Whether from the perspective of geography or resources, Fengyang is a city that should not exist.
This is completely the product of Zhu Yuanzhang's willfulness.
The emperors during the founding period of the People's Republic of China took good care of it, so Fengyang was very prosperous and became a famous city in the world.
But later, Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants lost their patience and turned a blind eye to Fengyang.
As a result, this man-made city quickly collapsed and became a remote and remote place.
As the capital of Zhongdu, how poor is Fengyang?
After occupying this place, the New Army did their own statistics and found that Fengyang only had a population of just over 10,000.
The decline is evident.
So when he decided to return Fengyang to the court, Zuo Mengeng came up with an idea.
That is to take away the population of Fengyang.
There is no hope for these people staying here. They will definitely starve to death, die of poverty, or be killed by the endless bandits.
There is an extreme shortage of labor in various industries in Shandong, and the heads of various departments are going crazy for labor.
With the propaganda of the New Army and the actual feelings of the people, it is not surprising how to choose.
In the following days, under the organization of the New Army, the people of Fengyang packed up their meager belongings and headed east.
Some of these people were sent to Shandong, some were sent to Songjiang Prefecture, and some young adults signed up to join the New Army.
This is also one of the measures Zuo Mengeng thought of.
Lianghuai has a vast territory and a large population, but most people live below the poverty line and suffer from hunger.
If you want to control the Huaihe River, you must first control the Yellow River.
Not only is harnessing the Yellow River a huge project, it also requires harnessing the canals and the salt industry.
The relationship is so complex that it cannot be sorted out in a short time.
But the problem of food and clothing for the people is urgent and cannot wait.
After comprehensive consideration, Zuo Mengeng thought of a way.
That's conscription.
A similar method was used in the Northern Song Dynasty. The result was a large but useless Xiang army that became a heavy burden.
Shandong does not have this concern.
After occupying the Lianghuai River, there was already a shortage of troops. Even if troops were not recruited from the Lianghuai River, new armies would have to be established from other places.
When the two are combined into one, you achieve more with one stone.
The people of Huaihe and Huaihe who were suffering from poverty were very enthusiastic to sign up when they heard about the preferential treatment of the New Army.
In the end, the best were selected from among the best, and after repeated verification, 43,000 recruits were recruited.
These new recruits will be trained while serving as local garrison forces, that is, militia.
When their training is completed, they will be transferred to various units and become qualified soldiers.
Zuo Menggeng has already intended to form a fifth army.
These people are the source of most of the troops.
The Fifth Army will be based on the First Division of the First Army, plus two-thirds of the new troops, and will still use the old to lead the new.
However, this matter still takes a long time to plan, so there is no rush.
Ten days later, Qian Shisheng, accompanied by Hong Chengchou, came to meet Zuo Mengeng in person.
"Commander Zuo, we accept your request in full. It's just that the matter is too big to be written down in black and white. Please forgive me."
Qian Shisheng's meaning is obvious.
It acquiesced to the established fact that Shandong occupied Lianghuai, as long as Shandong returned Fengyang.
However, this matter cannot be a paper agreement.
Because these court officials would definitely not dare to report the matter to Chongzhen, otherwise their heads would not be saved.
To put it bluntly, the court officials reached an agreement with Shandong behind Chongzhen's back.
Everyone from top to bottom knew what was going on, but Chongzhen was kept in the dark.
This emperor is really extremely pitiful.
Zuo Mengeng scoffed at the petty thoughts of these court officials, but did not expose them.
"I still believe in your determination to abide by the agreement."
Hearing Zuo Mengeng's answer, Qian Shisheng couldn't help but blush.
Because the subtext of this sentence is that Shandong is not afraid that the court will violate the agreement.
why?
Strength dictates.
As long as the court dares to violate the agreement, it is not up to them to decide how it will end.
Fortunately, Qian Shi had been promoted to an official for many years and had already developed his face to be invulnerable.
"There is one more thing, I hope Commander Zuo can agree to it."
When Zuo Mengeng looked over, Qian Shisheng came over.
"From now on, the canal will be under your rule. However, the canal is related to the safety of the imperial court. I hope you will ensure that nothing goes wrong, so that everything can be peaceful."
It turns out to be this.
Zuo Menggen didn't care about himself and gave a solemn answer.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Qian, the canal is also very important to us. Ensuring the smooth flow of the canal is a major matter that benefits the country and the people."
Even though Zuo Mengeng attaches more importance to maritime transportation, he dare not say that the canal can be abandoned.
Even four hundred years later, with maritime transportation so developed, the Grand Canal is still playing its role.
This is an important channel for connecting the north and the south in the Huaihe and Huaihe regions, and has been prosperous for thousands of years. If we want to manage the two Huaihei in the future, we will still have to rely on the Grand Canal.
After two conditions were raised in succession, Shandong readily agreed, leaving Qian Shisheng speechless.
At this point, the agreement between the two parties has been reached.
The next day, the Shandong New Army began to retreat from Fengyang area.
They walked straight away and retreated to Wuhe on the west side of Hongze Lake before the New Army re-established its defense line.
So far, starting from Xuzhou, a new dividing line has been formed along Suzhou, Wuhe, Chuzhou and Luzhou.
The east side of this line is all owned by Shandong, and Fengyang is half surrounded.
From the map, Fengyang looks like the protrusion between the imperial court and Shandong.
Although it is back in the hands of the imperial court, if there is a conflict between the two sides, Shandong only needs one package from the north and the south, and the fall of Fengyang will be inevitable.
Fengyang was retaken without bloodshed, and all the court officials were very happy.
After returning, Qian Shisheng and others quickly sent a victory report to Chongzhen, and then led his troops southward into Fengyang.
"Where is this...person?"
But when they walked into Fengyang, they were all dumbfounded.
The land is still the same, and the city is still the same. But outside the city, in the streets and alleys, not a single person can be seen.
It's as if everyone here has disappeared out of thin air.
Hong Chengchou felt only a hint of coldness and said quickly: "Quick! Go to Huangjue Temple."
When they arrived at the royal temple, they were on the verge of tears.
I saw about a hundred monks, all of them injured and disabled. None of them looked like human beings, as if they had been subjected to some inhuman treatment.
Huangjue Temple looks intact from the outside, but only when you get inside do you realize what kind of catastrophe it has experienced.
All valuables were gone, even the copper-plated statues were taken away.
It can be said that except for the fact that the land cannot be taken away, Huangjue Temple has only a shell left.
The monks cried out about the atrocities in Shandong, but what could Qian Shisheng and others do?
I can only swallow this bitter pill, and I have to thank Shandong Renyi.
As for these monks who are clamoring to go to the capital to file a petition...
Hong Chengchou frowned and glanced at his deputy general.
The deputy general took command, and with his cronies, they drew their swords and guns and surrounded them from all directions.