"The thief in yellow wants Phoenix, it's really unreasonable." Chongnian, who had just been promoted to the capital because of his merits, heard the news from the house slaves, and was shocked for a while, and he didn't even grab the tea bowl in his hand, and fell directly to the ground and shattered.

However, this Hui Chongnian didn't care about the tea that was spilled all over the carpet, but went out of the house directly, stood under the eaves of the porch, looked at the slave who had followed him for many years, raised his voice and asked, "Is it reliable?" Where did you hear the news? ”

"Master, there are many people talking about this from the side of Shenyang, who have noses and eyes, saying that the peace conditions proposed by the yellow-clothed thief are that we cede Phoenix City, which has made many people panic."

"Bastard, both the emperor's will and the official documents of the imperial court, this Phoenix City is still my Qing Dynasty, what are you panicking about!" Chongnian quietly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and reprimanded. Phoenix City and the surrounding area were just upgraded to the jurisdiction of the capital by the Qing court last year, Chongnian was promoted to the capital of Phoenix City because of his outstanding military achievements, which was a high position that he could not think of before, and every time he thought about it, he couldn't help but feel excited, this emperor treats the minions really well, and it is really difficult to repay such a gentleman if he is not broken!

Of course, Chong Nian was able to rise to the position of the capital of Phoenix City, in addition to his heroic battles and many achievements over the years, not too many people came to compete, but it was also one of the key factors, and it could even be said to be the most important factor. The Qing Dynasty has been in the customs for decades, and even if the Eight Banners outside the pass live in a bitter cold place, it is relatively difficult, and the speed of corruption is a little slower, but after so many years, it cannot be compared with the era of Lao Nu and Huang Taiji. The stability of life and the abundance of materials have made them lose the pioneering spirit of forging ahead, and their spirit of putting on warm clothes and eating a full meal is even inferior to the Shandan people recruited from the Outer Northeast by the people of the East Coast. Those people were short and stocky, and their speech was wooden, but their bones were thick and well-developed, and they had an explosive power all over their bodies, and they were not very afraid of death.

Compared with his fellow clansmen who are a little desperate, Chongnian is relatively heroic, and his martial arts, courage, and knowledge are good, he has killed many Shandan people in frontal battles, and even killed two active officers on the east coast, and his prestige in the Eight Banners outside the Guan, at least in the area of Phoenix, is very high, so few people in the local area dare to compete with him. And outside of Phoenix, everyone is not stupid, and they have a good life, so why bother to go to Phoenix, a place that faces the front line of yellow-clothed thieves, to find themselves unhappy? I can't think about it! So after this back and forth, this Chongnian turned out to be the only candidate, so he soon took office and took charge of this vast land of 10,000 square kilometers or 20,000 square kilometers.

Chongnian is not a fool, he has been mixed up in and outside the pass, and he has many twists and turns in the process of ascending to the throne, and he also knows that the position under his ass is not easy to sit, and if he is not careful, he will be killed by the people on the east coast. Even if the people on the east coast did not kill him Chongnian, he may be questioned by the imperial court because of various things. No way, this position is too conspicuous, although many people are unwilling to be the capital because of fear and fear, but it does not mean that they are willing to see Chongnian do a good job in this position, so as long as they seize the opportunity, they will definitely die Chongnian, until this low-born person is unlucky.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Chongnian's house slave heard some rumors during the process of going to Shenyang to give gifts to his boss this time, who made him now on the cusp of this storm, and he can only bear it.

After reprimanding this minion, Chongnian was also a little irritable in his heart, only to see him pacing slowly around the house twice, and then sighed softly, and asked Ma Ben to lead the war horse, and went out of the city to inspect in a puff of smoke.

The scenery of Phoenix in summer is the best, with horses galloping away, unknown wildflowers blooming all over the mountains, and occasionally some cattle and sheep roaming in between, giving people a pleasing feeling. Although Chongnian is a military man, he also has the ability to appreciate the beautiful scenery, and he has always had some simple feelings for this land under his rule. Thinking about the time when the ancestors struggled to survive under the oppression of the Koreans, how difficult it was, and now a hundred years have passed in a hurry, and the Jianzhou Jurchens have risen all the way, and they have actually entered the city of Beijing and become the master of the Central Plains flower world, what a pride! What a feat! Can't I learn from my ancestors, and work hard under hardships and hardships to keep this yellow-clothed thief out of Phoenix City, so that he can't take a step inward!

The horses continued to gallop forward, bathed in the bright purple glow of the setting sun, through jungles and meadows, and finally stopped at a construction site on the edge of a farmland. There were hundreds of masters on the construction site who had been requisitioned from the Han land in Guannei, making the final repairs to the fortress that had been almost completed, but it was getting late, and most of them had already been withdrawn, and only a dozen people remained there to lay turf on the city wall.

The fort is a mixed structure of earth, wood, and stone, which can basically be said to be used for what materials, can station one or two hundred soldiers, control a trail in the mountains, and is an integral part of the early warning facilities on the periphery of Phoenix. The foundation of this fortress is basically stone, the main structure is a mixture of civil and wood, and the walls of this fortress are extremely thick to resist the close bombardment of the cannons of the people on the east coast. And since it is thick, then for the sake of cost, it can only be built into an earthen wall!

The fortress in front of Chongnian is a very thick earthen wall, about 9-10 meters high, smeared with a layer of clay on the outside, then sprinkled with a large amount of grass roots to tamp it, and then covered with grass clods to gradually integrate with the inner layer. This way of building the fortress is actually not original to the Qing people, but learned from the Russians, when they built the first few fortresses in the East, it was very strong - the same is true of the historical Yaksa Castle, the main structure is wooden, covered with soil, and the outermost layer is thick grass, which was besieged by the army led by Kangxi for two years, during which I don't know how many cannons were bombarded by close arrivals, and they have been immovable, which shows its practicality.

Now that the Qing people have learned this way of building cities, although it is likely that they still can't withstand the bombardment of some large-caliber heavy artillery from the east coast, is this kind of cannon easy to transport? Is it possible to run around with it? Is it that every army is equipped with it? How can it be! Therefore, as long as the Qing people can resist the attack of the small East Coast army, if they really encounter the East Coast Brigade, then they should wash their necks and wait for death.

Moreover, this kind of earthen city is also fireproof, which is much better in safety than a simple wooden village, and it is cheap to build, so it is natural to promote it on a large scale. Nowadays, around Phoenix City, many such castles have been built, and they have begun to gradually replace the wooden military fortresses in the past, although they are still much inferior to the brick and wood mixed structure of the east coast people's turrets, fortresses, and grain depots, but they have made great progress compared to the past, and this is enough.

There is a lot of farmland next to the fort, which is planted with wheat, which will have grown old and tall, green, and make people happy at a glance. Chongnian knows that these flatland farmlands are basically Manchurian Eight Banners, but this does not mean that the people who farm are also Eight Banners! In the past ten years, as the people on the east bank have been tossing and turning on the banks of the Yalu River, the Manchu court has continued to transfer troops, food, and materials from the Guannai in order to be able to compete with the people on the east bank. At that time, in order to support the long-term battle of 20,000 horses and horses, the Qing court did not know how many people in Hebei were mobilized to transfer materials, money and grain, and how many people were requisitioned to the front line to serve as masters.

After the war, some of these people returned to their hometowns, while others were left behind by the Qing court, and rented the land of the nobles of the Eight Banners in Shenyang, Tieling, and Kaiyuan to support themselves, and at the same time, they did not accumulate some grain and grass in the Eight Banners outside the border. These people, plus the people who secretly went to the Liaodong Peninsula to reclaim the famine during the great drought and earthquake in Shandong, there are probably as many as 70,000 or 80,000 Han people from Hebei and Shandong provinces in the land outside the Guan, and they basically have legal identities.

In recent years, because the situation outside the border has not been improved, the people on the east coast have not only gained a firm foothold in Dandong and Kuandian, but also built a new Dadonggou County, which can be said to have greatly increased the pressure on the Qing court. Therefore, in order to change this unfavorable situation, the Qing court had to choose to increase the number of troops deployed outside the Guan, but the number of the Eight Banners outside the Guanwai was limited, and even if some cavalry pulled from the Mongolian steppe was added, it could not be doubled in a short time. Therefore, after repeated consideration, the Qing court could only reluctantly transfer the Han army in Guannei to the north and deploy defenses on the land of Liaodong to supplement the huge gap in troops. At present, these Han armies still implement a rotation system, that is, the northern provinces and provinces take turns to send troops and grain to guard outside the pass, but do you know that after a long time, these "marches" will not become "sitting households"? You know, when there was something on the border in the Tang Dynasty, at the beginning, the chief manager went to the war with the march, and returned to the division after the event, but what about after a long time? You've always heard the name of Tianbao Ten Sections, right?

Chongnian was very worried, now that this situation continues, when a large number of Han troops have been stationed outside the Guanwai for a long time to fight against the people on the east coast, and a large number of Han people have poured into the Guanwai to farm and graze to provide war resources, what will the land outside the Guanwai look like, is it still Manchurian Manchuria? Moreover, the proportion of adult males serving as warriors in the Eight Banners outside the Guanxi is too high, and after a battle, it is not uncommon for half of the people in Tun to cry and mourn. If this continues for a long time, will the children of the Eight Banners fight less and less?

The children of the Eight Banners fought as soldiers, and the Han people farmed and graze, Chongnian always felt that this model was not quite right. But what is wrong, he only has a vague idea, or the last time an old gentleman of Han Junqi in the city reminded him, saying that it was an old thing that had happened in a certain dynasty in ancient times in the Central Plains, and he would find someone to ask when he went back. The history of the Han people is so long that no matter what it is, it seems that living examples can be found in ancient times, and there are many references.

Chongnian slowed his horse around the fort, then stopped, and walked to the fortress gate, where a general wearing a lightning rod immediately came out to greet him. Chongnian recognized him, Niu Lu Zhangjing, a man of the Zhengbai Banner, who was the co-commander of several nearby forts, and this was his headquarters, where a hundred soldiers of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia were stationed, as well as an almost equal number of musketeers from Guannei Henan.

Chongnian had a headache when he looked at those Han musketeers, and wanted to send them back, but he knew that it was impossible, and the existence of these Han officers and soldiers was indispensable outside the Guan, otherwise there might be loopholes everywhere in the defense line. But Chongnian was still very entangled, and he was afraid that these people would be entrenched for a long time, multiply, and eventually turn this "Manchuria" into "Hanzhou".

There are too many Han Chinese, and there are too few Manchurians!

"Guard it well, the emperor will not forget us." Chongnian sighed softly, patted the shoulder of the subordinate in front of him, and said: "Now that thieves are rampant in Liaodong, you and I must be loyal to our duties and repay the emperor's great kindness." ”

After saying this, Chongnian actually felt a sad feeling. In the land of Manchuria, the descendants of Nurhachi were also squeezed so hard here, how absurd it is! The only hope now is that the emperor will be wise and martial, govern the country thrivingly, innovate everyone's equipment and tactics, and then accumulate a large amount of money and grain, fight to the death with the yellow-clothed thieves, and completely regain the lost territory in Liaodong.

Although the emperor and the court are now negotiating peace with the yellow-clothed thief, Chongnian believes that this is only temporary. After digesting the Western-style gun-making and cannon casting techniques and various new tactics brought by the Dutch red-haired and English merchants, the reviled "My Great Qing" Tiger Ben army will definitely be able to reorganize the old mountains and rivers and drive this hateful yellow-clothed thief into the sea in one fell swoop. Chongnian still doesn't believe it, everyone doesn't have three heads and six arms, and they have to do it with real knives and guns when they fight, who can be much stronger than whom? I heard that now that the terrifying group of blue-clothed thieves have left Liaodong, what else is there to fear? As long as the emperor gives an order, the minions will not do it!

After inspecting this relatively nearby fortress, Chongnian saw that it was not too early, so he did not continue to go to other places, but returned to Phoenix City with the horses. At this time, it was already the time when the lights were on in the city, and on the most lively street, many shops and restaurants were already lively. Most of these shops, restaurants and other things were opened by the families of those Han army guest soldiers, and there were very few people who belonged to the children of the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners, which intensified Chongnian's worries, and his heart was even more unhappy - if it goes on like this, I am afraid that the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers outside this pass will not change color, so what kind of strength will I fight for life and death, it is better to give it to the thief in yellow clothes, which will be more trouble-free!