Dominate the Country

There are many people who are proud of themselves in the changes of dynasties, and there are also many people who are frustrated. Just as there are always turbulent undercurrents under the seemingly calm river surface.

There is no doubt that Ding Xin's father Ding Guan is a frustrated person. As a head of the Shuntian Prefecture in the capital, he participated in many roundups against the dark camp. Although he had no blood of the Fu Han Army on his hands, he could not stay in Beijing.

When the Qing Dynasty carried out "forced relocation", the Ding family was aware of it early and escaped. However, facing the "liquidation" of the Fu Han Army, Ding Guan was no longer able to escape. Because his son Ding Xin was a member of the Fu Han Army's dark camp Beijing station.

Ding Guan was exiled to Taiwan. Ding Xin, who could have stayed in Beijing to work, has now become the security captain of a newly established "Budai Salt Field" called "Budai Salt Field" in Zhuluo County, Taiwan.

The 24-year-old Ding Xin was not dissatisfied with this appointment, at least not because of his declining rank. He is a very optimistic person, and he will bravely move forward even in the face of a bumpy future. His father's sins have been completely cleared. Now that he has arrived in Taiwan, it does not mean that he will stay in Taiwan for the rest of his life.

Besides, the salt field, who can be the security captain of the salt field? This must be a trustworthy person.

If there is no Ding Guan, the father who betrayed his son, Ding Xin, as a member of the Beijing Station, would have stayed in the Beijing Police Department as a branch chief. However, Ding Xin was unwilling to leave his father and mother alone to move to Taiwan, so he took the initiative to apply for transfer to Taiwan. Ding Guan originally had two years of labor reform in the salt field, but it was naturally gone. After arriving in Taiwan, Ding Guan had nothing to do except not being able to leave Zhuluo County and reporting to the security team every ten days.

As a filial son, Ding Xin thought it was worth it.

Less than a month after his 24th birthday, Ding Xin embarked on a journey to Taiwan with his parents, wife and children. Because the schedule was not tight, the family did not go to Tianjin to take a sea ship, but took the canal from Tongzhou all the way south.

Arrived in Yangzhou, saw Nanjing City, took a ship to Shanghai, and then the family took a sea ship to Taiwan's Takao Port.

Ding Guan was very eye-opening. The revival of Shandong and northern Jiangsu, the prosperity of Yangzhou and Zhenjiang, and the unique urban appearance of Nanjing and Shanghai made this country bumpkin who had never been out of Beijing and Tianjin in his life really broaden his horizons. In his heart, his awe of Chen Han unconsciously increased a lot, including Ding Xin himself, who was full of wonders about the current Nanjing and Shanghai.

From Beijing to Nanjing, it was like living in two different worlds.

The former was an ancient world, walking, sitting in a sedan chair, riding a horse, the road was dirty and messy. Even though Beijing was the imperial capital, except for a few avenues [outer city], other small roads and alleys were also very interesting. Urinating and defecating everywhere, sewage and garbage were everywhere, which belonged to the same world as Paris and London at that time, but the Ding family had never seen Paris and London. They have lived in Beijing since childhood and have long been accustomed to it.

But what about Nanjing? There are horse-drawn buses, trams, private carriages, and animal-powered cranes. From the port to the city, the main streets are all cement roads, clean and tidy, with green trees and flowers planted on both sides, and there are pavilions and benches at different angles. The red sleeves that would appear from time to time stared at everyone with shining eyes. They represented the powerful ruling power of the Chen Han court. There were trash cans one after another on the side of the road, and big signs with "strict urination and defecation anywhere" and "maintain hygiene, civilized and tidy" erected high, as well as public toilets with people coming and going. These are really two completely different worlds. Comparing Beijing is like a super-large countryside.

But the more he saw Chen Han's "extraordinary", the more blocked Ding Guan's heart became.

Beijing is much worse than Nanjing, but no matter how bad it is, it is better than the remote wilderness in Taiwan, right?

Ding Guan knew that the registered place of his son's ID card had been changed from Beijing to Zhuluo!

People living at the foot of the imperial city were always proud, but in the blink of an eye, his son's place of origin changed from the imperial city to the countryside. Zhuluo County was a countryside in Ding Guan's eyes, and the whole of Taiwan was a big village compared to Beijing.

Ding's mother knew that Ding Guan was also very upset, but she didn't say a word of comfort. Parents' love for their children is selfless and great. She would rather her old couple come to Taiwan to suffer than to affect her son's future. I don't know how many tears she wiped along the way. From a police station chief in Beijing to a security captain of an island salt field in the blink of an eye, such a blow is undoubtedly heavy for Ding's mother.

"Mom, don't cry anymore. We, as the younger generation, can still watch you two come to Taiwan alone to suffer." Seeing this, Ding Xin's wife on the side said in a skilled and soft voice. Of course, in her eyes, Ding Xin's fall from the branch chief in Beijing to the security captain of the shitty Budai Salt Field was definitely an exile!

The shaking carriage box squeezed into four adults and two children. It was small and crowded. Except for a small box, other clothes and daily necessities were placed in the carriage at the back. Ding Xin rented two carriages in Dagou Port.

Ding Guan always closed his eyes and rested as if he was dead. But the gray beard, haggard face, and an unconcealable old age proved his inner pain.

There are so many police chiefs in Shuntian Prefecture, why didn't he know to hide? Ding Guan's hands were not stained with the blood of the Fu Han Army. His crimes were accumulated from those "attendances" again and again. When he thought of it, his heart was as painful as a piercing.

"Dad, we're almost at the salt field. You better cheer up!" Since you're here, you have to integrate well. If Ding Guan talks about Beijing every day, what will the people at the salt field think of Ding Xin? He's not the boss of the salt field!

"Dad knows, knows..." How could Ding Guan, who has been in the government for half his life, not know? He sighed as he spoke. He really screwed his son.

The Budai Salt Field in Taiwan, the Yingge Salt Field in Hainan, and the Changlu Salt Field are the three major salt fields in China in later generations. At this time, the Budai Salt Field had just been opened, and the Yingge Salt Field was completely unknown. But Chen Ming knew where the Yingge Salt Field was. The Yingge Salt Field was built between the sea and mountains. The continuous mountains of Jianfengling blocked the typhoons and rain from the north, making the sun shine all year round here, with sufficient light and heat for salt production. The high salinity of the seawater is unique.

A salt field is a sea of ​​silver. With the northern expedition of the Fu Han army, some of the captives and exiled families were sent to Taiwan and Hainan. In the current era, salt fields are absolutely labor-intensive industries. Ding Guan and Ding Xin may not know that they may run into old acquaintances in the Budai Salt Field.

At the same time, the Zasak Dorodal Khan Zhuoliketu King of the Siziwang Banner of the Ulanqab League, who opened the way for Zhangjia III to go south, also arrived in Nanjing under the escort of his own 100-man guard and a whole battalion of the Fu Han army.

Of course, Ha Lazhu would not go by sea, nor by land. He took the water route, just like the Ding family father and son, from Zhangjiakou to Beijing, then to Tongzhou, and took a boat along the canal to Yangzhou, and then to Nanjing.

Although the Ulanqab League is one of the six leagues in Inner Mongolia, and the Siziwang Banner of Harazhu is the leader of the Ulanqab League, he has never been so deep into the heart of the Central Plains. In the past, the Manchu-Mongolian alliance was either the Qing emperor went to Rehe and toured the grasslands, or the Mongolians went to Beijing. At least Harazhu has never seen the Chinese customs south of Beijing and Tianjin.

Chen Ming asked him to go by water, not only because the waterway is fast and convenient, but also because the areas on both sides of the canal are the core areas of China now. With the capture of Beijing, a large number of people returned to their homes, and most of the fields on both sides of the canal have been opened up. Even if sea transportation has been opened, the importance of inland river transportation cannot be completely replaced without the emergence of railways and trains, a revolutionary means of transportation.

The economy on both sides of the canal, which had been shrinking day by day, has recovered, and the momentum of recovery is very fast. It may be difficult for this place to reach the important position in the Chinese economy in the past, but looking at it here is better than letting the Mongolians go and wander around. The cities and the large population on both sides of the canal can better show the Mongols the powerful strength of the Central Plains.

The market in Linqing is much more lively than last year, and the ruined Jining is also being rebuilt rapidly. After contributing most of their own money and grain, the Kong family, the Meng family, etc., who were quietly deprived of their power, are looking at Jining. Past experience tells them that if they want to continue to protect the existence of the family, they should not pin their eyes on the land. Land is only the foundation, and business and financial management are more effective means to maintain the family! As for the well-known Jiaozhou Bay and Yantai, these two cities that are about to open ports, none of the four great families of Confucius, Meng, Zeng and Yan are not jealous, but the wisdom of survival tells them that it is better not to hope for it as soon as possible.

Now Jiaozhou and Yantai are the territories of the new dynasty and the new nobles in the Shandong area. With their awkward status, there is no room for intervention. At least when the former has not eaten and drunk enough, there is no place to intervene.

Shen Shiying didn't know how Linqing compared to Zhangjiakou, but Linqing was definitely not as prosperous as Beijing.

Halazhu was only curious and excited in Shandong, but not shocked, until the fleet arrived at Qingjiangpu.

Qingjiangpu, which had recovered after the war, was full of vitality. Ships of grain, cloth and products from the south of the Yangtze River went north and west from here. They went north into Shandong and west along the Yellow River to the heart of China.

Although it has not yet recovered to the population of more than 500,000 at its peak, "boats and cars are crowded, crowns and hats are noisy, and the markets on both sides of the river are lined up for dozens of miles", but don't underestimate the vision of merchants in this era.

Investing in advance is a skill that merchants in any era will light up.

Huai'an is obviously a promising place. How many merchants will wait for others to make the plate bigger and more mature before they get involved?

When they arrived in Yangzhou, this completely different style from Beijing opened Halazhu's eyes. When the fleet turned from Yangzhou to Guazhou Town at the entrance of the river, Halazhu opened his eyes wide when he saw the endless stream of ships traveling on the Yangtze River.

"The prosperity of the Central Plains opened my eyes. There are more ships traveling on the Yangtze River than herdsmen in Siziwang Banner."

Halazhu stayed in Guazhou Town for five days because he wanted to learn the etiquette when meeting Chen Hui. The etiquette of Chen Han and the Qing Dynasty was very different. And he really felt that the ships traveling to Guazhou Town in five days were more than the people in his Siziwang Banner, too many and too dense.

It took 22 days before and after, and Halazhu arrived in Nanjing safely. The prosperity of Chen Han along the way had left a deep impression on him. As for the strength of Chen Han's military force, there is no need to use these to prove it. The combat effectiveness of the Fu Han Army has engraved the word "invincible" in the hearts of every Mongolian with the blood of Manchus and Mongols!

The Siziwang Banner is divided into 20 sumus, or zuoling, and the population of the whole banner is close to 17,300 people. Excluding the population killed and captured in the war, the current population of Siziwang Banner is less than 16,800 people.

Compared with the prosperity of the Central Plains and the prosperity of Jiangnan, what impressed Halazhu the most was the large population of the Central Plains. Along the way, you can see a population comparable to that of the entire Siziwang Banner in any town, and those big cities have more population than the entire six leagues of Inner Mongolia. Although the war proved that the cities in the Central Plains were really unusable, even a county town here is so huge.

Halazhu once thought that Zhangjiakou was already prosperous, and the capital was even more spectacular, but Beijing seemed to be just that much more than Nanjing.

The population of Nanjing City has now exceeded 400,000, including those with registered permanent residence, and there are no less than 200,000 foreigners without registered permanent residence. Whether in terms of scale or prosperity, it is not inferior to Beijing City in its heyday, and the city appearance is much stronger than that of Beijing at the time. Even the dirtiest people like cleanliness. The Beijing in Harazhu's memory is compared with the current one. One is a big bunk bed, and the other is a private room. He subconsciously feels that the latter is too much better.

Moreover, before going south, he saw the extremely dilapidated side of Beijing. How can it compare to the paradise on earth in front of him.

"It would be great if all these were mine!"

Any nomadic people outside the Great Wall have deep "expectations" for the blessing of the Central Plains. As the martyrs who completely cut off the Han Dynasty, the Mongols have a special feeling. It's just that this impulse comes quickly and goes even faster. Because the powerful combat power of the Fu Han Army mercilessly warned him not to have any unreasonable thoughts.

"Sir Shen, how many cannons are set up on the top of Nanjing City?" Forgive Harazhu for asking such a low-level question.

After arriving in Nanjing, Harazhu did not stop for a moment and walked around Nanjing City. He was wearing silk and satin, and he didn't look like a Han Chinese. The round, round face, red cheeks, and bow legs are different from the Han people.

Halazhu was shocked to find that the dense cannons were not only arranged on the wall facing the dock in Nanjing City. In the whole city of Nanjing, the cannon positions he saw were open-air, closed, or semi-closed. Regardless of the importance of the position, the cannon positions were all equally dense. Halazhu knew the length of the Nanjing city wall. After converting it, he shuddered unconsciously. If this is true!

Shen Shiying smiled modestly, "The inner wall of Nanjing City is 35 li long, and 108 light and heavy artillery pieces are deployed. The outer wall is said to be 180 li long, which is a bit of an imaginary number. The brick-built sections add up to about 40 li, and the earthen hills add up to 120 to 30 li. There are 152 artillery pieces of various types, plus five large and small artillery platforms."

"This is the capital of our dynasty, how can we be careless." Shen Shiying's tone of voice was really modest, and he couldn't help but change the color of his face when he saw Harazhu, and his smile was very harmless.

Regardless of what Harazhu was thinking at the moment, Shen Shiying felt for the first time that it was quite good to deploy more than 300 cannons in the capital. At least it was very powerful to deter the Mongols. Before that, he had always agreed with Chen Ming's words:

Nanjing does not need city defense artillery!

When the enemy hits the capital, the country will be destroyed!

But at that time, Chen Ming's very "imposing" proposal was unanimously rejected by the government and the public. Nanjing not only needed city defense, but also the most powerful city defense in the world, so five artillery batteries, more than three hundred cannons, especially more than half of them were heavy artillery, arrived one after another.