Chapter 32                                                             �

Zhou Mengchen smiled slightly and waved his hand and said, "Why do you need to be so urgent? Even if you want to continue, you still need to stay in Datong for a month or two. First, you are familiar with the staff below and will be able to cooperate in the future. In addition, I need to come first when going out for inspection."

Zhou Mengchen said to Yin Zhengmao, "Brother Yin, you came just right. Now Datong's weapons gap is too big, not only lacking firearms, but also lacking the most basic weapons such as swords, guns, shields, and axes." Then Zhou Mengchen told Yin Zhengmao all the time that Datong's weapons gap was in full swing. Finally, he said, "Even if you don't come, I will restore the Datong weapons to build them. But I can only make small fuss. Now you brought the craftsmen from the capital. I will let go. I have been here for so long. Before I could take a closer look at the situation in Datong's border defense, Brother Yang took care of me here. I can also take a closer look at the situation in Datong and prepare for the future. By the way, I can explore Datong Coal and Iron Mine to find a place to establish the Datong Army Weapons Supervision."

Yin Zhengmao said: "It just so happened that I have longed for the appearance of the block and the yellow sand in the desert for a long time. So I accompanied Brother Zhou to the block and his team."

Yang Jisheng sighed and said, "I want to go and see you when I hear that."

The three laughed in unison.

Being able to do something great with like-minded people. Even if there are difficulties and obstacles ahead, it is nothing.

Zhou Mengchen did what he said, stayed in Datong for several days and introduced the situation of Datong to Yang Jisheng. Yang Jisheng had outstanding abilities and soon got started with government affairs. So he brought more than a thousand cavalry and went out of Datong City with Yin Zhengmao, Xu Wei, Qi Jiguang, and a group of entourages.

Going west.

Walking along the Shili River south of Datong City, watching the wheat seedlings on both sides of the river have grown. The green and green fields are very cute.

It’s just that if there is this on both sides of the river, it will be much more panicked if it is a little further away.

Zhou Mengchen sighed in his heart, this is the current situation of Datong. The farming in Datong can restore to the state of Taizu and Chengzu era. It can not only supply border troops, but also pay food to the central government.

According to the land book compiled by Zhou Mengchen, the potential of the land around Datong is about 600,000 hectares, most of which are dry land, and only a few buckets of them are collected per mu. The real good land is only more than 100,000 hectares along the river. Moreover, not all the land needs to be grown for food.

There are also many cash crops, soybean cotton, etc.

With such a point, Datong's grain output is the limit of three to four million stones.

Perhaps some people think that this amount is large, remember that it is land output, not taxes. Millions of stones of grain can raise local people in Datong and war horses. There is a surplus. However, the distribution system is slightly unbalanced and people will probably starve to death.

There is no possibility of further improvement in Datong's grain output.

As long as we work hard on water conservancy, we will convert more dry fields into irrigated land. The output will certainly rise. But the problem is that this requires a lot of investment. So in the past few years, the best way is to transport grain from outside to Datong.

Along the way, Zhou Mengchen found that it was a little better than when he had just entered Datong. At least there were already some pedestrians on the road. They all looked like they were all businessmen and were crowded. Even the people who lived in villages, after hearing Zhou Mengchen's reputation, they did not dare to be the same as the Xu family.

Soon, the water in the Shili River slowly shrank, and the mountains in the distance slowly approached their eyes.

This is the famous Yinshan Mountain. It is the Yinshan Mountain where "the flying general in Longcheng is here, and the Hu horse will not be able to cross Yinshan Mountain". However, it is now the eastern section of Yinshan Mountain. The mountain does not look very steep.

As one of Zhou Mengchen's personal guard generals, Ma Jin guided Zhou Mengchen and said, "The Lord crossed these two or three hills from here to the Cangtou River. Not far north along the Cangtou River, it flowed into the Rabbit Maw River. Wherever it is the Khahukou, that is, the West entrance."

Zhou Mengchen was stunned and said, "Go to the west?"

Ma Jin was a little confused and said, "Yes, did you just first inspect the westernmost end of the Great Wall of Datong to the easternmost end? The Great Wall of Datong Town turned south from the west entrance. They were all among the mountains. The Tatars rarely invaded from here, and they were not far west. It was the boundary of Shanxi Town. They were controlled by Panguan."

It seems that the famous folk song "Taoxikou" has not been born yet.

Zhou Mengchen was not confused about this. He opened the map and took a closer look. Shanxi Town can also be said to be Pianguan Town, because the only place where Shanxi Town connects with the Tartars was Pianguan. The so-called Pianguan did not exist during the Qin and Han Dynasties. It was the east bank of the Yellow River.

It is said that the Yellow River surging by at that time, directly hitting the mountains in the east. After many years, the Yellow River seemed to roll westward, so some riverbeds on the east side were exposed. At first, it was just a small path, and later it was a path several miles wide.

Therefore, a level set up here is the so-called partial barrier.

It is under the jurisdiction of Shanxi. It is also considered a second-rate border town among the nine borders.

Zhou Mengchen asked: "Where does the rabbit hair flow to?"

Ma Jin said, "Flowing to the Yellow River."

Zhou Mengchen was stunned and looked at the map carefully. It was indeed the case.

He was stunned. He discovered such a special river for the first time.

Inside and outside the Great Wall, there are rivers that flow northward. But in Zhou Mengchen's impression, rivers that flow northward are two solutions. One is rivers that flow northward into the Luan River, or other rivers in the Haihe River basin, or rivers in the Liaohe River basin, and finally run to the sea, or an inland lake is formed on the grassland. Many of these lakes are saltwater lakes.

This was the first time Zhou Mengchen discovered a river flowing northward into the Yellow River.

The first feeling he felt was opportunity.

If the flow of Rabbit Fur River is large enough, it can be used as a barrier. This land south of Rabbit Fur River, east of the Yellow River, west of Datong Town, and north of Panguan is included in the Ming Dynasty. In this way, the number of troops garrisons in Panguan will be reduced by at least a lot.

It is also a good way to save costs.

Zhou Mengchen suddenly came to the nature and said, "Let's go and have a look."

It’s just that Zhou Mengchen was too happy. This road was a bit too difficult to walk. Although the mountains in these places were not tall, it really means that it was the watershed between the Haihe River Basin and the Yellow River Basin. The Shili River that Zhou Mengchen had just seen flowed into the Yuhe River, and the Yuhe River flowed into the Sanggan River. The Sanggan River flowed into the Yongding River. The Yongding River flowed into the Haihe River.

There is a very long uphill road. This is the most difficult journey, and Zhou Mengchen has to get off the horse and lead it. It took a long time to pass. Then he went downhill and soon he saw the gurgling water. It was Cangtou River.

When I got here, I was already in the mountains.

Datong is located in the Datong Basin, with Yinshan Mountain and Yinshan Mountain to the north, Taihang Mountain to the east, Luliang Mountain to the west, Hengshan Mountain to the south. Today, Zhou Mengchen has left the Datong Basin and walked into the mountains. After several days of marching, he finally saw the Great Wall, which is the Khukou.

The city of Shahukou is built with rammed earth, which looks yellow and inconspicuous. Moreover, it has not been maintained for many years, and it feels like a weed and fox pond. Even above the city, the elders' waist-high weeds grew tenaciously from the gaps in the loess.

This desolate feeling reminded Zhou Mengchen of the movie Xinlongmen Inn.

The Kill Hukou is between the two mountains, and the entire river valley blocking the Rabbit Maochuan is easy to defend and difficult to attack as a whole. However, such a critical place can be said to be the gateway to the northwest, but no one is allowed to come. Zhou Mengchen saw signs of fire making and personnel stationing on the top of the city.

Zhou Mengchen asked Ma Jin: "When did people stay?"

Ma Jin is worthy of being a general and is very talented in these things. He looked carefully and said, "About half a month ago, there were fifty or sixty people, about one hundred households. The way to make fire is either the Right Guard or the Yulin Guard. It is probably the person who inspects the city wall."

Zhou Mengchen said: "Is that all? Killing Hukou is just a matter of important places, just sending people to inspect."

Ma Jin said, "Sir, I will have something to say."

Zhou Mengchen said: "Tell me."

Ma Jin said: "If you send people to kill Hukou, at least more than a thousand people will be able to defend it. However, the entire Right Guard and Yulin Guard, plus the Datong West Road General, are only enough for three thousand people. There are countless castles in Yanbian, so they can't defend it at all."
Chapter completed!