"Stop." An old command sounded from inside the carriage.
The driver skillfully stopped the carriage.
Liu Chongwang got off the carriage and looked around.
It was quiet all around, with not a breath of wind. It was very cold, and there was white vapor everywhere.
Liu Chongwang shook off the hand that his entourage was trying to hold and walked leisurely to the roadside.
There are several locust trees on the roadside, which are bare. There is a bird's nest in the tree, but there is nothing inside. Maybe they have gone south to spend the winter.
There is a deep ditch dug under the locust tree, extending straight into the distance.
There was water in the canal, and a thick layer of ice formed on the surface.
Opposite the canal are ridges of flat land.
The land is divided into three parts. One part is a messy fallow land with nothing on it; one part is planted with turnips, which are green and pleasant to look at; the other part is a wheat field, with green wheat seedlings standing tenaciously.
In the remaining snow, as long as the winter is over, they can grow quickly and bring people the joy of harvest in summer.
"It's Juntian? I've always heard that there are few people in Guanbei, so why would you want to come to this place in Henan?" Liu Chongwang looked at it for a while and saw something.
It turned out that each household's sixty acres was marked, which made him feel very novel.
The land in Guanzhong is narrow and densely populated. In the past, since the Sui Dynasty, there were only twenty acres per acre. Now it is hard to say that the poor have no place to stand, and the rich are criss-crossed. But overall, it is not stronger than the previous dynasty.
The equalization of land was the source of the Northern Dynasty's strength.
The Northern Zhou Dynasty released all the slaves and equalized the land for the people. The Northern Qi also equalized the land, but it was not thorough and there were still a large number of slaves. Not to mention the Southern Dynasty, under the rule of aristocratic families, tribes lived like slaves.
The Han dynasty was not as good to the Han people as the Hu dynasty was to the Han people. I have to say it is a huge irony.
We are all struggling to survive. The barbarians gave me land and were not allowed to keep slaves. Why should I fight to the death for your Han family? Am I so cheap that I want to rush up and become a member of your family?
This alone determines the outcome.
"Prime Minister Liu is very elegant." Wang Tuan, the minister of household affairs, also came over, looked at the farmland undulating with the mountains, and said with a smile: "There are too many people in Huazhou, and it is normal for the people to be willing to go to Henan. More
What's more, more than half of the people in Huazhou are originally from Henan. They fled in the past and would be happy to return now that they have the opportunity. Life in Hengshan Dangxiang is not easy either. There are few fields and many people in the mountains, and the harvest is not good. Henan Prefecture is now no different from the white land.
Shao Shude divided the fields for them, so naturally everyone was grateful."
"I didn't think of it for a moment, but it made Wang Shilang laugh." Liu Chongwang smiled and said.
In front of the land, the people cannot resist the temptation. Even if they leave their hometown, they will not hesitate.
In the early years of the Republic of China, athletes were recruited to guard Helong. It was because of the land grant that many people were attracted to migrate there. Among them, there were even "Athletes of the Long March" who set out from the distant Qingzhou, which is amazing.
"Xiang Liu is from Luoyang. Are you going to visit Luoyang this time?" Wang Tuan asked.
"I won't go. After becoming an official, we will be at home all over the world." Liu Chongwang said with a wry smile: "We don't have many relatives and friends in Luoyang anymore, so why are we going there?"
Being at home all over the world is indeed a portrayal of officials and sergeants in this era.
Scholars came from all over the world to study in Chang'an.
In order to get some rewards, the sergeant went to various towns to serve as soldiers.
During Zhu Quanzhong's uprising, he went to Shaanxi and Guozhou to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers, and to Ziqing to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers. The Cai people of Huaixi traveled all over the world, and Cai soldiers and Cai generals could be seen in every town.
The 150,000 Shuofang army includes at least 40,000 to 50,000 people from Henan, 20,000 to 30,000 people from Hebei, 20,000 people from Hedong, Xingyuan, and Guanzhong, plus a large number of people from Lingxia, Helong, Fan, and Han.
Most of Shuofang Town's most powerful field military machines are outsiders, non-Lingxia people, and not even from the northwest. It has to be said that it is outrageous.
Perhaps, this is recruiting soldiers.
"When I was in Chang'an, I heard that Shu De was a good businessman. I think the county was just established this year, and it actually recruited people to work on it. After the wheat harvest next year, there will be a lot of food and grass."
"Prime Minister Liu, having too much food and grass is not a good thing for the court." Wang Tuan looked worried.
The Minister of Hubu was born to be involved in financial planning. Once Shao and Zhu started fighting, the court would be overwhelmed.
Isn't the reason why they came here just to supervise the transfer of goods? But now the river has frozen, so they can only go by land, and the cost has increased sharply.
Fortunately, Shao Shude promised not to use the court's watercraft next year. Even if a war broke out, it would not affect the transfer of money and grain to the court.
This alone made Wang Tuan's affection for him greatly increase. He had no choice but to rely on others!
In the final analysis, the money and food in Guanzhong is not enough to support a capital city.
In the eighth year of Tianbao, the amount of millet stored in the warehouses in various roads varied. Henan Road had 22 million dendrobium, Hebei Road had more than 21 million dendrobium, Hedong Road had more than 11 million dendrobium, Guannai Road had more than 8 million dendrobium, Longyou Road had 3.5 million dendrobium, and Shannan Road had 3.5 million dendrobium. 10,000 dendrobium, Jiannan Road has 2 million dendrobium, and Huainan, Jiangnan, and Lingnan Road only have more than 1 million, which is too poor and remote.
Nowadays, Hebei, which has not been in war for many years and is densely populated, is even more popular. It is estimated that the population accounts for 30% of the country and the wealth accounts for 40%, far exceeding Henan, let alone other places. During the reign of Emperor Dezong, Huainan was transported , two million shi from the south of the Yangtze River were sent to the capital, but the actual cost was only 400,000 shi, but a town in Youzhou casually "rewarded" the imperial court with 500,000 shi.
It's a pity that the amount of money offered depends entirely on your own mood, and there is nothing you can do about it, so you have to search for Jiangnan, a poor place that you didn't even look at before.
"Yes, with more food and grass, Shao Shude will have more energy to go to war with Zhu Quanzhong." Liu Chongwang laughed, but his smile was a bit bitter.
"Who can win, Prime Minister Liu, Shu De or Quan Zhong?" Wang Tuan asked in a low voice when he saw that his followers were still far away.
Liu Chongwang pondered for a long time and then said: "It's hard to say. Quanzhong covers more than ten states in the Central Plains, as well as Wei Boluo Hongxin. King Chengde sent him money. The money and food he earned in a year should be more than twice that of Shude. Human beings also There are more people than him, and there are not so many troublesome things like Tibetan tribes, which are easy to manage. The people of Henan are fierce and good at fighting, and water transportation extends in all directions. If Shude is not supported by trade in the Western Regions, and there are towns to support Chang'an, he will definitely not be able to compare with Quanzhong. , it is certain that he will be destroyed. However, if Shu De holds a place with tangible victory, if he does not make big mistakes and constantly weakens Quan Zhong, the result will be hard to say. And there is also Li Keyong, whoever wins Hebei will win the world, and Keyong will succeed. De, how can Quanzhong not be anxious? Alas, these two people are afraid that they will destroy Hebei."
"Let's not talk about it anymore. It's not good for either of them to win. It's better to win without losing." Liu Chongwang waved his hand and said, "Let's go and see the scenery of Xiao County under Shao Shude's rule."
Liu Chongwang realized the nature and took the lead to walk along the canal.
A village loomed in the distance. It was dilapidated and the signs of repair were very obvious. Liu Chongwang guessed that this was a village that used to belong to the people of Henan Prefecture. After the people dispersed, it was occupied by newcomers.
"Kill!" A uniform cry came from the village.
Liu Chongwang was shocked, and Wang Tuan also changed his expression. Looking carefully, he saw that dozens of people were practicing.
They held a crudely made wooden spear and formed a decent formation under the command of the warrior.
There were some haystacks at the entrance of the village, which were full of arrows, which frightened the two of them.
"Who?" A middle-aged man holding a horse came out of the village and asked.
Liu Chongwang stopped his entourage who was about to speak and said: "We are officials from the Shaanzhou Transportation Institute. We are ordered by the saint to supervise the water transportation and patrol along the way."
"Saint?" The man was a little confused: "Isn't it Marshal Shao? On patrol under the orders of the Marshal?"
Liu Chongwang: "..."
He suddenly thought of Hebei and Huaixi.
During the Tianbao period, people in Hebei heard more about the two saints An and Shi. Even after the rebellion was put down, the people in the three towns of Heshuo still "popularly called Lushan and Siming the two saints."
The people in Huaixi don't know what the imperial court is at all, and they haven't known who the saint is for decades. "The Cai people have been stubborn and ignorant of the distinction between superior and inferior for decades. I hope the public will show it to the emperor and let him know the dignity of the imperial court."
The reputation of a saint is getting harder and harder to use!
The Huazhou people who moved to Wei County may still know about the imperial court and the saints, but do those Qiang and Hu people only have "Shao Sheng" in their eyes?
If it reaches this point, it seems that the righteous title is of little use.
Liu Chongwang was a little disappointed, and Wang Tuan was also a little dull.
It hurts your self-esteem! How can a saint from Chang'an be like a saint from Lingzhou?
The drills in the village are still going on.
On such a cold day, steam is rising from the heads of the Tutuan villagers. Some of them have just grown their hair recently. It is obvious that they were party members in the past. They all look stupid. But they have a fierce and savage temperament.
The strength was high, and the superiority and inferiority were clearly distinguished. Anyone who did not practice well would immediately kneel on the ground and be whipped fiercely by the whip, but he did not dare to resist.
The awe of the enemy has penetrated deep into his bones.
There are still women cutting grass in the village.
Bundles of hay were collected and loaded onto wagons, probably destined for somewhere else.
"Alas! Brother is right." Liu Chongwang sighed and had no more words.
The eldest brother, Liu Chonggui, left Guangzhou and served as the military governor of the Qing Dynasty. He has sent back several letters to his family. He spends his days expressing his love for the mountains and rivers. Occasionally, when the mood strikes, he inspects the place, looks at the farmland and water conservancy, breaks down old cases, or communicates with others.
Foreign businessmen seem to be very relaxed and relaxed when they come into contact with each other.
Liu Chongwang was already marginalized by Wei Zhaodu and Cui Zhaowei in the court. He had little real power, and now he didn't even want to work hard.
In fact, Wang Tuan was also a smart man, and he was also very disappointed with the court, but he still couldn't look away, and even thought about being addicted to the prime minister.
Is it interesting? It's better to find a place in another town and become a military governor.
On the way back, they encountered a large group of cavalry.
The chariot driver stepped aside and let the cavalrymen, who were leading their horses on foot, go first.
The general's flag has two sides, one embroidered with "Tuoba" and the other with "Qibi". Tuoba went northeast and Qibi went west, but they parted ways here.
Tuoba Renfu! Qibizhang!
Liu Chongwang remembered these two names in an instant.
He was not very familiar with Tuoba Renfu, but this name was included in the list of Wusan ranks reported by Shao Shude. Tuoba Renfu was "General Dingyuan" and Qibizhang was "General Yunhui".
Looking at the direction Tuoba Renfu left, could it be that he crossed the river north and headed to the east of Hedong?
What are you doing? Looting Zelu and Jinyang? You can't, right?
I didn't see any of them counting horses. They only had one horse and they had to walk. How could they loot?
"It must be used to help defeat Hebei." Wang Tuan hit the nail on the head.