Chapter 33 I'm not quite used to this rotten way of life, it takes a little time
night.
Jiangpu County Government.
"It's okay if we don't go to Fengyang."
Xie Gui said.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not specify their route.
The imperial edict was for the little princess to visit the two kings of Liao and Ning, and then, on her father’s behalf, give winter clothes to the armies of Liaodong Dusi and Peipingdusi.
But the route was not mentioned.
This way they have autonomy.
You must go to Qingliu Pass to go to Fengyang, and starting from Qingliu Pass, there is still a long mountain road.
This was obviously a huge test for Yang Feng's butt.
His broken carriage didn't even have a basic spring shock absorber, and it didn't have rubber-inflated wheels. The wheels were still made of wood covered with angle iron. Let alone walking on a mountain road, you could usually clear it by running over a small stone.
It was no wonder that later officials chose sedan chairs. But it would also be very uncomfortable for him to ride a horse instead. He had never ridden a horse before, so it didn’t mean he couldn’t. It would certainly be easy for him to learn to ride a horse.
, but wearing bright clothes and angry horses to attract bees and butterflies is completely different from riding a horse on a long mountain road.
There will be friction.
What's even more terrifying is that it is rumored that eggs can break. Even if they don't break, they will still sting. At least for a certain period of time in the beginning, it will not be easy for novices.
In fact, for Yang Feng, it is better to let him walk a long distance on horseback than to let him go on foot. The cavalry normally travels ninety miles a day, and his armed cross-country travel is only ninety miles a day.
What's more, the infantry is marching now, and the standard is only forty miles.
This distance is only an hour to him. Compared with the pain on his butt and the wear and tear on his legs, this is really nothing worth mentioning to him, especially since he also has a pair of military boots, so don't underestimate it.
A pair of boots, this thing is truly a heaven-defying artifact in this era, and it can be called an unreachable black technology.
"Then let's go straight to Sizhou and cross the Huaihe River. There are no mountains blocking the way. There is no bridge to cross the Huaihe River from Sizhou, so we need to take a boat."
Xie Gui said immediately.
"Why can't we just take a boat and go through the canal?"
Yang Feng said.
"Ambassador Yang said to go to Yangzhou. All the gates in Huai'an are closed during this season, and all government and civilian ships have to wait for the dam in Huai'an."
“What does Panba mean?”
"Unload the cargo, then cross the dam and cross the river in a small stripping boat, and reload the ship in Qinghe River. However, as the princess has a distinguished status, crossing the Yellow River in a stripping boat is very dangerous. Many capsizes occur every year. I am too old to dare to take risks."
"I still don't understand. Can't we just open the gate and cross the river?"
"From May to September, the Yellow River in Qingkou has turbulent waves. It is strictly forbidden to open the locks, otherwise they will be easily destroyed by the waves. All ships passing the Huaihe River, even the imperial grain ships, must go outside these months.
Lock."
“But don’t you have to cross the Yellow River to get to Xuzhou?”
"There is a floating bridge in Xuzhou."
"So what kind of river is the Yellow River now?"
Yang Feng said.
Then he simply called up the satellite image centered on Xuzhou for Xie Gui.
The latter looked at this thing in astonishment...
"This is Xuzhou, this is Jining, and this is Huai'an."
Yang Feng pointed to several points on the map and said.
"Can you be older?"
Xie Gui took a deep breath and said.
"If Xuzhou is enlarged, it is better to enlarge the scope of this area."
"Enlarge the scope."
"Well, then this is the location of Fengyang and this is the location of Kaifeng. This should be big enough, right?"
"Last year, the Yellow River broke out from Yuanwu. One line went south from Kaifeng, then went through Chenzhou, Yingzhou to Shouzhou and entered the Huaihe River. This line has the largest flow and is called the Great Yellow River. The other line goes from Bianshui River to Xuzhou. This one is called the Little Yellow River.
It joins the Si River in the east of Xuzhou City, and there is a Yunji Bridge across the river in the north of Xuzhou City. There is also a river that flows from Caozhou to Dongping, enters Anshan Lake, and finally enters the Surabaya River. It joins the Bianshui River in Xuzhou and goes south, and then joins the Great Yellow River.
The Huaihe River converges and turns into a mighty river with turbulent waves and flows into the sea in Huai'an.
We cross Huaihe River via Sizhou, where the water is stable, and then from Sizhou to Xuzhou, where we take the Yunji Bridge to cross the Bianshui River and then take the Wan'an Bridge to cross the Si River.
After that, I kept going north.”
Xie Gui said.
"So now the Yellow River floods most of Henan and a small part of Shandong?"
Yang Feng looked at this huge river basin in amazement.
"It wasn't the trouble caused by Du Chong's digging of the Yellow River. Henan was originally a vast area of fertile land, but now most of it is covered with smoke and weeds. At that time, there were millions of people in Kaifeng, but now there are less than two million people in Henan.
Nowadays, not many people will die when the Yellow River bursts.
The total number of men, women, old and young in Henan is 1.9 million, and all they can live in are high places that cannot be flooded.
Although the Central Plains have been devastated by the dust for more than two hundred years, the flooding of the Yellow River is also the main reason why the land is almost bare for thousands of miles."
Xie Gui sighed.
"Hey, you are quite talented in literature?"
"I am the forty-fourth generation grandson of Duke Xie Wenjing."
Xie Gui said proudly.
"Well?"
Yang Feng looked at him with blank eyes.
"Xie An!"
Xie Gui said.
"Ah, it turns out she is the queen of a famous family!"
Yang Feng quickly said with a respectful expression on his face.
Xie Gui stroked his beard reservedly. He was already forty and forty years old, but he could still find his ancestors who lived so long ago.
"Then how do we transport our gifts to Liaodong?"
Yang Feng asked.
Of course, it is impossible for people like them to carry those winter clothes. The two capital divisions have hundreds of thousands of troops. The Liaodong capital division alone has more than 20 guards, not to mention the northern parallel capital divisions. These are Liaoxi and Rehe, and
This is the area where King Ning sits. King Yan sits in Beiping and controls the capital and headquarters in Beiping. King Ning sits in Daning and controls the capital and headquarters in Beiping. King Liao sits in Guangning and controls the capital and headquarters in Liaodong. These three kings gave Zhu Yuanzhang the seat of Yanshan.
Line of defense.
As for the Nu'er Gandu Division, which did not exist at this time, the Ming army went to the Nenjiang area. Historically, it was not established until the Yongle period.
"That's all by sea. We don't need to take care of it. We can just go to Jinzhou to take over. The shipping fleet is probably already preparing to set sail. They also have to rush to transport it before the north wind blows."
Xie Gui said.
"This is August."
"It doesn't matter, sea transportation is much faster than us. From Chongming to Heishuiyang to Dengzhou, it is estimated that if the wind direction is suitable, it will take up to half a month to reach Liaodong. The imperial court will be transported by sea to Peiping, Liaodong and other places."
“Is it better to transport by sea or by river?”
"Of course it's sea transportation. One ship can carry ten ships in the canal. It takes at least two months to travel north to Peking from the canal. Sea transportation is just half a month faster. However, the loss is slightly greater and it is easy to capsize in the event of wind and waves. But compared with
Convenience is nothing compared to these. However, there is also a problem with sea transportation, which is that it requires officers and soldiers who are familiar with the sea, know the routes, and can be said to be accustomed to sailing. After all, you can just dock on the canal when something happens, but when you reach the sea, everything
Leave it to them."
"Then how many such sailors do you have now?"
"Eighty thousand."
"Eighty thousand?"
Yang Feng couldn't help but exclaimed.
"All along the rivers and coasts, there are troops transporting troops, totaling more than 80,000. However, they are not only transporting food, but also patrolling the sea to search for Japanese pirates. However, they can be used to transport food by sea when necessary."
Xie Gui said.
Therefore, the success of Zheng He's voyages to the West is easy to understand.
With a de facto navy of 80,000 men and sailing at sea all year round, it would be easy to support his voyages to the Western Seas.
It was more than ten years after he went to the West, and Chen Xuan led the navy to defect during the Jingnan War, which means that he did not suffer much losses. For more than ten years, the backbone of this time is still there, regardless of navigation ability or sea
The combat capabilities are still maintained, and all that is left is to build treasure ships and sail southward. Although this is indeed a navy that sails offshore, it is also active at sea all year round. Once such a navy is eliminated, it will be like Xie Gui
That said, without this generation of people who are familiar with the sea, it will be difficult to recover. This kind of navy is tested by countless winds and waves and tempered by countless deaths. If you want to have the same navy, you have to use it again.
Countless deaths to temper.
So as long as Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to do it, the strength of this navy was enough for him to expedition to Japan.
It was easier to go to Japan than to Liaodong. They gathered in Busan and entered the Tsushima Warm Current to reach Sado Island. However, with the strength of Japan at this time, it was almost impossible to recapture it. With this island in hand, it was enough for Zhu Yuanzhang to see the reality.
The benefits are there.
Doesn't he like gold?
In this case, Yang Feng had nothing to say, and the route was determined. Anyway, as long as he didn't take the mountain road, it would be fine. He then returned to his residence to rest, and then when he entered the door, he saw Xiaoyu standing beside the bed, and
There was also a huge steaming wooden barrel in the room. She seemed to be steaming in the heat and her face turned red. She also changed into clothes that were obviously more suitable for contact with water...
It's like the steamed buns just served in the steamer.
"Uh, didn't they arrange a room for you?"
He said doubtfully.
"If we go back to the master, the servant will serve the master. Naturally, there is no need to arrange a separate room. When the servant takes the master to bathe and rest, just spread out a mat on the ground. If the master needs anything at night, he can be served nearby."
Xiaoyu lowered her head and said.
Yang Feng took a deep breath, so this waiter should just hand over a urinal, right?
It must be.
"I'd better wash it myself!"
he said.
Before, on Wutai Mountain, because his embassy was still under construction, he had always lived in tents.
Of course, Xiaoyu couldn't squeeze into the tent with him, so she always went down the mountain by herself when he was about to go to bed. Yang Feng had never encountered such a situation, but now it was very embarrassing.
"Young master, this servant serves the young master on the order of the princess. It is the slave's duty to take care of the young master's bathing. The master only needs it, so the slave will naturally follow the master's orders."
The more Xiaoyu spoke, the more she blushed, her voice became lower and lower, and her head also lowered...
"Well, I'm not very used to this decadent lifestyle. It needs some time. You'd better go back to the princess first and tell her that I don't need to serve you at night."
Yang Feng said.
The decadent feudal era!
(Thanks to book friends the little Taoist priests on Saga Mountain, ghosts and gods, Yuan Suiyun and others for their rewards)