Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 126 Silence
"Sorry..."

"Wow... wow... wow..."

At noon, when the messy sound of horse hooves sounded on the road, it was also sounded by the crows in the sky.

It is now the twentieth day of the first lunar month. On his way back north, Zhu Gaoxu crossed the Bohai Strait by boat and successfully landed at the ferry at Zhongzuo Suo in Jinzhou.

Since it was still early spring, most of the coastal waters of Liaodong were covered with ice. The thick ice layer that submerged from the shoal more than ten steps into the sea was a scene that Zhu Gaoxu had rarely seen in his previous life.

Of course, compared to the miserable conditions at Zhongzuo Institute, this natural scene could not attract his attention at all.

Jinzhou Zhongzuo Station was the target of plunder by the Japanese invaders in October last year.

Although more than three months have passed, the vast ruins outside the Zhongzuo Institute are still eye-catching.

In the vast expanse of white snow outside the Zhongzuo Institute, Zhu Gaoxu and others passing by could clearly see many collapsed ruins that had been burned and blackened.

In the snow, the military households that Zhongzuo took over dug out a road of about ten feet.

The snow and mud made the road very muddy, and many traces of knives and axes could be seen on the stone fortress in the center left in front.

The military households stationed here wore new cotton-padded jackets issued by the Governor's Office during the Chinese New Year, but even so, there were still few smiles on their faces.

Almost everyone looked at the dock where Zhu Gaoxu and the others came from, looking wary as if thousands of Japanese pirates would emerge there in the next second.

Looking at everything around him, even Iron Man could not help but remain silent, and Zhu Gaoxu and the others were no exception.

Under the leadership of Zhu Gaoxu, a group of more than [-] people walked to the city gate of Zhongzuo Suo, where a Qianhu official wearing armor was already waiting.

"In Wucheng, the official of the Thousand Households in the Left Office of Jinzhou Guards, I came to see the King of Bohai!"

As the Qianhu official opened his mouth to sing the salute, dozens of military households and hundreds of officials around him were about to kneel down, but were stopped by Zhu Gaoxu:
"No need to kneel down, let's replenish some dry food and leave." After that, Zhu Gaoxu signaled Yi Shiha with his eyes, and Yi Shiha immediately rode his horse to the end of the team and called three carriages from the rear of the team.

He entered the Zhongzuo Institute with his carriage, and Zhu Gaoxu also asked Wucheng: "Has the snow on the road to the north melted?"

"Go back to Your Highness..." Wu Cheng bowed and said: "The snow on the official road from here to Jinzhou has been cleared, but the official road to the north is still blocked by snow. I'm afraid it will have to wait until mid-to-late February before it warms up and melts. .”

"It looks like we have to rest in Jinzhou for a month." Zhu Gaoxu turned to look at Lin Wuliu and explained, and Lin Wuliu couldn't help but shake his head:

"Fortunately, Your Highness, you informed Commander Fu in advance to let them rest in Dengzhou, otherwise we might have to camp in the snow in a few days."

Although Fu Rang and the others set out early, their speed was not fast because they brought food and many supplies. It was not until Zhu Gaoxu and the others arrived in Dengzhou the day before yesterday that Fu Rang and the others could barely reach Jimo County.

All in all, they probably won't be able to reach Dengzhou until the end of the month, just in time to cross the sea and reach Zhongzuo Suo before the snow melts.

"Your Highness, everything is ready."

Not long after, Yi Shiha walked out of the center left with three carts of food. Upon seeing this, Lin Wuliu got off his horse, took out five guan of money from his bag and handed it to Wu Cheng.

"Your Highness, you..."

Wu Cheng looked surprised when he saw the money in Lin Wuliu's hand, but Zhu Gaoxu said: "The cost of the imperial post road is very high. If everyone transports more than ten stones of grain like me, how long can the Zhongzuo Institute last?"

"You can send someone to Dengzhou in the south to buy more than ten stones of rice to make up for this money, or you can give it to the brothers in the office, as a reward for guarding the city and preparing for Japanese invasion."

After the words fell, Zhu Gaoxu also continued to rush back with the team on the way they came.

Since it is difficult to walk on land due to snow, they can only take a boat all the way north to explore the road to Haizhou or Gaizhou.

If the official roads leading north to Haizhou and Gaizhou could not be walked, then they would have no choice but to rest there.

At Zhu Gaoxu's greeting, more than two hundred soldiers of the Jilin Guard turned their horses and rushed to the dock, while Wu Cheng looked at their backs and shook his head.

An official standing next to him couldn't help but sigh: "Your Majesty is really willing to send such a wise king to the Jilin Shipyard."

"Be careful." Wu Cheng glanced at him, then threw the money into his hand:

"There is no need to buy food. You ask the two brothers to buy a few sheep to reward everyone, and buy the remaining food."

"Yes..." Baihuguan took the money, and then walked back to Zhongzuo with Wu Cheng.

In just a quarter of an hour, Zhu Gaoxu and the others returned to the ship, and then the five official ships sailed out of Lushun Bay, detoured to the southwest, and then continued to sail to Gaizhou in the north.

Standing on the deck, feeling the biting sea breeze, Zhu Gaoxu looked at the offshore waters of Liaodong at the end of the [-]th century. He had to say that it was cleaner than the offshore waters of Liaoning in his previous life, and there were more fish and shrimps.

From time to time, Zhu Gaoxu can see dark schools of fish, which can be said to be rich in resources.

When Lin Wuliu and the other Jiangnan people saw this, their saliva almost flowed out.

"Your Highness, why don't they catch fish? I'm afraid there could be several thousand kilograms of fish in this net, right?"

A soldier named Xu from Baihu asked Zhu Gaoxu. After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu said helplessly:
"You are all fishing in the Yangtze River and don't know the dangers in this sea."

"Let's not talk about the unpredictable weather, especially in the sea. The price of a sea-going ship is enough to make many people give up their thoughts."

"There are fishing boats wherever fishing is possible on the seashore. It seems that this kind of place is relatively deep. No one would dare to fish in this kind of place without a hundred fishing boats."

"I heard that many people along the coast of Fujian drove river boats out to sea to fish because of poverty. As a result, they never came back. There are many widow villages along the coast. This is the truth."

"It's so scary..." Listening to Zhu Gaoxu's words, everyone suddenly took a breath of cold air.

"If you don't believe it, just go to the bow and have a look." Zhu Gaoxu asked them to go to the bow. When they arrived, they saw waves of several feet high.

Such waves are enough to capsize a ship weighing less than [-] pieces. Even going to sea with [-] pieces of materials is not necessarily safe.

Seeing how ferocious the sea was, Lin Wuliu and other Jiangnan boys who had grown up swimming in the Yangtze River couldn't help but stay away from the bow of the boat.

Because the deck was cold, they all quickly ran back to the cabin in a swarm, while Zhu Gaoxu was still relaxing on the deck.

It's actually not quite right to say he was letting off steam, because he was looking at the Liaodong Peninsula in the distance, and now he was thinking about its past and present lives.

This area of ​​Liaodong has been invaded and settled by a large number of ethnic minorities since Sima Yi massacred the Han people in the Three Kingdoms.

Even though Goguryeo was destroyed during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty and Liaodong was recovered after more than 300 years, because the Tang Dynasty was in a period of expansion in all directions, there was not enough population to migrate to Liaodong, which later led to the abolition of the Andong Protectorate by Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty.

It was only after Suzong of the Tang Dynasty retreated that the Han people retreated for a full 610 years. It was not until the fourth year of Hongwu that the Han people regained part of Liaodong, and then it was not until the 20th year of Hongwu that the Han people regained the entire territory of Liaodong.

Therefore, in reality, the Ming Dynasty truly fully ruled Liaodong for only eight years.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the social unrest in Liaodong lasted for 15 years. A large number of Mongolians, Semu people, Koreans, and Jurchens strangled Han landlords. This was an unprecedented catastrophe to Liaodong's social economy.

The final result was that the Han population in Liaodong decreased sharply. When the Ming army regained the entire territory of Liaodong, there were only 30 people in Liaodong, and most of them were Korean, Semu, Mongolian, and Jurchen.

In order to prevent the remnant Yuan forces from moving south, Zhu Yuanzhang also consciously moved the population of Beiping and Shandong to Liaodong, and moved the small people of Liaodong to Beiping and Shandong.

As of the first month of the 28th year of Hongwu, there are 14 military households in Liaodong, with a population of more than [-].

But even so, there are still soldiers garrisoning Liao who flee south every year, some by sea and some by land. No matter what, they all want to escape Liaodong.

This is not only because of the harsh climate in Liaodong in the early Ming Dynasty, but more importantly because Liaodong is in a strategic buffer zone surrounded by three sides.

Because of this, military households continue to flee, and the flight of military households means that local construction in Liaodong continues to be unable to keep up.

If construction failed, the new military households would want to run away even more, thus forming an endless cycle. The population of Liaodong was also unable to support a province from the beginning to the end of the Ming Dynasty, and politics could only be affiliated to the Chief Envoy of Shandong. superior.

Lao Zhu sent Zhu Gaoxu here with his own plan, and Zhu Gaoxu himself could guess this.

If Zhu Gaoxu can hold Jilin, then the northeastern part of Liaodong can become safe under the protection of Jilin and Daning. Many military households will avoid facing the war directly, and they will naturally be able to stay in Liaodong.

After all, North Korea is still calm at the moment. Although from time to time there are Northern Expeditionists within it who attempt to invade Liaodong, North Korea's Li Chenggui is still very sober.

As long as Zhu Gaoxu holds Jilin, the military households in western Liaoning will be able to enjoy peace.

If he can further sweep the Changbai Mountains and recruit the East China Sea Jurchens, then the entire Liaodong will be safe.

Once Liaodong is safe, the military households that migrated will naturally be willing to stay. After all, the military households during the Hongwu period were treated fairly well.

But even so, as the military attachés began to annex land, landless military households would still flee.

Therefore, in Zhu Gaoxu's view, Liaodong must become a normal province in the future, and the guard posts must be abolished and replaced with prefectures and counties. Otherwise, no matter how good Lao Zhu's strategic planning is, peace may not be guaranteed forever.

It is worth mentioning that today's Liaodong is not entirely a Weisuo system. The current Gaizhou, Haizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou are state-county systems.

If Zhu Gaoxu remembers correctly, it seems that Lao Zhu abolished these four prefectures and counties this year in history, and Liaodong was completely transformed into a guard system.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't feel much about this, because no matter what policies Lao Zhu formulated, they would be overturned by Zhu Yunwen, his father, and himself in the future.

But at the moment, he still has to follow the route set by Lao Zhu.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu also exhaled, then turned around and returned to the cabin.

There is a four-hundred-mile sea route from Jinzhou Zhongzuo Station to Gaizhou. As expected, Zhu Gaoxu and the others should arrive in Gaizhou around [-]:[-] tomorrow...

Time passed, just as Zhu Gaoxu had estimated, and he was woken up from the cabin by Yi Shiha and the others around midnight the next day.

"Your Highness, we have arrived in Gaizhou, but the road ahead is a bit difficult."

Walking onto the deck, Zhu Gaoxu was a little confused when he heard Yi Shiha's words in his ears, but when he walked to the side of the ship, he knew why Yi Shiha said that.

I saw thick ice blocking the channel for ships to enter Gaizhou Port. At this moment, they were still half a mile away from Gaizhou Port, but this half was covered with ice more than a foot thick.

"First send someone to ask if the official road can be passed. If we can, we will be careful to get ashore."

Zhu Gaoxu gave instructions to Yishiha, and Yishiha nodded and said, "Lin Xiaoqi has already sent someone."

Since he has not yet arrived in Jilin, Zhu Gaoxu has not officially appointed Lin Wuliu to an official position, so he is still a small flag.

But despite this, everyone in the team basically knew that Lin Wuliu was the leader of their group, and there was no such thing as being obsessive about his words.Knowing that Lin Wuliu had arranged for people to go to the shore, Zhu Gaoxu sat on the mat brought to him by a soldier.

About half an hour later, the man who went to explore the road came back.

"Boss Lin, the soldiers at the dock said that the official road can reach Thirty Thousand Guards, but it is a bit difficult to walk and the wheels can't pass."

The returning soldiers stood on the ice and greeted Lin Wuliu. After getting the news, Lin Wuliu walked onto the deck from the ship's ladder and reported the truth to Zhu Gaoxu.

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu did not rush to give the order to set off. Instead, he looked at the weather and the gloomy sky. He was worried that it would snow again, so he decided to stay on the ship for a few days before leaving.

"Prepare some firewood and food. We'll wait until the sun rises before leaving."

"Yes!"

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu was about to speak, Lin Wuliu responded honestly, but Yishiha said in time: "Your Highness, it will be uncomfortable to live on this boat. Why don't you go ashore?"

"My brothers are all on the boat, what do I mean when I go to the shore?"

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and rejected Yi Shiha's suggestion, then turned and returned to the cabin.

As Zhu Gaoxu expected, snowflakes started to fall from the sky just after noon, causing some of the brothers who were eating on the deck to run back to the cabin one by one, laughing and cursing.

"It's really cold here in the north. It's already cold before I take it out here."

"If you stay here for another quarter of an hour, it might freeze."

"Hahaha……"

The brothers in the boat room were talking and laughing. Looking at them, Zhu Gaoxu also had a smile on his face.

Before arriving in Jilin, this was one of the few days they could relax.

Zhu Gaoxu lowered his head and took a sip of hot soup. However, the snow he predicted did not stop soon, but became heavier and heavier.

It snowed heavily for seven days, and Zhu Gaoxu and the others also stayed on the boat for seven days.

It wasn't until the 28th of the first lunar month that the snow slowly stopped, and the sun came out the next day.

Seeing the sun come out, Zhu Gaoxu also knew that the snow season was over, so he started to greet everyone to come ashore.

Under his order, two hundred guards carefully transported war horses, money, food and other materials to Gaizhou Ferry.

Watching Zhu Gaoxu get off the boat, the magistrate of Gaizhou also asked the government soldiers in the city to help carry things.

It was not until noon that Zhu Gaoxu appeared at the ferry as everything was transported to the ferry.

He had a few polite words with the magistrate of Gaizhou, and then led his team northward.

Looking at his leaving figure, the Zhizhou could not help but say to the people around him: "In the past, when the vassal kings passed by Gaizhou, they would have to serve them with fine wine and delicacies. If the accommodation was not good enough, they would scold us."

"On the contrary, this Corporal of Bohai King Lixian would rather live on the boat than embarrass us and others. He is indeed a virtuous king..."

His words won the approval of many officials, but Zhu Gaoxu didn't care much and just rushed to Jilin with his team.

As Zhu Gaoxu expected, they could see melting snow all the way north since the 28th.

Of course, along with it comes muddy roads.

It was only more than 260 miles from Gaizhou to Liaoyang, but Zhu Gaoxu and the others walked for five whole days. They did not arrive in Liaoyang until the second day of February when the dragon raised its head.

"finally reached."

Looking at Liaoyang City in the distance, Zhu Gaoxu, who was covered in mud, breathed a sigh of relief.

This does not mean that their journey is over, but that Zhu Gaoxu and the others can rest in Liaoyang for a few days.

When Zhu Gaoxu came to Liaodong, he naturally had to discuss matters with Zhou Xing, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, and Zhou Xing had been waiting for him in Liaoyang for a long time.

As expected, not long after Zhu Gaoxu and the others arrived at the south of Liaoyang City, a group of cavalry galloped towards Liaoyang City.

"May I ask who is His Royal Highness the King of Bohai?"

Ten cavalrymen wearing cloth armor came to the front of the team. Seeing this, Yishiha naturally couldn't let Zhu Gaoxu answer in person, so he stepped forward and bowed:
"This is the King of Bohai. May I ask where Commander Zhou is?"

"Your Highness is a thousand years old!"

"No need to kneel down, don't dirty your armor."

Hearing that the person coming was really Zhu Gaoxu, the ten cavalrymen quickly got off their horses. Fortunately, Zhu Gaoxu persuaded them, otherwise their cloth armor would have to be cleaned.

"Your Highness, Commander-in-Chief Zhou is already waiting for you at Andingmen."

The flag officer leading the team lied. Zhou Xing was not waiting for Zhu Gaoxu at this moment. After all, no one could tell when Zhu Gaoxu would arrive, but he was indeed near Andingmen.

"Please ask Commander Zhou to prepare meals for my group. In addition, my Highness has other matters to discuss with Commander Zhou."

Yi Shiha acted as a sounding board. The cavalry flag officer heard this and quickly returned the greeting. Then he got on his horse and rode back to Liaoyang City, leaving nine cavalrymen to lead the way.

Regarding the cloth-faced armor of the northern frontier army, not many people on Zhu Gaoxu's side were curious. After all, cloth-faced armor had been equipped with troops as early as the Yuan Dynasty BC.

Since the temperature dropped in the world at the end of the Song Dynasty, the northern army began to replace cloth armor. This is not only because it can keep warm, but it can also prevent the armor from rusting more effectively.

Of course, the cloth armor is not worn close to the flesh. There must be a jacket between the armor and the mandarin duck jacket.

The defensive power of cloth-faced armor is not low, but in summer, many frontier soldiers will also switch to plain armor (pierced armor).

To put it bluntly, the Ming army in the early Ming Dynasty still lacked long-range firepower. Copper blunderbuss and bowl-mouth blunderbuss were not enough to suppress the armored northern nomads, so hand-to-hand combat was the norm on the battlefield.

In terms of hand-to-hand combat, pierced armor is more dominant than cloth-faced armor, so soldiers in the north always have a set of pierced armor and a set of cloth-faced armor.

However, for Zhu Gaoxu, when his troops fight in the north in the future, they will naturally use cloth armor.

Although the armor is excellent in hand-to-hand combat, it weighs ten to fifteen kilograms more than the cloth armor. This weight goes against the mobility Zhu Gaoxu pursues. The reason why he pursues mobility is because he has the confidence to produce a matchlock gun.

Once the matchlock gun appears and is further paired with a spear, Zhu Gaoxu is confident that he can defeat the opponent, whether it is the frontier army or the nomadic cavalry, as long as there is no absolute numerical suppression of him.

While he was thinking this, more than [-] people in his group also came to Andingmen in Liaoyang City.

Under the Anding Gate, a sixty-year-old man wearing a robe bowed to Zhu Gaoxu:

"The last general, Zhou Xing, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, bows to the King of Bohai..."

"Old general, I'll excuse you from all courtesy and don't dirty your robes."

Zhu Gaoxu stood up and dismounted. Zhou Xing and others did not continue to kneel down after hearing this. After all, no one wanted to change clothes in the winter.

"Is this horse probably a sweat horse?"

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu approaching with his horse, the eyes of Zhou Xing and others were attracted by Chi Huan.

It has to be said that although the three-year-old Chi Huan is still underage, his size is not smaller than the ordinary Hequ horse, but actually larger.

"It is indeed a bloody horse given by the emperor."

Zhu Gaoxu handed Chi Huan's horse rein to Yi Shiha, and then bowed to Zhou Xing: "I'm afraid I'm going to bother you for a few days when I come to Liaoyang City this time. It's not just to chat with the old general about Wu Liang Ha and Xi Yang Ha. It’s more about food.”

Food is Zhu Gaoxu's top priority in Jilin. He had discussed it with Lao Zhu before setting off, and every year after the snow melted, he would deliver a whole year's worth of food.

In this regard, Lao Zhu readily agreed at that time.

Logically speaking, Zhu Gaoxu should trust his grandfather, but he has indeed been deceived by Lao Zhu too many times. This issue must be implemented, otherwise his going to Jilin will really be no different from being exiled.

"The general has opened thirty tables of banquets at a restaurant not far away. Please move over with your highness."

Zhou Xing made an invitation gesture, and upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu also walked to the restaurant with him.

Zhu Gaoxu would also look at the pedestrians on the road. He didn't notice it when he was in Shandong and South Zhili, but after arriving in Liaoyang City, he could clearly feel the population problem of the Ming Dynasty.

In the huge Liaoyang City, you can see more than a hundred steps on the five-foot-wide street, but there are basically few pedestrians. This kind of population density is probably the norm in Liaodong.

With this in mind, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhou Xing came to a three-story restaurant, and followed him to the third floor with Yi Shiha and Lin Wuliu.

There were only dishes and chopsticks on all the tables, but no food, but that wasn't surprising.

Although the restaurant has set up fire walls and closed the doors and windows, the temperature in early February in Liaodong is still cold, and it may feel as low as ten degrees below zero.

Such a temperature is indeed much colder than that of later generations. After all, February in the Ming Dynasty is equal to March in later generations. For example, in Liaoyang in early March, it is probably rare that it is still more than ten degrees below zero at noon.

"Let's serve!"

Zhou Xing greeted the restaurant manager who had been waiting early, and the manager nodded in agreement. Then Zhu Gaoxu saw the waiters carrying out the braziers filled with firewood.

These braziers were covered with hollow iron covers and placed one by one under the table to warm everyone's legs.

After all, we are in Liaodong. There are basically dirt roads in Liaoyang City, and there are very few brick and stone roads like those in Jiangnan.

Therefore, you often need to wet your shoes when you go out. It is also very comfortable to put a fire pot to dry them.

Even for Zhu Gaoxu, his first thing after arriving in Jilin was to plan a military fort and expand the city.

If conditions permit, he may build fire tunnels and fire walls in Jilin City like the Forbidden City to achieve heating.

After all, everything is lacking in Liaodong, except fuel...

(End of this chapter)