Hongwu Survival Guide

Chapter 102 Arrival

On the same day of March [-]th, unlike the bright sunshine in Mingzhou, the weather off the coast of Shandong is gloomy and rainy at any time.

This is the 13th day of the departure of the grain convoy.

It entered the cloudy area last night, and it was impossible to locate the star, but the fleet did not panic.

Not to mention the compass, wind direction, ocean currents and other comprehensive references, since passing the Haizhou latitude line of Huai'an Prefecture, everyone understands that arriving in Shandong is only a matter of the last two or three days.

What is more worrying is that the longitude should not deviate too far from Jiaozhou.

Otherwise, you will have to turn around when you touch the shore.

After all, more than 200 mighty ships of various sizes are driving in the offshore area, and the danger of being stranded is too great.

On board the flagship ship of the grain fleet.

After lunch, Pu Qi climbed up to the observation deck of the mainmast with Fu Run, another lookout who had become familiar with each other these days. The two of them were not in the mood to tease each other this time. One used the inner eye and the other the outer eye. , I just hope that I can see the navigation smoke column on the shore before dark today.

After leaving Mingzhou for the first time, one after another lighthouses lit up during the day and lit at night on the [-]-mile journey, which made people feel at ease after seeing them.

Haven't seen it for a while.

The two squeezed into the narrow basket of the observatory. Fu Run looked around carefully with his exclusive binoculars, but found nothing, so he retracted into the basket and looked at a piece of pot helmet next to him. Pu Qi stretched out his hand and broke off a piece, chewed it, and asked, "Old Pu, do you think you can arrive today?"

Compared with Pu Qi who has been on the sea for many years, Fu Run was born in the navy, but this is the first time he has sailed for such a long time.During this period of time, if he hadn't gotten to know the person next to him, often making jokes, and telling him some trivial things about the past voyages, Fu Run felt that he would not be as relaxed as he is now.

Pu Qi continued to gnaw on the pot helmet, and said, "According to the calculations of those scholars, tonight at the latest. That is, um... longitude, they can't calculate it, it may be tens of miles away, that's fine, but wait a little longer. It's never safe to dock at night."

Having said that, Pu Qi finished eating the pot helmet, stood up, and looked north.

It was easy to talk to Fu Run, but when Pu Qi looked to the north, he was somewhat helpless.Drifting on the sea, no matter how successful this voyage is, who wouldn't want to dock as soon as possible?
Seeing Pu Qi get up, Fu Run continued to lie down.

It's windy at high places, if you can be lazy, you still have to be lazy for a while.Chewing slowly, he gnawed off a piece of pot helmet in his hand, and waited for a while, usually at this time Pu Qi should squat down to remind him to change it, but this time he didn't move.

Fu Run was about to get up and take the initiative to let Pu Qi rest, when Pu Qi suddenly stretched out his hand: "Your eyes, quickly, show me."

Fu Run instinctively wanted to make fun of it.

Pu Qi boasted that he had a pair of kite eyes, but he despised his binoculars very much.However, Fu Run realized something immediately, stood up suddenly, and looked north.

At first glance, nothing was seen.

Just as she was about to lift the binoculars hanging on her chest, Pu Qi pulled it away and put it in front of her eyes.

Fu Run was so strangled by the binoculars that he could only lean on Pu Qi, but he was not angry, he just said expectantly, "Is it right, did you see the column of smoke?"

Pu Qi was silent for a while, and when Fu Run was about to go crazy, he finally said: "It's still off, northeast, in the northeast... Well, how many degrees did you say?"

"I'm here..." Fu Run snatched back the binoculars, looked to the northeast, searched for a while, and finally noticed a piece of smoke that looked very faint because it was too far away, but he was sure that it was artificial wolf smoke, not fog.Putting down the binoculars, Fu Run hurriedly took out a compass and fiddled with it for a while, and finally said: "North by east, 50 degrees."

After being so sure, Fu Run raised his binoculars to observe for a while, and finally lay down on the edge of the basket and shouted to the bottom: "near-shore--yee-near-shore-yee-- "

When the sound came out, not only the shipwrights and soldiers from all over the flagship looked over, but also someone on a large ship nearby heard the sound and looked in this direction, and immediately shouted to spread the news.

Gradually, the entire fleet became restless.

Xia Hai, commander of Tian Xingwei, also quickly rushed out of the cabin and climbed up to the observation tower several feet high to confirm the news.

……

Kang Maocai led [-] troops to Jiaozhou three days in advance.

As the first rank of the governor of the Metropolitan Government, Kang Maocai is on the same level as Hua Gao. Because his health is really bad, he has been staying in the rear.Earlier, when Huagao was engaged in a job, Lao Zhu dispatched Kang Maocai to be in charge of the canal grain road.

The army of the Northern Expedition conquered the entire territory of Shandong, and while Kang Maocai continued to maintain the food roads, he also had the additional responsibility of guarding Shandong.

This time, he received a secret order from His Majesty the Emperor. When the army had already started to move westward, Kang Maocai turned eastward and left Jinan temporarily with his troops.

Because the form of Jiaozhou is very bad.

The news that the imperial court will transport grain to Shandong by sea spreads, and a large number of refugees began to gather in Jiaozhou, which has exceeded [-] at present.

How many, no one knows.

Lao Zhu, who was far away in Jinling, knew very well that the gathering of so many people would lead to a refugee rebellion, and the situation in Shandong, which had just stabilized, would be shaken up again, directly affecting the rear of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

The imperial court is not without all kinds of appeasement.

In Shandong, all taxes have been exempted for the next three years, and the mountains, forests and lakes have been opened up for the common people to pick up. Local rich families are also encouraged to open porridge farms to provide relief.

When Kang Maocai arrived, he also brought 3000 shi of grain squeezed out from Jinan.

None of this worked.

A very hungry man cares nothing but his life.

If the seaborne grain ship could not arrive as soon as possible, in the event of some accident, Kang Maocai even carried another strict order from Lao Zhu in his arms.

Considering the overall situation, I don't care too much.

Shandong, don't mess up!

There is a high slope on the east side of Jiaozhou Bay mouth, under the lighthouse that continues to emit thick smoke. After finishing today's affairs, He Huai once again came to be the "watching husband stone".

Compared with his initially affluent figure, He Huai's current official uniform looks baggy, as if a gust of wind could blow him up.Recently, he has been anxious to get angry, and his mouth is still a little hot. The whole person gives the onlookers the feeling that he has just escaped from the desert.

No way, it's really urgent recently.

He Huai could imagine that if the more than [-] people around Jiaozhou exploded, everything he had done during this period would be in vain.At that time, even if the grain ship arrives, he won't have much credit.

Even, not to mention the credit, whether his life can be saved is another matter.

In refugee riots, the first unlucky ones are the magistrates. They were either caught and boiled by the refugees before, or they were arrested and chopped up by the court later. It rarely ends well.

So nervously, he was standing on the edge of the cliff under the lighthouse, chanting, when He Huai suddenly heard someone calling him, he turned his head and saw that it was a small official of the government office.Seeing the man stumbling and yelling while walking, He Huai thought that something that he least expected had happened, his legs went limp, and he slumped on the ground with a plop.

Behind him, the servant hurried forward to support his master, he was hesitating whether to pinch him, when the voice of the little official finally came clearly: "My lord, we are here, we are here, the grain ship has arrived."

He Huai, who was on the verge of death, seemed to have taken the Shiquan Dabu pill in an instant, and immediately bounced up, rushed over and grabbed the collar of the little official: "There, there, why didn't I see it?"

The little official was grabbed by his collar, but he didn't dare to resist, he raised his hand and pointed to the west: "The fleet... is going astray, in the west, in the west."

He Huai immediately stepped on his feet and looked west. This is the northeast of the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay, which is blocked by the opposite bank, so there is nothing to see at all.He Huai stomped his feet a few times in a hurry before he remembered again, and quickly turned around and ran towards the three-foot-high lighthouse behind him.

When he came to the top of the tower, he leaned on the crenel and looked west again. Although He Huai did not have the kite eyes like Pu Qi, he could faintly see the dense blackness on the coastline to the south of the west, slowly approaching.

After confirming that it was really a grain transport fleet, He Huai let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground again.

In the evening, the grain transport fleet finally arrived at the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay and began to dock in the port one by one.

Standing on the bow of the flagship ship, Xia Hai was smug at first. He knew that he had made a great contribution this time. Although it was not as good as the first achievement of the young envoy in Mingzhou, it would be no problem to rank among the top.

However, when he looked at the dense crowd on the shore from afar, or cheered and shouted, or knelt down towards the grain ship in large numbers like a wheat field in the wind, as if he saw a god appearing in the world, Xia Hai realized again that he , It's far more than just making a contribution once.

Instead, he remembered some words that the little adult Yinghai envoy had said by accident: the sooner the grain ship arrives in Shandong, the less people will starve to death.

The flagship docked.

As soon as Xia Hai stepped off the springboard, Kang Maocai hurried up with a group of civil servants and military generals from Jiaozhou.

After a brief exchange of greetings and greetings, Kang Maocai glanced at the grain ships that were constantly approaching the port, and asked Xia Hai impatiently, "How much has it arrived?"

Being subtly instilled by a young envoy of the camp, Xia Hai also became familiar with the numbers, and clasped his fists when he heard the words, "Return to Tongzhi, there are a total of 271 grain ships. Due to damage and water leakage, etc., they left the team early and docked. 14 ships, with a total of 6500 shi, and another ship with 800 shi of food capsized midway, lost 800 shi of food, and drowned 7 people. The rest all arrived in Jiaozhou smoothly, with a total of 256 large and small ships, with a total of 19 shi of food. On the 2700th, the ration is 45 shi, and there is a balance of about 9000 shi, which is just enough to supplement the amount for leaving the team in advance."

When Xia Hai reported this series of numbers, whether it was Kang Maocai, the prefect of the governor, He Huai, the prefect of Jiaozhou, or Mao Xiang, the commander of Jiaozhou Wei, or even other generals and officials, all fell silent for a while.

Everyone has learned about shipping in advance.

In the same impression, when it comes to transporting grain by sea, everyone's first reaction is often two words-dangerous.

However, according to what Xia Hai said at the moment, in addition to the 20 shi loss caused by the ship capsizing of the 800 shi grains, at least half of the other 6500 shi can be saved if they land in advance.Such a loss ratio is quite different from the rumors that more than [-]% of the grain transported by sea is often lost.

So, where is the problem?

Xia Hai lied?
impossible.

Many grain ships were docking, if Xia Hai lied, he would be exposed soon.

The person who transported the food earlier lied?
possible.

However, it won't be too outrageous, otherwise, shipping won't be rated as 'dangerous', so the danger must be very high.

The food team is too lucky?

No one would be foolish enough to think so.

Then, there is only one possible answer. This grain transport fleet must have something special, which is why 20 shi of grain arrived in Jiaozhou smoothly without much loss.

As the logistics supervisor of the Northern Expedition Army, Kang Maocai was even more shocked.

It is said that the canal he is in charge of transporting grain, because of the long-term disrepair of the river, the monthly grain transport volume was less than 15 shi, and with the local collection, it barely covered the daily needs of the 25 troops ahead.

Moreover, because there are many small people on the canal grain transport boats, the road consumption is close to [-]% of the total grain transport only to Shandong.

In comparison, the grain transport by sea this time only consumed a mere 2500 shi of grain along the way, which is not 20% or half of the total of [-] shi, but just a bit more.

With such capacity and efficiency, if it can continue, the army of the Northern Expedition will no longer have to worry about food and pay. At that time, it will not be a problem to fight all the way to Shangdu, let alone Dadu.

Kang Maocai couldn't help but think of the young man who planned all this behind the scenes.

famous for a long time.

Send 500 years of Guozuo's worldly master.

At first it was unavoidable to feel exaggerated, but looking at it now, it is indeed worthy of the name.

If there is a chance, we must see you in the future.

The fleet arrived smoothly, and the first thing to do was to announce the good news to Jinling.

Because of the looming danger in Jiaozhou, Lao Zhu would send letters every three or two days to inquire. Now that the food has arrived, he must send the news back as soon as possible, so that His Majesty the Emperor can feel at ease.

Xia Hai has already prepared in advance, in addition to the data such as the grain arriving in Shandong, there is also a daily logbook recorded along the way according to the requirements of the young adult Yinghai Envoy.

As a result, the fleet on this side continued to enter the port, and on the other side, a Kuaima Jibao with the stamps and seals of Kang Maocai, He Huai, Mao Xiang and others had already been sent to Jinling.

At the same time, the Jiaozhou government also issued a notice.

The people around Jiaozhou immediately registered with the Jiaozhou government office according to their household registration location, and received official relief. Each household was given five buckets of rice to one stone according to the population.

This relief was not in vain.

The people receiving the relief will move to both sides of the Jiaoji Canal from Jiaozhou to Jinan in batches, and the imperial court will continue to provide rice grains, work in lieu of relief, and dredge the Jiaolai Canal.

Afterwards, Kang Maocai, Xia Hai, Mao Xiang, He Huai and others stayed up all night. They not only had to unload the grain from the grain ship as soon as possible, but also urgently distributed the first batch of rations so that the people who had been hungry for too long could have a full meal. After all, most of the more than [-] people were barely hanging on their lives.

In the brightly lit Jiaozhou Bay, the aroma of rice wafted everywhere this night, and there were voices of gratitude from the people one after another.

The originally tense situation quickly eased with the arrival of the grain ship.

On the second day, He Huai also initially figured out how many refugees there were near Jiaozhou.

At least 13 million.

Before... I didn't dare to figure it out too clearly.

Because once something happens, He Huai also knows what will happen, so it's better to be confused.

He Huai even knew that many hungry people did not know the news and were scattered all over Shandong, but they could only take care of their eyes.Just like in fact, many refugees thought that they would not be able to wait for the food ship, and followed the government's advice to return home early, and they would not receive relief this time.

After all, the prerequisites for this relief are not loose.

After taking the food, they must obey the arrangement. Regardless of men, women, old or young, they must move to both sides of the Jiaoji Canal to participate in the dredging of the canal.

Based on the calculation of 13 people, and according to the standard that five people in each household can get one shi of grain, the initial relief expenditure actually only needs 5 shi.

Everyone also knows that the relief rations given by each household can only be eaten for a month no matter how economical they are.However, within a month, many things can be adjusted.

For example, follow-up relief with work.

For the dredging of the Jiaoji Canal, the limit given by His Majesty the Emperor is 5 shi. In addition, during the dredging process of the canal, some fish and shrimp can be caught as a supplement, which can last another two months.

After three months, it will be the summer harvest.

This year, there is a lot of abandonment of farming in Shandong, but for a nation with the word "farming" engraved in its bones, no matter how difficult the environment is, there will be people who will tirelessly sow the seeds, and some grain will still be produced.

What's more, after the summer harvest, there will be more relief from the south.

In summary, although the situation is far from improving, the most critical moment has finally passed.

(End of this chapter)