As two counties between Jizhou and Qingzhou, Qinghe State borders Pingyuan State.
Although they are said to be bordering, there is actually no dividing point.
Because most of the territories of the two places are plains, there are no mountains, no ravines, and no other natural chasms. The only dividing lines are rivers, such as our mother river, the Yellow River.
However, only a small part of the Yellow River flows through Wei County in Jizhou, and most of the rest is within the borders of Yanzhou East County and Qingzhou Plain Kingdom.
Therefore, what can really separate the two places are other rivers. According to the records of "Erya Shishui", at this time, the lower reaches of the Yellow River, that is, in the Pingyuan Kingdom, were full of rivers, including Tuhai, Taishi, Majia, and Fu.
Cao, Husu, Jian, Jie, Goupan, Lijin, etc. are called Jiuhe.
Among them, the location of the Gejin River is in Li County to the north of Pingyuan County, and Pingyuan County is on the north bank of the Yellow River. Therefore, the entire north bank of the Yellow River belongs to the three counties of Pingyuan State, namely Li County, Pingyuan County, and Ande County, all surrounded by rivers.
, forming a natural moat.
In this way, although Pingyuan Kingdom and Qinghe Kingdom are both part of the North China Plain, because Pingyuan Kingdom has many water systems and the surrounding waters are complex and rich, these rivers can be used to block the enemy.
Therefore, Qingzhou's defense is actually relatively simple. You can just rely on rivers to block the rivers and defend the main river crossings. On the other hand, if Qingzhou attacks Jizhou, it will be much more convenient. It will be almost flat, and it will be easy to enter the Qinghe country, and then
Go south and take Wei County directly.
This is why Wang Fen deployed heavy troops in Ganling City. It is because there is no danger to defend in Qinghe. Unlike Pingyuan Kingdom, which sits at the mouth of the Yellow River and has developed surrounding water systems, it can form a network of natural obstacles.
Having said so much, what I actually want to express is that it is very difficult for Jizhou to defeat Qingzhou, but it is relatively easy for Qingzhou to defeat Jizhou.
So now the situation of the 30,000 defenders in Ganling City is very embarrassing.
Because the enemy had already reached the hinterland of Qinghe Kingdom, Gaolan did not dare to move lightly without orders from Yecheng. As a result, Zhang He, the guard of Ganling, was in a situation of being isolated and helpless. Now Liu Bei's army has entered Ping'en again.
, took the pottery hall and cut off Ganling's grain road and back road.
In this way, Ganling City became an isolated city with enemies on all sides. What to do next was a question that Zhang He had to think about, whether to continue to defend and wait for the food and grass to run out, or to take the initiative and look for a glimmer of hope.
In the county government mansion, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Jiang Qi, and Ma Yan were sitting in the hall. Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan were not here. They led 10,000 troops to Beiqiu County, more than 10 kilometers south of Ganling.
garrison.
The two places are at the horns of each other, and they are backed by Qingyuan Pottery Hall and other places on the east bank of the Qinghe River. The situation should not have been so bad originally, but it is a pity that Jizhou is in internal chaos...
"The Taiwei is critically ill and is no longer able to handle government affairs. General Gao submitted a memorial, but it was like a stone's throw, with no reply. As a result, General Gao did not dare to take the initiative to go north. He is now confronting Liu Bei's army in Gexiang on the east bank of the old river. Taoguan
We were also attacked by enemies coming from the direction of Yanzhou, so we have no reinforcements and can only rely on ourselves."
Zhang He was silent for a moment, and finally decided to tell several generals the official message passed by Gao Lan. Since Liu Beijun only captured the cities around Ganling and did not have a large army to surround Ganling, the information could still be transmitted normally.
, even the common people can go in and out of the city and live a normal life.
But Zhang Huan also knew very well that there would be no spies from Qingzhou around Ganling. Once he led his troops out of the city, no matter where he went, Qingzhou would know everything. If he wanted to retreat back to Wei County, the back road would be cut off, and he could go north, south, and east.
They are all enemies, surrounded from all sides, and it is difficult to fly without wings.
After hearing the news, Zhu Ling, Jiang Qimayan and others looked at each other in shock and said nothing. The meeting was quite quiet for a while, and everyone was silent for a long time.
After a while, Zhu Ling asked: "General, I wonder how much food is left in the city?"
"The last batch of grain and grass arrived two months ago. Now that the grain road is cut off, if we save some food, we can still last four months. If the soldiers need to replenish their health during wartime and eat more grain, I am afraid they can only last three months.
"
"It seems that at least we don't have to worry about food for a short time... Maybe within these four months, Yecheng will soon send General Gao to rescue us."
"But there is another problem. Beiqiu City has little food, so they won't be able to survive for long. If the food distribution is over, they can only last three months. If Qingzhou attacks the city and eats more during the war, I'm afraid they can only last two months.
By that time, I’m afraid the situation will not be good.”
The few people analyzed it for a while and looked at each other, and they could all see the worry in each other's eyes.
In ancient times, when the army was stationed in a certain place, its food basically relied on the local people to provide food and obtain food locally. For example, the defenders of the Qinghe Kingdom naturally relied on the people of the Qinghe Kingdom to pay taxes. In this way, they could directly use the harvested food as food storage.
A lot of unnecessary consumption in transportation is reduced.
Because Ganling is a military base, there is a lot of grain stored in it. Generally speaking, every time the grain is harvested, it can basically be used by the army for about three or four months, based on two seasons a year. Plus the previous grain stored, barely
They can barely afford to support that many troops.
Don't think that this seems very small. You must know that the entire Qinghe Kingdom only has a population of 500,000 to 600,000, and Qinghe's defenders are 30,000 in Ganling and 10,000 in Beiqiu.
Lin Sansan's several thousand defenders, and the entire Qinghe Kingdom's total army is close to 50,000. It is almost using a population of 500,000 to 600,000 to support an army of 50,000, a ratio of soldiers to civilians of close to 10:1.
This ratio is very high. Under normal circumstances in the past dynasties, 20 to 1 is the most reasonable. So in fact, the taxes collected alone are not completely able to support so many people. After all, even if there are still 40,000 left
For a large army, based on the average monthly consumption of 2.7 dan per person, that would be 100,000 dan in one month, which is a very exaggerated figure.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! For example, when Guan Yu was in Luoyang, it was because the Baibo army gathered more than 100,000 people, but the people in Luoyang only had 500,000 to 600,000 people. They simply could not afford to support such an army. In the early days, not only
Qingzhou was needed to supply grain and grass, and a large number of Baibo Army soldiers were laid off and sent to Hanoi County to work in the fields. This way they could barely maintain Luoyang's consumption.
Therefore, Wang Fen has stationed a large number of troops in the Qinghe Kingdom. It is impossible for them to be self-sufficient just by relying on the people of the Qinghe Kingdom. Moreover, most of the Qinghe Kingdom is now occupied by the Qingzhou Army. Unless Zhang He plunders the people around Ganling, he will not be able to support himself.
The number of his troops and food reserves will soon be exhausted.
The only good news is that according to the "Book of Han" records, a soldier in the Han Dynasty consumed 2.7 shi of food per month during wartime. If he consumed two meals a day during non-wartime, he could save one-third of the food. A normal adult man would consume about 2.7 kilograms of food per month.
About 2 stones.
In this case, as long as Liu Bei does not lay siege to the city and holds on for one more month, there will still be no problem.
The reason why Ganling can still sustain itself for three or four months now is because there was a lot of grain stored in the past. Before Wang Fen fell ill, Qingzhou had always been his biggest enemy, so in addition to supplies from local people, Yecheng would also mobilize grain and grass.
Come here in case you need it.
Therefore, there is no need to worry about food crisis in a short period of time.
The only issue that Zhang He and the others are worried about now is whether the internal chaos among Jizhou's top leaders can be resolved as soon as possible. If it is delayed for too long and Ganling City's food is exhausted, they may not even need the Qingzhou Army to attack, and they will collapse. Then the defense in the city will
The only way out for the army is to rob the surrounding people...
"No need to worry."
In order to stabilize the morale of the army, Zhang He said seriously: "The situation in the city is quite stable now, and the sentries in the surrounding townships have not been attacked by the Qingzhou Army. Our scope of activities is still relatively large. It is really to the point where there is no other way. If we think about it again,
The only way to evacuate is."
Zhu Zhi thought for a while and asked: "Where should we evacuate?"
"Of course it's Wei County."
Zhang He said without hesitation: "We and Beiqiu are the horns of each other, and our total strength is 40,000. Although Liu Bei's troops this time are said to be 200,000, I estimate that they will be at most 780,000. Once Yecheng is there,
Once the situation on the border stabilizes and Gao Lan attacks northward, we can then sneak attack Liu Bei's rear. Coordinating inside and outside and attacking from both sides is the way to win."
"Um."
Everyone nodded, thinking that this was a solution.
"There is also a food path."
Zhang He thought for a while and continued: "Now Liu Bei is stationing troops in Ping'en, and he is ignoring us and not taking us seriously. But he doesn't know that if his grain and grass are to be transported to the front line, they must pass through the border bridge. If one day, he will take advantage of the
He was not prepared to destroy the boundary bridge and cut off the food route, which can be said to be a great achievement."
"The boundary bridge is made of masonry, so it probably won't be damaged that easily."
Zhu Zhi scratched his head.
In the era without gunpowder, it was too difficult to destroy a masonry bridge.
Just look at the bricks of the Great Wall. Even if thousands of troops swarmed up, it would probably take several days to hammer and chisel. People would not be so stupid as to give you so much time.
Zhang He was a bachelor and said very simply: "It doesn't need to be completely destroyed. It only needs to collapse in one place to make it impossible for their vehicles to pass."
"That would work."
"I'm afraid they will send heavy troops to guard the boundary bridge."
"That's why the general revealed his surprise and attacked him unprepared."
When Zhu Ling, Jiang Qi, Mayan and others heard Zhang He's words, they all felt that there was nothing wrong with them.
Zhang He is very young now, but he is not a young talent who rose from the wilderness, but a son of a wealthy family. He was born in the Zhang family in Hejian and is a descendant of Zhang Er.
As a member of a well-known family, Zhang He was not only familiar with the art of war, but also talented. Only at such an age did he become a general in charge of many captains. Therefore, what he said could still stand up to scrutiny, and everyone thought it was reliable.
At that moment, everyone decided to hold on to the two cities of Ganling and Beiqiu. They would wait and see the situation. If there was an opportunity, they would attack the boundary bridge and cut off the Qingzhou army's food and fodder on the front line.
After the military meeting, Zhang He and Zhu Ling left the mansion side by side and inspected the city.
The group of people came to the vicinity of the granary in the city. The granary was the top priority. In order to prevent fires, not only were there a large number of water tanks around the granary, but they were also heavily guarded. A total of more than 300,000 stones of grain and grass were included in the shell mound.
Within the next three to four months, the reserve of 40,000 troops must not be lost.
The granaries are concentrated in the west of the city. Although they are not as large as the hundreds or thousands of warehouses in Su City, Luoyang, there are still dozens of them. There are countless sacks densely packed in the warehouses, but the ground is full of potholes because of the constant flow of grain trucks in and out.
, it’s very difficult to walk.
"General!"
Seeing Zhang He and Zhu Ling coming to inspect, Ling Shi who managed the warehouse and the generals and officials guarding the warehouse quickly came to pay their respects.
Zhang He nodded and said, "How about the granary? There's no problem."
"There is no problem."
"I've been keeping an eye on you all day long and don't dare to relax at all. General, please rest assured that the grain depot is safe and sound." Ling Shi and the generals patted their chests and assured.
Hearing their vows, Zhang He said: "Remember, you must keep a close eye on them. I heard that there is a military intelligence department in Qingzhou, which specializes in managing the country. It either spreads rumors among the people, or goes into the camp to spy on military secrets, or
You must be extremely careful when lurking in the city to cause destruction and harassment."
"Don't worry, general. I'll keep an eye on it day and night. I will never let anyone in or out without the general's order."
Sima, the leading army guarding the granary, made another guarantee.
Zhang He nodded with satisfaction and was about to leave.
But Zhu Ling thought for a while and said: "General, I also heard that the Military Intelligence Department in Qingzhou is very pervasive and very tight. I am afraid that there are internal agents in the city. Food and grass are the most important thing, so it is better to be careful."
"oh?"
Zhang He wondered: "What does Wenbo mean?"
Zhu Ling said: "In the past, we didn't have time to count the food and grass. We mostly made rough calculations to see how long we could eat. Now that we are besieged here, we just have time to survey how much food we have left, and plan carefully. Every soldier will
The number of grains to be received in a day must be determined. If you save more grain for a few days, you can hold on for a few more days. Also, the new grains that have been surveyed can be put away first, and the old grains that have been stored before can be eaten by the soldiers to prevent the old grains from spoiling. "
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Surveying for grain?
Um.
Anyway, idle time is idle, so it is not a bad thing to dig out all the stored grain and eat it first to prevent the old grain from spoiling.
Thinking of this, Zhang He looked at the grain officer Ling Shi and Shoukang General and said: "Wen Bo is right. Now the army is trapped in the city and cannot move lightly. During his free time, he can just find out where our remaining grain is.
How many are there in order to plan the food quota for the soldiers. Tomorrow I will send a large army into the warehouse to count the baggage and survey the food stores, and you will be able to assist the army chief clerk, do you understand?"
"Check, check, check...the food..."
Ling Shi's face turned green, and he said, "General, general... There is a lot of backlog in this granary, there are 300,000 stones. If you want to count them all, it will definitely not be a temporary success, and it is during the war. I'm afraid
If it delays the soldiers' training, we'd better do the survey later."
Zhang He saw that his expression was wrong, he frowned and said: "If you are asked to assist in the survey, then assist in the survey. This is the general order issued by this general. What do you mean by pushing back and forth?"
"Being humble doesn't mean to push back or block anything, it's just..."
Ling Shi groaned and sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Um?"
Zhang He touched the knife at his waist and said with a fierce look in his eyes: "Is it possible that you have been greedy for food and grass and resold ordnance?"
"Absolutely not, absolutely not."
Shi repeatedly denied it.
The general guarding the warehouse on the side said hurriedly: "General, please rest assured. At the end of tomorrow, the general will fully cooperate with the chief bookkeeper sent by the general to count the accounts, grain, grass and weapons."
"snort!"
Zhang He snorted coldly, got on his horse and looked at them and said: "If it's just a little bit, considering that you have done meritorious service in the past, forget it. If you are found guilty of serious corruption, I will cut off your heads."
!”
"only!"
Ling Shi and General Shougang were both trembling with fear, bowing their heads and not daring to speak.
After Zhang He finished speaking, under the protection of more than a hundred personal guards around him, his face was filled with anger, and he rode away with a wave of his sleeves.
Zhu Ling also glared at the two of them and left as well.
In fact, they also guessed that these two people were guilty of corruption, but it was unlikely that there were too many of them. They only paid thousands of stones of food and some ordnance, so it was nothing important.
This kind of thing is relatively common in the army. Zhang He and Zhu Ling have been in the army for many years, so they are not surprised. As long as the amount is not too large, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, it is not appropriate to go into war.
Therefore, what Zhang He said before leaving was not only a hint, but also a warning, that is, if there is really corruption and the amount is not very large, he should make up for it himself, at least to keep his face.
Even if the vacancies cannot be filled in a short period of time, at least they should look better on the books, and don't expose them. Then Zhang He will have to kill them as a warning to others.
But Zhang He never imagined how courageous Ling Shi and General Shocang would be. The amount of money Tan Mo spent was far from a few thousand stones of grain and a little bit of ordnance.
The two of them, together with several other military commanders who took turns garrisoning the warehouse, worked together in collusion and embezzled a large amount of property like rats. This involved a wide range of things. Although the treasury was not completely emptied in the past two years, it was still a huge deficit.
However, it is absolutely impossible to make up for this shortfall now, because when he was greedy, all the money he got from selling food and ordnance was sent back to his hometown, and they were just the tip of the iceberg. Even if Ganling was not besieged at this time, returning home
Even though their hometown took out all their money, they couldn't make up for the shortfall.
Therefore, Ling Shi and the general guarding the warehouse were already riding a tiger, unable to dismount, and were at a loss.
However, unlike Ling Shi, who was trembling with fear, the Army Sima had managed to break through mountains of swords and seas of blood, so he was a bit brave. At night, he summoned several colleagues involved in the matter to discuss a solution.
The next day, Zhang He sent thousands of soldiers to garrison the granary, and under the supervision of the Chief Secretary, officially began to survey the surplus grain in the army.
Just surveying so much grain couldn't be completed in a day or two, so the work lasted for several days, but everything went smoothly without any problems.