The King of Xiping, the Grand Tutor, and the Secretary ordered Li Yiyin to ride his horse on the streets of Xiazhou. The people passing by gave way to him, nodded and said hello, and looked at him with respect.
Since the Li family took charge of the Dingnan Army, several generations of people have been the masters of defense, doing their best to develop the territory, relying on various political powers, and rarely engaging in war.
When it was passed to Li Yiyin, he was already the sixth hereditary military governor, and he won the hearts of the people.
Although they did not openly stand on their own and regarded themselves as vassals, they always held tight military and political power internally and firmly controlled the five states of Dingnan. Like the Southern Tang Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River and Meng Shu in the Shu region, they were a small independent kingdom.
A gust of wind came, and Li Yiyin habitually closed his mouth and held his breath.
Then yellow sand flew all over the sky, and the passers-by who didn't have time to shut up ate a mouthful of sand and vomited sadly.
Li Yiyin skillfully patted the sand on his beard and walked towards the south gate of Xiazhou.
Two-thirds of the land in the five prefectures within the Dingnan Army is desert terrain, and sandstorms are the biggest feature of the area.
"Your Majesty, the young master is back!"
A businessman passed by Li Yiyin. He saluted respectfully, said hello, and then left.
Hearing this, Li Yiyin quickened his pace.
The young master among the merchants was his beloved son Li Guangrui, the next leader of the Dangxiang clan and the heir to the next Jiedushi of the Dingnan Army. He was brave and wise, and was favored by Li Yiyin.
Li Yiyin did not want Li Guangrui to become a frog in the well, so he often sent him south to do business with the Central Plains.
Every time his son went south, Li Yiyin couldn't help but miss him. During the days when his son came back, he had to wait at the city gate almost every day.
A motorcade came slowly from a distance, and Li Yi greeted it with his whip raised happily.
"Dalang!"
"Abba!"
Li Guangrui, who was in his mid-twenties, tall, lean and lean, with a full beard, came to a nearby place on his horse, dismounted to pay homage, and then said: "I am going to Qinchuan. I failed to complete the mission as I wished. I hope my father will forgive me."
"
Li Yiyin first helped his son up and said, "Get up and talk. Just come back safely. Let's go home..."
On the way, Li Guangrui talked about the details of his trip south to Qinchuan to buy grain: "We purchased grain from Qinzhou as Uighurs from Ganzhou, and it went smoothly at first. Later, the other party seemed to realize our identity and refused directly because we had no grain.
They also sent people to monitor us. I was worried that they would steal our horses, so I came back first."
Li Yiyin didn't speak for a long time. He sighed for a while and said, "It feels like something is stuck in your throat!"
The five Dingnan prefectures have little water and sand, and there is almost no land suitable for farming. The only option is animal husbandry. The hunting industry is very developed. Xiazhou, Suizhou, and Youzhou are all prosperous pastoral areas, and the vast plateau is also rich in rabbit falcons.
Sand fox skins, hounds and other items, especially sand fox skins, are most popular in the Central Plains.
By relying on diplomatic trade and purchasing large quantities of grain from the Central Plains or Northern Han Dynasty, they were able to be self-sufficient.
Li Yiyin was very ambitious in his early years. He felt that the Ding refugees were honest and tough and had the strength to break the deadlock and get out of the predicament of lack of food and water.
He ignored the powerful Zhou Dynasty and chose to be loyal to the Northern Han Dynasty. He just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to seize the Lianglong land and plot Guanzhong.
But Beihan gave Guo Rong a hammer blow, and his strength has not yet been restored.
If not for the support of a Khitan father, the country would have been destroyed long ago.
Facing the great Zhou Dynasty, Li Yiyin could only lower his body to show his loyalty.
But he was not willing to be trapped in the five states, so he sent people to bribe the important ministers of the Zhou Dynasty, and reached out to the Fugu family, blocking the connection between the Central Plains and Fugu.
In the end, Luo Youdu was allowed to destroy it, and Dazhou imposed economic and material sanctions at Luo Youdu's instigation.
This immediately made the resource-strapped army unable to survive, and finally ended with them surrendering and opening a road connecting the Central Plains and Fugu.
As a result, the Zhou Dynasty reduced the amount of trade between them, preferring to go to Ganzhou and Liangzhou farther away to buy war horses instead of buying from the Dingnan Army.
This incident further made Li Yiyin realize that it is better to seek help from others than from others. They must have their own farmland in order to not be constrained by the Central Plains.
Guo Rong was seriously ill and left behind an orphan and a widowed mother.
Li Yiyin understood that the opportunity had come, and that the young master of the country was bound to be in chaos, so he began to secretly purchase grain for military preparations in preparation for the attack on Liangzhou, Yanzhou, and Yanzhou of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Only then did Li Guangrui go to Qinzhou to buy grain.
Li Guangrui also understood his father's intentions and asked: "How is the situation in the Central Plains? Has Emperor Guo passed away?"
His group had horses and food, but they were afraid of being discovered, so they walked on remote roads and had no understanding of the situation in the Central Plains.
Li Yiyin frowned and said: "The emperor of the Central Plains has changed. Luo Youdu started a new dynasty and became the emperor of the Central Plains."
Li Guangrui said with a serious expression: "This is not going to be easy, Dad, this Luo Youdu is not simple. He was the one who sabotaged our plan to capture Fugu. His ability is no less than that of Emperor Guo. Let him secure his position.
We have no way to survive..."
**********
Jinling in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Huiyue Tower.
As he surrendered to the Central Plains, Li Jing's life became more comfortable.
It turned out that there was a behemoth beside him, so Li Jing had to tighten his belt every year and use a large sum of money to strengthen his military equipment.
But after the Huainan War, Li Jing unexpectedly discovered that the annual coins required by the Central Plains were not high, far less than the military salary he had used to expand his armaments.
After paying the annual coins, there is still a large part left for my own use.
This transaction is not a loss at all.
There is no need to worry about getting beaten, and there is enough money to spend freely.
The only difference is that he has been demoted one level, from the Emperor to the Lord of the Jiangnan Kingdom.
What's this?
Li Jing had originally lost his ambition to fight for the Northern Expedition, and now his comfortable life had wiped out the last bit of his ambition.
Li Jing will hold a banquet in thirty or fifty days, either at Jiangnan Graceland, at a scenic spot, or on the Huiyue Tower.
The civil and military officials of the entire dynasty indulged in sensuality and exaggerated the literati.
Under this trend, the name of Li Congjia, the most talented person in the south of the Yangtze River, has spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River.
Especially many years ago, when Jiangnan was defeated, Li Congjia wrote a poem of mourning, using people to describe things, which made his talent famous in the north and south.
Li Jing was leaning on the high chair, listening to the literati and poets around him exchanging poems, songs, or collections of classics and history, and felt that his soul had been sublimated.
Li Jing's eyes fell on Li Congjia, looking at Aiko with a worried face, surrounded by everyone in the center, with a loving smile on his face.
This is my son!
He is obedient, sensible, talented, and handsome.
It's exactly the same as when I was young.
It's a pity that he is not the eldest son.
Li Jing was a little disappointed.
At this time, a chamberlain came to Li Jing's side and whispered to Li Jing.
Li Jing frowned, showing an obviously impatient expression.
He waved his hand, stood up and walked to the inner hall of Huiyue Tower.
The prince of Jiangnan, Li Hongji, was standing in the hall. When he heard the movement, he turned around and said in surprise: "Father, great news! Great news. Look, this is a message from the Central Plains. Haha, Emperor Guo
Before the bones were cold, Empress Fu was unwilling to be lonely and went to the cholera palace with Luo Youdu. This was a message issued by the crown prince of the Zhou Dynasty, inviting all the princes from all over the world to challenge it. What's more, Luo Youdu actually usurped the Zhou Dynasty and established himself as the emperor. This was a golden opportunity...
…”
Li Jing turned a deaf ear and shouted angrily: "You are the prince of the country, how can you be so ignorant of etiquette?"
He didn't care about what Li Hongji said at all, he just cared about why Li Hongji didn't salute him when he came in.
This is also the reason why he dislikes and even hates Li Hongji the most.
He is not obedient at all, likes to make his own decisions, is self-righteous, and is not like himself at all.
Li Hongji reacted and quickly saluted and said hello.
"My son, please see your father!"
Li Jing nodded with satisfaction, sat down at the top, and said displeasedly: "You can't hide this kind of statement from a three-year-old child, but you actually believe it? I want you to have less contact with those warriors, don't be like them, just
Know how to use brute force."
Li Hongji bowed and replied: "Father, I don't believe it either. But whether you believe it or not is still a matter of our words. If we say we believe it, we will have reason to go north and regain the land of Jianghuai..."
"Damn it!"
Li Jing was furious in an instant, stood up in anger, and said angrily: "Do you want our Jiangnan Kingdom to eliminate the ancestral temple and exterminate the heirs? If we could recover Jianghuai, Jianghuai would not have been lost two years ago. Now if we talk about recovering Jianghuai, are we seeking death?"
Li Hongji said anxiously: "Father, now is the best time to regain Jianghuai. With this message in front, and Luo Youdu usurping the Zhou Dynasty in the back, the hearts of the Central Plains must be unstable. In addition, the Zhou Dynasty was too strong before, and Emperor Guo thought about it all day long.
Unification, the surrounding princes are all on guard, they will not miss this golden opportunity. The child thinks that we can contact Wuping, Bashu, Hedong, Khitan, and even the Dingnan Army and the Ganzhou Uighurs to take the opportunity to deal with the Central Plains and encircle the Central Plains
.At the same time, Emperor Guo had long been dissatisfied in order to suppress the vassal towns and confiscate the power of the governors from various places. The pressure from all directions came together, and internal turmoil reappeared. No matter how strong the Central Plains is, it will not escape the situation of destruction."
Li Jing was slightly moved when he heard this. He didn't want to fight, and the current situation was pretty good.
But there will be a little uneasiness in my heart from time to time. The Great Zhou Dynasty was fighting in the north and south, and even Youzhou was captured. There is no guarantee that they will not covet their Jiangnan...
"It's inappropriate, it's inappropriate. We can't be the leader. Luo Youdu's ability is no less than that of Guo Rong. It's better to just stand still."
Li Hongji's face was calm, as if he expected that his father would say this, and compromised: "We don't have to show off, we can just show off. Let Luo Youdu be attacked from both sides, and negotiate terms with him. We don't want Jianghuai, let alone Yangzhou. Let's put Taizhou
Just give it back to us..."
Li Jing's eyes widened, and he said without any hesitation: "Okay, let's do it!"
Taizhou is a very small place.
But there is a Hailing Salt Farm in the territory...
Jianghuai Salt Industry, No. 1 in Hailing.
Huge profits among huge profits.
Due to the obstruction of Wu and Yue, there was no salt produced in the south of the Yangtze River.
The salt of Dazhou is now stuck in the neck of Southern Tang Dynasty.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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