"...Pan Guerrilla was stationed in Tongcheng, taking the camera to assist Qianshan; in my place of Anqing, Tongcheng is the head, Qiantai is the waist, and Susong is the tail.
Susong is the boundary between Wu and Chu. It is the place where thieves coming from Huangmei and Guangji must pass. Without Susong, there would be no Anqing, and without Anqing, there would be no Nanjing. You must pay close attention to Susong. Fortunately, I know how to prevent thieves.
I have already made plans."
In the Taihu County government office, Shi Kefa was talking with confidence. In addition to Pang Yu and Xu Ziqiang, there were also several magistrates from nearby counties, and even Yang Erming came to Taihu.
Starting from the end of September, sporadic bandits began to appear around Anqing, mainly in the direction of Tongcheng. However, reports from the Prime Minister's Office showed that large groups of bandits lurking in the mountainous areas on the border of Henan and Shanxi have come out, and they are heading towards the mountains as in previous years.
There are separate roads from Huguang and Henan, and arriving in Anqing is a matter of morning or evening.
After the experience of the previous two years, no one dares to take it lightly now, but the concerns among the people are even worse. At the end of August, families with some wealth in the countryside of Anqing began to prepare. If the conditions were good, they would go to Fucheng or cross the river to Chizhou. If the conditions were poor,
Those who could not walk far took refuge in the walled county towns.
After October, there were more and more rumors about rogue bandits in various places, and ordinary people left their homes in fear to avoid trouble.
The three counties of Qianshan, Taihu, and Susong had no cities to defend and suffered tragic disasters. The people felt it most deeply, so the refugees were the most serious.
Shi Kefa summoned military officers and several county magistrates for a meeting in Taihu Lake. One was to deploy defense, and the other was to reassure people, especially the local gentry. Only if they stayed could the rural soldiers be organized. Although these rural soldiers could not fight in battles, they were familiar with them.
The local terrain is still of great use for defensive operations.
"Since last year, with the help of the officials and people of Susong, more than ten places including Tongren Fort, Chunfeng Fort, Lianyun Fort, Tufeng Fort, Chenghe Fort, Renhe Fort and Baiya Village have been built in Susong County.
It is agreed that the first unit of the garrison camp will be stationed in front of Susongzhai, with ink smoke, carriages and horses..." Pang Yu sat on a chair. Since there was often no table in the hall, he had developed the habit of not taking notes during meetings. As for what Shi Kefa said
He was already familiar with these forts, and it would be untrue to say that they were of any use. However, Shi Kefa invested a lot of resources in the construction of the forts, which he believed was a misallocation of resources.
Not only the funds of Daotai Yamen, but also the local fiscal revenue of Anqing counties, all local reserves have been used to build various fortresses. In addition to basic military pay, it is difficult for the garrison camp to get additional support, including Pan
But this is also the case. Fortunately, Pang Yu got the city construction funds in advance, otherwise he wouldn't know where they would be used.
Among the more than ten forts mentioned by Shi Kefa, only Chunfeng, Lianyun and Baiyazhai have natural dangers, but the transportation is extremely inconvenient. If they are used for garrison, the rogues can also use a small number of troops to block the road down the mountain. For
As for the garrison camp, it can only be used as a resting place and has little role in combat.
Most of the remaining forts are located near the post roads. Although they are roughly built, they are far from comparable to cities like Tongcheng. Pang Yu has seen the Chenghe Fort next to the Chema River in Susong. The height of the city wall is only half that of Tongcheng. With Zhang Xianzhong's
A large-scale rogue bandit will be conquered within two days.
Shi Kefa required the garrison camp to be stationed in three locations, all of which were near Yi Road. Zhaiqianpu was the first stop from Huangmei to Susong, and Moyanpu was located near Erlang Town. Erlang was the intersection of the two main roads from Huguang to Susong.
The point is more important than the copper bell in Pang Yu's mind. Because the Chema River has both a river and a post road, it has been a place of war since ancient times.
"Sir, Qianshan and Tongcheng want us to garrison troops, and now Susong also wants us, and Taihu will naturally want us in the end. If our three thousand people are scattered among six counties, not only will we not be able to train together, but we will also have no way to fight against the rogue bandits.
Have a fight."
Yang Xueshi, who was behind Pang Yu, came over and whispered in Pang Yu's ear, "Master Daotai is deploying troops in this way. He is stationing troops everywhere along the post road. He wants to prevent bandits from entering Anqing, but the troops are divided into dozens of places...
Pang Yu shook his head and signaled Yang Xueshi not to talk about it for the time being. Regarding the issue of troop distribution, he and Shi Kefa had completely different policies. Shi Kefa hoped to garrison troops along the mountain post road and take into account every county. The places Shi Kefa chose were all important places.
I can tell you the reasons for garrisoning troops, but there are too many locations.
Pang Yu hoped to be more centralized. With the communication and transportation conditions at this time, being too dispersed would be very detrimental to mobilization and logistics.
"In the old county, Fengxiang Station is also a place that must be guarded, so the pines here can be as strong as gold."
When Shi Kefa said this, he stretched out his hand, and the attendant quickly brought the tea cup over. Shi Kefa took a sip to moisten his throat. His face was rosy at this time, and he was obviously a little excited about talking.
"Let's talk about Qiantai. This is the middle of Anqing's defense. There are thousands of tunnels and ditches along the mountains in the two counties. Bandits in Yinghuo Mountain often come and go. I have decided to transfer the Jinshan Camp to assist and the Changzhou Camp to defend the two counties.
It's a pity that the construction of the two counties has not been completed, and there is no defense to rely on. Therefore, Tianning Village in Qianshan is extremely important. When I passed through Qianshan, Tianning Village Wall, food, grass, and equipment were not ready yet. What is the reason for Zhu Zhixian?"
As Shi Kefa spoke, he turned to Qianshan County Magistrate. The current Qianshan County Magistrate is called Zhu Jiaxian. Pang Yu has met him several times. Every time he saw him, he looked much older. It was obvious that he had been frightened a lot in the past two years. In such a small city,
It is the responsibility of the local people to defend the territory, and they may lose their lives at any time. No wonder Zhu Zhi County is like this.
Zhu Jiaxiang knelt down and said, "I have tried my best to raise funds, but the people are hard to come and are withered. The conquest is difficult. The money and food for building the city are already difficult to find. It is difficult to raise funds for the construction of Tianning Village, so I will try my best to build the Tianning Village."
Prepare some food and grass, but the wall of the village is only made of earth. I am ashamed of myself.
If Lord Daotai sends troops to come, and the lower official is devastated, he will prepare enough money and food. If there is any shortage, the master will chop off the lower official's head."
Shi Kefa slowly walked over and helped Zhu Jiaxiang up. He looked at it carefully for a moment and then said, "How could I not know the difficulties of Zhu Zhixian County? I trust you. You can't say such things again."
Zhu Jiaxian buried his head and said, "Thank you for your understanding, but I have something to say. Building a city in a hidden mountain is difficult. Since the beginning of construction, money and food have been focused on building the city. Other rural soldiers and forts have not been able to take care of it, but money and food
No matter how difficult it is to raise funds, it is difficult if there is no support.
There are sandy plains all around the county. It is very difficult to build the city foundation. It has been widened three times. That's all. Where the city wall was built, thousands of graves were excavated in the south and thousands of houses were demolished in the north. Within a few months, there were many accusers. This month, the people
I asked for dismissal even after I signed a formal pledge, but my ability to serve was getting less and less day by day. Mr. Daotai kept supervising and urging me, and I was in a dilemma. Even if I offended Mr. Today, I still have to say this, Qianshan
If we can’t build this city, it’s better to save some money and food to build Tianning Village, which can save more people’s lives.”
Everyone in the hall moved unconsciously. Pang Yu stared curiously at the Prime Minister of the Zhu family. I didn't think that Zhu Zhixian had any courage before, but today he dared to openly resist Shi Kefa's city construction method at the meeting. If he hadn't been really courageous, he would have been so bold.
Isn't it just that the mental pressure is too great and I just risked myself without caring about anything?
Over there, Yang Zhuoran, the magistrate of Taihu County, also had a strange expression. Pang Yu understood Yang Zhuoran very well. Building a city is not building a house. With the dilapidated situation of these two counties, it is very difficult to support the construction with manpower and material resources. In addition, there is also the need to defend against possible attacks by rogue bandits at any time.
Invasion is indeed not as good as what Zhu Jiaxian said. It is more practical to repair Tianning Village.
Pang Yu visited Tianning Village twice when he was leading troops for marching exercises. It was actually a hilltop in the south of Qianshan City. It was next to the post road. There was a temple on the hill called Tianning Temple.
There are wells and houses on the mountain, which is more convenient for garrisoning troops or for people to take refuge. In addition, the mountain itself is high, and only a small amount of earthwork can be built to build a relatively solid fortification. Compared with building a city wall on a hidden mountain, the cost-efficiency ratio is not at the same level.
.
Shi Kefa froze in embarrassment for a moment, then quickly softened his expression, turned around and walked two steps before facing the crowd and said, "In September, Mr. Zhang appointed me to go to Wuhu. Why?
It is because the seven watchtowers in Wuhu have been completed that I need to instruct the newly recruited officers and soldiers in the area on how to defend them. With these seven watchtowers along the river, Wuhu is impregnable. It can be seen that it is still indispensable to build dangers based on danger.
As for the difficulty of building a city on the Qianshan Sand Base, it is indeed true. The current situation of the bandits is critical, so the city construction can be postponed for a while until next spring and summer, and Zhu Zhi County will go all out to build Tianning Village first."
Prime Minister Zhu knelt down and bowed before retreating. Pang Yu thought for a moment and was about to stand up to speak when another person stood up next to him. Pang Yu looked up and saw that it was an old acquaintance, Yang Zhuoran, the magistrate of Taihu County.
"Master Daotai knows that Taihu Lake is also a sand base. The pre-built city walls are 1,150 feet long, and there are five gates, gate towers, moon-shaped huts and other items. According to the height of Fanchang, it is 2 feet and 3 feet high. Three feet of stone must be laid in the soil.
In addition to the crenellations, which are three feet tall, the real city is one foot seven feet high, which seems short. If it is added three feet taller, each foot of the city costs four taels, four cents and nine cents of silver, totaling over 56,530 taels of silver.
My subordinates had generally raised enough funds to consolidate the earthen city and began laying bricks in September. However, the bandits became anxious and all the servants fled, so they had no choice but to stop work and go on strike, unless I was a lower-ranking official."
His words were a sign of performance. He was not as blunt as Zhu Jiaxian, and his progress was far ahead of Qianshan.
Shi Kefa waved his hand gently and said, "I am also aware of the difficulties in Yangzhi County. All of you here are doing your best to take care of the people. There are some people who are frightened after hearing the police and are drunk all day long. I don't want to discuss it with them. This year
What the assessment should be, there is no room for cleverness."
The lobby suddenly became a little quiet. Pang Yu didn't need to observe carefully. He had already counted them when he entered the hall. Among the local officials, only Anqing Prefect Pi Yingju and Huaining Nie County Magistrate were not present.
Pi Yingju and Shi Kefa had some conflicts, mainly regarding the supply of military rations. After Lu Xiangsheng became the premier of the five provinces, he requested that military rations be distributed from the local area. Shi Kefa was directly responsible for Shucheng, Lujiang, and Lu'an Prefecture, so
Shi Kefa often bypassed Pi Yingju and directly ordered the counties to provide military rations. This year, there were more and more conflicts with Pi Yingju. During the reign of King Qin, Zhang Guowei asked for an explanation of King Qin's money and food, but Pi Yingju did not cooperate, making Shi Kefa unable to complete the task.
Both of them complained to Zhang Guowei, but Mr. Ma told Pang Yu privately that during the evaluation, Zhang Guowei gave Pi a poor review, which included the words "Hearing the police and Zhang Huang", as well as Huaining's
Magistrate Nie, this magistrate drank alcohol every day and was described as "drunk in the countryside all the time".
Shi Kefa currently had the upper hand over Pi Yingju, so he spoke out as a warning to the local officials and military leaders sitting here.
Pang Yu originally wanted to speak, but after hearing this, he gave up the idea. He was not afraid of Shi Kefa, because he had some advantages over Zhang Guowei. The master also expected him to rescue Jiangnan again when he was in danger, and would not let Shi Kefa manipulate him casually.
"Yang Zhixian or what?"
"Xiaguan has established more than ten rural soldiers in each township. They will inspect the roads in the mountains every few days. Each rural soldier has a gentry as its leader, which will be of great use when fighting against the invaders. However, there is a shortage of money and food at the moment, so we must rely on
Gentlemen’s donations may not be sustainable in the long run.”
Shi Kefa was in trouble again. Now that more and more troops were garrisoned in Anqing, local supply was already very difficult. While carrying out large-scale construction projects, the army, rural soldiers, and social soldiers here all needed to be supported. Once it was given to Yang Zhuoran, other counties would have to provide it.
Yang Zhuoran bowed and said, "Master Daotai is in trouble. I shouldn't mention it to my subordinates, but I do need money and food. Fortunately, I found out that in five or six years, Taihu Lake assisted the three counties of Tongcheng, Wangjiang and Qianshan with a total of one thousand silver."
Two, they should be retrieved today, among which Tongcheng..." Yang Erming was listening to the excitement when he suddenly heard the word Tongcheng. He cheered up in shock. While Yang Zhuoran was still talking, he quickly exchanged glances with the Zhu family.
The family minister raised his chin slightly, signaling Yang Erming to come forward first.
After Yang Zhuoran finished speaking, Yang Erming stood up and said to Shi Kefa, "Master Daotai, after I heard about Taihu's so-called assistance to Tongcheng's money last time, I ordered the treasury to find out whether it was actually used for purchasing goods in Tongcheng. Why?
"Come here to help me..."... When we came out of Taihu County, it was already dark. Pang Yu stretched outside the city gate. He didn't come up with any plans for this day's meeting, and he was tired and hungry from the meeting.
, didn’t even have lunch.
Because the troops of the two bureaus were still outside the city, Pang Yu declined the county government's invitation and returned to the army to eat military rations.
Yang Zhuoran and several other magistrates fought over trivial matters. In the afternoon, Pang Yu took advantage of Shi Kefa's exhaustion and asked a bunch of questions.
The most important thing is the logistics of the garrison. Only the sixty-mile stretch along Susongyi Road was completely destroyed in the early 8th year of Chongzhen. Especially the ruins of towns and markets caused a lack of distribution centers for commercial goods and grain, making it very difficult to supply military grain.
, the supply from Shipai is far away, so Pang Yu requested that it be supplied by Susong County Government, but the magistrate refused.
Pang Yu had a dispute with the magistrate of Susong County, and the matter of garrisoning was postponed.
At this time, I observed at the South Gate of Taihu Lake and found that the nearby Tucheng had indeed been compacted and had a small amount of bricks, but it was still far from being completed.
Taihu Lake is surrounded by rivers, and the area in the middle county is like an impact sandbank, and the sand base is certain.
"Xie Zhaofa, what do you think is the best way to station troops?"
Xie Zhaofa, who was called, hurried forward. He was the guide hired during the Chuzhou War. He was originally a businessman, mainly running on the Fengyang trade route. After the rebellion last year, business became difficult, so he finally accepted Pang Yu's employment. Now,
Served as the director of the Surveying and Mapping Office of Zan Painting Room.
"The villain has traveled from Tongcheng to Susong. Although there are many tunnels in Taihu and Qianshan Mountains, the roads are narrow and difficult to navigate. Only small groups of thieves will come. The most important thing is the post road. Master Daotai has set up defenses everywhere to prevent them.
If you catch the little thief, you can't guard against the big thief.
The subordinates thought that it would be better to place pine trees at both ends of the post road and garrison heavy troops at two places in Tongcheng. Your Excellency would personally lead the troops at Shipai to support them. After garrisoning troops at these three places, Fucheng would be safe. If a small force came to attack from three sides, the big army would be attacked.
The thieves came to help from both ends.
Tongcheng has a city and a community of soldiers, so if you add a few officers and soldiers, you will be fine.
It's just that Susong is in dilapidated condition and it's inconvenient to garrison troops. We can instead garrison troops facing the river, or..." He lowered his head and thought about it before saying, "Or we can garrison a small number of soldiers and horses from the south of the Yangtze River, and send more sentries and horses to detect and defend from far and near. The bandits will indeed come.
, and then send troops to attack from Shipai, instead of stationing a large number of troops in the ruined place.
Mr. Daotai read the military books, and the saying goes that without Susong, there would be no Anqing, and without Anqing, there would be no Nanjing. This is when fighting along the upper and lower reaches of the river. This is naturally the case when water and land advance simultaneously. But like rogue bandits, they are just passing by to plunder, without anything.
Susong would not be without Anqing, let alone Nanjing, so Susong is actually not that important."
Pang Yu was noncommittal, but did not continue to ask Yang Xueshi next to him. What Xie Zhaofa said was actually what he wanted best. He hoped to strengthen intelligence work and have the main force of the garrison stationed in Shipai on standby. It would not be like the first half of the year when all the troops in Anqing were destroyed.
Shi Kefa was in disarray and wasted money and food. In the end, no thieves were killed, but many non-combat casualties were caused.
"What if we keep it as it is now?"
"With a pile of loose sand, you are nothing more than a lone man fighting against a group of thieves."
Pang Yu couldn't help but laugh. Before he could speak, he heard someone calling "Sir" behind him.
Pang Yu turned around to look and saw that He Xianya was behind him. He was currently handling affairs in the office and was actually Pang Yu's secretary. When going out like this, news from various places would first be conveyed to He Xianya, who would then inform him. He would usually interrupt the conversation like this.
They are all urgent matters.
After walking aside, He Xianya whispered, "Liu Ruogu brought a letter, saying that Ruan Dacheng has established a connection with Zhang Yixian and wants to send three thousand taels."
Pang Yu waved his hand relaxedly, "Give him, the new Nanjing garrison will have to be a guard for a few years."
"Qian Qianyi can write a congratulatory message, but it will cost one thousand taels."
Pang Yu couldn't help laughing and said, "Donglin Wenshou is worse than a eunuch."
"Mr. Qian also said something that hints that he intends to accept adults as his disciples."
This made Pang Yu a little surprised. It had been so long since the Ming Dynasty. He wanted to become Mr. Yu's disciple before, but he still refused. Now it was Donglin Wenshou who took the initiative.
But Pang Yu didn't know that Qian Qianyi liked to recruit talented and famous people as his disciples, and sometimes even called himself a teacher without the other person's consent.
He Xianya said mysteriously, "I heard from Nanjing that Mr. Qian is also planning to make a comeback later."
"I just want to be a side talent, so that I can fight easily."
Pang Yu pondered for a moment and said, becoming Qian Qianyi's sect is a matter of mutual benefit. Zhang Guowei, his superior, is Qian Qianyi's disciple, and Shi Kefa is also from the Donglin clan, so it is beneficial to have a relationship with Qian Qianyi.
For Qian Qianyi, Pang Yu, his disciple, had outstanding military exploits and was quite famous in the court. If he could make great achievements again, his reputation would be even higher, and it would obviously be more cost-effective than Ruan Dacheng's donation every time.
Now Shi Kefa's command is a bit of a headache. If Qian Qianyi is involved, it will put a lot of constraints on Shi Kefa, which will also be beneficial to Pang Yu's actions.
This was completely a win-win situation, and he made the decision without much thought, "Qian Qianyi's reputation in Jiangnan is valuable. Fang Yizhi and the others have mentioned it countless times, and asked Liu Ruogu to serve as his disciple in his own name."
Write a greeting note, give bigger gifts, and explain to Mr. Qian that you are busy with military affairs now, and you will formally become my disciple when you arrive in Nanjing."
Pang Yu put his hands behind his back, "Ask Liu Ruogu to do it as soon as possible. Third brother, you still have to listen to me when doing business. These two transactions are good deals and you will never lose money!"