Daming Military Empire

Chapter 139 The Weight of Grain and Grass
The warm spring breeze blew over, and the wild flowers on the roadside were blooming. Zhu Cijiong sat on the dragon chariot, scanning the beautiful scenery in the distance with binoculars from time to time, feeling very comfortable.

The ice and snow in Liaodong finally melted completely. Zhu Cijiong immediately led the Tianxiong Army and the First Corps of the Imperial Guards to escort more than 100 captives and rushed to Liaodong with more than 100 million taels of silver and more than 40 million shi of grain. Thinking of the [-]-strong army in Liaodong, Zhu Cijiong was so excited that he wanted to shout: "Huang Taiji, you are dead."

This time the accompanying team was even bigger than last time, not to mention civil servants and military generals, Qin Liangyu, Lu Xiangsheng, Qin Yiming, Qin Gongming, Sun Yuanhua, etc., are too numerous to mention. And Shivela took both.

If there is a little reason to bring Zheng Chenggong, he was one of the most famous generals in the late Ming Dynasty after all, and he was deliberately cultivated by Zhu Cijiong. It would be more beneficial for him to come out to see the battlefield earlier and get acquainted with the feeling of blood and fire. his growth.

Bringing Shivela is a bit weird. Strictly speaking, this is a Ming civil war. What is the purpose of bringing a foreigner?

In fact, it wasn't Zhu Cijiong who wanted to take him with him, but he strongly demanded it himself. After being shocked twice by Daming's powerful army, this guy really seemed to have something wrong with his mind.He seems to have forgotten that he is the governor of Macau. He stays in the capital all day long, making friends with the dignitaries of the Ming Dynasty everywhere. The officials here really thought he was an official of Ming Dynasty.

Is he really an official of Ming Dynasty?In fact, Zhu Cijiong just gave him a false title in order to win him over. He has no position and no right. What an official of Ming Dynasty!But this guy thinks differently. Portugal has not yet returned to the country, so what if he becomes an official in Ming Dynasty, not to mention anything else, at least he can get acquainted with the dignitaries of Ming Dynasty, who will come to rob him of Ming Dynasty in the future The official exclusive agent of , basically don't even think about it.

The reason why he strongly asked to go to Liaodong with Zhu Cijiong this time was not because he wanted to flatter Zhu Cijiong and use his poor guards to 'help' Daming eliminate the rebels, but because he wanted to see a battle of millions of people. What's it like.It was a battle of millions of people. There have been several such battles in human history. Thinking about it makes people excited. Watching it once can brag for a lifetime!

Zhu Cijiong was also drunk. Originally, he just wanted to win over this spokesperson among the great powers, but he used too much force and directly stuck the guy to his body, and he couldn't shake it off.Forget it, let’s watch it, watch it, let me blow it among the big powers, the best big powers are frightened, and dare not have any inappropriate thoughts about Daming.

The 20-strong army plus more than [-] captives plus Zhu Cijiong's entourage, as well as grain carts, silver carts, artillery, and supplies stretched for at least hundreds of miles. The legions have all arrived at Shanhaiguan, and Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong army has just passed Changli with a pile of prisoners and supplies!

Zhu Cijiong is not in a hurry. A battle of millions of people is not a matter of a day or two. It takes a few days for both sides to mobilize troops and food and grass. There is no benefit in rushing too fast. unfavorable.So he had already planned the itinerary. From Zunhua to Gaizhou and Sanchahebao, he traveled in three days. He arrived at Shanhaiguan on the first day, Guangning on the second day, and Gaizhou on the third day.

Shanhaiguan, known as the "No. [-] pass in the world", is "the throat of the frontier county and the guarantee of the capital". Outside the pass is Liaodong Town, one of the nine borders, and inside the pass is Beizhili Yongping Mansion. The importance of the pass can be imagined Know.Shanhaiguan is not a pass, but a city with a circumference of nearly eight miles. The first stop of Zhu Cijiong's imperial expedition to Liaodong this time is Shanhaiguan City.

The dragon chariot was still a few miles away from the city, and Sun Chengzong, the Duke of Zhenguo, brought a group of Liaodong generals to meet him on horseback. Follow far behind.

Although Sun Chengzong is in his sixties, his years of military service have allowed him to develop a good physique, so although his hair is gray now, he is still energetic, sharp in hearing and eyes, and flexible in his hands and feet. He does not look like an octogenarian at all.Especially now that Quan Liao is expected, he is even more energetic and flushed, as if he has become more than ten years younger in a blink of an eye.

The two are not so much emperors and ministers as grandfathers and grandchildren. Because Sun Chengzong was the teacher of the first emperor Tianqi, he has always treated Zhu Cijiong as his own and cared for him; Zhu Cijiong is even more grateful for Sun Chengzong's help and teaching to him, and has always been very kind to him , There is no birth between the monarch and his ministers at all, the two entered Shanhaiguan City talking and laughing, and came to the city guard's mansion.

At this time, the Shanhaiguan guard had already moved to another place, and the entire Chengshou Mansion was cleaned up, waiting for the arrival of Emperor Chongzheng.When the dragon chariot arrived at the city guard's mansion, the guards, eunuchs, and court ladies were already in place. Zhu Cijiong got off the dragon chariot and greeted Zheng Chenggong not far behind, then followed Sun Chengzong inside.

Sun Chengzong seemed to have something important to discuss with Zhu Cijiong, and he didn't stop all the way. He led Zhu Cijiong directly to the study of the city guard's mansion. He turned around and was about to ask Zhu Cijiong to sit down, but he saw Zhu Cijiong standing beside Zhu Cijiong. The child in the robe scratched his head and was as excited as a little monkey!
He glanced at Zhu Cijiong in embarrassment, and was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to do.

Zhu Cijiong didn't think there was anything wrong. He walked directly behind the desk, sat down, and then pointed to his side to let Zheng Chenggong stand obediently. The prince of Zhennan, Zheng Chenggong, my younger brother, will also stand alone for me in the future. This time, I brought him out to let him gain experience and see how the battle is fought. It doesn't matter if the Tai Tuo has something to say. "

Only then did Sun Chengzong cough dryly, bowed his body and said: "Has your majesty ever thought about where to store grain?"

Zhu Cijiong couldn't help but asked curiously: "Oh, is there anything else to say? I want to hoard all the food and grass in the Sanchahe Fort, and then send heavy troops to guard it. Isn't it appropriate?"

Sun Chengzong patiently analyzed: "This time, with the power of our 60 heavenly army in the Ming Dynasty, even if Jiannu gathers all the horses from the Mongolian tribes, it will be difficult to resist. I believe that their only chance of winning lies in this food. Once the food runs out , Even if there are millions of troops, they can only starve to death, so the place where the food is stored must be cautious. Let alone where to store it, I dare to ask the emperor how much food and grass this time. make specific arrangements."

Zhu Cijiong was very clear about this, and he couldn't help but blurt out an answer: "The military ration is 120 million shi, and the fodder is 50 jin, and they will be sent over later."

Sun Chengzong nodded slightly when he heard the words, and continued: "Well, enough for the army for two months, plus the accumulation of Liaodong in the past two years, barely enough for three months, so much food and grass must not be hoarded in one place. Otherwise, if Jiannu risked his life and burned our food and grass, then this battle would be impossible. Weichen thought that the food and grass should be hoarded in three places, respectively in Dalinghe Fort, Santaizi Fort and Sanchahe Fort, so that if there is a problem in any one place, the army will not run out of food, we can say that we have a sure chance of victory."

Zhu Cijiong was quite moved when he heard it, but he didn't know if Sun Chengzong had considered a question, so he couldn't help asking: "Then how to arrange the army to guard the food? To ensure the safety of the three places, don't we need to arrange 30 troops? Then there will not be enough troops on the frontal battlefield.”

Sun Chengzong shook his head and said: "There is no need for an army of 30. The Liaodong army is good at defending. As long as each city has 4 or 10 horses, Jiannu can't break it even if it gathers an army of 50. With an army of [-] mainly attacking, with such a combination of offense and defense, Jiannu will undoubtedly be defeated."

Zhu Cijiong heard the words and thought, isn’t it? Zu Dashou led [-] Ming troops to guard an unrepaired city, and Huang Taiji led [-] troops. Experts in the defense of the city.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cijiong couldn't help but nodded in agreement and said, "Teacher, let's do it this way. It just so happens that this time I brought [-] flintlock guns and [-] grenades, all of which will be distributed to the Liaodong Army, so that it will be more foolproof." .”

Seeing that Zhu Cijiong had agreed to his suggestion, Sun Chengzong took out the map of Liaodong from the bookshelf beside him, spread it on the table, and discussed with Zhu Cijiong the specific deployment of troops.Final decision:
Liaodong Army Commander, Admiral Tongzhi Mangui led 4 troops to guard Santaizi Fort to protect grain and grass, and at the same time protect the safety of grain roads;

He Kegang, the deputy general of the Liaodong Army, led 3 troops to guard the Dalinghe Fort, protecting the grain and grass, and at the same time supporting the follow-up grain transportation team;
The deputy general of the Liaodong Army, Zu Dashou, the commander-in-chief, led 3 people to guard the Sanchahe Fort to protect the grain and grass, and was also responsible for the dispatch of grain and grass for the frontline troops.

This can be regarded as Zhu Cijiong's luck. Generally, it is impossible for 10 people to hoard food and grass in the city, because it is not as simple as piling up mountains with 10 troops. There are hundreds of hills, and ordinary cities are full of civilians. Where does the grain go?It's unrealistic, so I don't know how many civilian houses will be buried; will they be piled up on the streets?It's even more unrealistic. The streets are full of food and grass, and people can't walk. It will definitely be a mess.Therefore, in a general war of tens of thousands of people, a special food storage place must be built, and it is impossible to build a city in a hurry. At most, a wooden fence should be surrounded around it, which gives the enemy an opportunity.

Zhu Cijiong's good luck is here. Dalinghe Fort, Santaizi Fort, and Sanchahe Fort are all newly built cities, and they haven't had time to move civilians into them, so the three cities are basically empty, just to be done. The food storage place, the city is naturally much safer than the hastily built temporary food storage place, and coupled with the Liaodong Army, which is best defended by the Ming Dynasty, Huang Taiji's plan to attack the food and grass may not work.

Sun Chengzong and Zhu Cijiong discussed for nearly half an hour before resigning at ease. At this time, Zheng Chenggong, who had been holding back for a long time, was finally released. He yawned and asked in puzzlement: "My lord, aren't we going to fight? How did you say it for a long time?" Just talk about food and grass, what does this have to do with fighting?"

Zhu Cijiong was taken aback when he heard the words, this kid only thought about fighting and killing, and fighting is so simple, how should I explain it to him?
He thought for a while, and finally thought of an example, and then he began to teach: "The so-called soldiers and horses are not moved, food and grass go first, people don't eat, horses don't eat grass, how can we have the strength to fight the enemy? Have you read "Three Kingdoms" No, in the Battle of Guandu, what was the strength of Cao Cao's army, and what was the strength of Yuan Shao's army, how did Cao Cao defeat Yuan Shao?"

When Zheng Chenggong heard the words, he immediately showed off excitedly: "I have seen it, I have seen it, Cao Cao has only 12 troops, and Yuan Shao has at least [-]. Finally, Cao Cao attacked Wuchao at night and burned the food and grass of Yuan Shao's army. , Yuan Shao was defeated and fled."

The more Zheng Chenggong said, his voice became softer, and he understood in an instant that the food and grass were really the most important thing, enough to determine the outcome of a war, and he couldn't be too cautious.

At this time, Qin Mingyue and Liu Rushi came to serve them to eat, Zhu Cijiong laughed and said, "Hahahaha, let's go, eat, you can't go to war if you are hungry."

(End of this chapter)