Under the Jiangning city, which has become a large construction site, the planned new city siege with a circumference of more than 20 miles has been inserted with many dense wooden poles, which are connected by ropes to form a straight boundary. .
Among these boundaries, I saw large patches of grayish-brown deep soil, which were turned out and exposed to the air along with the people who excavated the foundation and loaded carts and horses; and then revealed the old foundation sites below.
In the various river lanes and waterways leading to the planned urban area, they are also surrounded and cut off piece by piece. The silt, soil and stone excavated from the river are removed by the wooden keel car and the winch wheel crane on the side. , To transport to the shore.
Then, the wicker baskets and wooden box cages that were pre-set to be filled with pebbles were sunk into the deep hard soil on both sides of the widened and deepened river channel as the base for the new embankment.
Because there is generally a lack of suitable sources for collecting large blocks of stone in the south of the Yangtze River, the cost of mining and shipping from the few hills and mountains is even more laborious.
So it's the turn of this kind of water conservancy project in the Pearl River Basin outside Lingwai, where the prefabricated parts that have been brilliant and made countless achievements come in handy.
At the foot of Mufu Mountain and Zijin Mountain, which are a little farther away from the old city of Jiangning, there are conspicuous plumes of smoke. That's where the brick kilns are located. The Taiping Army has long been experienced in making building materials from bricks.
Therefore, the clay for burning bricks is finely sieved yellow clay from nearby, mixed with coal gangue powder, and then used coal from the water from Pingxiang County (open-pit coal mine) in Yuanzhou, Jiangxi, to be fired around the clock.
After all, earth kilns can be reused for later generations after they are built, and the soil is also available nearby. The only big cost is fuel and labor;
Therefore, the production quantity is large, and the cost of each brick is instantly apportioned to become very low and meagre; in addition, the adhesive expected to build the city wall is the traditional three-layer clay.
Although Lingwai has already had a considerable amount of raw slag cement production, just because the so-called good steel is used on the blade, the use of various key projects is not enough, and it is even more impossible to use it to build the city wall.
However, the traditional triple clay is also sufficient; the main ingredients are lime, clay and fine sand, and in some rainy or humid places, rice milk, rice husk, and gypsum putty are added, such as Yongding Tulou.
Anyway, the walls of most cities in this era are made of rammed sanhe soil; they only differ in specific ingredients according to the needs of the region and the environment.
As long as the materials used are sufficient and unambiguous, some of the walls and buildings inherited from ancient times to modern times can even survive the bombardment of aircraft and artillery.
The hilly area in the south of the Yangtze River is full of limestone, red clay, and yellow loam, and the sand is even simpler, and it can be dug at will when the river is dredging. The focus is also on the labor cost of sieving and preparation.
Therefore, the cost of the same cubic meter of sand is even a fraction or tenth of that of a brick. But for the Taiping Metropolitan Government, what is more critical is the large number of people gathered and recruited for these large-scale projects.
Although Jiangdong is full of waste and needs to invest manpower and material resources everywhere, squeezing out some resources to build a new city is more than enough for the size of the four roads and ten roads under the Taiping Army.
What's more, although the history textbooks of later generations have always held a certain kind of critique and derogatory attitude toward these ancient large-scale projects/spectacular construction projects that have no direct relationship with the people's livelihood.
But only after you are really in it, you will experience a certain under-up traditional inertia and natural voice; because this is an inevitable trend in classical society.
For a farming society where transportation and information are relatively underdeveloped, it is no longer easier to embody the authority and national power of a dynasty and ruler than a large-scale construction of civil engineering.
Just like the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses left by Qin Shihuang, everyone who saw the ruins in later generations would not help but think of the great achievements of Qiang Qin and the same track of the book and the same track.
And even the historically registered heroes of the prosperous times, such as Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty.
Just like the old mountain tomb sites left by the emperors of the past dynasties, the evolution process of the rise and fall of national power in the corresponding era can be intuitively reflected through the form and scale.
This is not an accidental phenomenon, but an inevitable result of the development and evolution of the power of the regime to a certain stage. Therefore, Zhou Huaian had no way to go against the trend and ignore the voices of the public. Especially after the huge Jiangdong Sanlu was laid down, it became even more uncontrollable.
However, compared to building palaces or mountain tombs that create conditions for individuals to enjoy, Zhou Huai'an can only choose to build a new city from scratch to reflect the comprehensive strength of the Taiping regime's strong production capacity and mobilization and execution capabilities.
In this way, as a waterway transfer hub up and down the river, anyone who travels and passes here will involuntarily remember that the Taiping Metropolitan Government has built the miracle and mighty power of a giant city in a short time.
On the other hand, to gather a large amount of spare labor in eastern Zhejiang to build a city, in fact, has another more valuable meaning. It means that the population in disguise is combined, and the floating population that has escaped and hidden in the countryside is absorbed.
After a long period of organized collective labor, a group of groups accustomed to subordination and collective cooperation will naturally be cultivated. This is undoubtedly the basis of a group of potential sources of troops. This is the third benefit.
Although it cannot be directly used as the source of the recruit supplement camp, it is completely possible to directly select the hard-working, hard-working, and submissive personnel from them; to form more build-up army sequences for opening up camps or siege construction. need.
Even the labor force selected and put back in the final hierarchy can also be guided and placed in the newly established villages as the follow-up taxation population under the management of the register. This is the fourth benefit again.
In addition, in this process, a hidden safeguard was formed; when the young and middle-aged labors of the rural people were gathered together, the various social problems and rejections left over after the war were alleviated in disguise.
Because even if there are some escaping ambitions and hostile and anti-insurgency elements, facing the remaining old and weak women and children, they will not be able to start at all if they want to instigate chaos and resistance while the hearts of the people are still alienated.
This is the reason why Da Song, who is famous for being three-handed, was busy expanding his army after the famine. It is also the fifth potential benefit and convenience of large-scale projects.
Of course, the reason why famous projects such as the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal have been criticized as laboring for the people and wealth since ancient times is because the court and government at that time expropriated and drove the people to think of corvee without compensation.
Therefore, local people along the route often not only have to bring their own food rations and tools to participate in labor, but they are also likely to delay the farming time due to the prolonged construction period, resulting in damage to the annual harvest, and even family members starving and suffering;
In this case, how can people work hard wholeheartedly? Then, in order to complete the performance and targets, the local officials spared no effort to press and punish them, resulting in more injuries and flight and loss of efficiency.
This approach, which only takes care of the immediate purpose and regardless of the long-term consequences, has severely damaged the productivity of the places along the project. Not to mention the many drawbacks and problems that have arisen from it.
All the labor projects that the Taiping Army has enlisted since the incident are paid labor based on work pay; even young and middle-aged people with outstanding performance are encouraged to bring their family members over and participate in some low-intensity logistical helpers.
Although you can't make much money, there is no problem with the supply of meals mixed with brown rice or miscellaneous noodles; so while making the best use of the material, it also solves the workers' worries and homesickness in disguise.
So in a sense, the Taiping Army only used the cost of building a new city to directly and indirectly obtain multiple effect bonuses, and also solved potential hidden dangers and problems. Why not do it.
Not to mention that after the completion of the new city and its supporting water and land facilities, the bonus to economic circulation and the improvement in military situation are also indispensable results.
This is the huge difference in long-term vision, pattern, and experience and lessons between modern transversal people and the so-called capable people, lofty people, heroes and talents in the contemporary era.
In their eyes, population is just a renewable resource, and it needs adequate protection and maintenance to be able to continuously supply it. But in the eyes of modern people who are deeply aware of the construction of state organizations, it is completely possible to play a lot of flowers.
In Dantu City, after bidding farewell to Liu Tang, the envoy of the Great Qi with a bunch of terms and demands to leave, Zhou Huaian held another temporary military meeting again; because a new situation appeared on the other side.
Regarding the Huainan side handed over by Jing Shisanniang, or the communication channel in Guangling City, unexpectedly quickly got a response: or the other party couldn't wait to send a message.
"The demon Lu Yongzhi, whom Gao Pian favors, failed to assassinate people. Now he is killing people in Guangling City, and he encourages each other to expose and sue each other. As a result, the people who broke the house know where they are, and everyone is in danger and panic. All day long..."
"Huainan General Zuodu soldier Yu Gongchu met with the right Xiaoxiong army envoy Yao Guili under Langya Mountain in Qingliu County, Chuzhou. He was attacked and killed by Yang Xingtang, the defense force of Shouzhou, and his army was defeated..."
"The Sun Ru tribe of the Henan Caizhou Army has already occupied most of Chuzhou, but the remaining Huainan Navy and the right capital soldier, Bi Shiduo, blocked it on the side of Gaoyou Lake..."
Miss Yu Mi Bao read aloud:
"Plus Liu Hanhong who is entrenched in the Huaixi prefectures, isn't it because four or five forces are fighting for dominance?..."
Cao Shixiong couldn't help being surprised.
"The point should be the last Huainan camping horse, just play ball like this?"
Zhu Cundao with a loud voice:
"Should our army take advantage of the situation to make a difference..."
Chai Ping, with a calm expression, was hard to hide the eagerness in his eyes.
"Consolidation and contraction are the established general policy unshakable."
Zhou Huaian shook his head slightly.
"After thoroughly digesting the land and population of Jiangdong, there is a basis for follow-up actions. There is no need to stick to the short-term gains and losses."
"If the general governor does not want his army to be the target of the public, why not get people to obtain a stronghold across the river first, as a test of the attitudes of all parties..."
Gao Jichang, who had just assumed the tenth army, suddenly suggested.
"Anyway, there are naval forces to protect wings and cover. No matter how hard it is, you can guarantee the whole body to retreat for a while... It just so happens that there is such a man and horse who is willing to fight back.
"You mean those southern Zhejiang soldiers who have been reorganized?..."
Zhou Huaian raised his eyebrows slightly, and then quickly relieved; why not? The last time they went to support Xuanzhou, they only caught up with the end of the anticlimactic annihilation battle. (End of this chapter)