In Jinyang in early April, the sun was shining brightly and the grass was growing and orioles were flying.
Farmers went into the fields with hoes to clean up the seemingly endless weeds.
In the irrigation canal, water flows gurglingly, like a dense spider web, enveloping the entire farmland.
Sinong Qing Yin Xian once said that Taiyuan is the only one who can benefit greatly from the Fen River.
For example, in Hedong and Pingyang counties, under the Tiangao River, they either rely on building ponds to store water or rely on water trucks to lift water. In short, it is not that convenient. However, most counties in Taiyuan have artesian canals, which is much more convenient.
Moreover, there are countless uncultivated fields here. People who move here can even get two portions of land: low fields irrigated by artesian canals and relatively high dry fields. In addition to these two fields, there are even fallow lands.
The richness of field resources is staggering.
Today, in the eighth year of Shengui, as the core of Taiyuan, the surrounding area of ​​Jinyang has almost been occupied by government soldiers.
Four of the seven Longxiang mansions are located around Jinyang City, and they are all given the best land. They are not too far from the city wall and are in good locations. The closest ones can even live in the city at night.
Here, I go out to the city to farm during the day. Because there are too many unowned houses in Jinyang City, they can be inhabited with a little repair.
The prefect Shao Guang no longer cares who owned the house before. As long as it has been unoccupied for more than a year, it will be divided directly. If the owner comes back to ask for it in the future, it will be a big deal to give him an ownerless house.
Even though Sun Jue had seen this scene countless times, he was still quite shocked when he saw it again.
It has been two years since the first batch of soldiers arrived here. In the past few decades, we have never seen a large group of penniless people directly carve up the fields outside the city wall.
You must know that the land close to the city is generally reserved for nobles or powerful people because it is convenient for their children to "field". What I can see now are all warriors from all over the world.
They or their entire families came to take root in Jinyang.
Or you can arrive alone and find someone to marry. For a person with two hectares of land, this is not difficult.
The soldiers of the government have all gathered now and are sparring with the Huangtou Army officers who arrived here via Guan Juejin. That is, both sides will arrange various formations, one side will mainly attack and the other side will mainly defend. Then the roles will be changed.
, continue sparring.
The soldiers of the government work in the fields, protect the farmland for their masters, produce grain, fruits, vegetables, mulberry and hemp, and continuously provide the masters with the food they need for daily life and for practicing martial arts.
Correspondingly, the soldiers will provide them with shelter and ensure that no one can encroach on the fields they cultivate, the pastures they graze, the forests they collect wood from, and the rivers and ponds they use to catch fish and shrimps.
Don't underestimate this kind of protection.
In the past, Liu Hong of Jingzhou opened the mountains, forests, lakes and ponds to the refugees, which was once called a virtuous policy. Most of the time, ordinary people had many restrictions on even going to the mountains to cut firewood.
Taiyuan, which was once home to aristocratic families, has become a paradise for small landowners with military exploits. This transformation is strange to people.
"Taiyuan's soldiers need to train more, they are not much better than Huangtou's army." The loud voice of King Liang rang from the hillside: "The more soldiers there are, the more and more people are cheating, and the combat effectiveness is declining.
It's amazing. The Taiyuan Prefecture Army has only been established for one to two years. I don't blame you for this situation, but if it is still like this for another two years, it will not be justified."
General Longxiang, who came with the army, sent Cao Yuyanggu to the west of the mansion. He offered wine in the west pavilion, and the governor Yang Hui, Chang Can and others praised him repeatedly.
Shao Xun's eyes fell on Chang Can and he couldn't help scolding: "I don't know how to read more words when I have time. I'm going to be a supervisor all my life, right?"
Chang Can was dumbfounded and could only sigh: "Your Majesty, you can recognize my words, but I can't read them. But my son has been smart since he was a child. He has memorized the "Thousand Character Essay" compiled by Your Majesty by heart, and he is also good at wielding swords and spears.
The technique is to shoot while wearing armor, and you can hit six or seven out of ten."
"You are you, and your son is your son." Shao Xun glared and said, "If your son is capable, what if I just take him by my side as a personal follower? But you -"
"Your Majesty, this is what you said!" Chang Can said with surprise on his face.
Shao Xun was speechless.
"Go, go, go! Mud can't hold up the wall!" He laughed and scolded, "I want to lift you up, but you shrink back. I've never seen such a fool."
Chang Can bowed and left.
He was born a bandit and didn't have much wisdom, but he was still somewhat clever.
After coming down the mountain, I immediately found an acquaintance who was supervising the transportation of grain and grass here, and asked him to go back to Liang County quickly and call his thirteen-year-old son.
The prince of Liang forgets things a lot. What if he doesn’t remember one day? While these words are still hot, he quickly rushes to Jinyang day and night, and first sticks to the king of Liang as a personal follower. It depends on how far he can go in the future.
of good fortune.
Of course, this is not entirely selfish.
In Chang Can's opinion, it would be safer for King Liang to have more martial disciples around him.
If one day all the noble families rose up against the King of Liang, all he had to do was sneak into the military camp and no one could hurt him. All that was left was to put down the rebellion one by one and then give credit to the military men.
For the sake of his own interests, Chang Can already has this consciousness and instinct.
"The soldiers of Jinyang Mansion take turns to escort the grain and grass, and the equipment is enough." On the hillside, Shao Xun was still talking: "Those who haven't had their turn will practice at home. They are not qualified to fight with the Xianbei people now."
"Your Majesty, tens of thousands of troops are stationed in Jinyang. They consume tens of thousands of grain and grass every day, but we don't know when to send out troops." Yang Hui, the supervisor, asked.
"You asked this on behalf of Jin Zheng, Wang Que'er, Man Yu and others, right?" Shao Xun glanced at him and said.
"Yes..." Yang Hui didn't dare to hide it.
"I'll think about it some more." Shao Xun stood up without giving a clear answer.
****
In the Sun family manor outside Jinyang City, sergeants wearing helmets and armor were constantly patrolling.
Officials come and go in a hurry.
Occasionally, a few generals would come out of the village. When they met acquaintances, they would talk and laugh loudly, showing great heroism.
Sun Jue, the famous "soft rice king" in Taiyuan, gave the best courtyard in the manor to Prince Liang. In another small courtyard separated by a wall, Dai Gong Shi Yiqian and his mother lived.
"Baba tribe, Dugu tribe has surrendered to you, how many other tribes can you win over?" Shao Xun looked at the map on the wall and asked.
Shi Yijian also looked at the map with wide eyes.
He is five years old this year and already understands some things. Looking at this mighty and powerful general in front of him, he is actually a little lost.
It would be great if one day he could be so powerful.
Wang's mind was not focused on this at all. When she heard Shao Xun's question, she was stunned for a moment.
Shao Xun's face immediately fell, and he said displeasedly: "The grassland is vast. It is impossible for me to capture every tribe and occupy every place. Recruitment is inevitable, and it is a matter of life and death for you, mother and child. How can you be so careless? How about you?"
What's the use? If this continues, I will simply change the strategy and appoint Tuoba Yihuai as the acting duke. He will lead the remaining people and become a vassal of the Jin Dynasty."
Mrs. Wang almost shed tears after being reprimanded like this.
In the first month of the year, she still thought that Prince Liang was a gentle and kind-hearted man, and even had some thoughts about her. But now it seems that she may have just wishful thinking and misunderstood the meaning.
Otherwise, why didn't he agree to the request to enter the palace in February?
We went on an expedition in March and didn't say a few words along the way.
Prince Liang never even praised her for her beauty, he only mentioned her "use value" from beginning to end.
Wang forcefully dispelled the fantasies and distracting thoughts in her heart and said in a low voice: "The Shiben clan and the Wuluolan clan are just forced by the situation to be used by the Qi clan and their son. If they can be defeated, they may change their ways."
"Change your course? People won't take refuge in Tuoba Yihuai? Why choose you?" Shao Xun sneered.
Wang's heart trembled and she said: "If the king can defeat them, I can be sure to take care of them."
"You still want to defeat them? Wouldn't that kill or injure my son? Cost my money and food?" Shao Xun snorted coldly.
Mrs. Wang lowered her head sadly, feeling a little sorry for herself.
She did not dare to be angry with Prince Liang, or even express her unhappiness, for fear of making him angry.
After what had happened in the past few months, she no longer had any confidence.
The value of their mother and son seems to be really low. It is a great favor for King Liang to take advantage of them, because he can completely abandon their mother and son and talk directly to Tuoba Yihuai.
Shao Xun turned around again and looked at the map.
His fingers went north from Shiling Pass, along the Hutuo River, all the way to Yanmen.
"The man who guards Yanmen is named Yu Ju. Do you know his origin?" Shao Xun's voice came from afar.
Wang was lost in thought and didn't hear anything for a while. Shi Yiqian quietly pulled on his mother's sleeve.
Shao Xun turned around and looked at Wang.
Mrs. Wang didn't dare to look at him. She hurriedly sorted out her thoughts and said, "Yu Ju was originally the chief of Suotou River."
"Sotouchuan?"
"It's the section of the upper reaches of Rushui River you mentioned (today's Yisun River, flowing through Weichang County, Chengde City), across the river from Yuwenshi."
"The Tuoba clan's territory is really huge." Shao Xun couldn't help but sigh.
It goes to Chengde and Zhangjiakou in the east and to the vicinity of Dunhuang in the west, which is thousands of miles away.
When Genghis Khan established the Great Mongol Kingdom, it only existed around the Mongolian Plateau and Lake Baikal. However, most of the territory of the Great Mongol Kingdom is still nominally subordinate to the "tribes from all directions" of Tuoba Xianbei.
Shao Xun really doesn’t know how Murong Xianbei won in later generations.
The Murong clan is not as good as the Tuoba clan in terms of territory, nor can it be compared to the Tuoba clan in terms of population. Their productivity is probably about the same, so it stands to reason that they will be beaten by Tuoba Xianbei.
Perhaps, Tuoba Xianbei, like Duanbu Xianbei, entered the field too early and was attacked by Later Zhao and Former Qin, and his strength was damaged.
However, the Tuoba clan was more lucky. After being destroyed once, they still had a chance to come back, and they seized it. However, the Murong clan failed to seize the opportunity, and even failed in the direct competition between Tuoba and Murong.
"Is it possible for Yu Ju to surrender?" Shao Xun asked again.
"Can't...can..." Wang was forced by Shao Xun's gaze and was a little incoherent.
Seeing Wang's behavior, Shao Xun felt a little unbearable, so he softened his tone and said: "If you can, you can, if you can't, you can't. Just tell the truth. I don't blame you."
"Not really." Wang lowered her head and muttered, "Yu Ju is still very loyal."
"That's right." Shao Xun nodded and said, "With Madam's detailed information, I don't know how many detours I will avoid."
I don’t know why, but after hearing this, Wang felt a little excited in her heart. She raised her head and said, "Also, Yanmen, there are many Wuhuan people in Pingcheng. If the king can defeat Yu Ju and others, there may be a turn for the better."
"Oh?" Shao Xun was a little surprised and couldn't help but praise: "With your wife's ability, you will definitely help me with great things."
Wang lowered her head again, her ears feeling a little warm.
Without King Liang, she couldn't do anything. With King Liang helping her, she had a chance to recruit people.
However, she was still helpful to Prince Liang, which made the Wang family a little happy.
Shao Xun turned around and looked at the map again.
Wang quietly raised her head and looked at his back.
When King Liang reprimanded her before, he was so sad that he almost cried.
When King Liang praised her just now, he regained a little confidence, but he felt a little aggrieved again.
If King Liang could talk to her in a harmonious voice, or bring her great joy like when he gave her a riding hat, she would definitely be able to come up with more ideas.
"Your Majesty." Zhang Bin, the military adviser, walked in from outside. He glanced at Wang's mother and son first, then walked to Shao Xun, handed over a military report, and said: "The war in Daijun has resumed."
Shao Xun reached out to take it, glanced at it casually, and said: "It's almost time to fight. This year will definitely be more tragic than last year. I don't know how many people will die. Let's not rush north to Xinxing and let them consume each other."
I tell Chen Yougen to fight hard and hold off as many enemies as possible. It would be better if we can win a few small games and make Suotou angry."
After saying that, Shao Xun looked at the three places of Caochengchuan, Yanmen and Daijun.
On the left road, Yin Xi's tribe had 6,000 cavalry.
On the right, Chen Yougen had more than 30,000 horsemen.
There are nearly 30,000 elite soldiers led by him in the middle.
The three-pronged army can march at any time.
Chapter completed!