On July 16, the fifth year of Qianning, Shao Shude arrived in Luoyang again.
The first thing he did was to check the construction progress of Luoyang, and at the same time meet with a group of people who had been idle for a long time. The first person to come was Zhao Keyu.
This prince was once the Heyang Jiedu envoy appointed by Zhu Quanzhong. After being captured, he surrendered and persuaded Wang Ban, the governor of Huaizhou, to defect to Xia. He was promoted to governor with merit and later moved to various places in Guanxi.
In recent years, Shao Shude discovered that he had considerable agricultural talents, so he transferred him to be responsible for the excavation and dredging of reservoirs and rivers around Luoyang. This matter was originally under the control of the Dongdu shogunate, but they were too busy and had too many things to do. Since the reservoir and canal issues were very important, it was best to have someone specifically responsible for it, so we approached Zhao Keyu.
"The waters of Gu, Jian, Zhang, Yi, and Luo are very important. The benefits of Pichi are especially important to Luoyang, so you have to worry about it." Shao Shude said: "If you do well, you will be the water supervisor in the future. Responsible."
When Zhao Keyu heard this, he immediately became excited. He made a grateful expression and said: "It has only been five years since the great king conquered Heyang. Meng Huai has been greatly cured, and the true hero is also the master. How dare you not do your best?"
His ancestors were military men from Heyang, and he himself was also a government official, but he has been doing civil service work for these years, and his ambition is not that big anymore. Being able to become a water supervisor in the capital is actually not bad, and he is a fifth-rank official. .
"Don't rush to show your loyalty." Shao Shude smiled and said: "It is true that Pichi has been a major event in all dynasties, but this meeting is especially important."
Zhao Keyu was puzzled.
Shao Shude didn't want to explain more, but simply said: "The weather right now is unpredictable. Sometimes it rains so much that there will be floods, and sometimes there is continuous drought. It's very abnormal. In short, you have to work hard on this matter and don't slack off."
He was referring to Li Yangu, a military official in Yin'anzhi, a scribe who came to surrender during the period of Kebian.
"As ordered." Li Yangu responded.
The Capital Water Supervision has a department under the jurisdiction of the River and Drainage Department, and also has jurisdiction over important ferries, bridges, boats, rivers and rivers all over the country. They all have orders, and they are on the ninth rank.
Shao Shude has added another meteorological bureau. Currently, its main job is to collect meteorological and hydrological data as an accumulation. After a long time, we will see if we can find any patterns from it.
He knew that it was not the real Little Ice Age yet, but just the end of a warm period. Moreover, the cooling of the warm period was a long process and did not happen overnight.
The summers of the Little Ice Age were equally hot, and the winters were not always extremely cold. Its biggest problem was the unstable climate. When the summers were extremely hot, droughts were severe, and sometimes there were continuous heavy rains. Shao Shude had learned this lesson last year, and Zhu Quanzhong even had to pick it up. The Yellow River embankment in the Huazhou section.
The extreme weather of the Little Ice Age: scorching summers, severe winters, continuous heavy rains, and severe droughts sometimes only lasted for one year, sometimes several years, and up to ten years. But if you extend the time dimension to the entire Little Ice Age, During the Ice Age, you will find that the temperature is relatively stable most of the time, changing in a thirty-year cycle, and the average temperature is slightly lower.
The real climate freezing point appeared in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, and then began to rise. It appeared again in the Southern Song Dynasty. This time it was even colder. What is interesting is that neither the Northern Song Dynasty nor the Southern Song Dynasty perished during the coldest period of Xiaobing. When they perished, the temperature was the same.
It has been rising for decades or even a hundred years. It is purely self-inflicted and has nothing to do with the climate.
For agricultural societies, as climate change gradually increases, water conservancy facilities are naturally a top priority.
Zhao Keyu rushed to Qianjinchi in the west of Luoyang City that afternoon.
The masters are dredging the ditch that has been blocked for a long time.
At the bottom of the dredged ditch, someone is carefully laying bricks. The bricks are glued together with triple soil mixed with lime, river sand, and clay, and stacked in staggered ways.
"This is really worth spending money on!" Zhao Keyu exclaimed.
This ditch leads to the palace city. He knew that this was done to prevent the ditch from leaking. Thinking of the Xia King's major repairs to the Pichi, could it be that Luoyang was going to suffer from a continuous drought?
"Your Majesty, bricks are cheap now." Li Yangu still knew what he was doing. He pointed to the earthen kilns standing side by side not far away and said: "The most important thing for the masters recruited from various counties in Henan Prefecture is to make bricks.
Burn bricks.”
On the open field, piles of bricks are stacked there, which is quite spectacular. The bricks are covered with a layer of hay, and it seems that after slowly drying in the shade, they are pulled into the kiln for baking.
"Official, red bricks and green bricks are very cheap now. The price of one brick before can now be bought for five or six yuan." A driving officer said from the side: "In the old kiln, just put the bricks in and burn them. The new ones are done.
The kiln produces bricks continuously, the quantity is extremely large, and the firing time is short and fast, so the price is very low."
"I didn't know this." Zhao Keyu clicked his tongue in surprise.
"Now everyone in Luoyang is looking for a tool that can make bricks quickly." The driving officer added: "It is too slow to make bricks and not enough to burn. Otherwise, the price of the bricks will be significantly lower."
"This is what I admire about His Highness." Zhao Keyu said with emotion: "He always has some wonderful ideas, and they are really useful. Is it a gift from God?"
Everyone was in awe, whether sincerely or sincerely.
****
After Zhao Keyu and Li Yangu left, Shao Shude met with the second group of people.
The main ones were Liang generals who were idle at home, headed by Shi Shucong, Liu Chongba, Jiang Yin, Shen Cheng, Wen Yu and Li Sian, and there were twenty or thirty lower-ranking generals.
Among these people, Shi Shucong and Li Si'an are the oldest, followed by Liu Chongba, Shen Cheng, and Wen Yu. Jiang Yin came here halfway and is the least qualified. In fact, if Yang Yanhong hadn't died of illness just now, none of them would be as good as this former
The old Xuanwu Army yamen general.
Shao Shude looked at Shi Shucong and others and asked, "What do you think of this trip?"
"In addition to fighting, His Highness is able to manage the place with ease, which is admirable." Shishu Cong said.
"It's a pity that in this world, we still rely on the sword to speak." Shao Shude said with a smile.
"This is true. But if the local government is not good and the army cannot continue, it will eventually be defeated." Shishu Cong replied.
"If you have this understanding, you are not an ordinary martial artist." Shao Shude said: "Do you have any thoughts during this period of time at home?"
"Your Highness's eastward campaign against Yun, Yan, and Qi is the right thing to do. No one else would have fought like this at such a time." Shishu Cong said, "For those who don't know something, where will Your Highness attack next?"
"Where do you think we should hit?" Shao Shude asked.
Shishu Cong was stunned for a moment, and then said: "If I come to fight, I will attack Hebei first. The vassals in Hebei have always used the east of the river as a screen. The east of the river has high buildings and many passes, so it is quite disadvantageous to attack from above, and the towns in Hebei will send troops and food to assist. Hedong. It will be much easier if we attack Hebei first and fight the Jin troops who are coming for reinforcements on the plains."
"Why don't you suggest that I fight Yang Xingmi first?" Shao Shude asked again.
"The rivers in the south of the Yangtze River are criss-crossed, making it difficult for cavalry to drive. This is a disadvantage. The people in the south are accustomed to water. They travel by boat as if walking on flat ground, and it is easy to sneak attack by boat. This is a disadvantage. Their boatmen have many ships, but I, the boatmen, have few ships. , the military supplies and transportation are not as good as the other side, these three disadvantages are. The southerners can withstand the heat and humidity, and we, the northerners, who have just arrived, are prone to diseases and have low morale. These four disadvantages." Shi Shucong said: "With these four disadvantages, it is better to merge with Hebei first. .”
Shao Shude was noncommittal and asked: "I want to expand the three armies of Feilong, Golden Sword, and Black Silk..."
Uncle Cong was overjoyed, but remained calm.
"You go to Lingzhou first and wait for dispatch." Shao Shude said to everyone.
"Yes." Everyone responded one after another, and at the same time they breathed a sigh of relief. When your bones are rusty after resting at home, and you are not old enough, how can you be willing to remain idle all the time?
After being left out for so long, everyone felt relieved to finally have a place to go.
"Your Highness, do you want to attack Li Keyong?" Uncle Cong asked tentatively.
"Li Keyong doesn't need me to fight." Shao Shude smiled and said: "I just received the news that the eight Khitan tribes marched southward and entered Boyouzhou. The garrisons behind the mountains were billowing with smoke and suffered heavy losses."
The news naturally came from Yang Yue. The old man watched the Khitans heading south and felt itchy in his heart. If he hadn't received the order, he would have pounced on them long ago.
"Li Keyong will save Youzhou." Shi Shucong asserted.
"Why do you say that?"
"Your Highness, if the main force of the Jin army is confronting me and fighting, Li Keyong will naturally pretend that he doesn't know. But he can't cross the river now and can't attack Henan. Your Highness also sent heavy troops to defend Heyang and Jinjiang. The result is unpredictable. Moreover, Ke Yong has great face. His Highness has just released the second batch of thousands of Jin soldiers prisoners, and he still can't lose his face." Shishu Cong said: "Although Youzhou has been much calmer in the past two years. , was more submissive, but Li Keyong did not dare to bet on whether anyone in the Twelve Prefectures would respond once the Khitans crossed Yanshan Mountain and went south. I heard that Liu Rengong and the Gao brothers were all in the Khitan army, and they also had many subordinates. , all the soldiers from Yan State rushed north, always thinking of contacting old acquaintances in Youzhou, and rebelling against Li Keyong. Therefore, I assert that Keyong will definitely send a large army to help."
"Good analysis." Shao Shude praised: "At this opportunity, what should our army do?"
"Your Highness had better not attack Hedong." His uncle Cong advised: "Li Kening is stationed in Zezhou, with 30,000 people. The roads are narrow and narrow, and there are dangerous passes in Xiongguan. It is not a plan to be taken lightly. Your Highness might as well deploy troops and invest in the direction of Qingzhou.
"
Li Kening stationed 30,000 troops in Zezhou, obviously also on guard against the Xia army. In addition, there were 8,000 troops from Li Han's army. They detoured to Weibo a while ago and raided Heyang. They were defeated by Tianxiong's army and killed his son.
Li Hao, but the main force is still there.
"Before, I really wanted to increase our troops in Qingzhou." Shao Shude smiled and said, "But now, there is a new direction."
"Your Highness, what do you mean?" Uncle Cong was a little confused.
"Luo Hongxin is dying." Shao Shude said.
"This..." Shishu Cong was a little surprised and sighed at King Xia's good luck.
He may die sooner or later, but he will die this year. Does Luo Shaowei have the ability to control others and ascend to the position of Jiedushi?
"Your Highness, this is a good opportunity." Shi Shucong suddenly didn't want to go to Lingzhou. Unfortunately, he couldn't decide his own fate.
"So I brought General Tu to Luoyang." Shao Shude said: "But the opportunity is not so easy to seize. We have to wait and see again. Le Yanzhen, Le Congxun, can the old thing happen again?"