Lord of the House

Vol 11 Chapter 8: Winning the Eastern Front

The Huainan salt field is rich in water and grass, and the terrain is high, which is suitable for farming.

The inventory of Huainan salt area this time has totaled 3,000 hectares of privately cultivated arable land, of which the Mao Wenjing family of Zuohu Salt Commander has more than 800 hectares of privately cultivated farmland in the salt area.

To rectify salt matters, all the privately cultivated fields in the salt area will be returned to the government and directly under the direct jurisdiction of the Huainan Salt Supervisory Division. All the salt households and salt soldiers who were forced to farm by the officials were converted into village households, and the rent was on par with the Huaidong village, which was controlled within 30%, and the expropriation was reduced by half in the first two years.

Before that, most of the harvests of these privately cultivated grain fields were given to officials, and even less than 20% to the salt farmers and salt soldiers who came to cultivate them. They also became more and more because they had to bear the labor of salt. made poor.

These salt households and salt soldiers benefited a lot from the rectification of the salt issue.

In fact, before the rectification of the salt issue, Huaidong had received widespread support among the salt households, and its root cause was still defending the construction of seawalls.

The poverty of Yan households has a lot to do with the difficulty of reaching the tide. When the tide strikes, people can go to high places to escape, and the number of direct drowning may not be too large, but the cottage will float in the tide, and a home with a little savings will be reduced to extreme poverty in an instant.

After the seawall is built, although the salt-boiling area is still outside the embankment, the living areas are protected by the seawall, which fundamentally alleviates the direct damage of the sea tide to the salt households.

This time, the rectification of the salt issue is almost a fundamental rectification of the Lianghuai Salt Fields. It can be so smooth without causing major riots. Including Mao Wenjing, a large number of officials and generals involved in the case have almost no resistance. It has not been greatly affected. It is actually directly related to the widespread support of Huaidong among poor salt households after the construction of the seawall.

Zhang Yan's salt management, including the previous generations of salt and iron envoys, is not an ambitious person, but in the face of the reality that is difficult to return, he does not dare to rectify the salt issue easily.

Chen Huazhang and Song Fu accompanied Lin Bie to visit the salt area accompanied by Liu Shidu, Wang Chengfu and others, and they could also have a deeper understanding of why Lin Bie started to deal with the salt issue after he mastered Jiangning?

Dong Yuan ran Huaixi, and under the guidance of Shen Rong, Zhang Yan, Yuan Hancheng and others, the salt merchants became the main support force behind Huaixi, including the Weiyang salt merchant's children who were worried about being implicated during the salt rectification. They also moved their families to Haozhou and Shouzhou in groups—this may be the direct incentive for Lin Fu to rectify the salt issue, but it is by no means the core factor.

Before the rectification of the salt incident, the Lianghuai salt area was out of the control of Huaidong. Due to the gathering of salt merchants, Weiyang Mansion also became a system of its own, and its power was exceptionally huge, so that the core area that Huaidong could control could only extend to the north and south, but not to the south. The expansion to the east and west limits the development of the core area of ​​Huaidong in depth and upward, and cannot be connected with Dongyang Mansion.

After the rectification of the salt incident, the Lianghuai salt area that was not controlled by Huaidong before will be completely digested and become the core area controlled by Huaidong.

The Salt and Iron Division moved to Jiangning, and the salt merchants either moved to Jiangning or fled to Huaixi or were suppressed because of their crimes. Like Danyang Mansion, it has become a taxation supply place for the central finance. After the potential hostile forces in Weiyang Mansion were completely weakened, they were sandwiched between Dongyang Mansion and Huaidong, so they could not pose any substantial threat to Huaidong from other aspects.

Although a large number of salt merchants' children and family wealth moved to Huaixi, Huaixi's strength will be enhanced, but in the later period, Lin Fu will strictly control the flow of grain, iron and other materials into Huaixi - when the means of restricting the development of opponents become limited and ineffective , then the best means is to develop faster and better than the opponent, and have a firmer foundation.

The chariot team directly crossed the Qingjiangpu weak line, and went all the way to Huaikou, and then turned westward to Shanyang along the north embankment.

The water potential of Huaikou is vast. Although it cannot be compared with the mouth of the Yangtze River, the two sides of the river are more than ten miles away. Yuntiguan City stands on the north and south sides of Huaikou.

Looking at the sails of the warship docked in Huaikou like a forest, Chen Huazhang secretly sighed.

Song Fu drove by car, pointed to Huaikou from a distance, and sighed with the people around him: "Traditionally, in the Southern Dynasties and Northern Expeditions, we took more of the middle route, first to recover Henan, to control the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and then to seek other things. But Henan is so dilapidated, and the people do not Cunyi, even if Henan is recaptured, it will be difficult to stabilize the foothold in a short period of time. However, the terrain of Henan is wide, and it is easy for the cavalry from the north to penetrate in winter and spring. It is extremely difficult to operate Henan. The northern expedition after the east is probably to bypass the remnant of Henan, and go directly to the east by sea and land..."

Lin Fu rode on horseback. Hearing Song Fu's remarks, he smiled and said, "The Hu people abandoned the middle road last year and sought Guan Shan first. They also want to strengthen the hinterland! Don't think that Yan Hu has 400,000 military horses, but he left them with Time is not necessarily much looser than us."

"After the war in Xuzhou, it was difficult for Yan Hu to shake the Huai defense line in a short period of time, and the time for the luxury family to break through Jiangning was too short, so it was difficult for Yan Hu to seize the opportunity. Except for the first attempt at Guan Shan, there was nothing he could do. Guanzhong can last a little longer." Song Fu said.

Chen Huazhang did not have a deep understanding of military affairs, but he also knew that the core areas controlled by Yanhu, such as Liaodong and Yanji, were actually within the direct attack range of Huaidong, and the Yanhu cavalry wanted to hit the root of Huaidong. If they threaten the hinterland of Huaidong and Jiangning, they must first penetrate the Xusi and Huaixi defense lines or take the west line to attack Xiaguan and Shaanxi first. The overall strategic situation is completely different.

Abandoning the old strategic thinking, as long as Huaidong can eliminate the hidden dangers of Jiangxi and Fujian, and prepare a heavy army group of about 200,000 on the eastern front, the time for the Northern Expedition will be ripe.

At that time, the situation faced by Yanhu is not to open up the middle road or the west route to invade the hinterland of Jianghuai, but to worry that the hinterland of Liaodong and Yanji will directly enter Huaidong.

At this time, Huaidong's troops deployed on the northeast line, including Xuzhou Xingying, Shanyang Town and the second water battalion, as well as Yimeng troops, reached a total of 100,000 troops.

Although these soldiers and horses were not enough to launch a counter-offensive, they at least forced the Yanlu to give up their efforts to directly invade the Jianghuai hinterland from the east, and even forced the Yanlu nearly 200,000 soldiers and horses to be scattered in Shandong, Yandong, Jidong and Liaodong. The fortification weakened the military mobilization ability of the Yanlu on the Western Front.

Ye Jiluorong's first large detour to the west to attack the Qinxi area, he could only mobilize 100,000 cavalry and infantry. If the Yanlu can mobilize more than 200,000 troops and horses on the western front at one time, the Cao family will not have the ease now if they want to reluctantly defend the frontiers of Qin and western areas such as Guyuan and Qingyang.

Just as he was talking, there were carriages and horses coming from the west. Wu Meijiu, who succeeded Liu Shidu as the prefect of Huai'an, and others came to welcome Lin Fu to inspect Huai'an.

Before, in the prefectures and counties controlled by Huaidong, there were still many old officials who responded passively to their duties and were not really willing to use them for Huaidong. Like the Chen family, their attitudes have changed completely.

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In the first ten days of May, the Northland also entered the early summer season. The weather in Yanjing City has suddenly become hot these two days, but the temperature difference between morning and evening is large.

The long nanmu desk is covered with a yellow forging embroidery hood, and the desk is covered with news reports from Jianghuai...

Concubine Yu came in with Heshi's nourishing soup, and watched Yejier sitting at the desk, she didn't notice her coming in at all, put the soup bowl on the corner table, walked over and kneaded Yejier's shoulder, and said softly : "King Khan forgot his meal again..."

"Oh," Ye Jier turned his head and looked at Yu Fei's bright and beautiful appearance before looking at the shadow of the sun falling on the porch outside the palace. It was really late. He was thinking about military affairs and strictly forbidden the servants in the palace. Excuse me, I didn't expect Concubine Yu to be alerted again, put down the file in her hand, and said with a smile, "It's really past noon, but I don't feel any sense..." He took her soft, jade-like hand and asked her to sit in his arms.

That Heshi gave Yezierna a side concubine at the age of fifteen. This year is already the fifteenth year. She is nearly thirty years old. Mingli, there is still the innocence of a young girl in her eyes, and there are many beautiful women in the palace, but standing in front of her, they all become vulgar, and for more than ten years, Ye Jier has been fascinated by her.

"In the past two months, King Khan has only been concerned about the situation in Jianghuai, and even Qin Jin has cared very little. Is this Huaidong really the enemy of our family?" Yu Fei saw that the pavilions on the case were all from Jianghuai. Secret letter, asked with concern.

"There is a great prince on the west front, and there will be no major troubles, but the general situation in Huaidong in the south has been completed, and the time left for us is too limited. If we ask Huaidong to pacify Zhejiang and Fujian first, let him make up twenty on the east front. Ten thousand soldiers are coming, the problem is very difficult, how can I see it easily?" Ye Jier sighed, "The military veterans are still old brains, they only think that they will conquer Guanshan and open up the passage from Xiangfan to capture Jinghu Lake. , the general trend is on our side, but it's not the case - in the whole country, there are not many generals who can truly recognize the crisis on the Eastern Front, but that He Xiongqi has suffered defeats, and his waist can't be hardened, even Luo Rong is also I complained that I had too many troops left on the Eastern Front, but too few troops. It's just that the Dengzhou navy can't become a force and can't seal the sea between Jinzhou and Dengzhou. How can I dare to Jidong, Will the two Liao forces take the time to give them?"

"This Lin Fu is human after all, not a god," Yu Fei advised, "Don't say Jiangxi will not give him a quick recovery, even if he controls Jiangning, Dong Yuan in Huaixi and Yue Lengqiu in Chizhou may not be convinced. To him. There are 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers and horses in Huaidong, and he dares to push Xuzhou, where most of the main force is concentrated, and push all these soldiers and horses to the north?"

"..." Ye Ji'er shook his head and pulled out a map from his desk. He was too lazy to explain too much to the court officials when he had time. Instead, he talked about military and state affairs with Concubine Yu as a pastime, and asked Concubine Yu to sit in front of his knees. Looking at the geographical situation between Jianghuai and Huaihe River, "Once Huaidong is called to pacify Zhejiang and Jiangxi first, Lin Fu will have the means to force Yue Leng to cross the river to the north bank in autumn, and entangle with my troops and horses on the middle and west roads. You see, Concubine Yu. Luzhou, Luzhou is located between the Jianghuai and the Huaihe River~www.wuxiaspot.com~ and depends on Huaishan Mountain and Chaohu Lake, Huaidong will inevitably operate Luzhou next. Even if Jiangning's troops are empty, Yue Lengqiu and Dong Yuan will hardly have the opportunity to lead their troops into Jiangning to replace Huaidong."

Concubine Yu frowned lightly and sighed: "The time the luxury family has occupied Jiangning is too short, it's a pity!"

"It's not a pity," Ye Jier said. "There are many good soldiers in Huaidong. If the Southern Dynasty uses Xie Chaozhong to lead the troops, what will happen? Huaidong and Huaixi have foreseen the front-line soldiers and horses from Nanyang, Guoyang to Xuzhou. If you don't move, it will be difficult to find opportunities, unless the luxury family can hold Jiangning for more than half a year..."

At this time, the palace attendant came in and reported: "Zhang Xiang is here..."

"Call Zhang Xie in."

The palace attendant went to edict Zhang Xie to enter the hall, and Ye Jier said to the jade concubine: "You will go to Liaoyang in two days. I have to wait for the prince to return to Beijing to discuss military affairs on the western front..."

Yu Fei Na Heshi said: "The slave family will wait for the Khan King to leave together."

"The weather is going to be extremely hot in the blink of an eye, how can your body endure it?" Yezier said.

Just as it was difficult for the south to adapt to the severe cold in the north for a while, the princes and ministers of Yanhu were also difficult to adapt to the severe heat of summer in Yanjing City. In the first year of winning Yanji, several old officials and generals failed to survive the sweltering heat for a while, and they died from the heat.

From the year before last, Ye Jier would temporarily leave Yanjing with the princes, ministers and concubines of the harem after entering summer, go to Liaoyang to escape the summer heat, and only move back after the cool autumn.

Of course, there must also be ministers left behind in Yanjing. Ye Jier also trusts Zhang Xie, who has no way out, and uses him as a left-behind minister every time to preside over the affairs of the left-behind. My QT room is open! More vulgar official QT room number [9167] Click to enter

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