After entering October, Heyang Nanqiao entered an intense reconstruction stage.
Yang Bao, the captain of the Du branch, took 150,000 tons of grain to the south bank to unload. The large and small carts were immediately filled with grain and transported to the north bank via a temporary pontoon bridge. This pontoon bridge was washed away twice, and the third one was finally built. By the war
It was not used in the last stage, but now it has a place to be used.
The Forbidden Army also sent thousands of soldiers to camp near Nancheng in Heyang.
As for whether they can ensure the smooth completion of the bridge construction, only God knows. Anyway, after a month of reorganization, this force still looks like that on the surface.
On the fifth day of October, Wei Fu arrived at Nancheng, Heyang, and stayed overnight at the ferry, preparing to take a boat to Zhongli City the next day, and then arrive at Zhamati via Heyang North Bridge.
The accommodation conditions are not bad. I heard that the imperial court (Shao) planned to build a large inn here, divided into two parts, the north and the south, for messengers, generals, and officials to rest, eat, and change horses. This should be it.
If there are pedestrians or merchants who want to stay at the inn, they can just pay.
There are walls, posts, and food. Isn’t it better than sleeping in the wild?
After dinner, Wei Fu wandered around, looked at the bricks piled in the corner, picked up a piece and looked at it.
This is a corded tile with fine texture and stamped "Nan Zhen Guan Tile".
Good thing, they are actually bricks and tiles produced by the official kiln.
Zhen Guan Shu is a government office. Simply put, its biggest business is operating official kilns and firing bricks and tiles.
In addition, stone slabs, stone carvings, and clay utensils can also be made.
There is also funeral business, such as inscriptions in front of luxurious tombs, tomb stone animals, etc. There is nothing that the Zhen Guan Office does not do.
The Yamen is located in the southeast of Luoyang, so it has the words "Nan Zhen Guan Wa".
After walking around, I found that it was too noisy outside, with the sound of sawing wood and the sound of carriages and horses everywhere, so I returned to the courtyard and happened to meet another resident.
After greeting the two, they found out that they were both officials, one was a big farmer from Nanyang Kingdom (Wei Fu), and the other was a retainer of the former Princess Xiangcheng and now the Heyang Order (Cheng Yuantan), so they sat down to chat.
When they sat down, both of them subconsciously tightened the letters in their sleeves for fear of being seen.
What Wei Fu holds in his hand is a letter written by Princess Liu of Nanyang to Shao Xun.
What Cheng Yuantan was holding was a letter written by Xiangcheng Princess Simimao Yao to Shao Xun.
Wei and Cheng are both sophisticated people, so naturally they won't let each other discover this little secret.
"I heard that the Huns' cavalry marched southward in large numbers to herd horses in Hanoi, but I don't know what happened." Cheng Yuantan first raised the topic.
"I don't know as much as Duke Cheng." Wei Fu smiled bitterly and said, "I only heard on the road that the ships kept transporting grain, grass and military supplies to the north bank day and night, and brought back many sergeants on the way back."
"Mr. Chen actually thinks there are too many soldiers on the north bank?" Cheng Yuantan asked in surprise: "Then why do you still recruit various tribes?"
"Oh? The song brought by Mr. Cheng..." Wei Fu asked.
"Of course." Cheng Yuantan nodded and said: "There are forty-seven cavalry in total. They are the princess's soldiers. They are all paid to Chen Gong to strengthen his military strength."
"Are there any other songs?"
"I don't know much about the other things. I only know that the concubine Jing of Wang Guojiu sent his brother Jing Cheng to lead thirty cavalry to surrender to the army." Cheng Yuantan said: "Well, Yin Xi of the Yin clan in Changping led his own tribe of hundreds of cavalry to surrender to the army.
.I just heard it, so it may not be accurate or there may be errors.”
Wei Fu thought to himself, that's fine with others, but the Changping Yin family couldn't do anything fake.
This is a local noble clan in Yingchuan. There are women in the clan who are concubines in Chen Gong's mansion. It is not surprising at all to join the army.
After the evening ceremony at the beginning of the year, the Yingchuan nobles no longer looked forward and backward, and began to spend money.
"The hometown of Huaiying's sudden cavalry is really extraordinary." Wei Fu said with emotion: "Today we saw dozens of cavalry heading north on the road. I asked if it was after the Runan sudden cavalry that the donkeys and mules went north to join the army."
Descendants of Huaiying Tuqi are mainly distributed in Yingchuan, Runan and Nanyang areas.
Especially in Runan, there are many famous mountains and rivers, rich in donkeys and mules, and there are many people with some basic knowledge of riding and fighting - even if they really forget their ancestors' skills, they have more or less practiced horse riding, which also shortens the training time.
"Chen Gong won the battle of Zhemati, and the losses of the cavalry should not be small." Cheng Yuantan added: "Conquering the private knights of aristocratic families is also a helpless move. Yingchuan and Runan were raided in this way, and the horses were galloping in the countryside.
There are far fewer young men hunting."
Wei Fu nodded slightly.
In fact, one of his tasks on this trip north was to meet Duke Chen and obey his orders. As for what the tasks were, it was generally clear. The first was to buy horses, and the second was to recruit troops.
Chang'an has been recovered, and you can reach Lantian via Wuguan.
In the name of the Nanyang Palace, the identity of Jingzhao Wei, and the protection of more than a thousand soldiers, after some negotiations, he should not be detained. After all, Duke Chen was a loyal minister of the Jin Dynasty, and the governor of Guanzhong, the governors did not.
It is necessary to embarrass him.
In addition to buying horses and recruiting troops, there are also other tasks, such as contacting Nanyang Wangbao in Qinzhou.
This can be done together with buying horses and recruiting soldiers, which is very convenient.
Of course, this kind of thing cannot be without danger at all.
Guanzhong was newly restored and it was in a mess. Do the governors and governors have strong control over the local area? Not at all.
Many of the Qiang and Di barbarians they summoned went around robbing and killing people. The people in Guanzhong were also annoyed by them and even fought with them, thinking that they were no better than the Huns.
The refugees talked a lot about these things, and Wei Fu had already heard about them.
Can a thousand soldiers effectively protect them? Especially when they are carrying valuables.
It's really hard to tell.
However, Wei Fu was willing to take this trip for no other reason than he saw Duke Chen's ambition.
After a great victory, he did not feel arrogant or arrogant, but prepared for a rainy day and recruited troops. This is the way to do great things.
Moreover, he vaguely felt that Mr. Chen had been staring at Guanzhong and thinking hard about how to intervene in Guanzhong. This made him admire him even more, and he became very motivated and wanted to do something in order to achieve success.
The two then chatted about poetry and music for a while, and then went back to their respective houses to rest.
The next day, Wei Fu left early in the morning.
He took more than ten followers with him, boarded a ship transporting supplies, and headed north.
The river was so foggy that nothing could be seen.
The old boatman also cheered up and carefully steered the boat towards the north shore.
The Heyang South Bridge that once spanned the north and south has been burned down, and craftsmen and servants are trying to rebuild it.
Wei Fu stared for a long time with his eyes wide open, only to see a ship returning from the north shore. There were more than 20 sergeants on board. There was no armor and not all the equipment.
Obviously, this is Duke Chen's field army. Most of them are from Yuzhou, so they are probably going to be let go home.
In a state of extreme boredom, he looked at the cargo in the cabin and found it turned out to be salted anchovies, mallows and turnips.
"This turnip is pretty good." Wei Fu picked up a juicy turnip and said with a smile, "Is there anyone in Luoyang who grows this vegetable?"
"What the officials don't know is that this vegetable is grown by Chuanshe." The boatman replied: "There are thirty acres of vegetable fields in Chuanshe, where mallows and turnips are planted. They are all from Xiangcheng, and they brought the seeds.
I don’t know much about this.”
Chuanshe is the inn.
Post stations usually have fields to grow grain, pasture, fruits and vegetables to support the expenses of the post station. It is not surprising that a large inn station has hundreds of acres of farmland.
"All Jianbu from Chuanshe are from Xiangcheng?" Wei Fu was a little surprised.
"Officials stayed at Chuanshe last night, don't you know?" The boatman said in surprise: "There are more than ten jianbu in Chuanshe in Nancheng, all of them are soldiers working in the fields. Most of the people in charge are veterans of the Silver Spear Army. They have been injured and can't do anything.
If there is a war, just work in Chuanshe."
"Receiving salary from Chuanshe?" Wei Fu asked.
To be honest, for more than ten years, there have been endless wars, and the inheritance houses in various places have long been finished.
There are generally two ways to transmit official letters and news between the country and the DPRK.
The first is to have a dedicated person deliver the letter, and the person will not be changed until the letter is delivered.
One is the round-robin delivery method, that is, the "jianbu" of delivering letters only goes back and forth between two fixed delivery houses, and the speed is relatively slow.
Nowadays, letters are basically delivered by dedicated people, and they also need to be equipped with guards and extra horses. They may not necessarily have a place to stay at night, so the risk is still relatively high.
"No salary." The boatman said: "Mr. Chen gave Nancheng Chuanshe hundreds of acres of land, with fields, pastures, orchards, and vegetable beds. There are rules for what the messengers who come and go on official business will eat and drink.
.For the excess, you have to pay for it yourself. You also have to pay for food and accommodation when traveling on business trips.”
"I'm afraid there aren't many business trips now." Wei Fu said with a smile.
"The officials are right," the boatman said, "I heard that Mr. Chen gives some rewards from time to time. At the beginning of the month, when I rested at the passing house, I saw ten pieces of silk brought by officials. If it were a peaceful year, this passing house would not be worth it.
If you can pass it on to your descendants, you will be willing to die, it will ensure that your family will be rich."
"Yes, what would the three cities of Heyang be like in the peaceful years..." Wei Fu sighed.
After sighing, he smiled and said to himself: "Mr. Chen really has nothing to say to the old man who follows him to fight. Let him have no worries and just fight to the death."
The oars rowed across the river, making a "swishing" sound. After a while, Zhongli City loomed out of the mist.
On the riverside, some people were picking vegetables, some were cutting grass, and some were slaughtering pigs and sheep. They were busy but in a relaxed mood.
It seems that they are not too worried about the battle situation on the north bank.
Some ships stop here to unload cargo and take people on board.
Their ship continued northward until the mist dispersed, and then they arrived at Hepu Pier.
The sun gradually rises, shining brightly on the north shore.
Wei Fu climbed onto the causeway and looked down to the north, and was immediately shocked by the grand scene.
Chapter completed!