"It's all silk and silk from the middle of Shu. It seems that the land of Shu must be very rich. If we can get it, grain may not be transported northward, but tea and silk can be transported northward in large quantities, which can support many soldiers." Wang Jianji
I didn't have a penny in my pocket, but I still squeezed in the crowd and looked at the pieces of silk.
I have to say that it was an eye-opener for him.
He knew that there was a big difference between silk and silk. For example, Shu brocade, a multi-layered fabric woven with colorful silk threads, was very valuable. But now he knew even more that Shu brocade of the same material and size was different because of the exquisite patterns.
The differences and prices vary greatly.
Li Hanzhi gave everyone silk as a reward, but it was coarse silk, and he didn't know where it was produced. It was a bit like the local miscellaneous silk he saw in Suizhou, which sold for three hundred yuan a piece, and it didn't have any patterns.
, can it be compared with the Shu brocade embroidered with flowers, trees, deer, fighting sheep, flying phoenixes, coiling dragons, celestial horses, warding off evil spirits, mushrooms and other patterns?
After passing the Silian Line, there is a wine shop with flags and flags fluttering. There are all kinds of wines. Cypress leaf wine, chrysanthemum wine, osmanthus wine, Tusu wine, medicinal wine, wine, etc., can all be seen. Wang Jianji was a little confused.
, Henan is no longer allowed to make wine, and Xia Sui heard that the grain production is not abundant, so how come there are so many wineries?
But when he saw many people coming to buy wine, he realized everything.
The bitter cold in the northwest makes it difficult to survive without drinking some wine. Especially these grassland herdsmen, once they have tasted the benefits of wine, they will bring their cattle and sheep over to exchange for wine.
Of course, some people exchange honey for wine. Honey is a specialty of the grassland, and Wang Jianji also knew about it for the first time.
The soil honey on the grassland is green and white in color, rich and delicious. It is similar to the wood honey collected from the trees. They are both high-quality honey. The worse honey is cliff honey, which is collected from the rocks in the mountains. It is green and red in color and makes you feel uncomfortable eating it.
Its bees are black like flies.
Why are there so many grassland people doing business? Are the grassland people in Xiazhou already used to coming here to trade?
If you form a habit, will you still fight against the border? If you can't survive on the grassland, you will go to work in the city of Xiazhou, or simply go to fight for your life. This may be a major reason why Xiazhou is relatively stable, right?
Wang Jianji can understand these Tibetan people. You have to show them a way to survive. The Tibetan people also know the risk of rebelling against the invaders. The possibility of losing their heads is 80%. So if there is a white disaster this year, or there is not enough pasture, the grassland will be raised.
If you don't want to live with those people, you can go south to the cities of the Han people. Porters, lizi, sweepers, and stickmen can always find a job to make a living.
With this way of survival, even the Tibetan people would not rebel against the border troops. No one is born that low and loves to fight and kill.
Even Yang Shihou is not that mean!
Wang Jianji recalled the two hundred cavalrymen from Datong Horse Racing that he had seen before. They were all party members on the Youzhou grassland. Were they also recruited to work at the horse racing business in the year of disaster?
This is actually a way. When the grassland is not plentiful and the disaster is severe, some people are recruited into the army. I heard that their warriors were also selected into the Zhongyongdu. They would also recruit soldiers in normal wars, and many people died.
, if we raise more people in the city, we won’t be able to rebel even if we want to.
No wonder the Xiazhou grassland is so peaceful. I just don’t know how the grasslands in other places are like. It should not be as good as Xiazhou’s, but it can still have some effect.
The Prince of Lingwu County is very good at controlling the Tibetan people. I don’t know how he gained the trust of the Tibetan people in the first place. This is actually the most difficult thing.
There are various other shops in the city, including tea, rice, oil and salt, and even several brothels, where there are prairie girls.
Xiazhou city is ten miles around. Although it is not as good as Bianzhou, there are tens of thousands of yamen soldiers living inside and outside who are well fed and paid. The money is still very easy for these empty-minded uncles, so the market is very prosperous.
More than thirty counties in ten states support one city, what a grand scene!
Wang Jianji walked around in a big circle, but he had no money in his pocket and didn't want to continue walking, for fear that he would be tempted to rob.
He led the horse out of the city and quickly returned to the camp.
Fu Cunshen was standing on a war tower in the camp, looking at the densely packed blacksmith shops under Dongguo of Xiazhou. He didn't even look back when Wang Jianji came over.
“There are so many blacksmith shops, and the fires are not extinguished all night long, how many tools can be made?” Wang Jianji praised: “I have never seen so many shops in Huaixi, and Qin Zongquan took them away, or they are in Bianzhou City.”
Li Hanzhi and Zhang Quanyi were fleeing from east to west in Henan, and life was very difficult. Not only were there insufficient money and food, but there were also not enough ordnance. Sometimes before the battle, the sergeants had to find ways to repair the equipment themselves. Shooting a few rounds of arrows before the battle was almost the same.
How can we fight a war if our reserves are used up?
"Even if there are so many craftsmen in Heyang, they can't hold it. The city wall is low and cramped, how can it accommodate so many blacksmith shops?" Fu Cunshen looked back and said: "Xiazhou City is so big, there are too many blacksmith shops.
Outside the city. Even if Marshal Li has craftsmen, would he dare to put them outside the city?"
Wang Jianji shook his head.
This is the difficulty of not having a stable rear. Li Keyong’s craftsmen are all in Jinyang, Taiyuan and Hedong. They can safely produce in the rear and supply the front. The same is true in Xiazhou, with many dangerous passes in Hengshan.
, it is difficult to fight from south to north. There is a big river in the east, and the water in that section is very fast. Let’s not talk about whether it freezes in winter. Even if it does, it is very thin and brittle and cannot pass through the army. This is also the advantage of its shape.
.
"Xiazhou, the only thing that may be short of food is food. If we can solve this problem, we can really advance, retreat or defend. I went to Lingzhou to meet the Lingwu County Prince and see how he arranges it. If I can become a deputy general, this day will be a happy one.
It's better to do it properly than to keep running around here and there."
"It's best to leave these Cai soldiers under our command and bring them to familiarity. Even if they are new soldiers, they can be put to good use if they practice a little more and fight a few times." Wang Jianji was now full of thoughts of joining the army.
, every time he thought of the colorful silks and satins in the silk shop, his heart became so eager that he couldn't help himself.
A man who doesn’t want fame and wealth? In this world, warriors work hard and want to sell it for a good price. Li Hanzhi’s price is too low, and his reputation is not good, so it is better to sell it to the prince of Lingwu County.
The refugee army rested in Xiazhou for three days.
Fu Cunshen never left the military camp. The Cai soldiers were eager to go to the city, but he scolded them.
Three days later, we will continue our journey, in units of 1,000 households, heading westward one by one, still moving along the Wuding River.
Along the way, they saw the grand scenery of wind-blown grass and low cattle and sheep, and also saw the peaceful villages where fields were worked in the day and hemp was planted at night. The people were herding and plowing, and there were many Han and Han people, and everything was in good order.
There was an endless stream of carriages and horses on the road. The party members drove their livestock to the market to sell them when they were fat and strong, while the Han caravans went deep into the grasslands loaded with tea, wine, fabrics, ironware, and grains to earn huge profits.
Every time an army of seven thousand refugees arrived, it inevitably caused a huge sensation.
The soldiers of Cai held their heads high and did not want to be underestimated. The people of Heyang and Zezhou lamented repeatedly, don't leave anymore, just settle down here. Further west, God knows where, if it is a hell on earth like Henan
, what are you doing there? Are you going to be eaten by others?
Excuse me, the officials in Yanzhou and Yanzhou are salivating when they see the people.
There are really too few Han people in these two places and four counties.
There are currently only 1,200 households in the two counties of Yuzhou, more than 6,600 Han residents, and only about 600 hectares of farmland.
Youzhou is indeed suitable for grazing, but to be honest, 600 hectares of arable land is too little! A few years ago, the commander-in-chief ordered to clean up the Wuding River tributary system at the junction of Xia and Youzhou. As a result, after Lingzhou was conquered, the project was stopped.
After the war, the land that was sorted out was very little, and all of it was incorporated into military farms.
Yanzhou is better than Yuzhou, with more than 2,000 households and more than 10,000 Han people. But Zhengzhou has less than 13,000 Han people, which is really too shocking.
These two prefectures and four counties are extremely hungry for Han people who can farm, but the shogunate ignores them at all. Officials in the two prefectures even speculated whether all the official documents submitted were thrown away as waste paper by the people of the Yingtian Department.
?
Compared with them, Lingzhou is another extreme! The commander-in-chief reported to the court, please set up two counties of Yuan and Feng'an, and changed Lingzhou from six counties to eight counties. Then a large number of people poured in, and the money and food of the shogunate also went to
This side is tilted. In just a few years, the number of registered residents has increased significantly, business has gradually improved, and it has become the number one state in trouble. How can this not be annoying!
Fu Cunshen watched silently along the way. In his opinion, many places could be used for farming, but they were all abandoned and covered with grass. Occasionally, some women or children would drive cattle and sheep over to graze, but
There are so many wild meadows, how can we eat them all?
This will definitely make it difficult for the states. If you give them another ten or twenty years, the population and the number of cattle and sheep can increase a lot. Families with more wealth can raise some horses, and the number of people who can ride horses will also increase.
Once there is a war, the general recruits troops, and the people ride horses and drive carriages, fill them with grain and fodder, and drive a large herd of cattle and sheep, which can last for several years.
Fu Cunshen had never heard of the term war potential, but he understood the meaning. It could be seen that the Dingnan states had made a good start and had been for several years. If they were given another ten years, they would develop to
To what extent? Twenty years?
This is just the normal rate of development. What if there is accelerated development? For example, the seven thousand households he brought here from Heyang and Zezhou.
These seven thousand households are basically ordinary households. I heard that the king of Lingwu County was recruiting tens of thousands of soldiers in Henan, and a considerable number of the family members of the sergeants also wanted to go to Lingxia. Datong Horse Company recruited refugees and even spent money to buy them.
Even if we don't go to extreme lengths, we can get thousands of households in a year, right?
People are flowing in rapidly, and food, cattle and sheep are increasing day by day. This is all strength! Originally, there are strong soldiers and war horses in the northwest. What is missing is just wealth and food. If they are allowed to make up for this link, wait for Kanto.
When the general came to his senses, he was afraid that the situation would be too great to control.
On the land of Henan, Qin Zongquan is still wreaking havoc, and the generals are still fighting back and forth. Hebei is slightly better, but they are also gritting their teeth to provide money, food, war horses and even soldiers to support Meng Fangli and Helianduo in their fight against Hedong Li Keyong. Yue
The more we fight, the poorer we are, and the more we fight, the fewer people we fight. In the end, I’m afraid everything will be destroyed!
I am on the side of Lingwu County King, which is very good.
On the eighth day of September, after traveling along the post road for more than 20 days, the refugee army arrived to the east of Huile County, Lingzhou, and set up camp here.
Li Shao heard the news and crossed the river in person to comfort him.
Looking at the Heyang and Zezhou households with dusty faces, Li Shao smiled happily.
In the past four years, Lingzhou's household registration has gradually become more abundant, and the cultivated land has increased from more than 5,000 hectares at the beginning to more than 11,400 hectares. This is not enough! Just one Huile County, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty and the Guo Dynasty excavated
Irrigation canals can irrigate more than 10,000 hectares of farmland. How much has been used now?
Since the Qin Dynasty, 300,000 people have been sent to build canals. In the third year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there was a flood in Shandong, and "many people were hungry". The poor people of Shandong moved to Shuofang, with "more than 700,000 people", and another major canal was built.
The "violent canal digging" of these two dynasties left a rich legacy to later generations. Even in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Hu regime that occupied this area could not stand the temptation of canal irrigation and actually farmed! For example, the bald Wu Gu in Nanliang
During his reign, a large number of Hu people were engaged in farming and mulberry farming, and a large number of Hu people abandoned herding and started farming. Together with a large number of Han farmers, the farming civilization in Lingzhou and Hetao still existed tenaciously.
The old canals left over from the Qin and Han Dynasties underwent large-scale repairs and expansion during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and were inherited by the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Sui Dynasty and this dynasty. Li Shao felt that the commander-in-chief's plan to support 50,000 households and 300,000 people in Lingzhou was
It can definitely be achieved. The old canals are still there. You don’t need to dig them. You just need to clean them a little and dredge them. Some of them don’t even need to be dredged!
There is no shortage of fields or canals, but there is a shortage of people!
Even if the tens of thousands of people in Heyang and Zezhou are divided in half with the Hewei states, they can still get more than 3,000 households, which is excellent.
The Li family and the king of Lingwu County have been tied together. Li Shao's two sons, one is the county magistrate of Suide County, Suizhou, and the other is the county magistrate of Jinhe County, Zhenwu Army. He also worked hard for the wealth of his children and grandchildren.
Yes, there must be results, and the commander-in-chief must feel that his hard work has paid off.
Farming is the easiest place to get results!
"Prince Lingwu is leading the cavalry and leopard cavalry to Lingzhou. They will arrive in a few days. I have brought some grain, wine and meat. You can rest for a few days and then you can see Prince Lingwu."
Li Shao said to the managers of more than a hundred households: "You have traveled thousands of miles to come here. I am deeply moved. From today on, you can settle down. There is a lot of land in the eight counties of Lingzhou! There are no Tibetan people."
In the border area, you can rest assured to cultivate the land and multiply."
“Lingzhou is our new home from now on!”
Several sail blades floated on the river in the distance.
On both sides of the river, there are fields that have just been harvested, and stacks of wheat can be seen everywhere.
Farmers carried hoes and walked beside the gurgling small water channel, with smiles on their faces.
Farther away, under the white clouds on the horizon, there are green pines and cypresses, and green trees. Herdsmen drive cattle and sheep, and their high-pitched songs startle the geese returning south.
“This new home seems pretty good too.” Fu Cunshen smiled brightly: “It’s much better than Henan.”