Not only does it have the aura of "Zhang Jiao's reincarnation", Qingzhou itself is one of the prefectures and counties where Taiping Dao has a profound influence and is still in decline today. Wouldn't it be a pity if we don't use it?
Of course, Wang Zheng asked Gu Jian to contact Guan Cheng, Sun Xia and other Yellow Turban remnants, but he did not intend to directly ask them to help him capture Beihai County.
First, since ancient times, the biggest flaw of the peasant army has probably been its lack of discipline and equipment. These two points have caused them to often perform extremely poorly when facing tough battles and headwind situations.
There is no doubt that attacking a city is one of the most difficult battles in history.
The Yellow Turban Army is no exception. From the first Yellow Turban Uprising to the present, in most cases, the destruction of the city is basically based on the number of people.
Since the last time Guan Hai besieged Kong Rong and suffered a huge defeat, most of the refugees from the ants had already dispersed. Now those who are still following Guan Cheng and Sun Xia are naturally their direct descendants, even if they can't talk about it.
Whether to attack the city or not, it would be too unrealistic to think about generosity to others as soon as they met and let these people spend all their capital to contribute to their own family.
Secondly, even if these people are willing to attack the city and have the ability to help Wang Zheng win Beihai, wouldn't their contribution be great?
If Wang Zheng does not give a generous reward, it is logically unjustifiable. If he gives a reward, how will he arrange it?
So in Wang Zheng's mind, he actually hopes that these people will do what they are doing more vigorously and more frequently.
In the dead of winter, both Sun Xia and Guan Cheng, who were living near the mountains, were now running out of food and fodder. At this time, they originally planned to plunder the surrounding areas.
Of course, when they were stragglers in the past, their targets were more in the countryside. They would avoid large groups of soldiers and horses, and attack small groups of grain troops. But now, with the support of Wang Zheng, they can directly start operations at the county level.
Already.
Harassing Kong Rong's rear made him unstable, exhausted, and anxious in his new year. At the same time, when the banditry intensified, the military officers he had arranged to go over could also have the opportunity to show up and perform meritorious services in a short period of time, accelerating his military power.
mastery of differentiation.
After hearing Wang Zheng's overall plan, Guan Cheng and Sun Xia looked at each other and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Since the two of them were willing to come to Xiapi, they naturally had the intention to serve the king's government. After all, after so many years, both the two of them and the brothers who followed them were mostly tired of the precarious life in Tibet.
But having this thought and thought does not mean that you will accept it and bow down.
Judging from Wang Zheng's current performance, he is naturally better than their old supervisors Hai and Han Zhong in terms of ability. This also means that if he follows this "Tiangong General", there is a high possibility that he will be rewarded with all the hardships.
But whether we can share adversity and even wealth depends on our character and temperament, not our abilities.
If he was a heroic figure who acted like a wolf and ignored old friendships, then in the eyes of Guan Cheng and Sun Xia, they would be in panic all day long under his command, and it would be better to continue to be a bandit and a pirate.
At least there are no restraints, and there is no need to look at people's faces.
The two of them knew what Wang Zheng's temperament was, and it was impossible to come to a conclusion in a short period of time. However, at least in this first meeting, the other party's request was reasonable. He neither treated them as fools nor took advantage of them.
plan.
Then there is no reason to refuse.
"Don't worry, general." Guan Cheng agreed without any hesitation, and said repeatedly: "We will turn Beihai upside down during this period, and make Kong Rong unable to even sleep peacefully!"
"Haha." Wang Zheng smiled, clapped his hands again, and a young man with a rich face came out from the back of the hall. "This is Mi Fang, the chief official of the Benming Division under this general. From now on, before you two take action, You can communicate with them in advance.”
He added: "If there is a shortage of equipment or armor behind, you can also inform Mi Fang directly and he will arrange the supply."
Mi Yi, with a smile on his face, held up his hands to Sun Xia and Guan Cheng respectively, and said politely: "I'll be back to you two heroes next."
"Don't dare, don't dare."
After all, Sun Xia was not a local, so he didn't have any special reaction, but Guan Cheng looked at Mi Fang in surprise. He had been famous for the wealth of the Mi family for a long time, so it was not surprising that the other party appeared in the royal government. After all, everyone in Xuzhou now has this person. General Tiangong has the final say, and it is reasonable to surrender.
But since he is involved in such confidential matters, it is enough to prove that the top wealthy households in Xuzhou, who are known as "half the city", have not only surrendered on the surface, but have completely surrendered?
When his thoughts suddenly changed, he quickly returned the favor.
After the formal talk, they chatted for a few more words. Seeing that it was getting late, Mi Fang took the initiative to invite the two of them to her house as guests at Wang Zheng's signal to continue to connect with each other and lay the foundation for future cooperation.
Before going out, Mi Fang couldn't help but look back. He actually wanted to invite Wang Zheng to go with him. After all, since he had the plan to "sell his sister", he at least let Wang Zheng and Mi Zhen meet first.
Moreover, Mi Fang has full confidence in her sister's appearance.
Although General Tiangong is a hero, he is still young and full of vigor. If he saw Mi Zhen, Mi Fang would not believe that he would not be tempted.
But when she saw that Wang Zheng had bent his head over the papers again and seemed to be concentrating on handling the official documents, Mi Zhen opened her mouth, but still did not dare to disturb him, so she had to leave angrily.
...
After foreign affairs were dealt with, Wang Zheng naturally turned his attention to domestic affairs.
This is the mineral resources in Xuzhou.
The ancients valued salt, iron, and gold most, and current official records mostly focus on this. In addition to increasing the intensity of mining, Wang Zheng, a later generation, will naturally not limit his vision to this.
In addition to these three, Wang Zheng had discovered a coal mine near Liangcheng during his previous inspection. After returning to Xiapi, he learned about it and found out that none of the previous governors had paid much attention to this aspect.
After asking Mi Heng, I found out that coal was called coal at this time, and its mining and use had been in existence since the Western Han Dynasty. ("Historical Records: Family of Wife and Family, Empress Dowager Dou": Queen Dou's brother Dou Changjun, his younger brother is Dou Guangguo, Named Shaojun. When Shaojun was four or five years old, his family was poor and he was sold out. His family did not know their whereabouts. He passed on to more than ten families and went to Yiyang. His master went to the mountains to make charcoal. At dusk, more than a hundred people lay on the bank. When the bank collapses, use all your strength to kill the sleeping person, but the young master can escape alone and survive.)
As for the reason why it is not taken seriously, one is because any mineral is prone to casualties during the mining process, and coal is constantly buried underground due to changes in the earth's crust and is isolated from the air for a long time, resulting in a situation that is worse than other minerals. , the opening of a coal mine is more difficult, and collapse is more likely to occur.
In comparison, the benefits from coal mining are far less than those from iron and gold mining, so neither the government nor the private sector naturally pays much attention to it at this time.
But things are different now. How can the value of human life be the same in peacetime and wartime?
Moreover, the number of refugees flowing into Xuzhou has increased recently, and Wang Zhengzheng is worried that he will not be able to accommodate them.
Therefore, he was going to make a survey of various minerals in Xuzhou first, and then he could organize Liu Mian to mine them. The more the better. Since there were records of coal use in the Han Dynasty, in addition to personal use, there were also
It can be transported to other states and exchanged for military and civilian necessities that are relatively in short supply in Xuzhou.
Moreover, the several major families currently working for him, whether they are the Mi family, the Wang family, or the Yan family, all have their own business routes and connections. This means that they produce and sell by themselves, and the profits are bound to be huge.
In addition to this point, most of Xuzhou is a plain area. Compared with the coal mines that have always been ignored, there are actually not many iron mines. However, this is the most important thing today. It is related to military and national affairs at the top and people's livelihood at the bottom.
Next, Wang Zheng will not only take back the iron mines that have been occupied by wealthy families one by one, but also prepare to issue strict orders. Not only will all the iron mines in the territory be owned by the government, but one pound or two of them will not be allowed to leave the country, and at the same time, the private sector will be restricted.
The maximum amount of iron used will be supplied to the Kubei Division for use.
After establishing the official system and initially determining the next military action, Wang Zheng thought about the economy again.
However, this point is a bit difficult. None of his counselors, Zhang Zhao or Mi Heng, are good at this. The Mi family has been a long-standing businessman. Wang Zheng also asked Mi Fang for her opinion today, but the reply did not satisfy him.
Now Wang Zheng can only rely on himself.
But after he thought about it for a long time, he suddenly discovered that although he had heard countless business terms and concepts in his previous life, when he really wanted to come up with a specific and effective set of regulations, the theory, let alone practice, stumped him first.
...
The New Year's Day is getting closer and closer.
In addition to giving gifts to Yuan Shu, as a nominal minister of the Han Dynasty, Wang Zheng naturally had to prepare heavy gifts for the emperor who was far away in Xudu. At the same time, Zhang Zhao's second letter also arrived.
He has arrived at Chocon and can reach Xiapi in three days.
At the same time, it was also informed that the envoy arranged by Lu Bufang, who was accompanying Wang Zheng, was none other than Chen Gong, a famous scholar from Dongjun.
What's happening here?
This made Wang Zheng feel suspicious. Since Lu Bu agreed to marry him, the overall situation had been decided. The next step for both parties was to go through some procedures, prepare the betrothal gift, and then agree on a date for the wedding. It was all just a formality.
For such a trivial matter, to send his first counselor here, is it a bit overkill?
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Wang Zheng was a little unsure, so he came to Ni Heng and Yu Jin for advice.
When they heard that Lu Bu had nodded to the marriage, both Mi Heng and Yu Jin looked calm and seemed to think that this was expected. However, when they heard that the envoy of this engagement was Chen Gong, they looked at each other in astonishment, just like Wang Zheng.
Big surprise.
Mi Heng thought for a while and said: "My lord, could it be that Lu Bu saw that after my lord's victory over Liu Bei, his power became more and more stable, and he wanted to form an alliance at the first sight, so he sent important ministers to show his respect and goodwill?"
"Not necessarily." Yu Jin on the side had a different opinion: "Judging from the generals, using Chen Gong as the envoy is not Lu Bu's original intention, but it may be Chen Gongtai's own idea."
"Oh?" Wang Zheng looked sideways after hearing this: "How do you say this?"
"The last general served with this man in Cao Cao's command in the past, and I know a little bit about his character," Yu Jin said: "This man has an arrogant character and thinks very highly of himself. He once said something arrogant, and would not bother to do it if it were not for the war of the country.
"
"For marriage purposes, if it comes from someone else's order, it may not make him willing to be controlled." Yu Jin said: "Therefore, I will think that it is more likely that Chen Gongxian will recommend himself."
Wang Zheng nodded and asked again: "Wen Ze, why do you think Chen Gong is here?"
"This..." Yu Jin pondered for a while and said with some uncertainty: "Is it because you want to spy on the reality of our army?"
This guess...
Wang Zheng was lost in thought. If it was true as Yu Jin said, it meant that Lu Bu had not really made up his mind to board Wang Zheng's warship at this time.
"If so, how to deal with it?"
Hearing this, Yu Jin and Mi Heng looked at each other. Since they were trying to see what was true, what Chen Gong saw and heard next was the key to this marriage, and would determine whether Lu Bu would be a friend or an enemy in the future.
"You should show yourself to be stronger." Yu Jin said.
"But don't cover it up." Mi Heng added.
Showing strength would naturally make Lu Bu feel that Wang Zheng had the absolute strength and qualifications to be the husband of his only daughter.
It still needs to be covered up, but both of them are not confident about Lu Bu's character. Even if he shows strength, he cannot show his full strength. What should be kept secret must be kept secret.
This is exactly what Wang Zheng planned.
"Yes." Wang Zheng nodded: "Our army has 100% of its military strength, which can be divided into 12 points. Among them, 80% are real and 40% are virtual."
After thinking for a while, he said: "The Tianzhu Camp cannot be seen in front of others."
Your balance is recognized by everyone in the ban.
"In that case, how do you show off your strength? Wen Ze, you can take care of it."
Wang Zhengdao: "In addition, after all, Chen Gong is a famous person in the world and an important minister of Lu Bu. Since he is the envoy this time, we should not neglect him."
"Let Xu Fang be responsible for welcoming and entertaining us."
"Here."
...
"Gongtai, this is the Yihe River."
When the dust settled, Zhang Zhao's heart that had been in the air for these days finally dropped, and he once again regained his former celebrity style. Along the way, he had conversations with Chen Gong every time, either discussing ancient and modern times, or quoting scriptures, and his words were really eloquent.
, gushing endlessly.
Chen Gong was also very accommodating. Although he was well-informed and rarely heard, every word he said was sure to hit the mark, which made Zhang Zhao look at him with admiration and regretted not having a close relationship with him in the early years.
Pointing to the mighty river ahead, Zhang Zhao said excitedly: "As long as we walk along the river, it will only take two or three days at most to reach Xiapi City."
"This is the tributary of Yishui River in Xuzhou." Chen Gong heard this and nodded: "Speaking of which, Wang Zhoumu has quite a connection with this water."
Facing Zhang Zhao's confused look, Chen Gong said with a smile: "This water comes out of Mount Tai, passes through Linzi, flows through Kaiyang and enters Xiapi. Doesn't it coincide with the rise of Wang Zhoumu?"
"I just don't know if it will continue like this..." Speaking of this, Chen Gong said with a smile: "The Yishui River reaches Yanwei and enters the Yangtze River..."
Zhang Zhao did not expect that Chen Gong was so familiar with the mountains and rivers of Xuzhou, and was greatly impressed.
However, the last sentence of the other party seemed to have a hidden meaning, but he couldn't answer the question for a while. He pretended not to hear it and just laughed and changed the topic.
After talking and walking like this, the rest of the journey passed by in a blink of an eye. At dawn on the third day, the group of people disembarked from the south of Yihe River and rode across the river beach. Soon after, a majestic city came into view.