Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 280 Restoration of Dongshengwei?
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month in the 24th year of Wanli, the side wall of Shuiquan Yingbao.

There is still one month left before Chinese New Year, but the weather here is extremely cold. There are several heavy snowfalls in succession, several feet thick. When the north wind blows, the remnant snow turns into solid ice, making the road extremely difficult. Slippery and difficult.Especially when looking from the side wall, the outside is the frontier barren land, which is boundless and white. Even if it is not covered by snow, what is exposed is either loess or yellow sand, which is really desolate and desolate.

However, even though the cold wind was debilitating and the road surface was difficult, merchants and merchants gathered on the road from Shuiquanyingbao to Guihua City, camels and horses were in groups, and the two sides kept coming and going.After autumn, the closer the year is, the better the business will be.The end of the new year is approaching, and both the Han and Mongolian parties will celebrate the new year. At this time, a large number of Mongolians near the side wall wear various animal skin robes and felt cloaks, and those who are richer wear gray clothes. Mouseskin or ermine robes, and even some richer ones, also wear the latest Wuzhaibao woolen overcoat, a woolen cap on the head, and a felt cloak inside to keep out the cold wind.

These people drove their cattle and sheep, or went to the nearby Han people's market, or to Shuiquan Yingbaoguan City, in exchange for Han people's grain and cloth, and some general stores for oil, salt, needlework, etc.The larger tribes drove a large number of cattle and horses into the market of Shuiquan Yingbao, in exchange for a large amount of grain, rice, silk, woolen cloth, pots, pots, and farming tools. Nearly a hundred camels.

In the past few years since the opening of the market, the Han and Mongolian people in the side wall of Shanxi Town have obtained what they need, and their lives have all improved to a higher level.Obviously, after this fall, there were a lot fewer Mongolian people who were extremely thin, hungry and impoverished in previous transactions.

In addition to these Han and Mongolian people on both sides of the wall who traded for daily necessities, there are also many Han and Mongolian merchants who specialize in selling various goods on this road.Wuzhai Fort needed a lot of wool. Every summer, Han merchants would go to the grasslands to transport carts of wool and animal skins back to Wuzhai Fort. This scene lasted until winter.In addition, Guihua City is a place where wool is concentrated in the grassland, and there are hundreds of thousands of Mongolians in the surrounding area, as well as a large number of merchants of various ethnic groups who need a lot of goods. Shanxi merchants who specialize in doing business with these people, Every month, a large amount of commercial goods are transported from Han to Guihua City.

Not only wool and animal skins, but also meat is in great demand in Wuzhaibao. The various non-staple food factories in Wuzhaibao, after autumn, especially after winter, produce a large amount of canned luncheon meat, various frozen meats, ham, etc. Large quantities of meat raw materials are required.

And after winter, all kinds of beef and mutton on the grassland are not perishable, easy to store, and cheap, so many merchants also transport the meat on the grassland back to Wuzhaibao on a large scale.This also created many business opportunities and supported many Han and Mongolian merchants.At the beginning of this year, Huang Laifu also opened a dairy factory in Wuzhaibao, producing yogurt, cream, cheese, etc., to improve the nutritional needs of the army and the people, which in turn requires a large number of raw materials on the grassland.The various needs of the two sides interacted with each other, forming this busy business route.

But there is a saying that there are no roads in the world, and if people travel a lot, they become roads.From the side wall of Shuiquanying to Guihua City, there are a total of more than [-] miles of roads. Naturally, these roads cannot be post roads. Although the Ming Dynasty controlled the land up to Daqingshan in the early Ming Dynasty, it did not build post roads outside the Great Wall. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the land shrank to the side wall of Shuiquanying Fort, so there was no need to build post roads outside the Great Wall.However, the Mongols never had the ability or idea to build roads, which made the road from Laoyingbao to Guihua City extremely difficult. The wind and sand are also loess, and in winter, the roads are covered with ice and snow. It is hard to say that it is a road.

Now from Wuzhai Fort to Kelan Prefecture, to Shenchi Fort, to Ningwu Pass.Cement roads have been built from Wuzhaibao to Pianguan and Laoyingbao, which facilitates the travel and circulation of businessmen and people, and also improves Huang Laifu's control over these places.The construction of a concrete road from Laoyingbao to Guihua City should also be put on the agenda. The 3% of the road will greatly facilitate the circulation between the two sides, and it will also greatly improve Huang Laifu's control over the Great Wall.However, based on the cost of 12 taels of silver to build a [-]-mile road, for example, the cement road from Laoyingbao to Guihua City cannot be built without [-] taels of silver.

This is a huge expense... Maybe, the money is worth it... Or maybe, there is still a waterway to go.From Guihua City to Guannei, can't you go to Heihe, then to Yellow River, and then to Pianguan?Huang Laifu heard that many businessmen have already developed the route from Heihe to Pianguan... But this waterway should be the most effective time when he manages Baotou City in the future...

The Daming flag with the characters "Ming" and "Huang" written on the top of the city wall was too frozen to fly. Facing the amorous situation outside the side wall, Huang Laifu just pressed his sword and meditated. Around him, rows of armored servants stood up straight. They were all tall and tough, and even though their faces were pulled apart by the cold wind, they still stood still.There is silence in the surrounding area, only the sound of pack horse bells ringing from time to time at the gate of the city.

The cold wind is howling, and from time to time a gust of wind will roll up the snow on the ground and rush towards the people at the top of the city. The world is so vast that it is difficult to distinguish things tens of meters away.Huang Laifu only felt that the gusts of cold wind seemed to penetrate into his muscles and bones, and the iron armor on his body was like wearing an ice coat, which made his heart and lungs feel cold.After standing against the wind for a while, Huang Laifu felt that he was going to freeze.

At this time, footsteps sounded, but it was Xu Zhongtai, a guerrilla from the Zhenlu camp, who came forward. He said in a low voice, "At the military gate, there is a strong wind and sand at the top of the city, why don't you go back to the official office? Don't freeze yourself!"

Xie Qingkui, the guard of the Shuiquan Camp beside him with a beard on his face, also loudly said boldly: "Xu Guerzilla is right, this city, just have some of our brothers watching over it, the military gate can rest assured, right now the captives outside the Great Wall I have already been gutted by the military gate, and I dare not come to harass me anymore. Even if they come, we will guarantee that they will never come back! The military gate can sit in the old camp fort with peace of mind."

Since Huang Laifu took over the old camp fort in the 20th year of Wanli, the former guards of the old camp Liu Zhengwei, Qian Zong Liang Zhiping, Qian Zong Xie Qingkui, former deputy general Xu Zhongtai and others, because of successive military exploits, their respective identities have been established. some changes.

Xu Zhongtai is now a guerrilla, commanding 3000 people in the Zhenlu camp.Xie Qingkui has been promoted to guard, leading 500 people, stationed in Shuiquanyingbao, and also serving as a city guard to maintain the market order of the mutual market.Liang Zhiping was also promoted to garrison, with 500 men stationed in the Red Gate Fort, also serving as city guards.As for Liu Zhengwei, holding the title of guerrilla, he has already retired, and now he bought a house in Wuzhaibao and lives leisurely.

In the past few years, Xu Zhongtai and others have been thoroughly integrated into Huang Laifu's system, and their Zhenlu camp has become the same tiger and wolf division as the Wuzhai camp.Just one township camp can deter hundreds of miles outside the Great Wall and protect the safety of many farms outside the Great Wall.

After hearing Xie Qingkui's words, Huang Laifu smiled slightly. People say that the military is the continuation of politics. Right now, of course, I don't have to worry about the Mongols daring to invade Shanxi Town's side walls and other places, so compared to other military towns, these few It was very easy to prevent winter and autumn in Shanxi Town in [-]. Now what I have to consider is how to control the vast land around the Great Wall so that it can become Daming's granary and livestock farm instead of a threat.

Of course, if you tell them about this idea, you won't understand it. They just need to strictly follow their own instructions.But to be honest, he still likes Xie Qingkui, a rough man. In contrast, Xu Zhongtai is more cautious and cautious.

He smiled and said: "Xie Shoubei is right, the Mongols have been broken by us long ago, they have eaten up their hearts and courage, and they dare not come to invade the side wall again, it seems that this winter, we can go through it peacefully again! "

Xu Zhongtai clasped his fists and said: "This is because the military sect is brave and invincible, so the captives are terrified when they hear about it, and dare not offend me, Daming!"

Huang Laifu nodded, and said: "It's not enough to scare them. To make the land outside the Great Wall a safe place, we have to do a lot of things!"

Seeing that the two were confused, Huang Laifu smiled and said: "There is nothing wrong with this Shuiquan camp, let's go back to the old camp!"

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The Old Camp Fort is not far from the side wall of Shuiquanying Fort, less than an hour's journey by fast horse. Compared with Shuiquanying Fort, Laoying Fort is much bigger and more dangerous.Five miles around, the city wall is high and thick. Since the town was built in Shanxi, the old camp fort is the place where the town's general soldiers come here every year to prevent winter.

Since Huang Laifu managed Laoyingbao in the 20th year of Wanli, in the past four years, Laoyingbao has changed a lot. Not only are the streets spacious and tidy, but also densely populated with shops.Most of the people walking on the street were well-dressed and energetic military households, as well as those valiant and high-spirited soldiers of the Zhenlu camp.Strict training and adequate food and wage guarantees have turned the Zhenlu camp, which was full of old, weak and disabled soldiers, into a tiger-wolf division like the Wuzhai camp.

Outside the city was a vast expanse of whiteness, with snow several feet thick, but when we returned to the streets of Laoyingbao, there were only a few inches of residual snow and floating ice.The castles in the frontier, the residents and merchants, have all formed the habit of sweeping the snow as it falls. Otherwise, the snow will be several feet thick and seal the door.The snow on the street has also been swept away long ago, leaving some ice floes, and the iron hoofs stepped on it, rattling.

Seeing Huang Laifu's brigade of iron cavalry come back, all the military households and merchants on the street showed admiration while dodging. It is precisely because of Huang Laifu and his army that the side wall of Shanxi Town is now getting bigger and bigger. The more peaceful, there will be no more wars and fires.The common people's eyes are discerning, and they can tell who is good and who is not.

Back in the old camp office, Huang Laifu took out the map outside the Great Wall and examined it carefully.Huang Laifu's army has a special intelligence bureau, either sending special personnel, or using trade merchants to collect information on various tribes outside the Great Wall, and map the water sources in various places. The final result is the relatively delicate piece of paper in Huicheng's hand. map.

Huang Laifu's fingers moved slowly on the map, besides Gu Dadao, Azhi and other confidantes, the Laoyingbao guerrilla Xu Zhongtai, and a group of accompanying staff Zanhua and others were by his side.After Huang Laifu took over Ningwuguan, he also took over the corresponding staff and staff members of former general Liu Mingan.Most of the generals next to me are big bosses, a lot of clerical work still needs to be handled by these staff members, and some military affairs also require their staff.

However, Huang Laifu had this idea. He set up a special military discipline in Wuzhai Academy, hired military officers, preached his own experience, and formed a booklet, so as to train some professional military personnel, staff officers, and logistics personnel.Most Ming military generals in this era have their own private staff systems, and there is no overall system for the whole country.Although Qi Jiguang opened a special military academy when he was training troops in Jizhen, he was a staff secretary of the Ministry of War, and he also had some military surveying and mapping positions, but they were not professional and could not be promoted. What a family of generals, known as a famous general.

After Huang Laifu moved his finger over Qingshui River and Zhungeer Banner, he stopped at Dongsheng outside the Great Wall and Zhenlu.These two places were the guards set up outside the Great Wall by the westbound capital of Shanshan in the early Ming Dynasty, and they are all deserted now.In the organizational system of Shanxi Xingdusi, Dongsheng is called Dongshengwei, and Zhenlu is called Zhenluwei.A little above them, in Helinger County in later generations, there is also Yunchuanwei, which manages a large area including naturalization to Daqingshan.Not far to the right of Zhenluwei, there is also Yulinwei.

Looking at the map, you can see that these guards are all in key locations, and their installation has also effectively protected the safety of Shanxi Town, Datong Town, and Xuanfu Town.In particular, Dongshengwei is located on the northeast bank of the Yellow River, 140 miles away from Guihua City, about [-] miles away from Laoyingbao, Wei Township on both sides of the Yellow River, and radiates hundreds of miles around, so its geographical location is important.

In history, Dongshengwei was built at the beginning of the fourth year of Hongwu. The city wall is nearly ten meters high, and the perimeter of the city is sixteen miles long. safety.

It is a pity that after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the Ming Dynasty shrank back, and because Dongshengwei was too far away from the mainland, it was not easy to supply, and the Mongols harassed it seriously. In the end, not only Dongshengwei, but also Zhenluwei, Yunchuanwei, Yulinwei, etc. All the frontier guards were abandoned, and Daming only relied on the nine sides of the Great Wall as the protection of the interior.Without these buffer areas, it is conceivable that the Nine Frontiers would directly endure a hundred years of war.

Daming has too many worries at the moment and is unable to restore these guards, but for Huang Laifu, the time has come to restore the Dongsheng Guard and Zhenlu Guard.Since the 21st year of Wanli, Huang Laifu has deployed a large-scale operation outside the Great Wall. The area of ​​Qingshui River and Huangpuchuan River where he first immigrated has more than [-] immigrants. There are countless farms and residences, and the cultivated land has reached one million mu. There are many, and many pastures have been opened up as livestock farms.There are even many immigrants who have crossed these two places and went to the Dalat Banner area of ​​the later generations, and even more daring people have settled down in the Baotou land of the later generations.

Due to Huang Laifu's perfect immigration system, the population records of these immigrants are all in his hands. Except for some farms that Huang Laifu cooperates with, Huang Laifu will have dividends. Starting next year, the three-year tax exemption period has passed , At that time, I can still collect taxes from those immigrants.

The taxes and food collected by these immigrants in time will be the most powerful logistical support in the future, and they can fill the land on the spot, and there will no longer be the problem of too long supplies.In addition, at the beginning of this year, I led the army to defeat Bu Shitu and killed him far to the west. The Mongolian tribes around the Hetao were all terrified and did not dare to fight against me again. No one can threaten himself.Therefore, the time has come for the restoration of Dongshengwei and Zhenluwei.

After the restoration of the two guards, Shanxi Town no longer has any security worries, and it also takes care of the safety of Datong Town by the way.If you set up Baotou City by yourself, the land of Hetao will really be in your hands.

Of course, to restore the two guards, there are many related matters. The current situation in the two places needs to be investigated and found out, and the reaction of the surrounding Mongolians must also be expected.In particular, the establishment of the two guards requires prior approval from the court and the central government. These require a lot of work and are not an easy task.

Huang Laifu stroked the map with his hands and calculated, but the people present were all good people. Seeing that Huang Laifu stared at the map for a long time without saying a word, his fingers stayed still on the original Dongshengwei's spot.One of the staff couldn't help but said: "Master, do you want to send troops outside the Great Wall and restore the land of Dongshengwei?"

Huang Laifu looked around the crowd, seeing that everyone was eager, nodded and smiled, "That's exactly what I mean!"

As soon as Huang Laifu said this, the spirits of the people present were all lifted. While other military towns were guarding and being beaten, if Shanxi Township could send troops outside the Great Wall to open up borders and restore land, what a big deal it would be, and what a great achievement it would be?Many people present may also be able to leave their names in history.

Especially those staff members of Liu Ming'an, the former chief soldier, since they followed Huang Laifu, they haven't done any big things, and they are already too idle.Although Huang Laifu was generous to them, these people saw that Huang Laifu's reputation had become more and more prominent these years, and he was also favored by the emperor. Following him with a bright future, they all became more and more eager in their hearts, hoping to do something to show their importance in front of Huang Laifu. Now the opportunity finally came.If Huang Laifu has the merits of restoring the land, everyone present will naturally have a lot of credit to share.

A few people even thought: "The military sect is indeed vigorous. If we have the power to restore the land, we will become famous in the future, which will be enough to honor our ancestors!"

Gu Dadao was even more excited: "It's best when those people come back to defend, so that we can have military merits!"

Ah Zhi smiled and said: "At the beginning of the year, the battle of the military gate had already killed those hoodlums. Although there may be some small twists and turns when the defense is restored, it should generally go smoothly!"

Huang Laifu said: "Military strength is not a problem. At present, there are no Mongolian tribes who dare to oppose us in the original Dongshengwei and Zhenluwei areas. The third lady in Guihua city dare not confront us. The most worrying thing right now is , I need to write a memorial first and share with the emperor about the court's opinion on this matter!"

Everyone nodded, and Huang Laifu said: "In any case, preparations in advance are inevitable. Many situations in these two places require relevant intelligence support, as well as the garrison strength, city construction, and logistics supplies. The preparation work, these things, I leave it to you to do!"

All the people at the scene were full of enthusiasm, clasped their fists together and said: "Do you dare to die for the army?"

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A few days at the end of the year, Huang Laifu returned to Wuzhaibao from Laoyingbao. In the second year, that is, the first month of the 25th year of Wanli, Huang Laifu took Liu Erniu as his concubine, and the people around Wuzhaibao congratulated her!
(End of this chapter)