Before entering Yangzhou, Han Qian joined the first group of people who crossed the Yangtze River and moved north in the name of fleeing famine, and first went to Shiliang County, which is located between Chuzhou and Yangzhou, for a field trip.
Shiliang County is located in the plain area between Chu and Yang and east of Wuxing Mountain. Most of the area is low-lying.
Shiliang County is located south of Hongzepu and west of the main lake area of Fanliang Lake. Many streams and rivers originate from the hills and mountains in eastern Chaozhou, and many of them flow into Hongzepu and Fanliang Lake through Shiliang County.
This geographical prerequisite means that no matter whether there are heavy rains in the east of Chaozhou and the west of Tuzhou, or the water level in Hongzepu in the north or Fanliang Lake in the east rises, Shiliang will be flooded.
On the other hand, although Shiliang County is said to be located in the hinterland of Huainan, Liang Jun has twice invaded this hinterland since the founding of the Chu Kingdom, so that the imperial court had no intention of investing a large amount of money and grain in these Huainan (Huaixi, Huaidong) areas.
Reclamation of wasteland and construction of water conservancy projects.
The average population density of dozens of prefectures in Huaidong and Huaixi is less than half that of Jiangnan East Road.
When it comes to Shiliang County specifically, the population is even sparse.
When Han Qian entered Shiliang County, the Anning Palace rebels had already withdrawn to Hongzepu (Navy) or west of Hongzepu (horse infantry), and the Forbidden Army Ma Bujun and the Five Tooth Army Navy had also established camps in the south of Shiliang County.
Monitor the movements of the remnants of the rebel shipbuilding army water camp in Hongzepo in the north and the rebel horse and infantry in the west.
Of course, Fanliang and other lakes to the west of Shiliang County were under the control of King Xin's Huaidong Army.
Just as Han Qian expected, the low-lying Shiliang County area had now become a buffer zone for the Chu army, the rebels and the Huaidong army.
It was already late May, and the weather was getting hotter. Days of heavy rains and dilapidated river embankments had turned Shiliang County into a swamp, but there were still a large number of refugees escaping the war stranded there.
During the process of escaping, the refugees naturally united with neighboring villages and formed a chain of refugee forces, struggling to survive in this buffer zone with swampy waters.
At this time, there were also a group of clan clans from the south of the Yangtze River or officials from the court and central government who sent people across the river in advance to occupy the land.
They were waiting for the imperial court to stabilize its rule over this area and restart the economy and people's livelihood, and they would be able to obtain a large amount of land for free - the imperial court needed someone to develop and cultivate these lands, and it also encouraged and condoned this.
This makes the situation in Chuzhou, which is vast and sparsely populated, more mixed than expected.
Of course, the manpower sent by clan clans and officials from the DPRK and China to cross the river in advance were mainly concentrated on occupying land near Chuzhou City where the army was stationed or where imperial officials such as Wei Zhen had already taken over.
The first group organized by the Chishan Society had only a small number of people, only three to four hundred people who crossed the river in the name of fleeing famine. They took the old and the young, along with their families, and drove directly into Shiliang County along the Xiaota River at the junction of Chuzhou and Yangzhou.
The imperial troops stationed in the southern border of Shiliang County were very unoppressive and even welcomed them.
First of all, the first batch of people organized by the Chishan Society came from Jiangnan, and psychologically they were regarded by the Forbidden Army as one of their own.
Secondly, the large and small refugee forces in Shiliang County were a mixed bag, and they all came from areas controlled by the rebels. It was unknown how many eyes and ears of Anning Palace were among them, which made the imperial army dare not advance directly to the south bank of Hongzepu.
Now there is a trustworthy refugee force that wants to establish a foothold in the buffer zone. Why should the garrison stop it? Don't say not to stop it, they will even acquiesce to it and carry some swords and shields to protect themselves.
The refugee force sounds like refugees, but when food sources are scarce to a certain extent, the refugees will naturally transform into "bandits" who plunder the countryside, and they will inevitably fight and kill each other.
Of course, when this group of more than 300 people moved north, especially when passing through the checkpoints set up by the Forbidden Army, all parties were managed as much as possible. In the future, we must ensure the smoothness of this passage and continue to move more people.
People who lost their land moved here.
The first batch of people finally chose to base their footing on a main peak on the west bank of Fanliang Lake, which is only thirty or forty meters high and stretches for about two miles from north to south. It is called Baitigang. It is shaped like a horseshoe and has white rock.
Baitigang is about seven or eight miles away from the mouth of the Changjin River where it enters Fanliang Lake. It does not pose a threat to people and gives people a sense of spying on the strategic point of the Jinhe estuary.
Entering the Shiliang River and then Hongzepu, or crossing Fanliang Lake and entering Hongzepu, or entering the Huaidong hinterland on the east bank of the lake, is extremely smooth.
In the next period of time, the Huaidong Army will not tolerate the naval warships of the Five Tooth Army entering Fanliang Lake, but at the same time, it does not want to be caught by the court, and Huaidong's naval warships will not easily go to the west of Fanliang Lake.
Come sideways along the coast.
At the same time, the current Fanliang Lake was not a super-large lake connected together, but a swamp world composed of more than thirty lakes connected by large and small water mouths.
These particularities will all determine to leave corresponding living space for the Chishan Society to take root here.
Of course, if you want to establish a foothold here, you still need to purchase a large amount of supplies from Huaidong nearby. If you really want to make a living by picking wild vegetables and eating raw fish and crabs like other refugees, it will be difficult to control the rampant epidemics, not to mention being sallow and thin.
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In particular, after the existence of the Chishan Society aroused enough vigilance in the imperial court, large amounts of materials could only be purchased from Huaidong or transferred through areas controlled by Huaidong.
Because of the particularity of Chuzhou, it is destined that in the early stage the local clans will be dominated by clans and families, and the organization will be stronger.
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If a ship wants to go south from Fanliang Lake without taking the Jin River or Xiaota River back to the Yangtze River, it can enter Shaobo Lake, another large lake in the hinterland of Yangzhou, through the opening on the southeast side.
Zhuyu Bay is located at the southern end of Shaobo Lake.
Built in the Spring and Autumn Period, Hangou (Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal), as the core waterway connecting the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, is connected to the mouth of Shaobo Lake in the north and is located on the west side of Zhuyu Bay; while the beautiful Shubang hills are rolling in the south of Zhuyu Bay.
If we really want to attack Yangzhou in the future, Zhuyu Bay will be one of the key points for deploying troops.
As the northern gateway of Yangzhou, Zhuyu Bay is not only a battleground for military strategists, but also the most prosperous land and water dock in northern Yangzhou.
There are also endless shops and houses in the town, and there are also infantry camps with a total of more than 2,000 people. The navy is stationed in the water camp on the south side of the town.
Ships entering Hangou from Shaobo Lake will also be strictly inspected by water customs.
Han Qian, Guo Rong, Xi Rong and others took fishing boats, small sampans, and awning boats to dock at Zhuyu Bay.
It was noon when the sun was blazing. Han Qian looked up at the North Peak of Shugang. He saw that in the lush mountains and forests, there were many buildings and pavilions distributed along the mountains, covering a wide area. The ancient trees on the mountains blocked the sun, and they were winding. This is
The famous Jianyuan Garden was also the villa of Yangzhou Governor Wang Wenqian outside the city.
It is not an easy task to meet Wang Wenqian without giving Wang Wenqian a chance to react.
He Liufeng led some of his men to lurk over first, conduct full reconnaissance and spying on the terrain near Jianyuan, the guards, Zhuyu Town, and the garrison in Yangzhou North City, and formulate a plan to meet and retreat.
After Han Qian entered Zhuyu Town, He Liufeng rushed over to meet him with the information from his preliminary reconnaissance and spying.
"Wang Wenqian also used secret rooms to monitor the inside and outside of Yangzhou City. At the Wang Er Tea House opposite, there are two spies sent by the Yangzhou Government all year round, keeping an eye on the movements of Zhuyu Bay - the government officials and garrison in Zhuyu Bay are not aware of their existence.
!" He Liufeng gently opened a corner of the wooden window of Yashe, pointed to the tea shop across the long street, and told Han Qian and others to know.
"Wang Wenqian is a cautious person. It's not surprising that he sent a secret agent to keep an eye on his territory. Have you made a plan?" Han Qian smiled slightly.
"There are three layers of light and dark sentries outside Jianyuan. There is still a chance to infiltrate through the jungle, but it is too close to the garrison at Zhuyu Bay. If something happens, it will not be easy to evacuate from Jianyuan, let alone arrive safely.
Our stronghold set up at Xianyan Port on the west slope of Shugang quickly crossed Hangou and hid in the west." He Liufeng laid out the topographic map of the North Peak of Shugang and the vicinity of Jianyuan.
He was obviously opposed to Han Qian finding an opportunity to sneak into Jianyuan and Wang Wenqian through gaps in the guards. If something unexpected happened, there were only a hundred guards nearby, and it would be difficult for Han Qian to escort Han Qian and leave calmly.
"What rules has Miss Wang followed in her behavior over the past month?" Xi Rong asked.
It would be too risky to directly enter Jianyuan. As the chief military and political officer of Yangzhou, Wang Wenqian would stay in Jianyuan from time to time. When he left the city, he would support him from the front and back. The scale of the army would exceed that of Xuzhou's manpower who had sneaked into Yangzhou.
Xi Rong thought about starting from Wang Jun and looking for opportunities to meet Wang Wenqian safely.
Of course, when Xi Rong asked this question, she pinched Han Qian under the table.
