Chapter 675 The Grand Canal Strategy of the Hu Ben Army
(0675)
Dezhou is located on the old path of the Yellow River and the shore of the canal. It is an ancient city created by river civilization. In ancient times, the surging Yellow River water traverses its boundary and carries a huge burden. The Grand Canal, dug in the fourth year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty, runs through the north and south, and performs countless joys and sorrows. The name of Dezhou comes from the Yellow River. The Yellow River was called Deshui in ancient times, and Dezhou was next to Deshui, so it was named Dezhou.
In history, there were quite a few historical celebrities produced in Dezhou, such as Lian Po, Dongfang Shuo, Guan Lu, Meng Jiao, etc., all of them were from Dezhou. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, Dezhou was also an important town. From a strategic perspective, Dezhou was the northern gateway to Shandong and an important channel connecting North Zhili, Shandong and Henan. From the perspective of material transportation, Dezhou is also an important hub for controlling the Grand Canal.
If there were no invasion of the Tartars, the shipping in Texas would be quite developed. It can be said that Dezhou was a town that flourished because of the canal transport. Dezhou imported a large amount of materials from outside through the canal transport to enrich the material life of the people. At the same time, the various goods produced by Dezhou themselves were also transported to all parts of the country through the canal transport.
For example, cotton, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, etc. produced in Texas are all very popular materials, especially during the war period. Texas merchants basically started their business by relying on the canal transportation. The Grand Canal has brought countless wealth to Texas. Some people say that just by looking at the water of the Grand Canal, you can predict the future of Texas.
It is said that when the canal transport was at its busiest time, the canal ships passed through Dezhou were one after another, and there was basically no spare water in the middle. Due to too many canal ships passing by, it caused serious blockage. The boatmen could not dock on the boat to eat, so there were special black-sailed boats, shuttled between the canal ships and delivered food to the boatmen. This scene fully confirmed the prosperity of Texas.
Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Tartars, Texas was surrounded by desolation, and there was no sight of the prosperous scene in the past. When Zhang Zhun arrived, outside of Texas City, there were no more people than the refugees who fled to Texas City. In the canal near Texas City, there were only the river rippling gently, and no people or ships could be seen.
"Governor!"
"Governor!"
Hao Linyong and Zhang Youcai both left the city to welcome Zhang Zhun.
Liu Hang, who came to Texas to serve as the firefighting captain, was also among them.
"Yeah, hello everyone!"
Zhang Zhun was in a little depressed and his words were a little obscure.
Of course, he did not have any opinions about the two, but was moved by the scene. He saw bad scenes all the way south. Due to the threat of the Tartars, a large number of barren fields appeared around the city of Texas. Zhang Zhun felt uncomfortable when he thought of the possible large-scale famine.
The surrounding areas of Dezhou are vast agricultural areas, with fertile land and convenient irrigation. Even during the Little Ice Age, the grain yield will not be reduced too much. This is an important rice, wheat, cotton, peanuts, and soybean cultivation area in the Ming Dynasty, and the yield of all crops is very large. Shandong has a considerable amount of grain, all of which are produced around Dezhou. According to Zhang Zhun's understanding, in later Dezhou City, there were more than 12 million mu of arable fields. North of the Yellow River, Dezhou is definitely the largest agricultural production area.
March is the spring plowing season. At this time, whether it is rice, peanuts, cotton or soybeans, you can consider sowing. Even if the yield per mu of cultivated land is only one stone, it is still ten million stones. Calculated based on the grain consumed by four stones per person per year, it can meet the grain needs of 2.5 million people. What's more, the yield per mu may not be only one stone. As long as the farmers work hard and work hard, as long as the rulers vigorously build water conservancy facilities, the average yield per mu will be increased to about two stones.
On the other hand, if these fields are not harvested, they will lose at least 10 million stones of grain income. What does it mean? According to 188.8 kilograms per stone, it is 1.8 billion kilograms! What is the number of 1.8 billion kilograms of grain? 10 million mu of arable land is almost equivalent to the total of all arable land in Laizhou Prefecture and Dengzhou Prefecture. Dezhou and its surroundings are the real big granary in Shandong!
The Hu Ben Army worked hard in Laizhou Prefecture. The original fields and newly reclaimed fields were less than 8 million mu. The cultivated land in Dengzhou Prefecture was even smaller, and it would not exceed 5 million mu at most. Qingzhou Prefecture had more mountainous land, and the estimated area of ​​cultivated land would not exceed 6 million mu.
All the mountains of these three provinces can only grow foreign crops such as corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes. However, it is certain that for a long time in the future, these foreign crops will not be able to replace the status of rice and wheat. The traditional concepts of the people are not so easily changed.
A small area of ​​Texas and its surrounding areas has 12 million acres of arable land. Do you think Zhang Zhun does not attach great importance to it? This is also an important reason why Liu Hang was immediately allocated to Texas by Zhang Zhun. Such a natural large granary must be carefully managed.
"Sir, as long as the Tartars don't come to disturb me, in just half a month, I can organize people from all over the world to resume production and strive for a good harvest in October."
Liu Hang said confidently.
"I know."
Zhang Zhun believed Liu Hang's words.
Now, the original bureaucratic system of Texas was exiled by Zhang Zhun. Now, Dezhou is full of new officials brought by Liu Hang, and they are all internal affairs backbones of the Hu Ben Army. Before, the Tartars were rampant, and many court officials who were originally stationed in Dezhou, including local officials, grain transport officials, garrison officials, etc., fled to Jinan City to avoid the Tartars' military front.
Zhang Zhun just seized this opportunity and ordered Hao Linyong to lead the Hu Ben Army to seize the city of Dezhou, and then banned the original officials from returning, and at the same time let the Hu Ben Army General Office take over all the internal affairs of Dezhou City. It can almost be said that Dezhou completely changed overnight. Compared with the complicated Jinan City, the work of the Hu Ben Army in Dezhou is easier to carry out.
After Liu Hang entered Dezhou City, the law of the Hu Ben Army was announced, and several unsatisfied local tyrants quickly opened up. Now, Dezhou, both military and government affairs, is the world of the Hu Ben Army. The wealthy families in Dezhou either hid in Jinan City and did not dare to come back, or they weighed the pros and cons, and finally accepted the Hu Ben Army's policies.
In fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this one acre of three-point land in Shandong will definitely be the world of the Hu Ben Army in the future. The officials and soldiers of the court were so weak that they were defeated by the Tartars, and they did not even have the courage to fight with the Tartars. How could such an army and such a court have a future? Before the demise of the previous dynasty, it was similar to the current situation.
On the contrary, the Hu Ben Army repeatedly damaged the Tartars and created one miracle of victory after another. In Dongjiabao, Northern Zhili, so many Jin troops, led by Huang Taiji, were unable to do anything about the Hu Ben Army, and many of them were killed and injured. If the Hu Ben Army had no future, who would have a future? At this time, it would be absolutely stupid to touch the Hu Ben Army's bad luck.
In private, even Zhu Dadian lost considerable confidence in the court. Regarding the current chaotic situation in Shandong, the Shandong Governor appointed by the court adopted a laissez-faire attitude and casually made trouble for the Hu Ben Army. He had no ability to resist any decision of the Hu Ben Army. Anyway, the current court was besieged by the Tartars in the capital, and even if there was an imperial edict, it could not be issued effectively.
The current imperial court can be said to be a sudden rain. There are Tartars in the northeast, the Shaanxi chaos army in the Central Plains, and the Tiger Army in Shandong. It is probably difficult for the imperial court to overcome this difficulty. Many wealthy families, even officials at all levels, have to start thinking about who they should choose once the court collapses. Zhang Zhun, Huang Taiji, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong?
"Liu Hang, Enxian, Wucheng, Linyi, Pingyuan, Deping, Shanghe and other places are these places near Dezhou. Can farming be restored first?"
Zhang Zhun asked expectantly.
Around Texas, there are a total of more than a dozen counties, all under the protection of Texas. It can be said that Texas’ strategic position is really important. However, Zhang Zhun does not want the dozen or so counties around him to abandon their spring plowing due to the war in Texas. As long as possible, he should try his best to grab the seeds, and he can grab the spots.
"Sir, the people need confidence."
Liu Hang said bluntly.
"I see!"
"The army will fight well and damage the Tatars again!"
Zhang Zhun nodded and said affirmatively.
Of course he understood what Liu Hang meant. Liu Hang meant that the Hu Ben Army would continue to win battles so that the Tartars would not dare to come to Texas to harass them, so that the people would have the courage to resume farming. Otherwise, the Taurus cavalry would continue to harass them, and even if they could not capture Dezhou, they would destroy the surrounding county towns and kill the farming people. The crops in the fields would become even more fragile.
"Go into the city!"
Zhang Zhun said slowly.
Faced with the current situation, Zhang Zhun had no good idea. Defeating the Tartars is not a matter of one day or one night. I believe Huang Taiji will not surrender easily. In other words, it is very difficult to prevent the Tartars from coming to harass the surrounding areas of Dezhou. However, the work of spring plowing cannot be too much, otherwise there may be a famine next year.
Disaster is a very terrible word. People in later generations generally find it difficult to understand the taste of hunger. Because few people have the opportunity to taste this taste for a long time. Temporary hunger and long-term hunger are completely different things. Long-term hunger is more terrible than drug use. People who have been hungry for a long time may lose their minds and do all kinds of outrageous things, such as eating each other.
There were many fugitives gathered in Dezhou City. Most of these people were stubborn and more foolish and loyal to the court. At the beginning, they did not believe in the propaganda of the Hu Ben Army, thinking that the Hu Ben Army had ulterior motives and wanted to rebel, and deliberately sowed the relationship between them and the court. They all naively believed that the court could not let them ignore it. If the Tartars arrived, the imperial army would definitely come to rescue them.
As a result, they regretted to find that the Tartars' butcher knife was raised, but the court gave up on them, and the officers and soldiers did not appear at all. Under the Tartars' butcher knife, they fell down one by one. Only then did the remaining crowd wake up and hurried to the area controlled by the Hu Ben Army to take refuge.
However, no matter what, since they entered the area controlled by the Hu Ben Army, the Hu Ben Army had the responsibility to solve their food problems. There were so many refugees, so they needed a lot of food. During the war, food was always one of the most important issues. In fact, while Zhang Zhun absorbed a large number of refugees from all over the country to Shandong, he also brought heavy food pressure to himself.
The most magnificent building in Dezhou is the canal transportation yamen. Zhang Zhun's command center is set up here. After sitting down, Zhang Zhun stretched his body and bones very comfortably and stretched his muscles and bones. After running south of the Hutuo River for several days, it was a bit hard. The continuous riding bumps of horses were unbearable for anyone who was powerful. Others thought Zhang Zhun was going to rest for a while, so they said goodbye and left. Brigadier General Liu Hang called out.
"How long can the food in the city last?"
Zhang Zhun asked slowly.
"Half a month."
Liu Hang answered cautiously.
He explained that at the beginning, the official troops stationed in Dezhou were preparing to give up Dezhou and stick to Jinan City. Therefore, there was not much grain reserve in the city. Foreign refugees did not carry much food. Most of the food was concentrated in Jinan City. The Hu Ben Army had food in Laizhou Prefecture, which could solve some problems.
However, the journey from Laizhou Prefecture to Dezhou is long and not close to water, so grain transportation is difficult and consumes a lot. Therefore, it is not cost-effective to transport a large amount of grain from Laizhou Prefecture. As for transporting grain from Jinan City, it is also difficult. Because there are much more people gathering in Jinan City than Dezhou City, and the food pressure there is also great.
"Is there any other way?"
Zhang Zhun said intentionally or unintentionally.
Liu Hang understood what Zhang Zhun meant, looked around, and then whispered: "Sir, there is a saying..."
Zhang Zhun said without hesitation: "Say!"
Liu Hang whispered: "There are thirty grain ships in Linqing, and each grain ship has at least 800 stones of grain on it."
Zhang Zhun's expression moved slightly and said cautiously: "Is it accurate?"
Liu Hang whispered: "It's true! But there are guards of the Caoshu!"
Zhang Zhun said with some confusion: "Why doesn't the canal ship retreat? Stay in Linqing?"
Liu Hang whispered: "It is said that he was planning to unload the goods in Linqing and then transport them to Hong Chengchou. However, because the roads on the road are unsafe, they may be attacked by the Tartars for a long distance, so they were delayed there."
Zhang Zhun nodded slowly and said slowly: "Okay! I understand!"
Liu Hang said goodbye.
Zhang Zhun paced slowly while still, staring at the courtyard outside with his eyes shining.
The grain transported to Hong Chengchou...thirty canal ships...each ship is loaded with at least 800 stones of grain...a total of 24,000 stones of grain. In the conversion, it is more than 4.5 million kilograms. If you save a little, you can at least help the people in Dezhou city spend a month. In a month, the Hu Ben Army can do a lot of things.
The most important thing is that these grains are loaded on the canal. From Linqing to Dezhou, the canal is still open. As long as the Hu Ben Army controls these canals, they can directly drive the canals to Dezhou and unload the goods. Using the canals to carry grain is much faster than transporting on land and much lower cost.
The waterway from Linqing to Dezhou is about 240 miles. If the speed of the canal ship sails normally, it can be reached in two days and nights. Compared with the transportation method on land, it is much faster. It is almost without thinking, and Zhang Zhun took this batch of grain for himself. As for Hong Chengchou, think of a way for himself!
"Good thing!"
Suddenly, Zhang Zhun thought of something and stood up suddenly.
"Come!"
Zhang Zhun shouted loudly.
"What are the instructions for the sir?"
Lu Yidian hurried in.
"Help me hang up the map of the Grand Canal!"
Zhang Zhun said enthusiastically.
Lu Yidian agreed and found the relevant map from the backpack next to him.
Zhang Zhun stood in front of the map and looked carefully. When he was calculating the waterway distance between Linqing and Dezhou, he suddenly thought of a very critical content, which was the development of the strategy of the Hu Ben Army. The Grand Canal in Beijing and Hangzhou is really very clever. The strategy of the Hu Ben Army can completely incorporate the Grand Canal into it and make it play its greatest role.
Zhang Zhun is currently in Dezhou, and seems to be isolated and helpless, with no villages in front and no shops in the back. In fact, this is all a visual mistake. In fact, through the Grand Canal, he can directly connect to Tianjin Wei, the capital, Yangzhou, the Yangtze River, Nanjing and other places in the south. If it is a little further away, he can also connect to Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south.
Well, the capital cannot be connected for the time being because the Tatars cut off the canal in Cangzhou. However, it is unobstructed to the south. The Tatars have the ability to stop the Hu Ben Army from advancing, but others do not have the qualifications. If the Hu Ben Army goes south along Dezhou, it can not only easily occupy Linqing, Liaocheng, Dongping, Jining and other places, but also can always occupy Huaian Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture in the south, and even directly enter the Yangtze River waters.
Isn’t the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce going to be held in March? At that time, Zhang Zhun was thinking that he would have to go back to the beach, take a boat to go south, enter from the estuary of the Yangtze River, before he could reach Yangzhou. Now it seems that there is no need to be such trouble. He is in Dezhou, so he can take a boat to go south along the Grand Canal and directly arrive in Yangzhou.
What?
Going south along the Grand Canal, you may be intercepted by the enemy?
Haha, Zhang Zhun was not worried about this at all. What are the gunships of the Hu Ben Army Navy used for? Isn’t it just used to eliminate roadblocks? How many people can block the road in front of the gunships of the Hu Ben Army Navy? Whoever dares to block the road, cannons will bombard him!
From a military strategic perspective, if the gunship of the Hu Ben Army enters the canal, it can definitely use the canal to attack the towns on both sides of the canal. Other troops of the Hu Ben Army can launch a more fierce attack under the cover of the gunship. In other words, if the gunship of the Hu Ben Army is strong enough, they can go south from Dezhou and attack all the way to Hangzhou.
There is no doubt that this is definitely a very terrifying strategic march route. Because this strategic offensive route includes all the most prosperous areas of the Ming Empire. The main grain-producing areas and main sources of wealth in the Ming Empire are all on both sides of the Grand Canal. As long as you control both sides of the Grand Canal, it is equivalent to controlling the lifeline of the Ming Empire.
That's right, this Grand Canal is the lifeline of the Ming Empire.
The Hu Ben Army controlled this lifeline, which was equivalent to mastering the lifeline of the world.
To go further, after mastering both sides of the Grand Canal, the Hu Ben Army can also use the Grand Canal as a support and continue to unfold along the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. The Yangtze River and the Yellow River both sides gather the most important inland towns and populations. As long as these two horizontal and vertical lines are in the hands of the Hu Ben Army, the world is basically in the hands of the Hu Ben Army.
What ships are suitable for fighting in the canal? Of course, it is Cangshan boats. Zhang Zhun has always felt a little regretful, thinking that those Cangshan boats would gradually lose their function as the Hubshan Navy gradually became stronger. Due to design reasons, Cangshan boats could not fight from the ocean. Now it seems that these Cangshan boats can play a role again when they are replaced by another place.
At present, the Hu Ben Navy has more than 30 Cangshan ships. If they are concentrated in the canal, it will be enough to razor all the towns on both sides of the canal to the ground. Of course, he will not do this madly. He will only use the deterrence of the Cangshan ships to make the defenders on both sides of the canal retreat.
It is not difficult to let the Cangshan boats concentrate in the canal. You can go upstream from the Bohai Bay along the Yellow River. The water level of the Yellow River is very shallow now, of course not. However, as long as you wait until summer, the water of the Yellow River rises, the Cangshan boats can go upstream and enter the canal waters, and from then on, you will fight in the canal waters. If the Yellow River cannot be used, then enter from the estuary of the Yangtze River. It is definitely a breeze to send the Cangshan boat in under the escort of the Dabai Fleet.
Aren’t the Tartars in Cangzhou? Didn’t they think the Tiger Army could not do anything to them? The damn thing was, let the Cangshan boat bombard them! As long as the red-clothed cannons of the Tartars were not moved, the Tartars would have to be beaten. The red-clothed cannons of the Tartars were difficult to move, and they were far less flexible than the Cangshan boat.
"Dry!"
Zhang Zhun slapped hard.
"grown ups……"
Lu Yidian asked in a little confusion.
He didn't understand why Zhang Zhun became so excited all of a sudden.
"Oh, it's okay, you can go ahead and get on!"
Zhang Zhun woke up and waved his hand and said.
Lu Yidian turned around and went.
The problem of the Grand Canal strategy is not yet implemented. Now, we will solve the food problem in Dezhou City first. Zhang Zhun's last gaze fell on Linqing. His fingers slowly slid from Dezhou to Linqing.
"Bang!"
Zhang Zhun gently reached out and pressed the Linqing position on the map.
"Brother Wei!"
Zhang Zhun shouted loudly.
"arrive!"
Brother Wei hurried in and waited for instructions.
Zhang Zhun said sternly: "Send someone to send a command to the Dragon Cavalry Camp and come to Texas to see me immediately!"
Brother Wei agreed to go.
Chapter completed!