stubborn thief

Chapter 433 Substitution
After the two grand weddings in the Marshal's Mansion, Liu Shizi was exhausted.

Originally, there were still a few days before the Chinese New Year, and Liu Chengzong wanted to give himself a few days off to go hunting in the mountains with Cao Yao.

However, the military situation was urgent. In just six days, intelligence from various channels had piled up a whole table in the west building of the commander's mansion, and the people who wanted to meet could fill a room.

Everyone in the Marshal's Mansion was very nervous about the fact that after Hong Chengchou entered Gansu, the officers and soldiers repaired the fort in Gulang and stationed troops around Lanzhou.

What made them nervous was not Hong Chengchou, but the snow in Hehuang.

In the past few years, every old lion soldier has been talking about how terrible the drought in northern Shaanxi is. After years of persistent indoctrination, even the Mongolians grazing in the marshal's mansion have prepared their own food outside the summer and winter pastures. Dry season pastures.

Everyone is always ready to fight the drought.

But with the passage of time, this concept has actually become weaker than it was at the beginning. Especially this year's bumper harvest, people suddenly thought that the normal life that had been far away from them had returned.

But at this time, the joy of the harvest is gradually receding, and people's hearts are turned to be occupied by deeper doubts: in the winter of the sixth year of Chongzhen, there was no snow in Hehuang, not even hail.

The veterans of the Marshal's Mansion are as strong as iron, but they are all praying for a few snowflakes or even ice skates to be dropped by God.

Because of the scorching sun, the river stopped flowing, the livestock fell to death, and the terrible memory of thousands of miles of red land came back.

In the meeting room in the west building of the Shuai Mansion, the generals were sitting in a state of distress, not daring to show their grandeur, and even Cheng Yun, who was sitting in the middle, looked a bit sad.

War is expected for people, but the possible drought is not a good sign for them.

Wang Chengen laid out a map of the Northwest on the desktop, pointed to the Zhuanglang River Valley from Dongguan to Gulang Gorge with a whip, and said: "Hexi is the territory that the general and Li took over from Yongdeng Tusi earlier, and the east is controlled by the imperial court. The Songshan castles, this [-]-mile-long river valley, is a battleground for military strategists."

Liu Chengzong sat at the head, looking around at the expressions of the generals, many of them were lost in thought, Cao Yao noticed his gaze, carefully pursed his mouth and raised his hand to spread five fingers, making a gesture of five characters.

Liu Chengzong nodded slowly. What Cao Yao meant was that it would take five days to march through this valley to reach the dangerous Gulang Gorge.

It is a good sign that people are deep in thought, which shows that people can see something from this river valley and Wang Chengen's explanation.

Of course there are some people who don't think deeply, like Xie Erhu, who said: "Commander, the Tunmu Right Brigade invites to fight. As long as the commander orders, the three battalions of Changhexi, Yongxiebu, and Junggar will fight all the way to wipe them all out!"

remarkably brave.

As soon as he finished speaking, the frowning He Huchen said: "Three battalions may not be able to defeat Zhuanglang Weicheng, let alone the [-]-step-wide Gulangxia Mountain Road, twenty generals can trap you Inch."

Yang Qi also smiled and said: "Marshal Xie, please think again, if you are blocked for five days, you will have to transport food later."

Wang Chengen did not speak, but intentionally or unintentionally used a whip to tour around Songshan Mountain in the east of the river. This river valley has a Great Wall from south to north, called Songshan New Frontier, which was built to defend Songshan in the past, and locked the Mongols in a side wall. between the two side walls.

As long as the Marshal's Mansion transports grain to the north, the logistics supply line will be vulnerable to surprise attacks.

Xie Erhu cursed in his heart, these two bastards seized the opportunity to take revenge on him.

He is good at looting, and looting troops don't have the concept of supply lines, but it's different when it comes to capture. Siege and siege, especially the heavy army group that the Marshal's Mansion is particularly capable of fighting, all need supply routes.

He didn't know if what Yang Qi and He Huchen said was right, but he had the ability to distinguish the truth from the false.

Look at the situation, none of the fierce generals in the marshal's mansion gave their voices, which shows that these two old things are right, not to mention that Batur Huntaiji beside him also quietly tugged on his armor skirt.

Xie Erhu has always been able to listen to people's persuasion, he stopped talking back, but just turned his face and said: "As the commander arranges, I will fight as Xie Erhu does!"

Batur Huntaiji wanted to help, but he knew about the supply line, and he could clearly see the danger of this route, so he turned to Liu Chengzong and asked, "Great Khan, this Hong Chengchou is very powerful... I think we should find a way from Jiayuguan.”

Even Wang Chengen couldn't hold back his smile this time.

The defense system of Jiayuguan is the Great Wall with hanging walls along the Montenegro on one side, and the Kuolai River Grand Canyon with natural cliffs on the other. Since it was built, it has never been breached for more than 200 years.

There is a lot of yellow sand outside the pass, and the long supply line makes it impossible for the army to stay under the fortified city for a long time. Maybe they collapsed before the defenders received the news of their arrival.

Liu Chengzong nodded to Batuer Huntaiji, and said flatly: "This is a way of thinking."

But it’s just an idea. Jiayuguan on the west line is indeed a better direction of attack than Gulangxia on the east line. However, the premise that the west line is better is that the east line is the key defense direction of the Gansu Ming army, and the east line is almost impossible to be breached. .

The direction of Jiayuguan is just a little more than impossible, a little more possible.

A strong city cannot be attacked by force, and it is reasonable to cooperate with the inside and the outside to disintegrate the inside, so Liu Chengzong is waiting for the king to speak for himself.

Wang Ziyong didn't want to speak at first, but more and more people looked at him, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Commander, the Sanjiehui has many congregants in Gansu, if there was hope earlier .”

Wang Ziyong shook his head and said: "But now Hong Chengchou has sent a guest army, and the Ningxia frontier army is in charge of the defense. We have nothing to do. Now the Sanjiehui can only support the army to create some chaos and seize Guancheng... I'm afraid there is nothing we can do."

Liu Chengzong nodded to express his understanding. Cao Yao, who had been silent all this time, asked at this moment: "Commander, how about sending an elite army to cross the Qilian Mountains and attack Liangzhou, Ganzhou, and Suzhou?"

"Attacking Liangzhou will cut off the retreat of the Gulangxia officers and troops; attacking Ganzhou will attract the troops of Gulangxia and Jiayuguan to return; attacking Suzhou will cut off the supply of food and grass for the Jiayuguan defenders."

Liu Chengzong nodded, and looked at Chen Qindai, the magistrate of Haibei County: "Qindai, is there any road in the Qilian Mountains that can be passed through?"

"Back to Commander, yes there is."

This military discussion was a bit pessimistic, and Chen Qindai's answer was unavoidably hesitant. He stood up and saluted with fists in his hands: "The officers and soldiers have sealed the passes. March, but you can't let the army move quickly."

"Secondly." Chen Qindai felt that it was a trivial matter that the army could not be mobilized. He said emphatically: "Our vehicles cannot pass, and it is difficult for war horses, donkeys and mules to cross the mountain."

Cao Yao had no choice but to tap his leg lightly, which meant that he couldn't carry the cannon, he couldn't even carry the heavy equipment such as the gun, and probably he couldn't even carry the heavy armor.

In war, trained elites are essential. Without elite soldiers, even the best equipment is made for the enemy; but without equipment, even the best elite soldiers will be easily killed by the enemy.

Without heavy equipment, when they crossed the Qilian Mountains, they abandoned their retreat. Facing the Ming army with heavy equipment, the only way to go was to wipe out the entire army.

Liu Chengzong was not as discouraged as others, he just asked: "Is there anything else you want to add?"

Seeing that people have already said everything they want to say, and they are still very guilty when they look at him. This kind of helpless situation really makes people feel very helpless and incompetent.

Liu Shizi calmly recorded the main points that everyone said, and then smiled and comforted the generals: "It's okay, you brothers all have their own talents, and there may be no good strategy for a while, because the terrain is limited. It's so easy for Xining to take Gansu, Brother Huo Luochi doesn't have to be trapped in Qinghai for a long time."

After all, he said solemnly: "Since the military discussion cannot be achieved for a while, then we should not worry about victory before thinking about defeat, and discuss our own internal affairs first. Hehuang will probably be a drought year next year. Don't worry, everyone. I think this drought will come soon." Very good, after all we had a good harvest."

He turned his head to look at his brother and asked, "Chengyun, if there is a drought in Hehuang and we fail to obtain Gansu, how long can we last?"

This topic made Batur Huntaiji tremble, and he put his hands together and prayed for Liu Chengyun to give a good answer.

After all, he already knew that this group of people was driven to Qinghai by the drought. Now that there is another drought in Qinghai, this group of vicious people might be driven to Tianshan.

Now he is willing to be a minister to Liu Shizi because he is still the Lord of Tianshan Mountain when he goes back, and he is stronger than before. If Liu Shizi wants to go to the Lord of Tianshan Mountain, then he will not be happy.

Fortunately, Chengyun stood up with confidence: "As long as the commander wants to last, Hehuang can last as long as he wants."

"Second brother, don't worry, even if the governors of the three sides guard Shaanxi and Gansu, Hehuang won't trap you all." Liu Chengyun said: "Hehuang has a special terrain. I don't think there will be a severe drought next year even if it doesn't rain."

He explained: "After the last rain in autumn, the rainwater is all on the mountain, condensing into the snowy top of the mountain. Even if there is no rain in the spring, the peach blossom flood comes, and the fields can still be irrigated. Therefore, next year may not be a bumper harvest, but an ordinary year. .”

Hearing this, Liu Chengzong grinned, Chengyun was not like others, no matter what questions he had, Liu Chengyun could always answer him with his personal experience of going deep into the common people.

He asked: "That is to say, we can last a whole year."

"At least one year." Cheng Yun said: "There is still plenty of folk food, as long as there is no extravagance and waste, the commander-in-chief will issue a ban on alcohol, build water trucks, and grow drought-resistant food. By this time next year, the army's food may be a little tighter. , but nothing will happen to the people, and there will be no trouble."

"Then it will be calculated as two years, which is enough time."

Regarding drought, Liu Chengzong has always expressed the most pessimistic attitude. There is no trend of drought in Hehuang, and he can still have a little luck. But now that there is a trend, it is difficult for him to imagine that the drought will stop soon.

Even if there is no rain for three years, it is not an exaggeration in this era.

Liu Chengzong said to Chengyun: "For the sake of food, Hehuang has lost all its businesses. We can't let the drought destroy Hehuang's harvest."

The destruction of all industries in his mouth is not modest. Hehuang originally had the ability to support a large number of people who left agriculture and invested in handicrafts and service industries.

On the premise that there is no major change in land output, the huge military population has crowded out these quotas, not to mention the low taxation in Hehuang.

This is not low in terms of nominal taxation, they bought half of the food income of the people; and there is also an indirect salt tax that is nearly ten times that of the Central Plains, especially the latter, which is a bad government wherever it is placed.

But Hehuang is good because it treats ordinary people, there is only this kind of bad government.

There are no tenants, no head tax, no land tax, and no apportionment. Not only can the people afford it, but they also have enough food and clothing to live like gods.

The abolition of all industries is a bad policy against the generals and officials. Fortunately, there is a government-run bureau of handicrafts. In order to ensure the livelihood of the people, Hehuang is a self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy.

The commander-in-chief's mansion is always distributing land, distributing old land on one side and reclaiming new land on the other. The township chiefs and security chiefs who came out of the army in the local area glisten when they see people who have no land. There is a set of procedures for livestock and registered households.

That's not called tying people to the ground, it's like being welded to the ground.

Soldiers are the most competitive group. Even when they go to the place, their attitude towards orders remains the same. The difference is nothing more than that military exploits become political achievements. The number of heads taken is the same.

In this case, the children of the common people have seven or eight acres of land per family, so who would like to serve others as grandchildren.

This has caused paying players to lose an essential gaming experience for ordinary players.

For Liu Chengzong, this situation is difficult to last for a long time. To maintain this policy, he needs to pay a lot of hidden costs. People have needs. Only by suppressing the needs of some people can the desires of others be satisfied.

The generals believed that suppressing those troublemakers who seized wealth would make everyone's lives better and satisfy their desires, so as to avoid internal collapse.

This is not Liu Chengzong's lie. If they can unify the world and the common people live a relatively prosperous life, the masters of high officials, good ministers and fierce generals will naturally have a lot of enjoyment.

The price is that they cannot stagnate. If they stop, things will develop in a direction that Liu Chengzong does not want.

No one sells sons and daughters, so where do so many servants and maids come from?

"Soldiers and rations can't be tight, and water trucks need to be built, but what if there is no water?" Liu Chengzong shook his head, and said to Chengyun, "We will build a few ponds in Hehuang."

Reservoir is the ancient name of reservoir, also known as Pitang. The more famous reservoir is Anfengtang, which was built under the presidency of Sun Shuao, Prime Minister of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Liu Chengzong said to Chengyun: "the book I took from Hanwang's mansion contains a copy of Taixi Water Method. Go back and have a look. There are also a few talented people from Lanzhou who have defected here. They will all be allocated to you. Carefully select the site and set up five towns. With the power of two years, autumn and winter, several ponds will be repaired."

"With these ponds, together with other water conservancy and seed selection methods, it should be able to fight against drought."

Chengyun got up to accept the order, and saw Liu Chengzong also got up, patted him and smiled: "Those people may have some problems, but they are all scholars, and they should not be a stumbling block in the construction of water conservancy. If the Haihe River is cured by it, man will conquer nature.”

After all, Liu Chengzong leaned on the table and said to everyone: "It's not early, since the military discussion has not yet reached a result, all brothers go to eat and rest first, work together, think a few more times, there must be a way to deal with Hong Chengchou."

Everyone saw that he was not in a hurry, and felt a little relieved, they all got up to leave, but they heard him say: "Brother Ziyong, master master, stay here, I have something to ask."

After everyone left, only Shi Cheng, Wang Ziyong and I were left looking at each other, and then Liu Chengzong asked: "Brother Wang, if we raise mule and horse soldiers, how much will Sanjie be able to raise in Qilian Mountain?"

Wang Ziyong pondered for a moment, and said: "One thousand war horses, one thousand soldiers, and three thousand camels, besides that, we should be able to get [-] or [-] pearls and small cannons for killing captives, but the gunpowder of the shells ...I'm afraid it's only enough for one battle."

Liu Chengzong asked again: "If the Ningxia army is mobilized and the army has to enter Gansu, will the Three Tribulations Association open the gates of Jiayuguan, Suzhou, Ganzhou, and Liangzhou for me?"

As soon as Wang Ziyong heard this, he knew that Liu Chengzong had already thought about the result of the military discussion, and he clasped his fists and said: "If you can let those Ningxia troops leave, the commander-in-chief will look at the methods of our Three Tribulations Conference. !"

"I understand."

Liu Chengzong nodded one after another, turned to look at Shi Cheng and me, he said: "Master Shi, I need the arsenal to make me a single gun that weighs less than [-] catties, can send flowering bullets one mile away, and use it as a field cannon. Instead of rockets."

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)