I

Page 643

There was a lively chat here, and the postmen stopped reading the newspapers, and gathered around to listen to Zhang Tingxun's anecdotes about Nanjing.

Zhang Tingxun is not good at reading, but he is good at telling stories, and he specializes in telling interesting stories about high-ranking officials and noble families.A certain official, who is afraid of his wife, was chased into the street by his wife with a broom.A so-and-so dude was caught when the government was raiding the casino, his parents felt ashamed, and beat him in the street when he was fined to collect the money.

Where have the frontier soldiers heard of these secrets?

When it was getting dark, everyone still had something to say and respected Zhang Tingxun as a top storyteller.

Zhang Tingxun also found happiness here, he likes to deal with the soldiers, unlike when he was in Nanjing, there were so many rules, as if he was a bird that flew out of the cage.

Chapter 847 [Northeast Development Plan]

In the middle and lower reaches of Heilongjiang, even though the Manchus kept taking people away, after the Cossacks came, they were still amazed at the wealth here.

Because they saw that there are farmlands in many places on both sides of the Heilongjiang River, and occasionally they can see Daur cities (villages).This is like a paradise in the desolate and cold Siberia, mainly because it can be cultivated and reproduced.

However, in history, when the aristocratic generals of Tsarist Russia came to raise (plunder) the food and grass of the army, they were furious by the sight in front of them.On both sides of the middle and lower reaches of Heilongjiang, all the farmland was destroyed, and the villages were all dilapidated. It has reached the point where there is no food to grab. It is really the previous Cossacks who killed too hard.

Due to the early arrival of the Datong Army, the situation here is much better.

Zhang Tingxun came to the Heilongjiang River Basin by boat and found that some farmland had been recultivated.According to the transliteration of the local dialect of each tribe, it is compiled as "a certain village". The leader is appointed as the village head, and if the leader is dead, let them elect the village head.

There will be no town-level units for the time being, to prevent a certain department from taking the opportunity to become bigger!

Hou Rusong pointed to the farmland by the river and said, "In a year or two, when these villages recover, we will be able to collect land taxes from them. Those who can farm will be taxed on grain, and those who cannot farm will be taxed on fur. After a few years, there will be enough food, so the military food will not have to be sent all the way.”

Zhang Tingxun asked: "I see that land can be cultivated everywhere here, why don't more people immigrate to cultivate it?"

Hou Rusong explained: "Food needs to be eaten bite by bite. Now the emigration focus in Northeast China is the prefecture (Harbin) and surrounding areas of Andong Dufu. There were some big and small troubles, and the court could only throw the criminals here. Didn’t Nanjing catch gambling fiercely?”

Zhang Tingxun nodded: "Last year, I often caught gambling. I heard that the casino owners, shopkeepers, and thugs were all sentenced to exile. Their wives and children were also exiled together."

"That's right, Li Duhu (Li Zheng) requested it," Hou Rusong said with a smile, "arresting people from all over the country, escorting exiles to Heilongjiang in batches, it takes 4 to [-] people in three years. When the border population is full, the exiles will be placed near the post station. Around the post station along the river, Han villages will be built one by one, and they will be upgraded to villages and towns in the future, which will definitely deter and subdue the surrounding aborigines. This is the imperial court’s plan to open up the Northeast, don’t worry, Take your time, we are all here to fight the front station. As long as the post officials you met don’t freeze to death, they will definitely be the mayor of the town in the future. Not only manage the Han people, but also rule the surrounding tribes of the town.”

The Northeast is not a colony, it is developed as a native place.

"Thank you General Hou for clarifying the confusion." Zhang Tingxun cupped his hands.

These were all arranged by Li Zheng to let Zhang Tingxun get familiar with the situation along the way, and let Hou Rusong explain anything he didn't understand.

Hou Rusong continued: "As long as it is not a Raksha ghost, basically anyone I meet here can ask them to help. In case of an emergency, go to the nearest indigenous tribe, whether it is Daur or other tribes, they will help you. I am willing to gather troops to help, because they all have a blood feud with Rakshasa ghosts."

"Understood." Zhang Tingxun nodded.

Historically, the Daur people were bullied so badly by the Man Qing, but when they faced the Cossack bandits, they all felt that the Man Qing was their own.

Without him, the Cossacks are too cruel!

Hou Rusong pointed to the shore in front of him: "There used to be a big village there, where the royal relatives of the Jianzhou Tartars lived. The Raksha ghosts took advantage of the village owner's going out to eat wedding wine, and attacked and captured the village. They were all killed, and then burned the stockade with fire. The people of this tribe died of cold and hunger in winter. Now, the Duhu Mansion has built a post station with the remaining stockade, which is named "Ai" according to the local dialect. Hui station'. This is the nearest post station to Hailanpao, and sixty miles north is Hailanpao."

The land around Aihui Station is fertile, and it is adjacent to the strategically important Hailanpao. This will definitely be a key development village in the future, and it is estimated that it will become Aihui Town in 20 years.

It was getting late, and the food transportation team chose to rest on the shore.

Only two or three hundred Daur people who originally settled in Aihui returned one after another, and many of them died due to lack of clothing and food.They lived around the post station, and regarded the postmen and postmen as protectors, and when they saw the grain transport team coming, they offered to help unload the goods.

After talking a lot, Zhang Tingxun asked the army guide: "What are they talking about?"

The guide explained: "These Daur people are asking merchants when they will bring salt. There is not enough salt stored in the station, and they have not been traded to them. Now they are all looking forward to Han merchants."

"What kind of salt did they eat before?" Zhang Tingxun asked.

The guide replied: "Some tribes eat pond salt, and some tribes eat soil salt. The taste is not good, it is bitter, and it is difficult to get. Last year, these people tasted the sweetness and waited to exchange their fur for salt. .”

Hou Rusong called Zhang Tingxun over, and said in a low voice, "If you don't give enough on purpose, let them taste the sweetness first, and then continue to whet their appetite. This is how you deal with the aborigines. When you go to the northern border of Shanxi and Shaanxi, the way there is the same. Almost. Not only the amount of salt is controlled, but also the tea. If the Mongols have no tea, strange problems will appear, and tea is the lifeblood of the Mongols.”

Zhang Tingxun asked curiously: "How to prevent merchants from transporting more tea?"

"The Great Wall," Hou Rusong explained in detail, "there are many parts of the Great Wall, only low side walls were built, and those side walls can't stop the army. It has two functions, one is to delay the Mongolian cavalry, so that the beacon tower can spread the news; The second is to prevent merchants from smuggling, merchants dare not destroy the side wall, and transport teams simply cannot get through."

The main purpose of the low and fragile Great Wall is really to guard against businessmen, and it can only slow down the Mongols!

The Han dynasty used economic sanctions to deal with nomads.Stop the mutual market trade, prohibit the export of salt, tea, ironware, and grain, and the Great Wall is a supporting facility for material embargoes.As long as the frontier army does not leave a back door for smuggling, this kind of embargo can drive the nomads crazy.

It's a pity that in the middle and late stages of the dynasty, every time the imperial court ordered an embargo, it was giving the frontier army a chance to make a fortune.

Zhang Tingxun came to his senses in an instant, slapped his head and said, "I remembered, the strategy chapter of "On War" talked about this, and the types of embargoed goods are still a must."

The next day, we continued to move forward, sailed for sixty miles, and finally arrived at Hailanpao.

It is obviously much more lively here, and the garrison has increased to 1500 people.After Yaksa is captured, 1000 people will be stationed there, and Yaksa is the real strategic location.

Yakesa's north-south tributary can control the indigenous tribes in the depths of Eda Xing'an Mountains.On the tributary to the southwest, you can go straight to the Hulunbuir Prairie by boat, and Mobei Mongolia is right in front of you.The westward river can lead to Nerchinsk, and it is very close to Lake Baikal by Nerchinsk.

Still far away from Hailanpao, Zhang Tingxun saw a lot of smoke rising.

"It doesn't look like wolf smoke either." Zhang Tingxun asked doubtfully.

Hou Rusong explained: "This is roasting bacon. Although hunting is usually not done in spring, it is time for wild animals to reproduce. But this year, troops will be sent out, so there is no need to control so many. As long as the Daur people in the vicinity hunt meat, they will eat it." It can be soaked in Hailan and exchanged for cotton cloth. What we transport here is not only ordinary grain, but also baked marching rations."

Zhang Tingxun nodded and said: "I understand that the food and grass go first before the soldiers and horses are moved. By the way, do you want to stay with the food transportation team?"

Hou Rusong said with a smile: "We are the navy, since we want to fight Yaksa, of course we need the navy to transport troops and supplies, and we have to fight the Raksha ghosts at critical times."

Wang Fuchen had already rode to the riverside, looking at the many ships with joy: "All the Anton navy is here?"

Hou Rusong replied: "Three battleships were left, and the rest came to you. We also brought twenty additional troop carriers. The troop carriers were all newly built, and the wood hadn't had time to dry in the shade. They were all protected by turpentine, dry ash and tung oil." Shen. You are in a hurry here, and the guard can only make do with building ships."

For the warships of the Anton Navy, the wood was transported from Liaoning, and many shipbuilders and apprentices were recruited.

And these many troop carriers were built by felling trees nearby in the lower reaches of Harbin.It will definitely leak after several months of use, and it must be repaired at any time. If it cannot be repaired, it will be declared scrapped.

This is a manifestation of the strength of a big country. If it were a small country, it would take several years to build ships.

When Hou Jin conquered the Daur people, he could only raise a large number of canoes.

"This is Captain Zhang Tingxun from Nanjing Military Academy." Hou Rusong introduced.

Zhang Tingxun hurriedly stepped forward, stood at attention and saluted: "Zhang Tingxun is here to report, please arrange tasks for General Wang!"

Wang Fuchen was a little puzzled, and seeing Hou Rusong blinking at him, he immediately understood that Zhang Tingxun's identity was not simple, and immediately praised: "Good boy, quite strong, you are tired all the way, go to the castle to rest first."

After sending someone to take Zhang Tingxun away, Wang Fuchen asked, "What is the origin of this man?"

Hou Rusong said: "The son of Dudu Zhang's family is going to fight at the front line. He is not bad, he is not a playboy, and he can share joys and sorrows with the soldiers along the way."

Wang Fuchen had a headache: "How should I serve? Should I let him stay in Hailanpao?"

Hou Rusong said: "What the guard means is to let you take him into battle. Except for particularly dangerous battles, where he is absolutely not allowed to participate, he will be treated as an ordinary sergeant at other times. To put it bluntly, if this can If he dies, he can only blame himself for his bad luck."

"Understood." Wang Fuchen breathed a sigh of relief.

Hou Rusong asked: "When will the troops be dispatched?"

Wang Fuchen said: "Just wait for your ship. As long as you come, you can send troops at any time. I have been preparing for a full year."

"What happened to Yaksa?" Hou Rusong asked.

Wang Fuchen said: "The last time I captured that Khabarov, many Raksha ghosts were killed, and then some Raksha ghosts moved to Yaksa, and they were still desperately gathering food to build castles. Last year, another group of Raksha ghosts came, and the spies came back. Said that six more cannons were installed on the city wall."

"That's not easy to fight." Hou Rusong was a little worried.

Wang Fuchen said with a smile: "Don't worry, no matter how you build the city, the Raksha ghosts don't have many manpower to spare. A few more cannonballs can knock down the city walls. The cannons of the Raksha ghosts are really pitifully small, about the same size as a tiger crouching cannon." .If it wasn’t for the lack of ships to transport troops, I would have gone to fight them myself, how could you have a chance to fight?”

Chapter 848 [Tsarist Russian Nobility]

In the evening, several generals had dinner together, and Zhang Tingxun was also called to accompany him.

The generals on both sides of Duhufu and Hailanpao exchanged their current situation with each other, but they were actually bragging most of the time.

While chattering, Hou Rusong suddenly said: "I just received the news that the armies will expand again this year."

"Army expansion?" Wang Fuchen was quite surprised.

Hou Rusong shook his head and said, "It's expansion, not army expansion. An infantry division originally had 11000 troops, but now it has expanded to 12000. A cavalry division originally had 13500 troops, but now it has expanded to 15000. The personnel in this expansion are not soldiers, but various civilians." , Auxiliary soldiers and logistics. Even those who wear horseshoes will have military positions in the future, and most of them will be classified into the cavalry sequence."

Wang Fuchen suddenly realized, and said with a smile: "It should."

Zhang Tingxun interrupted suddenly: "I heard from the teacher of the military academy that this year the military academy will also recruit more students. Each military academy recruits ten students each year, and they only study basic courses for one year. As for what to do after finishing my studies, I’m not too sure about it, but it’s definitely going to be in the logistics office. In addition, the army is really going to expand this year. A new cavalry division will be created in Hetao, many of which are Li Zicheng’s old troops. Shaanxi will also create a new cavalry division Division, probably to deal with Xihai (Qinghai) and the Western Regions."

A general named Lu Zideng said with a smile: "It seems that the imperial court is getting richer and richer. If we expand the army like this, the annual military expenditure must be indispensable."

Wang Fuchen asked, "Captain Zhang, is there any inside information?"

Zhang Tingxun said: "It's not an inside story. The teachers and students of the Nanjing Military Academy know it. One Hebei infantry division was transferred south to Xuzhou for garrison. One Shaanxi infantry division was transferred south to Hanzhong for garrison. Another Shanxi infantry division was transferred south to Nanyang. Garrison. I have a classmate who was assigned to Xuzhou as the head of the post."

Hou Rusong guessed: "There are too many troops piled up on the northern border, and the south seems a bit empty. This deployment of troops is to prevent chaos in the south."

Zhang Tingxun also said: "The rank of title is also subdivided. Take the duke as an example, it is divided into first-class, second-class, and third-class, that is, the state, county, and county. Several divisions transferred to the south this year , All the division commanders were promoted to be county princes, and together with the division commanders who were previously transferred to the south, they were called back to Nanjing to serve as officials in the Dudu Mansion."

The generals and officials looked at each other in blank dismay. This approach was not only increasing the military power in the interior, but also the emperor was gathering military power.

In fact, they thought too much, those teachers were all heroes from Conglong, and they were a little too old.Transferring them back to the Governor's Mansion is a promotion to enjoy the blessings, and they have also been promoted to the title.At the same time, it is also giving opportunities for promotion to young generals. There are only so many division commanders, and the veterans cannot always occupy them.

The Dudu's Mansion in the New Dynasty of Datong is different from that in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, all of them have real power.

For example, Gu Jianshan, the left captain of the navy, has now been promoted to county magistrate.The establishment of the Navy Military Academy was promoted by Gu Jianshan, and the official shipyard was also under his jurisdiction (the chief officer of the shipyard came from the Ministry of War, and the second officer came from the Dudu Mansion). officer.As long as there is no wanton corruption and just grab some oil and water casually, it is completely possible to be invisible.

The generals did not dare to discuss these matters, so Wang Fuchen quickly changed the subject: "Will Hai Lanpao follow the expansion?"

"It's not enough for now, you're too far away here, and you won't be given additional civilian and logistical posts until a year or two later," Hou Rusong said to Zhang Tingxun, "Let's talk about the military academy."

Zhang Tingxun thought about it carefully: "By the way, military school graduates seem to have to change. In the future, graduates will not be assigned positions, but will be awarded military ranks. This matter is still under discussion. It is probably the best group of students who will be awarded lieutenants after graduation." , and the rest are all awarded to the second lieutenant." Speaking of this, Zhang Tingxun laughed at himself, "I guess an outstanding student like me should be awarded to the sergeant."

Wang Fuchen praised: "This reform is very good. Only military ranks are awarded, and military positions are assigned only when they arrive in the army. Local generals can also arrange more flexibly."

Hou Rusong said with a smile: "It must be His Majesty's idea, just like being a civil servant in the imperial examination. When new scholars go to a place, they are generally not arranged to be chief officials. Many of them start as second-ranking officials, so that they can accumulate experience in politics. Now graduates from military schools are awarded Lieutenants and second lieutenants, when they arrive in the army, they will mostly be sentry officers (deputy company commanders), and they will first learn how to lead troops to fight with the sentry commander.”

Zhang Tingxun also said happily: "In the future, there will be more graduates from military academies, and I am afraid that we will have to start from the captain (platoon leader) and team deputy."

……

Yaxa.

Fort expert Peter Beketov came to support this place with 54 Cossacks. His task was to build a bastion in Yaksa.

Stepanov greeted him warmly, gave Beketov a bear hug, patted him on the shoulder and said, "You're finally here!"

Beketov explained: "I was able to come last year, but the (Mobei) Mongols were defeated by the Khitan (Chinese) army, and Buryatia completely lost the protection of the Mongols. So we opened up again in the east of Lake Baikal. I have established a new stronghold. The new stronghold is in a place called Nerchinsk, where I built a castle last year, and this year I will come to you before the snow melts."

"Nerchinsk? Has the castle been built there?" Stepanov asked.

Beketov said: "Not yet, but the main body has been built, and I have left them the drawings, and the rest don't bother me."

Stepanov said: "It's fine if you come. There is a place called Hailanpao downstream. There are a large number of Khitan troops stationed there. The troops in my hand dare not go there. So I must first build a castle defense, and wait for the consolidation. After here, look for an opportunity to attack the Khitans. As long as the Khitan army there is wiped out, the entire Amur River (Heilongjiang) valley will submit to His Majesty the Tsar!"

Beketov was taken to eat and rest. On the second day, he checked the terrain and designed the castle according to the human resources here.

A few days later, Beketov drew up the blueprint and explained in detail: "You are short of manpower here, so you can only build a simple bastion. You have already built the square earth wall of the castle, and you should add bastion structures to the four corners." The position of the fort needs to be changed, and the fort will be added to a fort. In front of the earth wall and the fort, a lagging wall and a ditch will be built."

Stepanov said: "The amount of work is a bit large, and I'm afraid it won't be completed within this year."

Beketov said: "The stagnant wall can be replaced by a wooden fence. First, two rows of wooden fences are erected inside and outside, and the soil dug out from the trench is poured between the two rows of wooden fences and hammered tightly. Inside the trench and outside the trench, you can Insert sharpened wooden thorns. By the way, there is no well in the castle, so a well must be dug quickly to prevent the lack of water source after being besieged for a long time. The well needs to be erected with water pipes to lead to various parts of the castle, so that water can be quickly drawn in case of fire. "

"As expected of a fortress expert!" Stepanov was very satisfied with the design.

Peter Beketov, the castles of Chita, Nerchinsk, and Yaksa, were all built by him. He also explored and discovered Yakutsk and the surrounding areas.The first castle in the Baikal region was built by this man.

As soon as the drawings were drawn, Stepanov started working immediately.

Cossacks, Siberian hunters, and Daur slaves captured from around were all mobilized.

The four walls of the castle have already been completed, and the rest is to dig wells, dig trenches, build bastions and artillery forts, etc.

Stepanlov was the vanguard sent by the Tsar, with 150 regular troops.It is said that it is a regular army, but it is actually recruited Cossacks, but each of the 150 Cossacks is equipped with matchlock guns.In addition, there are more than 300 Cossacks from Lake Baikal and more than 400 Siberian indigenous hunters.

With a total of more than 800 troops, the food was almost too much to eat, and they frantically robbed and killed nearby indigenous people, and continued to grow food in Yaksa.

The Daur slaves here are very miserable. Even if they help build the city, they can only hang themselves by drinking porridge every day.Most of the slaves were so hungry that it was difficult for them to walk, and they had to be whipped to carry earth and rocks. Every day, slaves fell to the ground and died.

More than ten days after the city was built, another Rakshasa ghost came by boat.

Tsarist Russian nobleman Dmitry Zinoviev, led 50 arquebus soldiers, rushed to Yaksa.

Stepanov, a fake aristocrat, rushed to greet him, and knelt down directly: "Why did the general come in person? Have the three thousand troops arrived?"

Zinoviev shook his head and said, "There is no 50 troops. The empire has declared war on Poland, so it is impossible to send troops to Siberia. I only have [-] soldiers. Have you raised food and grass here?"

Stepanov said: "There is a Khitan army downstream, so I dare not go there to grab food."

"How many people are there in the Khitan army?" Zinoviev asked.

"Not sure, but there are at least 1000 people, and I have just over 800," Stepanov said.

Zinoviev reprimanded: "Cowards, more than 800 imperial warriors, enough to wipe out 3000 Khitan troops. Gather your troops immediately and follow me downstream to raise food!"