The first month of the sixth year of Qianning was bitterly cold.
Wang Shifan has moved into a large house in Wubenfang. The house was originally empty and was used by high-ranking officials to live in. The person who lived here before was Zhang Xuanyan, the servant, but he has packed his luggage and resigned. As for whether he really resigned and stopped working, everyone knows that he went to Luoyang.
Wang Shifan's imperial position was that of a servant, and he was Zhang Xuanyan's theoretical superior, but he was just a school inspector and could not be taken seriously.
But living in this house is in line with my status.
In the first month of the first lunar month, the saint gave a banquet to the courtiers as usual, and on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month they watched lanterns together. The courtiers were ordered to compose poems in response. Wang Shifan also composed two poems, which were quite satisfactory and had no highlights.
He was very disappointed with this court!
The prime ministers either have ulterior motives, are dawdling, or are too busy to do anything but can't get anything done.
The overall mood of middle- and lower-level officials is very negative, and they are pessimistic and disappointed about the future. Especially those newly promoted officials, even their salaries are in arrears. They usually have families to support, and they can't even support their wives and children, so how can they do anything?
Therefore, you can’t blame so many people for finding their own way out. Life is real and it requires money. Even if you are dissatisfied with Shao Shude and don’t want to work for him, then try to find a job in other vassals. Anyway, those vassals are still People who are willing to hire Jinshi as officials, such as Li Keyong.
The neighbor next door to Wang Normal University is Wang Yanchang. Like Zhang Xuanyan, he was a Jinshi who took refuge with Xiao Jun in his early years and worked for Shao Shude.
Zhang Xuanyan, the highest-ranked minister under the Qianmen, was awarded the title of Jinshi in the first year of Qianfu (874). He started as a censor in the palace, then worked in the Helong area, and then became an official in the court and was promoted. Very quickly, he became a minister. If you give him a few more years, he might even be able to enter the political hall and live out his life as a prime minister.
Wang Yanchang was a Jinshi in the second year of Guangming Dynasty. He passed the examination in Chengdu and is currently a member of the Ministry of Punishment.
These Xiao family members are self-contained, and their influence in the court is still very strong.
The only ones who could compete with them were the Feng clan, and they were mainly concentrated in the Ministry of Rites, Yushitai, and Dali Temple.
Of course, in the eyes of the court officials, whether it is the Xiao Party or the Feng Party, in essence, they are all Shao Party, and they have a loud voice in the court. Although they do not completely control the court, they can indeed greatly influence the government. Already.
"If I had known that I would never come to the imperial court, I would have just sought an official position in Luoyang." Wang Shijie said with an ominous look on his face: "The King of Xia wants to live in the world, so he must bribe local military leaders like us. Lord, as long as you want to join the imperial court, there is absolutely no problem in getting an official position. I don’t think the imperial court in Chang’an will survive for a few more years, and sooner or later it will be taken over by Xia Bing.”
"There's no need to carry it at all." Wang Shilu sat around the stove, rubbing his hands constantly, and said: "It's been hollowed out day by day, and now it can barely stay in a state of not falling apart. The governor of the outer town is not a fool, that's it. In this case, the money sent will be even less. If Shao thief takes the imperial court to Luoyang, I doubt anyone will be willing to send money."
"Whether you send money or not is a trivial matter. The Third Division has set up so many government offices in various towns to collect taxes. In the past few years, they have either been expelled and robbed by warriors, or they have not been able to collect money at all. Without soldiers and power, Jiefeng
The governor is too lazy to pay attention to you, so how can you collect money?" Master Wang said sarcastically.
In fact, to put it bluntly, it is still a matter of prestige.
The imperial court had little prestige, and there were fewer vassals and towns willing to submit donations. Taxation agencies located in various places, such as the court office that specializes in collecting tea money in a major tea-producing state, gradually could no longer sustain themselves, and the overall situation collapsed.
Due to the situation, a large amount of financial resources were withheld by the local government and invested in the war, so that the government's fiscal revenue dropped sharply and it was unable to make ends meet.
If not for the fact that most of the Shence Army had been abolished and a huge amount of expenditure had not been lost, there would have been no food left.
"Fifth brother, you've been traveling a lot these days, have you gained anything?" Wang Shifan suddenly asked.
"Second brother, we are both celebrating the New Year, and our income is limited." Wang Shilu said: "As far as I know, the most talked about thing in Chang'an now is that King Xia recruited people to come to Tang and Deng to reclaim wasteland. Notices were posted everywhere, and many people were very worried.
Heartbeat."
Guanzhong has more people and less land. This is an eternal contradiction that is difficult to resolve.
In Chang'an, the most densely populated city, and in the Huazhou area, one household cannot afford ten acres of land, and there are many people who have no land. With the decrease in the inflow of money and food, the citizens of Chang'an who were once able to barely survive have also suffered a lot.
The business is in decline and there are no jobs. What should we do? The whole family is waiting for the rice to be cooked.
Shao Shude's land reclamation order hit their target, and it was just right.
Citizens don't know how to farm, it doesn't matter, they can learn slowly when they go there. I have the patience to complete my local household registration first.
People's ability to learn is still very strong even when they are hungry.
"Are there few people in Tang Town?" Wang Shifan asked.
"Young Master." Wang Shilu said: "During the pacification of Huaixi, Tang and Deng followed the states through repeated wars. Later, Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan joined the army here, which was too cruel. After Zhe Zongben took control of Tang Town, it became a front line again.
, was repeatedly invaded by Ding Hui, and the place was dilapidated to the extreme. Last year, Shao Shude forcibly relocated 20,000 households in Yaozhou, half to Tangzhou and half to Zhengzhou."
Tang Town, three states and seventeen counties have been merged into Shuofang Town in accordance with the edict just issued by the imperial court. Shuofang Town is far away from Guanbei, and it is outrageous that Nanyang can be included in it.
If we don't count the Xiangwei people who migrated in batches, at the end of the Zhe Zongben period, there were actually only about 200,000 people left.
This feudal town was very hard-working. It was the backbone of the southern front during the stalemate with Zhu Quanzhong. You can imagine how much it was consumed.
Considering that Nanyang had a population of one million during the Han Dynasty, and only over 400,000 people at its peak, and now 200,000, you can imagine how empty it was.
One theory is that the imperial dynasty vigorously cracked down on aristocratic families. The number of hidden households in Nanyang should be much smaller than that of the Han, Wei and Southern and Northern Dynasties. However, the number of people was still so small that during the Xuanzong Dynasty, a large number of Turks, Sogdians, and Tuyuhun descendants were resettled.
It would be outrageous to divide pastures for them in Nanyang - pastures require a lot of land, and being able to set up pastures in Nanyang itself shows that the local population is sparsely populated.
"In addition to talking nonsense in the city, do people in Chang'an know how to farm?" Wang Shike listened for a long time and couldn't help but ask.
"You have to be able to do it even if you don't know how. Many people have already applied." Wang Shilu said: "Chang'an is seeing its decline day by day. Do you know that it can't support so many people? They can either become warriors and fight in battle, or they can open up wasteland and farm the land honestly. .No one wants people from Chang'an to serve as soldiers, it's too dangerous. Farming is still feasible, just learn slowly."
"How many people does Shao Shude need?" Wang Shike asked again.
"Ten thousand households."
"There are more than 10,000 poor households in Chang'an."
"He should only be able to afford 10,000 households for the time being."
"Huazhou, Tongzhou, Qianzhou, Yaozhou, Chang'an, in so many years, Shao Shude has moved hundreds of thousands of people from Guanxi. He has been planning hard and has far-reaching plans." Wang Shike sighed: "In a dozen years, Henan will also It is completely his."
Wang Shifan listened silently.
Officials in Chang'an are moving eastward, poor urbanites are also moving eastward, and even wealth may be flowing eastward.
The officials who got official positions in Luoyang were grateful to Shao Shude because they could support their families.
In the Tang Dynasty, the people who received the land were grateful to Shao Shude, and they could also support their families.
The businessman made money in Luoyang and praised Shao Shude.
The craftsman got a job in Luoyang and praised Shao Shude.
Chang'an has indeed collapsed.
Of course, this collapse is a long-term process, not something that happens in a day or two, but the trend is unmistakable.
With this advantage, Wang Shifan could already predict that in the near future, a Xia army would march west to Guanzhong, or go south from Guanbei, enter Chang'an, and forcibly move the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty away to make final preparations.
There was a noise outside, and several people looked over, only to see Wang Shiyue walking in in a hurry.
"Second brother, I got news." Wang Shiyue shook off the snow on his body, stamped his feet again, breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed his hands and walked to the stove. While warming himself, he said: "There is a Xia army going south from Guanbei. Already arrived in Yaozhou."
"Which Xia army and how many people are there?" Wang Shifan was surprised and asked.
"I heard that there are tens of thousands of troops from the Black Silk Army, the Golden Saber Army, and the Flying Bear Army. They are so vast that they don't avoid people at all, and their momentum is huge." Wang Shiyue said.
"Have you heard about these troops? Haven't they been in Lingxia before? We didn't see them dispatched during the Ziqing War. Have they been in Guanbei for some years?" Wang Shifan asked.
"I heard from Wang Zongzhang who entered the memorial hall in Hezhong that these three troops have been fighting with the Tatars, Uighurs, and Khitans on the grassland. The military envoys are Yang Liang, Xia Sanmu, and Yang Hongwang. They are all veteran generals on the battlefield." Wang Shiyue Said: "The three armies are all cavalry. Because they consume too much and Henan cannot supply them, they have been stationed in Lingxia and relied on the grassland to support them. I guess they are also here to change defenses. They come and go. These three The troops are here, the flying dragons and iron cavalry who fought with us in Yun, Yan and Qi, the three armies of Dingnan should be returning to Lingxia."
Wang Shifan frowned and said: "No matter which road you take when going south from Guanbei, you should go south from Tongzhou. Why do you turn to Yaozhou? Are you going to Chang'an?"
Wang Shiyue was startled.
"That's not true..." he said uncertainly.
Wang Shijie sighed and said: "As soon as we arrive in Chang'an, will the imperial court be gone? Shao Shude is too impatient."
"There is another piece of news. I don't know whether it is true or not. I also heard it mentioned by someone who entered the memorial hall of the Zhongyi Army." Wang Shiyue hesitated for a moment and finally said: "Shao Chengjie, the eldest son of Shao Shude, was in Xiangyang to supervise the grain and grass management, and he didn't go back during the New Year.
I have been recruiting soldiers in the Weisheng Army. But suddenly I packed my bags and went north. It is rumored that I will come to Chang'an, and I may be stationed here permanently in the future."
"In the past, Liu Yu left his son Yizhen to guard Chang'an. Could these troops going south be Shao Chengjie's future team?" Wang Shike asked.
As soon as these words came out, everyone was speechless.
But then again, Shao Shude is deployed in Guanzhong, and the number of troops in Helong is indeed small, and can even be said to be abnormally small. It would only be like that if tens of thousands of people are transferred here. After all, when something unexpected happens, there will be no
Military affairs are very troublesome.
"Xijing Remainer is here, Shao Thief really can't wait." Wang Shijie sneered and said: "I bet that Shao Chengjie wants to take over Jing Zhaoyin. A fourteen-year-old boy who is the Jing Zhaoyin will look too ugly."
There was silence in the room for a long time, leaving only vague sighs.