The ship loaded with people and cargo slowly left the dock and headed upstream, but the next empty ship was already blocking it.
Downstream was the navy of the Tang Army, seemingly waiting quietly for the baggage ship to move ahead.
Gou Shancai, Zhang Shun, and Zhang Gui brothers walked through the dock with several military and Chinese officials, pointing out the scenery of Jiangzhu along the way.
"In previous years, in early February, dragon boats would be rowed here, which is called Kailong."
"There won't be any this year. We will take away all ships, whether they are war ships, merchant ships, fishing boats, or dragon boats."
Zhang Shun spoke in a serious tone, raised his finger and pointed ahead, and said: "We also need to take away all the craftsmen in the shipbuilding workshop."
"Yes." Zhang Gui said, "There is a shortage of shipbuilding craftsmen in Hanzhong."
"Don't worry, General Zhang. Everything has been arranged. Please."
Gou Shancai led them to the Ezhou Shipyard.
Along the way, you can see many people with luggage on their backs and children in tow queuing up to board the boat on the pier.
"Are these all people who want to enter Shu?" Zhang Shun asked.
"yes."
"so many."
"It looks like a lot, but it's actually less than a quarter of Ezhou's population." A military official shook his head, "There are families and businessmen who are unwilling to leave, so there's no need to force it."
"It's been three or two months since Xianggong took Ezhou, and he was too busy fighting to manage it?"
"No, there are prosperous merchants in Ezhou City. If you can enter the city, it will not be difficult to make a living. Most of the people who are willing to follow the army into Shu are refugees who have lost their fields and made a living."
Due to the deficient public land law, many people have lost their land in recent years." Gou Shancai sneered, then sighed: "The Public Opinion Department has been trying to attract people from the Song Dynasty to the middle of Shu, but it is difficult."
"It's easier said than done. Let's just say that a certain refugee finally learned that life in the Tang Dynasty was easy. If he wanted to return to the Tang Dynasty, he had no choice but to go to the Han River or the Yangtze River. If he took the Han River, how could he cross the border between Song and Yuan Dynasty? If he took the Yangtze River, how could he cross the Three Gorges without a ship?
A natural moat?"
"Not to mention taking the Han River and crossing the Three Gorges. The Song Dynasty's jurisdiction was strict, and it was difficult for ordinary people to go to Xiangyang and Jiangling."
"Not to mention that people in the world attach great importance to their hometown. Those who stutter are easily reluctant to leave their hometown. If they don't eat, they will starve to death halfway."
Gou Shancai took it seriously and said, "Your Majesty must be conducting the expedition himself so that he can take away a large number of people."
One of the civil servants waved his hand and said, "How much can you carry with you? If you give it a try, the river boat can carry 20 to 30,000 people, which is already a lot of effort. What your Majesty wants is the long term."
"Understood." Gou Shancai said: "Shu people return to Shu."
Zhang asked by the way: "What should I do if I want to come here and seek refuge but I am not from Shu?"
There was no need for those civil servants to answer this question. Gou Shancai already smiled and said: "I am not from Shu, but my mother-in-law's family is in Chongqing."
"Then my mother-in-law is not in Chongqing."
"General Zhang is being more sincere." Gou Shancai said: "Anyway, once this opening is opened, as long as the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are still stationed in Jiangling Mansion, they will be able to absorb a steady stream of people."
"Not only that."
"oh?"
"The policy of Shu people returning to Shu was not an original creation of our dynasty. At that time, the Jin State proposed that people from the north return to the north. In addition to restricting the people from the Central Plains from going south, replenishing the population, and stabilizing order, it also had another purpose, which was to capture and punish those who surrendered.
To punish the queen'."
When Gou Shancai heard this, he thought of Lu Fu. You can imagine how many people fled from the Central Plains to Jiangnan and surrendered to the Zhao and Song Dynasties during the Jingkang Incident. There were more than a million Lu Fu?
It's a pity that after more than a hundred years, the fate of these escapees has been similar.
Not only Gou Shancai, but also Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui listened carefully to what these civil servants were saying.
This is an interpretation of the recent Tang and Song Dynasty peace treaties, and is a channel for them to understand national policies.
"But your Majesty is different from the Wanyan family. What you want is not to kill those who surrendered to Zhao and Song Dynasties, but to seize the talents of the world."
"Talent?"
The literary official smiled and asked: "The Tang Dynasty has been established, and we can open the examination to recruit scholars. How many scholars does the general think will take the examination?"
Zhang Shun shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be much."
"In this case, if there are scholars from Jiangnan who know that the imperial examinations in Zhao and Song Dynasties are difficult and want to go to Chang'an to take the examination, is there a way?"
Gou Shancai understood it first and said: "Scholars are smarter than refugees. They will find ways to tell that their ancestors are from Shu. They only need to go to Jiangling to be escorted into Shu. Since there is a peace treaty, the Song Dynasty cannot interfere."
"This is just one of them. General Wang Jian's son has been appointed as an official in Jiangdong. General Wang has guarded Diaoyu City for many years. He should be considered a Shu native when he heard that Your Majesty has sent people to invite him."
"Is this okay?"
"Since the Song Dynasty is bent on seeking peace, as long as His Majesty can withdraw his troops, these are just trivial matters."
"I've given you two hundred thousand yuan per year, so what's the big deal with some refugees and redundant staff? The Song Dynasty has a lot of talented people."
The group of people talked and walked to the shipyard by the river.
Zhang Shun inspected the circle with his knife, and saw that his soldiers had controlled all the craftsmen in the workshop and their families. They were standing in the open space in front of the workshop, carrying large and small bags, tables, chairs, benches, pots and pans, etc.
He had a look of fear and reluctance.
"Folks, don't panic!"
Zhang Shun stood on a big rock, but it was still not very high. He planned to say something to appease the shipbuilders, so he cleared his throat and held back a sentence.
"The days ahead will be much easier!"
Gou Shancai led a group of clerks to sort out and pack up the various drawings and documents in the shipbuilding workshop. They were extremely important things and should not be lost easily.
Two days later it will be the first day of February.
Usually there are people racing dragon boats on Jiangzhu, but today, big boxes containing shipbuilding blueprints were carried into the cabin.
Gou Shancai was on Zhang Shun's boat. He raised his telescope and looked at it, saying, "Those boats carry money, food and treasures, but we only carry paper."
"It's just these pieces of paper." Zhang Shun said, "Brother Gou, you don't know that what our navy lacks is ships. With these treasures, when more ships are built, how can we ask for peace with Zhao and Song next time?
Opportunity?"
"Haha let's go!"
The sails were unfolded and adjusted according to the wind direction, and the oars drove the heavy ship to move slowly.
The hull of the ship was really heavy. Gou Shancai looked up at Ezhou City and felt a sense of smoothness.
He finally completed his errand in the Department of Public Opinion and no longer had to pretend to be afraid.
"Long live……"
Suddenly, I heard shouts from the big ship behind me. I turned around and saw a dragon flag being carried onto the emperor's main ship.
Gou Shancai had a ferocious face and usually didn't like shouting, but when Jiang Feng lifted his mood, he also shouted in.
"Long live!"
What he was thinking about was that many people he knew had died along the way, and he decided to live a good life for them in the future.
Of course he can live a good life, after all, he is a small hero who founded the country...
"That ship contained craftsmen and blueprints from the shipyard, right?"
On the main ship, Fang Yankai was holding a lookout tube and looking at the various ships.
"Yes, Mr. Fang. General Zhang Shun is the most important. He must escort him personally."
"Artisans, population, goods, coins, and name."
Counting these things again like a miser, Fang Yankai couldn't help but sigh to the officials around him: "Looking back, I may have been too cautious when I tried to persuade His Majesty."
"There's nothing wrong with being cautious."
Fang Yankai turned around and saw Shi Jun coming, and he quickly saluted.
"Shi Gong."
"No need to be polite." Shi Jun raised his hand slightly and said, "Your Majesty won the bet this time, but as ministers, we have to give advice when it is time to give advice. It is better to be cautious than to take risks."
Fang Yankai smiled bitterly and said: "Despite this, Shi Gong has never once advised His Majesty to stop."
"I'm sure Song Ting will definitely seek peace."
"absolute?"
"It seems a bit like being an afterthought." Shi Jun laughed at himself, "But if you look at the past events of the Song Dynasty, Xixia, Liao, Jin, and Mongolia, you can guess that they are almost inseparable."
After saying this, he counted the numbers with his fingers.
"Your Majesty is at least 80% sure."
Fang Yankai was a little surprised and asked, "So many?"
"To give a few simple examples, Kou Wei forced Zhenzong to conquer personally. As soon as he won a big victory, Zhenzong sent envoys to negotiate peace. Compared with the military expenditure of 30 million, the annual coin was only 300,000. Zhenzong exclaimed, 'So little?'
, after having tasted the benefits of peace, how can we still decide to fight? Besides, in the war between Renzong and Xixia, he lost all three battles, and peace can only maintain a facade; Gaozong crossed south and became a vassal to Jin, so he could still be in the southeast."
After giving a few examples, Shi Jun pointed to the east and asked again.
"Is the current Zhao Song official comparable to Zhenzong? Or comparable to Renzong and Gaozong?"
Fang Yankai shook his head when he heard this.
No matter how good Zhao Gou is, if we only talk about his ability, a thousand Zhao Fu may not be able to compare with him.
"If you want to compare like this, the Lord of Song Dynasty will only be afraid of calling His Majesty 'Grandpa'. I'm just worried about the important ministers of the Song Dynasty."
"Who is the fool? Jia Sidao is not a fool either. Kou Huai will not end well, and Han Yizhou will not end well. No matter how high he thinks of himself, he will never dare to act rashly until it is a matter of life and death." Shi Jun said: "Your Majesty has figured it out.
, the Song court will definitely comply with this condition. In other words, if Ezhou is captured, the outcome is decided."
"But looking back, I still think it was too risky."
"This is what makes Your Majesty so extraordinary. The word 'unwavering' sounds easy to say. How many people can do it? People in the world give up halfway and follow what others say. There are many people who repeat the good and the soft."
"yes."
The two sighed with emotion and fell silent.
Shi Jun's face suddenly dropped, and he sighed: "The battle is over, if I can only talk about my thoughts about attacking the Song Dynasty in private..."
When the topic came up, he waved his hand again.
It's just that he still feels a little guilty about Zhao's family, but rationally he knows exactly what to do.
"His Majesty did not appear on the stage today to look into the distance."
"over there."
Shi Jun turned around and saw that Li Xia was talking to a woman in the cabin corridor. The woman was jumping up and down, looking quite lively.
He walked to the railing, listened, and faintly heard what she said.
"No matter how many people think you are an emperor, I think you don't look like an emperor at all...I will make you angry if I make you angry."
$$55.
"Li Xia, Li Feiyu...do you really have a clear conscience?"
Shi Jun thought he had heard wrongly, so he leaned forward and didn't care that his beard was blowing wildly in the river wind. He just wondered who this woman was with doubts.
Squinting his eyes, he seemed to have thought of something, a little surprised, but not sure.
The ships loaded with loot will sail up the Yangtze River and return to Chongqing along the Yangtze River.
Li Xia did not dare to walk along the Han River and pass through Xiangyang. He knew that now in Nanyang, the Yuan army must be heavily suppressed and would never allow him to return smoothly.
However, a few days later, before the ship reached Jiangling, military news came from upstream.