And after this boat trip out of the mountains of northern Guangxi, it entered the narrow and tortuous Xiangtan Basin, and through the tributaries of the Xiangjiang River flowing through the territory, it also connected the Hunan hinterland like an inverted maple leaf-shaped Xiangzhong Great Plain. It is also the location of the agricultural area and large granary where the so-called "Huguang mature, the world is sufficient" in later generations.
However, although the technology for building farms and polders has already appeared in the area, the development is still insufficient in this era; and many places are still occupied and divided by rivers, lakes and waters. After all, in this era, Yunmeng Daze, the largest wetland in the south, has not completely disappeared yet.
And between the mountains and rivers, there are also extraordinary various types of barbarians and mountain barbarians scattered. There are also water bandits and river pirates between Yunmeng and Daze. Therefore, most of the Hunan Observatories under the rule of this period were generally known for being remote and sinister; they were regarded as one of the dreadful places and the evil places for official officials.
The only advantage over Lingnan, which is also a place of exile and a bad route for demotion, is that it is at least closer to Chang'an in the West Beijing and Luoyang in the east, and water and land transportation is more convenient; however, the environmental suitability of the climate and properties is wet. It is hot, and inferior to the land of Annan, which is fertile and fertile. Therefore, the real start of large-scale development will have to wait until the establishment of Ma Yin's Chu state in decades.
However, apart from the barriers of Wuling Chongshan, I learned that what happened in Guizhou was not accidental. But at least other places besides the state city are relatively calm; even if they are copied by many large and powerful families as the head of the country, they are just some small-scale local riots that will soon disappear; but in the north After neighboring the territory of the whole state of the Hunan Observatory, there is nothing but outright chaos and barrenness that can be seen from time to time.
In the whole day since the army came out of the mountain, at least a dozen waves of snoopers have been encountered, although most of them are ragged and unkempt, looking away from a distance.
The investigating team and the winged riders who were put ashore to roam the police patrol also got more news and insights in the countryside far from the river bank. Bandits are rampant and hungry people are running around, there are new clumps and settlements everywhere; and all foreign people and things are guarded extremely vigilantly.
The crowds on the upper reaches of the road seem to be unafraid of the banner of the rebels, and there are several attempts to trail and outflank the rider as a scout, but they are all easily rid of by experienced treasure hunters. . But the information and judgments they bring are undoubtedly shocking.
Although these forces traveling in groups in the wild can not threaten the small number of rebels stationed in prefectures, counties, cities and towns, they may hinder the navigation of larger fleets; however, the chaos and disorder among the people There have been other consequences; in a short period of time, many passing civilian ships and merchant ships were robbed and damaged, leaving only the scorched keel remains stranded by the river.
There are even some suspected human and beast bones scattered in the middle, just seeing them being torn to pieces everywhere, people can't help but shudder faintly.
After getting used to the relatively safe and peaceful daily life outside of Lingwai, I felt very touched when I saw these cruel things that seemed to be familiar. Then I suddenly realized that this is the most common thing in this chaotic world today, and the peace and busyness that I have used in the Lingwai are only new things that have gradually appeared a year and a half ago.
"You can't slack off... and you have to earn more land to marry a wife and have children and light the door lintel..."
He cheered and encouraged himself.
As more ships were collected as transportation capacity under Guizhou City, the actual marching speed was further increased; although this time did not encounter the night swells that Huang Chao encountered when Huang Chao went north, he took advantage of the trend and went straight for hundreds of miles. Luck through several states;
However, when the soldiers mostly rested, boarded and lodded on the ship, it saved the time for camping and assembly in the interval. It can also be called a daily journey without disturbance. (Of course it’s not a straight line in geography, but a meander along a curved river.)
At this time, small entertainment activities, such as storytelling, chess fighting, card games, singing music, etc., which were coordinated with propaganda methods, were able to be carried out on the large ships of various troops. For a time, songs and ballads of various accents and accents began to burst into these sailing river boats, and they dispelled many birds and beasts along the coast and the desolate atmosphere.
Then there were some boring and consciously talented people who were suffocated in the narrow space on the ship. After obtaining permission from Zhou Huai'an, they were also able to be put ashore for some small-scale military competitions such as shooting wild animals and capturing captives. , Zhou Huaian even fired all kinds of lotteries for this to encourage them. As a result, we have harvested more than a dozen different flavors of local game, and explored and heard some of the local experience.
For example, officials from Jiannan Road and Qianzhong Road have already fought over, and grass thieves everywhere have abandoned their guards and fled. . For example, Huang Chao's headquarters has been wiped out and died in Jiangxi, and the rest has been begging for surrender to the court. The true and the false are not lacking in exaggerated rumors.
This is the second time that he has led a ship on the waterway (not counting the one at sea), so the ships on which tens of thousands of troops were boarded were also divided into five formations with a certain interval for safety and security considerations. sequence. Among them, the first, third, and fifth sequences are the internal troop transport fleet that has concentrated most of the combat power, and also represents the forward, defender, and response posture of the Chinese army.
The head and stern part of each of the large ships has reserved space and room for the operation of the corresponding bow and crossbow equipment, and there are pawns draped all over to guard and stand by in case; and once the whistle is blown, the rear cabin The soldiers here who are taking turns resting and training with bare hands will also be quickly armed and ready to line up on shore to prepare for the enemy.
The second and fourth sequences in the middle of the double-teaming sequence are the unrestricted transportation sequence of the cargo, armored vehicles, and livestock; then, between the beginning and the end of the two sequences, there are lights in the field of view (night). Use the flag (day) to keep in touch and communicate orders;
In such a sudden situation and accident, you can get the support and response of the first two armed forces, and then there will be wanderers and boats that go ashore, as auxiliary means of communication and alert; it can be said that except for some dry seasons. In addition to the inevitable hidden dangers such as stranding and bottoming of rivers and reefs, it is basically safe to travel.
Therefore, it is a little boring to sail all the way here, and there is no unopened force jumping out to get in the way, or to become the object of practice for most of the soldiers who are a little annoyed on the boat to relax the shin;
The only accident and episode during the night was when the boat was slowly sailing at night, since someone climbed onto the fourth gang of a certain transport ship under the cover of darkness, and stole the cabin on the ship to prepare for the handover of the morning service. Leftover food. Then, because of his greedy mouth, he couldn't move, and made a noise and was caught on the spot.
Then the next day, when I got up, I found out that it was a few young men and women who were so thin that they couldn’t distinguish their gender. As a punishment and redemption issued by Zhou Huaian, they were left on the boat to do the tedious work of handling filth and rubbish. Come.
When Haohao Tangtang's fleet arrived in Yongzhou, Zhou Huaian did not have much patience to negotiate and walk through the process of sending and receiving. Amidst the roars of chickens and dogs jumping and crying, he quickly went ashore to occupy the pier and seize the city gate non-stop. Only then did he line up neatly and rush into the state of Taiping. After Ya could not help but control everything inside and outside.
Only when Zhou Huaian faced the officials who had been driven over with a panic face and a dozen rebel generals who were at a loss and their clothes were disheveled, he formally announced the annexation of the other parts of the rebel army stationed there, and thus established a second Taiping army food station. .
However, the situation of the local rebels after the final inspection was also quite worrying; in other words, the easy life of resident in the city made the rebels of humble origins degenerate and decay extremely quickly.
Therefore, it is said that there are three thousand and four hundred people in the five battalions on the left and right sides of the city, but there are less than two thousand people in the camp.
For example, one hundred people would dare to call themselves captains, and five hundred people would be a miscellaneous general. If his subordinates do not call a commander, the commander would be embarrassed to go out to meet people. For example, when Huang Chao had tens of thousands of people under his command, he had already dared to call him "the commander of a million volunteers in China."
However, even among the two thousand people, there are also a large number of old, weak, sick and disabled people, and there are only eight or nine hundred young soldiers who are really usable. Moreover, most of the rebel generals were personal, pro-accompanied, and town-dang party members; other soldiers were barely able to pick up swords and guns and pretend to scare their underlings; and in their camps, they were even dried out everywhere. Colorful women and children running around.
And under their strange circumstances, where both inside and outside are imaginary, it is really a rare exception that they were not colluded and cleaned up by the potential resistance forces in the city and the active soil group outside the city.
In this case, Zhou Huaian also gave them three choices:
One is to join and accept the reform of the Taiping Army and start again from the deputy of the corresponding rank, but if he fails to pass, he will be sent to the army to accept the disarmament and return to the field.
One is to abandon the service and relationship in the original army, and to move all the existing staff and wealth together with the family members to the outside of the mountain. It is better to live in a more stable and prosperous Cantonese government.
The other is to take the tribes who voluntarily follow, and give a certain amount of Ziliang subsidies to go north to join the Huangwang's main formation.
"We all know the benefits of Cantonese..."
One of the eldest generals with gray hair and wrinkled faces, always looking sad, scratched his head and sighed.
"I don't know if there are any regulations and rules, lest if you accidentally violate it, you won't be able to wipe your face..."
"There are no special rules. As long as you don't commit crimes, you can bully the people."
Zhou Huaian said lightly.
"There are everything in the local area, can't you buy it if you have money..."
As a result, after looking at each other, almost all of the three captains and five captains of the rebel army in this city chose the second path; but no one chose the third path, apparently they had been comforted. Life corrodes the will and body, but their basic intelligence and common sense are still there.
The only other general with deep long cheeks and slightly curly beard chose the first suggestion, which made Zhou Huaian look at him a little high. After all, people who dare to take risks and seek advancement and opportunities within the new system still have a bit of patience and ability, and they should be encouraged.
"I don't know where you call it..."
Therefore, Zhou Huai'an asked calmly.
"Don't dare, in Xia Gao Jichang, a native of Xiashi, Shanzhou (now southeast of Sanmenxia, Henan), has been a righteous teacher in Bianzhou since the first year of Wang Ba..."
The other party said respectfully.
"Zeng Menggai (Hong) did not give up on the right rate, and was elected as a military academy in front of the Hongzhou formation..."
"Since you have the courage to break through the formation, you should make the best use of everything..."
Zhou Huaian smiled and listened to his self-report.
"My account is missing a teacher to teach Sima, you can do it anyway..."
"Humble... but sent by the leader..."
He was also taken aback for a moment, and then responded with a cheerful voice.
Although I don’t know any of his specialties, attributes, qualifications, but accepting such a symbolic figure by his side; even as a mascot and decoration, it will still be beneficial and demonstration for the future recruitment of more rebels without blood. meaningful.
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)