"The Yellow River has a hundred harms, but one benefit that makes it rich." This saying may be familiar to time travelers.
But historically, until the Qing Dynasty, the Hetao region was neither the Jiangnan region of the Great Wall nor the granary of the Great Wall. Apart from the Hetao region, other areas were either arid grasslands or endless yellow sand.
It was not until the "Going West" movement that thousands of impoverished farmers flocked to the outside of the Yellow River to make a living and develop the Hetao agriculture and water conservancy. After more than a hundred years of struggle, there was a saying that "the Yellow River makes the Hetao rich, and the front Hetao becomes rich, and the back Hetao becomes rich."
Sun Chuanting's intention to take Hetao was also in accordance with the emperor's will, and the area he wanted to recover was also the Qiantao area. After occupying the Qiantao, he vigorously cultivated and developed it to serve as a material base for recovering the Houtao.
From a broader strategic perspective, occupying Hetao would improve the northern defense system, fill the gap between Datong and Ningxia, and prevent the Mongolian tribes from using it as a base to harass the Ming Dynasty.
Hong Chengchou saw that Sun Chuanting had made his decision. He pondered for a moment and then asked, "With Liaodong's recovery, Your Majesty, do you intend to use military force against the Mongol tribes? Or do you intend to take advantage of the great disaster to subjugate the Mongol tribes?"
The pacification of Liao and the extermination of slavery can be said to have solved the core problem of the Ming Dynasty. Although there was a great disaster, the Mongolian tribes with a single mode of production must have had a harder time than the Ming Dynasty.
As the saying goes: "Strike while the sick are at it." It is only natural that Hong Chengchou would have such thoughts and speculations.
Sun Chuanting hesitated for a moment, but nodded. The emperor did mean this, but he couldn't say it directly. If you wanted to guess, there was nothing you could do.
Hong Chengchou heaved a sigh of relief and stopped trying to persuade Sun Chuanting. If the disaster spread, even without the Ming army resorting to force, the Mongol tribes, adhering to tradition, would have marched southward to plunder and survive.
Therefore, the battle must be fought. Strike first and seize the advantage by occupying the advantageous position of Hetao, which is also a wise strategy.
Of course, war is all about logistics. How much food and wages the imperial court can provide, to what extent Shaanxi can save itself in the disaster, and how much support the surrounding provinces can provide all need to be carefully considered and calculated.
Since the emperor had this plan, he must have been well-organized and confident. The emperor's temperament and character can be glimpsed from the campaign against Liao: he was extremely cautious and strategic.
"The grain stored in Shaanxi's granaries can sustain the recovery of the Hetao region," Hong Chengchou said slowly, "but it's only for one year. If the disaster doesn't subside, it will be difficult to provide relief. We can only wait for the imperial court to mobilize resources."
Sun Chuanting nodded slightly, this already made him satisfied. After all, the entire Shaanxi province was in disaster, and the stored grain had to be used to provide relief to the people.
Sun Chuanting bowed to the east and said, "Your Excellency, wise and wise. Only by making arrangements in advance can we deal with the situation calmly now."
It was indeed a wise decision to make preparations for major disasters in advance. For the past two years, taxes were collected as usual, but they were not sent to the capital. Instead, they were stored locally in preparation for major disasters.
It's not just Shaanxi, but also northern provinces such as Henan and Shanxi. In major disasters in history, they were the worst hit and had the most severe peasant uprisings.
In accordance with the emperor's requirements, the Inspectorate and the East Factory conducted both overt and covert supervision and inspection, and required Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Shanxi and other provinces to store enough grain to support them for a year.
During the two years of preparation, the emperor also issued decrees to provincial governors to vigorously promote potato cultivation. Potatoes are both cold-resistant and high-yielding, greatly enriching the warehouses of various provinces.
In addition to the government granaries, the common people also had some stored grain and a lot of potatoes stored in cellars.
Thanks to these measures, despite the devastating disaster across Shaanxi Province this year, the situation is still manageable. People are still able to get by, and there are no tragic scenes of starving people everywhere.
Hong Chengchou also bowed eastward and said, "At the current rate and quantity of food and supplies shipped from Sichuan, Hubei, Henan, and Shanxi provinces, even if there is no harvest next year, it will still be enough to support the people. However, it will still not be enough to continue supplying the military."
Shaanxi suffered a province-wide disaster this year, while neighboring provinces were either unaffected or suffered relatively minor damage. Following the principle of local tax storage, these provinces did have the resources to provide relief to Shaanxi.
Moreover, if the grain reserves in each province are less than one year's use, they can be supplemented by grain shipped from outside.
In fact, this was also a form of segmented transportation, except that the imperial court took the lead, while the provincial governments were responsible for transportation and storage.
Three parts are natural disasters, and seven parts are man-made disasters. The emperor already knew that the key reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty in history was not a major disaster.
As long as the imperial court pays attention and local governments are capable, overcoming major disasters is not an impossible task.
Moreover, the emperor believed that it was entirely possible to resist disasters while making plans in the north and taking the opportunity to subdue the Mongolian tribes.
Sun Chuanting was also full of confidence in this. The reason was very simple. The elite soldiers and generals drawn from Liaodong greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the Ming army in various military towns in the north, giving them a great advantage over the Mongolian tribes.
During the years of fighting against the Liaodong Rebellion, the weaponry of the Ming army in various regions was at least upgraded. The troops in Liaodong even learned from actual combat how to deal with nomadic peoples.
"Even if there's no fighting, can the army's food and wages still be delayed?" Sun Chuanting objected to Hong Chengchou's calculations. "Capturing Qiantao won't be difficult. After that, we only need to supply food and supplies to the 3,000 defenders."
The meaning is simple: the army has to eat anyway, so how can they bear the consequences when they are not fighting? Therefore, the increase in food and supplies is the cost of transportation.
Taking over Hetao was a sure thing. The Mongol tribes could not withstand the Ming army's massive offensive and sharp firepower. The remaining problem was to maintain a long-term garrison and consolidate the occupation of Hetao.
The 3,000 Ming troops, armed with flintlock muskets and artillery, and even with their relatively crude trenches and breastworks, were more than enough to inflict heavy damage on the invading Mongol tribes. This force reduced logistical support to a minimum, greatly alleviating pressure.
Moreover, the Qiantao region boasts numerous rivers and excellent natural conditions. The Ming History Chronicle states: "The Hetao region is surrounded on three sides by the Yellow River, and the soil is fertile and suitable for farming and mulberry cultivation." This refers to this area.
Even in the worst-case scenario, the Qiantao area, like Shaanxi, is unable to farm due to the disaster, and the army will simply be stationed in another place, with the only loss being the money and food used for transportation and supplies.
"The front is arable." Hong Chengchou, who knew a lot, said confidently, "To the west is the Sheyan River, to the northwest is the Heishui River, which flows through Wei (now Yulin, Shaanxi) and south of the Sancha River. To the north is the Yellow River, which is much better than the drought-stricken Shaanxi."
Sun Chuanting smiled and said, "Brother Hengjiu's words give me even more confidence."
The two men were both Jinshi graduates from the same imperial examination and had a relatively harmonious relationship. Sun Chuanting, despite his high position, was not arrogant and greatly admired Hong Chengchou's talents.
But the two of them did not know that the emperor not only wanted to recover Hetao, but also planned to promote the immigration to the west in advance.
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