "You are more agile than me, right?"
Li Wenzhong shrugged, "Anyway, my father has already chosen a marriage for me. When I turn sixteen, I will ask my uncle to help solemnize the marriage... Sir, you have to hurry up!"
"Bah!" Zhang Ximeng spat directly at Li Wenzhong, "If you enter the grave at the age of sixteen, you will be hopeless in this life. I curse you to give birth to a son that you will worry about for the rest of your life!"
Li Wenzhong doesn't care at all, it's better than being single!
Zhang Ximeng simply didn't bother to talk to him. When your precious son is born, you will know that if you don't listen to the old man's advice, you will suffer a lot. Zhang Ximeng put his hands behind his back, turned around and went out, called Lan Yu over again, and explained everything carefully before agreeing to them.
The two disguised themselves and sneaked into Yangzhou.
About a day and a half later, Lan Yu and Xiao Ju came back, together with an old boatman named Lao Qi, who was also the old man who painted boats for Zhou Huiniang.
Lao Qi rowed a boat, and his mother-in-law was very good at cooking and was famous in Yangzhou.
It is even often said that Zhou Huakui's painting boat has three special features, besides color art, it is eating!
It's just that this unique skill is not Zhou Huiniang's, but the seventh sister-in-law's.
"Master, save Yangzhou! Help!"
Lao Qi knelt on the ground, crying bitterly, which stunned Zhang Ximeng, "Is the situation in Yangzhou bad?"
"Not only is it bad, it has become a region where people cannibalize people!"
Zhang Ximeng was even more surprised. He asked Lao Qi to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and asked Lao Qi to slowly say, why did the paradise-like Yangzhou become like this?
Lao Qi lamented and told the story... It turned out that Zhang Shicheng had briefly interfered with Yangzhou, and Zhou Huiniang escaped at that time.
But then the main force of the Yuan army attacked, Zhang Shicheng trapped Gaoyou, and Yangzhou fell into the hands of Bo Luopuhua, the king of the south of Yuanting Town.
After the Yuan army entered Yangzhou, there was naturally a lot of looting and killing, needless to say.
Some wealthy businessmen and literati with great strength escaped secretly and went to Jiangnan to avoid trouble.
But most of them stayed in Yangzhou.
In the chaos of war, where can we go? Home is the best. It’s worth tens of thousands of dollars to break up the family and relocate to a new place. Who wants to be a mourner outside?
The people all felt that as long as they tolerated it, it would be over and the population would not be sacrificed.
But gradually, the people discovered something was wrong.
Since Gaoyou was still in the hands of Zhang Shicheng and the canal was cut off, the Yuan Dynasty relied more and more on sea transportation. Food from Jiangnan was shipped directly to Beijing by sea, and Yangzhou was left aside.
You must know that those grains are not only supplied to Dadu! There is also a lot of grain that has to go north with the grain. The cities along the way have to rely on this grain to fill their stomachs, especially Yangzhou, where 800,000 people eat and drink.
, what an astronomical figure that is!
But no one could have imagined that when water transportation was cut off and the Yuan Army and the Red Turban Army fought bloody battles, Yangzhou would be the first to suffer the consequences!
Worse came next. Bo Luopuhua, the southern king of Dayuan Town, still had tens of thousands of troops in his hands. They actually requisitioned food on the spot. The people of Yangzhou who already had not enough to eat suddenly became even worse.
"Sir, please save Yangzhou. The gang of thieves in the Yuan Army lied to people a few days ago, saying that Gaoyou City was destroyed, water transportation was restored, and everything was available. But it has been almost three months, and there is no one in the city.
After we had eaten, we hid in the boat as a couple, relying on the money and jewelry given by the girl in the past, and we could exchange for some food. But just the day before yesterday, several human leg bones floated next to our boat, which must have been...
Those refugees and business clerks, they had no work and were hungry, so they just ate human flesh!"
Lao Qi's hands were trembling and tears were streaming down his face.
This paradise-like place actually started eating people!
How could Zhang Ximeng not be shocked?
In fact, in history, during the late Yuan Dynasty, Yangzhou did suffer a disaster. After Tuotuo's defeat, a man named Zhang Mingjian controlled a group of people named Qing Army, also called Spearmen, who occupied the city.
Yangzhou.
This Zhang Mingjian has a very scary hobby. He likes to eat human flesh with human blood, eating it piece by piece... Little A Ming at the end of the Yuan Dynasty!
Later, Zhang Mingjian was defeated by Miao Daheng sent by Zhu Yuanzhang and captured Yangzhou.
At this time, when the Yangzhou household registration was counted, only eighteen households were left!
That's right, from 800,000 people to only 18 households!
According to this, some people say that Zhang Mingjian is a cannibal demon who has eaten tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people... Obviously, this is impossible. Zhang Mingjian should be a cannibal, but he lives on human flesh all day long.
, humans have long since ceased to exist as ghosts, and the consequences of cannibalism can be understood by referring to mad cow disease.
Since Zhang Mingjian didn't eat so many people, where did the people of Yangzhou go?
In fact, this is not difficult to understand. Yangzhou relies on the Yangtze River and canals and has a population of 800,000 people. However, the food produced in Yangzhou is not enough to feed so many people and must be transported from outside.
However, when war broke out, water transportation was stopped, transportation on the Yangtze River was also restricted, and there was no food. What other options did the people have but to flee to death?
Naturally, the city of 800,000 people disappeared, leaving only 18 households!
This point will also be true in later generations. If any big city cuts off the surrounding supplies and loses food and vegetables, the fate of the citizens is guaranteed to be much worse than that of the people in the countryside!
"Food! Everything is food!"
Zhang Ximeng realized the crux of the matter. He stood up suddenly and rushed to see Zhu Yuanzhang.
As long as there is enough food, Yangzhou can be captured!