"Pang Yu, the lower official, knocked at the military gate."
"General Pang, please rise."
Zhang Guowei did not conduct interviews this time, and directly asked Pang Yu to stand up and sit as the guest of honor. This was a huge difference from the treatment Pang Yu received when he applied for an official position two years ago.
This is the branch of Jiangpu County. Zhang Guowei stayed here when he came and went here, and Pang Yu also visited several times.
After the victory in Susong, Zhang Guowei looked good. He had a rare moment with Pang Yu and asked about Pang Yu's family situation for the first time. Pang Yu had been prepared. If Zhang Guowei asked about the imperial decree forcing marriage, he would tell her well.
Unfortunately, Zhang Guowei didn't even mention it, leaving Pang Yu speechless.
After everyone else had retreated, Zhang Guowei looked at Pang Yu and said gently, "Susong was victorious and the bandits were defeated and fled Anqing. When Anqing is stable, the river will be stable and Nanjing will be protected from disturbance. The emperor issued an order to encourage him. General Pang's meritorious service
It’s a must.
I have submitted a special letter to the emperor to plead for the general's merits. The Ministry of War should agree with it. The new soldier Yang proposed the strategy of spreading the net on ten sides and supervising the two military gates and the five borders with a total of 124,000 troops.
We have money, food, fame, sex, soldiers, and pay, and the Anqing garrison is among them. General Pang's promotion should not be far away."
Pang Yu quickly stood up and said, "You have to be an official at a young age to be able to serve your country. The kindness of knowing and encountering someone will never be forgotten by a villain."
This was the first time he heard about the imperial court's policy of spreading a net on all sides. Although he didn't know the details, looking at the special pay for special troops, he knew that Yang Sichang was aware of military shortcomings.
The pattern of suppressing bandits may undergo major changes, and the power structure will also change. It needs to be understood in detail and then adjusted accordingly.
Zhang Guowei smiled and waved his hand for Pang Yu to sit down. He simply explained the ten-sided net, and then continued, "General Pang is indeed a talented general, and he deserves his promotion. Originally, I should have come to Anqing in person to encourage him.
, but the thief and the police are not far away... Pang Yu noticed that he frowned slightly, and saw Zhang Guowei pause for a moment and then said, "I recently received a report from the Caodu Yamentang that the thief had a fat man, a hundred thousand, and the star has left Huoshan.
, passing through Liu'an Prefecture in three parts and heading east, Ziweixing is also heading to Chuzhou. Zhu Junmen thinks that the bandits are coveting Yangzhou and other wealthy places, and Puliu is in the middle of the attack, so I can only station here."
Before Pang Yulin set off, he also received a report from Liu Liangzuo, knowing that a group of thieves came out of Lu'an. Currently, all the bandits from the Central Plains are in the Dabie Mountains. They encountered a head-on attack in Anqing and will inevitably look for other ways out. But now only three groups have appeared, and the others
The camps still don't know where they are.
When a group of thieves invaded Anqing, the Fengdu District across the wall did not have a single soldier to support them. Pang Yu currently had few troops left, so his first priority was to ensure the defense of Anqing. Whether Liu Liangzuo and Mou Wenshou could defend it was their business.
Pang Yu captured a lot of thieves in Susong. Judging from the gathering of old thieves for interrogation, the logistics situation of the rogue bandits this year was very difficult. After the defeat of Anqing this time, the eight thieves and other large camps lost their baggage, at least more than 100,000 people.
People can only retreat to the mountains again. At this time, the barrenness of the Yinghuo Mountains cannot provide the survival needs of a population of this size. Pang Yu estimates that half of the people will starve to death.
But rogue bandits have been running rampant for many years, and they have ways to survive in various difficult environments. Half of the people who starve to death will never be old bandits who are capable of fighting, and they will definitely come out again.
With the usual style of rogue bandits bullying the weak and fearing the strong, it is very unlikely that they will enter Anqing again after their new defeat. The rogue bandits who are in a state of lack of supplies will accept higher casualties, and their combat power may be higher than before.
Now Zhang Guowei mentioned Puliu defense, which is also his current predicament. The officers and soldiers of Fengjiapu's reinforcements were almost wiped out. The remaining nearly a thousand defeated soldiers were completely unorganized and disorganized in morale. They could not be used in battle formations immediately. They were dignified and Yingtian.
The governor is now actually a polished commander.
His words just now hinted that the Anqing garrison camp needed to be mobilized to support Pu Liu.
"The adults have a mission, but the villains have no excuses. They are just hiding in the mountains. There are still groups of thieves gathering in the mountains north of Taihu Lake. Previously, the thieves such as Geri Eyes even planted seeds in the Taihu Mountains with the intention of establishing a foothold. Therefore, the garrison camp suffered casualties in the battle.
It is quite heavy, and it is not possible to go into the mountains to clear it out. At present, there are only 2,100 troops left in the garrison camp. Due to the deployment of defenses along the mountain, it is very difficult to train new soldiers. The officers and soldiers who are assisting and suppressing are unable to use them, and the combat power is unsustainable. The villain is just worried that once
Deploy garrison battalions to provide reinforcements, I'm afraid Anqing might make a mistake."
Zhang Guowei nodded. The information he received from various channels was similar. Mr. Ma, Pi Yingju, and Shi Kefa all said that the remaining officers and soldiers in the suppression campaign were useless. The garrison camp had suffered a lot of losses. Now it was necessary to block many tunnels along the mountain.
It is indeed difficult for Pang Yu to mobilize troops now, but Zhang Guowei really has no other battalions.
Pang Yu observed Zhang Guowei's face. Now that the difficulty was over, he still needed to solve Zhang Guowei's dilemma, otherwise Zhang Guowei might have the idea of stripping Anqing away.
Once Anqing is separated, Yingtian's jurisdiction only needs to defend Puliu, and the pressure will be much less. However, Zhang Guowei will also lose Anqing's strong troops, and there will be less opportunities to make military exploits.
Zhang Guowei was weighing the gains and losses in two aspects, and Pang Yu needed to add some chips to stay in Anqing.
"As long as it can relieve the worries of the adults, the villain will not hesitate to go through fire and water. Although the garrison camp is difficult, the villain will definitely mobilize the troops of the two divisions. In this way, Liuhe and Jiangpu can be defended separately, and the two cities will be safe."
Zhang Guowei's demeanor did not change much, but Pang Yu observed that his sitting posture relaxed. The garrison battalions of the two divisions were not necessarily full. It was obviously not enough to guard the entire territory, so Pang Yu did not mention the outside of the city, but it was used to guard
The city is enough.
Pang Yu solved another problem for Shangguan, so now is the best time to make a request.
"This time, all the elite troops have been lost in the support and suppression campaign. I feel sorry for the loss, but I also consider that elite troops cannot be built overnight. If the number of troops is returned to each battalion, it will be even more difficult to organize and train. The troops along the river will not be enough for the prevention and suppression within one or two years.
Although the rogue bandits are defeated, they still have strength. If the thieves arrive suddenly, the lower officials may not be able to rescue them. There are hundreds of miles between Puliu and Anqing, and if the thieves attack in separate ways, they will inevitably worry about one and lose the other. I would like to ask your lord to come between Anqing and Puliu.
Set up a strong battalion, so that the river defense can be stabilized on weekdays, and if there are police, we can provide reinforcements from the east and west, so that you will have enough strength when planning."
As expected, Zhang Guowei did not refuse, but stood up and walked a few steps. The key point of Pang Yu's proposal was to allocate part of the troops of the officers and soldiers who supported the suppression, and put these troops at the head of a battalion. This way, it would be faster to form an army.
It's better than being temporarily transferred from Jiangnan.
The station is located between Puliu and Anqing, which can indeed play a role in flexibly deploying troops. If something happens in Susong and other places, it is not too far to deploy troops from here.
In Pang Yu's own mind, the best position in this battalion is Wuhu. It is estimated that Zhang Guowei would make the same choice, but when dealing with a superior officer like Zhang Guowei, he could not bring it up directly.
At present, Zhang Guowei's biggest difficulty is that he has no soldiers. From Pang Yu's point of view, Zhang Guowei is not good at training soldiers. His previous concept was that of a good family who practices martial arts, but in the end, the effect seems to be average.
Pang Yu tried to figure out Zhang Guowei's thoughts, and from the perspective of rapid training, he should be able to better convince the Shangguan.
After a while, Zhang Guowei said, "The increase or decrease of troops and horses is not a trivial matter, and the number of troops involves a large number of battalions. In addition to money and food, it still needs the approval of the cabinet and the Ministry of War, but the establishment of battalions between Anqing and Puliu is indeed
It is necessary. Regarding the prevention and suppression, General Pang has any other suggestions."
Pang Yu knew that things in Wuhu could not be accomplished in one go, but with the great victory in Susong here, as long as Zhang Guowei applied to the Ministry of War without increasing money and food, the Ministry of War had no reason to object.
At that time, most of the generals at the head of this battalion will be promoted from the Anqing garrison camp, which is an important part of Pang Yudajiang's strategy.
"The second meeting of the official asked the states and counties along the Yangtze River to effectively organize and train rural soldiers. Rogue bandits have visited the river many times. If they really cross the river, it will take several days for the troops to arrive. Township soldiers need to guard the city and wait for reinforcements. Previously, the annual fee for rural soldiers in various places was
Five taels, and many of them are arrogant, so they will inevitably disperse after hearing the police, but it has no actual effect. If the counties along the river are willing to organize and train them, the garrison camp can send soldiers to teach the method of defending the city."
Zhang Guowei nodded slightly, "The shortcomings of the training of rural soldiers are primarily the lack of money and food. The Ministry of Household Affairs is in a hurry to collect collections. Even if they are retained, they have to be transported. The local government has difficulty in spending money. Although the rural soldiers have a quota of five taels, most of them are not actually paid.
Naturally, it is difficult to see practical results.”
Pang Yu naturally knows the local situation. In fact, wherever there is a threat from rogue bandits, the imperial court requires the training of rural soldiers. The counties in Yingtian area basically have an amount of 600 to 800, but even in areas like Anqing that face major threats
, each county did not give enough five taels of silver, let alone the safe counties south of the Yangtze River.
"Can the salary of rural soldiers be based on the rice and beans donated in Tangjiagou in Songyang?"
Pang Yu said as calmly as possible, "If the imperial court adopts the method of setting up nets on all sides and dedicating troops to pay, since the counties along the river need to guard against thieves, the brokers at each river terminal between Anqing and Zhenjiang will subscribe. This pay will only be used for
If the country soldiers have elite soldiers from the garrison battalion to teach them how to fight and defend, you will have nearly ten thousand more soldiers to stabilize the river defense. When thieves come, they can also mobilize Anqingpu Liuzuo to defend the city. Then the soldiers in the camp can be dedicated to killing and fighting.
Later, they can be replenished into the battalion, and there is no need to reorganize and train again and waste time..."... In the splendid Dajiang Silver Manor at Huaiqing Bridge in Nanjing, Jiang Fan walked into the shopkeeper's office on the third floor, and Liu Ruogu arranged for someone to give him tea.
"Wuhu has captured three gang leaders and killed the other two. The dock is generally safe."
Jiang Fan picked up the teacup and took a sip, "There are a thousand people working at the dock. Pang Pangren means to reduce some labor and money first, and Anqing will subsidize it. By stabilizing the dock and dental shop in Wuhu, Mr. Liu can come and open a bank."
"
"In addition to the wharf, Wuhu also has two big businesses, cloth dyeing and Su Steel. People in Pangda have no interest in dyeing cloth, but Su Steel is determined to win. You must remember it."
Liu Ruogu patted the armrest lightly, "The steel used for the military staff is all purchased from Wuhu. In recent years, the situation has been turbulent, and military staffs are being made everywhere. It is too expensive for Su Gang to buy it, but it is not enough if I don't buy it. There is no such thing elsewhere."
.”
Jiang Fan nodded, "Suzhou Steel's problem is not with the steel mill. There is a special wharf there. No other dental shops can get involved. The dental shops here increase the prices on their own, so the supply is still in short supply.
If we don't offend the dock now, we won't be able to move the steel mill for the time being."
"According to the information we received, Su Steel is roughly a mixed company of pig iron and wrought iron. The pig iron and wrought iron are all purchased from outside, but there are some secret techniques that are not spread among the shops. In the end, it is a craft. Don't conflict with the dock first.
There are fifty or sixty steel mills in Wuhu that make Suzhou Steel. Among them, there are no less than a thousand craftsmen and apprentices, and there are many who know this thing. It is said that iron turns into steel by itself in Wuhu. As long as you know the secret method, iron can turn into steel in Anqing."
"Shopkeeper Liu means that we find craftsmen in Wuhu to make steel ourselves?"
"Man Pangda not only wants to be able to make steel himself, he also wants steel that cannot be purchased anywhere else."
"After all, there are so many steel mills in Wuhu. If others buy what they have to sell, they will naturally have to sell it. Even if Caobang doesn't load the goods for them, there is still a land route."
"Pang Pang has his own plans for this matter. He will probably arrive in Nanjing in the next two days and will make arrangements with you then."
Liu Ruogu stood in front of the window. The avenue outside the glass was bustling with people. "The secret message from Pang Pang's last visit said that he wanted to get the heads of Li Lihua and Guo Zushan before arriving in Nanjing. Have you found their whereabouts?"
Jiang Fan stood up and walked to his side, "These two people have been hiding for some time, but they are still in Nanjing city. Li Lihua must use Xiaoguan's Nanyang fragrant powder every day and buy it every other day. The hiding place is roughly
confirmed."
Liu Ruogu said solemnly, "Pang Pang is here to ask Ruan Dacheng to do something. Ruan Huzi will definitely intercede with Li Lihua. Then it will be difficult. Before Pang Pang arrives in Nanjing, these two people must die."