Shibi Fort is located in the north of Shenshan County, beside the Shibi River, and blocks the road to Fucheng Walled City in the east. From Jinzhou to Shenshan County, you can take the Laohe River Valley in the south, or of course you can take a detour to Shibi Castle.
Arriving outside the fort, Wang Zhongfu frowned as he looked at the ruins in front of him. There was no one around. After a while, he said: "Zhao Fu said that this is an important place in Shenshan County, why is it like this? There is not even a human figure!"
Shu Jiming said: "After years of war, everyone has fled, but it's not like this! I think there should be some people left nearby. Let's look for them and make this place more lively. The main thing is to rely on ourselves."
With that said, he walked towards the castle.
After entering the fort, I saw that most of the houses on both sides had collapsed and the roads were covered with weeds. Not far away, when we arrived in front of the castle hall, we saw that a large door had fallen to the ground. Two wild boars were grazing leisurely inside, not afraid of people coming.
"Straight bitch, this place has become this beast's residence!"
Shu Jiming was furious. He drew his bow, bent it and nocked an arrow, and shot down a wild boar with one arrow. Another wild boar raised his head strangely and looked at the group of people outside. It's been quiet here for a few days. Where did these people come from?
He shot another arrow and knocked down the remaining wild boars. Shu Jiming said: "Go in and clean up these two beasts. Let's eat meat tonight! Everyone, clean up and stay here tonight. We will figure out how to do things tomorrow!"
The soldiers promised and rushed in to take down the two wild boars.
After walking around the fort hall, Wang Zhongfu said to Shu Jiming: "This place has been uninhabited for many days, and everything needs to be cleaned up. Let's stay here today, and we will clean it up tomorrow."
Rice Ball Exploration
Shu Jiming agreed. Order the soldiers to camp in the hall and start cleaning up the fort hall tomorrow.
After everything was arranged, Wang Zhongfu and Shu Jiming left the fort hall and went to a nearby hill.
Sbi Castle is built on a hillside, surrounded by moats, and the terrain is dangerous. It had only been abandoned for a few years, and the water in the moat had long since dried up, leaving only a few puddles. The Shibi River flows nearby, and the water is fast.
This area is rolling hills, and Sbi Castle is on the main road, which is an important place in the north of Shenshan County.
Castle Walled was the military system of the Song Dynasty, and formal troops were stationed there. The village is smaller than the city, and the fortress is smaller than the village. It occupies an important road and is a defensive place in the border areas. In the interior, it is mostly used as a patrol station. For example, Hua Rong in "Water Margin" is the master of Wu Village in Qingfeng Village, and should be a junior officer in the Song Dynasty patrol army. The larger one has a perimeter of two hundred paces, while the smaller one has a perimeter of one hundred paces, which is equivalent to a village.
Because of their excellent grades, Wang Zhongfu and Shu Jiming graduated from the military academy in half a year and became junior officers. Now Shu Jiming is the head of the capital and Wang Zhongfu is the military envoy. They came to Hedong Road and were sent to garrison Shibi Castle.
After looking at it for a while, Wang Zhongfu said: "The wasteland that can be reclaimed in the surrounding river valleys is less than a thousand acres, and it cannot feed many people. If our soldiers are replenished, we will have enough food."
Shu Jiming said: "Military envoy, this place is not comparable to the fertile land of Guanzhong Tianfu in your hometown, which is thousands of miles away. You can't just look at the river valleys. Although places far away from the water are dry, they can still grow millet, millet, and sorghum, and they can still feed people. According to I think not only will our troops not be short of food, but we will also be able to recruit dozens of families to live in it. As long as we repair the castle, people will definitely come."
Wang Zhongfu said: "It's all uphill and downhill. There's no flat land. Who would want to live here?"
Shu Jiming said: "Of course there will be people coming. Tomorrow we will carefully inspect this place with the calligraphers. Where can people live, where can they farm, where is suitable for planting fruit trees, where is suitable for digging canals, all of them must be planned. Wait. After the fort is repaired, the soldiers will have to train half a day and work half a day. In just one or two years, this place will be a good place."
Wang Zhongfu looked around. After a long time, he nodded and said, "That's what Du Tou said."
Shu Jiming said: "Although everything is inconvenient for us when we get here, the best thing is the tranquility. If the place is well done, it may not be a paradise. When the Jin army comes to attack the sacred mountain, they will also go from the south. Our place is relatively safe. .”
Wang Zhongfu said: "If we want to be safe, we must make thorough preparations. If the Jin soldiers did not come, how could it be ruined like this? If the Jin soldiers really came, there would be no safe place in Shenshan County."
shuttle For two years, the army must farm its own land. We must also spin our own cloth and make our own clothes, and raise our own chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep. We have to rely on ourselves for everything."
Wang Zhongfu nodded, thinking about the plan in the castle.
There are not many soldiers stationed in a fortress. In peacetime, food was naturally shipped from outside, and soldiers did not have to farm their own land. But where is the food around now? You have to do it yourself. There are not many families in the surrounding area for more than ten miles. There is enough land here, and it depends on whether the soldiers can plant it.
Wang Xiaolie told Jiang Min not to let the regular army cultivate the land unless it was a last resort. No matter how good it is, things that have nothing to do with war, such as farming, will inevitably affect the combat effectiveness of the army. It not only affects the quality of individual soldiers, but more importantly, affects the organizational capabilities of the army. An army that is accustomed to farming and raising pigs is actually not suitable for the battlefield without rigorous training.
But what can Jiang Min do? In the Shenshan County area, not only was the land barren, but after the Jin soldiers destroyed it, a large number of households fled. Originally, in this mountainous terrain, the population was concentrated in some relatively good places. When the Jin soldiers arrived, almost all the people in these places were killed. How many people fled to the mountains? To reorganize the place, the army must find its own way.
Now the troops in Shenshan County, in addition to garrisoning the original forts like Wang Zhongfu and Shu Jiming, also dispersed to build new forts. Even the necessary military rations, Jiang Min could only provide part of it, and the army had to figure out the rest.
It is already early winter and it is too late to plant food. All ministries can only send people into the mountains to pick dates, chestnuts and other fruits to survive the long winter. The population in this era was small, so it was not easy to go hungry even if you were eating wild fruits.
After walking around and looking at the terrain, Wang Zhongfu and Shu Jiming had a rough plan in mind.
In the lowlands of the valley below, wheat and soybeans can be grown after digging canals. In some flat highlands nearby, drought-tolerant crops such as broomcorn millet and millet can be grown. Near the fort, plant some mulberry trees, jujube trees, etc., as well as some fruit trees, which will be enough for daily consumption.
After all, the army is not a common people. They are organized and have superiors. As long as there is a plan, seeds, saplings, etc. can be provided by superiors. What Wang Zhongfu and Shu Jiming lack now is just time.
