Because the food supply was about to run out, even the Yanhu soldiers and horses who retreated to Wuguan had to slaughter mules and horses after early November to supplement the shortage of food and grass.
Guanzhong was also a newly captured land for Yanhu, and the valley passage from Weinan to Shangzhou was too narrow, making it very difficult to raise and supply food and grass. By mid-November, Ye Jiluo Rong could not even wait for the end of Xiangyang's troops.
After coming out, we started to arrange the evacuation to Guanzhong.
On November 22nd, the Hulu envoy from Yanjing passed through Heluo and Weinan with an order and rushed into Shangzhou City. Chen Zhihu was conferred as the King of Qin and established the four prefectures of Chang'an, Weinan, Tianshui and Shangzhou. Xu Kaifu appointed civil and military officers.
He led his troops to guard Guanzhong, while Tian Chang, Su Tingzhan, She Yuan and other remnants were controlled by him, while Ye Ji Luorong led more than 30,000 remaining Yanqi troops to retreat to Jinzhong.
This news soon reached Fancheng from Huaidong's spies, and reached the ears of Lin Fu who was in Fancheng at this time.
On the 24th, there was heavy snow in Nanyang and Xiangfan, thousands of miles were covered with ice, and the weather was freezing.
Since there were only a hundred people in Xiangfan and Nanyang, and the heavy snow and extremely cold weather restricted the entry of immigrants, the Huaidong Army directly stationed in Fancheng.
Lin Fu didn't like the silence of the city, so he moved the carriage to Zizhen Mountain in the southeast corner of Fancheng. From there, he could also have a close view of the battlefield in Xiangyang on the south bank.
Zizhen Mountain was originally a private manor outside Fancheng, built around a low mountain less than twenty feet high. The original owner had long been annihilated in the war, his family and family were destroyed, and most of the villa was also destroyed by the war, leaving only
The next few houses were also dilapidated and were repaired to serve as Lin Fu's residence and the administrative office of the Military Intelligence Department. The Suwei military camp was located on the left wing of Chaizhen Mountain.
Although Chaijing Mountain is not high, it stands close to the Han River. There is a pavilion near the water that has escaped the ravages of war and is well preserved. In heavy snow weather, Lin Fu likes to go to the pavilion and look at the snowy scenery of the Han River. Gao Zongting, Hu Wenmu, Song Fu, Gu Hao and others
We could only accommodate Lin Fu's whim, dress thickly, and go to Linshui Pavilion to blow the cold wind together.
Lin Fu, Gao Zongting, Song Fu and others stayed in Fancheng on the north bank. The garrison troops around Fancheng were mainly infantry and cavalry troops. Zhou Tong was sent to the south bank to preside over the siege of Xiangyang.
Xiangyang City stands next to the Han River, located inside the Lumen Mountain and the Longzhong Mountains. The Lumen Mountains and the Longzhong Mountains stand opposite each other, leaving a gap four to five miles wide in the middle. With the Han River tightly blocked,
If Xiangyang's enemies wanted to break through, they could only go south through the gap between Lumen Mountain and Longzhong Mountain.
However, at this time, Zhou Tong led Tang Fuguan, Zhang Jiheng, and Zhang Gou to set up two trenches south of Xiangyang between Lumen Mountain and Longzhong Mountain, and divided his troops to seize the two flanks of the western slope of Lumen Mountain and the eastern foot of Longzhong Mountain.
At each key point, defensive fortifications were gradually established. At this time, the Huaidong Army was not impatient and was gradually clearing the obstacles outside Xiangyang. It was like an iron bucket. It had to first surround Xiangyang City with nearly 70,000 enemy troops watertight.
other things.
"A bridge still needs to be built between Xiangfan and Xiangfan," Lin Fu stood in the pavilion, pointing to the Han River under the heavy snow, and said, "It is too slow to transfer people, horses and supplies by ferry alone. In addition, after the bridge is built, Xiangfan and Xiangfan can be connected together."
Governing the city..."
"To build a pontoon bridge, it is necessary to cut off the upstream and downstream waterways; to build a suspension bridge, the cliff bank between Xiangyang and Fancheng is thousands of steps apart. Even if it can be built, the future maintenance costs will be staggering and cannot be afforded by Xiangfan." Song Fu.
said.
Of course everyone present knew that building a pontoon bridge between Xiangyang and Fancheng would connect Jingzhou, Xiangyang and Nanyang more closely, without being cut off by the Han River, which would change the deployment of troops on both sides of the Han River in Huaidong.
It's fast and quick, but building a bridge is not without its drawbacks.
The erection and maintenance costs of a pontoon bridge are relatively low, but it will cut off the upstream and downstream Han River and harm river transportation. The cost of a thousand-step suspension bridge is currently beyond the reach of local finances.
"The problem is not as serious as imagined," Lin Fu stood in the pavilion pointing to his head, pointing to the Han River in the southwest, and said with a smile: "Song Gong, look at Hutoushan Island!"
"Ah!" Song Fu was also a man of quick wits. When he saw Lin Fu pointing at the tiger on Huya Mountain, he asked, "My Lord wants to build a pontoon bridge between the north bank and Hutoushan Island, and between Hutoushan Island and the high bank on the south bank."
Build a suspension bridge in between?”
"Yes," Lin Fu nodded and said, "Building a bridge in this way is low-cost, and it can also leave a waterway of more than a hundred steps between Hutoushan Island and the high bank on the south coast for ships to pass."
Hutoushan Island was once the location of the enemy navy's water village in Xiangyang. It is far from the north shore, with a water surface of five or six hundred steps wide, and is closer to the south shore, with only a hundred steps or so of water. However, the deep gorge waterway and shipping conditions are better than those on the north side.
It is much better. With the current shipping conditions, the waterway south of Hutoushan Island is sufficient, and 600-step-long pontoon bridges and more than 100-step-long suspension bridges will be built on both sides of Hutoushan Island, and they will be repaired later.
It is within the range that local finances can bear.
"There are no huge trees on Hutoushan Island that can fix the iron cables. If we have to use molten iron to set up stakes, it will be an extra expense." Sun Wenbing, who came to Fancheng to handle the transportation of grain and fodder, said with a frown.
"If the pontoon bridge and the suspension bridge are built within ten days, it will be possible to send troops to the south bank of Longzhong to attack the northwest corner of Xiangyang, which will help relieve the pressure on Commander Zhou in the south of Xiangyang City; Wen Bing really does not need to hold on so tightly.
Ah..." Tang Xitai said.
"Xitai is eager to say this, but when it comes to the Ministry of Revenue, the branch envoys and the transfer envoys, this is definitely not the idea." Sun Wenbing frowned and said, "Master Erlin wrote letters complaining that if this war continues, they
I have to take out my official robe and pawn it..."
"Okay, don't argue anymore," Lin Fu interrupted the dispute between Sun Wenbing and Tang Xitai and said, "After this battle, Xitai will stay and preside over Xiangyang's political affairs. He hopes to leave something more for Xiangyang. I can understand that."
Over there, I think after this battle, no one will think about starting another war immediately, and they should be able to take a breath for a while. For now, we should work hard to erect the bridge. Don't rely on Xiangyang in the future. I don't know how long it will take to erect the bridge.
stand up……"
"It's freezing cold today. I don't think the enemy in Xiangyang can hold out much longer," Hu Wenmu asked, "When do you plan to return to court?"
Lin Fu brought Jingxiang and returned to Jiangning after a great victory. This was the best opportunity to build momentum for Daiyuan. This matter had to be planned in advance - Hu Wenmu was a little shy and did not have the shame to speak clearly, but the meaning of his words was very clear.
Lin Fu turned to look at the vast snowy sky in the southeast and said with a smile: "The wind and snow here are very good, so there is no rush to go back to Jiangning." He still hoped to sort out the military and government affairs in Jingxiang before returning to Jiangning. He did not want to go back to Jiangning in Jingxiang.
Leaving any hidden dangers, he turned to look at Gu Hao, "Nanyang is short of a general judge. Are you willing to give in, Mr. Gu?"
Gu Hao served as Tanzhou's envoy to Zhang Han's staff. After the Yuanzhou war, he accompanied Zhang Han's eldest son Zhang Zuowu to the Huaidong Army as a hostage. During this period of contact, Lin Fu also understood that Gu Hao was very good at politics.
, otherwise I wouldn’t have given Zhang Hanyi his right-hand man.
Lin Fu's purpose is to integrate the two lakes. As long as they do not have the ambition to separate and stand on their own, it is natural for talented people from the two lakes to have a way to rise and merge into Huaidong. There is really no need to suppress them blindly and cause unrest.
There is a necessary rebound, and there is no need to create natural antagonism between localities.
Zhang Han asked to abolish the system of Tanzhou and set up an envoy, and was transferred to Xianghu as Xuanfu envoy. He is still the highest chief executive of Xianghu, but he clearly gave up local military power, and his son Zhang Zuowu became an official in the central government. In fact, he indirectly asked Lin
Fu expressed his allegiance; if Gu Hao wanted to get rid of his background as a private official of the Zhang family, staying and serving as Nanyang Tongpan was the best way.
The prefect of Nanyang will be concurrently served by Ao Canghai, who is guarding Nanyang. Nanyang Tongpan is actually a civil official who assists Ao Canghai in managing Nanyang's political affairs. In the future, Ao Canghai will be transferred separately, and Nanyang Tongpan is the natural candidate to take over as the prefect of Nanyang.
Gu Hao bowed his head and said: "Gu Hao is willing to be sent by the Lord."
Hu Wenmu listened to Gu Hao's change of title to Lin Fu, and knew that he had changed his family from now on; he was not surprised at all, thinking that Gu Hao must have obtained the Zhang family's forgiveness first, and at this time, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty did not want to
The officials who changed the court were probably only a small group of people who had no way to change the court.
Lin Fu laughed loudly, held his hands to signal Gu Hao to excuse himself, and said: "Huang Zuyu, the blind man of Zhou captured Fancheng and defended Fancheng with the help of five thousand civilians. Most of these civilians were strong men from around Nanyang, and they were probably from Nanyang."
This is the only remaining Dingkou in the government. You will go to Nanyang for work in two days. You will select land from both sides of the Feishui River and grant them fields. You will also subsidize cattle and plows and settle their livelihood. Don’t delay. The central government will allocate two
I give you one hundred thousand taels of silver, which should be enough to support the people of Nanyang Mansion next year..."
Nanyang is located between Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain. In addition to being the only place where Jingxiang and North pass through Guanzhong and western Henan, Nanyang is also irrigated by dozens of tributaries of the Han River and Huai River such as the Feishui River, which irrigates nearly 10 million acres of fertile farmland in Nanyang.
Before the war, the population of Nanyang once exceeded one million. At this time, the total number of people in Nanyang was only about 30,000 or 40,000, which was several times more serious than the situation where one out of ten could survive.
The work of relocating the population to Nanyang cannot be accomplished overnight. Dingkou in Nanyang can be restored to more than 10,000 households next year, and Lin Fu is satisfied. However, in addition to guarding against enemies in Guanzhong, Nanyang must also guard against Dong Yuan's ambitions in the north.
There will be no shortage of troops stationed there. In addition to resettling households to facilitate cultivation, the 200,000 taels of silver will also be used to restore water conservancy and build roads. On the other hand, cultivated land resources are very cheap in Nanyang. Of course, Nanyang has been in the country for a long time.
It will still be a war zone for a long time, and except for the poor farmers who are at the end of their rope, not many people will be willing to move in.
At this time, the latest information came from the military intelligence department. Gao Zongting read it and reported to Lin Fu: "In addition to conferring Chen Zhihu the title of King of Qin, King Lu also has reliable information that confirms that Yan Hu has sent a secret envoy to Chengdu to grant the throne."
Cao Yiqu is the king of Shu..."
Hu Wenmu also knew at this time that the Huaidong Army's military intelligence infiltration work was more solid than imagined. After the Battle of Jingxiang, some officials in Yanjing City who were forced to surrender to Yan would probably also express goodwill to Huaidong for the sake of their future, right?
This will make the Huaidong Army's infiltration work into Yanjing smoother.