stubborn thief

Chapter 322
In the wing room of the Marshal's Mansion, the oil lamp was burning for a whole night.

Several painters in the room were leaning on chairs, or sleeping on the floor with their clothes on. As the teacher, I held an oil lamp and glanced at the table full of rulers.

A series of blueprints are spread out on the table, including the locations of proven and possible deposits of gold, silver, copper, iron, and coal within a radius of [-] miles of Jurwan, as well as the workshops of swords and spears, armor, guns, and gunpowder factories. structure.

The composition drawn by Liu Chengzong himself is more complicated, not only there are mechanical parts such as lifting, winch, large and small gears, pulleys, wheels, spirals, crankshafts, etc., but also wooden rail carriages and city defense facilities.

People originally called the city where the Jurwan Marshal's Mansion is located as Xincheng. Shicheng, I know this place better than anyone else. This is the first foothold of the Lion Army's westward migration.

The reason why the Lions settled here is because there is nothing here except the superior natural conditions.

This used to be a military buffer zone for the Ming army and pirates. They built a military bureau, established a market, and discovered some unexploited minerals. Now they even built a city. The irrigation canal dug from Xining has also been dug here. .

But this is far from Liu Chengzong's wish. The Generalissimo asked him to use the design drawings on the table to create a military industrial center with a production capacity comparable to that of Shaanxi Province.

Shi Cheng'e has always been very proud. He has mastered the most powerful weapon of this era - the secret of artillery manufacturing.

No matter who appreciates him, he can rely on this unique skill to live comfortably, but the appreciation given to him by the generalissimo is not just to live comfortably, but to always be on an equal footing with the lieutenant general.

The deputy general is one level below the general under the command of the marshal.

The highest general is Mr. Qian, and I am the post commander; the highest general is the general, and I am Mr. Qian.

In this world, no matter the emperor of Ming Dynasty or the chief official of a province, no matter whether it is the post-Golden Taiji or the Hudun Rabbit of the Han Dynasty, where can a craftsman be on an equal footing with a general?

Whether it is an ordinary military craftsman or a master, I know very well in my heart that only under the command of the Generalissimo can I have this kind of preferential treatment and appreciation.

Because of this, the craftsmen were able to serve their lives. The number of military craftsmen in the Marshal's Arms Bureau was four times that of the court's first guard. double production capacity.

The imperial court's highest requirement for guards was that between Jingtai and Hongzhi two years, each guard produced 160 sets of military weapons per year. After that, until now, the production of guards has been halved.

But this time, for a professional cannonsmith who only specializes in red barbarian cannons, Shi Cheng, I think the work that the Grand Marshal asked him to preside over is a bit too difficult.

Even with these mechanical tools that stay on the blueprints and can provide craftsmen with higher efficiency, it is difficult to expand the current production capacity by five times or more.

Simply asking for production is easy, they train more craftsmen, but the problem is that now the imperial court has blocked Lanzhou, materials from Hanzhong cannot be shipped in, and their own goods cannot be shipped out. Even if more craftsmen are trained, there are not enough materials.

This means that they need higher technology. They need to mine minerals that were easy to mine in the past, and they also need to mine minerals that were difficult to mine in the past. They need more efficient design, technology, management, transportation, manufacturing, inspection, and assembly.

Shicheng, I opened the window halfway, dragged a chair and sat in front of the window for a while, breathing the fresh morning air, looking at the marshal's mansion with blue bricks and black tiles, got up and let out a breath of stale air, and encouraged myself in my heart cheer up.

This work still needs to be planned for a long time, so we must strive for excellence and allow no mistakes.

Liu Chengzong was unable to participate in the planning of the follow-up military industrial center in a short period of time, and the enemy had already reached the gate, but this time the enemy was not human, but God.

Sunday Qiang hurried over from the Naval Office: "Commander, Qinghai Lake can't accommodate 5 people to survive the winter, and they must be moved to the Hehuang Valley, otherwise, I estimate that at least 1 people will die by next spring."

Later, the letters from Liu Guoneng, the magistrate of Haixi County, and Chen Qindai, the magistrate of Haibei County, were handed over to Liu Chengzong.

Haixi used to have more than [-] mouths, and the new county has no granaries. The local people mainly focus on animal husbandry. Every household stores food except for ghee, which is dried noodles and fried noodles bought from Juerwan by selling skins.

Originally, [-] Mongols were sent down, but there was already a shortage of food and clothing. Liu Guoneng had already organized manpower to place the Mongols on the beach to fish, and even led some of them to hunt. He could only make ends meet.

But I didn't expect that after the resettlement of the people, there would still be a large number of surrendered people pouring in from Nanshan Pass. They were old, weak, women and children who had escaped from the war.

There is a precedent of Liu Chengzong accepting the surrender, and it will follow the example. The defender Zhong Hu naturally also put the surrendered people into the pass.

Now Haixi's population is approaching the [-] mark. If Zhong Hu hadn't taken out half of the reserve army rations, the excess population would starve to death if they couldn't get to Haibei.

But the situation in Haibei County is even worse. There are more people there than in Haixi, and they live mixed with Fanmeng.

In fact, Chen Qindai was the most chieftain-like person in the Marshal's Mansion. He reached an agreement with the fortresses to receive [-]% of Timba and provide military service.

But these Timbas could not be kept, nor could they be sent to Xining, because long before Haibei was established as a county, there were already Gansu frontier troops and Subei fleeing Tatars who hid in Qilian Mountains.

Not every deserter was willing to surrender, and there were still many people who fell into Qilian Mountains and became bandits, plundering the north and the south.

On the one hand, Chen Qindai wanted to recruit the deserters who were willing to surrender to the Tartars; To support a mining team composed of southern prisoners of war, it is a good thing not to ask the Xining government to provide money and food support.

Even so, Liu Chengzong placed [-] captives. As far as the local field development level is concerned, it has reached the limit of the population.

The burden of the extra population can only be added to the shoulders of Zhou Riqiang, the navy yamen.

Ever since his family members were taken to the naval yamen by the eunuch Zhang Yuanheng's family, Sunday Qiang's heart has really stabilized. He has governed two counties and one state, and has more experience in governing the region than anyone in the Marshal's Mansion.

The number of surrendered soldiers and civilians exceeded the expectations of the commander-in-chief Liu Chengzong, and the plan could not be changed. He had to go to Juerwan to understand the situation with his father, so that a large number of surrendered troops and civilians were left uncontrolled at sea.

Xining Mansion was originally created, Xining was just a guard of Ming Dynasty, and there was no administrative organization in the west of Xining, and the locality was even looser than that of Kangning Mansion in the feudal era, which brought difficulties to governance.

The local army and civilians are disproportionate, and most of the rations rely on trade. Moreover, the army and civilians are concentrated in the area from Xining to Juerwan.

The most important thing is that from Xining to Juerwan, a large number of people sent by Razun occupied their hands, and they had no time to look around.

Disasters at sea are almost a matter of course.

Liu Chengzong put down the letter and asked: "Now tens of thousands of people need to move into the Hehuang Valley?"

"Thanks to General Zhang's trust, I was able to temporarily resettle the surrendered people with his support." Sunday Qiang looked extremely tired, took out the map of Qinghai Lake that he carried with him, and stated to Liu Chengzong: "Now Haibei is temporarily organized as a three-battalion. Shooting, hunting, and transporting each perform their duties, and resettled [-] people."

After all, Sunday Qiang took out his small notebook again, glanced at it and said: "There are another 32 people who need to be moved to the valley for resettlement, and the handsome mansion needs to send dried noodles and fried noodles to the sea for 430 shi. It will be used for landing civilians at sea until next April."

"In addition, the commander-in-chief can deliver 420 large and small felt tents and 630 pairs of winter clothes to the commander-in-chief's mansion after selection."

Liu Chengzong wiped his face, looked at Sunday and said forcefully: "It can only be sent to the valley. It is true that these 1 people cannot be resettled at sea?"

With Zhou Qiang nodding, Liu Chengzong got up and said: "Then send it this way. If it is food, I will send it there first. No, I can only send it there. Let me think about it."

The special geographical environment between the Hehuang Valley and Haibei caused too much loss in long-distance transportation in winter, and the food had to be transported there now, otherwise it would not be a matter of more than 5000 shi if it was delivered in snowy weather.

The Xining Mansion can get these grains, but Liu Chengzong really doesn't want to take them... It's not that he is stingy, frying five thousand shi fried noodles costs more than five thousand shi.

He talked to his father about the food reserves in Xining Prefecture. They are very rich because they have not yet reached the most difficult time.

This kind of prosperity will gradually change with the winter, until next year when they start to sow, they will have to reclaim a lot of land. If they sow, they will run out of food, and if they don’t sow, they will starve to death next autumn.

So this grain reserve made Liu Chengzong very embarrassed. If there is more grain, there is no need to worry about planting; if there is less grain, there is no need to worry about planting.

But the embarrassment is the embarrassment, Zhou Riqiang is very capable, Liu Chengzong must express something, he stood up and clasped his fists first and said: "Thanks to Brother Zhou's planning at sea, otherwise this time I am afraid it will be much more difficult."

After finishing speaking, he asked, "Can you exchange salt with the local people in Haibei for food?"

Salt is free for them. A single Chaka Salt Lake is enough for consumption and trade, and the Keke Salt Lake at the foot of Wulan Mountain in the west is not spared for mining.

Liu Chengzong's words, "Brother Zhou", made Sunday Qiang's heart ache, and he almost rushed to answer that his two sons had no plans to become officials.

It wasn’t until he heard that salt was exchanged with the local people for food that Zhou Riqiang relaxed and said, “It’s possible, but it’s only a drop in the bucket, unless you organize a caravan to sell salt in Gansu, but the price of food in Gansu is high, and the long journey will cost a lot; Secondly, I’m afraid there is no way out, and it’s hard to defend.”

"This is a way, I can think about it." Liu Chengzong asked: "Brother Zhou thought, how to solve the food crisis in Xining Prefecture?"

Be talkative Sunday.

Faced with this situation where the population of immigrants in the entire Xining prefecture has doubled, and the population in Haibei and Haixi has skyrocketed several times, no matter how knowledgeable and talented he is, Sunday Qiang will not be able to produce food.

Liu Chengzong saw the difference in his expression, as if seeing hope, he cupped his fists and said: "Brother Zhou, if there is a solution, I hope you can explain it."

Zhou Qiang thought for a while and said, "I don't know if the commander-in-chief has heard that someone in the army wants to look east."

look east?

Liu Chengzong froze for a moment, nodded and said, "Where did Brother Zhou hear about it?"

Of course he knew that his father, Liu Xiangyu, didn't take the food shortage before next autumn harvest seriously. In his father's view, this problem was very easy to solve.

Anyway, they have nowhere to go. The chieftains in the east of Xining have been inherited for hundreds of years;

Pushing the front line to the mouth of the Lanzhou River will always solve their problems.

Zhou Riqiang's expression was very serious, and he said: "I heard it from Liuzhi County in Haixi, but I hope the commander-in-chief will listen to me. I think this time is far from hopeless, and the war to the east is really ready. ?”

Liu Chengzong didn't answer whether he was ready to go to war with the imperial court, but asked instead: "Is it far from a desperate situation to run out of food?"

Whether he can start a war or not has nothing to do with whether he is ready or not. If he is not ready, what if he runs out of food?How many people ate Guanyin soil during the severe drought in northern Shaanxi. Don’t they know that if they eat too much Guanyin soil, they will die?

Everyone knows, and everyone knows that if you survive, you can live.

Zhou Qiang lowered his head and thought for a while: "It's not that I'm not in a desperate situation, I just think... Commander, the people will run out of food, but the army food is enough, so there is no need to start a war."

"It means to watch them starve to death." Liu Chengzong raised his brows, pointed at Sunday and said forcefully, "Then why did you come to tell me that the people will starve to death if they don't move into the valley, and people can't die in your hands, right?"

"It's you who wants to save people!"

Sunday gritted his teeth and said: "If I am in charge, I will definitely not let them into the sea. If people must die, I hope that the overseas Mongolians will starve to death, rather than the marshal's mansion raising soldiers to let people in Hehuang Valley and Lanzhou die."

Liu Chengzong didn't speak for a while, the anger in his heart gradually dissipated, and finally he said in a calm tone: "They are not overseas Mongolians. I am the one who ruled the people. Of course, I have to save people. I will not raise troops until the end. There is no other way."

"Buy food."

Sunday Qiang suddenly said: "Buy grain from the east, rich chieftains, even if the price is high, you can buy a lot of grain."

"The price of food in Xining is already high. If you go further east, you don't know how high it will be..."

Liu Chengzong shook his head slowly, and said with a long breath, "That's my military salary."

He has always wanted to pay the army, but he hasn't saved three years of military pay until now. Seeing that he will soon be able to pay the army, if he is asked to spend his money to the east to buy food at a high price, he is more willing to give it to his subordinates. For military pay, go to the east to hang up the landlords and gentry and rob them.

"Even if you want to buy grain, you have to push the soldiers to the mouth of the Lanzhou River, hold the Hehuang Valley in your hands, and then buy grain."

"I'll think about the Eastern Expedition." After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he said to Sunday, "Brother Zhou, please go back. The rations needed for the sea will be sent there soon."

Sunday Qiang didn't say any more, and finally persuaded with his hand: "Marshal, you are not a prisoner from the East, let alone a prisoner from the West. As long as you survive this time, thousands of hectares of land and thousands of hectares of fertile land are enough to raise soldiers. You don't have to be brutal. Shi Renyi immediately brought He Huang back to his heart."

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)