Heavy snow fell one after another, and more than a thousand cavalrymen, all wearing scale armor under their green and black cloaks, galloped like silver and red waves. On the afternoon of the fifth day of the first lunar month, which was just the beginning of the new year, they came out from the north gate of Liyang City.
It passes through the newly established mountain trail in the western section of Qingcang Mountain and meanders towards the northern wilderness.
Everyone knows that Han Qian usually handles official duties in Liyang City. After Zhao Wuji also served as the governor of Chaozhou, the main bodyguard cavalry of Han Donghu, who was appointed as the capital of Yuhou, also accompanied Han Qian and was stationed in Liyang City.
Even after the Shu Kingdom surrendered to Dachu, the Western Fan war horses imported to Huaixi were no longer subject to the previous restrictions, but the towns and armies were in urgent need of new independent cavalry battalions, so the guard cavalry still maintained a strength of more than 2,400 people.
Elite cavalry establishment.
Thousands of guard cavalry leaving the city meant that either Han Qian was traveling far away, or there was a major change somewhere in the north and the guard cavalry needed to rush to reinforce as soon as possible.
Liyang City has been preserved. It was originally the land used for Liyang School. Later, the government offices of the Zhizhifu, the families of generals and officials, and their families also moved to Liyang City to settle down.
The population of Liyang City is not relatively pure yet, but just after the New Year, there is such a big movement in the city, which does not mean that people are not panicking, and they do not know what troubles are happening in today's war-torn world.
Although Liyang and Jinling are separated by only a river, the residents of Liyang City are much more sensitive to changes in the current situation.
Wen Bo and his two soldiers returned to the house from Lianyuan in the afternoon without sending anyone to notify him. Xue Chuan, Cao Ba, his nephew Wen Yuan and his eldest brother Wen Zhanyu all rushed over after hearing the news.
After surrendering to the Wen family, Han Qian's most basic request was to abolish the status of slaves and slaves and to divide the family and property.
The so-called separation of clans and property divisions means that the traditional clan, with the clan leader or head of the family as the head of the family property and family affairs, is divided into independent families and the family property is divided equally.
The old system inherited by the first line eldest son.
Nowadays, Wen Bo and his brother Wen Zhanyu are also counted as two households. Xue Chuan, Cao Ba and others have even gone out to establish their own businesses. However, the power of tradition and habit is still strong. If anything happens, Xue Chuan, Cao Ba and others will also be
He immediately ran to Wen Bo's room to discuss it - in this case, Han Qian would not impose any restrictions on others.
"What on earth happened? How could such a large number of cavalry guards be dispatched all of a sudden during the Chinese New Year?" Cao Ba, who was in his early thirties, was even more unable to sit still than Wen Yuan and Xue Chuan. He opened the door and saw Wen Yuan.
Bo asked loudly in the yard.
Xue Chuan and Cao Ba were both soldiers of the Wen family. They followed Wen Muqiao and Wen Bo and established meritorious service in the army. They were both promoted to the rank of Du Yuhou.
After the Luoshan garrison surrendered to Tangyi, it was first organized into the Youshenwu Army. However, after returning to Tangyi from Liangzhou, the soldiers of the Youshenwu Army were temporarily disbanded and repatriated to reunite with their families, while the grassroots military attachés all went to designated intermediate schools to receive training.
to literacy and basic military knowledge training, and mid- to senior-level military attachés above the battalion commander level gathered at the Liyang Xuetang Military Academy for training.
In addition to Wen Bo who directly established the army as a military commander and led the military academy as deputy mountain commander, staff and military intelligence department, and deputy capital minister, Xue Chuan, Cao Ba, Wen Yuan and others were inevitably sent to the military academy to receive rigorous cultural and military knowledge.
training.
Wen Yuan and Xue Chuan were better off. Cao Ba had limited literacy and could barely read very simple letters. Suddenly he was asked to study intensive cultural subjects. He had already accumulated a lot of resentment and complained all day long.
The government did this to deprive them of military power.
Wen Muqiao and Wen Bo reprimanded Cao Ba many times, but they still couldn't suppress Cao Ba's bad temper, which also made them somewhat worried that Cao Ba would bring trouble out of his mouth.
"Just come here. You will graduate from the military academy today. You will not need to go to the military academy for training after the year. You will go to Shouchun with me as an auxiliary military attache!" Wen Bo said, and then sent the few servants at home to Shouchun.
The servant called over, took out a list, and asked them to go and notify people according to the list. The people on the list should complete the assembly before dark, and then set off for Shouchun.
On this list, including Cao Ba, Xue Chuan, and Wen Yuan, are all middle- and high-level military attachés from the Youshenwu Army who are currently considered to have potential and who continue to train at the military academy, ranging from battalion commander to Du Yuhou.
, a total of more than eighty people.
Of course, among those who were recruited as auxiliary military attachés this time were a hundred middle and senior military attachés who were selected from Tianping Capital and other ministries and entered the academy for training.
In addition, Han Qian has just issued a military order to recruit about 500 grass-roots military attaches who have received training from various places to form a cavalry team with mid-level and senior-level trained military attaches, asking them to report to Shouchun as soon as possible.
Assemble.
At this time, it was the Chinese New Year. Not to mention the grassroots military attachés who mainly received training near their place of residence, most of the trainees at the military academy took leave of absence and left Liyang to reunite with their families because their families were not in Liyang.
However, the generals of the You Shenwu Army were from small families, and after their surrender, they mainly settled in Liyang and Donghu, where it was most convenient to assemble.
"What happened?"
The servant took the horse and went out to inform the others. After returning to Tangyi, he was living in his house or traveling around the mountains and rivers. Wen Muqiao, who was not interested in worldly affairs, couldn't help but ask at this time.
Regardless of whether it is a special guard cavalry team or in other names, Han Qian's urgent recruitment of so many mid-level, senior and junior military attachés who are being trained means that he is most likely to carry out a large-scale expansion of troops and horses in Shouchun, rather than anything else.
Things are drawn from the existing troops and horses.
The further expansion of the army in Huaixi clearly meant that something had happened. Otherwise, why would Han Qian have done something to alert the enemy but waste money and food?
Wen Muqiao didn't know what reason there was for Han Qian to suddenly decide to expand the army at this time when everything was peaceful and peaceful a year ago, causing everyone to have a hard time year after year?
When the Weizhou rebels dug a dike and flooded Xingyang, Han Qian did not ask for strict secrecy. Wen Bo also told the story bluntly. He only told his family and Cao Ba that Xue Chuan and others should not go out and talk nonsense.
"Liang Shixiong dug a dike and burst the water, which should prevent the Liang army from attacking Xingyang and ensure that the east gate of Heluo is safe. This matter is a headache for Liang Emperor Zhu Yu. Does Tangyi need such a big response?" Wen Zhanyu asked doubtfully.
They had previously followed Xu Mingzhen to join the Liang Kingdom, mainly because they were clinging to Qiangzhi, but they had no special feelings for the Liang Kingdom and Liang Emperor Zhu Yu, so there was no obstacle to calling him by his first name at this time.
However, in their minds, Emperor Liang Zhu Yu was definitely a powerful person in the world, and they did not think that Liang Shixiong would be Zhu Yu's opponent without the help of the Mongols.
At the same time, they also knew very well that the current front on the west flank of the Hehuai River would have a vital impact on the future war situation in the Central Plains. If Zhu Yu could regain Heluo first, he would open up the connection with Guanzhong, but could Liang Shixiong win the battle with the help of the Mongol people?
, until Wang Yuankui and Tian Weiye took the lead in capturing Yongzhou and Huazhou, the situation in the Central Plains would change.
Got worse.
In Wen Zhanyu's view, Liang Shixiong's dike digging in Xingyang was a tactical move by the defenders, just like Han Qian's secret ice dam built in Wujin Ridge and finally broke through the Shouzhou Army.
Even if Zhu Yu can detect this situation in advance, it is very likely that it will cause a lot of trouble for Liang Jun's attack on Xingyang City, and it is likely to slow down Liang Jun's attack on Heluo, making the situation in Guanzhong even more besieged.
, but in Wen Zhanyu's opinion, Han Qian had expected this situation.
Even without the help of the Mongolians, Liang Shixiong was also a famous general of the Liang Kingdom. How could he not have any means?
"They always make a fuss. Are some people exaggerating?" Cao Ba said with his lips raised.
Although he had suffered a lot at the hands of the Tangyi Army over the years, it was not as tortured as being sent to the military academy. As long as there was a chance, Cao Ba could not help but cynicize. Wen Bo
Also extremely helpless.
"Master Hou, do you think there is anything unusual about this matter?" Wen Muqiao frowned and asked.
"The Marquis is worried about the intentions of the Weizhou rebels. They are not simply digging dikes and rushing into the area near Xingyang. They are just the engineers and engineers. The hydrological resources of the Yuhe River (Yellow River) in the Engineering Institute are too limited. Some things cannot be settled.
"Wen Bo said, "However, the Marquis has sent Huo Xiao to Shouchun on horseback to meet Guo Duanduo, and asked Guo Duanduo to immediately send someone to contact Emperor Liang. If the official Lang Zhongguan in charge of river affairs in the Liang State Ministry of Industry does not have the Yuhe Xingzhou River
To obtain specific hydrological and geographical data on the section and the west side of the chasm, the two families must immediately send people to sneak into enemy territory to conduct on-site surveying and mapping..."
"It's not that serious, is it?" Cao Ba was a little frightened when he heard Wen Bo talk about everyone's speculation about meeting in Weiyu Pavilion on the first day after the New Year, and smacked his lips.
"Now it is necessary to have first-hand hydrological data of the Xingyang section of the Yu River to make subsequent judgments," Wen Bo said. "If the river bed of the Xingyang section has been overhanging the south bank, once the embankment is dug, it means that the Yu River will completely change
Dao! And if the original plan of the Mongols or Liang Shixiong was to force the Yu River to improve, then even if the river bed does not hang out from the south bank, as long as the siltation is severe enough, they can recruit tens of thousands of civilians and pile up earth plugs below the breach.
River, force the Yu River to change its course!"
"Is the Marquis guessing that the Mongolians want to build the Fushan Weir!?" Wen Yuan asked in surprise.
"What is Fushan Weir?" Cao Ba asked.
"You are an ignorant idiot who only sleeps in class all day long. If you ask such a stupid question in front of the Marquis, the Marquis will directly knock off your Duyuhoujiang title. I will not
I have no shame to plead for you." Wen Bo said at a loss of laughter and tears.
"Do you know what Fushan Weir is?" Cao Ba asked, pulling on Wen Yuan's lapel.
"Years ago, the Marquis personally went to the Military Academy to give lectures and mentioned several examples of the application of large-scale civil engineering in war. He focused on the Fushan Weir. You might have fallen asleep hiding behind Xue Chuan at that time." Wen Yuan said softly.
.
"Wen Yuan, go get the handout and show it to this fool, so that you won't embarrass me when Shouchun comes." Wen Bo said angrily.
"The Marquis also said that it is a subject that commanders of brigade and town armies must learn. I just want to be able to lead one or two thousand soldiers and horses to charge into battle. What do I need to learn and do?" Cao Ba said, "You guys
They are all so serious. Could it be that Guilaozi Futuyan is really powerful?"
In addition to tidying up for a while, Wen Bo also had to wait for the first batch of bodyguards and military attachés to assemble first, and it would be after dark at the earliest before he could leave the city and rush to Shouchun to meet up with Han Qian and others who had gone ahead.
He had nothing to do for the time being, so he patiently explained to Cao Ba what Fushan Weir was.
The construction of Fushan Weir dates back more than 400 years. At that time, Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, sent people to build Fushan Weir in Linhuai County downstream of Shouyang in order to seize the strategic location of Shouyang (Shouchun) from the Northern Wei Dynasty.
The dam was intended to block the Huaihe River, causing the water from the Huaihe River to flow back into Shouyang City, forcing the Wei army to withdraw from the south bank of the Huaihe River.
At that time, the Nanliang Army recruited 200,000 soldiers and civilians. It started from Fushan in the south and reached Tonghe Mountain in the north. It was filled with earth from both ends and took two years to complete.
When the Fushan Weir was first built, it posed a great threat to the Wei army. Soon after the water was impounded, Shouyang City was besieged by the flood, forcing the Wei army to abandon the city and retreat to Bagong Mountain in the north. There was a vast ocean within hundreds of miles upstream.
But it is a pity that Fushan Weir only existed for four months and was destroyed by large and small erosion.
The final result did not pose a fatal threat to the Wei army. Instead, the area controlled by the Nanliang Army at that time was flooded, causing numerous casualties among soldiers and civilians.
"Isn't the Fushan Weir a failure?" Cao Ba said.
"The Fushan Weir has not been completed, but it does not mean that Liang Shixiong's plan in Xingyang cannot be successful. Everything still requires specific hydrological data. This is also the key reason why senior generals like you are sent to the military academy for training." Wen Boy said earnestly.
"Didn't you realize the seriousness of the matter at first and need the Marquis to remind you?" Cao Ba muttered.
Wen Bo was almost mad at this fool, but he couldn't refute his nonsense.
"The Marquis summoned us to Shouchun, are we going to prepare to send troops to unite Liang Jun to attack Xingyang?" Cao Ba wanted to have a battle to fight, and his bones were tingling. It was more satisfying than messing with women.
"It's unlikely." Wen Bo shook his head and said.
Although Han Qian was unable to fully understand the subsequent impact in such a short period of time, Wen Bo had his own judgment.
Liang Shixiong is not a weak general. No matter how many troops he has, it will be difficult to capture Xingyang City before the water in the Yu River surges. What's more, the whole thing is most likely a joint effort between the Mongol people and the Weizhou rebels. How much space can be filled?
If soldiers and horses enter, they may suffer a heavy setback.
Wen Bo did not explain too much to Xue Chuan. He asked them with a dark face to seriously consider the direct impact this matter might have on southwestern Liang and northwestern Huaihe.
Geography, arithmetic, engineering and other subjects are compulsory for mid-level and senior military attaches to enter the military academy for training. Xue Chuan and Wen Yuan studied them very seriously.
After the Yu River is seriously silted up at Wenbo Point and the river bed is likely to hang out of the flat land on the south bank, the subsequent impacts can also be deduced accordingly.
Once the Yu River (Yellow River) completely changes its course to the south, it is not difficult to imagine how serious the disaster will be in the areas along the Honggou and Shaying Rivers. However, in addition to the war situation in the Central Plains becoming worse and more chaotic, Huaixi will also not be immune.
will be directly and profoundly affected.
This is mainly determined by the geographical location of Yinghe Estuary to the west of Shouchun.
The Kashikou in the northern part of Shouchun is less than 70 feet wide. This extremely special terrain has seriously affected the discharge of water from the upper reaches of the Huaihe River during the summer and autumn rainy seasons. However, seven to eight years out of ten years, water will flow west of the Kishikou.
A large flood detention area is formed on both sides of the Huaihe River.
In the past ten years or so, when Xu Mingzhen was the governor of Shouzhou, he organized the military and civilians to build levees on the south bank of the Huaihe River, which is eight kilometers away and west of Shouchun City, and almost restricted the flood detention area.
In Yingzhou on the north coast.
If the Yu River takes over the Jialu River, the Shaying River diversion becomes a reality before summer, which means that the water potential in the upper reaches of Xia Shikou will expand three to five times after accommodating the water from the Yu River.
This is no longer a question of how much the flood detention area on the north bank will expand. It also directly involves whether the levee on the south bank can withstand the impact of such a large flow of water.
Once the south bank levee fails to hold up, it means that Shouzhou will become a vast ocean this summer.
With advance precautions, the loss of men and horses will be extremely limited. However, according to the resettlement plan in Shouzhou, 500,000 to 600,000 acres of cultivated land will be submerged. After the year, it is planned to start the Yanhu project in Longchi Mountain, the dredging of the Bei Feishui River, and
A series of subsequent matters to build Shouchun into an important town in the northwest of Huaihe will be delayed, and the losses in money and food will be extremely heavy, which may interrupt the current construction and development rhythm of Tangyi.
Perhaps the losses in Huaixi are still limited. The diversion of the Yu River has a more serious and tragic impact on the area currently controlled by the Liang Army in the Hehuai River. This will involve the situation in the Hehuai River becoming more complicated and chaotic. Even Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty did not
If it can hold on in Xu Ru and other places, it will cause the Mongol cavalry to drink their horses on the north bank of the Huaihe River. The negative impact on the war situation in Huaixi and the Central Plains will be even more frightening.
Wen Bo gathered some of the military attachés and set off from Liyang on horseback, arriving at Shouchun City before seven o'clock on the first day of the new year.
The Shaying River is currently the lifeline of the Hehuai Liang Army. Tangyi supplies reinforcements to the Hehuai Liang Army, as well as Xu Ruying, Chen and other prefectures that are suffering from severe drought. The main grain fields are distributed on both sides of the Shaying River. Zhou Daoyuan, the minister of the Liang State Ministry of Industry, arrived in Ying at the end of the year.
The prefecture inspected Yingshui River Affairs. When he received the news from Guo Duanduo from Shouchun, Zhou Daoyuan had not yet left Yingzhou.
After receiving the news, Zhou Daoyuan sent people to Xinzheng to report to Liang Emperor Zhu Yu, and he himself rushed directly to Shouchun to meet Han Qian.
Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty attached great importance to the management of the Yu River watercourse. After he ascended the throne, he specially set up the River Affairs Department in the Ministry of Industry. It also happened that before the sudden change in Heshuo, the Ministry of Industry of the Liang Kingdom had just organized manpower to conduct a survey on the hydrological conditions of the middle and upper reaches of the Yu River.
Survey, thus having the latest data that Han Qian urgently needs.
Due to the special terrain, the water regime in the Xingyang River section is extremely complex, and the siltation conditions in the river vary from light to heavy. As the Minister of Industry most valued by Emperor Liang, Zhou Daoyuan did not need to transfer data from Bianjing, and he was familiar with all kinds of data.
Familiar with it.
Before the news came from Tangyi, Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty had just sent someone over to summon him back to Xinzheng in order to ask him to assess the possible impact of the dike excavation in Xingyang.
The mouth of the river chosen by the rebels to dig the embankment was indeed the most heavily silted section of the river. Even if the river bed did not hang out of the ground, it was almost there.
And if, as Han Qian expected, all this is a carefully calculated strategy by Liang Shixiong and the Mongols, they only need to recruit 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers and civilians, and it is relatively easy to build a water dam slightly downstream, and it is very likely to successfully force the Yu River to flow.
Water flows southward from the Jialu River and the Shaying River into the Huaihe River and into the sea...
After confirming this information, Han Qian ordered the main soldiers and horses of the Second Town Army to assemble in Shouchun, and ordered the Youshenwu Army to return home to recruit new soldiers, and all went to Shouchun to assemble for training.
The state issued a military order to recruit 10,000 young and strong civilian men to gather in Shouchun.
A few days later, Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty sent news from Xinzheng, confirming that the Mongols had established an additional camp on the north and south banks of Zhaotang Dike downstream of where the Weizhou rebels were digging the embankment.
Zhaotang Embankment in Wuzhi County is located on the west side of the Jialu River connecting to the Yu River gate. The river bed is more seriously silted. It is also an excellent place to build a river dam downstream of the embankment breach.
At present, the Yu River is still frozen, and there is still about a month and a half of ice-free period. The water flowing under the ice is also very shallow. Although no further actions by the Weizhou rebels and the Mongol people can be seen for the time being, the entire
Since the plan was determined to be carried out jointly by the Weizhou rebels and the Mongols, it was unrealistic for them to hastily send troops to attack Xingyang City at this time. It is not an exaggeration to predict the worst-case development of the situation.
According to the request of Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty, Han Qian immediately sent from Shouchun 120,000 shi of brown rice, 3,000 dans of rock salt, 30,000 dans of fine iron, 5,000 armors, 2,000 fine steel crossbows, and 200 bed crossbows.
As well as 10,000 bundles of iron arrows and other supplies, the prefectures and counties controlled by the Hehuai Liang Army organized manpower to transport them to Xuzhou by land before the Hehuai River warmed up and the ice melted, in order to avoid that the floods would wash down in the future and the transportation capacity would not be able to keep up.
.
On January 20th, in addition to the 10,000 elites of the Second Town Army, 2,000 generals of the navy, and 1,000 cavalry guards in Shouzhou, the newly formed Youshenwu Army was released for nearly half a year's family reunion holiday.
Twelve thousand generals, as well as 40,000 young men recruited from the outer prefectures and 20,000 young men recruited from the three counties of Huoqiu, Shouchun, and Fengtai, all assembled in Shouzhou with unimaginable efficiency.
.
Han Qian signed a military order on the 21st of the first month of the lunar month, officially setting up a government in Tangyi. In addition to the first, second, and third town armies, Tangyi water army, and guard cavalry, a fourth town army was added, and Wen Bo was appointed.
As the capital commander, Tan Yuliang is the deputy capital commander.
On the day the Fourth Town Army was formed, the generals did not immediately issue soldiers, armor, and weapons. Instead, they directly distributed a large number of shovels and shoulder burdens. The 60,000 young men and women who were temporarily recruited were also temporarily incorporated into the Fourth Town Army.
.
The current task of the Fourth Town Army is, first of all, to do its best to reinforce the embankment on the south bank of the Huaihe River west of Bagong Mountain before May.
Ji Xiyao and the engineering officers and engineers from the Engineering Institute who specialize in water conservancy and river affairs have conducted new emergency mapping of the terrain around Shouchun City in the past half month.
After obtaining first-hand data, Han Qian decided to designate the lower reaches of the Beifeishui River, Wabudang located east of Shouchun City, and the surrounding shallow area with a total area of 3,000 to 4,000 square miles as a specific flood storage area.
The few households in this area will be relocated and resettled.
However, the flood detention area is on the west side of Shouchun City and may extend westward to Huoqiu this year, but the tile dump is on the east side of Shouchun City. A road three to four meters deep and two meters wide will be dug between the two areas.
It is impossible for 50,000 to 60,000 people to complete a three-hundred-meter, fifty-mile-long flood-carrying river in three to four months.
Then we can only draw a relatively open, low-lying flood channel between the west embankment of Shouchun City and Wabu Dang.
What needs to be done now is not only to build shallow embankments on both sides of the flood channel to protect the irrigation area and Shouchun City behind it, but more importantly, to dig out all terrain obstacles in the flood channel that are not conducive to the rapid discharge of flood water.
This will ensure that a large area of flood detention will be formed between Shouchun and Huoqiu, and the flood can be directed to Wabu Dang through the flood channel as quickly as possible, thus greatly reducing the impact on farming.
The Longchishan Weir Lake also needs to be built according to the original plan, but a new channel needs to be urgently excavated between the Longchishan Weir Lake and the Bei Feishui River so that the stream water in the Longchi Mountain area can be directed north before the rainy season.
Feishui River, eliminating the possibility of impacting the south bank embankment from the side and rear.