Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1614 The rain is coming

"This year's grain harvest looks good." In a village in the western suburbs of Dandong County, Liao Degong, a major of the army, commander of the Denglai Theater and acting commander of the First Division of the Liaodong New Army, grabbed a handful of rye that had just been harvested and looked carefully at it. After looking at it, he said with a happy face: "The grains are full and there are not many shriveled grains. It has exceeded my expectations. It seems that the virgin land in Liaodong has been undeveloped for tens of millions of years. The soil nutrition is really rich. The fields in front of us, After only two years of reclamation, there is such a harvest, which is really good, but it is a pity that no wheat is grown..."

There is no doubt about the fertility of the virgin land, especially on the land on the right bank of the Yalu River. Since ancient times, there have been many nomadic dwellings living by water and grass, or fishing and hunting peoples with a lower level of civilization. Therefore, when people from the east bank set up a county here to cultivate, they found that the humus layer in the soil was still very thick, which was a piece of natural fertile land.The only pity is that the land is not very flat, and there are endless hills and mountains nearby, so the land is not very flat, which brings a lot of trouble to agricultural reclamation.

"Although the output of rye is not as good as that of wheat, but here is a mountainous area, the climate is already cold, and the growth of wheat is not satisfactory. In addition, since last winter, the climate has been abnormally cold, and then spread over a large area It is too risky to plant wheat, so we decided to plant rye after discussing it, but in fact we had no other choice." A cadre in his thirties followed behind Liao Degong step by step, explaining softly.

"No, no, no, don't be nervous. I didn't mean to blame you." Liao Degong waved his hands when he heard the words, shook his head and said with a smile: "I knew about the rye planting this year from the beginning. I didn't veto it, but I agreed. , you don’t have to worry. Besides, the rye seeds we planted have been sorted for several generations in the Dabo Botanical Garden. The quality is already high and the yield is not low. On the contrary, the wheat seeds have not been systematically selected in recent years , there are no high-yielding seeds available, and the climate is cold, so it may not be better than the Rye if it is planted, so relax. Wait until the seed cultivation business of the newly established Jiaodong Botanical Garden is on the right track, and the weather will turn warmer Now, let's try planting wheat again."

"Ah, by the way, have all the grain harvested this year been delivered to the barn?" Liao Degong put down the rye in his hand and asked the cadres behind him: "Have you followed the regulations and procedures, don't be afraid of trouble. "

"The delivery is already underway." The cadre, who looked like the head of the township, replied immediately: "The grain warehouses in the village are already full, and people have been sent to guard them. Now the food that the villages need to deliver to the county storehouse has arrived. Some of them haven’t been delivered to the village, but it’s only a matter of a few days, and it won’t be long.”

"The grain and fodder that have been sent to the village can be sent to the county treasury by people. Those who have not yet been recruited must act quickly. It will be late autumn, and the grain on the Tartar side will almost be harvested. It is autumn high When the horses are fattening, if they don’t make sure they’re out of their minds, someone will come and hunt our grass valleys, which must be guarded against.” Liao Degong himself went to the Qing Dynasty to hunt grass valleys—of course there was nothing to fish for—and he also had the same experience as those who came to hunt grass valleys. Qing soldiers had fought before, so there was always a string in their minds, thinking about what the enemy might do.

For example, because of the fear of the enemy attacking—this is not unheard of in the past, some settlements were killed by Qing army rangers because of carelessness, many people were killed and injured, and the material warehouse was even burned out, causing heavy losses— —He asked all townships to store grain in advance, especially the county warehouse, which was built like a fortress, echoing the original Zhenjiang Fort that was used as the county seat, and each other's horns.Moreover, the division headquarters of the First Division of the Liaodong New Army is located there, and there are half a regiment of defenders in the warehouse. If there are no accidents, it is really solid.

Therefore, Liao Degong asked each township to reserve part of the food in its own township storehouse for the daily training of the militia, and the rest of the food should be collected in the county storehouse for overall planning and control by the county, so as not to be plundered by the Qing army who came to forage the valley. , Burned.You must know that food has always been an extremely scarce material in Liaodong, and it still needs to be imported from the outside world (ships come from Denglai every month, full of Nanyang rice), so everyone can't help but pay attention to it.

In addition to the urgent work of putting grain into storage, distributing the weapons in the arsenal and organizing the training of villagers' soldiers is also one of the main tasks of the township and village cadres in the near future.The weather in Liaodong is cold and it is impossible to plant overwintering crops, so winter is always very idle. Villagers either go to work on construction sites in fine weather-this is similar to Russian serfs. In order to prepare for taxes after spring, they usually work after autumn harvest They will go to lumber mills, mines or noble ranches to do odd jobs to earn cash and pay taxes. They brave the severe cold with thin clothes, and they are often busy for three to five months-or they are called by cadres to carry out basic militia military operations. Training, so that they have a certain ability to protect themselves, at least they will not be at a loss when facing the raids of the Qing army's rangers.

Dandong and Kuandian counties were established only a few years ago, and the task of reclamation was very heavy on weekdays, so the training of the militia was actually somewhat unsatisfactory, far below Liao Degong's expectations.But no matter how well it is practiced, this system must still be implemented, because local facts have proved that it is effective. It can not only improve the military literacy and self-protection ability of farmers, but also a way for superiors to strengthen control over subordinates. There are quite a lot of mysteries in this method.

"Militia training should also be strengthened. Muskets, spears, and armor can't be rusted and dusted in warehouses, right? We have two reclamation counties in Liaodong. Commander Liao in Yantai is still asking me if I can set up a third county. We plan to send some of the old, weak, women and children from the Production and Construction Corps to open up wasteland, and the defensive area will be even larger. But how many usable soldiers do we have at hand? Only a few thousand people are counted! Therefore, everything is still We have to rely on ourselves, everyone!" After Liao Degong said this, he began to use this topic to expand, only to hear him continue: "It has been a while since the establishment of Dandong County, right? The county-wide meeting in the first half of this year will hold I also read it, and to be honest, it makes people feel less optimistic. Not to mention whether they can deal with the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia, but the generals of the North Korean Imperial Barracks can’t beat them, right? Therefore, the training needs to be stepped up. It’s not too much for them to go into battle, relying solely on the solid facilities in the village—such as barns, material warehouses, and village headquarters (all of which have walls)—to hold their ground and wait for the main force in the county to come to their aid? But looking at it now, It’s a bit of a struggle to do this, some villages are okay, and some are not at all. Later, you have to make a plan as soon as possible, and I hope to see a significant improvement in their combat effectiveness and fighting will within a year.”

"We know this. This winter, the entire township will hold a parade. The militiamen in each village will train intensively in order to quickly improve their combat effectiveness. Although the combat effectiveness will decline after the busy spring season, the overall strength is still stronger after the practice. It’s just that the higher-ups may need to support some gunpowder projectiles, arrow equipment, salted fish and bacon, and potions for bruises. Once the formal practice starts, these things will consume a lot.” The cadres at the bottom made a request, but it seems All reasonable.

"I will arrange this." Liao Degong immediately expressed his opinion after hearing this: "Training soldiers is actually training for money! But this money cannot be saved, and there will be big problems in the future. Don't look at the recent relationship between the Manchu Tartars and us. The time has subsided for a while, but it is always threatening, maybe one day it will rush over and bite us!"

"Commander Liao, do you mean that the Tatars are going to launch some action against us? Actually, I'm also surprised that the number of Tatars' rangers has indeed decreased recently compared to before. What kind of big action are they planning together? Then what should we do? Should we fortify the wall and clear the country in advance?" When Liao Degong said this, the people below immediately panicked and made suggestions one after another.

"What are you thinking? It's not that serious!" Liao Degong laughed, pointing to a group of people and said: "I just told you to tighten up, why do you look like you are facing an enemy? Fortify the wall and clear the field? Is that going to burn the house down? The wells were filled, the livestock food was taken away, and they were concentrated in the county to hide? That’s a shitty land! The Tartars didn’t come, and they tried their best to scare themselves. Didn’t that make the Tartars laugh? It’s okay, you follow the steps Arrange work, do what you want! If the Tartar army wants to move, it must stockpile food and grass in advance, and it will definitely stockpile near the front line, such as the area around Phoenix City. I don’t believe there will be no movement. The news came back, so let’s go on as usual! You have the brothers from the First Division of the New Army to back you up, so don’t worry too much.”

In fact, news that the Qing army might launch a large-scale attack on Dandong and Kuandian counties, which were located on the right bank of the Yalu River, came almost every year.But the facts have proved that the biggest offensive of the Qing army was only two or three thousand cavalry, and they were repelled by the two infantry regiments of the first division, one cavalry regiment, several Korean imperial sergeants, and the vast militia. Killing three or 400 people is a painful lesson, although the casualties of the East Coast people themselves are not small.

Therefore, in the face of this kind of "wolf is coming" general news, people on the east coast have long been familiar with it. Anyway, everything is done according to their own steps-every spring, people on the east coast have to mobilize a large number of troops and more capable soldiers. The militiamen who fought went to the traffic tunnels to "prevent the spring", and the price was not small-otherwise, you would not be able to play at all, and the scare alone would scare people to death, so how can you cultivate wasteland?However, in order to avoid being rushed in front of the enemy brigade without knowing it, Shandong also sent half of the more than [-] scouts of the most elite public security team. Qianqi), scattered in the mountains to the west of Dandong and Kuandian counties all the year round, while raiding and killing the Qing country villages they encountered, while spying on the news, they acted as the first line of defense to prevent people from being caught off guard by a surprise attack.

However, the strength of the people on the east bank is also limited, and what can be intercepted and intercepted is actually only the line of Kuandian and Dandong.As for other places, it is powerless.Of course, if the Qing army is willing to detour around long distances to attack sideways when the logistics are not available, then they are big-hearted, and they should first prepare for the collapse of the entire army after the food is cut off.

"The situation in the Denglai area is relatively tense now, and the main force of the Qing army in Qingzhou Prefecture is frequently mobilized. A few days ago, some troops were even dispatched to tentatively attack Changyi and Gaomi counties, where the enemy and our armies were intertwined. Although they retreated quickly, However, the situation is still very tense. Many main forces, including the elite Seventh Mixed Battalion, have been attracted to Laizhou Prefecture. Therefore, Shandong should not have much leeway to support us. We can only rely on ourselves. Okay Well, maybe there are also Koreans, although the sergeants of the Imperial Battalion do not seem to be very difficult to fight, but they are better than the militias who know nothing, and they are somewhat of a strength." Liao Degong said: "The mountain rain wants to fight. The wind is coming, and the Qing army's initiative is likely to be Laizhou Prefecture. It hasn't been too long since we took over there. The foothold is not stable, and the people's hearts are uncertain. If the Qing army really wants to send large troops, we can only wait and fight. Retreat. Frontal field battles are not worthwhile, only fortified cities or places with dangerous mountains and rivers are our positions, and then wait for the opportunity to land in the enemy's rear with elite troops, cut off their food routes, and shake their soldiers' morale."

"Forget it, why am I telling you this! In short, as soon as winter begins, you put the grain in storage first, and then organize the militia for training. After the spring, according to the instructions of the headquarters, mobilize the militia to go to various places to 'prevent spring', Tartar The rangers might come out to harass me at that time." Liao Degong stood up, patted the dust on his hands, took the whip from the guard, turned on the horse, and finally told: "You should practice hard first. Well, I will come again before the Chinese New Year to see your results. If it doesn’t work, you will be assessed, and it is our principle that the mediocre will go down and the capable will go up.”

After finishing speaking, Liao Degong left here with a group of entourage, and walked towards Jiulian City along a narrow path.Because there are ready-made defense facilities there, some soldiers are stationed there. The area of ​​cultivated land reclaimed is also very large, and the geographical location is also very critical. direction), and is far away connected to Kuandian County in the north.

On the land heading there, Liao Degong also thought carefully about the work of "preventing spring" next year.To be honest, as long as the past few years have passed and the Qing army is not pushed into the sea, then the so-called spring prevention will only become easier and easier in the future.I believe that the Qing army is not a fool, and they have realized this problem. I don't know how they will act next year.

(End of this chapter)