Chapter 758: Junzi Ford

On the twentieth day of the tenth month, Zhong Susu departed beyond the frontier. At this time, snow drifted everywhere beyond the frontier, a vast expanse of white between heaven and earth, only the leaves of the white birch trees still withered-yellow and fiery-red.

Her jurisdiction was the Monan Central Garrison of the Protectorate, extending east to Yuanyang Fort, west to Lingzhao Temple, and north to the Great Desert — a rather vast territory, containing fertile plains and grasslands, high mountains and great ridges, as well as barren gravel gobi.

All along the way she braved the wind and snow, taking the route through Xinghe Garrison and heading straight for Guihua City. At times when the roads were difficult to travel, she even used sleds, horse-drawn sleighs, and other means of transport.

Zhong Susu led her guards, the party trudging along. The cold wind was bleak and biting, heavy snow swirled with the north wind, and everywhere was a sheet of gleaming white.

Across this vast silver-dressed land, the hoofprints of horses were quickly buried by the wind and snow. The party trudged on, as if only their lonely silhouettes remained between heaven and earth.

Wind and snow whirled and danced across the sky, the cold wind piercing skin and bone. Everyone’s heads and faces were wrapped tightly. Zhong Susu also wrapped her entire face with a face cloth, revealing only a pair of bright eyes beneath her iron-tipped helmet. Between the fluttering of her lashes, there seemed to carry a hint of frost.

Beyond the frontier it always turned cold earlier than in the Central Plains. Although there was snow in various parts of Shanxi now, it was not this heavy. Before the winter solstice had even arrived, there were already continuous heavy snowfalls. When the depths of winter came, it would be even harder to endure.

Traveling in such weather was also a hardship. Fortunately, along the way there were military forts such as Yuanyang Fort, Dongyang Fort, Jining Fort, Xiashuihai Fort, and Xiaoheihe Fort. When resting at night, they could eat hot meals and use hot water, which alleviated the hardship of the journey.

The establishment of these military forts also brought convenience to travelers and passersby. Already, clever merchants, on the eve of the great development, were doing business with soldiers and traveling merchants.

They followed the routes of these military forts, extending their business all the way to Guihua City, which somewhat reduced the difficulty for the supply battalions in transporting provisions.

On this day, Zhong Susu and her party finally arrived at Guihua City. The one currently garrisoning the city was the Fierce Tiger General Li Guangheng, stationed with the cavalry battalion warriors of the Central Army.

Compared to past days, Guihua City was much livelier. From time to time, groups of merchant caravans could be seen braving the wind and snow to enter. Camels and horses came in herds, and the clamor of various accents could be heard. The ground was littered with cart tracks, and commercial goods were piled up.

These also belonged to shrewd merchants, people who seized the initiative. As the future seat of the Anbei Protectorate, Guihua City naturally had commercial opportunities. Setting up trading stations here, one could also go north from Guihua City, following places like the Shierdeng Pass, and extend business into Mobei.

Moreover, the garrison troops inside the city inevitably needed grain, commercial goods, and other necessities. As first-class troops of the Jingbian Army, every one of them had ample wealth and deep pockets, with very strong purchasing power. These were all business opportunities that shrewd merchants would not let pass.

When Zhong Susu and the others arrived, what they saw was just such a scene brimming with vitality, which made her very satisfied.

As a semi-host, Li Guangheng welcomed Zhong Susu and her party. Zhong Susu asked for nothing else first but to take a hot bath. Then everyone sat beside the brazier and had a hearty meal, and only then did the weary party recover their breath.

Afterward, regardless of fatigue, and accompanied by Li Guangheng, Zhong Susu made an inspection tour within the city. The outer shell of Guihua City was not bad, with a circumference of twenty li. She expected that in future development, it would surely become as prosperous as Yongning City and the Xuanfu Garrison City.

Moreover, this place would henceforth belong to her jurisdiction, so naturally she inspected everywhere in detail, looking again and again.

At present, the interior of the city appeared even more empty, because the various shanties, patches of pit dwellings, tents, and the like that originally belonged to the Mongols had already been demolished by the garrison troops. In the future, all these areas would be re-planned to display the appearance of a great metropolis.

The matter Zhong Susu was most concerned about: "Brother Li, where is the Grand General's headquarters set up?"

Li Guangheng brought Zhong Susu before the Silver Buddha Temple, which had been renamed back to its Chinese name "Hongci Temple," and said with a smile: "At present, Guihua City is dilapidated. Even the royal palace of the Shunyi Prince is extremely old and broken. Therefore, at that time, the Grand General's headquarters was set up within this Great Zhao Temple."

Zhong Susu immediately furrowed her brows. She said seriously: "Brother Li, the Grand General, as a dignified Marquis and the General Who Subdues the Caitiffs, how can he live together with those lamas? The residence of the Grand Protectorate must be found elsewhere."

Li Guangheng pondered and said: "According to Sister Zhong's... oh, Brother Zhong's opinion, what should be done?"

Zhong Susu said: "I think that the area of residences originally belonging to Gulu Ge and the others is not bad. Although it is also somewhat dilapidated, the framework is still there. There is a great deal of discarded timber in the city now, and it can be largely renovated... If it's not enough, timber from the dilapidated houses and ruined shacks in the city can be dismantled to supplement it... Some temples are empty of people, what use are they sitting there empty? Also, the Mongols in the various Bansheng outside the city are idle anyway. Call them to come work, give them a bit of food each day, and also prevent them from starving to death in the winter."

She emphasized seriously: "Renovating the Grand General's mansion is the current top priority for us garrison troops. Moreover, in the future, this mansion will also be the location of the Protectorate government office, and must not be taken lightly."

Li Guangheng said: "Mm, you are the Regional Commander of the Central Garrison. These matters shall be decided by you."

The next day, it rarely did not snow. Bringing her guards and a group of civil affairs and agricultural officials, Zhong Susu followed the Dahei River and patrolled westward downstream.

Along the way, they saw many abandoned Bansheng, with obvious traces of fields and irrigation channels. The Tumochuan Plain extends east to the Manhan Mountains, north to the Great Qing Mountains, and south to the Yellow River and the Horinger Loess Hills. The entire plain has flat terrain, fertile soil, and abundant water sources, and has always been rich in wheat, sugar beets, flax, and various other crops and vegetables.

Han armies of successive dynasties mostly opened up land here. The Anda Tribe had also managed it extensively before. In the two areas of Yunnei and Fengzhou alone, they opened up ten thousand qing of farmland, with hundreds of connected villages.

These places were, of course, excellent locations for military agricultural colonies. However, before their eyes, wild grasses covered the fields, and the cold wind howled. The Mongols' management of this land was too crude; the potential for development was very strong.

Zhong Susu calculated how to manage this area in the coming year. The agricultural officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs accompanying her were also extremely excited.

Each of them said: "Irrigation here is convenient, the soil is fertile enough, and we can plant spring wheat and naked oats, even rice. In places unfavorable for irrigation, we can also plant miscellaneous grains, beans, and sorghum. This land is a place bestowed by heaven upon our great Han people."

Because the land was truly vast, they suggested that Zhong Susu adopt a crop rotation system: a large area planted with wheat, a large area planted with beans, and then some areas planted with sugar beets, rapeseed, alfalfa, and other things, and finally rotated back again.

As agricultural officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, they extensively studied agricultural texts such as the "Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People." Rotation methods, the alternate-field method, fallow farming methods, and so on — each was thoroughly familiar to them, and they knew the principle of letting land lie fallow to enrich it.

Among crops that enrich the soil, leguminous crops inherently possess the ability to fix nitrogen, which is actually better than chemical fertilizers. After all, artificial fertilizers are costly, and they also pollute water sources and the air. Long-term use also destroys soil structure, causing soil compaction.

The ancients certainly understood this principle. The "Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People" states: For the method of enriching fields, using green beans or small beans as the previous crop is best, followed by hemp, broomcorn millet, and old hemp stalks, with turnips and soybeans being the worst. It emphasizes the necessity of crop rotation and records the rotation sequences of that time.

Of course, in the Central Plains, there are many people and little land. No matter how one rotates crops, the damage to soil fertility is still great. Therefore, accumulating manure has always been very important.

In many places, they even used the method of intercropping grain and beans, planting wheat in the furrows and beans on the ridges. This was, of course, somewhat petty, and also because land was scarce, so they used intensive and meticulous farming methods.

Moreover, in this way, certain large-scale implements could not be used at that time.

Beyond the frontier, the land stretches in contiguous tracts, so one can be more generous. At this time, beans and alfalfa not only had the effect of enriching the soil but also served as horse fodder, which could be used as horse grain, reducing the consumption of proper grain.

Even in times of famine, alfalfa could also serve as rations for people.

With vast land, much of it dry land, horse plowing could also be used. Throughout the dynasties in the Central Plains, horse plowing was used less. Apart from the difficulty of obtaining horses, it was because each household had little land, and the expense of using horses far exceeded that of ox plowing. At this time, the horse breeds were also somewhat inferior.

However, the Jingbian Army had large numbers of horses, so this problem did not exist. Using a large number of draft horses paired with large-scale implements like the paired plow and the seed drill, perhaps within just a few short years, they could achieve the Grand General's requirement of obtaining more grain as quickly as possible.

Looking at this land, Zhong Susu's heart also swayed with emotion. She said: "Not bad. This place shall be the granary of the Protectorate. When we open up wasteland and create fields next year, we must not only create many fields but also strive to sow and harvest in the same year, so that the military agricultural colonies become self-sufficient. By the seventeenth year, this place will be a golden autumn wheat wave!"

On this day, braving the wind and snow, Zhong Susu also arrived at the former site of the old Dongsheng Guard, where the Dahei River and the Yellow River converge.

Before her eyes was a ruined city. However, looking at the remnant walls, which were nearly ten meters high, and the city perimeter, which was nearly sixteen li long, one could see the former grandeur of Dongsheng Guard City.

This city was established in the first month of the fourth year of the Hongwu era. When the former Yuan Dynasty's Privy Councilor Du Lian Tiemuer and others surrendered from Dongsheng Prefecture, an imperial decree established the Shibaochi and other Battalion Commander posts, appointing Boyan Tiemuer, Dahai Malibulandai, Yelisha Duolietu, Kuokuodai, and others as Battalion Commanders, and promoted Dongsheng Guard Assistant Guard Commander Cheng Xian to Guard Commander.

To the east of Dongsheng Guard was Yunchuan Guard, and to the southeast were Zhenlu Guard, Yulin Guard, and others. During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Ming, with the "Tumu Incident," all the Dongsheng guards were abandoned and relocated inside the frontier. The abandoned lands of the Dongsheng guards were occupied by the Western Tumed tribe in the eleventh year of the Jiajing era of Ming, and now they have returned to the hands of the Jingbian Army.

Looking at this old city site shrouded in wind and snow, and at the surging Yellow River in the distance, mixed with ice floes, Zhong Susu and the others felt their hearts surge with emotion. The old cities beyond the frontier would be restored one by one under their hands, and the might of the Han army would once again spread beyond the frontier.

A staff officer beside her said excitedly: "After this city is re-established, our Jingbian Army will directly control the middle reaches of the Yellow River and protect the vast fertile fields and pastures of the Tumed. What is worrisome is that there are currently many horse bandits in the Shanxi Garrison, and there are also Tartar caitiffs within the bend. In the depths of winter, the Yellow River in the Hetao is basically frozen solid. Ice conditions in the Huangfuchuan and Huigoucun areas allow direct entry. I fear these bandits and thieves will tread the ice and enter directly!"

Zhong Susu was just thinking about something. Hearing this, she said sternly: "They dare! If that truly happens, this general will lead the White Tiger Army to trample their lair flat, killing them until their wives are separated from their children, their families broken and their people destroyed!"

The four great generals of the Jingbian Army, each able to sit in their current positions, were none of them compassionate sorts. Zhong Susu appeared quiet, refined, and gentle, but in truth, she was equally ruthless. Anyone who dared to trample upon her painstaking efforts, she would not be polite to.

The party finally arrived at the Junzi Ford ferry crossing. This place could be called a thousand-year-old ancient ferry crossing site, yet its location was near the south of Lama Bay.

By the time the Yellow River reached here, it had thoroughly entered an open area. The river water was wide, and the current was quite slow, forming a stretch of riverbank land suitable for crossing. It is said that in the third year of the Zhenguan era of Tang, Hebin County was established at the site of Junzi Ford, facing the riverbank fifteen paces to the east, with the river width being only one li.

Looking at the Yellow River before them, a staff officer said: "The 'Commentary on the Water Classic' states that Emperor Huan of Han toured beyond the frontier and crossed northward from this ford. The 'Book of Wei' records: 'In winter, on the twelfth month, on the day Guihai, he toured west to Yunzhong, hunted wild horses north at Rugushan, reached the Yellow River, and crossed west from Junzi Ford.' This ferry crossing is extremely important. Controlling Junzi Ford, our army can go upstream to the Hetao and Ningxia Garrison, and downstream, follow the Yellow River straight down, entering Shanxi and advancing into Shaanxi. Tens of thousands of strong troops can move freely as the heart desires, occupying a commanding position, sitting and watching the shifting winds and clouds!"

Together with the other generals, Zhong Susu laughed heartily. The wind and snow swept in, brushing up the strands of her hair. (To be continued...)