On January 12, the land in western Liaoning was covered with ice and snow was drifting for thousands of miles. Zhang Ximin opened the car curtain, squinted at the heavy snow outside the car, and asked the handlebar in front: "Where are you?"
"Ahead is Ningjin Fort. In another one hundred and forty miles, we'll reach Songshan City..." Handlebar Style replied. Reading at zero o'clock
"Can we make it to Songshan City before nightfall tomorrow?" Zhang Ximing asked.
"This weather..." Handlebar looked embarrassed.
Zhang Ximing stuck his head out of the carriage and looked back. More than five hundred riders were leading the horses, which was very hard work. In the carriage behind, sat Yang Wenchang, the bureau chief of the Internal Affairs Ministry, who was Hao Zongcheng's deputy.
of confidants.
Zhang Ximin was transferred from the Hanlin Academy to the Ministry of War as a Yuanwailang some years ago. When he went to western Liaoning, he once again brought an edict to urge Li Zhuo to send troops to Liaoyang and pay condolences to the laborers. This was already the tenth time since Li Zhuo left Linyu Pass.
Two letters of edict have been issued.
When Yang Wenchang was half asleep and half awake, he felt the carriage stop. He opened the curtain and saw Zhang Ximin sticking his head out to look here. After riding in the carriage for a long time, his hands and feet felt stiff, so he jumped out of the carriage and followed Zhang Ximin.
Said: "Master Zhang, you'd better come down and stretch your legs. It's not pleasant to sit in the car all day..."
"Does Mr. Yang think Li Shuai will send troops this time?" Zhang Ximin got out of the car, stretched out his arms, and asked calmly.
"Master Zhang brought an edict, making him the Duke of Yan, his son Xixianghou, a reward of 40,000 taels of silver, 800 silver medals, and a reward of 500,000 taels," Yang Wenchang raised his eyebrows and asked, "He
What else does Li Zhuo want? He can't be greedy and have a chair in Juyan Palace!"
Yang Wenchang's words were so sinister that Zhang Ximing pretended not to understand and said: "I'm also worried about asking, what should I do if Li Zhuo is still unmoved? He is a handsome man.
The so-called will be outside..." To be honest, he didn't know what was written in the secret decree Yang Wenchang carried.
"It's his turn to win!" Yang Wenchang said with a disdainful smile, "How many of the generals in Jizhen were not promoted by Mr. Hao? We really want to see how Mr. Hao will deal with them?"
Zhang Ximin smiled and said nothing more. He called the cavalry captain to him and said, "Brothers, I want you to work hard for another day and get to Songshan before dark tomorrow. Each of you will be rewarded with another ten taels of silver for drinking!"
When they heard that they had received money, the more than five hundred tired cavalrymen immediately cheered up.
On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, it was also snowing heavily across the Hehuai River.
The road was slippery, but the post road from Siyang north to Suyu was relatively smooth. It had been repaired with great efforts a year earlier and was not abandoned. Zhang Gou and Li Wei escorted more than 1,400 mules and horses.
, braved the wind and snow, carrying tens of thousands of stones of rice, grain and other supplies, rushed to Chenjiagou, thirty miles north of Siyang Walled City, and handed them over to the Red Coat Army who had been waiting here to receive them.
The leader of the red coat army waiting in Chenjiagou was Malantou's confidant Li Liang. He led 2,000 troops to Chenjiagou to pick up the grain. He was familiar with Zhang Gou and stood there to chat. Li Liang's generals
Li Shan'er couldn't control his temper, took out the boning knife from his waist, and made a hole in the grain bag. The shiny japonica rice flowed out like a line of water.
Seeing the rice flowing out of the mouth, falling onto the car and into the snow, Li Liang's hands trembled and he bent down to pick up the white rice that fell into the snow, for fear that a grain of rice would be lost - it was really a waste of money.
The rice, holding it in my hand, seemed to be able to smell the delicious aroma of the rice. I stuck out my tongue and took a sip. The more the rice chewed in my mouth, the more fragrant it became. I couldn't control the tears from flowing out.
Including Li Liang, most of the generals of the Red Coat Army did not believe that Huaidong would be so kind and would give them food for free. Even if Li Liang brought people to pick up the food this time, the two thousand troops he led were all Malan.
The most elite soldiers under his command were well-equipped and had eaten with open stomachs for two days before arriving, just to be prepared for any conspiracies that Huaidong might engage in.
Even when he was chatting with Zhang Gou, Li Liang put one hand on the saber at his waist vigilantly. At this time, he watched the transporters from Huaidong exit Chenjiagou and move thousands of carts and tens of thousands of bags of rice and salt.
When the supplies stopped in the open plain on the east side of Chenjiagou, Li Liang's emotions surged: No matter what Huaidong's thoughts were, these are life-saving food!
Back then, Huaidong showed mercy to them and did not kill them all. This was something that many people knew very well. At this moment, most of the remaining hostility in Li Liang's heart was resolved... No matter how many good words you say, there will be more benefits.
, they didn’t even give them enough life-saving food!
"Do you want to take back the rice bag from Huaiyang?" Li Liang swallowed the chewed uncooked rice as a delicious food, and opened his mouth to ask Zhang Gou. This was the first sentence he asked, "Coming from Huaiyang, there are only a few people who have starved to death along the way."
, countless people froze to death..."
Rice bags are made of twine and can be taken apart to make clothes. Rice is the first priority, but in cold weather, not having clothes to wear is also a big problem.
"If you don't take it back, I'll give it all to you; these fourteen hundred mules, horses and carts will also be given to you," Zhang Gou said. "The japonica rice allocated to you this time is all pounded, and next time it will be millet. The quantity will vary.
It will be deducted, but you have to organize your own manpower to pound the rice..." The manpower needed to pound 40,000 stones of rice every month is very scary. Suyu has no shortage of manpower, so there is no need to help them do everything properly.
, "Next time, seeds and farm tools will be sent back. Go back and tell the red coat girl and Ma Shuai that the conditions you agreed to must be implemented as soon as possible - the safety of Mr. Li and his entourage in Suining and Suyu."
, I also need you to send people to protect you..."
After the handover, Zhang Gou led the transport team back to Siyang Walled City, while Li Wei and his entourage stayed behind.
In addition to supervising local order and not destroying it, Li Wei and his entourage also supervise each batch of rice to ensure that three-quarters of it is transported to each township and fort. To help the hungry, porridge restaurants will be set up based on each township and fort.
Fortunately, all the rice and grain were given to Liu Miaozhen, and Malantou transported them to the city to stock up.
The manpower responsible for relief and resettlement affairs in each village fort was basically composed of officials selected by Li Wei when he was in power in Suining. The attachés who followed Li Wei northward were basically Suining and Suyu
And the people of Huaiyang County are familiar with the local area. This will ensure that when the Red Coat Army marches eastward, not only will local forces not be affected, but they will also be strengthened in matters such as providing relief to the hungry. The hungry people will use the fortresses in each township as the basis for
Resettlement can also reduce the hungry people's dependence on the Red Coat Army.
Although Suining, Suyu, and Huaiyang have less land and more people, water conservancy is in disrepair, and the fields are abandoned, as long as they cultivate and sow seeds, even if the three counties can only produce more than ten or two hundred thousand dan of rice a year.
, which will also greatly reduce the relief pressure on Huaidong.
Above the Huai River, the weather became colder and the water became clearer. The boat sailed on the water and headed towards Huaikou.
Song Jia sat with Lin Fu in the cabin. She also felt that the weather was uncomfortably cold and her hands and feet were freezing. She just covered her legs and feet with a thin brocade quilt and sat on the soft couch to watch Lin Fu studying the map.
After successfully completing the first handover of rice and grain, the next things will be simpler. Lin Fu also returned to Chongzhou by boat to make preparations for the upcoming big changes.
Chen Zhihu's deployment is mainly on the western front. In severe cold weather, he will not launch an attack on Huaiyang rashly. The situation in Huaisi will not change significantly in two or three months.
Two or three months later, the weather warmed up and all things began to grow. In addition to the rice grains provided by Huaidong, there were more edible wild animals, wild vegetables, fish and shrimps in the rivers, ditches and mountains. The hundreds of thousands of hungry people in the Huaisi land,
It can restore some vitality to some extent. As for the Red Coat Army, there is enough rice and grain supply, and it should be able to return to its peak in three to five months. Even if the Yanbei defense line completely collapses this time, Donglu's forward sentry cavalry can penetrate into Huaisi.
, also three to five months later.
The key is that it is still unclear what choice the Liang family will make in the face of the influx of hundreds of thousands of captives...
The map is spread out on the table, and the three towns of Datong, Xuanfu, and Jibei form the Yanbei defense line.
The main force of the Jizhen Army has advanced to the front of western Liaoning. After the destruction of the Jinzhong Army, in the following two or three years, the area was the focus of raids by the Qinqi. The local power was broken and there was almost no decent resistance. To the east of the Taihang Mountains, Beijing
Although the camp has **0,000 soldiers and horses, its combat power is really worrisome. Although the Tianjin navy has the strength to fight, its number is too small. At most, it will expand its troops to 10,000 before the war to defend Jinhai, Hejian and Cangzhou.
Waiting for the city is only a far-fetched option. If nothing else works, we can retreat to Yangxin.
Further south is the Liang family: Liang Chengyi is in Hezhongfu, blocking the entrance for the captives to go south from Shanxi; Liang Xi is in Jinan, plain, blocking the entrance from south Hebei. The Qingzhou army, including Yangxin, and Dengzhou
The naval forces have limited strength, but they are all located in the east corner.
Looking at the current situation, the choice of the Liang family mainly determines the next situation in the hinterland of the Central Plains.
"The Liang family has wishful thinking," Song Jia rested her elbows on the small table on the couch, held Qingmei's face in her hands, looked at Lin Fu from a few steps away, and said, "He thought that even if the Jibei army was destroyed, they could still
Let the Donghu people lose their vitality, including Datong, and the Xuanfu was crippled. In the entire north, the court only had the Liang family to rely on - Liang Xi's plan was to use the emperor to control the princes; and obviously Ye Ji
Your calculations must be smarter. Unless Li Zhuo can withdraw the main force of Jizhen from western Liaoning half a month earlier and leave more than 10,000 elite troops to guard Songshan City. Until now, even if there is no change of commander, the situation in the north will be a narrow escape!"
"..." Lin Fu turned to look at Song Jia and motioned for her to continue.
"When we first arrived at Songshan City, even though it was dangerous, the Jizhen army was still sharp in attacking Liaoyang, and they might still have a chance of winning 10% to 20%. Therefore, at that time, the Donghu troops in Datong did not dare to attack.
What's the change? In fact, there should be a number of elite cavalry scattered along the Yanshan line to prepare for Liaoyang's emergency -" Song Jia reached over, took out the terrain, spread it on his knees, and traced on the map with his slender jade finger, "Now drag
After a month, the Donghu people should mobilize more troops in Liaoyang, but the Jizhen army has lost its energy in Songshan. The hope of attacking Liaoyang again is even slimmer. If I were the king of the captives, I should send the best troops of Datong at this time.
If you draw them out, you can get 30,000 to 40,000 elite cavalry. Borrow the road from Jinzhong, pass through the Taihang Mountains and then enter Yannan. Even if the imperial court still uses Li Zhuo to command troops in western Liaoning, how much better will the situation in the north be?"
Lin Fu frowned and thought, and Song Jia continued: "Once the Donghu people enter Yannan and the elite troops exceed 30,000, the Liang family is more likely to wait and see. The imperial court hastily cannot move the capital south, so it can only order the soldiers and horses to be diligent."
. However, the only ones that can be mobilized are Chen Zhihu’s troops and the Chang Huai Army and other limited troops—the south will follow suit at this time..."
Lin Fu sighed inwardly, knowing that Song Jia's analysis was correct.
The troops the imperial court could control in the south were not many that could be called elite.
Dong Yuan was good at running the army, but the resources at his disposal during the past two or three years were very limited. He had 50,000 troops and horses, of which less than 20,000 could be considered elite. About one third of them were still in the hands of Meng Yishan, who was stationed in Weiyang for rest and recuperation.
Ning Haijun Former Ministry.
Chen Zhihu's 10,000 troops can be considered elite, and they are also the most elite combat force that the imperial court can control at this time.
Yue Lengqiu had some talent for running the army. When he was the governor of Jianghuai and the commander of the Huai army, the army received a large investment of resources and survived several bitter battles with the refugee army. At this time, there were 30,000 soldiers.
All soldiers are capable of fighting.
Although Chen Zhihu's troops and the Chang Huai Army have been stuck between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River for a long time, far away from the southern front, when the southern front is tight, they will be able to quickly go south to support them, seal any gap that the She family has worked so hard to open, and start a tug of war.
Combat.
Neither Luo Xiancheng nor Liu Miaozhen had the ability to drag Chen Zhihu's troops and the Changhuai Army on the Jianghuai battlefield, unable to escape.
Luo Xiancheng led his troops south to muddy the water. This was only the first step needed by the She family. Once the cavalry from the direction of Datong penetrated into Yannan again, and the imperial court ordered the world's soldiers and horses to be diligent, it would be the time for the She family to launch a general offensive. Then
When the time comes, can the southern line hold up?
Maybe when the north was in danger, Yue Lengqiu gritted his teeth and prevented Chang Huai's army from marching north to King Qin. How about that? Of course, this was also a very risky decision for Yue Lengqiu, and it was impossible to deduce at this time.