When the frost came, Xuzhou had just finished harvesting grain.
It's a little late, but there's nothing we can do about it. This spring, a large number of husbands have been sent away, either to work as Tuan Tuan peasants or as laborers. At home, they can only rely on old and weak women and children to farm the fields. The efficiency is a bit low. It wasn't until the mainstay came back that they hurriedly grabbed it.
Plowing completed.
The common people were very afraid of the warriors, but they had to go out to collect grain, otherwise the grain would rot in the ground and they would die sooner or later.
Qibizhang sat on a tree stump with a golden sword, watching the soldiers go from house to house to collect grain.
There are still people in the fields doing the final harvest.
A ragged woman walked by slowly, holding a baby in her left hand, a bamboo basket in her hand, and a handful of wheat ears in her right hand.
It seemed that the man in the family had died or escaped, and they had lost their backbone. The mother and son had no food and clothing, and could only survive by picking up wheat ears left by others in the fields.
There were people crying not far away. Xuzhou had not long been stable. Uncle Cong had just levied taxes. The Xia people and the Yan people came and levied taxes again. All the money and food at home had been lost and taxed!
Qibizhang had an expressionless face. He had spent half his life fighting and killing. Even his nephew Ba Yegu was beheaded by him because he was not doing well in the battle. He had long been as hard-hearted as stone.
In his opinion, the counties in Xuzhou are more difficult...
First, there was the seven-year-long Liang-Xu War. A large number of people in Xuzhou died or fled. They have returned one after another in the past two years, but there are only more than 200,000 people in Xuzhou.
This time we were raided by them again. The casualties were minimal, but the local food and property losses were huge.
The Feilong Army has more than 8,000 soldiers and 18,900 horses, mules and donkeys. With such a huge appetite, even if they don't kill people randomly, they just go from county to county and collect grain to satisfy their own consumption, which will cause great damage to the local area.
is huge.
Many people are already selling their belongings, cattle, and fields, and then taking their families with them to flee south to Si, Hao, Shou, Chu and other prefectures.
Zhu Quanzhong spent two years painstakingly renovating Xuzhou's water conservancy, roads, and warehouses, but it seems that their utility has been greatly reduced. Without the people, all this would have been in vain!
"Military envoy, the new soldiers have been recruited. There are two thousand in total. They are all strong and powerful people." An aide came to report.
"I got it." Qi Binzhang waved his hand to show that he heard.
It was his idea to recruit new soldiers in Xuzhou.
Xuzhou has a good source of soldiers and martial arts training is popular. When Pang Xun returned to Xuzhou, many silver swords hidden in the countryside were defeated and bandits joined the army, which greatly boosted his reputation.
Not long after Zhu Quanzhong took control of Xu, his power had not yet penetrated into every corner of Xuzhou. The Jiedushi envoy Zhang Tingfan he appointed was a good hand at resuming production, but he was a scholar after all, and he was not very good at cleaning up and intimidating the local area. In addition, the local garrison was mobilized in large numbers.
When we go to Shouzhou to fight, it is understandable that there will be unrest in the area.
The sound of armor leaves clattering was heard, and Zhu Jin, who was wearing a helmet and shaking armor, came over and urged: "General Qibi, it's time to leave."
"Sit down, Marshal Zhu. I have something to say to you." Qibizhang asked someone to bring a futon, pointed at it, and said with a smile.
Zhu Jin was a little confused and asked: "What's the matter?"
"I wonder what Zhu Shuai thinks of King Xia?" Qibi Zhang asked.
"Not bad." Zhu Jin said lightly.
Qi Banzhang laughed loudly and said: "Zhu Shuai is indeed a hero, but do you know that under the general situation, it is difficult to save it with manpower?"
Zhu Jin's expression changed.
"My brother no longer wants to conflict with Zhu Quanzhong, or he may have made peace privately. I also saw that Zhu Shuai was still willing to fight with the Liang thieves, so I tried to persuade him and said some words that spoke from my heart." Qibizhang said:
"Back then, I was just a chieftain in Yinshan Mountain. I conquered Li Guochang and his son with meritorious deeds and gained control of the military. I don't like to give orders to one party. I am so powerful that I can only do it myself? No. In fact, the situation is like this. I have to bow my head in order to save the family. This is
Descendants are plotting. Zhu Shuai and the Xia king have more than ten people under their control and 500,000 troops. The whole loyalty can be destroyed overnight. If not, if we take advantage of this opportunity and join the Xia king, we will not lose our wealth."
Zhu Jin snorted coldly and said: "Since the difficult times, there have been many vassal towns. The emperor ordered the generals to guard one area and passed the land to the descendants for a hundred and forty years. Does the King of Xia want to make enemies of all the warriors in the world?"
Qi Bizhang smiled again and said: "Well, everyone has his own ambitions. Zhu Shuai has fought side by side with me these days and killed many thieves. He also provided food, grass, medicine for wounds, arrows and equipment, and searched for horses and mules. He has done a great job. The grudges between the kings of Xia
It is clear that in the future...well, this alone can preserve the family's wealth."
Zhu Jin's expression changed after hearing this, but he still sneered and said: "A warrior, let the knife in your hand speak. If I kill Liang people, I can also kill Xia people. How can I talk too much?"
Qibizhang was choked by Zhu Jin and suddenly felt a little bored, so he asked: "Today we will collect food and grass and restore our horse power. Shishu Cong has been mobilized. I want to go straight to Suzhou tomorrow, will you go?"
Zhu Jin hesitated for a moment, then said: "Why don't you dare?"
He brought more than 2,000 cavalry out, and there were relatives and brothers guarding the Taining army in the states. It was expected that there would be no serious problems. The more they stirred up trouble in the hinterland of the Liang people, the less able the Liang people were to deal with Yanzhou with all their strength. In this regard, he still
It will be calculated.
Qi Banzhang laughed heartily.
Aren't you fighting for the King of Xia? Zhu Jin is brave and ruthless, but in the overall situation he is not as good as his cousin Zhu Xuan.
This man is nothing to worry about!
…
Du Guangyi hurried to Puzhou.
He was dressed like a scholar, his face was tired, and his horse was panting.
There were several followers behind him, all of whom were experts from Tingwangsi or Datong Horse Racing, but they were also very tired.
Wei Boluo Hongxin is quite interesting.
He resolutely did not allow Xia Jun to cross the border, but he turned a blind eye to private transactions and refused to stop them.
This kind of grassroots operation is in line with Wei Bo's temperament of jumping up and down repeatedly. He is in the cracks of the three major forces and wants to survive. If he is not shabby, his face is nothing!
After entering the city, they did not rush to contact Shaolun's people. Instead, they first found a restaurant to eat and drink. After the sky darkened and there were few pedestrians on the street, they quietly came to contact them.
After Shao Lun, who was over forty years old, read the "letter from home", his face suddenly lit up and he smiled and said: "Doctor Du, it's quite hard for General Liu to come all the way. You two are all talented people under my father's command, so you should be treated well.
Let's do this, I'll send people to prepare a banquet, find some prostitutes to accompany you, and let's all have a good time together."
"Thank you Shao Shijun for your kindness." Du Guangyi and Liu Sandou thanked him together.
Du Guangyi had a ministerial position, but no rank. The standard for him to receive his salary was to go from San rank to San Dafu, which was lower than the fifth rank.
Liu Sandou's identity is even more shady. He also has the identity of a military official, that is, the deputy lieutenant of Zhaowu, who is under the sixth rank.
Shao Lun found his trusted servants, and after whispering, everyone moved to the secret room of the study.
"Shao Shijun, before I set off, your Majesty had a few words." After sitting down, Du Guangyi said.
"Please speak." Shao Lun's face straightened and he listened attentively.
Now that he had made up his mind to join Zhu Xuan and did not want to stay on Zhu Xuan's broken ship, Shao Lun also knew that his autonomy was already quite small, so his attitude was very respectful.
"The king said that the soldiers and horses of Puzhou must be held tightly in hand." Du Guangyi said.
"What my father said is true." Shao Lun said: "There are more than 4,000 state and county soldiers, and I can decide with one word. Only more than 5,000 people from the Yamen Army's He Gui Department were stationed in Leize and fought against Liang General Liu Zhijun's Department.
I might not be able to use it."
Shao Lun told the truth. He was the governor, but he could not control the troops sent by Jiedushi. As for the local state and county soldiers in his hometown, he could probably command one or two. This was his greatest value.
"The second thing is not to waste your time fighting, guard your territory, and preserve your strength for later use." Du Guangyi said again.
"I will obey my father's orders." Shao Lun responded.
Du Guangyi nodded: "Three of them can be together with Zhu Xuanxu to avoid being attacked by him."
"As commanded."
"Fourth, if Qi Banzhang, the envoy of the Feilong Army, leads his troops north, he can assist one or two of them and provide supplies."
"As commanded."
"Fifth, if you make new achievements again, the king is willing to have your name recorded in the genealogy."
Shao Lun was a little surprised.
These days, if you accept an adopted son, your name may not necessarily be included in the genealogy. This is because this is a very serious matter, involving the inheritance of family property and power. In short, the adopted son who is included in the genealogy has the right to inherit, although people
Generally, people prefer to let their descendants inherit.
"He Gui..." Shao Lun pondered for a moment, patted his thigh and said, "Maybe we can win him over."
"Oh?" Du Guangyi was also a little surprised and asked: "I heard that there are only three generals under Zhu Xuan's account. The most powerful one is He Gui, the second is Liu Cun, and the third is Zhang Congchu. If you can say that He Gui surrendered, it would be a great achievement.
.”
Shao Lun smiled and said: "I have always known that He Gui's ambitions are extremely lofty. My father is so powerful that compared to Zhu Xuan, it is like fireflies vying for glory with the bright moon, which is not worth mentioning. In this situation in Yunzhou, we are very poor in terms of money and resources.
He is exhausted and his morale is low. If He Gui wants to show his ambition, he can only join his father."
Du Guangyi nodded slightly, but he felt that Shao Lun might be too optimistic.
If He Gui is willing to be given the position of prefecture, he also believes that He Gui is very likely to vote for him. If not, why should people vote for you before they have a chance to kill you?
People are different. Shao Lun came to invest in order to keep his power and wealth, but He Gui didn't even have any territory. Is there any benefit to investing in him? Is it possible to give him a piece of territory?
"Master Shao, please don't startle the enemy first, lest things get leaked." Du Guangyi thought for a while and said, "I will not make any calculations until I ask your Majesty for instructions."
"This... okay." Shao Lun said helplessly.
He is in a very eager mood now, and he is obsessed with making meritorious deeds. If King Xia conquers the world in the future, then he——
You have to wake up laughing from your dreams!
You have to make a contribution, where can you find credit? Shao Lun fell into deep thought.
Du Guangyi and Liu Sandou quietly looked at each other and became convinced.
Shao Lun was also a man who was greedy for profit. Seeing that Zhu Xuan was not doing well, he hurriedly jumped ship. As for why he jumped the ship of King Xia, firstly, King Xia was the most powerful, and his strength seemed to exceed that of Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong.
One part, and the other is naturally because they both have the surname Shao.
Of course Zhu Quanzhong wanted to accept Zhu Jian as his adopted son, why not accept Li Fan? Because Zhu Jian's surname was Zhu, it would not be too shameful to be Quanzhong's adopted son, it was as simple as that.
Puzhou is a gift from heaven and needs to be well maintained to become another threat to the east of Zhu Quanzhong.
Du Guangyi had a hunch that he might have to stay here for a long time.
In fact, it doesn’t matter, just make peace with what you have come. My father is a military governor in Liangzhou, but can this military governor be hereditary? No! If not, then you have to work harder, otherwise the status of the Du family will be worrying in the future. Damn it
After all, it is not reliable for a sister to be a woman in a position of power. In King Xia's golden house, there are so many talented and beautiful women. Is it your Du family's turn?
Puzhou, how should we proceed? Du Guangyi rubbed his chin and started thinking.