Changlu and the salt areas in northeastern Shandong are close to the Bohai Sea. The Bohai Sea is an inland sea and has few intersections with the outer sea water. Instead, it flows into a large freshwater river system. The salt content of the seawater is relatively shallow, so the investment is large and the salt obtained is less.
The coastal area south of Pingjiang Prefecture has a climate with more rain and less sunshine, which is not conducive to salt production.
The Lianghuai Salt Region has favorable geographical location, favorable weather conditions, and abundant output, ranking first among the four major salt regions. Moreover, due to its convenient transportation, it supplies official salt to counties, accounting for 60% of the total output of the four major salt regions.
After autumn, when the weather is dry and there is little rain, it is the peak season for boiling sea salt and frying salt. The salt production in the Lianghuai Salt Region from September to the next rainy season accounts for more than 70% of the whole year.
At this time, all the sentry forts in the salt area south of Sheyang were destroyed, and the salt guards were unable to fight in the field, so they had to retreat to Sheyang. The salt area from Sheyang to Qingjiangpu and even Tinghu in the north were constantly under attack by the East China Sea bandits.
The threat of guerrilla attacks.
It is extremely difficult to cook the sea and fry salt in Shiotou. You have to work hard to cook a bushel of salt and sell it for ten coins. You go to the sea in the rain to catch some fish and shrimps to wrap your belly. You are always in ragged clothes, but no matter how hard you work, you can still struggle to survive---
-At this time, lives were also threatened, and there was nothing worth remembering about this kind of life. A large number of salt households fled their homes and became refugees who left their hometowns, and salt ponds began to be abandoned.
If the situation is allowed to develop without stopping, Zhang Yan is afraid that his head on his neck will not be saved, not to mention that he will be in trouble.
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Zhang Yan took up the post of Salt and Iron Envoy in the first year of Delong, and continued to serve without giving any doubt to the new emperor. It has been twelve years so far. The key is not how honest he is, but that he is not stupid - as long as he keeps two hundred dollars a year
The bottom line of salt profit is ten thousand taels. He doesn't mind that the officials and generals below him have fornications with salt lords, nor does he mind that some places are controlled by salt lords and the price of salt rises several times or even dozens of times. On the contrary, he still wants to take advantage of it.
Take a piece of the pie.
At first, Zhang Yan also had a non-intrusive attitude, and was quite annoyed that Song Xiaobo, the governor of Hecheng Division, asked for asylum in Chongzhou. Mao Wenjing had earlier rejected Lin Fu's proposal to join forces, and Zhang Yan did not express his position in Weiyang.
But he knew that it was he who indulged Mao Wenjing that led to the defeat of Dafeng on the 25th.
Although salt profits are huge, the biggest profit comes from the fact that when Weiyang resells it to salt merchants, the Salt and Iron Department makes a huge profit of 190 yuan per bucket of official salt. The profits are made in Weiyang, which is extremely poor as far as the salt-producing area is concerned.
Embarrassment. Except for the officials who had liaisons with salt lords and participated in private salt sales, salt households were mostly poor and far less wealthy than counties such as Chongzhou and Haiyu. Therefore, Donghai bandits usually did not go to the salt areas to loot - although the salt areas had also
Threatened by bandits from the East China Sea, but the threat was far less severe than in Chongzhou, Haiyu and other places, it was inevitable that the officers and generals of the Salt and Iron Division would slack off.
Furthermore, the previous Donghai bandits were all scattered bandits, with only one or two thousand powerful ones. The Yantie Division had little contact with the local area. Even if Chongzhou was destroyed by the big bandits in early April, the Yantie Division only thought that Chongzhou was the defender.
The army was too weak and they did not fully realize that the Donghai bandits in the past two years were far from what they used to be.
Before the Battle of Dafeng, Mao Wenjing gathered 6,000 salt-protecting troops in Sheyang in a short period of time. He was so confident that he would go south to counterattack, and planned to recapture the Hecheng military fortress within ten days.
While passing through Dafeng, he encountered a small group of pirates who came ashore to snatch food. In order to gain military credit, Mao Wenjing actually asked the Chinese army in front of the tent to participate in the pursuit. The formation of the six thousand army was actually designed to chase two to three hundred pirates.
When a large group of bandits landed from the side and rear, Mao Wenjing was unable to organize a resistance and retreated almost instantly.
They retreated to Sheyang to collect the remaining soldiers, whose strength was less than 3,000--but they allowed the bandits to regain some morale from the salt-protecting army.
At this time, Zhang Yan realized that although the Jiangdong Left Army could easily kill and capture two to three thousand bandits in Chongzhou, the bandits that landed this time were beyond the capabilities of the salt guard soldiers in the salt area. Zhang Yan first sent Mao to
Wen Jing summoned Weiyang and scolded him bloodyly. At the same time, he sent someone to talk to Liu Shidu and came to Chongzhou in person to discuss the alliance with Lin Fu.
Due to Mao Wenjing's uncooperation, Lin Fu was unable to understand the situation in the salt area north of Hecheng in a timely manner. Two days later, Liu Shidu sent someone to inform Wu Meijiu that he and Zhang Yan were coming to Chongzhou for inspection, and Lin Fu learned that the salt guard army was there.
Details of the Dafeng fiasco.
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Standing on the garrison platform more than six feet high, standing against the female wall, looking at the Hecheng military fortress in the distance, Lin Fu pointed to the terrain around the military fortress and personally introduced the offensive and defensive posture to Zhang Yan and Liu Shidu: "Even if there is no place in the river,
There is water, but the soft mud at the bottom of the river is deeply silted, which also forms an obstacle that restricts the rapid passage of the army. As long as the Salt and Iron Division can quickly build a strong fortress for confrontation on the north bank, the situation in the salt area will not worsen..."
Zhang Yan held his hand on the crenel and looked at the terrain in the distance. He was not familiar with military affairs and could not see any clues. He asked Mao Wenjing: "What Master Lin said, can you do it with the troops and horses in your hands?"
After learning a lesson from the Dafeng battle, Mao Wenjing looked ugly and thought: If Lin Fu said it was so easy, he wouldn't have been so miserable in the Dafeng battle.
He bit the bullet and said: "If you want to build a fortress on the north bank, you still need Jiangdong's left army to suppress the enemy soldiers and not dare to leave the fortress for a sneak attack..."
"It doesn't matter, our Jiangdong Left Army will be here to suppress the Japanese soldiers for General Mao." Lin Fu said.
Mao Wenjing's face turned as red as pig liver. Six days ago, he sent a letter to Lin Fu strictly prohibiting the Jiangdong Left Army from interfering in the defense of the salt area, and also transferred the nearly Qianhe City army that had finally been assembled. At this time, he looked back.
How could it be so easy to ask someone to send troops?
Zhang Yan couldn't guess at the moment what conditions Lin Fu had to meet before he would join forces to fight. He glanced at Liu Shidu, hoping that he could make peace on his behalf and give both parties room for negotiation.
Liu Shidu knew that he had to speak for Zhang Yan at this time to ease the tense atmosphere. He stroked his beard and said: "The safety of the salt area is of great concern. We must cooperate sincerely and overcome the difficulties together..."
"Of course," Lin Fu laughed and said, "Chongzhou has gathered five thousand soldiers and horses here, plus civilians and hard labor, and the daily expenses are two to three hundred dan. It is not to show off here, of course it is to
We must drive the pirate soldiers into the sea."
"The funds to support the army..." Zhang Yan said, "It's easy to say. The Salt and Iron Division will pay for the military funds stolen by the Jiangdong Left Army. I will first allocate 20,000 taels of silver to this side for temporary payment, okay?"
Lin Fu secretly thought that the Salt and Iron Division was really very generous. They only offered 20,000 taels. He refused and said, "Although Jiangdong Zuojun is poor, the soldiers and people in Chongcheng are very supportive. In the past few days, people from all over the countryside have donated rice and money, and have accumulated mountains of grain."
, save money for the car, barely enough to cope with the war in March and May..."
"..." Zhang Yan looked at Lin Fu, waiting for him to finish speaking.
Lin Fu looked troubled and said, "I received an ultimatum from General Mao a few days ago, saying that the Jiangdong Left Army is a local army guarding the territory, and the defense area is limited to Chongzhou and Jiangkou. Taking advantage of Jiangmen is already tolerated by the world---
-Since General Mao's tone is so serious, I think unless I get a letter from the Ministry of War to designate Hecheng as the defense of the Jiangdong Left Army, the cross-border campaign will be really unknown..."
Mao Wenjing almost spit out blood, and Zhang Yan's face became extremely ugly: Lin Fu opened his mouth too wide, and he actually wanted to swallow up the Hecheng grassland as a defense zone for the Jiangdong Left Army.
Lin Fu showed his ferocious minions, and Liu Shidu could only smile. When he first saw Lin Fu, he was so kind and thought he was easy to talk to. Damn it, this was a lie. As soon as he returned to Chongzhou, the power of the Chongzhou Monastery was destroyed.
How can a person who has been uprooted be so easy to talk to?
"Master Lin, don't you think bullying is too much?" Mao Wenjing said angrily.
"General Mao, what are you talking about?" Lin Fu asked in surprise, "Have I ever bullied anyone in the conscience of heaven and earth?"
"Hecheng Grassland is related to the plan of supplying grass and boiling salt, and there is no room for error. Mr. Lin wants to designate Hecheng Grassland as a defense zone for the Jiangdong Left Army. What is his intention?" Zhang Yan stared at Lin Fu with pity.
"I know that the Hecheng Grassland is related to the plan of providing grass and boiling salt, so I have to shoulder the burden of guarding against the invaders." Lin Fu became serious and upright, looked back at Zhang Yan with slightly narrowed eyes, and said sadly, "I
A loyal heart can be judged by the sun and the moon. What does Mr. Zhang think I want? As usual, I stretched my hand a little too long, but for the imperial court's plan, the situation in the salt area is like this. I am no less worried than Mr. Zhang...
…”
Lin Fu's words sounded nice, so Zhang Yan naturally didn't believe him at all, but he also restrained himself from completely severing the relationship. He held his forehead and said, "It's getting late. Maybe I caught some wind chill while rushing on the road.
I have a headache, I'll go back to the camp to rest first..." He took Mao Wenjing and other subordinates down to the garrison first. Song Xiaobo was in a dilemma. Seeing the look Lin Mengde gave him, he followed Zhang Yan down first.
Liu Shidu still stayed on the stage and said in a dilemma: "Why is this? Isn't it better to work together in the same boat?" Although he is the prefect of Hailing, in today's Chongzhou, money, food, taxes, and defense are not under the jurisdiction of the Hailing Prefecture, and the officials can manage it.
Wu Meijiu, but Wu Meijiu was also the boss in Chongzhou. He knew that his words did not have much weight in Chongzhou in front of Lin Fu.
"Master Liu, I won't hide it from you," Lin Fu said. He knew that Liu Shidu would still be the middleman to negotiate the terms. "To be honest, I don't trust the salt soldiers to guard Hecheng. Just like Chongzhou is the Hailing Mansion.
, Hecheng is also the inside and outside of Chongzhou - we can't take back Hecheng for the Salt and Iron Division today and throw it away to them tomorrow - I don't care whether the Salt and Iron Division can withstand this, Chongzhou can't stand this.
toss!"
"Don't you want to protect the governor of the Song Dynasty? It seems that it is best not to mention the responsibility for the loss of Hecheng." Liu Shidu said seriously.
"I'm just saying this from the bottom of my heart in front of you, old sir," Lin Fu said, "Didn't Mao Wenjing suffer a disastrous defeat in Dafeng? Song Xiaobo still has some military exploits!"
Digging out his heart? Liu Shidu sneered in his heart and secretly thought that Song Xiaobo was as fat as a pig. Why didn’t you force him to give him military honors? His expression remained serious and sincere, and he said: "The Lianghuai Salt District needs seven to eight million dollars of grass from Hecheng every year.
"Wei, the burden is so heavy, it's all about Wusha, no wonder Mr. Zhang doesn't dare to entrust it to others easily, you have to understand him..."
"This is really strange," Lin Fu asked with a smile, "Since the Salt and Iron Division can't trust the Jiangdong Left Army in Shoucheng, why come to ask me to send troops to help? The chiefs of the prisons in Hecheng are all awarded by the Salt and Iron Division. Is it possible?
Do you want me to guarantee the amount of grass provided by Hecheng Pasture every year so that you can feel at ease?"
No matter what he wanted to do behind his back, he would never admit it. Lin Fu looked very aggrieved and said angrily to Cao Ziang: "Send my military order, and the eight hundred elite troops of Fengli Infantry Camp will immediately leave camp and return to Chongcheng.
For garrison, rural soldiers and civilian bravery, select the best and strongest, and only 40% of them can be left in the garrison..."
During the war, Lin Fu reduced the troops here to only three out of five, leaving only two thousand soldiers to bravely guard the garrison. With the reputation of the Jiangdong Left Army, they could also prevent the invaders from marching westward to Chongzhou, but the pressure from the Hecheng invaders was greatly reduced.
It is also an objective fact that the situation has been alleviated, and the situation in the salt area in the north is even more bleak. Liu Shidu sighed slightly and said to himself: Zhang Yan, Zhang Yan, it’s not that I won’t help you, who let you have your pigtails in the hands of others?
Lin Fu said: "There is no rush to withdraw the troops for the time being. I will discuss it with Mr. Zhang again."
"The retreat of Fengli Camp to Chongcheng is actually something I have decided a long time ago and has nothing to do with the discussion of the alliance... In a short period of time, the enemy soldiers were suppressed from leaving the fortress to make a sneak attack so that the Salt and Iron Division could build a camp on the north bank. Fengli Camp was not here.
It can be done." Lin Fu said, signaling Cao Zi'ang to pass the military order.
Liu Shidu didn't believe Lin Fu's nonsense. Since Lin Fu laid out all the conditions, he could only pass the message in the middle. It all depends on Zhang Yan's decision. He left for now and went to the temporary camp Lin Fu had set up nearby to send a message to Zhang Yan.
.
After watching Liu Shidu and Wu Mei go for a long time, Lin Fu restrained his businessman appearance and his expression became stern.
Lin Mengde clapped his hands and chuckled, saying: "With such a good opportunity, how long will it take until the Salt and Iron Bureau is not blackmailed into agreeing to include the Hecheng grassland into the Jiangdong Left Army's defense zone?"
"In terms of military layout, it is in line with the principles of defense strategy to include Hecheng Grassland into the Jiangdong Left Army's defense area," Lin Fu sighed slightly, "It's just that everyone's territorial concept is too deep..."
"Do you think Zhang Yan will fall into the trap?" Lin Mengde asked again.
"Unless he has the ability to solve the current crisis facing the salt area without resorting to our Jiangdong Left Army." Lin Fu said, even if the Hecheng grassland is designated as the Jiangdong Left Army's defense area, he will not be able to openly cultivate grain fields, but he must
To complete the layout of Chongzhou's periphery, Hecheng Port is an indispensable link.