In the middle of the third month of the lunar calendar, when Heifu came to Shaxian County again, everything was completely different.
Last time he came back here, he was still "Sima Yi Xiaochuan", leading three thousand people on an adventure.
And this time, he has a vast number of people under his command. In addition to the more than 20,000 veterans of the Southern Expeditionary Army rescued in Wuchang Camp, who returned to occupy this small county when Heifu went to Anlu, there are also 50,000 soldiers brought from Anlu.
People also arrived here one after another.
Together, the number of people is three times the population of Shaxian County. The tents erected circled the town of Shaxian twice...
Just when they arrived at the city gate, Lu Jia and others came to pay their respects. Looking at the Anlu militia and the crowd of people outside, Lu Jia said worriedly:
"Your Majesty, there is a shortage of food at the moment. The warehouses in Shaxian County have been eaten up by the 20,000 people from the Wuchang camp. There is not much left. I am afraid that within ten days, Shaxian will be short of food!"
Food was the biggest problem Heifu faced. In comparison, Feng Wuze's tens of thousands of troops who could not cross the river were nothing at all.
In the early stages of the incident, Heifu pinned his hopes on obtaining military rations from the Wuchang camp, but Yang Xiong's fire burned hundreds of thousands of grains and grains into ashes.
This unintentional move caused huge trouble for Heifu.
The Art of War says: "An army will perish without food." People are like iron rice and steel. If they don't eat for a day, they will be hungry. Seeing that there are only ten days of food left, and 70,000 to 80,000 men under them are crying for food. If this problem cannot be solved, there is no need to do anything.
If something big happens, you will collapse first.
Hei Fu then asked: "Is there any news from Changsha and Yuzhang?"
Lu Jia turned his worry into a smile: "There is no Yuzhang yet, but during the time when the king went to Anlu, the three captains Tao, Han and Xiao sent good news from Changsha several times!"
From Lu Jia's narration, Heifu learned that in late February, a battle took place on the Xingle River in Xiangnan County, Changsha County: Han Xin used sandbags to block the river, half-crossed it to lure the enemy, and finally succeeded in flooding Li You's army and annihilated it.
After taking thousands of prisoners, Li You had only four or five thousand left to surrender to Changsha, while Han Xin, Xiao He, Li Cang, Xiao Tao and others entered Linxiang...
To the south of Linxiang, all the counties along the Xiang River were under the control of the Southern Expeditionary Army. Li Cang also led 3,000 people north to attack Luo County, hoping to open up the road and once Changsha was captured, the army could be mobilized immediately.
Food is shipped north.
This is the latest news that he received just yesterday. While Heifu praised Han Xin for his incompetence and was glad that he did not lose the bet, he also felt more at ease.
Opening the letter Xiao He attached to the military report, this dedicated logistics captain also explained to Heifu the importance of taking over Changsha County for the future...
"Although Lingnan has two crops a year, there are few households to bring together the people. After the emperor made a big plan, half of the soldiers and civilians will be transferred north. There is less food. Even if it is grown, it will be difficult to transport it to the north of Lingnan."
In short, Lingnan can at best be self-sufficient in food, and don’t expect to feed back the food.
Xiao He also analyzed that Yuzhang County has only been developed by immigrants for more than ten years. Although it is the most densely distributed place in the old part of Heifu, the industry is not balanced. There are many sugarcane fields and less millet and rice. It also requires a large amount of grain to be transported from abroad every year.
A satisfying area for eating.
At a glance, the entire Jiangnan and Lingnan areas (excluding Jiangdong) are in a state of shortage of people and food. Changsha has a slightly larger population and several grain-producing areas.
Xiao He wrote in the letter: "More than a hundred years ago, King Wei of Qi sent an envoy to say that the king of Yue has no borders, Fuyu, Pang, Changsha, Chu's millet, Jingzeling, Chu's materials, Yue's military intelligence is true.
At the pass, these four towns did not pay tribute to Ying... Pang, Changsha, present-day Zhongwu (Hengyang), and Linxiang are still the most fertile grain-producing places in the south of the Yangtze River. They are often transported to Guilin through Lingqu.
You can also go through the Xiang River and Yunmeng to Jianghan and Hubei."
Captain Sosu believes that although the strategy of King Wujiang of Yue was a complete failure, it is different from the past. Controlling these areas and controlling food are the prerequisites for Heifu to gain a foothold in Jiangnan. Obviously, when writing the letter, Xiao He said to Heifu
My husband is not yet confident about how far he can go, so his proposal is conservative.
Hei Fu nodded: "Once Linxiang is conquered, it can be transported to Changsha by water. The food from Hengyang will alleviate the hunger of the army and the people!"
But water from afar cannot quench the thirst of nearby people. Even if Linxiang is conquered, due to limited ships, not much food can be transported each time. We have to think of other ways.
"It's better to copy the grain!"
Dongmen Bao said frankly and sincerely: "Didn't we often do this when we followed the pavilion leader to attack Chu?"
Everyone was silent. There were two types of targets for copying grain: one was local nobles and wealthy people.
But the embarrassing thing is that there are no big aristocrats and rich people in Shaxian, or the entire Jiangnan area: south of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, there are no cold and hungry people, and there are no rich families.
Even if there were a few feudal nobles in the Chu Kingdom, when Qin unified the world, they fled and were basically killed.
Instead, there are rising stars like the Xu family of Yuzhang and the Wu family of Yugan, as well as immigrants from Nanjun who have sprung up like mushrooms, and military aristocrats. They are like seeds, spread across the land of Jiangnan, and have become rich in the brown sugar craze.
.
Therefore, unlike in Jiaodong, in Jiangnan and Nanjun, the class struggle will only fight against one's own people, and the contradiction between subject and object cannot be intensified. Does Heifu still hope that the old township party will actively respond to him, and that the revolution can be brought on himself?
Therefore, once you choose to copy grain, you can only copy local people and take food from their mouths.
Lu Jia was the first to stand up against this practice.
"The treacherous ministers in the court are rebellious and immoral, and the rulers want to correct their shortcomings, so they punish the people for their crimes. At this time, we should implement benevolent government and relieve the people's injustice. How can we do the opposite and plunder the people? In that case, we are still called
What is the difference between a rebel army and a teacher of benevolent people and thieves and bandits?"
Dongmen Bao was about to get angry when the Confucian scholar called him a bandit, but Hei Fu expressed his stance.
"Abao, sit down!"
"What Lu Jia said is true. The people of Qin are not the people of Chu, but the people of Qin. They have been scorched by the scorching sun for too long. They are looking forward to the rain and hope to be rescued by us! Looting grain from the poor people in Guizhou is killing the chicken to obtain the egg. It cannot be done.
Pick!"
It's not that Heifu was interested in Lu Jia's silent Confucian benevolence, but he believed that in order to win this war, it was definitely not enough to rely on the Southern Expeditionary Army and hundreds of thousands of Anlu people. He needed to let more and more people
The more people get involved.
Qin Shihuang was not aware of the power of ordinary Guizhou leaders, but Heifu knew very well that he needed to use this torrent to change the times.
First, go with the flow.
"At this time, when a country of ten thousand chariots implements benevolent government and the people are happy with it, it is still unsolved..."
Heifu read Lu Jia's words and felt that they were very applicable to the present moment.
Today's situation is very delicate. Although the banner of righteousness has been raised, any peace or revolt has nothing to do with the lives of ordinary people and cannot attract them...
"My slogan may not have as much appeal as 'If Qin is destroyed, Chu must be destroyed'." Hei Fu secretly complained.
To make a revolution, it is not enough to just have chicken soup of "I'd rather have seeds." You must have something real.
Heifu must make the world realize the difference between the "rebellious army" under Wu Zhonghou and the "rebellious army" of the imperial court, so that they can support him and have a steady supply of troops and food.
And all this requires only a small change.
Let’s start with Sha Xian!
Then Heifu coughed lightly and said: "I heard that after the 20,000 soldiers of the Wuchang Battalion were stationed in Shaxian, military discipline was not strict. Some people ate and drank freely in people's homes. They entered the village at will, trampled the crops, and occupied the houses.
There are those who insult women, and there are those who hurt and kill others!”
The further he talked, the more serious and annoyed Heifu's face became.
"Today, Shaxian's people are in panic. How can the host and guest be separated for a long time? Now let's send military judges to the army and set up a court of thorns. In accordance with Qin's military laws, those who commit crimes and disturb the people will be severely punished and must not be tolerated!"
Never overestimate the discipline of the feudal army, even the Qin army. If you don't care about those veterans, they will become lawless.
Iron cannot be forged into steel, so Heifu felt that his army needed to be reorganized.
After emphasizing military discipline and killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, Heifu talked about another thing.
"Let the Prime Minister Sha Xian come and see you. I have a new policy that I want to try out in Sha Xian."
Lu Jia was an active promoter of "benevolent government and royal government". After hearing this, he couldn't help but perked up and bowed: "Your Majesty, I wonder what the new government is?"
Heifu only said four words, but they were enough to shake the world:
