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To the end of the night, until several Han officials retired, Kublai Khan did not say a New Year's greeting to them.
It is completely different from the situation in the past ten years of efforts to implement Han law.
In this relationship between monarch and minister, it was difficult to tell who had changed. Only Chabi was always the virtuous wife.
"Is the Khan worried?"
"Do you think Zhang Rou's family should be killed, or should they be exchanged for the captured clan members?"
Facing his most trusted wife, Kublai Khan sighed and talked about Namuhan's proposal tonight. At the end, he said: "It is not easy to be the Great Khan. The Han ministers are disloyal and all the Mongolian households are resentful. We must
If we want to keep this territory, the hearts of the Han officials must be won back, and the grievances of the Mongolian households must be vented."
Cha Bi had already smelled danger in Na Muhan's words.
She knew very well that once Kublai Khan killed all the Han officials, he would have no choice but to withdraw from the Yanshan Mountains.
But Namuhan still firmly proposed this statement, because it was in his best interest. In the future, thousands of households in Mongolia would support him as the Great Khan.
Of course, this sense of danger is only vague, after all, he is also his own son.
"Great Khan, I think it would be better and safer to exchange those prisoners back." Chabi thought about it for a while before speaking.
Kublai Khan said: "But if this happens, more people will think that I am weak and will betray him without fear."
Cha Bi said: "The Great Khan can wait until the people are replaced before killing Zhang Rou's family. Liu Bingzhong is right. Zhang Rou has protected too many Han officials, so the Great Khan should not kill him himself." "Who should I replace him with?"
Come to kill?"
"If Muhan wants to share the worries of the Great Khan, let him fulfill his filial piety." Cha Bi said: "Don't the Great Khan want to use Zhang Rou to take back Baozhou? Then after taking Baozhou, Zhang Rou will be useless.
, which can be used to exchange for prisoners. After that, let Na Muhan lead his troops to kill the Zhang family to establish their authority, and perhaps take advantage of the situation to take back Zhending Mansion."
Kublai Khan nodded and muttered: "Okay, it just so happens that the Song army is about to attack Mengjindu. Then let Li Xia worry about the head and the tail."
He is not too worried that the world will think he has broken his promise.
As the Han people say, "A war is never tired of deceit." In addition, it can be said that Namuhan made the decision without permission.
As long as the two factions of the Han Dynasty and the old Mongolian faction are balanced, the Yuan Dynasty can be stabilized...
~~
On the same New Year's Eve, Baoding Mansion.
The sound of firecrackers only went off once and then stopped. There were many peach charms posted inside and outside the courtyard. Although the New Year atmosphere was not strong, it was still there.
Li Xia was so busy that he had no intention of worrying about this new year, but after all, he wanted to show the difference between him, the Han king, and Meng Yuan, so he ordered someone to make arrangements.
The most important thing to worry about is the army. The soldiers are away from home and away from home. Festivals like this are the easiest to get emotional, so tonight it is inevitable to appease the morale of the soldiers.
Li Xia had been pacifying the army all day long, and finally took advantage of the great opera being arranged in the camp to start singing. Only then did he remember that he had to go into the city to appease the newly surrendered Baozhou soldiers and the Zhang family.
The carriage had just entered the city, but several more news came.
"Your Majesty, a group of officials transferred from Guanzhong have arrived and have settled in."
"Has Guo Shoujing arrived?"
"Not only did he arrive, he also said that he had drafted a memorial and wanted to hand it over to His Majesty as soon as possible. When I read it, it didn't look like a memorial, but more like a book."
Li Xia was quite pleased and said, "I will summon him to see him early tomorrow morning." While he was talking, he had already arrived at Zhang's house, so Li Xia and Zhang Wenjing got off the imperial chariot.
Looking up at the plaque on the door, he whispered to Zhang Wenjing: "Finally, I have entered your house openly."
Zhang Wenjing pursed her lips and smiled, but there was still some worry hidden in her eyes.
This kind of worry about the family members detained in Yanjing appeared in the eyes of many Zhang family members tonight.
They were waiting there to pick him up. On the one hand, they were overjoyed to have a favored concubine in their family, but on the other hand, they could not completely relax.
However, they did not ask Li Xia for this matter, which was beyond Li Xia's expectation.
Perhaps because of Zhang Hongfan's incident, the Zhang family is no longer as powerful as it once was.
Li Xia didn't say much. After sitting for a while, he planned to leave to patrol the camp elsewhere, leaving Zhang Wenjing to visit the relatives in the backyard.
So far, the whole process of arriving at Zhang's house has been in the front hall, where I met Zhang Shiyilang and some hangers-on.
Zhang Wenjing was not familiar with these people, and she had not seen her closest parents. She acted like a noble concubine throughout the whole process, and Li Xia acted like an emperor coming to visit his ministers.
Instead, before leaving, he thought for a moment, pulled Zhang Wenjing and walked into the yard, and gave instructions to the attendants behind him.
"Don't follow me."
The two of them walked through a path, and Li Xia stopped in front of the Moon Gate, breathed out a sigh of relief, and asked, "I haven't seen you smiling since I got home."
"I thought I would be very happy, but it turned out not to be."
The two of them were alone together. Zhang Wenjing was more relaxed. She took Li Xia's hand and said, "But it doesn't matter. I'll just wait until my father comes back."
"Let's do this. I'll leave it to you to arrange the prisoner exchange, and let the Military Intelligence Department report this matter directly to you."
"Can I do it? I'm afraid I can't do it well."
"It doesn't matter. If you are still undecided, you can discuss it with Jingxuan, Zhao Fu, Jingjie and others. Anyway, if the matter is not resolved, they will have no intention of becoming an official."
Zhang Wenjing then hugged Li Xia.
She was obviously in a much better mood. She took off her posture as a noble concubine and pointed to the scenery in the courtyard: "Look at that rockery. You can see it very clearly from the inside. When I was a child, I used to hide in it and shoot with a slingshot.
The heads of passersby."
"Huh? I thought you were a lady."
"I am a lady, and I can be a lady even if I play with a slingshot. There is a small lake over there. When it is empty, we can go boating... eh?"
Zhang Wenjing stopped and looked towards the rockery.
After a while, she smiled, raised her hand and waved there, rarely looking very happy.
"It's my sister there."
"Oh, I forgot that you haven't gone to see the female family members yet." Li Xia said, "I'm leaving first." "I, my concubine, will follow your Majesty to the front hall."
"No need, I don't care about red tape at home." Li Xia waved his hand and walked to the front hall.
Zhang Wenjing stood there as if stunned.
After Li Xia had gone far, she turned around and walked towards Zhang Wenwan.
In the past, when she was in Chang'an, she was a mother, a noble concubine of a country, and always had to take care of things. Now when she returned home, she seemed to have turned into a little girl again.
"sister."
"I said to Zhang Wenwan, why don't you come out front to greet me and come here to hide."
"Hey, I've been waiting for a long time and you didn't come, okay? It turns out that you are here to have sex with your brother-in-law. He doesn't look like an emperor at all. He is so casual."
"What are you doing casually? I'm asking for a beating."
The two sisters had not seen each other for many years. They exchanged a few words like this, but they were not unfamiliar at all. After that, the two of them were stunned for a moment, smiled, and their worries came to the surface again.
After all, Zhang Wenjing still had some sisterly demeanor. She wiped Zhang Wenwan's face and said, "Don't worry, we can save dad..."
~~
At night, Li Xia left Zhang's house, and immediately someone came to greet him.
"Your Majesty, some of your ministers are waiting to meet you at the camp. They say they want to wish your Majesty the New Year." "New Year greetings are fake, but admonitions are real. Instead of riding in a carriage, ride a horse."
It was clear that everything was complicated, but Li Xia still looked calm. After giving an order, he said: "By the way, if Guo Shoujing is not asleep yet, let him come and congratulate you."
"Ms. Guo? Is Mr. Guo still there?"
Over there, before Li Xia could get on his horse, he saw a person hurriedly coming in the alley ahead against the wind and snow, holding several rolls of drawings in his hand. It was Guo Shoujing.
"Guo Qing?" "I have met your Majesty."
"We've just arrived in Baozhou after a long journey, and you don't want to sleep?" "I'm not sleepy."
"It's Chinese New Year."
"The world will return to one world, and peace will be at hand."
Time is waiting for me. I was thinking that your Majesty might summon me, so I came to ask."
Li Xia couldn't help but smile, got off his horse, and said, "Let's talk as we walk." "Yes, I have already settled the land that Your Majesty ordered me to liquidate."
"The war is still going on. Excluding the areas that may be attacked by the Yuan army, how much land can be cultivated?"
"many."
Guo Shoujing did not hesitate and said: "First of all, there are several fields that can be cultivated and cannot be invaded by the Yuan army, such as the Fenhe Plain, such as Lingbao, Yiluo Valley, and Qinshui River Basin. Although Henan and Hebei are in
Wherever the Yuan army's cavalry can reach, the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains can still be used for farming. Only a small number of troops can be deployed to prevent the Yuan army from sneak attacks. There are more places like this. I have drawn a topographic map and marked the suitable planting areas in each place.
crop."
When he said this, he was about to look for the drawings in his arms. Li Xia waved his hand slightly and stopped him.
"There's no rush. We'll have time to wait until we get back to the camp. Let's first discuss the feasibility of farming while fighting, and then discuss the details."
"It's feasible. Whatever details your Majesty wants to ask, I know everything."
Li Xia had a lot to ask, but seeing how well-prepared Guo Shoujing was, he didn't know where to start.
Just ask first.
"You also know that this Northern Expedition is in a hurry, and there is insufficient money, food and equipment. Fortunately, the cities along the way came to watch the wind and used the granaries in the cities to supply supplies, which temporarily relieved the urgent need. But just solving the urgent need is not enough. I ask you, now start farming on the newly attached fields.
, how long will it take to have a harvest?"
"Different fields have different harvest times. Some fields are planted with wheat, some are planted with rice, and the farming seasons vary. Some fields have been barren for many years and need to be reclaimed and canals built, so the harvest will naturally be later, even this year.
Can’t sow seeds yet…”
When it comes to farming, Li Xia is still a layman. He listened patiently to Guo Shoujing and asked, "If we plant this spring, will there be a harvest before August? Will there be a harvest before June?"
In the camp, several civil servants and generals were pacing back and forth in front of the tent, waiting to report some important matters to Li Xia.
Looking from a distance, they also saw Li Xia walking towards someone while talking.
"Who is that?"
"This is Mr. Guo Shoujing."
Dong Wenyong breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "That's good, just treat it as something urgent."
The reason why I say this is because Guo Shoujing is not responsible for military information or military supplies. He is just one of the officials transferred to manage the north. Obviously, he will not report bad news in a hurry.
"On this New Year's Eve, why did Mr. Guo have to talk to Your Majesty for so long?" "Anyway, it's not as urgent as ours."
Some officials murmured in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, things are urgent, come here quickly."
Everyone said this and stamped their feet in the cold windy and snowy night, looking a little anxious.
Li Xia, who was walking towards this side, also saw this scene.
He also knew that the governor had his own priorities, and water far away could not quench his thirst nearby, but he still believed that farming was a matter that must be arranged before the beginning of spring.
If Kublai Khan wanted to use time to wear him down, he would not let Kublai Khan succeed...