While Wu Feng was vigorously adjusting the defense of Western Xinjiang, the General Administration of Military Affairs was also actively adjusting the defense of the entire central control area, including Jinzhong. The City Guard Corps was still stationed south of Qinghe Prefecture, and the 14th The legion was adjusted to the east of Zhongzhou to strengthen the defense against Luyang, and the third legion was also deployed to the area adjacent to Longquan, clearly showing a defensive posture against western Xinjiang, while the fourth legion was deployed to Jinzhong , three divisions were stationed in Fucheng, Jinzhong, while the other two divisions were placed at the junction of Jinzhong and Longquan. The Eighth and Ninth Legions were placed on the southern front. More than 200,000 people were placed on the front line with Huanggang and Jiujiang. Although the posture was decent, I am afraid that even the General Administration of Military Affairs had no idea how much effect it could have. end.
The series of defense adjustments came a bit suddenly, but the order from the General Administration of Military Affairs clearly expressed the unquestionable intention, that is, in the meeting of kings, the security of the imperial capital must be fully guaranteed, and it has always been in a state of leaderlessness. The Guards Corps seems to have begun to recover. Ma Yuanwang, the commander of the Guards Corps who has not been seen for a long time, has also begun to appear frequently, which has also attracted the attention of all parties. After all, when several large legions were stationed in the suburbs around the imperial capital, only the most powerful armed force in the empire was left in the entire imperial capital. When the kings enter the capital, although they each have armed forces, strong dragons cannot overwhelm local snakes. It is unlikely that the kings will lead too many guard forces. If the imperial guards can really get together, or join forces with another party, then it will be a big blow to other parties. It is a huge threat to all parties.
Although all parties have expressed their desire to enter Beijing, it is still difficult to say whether they will enter Beijing after they finally reach the city. The Imperial Capital is like a cage, threatening the safety of all parties. At this time, the owner of this cage may not be able to grasp the power to open the cage, which makes everything full of variables.
With a hint of exhaustion and excitement after the mission was completed, Ying Jianming stood alone at the top of the city and looked west. Tomorrow, His Highness King Qin would pass through Jinzhong and enter Zhongzhou, and the Jinzhong City in his hands would become the city after His Highness King Qin entered Zhongzhou. It is the only checkpoint connected to his territory. You can imagine how much Xijiang attaches importance to this checkpoint. Fortunately, his First Division finally got the opportunity to be stationed in the city, but stationing the Second Division on the outskirts of the city was still an unsafe factor. Fortunately, the Fifth Division controlled by his confidants was also stationed on the outskirts of the city. The entire situation It is still in his own hands. Unpredictable changes have really occurred, and he can firmly control this level and join forces with the Western Xinjiang Army.
Obviously, deploying the 20th Regiment on the outskirts of the city was a balancing act. It was difficult for Ying Jianming to say whether this was because the other party did not believe in him. After all, the First Division was his direct descendant, and the Fifth Division was on the surface. Although he couldn't see anything, he made suggestions during the deployment and still aroused the other party's vigilance. This is also reasonable. Although the other party has no military ability, he is an expert when it comes to playing power. But he probably never dreamed that he had an unusual relationship with Xijiang, which is a subconscious precaution. Bar.
Looking far into the distance, there are some faint mountain shadows on the horizon. The terrain of Jinzhong is a bit special. Except for the complete flat land along the western trade road, the southern part split into two parts by this trade road is almost hilly and peaceful. The ground is sometimes mixed with broken terrain, and the situation in the northern part is generally the same. Except for a large flat land like a gap in the area adjacent to Longquan, the other parts are also a mixture of shallow hills and dams.
Although this seemingly broken and scattered land is not fertile, it contains the richest coal resources in the empire. Almost every town in the 14 towns of Jinzhong Prefecture produces coal. Not only is the coal quality good, but it is also easy to mine. In addition, the Shanjiang River flows from The river outside Jinzhong Prefecture winds its way into Zhongzhou, which has become the largest coal producing area in the empire and the largest fuel supplier in the imperial capital.
The opulence of the coal merchants in Jinzhong, together with the salt merchants in Yangzhou and the financial merchants in the imperial capital, are known as the three rich merchant groups in the empire. This shows how wealthy the coal mine owners in Jinzhong are. Coal mines are like black gold, enough to make people rich overnight. , and after a few generations, one can become a rich man ranked among the best in the entire empire. After becoming rich, most of these coal mine owners chose the imperial capital as a place to buy property and build a family. The dignitaries in the imperial capital were also jealous of the rich resources in Jinzhong, and they used various means of power to infiltrate Jinzhong. For hundreds of years, , many aristocratic families who were originally from the imperial capital slowly infiltrated into Jinzhong, and the local coal merchants in Jinzhong penetrated into the imperial capital. The combination of the two, the relationship between Jinzhong and the imperial capital is even closer than It establishes the connection between Jinzhong and other prefectures in Heshuo County, including the capital Hejian Prefecture. And the position of Jinzhong City Guards has affected the nerves of many people in the imperial capital. Every adjustment of the main officials in Jinzhong always causes a big or small disturbance in the imperial officialdom, and it also becomes a barometer of the changes in the imperial officialdom. .
But this is all in the past. After the Taiping Rebellion, the power of coal merchants in Jinzhong was severely hit. Almost all the big coal merchants had to flee and hide in the imperial capital to avoid disaster. As soon as the Taiping Army took control After gaining control of Jinzhong, these coal mines were taken over by the Taiping Religion. However, due to the flight of a large number of skilled workers and joining the Taiping Army, and the coal mine owners fleeing to avoid disaster, most coal mines were actually at a standstill, and the sales of coal mines were also interrupted. Jinzhong suddenly became a Tasteless. Without a market, the coal mine would be almost worthless, and coal would be no different than mud and stone. The Taiping people, who lacked economic acumen, did not realize this. Apart from fighting and barbaric plundering, they would not use anything else. In order to make up for the economic constraints, the Jinzhong Prefecture, which is so large and rich in resources, cannot get much financial support in their hands.
The collapse of the Taiping Religion seems to have brought a glimmer of hope for the comeback of coal merchants in Jinzhong. The imperial army has regained control of Jinzhong, which seems to be a sign of this. A large number of coal merchants who fled to the imperial capital have returned to their hometowns. The coal mines Started to resume work one after another. However, the reality is often not as beautiful as imagined. With the large-scale expansion of the army controlled by the central empire, the central finance of the empire is obviously unable to support such a large army, especially after Donghai and Jiangnan successively stopped paying taxes to the central empire. This problem has become particularly serious. Although the central government's finances are still somewhat weak, the army of up to seven legions cannot be afforded by the central government of the empire that only controls one Zhongzhou and one Jinzhong. However, in the face of several other parties, Under the pressure of the Communist Party of China, the central government of the empire did not dare to abolish several legions. If it wanted to maintain the situation, it had to pass these problems on to the industrial and commercial classes.
So coal merchants have now become the main recipients of donations. According to the ideas of the central government of the empire, Jinzhong not only has to bear the military expenses of one legion stationed in Jinzhong, but also the expenses of another legion. This is equivalent to asking one Jinzhong government to bear the expenses of two legions. Even if it is No matter how wealthy Jinzhong is, no matter how rich the coal merchants are, it is unlikely that they will accept this result. The result is that the coal merchants refuse to pay, and the army stationed here simply employs officers to replace the government's forced collection of various taxes and fees. For military expenses. This has also led to continued tensions between local coal merchants and the military. The coal merchants' backers have also continued to make troubles in the DPRK and China, attacking the military for its poor management of the army and the army's harassment of local areas, leading to boiling public dissatisfaction. The military department, on the other hand, focused on state affairs and was financially unable to support the army, so it had to drink poison to quench its thirst. This method was used to raise funds to maintain the existence of the army. Fortunately, His Majesty is no longer in charge of politics. Many major issues are dealt with by a few important ministers in the DPRK. However, the final solution is to make peace, allowing the military to issue orders to garrison troops and reduce the burden on the people of Jinzhong. On the other hand, we also hope that the gentry people will Understand the current government’s predicament and be patient for a while.
However, this kind of thing is difficult for coal merchants to accept, especially those with strong backgrounds in the imperial capital. So some coal merchants began to invest in Hejian, Longquan and Heishan to the west, while others began to The blatant refusal to pay donations directly caused conflicts between the two parties, and the situation in Jinzhong became increasingly unstable. The reason why the military deployment was suddenly adjusted this time was, on the one hand, to strengthen the peripheral defense of the imperial capital, and on the other hand, it was also to ease the already bad military-civilian relations. At least after adjusting the deployment, the newly arrived Fourth Army could also re-establish A relatively relaxed relationship, of course, this is just the wishful thinking of the General Administration of Military Affairs.
Coal merchants hope to return to the past situation, but the empire's army of up to seven legions must be borne by people. In view of the continuous drought in the past year or two, it has been difficult for farmers to feed themselves. If they want farmers to come Bearing such a huge expense would probably trigger an immediate uprising among the peasants. After repeated deliberation, the empire's senior officials had no choice but to blame the merchants for this expense, especially the coal mine owners who had the aura of Shanxi merchants. .
Ying Jianming and his boss, the commander of the Fourth Army, Xu Xiangyang, both knew the joints involved. The reason why Xu Xiangyang would rather command remotely from the imperial capital than to directly garrison in Jinzhong was that he was unwilling to face it directly. Those coal mine owners have launched an attack. You must know that these coal mine owners have huge backers. Xu Xiangyang just wants to make a smooth transition and does not want to make the relationship with the senior officials of the imperial capital too tense on this issue. These tightrope walking All the ordinary problems were pushed to the head of Ying Jianming, who was fully responsible for the defense of Jinzhong Fucheng.