Chapter 257 Farming
Just when everyone thought Ran Wei was in trouble, Ran Min restored the hearts of Yecheng with a great victory.
Liu Xian returned to the state of Xiang and immediately launched a mutiny, killing Shi Zhi, his prime minister Shi Bing, and more than ten people including the prime minister Zhao Lu. Their heads were sent to Yecheng, and they sent protons to proclaim themselves ministers to Ran Wei.
Ran Min burned Shi Zhi's head in the thoroughfare of the main street, and the streets of Yecheng were filled with thousands of people, vying to see it.
Later, Liu Xian was awarded the rank of General, Great Chanyu, and the shepherd of Jizhou.
The situation in Hebei was changing at a dizzying pace. After a great victory, Jie Zhao was about to rise, but it quickly perished. Except for Shi Kun, the leader of the Shi clan, all men, women and children were wiped out.
Ran Wei was about to perish, but Ran Min turned the tide and pulled him back from the desperate situation.
But bigger crises followed one after another.
Since the founding of the country, Ran Wei has continued to conquer, leaving no one in the country to farm.
When Ran Min founded the country, he opened warehouses to provide relief to the people, which left the treasury empty. During the battle with Xiang Kingdom, all the large amounts of grain and grass stored in the country were burned by the Zhao army.
Under hunger and deprivation, thieves and thieves from Si and Ji states swarmed in and ate each other...
A flock of vultures circled in the sky.
On the ground, a long procession of refugees was marching in the direction of Yanzhou.
Everyone in the queue was starved to death, dressed in ragged clothes, and walked forward step by step with bare feet.
On both sides of the road, bushes and wormwood were swaying, and from time to time a wolf head poked out, staring at pedestrians with its green eyes.
A refugee fell to the ground. The people around him turned a blind eye and continued to move forward with numb eyes.
Three wolves sprang out from the grass and skillfully dragged the fallen person away...
For the refugees, the biggest threat is not these wild beasts, but the thieves and rebels behind them.
The sound of horse hoofbeats suddenly started, and a column of Xianbei cavalry came galloping over.
The refugees still moved forward numbly.
The cavalry crashed directly into the refugee queue, trampling more than a hundred people to death immediately, then dismounted, selected hundreds of young and strong men and women, and laughed away...
The north of the Yellow River is in chaos, but the south of the Yellow River is full of vitality.
Countless farmers are busy in the fields.
Almost all the arable land in Yanzhou has been reclaimed.
"With so many refugees, can our food supply be sustained?" Li Yue, Zhou Qian, and Cui Jin walked on the field ridges.
Since March, refugees from the north have been moving southward in an endless stream, and the population of Yanzhou has increased by 70,000 to 80,000 people.
And this is just the beginning.
Although Jie Zhao was destroyed, the situation was still not optimistic. Ran Min's territory became smaller and smaller, and demons and monsters from all over the country took the opportunity to rise.
To the north, Murong was watching eagerly.
"As long as there are no natural or man-made disasters this year, not only can it be sustained, but my subordinates can also save at least five million dan." Zhou Qian was confident.
In addition to fighting, almost all Yanzhou's energy was focused on farming.
But now Li Yue not only has to consider Yanzhou under his rule, but also Hebei.
Ran Min may fall at some point, and there will be a large number of soldiers and people waiting for food.
"I'm afraid one Yanzhou is not enough." Li Yue looked to the north. Yanzhou has almost been developed to its limit.
Cui Jin said: "Why don't the governor send troops to Qingzhou? Qingzhou has fertile land since ancient times. Now the three counties of eastern Hebei have been conquered. There is a barrier in the north. Qingzhou should be established sooner rather than later. Commander Bo has been operating for half a year and has a foothold."
Zhou Qian also agreed: "The governor defeated Murong Jun and shocked both sides of the river. Qingzhou may be able to send a message. If it falls earlier, my subordinates can replant some food."
Li Yue originally wanted to concentrate his forces and attack Yecheng directly, but now that Ran Min has shown his might, Ran Wei will not be able to defeat him for a while.
Although Jiangdong has been clamoring for the Northern Expedition, their actions are too slow. They have been tinkering with the Northern Expedition since last year and gave up halfway. Now that Ran Min has suffered a big defeat and then won a big victory, I don't know if Jiangdong will send troops again.
So now is indeed a good time to use troops in Qingzhou.
Qingzhou is now in chaos, with the forces loyal to Jie Zhao and those loyal to Ran Wei acting on their own and attacking each other.
By capturing Qingzhou, we can support the three counties of eastern Hebei and resist the Murong clan.
In fact, Qingzhou was also a war bonus for repelling Murong Jun.
"If God does not take it, he will be blamed for it. I will not take Qingzhou. If Qingzhou is obtained by others, it will harm Yanzhou!" Li Yue had made up his mind.
By capturing Qingzhou, at least we won't have to worry about the enemies to the east, and there will be one less strategic threat in one direction.
Cui Jin's eyes were burning, "My subordinates are willing to lead troops to fight. This battle does not require the main force of the Black Cloud Army, only the Zhenshan Camp of our headquarters and more than 10,000 southern troops from the three counties of Lushan, Jibei, and Taishan!"
The last defeat in Yangcheng caused Cui Jin's reputation in the army to plummet.
There are no worthy opponents in Qingzhou now. The Zhenshan Camp plus the Southern Army from the three counties should be enough.
There are also more than 10,000 troops of Bo Wu stationed in Qingzhou.
"Let Hei Yunlang accompany us in this battle. If things go wrong, we can ask for help from Bohai." Li Yue said this, and he naturally agreed.
"Thank you, Captain."
There are many benefits to Cui Jin leading the army, and the Cui family of Qinghe will definitely contribute some efforts.
Now Li Yue can be considered to have a big business. There is no shortage of strong generals to charge into the battle, but there is a lack of generals who can take charge of the battle. The only one who can reassure Li Yue is Xu Cheng. As for Bo Wu, Chen Duan, Wei Shan, Liang Xiao and others, they are all ready to charge into the battle. A good hand, he leads the troops in battle well.
Cui Jin has this potential, but lacks some experience.
Li Yue had to come personally to every battle, and he was exhausted.
During the Battle of Xiangguo, Ran Min actually exposed similar problems.
Apart from him, there is a lack of talented people who can stand alone. Every time there is a battle, he has to go into battle personally and risk his life...
It didn't matter before, but now that he is the emperor, he has to charge into battle himself with his head on his crotch.
Wang Tai, the only one with outstanding abilities, was defeated by three tribes...
Looking around, the Murong family, Huan family, Fu family, and Yao family are all full of talented people.
The Tuoba family in Liandaibei has attracted many scholars over the years. Tuoba Shiyiqian took Yanfeng, a native of Daijun, as his long history, and Xu Qian as the doctor's order. They worked hard to govern and the Huayi people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
Its territory stretches from Haoqi in the east to Poluona in the west, from the Yinshan Mountains in the south and to the desert in the north, with a crowd of hundreds of thousands.
The capital was Shengle Palace in Yunzhong County (today's Hohhot), which also looked covetously at China.
The decision was made and the Zhenshan camp was quickly assembled.
Li Yue took out more than 2,000 sets of fine iron armor and more than 1,000 crossbows that he had saved up with great difficulty. The Zhenshan camp was only infantry, but it was equipped with 1,000 horses and more than 2,000 donkeys and mules.
If this battle fails, Li Yue will be embarrassed to reuse him again.
There are only so many families in Yanzhou, and it is impossible to raise a Ma Qiu like Shi Hu did.
Defeat after defeat, even if Cui Jin is talented, he will never be able to lead the army in the future. Everything must be done according to the rules.
Cui Jin also knew his situation, with an extremely serious look on his face, "I will definitely not disappoint the governor if I go here!"
Li Yue nodded and didn't say anything else. If he had this awareness, he wouldn't go too far in this battle.
After being sent to Waihuang County, Li Yue returned to Chenliu.
Halfway through the journey, Zhang Shengye came to report, "Captain, Mr. Chang is back."
"There must be good news from Lukou!" Li Yue was happy in his heart, but his face remained calm, and he returned to the city with Zhang Shengye.
Chapter completed!