Chapter 291 The Dike

In Yuezhou City, Zhao Yingong stood on the city gate tower, watching the brigade of Mingzhou soldiers entering the city gate with confidence. Hu Zhen, who was standing behind him, looked pale and kept silent. At this time, Wu Guo's breathless voice came from behind: "Report to the lord, the arsenal, the governor's mansion, and the other gates have been controlled by our army, and the guards have abandoned their troops and surrendered. According to your prior instructions, the city has been curfewed and no one is allowed to go to the streets. Now the city is calm."

Zhao Yingong turned around and asked, "Then how many people did our army hurt? How many more did we kill?"

"When those defenders saw that the situation was not good, they did not resist except for a few who escaped, and naturally no one was killed or injured."

Zhao Yingong nodded with satisfaction, patted Hu Zhen's shoulder behind him and said, "I know you are unhappy at this time, but you see that those soldiers have wives and small families. If the two armies fight, I don't know how many more orphans and widows will be added. There is no harm in the people in the city. All of these will be thanks to you. You live by vegetables on weekdays, but you are not a greedy buyer. Although some people are talking about you now, there will naturally be public opinions after a long time in the future."

When Hu Zhen heard this, the muscles on his face twitched, bowed and said, "The city of the state is settled. How should the lord deal with the army of Wu Yongdu?"

Zhao Yingong smiled and said, "You were old acquaintances with Xu Zaisi in Shichengshan. In fact, if Dong Chang had not been foolish and had to seek death, and he would have scattered Dong Zhen and other good generals idle, even Gu Quanwu would not be able to get it. At present, Xu Zaisi's only has four or five thousand soldiers, and even if he had acquired the surrendered troops from the East Zhejiang Alliance, there were only ten thousand soldiers, and there were no military rations and equipment. If he knew about it, he would lead his troops to retreat and save his life. If the entire army came to attack, I would first defend the city and send more than a thousand elite soldiers to cruise outside. If the military rations were insufficient, he would definitely divide his troops and plunder the village, and he would be the one who was my wandering soldiers. At most, he would not eat any more days and his face would be hungry. That would be difficult for Xu Zaisi to protect his head."

Hu Zhen couldn't help but nodded secretly. The old saying goes, "The most poisonous military strategy is the shortage of food." No matter how powerful the soldiers are, if you have all kinds of strategies in your heart, everything will be done. Xu Zaizai wants to harvest grain in the countryside, you must disperse your army. At that time, these scattered grain harvest teams will become good targets for the Mingzhou army. With a scheming and unintentional calculation, you can almost conclude that the Mingzhou army has won. Although the martial arts and bravery will not lose much strength, under the strong army, the morale of the army will easily be depressed and insufficient supplies. Even if you defeat a battle, Xu Zaizai thought that it would be rare that Sun Wu Fusheng would win this battle.

At this time, most of the Mingzhou soldiers had entered the city, and only the guards of Queyue was still outside the city. The sunset on the horizon shone on the blood-blocking tasseled spears in the hands of the soldiers, as if covered with blood. Zhao Yingong stared at his elite troops and suddenly pointed to the north and shouted loudly: "This is just the first step, first Yuezhou, then the prefectures in eastern Zhejiang, then Hangzhou, Huzhou, Suzhou, and all the Yangtze River to Runzhou." One day, I will restore my hometown in Liangzhe."

In the city of Hangzhou, Lu Fang was reviewing documents in the military mansion. Gao Fengtian and Chen Yun sat aside, preparing to answer Lu Fang's questions.

Lu Fang suddenly frowned and asked, "Huh? I dug a river ditches next to the dock. Isn't the construction of the water truck started a month ago? Why are the widening roads still being built? This is too slow, right?"

Gao Fengtian, who was standing by, quickly responded: "It is the busy farming season now, and both people's strength and livestock are in short supply. If you miss the farming season, it is not a trivial matter. So this month, I just let some official slaves broaden the roads and do some preparations."

It turned out that since Lu Fang took over Hangzhou, he made up his mind to build the Zhejiang coast outside Hangzhou into his own military base. This place not only has convenient water transportation, but also has abundant water flow and has sufficient power source. Whether it is the hydraulic blower of the iron smelting furnace or the hydraulic forging hammer required by the future artillery factory, he is ready to choose a location for this place. As a time traveler, he naturally attaches great importance to the construction of this base, and sent all the labor force he could take out, and even the servants who served his daily life in the mansion only stayed for a few years.

An old woman with a weak body, but compared to the stalls that need to be opened, there is too little labor force to be collected. Not to mention that if corvee labor is collected, although there is no need to pay wages, the food must be fully managed. Otherwise, it will be a breeding ground for civil unrest and riots. The inducement of countless peasant uprisings in ancient times was corvee labor. This is not accidental. But when I think of the stored grain in my hands, Lu Fang couldn't help but frown: "Judge Gao, how much food do we have in our hands? If corvee labor is collected after the autumn harvest this year, can there be enough food for civilians to eat?"

Gao Fengtian's face suddenly became bitter: "This, this? It would be fine if it was a small-scale one. If it was a large-scale one, I'm afraid, I'm afraid." Speaking of this, Gao Fengtian couldn't continue to say it, but Lu Fang probably guessed what he meant, and couldn't help but feel irritated and asked loudly: "This Hangzhou is the essence of Liangzhe. During the Taiping period, the grain transported from Liangzhe to Chang'an every year was less than 300,000 stones. Including the road consumption, the grain output was no less than 600,000 stones. Now the grain transport is cut off, and all these grains are in Qian Miao's hands. After accumulating over the past few years, how can I practice some accumulation?"

"The lord doesn't know that although Liangzhe has always been known as wealthy and has no harm from floods and droughts. However, many water conservancy projects have been in disrepair over the years and are no longer as good as before. In addition, Qian Miao built Hangzhou City a few years ago, which consumed a lot of food. If the people were to be levied, the food would be barely enough. But if there is water damage in the next year, the grains will not accumulate and there will be no accumulation, I am afraid that the situation will be very bad and out of control."

When Lu Fang heard this, he suddenly remembered Qian Miao's advice to him before his death, and told him to build seawalls on both sides of Zhejiang to prevent the disaster of tides from flowing backwards. He asked quickly: "The construction of seawalls before Qian Miao's death was related to the water damage."

Gao Fengtian heard Lu Fang mention Qian Miao's last words, raised his hand and said, "The lord is indeed a talented person, and he can understand without learning. He grasped the key points of the water damage of the two Zhejiangs in one sentence." Speaking of this, he took out a silk book from the side and opened it. It was a water dividing map near Hangzhou. He explained it in detail. It turned out that the northwest wind was prevalent in winter in the Qiantang River basin, and the weather was sunny, cold and dry; there were many southeast winds in summer and autumn. There were many typhoons. Because the direction of the monsoon circulation was basically orthogonal to the direction of the main mountain range, the mountains blocked the north.

The role of cold currents and typhoons, so once a typhoon arrives, it will often precipitate a lot on the front slope of the mountain range, and the water will use the wind to wash the embankment. Moreover, the rainfall is concentrated, especially between April and June, accounting for almost half of the annual precipitation, and it is extremely prone to floods and waterlogging; but from July to September, it is only one-fifth of the year, and early disasters are frequent. The river water changes greatly with the abundant rainfall. Sometimes it even reaches 5 to 1. Not to mention that Qiantang tides are famous all over the world. When the sea tide flows back, it is also easy to wash away the embankment and endanger people's livelihood.

When Lu Fang heard this, he realized the difficulty of his own hands. Since ancient times, building water conservancy has been a cause that has been in the present and profitable for thousands of years. To engage in such large-scale public utilities, it is a matter of resentment to recruit a large number of civilians. Although there are great benefits, the people are often short-sighted and have no profits and are resentful. Once a minor official takes action, exploits the people and makes profits from it, and even if there are ambitious people, a dynasty will often perish. Emperor Yang of the previous dynasty was a master of the imperial examination and the Grand Canal of the Beijing-Hangzhou

It is impossible to say that there are great causes for the country and the people, but the people have suffered a lot. Therefore, later generations said that 'Although the Sui Dynasty suffered its disadvantages, the Tang Dynasty also received its benefits'." Thinking of this, I couldn't help but secretly admire Qian Miao. This person repaired Liangzhe water conservancy in history, and the people have benefited it deeply. After a thousand years, he still praised his name. As a time traveler, he naturally wanted to do his career better. Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "Okay, let's put the matters of the military base first, and then repair the seawall until the farming is slack."

Gao Fengtian looked embarrassed and replied, "I think this is not a year or two."

When Lu Fang heard this, he was stunned. After asking carefully, he realized that the construction of the seawall was extremely costly. It was probably not possible to rely on the strength of his own states. In the past, the forces of several states on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were united to share money and grain, and they could complete it.

When Lu Fang heard this, he thought to himself that he had to take down the two Zhejiang areas first to overhaul water conservancy, but the situation there is complicated now, Guangling is quite hostile to him, so how could he get out of his family? While he was thinking, he heard Chen Yun, who had been silent all the time, suddenly said: "I have a way to make the flood in Zhejiang disappear."

Lu Fang was overjoyed when he heard this and said with a smile: "Secretary Chen, you are in charge of the matter. I didn't expect that you can even understand such civil affairs. Tell me quickly."

Chen Yun smiled and said, "This method is simple. It's not worth it to put it bluntly. Just send a team of soldiers to the dike on the other side of Yuezhou when it is prone to flooding and dig the dike on the other side of the river. Naturally, we can't flood it."

Hearing Chen Yun say this, Gao Fengtian's face changed drastically, and he didn't even start cursing. Lu Fang was on the side and wanted to cry without tears. Why did his subordinates come up with such a person? Even the idea of ​​harming neighbors. But Chen Yun's face was not only unsatisfied, but also quite complacent. It would be right to think about it carefully. After all, in a few decades, Hou Liang made the idea of ​​breaking the Yellow River to block the Iron Cavalry of Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang. His move was not just a copy of the flood diversion area in later generations. When the people's strength is insufficient, it's okay to try it. Thinking of this, Lu Fang was about to instruct the two of them to keep the matter secret and not to be revealed, but heard a guard outside the house report: "The envoy of the Tianshi of Xuanzhou is here."
Chapter completed!