"The Yellow River is harmful, but only rich is one set", this saying may be familiar to traversers.

But in history, until the Qing Dynasty, the Hetao area was not a plugged in the south of the Yangtze River, let alone a granary outside the plugged. Except for the former set, the rest of the area is either arid grasslands or long yellow sands.

It was not until after "going to the west" that thousands of destitute peasants flocked to the mouth to make a living and develop agricultural water conservancy in the Hetao.

Sun Chuanting's desire to take the Hetao is also to inherit the emperor's will, and the area to be recovered is also the Qiantao area. After occupying the front set, vigorously reclaim and develop it, in order to recover the material base of the back set.

From a larger strategic point of view, the occupation of the Hetao improved the defense system in the north, made up for the gap between Datong and Ningxia, and prevented the Mongol tribes from using it as a base to attack and harass the Ming Dynasty.

Hong Chengchou saw that Sun Chuanting had made a decision, pondered for a while, and asked: "Liaodong is recovered, long live the desire to use troops against the Mongolian tribes?" Or do you want to take advantage of the catastrophe to subdue the Mongol tribes? ”

The elimination of slaves in Pingliao can be said to have solved the problem of the Ming Dynasty's henchmen, despite the catastrophe, the Mongolian tribes with a single mode of production must be more difficult than the Ming Dynasty.

The so-called: take advantage of his illness to kill him. Hong Chengchou has such thoughts and speculations, and it is also natural.

Sun Chuanting hesitated, but nodded anyway. That's what the emperor meant, but he can't say it explicitly, you have to guess that there is no way.

Hong Chengchou breathed a sigh of relief and no longer persuaded Sun Chuanting. If the disaster spreads and expands, there is no need for the Ming army to use force, and the Mongolian tribes will also go south to plunder and survive in line with tradition.

Therefore, the battle must be fought. It is also a clever strategy to strike first and occupy the advantageous position of the Hetao.

Of course, what is the problem of fighting a war is logistics, how much food and salary the imperial court can solve, how far Shaanxi can save itself in a disaster, and how much support the surrounding provinces will have, all of which must be carefully considered and calculated.

Since the emperor has this plan, he must have made arrangements and has confidence. As for the emperor's temperament, you can get a glimpse of it from the Pingliao War, which is quite cautious and strategic.

"The grain stocks in the granaries of Shaanxi can also support the recovery of the Hetao." Hong Chengchou said slowly: "But it's only one year, and if the disaster is not reduced, it will be difficult to help, so we can only wait for the imperial court to pull out." ”

Sun Chuanting bowed slightly, which already satisfied him. After all, there is a disaster in Shaanxi Province, and the grain storage has to help the people of Li.

Arching his hand to the east, Sun Chuanting said: "Long live the wise, arrange in advance, and have the current calm response." ”

For the past two years, taxes have been collected, but they have not been relieved of Beijing, but they have been stored on the spot in case of a major disaster.

Not only Shaanxi, but also northern provinces such as Henan and Shanxi, which were the most severely affected and had the most severe peasant uprisings among the major disasters in history.

According to the emperor's requirements, the Inspectorate and the East Factory supervised and inspected from both light and dark aspects, and Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Jin and other provinces had to store enough grain to support one year.

In the two years that were arranged in advance, the emperor also issued an edict to the governors of the provinces to vigorously promote the cultivation of potatoes. It is both hardy and highly productive, greatly enriching the warehouses of the provinces.

In addition to the official warehouse, the common people also have some grain storage and a lot of potatoes in the cellar.

Taking measures from all sides, despite the disaster in Shaanxi Province this year, the actual situation can still be supported. The common people are still passable, and there is no miserable scene of starvation everywhere.

Hong Chengchou also arched his hand to the east and said: "According to the current speed and quantity of grain and materials transported from Sichuan, Hubei, Henan, and Jin provinces, even if there is no harvest next year, it will be able to support the people's livelihood." It's not enough just to continue supplying the military. ”

Shaanxi has been a disaster in the whole province this year, while neighboring provinces have not been affected or have been less affected. According to the principle of local storage of taxes, these provinces do have spare strength to relieve Shaanxi.

In addition, if the grain stocks of the provinces are less than a year's use, they can also be increased by adjusting the grain transported from outside.

In fact, this is also a form of segmented transportation. It's just that the imperial court is leading, and the provincial governments are responsible for transportation and storage.

Three points of natural disasters and seven points of man-made disasters. The emperor has long known that the key reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty in history is not a catastrophe.

As long as the imperial court attaches great importance to it and the local government is effective, it is not an impossible task to survive the catastrophe.

Moreover, while resisting the disaster, while laying out the north, and taking the opportunity to subdue the Mongol tribes, the emperor believed that it was completely achievable.

Sun Chuanting was also full of confidence in this, the reason was very simple, the elite soldiers drawn from Liaodong would greatly improve the combat strength of the Ming army in the northern military towns, and they had a great advantage over the Mongolian tribes.

During the years of the Pingliao War, the weapons and equipment of the Ming army in various places were upgraded by at least one level. The troops in Liaodong even figured out the tactical way to deal with the nomads from actual combat.

"Even if there is no war, can the army's food and salary be in arrears?" Sun Chuanting objected to Hong Chengchou's calculation, "It is not difficult to capture the front set, and then it is enough to supply the grain and grass of the 3,000 defenders." ”

The meaning is very simple, the army has to eat no matter what, and can it still tie its neck on days when there is no war? Therefore, the increase in grain and grass materials is the cost of road transportation.

The defeat of the Hetao was also nine out of ten, and the Mongol tribes could not stop the Ming army's large-scale attack and sharp firepower. The remaining problem is to garrison for a long time and secure the occupation of the Loop.

The 3,000 Ming troops relied on flintlock muskets and artillery, even the relatively rudimentary moat breastwall, which was enough to inflict heavy damage on the invading Mongol tribes. Such a force has reduced the logistical supply to a minimum and greatly reduced the pressure.

What's more, there are many rivers in the Qiantao area, and the natural conditions are very good. "Ming History Chronicle" cloud: "The Yellow River is blocked on three sides around the Hetao, the soil is fertile, and it can be cultivated. That's what I mean.

It is the worst-case scenario, the Qiantao area is the same as Shaanxi, it is impossible to cultivate under the catastrophe, and the army is just stationed in another place, and the loss is the money and grain for transporting supplies.

"The front set can be cultivated." Hong Chengchou knew a lot and said very firmly: "There is luxury water in the west, black water in the northwest, Jingwei (now Yulin, Shaanxi) flows into the Sancha River in the south, and there is a big river (that is, the Yellow River) in the north, which is much stronger than the drought in Shaanxi. ”

Sun Chuanting smiled and said, "With the words of Brother Hengjiu, the confidence of this governor is even stronger. ”

The two are fellow scholars, and the relationship is still harmonious. Sun Chuanting has a high official position, but he is not arrogant, and he also admires Hong Chengchou's talent.

But the two did not know that the emperor not only wanted to recover the Hetao, but also prepared to promote the migration to the west in advance.