Fenghou

The current vehicle and boat is the third generation, which is called an integrated vehicle and boat. What is called an integrated vehicle and boat means that the position of the wheel and oar was taken into account when the boat was originally designed and constructed. The hulls on both sides are recessed, and the recessed position is just right. Two paddles were installed, and two shells were installed.

Chen Qing boarded the three thousand stone car and boat.

The first thousand and 530 chapters of Dunhuang

"The copper paddle is not small!"

From the gap in the side casing, Chen Qing faintly saw the copper paddles. He thought that the copper paddles of the Three Thousand Stone Ship should be small, but he did not expect that it was not small.

Yan Kuo said helplessly: "The shaft hole on the hull must be above the waterline, otherwise it will be easy for water to enter. In this way, the wheels and paddles can only be made bigger."

"It will take a lot of effort to make a copper wheel!"

"Exactly. Originally, only eight people were needed to pedal, but now 16 people are needed. The copper paddles of the Wanshi Sea Ship are bigger, and more people are needed. We can only wait for the steam engine to drive it."

"Is it because you are afraid of getting in the water that you made the paddles so big?"

Yan Kuo shook his head, "Water ingress is only one aspect. We really have no way to solve this water ingress problem. We can use tarpaulin to seal the edge of the shaft hole. Inland rivers are fine, but what to do at sea? Of course, we open the shaft hole when the ship is fully loaded. It is a little above the waterline, but what if it is an empty ship? The wheels and oars may not touch the water."

Chen Qing nodded, "Then we can only determine the size of the wheels and paddles according to the size of each ship, and find an optimal solution."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. This requires trial and error. First test the ship of three thousand stones, then five thousand stones, and finally ten thousand stones."

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "We still need to find a way to find a material to plug the leak. Of course it is impossible to completely plug the leak, but it can minimize water seepage."

"You can make a cover at the shaft hole. This kind of cover should be soft enough and elastic enough, but Weichen couldn't find a suitable material for a while."

Chen Qing suddenly thought of rubber. Isn't natural rubber the best plugging material?

But obtaining natural rubber will have to wait until next year, so we can only wait until we get it.

"By making the wheels bigger, can you go faster?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it's actually just like the single oar we row. The bigger the oar, the faster the boat. Similarly, the bigger the oar, the higher the requirements for materials."

Chen Qing said with a smile: "It doesn't have to be made of copper. Iron pear wood is also very strong for making wheels and oars."

Yan Kuo smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty does not know, the current Wanshi ship's propellers are made of iron pear wood, so they can sail on the sea. It is impossible to use ordinary wood, but the problem is that it will be worn out within three years at most. , but replaced by copper or iron, it can be used for more than ten years.”

"Try it according to your plan first! You can test the Wanshi ship on the Yangtze River."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we do intend to test the copper paddles of the Wanshi Sea Ship on the Yangtze River and along the coast, and the time is set for two months."

"Okay! I'm just making a suggestion. How to do it is up to you to arrange it yourself. I just want the result!"

……

Back in the imperial study, Chen Qing immediately issued an order, ordering Tang Huai, the captain of the navy, to send another [-] sailors and [-] thousand-stone warships to Yongnan Island, and at the same time bring a large amount of food and advanced firearms.

Although Chen Qing despised Zhu Luoguo strategically, he still attached great importance to it tactically. He was worried that Cao De's troops were still a little weaker.

……

Time gradually arrived in late September, and the [-] troops led by Liu Qiong and Tang Qian finally arrived in Shazhou. Before them, tens of thousands of camels on Lingxia Road were sent to Dunhuang with tents and other supplies. There are thousands of big tents.

After the [-] troops arrived, the accommodation problem was solved.

When we arrived in Shazhou, in addition to the strategy that must be carried out in accordance with the deployment of the emperor, Liu Qiong had the final say on how to fight and how to march.

The [-] army also gathered famous generals. Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, Cao De's son Cao Ning, Yang Zaixing's son Yang Wenyi, Liu Cui's son Liu Jinpeng, and Hu Yantong's nephew Huyan Qingyun, these cutting-edge young generals also participated in this battle. The Western Expedition will be remembered in the annals of history, and the Anxi Protectorate will be rebuilt.

One hundred thousand troops had set up a large camp outside Dunhuang City. Inside the large tent of the Chinese army, several commanders stood in front of the map to discuss the next move. The main general was Liu Qiong, and the left and right deputy generals were Tang Qian and Li Cheng. Li Muqing, Lu Gui, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, Hu Yanyun and Zhao Lun all ruled.

Here, Hu Yanyun is responsible for the supply and distribution of food materials, while Zhao Lun is responsible for the transportation of camels. Zhao Lun was Zhao Xiaoyi back then. Chen Qing changed his name to Zhao Lun, but when it comes to who Zhao Lun is, no one in the army knows. Camel King, known to everyone in the Western Army. He is the first general to be ruled by the capital and win the title of county duke by virtue of his merits in raising camels.

"His Royal Highness assigned us two tasks. First, to establish and rebuild the Anxi Protectorate, and to establish five military cities in Tingzhou, Yiwu, Gaochang, Yanqi, and Qiuci; second, to defeat the Xiliao army. , to force the Xiliao army on the Mobei Grassland to retreat by encircling Wei and saving Zhao; third, it is not necessary to destroy Xiliao, but it must be beaten so that it will not dare to peep at the east; fourth, to prevent Xizhou Huihe turned his face, once turned his face, we will directly destroy Xizhou Huihe.

These four tasks are sorted according to importance, not according to the order of implementation. The first thing we have to do is the second point, against the Xiliao army. "

Speaking of this, Liu Qiong said with a smile to Li Cheng: "Only Li Dudu and Xi Liao have fought against each other here, let Li Dudu tell everyone about it!"

Li Cheng blushed a little, more than half of the tent had fought against him, Yue Yun even met him on the battlefield, and almost killed him with a hammer, but the Kingdom of Jin has already been destroyed, and now he is sealed by the emperor because of his meritorious service in guarding the frontier. Jue was the Duke of Zhangye County, he served as the governor of Shazhou and the commander of the upper army, and he was a general of the third rank Yunhui.

Li Jiancheng made a great contribution. Chen Qing reached an agreement with Xizhou Huihe in those years. After Ganzhou Huihe was attacked by Xizhou Huihe, Chen Qing agreed to hand over the population of Ganzhou Huihe to Xizhou Huihe, and also agreed to Huihe owned the city of Zhangye, but the condition was that they were not allowed to garrison troops in Zhangye, and could only be ruled by culture.

Three years ago, Xizhou Huihe sent [-] troops to enter the Hexi Corridor to stay in Ganzhou for a long time, but was intercepted and defeated by Li Cheng's army. The [-] Xizhou Huihe troops suffered heavy casualties and fled back to the capital.

It was after this conflict that Li Cheng got the approval of Chen Qing to cut off the connection between Xizhou Huihe and Zhangye. Li Cheng then led [-] Xizhou troops and [-] Huihe troops to confront each other in Xingxing Gorge. Xizhou Huihe finally I had to admit that half a year later, all the Xizhou Huihe officials in Zhangye evacuated.

It can be said that it was this conflict that made Yong State completely regain the Hexi Corridor. In recognition of Li Cheng's achievements, after Chen Qing ascended the throne, he made Li the Duke of Zhangye County and was promoted to Commander of the Upper Army.

But it was also this war that made Xizhou Huihe so sad that when Chen Qing ascended the throne and established the Dayong Dynasty, Xizhou Huihe did not send envoys to congratulate him, let alone send envoys to Jingzhao.

Li Cheng coughed and said to everyone: "First of all, let me clear up a misunderstanding. The Xiliao army is not composed of Khitans. Except for the nobles who are Khitans, the army and the people of Xiliao are basically not Khitans. It has passed. After more than 20 years, the 30 Khitan soldiers who followed Yelu Dashi to the west were either old or dead. Now there are about [-] troops in Xiliao, half of which are former Heikhan soldiers and the other half are Seljuk soldiers. There are Huihe people, Ge Luolu people, Turkic people, Tocharian people, Sogdian people, etc., and the descendants of the [-] Khitan soldiers back then are all Yelu Dashi’s guards.”

Liu Qiong nodded and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter where you are from! We care more about the equipment and combat effectiveness of soldiers."

Li Cheng smiled and continued: "Most of the Xiliao soldiers are cavalry, and there are also infantry. The equipment is mainly spears and short swords. The armor is almost leather armor. Only the guards are iron armor. If they are infantry, there will be one side. Shields, they are not good at bows and arrows, and their range is only [-] steps, but they have strong impact and are very brave, but they are not good for protracted battles. I led [-] troops to defeat their [-] cavalry in Tingzhou. After an hour of fierce fighting, They suddenly collapsed and the whole army retreated. There was no reason, but the morale collapsed. In addition, Xiliao likes to take risks and likes to send out surprise soldiers to attack long distances. No lessons learned."

"How many troops are there in Xizhou Huihe?" Tang Qian asked next to him.

Li Cheng sneered and said: "They boast that they still have 20 troops, but I estimate that they are less than [-]. If there is still a little spare power, they will not send people to ask for help from the court, let alone allow us to rebuild Anxi Capital Guardian."

The first thousand and 530 chapters three Yiwu

Five days later, 12 troops set off from camp and marched in the direction of Xingxing Gorge, followed by [-] camels loaded with food and supplies.

On both sides are grasslands, a river passes through the grasslands, and farther away are vast mountains.

At this time, Li Cheng pointed to a large-scale military city road by the river: "It is there. It was originally the military city of the Xizhou Huihe Army. There are about [-] troops stationed all year round, blocking the Xingxing Gorge."

Liu Qiongda looked at it for a moment and said: "This position is good, but unfortunately there is no army anymore."

"Exactly! This also shows that the Huihe troops in Xizhou have been stretched, and all the garrisons in various places have been shrunk back to the capital."

"How far is Yiwu City from here?"

"There are still more than three hundred miles!"

Liu Qiong thought for a while and said, "It's [-] miles from Dunhuang to Yiwu. We have to set up two supply stations in the middle, one on the side of Liuyuan, and another one here, I think. Li Dudu What do you think?"

Li Cheng nodded, "I'll arrange this matter!"

Li Cheng's army was in charge of logistical support, and the Western Regions were vast, and they could not get the support of the locals, so the logistical support from Dunhuang was extremely important.

It is precisely because they rely too much on Dunhuang's logistics, so they must not go too deep at the beginning. It is most appropriate to set the first foothold in Yiwu County.

The army continued westward. Three days later, the army arrived in Yiwu County. Along the way, there were Gobi, grasslands, forests, and magnificent stone forests formed by wind and sand erosion. The Hexi Corridor seemed to have become so far away.

Yiwu County is a county with a circumference of about [-] miles. Its style is slightly similar to the style of the Central Plains. In fact, it was originally built in the Sui Dynasty, and it was repaired many times in the Tang Dynasty. Since the Sui Dynasty, Yizhou has always been the Central Plains Dynasty. Like Shazhou, Ganzhou, and Suzhou, there are officials and troops stationed there for governance.

But after the Anshi Rebellion, Tubo captured the Hexi Corridor, and Yizhou was submerged by the wind and sand of history.

Yiwu County has been constantly renovating and rebuilding on the original basis. It is not surprising that the style is like a city in the Central Plains.

According to the agreement signed between the Yong Dynasty and Xizhou Huihe, the land outside Yiwu City belongs to Xizhou Huihe, but Yiwu City belongs to Yong Dynasty, but both parties understand that this agreement is only a measure of rights and interests, and Xizhou Huihe is facing the worry of extinction , There is no way to make concessions to the Yong Dynasty, otherwise, how could they give up the densely populated city to the Yong Dynasty, there are not many cities here.

Once Xiliao is defeated, Xizhou Huihe will definitely turn his face, and will try every means to drive the Yong army back to the Hexi Corridor, but whether it still has that ability is another matter.

The officials in the city had already been notified. They handled the handover of the city with Liu Qiong outside the city, and then hurriedly evacuated back to Bieshabali. They also had to rush to report to Khan that the Yong army had arrived.

The interpreter for them was a Han official. Li Cheng recommended it to Liu Qiong. He was the governor of Dunhuang County. He was about 27 or [-] years old. His name was Zhang Huang. It is said that he was a descendant of the famous general Zhang Yichao.

Zhang Huang often came to Yiwu County and was very familiar with it. Apart from Zhang Huang, there were more than a dozen young Han Chinese recruited in Dunhuang County. They were fluent in Chinese and Uighur and served as translators in the army.

But these Han people actually have their own positions. They will become the local civil servants in the military cities of Anxi Dufu.

For example, this Zhang Huang, who is the governor of Dunhuang County, will serve as the county magistrate of Yiwu County.

One hundred thousand troops were stationed outside the city, and 3000 people were stationed inside the city. It happened that there was a medium-sized military camp inside the city.

Liu Qiong entered the city under the guidance of businessman Zhang Huang. The city was very lively, people of all ethnic groups came and went on the street, there were many shops, and the sound of hawking and shouting kept coming and going. No relationship.

The architectural styles on both sides are also varied, including Han Chinese cornices and bucket arches, Huihe domes, and local Wusun people's flat-roofed earthen houses.

So mixed together, yet so natural and harmonious, without any conflict at all.

The Huihe people are more tolerant to the Han people, unlike the Tubo who treated the Han people as slaves. The Han people and the Huihe people jointly overthrew the Tubo rule, so the Han people have always been able to live in harmony with the Huihe people.

"Why don't the people here run away?"

Liu Qiong asked puzzledly, "Aren't they afraid that the army will enter the city and loot?"

Zhang Huang said with a smile: "General, if it was the Western Liao army, they would have run away if they were afraid, but the Yong army is not afraid. Before Li Dudu led the army to come, Qiu did not commit any crimes, and the common people know."

"I see!"

Liu Qiong nodded, and said to Zhang Huang: "I want to talk to the respected elders in the area. The time is set for tomorrow! It's in the county office. I'll leave this matter to you."

"The humble job must be done well!"

……

The Huihe officials in the county government had already left, and there were still some civil servants left. There were Han people and Huihe people. They were all from the city. The arrival of the Yong army made them feel uneasy.

Liu Qiong gathered more than a dozen civil officials and said loudly to them: "According to the agreement reached between the Yong Dynasty and Xizhou Huihe, the Yong Dynasty will re-establish the Anxi Protectorate, and Anxi will establish five military cities, that is, five counties. , Yiwu is the first county, you can stay and become officials of the Yong Dynasty, or you can go home, we will not force it, if you want to stay, you need to sign a letter of allegiance."

Without any hesitation, more than a dozen officials stepped forward to sign the pledge of allegiance. They also wanted to support their families. How would they live if they lost this job?

Life is the most realistic thing, and belonging is not important. Seeing that everyone signed, Liu Qiong nodded and introduced Zhang Huang to everyone. From now on, Zhang Huang is the magistrate of Yiwu County.

……

The acquisition of the military city by the Yong army will of course also include some subsidiary land around it. No military city will be bounded by the city wall, and there must be surrounding subsidiary land. The reason is also very simple. Many people in the city have land outside the city. With the wall as the boundary, the man and the land are separated.

If the city wall was used as the boundary, the Xizhou Huihe army would directly and legally approach the city.

Therefore, it is clearly marked in the detailed rules signed by the Yong Dynasty and Xizhou Huihe that the military city of Anxi Dufu covers [-] miles around the city, and the road to Hexi is unimpeded.

In other words, twenty miles around the city wall are attached to the military city, which seems like a lot, but in fact, twenty miles is nothing to Anxi, which has a vast territory.

Immediately, Liu Qiong, led by several Han officials, patrolled outside the city. Outside were large grasslands, forests and low hills. A wide river flowed from the north. This is the Yiwu River. The sky is blue and the water quality is also clear and blue. , both banks are covered with swaying wild flowers, and groups of cattle and sheep drink water quietly by the river.

Liu Qiong pointed to both sides of the river with a whip and asked, "Who does the land on both sides of the river belong to?"

The official shook his head, pointed to the far north and said, "The pastures at the foot of the Zheluoman Mountain hundreds of miles away in the north belong to the Wusun people, and the rest belong to the king."

"But I saw a lot of wheat fields in the west of the city. How many are there?"

"There are a total of 120 hectares, all of which are official lands. The general may not know that there is no such thing as private land here. It is either owned by the tribe or the king. Even if the nobles own a large area of ​​land, they also occupy it in the name of the tribe. A tribe There are hundreds or thousands of households, and many of them are slave households."

Liu Qiong nodded, "So the cattle and sheep here are either raised for the king or for the government."

"In fact, they are all raised by the king. The government's grain, cattle and sheep are sold to ordinary people, and the money obtained must be turned over to the king as tax money, and the king will use it to support the army."

Liu Qiong was actually thinking about the supply of the troops stationed in Anxi. In the future, there would be [-] troops stationed in Anxi, and their rations would always be supplied by the imperial court. It was too far away. The emperor meant that the troops stationed in Anxi had better be self-sufficient in food.

Liu Qiong pointed to Dahedao: "The two sides of the river will be used as military land in the future, and will be used for the army to farm."

The first thousand and 530 chapters and four southern envoys

On the vast prairie, an army of 10 people is marching towards the east. The army spreads out over dozens of miles. Under the leadership of their respective leaders, cavalrymen follow the banner of the wolf head of Xiliao in the boundless land. Walk slowly on the grassland.

The 20 army is composed of [-] Xiliao troops and [-] Naiman troops. The Naiman tribe is the Xiajiasi people of the Tang Dynasty. They live on the vast grassland north of Jinshan. They surrendered to Xiliao [-] years ago. , Has been paying tribute to cattle and sheep to Xiliao.

This time the Western Liao army marched eastward, using the territory of the Naiman tribe. The Naiman tribe not only provided logistics support with cattle and sheep, but also sent 2 troops. Yelu Dashi promised that after capturing the city of Ketun, he would give the Naiman tribe a thousand miles pasture.

The general who commanded the army of Xiliao was Xiao Chaci, a member of the Privy Council of Xiliao. He was also one of the two hundred Khitan cavalry who fled westward with Yelu Dashi. He was also one of the important generals in the Battle of Katwan, defeating the Seljuk Empire Led by the Western Allied Forces.

The head coach of the Naiman tribe who followed him on the expedition was Nairhei, the Great Khan of the Naiman tribe.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xiao Cha ordered: "The whole army camps in place!"

One hundred thousand troops camped on the grassland with a radius of dozens of miles. Small tents were set up, horses were tied beside the tents, and soldiers were sitting in front of piles of bonfires. Talking about the women in my hometown, laughing together wantonly.

Looking down from a high altitude, the dotted fires can't be seen at a glance.

Moving quickly to the east, two hundred miles away, the 15 combined army is also marching westward, the elites of the four tribes are all out, and the [-] Jurchen cavalry are the eyes of the entire army. At this time, Wanyan Wushu got intelligence brought by spies from the far west.

The main force of the enemy army was found two hundred miles away, Wanyan Wushu said coldly: "Notify all the troops that the big battle will be the day after tomorrow, cheer me up!"

……

Two days later, on the vast grassland in the north of Wushan Mountain and east of the Xuelinge River, the two armies finally met, with banners unfurled, hundreds of thousands of soldiers covering the sky, and horns blasting.

The two armies confronted each other for a full quarter of an hour, and the two armies launched their offensive almost simultaneously, just like two surging seas rushing swiftly from the east and west sides, getting closer and closer, and finally collided with each other.

An epic battle unfolded on the vast grassland.

……

In Quanzhou, more than a dozen Wanshi ships are slowly entering the port under the escort of two military ships. This is the official fleet and the last fleet returning north this year. There are also a large number of ordinary merchants on board. When they return with a full load of goods, they all look forward to selling them at a good price.