Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1460 Shandong Severe Drought ([-])

Thick fallen leaves covered the ground, and the wilderness was silent, except for a group of riders who were riding alone in the wilderness.

It was the first time for Liao Degong to come to the land of Liaodong. They landed at the mouth of the Yalu River by boat, and then traveled all the way to Jiulian City to see where they would be stationed and live in the future.

The history of Jiulian City is said to be very early. However, since the central financial resources were poor and local military equipment was abolished in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the military defense value of Jiulian City, which had been in disrepair for a long time, was greatly reduced. Later, the Ming government found a new site in Zhenjiang. A fortress completely abandoned the group of fortresses around Jiulian City.

At the time of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, because the Qing army entered the customs in a large scale, and the Korean military strength was also very weak, so only a few troops were stationed in Zhenjiang Fort, and the area around Jiulian City was completely deserted. Under the attack, it gradually collapsed, and a large number of residential buildings were built inside and outside the city walls. People farmed and herded sheep, and turned a good place where fighting soldiers were killed into villages and towns with smoke from cooking. It is not very embarrassing to see.

However, after the [-]th Mixed Battalion of the East Coast Army, the [-]rd Battalion of the Cavalry Wing and other elite troops crossed the sea to the north, captured Zhenjiang Fort with lightning speed, and repelled the first counterattack of the Qing army. The first repair was put on the agenda, and soon entered the substantive construction stage.

Except for some local materials, the rest of the materials for the construction of the castle were either transported from Yantai by land and sea (depending on the schedule of the ship), or they were transported by Koreans from across the Yalu River.At present, after several months of large-scale construction, with the help of hard-working Korean peasants, the two northernmost fortresses have taken on a rough appearance—at least, their interiors have been completely tidied up, which can be used by Liao Degong who came from afar The lieutenant's men were stationed.

Today is October 1666, 10. The Yalu River has not been frozen yet, but it already makes people feel an inexplicable chill.Jiulian City is all located on the right bank of the river. The No. 20 and No. [-] Fortresses that Liao Degong and others are looking for are located on two gentle slopes. A small stream that flows into the Yalu River passes between the two fortresses. At that time, the brothers of the Engineering Corps Platoon of the Seventh Mixed Battalion had already built a small pontoon bridge to communicate with the two fortresses.

The Heishui Dama under him struggled to jump onto a small dirt bag. Liao Degong looked at the No. 250 Fort in front of him, and felt that the blue-gray wall looked quite pleasing to the eye.There are some stone or wooden buildings inside the wall, which have basically been vacated. According to the accompanying liaison staff officer of the Seventh Mixed Battalion, [-] troops can be stationed.

It is worth mentioning that these small fortresses are not all military facilities. On the contrary, some civilian facilities also exist, such as shops, Taoist temples, etc., which seem to be newly built; the "streets" in the fortress are straight and wide. The ground is sandy soil, not hardened, but fairly flat; several wells are dotted around, which are not only a source of drinking water for the soldiers and civilians in the city, but also can be used for fire fighting to prevent the wooden buildings in the city from being damaged by enemy fire.

There are already some residents around the No. [-] Fortress. Lieutenant Liao Degong already knew this. They are all Shandan people and Ming people. , but it is cheaper for them who came later.

"Many of them are freshmen. Commander Liao Xiaoyao was naturalized in the Udi River, and he was sent here in advance to serve as the outer guard post for the Shandong disaster victims' reclamation army. I have seen our strength in the Amur River Basin, and it seems to be quite obedient so far. " A young Bingtuanbao soldier followed up on horseback, and said to Liao Degong: "As far as I have been in contact with them for some time, these Shengfan residents are not addicted to alcohol, have little group activities, and like to live alone How should I put it, it’s just that my character is a little unreasonable and withdrawn, and I usually try to avoid dealing with our management cadres, and only seek happiness within my family circle..."

"They must be managed effectively." Liao Degong said immediately after hearing the words, "Life habits can be changed! Perhaps each tribe has its own rules that have been stubbornly maintained over time. These rules are like the legacy of the ancestors passed down from generation to generation, but We need to let them know that life is like a play, when the main character changes, so does the side setting. Now the main character is us east coast people, they are just subordinate to our poor people, there is no need to follow them in everything .”

"I like Jiulian City very much, because it looks like a handsome young man with a spring face, the air is fresh and pleasant, and the small tree-lined sandbanks in the Yalu River seem to beckon us to go and take shelter from the shade. This kind of scenery, it seems It’s always refreshing—of course I’m talking about summer, now it’s autumn, and there’s only withered and yellow wormwood left here, haha.” Liao Degong jumped off the breakthrough and galloped towards the No. [-] Fortress, saying.

The arrival of the horse team caused a commotion inside and outside the fortress, but it was quickly suppressed by the officials, because Liao Degong and others' tall horses and khaki military uniforms clearly showed their identities. !

Some Shandan people who had just rushed out of the tent with knives in hand, retreated silently after hearing the words, and then went to do their own things.They like to tidy up their saddles in their spare time—especially those Buryat Mongols—and this is one of the things they like to show off to outsiders. The saddles are covered with engraved metal bells, It may be gold or silver, but without exception, the color is poor, and the knife workmanship is not very good, which correctly reflects their level of civilization.

Liao Degong and his party of five or sixty people got off their horses at the base of the wall of the No. 60 Fortress, and then several dignitaries greeted them, including two local civil affairs officials, and a middle-aged man called "Adaman" (Adaman is the name of the Russians, used to refer to the tribe or army leader of the natives in the outer northeast region).He wears an expensive-looking belt around his waist, because the dangling coral and malachite blind everyone's eyes—it's really a Mongolian habit!

Adaman was followed by some strong and strong barbarians, with a rebellious look on his face.Being poor and having few expensive ornaments to show off, they tattooed their faces all over, and at the expense of self-inflicted pain (which may not have seemed to them pain) a reputation for being well-groomed.

Liao Degong, as the newly-appointed supreme military officer of the nine fortresses in the Jiulian City area, naturally stepped forward to hug and shake hands with them one by one, and then talked with the Adaman emphatically in his half-baked dialect to build a relationship.After all, for a long time to come, these Shandan people will be under his command, and most of them are good sources of soldiers, and they can be counted on to deal with the Manchus.

Afterwards, he shook the hands of some tribal warriors following Adaman one by one, and asked his deputy to take out many well-made leather robes from the luggage as gifts.The leather robe is made of fine lambskin and colorful brocade, trimmed with otter skin or seal skin, and some black velvet is pasted on the cuffs, front placket, hem and other places with raw edges, which is comfortable and beautiful to wear , All of a sudden, the faces of these barbarian warriors changed from cloudy to sunny, and they immediately became much more docile.

There were many long-burning fires burning among the tents, and some children in strange costumes were sitting around and eating something, which made Liao Degong and others realize that after riding among the hills for half a day, their stomachs were already hungry So I just sat around with these Shandan people and had a hot mutton meal-this is really eye-catching at a time when there is a general famine, if Liang Xiangjian is caught, it will definitely be a meal curse roundly.

"This time, on my way from the north, I met Commander Liang once in Yantai, and I learned good news and bad news." After lunch, Liao Degong sent his entourage to the fortress to check whether all kinds of military resources and facilities were in good condition. Complete, and he himself chatted with the local civil affairs officials about other things: "The good news is that the grain harvest in the Denglei area has not completely disappeared this year. Among them, about 13 tons of wheat have been harvested, and other bits and pieces Miscellaneous grains such as corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mung beans (almost all the places where grains can be grown have found ways to use them) add up to tens of thousands of tons, which is enough for everyone to persist for a long time. It is definitely what I have heard in the past six months The best and most exciting news that has ever arrived.”

"Oh, so much?" The two civil affairs officials who graduated from the Anti-Qing Military and Political University were also a little excited, and said immediately: "This is really not easy. Shandong locusts are on the rise. Our people have to use the inherent water conservancy Irrigation facilities irrigate the fields and grab food from the mouth of God; at the same time, there must be enough luck to ensure that the locusts are not targeted there, or even if a certain degree of locust plague breaks out, we must do everything possible to fight against it and fight for it. Mitigate the disaster. All of this is really not easy. I was lucky enough to experience some of these things last year, and I feel the same for these things. I can understand how much everyone has paid to achieve this level. , It’s really powerful, and it has solved a lot of troubles! Moreover, I heard that the drought seems to have eased since this summer? Then it seems that we can also try to re-sow winter wheat, which will help increase food production Also huge."

"Yeah, with this food, and the food we have raised from all over the world with all our strength, it should be able to keep millions of people (including the disaster victims) in Denglei and Denglei for a period of time, and the food reserves will not be lost immediately. Seeing. However, this issue should not be neglected. The more food the better, because God knows when the disaster will be completely over. Therefore, Commander-in-Chief Liang said that if you want to do everything possible to expand the area of ​​reclamation, Denglai will not work. Just go to Ningbo. If there is no place in Ningbo, go to Heishui, Liaodong or even North Korea. If the above can’t be resettled, then even if you go to Rabaul or Australia to farm, you must insist on cultivating and growing grain!” Liao Degong also echoed: “ Only sufficient food can feed more people. You see, Wei Boqiu, the deputy commander of Wei, took a boat to fight the autumn wind in the southern coast of Japan a while ago. He heard that he had bought or traded a lot of food and came back. Commander Liang was very happy to hear that. From ear to ear. So, I am waiting for the reclamation work in Dandong County, it seems that I really have to hurry up, and I heard that before the port is frozen, more than ten thousand victims of the disaster will be sent to reclamation. This pressure is not ordinary... ..."

"No matter how high the pressure is, you have to do it. Dandong is a good land, there is no shortage of water sources, and there are no other disasters. And it is backed by the Kingdom of Korea, and the transportation of materials is convenient. It is really a good place to farm. "The civil affairs official said: "By the way, Lieutenant Liao, what was the bad news you mentioned just now? Let's say it together, it doesn't matter."

"The bad news is naturally related to Tuntian, that is—" Liao Degong smiled, and said with some seriousness: "The Manchu Qing may have to attack Dandong, but the number of people should not be too many, because Ning Gutana Sharhuda on the side has a tendency to shrink its troops and return to the south. Anyway, it is meaningless to nail it there. Under the leadership of the Communists, they mobilized the elite of the Eight Banners outside the customs to attack our part of Dandong County."

"What level of attack?" Although he was a civil affairs official, he had studied in the Anti-Qing Military and Political University, so he immediately asked the key to the question.

"Don't worry, the scale shouldn't be too big. Thousands of people are killed. If we really want to let go of the fighting, our army may not be able to deal with it. The only problem is that the Qing army probably won't fight us head-on this time. Instead, it will focus on raids and harassment, which will be quite destructive to the reclamation. Jiulian City is the most important barrier in the north of Dandong County, and the city wall has been in disrepair for a long time. The Qing army knows it clearly, and it might be them The key attack target.” Liao Degong obviously thought about it, so he already had sufficient mental preparations, and he continued: “And Jiulian City is blocked in the center of the official post road between the Qing Dynasty and North Korea. It will not be removed in a day. They will not be able to communicate with North Korea, so even considering this aspect, the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia have a reason to send troops to attack us. Therefore, we should be fully prepared!"

"The fortress must be repaired as soon as possible, and the personnel must be organized as soon as possible. The more supplies the better. In addition, the North Koreans sent troops to assist in the defense a few months ago. As a result, Li Chaojun and his ministers procrastinated and have not seen it until now. It’s really unreasonable to send out one soldier and one soldier! But this matter has nothing to do with you. I will ask my superiors how to deal with it. You just need to do a good job in terms of personnel, materials and equipment. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. The Qing army can't cause us much trouble, so don't worry!" Liao Degong finally said.

(End of this chapter)