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As the saying goes, 'before the soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first!'
Wang Pu's words are exactly Liu Ruyi's biggest worry about this trip to Liaodong!
Because, outside the customs and inside the customs are definitely two different worlds!
Inside the Pass, even though the Ming Dynasty was already weak, it still had three hundred years of national destiny to hold on to. But outside the Pass, the Ming Dynasty only had a few lonely fortresses such as Jinzhou, Songshan, Ningyuan, and Qiantun!
The fortress is water, and the officers and soldiers are fish!
In several strong fortresses, the Ming army could barely compete with the Qing army, but once the fish loses water, the consequences...
At this time, it was the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, and it was also the most miserable year in the history of the Ming Dynasty!
There is a continuous severe drought in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan, and the crops are harvested. Li Chuang and others are ready to make trouble. The Central Plains granary of the past has been completely scrapped!
Huguang, another grain-producing area, has lost eight out of ten due to the hard work of Xian Thief last year. It can barely hold its own without causing more trouble, which is pretty good!
The only thing left is Jiangnan!
However, due to the emergence of capitalism and the development of the small commodity economy, many large grain-producing households in the south of the Yangtze River began to plant cash crops such as tea and silk for higher returns, and growing food has become a
Outdated and ignorant!
In this way, although the Ming Dynasty has thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, under the natural and man-made disasters, if you want to prepare food for the more than 100,000 troops in Liaodong, you can only grit your teeth, strangle your neck, and save it through the gaps between your teeth!
As for Liu Ruyi's Caishi Army, due to the intensity and level of training, their pay is several times higher than that of other officers and soldiers, and their demand for food and grass is much stricter!
Although Liu Ruyi has a large amount of grain and grass supplies in Caishi Town and Jining City, Liaodong and Shandong are thousands of miles apart. This is not the future, and it can be reached in half a day by high-speed rail!
If we want to transfer grain from Shandong, not to mention the huge project, I am afraid it will also arouse the suspicion of the court!
Therefore, at the moment, Liu Ruyi really doesn't have any good ideas on how to solve the problem of food and supplies for the army!
The only thing that can be done is to wait for news from the court!
However, even if things have reached this point, Liu Ruyi must not show any timidity even if it is obvious!
Because, unknowingly, he has become the backbone of many people in the Ming army!
"It is said that if you have wine today, you will get drunk today! Brother Wang, you are thinking too much! Tomorrow's problems will be solved tomorrow! Maybe, when we get to Liaodong, Huang Taiji will hold a banquet and treat us to a big meal.
!Hahaha!" Liu Ruyi patted Wang Pu's shoulder hard and laughed.
Seeing Liu Ruyi's confident look, Wang Pu felt relieved at the moment, "Hey, brother Liu, I just don't know if Huang Taiji's food is delicious! When the time comes, brother Liu must not forget that his elder brother is the one!"
Liu Ruyi smiled slightly and said nothing, but her eyes became more and more fierce!
~~~~~~~~
After resting in this valley for a night, Liu Ruyi led his army straight to Shanhaiguan without stopping the next day!
Because Governor Hong Chengchou had already sent an urgent message, ordering the reinforcements to rush to Songshan to join the main force of the Ming army outside the pass!
At this point, Hong Chengchou could no longer sit still. The situation on the Songshan and Jinzhou front lines was already in danger and was about to break out!
If you are not careful, you will face disastrous consequences!
Liu Ruyi can also understand Hong Chengchou's mood at this time. Huang Taiji's troops are overwhelming, but Hong Chengchou's strength at this time is simply unable to compete with him!
Even if he knew that Huang Taiji had now opened his mouth to lure the imperial reinforcements into the pot, Hong Chengchou had no choice!
After all, if there was a real fight with real swords and guns, the Ming army might still have a chance to win!
But if the consumption continues like this, the morale of the army may really be shattered!
~~~~~~~
After a long and dusty journey involving both carriages and horses, Liu Ruyi's army finally arrived at the eastern end of the Great Wall, Shanhaiguan, which is known as the 'No. 1 Pass in the World'!
At this time, Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Ma Ke, who had a relationship with Liu Ruyi, had already led the main force to Songshan. There was less than one guerrilla force guarding the pass of Shanhaiguan!
But what makes Liu Ruyi most gratified is that the 700 students from Antonwei Artillery School have arrived at Shanhaiguan one day early because they have not gone to the capital!
Looking at the thirty black cannons in red with a cold light, Liu Ruyi felt a lot more at ease in her heart!
However, because these red cannons are so large and heavy, each cannon requires at least ten civilians, plus the strength of five or six mules and horses, to move it. It is really cumbersome!
But for the fierce and fierce battle in the future, Liu Ruyi could only grit his teeth and persevere!
~~~~~~
After leaving Shanhaiguan, the scenery suddenly changed!
The desolate area inside the pass gradually gained a hint of green!
Because it is close to the seaside, there are many fishing boats in this area, and the fishermen are busy. At first glance, it is even more prosperous than in the pass!
This also made Caishijun, the soldiers from the interior, speechless!
People say that Liaodong is a place of bitter cold, but when I really got here, I discovered that it is not as miserable as people said!
Liu Ruyi also sighed slightly in her heart. The land of Liaodong is fertile and wild for thousands of miles. In later generations, it will be the most famous old industrial base in China!
Minerals, forestry, fisheries and other resources are abundant!
Now, it is a pity to be occupied by wild boar skin!
However, seeing the scenery along the way gave Liu Ruyi some confidence in her need for food and grass!
The sea is the richest treasure house in the world!
The land of Songshan is not far from the sea. As long as he grasps this and these thirty red cannons, even if the main force of the Ming army is defeated first in history, Liu Ruyi is sure that he can defend Songshan City.
Come down!
Hong Chengchou had already learned about Liu Ruyi's departure from seclusion, and specially ordered Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen, who were familiar with Liu Ruyi, to come to Tashan to greet him. This allowed Liu Ruyi to gain a lot of points against Hong Chengchou, who had never met him.
!
It seems that the reason why Hong Chengchou was able to stabilize the situation in Liaodong was not in vain! In terms of human relationships alone, he was much better than Yuan Chonghuan back then!
"Haha! Brother Liu! I miss you so much!" Cao Bianjiao was still so heroic and gave Liu Ruyi a bear hug!
Although Wang Tingchen was a little restrained, he couldn't hide the smile on his face. He shook Liu Ruyi's hand vigorously. Although he didn't say anything, everything was in silence!
"Two old brothers, it is said that meeting old friends in a foreign land, today, it is really a joy in life to see two old brothers again! I won't say anything else. Today, we must not get drunk and never return!"
"Haha! That's of course! Brother Liu, in the past, in your Caishi Town, you served your brothers, but this is the territory of me and Brother Wang. We have to decide what to say!" Cao Bianjiao laughed.
He took Liu Ruyi's hand, winked at Wang Tingchen, and walked straight to Tashan City without a care in the world!
~~~~~~
Tashan Fortress is located in the middle of the Ningjin Defense Line, with Daxing Fort to the north and Xinglin Mountain to the east. This place is actually in the eye of the storm!
Since it is a military fortress, there are no entertainment facilities in Tashan City. In a small restaurant, Liu Ruyi, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and Wang Pu were drinking happily!
Although this tavern is small, the dishes are quite good, including wild pheasant, wild roe deer, salted fish that is a specialty of the Bohai Sea, and even a wild boar, full of rich Liaodong style!
Although Wang Pu was not on good terms with Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao before, because of Liu Ruyi, he frequently toasted to them, showing his good intentions clearly!
In response, Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao refused to accept anyone who came, and the banquet suddenly became lively!
After several jars of good wine, several people were feeling a bit tipsy!
Liu Ruyi then asked tentatively: "Brother Cao, Brother Wang, we are new here and are not familiar with the situation yet. How about it? Is there anything Huang Taiji is doing in front of us?"
Seeing Liu Ruyi talking about business, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen's faces suddenly became serious. Wang Pu also sat upright and pricked up his ears!
Cao Bianjiao glanced at Wang Tingchen and sighed slightly, "Brother Wang, it's up to you to speak!"
Wang Tingchen couldn't help but laugh slightly. He picked up the wine bowl and took a big sip, and then said: "Brother Liu, brother Wang Pu, the current situation is not too good! Huang Taiji's military strength in Jinzhou has exceeded
We have 60,000 people, but we can't attack them. It's very worrying!"
Liu Ruyi nodded, unknown risks are the most frightening!
If Huang Taiji attacked Jinzhou City forcefully several times, the Liaodong generals would not be so guilty, but he would just encircle and not attack. This obviously had a deeper intention!
"Brother Wang, what does Governor Hong mean?" Liu Ruyi calmed down and asked again.
"Hong Du?" Wang Tingchen was stunned, but said with a wry smile: "Hong Du is also speechless now! Brother Liu, you must also know what's going on here! Jinzhou is Zu Dashou's territory, but Wu Sangui
He is the nephew of Zu Dashou, and he has asked for battle many times in succession, but because the reinforcements have not arrived, Governor Hong does not dare to take the risk, and has never agreed!"
Liu Ruyi couldn't help but frown slightly, 'Is this probably the biggest reason for Hong Chengchou's anxiety?'
At present, Hong Chengchou's subordinates, that is, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and Wu Sangui, have some fighting strength, but the rest are mostly docile characters. If they fight with the wind and take advantage, they may show great power, but if it is like this now
, but they are the most restless existences in the army!
The most important thing is that at this time, the main force of the Ming army outside Guan was nearly 80,000 people, and Wu Sangui's Guan Ning cavalry accounted for more than 40,000 and nearly 50,000 people. It was impossible for Hong Chengchou not to give priority to his feelings!
The Wu family and the Zu family have been operating in Liaodong for many years. Their family wealth, their slaves, and their power are intertwined here. It can be said that the Wu and Zu families cannot allow Jinzhou to lose anything, because this is related to
Their vital interests!
However, Wu Sangui was so impatient that he might play into Huang Taiji's hands!