In the western part of the Pingma River, that is, the western part of the Musashi Kingdom and Tokyo Bay, which is close to the junction of the central mountains of the Wa Kingdom, this is the main force of Hu Bingchang's army, and at present, nearly 3,000 cavalry are stationed in the entire camp, and the area is no worse than the infantry battalion with tens of thousands of people.

In addition, there are more than 10 large and small forts around the big camp, and there are nearly 10,000 young people in total, and under Hu Bingchang's arrangement, the cavalry camp is the center, forming a tight blockade line, which has played a great role in protecting the safety of the hinterland of Pingmachuan.

After the occupation of Pingmachuan, in order to guard against the Japanese and Ezo, Hu Bingchang led more than 5,000 cavalry under his command to garrison the western and southern parts of Pingmachuan, mainly at the junction with the Japanese forces, while Yang Wu, the cavalry commander, was ordered to lead more than 4,000 cavalry to be stationed in the north and northwest of Pingmachuan and the border with the Ezo people.

The two were stationed in the south and the north, and 1,000 cavalry were stationed in three or four places in the west to protect the entire Pingma River.

However, after all, the number of 10,000 cavalry is too small, especially compared to the area of 160,000 square kilometers of Pingmachuan, these cavalry are simply a drop in the bucket, and they are even more powerless to deal with the attacks of the Japanese and Ezo people in peacetime.

During this time, due to the frequent attacks of the Japanese and Ezo people around Pingmachuan, the cavalry under Hu Bingchang and Yang Wu gradually became a little tired.

Although the Japanese had already been completely defeated in Kyoto, the total number of Japanese who fled into the central mountains of the Japanese kingdom was still 200,000 or 300,000, and these people relied on the complex terrain of the central mountains of the Japanese country to constantly harass the tunpu on the border with the mountainous areas, which greatly affected the agricultural production on the Heima River.

The Ezo people further north also rushed out of the mountains and forests around the Pingma River, constantly attacking the weak tunpu in various places, so that the cavalry under the command of Hu Bingchang and Yang Wu were exhausted, and often received a distress message from the tunpu, and just arrived to find that the Japanese or Ezo people had fled.

At this time, the tunpu in another place was attacked on a large scale, fortunately, at the beginning of the migration, these people were almost all young and strong militia, and the tunpu was not far from each other, often the distance between the two tunpu was several miles, and with the help of each other, they also repelled most of the enemy's attacks.

However, in this case, hundreds of tunbao still suffered a great blow, and the original agricultural reclamation plan also suffered a serious setback, not to mention the fact that the militiamen's families would be brought back after the New Year, which greatly affected the militiamen who were looking forward to reuniting with their families after the New Year.

Except for the fifty or sixty forts in the center of the plain and the coastal areas, all the other outlying forts have been invaded by the Japanese or Ezo people, and hundreds or thousands of people have been killed and injured in the past few months.

In the end, Hu Bingchang had no choice but to send a letter to Wang Ze asking for help, after all, the war against Kyoto was over, and Wang Ze still had the strength to support the Pingmachuan war.

In Hu Bingchang's camp, Hu Bingchang took a good report he had just received and read it carefully for a long time, and then he said to the cavalry captain in front of him in surprise: "Thousands of Ezo people attacked Qingshui Village, killed and injured thousands of people, and were captured more than 2,000? ”

The cavalry captain in front of him was the cavalry captain under Hu Bingchang who went to rescue Qingshui Village, this time because the Ezo people were distracted by the attack on Qingshui Village, and the cavalry made up by several nearby tunbao to contain a large part of the Ezo people, they easily sneaked until they were very close to the Ezo people and rushed out.

Not only did it easily defeat the offensive of the Ezo people, but also killed and captured more than 2,000 Ezo people, as for the extra part of Hu Bingchang's good news, it was the battle exploits of the Qingshuizhai militia and the nearby Tunpu reinforcements.

Even Hu Bingchang was a little surprised by the results of these militias, because Qingshui Village was ordered by Hu Bingchang to be established, so he knew very well what the strength of Qingshui Village was.

It turned out that such a small village was just to stop the Ezo people in an emergency and buy time for the Tunpu behind, but I didn't expect that such a small village with a population of only a few hundred people, or even four hundred people, would kill nearly a thousand Ezo people, and he lost no more than 100 people.

This is good news, Hu Bingchang thought about it and stood up and turned around for a long time, and then said to the cavalry captain in front of him: "During this time, the Ezo attacks are becoming more and more frequent, and it is necessary to increase the number of cavalry patrolling in various places. ”

"Now there are still nearly 8,000 good horses in the tunbao in the whole Pingmachuan, although these horses are not as good as the war horses in the army, but there is no problem with riding, you quickly send orders to the tunbao, each tunbao should be drawn out of their respective forts and are good at riding young and strong to the reserve of the cavalry, and follow the cavalry troops to patrol and post on weekdays!"

The cavalry captain in front of him clasped his fists and replied: "It's the general, this is indeed a good idea, let's just add seven or eight thousand cavalry, which can greatly alleviate the current predicament, but to finally solve these problems, we still need the support of the little marquis!" ”

Hu Bingchang looked up at the bay in the distance, and said slowly: "Yes, I don't know if the little marquis has received my letter now, otherwise there will be no reinforcements now, and next year will have to delay for a year, and the New Year will be celebrated in a few months!" ”

The biggest problem Hu Bingchang faces here today is that he is unable to carry out comprehensive and effective agricultural production, not only because he cannot cultivate the land in an all-round way, but also because he cannot carry out the work of animal husbandry and poultry raising.

Although nearly a quarter of the land is cultivated on the Pingma River, many of them have been destroyed by the Ezo people, and a large amount of arable land will be destroyed before the harvest next year, so that the grain harvested on the Pingma River will still not be able to meet the needs of the local army and population next year, and Wang Ze's blood transfusion is still needed, not to mention the families of these militiamen.

Since ancient times, the food problem is the foundation of a country and civilization, and it is not that you can make the country strong by developing business, Wang Ze sees this very clearly, so he is constantly repeating this problem to Hu Bingchang and others, officials, and generals in ordinary times.

Especially in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when the productive forces were not strong, this was another troubled era, and only by ensuring abundant food could we be qualified to say anything else, otherwise everything would be a castle on the beach, which could not withstand any wind and waves.

In later generations, many people thought that China's backwardness was due to the low status of merchants, as if going back to ancient times to elevate the status of merchants and let businessmen participate in national affairs and formulate policies, so that China could quickly become strong.

Wang Ze has always been obsessed with this view, the most powerful time in ancient Chinese history was a period when food was abundant and commerce was suppressed, and at this time, no matter how powerful the foreign tribes were, they would be defeated by the Central Plains Dynasty, or even destroyed.

And when the business develops to a certain extent, looking at the country's economy becoming more and more prosperous, but the country's national strength is declining rapidly, there are countless examples of merchants dying in history, and the fall of the Ming Dynasty alone can be said to be in the hands of the big landlords and businessmen with a background of Donglin Party.

As Wang Ze's descendant, Hu Bingchang has always been very clear about Wang Ze's thoughts, so as soon as he came to Pingmachuan, he began to encourage the militia to develop the local land, as long as the entire Pingmachuan is developed, it can be said that the entire East China Sea will no longer be short of food.

If the entire Pingma River can be successfully reclaimed, the grain produced by the entire 24 million mu of fertile land will be enough to feed the people and slaves in the entire East China Sea for more than three years.

However, if we do not solve the problem of the attack and harassment of the Ezo and the Japanese people, all this in front of us is just floating clouds, and even if it is to be realized, it will be delayed for several years, which is very unfavorable to Wang Ze, who is in a hurry to develop the entire East China Sea.

Regarding the thoughts of some people in the land of Sanqi, Hu Bingchang, who has always been good at observing words and feelings, also knows very well that if this kind of thinking is used in the right direction, it will be an incentive for everyone, but if some people have a little crooked mind, it will be extremely destructive to the entire team.

Thinking of this, Hu Bingchang turned around and found that the captain next to him was still there, so he frowned and said, "Didn't you ask you to inform the Tunbao about the matter, why didn't you go?" ”

The captain smiled bitterly and said, "General Hu, I have already gone out just now, but let's not worry about it now, the reinforcements of the little marquis are coming!" "The lieutenant had just left the camp when he saw from a distance a large number of ships sailing in the nearby bay. 33 Listen to the book

Needless to say, this must be a reinforcement sent by the little marquis Wang Ze, and the bay is a harbor with very good conditions, although the wharf is still very simple, but because of the good port conditions, it can dock dozens of 3,000 stone level sea ships.

But when the captain came to Hu Bingchang's tent, he was seen by Hu Bingchang as having never gone out, which made the captain a little crying and laughing.

After receiving the news of the arrival of reinforcements, Hu Bingchang immediately said excitedly: "Hurry up and follow me to meet the little marquis!" As he spoke, he rushed out of the big tent and rode away with his guards, leaving only the captain who had not had time to react, and ate a nose of ashes.

When Hu Bingchang came to the port more than ten miles away, there were already thousands of soldiers from the blue wolf battalion who had disembarked from the ship, and the leader was Zhang Hang, and at this time, dozens of large sea ships on the dock had a large number of cavalry leading their war horses to land continuously.

These horses were personally led by the cavalry in charge of each other, and walked down from the decks of warships through special approach bridges, during which there were also several incidents of horses suddenly losing their temper and unwilling to get off the ship, which made a group of cavalrymen sweat before they pulled their war horses down.

Hu Bingchang is not too familiar with Zhang Hang, after all, the time Zhang Hang stayed in the land of Sanqi was really short, so after the two saluted each other, they only chatted about some parents, and then slowly waited for the people who came off the boat.

When a large group of cavalrymen drove their horses from the dock to the shore in a disorderly manner, a large group of civil officials and clerks dressed in Confucian clothes, regular clothes, Xuanyi and other costumes began to appear on the three largest ships.

These should be the staff that the little Hou Ye carried with him, Hu Bingchang thought to himself that the little Hou Ye should come out?

To his disappointment, only a middle-aged Confucian man dressed in plain Confucian clothes, wearing a black gauze crown, and holding a white feather fan came out of the back.

This made Hu Bingchang, who had been waiting for Wang Ze for a long time, puzzled and asked Zhang Hangdao: "General Zhang, why don't you see the little marquis?" Mr. Yang is here this time, shouldn't the little marquis also come here? ”

Zhang Hang shook his head and said: "Originally, this time the little marquis said that he was going to go into battle in person, but when the fleet came to the sea near Changzhou City, the little marquis suddenly changed his mind and went ashore, but this time we supported you, but there were almost 20,000 people here!" ”

Listening to Zhang Hang's words, Hu Bingchang was disappointed and happy in his heart, disappointed that Wang Ze did not come to Pingmachuan in person, but this time there were more than 20,000 reinforcements who came to Pingmachuan, which was enough to firmly hold Pingmachuan and prevent a single Ezo and Japanese from stepping into Pingmachuan again.

In this way, the agricultural production of Pingmachuan can be greatly protected, and when the summer and autumn harvest are completed next year, the grain produced in Pingmachuan alone can make the people of the entire East China Sea no longer worry about the problem of food.

As soon as Yang Ku got off the boat, Hu Bingchang greeted him and said with a smile: "Mr. Yang, but I haven't seen you for a long time, but you are becoming more and more heroic!" ”

Hu Bingchang was familiar with Yang Ku and Pu Yangxun when he was in Jinan City, so there were jokes between the two sides from time to time, this time Wang Ze didn't come, but he didn't know why he sent Yang Ku here.

When Hu Bingchang opened his mouth with questions, Yang Ku smiled and said: "This time I will live here and not leave, and take over your civil affairs here, as for General Zhang and 20,000 reinforcements this time are all under your command, the little marquis requires that the Ezo people in the north of Pingma River must be driven north for a distance of more than 200 miles before the spring of next year!" ”

At first, Hu Bingchang thought that Wang Ze would continue to deal with the Japanese forces in the central mountains after sending so many reinforcements, after all, once these two or three hundred thousand people were united, the threat to Wang Ze would still be very great, but Wang Ze's order was to deal with the Ezo people with all his might.

Therefore, Hu Bingchang was puzzled: "Mr. Yang, don't we turn a blind eye to the Japanese tribal forces in the south?" Although the terrain of this mountainous area is complex and difficult to cultivate, there are still some plains in the mountains, and once these Japanese people are given a chance to breathe, it will inevitably be a great disaster for us in the future. ”

Yang Ku laughed and said: "How can the little marquis not consider this kind of thing, this time the soldiers of the blue wolf battalion under General Zhang are mainly to deal with the Japanese people in the south and southwest, all of which are mountainous and forest areas with complex terrain, so it is very suitable for the battle of the blue wolf battalion!" ”

Yang Ku said this and smiled at Zhang Hang: "General Zhang, if you have any questions, ask General Hu, these days, General Hu still knows some nests of Japanese forces!" ”

Hu Bingchang nodded and said: "This is natural, we have already known about the foothold of the four Japanese tribes before, one of which is located in the mountains, it is said that there is a flat land with a land area of tens of thousands of hectares, but because my troops are all cavalry, it is difficult to enter here for clearance." ”

Yang Ku took Hu Bingchang's hand and walked and said: "Originally, the little marquis wanted to come here in person to see what you have done, but because of some things to be arranged, the little marquis had to go back to Changzhou first, but some arrangements for Pingmachuan have been fully explained to me!" ”

"I don't know what the little marquis wants me to do?" Hu Bingchang is also strange, what kind of things are so anxious, you must know the importance of Pingmachuan himself, is it not clear to Wang Ze, who has always attached importance to agriculture?

At this time, he heard Yang Ku say: "In fact, this time the reinforcements are only the first batch, and some of the other reinforcements will bring 20,000 people in the next three months, and these troops will all obey your command, and the little marquis will also move some people to Pingmachuan to enrich the population here!" ”

Hu Bingchang listened with enthusiasm, this is the rhythm of fully supporting the development of Pyeongmacheon, it seems that in a few years, this will be a rich place that is not inferior to Jeju Island at the beginning.

Yang Ku glanced at Hu Bingchang, who was excited, and said, "In addition, do you know why you want to completely expel the Ezo people in the northern part of the Pingma River before next spring?" Because the road is hundreds of miles to the north, most of them are gentle mountains and terraces, and this place is still very suitable for grazing horses! ”

"At present, the pastures on Jeju Island are getting smaller and smaller, and the development of Whale Island and Sakhalin Island is too slow, so by next spring, the little marquis will transport half of the horses on Jeju Island to this area north of the Pyeongma River to graze! And the remaining half of the war horses will be transported to Whale Island and Sakhalin Island! ”

Yang Ku talked eloquently as he walked, only to hear Hu Bingchang couldn't help but pat his chest again and again: "Since the little marquis has made a plan, then I will take down this land this winter, and when it comes to the beginning of spring next year, everyone will not see an enemy here." ”

In Wang Ze's plan, Jeju Island will successively introduce Arabian horses, Central Asian Ili horses, sweat horses, and even local Chinese horses, and use Jeju Island's excellent pastures to turn it into a base for systematically raising high-quality horses.

Here, it is not only necessary to breed good breeds in various places, but also to use the genes of these excellent war horses for cross-breeding in order to form better war horse breeds.

And have a relatively vast area of Whale Island, Sakhalin Island is for the future of the Heilongjiang River Basin to train the war horse, the climate here is cold but the water and grass are abundant, so the war horse here will be Wang Ze's main equipment in the future.

As for the large areas of gentle mountains, hills, plateaus and other places in the north of Pingmachuan, Wang Ze will cultivate local war horse breeds on a large scale, which will be fully open to the local people, and even the war horses here will be sold to Nanchen.

For Wang Ze's plans, Yang Ku also strongly supports them, but now he has more important things, he stood on the shore of the humble port and looked at the land that was already being developed in the distance, and said to Hu Bingchang with a long breath: "General Bingchang, in the future, this will be the location of my East China Sea Left-behind Mansion!" ”