The last time the Mongolian army invaded, the main reason why they were able to penetrate deep into the hinterland of Dajin was that the water transport warehouses in the six states of Qing, Cang, En, Jing, Xian, and Shen were controlled by the Mongolian army at the beginning of the war.
In the 21st year of Dading, the imperial court ordered the six states along the river to offer grain because of the limited reserves in the capital. Relying on the Cao River, the six states sent out more than a million shi of grain at a time, transported it to Tongzhou, and drove it into the capital to meet the urgent need.
By the first year of Zhenyou, there were dozens of warehouses in the six prefectures, gathering grain and fodder materials from Hebei East and West Road, Damingfu Road, Nanjing Road 4th Road, Six Prefectures, Twenty-two Military Prefectures and 76 counties. Not to mention the need for transshipment. The huge amount of materials that have been stored by the officials and subordinate staff in various private warehouses over the years, and the unspeakable "discoloration" and "waste" amounted to more than a million dan.
With this, the Mongolian army would naturally be able to provide enough supplies for their cavalry to gallop around. Even in the depths of winter, they would not have to worry about lack of food. Many Mongolian horses had eaten food all winter and were fatter than in the past when they gnawed hay on the grasslands.
After the Mongolian army retreated, what was left to the Jin Kingdom was an unprecedented mess.
Warehouses, which were the lifeblood of Zhongdu, were certainly looted and burned, and nine out of ten of the canoe boats, caoding and even the men who pulled the boats on land were lost. In addition, many facilities had not been maintained for a long time, or were destroyed by the Mongols. If it is set on fire, the paralysis of the entire water transportation system cannot be reversed.
The imperial court appointed Pusan Anzhen, the envoy of Hebei Xuanfu, to also be in charge of the Jingzhou Water Transport Department. It originally hoped that he would resume water transport as soon as possible and ensure the supply to Zhongdu. When Pusan Anzhen was in Zhongdu, he also made a good promise to the emperor.
But once he got to the local level, Pusan Anzhen felt the difficulty of being in charge of the local area.
The two roads in Hebei Province were the most severely damaged by the Mongols. The remaining household registrations in various places are no longer 20% of what they were back then. Pusan Anzhen tried his best to attract exiles and restored production slightly, but there was no room left to support Zhongdu. ?
Even if there is a little margin, Pusan Anzhen cannot raise troops by himself?
After all, he was disgraced in Shandong!
In the end, Pusan Anzhen not only failed to resume water transportation as soon as possible, but also diverted part of the grain sent to Zhongdu from Nanjing Road from time to time.
King Sui, who controlled the Nanjing Road, had the idea of placing a small amount of gold in the territory of Dajin from the beginning, so the grain supplies transported to the north were always so small.
As a result, there was always a large gap in Zhongdu's material sources. To fill this gap, we had to rely on Guo Ning, the Shandong Xuanfu envoy, and the maritime trade routes controlled by Guo Ning.
Ever since he came to the throne, the emperor's fear of Shandong could not be hidden from anyone. Officials with higher status in the entire central capital knew that Guo Xuanshi acted unscrupulously and killed imperial officials like killing chickens. He was a living rebel. Thieves. Even compared to Cao Cao, Zhu Wen, Gao Huan, Yu Wentai and others, they are only one step short of kidnapping the emperor.
Even thinking about it carefully, Ambassador Guo Xuan had kidnapped the emperor a long time ago. If he hadn't been so kind to old Prime Minister Tu Shan, who would be sitting in the Da'an Palace now?
Guo Ning is indeed a big rebel. Everyone knows the truth. The real demand for food cannot be sustained here. The problem of feeding millions of people on Zhongdu Road must be solved.
Over the past year, the trade between Shandong and Zhongdu has always been prosperous. Many wealthy households in Zhongdu who had a little money tried their best to do business with Shandong caravans, and then took the grain and presented it to the imperial court.
It is expedient to seek favors, seek official positions, and seek promotions.
It’s not that people in Zhongdu like to be officials so much. It’s all because in the past year, in order to win over military people, the emperor has been spreading out high-level military positions such as Dutong and Meng’an, so that at most there are more than 10,000 people in the city.
They often bully and dominate the market, steal men and dominate women.
In order to fight against more than 10,000 governors, the people of Zhongdu really couldn't rest assured if they didn't hold an official position in their hands. Fortunately, the expedient order was formulated by Xu Ding. Xu Ding was not evil-minded, and at least it only cost one meter.
For one hundred and fifty dan, one can be promoted to an official position and appointed as an envoy.
So in the past few months, the entire chain of operations around the Bohai Sea has become like this: the imperial court provides officials, wealthy households provide money, the Southern Dynasties provide grain, Liaodong provides horses, and Shandong people provide nothing except a few weapons and armor, relying on their own
The fleet is busy going back and forth, and no matter what benefits are available, I will take advantage of them first.
Unfortunately, even the fleet is the property of the Wanyan clan king in Zhongdu, and was snatched away by the rebel Guo Ning!
At that time, the three royal highnesses, King Yonggong of Yue, King Yongsheng of Kui and King Huo of Congyi, were so wealthy and powerful that they were once able to compete with the current emperor for the throne in Zhongdu. Unfortunately, Zhongdu was in chaos at that time, and the three highnesses overnight
They were all killed by thieves. These fleets and even the foundation of Zhigu Village were all advantaged by Guo Ning, who was the fastest and most ruthless.
After Guo Ning took over this business, it has continued to expand as a center for many maritime merchant fleets to gather and transship.
Where the three branches of the river converge, on the other side of the Xin'an Sea, the original convex-shaped Tufu highland has long been unable to accommodate so many buildings, ports and manpower.
When the river swelled last summer, a group of merchants were fed up with the threat of their property being flooded. They pooled their own money and recruited a large number of strong men to drive piles and fill the soil on the river beach, and continued to expand the southern side of the convex shape. The entire highland
The area has thus expanded to four or five times its original size, and it is said to be divided into eight grids on its back to resemble a divine turtle.
However, after all, this place is a commercial center, because the Mongols attacked again. A large number of merchants living here fled, some went to Zhongdu, some went to the Hebei states south of Lushui, and some felt that Shandong was safer.
, so I followed the fleet to Laizhou. With the rapid separation of people, a large number of manpower and facilities had to be quickly relocated to Shandong for refuge.
After all, the family has a big business, and the speed of the company cannot be increased at all.
Chen Ran stared at the two hundred people in Yidu Dongyang City who had completed five days of special training. When he led his men to Zhigu Village, many key places had just been demolished, and many places were in a mess.
At this time, if the Mongols penetrate deep into the Zhigu Village, it will be like a tiger entering a pack of wolves, and the losses in human, financial and material resources will be huge.
Therefore, Chen Ran had no choice but to kill the Mongolian cavalry squad. This approach would at least ensure the immediate stability and give the successors time to set up camp and prepare for war.
The troops and horses he brought with him, under the banner of King Qin, were the top elites in the Ding Navy and were well equipped. Moreover, they all knew that this trip to the north was related to the major affairs of the Ding Navy and had a heavy responsibility. Even in the
On the ship, they were also prepared and did not slack off.
Chen Ran gave an order, and all the soldiers disembarked to ambush in advance, and skillfully set up a pocket formation. Within a moment, they came back with more than twenty heads of Mongolian cavalry, and their own casualties were very slight.
When the generals saw this, they all laughed and said, "Qianji, this is indeed a good sign."
The fleet stopped for a while south of Xin'an Hairu. Chen Ran asked people to gather a group of refugees, and personally asked about the Mongolians' recent movements. Then the fleet continued westward and arrived at Zhigu Village half an hour later.
The one who went out early to greet him was Li Yun's capable subordinate, a supervisor specifically responsible for the business here, named Yan Ming.
Of course Guo Ning himself knew that maritime trade routes were the lifeblood of the navy; but due to the inertia from ancient times, the civil and military forces under his command did not all pay attention to this aspect.
Li Yun, the judge of Qunmu District, is actually an important figure who controls huge financial power and military force, but many people in Yidu Mansion still regard him as Li Ting's younger brother. Along with many of Li Yun's subordinates, they are here
His status is not very high.
This is also the case for Yan Ming. He is the son of a merchant from Baodi County and has known Li Yun since childhood, but he rarely has direct contact with the senior officials of Ding Haijun. In name, he wants to connect with Du Shisheng of Zhongdu.
I didn't see Du Shisheng a few times when I came down.
A few days ago, he received a notice that Chen Ran, a close confidant of Guo Xuanshi, was coming to Zhigu Village with a fleet of manpower. He was so shocked that he waited inside and outside every day. After meeting Chen Ran, he seemed to have endless words to say.
.
"Look at Qianjia! That area is the wood area in our Zhigu village. It is responsible for making various parts of the ship from wood, such as masts and planks. Those piled up are giant trees shipped from Liaodong, which have just begun to dry.
, so they are not yet suitable for use, I will arrange a ship to transport them to Shandong. The next area where the hemp tendons are piled is the production area of the glutinous rice materials... and those warehouses! This newly built place was originally used to store expensive
It’s supplies, but it has been cleared out now. I plan to dismantle these pieces and make the fence of our village taller and thicker..."
"Yan Tikong! Yan Tikong!"
Chen Ran called him several times, and only then did Yan Ming react. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "What are your instructions?"
"I'm not here to inquire about the affairs of Zhigu Village. I'm going to Zhongdu." Chen Ran said: "At this time, Lushui is shallow and narrow, so it may be difficult for sea ships to pass directly. Please arrange other ships as soon as possible, or if there are any
It's okay to have enough people holding hands. I have enough troops here to ensure Tsunado's safety."
Yan Ming looked at the size of the fleet and twitched his fingers.
"Is there any difficulty? Don't you have enough manpower?"
"Abundant, very abundant!" Yan Ming said repeatedly: "To be honest, there is a fleet coming here this morning, and it is also going to Zhongdu. It is the most trouble-free for the two families to set off in one place."
