Time gradually passed for another month, and in late February, a fleet of hundreds of large ships arrived in Xiangyang and began unloading cargo at the newly built wharf on the island in the river outside Xiangyang City.
The transported materials were all grains and copper coins. These grains and copper coins were first transported from Sichuan Road, transported to Jiangling transit warehouse, and then transported to Xiangyang by 10,000-stone ships.
Then they were transported to Ruzhou by camels and carts, and then transported to Kaifeng Prefecture through the Ru River. This was the first step in preparing for war, and a large amount of logistics materials were transported from Bashu to Bianliang.
On the official road north of Nanyang County in Dengzhou, it had just rained and the ground was covered with mud. A vast transportation team was heading north. Carts loaded with grain and fodder, especially the forage carts, were as high as hills.
Usually, it is tied up with ropes, with a young man lying on it.
The carts that followed one after another were mainly pulled by oxen, and moved very slowly. The end of the line could not be seen at a glance, and it was more than 20 miles long.
Next to the cart team are 20,000 camels, which are also carrying food and other supplies. They walk with their heads held high and their steps steady. At the end of the official road are 10,000 cavalry. They are responsible for security and escorting logistics supplies to two hundred miles away.
Ye County.
This transportation army did not come from Xiangyang, but started from Nanyang County. It benefited from a large river, the Baishui River, which originated from Xiong'er Mountain, ran through the entire territory of Dengzhou, and poured into the Han River.
From Xiangyang, grain, grass, materials and copper coins were first transported to Nanyang, four hundred miles away, by thousands of stone flat-bottomed cargo ships. Then they took the land route from Nanyang to Ye County and then turned to Fengshui River, a tributary of Ru River. The land route was actually only about two hundred miles across.
Bear Ears Mountains.
It greatly eased the difficulty of marching by land. It was only two hundred miles or three days away, and the rest was by water. It played a huge role in improving transportation efficiency.
In addition to the Yangtze River water system, there is also the Yellow River water system. It starts from Guanzhong and passes through the Yellow River to Bianliang. However, the Yellow River does not thaw until mid-February, so the supplies sent out from Guanzhong are almost all copper coins and military supplies.
It is already late February, which means it is late March or early April according to the solar calendar. Except for some reaches of the upper reaches, the Yellow River in the middle and lower reaches has thawed, and the Weishui River, a tributary of the Yellow River, has also thawed.
.
Hundreds of three-thousand-stone cargo ships were moored beside the Wei River outside Jingzhao City in Guanzhong. Countless civilians were loading mountains of supplies onto the ships. Heavy and bulging hemp bags were filled with silver coins. One silver coin was worth five dollars.
Hundreds of coins and a large amount of silver were minted into silver coins and given to soldiers and officials as salaries, and then flowed into the market.
At first, this kind of silver coins were collected, but after a few years, fewer and fewer people collected them, and more and more coins were circulated in the market. People everywhere also accepted the coins, and even in Lin'an market, Beijing
Silver coins minted by trillions are always a hot commodity.
However, the main body is still copper coins, and silver coins are just a currency supplement for easy portability.
In addition to money, there are also a large number of weapons, armor, crossbows, arrows, parts of large siege weapons, tents, kerosene and other materials. In addition, there is a ship specially designed to transport iron fire mines.
Chen Qing, Zhou Kuan, Lu Qingshan, and Guan Shigu inspected the Weishui pier. Zhou Kuan said to Chen Qing: "The military expenditure for this Eastern Expedition is estimated to be around 1.5 million, including salary and various consumable materials. It will take two days."
However, I found that each war would cost significantly more than the previous estimate, so I have relaxed the bottom line to three million dollars. If it exceeds three million dollars, I am afraid we will not be able to support it."
[Recommended, Yeguo Reading is really easy to use, download it here www. Come and give it a try.]
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "The war is about national strength. If we can't support it, can the other side support it?"
Next to him, Lu Qingshan asked: "Your Highness, I have always been confused. Wanyan Wushu also has an army of 200,000 people. How can just one Shandong Road support an army of 200,000 people?"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "The key is that the salary of the 100,000 Jurchen soldiers was not paid by Wanyan Wushu, but was borne by the Jin Dynasty court. They used the sheep plundered from the grassland to pay the families of the Jurchen soldiers. How many sheep a month?
In terms of sheep income, they can actually only afford the military salary of 100,000 yuan, and the military salary of the military is very low, only about a month, and then the family can get tax exemptions and food subsidies. Compared with ordinary people,
very nice."
"To put it this way, Shandong Road can indeed support an army of 200,000 people, but the people will be very miserable."
"Of course it's very difficult. They are close to the sea, and every kilogram of salt costs four to five hundred cents. Before, Wanyan Wushu pretended to be considerate of the people, but now he doesn't care at all, and does everything possible to squeeze and exploit him. Otherwise, what will happen to his two hundred thousand troops?
feed?"
At this time, they came to a large tent guarded by soldiers. This was a warehouse specifically for placing iron fire mines. When everyone walked into the tent, they saw a large box inside. The iron fire mines were carried by soldiers.
The ship is escorted by a special army and transported by a special ship. Each box is numbered and managed very strictly.
"Are there two hundred iron fire thunders in here?" Guan Sigu asked, patting a big box.
Chen Qing nodded, "Two hundred and fifty in total, one hundred and fifty for the iron hedgehog, fifty each for the iron dog and the iron bull."
The iron fire thunder has been designated as a special firearm, and its scope of use is strictly limited to sieges and water battles. It must be approved by Chen Qing before it can be used in a certain war. The specific use is decided by the commander.
The main purpose is to prevent the physical iron fire thunder from being obtained by the Jurchens. Chen Qing is also worried that the imperial court will obtain it. Once it is learned by the Jurchens, the Jin Kingdom will have a chance to continue its life. For the same reason, once it is widely used by the imperial court, even Zhang Jun
The army can also attack cities and plunder strongholds, and is invincible, and the way of war has changed.
After walking out of the tent, Chen Qing looked at the sky and said with a smile, "It's getting late, we should go back."
Everyone got on several carriages, escorted by cavalry, and drove towards Jingzhao City.
Two days later, all the supplies were loaded, and a fleet of more than 500 large ships headed east loaded with supplies...
War preparations include not only food and grass supplies, but also troop mobilization. Troops are also rushing to the Central Plains day and night.
There are many prosperous commercial districts in Jingzhao, such as the Four Great Wazis, but the most high-end commercial district is generally recognized as Dongda Street. The Zhuangyuan Bridge with the highest land value is located in the middle of Dongdajie.
There is a Renhetang leather goods shop in the western section of Dongda Street, which specializes in selling all kinds of high-end furs. It is quite famous in Jingzhao City. Even a fox fur cloak for the princess and a bear skin for Chen Qingnei's study were purchased from this store.
shop.
The owner of this shop is unknown, but the shopkeeper's surname is Liang, and his ancestral home is Laizhou, Shandong Road, but he has been living in Jingzhao.
In fact, the background of this leather goods shop is very unusual. It is the second intelligence point set up by Wanyan Wushu in Jingzhao. The first intelligence point was seized by the internal guards three years ago. Last summer, Wanyan Wushu
A second intelligence point was established in Jingzhao.
This time they learned their lesson and no longer probed for confidential information, but instead collected some important and easy-to-obtain information.
For example, during this period of time when the Western Army was preparing for war, the people in Jingzhao basically knew about it, but the Jin soldiers who were thousands of miles away did not know about it. This was due to the serious delay in news caused by the distance. Under normal circumstances, the Jin soldiers would have already received the news.
It was a few months later.
Therefore, setting up an intelligence point is to ensure that Wanyan Wushu can get important information in time. Since they do not involve secrets and do not break the law, it is basically impossible for internal guards to find them unless they are exposed internally.
At dusk, a clerk hurried back to the leather goods shop on a donkey. He walked into the inner room and said to shopkeeper Liang: "I saw the situation on the dock with my own eyes. There were about four to five hundred ships, and all kinds of military supplies were piled up. Yong
The king and several counselors were also inspecting there, and they were indeed preparing for war."
Shopkeeper Liang nodded, "The news we got from Tongguan is that at least 100,000 troops have passed through Tongguan. It seems that the Western Army is preparing for war and preparing to attack Shandong Road."
He immediately wrote a report and sent people to Lintong County. Their pigeon message station was located in Lintong County, and then transferred in Shangdang County, Hedong.