Treatise on Military Preparedness (Vol. 98)

The river route at Guangtong Town extends fifty li approx. 25km upstream to the border of Xuanzhou and sixty li downstream to Dingbu Town in Jianping County. This county’s territory does not border the Yangtze River or the ocean. It contains only the Guangtong Town and Dongba river routes, which connect to Suzhou and Songjiang, facilitating the movement of merchant vessels.

This town originally had one xunjian-si Patrol Inspection Office with one patrol inspector and thirty archers stationed there to conduct interrogations and maintain defense. For the land routes within the county, the county government delegated volunteer militia to rotate shifts and assist in patrol and apprehension. However, the Dongba river route is also a vital thoroughfare, and there is concern that the current officers and soldiers might neglect their duties. It is now proposed to additionally appoint one volunteer and assign ten more militia members to go to this town to cooperate in the defense and to patrol both upstream and downstream, while still remaining under the supervision and coordination of the county’s Patrol Assistant.