Fenghou

Chapter 1185
Another month passed, and in late February, a fleet of hundreds of ships arrived in Xiangyang and began to unload at the newly built pier on Jiangzhong Island outside Xiangyang City.

The materials transported are grain and copper coins. These grains and copper coins are first transported from Sichuan Road, transported to Jiangling transit warehouse, and then transported to Xiangyang by Wanshi ship.

Then it was transported to Ruzhou by camels and carts, and transported to Kaifeng Mansion through Rushui. This was the first step in preparing for the war. A large amount of logistics materials were transported from Bashu to Bianliang.

On the official road north of Nanyang County, Dengzhou, it has just rained and the ground is covered with mud. The mighty transport team is heading north. The carts full of grain and forage, especially the forage carts, are as high as small hills Usually, it is tied with a rope, and a teenager is lying on it.

The large carts one after another were mainly pulled by oxen, and they walked very slowly. The line of carts could not be seen at a glance, and was more than [-] miles long.

Next to the cart team are [-] camels, also carrying food and other supplies, striding forward and walking steadily, and at the end of the official road are [-] cavalry, who are responsible for security and escorting logistics supplies to two hundred miles away Ye County.

This transport army did not come from Xiangyang, but from Nanyang County. It benefited from a large river, the Baishui River, which originated from Xiong'er Mountain, ran through the entire territory of Dengzhou, and poured into the Han River.

From Xiangyang, the grain, grass, materials and copper coins were first transported to Nanyang four hundred miles away by a flat-bottomed cargo ship of thousands of stones, and then from Nanyang to Ye County and then to Fengshui, a tributary of Rushui. Bears Ears Mountains.

The difficulty of marching by land has been greatly reduced. It is only two hundred miles, three days away, and the rest is by water, which plays a huge role in improving transportation efficiency.

In addition to the Yangtze River system, there is also the Yellow River system, starting from Guanzhong, passing through the Yellow River to Bianliang, but the Yellow River will not thaw until mid-February, so the materials sent out from Guanzhong are almost all copper coins and military supplies.

At this time, it is late February. According to the Gregorian calendar, it will be late March or early April. Except for part of the upper reaches, the Yellow River in the middle and lower reaches has thawed, and even the Weishui River, a tributary of the Yellow River, has also thawed. .

Hundreds of three-thousand-stone cargo ships are moored beside the Weihe River outside Jingzhao City in Guanzhong. Countless civilians are loading mountains of supplies onto the big ships. The heavy and bulging big bags are filled with silver coins. Each silver coin is worth five dollars. Hundreds of coins, a large amount of silver was minted into silver coins, distributed to soldiers and officials as salaries, and then flowed into the market.

At the beginning, this kind of silver money was collected, but after a few years, fewer and fewer people collected it, and more and more silver money circulated in the market, and people all over the world also accepted silver money. Silver coins minted by Zhao have always been in high demand.

However, the main body is still copper coins, and silver coins are just a currency supplement, which is easy to carry.

In addition to money, there are also a large number of weapons, armor, crossbows, arrows, large siege weapon parts, tents, kerosene and other materials. In addition, there is a ship dedicated to transporting iron fire mines.

Chen Qing, Zhou Kuan, Lu Qingshan, and Guan Shigu inspected the Weishui Wharf. Zhou Kuan said to Chen Qing: "The military expenditure for this Eastern Expedition is estimated to be about [-] million, including salary and various consumables. The time is two However, I found that each war would be significantly overspend than the previous estimate, so I have relaxed the bottom line to [-] million guan, if it exceeds [-] million guan, I am afraid we will not be able to support it.”

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "War is about national power. If we can't support it, can the other side support it?"

Lu Qingshan next to him asked: "Your Highness, I have always been puzzled. Wanyan Wushu also has [-] troops. How can only one Shandong Road support [-] troops?"

Chen Qing smiled and said: "The key is that the salaries of the [-] Jurchen soldiers are not paid by Wanyan Wushu, but by the court of the Kingdom of Jin. They use the sheep they plundered from the grassland to pay to the Jurchen soldiers' families, a few per month. The income of sheep and sheep, they actually only pay the [-] military salary of the signing army, and the military salary of the signing army is very low. not bad."

"In this way, Shandong Road can indeed support [-] troops, but the people will suffer."

"Of course it's very bitter. They rely on the sea, and they need four or five hundred yuan per catty of salt. Before, Wanyan Wushu pretended to be sympathetic to the people, but now he doesn't care about it at all. He will do everything possible to squeeze and exploit him. Otherwise, what will happen to his two hundred thousand troops? feed?"

At this time, they came to a large tent guarded by soldiers. This was a special tent for storing iron fire thunders. When they entered the tent, they saw a large box inside. The iron fire thunders were carried by soldiers. The ship is escorted by a special army, transported by a special ship, and each box is numbered, and the management is very strict.

"Is there two hundred iron fire mines in here?" Guan Sigu patted the big box and asked.

Chen Qing nodded, "A total of two hundred and fifty coins, one hundred and fifty iron hedgehogs, fifty iron dogs and fifty iron bulls each."

Iron Fire Thunder has been designated as a special firearm, and its scope of use is strictly limited to sieges and water battles. It must be approved by Chen Qing before it can be used in a certain war. The specific use is up to the commander.

The main purpose is to prevent the real iron fire thunder from being obtained by the Jurchens. Chen Qing is also worried about being obtained by the court. Once the Jurchens learn it, Jin Guo will have a chance to continue his life. For the same reason, once it is used in large quantities by the court, even Zhang Jun The Chinese army can also attack cities and loot villages, invincible, and the way of war has changed.

After walking out of the big tent, Chen Qing looked at the sky and said with a smile, "It's getting late, we should go back."

The people got into several carriages, and under the escort of the cavalry, they drove towards Jingzhao City.

Two days later, all the materials were loaded, and the fleet of more than [-] large ships was full of materials and headed eastward.
War preparation is not only food and materials, but also the mobilization of troops, and armies are also rushing to the Central Plains day and night.

There are quite a few of the busiest business districts in Jingzhao, such as the Four Big Wazi, but the most upscale business district is recognized by everyone, that is Dongdajie, and Zhuangyuan Bridge with the highest land price is located in the middle of Dongdajie.

In the west section of East Street, there is a Renhetang fur shop, which specializes in all kinds of high-end furs. It is quite famous in Jingzhao City. Even a fox fur cloak for the princess and a bear skin in Chen Qingnei's study were all bought from this shop. shop.

The proprietor of this store is unknown, but the shopkeeper's surname is Liang, and his ancestral home is Laizhou, Shandong Road, but he himself has been living in Jingzhao.

In fact, the background of this fur shop is very unusual. It is the second intelligence point established by Wanyan Wushu in Jingzhao. The first intelligence point was taken over by Neiwei three years ago. Last summer, Wanyan Wushu A second intelligence point was set up in Jingzhao.

This time they learned their lesson and no longer searched for classified information, but collected some important and easy-to-obtain information.

For example, during this period of time when the Western Army was preparing for war, the people in Jingzhao basically knew about it, but the Jin soldiers who were thousands of miles away did not know it. It's a few months away.

Therefore, setting up an intelligence point is to ensure that Wanyan Wushu can get important information in a timely manner. Since they do not involve confidentiality and are not illegal, it is basically impossible for the inner guards to find them unless they are exposed internally.

At dusk, a clerk hurried back to the leather goods shop on a donkey. He walked into the shopkeeper Liang and said, "I saw the situation on the wharf with my own eyes. There are about four or five hundred ships, and various military supplies are piled up like a mountain. Wang and several counselors are also inspecting there, and they are indeed preparing for battle."

Shopkeeper Liang nodded, "According to the news from Tongguan, at least [-] troops have passed through Tongguan. It seems that the Western Army is preparing for war and preparing to attack Shandong Road."

He immediately wrote a report and sent people to Lintong County. Their pigeon letter station was set up in Lintong County, and then transited in Shangdang County, Hedong.

(End of this chapter)