Chapter 2809
When the Denglai Rebellion occurred, Bai Letong was just a toddler. As for the invincible Haihan Army, its range of activities at that time could only reach the Fujian Strait, and it was fighting fiercely with Shibazhi and the Dutch.
Bai Letong had read relevant records in modern history textbooks before, and knew that the Denglai Rebellion had caused heavy damage to the Ming Dynasty, so much so that when the Haihan Army entered Dengzhou from Zhifu Island, they encountered almost no decent resistance. . But he never thought that one day he would come to this battlefield and witness with his own eyes the imprints left on this city by the fierce fighting that year.
Chen Yixin continued: "According to the records of Penglai County Chronicle, after Dengzhou City was captured by the rebels, a large number of military households in the city chose to fight to the death, so the casualties were very heavy. The Jiang family in Dengzhou City, Seventy-eight out of ten people died in that battle, and almost all the Jiang clan members who had official status and served in the army died in the battle. "
"Later, when the Ming army recaptured Dengzhou, some of the rebels did not have time to escape to the sea. Knowing that they were guilty of serious crimes, they chose to fight stubbornly in the city to the end. In the end, not many people were left alive. After those two years of war, The population of Dengzhou City has dropped by more than half, and it has never recovered.”
Bai Kesi said: "For the locals, Dengzhou City must be an unlucky place."
Chen Yixin nodded and said: "Before our country took over here, the registered population of Dengzhou City was already declining year by year, with more people moving out than moving in. On the one hand, the people thought that too many people died in this city in the past, which destroyed the city. Due to Feng Shui, it is not suitable to live for a long time; on the other hand, Fushan County has been developing very well in recent years and has provided a large number of job opportunities, which has attracted many people to move to Fushan County.”
Bai Letong asked curiously: "If that's the case, then why do we go out of our way to see this city in decline?"
Chen Yixin said: "It is precisely because of the special situation of Dengzhou City that our country began to readjust the urban functions here after it took over. We assisted the people to move out of the city, and then spent several years reorganizing the city's functions. Necessary modifications have been made to the facilities. The city you see now is actually the main base of the Northern Region Army.”
Bai Letong suddenly understood: "You mean, this... is actually a military camp?"
Chen Yixin said: "To be precise, it is a military base."
After stepping into the city gate, Bai Letong truly understood what Chen Yixin meant. On both sides of the main road in the city extending south from the city gate, there are no residential buildings that are common in ordinary cities, but neat and uniform barracks. There were no bustling people on the streets, and only Haihan soldiers in gray military uniforms could be seen walking around.
In the center of the city in the distance, there is a large open space faintly visible. There is a flagpole several feet high in it. A military flag is flying in the air. Orders can be heard in the distance. I think it must be a military training ground.
Although Bai Letong is not a soldier, he has visited many military camps and military bases, but this is the first time he has seen this practice of transforming an entire city into a military base. At first I thought it was unbelievable, but after thinking about it, this may be the best arrangement Chen Yixin made based on the actual local situation.
Bai Kesi obviously knew something about the situation in Dengzhou City and was not as surprised as Bai Letong. He just asked Chen Yixin to continue introducing the city that had been transformed into a military fortress.
The fortress transformation of Dengzhou City in the Northern Region is not a secret project. Chen Yixin had already reported the plan to the Ministry of National Defense before the transformation, and received the support of the Ministry of National Defense. The Ministry of National Defense was directly involved in the entire city's renovation project and layout design. Of course, the main thing provided by the Ministry of National Defense is technical support. As for the funds required for the entire project, it is basically raised by the Northern Region itself. Otherwise, the Ministry of National Defense probably would not be willing to spend money to build such a large-scale project in the far north.
The entire reconstruction project took about three years, during which more than 2,000 households were relocated from Dengzhou City to villages and towns outside the city and neighboring prefectures and counties.
As the outer barrier of the Dengzhou base, the city wall has been basically preserved completely. The possibility of the Haihan Army being besieged and attacked here is very slim. The defensive function of the city wall actually has little practical significance, but it can separate the military zone inside the city from the demilitarized zone outside the city, which is more convenient for garrisoning. management.
Moreover, Chen Yixin believes that the traces of war left on the city wall can always remind the soldiers stationed here not to forget their identity and mission, and they also have certain historical and cultural value if preserved.
Although the appearance of Dengzhou City has almost maintained its original appearance, the transformation inside the city has been earth-shaking. Except for a few yamen official residences with high architectural quality that were set aside as offices for garrison agencies, most of the ordinary houses in the city were demolished and rebuilt, and the layout of the entire city was also re-planned.
The northern area of the city close to Penglai Water City was classified as a military supplies storage area because it could rely on convenient sea transportation. There are more than 20 large and small warehouses built here, which are used to store weapons and ammunition, food and medicine, heavy equipment, logistics materials, etc. In addition, a large stable was built for the use of the cavalry battalion stationed in the city.
The center of the city is a school ground used for daily training of the garrison, covering an area of about sixty or seventy acres. Spreading out in the four directions around the school grounds are the barracks and living facilities of each army.
The command structure of the garrison is mainly concentrated in the south of the city, which is also where the Yamen official residence left by the Ming Dynasty was located. In addition, the residential areas of senior officers of the garrison are also classified in this area.
At present, there are approximately 10,000 troops that can be stationed in Dengzhou City, but the permanent troops are only about half of this upper limit.
Chen Yixin explained that this is because not all of the Dengzhou garrison is concentrated here. Some of the troops are deployed in the seven counties and one state under its jurisdiction and conduct rotation training with the Dengzhou garrison from time to time.
These troops stationed in Dengzhou City can be used as mobile forces to respond to Haihan's military operational needs in the Shandong-controlled area at any time. If necessary, they can also board a ship from Penglai Water City and go to sea for rapid transportation to Liaodong or other directions.
Chen Yixin spoke highly of the role of this military base: "After the Dengzhou base is put into use, we can complete large-scale cross-sea delivery of troops, including artillery and cavalry, within a few days. The delivery range covers the entire In the coastal areas of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, this has greatly improved the mobility and response speed of the troops stationed in the Northern Region.”
(End of chapter)