In November, he took the land route and led 1,500 officers and soldiers to Xinhui County, a strategic town at the mouth of the Tanjiang River in Fuzhou, Guangzhou.

Before obtaining Xiangshan County, the Hainan Ming army was stationed on Wang Xing's territory.

The 500-kilometer road from Leizhou to Xinhui County passes through two sections of inland waterways that can be used, of which the section of the Tan River between Enping and Xinhui has the longest navigable mileage.

This is the most important land transportation system in western Guangdong, and after the field march, Shou Xiang has an intuitive understanding of this traffic lifeline. At present, Wang Xing, who is stationed in Enping, Xinhui, Xinning and other places, is currently controlling the eastern section of this horizontal arterial road in Guangdong.

Wang Xing, a native of Dapu, Guangdong, was born as a ranger, and was nicknamed "embroidery needle" in the rivers and lakes. When the national disaster began, Wang Xing ruined his family and joined the army, and insisted on resisting when Chengdong's power was at its peak, and did not surrender. There is now a genuine Tang King in his army, which has attracted many old gentry officials to take refuge. Wang Xing controlled a considerable part of the Tanjiang River system, and his financial base was acceptable.

Road traffic is the foundation of all military operations, and no amount of attention can be overstated.

Along the way, he calculated the traffic volume and carrying capacity of the official road and inland rivers in the autumn and winter, investigated the economic conditions of the states and counties on both sides of the official road, and assessed the combat potential of the local support army.

Near the mouth of the river where the Tanjiang River and the Pearl River converge in Xinhui County, the staff team of the army and navy conducted intensive research for a month, and the preliminary results of the convergence made Shou Xuan understand why Sanshui County was the city with the most battles in Guangdong at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Located between the estuary of the Tanjiang River and the Lingding Ocean, Xiangshan County was originally a rocky island, and Macao is the southernmost peninsula of Xiangshan County, which is not connected to the mainland. The sediment carried by the Pearl River is silted up in the north of the island, and Xiangshan Island is gradually approaching the mainland. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, only a narrow waterway two or three kilometers wide remained between Xiangshan Island and the mainland.

At this time, the geography of the Pearl River Delta is very different from that of later generations, the east side of Xiangshan Island is the Pearl River Estuary, the west side is the Tanjiang River Estuary, there are countless waterways connected between the two sea ports, and the Xiangshan Waterway is the widest one. This highlights the important military position of the Tanjiang River system, which traces from the mouth of the Tanjiang River, meets the main stream of the Tanjiang River from the west under Xinhui City, and then goes north along the Pearl River waterway, passes through Gaoming County of Zhaoqing Prefecture, and finally joins the main stream of the Pearl River in Sanshui County.

The town of Foshan is located on the south side of the Pearl River between a river that flows into the Lingding Ocean and a river that flows into the mouth of the Tanjiang River.

If the garrison was in Sanshui County, there was no need to enter the Lingding Ocean through the southeast of Guangzhou Prefecture, and the ships could also enter the sea directly south through Gaoming and Xinhui.

This is simply too important militarily. The fleet did not pass through the mouth of the Pearl River, which had complicated sea conditions, landed directly at the mouth of the Tan River, and then changed to a river boat and went directly north to Sanshui to cut off the Xijiang River.

The Pearl River has a complex water system, and there are many hidden waterways in the bay, which are like spider webs throughout the delta. Many of these rivers are navigable inland river flats, which are enough to support the logistics of tens of thousands of troops.

Figuring out these waterways was not an overnight affair, and the investigation was far from over, and would continue until the Tatars arrived.

……

Shou Xu obtained the appointment document of Xiangshan Magistrate from Du Yonghe, and appointed Cai Yuanding to take over Xiangshan.

During the boom of maritime trade, the coastal defense of Guangzhou Prefecture, and even the deputy envoy of the entire Pearl River Estuary, Guangdong Zhicha, were stationed in Xiangshan County for a short time.

The current patrol sea road is in Guangzhou City, Haiphong Tongzhi is in the base camp of Guangdong Naval Division, and Dongguan Zhelin Naval Division City. The biggest official on Xiangshan Island is the Xiangshan County Order. The Ming Dynasty directly administered Macau by the Xiangshan County Cheng, who was also stationed in Qianshanzhai.

Cai Yuanding's hometown is in Xinning, which is only separated by a river from Xiangshan County. He solved his official position in Hainan, and it was logical to take over as the magistrate of Xiangshan County this time.

Although the procedure was no longer important at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the concept of order was very orthodox, and he still liked the bureaucratic game of step-by-step. It can be seen that Cai Yuanding himself also likes the feeling of being an official, especially being a parent official near his hometown, which is simply returning to his hometown. Fame and fortune, the favorite of scholars.

The former Xiangshan magistrate and county magistrate were very happy to learn that they had stepped down, packed up their luggage and belongings, and headed westward to Hainan Island. According to the usual practice, Shou ordered to give a manor to Yuan Zhi County.

The reputation of benevolence and righteousness in Shilin is very important, and benevolence has never been related to morality, but relies on the amount of resources, which directly reflects the ability to allocate resources. In this era, benevolence is the brand, which will attract more and more talents to take refuge.

Xiangshan was established in the Song Dynasty, and the county seat was in Renshan, east of Shiqi Mountain. Xiangshan county town in the Ming Dynasty to build a brick city, the perimeter of the city wall extended to 636 zhang, because it is an important place for coastal defense, all kinds of piers and platforms are readily available.

It was once the battlefield of the national war, and the last maritime dynasty of the Southern Song Dynasty was briefly stationed in Xiangshan County to confront the Yuan army across the waterway. After the Battle of Yashan, Zhang Shijie died in Xiangshan.

Because the channel was too narrow and the wind direction was unfavorable, the Song army's naval division had a bad record in Xiangshan, and continued to drift westward after losing two battles in a row. Wen Tianxiang's famous article "Passing Lingding Yang" was written near Xiangshan.

Shou ordered to stop at the north gate of the last county town controlled by the Southern Song Dynasty court, and issued orders continuously.

"Zhang Pengfei, take over the Qianshan military camp on Xiangshan Island and incorporate the local coastal defense army."

At most, there were more than 1,000 defenders in the Qianshan camp, and at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the coastal defense was decadent, and Du Yonghe's troops withdrew, leaving only 300 local defenders, mainly used to monitor Macao.

"Cai Yuanding, convene a meeting of the local gentry, and they need to pay for the reinforcement of the city defense of Xiangshan."

"Send someone to Macau again and let Coutinho come to see me."

Coutinho visited Macau a few months ago and is still based there.

The Macau fortress was strong, but most of their guns were aimed at the South China Sea, and their land defense was not strong. The Governor of Macau once built a city wall against the land, which was forced to be demolished under the strict orders of the Ming Dynasty. In recent years, they have secretly built a lot of forts, which are not as dazzling as the coherent city walls, and Nanming and Li Chengdong, who rule Guangdong, are powerless to interfere anymore.

The Ming army of Hainan was stationed in Xiangshan, and the situation between Macao and the mainland immediately became tense. The purpose of this trip was to gain the money and population of Canton, and he had no interest in Macau, nor did he want to have a misunderstanding with the Portuguese. There are not many resources, so we have to use them in the north as much as possible.

Everyone received the order and was about to go to do something, and they stopped Cai Yuanding in order.

"Ji Tong, find a few people, engrave "Guo Lingding Yang" on the city wall, and paint it with a layer of red paint."

A smile appeared on the corner of Cai Yuanding's mouth, "Obey the order, the great ruler." ”

Orderliness likes this sense of ritual.

On this trip, Shou Xiang brought 500 seagoing vessels, of which 200 smaller ships remained on Hainan Island, and the other 300 had sailed into Guangdong as early as August and anchored in the bay near Xiangshan. Most of these ships are empty.

The seagoing fleet is waiting for the right time in Xiangshan, and some preparations should be made sooner rather than later.

The first is the river boat. The Pearl River is the place with the highest concentration of boats in China except for the Yangtze River, and almost every household has a boat along the coast.

Shou Xiang first collected 150 Pearl River river boats in Xiangshan, drew 600 people from the 1,500 Ming army, and escorted 30,000 stone of rice to reinforce Hezhou. For this reason, the guard general Cao Junfu was transferred from the Leizhou Mansion Lemin Shouyu Qianhu to be responsible for the supply fleet this time.

Then unload 40,000 stone of grain and transport it to Xiangshan County. Xiangshan County is the same city as Xiangshan Shouyu Thousand Households, there are many military facilities left over from the anti-Japanese war, and most of the warehouses and barracks are vacant, which can be used temporarily with a little repair.

After Li Chengdong's death, Du Yonghe spent all his energy on the defense of Guangzhou. The Ming army built additional forts, built cannons, and accumulated food and gunpowder to prepare for a big fight. Du Yonghe held the richest area in the Southern Ming Dynasty, and the Guangzhou army was not short of food or ammunition.

Shou Xuan only sold him 30,000 stone of grain this time, and only made up for it. 30,000 stone of grain is just a stepping stone into Guangdong, and he has not thought about doing business to recover the resources invested in Guangdong in the past two years, and sometimes force is simpler.

The newly incorporated local Ming army was not reliable, and the Hainan Ming army was only 900, and some federal sailors and seamen who could be transferred into Guangdong with sea vessels could be transferred. These armies and armed forces are not familiar with the geography of the Pearl River, and the order needs to lead the way.

Hainan Ming Army's friends, Wang Xing of the Tanjiang Estuary and Chen Qice of the Pearl River Estuary, were relatively independent, and it was not appropriate to invite them to participate. Orderly still invited an old friend from Hong Kong, the pirate Wang Huizhi.

After meeting, Lao Wang gave Shou Xu a bear hug.

"Great Commander, you asked me to bring all my brothers, what kind of big business is there this time?"

Shou Xuan smiled and said, "Lord Daao, how many boats have you brought?" ”

"There are 160 large and small ships, more than 2,000 brothers."

"Not enough, is there a way to get some more boats?"

Wang Huizhi: "You have collected more than 300 ships in Xiangshan, and Du Yonghe has sealed more than 1,000 river and sea boats in Guangzhou. No matter how many ships there are in Guangzhou, they can't withstand such a toss from you, and if you want to build another ship, the name of the government will not be good. ”

"The name of the government is not good, do you mean that there is another way?"

"There is a way, but I'm afraid I'll have to use a knife."

"Lord O, please."

"The forces in the Pearl River, in addition to the government and us, there are also four major pirate groups. Red Flag Pirates, White Flag Pirates, Four Surnamed Pirates and Tan Min. Tanmin is too troublesome, and the Zhou brothers and Li Yanrong have an ambiguous attitude, so don't worry about it for now. The Red Flag Pirates were recruited by Li Yuanyin and stationed in Zhaoqing and Sanshui. There are still white flag pirates and four surnames left, these two families pulled the flag and rebelled when Li Chengdong entered Guangdong, there were many people and boats, and they almost knocked down Xiangshan County and Xinhui County under your feet, and robbed several counties west of the Pearl River. Li Chengdong's troops defeated the two pirates on land, and now they can't grab anything, and their power is not as strong as before, but there are many people and ships left, scattered and hiding on the nearby bay islands. ”

"Can you recruit these two pirates?"

Wang Huizhi: "My strength alone is not enough. ”

"What do you need?"

"Boats, guns, cannons, money."

"I'll provide these, as long as you find me a human ship within 40 days, the more the better."

"Okay, may I ask what they're recruiting them for?"

"Robbery."

"You want to rob Du Yonghe?" Wang Huizhi felt very surprised, there is a legend on the sea, Shou Xiang has been doing a lot of business with the Guangdong government recently, and the relationship is very good.

"No, these sites will soon be out of the name Du. Lord Wang, do you remember what I said to you in Nanyang many years ago? You and Cao Junfu don't have to go to Liaodong, you can see the real Tartar in your hometown. ”

"Of course I remember that I had a fight with Li Chengdong in Dongguan a few years ago. If it weren't for your letter to dissuade me, I would have fought with him to the end, just like the four pirates. Speaking of Li Chengdong, Wang Huizhi was a little embarrassed.

"Lord Wang, that's just an appetizer."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The latest news, Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao's southern expeditionary army has arrived at the foot of the Nan'an Dayu Ridge in Jiangxi, and Meiguan has been lost. The Tatar Dongjiang soldiers and the Jiangxi Green Battalion soldiers, nearly 30,000 people are all elites who have survived a hundred battles. Yan Keyi, the front-line defender of the Ming army, died of illness, and Luo Chengyao was unable to hold on. Lord Wang, you will soon be able to see tens of thousands of pigtailed soldiers in Guangzhou. ”