The mist wraps around the spruce trees, as gentle and lingering as a ribbon. The dewdrops soak into the petals, making them as crystal clear as gems.
The vegetation is lush, the mountain flowers are blooming, and the air is fresh, making you feel relaxed and happy every time you take a breath.
Shao Shude's eyes were focused on the lake.
The breeze blew, and ripples appeared on the lake. After a while, the golden sunshine fell, adding a sacred meaning to the lake.
The Huhan Sea was later called Jingbo Lake. The surface of the lake is like a mirror, which is appropriate.
"I really want to build a palace here and live here when I have nothing to do. There are mountains, forests, and water. The scenery is better than that of Shangyang Palace." Shao Shude sighed.
But it was just a sigh.
Without airplanes and high-speed rail, it is not easy to come here. Shao Shude always feels that this is his first time to Beijing, and it will probably be his last time. Who will build a palace to live in? It is better to live in Da Jinzhuan's house, sleep in his bed, and play
His wife beat his children.
"Your Majesty, the Shangyang Palace is exquisite and beautiful, but it cannot be compared to the rough Huhanhai." Chen Cheng said, "Each has its own merits."
Shangyang Palace is based on the natural landscape and artificially modified. It is actually a pretty good palace complex with water views. However, the congenital conditions are limited and cannot be compared with the miraculous craftsmanship of nature.
"Your Majesty is in a happy mood, so naturally you look beautiful wherever you look." Zhao Guangfeng said with a smile.
Shao Shude laughed loudly, how could he not be happy if he attacked and destroyed the enemy's country?
After laughing, he rode his horse up a gentle slope and looked at the columns of carriages and horses heading north.
From Huzhou to Bozhou, this area should be the middle reaches of the Huhan River (Mudanjiang). This river has more than thirty tributaries, large and small, with abundant water.
Due to volcanic eruptions, basalt blocked the river bed and formed the magnificent Huhan Sea.
The lake is shallow in the south and deep in the north, running northeast-southwest. The mountains on the west side are steeper, the mountains on the east side are relatively gentle, and the north side is a low and gentle platform area.
There are densely populated cities around the Huhan Sea, including county towns, military towns, and small villages made of earth and rocks. Some of them have been captured by the Xia army, some surrendered voluntarily, and some refused to surrender without fighting and defended themselves behind closed doors.
There is a strong sense of waiting and watching.
Mountain cities were densely built to block the main traffic roads and guard Shangjing in the north of Huhan. Unfortunately, the people guarding the mountain cities were not good enough, and most of them dispersed, allowing the Xia people who marched from south to north to easily advance to the gates of Shangjing.
Almost all the valleys in the mountains have been opened up to farmland, vegetable beds, and orchards. On the slightly gentler slopes, there are also people grazing cattle and sheep—well, it used to be the Bohai people grazing, but now it is the Xia Army auxiliary soldiers grazing.
Shao Shude lamented that the Bohai Sea is vast and sparsely populated, but the land utilization is sometimes crazy.
Well, actually it’s not their fault. There are defenders in the mountain city military village, so their families naturally have to live nearby, so they can only renovate the nearby hillsides and open up farmland.
Shao Shude walked up a little further, and when he raised his eyes to the north, he could already see the majestic Shangjing City in the distance.
Shangjing Longquan Prefecture is the most developed area in the Bohai State, with a large population and a prosperous economy. It governs eight counties: Yongning, Fuli, Changping, Fengshui, Fulo, Zuomu, Sushen and Yongping.
These eight counties, plus Bozhou in the north, are actually a basin surrounded by mountains.
The basin has abundant water resources and fertile soil. The Bohai people cultivated rice extensively and obtained sufficient food.
In fact, Shao Shude is very curious. What is the reason why the Fuyu people are so enthusiastic about rice that they plant it on a large scale in cold places? Compared with the Bohai Sea, the Central Plains, which has a warmer climate, widely cultivates millet and wheat. What is the difference between the two?
The difference is so huge that the only explanation is probably water resources.
Liaodong is indeed blessed with unique conditions in this regard.
On July 16th, Shao Shude arrived in the south of Shangjing City. Dozens of generals headed by Fu Cunshen and more than a hundred relatives from Bohai came to greet him.
Behind them were soldiers from various ministries standing solemnly in armor.
"We set out in March and destroyed the country in July. How magnificent are our men!" Shao Shude put on his military robe and rode his horse through every military formation.
"Long live my emperor!" The shouts of hundreds of thousands of people echoed in the valley and lasted for a long time.
Fortunately for Fu Cunshen and others, they were used to seeing battle formations and didn't think it was a big deal.
The officials, concubines, and palace people of Great Xia were also used to it, because their saint was a real soldier, and even they passively followed him and witnessed many big scenes.
The people who surrendered to the Bohai Sea, headed by Pei Zhuan, had earth-colored faces.
The stronger Xia Jun's momentum became, the more uneasy they became, because it meant that the chips in their hands were gradually depreciating.
Do the Bohai clan really have the bargaining power? Some people even whispered among themselves.
Pei Zhuo coughed slightly, and the buzzing stopped.
He had better luck. When the surrender was proposed, he went to the summer camp with many belongings. Because there were many things to be delivered and inspected, and many conditions to be negotiated, he was unable to return to Beijing in time. But just such a delay made him
He escaped death - the number one surrender faction. In the eyes of the Bohai war faction, is he still lucky?
Now that the main war faction has passed away, the capitulation faction has become the mainstream again. Pei Zhuan, as one of the few surviving high-level officials, has now become the leader of Bohai's demoted officials and generals.
"Don't give up on yourself, there is still a chance" Pei Zhuan secretly encouraged himself in his heart.
Shangjing City is finished, but Bohai has five capitals, fifteen prefectures, and three solo prefectures. It is a big place. Places like Dongping Prefecture, Nanhai Prefecture, Tieli Prefecture, Shuibin Prefecture, etc. still need their help.
People are afraid of not having value. Da Xiazi is a smart person, and he can definitely see their value, and that is enough.
After completing the review, Shao Shude rode his horse back to the front of the formation. Looking at the demoted generals, he said: "If you can abandon the darkness and turn to the light, open the city and ask for surrender, you will be out of the way, sincerely doing good, and there will be no question of past crimes. But if you can
If you want to be rich, you have to do something."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and said one after another. Pei Zhuo secretly speculated in his heart.
Lord Xia's attitude was lukewarm. He neither enthusiastically recruited them nor blamed them excessively. Why was this?
Pei Zhuan was secretly worried. It seemed like he had to put in more effort. He still had some old connections with the Shubin Mansion, so he had to make good use of them.
******
The city of Shangjing has been cleaned up.
Especially focusing on the palace city, the guards and soldiers searched it several times to ensure that nothing was missed.
When the vast emperor's guard of honor entered the city, everyone in Bohai knew that a new conqueror had arrived.
They hid behind the door of their house fearfully, not daring to take a peep.
A few days ago, the whole city was raided and countless people were arrested. Many of them were members of the Six Bureaus and Nine Lords, as well as members of aristocratic families. Seeing that these people who used to be high and mighty were reduced to dust, everyone felt complicated.
.
On the one hand, they felt an indescribable pleasure in the plight of the nobles and rich people.
On the other hand, the feeling of sadness that the breeding rabbit died and the fox arose in my heart.
After all, if the country is subjugated, everyone's situation will become worse, not just the wealthy families. The fate of ordinary people like them also hangs in the balance.
On this day, several people committed suicide in despair, most of them were old scholars of the Hanlin Academy. They had studied the Central Plains for two hundred years and had a heartfelt admiration for the Huanghuang Celestial Dynasty. However, the soldiers and generals from heaven came to kill them and killed them.
When the country they lived in perished, these people became disillusioned and their lifelong beliefs collapsed.
But no matter what the Bohai people think, it can't change the fact. The long river of history is rolling forward, and everyone is just an inconspicuous splash in this river.
On the 17th, Shao Shude held a court meeting in the Taiji Hall. At the meeting, the decision to appease the remaining prefectures and counties in the Bohai Sea was made. This was the specialty of demoted generals, and it was also their only opportunity to make meritorious deeds at this stage.
In addition to persuading surrender, Shao Shude also made preparations for conquest.
Meng Zhixiang has already counted the goods in the surplus treasury of Bohai Sea. There are 190,000 coins of "Kaiyuan Tongbao", more than 1,000 coins of Japanese currency, and even thousands of coins of "Jianji Tongbao" minted after the founding of Daxia.
It's also amazing - the Bohai Kingdom is rich in copper and once exported a large amount to the Tang Dynasty. However, they did not mint their own currency. They mainly used copper coins made in the Tang Dynasty, plus rice, silk, fur, gold and silverware and other items. The currency system was similar to that of the former Tang Dynasty.
.
In addition to copper coins, there were more than 310,000 pieces of cloth.
This "cloth" is a general term, including Central Plains silk, Bohai tussah silk, and white cloth (linen) - in history, the Khitan destroyed Bohai and established the Dongdan Kingdom. Dongdan white cloth was one of the tributes. There were more than 40,000 furs.
Furs come in different sizes, styles, categories, and prices vary greatly, so you need to make a good estimate.
In Beiyuan and Xiyuan, there are also many pigs and sheep, which are also valuables.
As for gold and silverware, pearls, works of art, etc., they need to be valued slowly, and it is difficult to calculate clearly in a short period of time.
Overall, the harvest is still very great.
This is still the surplus treasury in the palace. There are still some goods in the government treasury, state treasury, and county treasury, but not much. It is said that they are all used to purchase military supplies and recruit soldiers. This part needs to be tortured and plundered a lot.
, let the surrender soldiers spit it out.
The wealth in the surplus treasury is actually enough for two military rewards. Currently, a batch has been distributed as a reward for conquering the Bohai Kingdom. Later, we have to dig deeper into the potential of the Bohai family and the treasuries of various places to try to get out the money.
More goods will cover part of the cost of sending troops.
The warriors who had received the reward naturally had high morale and were eager to send troops to clear out the remaining enemies.
Shao Shude made it clear to Pei Zhuo and others that if he did not want the people of the Bohai Sea to suffer disaster, it would be best to persuade state officials to take the initiative to surrender.
This was a threat, but it was also a truth, and Pei Zhuan naturally understood it.
After the matter of recruiting and surrendering the Bohai people was decided, another matter was also brought to the forefront, that is, what to do about Heishui Mohe?
These people were personally summoned by Shao Shude to cooperate with the Xia army to attack the Bohai Sea from the north and the south.
But Shao Shude did not expect that the war would go so smoothly, and Bohai would be destroyed in a few months. If he had known this, he might not have incited the Blackwater Five to go south.
Things still need to be faced. Now the five Blackwater troops are heading south in a big way, grabbing so much land, and it seems that men, women and children are coming together, with the idea of occupying the Bohai people's land.
What attitude should the Great Xia court use towards its "allies" was a question. On the 18th, Shao Shude moved to Jingxiyuan and held a Yanying Questionnaire on a small island in the middle of the river to discuss this matter.