The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 509 Hairy Gourd Soldier
Seeing that Zhang Fengyi insisted on using official titles in the army, Huang Han had no choice but to change his words and asked:
"Why was General Zhang alone and besieged? Who is the general in charge of your troops? I must impeach him."

Zhang Fengyi said: "The final general is under the control of Lord Xuanmo, governor of Henan Province. The plan is to encircle Wang Ziyong, Wang Jiayun, Xing Hongniang, Guotianxing, Chuangshatian and other rogue bandits in four ways. Deng Zongbing, Zuo deputy general and the final general will lead each other. Headquarters, the governor recruited gourd soldiers to lead the way."

The so-called gourd soldiers refer to the private armed forces active in the deep mountains and valleys in western Henan. These people are actually mountain people. Their main business is hunting, mine protection, mining, and illicit salt trafficking. Anyone can hire them for money. They kill.

The living conditions of these people are somewhat similar to those of Jian slaves before they made a fortune. The hair gourd soldiers have been active in the mountains for a long time, and they naturally have the potential of mountain infantry.

Their weapons and equipment have their own characteristics. The most attractive thing is the quiver made of animal skin, which looks like a furry gourd, so it is called the hairy gourd soldier, and it is written as "hair soldier" in Ming history.

Huang Han said: "From this, it can be seen that none of the four groups of people moved. Only General Zhang, who is dedicated to the country, still led a mere 2000 people to find the enemy and fight bloody."

Zhang Fengyi said: "In fact, the governor did not stand still, and the Lord Hou can't make things difficult for him. However, the bandits in the old camp of the old camp of Xue Hongqi's bandits who rushed into the king, the general, and the old camp of Xue Hongqi unexpectedly surrounded and killed one of the soldiers, directly causing the rest The Mao soldiers fled into the mountains and refused to come to the plains to fight."

The Mao gourd army is all mountain soldiers. Due to poverty, it is impossible to have armor. The disadvantage of not having armor in mountain battles has turned into an advantage due to flexible actions.

When they came to the plain and encountered the old bandit horse team, they were of course vulnerable, and it was understandable that they were so frightened that they refused to go down the mountain.

Huang Han persuaded: "Last time, you learned how to be good. From now on when General Zhang leads the white-armed soldiers to fight, you must consider the comfort of his subordinate Robe Ze, and you must not pin your hopes on Zuo Liangyu, Deng Qi, Chen Hongfan and others.

When you can't judge the danger, you must not enter the army. If you enter a county with [-] white soldiers to garrison ahead of time, I am afraid that Wang Ziyong, Wang Jiayun and other thieves will never have the idea of ​​​​fighting white soldiers. "

Zhang Fengyi's face was flushed with embarrassment, because she lost half of her troops in the field battle, and half of the 1000 people who retreated to Houjiazhuang were injured, and their vitality was seriously injured.

If they had brought more than [-] people into Houjiazhuang from the beginning, they probably wouldn't have been beaten so badly.

Zhang Fengyi knew the virtue of the rogues. If they found out that there were 3000 guards guarding Houjiazhuang during their tentative attack, including [-] white-armed soldiers, they probably wouldn't spend time here.

There are many cottages like Houjiazhuang in Henan, and the rogues can't afford to suffer huge casualties and have to take Houjiazhuang. The biggest reason is that the white-armed soldiers have been exposed, which makes the rogues think that they have the best chance to become famous by eliminating the white-armed soldiers.

Thinking of Paoze's death due to his command error, and remembering that 800 people in Houjiazhuang also lost their lives for this, Zhang Fengyi burst into tears again.

She said: "White soldiers are soldiers who died in battle. There is nothing to complain about. It's just that so many young and middle-aged men died in Houjiazhuang. The general feels uncomfortable and always feels sorry for them."

Huang Han comforted: "General Zhang, don't blame yourself too much. I promise that Houjiazhuang will be able to recover from the ashes after this battle. I will give them food and silver as compensation. I will also help them replant potatoes and sweet potatoes to increase food production. Also report their military achievements to them to get the court rewards."

Zhang Fengyi knew Huang Han's ability to lead the refugees to resume production after the disaster, and she immediately felt a lot better. She said sincerely: "I will thank Lord Hou for your kindness on behalf of the two or three thousand surviving villagers in Houjiazhuang."

The fathers and folks of Houjiazhuang suffered heavy losses after fighting side by side with the white soldiers. They must be inseparable from the bandits.

Huang Han planned to use the ready-made camp here and the Houjiazhuang stockade, which was about the same size as Sun Liuzhuang, to operate a supply point, which could be regarded as compensation for Houjiazhuang.

This place is different from Sun Liuzhuang. Houjiazhuang is close to the east foot of Taihang Mountain at the intersection of Shanxi, Henan, and North Zhili. It is not far from the official road and has convenient transportation.

There are advantages and disadvantages. In the next few decades, even after the Ming and Qing dynasties stole the country, bandits and bandits in the Taihang Mountains were still numerous, and they would come out of the mountains from time to time to attack cottages and county towns.

If the "Red Banner Army" wants to operate this place, it needs to increase the number of troops left behind. Huang Han plans to arrange two hundred general soldiers and two general guards to stay guard.

There will be more than 300 wounded white-armed soldiers recuperating here, more than [-] wounded and sick from Houjiazhuang, and seven to eight hundred refugees. In a month, there will be thousands more guards who have seen blood and fought face to face. By.

Don't worry about the food shortage, Huang Han will leave two thousand shi of food here, and more food will be transported from Tianjin Wei by land and water in the future.

Because after field investigation, it is absolutely possible to send a ship with a displacement of [-] tons to enter the Weihai River in Tianjin, sail through the Weihe River and the Zhanghe River directly to Houjiazhuang. The efficiency is more than five times higher.

The Weihe River is a tributary of the South Canal of the Haihe River System. It was named after the Weidi in the Spring and Autumn Period. It evolved from the ancient Baigou, Yongji Canal and Yuhe.

Originating from the Taihang Mountains in Shanxi, it flows through Henan Weihui Mansion, Zhangde Mansion, North Zhili Guangping Mansion, and Zhanghe River, where it joins the Zhanghe River, then flows through Shandong Linqing into the South Canal, and ends at Tianjin into the Haihe River.

The predecessor of the Wei River was basically the Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty, Yongji Canal, which was formed by connecting some natural rivers and the old course of the Yellow River on the basis of Cao Cao's excavation of the Baigou. Both water transportation and commercial transportation are extremely developed, and there is an endless stream of sails and masts.

It's just that due to the drought, lack of rain and river siltation in recent years, the waterway organized by the government has not been well maintained, and the current navigation capacity of the entire line has been affected.

After this year's autumn harvest, Huang Han can definitely provide food for food and full food for one liter of grain every day, and hire strong laborers near the Wei River, Zhang River, and Hai River to dredge the river channels. After the thaw next spring, he should be able to sail a [-]-ton boat. ship.

During the slack season, enough food can attract too much labor, and it is not a problem to mobilize tens of thousands of people to participate in the "carrying the river" with the treatment of one liter of grain.

The key to success is still a large amount of grain. For this reason, Huang Han knows that there is no need for a large amount of long-distance transportation, and there will always be hundreds of thousands of shi grains to spend at the end of the year.

(End of this chapter)