The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 206: Stop
"Since April of the forty-sixth year of the Qianyuan reign of the Qin Dynasty (1728), there has been no rain for several months. There has been a severe drought in Shandong, the price of grain has doubled, the flow of refugees has surged, and miasma has spread."

"In May of the forty-sixth year of the Qianyuan reign of the Qin Dynasty (1728), drought broke out in Hebei and Henan, resulting in many deaths of humans and animals; food prices soared, buckwheat was one liang, eight yuan per stone, and buckwheat cakes were usually one liang at a time. Wearing naked paper clothes and wrapping them with machine locks to avoid freezing corrosion. Many people fled across the border to the south, or ran to the coast or crossed the sea to beg for their lives. ... In drought years, migratory locusts change the disaster, this time Then the plague will gradually break out, and tens of thousands will die from exhaustion."

"In August of the forty-sixth year of the Qianyuan reign of the Qin Dynasty, Beijing's Dianhu Lake, Suzhou River and other water sources and ponds dried up. Hundreds of thousands of people looked to only a few dry wells to quench their thirst. Countless livestock died. All commercial and transportation activities in and around the city It has been greatly affected. Water sellers in the city and on the roads have raised their prices, with buckets of water costing several taels of silver. ... Thieves are rampant in the area, and the order is about to collapse."

……

On May 1729, 5, on a bumpy official road north of Texas, a long team was slowly heading north under the scorching sun. They were wearing slightly worn and messy old military uniforms of the Qin army, carrying Carrying heavy weapons and luggage, his face was dripping with sweat.

One after another, heavy grain trucks rolled over the floating dust, bringing up bursts of smoke. The soldiers looked tired and looked at the dry woods beside the road where the bark had been peeled off by hungry people. They could not feel any greenery or coolness. Several curses came from his mouth.

Looking around, the endless wilderness is all gray, and everything seems so lifeless.

On both sides of the road, countless people fleeing south watched the army's march indifferently. Their clothes were ragged, they all looked hungry, and their faces looked extremely withered. There were many hungry people lying on the ground, lifeless. It was not known whether they were dead or fainted from hunger.

"Master, give me some food!" Xu was very hungry, and a thin middle-aged man boldly begged in a low voice.

"Okay, Master Jun, give me something to eat..."

More hungry people began to cry and beg, hoping that this grain transport convoy could send some food to fill their stomachs, so that everyone could go to Denglai or rush to the seaside after a while.

But the problem is, with the poor transportation conditions in Daqin, when the food from Huguang and Jiangxi arrives, I don’t know how many starvation deaths will occur!

He is a fourth-generation immigrant from the Qi State, a native of Caoxian County, Xiangjiang Prefecture (today's Bundaberg City, Australia), and his ancestral home is from the southern part of the Qinling Mountains. He is tall, with a height of 1.82 meters, and stands out among a group of officers and soldiers of the Qin Dynasty. There is a long and slender scar on the right side of his face. It was accidentally scratched by a sharp thorn while hunting down natives in the jungle of Borneo two years ago, which makes his handsome face look more rugged and heroic. .

Damn it, this batch of grain has to be transported to Beijing, and then transported to Liaodong via relay to support the army. If this was robbed by a group of hungry people on the road, I would definitely not be able to save my head!
Under the coercion of the officers and soldiers with swords and guns, the hungry people retreated in fear, but they still stared at the bulging sacks on the grain truck with eager expressions.

Many people have been hungry for several days and are already exhausted. They just hold on for a breath and keep going south out of a desire to survive, in order to find a bite to eat and survive.

"..."

As for the grain team escorted by the army in front of us, there were more than two hundred trucks and at least three to four thousand dan of grain. If the military master was kind enough to give a few dozen dan to give everyone a bit of support, it would be better to walk more distances, right?

The entire Hebei province has had no rain since June last year, resulting in a loss of more than half of its grain production. Even in the dead of winter, little snow falls. When spring comes this year, the land is dry and cracked, making it impossible to cultivate and plant, and it is even more difficult for people and animals to drink water.

The first ones who couldn't bear it were the tenant farmers and small farmers who had no food reserves. When the government failed to provide relief, they had no choice but to flee to the south, or to Shandong and Denglai, thinking that there would always be something to eat. The whole family was able to survive.

Damn Beiming, in the southeastern areas of Korea, countless Korean coolies were used to build a large number of permanent fortresses and solid cities, and then placed a large number of artillery in them, causing massive damage to the attacking Qin army.

Due to the wars in Liaodong and Korea, the grain stocks in various places had to be given priority to the frontline troops. As a result, the government had little food to provide relief. They could only constantly appeal to Nanjing in the hope that the imperial court would send money to provide relief.

Seeing the hungry people on both sides of the road approaching the grain trucks, the look in their eyes became more and more fiery. A Qian who was leading the team was so horrified that he immediately pulled out his sword and loudly ordered the sergeants to force the hungry people back and keep them away from the convoy.

Even if they are not careful, the Qin army, which lacks back-road maintenance, will be launched by the Ming army through a sea route, thus cutting off the supply line of the army in front and allowing the opponent to launch a perfect annihilation battle.

Limited by the narrow and fragmented terrain of North Korea, the Qin army had a numerical advantage, but was unable to eliminate the effective forces of the North Ming Dynasty. Moreover, because it lacked maritime superiority, it could not achieve the purpose of driving the North Ming army out of North Korea through a long-term siege.

In March last year, he was transferred to the State of Qin and served as the third-class staff officer of the military staff stationed in Qin. This time, I accompanied several companions, starting from Nanjing, first to Xuzhou, then to Jinan, and then followed the endless supply convoys to Beijing, and finally rushed to North Korea to supervise the relationship between Qin and Ming Dynasties in the region. A ceasefire was achieved.

Moreover, there are a large number of vassal soldiers in the Ming army. Like those fish-skin Tatars decades ago, they are extremely good at fighting in jungles and mountainous areas, and they are not afraid of death. They wield a few knives and carry a few bows. Dare to launch a surprise attack on the Qin army with several people.

Yes, with the mediation of Qi, Qin decided to end the "armed conflict" with Beiming in North Korea.

As for the rugged and densely forested Hamgyong Road in northwest Korea, the Ming army was even more helpless. After decades of operation, the Ming army occupied almost all strategic locations in Hamgyong Province, supplemented by several fortified cities. This is not something that the Qin army with poor logistics can easily grasp.

By May, the temperature was rising day by day, and the drought became more severe. Dozens of prefectures, counties, and towns were left without cultivation, and it could be said that the land was bare.

That is food for survival!
"Damn it, this Qin army is not going to kill these hungry people, right?" Gan Changsheng, the third-ranking staff officer of Qi's military staff in Daqin and Colonel Renyong (lieutenant), sat up from the cart. Lifting off the dust-covering gauze, his right hand couldn't help but tightly hold a short knife under his ribs, and he stared at the many hungry people over there without blinking.

"Please, Master Jun, give me some food..."

It can be said that the Qin army was extremely passive in fighting in North Korea. In many cases, it had to risk huge casualties and launch cluster attacks on the fortresses held by the Ming army, so that the battlefield exchange ratio was very ugly.

It was originally thought that the Qin army could rely on the continuous domestic military strength to supplement its advantages and compete with the Ming army. Even if two or three of them were exchanged for one of you, your population in Beiming would only be over one million (including the naturalized feudal lords and Japanese, the population in Beiming had actually reached two million), and the number of troops would be small even if we fight to the end. , which makes it really unbearable for you. Let me see how long you can hold on.

Unexpectedly, the Ming army seemed not afraid at all.

The Ming army first obtained a large amount of cannon fodder from Japan, armed it slightly, and then roughly trained it, then shipped it to North Korea ship by ship. Each fortress and stronghold often had only a dozen Beiming officers and soldiers, but they drove hundreds or thousands of Japanese cannon fodder to fight against the Qin army.

The war lasted for more than a year, and eight to nine thousand cannon fodder was consumed. Perhaps because it was too troublesome, the Beiming government simply pushed the Koreans to the front.

Li Linzuo, the general manager of Southeast Asia, proclaimed himself the king of Silla last year, and was quickly recognized by Bukming, Dongdan and Bohae.

Since we want to separate ourselves and stand on our own, why don't we gather troops and go to the front for me!
Tens of thousands of Korean soldiers were pushed in front of the Qin army under the coercion of the Beiming army. Although their combat power was weak and they did not dare to engage in field battles with the Qin army, they were still able to garrison cities and strongholds and fight offensive and defensive attrition wars with the Qin army under the cover of artillery and muskets.

Before it was too late, the Qin army gradually felt that it could no longer hold its strength in the face of excessive military losses, so it pulled up all the soldiers from the Kingdom of Korea, mixed with some of the main force of the Qin army, and fought repeatedly with the Ming army in the southeastern region of Korea.

The two sides coerced the Koreans into fighting each other on the peninsula for more than a year, resulting in heavy losses. In addition, the three countries of Beiming, Dongdan and Bohai started another battle in the Liangjiang River Basin (Heilongjiang and Ussuri River), which made the Qin army's logistics supplies Under tremendous pressure. In November last year, Qi State intervened to mediate, hoping that several parties would stop the war and restore peace in Northeast Asia, so as not to affect commercial activities and personnel exchanges throughout the region.

Although the three Northeastern countries headed by Beiming took advantage of the geographical convenience to inflict a lot of casualties on the Qin army, and also took the opportunity to invade the hinterland of Liaodong and plunder countless assets and a large number of people, the overall situation looked extremely favorable. But after all, it was too small to last. If it hadn't been for the millions of yuan in financial loans and material support provided by Qi State, it would have been impossible to fight on two fronts (the Korean battlefield and the Ussuri River battlefield).

Since the state of Qi intervened in the mediation, it would naturally end happily. Anyway, the entire North Korean region was destroyed, the three southeastern provinces were de facto independent, and many fort settlements in Liaodong were also uprooted by the three countries. In the short term, Qin will not be able to restore the economy and people's livelihood in the above-mentioned areas. Then let's stop fighting each other.

In order to deal with the two battlefields of Liaodong and Korea, Qin had to stop the supplies originally supplied to the northwest and Mobei and transfer them to the northeast, causing the situation in the latter region to recur.

Several Mongolian tribes in Mobei actually submitted to the Qin State on the surface, but secretly contacted the Bohai State in the north, hoping to use it as foreign aid to resist the pressure of the Qin army.

The remnants of the Qing captives dormant in the Kobdo area (today's Tangnu Ulianghai area) also frequently colluded with the Mongolian tribes in Mobei, trying to persuade Manchu and Mongolians to become one and share benefits.

What worries Qin even more is that the northwest region, which had been in a good situation before, is afraid of changes again.

The Junggar Khan King Galdan Celing, who was driven to the Kazakh grasslands by General Jingxi and Governor of Beiting Yue Zhongqi, got a rare respite after the Qin army stopped their offensive due to stretched supply lines and insufficient supplies of materials.

With more than 10,000 troops in hand, this guy suppressed the resistance of the Dayuzi and Zhongyuzi tribes in a very short period of time. Then he sent his trusted general Ce Lingdun Duobu (also known as Dace Lingdun Doke) to lead more than 4,000 troops. , entered the old land of Yarkand (today's southern Xinjiang region), killed more than ten tribal leaders and massacred tens of thousands of people, quickly quelled the local rebel forces, re-incorporated the area into the sphere of influence of the Junggar Khanate, and Threaten the Qin army from the southern flank, intending to attack from two sides and recapture Ili.

In addition, the Junggar Khanate also penetrated into the Uzbek area from the Yarkand area. It is reported that Galdan Celing sent several waves of messengers to connect with the Snow Mountain Monk, preparing to expel the Qin army and pro-Qin forces and restore the holy land of Buddhism.

Faced with this situation, Yue Zhongqi reported to the court several times, requesting more troops and combat supplies to prevent the Junggar forces from resurrecting.

If the Junggar people are allowed to retake Ili, all the previous combat results may be in vain, and the entire northwest situation may deteriorate again.

Therefore, when Qi proposed to mediate the Korean War, Qin immediately agreed and began peace talks with Beiming.

However, at the end of the year, after news of the changes in the Daqi royal family came from the Hanzhou mainland, the mediation was suddenly suspended, leaving several peace negotiators on the spot.

It should be noted that changes in the political situation of Qi State are definitely of interest to Qin State, Beiming, Dongdan, and Bohai, and cannot be ignored.

The Korean battlefield and the battlefield in the Liangjiang Basin also suddenly fell silent. Both sides retreated their armies backwards in tacit agreement and broke away from military contact with each other, waiting for the political situation in Qi to become clear.

In just over four months, first the crown prince of Qi passed away, then Emperor Taiping returned to power, then the emperor's grandson was appointed, and a new cabinet was formed. Finally, Emperor Taiping died and his grandson succeeded the throne. The political situation of Qi State maintained a rare situation. A smooth transition without any "turbulent waves".

After the news came out, some people breathed a long sigh of relief, while others shook their heads and sighed in disappointment.

In April of this year, the State of Qi resumed the truce mediation. In just over twenty days, the two parties who could no longer fight quickly reached a peace agreement, and the Korean region was still restored to its original state. The former general manager of the southeast of Quanzhi continued to regard North Korea as the ruler of the country.

The Qin State once proposed that the three Northeastern countries should release all the captive immigrants from Liaodong, but they were rejected by the other side. They said that those people had voluntarily become subjects of each country, divided their fields, built houses, lived and worked in peace and contentment, and did not think about Qin.

Are you kidding me? How can I give back the population I finally got so easily?

Besides, you Qin State has hundreds of millions of people, but how many people are you lacking?

Although the armistice agreement was signed, the two sides did not withdraw their respective troops immediately. Instead, they continued to remain vigilant and stationed in North Korea, waiting for the arrival and coordination of Qi's military supervisors, in case one side suddenly changed its mind and occupied the territory. So cheap.

It stands to reason that Gan Changsheng and other members of the Military Staff Group should take a ship to North Korea, which is much more time- and effort-saving than taking the land route.

But these "arrogant and expensive" Qi officers chose to take the land route and walked slowly all the way.

Without him, this trip north by land was actually a staff trip.

In addition to more detailed mapping of the geographical and mountainous conditions along the way, there is also the need to examine the people's livelihood and customs along the way and master local records for future planning.

With the arrival of hundreds of Dezhou town troops armed with live ammunition, the noisy and restless hungry people immediately dispersed in all directions, not daring to go to the roadside anymore and continuing to block the grain transport convoy. But their eye-catching eyes and longing expressions make people look at them and can't help but feel their hearts throbbing.

Without government relief, many of these hungry people would probably die!

But the question is, why hasn’t the food from the imperial court arrived yet?

"Sir, we can't save many people." Gan Changsheng walked up behind Li Yanliang and handed him a few sugar cubes in his bag. "As long as we just leave, these cans and sugar cubes will definitely be snatched away by other hungry people."

Li Yanliang took the sugar cube from Gan Changsheng's hand and stuffed it into the hands of several thin children. He watched them put it in their mouths with inexplicable expressions of surprise.

"Quickly kowtow to your benefactor." Several women nearby shed tears, stretched out their hands to press, took the children, knelt down, and kowtowed to Li Yanliang continuously.

Looking at the women kowtowing in front of him, Li Yanliang sighed.

"My wife is pregnant again. ... By the end of the year, I will have another child."

Li Yanliang smiled at Gan Changsheng, then turned and walked towards the grain transport team.

"Your wife is pregnant, what does she have to do with these hungry people?" Gan Changsheng muttered, turned to look at the hungry people in the distance, shook his head, and followed quickly.

(End of this chapter)