Dawei Fanghua

As expected by Qin Liang, when Sun Li led his troops to Huainan, it was already the first month of the first year of Zhengshi.The journey is about several hundred kilometers, and if there are many people, it will take more than a month.

"Zhengshi" is the reign name of the new emperor of the Wei Dynasty, Cao Fang.Cao Fang, who is seven or eight years old, has been sitting on the dragon throne for a year. He has been using the reign name of Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui for almost the entire last year, and it was only changed now.There was no way, because it was the first month of the year when Emperor Cao Rui of the Ming Dynasty died.

When Qin Liang met Sun Li again in Huainan, he was not in Shouchun City, where the Yangzhou Governor's Department was located, but in a place where birds didn't shit.

Qin Liang stood on a small hill and saw that the surrounding land was barren.The more obvious scenery is a ruins and a river.The ruins are the old city of Hefei, and the river is Shishui (Nanfei River).

After a group of people on horseback from the north gradually approached, they finally saw clearly that one of them was Sun Li, the governor of Yangzhou.Qin Liang had already arrived here and met him by chance again.

Perhaps because there are always only a few places that people want to go, it is easy to meet by chance in some places.Or maybe when you come to that place, you find that there is actually no special scenery, but you always have some expectations before coming.

Qin Liang stood there early, raised his hands to his face and bowed down.Sun Li nodded on his horse, rode up the hill, and then returned the greeting.

The two looked at each other without asking any questions, and just stared at each other for a while.

Qin Liang took the initiative and said: "This area is a low mountainous and hilly area. It is not easy to find higher mountains nearby. Otherwise, you can see further."

Sun Li nodded and said: "It's really deserted. It's such a beautiful land, but there are hardly many people there."

Qin Liang said: "Not only are there few people here, but the southern area of ​​Xuzhou on the north bank of the river is completely uninhabited for nearly a hundred miles, and its desolate scene is even worse. I went there for a walk a few days ago."

In fact, Sun Li's reaction to such a scene was just like that, but Qin Liang was very surprised when he saw it.

How can future generations dare to imagine that the rich and densely populated plains of northern Jiangsu and parts of the hills in the hinterland of Anhui will become no man's land?
Qin Liang continued: "South of the Huai River, it can be summarized into roughly three types of landforms. From east to west, the territory of Xuzhou in the lower reaches of the Huai River is flat lowland, low-lying and humid, with many lakes and swamps, making it extremely inconvenient for the army to walk. Moreover, The Wei court should have fortified the area and cleared the country. The population there was very small, making it difficult for the army to supply supplies on the spot.

Then there is the area where we are, which belongs to low mountains and hills, heading west to Lu'an City.Further west are the mountains. "

Sun Li looked back at Qin Liang, "It seems that Zhongming went south first and has already explored the terrain."

Qin Liang said: "There are also other conditions such as hydrology and climate. After the servants sorted them out, they presented the documents to Duke Ming. The things written in regular script can be determined, while the cursive characters can be obtained from the local soldiers and civilians. Please be discerning when reading. However, the information you have received is not entirely wrong and is still of high reference value."

When Sun Li heard the font description, his expression changed the most, and he looked back twice.Sun Li said: "Zhongming once studied at Taixue, and he was familiar with military books. As expected, he acted in an orderly manner, which was very consistent with Sun Tzu's theory. Zhongming made no omissions at the right time and place."

Qin Liang thought to himself: Does this mean I am an academic?It may not be academic, but it does cover a lot of theoretical knowledge, not just limited to ancient military theory.

He said: "There are still people and people. The great Wei and Ming emperors were famous for their civil and martial arts. After his death, the new king of our dynasty had not yet ascended the throne (and there was a coup | and internal fighting was also going on). Wu Guo may feel that There is an opportunity to take advantage of it. My guess is that the Wu army may come to attack our country again, so we must be on guard."

Sun Li looked at the ground, seemingly thinking about something, and did not respond to Qin Liang's words.

Qin Liang waited for a while, then pointed to the river in front: "If the Wu army wants to go north, they must attack the roads of Hefei and Shouchun."

After hearing this, Sun Li moved his feet, followed the direction of Shi Shui, and looked to the southeast, as if there would be an army coming there.Of course, there is nothing in the distance. Sending out the enemy's army is cumbersome and costly, and it is impossible to do it at the drop of a hat.At the end of the line of sight, there is only a desolate scenery in tranquility.

"The end of Shishui is Chaohu Lake. Crossing Chaohu is Ruxu River. Boats can go directly to the Yangtze River (Yangtze River) by walking on Ruxu River." Sun Li said, "If Zhongming continues southward, he can only reach Ruxu River by Chaohu Lake at most. At Ruxukou, there is a water stronghold of the Wei army, which is always in our hands. Further south is the place of the Wu state, and there is the Ruxuwu stockade of the Wu army on the Ruxu water. There are soldiers and horses stationed there, and scouts often wander around. Remember not to put yourself at risk.”

Qin Liang bowed and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Ming, for reminding me."

Sun Li once followed Cao Xiu to fight against the State of Wu, and was defeated in the area south of Chaohu Lake. He may still be frightened. He went on to say, "The naval divisions of the Ruxukou Army of the Great Wei Dynasty usually only have Chaohu and Shi. There is water, so the boat is outnumbered and there are few soldiers. Once the Wu army comes, the boat division will be defeated. Therefore, the area around the old city of Hefei is also sparsely populated and not very stable."

Qin Liang took a look at the ruins of the old Hefei city by the river. Only some rammed earth walls and broken walls were left, and then asked, "The old city was specially demolished?"

Sun Li said: "Yes, the wood, bricks and stones were moved to the west to build a new city. Let's go over and have a look, then let's go."

So everyone got on their horses, patted the horses and rushed down the hillside.

The mount has stirrups, and Qin Liang can easily control his balance while riding it.However, the stirrups are made of leather, and no one has seen anyone using metal stirrups. No wonder the stirrups of the Three Kingdoms period have not been found in the cultural relics unearthed in later generations. However, from the sitting postures of the figures in the stone carvings and murals, it can be seen that they should be riding postures with stirrups.

Everyone rode their horses westward and walked upstream along Shishui (Nanfei River). They rode for more than ten miles and then left the river bank.Continue walking northwest for twenty miles and reach Hefei New Town.Hefei New City was built during the Ming Emperor (Cao Rui) period. It only took six or seven years to complete, and the construction time was less than one year.Therefore, it seems that the entire city is quite small, a rectangle. Qin Liang visually measured that the length from north to south is less than one mile (one mile is about 400 meters), and the width from east to west is about half a mile.

Although the city is small, it has a moat and is almost a military town.The water from the moat is brought down from the mountain behind. That mountain is called Flail Mountain, and the source of the water is in that mountain.

However, the new city cannot control the water supply, and it is still about twenty miles away from the river where the river is wider and the terrain is gentle.Qin Liang and others just came here after leaving the Shishui River.

The new city is not located next to Feishui (Dongfei River) in the north. It is still some distance away from Shishui and Feishui, both north and south rivers.Qin Liang speculated on the strength of the Wu army's navy. The Wei army was often defeated by the Wu army on the water, so he deliberately moved Hefei to this corner with inconvenient transportation; it was to prepare a battlefield and exploit its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.

The fertilizer water in the north can be directly connected to the Huai River.

At this time, the waterways between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River were not completely connected. Large ships had to sail directly from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River, depending on the season.The breaking point is near Hefei New City. There is no natural connection between fertilizer and water application.

However, during the period of Wei Taizu, Cao Cao wanted to "hunt in Soochow" from time to time, so he dug a canal between Feishui and Shishui to facilitate access by land and water.However, the canal is a semi-finished product and has not been repaired for many years, so it usually stops flowing.

Qin Liang asked local officials that the canal would be open only during the period from the turn of summer to autumn when heavy rains and water rises.

Seeing that the sun was setting in the west and there were still more than 250 miles to return to Shouchun, Sun Li decided to stay in Hefei for one night before leaving.So Qin Liang and others followed Sun Li's troops into the city.

It is a small city, but the streets in the middle are very spacious, probably for the convenience of troop deployment.The layout of the city is also very simple. You can get an overview in a moment. In the center is the county temple complex, with some barracks and houses around. There is thick smoke in the corner of the city, and there seems to be a kiln and a blacksmith shop for smelting metal weapons.

When Sun Li arrived at the county temple, he was greeted by the county magistrate and other officials, but the garrison generals were nowhere to be seen. It was estimated that the garrison generals were not too impressed by the newly arrived Sun Li.Sun Li was the governor of Yangzhou. According to the rules, he was the local chief executive and was indeed not a military officer. However, he was given the title of General Fubo and should be able to control the state and county soldiers.

The general didn't come, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him.

Sun Li asked immediately, "Is there any..."

At this moment, Qin Liang vaguely remembered Cao Cao's famous saying "Are there prostitutes in the city?" and thought that there might not be such a small town.But maybe there are prostitutes in the Wei army.

Unexpectedly, Sun Li paused and said, "Is there meat and wine?"
The magistrate immediately replied yes, turned around and ordered his men to prepare a banquet immediately.

Qin Liang ate half a piece of hard wheat cake at noon, and he felt happy when he saw this.

So Sun Li, Qin Liang and the two generals came to the hall on the platform, took their seats and prepared to eat.It was mid-afternoon, so there was no time to catch up, but everyone was probably hungry.

While sitting on his knees, Qin Liang felt uncomfortable with the sword hanging on his waist, so he took it off and placed it directly on the case.

At this time, Sun Li asked: "I remember that when Zhongming left Luoyang, he took a Huanshou sword. When did you buy a new sword?"

Qin Liang discovered that Sun Li really paid attention to details, and he could see such small changes.When both of them were still serving as officials in the General's Mansion, one day Qin Liang's shoes were torn, and Sun Li noticed it at a glance.

So Qin Liang said: "Previously, Liang met Deng Shizai, a subordinate of Taifu's Mansion, at Hekou Pavilion. They talked for a while about terrain and farming. When parting, Deng Shizai might have felt sympathy for each other, so he gave the sword to him. Servant. The servant also gave him the sword as a gift."

Sun Li smiled and said, "That's it."

"It's not a good sword." Qin Liang pointed at the case and said bluntly, and then smiled, "But the servant's sword is not a good sword either. I just got one in the military camp."

Sun Li asked again: "Can Zhongming know martial arts?"

Qin Liang said: "When I was in my hometown, I learned swordsmanship from local celebrities and archery from my elder brother. I never learned swordsmanship."

Sun Li said casually: "In the battle formation, you don't need many tricks. If you know how to use a sword, you can use it."

Qin Liang has already noticed that this body has the muscle memory of swordsmanship, and the sword is very fast, and he seems to be quite talented.However, limited by weight and muscle size, strength is indeed not good.

After chatting for a while, the maid and slaves brought the steaming barbecue, and everyone couldn't help but look sideways and their eyes gleamed.