Ahema did several things after arriving in Shanxi, all of which were related to financial management.
For example, illicit salt sales were rampant in Taiyuan, and official salt from Jiezhou could not be sold, so Ahema forcibly distributed the salt tax to monks, Taoist priests, sergeants, craftsmen and other households.
This means that if you want to buy private salt, you can buy it, but you have to buy the official salt first.
In one year, the extra salt tax he collected for Kublai Khan's court amounted to eight thousand taels of silver.
Ahema also reached out to Henan, forcibly deposed Zhao Bi and Shang Ting, and made iron in Junzhou. In addition to paying one million catties of iron, he also forged and forged 200,000 farm tools, exchanged them with the people for grain, and turned them over.
Sixty thousand shi of food.
In addition, he also opened silver mines and copper mines everywhere...
Liu Zheng didn't know how much Ahema had swallowed in private, but he thought Ahema was a really good person, even though he had a bad reputation and many people in the government and the public were scolding him.
What is certain is that what Kublai Khan needs most now is ministers like Ahema.
Wang Wentong and Zhao Rui both did a good job in transferring money and grain, almost to the best of their abilities, but they actually transferred money and grain "within their quota".
Ahema was different. All he had to hand over were the extra money and grain.
He seems to have the ability to make money out of no money.
What can be imagined is that in the past two years, despite the lack of Guanlong's financial resources, these financial ministers still ensured Kublai Khan's northern expedition.
Among them, Ahema contributed a lot.
The land of Shanxi can no longer withstand the torment of this transshipment envoy.
He was already eager to take back Guanlong, Sichuan and Shu, and he was more eager than many military officials.
He has even thought about how to manage these places after regaining them.
The first, of course, is to implement the Banknote Law and exchange all private gold, silver and copper coins into Central Unification Banknotes.
Then came the Salt Law, just like in Shanxi. Even if cheap private salt was not prohibited, the salt tax could still be shared.
Selling official salt mixed with sand like the Song Dynasty did, Ahhema would not do such a heartless thing. Although he imposed a salt tax, he should at least be selling genuine official salt.
In short, they collect taxes for the country honestly and shrewdly.
After that, there was trade, there were mountains, forests, mines, and wood, and then there was land inventory... Ahema always believed that there was no barren land in the world, and Hui people could always use financial management methods to make money.
As much as the public purse can be filled, he will do his best to sweat it out.
However, the private pockets will definitely be filled to the brim.
Therefore, when he heard that there was a chance to win Guanzhong, Ahema fully supported it...
…
"In Hancheng on the other side of the river, I have inquired about it and found that there are more than a thousand defenders at the ferry on the west bank and more than a thousand defenders in the city. There are also Qingshui Pass and Yanshui Pass nearby. There are thousands of garrison troops at each of the two ferry crossings. They are heavily fortified."
When the spies reached this point, Ahema was a little disappointed.
Liu Zheng looked much calmer and said: "Continue talking."
"Downstream from Hancheng is the Heyang camp of the Song Army. Zhang Jue's flag is still erected there. The Song Army is densely packed near Xiayangdu, more than before..."
Liu Zheng casually pointed at Xiayang Ferry on the west bank of the Yellow River and explained to Ahema in a low voice: "Xiayang Ferry can support Qingshuiguan Ferry and Yanshuiguan Ferry in the north, and Tongguan in the south. It is the Heyang of the Song Army's Yellow River defense line.
Where the camp is."
Ahema is good at managing money, but not familiar with military affairs. He said: "Zhang Jue's banner is in Nanyang, right?"
"We'll know as soon as we fight." Liu Zheng said, "Will you arrange to send out troops now?"
"Okay!" Ahema twirled his beard and said, "The battle situation in Nanyang is very dangerous. We need to send troops to contain Guanzhong."
This was what Dong Wenbing said in his letter, and it was also the reason why Shanxi sent troops. Ahema tried his best to speak righteously, but there was still a smile in his tone.
Shrewd and philistine.
At the end, he rubbed his hands and smiled at Liu Zheng: "I'm here to give our Marshal Liu a beautiful gift..."
~~
Xia Yang Ferry.
When the Chu and Han Dynasties were fighting, Han Xin crossed the river from here and ordered people to buy a large number of pottery pots with big bellies and small mouths locally, which were called "poppies". They were then clamped with wooden sticks and tied into rafts, called "wood poppies".
Yip crossed the Yellow River and approached Anyi, the capital of Wei. Therefore, Xia Yang Ferry is also called "Wu Ying Ferry" or "Huaiyin Ferry".
Xia Yang Ferry is located in Heyang County, Guanzhong.
The ferry is on the west bank of the Yellow River, a little north of the middle of the Guanzhong section of the Yellow River.
From here, the speed of heading south to Tongguan and north to Hancheng is about the same. When Li Xia set up the Yellow River defense line, he used it as his main camp location.
And Liu Zheng's tactics are very simple.
He followed the Yellow River from Longmen Ferry on the upper reaches of the east bank and attacked Xiayang Ferry on the middle reaches of the west bank. This gave him a great advantage.
He was good at water warfare, built a large number of ships with the financial resources supported by Ahema, and trained the navy in advance... This way he took the initiative on the battlefield.
In fact, even if Zhang Jue was still in the Heyang camp and even leading 20,000 elite troops to prepare for an ambush, Liu Zheng would not be afraid.
This time it was a test. He could attack whenever he wanted and leave whenever he wanted. Zhang Jue, who didn't know how to fight, simply couldn't keep him...
The seventh day of May.
The sky was clear, cloudless, and the east wind was blowing.
The Yellow River was turbulent, and there were more than a hundred large and small ships parked at Longmen Ferry, carrying more than 10,000 troops. Among them, more than 7,000 troops were integrated from Liu Zheng's old troops, led by Liu Zheng, his four sons, and trusted generals.
.
There are also more than 3,000 soldiers from Shihou in Jiezhou and Hezhong Prefecture, who are organized by Liu Zheng to dispatch the navy.
In the army, there were also the Mongolian Daruhua Chibagen and the Oruguan Huricha, who together led a team of a thousand men of the Mongolian Red Army and led the horses onto the largest ship.
Liu Zheng, who was standing on the boat, gave an order, and the fleet sailed toward the southwest, following the wind and the current.
After his surrender, Kublai Khan appointed him Marshal of Chengdu Road, so he was always called "Marshal". At that time, everyone thought that Chengdu would be captured soon.
That year was still the first year of the Central Unification. In the blink of an eye, it was already May of the third year of the Central Unification.
It's not that Mongolia doesn't have the strength to defeat Li Xia, but that it must first put down the Ali Buge rebellion.
If we don’t take advantage of the truce with Ali Bu Ge to recapture Sichuan and Shu this year, and raise troops next time, I don’t know whether it will be two years or three years later...
Thinking of this, Liu Zheng felt that many things in the past two or three years were strange.
In the past, the Song Dynasty allowed civil and military officials to hold official posts from afar. They were responsible for reviving the Yuan Dynasty and appeasing Lizhou. This was quite ridiculous. But when they arrived in Mongolia, they also began to hold official posts from afar.
In a blink of an eye, the man from the Liu family who came to persuade him to surrender defected to Li Xia instead. This time, even Dengzhou was captured by Li Xia.
What's even more ridiculous is that the cavalry led by Li Xia, called the Song Army, entered Heluo, making detours, interspersed, and rushed; the navy he led, called the Mongolian Army, went down the river and attacked the west bank of the Yellow River.
It seems as if he has surrendered to the enemy, but also as if he has not...
Just thinking about it, Xia Yangdu can be seen in the distance.
Liu Zheng raised a lookout tube and looked towards the west bank.
This viewing tube was the so-called "exquisite gift" given to him by Ahema. It was made of jade and amethyst. It was very valuable and was stolen from Li Xia's army.
Lookout tubes have become very popular among generals in Sichuan and Shaanxi. It is not too difficult to steal one or two, and the principle is simple.
The difficulty is that Sichuan and Shaanxi are using wafers that are more crystal clear and have a more suitable shape. They don’t yet know how to bake them. Ahema is currently using jade amethyst.
In the purple picture, Liu Zheng could see the fortifications built by the Song Army on the west bank of the Yellow River, as well as the water fence surrounding Xiayang Ferry...
"Faint move." He muttered to himself.
Water battles are not fought that way. The ships have to be flexible, rather than surrounding the ferry and defending it like a fortress.
It can be seen that although there are many generals in the Song army who are good at water warfare, there are none in Li Xia's army.
If Liu Zheng were to make the arrangements, Zhang Jue, who was born in Sichuan and Shu, would be more suitable to guard Longxi, Li Laojieshuai... Li Zengbo, who was born in Jinghu, would be more suitable to guard Guanzhong.
He raised his tube and saw flags of the Song Army planted on the fortress.
Zhang Jue's flag cannot be seen from the river, only the flag of Xia Yangdu guard Xu Kui can be seen.
…
"Virtual soldiers are not the elite of the Song army."
Soon, Liu Zheng made a judgment.
His eldest son Liu Yuan asked: "How can father make such a claim?"
Liu Yuan was twenty-seven years old at the time. He inherited Liu Zheng's burly heroic spirit and behaved like a general.
"Sichuan and Shaanxi have eliminated a large number of redundant troops since last year. Except for some elite troops, troops stationed in various places have been stationed in fields. When has there ever been so many troops gathered in one place at the same time?"
When Liu Zheng finished talking, he handed the telescope to Liu Yuan's hand and said, "Look at those Song troops for yourself."
"Many of them have already taken off their armor."
"They are either prisoners without armor, or militiamen who cannot bear the weight of armor. They are definitely not the elite of the Song army. Zhang Jue is bluffing."
"He really led the elite to Nanyang?"
"It's very possible." Liu Zheng looked calm and said after a while: "But not necessarily, or maybe he wants to lure me to take the initiative."
"Luring us into attacking?"
"They are not as good as us in water warfare, and they wanted to lure us to Guanzhong to annihilate them." Liu Zheng said: "But their plan failed. I am not that easy to be fooled. Moreover, Shi Tianze and I are working together on the key points, and they are really no match for us.
"
After saying this, he had already walked a few steps, climbed onto the general platform and began to command...
First, the driftwood flowed down the turbulent river and crashed against the wooden fence of Xia Yangdu. With the loud noise, it also crashed into several Song army ships.
Afterwards, the sound of the wooden frame being twisted was heard on the Mongolian warship, and the fireball was thrown towards Xiayang Ferry.
On the shore, there were also artillery carts firing back at the Mongolian ships, firing thunder cannons from a distance.
"boom!"
The impact sound was sparse at first, but gradually became denser and louder.
The cracked wood drifted downstream along the Yellow River.
Then there was a rain of arrows shooting at each other...
The advantage of the Mongolian navy is that it has smooth wind and current, and its arrows and fireballs can shoot farther than the Song army, which is more advantageous.
Because the initiative lies with them, and the time to start the war is their choice.
Liu Zheng was worthy of being called a famous general, and he steadily grasped the chance of victory in this small battle.
"The Song army was defeated!"
"Seize the ferry! Seize the ferry! Seize their artillery carriage..."
"They are empty soldiers! The Song army is not elite, and the tents are empty..."
~~
That night.
Zhang Jue frowned slightly as he listened to Lin Zi's report.
"Xiayang Ferry has been lost. Liu Zheng was very careful. He did not attack the Heyang Camp immediately. Instead, he sent out detective horses to investigate. My people were almost shot by them..."
"How many troops are stationed at Xiayangdu?"
"There should be less than a thousand people."
"Where are his troops? On board the ship? The ship is moored at the ferry? Linked up?"
"No, we are stationed at Wuwangdu on the east coast."
Zhang Jue was surprised and asked: "Liu Zheng has captured Xiayangdu, but he has no troops stationed on the west bank?"
"No."
"Very cautious." Zhang Jue stood up, walked around the map and muttered: "He is waiting for news from Wuguan, Longxi, and Yan'an Prefecture... Be cautious..."
Zhang Jue didn't know Liu Zheng well. From the time when the Twelve Heroes captured Xinyang to the defeat at Jiantandu, he thought Liu Zheng was a brave general.
Now it seems that it is biased.
a long time.
"Let him capture the Heyang camp."
Zhang Jue finally made up his mind and repeated: "I have to let him capture the Heyang camp."
Lin Zi was shocked and said: "No. If the camp is lost, Heyang City will be lost. In this way, our Yellow River defense line will be completely cut off by Liu Zheng, and we will not be able to communicate with each other. If the Mongolian army drives directly to Chang'an..."
"If we don't defeat Liu Zheng's main force as soon as possible, then Ah Shu will drive straight to Chang'an and be attacked from both sides. How can we defend against it? I have a hunch that Ah Shu will come soon."
"Premonition?! But the prince only said that Xiayang Ferry would be lost, but he didn't say that Heyang Camp would also be lost..."
"He said that I will take full command." Zhang Jue waved his hand and said, "You continue to gather information, and I will summon the generals to discuss how to abandon the camp."
"Zhang Shuai, have you ever calculated how much loss this will cause..."
Zhang Jue shook his head, with only cold eyes.
He came from Diaoyu City.
Where is Diaoyu City? They built forts to defend Shu and almost abandoned all the cities in Sichuan and Shu. Hundreds of thousands of people left their homes. How much loss was there? But only in this way could we win the battle to kill the Mongol Khan.
In Zhang Jue's eyes, there was no reluctance to fight.
If you want to win, what losses should you count?
If you lose, you have nothing.
"This is taking the Yellow River defense line and risking the entire Guanzhong..."
Seeing that the forest was still chattering, Zhang Jue was too lazy to say anything more, so he simply picked up an ax and chopped the case into pieces with a casual blow.
"Bang!"
In the middle of his words, Lin Zi was stunned and found that the usually gentle Zhang Jue had become fierce and scary as soon as he picked up the axe.
"I can't bear to let the child trap the wolf." Zhang Jue turned his head and said: "Shut up and obey the orders. That's enough..."