Chapter 162: The Two Parties Meeting Face to Face (Part 2)
When the order from Henan Governor Tian Wenjing was passed on to the local area, the gentry expressed the same attitude without even reading it, "We won't sell it. Even if it rots in the warehouse, we won't sell it to Tian Wenjing!"
This was the reputation of Tian Wenjing in Henan, and there were many people who hated him. Even those Henan gentry who had never had any dealings with Tian Wenjing were influenced by this trend.
In fact, the gentry this time did a little wrong to Tian Wenjing. In name, the governors were higher than the generals, but in reality, the governors were not willing to intervene in military affairs. Especially in Shandong, two former governors died in succession. Tian Wenjing was in his sixties after all, and he knew that he could not make any achievements in military affairs.
Tian Wenjing completely handed over the battle to the general of Henan Town. The only work he participated in was to fulfill his duties as a civil servant and send out the documents for purchasing grain. This was not Tian Wenjing meddling in other people's business. By the Qing Dynasty, any rebellion had been thoroughly studied. The army could buy weapons and hoard food at will, which was no different from asking the army to rebel.
The attitude of the landlords and gentry slowed down the speed of collecting grain and fodder. Tian Wenjing was focused on the implementation of the land tax system and didn't care about such things. The efficiency of preparing grain obviously did not improve.
Compared with the internal friction in Henan, Jiangsu was just dragging its feet, and overall it was normal. However, the difficulty in military operations lies in the various preparations, and there are not so many problems when actually taking action.
According to the previous strategy, this time the plan was to concentrate the troops and strike a fatal blow. The people in the Ministry of War had no problem with their IQ, and they easily determined that Huo Chong was a sitting bandit. However, most ordinary sitting bandits were like kings who occupied the mountains. Huo Chong's influence was too large, and too many people were bewitched by him, which led to the situation where Huo Chong was wandering around.
In view of Huo Chong's local characteristics, the Qing army planned to move along the canal first and gather in the Jinan area. Then they would move eastward, relying on the transportation of Daqing River and Xiaoqing River, and move southward to break through the county towns of Zibo and Linzi controlled by Huo Chong until Huo Chong was completely eliminated.
Tian Wenjing knew very well that his reputation among the gentry . A ruined reputation among the gentry meant a ruined reputation among the people as well.
War is a dangerous thing. If the government army is defeated, Tian Wenjing will be criticized for any extraordinary actions. Especially now that Tian Wenjing has offended the gentry of Henan and a large number of officials, his life and reputation are completely dependent on Emperor Yongzheng.
To put it nicely, Tian Wenjing is now a lone minister. To put it bluntly, Tian Wenjing is now a running dog who can only run one way until the end. Whether he lives or dies depends entirely on the emperor's decision.
Yongzheng's current request to Tian Wenjing has nothing to do with the war. The emperor now only wants one thing, and that is to implement the equalization of land tax.
Therefore, the Henan government troops were indeed acting according to the imperial court's instructions, but at a slower pace than the imperial court had expected.
The Ministry of War believed that the Henan government troops would arrive in Jinan by the end of June. However, only a part of the vanguard troops arrived in Jinan at the end of June. It was estimated that the main force would not be fully assembled until the end of July.
Huo Chong knew that marching was not convenient in ancient times, but he was still somewhat surprised by the actions of the government troops. At the headquarters meeting, Huo Chong ordered the troops to disperse to the main grain-producing areas of the main bases to help the people who participated in the planting platform to harvest.
This order scared the more imaginative subordinates. Qian Qing kept silent, but Lei Hu jumped out to express his objection, "Sir, the government troops are about to arrive. If we divide our forces, what should we do if the government troops suddenly attack us?"
"Lei Hu, how many people are actually following our orders now?" Huo Chong asked.
"Well, about 4,000." Lei Hu replied. Although he joined late, Lei Hu has gained extra trust and has become a member of the core circle .
Huo Chong didn't know whether to praise the large number of people or to express his disapproval. In the end, Huo Chong simply didn't comment and continued to ask: "The government troops have 20,000 people. Our 4,000 are not enough. We need at least 10,000 troops to annihilate them. Where will the remaining 6,000 people come from?"
Lei Hu didn't expect Huo Chong to be so ambitious and was ready to get another 6,000 people. He felt that this was basically impossible, so he said, "Sir, I thought I could get some troops."
"Of course we need to recruit people, but our equipment is very valuable and better than that of the Qing Dynasty. We can just recruit those who are desperate. What if they run away with the equipment?"
"Then keep a close watch on it!"
Huo Chong shook his head slightly. "In a war, we need subordinates who can obey orders. Strict management means that everyone has to focus on their own team. Instead of doing this, it is better to choose people from those who know the people well while helping others harvest."
Lei Hu was confused by what he said. But Lei Hu was a newcomer and had not had time to get close to the locals. Since Huo Chong, a Shandong native, said so, Lei Hu, a Hebei native, could not directly refute it. After all, this matter was completely beyond Lei Hu's cognition.
Seeing that no one else objected, Qian Qing asked, "Sir, how long will it take to train the 6,000 new people?"
"It's enough for them to follow the team and transport supplies. I don't expect them to charge into battle. Besides, this kind of thing also depends on how the Qing army acts. After all, war is a matter for both sides."
Lei Hu and other people from various counties were assigned tasks. The most important thing was to help the people on the Zhongfu platform to harvest the grain quickly, and the second was to ask everyone to come out and help Huo Chong.
After returning to Muping County, Lei Hu explained the intentions of his superiors at the meeting and also brought out the conclusions of the meeting.
"Don't shout this time, but tell the truth and do practical things. All personnel must participate in the harvest, especially provide sickles and other farm tools for the harvest. Train how to sharpen sickles and how to operate transportation tools... "
Although Lei Hu had received training and knew that these requirements were not nonsense, but were actually trained. Even though he knew that it made sense to do so, he felt very uncomfortable. The government troops were right in front of him and could launch an attack at any time. However, he was busy in the fields with his men. At this time, returning to Huo Chong's side, even if there was one more person, it would be an extra force.
However, Lei Hu is not the only one who makes the decision in Mouping County. Lei Hu has the power granted by his position, but this does not mean that Lei Hu can do whatever he wants. If Lei Hu does not obey orders, someone will immediately oppose him.
Even if they provided farm tools and technical services, the work was still very hard. However, Lei Hu did not expect that Huo Chong not only did not concentrate on the war, but instead delivered a batch of gloves to the fields as agreed.
Lei Hu thought that the leather and cloth gloves were very strange to use, but the people were very skilled in using them, as if they were not using them for the first time, but had been using them for a long time, or at least had been waiting for a long time.
It is obvious that the equipment that Huo Chong ordered to be provided to the farmers was recognized and supported by the farmers.
