Chapter 32: Return to Runing

Zhang Xuan spent the Spring Festival in Tangyu Village.

After the New Year, the boats from all counties arrived, Zhang Xuan let the boat go east, and all the Linying camps boarded, while Luo Dai's horse team ran on the shore.

From Xiping to Shangcai, I stayed for a few days.

In the past few days, Zhang Xuan didn't spend any swords and soldiers at all, and incorporated Shangcai County into his own system.

When he returned to Runing, Zhang Xuan had already implemented one-third of the name of Runing's Jiedu envoy, under his jurisdiction, Ruyang County, that is, the attached Guo County of Runing Prefecture, Suiping, and Shangcai in Xiping. The nearby counties also have the intention of surrendering, but Zhang Xuan can't send people for the time being, so he can only wait for Zhang Xuan to rest in Runing for a few days, and then go south and accept it. Without bringing troops to deter him, he only sent one or two county officials to accept it, Zhang Xuan really couldn't rest assured.

There was a surge of people on the dock at the east gate of Runing, most of whom were civil and military officials from Runing Prefecture.

Originally, it was also an important place for water transportation in Runing.

It's just that after the war, it was barren and inhabited. Zhang Xuan came all the way along the Ru River, and he found that many water transportation measures on the Ru River were ready-made, and even Zhang Xuan found many wharves along the river.

But now only the ruins remain.

Even now, there is a lot of water traffic on the Ru River, otherwise where did Zhang Xuan's boat come from.

It's just that it's winter, and it's the dry season. The volume of transportation is not large, and if the river rises sharply in the summer, it will also increase significantly.

Zhang Xuan thought that this is still the case in the water transportation of the Ru River in the upper reaches of the Huai River, not to mention the water transportation of the Huai River and even the canal in the lower reaches.

"Sailor." Zhang Xuan silently recorded this incident in his heart. Silently drew a marching map on the map in his mind.

Advance eastward along the Ru River, merge into the Huai River, attack Fengyang, break Sizhou, enter Hongze Lake, enter the canal, go down to Yanghuai'an, turn south, break Yangzhou, and attack Nanjing.

All the way by land and water. As long as the sailor is strong, I am afraid that within dozens of days, he will be able to reach the city of Nanjing.

However, this grand plan is just a plan.

It takes too many plans to implement it, and there are still enough troops, so Zhang Xuan has to face the cold reality.

He only had this soldier in his hands, and he didn't even think about carrying out such a big plan.

Only when the main force of Cao Ying is there, there is a slight possibility of success.

Luo Ru is the character he can't get around.

"Do you want to go to Xiangyang and see Luo Rucai again?" Zhang Xuan said secretly in his heart.

No one can give him an answer to this. He was the only one who could give him the answer.

"Welcome the general back to the city." Zhang Zhen and Wang Jincai led the civil and military officials to greet them on the dock at the east gate of Runing.

"Excuse me." Zhang Xuan said with a smile: "With you guarding Runing City, I have no worries." ”

"General Miao." Zhang Zhen said.

Several people exchanged a few words of greeting, and when they returned to the Jiedu Embassy, Zhang Xuan had not yet sat down, so he saw the little girl taking advantage of the tea and said in Zhang Xuan's ear: "Madame has been waiting for a long time. ”

"I see." Zhang Xuan said softly.

Zhang Xuan went out on the tenth day of the lunar month, and now it is almost the Lantern Festival. It's been almost a month since I left.

This is the longest period of time since Luo Yujiao and Zhang Xuan got married.

However, Zhang Xuan can't rest now, after all, there are many things that he can't grasp when he is not in Runing, so he must sort out the situation well.

"How's the situation going on with the household?" This was the first thing Zhang Xuan asked.

"General Lai broke Liu Hongqi's residual prestige." Zhang Zhen said with a smile: "The household registration in Runing City has been completed. ”

"The total number of the four counties under the rule of the adults is about 10,000 households, and the population is about 100,000 people, and the military households are not protected. with the people of each village. However, after calculation, it is only 150,000 people at most, and since the degree of household registration in each county is far less popular than that of Runing Mansion, it will take a while to get a detailed number. ”

150,000 people, this number gave Zhang Xuan a great shock.

Not too much, but too little.

As a native of Henan, he knows that no county in Henan has a population of less than 150,000. There are still many large counties with a population of one million, and the four counties of Runing are only about 150,000 people when they are strengthened. And he also understands that the place where he is now is the Zhumadian City of the later generations, and it is also a populous city with at least millions of people, while he occupies half of Zhumadian, but there are only 150,000 people.

He didn't know whether to marvel at the small population of ancient times, or at the depth of the damage that war had done to the place.

"So little?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but say.

"It's a little less. There should still be some people hiding in the mountains, but they can't be recruited. After these hundred deaths, they would rather hide in the mountains and be with the beasts than dare to go down the mountain to listen to the government. Zhang Zhen said: "I have checked the information of the prefecture and county, and I can only find out that during the Wanli period of Runing Mansion, the number of Taiyue Gongqing was also 80,000 households, but this number can only be seen. The real number is definitely more than one or several times this, and the place where the general is based today is less than a quarter of the Runing Mansion, but there are only more than 10,000 households, about 150,000 people. It can be seen that these years have passed. the suffering of the people. ”

Even so, Zhang Xuan is definitely too little, too little.

The power of many people is absolutely the truth, what can 150,000 people do?

Of course, according to the habits of this era, men are Ding, women are mouths, and adult children are not counted in Dingkou.

Even so, with the number of children, the number is not that high.

Numbers are always the most ruthless thing.

This total population made Zhang Xuan a little breathless, even though Zhang Xuan knew that the data in his hands was not too accurate, after all, even if he controlled the four counties under his command, it was quite unsatisfactory, many people were poles, robbers, river bandits, bandits, were not counted.

But this is Henan, even in later generations, it is a province with a large population, only Sichuan can be compared with it, and in this Ming Dynasty, it is the unshakable province with the largest population. And that's all there is to it.

Zhang Xuan understood why Li Xin suggested going south to Huguang, probably because the population of Henan could no longer support a dynasty.

Zhang Xuan opened his mouth several times, but he didn't know what to say? Finally, he sighed and said, "How are you doing to measure the land?" ”

"After the beginning of spring, it can be carried out." Zhang said: "I'm worried now that there is enough land and not enough people. ”

"Do what you have to do, do it." Zhang Xuan suddenly didn't have the heart to ask more things.

"There is one thing, the subordinate wants to discuss it with the general." Zhang Zhen suddenly said with a straight face.

"What?" Zhang Xuan said.

"Something about the garrison." Zhang Zhen said.

"Isn't a thousand people enough?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"It's not from Runing Prefecture, but from the counties below, whether to implement the garrison system." Zhang Zhen said.

There is a real need for this. It's just that Zhang Xuan looked at this population data and never thought about expanding the army anymore.

I don't want to think about any of them, Linying Battalion, Nanyang Battalion, Baoding Battalion, Xiping Battalion, Horse Team, the newly formed Craftsman Battalion, and even Luo Yujiao's personal soldiers. The garrison numbered more than 15,000 people.

Zhang Xuan's soldiers are all out of work.

The military-civilian ratio is close to 10 to 1. Even if the southern counties are collected in the future, if the garrison force is increased, I am afraid that it will not be able to be reduced.

The people's power is exhausted, how can he bear it?

"Let's garrison." Zhang Xuan said: "Change the garrison into a garrison, distribute the land, cultivate in your spare time, and defend the city in wartime." ”

"Yes." Zhang Zhen said.

Zhang Xuan never looked down on this kind of armed force similar to the peasant soldiers, and felt that they had no combat effectiveness, but the reality made him have to pick up the system again.

Sure enough, the situation is stronger than the people.

Zhang Xuan asked Wang Jincai how his training was in the army, and found that Wang Jincai's progress was much lower than Cao Zongyu's, so he gave him a few words and sent him away.

"Runing really isn't a place to stay for a long time?" Zhang Xuan said secretly in his heart. Even if he was reckless, it would be impossible to pull out 100,000 elite soldiers in Runing Mansion. And without 100,000 elite soldiers, in the troubled times, they are not even qualified to participate.

Although he is still trying to lay a solid foundation in Runing, he also knows that there is nothing to shake in his decision to give up Runing.

.。 m.