The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 491 Going to Henan to Suppress Bandits

After hearing the voice, Chongzhen knew that Huang Han should have some troops capable of maneuvering under the premise of sticking to the two lines of defense, so he was happy, nodded and said:
"It is really good to have a unified command so that the battalions deployed in the two places can support each other. Dongnu's lack of a navy is their weakness, and Ningyuan and Jinzhou's proximity to the sea is indeed our army's advantage.

I wonder if Aiqing has accumulated some strength now?Can these people be pulled out for training? "

Sure enough, the emperor was planning to dispatch himself to lead some troops into the mainland to fight the bandits, even though Huang Han was not interested in the civil war, he had to go.

The "Red Banner Army" is well-known in the capital and the border, and should have little influence in the interior.

The thousands of miles of marching this time can be used for publicity, so that the common people can see a different and strong army.

Chongzhen had a good memory when he was young, and he was willing to learn. At least he remembered Huang Han's remarks about training troops in battle. At this time, he used this reason and in a negotiating tone to send some "Red Banner Army" to the mainland to suppress bandits. If Huang Han refused That's shameless.

Huang Han, who knows current affairs, gave an affirmative reply: "Your Majesty is wise, training troops in battle is indeed very efficient. The recruits on the training ground have never seen blood and cannot be called soldiers at all. Only by going to the battlefield and killing the enemy can they become strong." .

At present, the 'Red Banner Army' has several thousand recruits that have not yet been recruited, and it is possible to pull them into the battlefield to try their skills. "

Chongzhen was overjoyed, and said: "That's great, why doesn't Aiqing bring thousands of troops into Henan to suppress the bandits? Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds for those bandits to encounter these recruits just so they can be tempered?"

It turned out that he was going to Henan. It is possible that Chongzhen thought that Henan had just been invaded by bandits not long ago. At this time, containment can avoid greater losses. Many state capitals are still operating, and they should have the ability to provide food and grass for the army.

Henan is a province with a large population, and it is also a poor province that often suffers from natural disasters. It is absolutely not a problem to get a population of several 10 there.

Huang Han stated: "The 'Red Banner Army' is supposed to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic to the emperor. If the court needs it, it will do whatever it takes. It is only natural to go into the mountains, Shaanxi and Henan to suppress bandits.

It's just that there is a shortage of food in the interior, and logistical supplies are extremely difficult. In order to prevent the officers and soldiers from looting the people in the face of starvation, it is necessary to organize the transportation of a large amount of food and grass.

With the ration of the 'Red Banner Army', it would take two civilians or guards to transport military supplies and food for one soldier. I don't know how many 'Red Banner Army' His Majesty plans to send into the interior? "

The Liaoxi Corridor and the Jinzhou Peninsula must not only hold on, but also expand and erode outwards.

The opponent is the most powerful and barbaric cavalry with cold weapons in this era in the world, and it needs to be treated with care. With its current strength, it is impossible for the "Red Banner Army" to have too many troops and devote too much energy to participate in the civil war.

Huang Han did not decide how many troops to send, but told the emperor to use the "Red Banner Army" to participate in the war and let him figure it out.

The emperor paid attention to the development of the "Red Banner Army", and repeatedly asked Fang Zhenghua and Li Ruolian about Huang Han's method of leading troops, and the answers he got often made the emperor feel incredible.

Looking at the frontier army with the highest salary in the Ming Dynasty, there is no team that can guarantee that ordinary battalion soldiers can eat three meals a day and not less than two taels of meat every day. It is impossible to have military uniforms, even underwear, and combat boots distributed every year.

Chongzhen admitted that the well-paid soldiers had strong combat effectiveness and high loyalty, and knew that Huang Han got too much money and spent it on the army, but how could the court bear such use of troops?
Now Huang Hanyue promised to lead troops to fight the bandits, but it just explained that to dispatch one main soldier, two civilian husbands or auxiliary soldiers had to be matched.

Originally, the method of opening China in the Ming Dynasty was implemented by the government, using salt and tea as an intermediary to recruit merchants to transport military rations, horses and other materials.

However, it was unsustainable at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The crux of the problem was that when food was in short supply and ordinary people could not survive, the collusion between officials and businessmen was still commonplace.

People without long-term considerations must have near-term worries. If the military supplies are handed over to merchants, it is very likely that the army will collapse due to hunger.

Therefore, Huang Han emphasized that when the "Red Banner Army" troops entered the interior to participate in the war, they had to negotiate the supply of food and grass in advance, and it is understandable that they must send out 4000 troops with double the number of civilian husbands.

Chongzhen thought for a while, and his purpose was to let Huang Han leave Liaodong for a while, so there was no need to ask him to bring too many people into the customs.

What's more, after the Denglai rebels were put down, one by one of the Guanning Army in the pass had already gone to Shanxi to participate in the suppression of bandits, as well as Deng Qi, Chen Hongfan and other general officers.

After pondering for a while, he said, "Is it difficult for Aiqing to transfer 4000 troops to Henan to suppress bandits?"

Huang Han didn't hesitate at all, and said: "I complied with the order, but I'm worried that the court will have a dispute over the supply of food and grass. In that year, the troops of King Qin of Shanxi were forced to push each other and the army broke up because of the lack of food. "

This remark was not pleasant, Chongzhen was very unhappy when he heard it, and frowned, he said: "I know, I will issue a strict order that the Henan prefecture must not be short of Aiqing's food and grass."

What Huang Han wants is this sentence, how difficult it is to transport food for thousands of miles, and it can solve the army food of 1 horses on the spot, and use these grains to make porridge so that [-] to [-] refugees will not starve to death. Being able to go to Funing is a victory.

Food and military supplies are so important, Huang Han can't rest assured that such a major event is entrusted to Henan officials, so he will maximize the amount of food he brings with the army.

Sifang Express must also actively organize transportation. Within [-] miles of the "Red Banner Army" passing by, a grain storage area must be established as a supply point. You can choose a county town, a state capital, or a strong fortress armed by landlords.

Due to natural disasters and military disasters that often occur in Henan, many local tyrants have formed villages to protect themselves. Some clan armed fortresses are comparable to cities.

This is also the direct reason why offering thieves and trespassing thieves are always starved to death.

The rogues can always find a fortress that has a lot of food to attack. Killing a fortress will get lingering food, weapons and armor supplements, and force the looted people to be their cannon fodder in order to survive and attack the next one. Target.

Huang Han was going to adopt the method of eating the good apples first, and found that the small-scale strong cottages and Dunbao adopted the method of persuading them to surrender first and then attacking them.

In order to prevent the food from being cheap and the rogues, to prevent the common people from becoming refugees and then participating in the killing and turning into mobs, it is no longer difficult to farm and work with peace of mind.

To solve the big problem of the perpetual suppression of bandits in the late Ming Dynasty, it is not at all possible to succeed by dispatching the army to fight and kill.

Huang Han believed that under the circumstances of uninterrupted natural and man-made disasters and blatant bureaucratic corruption, even killing and donating thieves would not help. Naturally, Wang Zicheng and Ma Xianzhong would stand out.

(End of this chapter)