Su He came to Baoji County again. The county seat had become very empty a few days ago.
As the army moved in, the county town regained some of its popularity.
Su He saw Wu Langbian, the magistrate of Baoji County, taking the last group of residents and preparing to leave.
He sent someone to call Wu Langbian over.
"Wu Lang defended Wuzhi County. Now, have all the people in Baoji County been arranged to the rear of Dashanguan?"
"Commander Su, I have changed my name now. My name is Wu Cheng now."
Wu Cheng spoke first and emphasized.
The Hanzhong family is in other places, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty who surrendered to the thieves have now changed their names.
At this time, the portrait was not accurate at all. Once the name was changed, the Ming Dynasty did not know who he was.
Their family members who were under the rule of the Ming Dynasty would not be punished by the Ming Dynasty court because of their surrender.
Wu Cheng has sent his trusted aides to his hometown to pick up his parents, wife and children.
"Commander Su, the people south of the Weihe River have been deeply influenced by us.
They have accepted our share of the land.
Township offices, inspection offices and other institutions have been established in each township.
They also elected a village chief and completely eliminated the gentry in the village.
The county mobilized them to take refuge in Dashan Pass and deep in the Qinling Mountains.
These people responded positively, packed up their belongings at home, and followed the mayor to various places.
There are no problems in people's lives, and the county already has some food reserves.
Hanzhong Mansion also brought a lot of grain, sauerkraut and pickles.
Most of the men among the common people are young and strong and accept employment.
Transport supplies, work in Dasanguan factory, and go to Qinling Mountains for logging and mining.
They mainly focus on these three jobs, and it is not a problem to support their family.
In the villages north of the Weihe River, we do not have enough influence.
Although the gentry in the village were eliminated, the officers and soldiers of Fengxiang Prefecture harassed them from time to time.
There is no well-established grassroots organization there.
They have a strong sense of country, they don’t trust us very much, and they don’t follow our arrangements.”
Su He heard Wu Cheng introduce the situation in the county, and he had no good way to deal with the people who didn't trust them.
Wu Cheng's ability to do things is quite reliable.
Su He asked Wu Cheng to try his best to take care of the people in need.
Some people can be diverted to settle in Hanzhong Mansion.
There are Lueyang County and Xixiang County in Hanzhong Prefecture, where there are many mountainous areas but little cultivated land, and the population has always been very small.
We are about to obtain sweet potatoes, a crop that can be grown in mountainous areas.
These two counties can also support more people.
…
Su He inspected the Weihe defense line with Li Fengming and Su Xiong.
The first time you walk here, you can see the huge fort made of reinforced concrete.
The Weihe defense line is composed of five main forts, if the first one is also a concrete bunker.
As soon as cement was developed, Suhe transported part of the cement for the construction of the Weihe River defense line and the cement road in Baoji County.
At that time, the cold wave in Baoji County had passed, the temperature was still above freezing, and the concrete could solidify normally.
As soon as the main structure of the Weihe Defense Line was completed, the temperature dropped sharply and concrete buildings could no longer be built.
The Weihe defense line is 800 meters long, and every 200 meters there is a main battery with heavy artillery.
Every fifty meters, there are turrets equipped with 110 medium-sized artillery pieces.
Concrete bunkers were also built between the small forts, where soldiers were stationed to defend the forts.
Most of the guns used in the main battery and fort are 110 medium-sized artillery pieces transported from Hanzhong Prefecture.
The main battery is equipped with ten 150-meter heavy guns, which are bronze heavy guns produced by Dashanguan.
Su Hu, commander of the Weihe Defense Line, and Niu Siyuan, commander of the Weihe Fort.
The two of them followed behind and kept introducing the situation of the Weihe defense line.
The Weihe defense line is mainly defended by artillery and musketeers.
It is very close to Baoji County, so logistics and transportation are no problem at all.
Artillerymen operate cannons in the fort, mainly using iron balls and shotgun shells to attack the enemy from a distance.
The musketeers were hiding in the bunker next to the fort.
The firing range of the flintlock gun covers the entire Weihe River.
The soldiers hid in the bunker and were not afraid of Ming Dynasty's firearms and crossbows.
Su He walked into the fort, which was one of the five main forts on the Weihe defense line.
An artillery platoon is stationed here.
There are two bronze heavy cannons and ten 110 medium-sized artillery pieces in the fort.
Inside the fort, only the muzzle with the barrel extending out and the observation port were sealed, and the rest was sealed.
Niu Siyuan introduced: "Commander Su, our cannon has a fixed direction and can only adjust its angle slightly up and down. It mainly attacks the enemy on the other side of the Wei River.
Bronze heavy artillery mainly uses iron ball shells to attack distant enemies.
The 110 medium-sized artillery mainly uses shotgun shells to attack large-scale enemies along the river."
Su Hu said confidently: "Commander Su, our Weihe River defense line is absolutely unbreakable by the Ming army."
After Su He inspected the Weihe defense line, he held a military meeting.
The strategy he set was to focus on positional warfare in the early stage.
They did not have as many troops as the Ming Dynasty's official army, and the population of Hanzhong Prefecture was also insufficient.
More than 30,000 troops are already the limit of Hanzhong Prefecture's army.
If the young ones are removed, normal agricultural production will be delayed.
Then everyone will be hungry.
There are not as many troops as there are officers and soldiers, and we simply can't afford it at all costs.
Su He asked Su Hu to pass through the Weihe defense line as much as possible and consume a large number of Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers.
When Su Hu heard this request, he frowned and said: "Commander Su, I can hold the Wei River defense line.
But the officers and soldiers can completely bypass other parts of the Weihe defense line."
Su Xiong thought for a moment and said: "The Ming Dynasty's official army has more troops than us, they can definitely send some of their troops.
Surround this place and send elite troops to cross the Wei River from other places."
Su He said calmly: "I heard that Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty issued an order to capture me alive and take me to Lingchi in the capital.
To avenge his uncle Rui Wang Zhu Changhao.
I personally went to the Weihe defense line to garrison and spread the news.
This will definitely be the place where the Ming army will focus its attack."
Su Xiong and Li Fengming both tried to persuade Su He not to be impulsive.
Su He smiled and said: "I believe in your strength.
You also have to believe in the sturdiness of concrete buildings.
This is the best way. Our current advantage is that we have sharp guns.
Try your best to eliminate the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty through positional warfare."
Suhe was resolute and acted as a bait to attract the enemy on the Weihe defense line.
Li Fengming checked the terrain map and tried his best to ensure the safety of the Weihe River defense line.
"The defense line around the Wei River is covered with mines. The mines newly produced by the arsenal are very easy to deploy.
Even most of the officers and soldiers were not attracted by the Weihe River defense line.
When officers and soldiers pass through minefields, they must suffer heavy casualties.
Morale will be very low and a decisive battle will take place.
If we can't defeat them, we can still retreat to Dashan Pass.
As long as Brigadier Su Hu holds the Weihe defense line, the army cannot send all its troops to attack us to prevent our logistics from being cut off."
When Su He heard about landmines, he remembered that his first victory over officers and soldiers was through landmines.
Immediately arrange soldiers to lay a large number of mines on both sides of the Wei River.
Thousands of soldiers laid landmines, and it took only three days to lay more than 10,000 landmines on both sides of the Wei River.
This quantity represents all the landmines produced by the arsenal during this period.
Su He took Su Hu and Niu Siyuan to inspect the mine array.
Su Hu pointed to the mine array in the distance and said confidently: "These pressure mines produced by the arsenal are very powerful.
The biggest advantage is that the fuse inside will detonate the mine as long as you step on it.
There is no need to arrange soldiers and matchsticks to light mines.
Mine formations were set up all around, and we still guarded the fort.
No matter where they crossed the river, they suffered great losses."
…
The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have been assembled, and the army is marching slowly.
The thick atmosphere before the war has permeated the entire Weihe defense line.
Su He saw that the soldiers' faces were a little nervous.
He immediately held a mobilization meeting for grassroots officers.
"As long as you fight this battle well, no one can take away your credit.
You see, other troops captured Hanzhong and made a lot of contributions.
Some of them were promoted and took their families to Hanzhong City to enjoy the blessings. Do you envy them?
Don't be timid, as long as you fight this battle well, the rewards you deserve will not be less.
You must go back and do a good job of ideological work for the soldiers, and let them know that as long as they work hard to kill the enemy, they can gain everything.
If you run away in the middle of battle, you will not only be punished, but your family will also be affected."
Su He also ordered the veterans who had received medals to personally explain to the new recruits the benefits of victory.
Let their desire to achieve success and achieve a better life outweigh the fear in their hearts.
