Rise From the Humble

Zhu Pingan sent off the magistrate Shang and his party, and after properly arranging the entire battalion of soldiers, he led Liu Mu and others to ride out of the camp and observe the topography and landforms around Suzhou Mansion, especially the mountains and rivers outside Changmen.

Zhuge Wuhou once said: A general who does not understand astronomy, geography, strange gates, yin and yang, does not understand formation diagrams, and does not understand military strength is mediocre. How can you not know the geography of Suzhou when you are stationed in Suzhou? Only by having a clear understanding of the geographical situation inside and outside Suzhou can you deploy your troops and generals and strategize.

Suzhou City has a radius of twelve miles, bordering Songjiang to the east, Jiaxing to the south, Taihu Lake to the west, and the Yangtze River to the north. It has old streets, ancient houses, alleys, rivers, and stone bridges. It has a typical double chessboard pattern with water and land running parallel to each other and rivers and streets adjacent. .

Beauty is beautiful, but it is a pity that there is no danger to defend, especially in the Changmen area. Except for the interlacing of rivers and canals, there is no danger to defend.

While observing the mountains and terrain of Suzhou, Zhu Ping'an also saw the prosperity of Suzhou that surpassed the two capitals.

The scenery is beautiful, the products are rich, the industries are prosperous, and the people are gathered together; the houses are piled high with goods, the pedestrians are flowing, the shop signs are as bright as clouds, the water and land are frequent, the silver leash leads the proud horses, and the flower boats carry the beauties. It is worthy of being one of the first or second-class rich and romantic people in the world place.

Especially the Changmen area is the most prosperous and wealthy place in Suzhou, accounting for at least 70% to 80% of Suzhou's wealth.

There is no danger to defend here, and it has the power to overwhelm the wealth and prosperity of the two capitals. For the Japanese pirates, this is a paradise.

After seeing the mountains and rivers of Suzhou, Zhu Ping'an was convinced that the Japanese pirates such as Xu Hai and others who were entrenched in Tuolin and other places in Songjiang Prefecture must have been coveting the city of Suzhou, the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty, which was just around the corner.

The area outside Changmen, which had no danger to defend and occupied 70 to 80% of the wealth of Suzhou City, was definitely the first and most important target of the Japanese pirates.

If Japanese pirates attack Suzhou, the Lumen area will definitely bear the brunt. This is a proposition without a doubt.

Magistrate Shang said that Japanese pirates often spied on and investigated during this period, so it was clear that the Japanese pirates had already targeted this place.

After the investigation, it was time for the Japanese pirates to take action, leaving little time for the Zhejiang Army.

After Zhu Ping'an observed the mountains and geography of Suzhou with a strong sense of crisis, he returned to Fengqiao again.

Maple Bridge is the most important bridge in the northwest of Suzhou City. Ships are transported below and goods are transported on the bridge. People going south to north and east to west all pass through this bridge. It is the transportation and trading hub for the east, west, north and south of Suzhou City. Local people The proud saying "If you want to know the price of beans and rice, ask about the price of Maple Bridge" is proof.

In order to facilitate transportation, the canal under the Maple Bridge was dug deep and wide to facilitate the passage of large and small ships. Two lanes were specially cut on the steps of the six-meter-wide Maple Bridge to facilitate the passage of horse-drawn carriages.

It can be said that Fengqiao is Suzhou and the throat of Changmen.

When Japanese pirates plundered and attacked Suzhou from Songjiang Prefecture, it was most convenient to take the water route, and it was also what Japanese pirates who came across the sea were best at. Japanese pirates could go from Songjiang Prefecture along the Yangtze River to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, they could go directly to the northwest of the surrounding city. Along the canal and across Fengqiao, they could go directly to Suzhou Changmen.

If you take the land route, you have to pass through multiple states, counties, towns, and villages. It is not as fast or confidential as taking the water route.

Therefore, if the Japanese pirates robbed and attacked the Changmen area and Suzhou City in Suzhou, the possibility of taking the water route was more than 90%.

Fengqiao is the waterway transportation hub and throat of Suzhou. Whether passing through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal or Fengjiang and other rivers, it must pass through Fengqiao. Therefore, if the Japanese pirates took the waterway to rob Changmen and Suzhou, they would inevitably pass through Fengqiao.

Maple Bridge is the focus of Suzhou's defense.

Zhu Pingan walked along the maple bridge several times, stood on the maple bridge and looked around, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, and a plan formed in his mind.

Since there is no danger to defend in the Maple Bridge area, let's create a defendable danger.

Without further ado.

Zhu Ping'an returned to the camp and quickly drew a sketch of Fengqiao's defense. The sketch was very simple. A three-story sentry fort was built on the east slope of Fengqiao Bridge, which is the new Zhejiang Army's headquarters, in front of Fengqiao Camp. Shooting hole, can fire blunderbuss and small artillery.

The sentry fort does not need to be large, it only needs to be able to garrison 200 people, and it occupies an area of ​​about 400 square meters. The top floor is made into a terrace with stacks of bricks.

Zhu Ping'an's planned sentry fort uses bricks and stones as the main materials, and uses lime mixed with glutinous rice and mud to speed up the construction progress and toughness of the sentry fort. Although there was no concrete at this time in the Ming Dynasty, there was lime. The craftsmen mixed lime, fine sand, glutinous rice juice and other substances together to create native concrete. The effect was not much worse than modern concrete. When applied on masonry, it was extremely strong. Although the price of home-made concrete is a bit more expensive, who makes Suzhou government not short of money?

The Zhejiang army could usually board the fort to look out, patrol and be on guard. Once Japanese pirates were discovered, they would raise beacon fire to warn Changmen Shili Street and Suzhou City. At the same time, they could block, hold on and attack Japanese pirates based on the fort.

In addition to the outpost, Zhu Ping'an also built a brick wall more than 100 meters high and one person high along the river on the east bank of the canal under Fengqiao, that is, on the Fengqiao Camp side, as a cannon position for the Zhejiang Army.

In this way, the Zhejiang army can form a military defense line along the sentry fort, maple bridge, river wall, and river channel to guard the western gateway of Suzhou.

Once this line of defense is built, Zhu Pingan is confident that the Japanese pirates will be defeated in the future, but he is afraid that the Japanese pirates will not come enough.

After the Maple Bridge defense plan was formed, Zhu Ping'an took Liu Dadao and others into Suzhou City without stopping, regardless of the fact that it was getting late, and visited Master Shang, the prefect of Suzhou, and showed the Maple Bridge defense plan to Mr. Shang.

"Great, Mr. Zhu is worthy of being Mr. Zhu. A sentry fort and a 100-meter river wall have given the undefendable Suzhou City a pass. This plan alone is far better than our Suzhou Prefecture Armed Forces Department." A few streets away.”

Magistrate Shang saw the Fengqiao defense line plan, and after listening to Zhu Ping'an's explanation, he was surprised and admired the Fengqiao defense line.

"Master Shang is more familiar with the geography of Suzhou. What other opinions do you have on this?" Zhu Ping'an asked.

"Master Zhu's plan is very good. I have no objection. However, I wonder if the outpost can be built larger to accommodate more soldiers. The river wall can be built longer and higher. After all, I am not bad in Suzhou. Every money spent, whether manpower or material resources, will be borne by our Suzhou government. After all, this is all to protect my city of Suzhou."

The magistrate Shang spoke of Old Versailles as soon as he opened his mouth, embodying the words "wealth and wealth" vividly.

"Master Shang's opinion is very good, but in view of the fact that the Japanese pirates may launch an attack on Suzhou at any time, the scale of the fort and the city wall should not be too large so that they can be completed and put into use quickly. After this fort is completed, another one can be built nearby. Forming a cornering force, this outpost can be built larger." Zhu Ping'an replied.

"Well, Master Zhu is right. Japanese pirates may attack our Suzhou City at any time. The sooner the pass is built, the better."

Magistrate Shang nodded repeatedly when he heard this.

"Without further delay, I will have people start preparations. They will hold lamps all night to lay the foundation and build a Japanese anti-Japanese sentry fort."

As he spoke, Magistrate Shang summoned his subordinate officials to assign matters regarding the construction of forts and river walls.