Three days later, Yang Zaixing led an army of more than 50,000 people to Liangzhou. Also arriving were 50,000 camels led by the commander Zhao Xiaoyi, loaded with food and supplies.
At this time, Wang Lun, the former leader of Liangzhou, also came from Dadou Bugu to plead guilty to Chen Qing.
In the big tent, Wang Lun knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists: "I despised my duty and lost Liangzhou City. Please punish me!"
Wang Lun can't really be blamed for the loss of Liangzhou City. The Yellow-headed Uighurs were destroyed without warning. The situation in the Hexi Corridor suddenly fell into chaos. Wang Lun led his army to seize the valley of Dadou. A blizzard came. Thousands of Xizhou troops dressed up as herdsmen and demanded to enter.
The city escaped from the blizzard and deceived the city gates to open. The guard Zhang Qu was killed in the battle. Lingzhou was lost. More than 800 Song troops were killed in the battle. The remaining more than a thousand soldiers withdrew to Dadou Valley.
Chen Qing helped Wang Lun and said: "I know the cause and effect very well. It is not easy for you to seize the opportunity to fight and pull out the valley in time in the chaos. It is not Zhang Qu's responsibility. He had a benevolent heart and died generously. He deserves our memory."
"Ashamed of my humble position!"
Chen Qing patted his arm and asked with concern: "I heard that your concubine and son fell into the city. Are they okay?"
Wang Lun married a concubine in the city and gave birth to a son. He had no time to retreat and fell into the city. After capturing Liangzhou City, Chen Qingrang searched for her but could not find her.
Wang Lun was moved in his heart and said quickly: "Thank you for your concern, the king. When the city fell, their mother and son disguised themselves as common people and hid in ordinary houses in the city. Later, I sent people to find them and looked for opportunities to take them to Dadou Valley.
They are safe and sound.”
"As long as everything is safe and sound, let Song Xinping continue to guard Dadou Bago. You can go back to Liangzhou! How about rebuilding the Liangzhou city wall? Can it be completed?"
Wang Lun thought for a while and said: "Liangzhou is mainly short of manpower, and it is indeed difficult to build the city. However, Beizhi can build it, but it will take time. I sincerely ask the king to give Beizhi one year."
Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "I don't limit the time. The day when the new city is completed is when you will be promoted to the capital."
"Thank you, the prince, for your love!"
Chen Qing appeased the men brought by Wang Lun, and then handed over Wang Lun's 5,000 troops and asked him to continue to stay in Liangzhou. Chen Qing personally led an army of 100,000 to kill Ganzhou.
Zhao Ding, the Prime Minister, and Lu Qingshan, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, who were appointed by Emperor Zhao Gou to greet the coffin of the Supreme Emperor, finally arrived in Jingzhao.
Jiang Yanxian and Guan Shigu came to welcome them outside the city. Everyone greeted them, and Zhao Ding smiled and asked, "I wonder if your county prince is here?"
Jiang Yan first handed him a newspaper and said with a smile: "This is today's Beijing News. My husband will know it as soon as he sees it!"
Zhao Ding took the newspaper and saw the headline on the front page, 'The prince broke into Liangzhou City at night and won a great victory in the first battle in Hexi.'
Zhao Ding was shocked, "The prince has gone on an expedition to Hexi?"
Guan Shigu nodded and said with a smile: "My prince wants to restore the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties. This time he wants to regain the Hexi Corridor."
Zhao Ding sighed and said: "It is a great blessing for the emperor to have such a pillar of our Song Dynasty!"
Jiang Yanxian smiled and said: "It is the duty of the ministers to open up new territories. Please come to the city, Mr. Zhao, and please come to the city, Mr. Lu!"
When everyone entered Jingzhao City, the lively and noisy atmosphere hit their faces. The streets were crowded with people, and the shops were displaying goods, creating a prosperous scene.
Zhao Ding suddenly discovered that a long section of the city wall was gone. He asked in confusion: "Mr. Jiang, is the city wall being rebuilt?"
Jiang Yanxian smiled and said: "Mr. Zhao doesn't know something. The population of Jingzhao has skyrocketed. When we captured Jingzhao, there were less than 300,000 people. Now it has surged to 580,000. If it has doubled, the city will become crowded.
We decided to expand the city five miles outward."
Zhao Ding was surprised and asked: "Why is the population increasing so rapidly?"
"When the Jin soldiers invaded, a large number of Jingzhao people fled to Bashu. Later they began to return one after another. This is part of it. Then they migrated from various places. For example, of the 300,000 Jianghuai people, we settled half of them in Jingzhao Mansion and distributed them in Jingzhao City.
and other subordinate counties, as well as scattered people who migrated from various places one after another. Although they are scattered, their total number exceeds one hundred thousand. This is what is meant by gathering sand to form a tower."
“There’s also the tax factor!”
Next to him, Guan Shigu said with a smile: "In order to recuperate and recuperate, the prince of the county promised that the Guanzhong area will be exempted from tax for ten years. Both land tax and commercial tax will be exempted. It will not harm the people or disturb the people, so it attracted a large number of people and businessmen."
Zhao Ding was very moved after hearing this. His political philosophy was to govern by doing nothing and recuperate. Unfortunately, it was difficult to implement it in the court.
He asked in confusion: "If there is no tax for ten years, where will the military salary and military funds come from?"
Next to him, Lu Qingshan said calmly: "Guanzhong is tax-free, but Bashu is not tax-free."
Jiang Yan shook his head first, "Bashu's taxes alone are not enough. Bashu's taxes are only part of it. There are also salt and wine taxes, as well as commerce. We have established an official trading house to transport and sell bulk goods, as well as profit from trophies."
When mentioning the spoils of war, Zhao Ding perked up and asked quickly: "You should get countless wealth by destroying Xixia!
Jiang Yanxian smiled bitterly and said: "Many people think so. In fact, Xixia has been fighting a civil war. The country has been impoverished and the people have been poor. The population has dropped sharply. The Xixia nobles have a lot of wealth, but they have all been transferred to the Jin Kingdom in advance.
When we captured Xixia, the treasury only had copper and iron, sheepskins, medicinal materials, grain, and the like, and no other valuable materials. To defeat Xixia, we spent more than 10 million guan, and the final income was just the same, with a slight loss.
The main reason is the overspending of pensions. Of course, we have eliminated the major disaster in the north and ensured safety. This is the most important thing."
Zhao Ding frowned, "Why did Xixia become so sleepy? It's unexpected!"
"Because of the civil war, Xixia's troops and wealth have been exhausted. Otherwise, how could we have destroyed Xixia? Mr. Zhao said, right?"
Zhao Ding stroked his beard and nodded. He felt strange that Xixia and Song Dynasty had been in conflict for hundreds of years and were by no means weak. Chen Qing was just a local warlord. How could he destroy Xixia? It seemed that civil war was the root cause of Xixia's demise.
Lu Qingshan smiled and said nothing. He saw Lu Wei's family letter at his eldest brother's house. Chen Qing gained a lot in Xixia. It was not as pitiful as Jiang Yanxian said. The subsequent battle for Hedong was all based on destroying Xixia.
Supported by the wealth gained.
"How can government decisions be made when the prince is not in Jingzhao?" Zhao Ding asked curiously.
"We have the Internal Affairs Hall. Normal government affairs are not handled by the county and the prince. The power is delegated to the Internal Affairs Hall. If it is a major government affair, it needs to be reviewed by the crown prince. Because the crown prince is young, the crown prince will act on his behalf, which means that the princess's approval must be obtained.
."
"How to distinguish between general government affairs and major government affairs?"
"There is a secretariat under the county king, and the secretariat decides whether it is general government affairs or major government affairs."
Zhao Ding nodded secretly, it was really strict, but what is the difference between this and the imperial court?
Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan moved into the VIP Garden. In the afternoon, Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan went to Tianlong Temple to pay homage to the coffin of the Supreme Emperor Zhao Ji, and then visited the late Emperor Zhao Huan who was recuperating at Tianlong Temple.
Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan were both former ministers of Zhao Huan. When they saw the late emperor, they were so excited that their voices choked with sobs.
"My ministers Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan pay homage to Your Majesty
Zhao Huan couldn't help but shed tears. He said with tears in his eyes: "I haven't seen you for many years. I think you are both in good health!"
"To report back to Your Majesty, we are all in good health, and we hope that Your Majesty will take care of your dragon body."
Zhao Huan came back to recuperate for a while, and his health did get much better. The diseased look on his face was gone, and he returned to his original thin appearance.
Zhao Huan waved his hand, "Guo Wuerjun, please don't call me your majesty again."
"If you don't call your Majesty, what else will you call him?"
"You can call me emperor like Chen Qing, so that no one will be embarrassed."
Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan looked at each other and agreed together, "Follow the emperor's order."
Zhao Ding added: "This time we are here to welcome the Supreme Emperor's coffin to Lin'an for burial. Please go back with us, Emperor!"
"Yes! Let's go back together!" Lu Qingshan next to him also advised.
Zhao Huan's heart is like a bright mirror. Without Chen Qing's protection, his trip to Lin'an would be a dead end.
During this period of time, he had thought through it. Chen Qing just wanted to use him, but his brother Zhao Gou wanted to drink himself a glass of poisonous wine.
"Thank you both for your kindness. I am very weak and have not recovered yet. I cannot travel long distances and need to rest for a while."
This was of course an excuse. Zhao Ding and Lu Qingshan also knew that without Chen Qing's consent, the late emperor could not go anywhere.
After chatting for a while, the two stood up and left.
After walking out of the courtyard, Zhao Ding touched Lu Qingshan lightly and pursed his lips to the left. Only then did Lu Qingshan find a dark shadow hidden on the big tree on the left.
Not only were there guards on the surface, there were also sentries hidden in the dark, and the 'guards' were very tight.
After coming out of Tianlong Temple, Zhao Ding said with a smile: "Let's have a drink together?"
"Tomorrow! I'm going to see my eldest brother's great-grandson today. We've agreed."
Lu Qingshan's eldest brother's great-grandson is Chen Qing's son. Naturally, it is not convenient for Zhao Ding to go together, so he smiled and said: "Then I will go back and have a rest first. If Qingshan comes back early, let's go have a drink."