Three Kingdoms

Hanzhong.

Zhang Liao and Xu Huang were patrolling with a team of troops.

Hanzhong is an important node from Chang'an to Sichuan and Shu, and is also a buffer link in the east-west direction. From Hanzhong to Chang'an, both Tangluo Road and Baoxie Road are now relatively smooth, except for Ziwu Road.

After all, it is really difficult to expand Ziwu Road into a road for vehicles and horses. It's not just normal difficulty, it's very difficult.

In order to increase the smoothness of the road and expand the flow of cargo throughput, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, after repeated discussions, in addition to further expanding the width of Tangluo Road and Baoxie Road, another longer Chencang Road entered the within the agenda of restoration and pioneering.

If Chencang Road can be reopened, it will also relieve some pressure on the transshipment center in the south of Chang'an City. Because Chen Cangdao first went to Xianyang and then turned to Chang'an. In this way, it will not only alleviate the traffic pressure at Luoyukou, but also promote the economic development of the Belt and Road You Fufeng.

Yes, economy.

This term was first coined by General Hussar, and it quickly became the consensus of everyone.

To manage the country and benefit the people is called economy, which is easy to understand.

The longer you follow the General Hussars, the more or less you will become like Fei Qian. Phew, I have learned some new knowledge...

Xu Huang will leave Hanzhong in two days and go to Sichuan. He plans to take Micang Road and first go to Badong in central Sichuan.

Micang Road takes the central line of Sichuan. If the Micang line is stabilized, it means that the central line of Sichuan is stabilized. The Jinniu Road in western Sichuan and the Micang Road in central Sichuan, combined with the Yufu County, Yongan County and other places stationed in eastern Sichuan, can make the entire Sichuan and Shu stable.

There is a saying in later generations that if you want to be rich, build roads first, but in the Han Dynasty, if you want stability, build roads first.

Roads can be said to be the extension of human civilization. Just like animals defecate and urinate on a territory to determine their territory, human roads are to delineate their own sphere of influence.

Near Baoxie Road, there are now many camps and some factories are being built.

On one side of the factory building, military camps and civilian residential areas were built.

The positioning of Baoxie Road is mainly for commercial cargo transportation, because it is more to the west and closer to Jinniu Road. The distance for transshipment and other things will be shorter. Unless you are not worried about the shelf life of the goods, you will continue to go east for a while. , transfer to Tangluo Road, otherwise most of the goods go to Chang'an from Baoxie Road.

During Zhang's rebellion, a military stronghold was built here. Now, after Zhang Liao took over Hanzhong's military affairs, he not only expanded the military stronghold, but also expanded the private camp.

Hanzhong actually doesn't have many things to offer, and the quality of tea is actually average. However, as a transshipment center, it can already make a lot of money just by transshipping goods from east to west, north to south.

"My lord told me before that there is a "container" method," Zhang Liao said to Xu Huang, "I never understood what it meant at first, until I got here..."

This camp is all about making boxes and cages, and many people in the camp are busy. The camp manager on the side nodded and bowed. Zhang Liao said a few words to him and then sent him back to work.

There is no technical threshold for cages, and anyone can make them. Therefore, the size and length of cages vary depending on who makes them.

Such inconsistency in size causes trouble during transportation.

Because whether it is the Baoxie Road or the Tangluo Road, it is both land and water transportation. That is to say, if it is easy to travel by water in some places, you can go by water. In some places, the water flow is too fast or there is a lack of water in winter, so you can go by land. Therefore, frequent transportation is required, such as changing cars and boats. The boxes and cages of different sizes make the placement very cumbersome. Sometimes in order to stuff a certain item into the car or boat, you have to go through several times. Adjustment is like moving the chess pieces of Huarong Road, big, small, long and flat, piled in one place.

Xu Huang's own intelligence value is also quite high. After looking at it for a while, he suddenly understood.

"This is a wonderful move!" Xu Huang nodded and said, "After a certain person arrives in Sichuan, he will also ask Sichuan and Sichuan to make boxes and cages of the same size!" 』

Unified standard cages will save a lot of time and speed up the operation. Of course, compared with the original "adjusting and stuffing" model, unified standard cages may lead to insufficient utilization of some spaces. After all, not all goods can be filled exactly into a standard cage, but the increase in transshipment speed can greatly improve the efficiency of transportation. Large ones offset this waste of space.

After all, now that we have crane equipment, it only takes a while for it to fall down together.

The positions of Xu Huang and Zhang Liao were on a small hill, and far below the hill, there were working civilians and laborers everywhere, as well as a large number of Hu slaves, including the Ba people after the last defeat. Di people and so on.

"There are factories and housing here. It will take more than a month to complete all repairs. Then these people can go into the mountains and build new plank roads," Zhang Liao said, "At the north end of Chencang Road, almost all of them need plank roads... But really If it is repaired, this road will not be faster than Baoxie Road! 』

Most of the people working here are middle-aged men. Fifty people are organized into a team, and five teams are organized into a song. Soldiers from one team will supervise and supervise the work. When the work of building houses here is completed, the rest are basically It is a relatively light job such as producing boxes and cages, so it does not require heavy labor and needs to be arranged separately.

Xu Huang nodded, then looked around and said, "Can you still keep up with the food and grass reserves?" 』

As a general, the first thing he cares about is naturally his soldiers and equipment. To a certain extent, food and grass are also a type of equipment rationing.

Zhang Liao smiled and said, "Thanks to Mrs. Zhang..."

Xu Huang was startled for a moment, and then he laughed, "Indeed." Haha, it’s true..."

Labor is not free and requires money and food. In the past, concentrating a large number of these labor forces for a long time would really give local officials a headache. But now, because of the suppression of the Zhang family and the "atonement" of the noble nobles who followed suit silver"……

To a certain extent, it is indeed the "Atonement Silver".

Contradictory opposition and unity, light and shadow are always together.

Just like arsenic, it was originally a medicine.

Mentioning arsenic, cinnabar, etc., many people may shudder. These "poisons" that can be fatal can actually cure diseases and save lives, and even achieve unexpected results, as long as they are scientifically and strictly prepared, mixed, controlled in dosage, and accurately adapted to the disease. To put it simply, if used well, it is medicine; if used excessively, it is poison.

"Let them build a road then, from Baoxie Road to Chencang Road." Zhang Liao pointed to the north, "It's just that the soil is hard in winter, it rains again in spring, and there are many insects in summer..."

Xu Huang nodded and said, "Yes, there are difficulties at any time, but you can't just never do it if you have difficulties?" 』

"Haha, that's exactly what it is. Zhang Liao said with a smile, "Are you moving forward?" Today I remember one place where we were trying to induce thunder to open up the mountain and remove the boulders. 』

Xu Huang agreed, and the two of them continued forward, entered Baoxie Road, and walked along the road. After walking for more than an hour, they turned into a fork in the road, and then walked for a while. It became more and more rugged and I couldn't ride a horse, so I dismounted under the rock and climbed up the mountain rock.

Mountains in various places have their own characteristics. There are many caves in the mountains in the southwest, and in the Qinling Mountains, huge rocks and stacked structures have become roadblocks.

In the Qinling Mountains, there are granite shale, volcanic rock, marble, etc., all of which are different, but basically they are all large and hard, completely different from sandstone or limestone.

If there is no gunpowder, the only way to create a passage in the mountains is to build a plank road.

Historically, there really was a plank road here.

Lianyun Plank Road.

Construction began in the Han Dynasty, and it was not completed until the Northern Wei Dynasty, which took nearly two hundred years. That was an age without gunpowder, a time when roads were carved out of rocks!

Chinese people, as long as they have a direction, they will never be afraid of difficulties!

What I fear most is losing my direction.

Do not seek God, because God does not save others, but only seeks yourself.

If there is a mountain in the way, we can move the mountain!

When there is flooding, it is water control!

This was the case for the ancient people. Could it be that subsequent generations have become weaker and weaker?

Most of the people who built the mountains here were slaves. These guys who originally planned to plunder China now have to face a bitter pill that is difficult to swallow. These slaves greatly made up for the shortage of labor force, especially heavy labor force, which accelerated the process of opening mountains and building roads here.

Plus gunpowder.

Of course, external claims are called "Five Elements Thunder".

"My subordinates pay their respects to the general!" 』The military academy in charge of gunpowder came to see him.

"No courtesy," Zhang Liao nodded, "How are you preparing?" 』

"General Qi, everything is ready, and we are now evacuating people down. ” the military academy responded.

Gunpowder is a special item and is under the dual jurisdiction of the military and craftsmen. Huang's craftsmen are responsible for approving the quantity, location and conditions of use, while the grenadiers in the army are responsible for the specific use. Such double insurance will ensure the confidentiality of gunpowder for a long time, but sooner or later someone will find a loophole. These measures are just delaying it as much as possible.

After all, some technologies will become obsolete.

The gunpowder used today to open mountains has been revised, improved, and improved again and again. In this process, the chemical industry, physical chemistry theory and research are also making continuous progress.

If in the original Han Dynasty, even if there was gunpowder manufacturing, they would at most make a note, such as where the raw materials are the best charcoal, where the best saltpeter is, etc., but it will definitely not be like today. Likewise, Huang's craftsmen were always beside him, recording every detail of the situation, and then summarizing it to Chang'an...

The charcoal in a certain place is good. Why is it good?

The saltpeter in one place is good, but why is the saltpeter in the other two places bad?

To put it simply, the big man, at least the big man in Guanzhong, began to move from knowing what happened to knowing why.

This is a small step, but it is also a huge step.

Just like the current construction of Lianyun Plank Road, it seems to be a small step to change from Baoxie Road to Chencang Road, but it means a bigger, wider and smoother direction.

"Be careful and safe. ” Although saying such things is generally a cliché, Zhang Liao still said, “Okay, let’s go.” 』

This time, it was not the first time for Zhang Liao to watch this scene, but for Xu Huang, it was still quite new.

Hanzhong is mountainous and the roads are difficult to walk.

There are more mountains in Sichuan and Shu, and the roads are more difficult to walk.

In other words, since the birth of China in ancient times, this road has never been easy.

Isn’t it just like this, step by step?

"It is said that there are two ways to make this mountain-opening thunder," Zhang Liao said to Xu Huang while looking into the distance. "One is called the lost wax method. As the name suggests, it is to first make a mold with wax and apply a mud shell on the outside. Then when the mud shell dries, it can be baked with fire, and then the wax will flow out..."

"Do you understand this? ” Xu Huang was a little surprised.

Zhang Liao laughed and said, "I'm just curious. I just checked some internal documents..."

Xu Huang nodded, and his evaluation of Zhang Liao was higher.

In the military, things are very complicated. Especially for the leader of an army, sometimes things are really too many to imagine. From major battle planning to the eating and drinking of soldiers, and even the mood swings of some non-commissioned officers in the army, they sometimes have to take care of it. There are a lot of documents to be approved every day, and there is still time to do it. What insignificant internal documents are you looking at?

Just for personal curiosity?

Of course, if you just want to relax, you can leave all these matters to the adjutant or clerk, but whether others do it for you, and the effect, it is others who have the final say...

This time in Hanzhong, Xu Huang gained a lot.

This kind of gain does not mean how much money is gained, but the personal growth. After staying in Chang'an for a long time, it's easy to solidify your thinking. Now when I went out for a trip, Xu Huang found that he had gained a lot of new knowledge.

Xu Huang has a calm personality. On the one hand, this kind of calmness is innate; on the other hand, it is acquired. Compared with Xu Huang, Zhang Liao was a lot more lively, especially since Zhang Liao did not surrender to Cao Cao as a loser like in history, so naturally he would not be as cautious as in history. , even if he was suspected of being monitored by Cao Cao, he still pretended not to see...

Therefore, Zhang Liao's current thinking is more open-minded and goes further than Xu Huang.

Just like the peasant and soldier training promoted by Zhang Liao in Hanzhong.

The term "peasant and soldier" is not new, but "peasant and soldier training" is.

Xu Huang watched a "peasant and soldier training" two days ago.

The "agricultural and soldier training" is somewhat similar to the "unification of farmers and soldiers" during the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty, but there are essential differences.

The "military-peasant integration" system means that service members work in villages and communes as farmers during normal times, and are temporarily recruited as soldiers in times of war. On weekdays, when they were farmers, weapons were returned to the state for unified custody. When conscription was needed, weapons were also issued at the same time.

This type of peasant soldiers is obviously different from the standing soldiers who never leave their hands or leave their hands all day long, forming a system of soldiers who are assembled before battle and temporarily assigned troops.

The reason why the "soldier-peasant integration" system will be eliminated is because the combat effectiveness of this thing is too low and it is purely cannon fodder. As the intensity of the war on the Chinese battlefield becomes more and more intense, such low-quality soldiers will naturally It becomes less and less suitable for the needs of war.

However, Zhang Liao's "peasant and soldier training" is not required in case of war, it seems that it is only for training farmers...

It was like Xu Huang saw a peasant-soldier training.

That was near Tunpu No. 5 in Hanzhong.

Tunbao No. 5 is surrounded by farmland. There are about 200 households in the camp. There is a school ground, which is not big. Peasants and soldiers train in the school ground.

There is no farm work in winter, and those who participate in the training are rich, so many people are very enthusiastic. Anyway, they are idle, and they don’t have to go into battle to kill the enemy. Wouldn’t it be nice to use some money to subsidize the family?

In fact, the training effect is not very good.

But this is not important. What is important is that these farmers have taken the first step from inside their homes to the outdoors.

Then there is the competition between the forts, just like the competition between soldiers. Someone wins, and naturally someone loses. Winners will be rewarded, and those who lose will go back with a bruised nose and a swollen face, inevitably holding their breath. , and we will compare next year.

This is because the farmers in the camp want to win, rather than others forcing them to win.

Zhang Liao said that he planned to improve this model and then report it to General Hussar to see if it could be extended to all military forts...

Soldiers in the field serve as soldiers during the slack time and farm when the farming is busy. It looks beautiful, but it is not a good idea anyway, because no one can guarantee that the enemy will also cooperate with the seasonal farming season and only fight when the farming is slack, or in other words In the middle of the battle, when they saw that there was not enough time and the busy farming season was approaching, the two sides closed the war and went back to their respective homes to wait for the next year to continue.

Therefore, the year-round standing recruitment system adopted by the Hussars General is more in line with current needs. However, this conscription system also brings some problems, that is, farmers only focus on farming. Once the military line is lost, farmers without any combat experience may collapse instantly.

This is the conclusion Zhang Liao made based on the battle in Hanzhong. Regardless of how many peasants and soldiers Zhang had recruited at that time, and how many troops they seemed to have, as soon as the frontline of the soldiers collapsed, the situation would be a complete collapse, and even the rescuers could not save it.

If there are farmers and soldiers who can rely on the Wubao to stand up for a while, or not to run away with the chaos, or even just need to be able to understand the soldiers' orders when fleeing, and distinguish the left and right, so as not to directly run into the soldiers' formation that has finally been gathered together, What about the cascading effects that don’t form a snowball?

Is this another situation?

This is the importance of "peasant and soldier training".

These farmers are not necessarily required to go into battle to kill the enemy, but if they can play a role in extreme situations, then the training expenses, money and food expenses spent before will be worth it!

Xu Huang exhaled slightly.

It seems that I have been stable for a while, but someone is chasing me...

Xu Huang thought to himself, and then glanced at Zhang Liao. And the current Zhang Wenyuan is probably still thinking about writing military books and doing some military preparations. Otherwise, how could he be willing to take the time to understand those relatively obscure knowledge?

For example, how to make Five Elements Thunder...

"It's going to be lit!" ” Zhang Liao pointed to the waving red flag on the mountain.

After a while, there was a loud bang, echoing among the rock walls of the valley. Even though it was so far away, it still felt like the eardrums were buzzing and could not subside for a long time.

"It's open, the mountains are open!" "Some soldiers came forward to check, and then shouted down the mountain, "A new road is coming! 』