It snowed heavily in Huainan, and the newly renovated post roads were covered with cinders. Thousands of people and horses trampled on them, but they still left mud on the ground.
The township bureaus along the road requisitioned the labor of laborers overnight to repair the road.
Although the temperature will get colder in the next two days, and stepping on the turbid melting snow will freeze the road solidly for the whole day, the road needs to be smoothed out in time to ensure a continuous supply of materials for the subsequent use of vehicles and horses.
Fast shipping to Huangchuan.
However, the requisitioned labor force seems to be slightly more. There are hundreds of civilian laborers, holding wooden shovels and other simple tools, braving the biting cold, trampling on the snow to work in extremely difficult conditions, but few
It’s tiring to cry out.
Since the Tangyi Army regained the central areas of Huozhou and Shouzhou in the spring, they first abolished the status of slaves and slaves and directly confiscated the fields of wealthy families.
Those wealthy families who did not escape immediately were imprisoned as war criminals and sent to hard labor camps for rehabilitation.
The confiscated fields were allocated to poor tenant farmers and slaves who were actually cultivating them. Only these tenant farmers were needed. The slave families worked for the township secretary for three months in total during the off-farm period every year on road construction, canal construction, etc., and ten consecutive years of voluntary work were deducted from the income.
Yes; of course, these private households have young men who are eligible for military service, and even this discount is directly exempted.
The newly recovered counties will be exempted from this year's summer and autumn grain taxes and Dingkou tax.
And even if the land is measured and divided into acres, the new land tax that will be levied uniformly next year will only be less than half of what the Shouzhou Army collected in various ways before.
From now on, all the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Tangyi will be directly exempted from the heavy corvee.
At this time, when civilians are requisitioned to repair roads, the wages will be paid by the township secretary or directly offset against the new land tax levied next year after the land is allocated.
For the idle and strong laborers who stay in dilapidated shacks in the cold winter, participating in road construction can not only earn an extra income, but also save food for the family. How can they feel hard work?
In the summer and autumn, although the floods in Huanghe, Guanhe and other river basins were extremely serious, tens of thousands of households whose fields and houses were destroyed by floods were moved to northern Chaozhou and Chuzhou for resettlement, and the remaining households were not seriously affected by the floods.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, the summer and autumn grain harvests are relatively stable. If you save money and spend frugally, there will be absolutely no problem until the summer grain harvest next year.
There are even some families who are a little braver, and use some of their excess grain to buy a few new clothes for their families, or purchase a few handy farm tools, or buy two carts of lime, and hire young men from the same village to help.
After a few minor repairs to the dilapidated house, and a new thatched roof to protect it from wind and rain, life seemed to be getting better.
During the Battle of Wujinling, the Shouzhou Army forcibly recruited more than 30,000 civilians from Gaocheng and other counties to build roads, camp, transport grain and fodder, and even drove onto the battlefield as miscellaneous soldiers to consume the strength of the Tangyi Army. After the Shouzhou Army was defeated,
, except for a few of these civilian husbands who fled back one after another, most of them failed to return to their hometowns for more than two years.
These civilian husbands are all strong laborers. To their families, it is as if the main beam has collapsed. However, after this spring, 25,600 families will not only get in touch with their fathers, sons or husbands who have been separated for so long, but also
It was learned that they all officially became generals of Tangyi Army.
For the poor people struggling at the bottom, knowing that their families are safe and sound is already great news. Next, except for the land allotment given by the township secretary to the generals’ family members, it will all be allocated 15 acres per household without compensation.
During the five-year service period of the regular soldiers, the land tax was halved. In addition to being paid as regular soldiers from the spring onwards, each general was also given a supplementary salary of five cents for the auxiliary soldiers in the camp to prepare for their families.
can get better placement.
Winning the support of aristocratic clans will be quite complicated, but winning the support and support of the poor and slaves at the bottom who are struggling on the edge of survival is straightforward and simple.
Of course, this requires strong enough fiscal and tax revenue and the organizational strength of a large number of grassroots subordinates to support this.
Groups of soldiers and horses passed in front of the village, bringing not the depression and panic of the impending war, but hundreds of young adults running to the township office all day long, asking whether the government had any plans to recruit new soldiers.
Some of the civilian men who were forcibly conscripted by the Shouzhou Army during the Wujinling War were only sons, brothers, or fathers and sons who were conscripted into the army at the same time.
Regardless of whether it was to follow the tradition of passing on the family line or to ensure that households had young and strong labor force at home, after recovering the central area of Huozhou after the spring, Han Qian ordered the reissue of the auxiliary military pay of nearly 3,000 generals to be returned home.
.
These people are even more eager to return to the camp.
The standard of clothing, food, housing and transportation for the soldiers of the Tangyi Army was much higher than that of the poor people at the bottom of the world.
Meritorious service will be rewarded. If you can survive several literacy classes, you can be appointed as a military attache, and then you can be appointed as an official when you return to the local area. Even though this is a bit far for ordinary generals, after the service period, you will be included in the reserve force.
You can also enjoy half the salary, and after you retire from the reserve force, you can still enjoy part of the salary until you are old.
For the children of Huaixi who have been struggling on the edge of survival for decades, where can they find such good things?
Even as a civilian accompanying the army, he can enjoy the benefits of being an auxiliary soldier in the camp, which is better than being idle at home in the cold winter and unable to find a living.
In order to alleviate the huge pressure on military resources, Han Qian could not expand his troops without limit, and had even been thinking of reducing the number of active troops. However, at this critical time, in order to ensure the rapid expansion of troops and horses in a short period of time, he
Possibly, at the same time that Su Lie, He Liufeng, and Tan Xiuqun were transferred to the west, the Government of Zhizhi ordered the various township departments to recruit 100 to 300 new road construction workers in addition to the original construction plan.
Currently, the government has jurisdiction over 27 counties and 189 townships. Through this method, nearly 40,000 young people are actually in a state of semi-mobilization and semi-preparation for war.
Almost half of these young and strong laborers are distributed near the post road that starts in the north of Chaozhou, passes through Anfengzhai, Gaocheng and goes to Le'an and the north side of Huaiyang Mountain.
This post road has a long history and is currently the main land passage from Chaozhou and Chuzhou to Huangchuan and Le'an. Along the way, it crosses many waterways that originate from the northern and northeastern foothills of Huaiyang Mountain and flow into the Huaihe River and Chaohu Lake.
There are ferries and pontoons along the river, as well as inns and inns every twenty or thirty miles.
Anfeng, Gaocheng, Yincheng, Xinjing and other major cities in Shouzhou, central and southern Huozhou and northern Chaozhou are all located near this post road, which is the most densely populated area in central Huaixi.
Along this post road, after crossing the Huanghe River to the west, you will reach Le'an City, which is only 60 miles away from Luoshan City to the east.
Less than forty miles north along the Huanghe River from Le'an City is Huangchuan City, where the old government of Guangzhou was located.
Huangchuan City is divided into two parts, the old and the new, east and west, standing across the Huang River, forming horns with each other. The defensive situation is excellent, but Le'an City is closer to Luoshan, so the troops and horses that will be mobilized to the west wing will naturally be assembled in Le'an.
In addition to the post road in the north of Huaiyang Mountain, you can go from the upper reaches of Longtan River valley to the upper reaches of Feishui River in the south, then enter the Baishui River valley via the Huazhufeng plank road, and pass through the newly built road in the hinterland of Huaiyang Mountain, you can directly enter Huang
Go upstream and then down the Huanghe River to enter Le'an City.
This newly constructed passage that has been built over the past two years is narrower and more tortuous, but as a supplement, this passage can allow the manpower and materials in Huaiyang Mountain to be fully utilized, and at the same time, it is not afraid of the obstacles on the north side of Huaiyang Mountain.
The passage may be cut off by the incoming Shouzhou Army scouts, and it can also conceal the gathering and mobilization of the Tangyi Army, which is even more significant.
Groups of troops gathered in the direction of Le'an, and in Le'an County, Kong Xirong was one step ahead in building a group of barracks and fortresses on the west side of the county.
In mid-November, when Lin Jinhou Li Changfeng, Minister of Industry Zhou Yuan and others strongly refuted Han Qian's memorial urging a quick settlement of the Luoshan garrison within one month in the court, He Liufeng was the chief general and Su Lie was the deputy general.
The 12,000 elite soldiers and horses of Tangyi's forward army have already stationed themselves in a camp on the east bank of the Gushui River, which is only less than thirty miles away from Luoshan City.
Dushanyi, one of the core camps of the Zuo Longque Army on the west bank of the Gushui River, is only 500 steps away from the main camp of the Tangyi Forward Army, which is actually equivalent to facing each other across the Gushui River.
After the forward army arrived at the east bank of the Gushui River, it did not stop and wait for further orders before taking action. Instead, it divided troops and horses to spread along the east bank of the Gushui River, occupy and control many places where it was easier to cross the river - the Xiangbei Army was at
Hundreds of people were organized across the river bank to cut through the river ice every day, so that the Gushui River was not completely frozen even in late November.
In addition, Han Bao, who was transferred to serve in front of Kong Xirong's tent after returning from Heshuo, and Wang Zang were also incorporated into the forward army this time. Each led more than a thousand elite infantry and advanced directly into the two flanks of the valley in the upper reaches of the Gushui River.
Launch a clearing campaign against the cottages in the upper reaches of the Gushui River.
Last autumn and winter, when Kong Xirong led his troops into the mountainous area on the northern slope of Huaiyang Mountain and launched a riot by the poor and slaves at the bottom to resist the oppression and exploitation of the wealthy families, they were only limited to the area east of the upper reaches of Huanghe River.
The mountainous area in the upper reaches of the Gushui River is close to Jiuli Pass and Lingshan Camp controlled by the Xiangbei Army. It is quite far away from Wujin Ridge. Moreover, the mountainous area along the Gushui River has a relatively flat terrain and is easily attacked by the garrison troops of Huangchuan and Le'an.
Therefore, last year, when a large-scale uprising was launched among the poor and slaves, they did not extend their tentacles to the mountainous areas along the upper reaches of the Gushui River.
Although the Gushui River is the boundary river between Luoshan and Le'an and Huangchuan counties, the upper reaches of the Gushui River, Xuanxi Bay, Gaohuadian Port and other places are traditionally affiliated with Luoshan County.
At least before Wei Qun went to Da Chu as an envoy to propose that the Shu-Chu coalition attack Guanzhong, Han Qian did not think about engaging in a military confrontation with Li Zhigao. He even sent only a small number of sentries to the east bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Gushui River and did not build a fixed camp. Naturally,
There is no attempt to control the mountainous areas upstream of the Gushui River.
However, after Han Qian made up his mind to abduct the Wen clan members to Tangyi, the Gushui River became more important in the West Wing, and the West Wing's attitude towards the mountainous area upstream of the Gushui River also changed fundamentally.
Just two or three months ago, Kong Xirong was not limited to repairing several permanent camps along the east bank of the Gushui River. Kong Xirong also dispatched hundreds of capable men to sneak into the mountainous area of the upper reaches of the Gushui River near Jiuliguan to make secret contacts and encourage copycats.
The lower class poor and slaves there.
Now when it's time to harvest, the elite soldiers and horses of Han Bao and Wang Zhi went directly into the mountains and knocked down the strongholds one after another. Those who disobeyed started riots from within and cooperated with the outside to forcibly conquer the strongholds, abolish the old system of slaves and maids, suppress the powerful people, and
As quickly as possible, tens of thousands of poor people and slaves in this area were mobilized, two townships were established, two thousand elite troops were recruited, and the number of soldiers and horses was expanded to more than 4,000. They were stationed at Jianzi Ridge out of the Gushui River, east of Xiangbei.
Junlingshan Camp is only about 20 miles away from the gorge, threatening the flanks from Jiuli Pass to Lingshan Camp and from Lingshan Camp to Luoshan City.
In the cold winter, the streams and rivers are dry, so it is easy to block the upper reaches of the Gushui River.
At the same time, a large amount of lime, stone mud, green bricks, strips of stone and other construction materials were continuously transported to the Jianziling Gorge mouth through thousands of mules and horses from Huangchuan, Le'an, Yincheng, Xinjing and other places.
Hundreds of able-bodied laborers were cutting down trees in the nearby mountains.
Such a big move is obviously not just about building two camps at the mouth of Jianziling Gorge and connecting them with a pontoon bridge.
From the mouth of Jianziling Gorge to the north, thousands of people were recruited along the east bank of the Gushui River to repair the abandoned river embankments and roads on the east bank regardless of the severe ice and snow.
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"Does Han Qian really want to rush to repair the dam at the mouth of the gorge?"
Xu Jing stood on a gentle slope and asked sadly and angrily.
He looked at the river ice on the north side of Jianzi Ridge after it had broken. There was no flow under the ice. Hundreds of people had built a low fence in the river and filled it with earth and rocks to block the small amount of water seeping down.
The river is flowing, but in the river below the fence wall, countless people are clearing out the silt from the river bed.
Looking at the camp on the east bank, hundreds of mules and horses are constantly transporting bricks and stones to pile up. It is obvious that a formal weir dam is to be built in the river below the simple fence wall.
At this time, Han Qian did not hesitate to recruit thousands of civilians to build weirs and dams on the upper reaches of the Valley River. His sinister intentions are self-evident.
During the Battle of Wujin Ridge, the main force of the Shouzhou Army was concentrated in the narrow valley between Wujin Ridge and Meitang Mountain, which was more vulnerable to the impact of the upstream floods. However, after leaving Jianzi Ridge, the west bank of the Gushui River was a flat plain.
To use the flood to reach the Xiangbei Military Camp twenty or thirty miles away and build it on the outskirts of Luoshan City, it is necessary to use weirs and dams on the upper reaches of the Gushui River and the mountains on both sides to store more than ten times the amount of water. Then it is necessary to build
Taller, more formal weirs.
A project of this scale is not impossible to do in this world, but the scale of civilian labor that needs to be requisitioned is huge, and it cannot be completed in a short time.
Of course, just because others can't do it, doesn't mean Tangyi can't do it.
Looking at the large amount of blue bricks piled up on the east bank, it is obvious that Han Qian wants to use green bricks that are easier to bake to replace the stone strips to build the dam body. The green brick dam body is easier to be eroded by the river water, far less than the stone strips, but
If Han Qian's purpose of building the weir and dam was only to store water and hit the west bank, using blue bricks instead of stone strips would undoubtedly save a lot of time.
In fact, even if the dam is not built high enough to store enough water, the existence of this dam will force the Xiangbei Army to not dare to approach the Gushui River at will, and tight areas like Dushanjin will
The camps adjacent to the west bank of the Gushui River will be abandoned.
Of course, after next spring, even if the Tangyi Army releases water and destroys the road between Lingshan Camp and Luoshan City, it will be enough for them to eat a pot.
Zhang Qian, who was assigned by Shen Yang to rush to Luoshan to inspect the war situation and coordinate the relationship between Xiangbei Army and Tangyi Army, met Gao Shao and Kong Xirong in Le'an City yesterday, and crossed the Gushui River today and just arrived.
Dushanjin had not seen Li Zhigao's face when he was dragged here by Xu Jing and Yao Xi. However, he was also secretly surprised when he saw this scene. He did not expect that Han Qian was so blatant that he did not hesitate to attack the Xiangbei Army.
The fangs are dry.
Is Han Qian so eager to stop Li Zhigao from recruiting the Luoshan garrison?
"Are the imperial court and Prime Minister Shen going to sit back and watch Han Qian, a traitor, act so wantonly and ignore it?" Xu Jing stared at Zhang Qian and asked angrily.
Zhang Qian had a sullen face and remained silent.
Xu Jing, as the head of the Privy Council Staff Department, looked outraged and unabashedly favored the Xiangbei Army. Xu Jing and Yao Xishui also came from Jinling with him this time. What is the situation in Jinling now? , it’s not that they don’t know clearly, what’s the use of questioning him, what’s the use of pointing the finger directly at Prime Minister Shen?
Just as most people in the court looked down upon Han Qian's kindness, most people did not want the Luoshan garrison to surrender for Li Zhigao.
Even so, so many princes and ministers in the court were unwilling to wade into this muddy water, so they pushed the insignificant him out to go north with Xu Jing and Yao Xishui, but what was the use?
Can he run up to Han Qian and show his teeth?
When he came this time, he didn't even see Han Qian's face, but he actually knew that Han Qian was in Le'an City yesterday.
Even though Zhang Qian knew that Shen Yang would never want to see the Tangyi Army and the Xiangbei Army start a fight, he didn't want to be involved at this time. He cleared his throat and said: "The Marquis of Qianyang didn't cross the line very much. Mr. Xu denounced his wanton behavior, which was a little too much. Besides, the mountainous area in the upper reaches of the Gushui River belongs to Luoshan County, but the Xiangbei Army delayed for more than half a year and failed to capture Luoshan City. It also failed to effectively control the mountainous area in the upper reaches of the Gushui River. How can you blame the Marquis of Qianyang for taking advantage of me?"
Seeing that Zhang Qian also had a conciliatory attitude, Xu Jing's face darkened, but he could not argue.
It's not that they don't know the importance of directly controlling the countryside, but knowing it doesn't mean they can do it.
And even in the prefectures such as Xiang, Deng, Jun, and Ying that they focus on, they can only place their own people in core official positions in prefectures and counties. However, a large number of assistant officials and grassroots military attachés armed by prefectures, counties, and township soldiers are all They can only rely on the children of local wealthy rural families to fill the role.
At the grassroots level in the countryside, they can only let the big rural families control them completely.
Otherwise, today there will be bandits and thieves here, the people there will protest against donations and taxes, and the 40,000 to 50,000 elite soldiers and horses of the Xiangbei Army will be exhausted, and it will be difficult to control the place without leakage.
After all, in the late Honglou, the children trained by the Xinchang Hou Mansion, including Li Zhigao's direct relatives over the years, after the Right Shenwu Army suffered a devastating blow, have gradually filled in the Zuo Longque Army, Zuo Wuwei Army and Zuo Wuwei Army over the years. The Shenwu Army's command of 40,000 to 50,000 elite troops is still insufficient.
Not counting Guangzhou, there are 32 counties in the five prefectures of Xiangbei. At the prefecture and county levels alone, a thousand core government officials are needed. If the township level is to be directly controlled, the number of government officials will still be small. To be expanded twice.
How can they get so many government officials who are proficient in official affairs, knowledgeable about laws and regulations, and proficient in pen and ink to control the place?
And as long as they rely on the children of the rich rural families to rule the place, it is a joke to mobilize the poor people and slaves at the bottom.
Compared with their shortage of political talents, the East Lake School run by Han Qian in Liyang City had an extremely luxurious staff of more than 400 teaching staff.
For a series of major projects such as the repair of Anfeng Canal and the excavation of Yongyang Canal, Han Qian appointed little-known people as chief engineering officers.
Over the years, Han Daoxun, Han Qian and his son have cultivated a large number of useful direct descendants in Xuzhou, which is difficult for any family to catch up in a short period of time.
The three armies in Xiangbei are still affiliated with the Forbidden Army system.
Even though Li Zhigao has tried his best to reduce the burden on the generals in recent years, he can only barely do so without requiring the generals or soldiers to bear the cost of repairing and maintaining the armor, war horses, and military horses. There is currently no way to get an additional five or six hundred thousand a year. , pay each general and soldier.
It was impossible for them to detach two to three thousand elite troops and station them in the remote mountainous area upstream of the Gushui River beforehand to prevent the Tangyi Army from barbarically intervening, right?
However, the Tangyi Army barbarically intervened, unscrupulously launching mobs to suppress the wealthy and powerful households in the countryside, restoring local order at an unimaginable speed, and recruiting a large number of young and enthusiastic laborers into the army. They had no way to prepare in advance, nor could they Measures should be taken to stop it in a timely and effective manner.
"Han Qian wrote a letter and urged that the Luoshan defenders should be eliminated within a month so that Chu's hundreds of thousands of elite troops would not be restrained by the more than 10,000 Luoshan defenders. The reason is also valid - -Furthermore, there has been a lot of discussion in the court recently about Xinjinhou’s siege of Chaozhou for a long time and the defeat of Hongzepu and Zhongli. This makes it difficult for Prime Minister Shen to speak for Xinjinhou in the court. "
Zhang Qian saw Xu Jing fell silent and continued,
"According to Zhang's humble opinion, the Xiangbei Army is no less elite than the Tangyi Army. It is ruthless and ruthless. I believe that capturing Luoshan City within half a month will not be a big problem. And since Wen Bo insists that he has no intention of accepting the surrender of Xinjin Marquis, Instead of arguing about these things at this time, Mr. Xu might as well try his best to help the Marquis of Xinjin capture Luoshan City as soon as possible - if the Marquis of Xinjin can guarantee that Luoshan City will be captured within half a month, Zhang will risk his life. If we can block the main force of the Tangyi Army from crossing the Gushui River even a little bit, I believe the Marquis of Qianyang will have nothing to say."
Xu Jing almost spat out a mouthful of blood, but he could not refute Zhang Qian's words that it would not have been possible to capture Luoshan City within half a month if the Tangyi army had come.
When it comes to whether the destruction of the Dachu Navy and the main force of the Youshenwu Army was Li Zhigao's responsibility for the long-term siege of Chaozhou, Xu Jing could not refute it with any confidence; after all, he had fled back to Jinling in embarrassment like a dog. Save your life.
Yao Xishui stood aside and didn't say much, but hearing these words from Zhang Qian undoubtedly represented the attitudes of Shen Yang, Yang En and others. They were actually concerned about the Xiangbei Army's insistence on incorporating the Luoshan defenders instead of resolutely annihilating them. Dissatisfied, he couldn't help but ask: "According to Master Zhang's opinion, besides attacking Luoshan City by force in half a month, is there any other way that can work?"
"I haven't met the Marquis of Qianyang in person yet, but I came over yesterday to meet with Gao Shao and Kong Xirong. Their message was very simple and clear. The Xiangbei Army cannot guarantee that it can capture Luoshan City in half a month, so it will withdraw in the near future. After arriving at the west side of Luoshan City, the Tangyi Army entered the east side of Luoshan City to persuade him to surrender. If Wen Bo insists on being unwilling to leave the city and surrender unconditionally, the two armies will attack together. Tangyi Army will ensure that the East City is captured within half a month. If If the Xiangbei Army cannot capture Xicheng within half a month at the same time, Luoshan County will be under the jurisdiction of Tangyi Xingyingzhifu..."
"Is this what Prime Minister Shen means?" Yao Xishui asked.
"Of course Prime Minister Shen hopes that the Xiangbei Army can capture Luoshan City alone as soon as possible and make another great contribution to Chu." Zhang Qian said.
Yao Xishui almost spit out a mouthful of old blood. How many heavy casualties would the Xiangbei Army have to pay to capture Luoshan City in half a month? Why couldn't Shen Yang speak and his back hurt?