Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

After Ju Ming went to Nanyang to summon the rich people, he did not go to Jiangling immediately, but went to Zhijiang further upstream.

Zhao Fengji, the second-in-command of the Water Conservancy Department, came from Hanzhong to control the water and also followed Ju Ming.

Zhao Fengji stood on the bow of the boat, pointing to the lakes and swamps in the distance and said: "Since the Five Dynasties, the water conservancy in the north and south of Jingjiang River has been in disrepair. Countless fertile fields have turned into swamps and lakes again, and the Jingjiang River channel has swayed back and forth. To manage this place, we cannot blindly immigrate to reclaim wasteland. Water conservancy needs to be developed to be sustainable. Since King Shu's reform, why have the counties and counties around Xiangyang repeatedly recruited people to open up wasteland with little effect? ​​In addition to the heavy burden on the people, there are also frequent floods and droughts."

Zhu Ming shook his head and said, "It's not possible now. A lot of the local rich households' grain reserves have been lent to the government, and the common people don't have any surplus grain. If we want to develop water conservancy in a big way, we have to wait for another two or three years."

Zhao Fengji said: "We can afford to wait for two or three years. Within these two or three years, I want to visit all the states and counties north of Jingjiang River and make a comprehensive water conservancy plan for the long term."

"Thank you!" Zhu Ming said sincerely.

The so-called Jingjiang River refers to the section of the Yangtze River from Zhijiang to Chenglingji, Yueyang.

For thousands of years, this section of the Yangtze River has been quite similar to the Yellow River. Silt has been continuously accumulated and the river bed has been raised. There have even been many times the strange sight of a river hanging above the ground. The river course has moved back and forth, causing constant disasters.

Let's talk about Zhijiang, where the Yangtze River divides into two and merges again in the upper reaches of Jiangling. Zhijiang County is sandwiched between the "two Yangtze Rivers". (The Zhijiang County seat at this time was on the other side of the Songzi River mouth in later generations.)

In the early Southern Song Dynasty, the Yangtze River changed its course and directly flooded Zhijiang City. The county seat was moved to Baishui Town and was not moved again until the late Qing Dynasty.

Another county town that also changed its address is Songzi on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

Zhao Fengji said: "We must seize Jinghu Lake as soon as possible. There are many rivers and lakes south of Jiangling, which can divert the floods of the Yangtze River. In the past hundred years, countless wastelands have not been cultivated, but a large number of people have gathered around Jiangling, and they have continued to build farmland around the lakes to divert floods. lake."

Ju Ming said: "Creating fields around lakes facilitates irrigation, which is more convenient than clearing wasteland. The imperial court does not impose restrictions and does not build water conservancy projects. It is natural for ordinary people to do whatever is convenient for them."

"Local officials also want to take control, but they really can't." Zhao Fengji sighed.

The Yuan Dynasty knew that it was not advisable to build fields around lakes. How could those ministers in the Song Dynasty not know this?

Su Shi once said that it was very difficult and it was better not to return farmland to lakes: "In ancient times, weirs were abandoned and most of them were cultivated on the side. If you want to revive, you must collect all the harvest. People's hearts may be shaken. This is not good governance."

However, Shen Kuo was a tough man. In order to alleviate the flood disaster, he returned farmland to lakes in Zhejiang and Zhejiang. As a result, he was criticized by the local wealthy households - "The Su people complained that Shen Kuo and others built bank fences for private fields, which destroyed fertile farmland and wasted public and private money." money".

From the perspective of maintaining stability, Su Shi opposed the return of farmland to lakes.

Shen Kuo took a long-term perspective and insisted on returning the farmland to the lake.

They each represent a point of view, and it is difficult to evaluate who is right and who is wrong. But it soon became an issue of dispute between the old and new parties. Water conservancy was mixed into politics. From then on, no one wanted to cause trouble.

The Dangyang County Magistrate accompanied Ju Ming to Zhijiang County, pointed to the Zhang River and said: "This river is seriously silted up and it is difficult for large ships to sail. We must capture Zhijiang as soon as possible and organize civilians to dredge the river. As long as the Zhang River is cleaned up, there will be no Jiangling , Sichuan money and grain can also be quickly transported to Jingmen and Dangyang."

Ju Ming rode forward and took out his telescope to observe. He found that there were large swamps on both sides of the upper reaches of the Zhang River.

This is because water conservancy is not developed and floods occur all year round. Both sides of the river bank have become floodplains, making it difficult for ordinary people to survive. The fertile fields in the Tang Dynasty gradually turned into swamps.

The upper Jingjiang River is slightly better, but the lower Jingjiang River is even worse. From Jiangling (Jingzhou) to Shishou, there are floodplains everywhere.

In such a situation, it is strange that the land is so vast but so sparsely populated!

Ju Ming rode on horseback and patrolled along the way. The places he went next were all enemy-occupied areas.

However, Chen Ziyi led more than a thousand cavalry and dispersed nearby to prevent the people from receiving food. The villages on the north bank of the Yangtze River have been controlled. Among Chu's armies, only the navy dared to wander around, while all the infantry were hiding in Zhijiang City.

When he learned that Ju Ming was coming, Chen Ziyi led 300 cavalry to greet him.

Zhu Ming and Chen Ziyi chatted about their daily routine, and then asked casually: "How is your heavy riding training going?"

Chen Ziyi said: "The lack of armor also means the lack of horses. Now the general has more than a thousand northern war horses, but if both men and horses wear heavy armor, some of the horses will be unbearable, and stronger horses must be bought."

Ju Ming said: "Human armor and horse armor will be delivered one after another, but the war horses have to be purchased slowly. Have you chosen the place to cross the river?"

"It has been selected, more than fifty miles upstream of Jiangling." Chen Ziyi said.

"Take me to see it." Ju Ming said.

The Yangtze River splits into two parts at Zhijiang River, and then merges into one again after flowing for dozens of miles.

The northern section of the river at the confluence is only 30 meters wide at its narrowest point. This is the result of continuous alluvial sediment. If the Yangtze River does not change its course, it is estimated that the northern section will be completely silted up and cut off in another hundred or two hundred years.

When everyone came there, Chen Ziyi pointed to the river and said, "The water there is not deep, and big ships can easily run aground. The Pseudo-Chu Navy does not dare to come."

Zhong Xiang's navy was far more powerful than Ju Ming's navy.

He converted a large number of water ships and merchant ships in Dongting Lake and Jiangling into warships, which could also be used to transport goods when not fighting.

Of course, cars and ships have not yet been developed.

It was a large warship that could carry a thousand people. It sailed using manual pedals. Although the ship was big, it was fast. There are also faster loach boats, each carrying dozens of people.

Historically, Yang Yao owned thirty chariots and ships and hundreds of loach ships. Not only did he repulse the Southern Song Dynasty's encirclement and suppression many times, he even made Yue Fei lose his temper.

In the end, Yang Yao himself became corrupted and gradually lost his support, while Yue Fei blocked the food routes around him. Yang Yao's generals led the navy to join Yue Fei, and proposed a plan to put aquatic plants and rice straw in the battlefield waters. The aquatic plants blocked the wheels of vehicles and ships, causing Yang Yao's large warships to lose their mobility.

Yue Fei obtained Yang Yaoshui's army, and his tactics spread throughout the Southern Song Dynasty and became the key force in defending the Yangtze River in the Southern Song Dynasty!

Zhu Ming took out his telescope and could see Zhong Xiang's warships patrolling downstream. He smiled and said: "Our navy has more small boats, which are just suitable for fighting here. Take down Zhijiang first!"

Zhang Guangdao captured many large ships of officers and soldiers, but he could only sail to Hanyang along the Han River. There was a blockade by the Chu Navy and he could not reach the battlefields of Zhijiang and Jiangling.

If you want to have a water battle here, you can only ask Li Bao's Kuizhou Navy to dispatch.

Although the Kuizhou Navy also had large ships, they were still too weak compared to the Chu Navy. It may even be blocked upstream and unable to approach the Zhijiang battlefield.

To cross the river here, you have to use countless improvised boats!

Half a month later, thousands of militiamen marched south, all led by surrendered generals. Ju Ming deliberately gave the surrendered generals a chance to make meritorious deeds.

Only by making meritorious deeds can you prove yourself.

One militia was led by Han Shizhong and Zhong Yanchong, and the other was led by He Ji and Wang Xun. Including Cui Xiu, who came to surrender with "an army of three hundred thousand people", he has also been promoted to militia battalion commander.

"I will finally meet the Generalissimo!"

One by one, the surrendered generals knelt down on one knee in front of Ju Ming, holding their weapons in their left hands and clenching their fists in their right hands across their chests.

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Everyone, get up. You go to observe the battlefield first."

The generals came to the river together. Han Shizhong was surprised and said: "Is the Yangtze River so narrow? It looks like it is only about ten feet wide."

Wang Xun, however, had been here before and explained: "This is only the northern section of the river. The Yangtze River is divided into two sections, and there is a wider section on the south side."

Wang Xun used his spear to draw a picture on the ground, and quickly sketched a simple map of the Jingjiang River.

Han Shizhong stared at the map and thought carefully: "Taking Zhijiang will be like holding it by the throat. It will be difficult for the Puppet Chu navy to go upriver. By then, Changyang and Yidu can easily cross the river and conquer it!"

He Ji asked: "How many enemy troops are there in Zhijiang?"

Chen Ziyi said: "I'm not sure. There may be three to five thousand people at the moment, but the Puppet Chu Navy can continue to transport troops to defend the city if they go to the southern section of the Jingjiang River."

Wang Xun looked at the other side of the Yangtze River and said: "There are many trees there. We can build siege equipment after crossing the river."

Deng Xia commanded the artillery troops and Hua Rong commanded the artillery troops. The two of them were also present at this time.

Deng Xia said: "After the giant cannons from Hanzhong and Jinzhou were transported to Yingzhou by boat, they were towed to the Zhang River with great effort. The upper reaches of the Zhang River are difficult for large ships to pass, so they are being hauled here by land. Several giant cannons are being transported here by land. Aim the cannon at the narrow river, and you can cross the river calmly without worrying about the Puppet Chu navy attacking."

Hua Rong also said: "The Divine Machine Battalion will participate in the siege. You can think of hundreds of divine arm bows standing outside the city to help you suppress the defenders."

Wang Xun asked curiously: "Are the fire guns of Shenji Camp really that sharp?"

Hua Rong smiled and said, "You will know when the time comes."

"I just want to know myself and my enemy." Han Shizhong said.

Hua Rong took off the long leather bag he was carrying and carefully took out his fire gun.

He cherishes it very much and even sleeps with it in his arms.

The reason why the bird gun is called the bird gun is that it can hit flying birds, and it can be used by sharpshooters with extremely high accuracy.

Hua Rong pointed to a tree dozens of meters away: "Everyone, take a look."

He first hung up the match, lit it, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

The trigger was pressed down with the match rope, igniting the medicine pool.

"boom!"

There was a crisp sound and green smoke floated out.

The generals immediately rushed over to check and saw that a small hole had been made in the tree trunk, and the lead bullet was lying in the small hole.

"It's truly a magical weapon!" He Ji exclaimed.

Han Shizhong fantasized: "If there are ten thousand gun soldiers, lined up in front of the formation and shooting at the same time... tsk tsk."

Hua Rong said: "The making of fire blunderbuss is very slow. At first, we could only make dozens of them a year. Later, we recruited many craftsmen and gradually became more proficient, and we could only make two to three hundred of them a year."

"As a surprise soldier, it is enough." Zhong Yanchong said.

All the generals gathered around Hua Rong, wanting to beg him to come over and try it themselves.

But Hua Rong cleaned the blunderbuss and carefully put it back into the bag without any intention of handing it over.

Han Shizhong asked: "How many sharpshooters like General Hua are there in the Shenji Camp?"

Hua Rong said: "More than twenty."

Han Shizhong said: "You can build a high platform outside Zhijiang City and let sharpshooters aim at the enemy's generals. If the generals are killed or suppressed so that they dare not raise their heads, our soldiers can take the opportunity to attack the city."