Two groups of envoys went to Xianbei, and the matter could not be completed in a short time.
The negotiation process is tortuous and must be combined with changes in the domestic situation in Xianbei, and this will not happen overnight.
Therefore, until mid-to-late July, even though it had been more than three months since the mission, there was still no news back.
Shao Xun is not in a hurry, he also needs time to restore the gradually depleted national strength.
There were drastic changes now, and he was powerless to interfere.
Managing something is far easier than imagined.
On July 20, there was no annoying heavy rain, only the scorching sun. Shao Xun boarded a boat in the east of Pingyang City and sailed down the Fen River.
The North and South Post Roads are almost parallel to this, and the brigade of soldiers and soldiers of the Wansheng Army walked south along the Post Roads, practicing as they walked.
Yes, Thief Shao is alive again.
After harvesting a season of summer wheat and about to harvest a season of millet beans, I felt happy and relaxed, so I collected some food and distributed it, and pulled the soldiers out to practice so as not to become unfamiliar with the art of killing.
At noon on the 21st, the fleet stopped.
A total of 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers were deployed on the west bank of the Fen River. The sound of killing was loud, and they were practicing in a good manner.
The bow of the boat split through the white waves and moved forward slowly.
"The autumn wind is blowing and white clouds are flying, and the grass and trees are yellowing and the wild geese are returning south..." A soft and gentle voice sounded from Brother Cong's boat.
As an old artist, Jing is already in his thirties, but his voice remains the same as before, and even has a lot more content due to his experience, making it even better.
Shao Xun was sitting in the cabin, closing the door and taking a nap, gently keeping to the beat with his hands, looking leisurely and contented.
"The orchids are beautiful and the chrysanthemums are fragrant. Don't forget to have a beautiful woman..."
When he heard this, he gently squeezed Song Yi in his arms.
The once young and tender girl was now over thirty years old, and her whole body smelled of ripeness. When she curled up in Shao Xun's arms, her eyes seemed timid and resentful, but she did not dare to say anything.
There was wind on the river, and the boat was shaking slightly.
Shao Xun lowered his head and looked at the beauty in his arms, secretly thinking that the princesses have the beauty of princesses, and people like Song Yi also have their own beauty.
Apart from anything else, it is absolutely impossible for Yang Xianrong to play the flute. She would think it was an insult to her, but Song Yi can, she is good at playing the flute.
Not to mention a foxy girl like Zheng Yingtao, her bottom line is very low and she is willing to do anything.
Although Mrs. Cui is often described by Liu Ye and others as a troublemaker who serves others with sex, she can at most seduce people more, but she is not willing to humiliate herself too much.
The reason is actually very simple. Some women have high spirits, while others have low self-esteem.
Men sometimes need a change of taste.
"The pan-building boat is coming to the Jifen River, and the Yangsu wave is flowing across the middle..." During the singing, the boat slowed down and slowly docked on the shore.
After a while, Shao Xun got out of the cabin and went down to the shore.
"Open the pavilion." He looked at the grain warehouse on the high slope in the distance and said.
The grain depot is an old mansion built in the Liu Han era. It was built against the mountain, with walls on the outside and dozens of circular spire grain storages built in a well-proportioned manner inside. It can store 600,000 grains.
There are soldiers in the grain depot, but it is an emergency place. Usually young men are temporarily recruited to guard it. At this time, it has been taken over by the Yellow Head Army officers.
They struggled to push open the heavy outer door, and then opened the food storage compartments one by one.
Shao Xun arrived soon.
After all, he was a Shacai who practiced martial arts all year round. He had just finished the boat shake and walked such a mountainous road, but he was not out of breath at all.
He picked a grain store at random, walked over and took a look, and saw that it was filled with yellow wheat.
"Newly harvested this summer?" Shao Xun grabbed a handful of wheat, looked at it carefully, and smelled it.
"The harvest will be harvested in May and shipped in June. The shipment will arrive here ten days ago." Sinong Qing Yin Xian, who arrived in advance, replied.
Sinongqing is the chief official of Sinong Temple, corresponding to the great Sinong of Luoyang, who is in charge of grain affairs.
Tang Jian, the former prefect of Hanoi and now the prefect of Pingyang, followed Yin Xian and said softly: "Your Majesty, this pavilion has stored 200,000 dendrobium of summer wheat."
Shao Xun nodded slightly.
The designed storage capacity was 600,000, but only 200,000 were saved, which was only one-third.
But it is understandable, for example, the war horse has just finished a long march and is very skinny. It is the time to gain weight now.
After inspecting one grain store, he visited seven or eight more in succession.
Some are already filled with grain, and some only have a bottom. They are all different.
Judging from visual inspection, there are almost 200,000 hu of dendrobium. And these grains are all sent by horse-drawn carriages from various manors near and far, and Wubao according to their respective apportionment shares.
"In a few days, 50,000 hu of dendrobium and wheat will be delivered. After counting them all, they will be sent to Jinyang as soon as possible. The matter will be handled by General Duzhi Zhonglang." Shao Xun looked at Yin Xian and said.
"Yes." Yin Xian's face didn't look very good, but he still responded.
Transportation is the responsibility of Duzhi Zhonglangjiang and Duzhi Xiaowei.
In February and March of this year, Duzhi Zhonglang Yang Bao came to Pingyang to develop his "business" here.
When transporting grain and grass to Jinyang, it is of course necessary to avoid land transport as much as possible. This is also the main reason why Shao Xun came to inspect. He wanted to see the shipping conditions on Fenshui River.
"Liu Cong built ships with raw materials for pleasure and did not use water transportation." When he said this, Shao Xun's face turned red and his heart did not beat, and said: "Don't you hear about Qin Mugong's boating campaign? Have the beams and pillars on the water been demolished?
?”
"It has been demolished." Tang Jian said: "My servant personally led the troops to demolish it, and there were only thirteen of them."
The thirteen wooden piles mentioned by Tang Jian are located at the intersection of Fen River and Hui River. The diameter of the pillars is five feet and they are cut horizontally. It is said that they are "the old beams of Jin Ping Gong". "Things are in the water, so they can last and be undefeated."
.
To put it simply, during the reign of Duke Ping of Jin Dynasty, he built a waterside palace by the Fen River, named Sī Qi Palace. Some parts of the building may be above the river, so they were supported by wooden piles. I don’t know how many there were originally, but now
There are thirteen sticks left.
Shao Xun found it incredible after hearing this. It has been more than 800 years, and the wooden stakes can still exist? I am afraid that they were not placed by later generations. Through false rumors, they said that they were from the Jin Pinggong era - these thirteen wooden stakes in history were from the Northern Wei Dynasty.
It is still there, and it was recorded by Li Daoyuan that it was only dismantled in the Sui Dynasty so that it no longer hindered shipping.
"There are countless fertile fields on both sides of the Fenshui River. If we use boats to carry grain in Damin this summer, one boat can carry 1,200 dendrobes, while an ox-cart can only carry 40 dendrobes. The cost is even worse." Shao
Xun said: "Qin Mugong's boating campaign was during the dry season of winter and spring, but now it is the time of abundant water in summer and autumn. Liu Cong does not use it, but I will use it. How is Gao Xiancang?"
"Construction will begin after the summer harvest." Yin Xian replied: "It will be completed this year."
"After completion, all grain and grass in Hedong and nearby counties and villages will be lost here." Shao Xun ordered: "From Gaoxian to Mengkeng to the north, we can transfer it to land transportation. At this point, we can transfer to water transportation, and go straight to Pingyang, Yangxian and other places."
Gaoxian is located in Quwo today.
To the north of Gaoxian is the famous Mengkeng, located between present-day Quwo and Xiangfen counties.
Geographically speaking, this is a north-south loess gully, but I don’t know how it came out. Perhaps the Fen River was relatively violent in ancient times.
Because it connects the two counties of Hedong and Pingyang, and the terrain is relatively dangerous, many major battles have occurred in history. The Northern Wei, Later Qin, Northern Zhou, and Northern Qi all fought their main battles here, and the winning side basically unified the north.
The battle between Shao Xun and Liu Cong broke out in Wenxi.
After Hou Feihu defeated Liu Cong's main force, he passed Gaoxian, entered the Mengcheng, and drove 200 miles straight down to Pingyang without encountering any major obstacles. It can be seen that the Huns had completely lost their will to fight at that time.
This section is not navigable and is probably dozens of miles long, so it needs to be transported by land.
It goes up the Fen River, passes through Pingyang, Yangxian and other places, and enters Yongan County, where it is still navigable.
However, there are many rocks in the Fenshui River in the Guanjuejin (Queshu Valley) section, which makes them unnavigable, so they have to be transported by land to Jiexiu. This section is more than a hundred miles from north to south.
After entering the Taiyuan Basin, the Fenshui River is relatively wide and has a large amount of water. It can be navigable all the way to Jinyang.
Generally speaking, there are not many miles that need to be transported by land. Shipping has been used as much as possible, which greatly reduces road losses and greatly reduces the number of conscripts. This is a relief for the people.
The war with Xianbei last year was too hasty.
Most of the food and grass collected with great difficulty was spent on land transportation, which made the people dizzy with hunger, long-distance transportation was even more miserable, and countless families were ruined and people died.
There is no doubt that war consumes national strength, but where exactly is the loss? The conscription of conscripts to transport supplies over long distances is the hardest hit area, not just the casualties on the battlefield.
It is best to use water transportation.
After inspecting the palace, Shao Xun, accompanied by Yin Xian and Tang Jian, inspected the farmland.
"If your Majesty wants to make an expedition to the north, he still has to conquer Taiyuan." Yin Xian followed closely behind and said, "Fen, Qin, Zhang, Su, Hutuo, Chihong and other rivers are all the great rivers of Jin. Those who take advantage of them will
Most of them are in Taiyuan."
"To the south of Guanjuejin, in Pingyang and Hedong, the fields are high and the river is low. Irrigation is difficult and consumes a lot of people's efforts."
"In Xinxing, the two counties of Yanmen, the water is strong and the sand is floating, and the water is dry and overflowing indefinitely."
"The only one who enjoys the benefits of the Fen River is Taiyuan. If Taiyuan is under great rule, there will be no need to worry about military supplies."
"Oh? The two counties of Hedong and Pingyang have always been said to be rich, but Hong Qiao actually thought that they would not benefit from the Fen River?" Shao Xun asked curiously.
"Of course." Yin Xian said: "If we build more ponds, open more canals, and divert water for irrigation, we will reap great benefits."
"How many people are needed?"
"If we can spread Dingzhuang to Hedong, Pingyang, Xihe, Shangdang, Hongnong, Hanoi and even Henan counties, we will see results in a year or two." Yin Xian looked at Shao Xun cautiously, lowered his head and said.
"Is this what the Prime Minister meant?" Shao Xun asked rhetorically.
Yin Xian was speechless for a moment.
Shao Xun shook his head and laughed.
Is this Zheng Guoqu’s old wisdom?
Spend a lot of resources and manpower on the construction of water conservancy projects, and then be unable to make the Northern Expedition?
"Xianbei's ignorance can be defeated by a little trick." Yin Xian said: "It is not beautiful to send a large army to conquer."
Shao Xun was silent.
If he openly opposes it at this time, if word spreads, more people will probably say that he is being militaristic.
Yin Xian must have endured these words for a long time.
I heard him talk endlessly about how to transport supplies to Jinyang by water, and I was probably cursing him in my heart.
Tang Jian stared at Yin Xian, as if blaming him for talking to himself because he was out of breath.
Yin Xian didn't even look at him.
Tang Jian, a rich man from Hebei Province, has not yet been taken seriously by Yin Xian. In fact, in his opinion, it is very disgusting for such a person to think about fighting and meritorious service and promotion every day.
"I didn't say we were going to do the Northern Expedition now." Shao Xun sighed and said, "Preparing for a big war can't be completed in one year? Hong Qiao is overthinking it. The story of Taiyuan is very good. I'll tell you later.
I’m going to Taiyuan to have a look, and you can go with me.”
"As ordered." Yin Xian responded.
Shao Xun said nothing more.
In the view of these officials from Henan aristocratic families, the Northern Expedition to Xianbei actually had little benefit, but the cost was extremely staggering.
Henan has been stable for many years. Children of wealthy families have come to Luoyang and Pingyang to serve as officials, and their momentum has gradually grown.
The output of their manor and Wubao has become more and more stable, controlling a large number of villagers, soldiers, and grain, and training a large number of farmers and soldiers.
In recent years, some people have opened restaurants to accept apprentices, swim in the water, have gatherings and talk, and everything is slowly coming back.
The three-year disaster in Hebei should be just a trigger, not the root of the problem.
The root cause is that they are dissatisfied with long-term blood draws.
Unexpectedly, I also enjoyed the treatment that was opposed by the nobles during the Southern and Northern Expeditions.
Fortunately, the degree is much milder, and no one dares to hold back openly. They just complain verbally and continue to test and dissuade through various channels.
Haha! Fortunately, I still have twenty counties in Liang Kingdom in my hands.
Without these twenty counties, things would be much more difficult to handle, and the nobles would not behave like they are now, and it would not only be people like Yin Xian who would test it, but even my father-in-law would have to dissuade him face to face.
"I am thirty-five years old." Shao Xun looked at Yin Xian and said.
Yin Xian was shocked and didn't know how to answer.
"This field is good." Shao Xun suddenly stopped, pointed to the farmland not far away, and said: "The west wind in the west is fragrant, and I seem to smell the smell of yellow rice cakes."
Yin Xian seemed to want to make up for the unhappiness just now, so he laughed and said, "You should eat oil cake today."
Shao Xun smiled and walked towards the end of the field.
Some farmers were weeding in the field, and when they saw this, they all fell down.
This will be July. In another month, the millet will be heading and filling. Then the sparrows will come to eat, and the farmers will have to be busy.
"Hong Qiao, if you don't do some things, you won't see such a scene." Shao Xun said: "The Huns also killed Chenjun back then. There are some things that I don't need to say. If Tuoba Xianbei is not eliminated at this time,
If you have to spend more effort in the future, you may not be able to succeed. You should think carefully about it."
After saying that, Shao Xun looked at Tang Jian and said, "Go and tell the farmers that they won't receive food after the autumn harvest, so they can eat it with open stomachs this year."
Tang Jian immediately sent someone to pass the news.
After a while, the farmers were stunned for a moment, and then cheered enthusiastically.
Shao Xun laughed and looked at Yin Xian again.
Yin Xian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you are benevolent."
Chapter completed!