It has been relatively warm and hot in Hexi this year. It has been more than a month since the beginning of winter, and there has only been a light snowfall at the foot of Heli Mountain.
However, it is an indisputable fact that the weather is getting colder day by day. The shallow parts of the Weishui River have begun to freeze, so it is naturally more difficult to collect water from the river manually.
In addition, as the temperature is getting lower and the frozen layer is getting thicker, the efficiency of both smelting and mining is getting lower and lower, so most factories have entered a state of shutdown.
But the young men, women, and old people who were temporarily sent home did not have any leisure time.
Since the beginning of winter, Li Chengzhi began to relocate households to the nearest counties of Linze.
This is because they are afraid of being wet and cold in winter, and whether they are under the ground or thin tents, they are not very effective in keeping out the cold in the severe winter, and they are afraid of causing widespread typhoid fever.
Don’t think that it’s just a flu that will pass away after a while. In this era of lack of clothing and medicine, it is okay for adults, but it is extremely fatal for infants and young children. Otherwise, how could the mortality rate in ancient times be so high?
This was also the strategy that Li Chengzhi decided upon when he arrived in Xihai after the beginning of spring. He originally planned to "enter the village secretly and do not want to shoot anyone", but it was a pity that the idea was too beautiful.
Whether it was the imperial court sending envoys to appease him or Yuan Zhi and Luo Jian suddenly sending troops, Li Chengzhi's strategy of "building walls high, hoarding grain widely, and slowly becoming king" came to nothing.
So why is there any need to cover up?
Li Chengzhi simply took advantage of the situation and went with the flow. He issued notices openly and openly to mobilize households without houses to relocate first.
What's more, just like "someone gives you a pillow as soon as you fall asleep", you have a perfect excuse. No matter who asks, Li Chengzhi has a reason to move: Yuan's bird of prey has already reached the shore of Juyan Lake, and Luo Jian even more
I have mobilized an army of 100,000 people to kill hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the West Sea, so I can only lead the people to withdraw into the county to temporarily avoid the war. Therefore, this move is really forced to have no choice, rather than occupying Nestlé...
Because of this, he didn't want to see Cui Guang, and he didn't even want to see Wei Zijian, just to create a settled fact.
Once you occupy it, it will not be so easy to withdraw...
Preparations were started more than a month ago. Li Chengzhi sent his troops to fight the battle in advance, transported firewood, grain and other necessary items, and then gradually moved into the households. Those who were closer set off first, and those who were further away went to Zhenyi.
During the pause, you can just replenish some food and grass that people eat and chew for horses, and herbs to protect against wind and cold.
Furthermore, Linze is not far from Zhenyi, only sixty or seventy miles away. We loaded up the car in advance and set off early the next morning, arriving at sunset at most.
As soon as they enter the city, there will be generals and soldiers distributing hot soup to ward off the cold and eating. The houses have already been divided into households, and even firewood has been distributed to each household. Therefore, after entering the door, you can roll out the blanket and get quilts.
The residents can be described as caring and considerate.
In just over a month, nearly half of the households were relocated. Most of the remaining 70,000 households were herdsmen. People could be relocated, but it was difficult to relocate cattle and sheep, so it was temporarily shelved.
There is also a small number of people who have houses to live in and there is no need to move.
In this way, before the winter solstice, Li Chengzhi solved the problem of winter protection...
…
The sun was shining brightly, but it still couldn't withstand the cold wind from the northwest, and the eaves were blown noisily.
The cold wind was whistling outside the hall, but the room was in full swing. The civil and military personnel were divided into two shifts to arrange various supplies in the room and count the surplus.
This was an order issued by Li Chengzhi just two days ago, instructing all ministries to conduct year-end summaries, take inventory, plan the military and political policies that need to be implemented in the coming year, and budget various expenditures.
At first glance, it seems that there are already some prototypes of a sect province and a ministerial province, but Li Chengzhi knew very well: this is a grassroots team.
And if we don't do it, we will be worse than the grass-roots team. Now at least we have taken the first step.
That's why he was thirsty for talents and determined to keep Cui Guang in the West Sea.
The same goes for Yuan Zhi and Wei Zijian, and Li Chengzhi was never prepared to let them go. Both of them served as governors in prefectures. Yuan Zhi was better in the military than in government affairs. But Wei Zijian was a figure whose name would be left in later history.
Of course, it is also possible that my brother-in-law, who is only in his early tenth year, slightly exaggerated his achievements when he was compiling history. But to be praised by Xiaowen and recognized by Yuanke, who has always been superior, this father-in-law naturally has
Outstanding.
But that can only be discussed later, and now Zhang Jingzhi can only work harder and support it for a while.
It is not ordinary tiredness. The time Zhang Jingzhi spends sleeping and eating every day is no more than four hours. If Li Chengzhi had not forced him to do so, he even planned to sleep directly in the government hall.
But he enjoyed it.
Just because anyone who is blind and blind knows what significance this grass-roots team that is now disliked by Li Chengzhi will have in the future...
The sun had set, and lights had already been turned on in each room. Li Chengzhi put down his charcoal and stretched.
Li Cong knocked on the door at the right time and reminded in a low voice: "Mr. Lang, it's time for dinner!"
Li Chengzhi muttered: "That's all, I won't have dinner in the Yamen today. Let's go back to the house later!"
Not only Zhang Jingzhi was tired, Li Chengzhi was also busy with his feet on the ground. Counting the time, he had not left home for seven or eight days.
Wei Yu was okay and had to come to look for him at least once a day, but Gao Wenjun and Zhang Jingmo had been pregnant for several months, so how could they dare to leave the house easily?
After instructing Li Cong and Li Xiao to organize and file various documents, Li Chengzhi left the government office without getting up.
The main hall is on the fourth floor. This floor is specially designed for him. Downstairs are the civil and military halls, and the second floor is the temporary government office for various ministries.
In ordinary times, the heads of various ministries sit in government offices outside the town. Only when there are important matters or emergencies, the heads of each ministry will gather with one or two close associates in the town.
Just like now, it is approaching the New Year, and there is an invasion from foreign enemies, so there are many more people in the Yamen.
When he came downstairs, all the yamen had already gone off duty one after another. All the principals and assistant officers greeted him respectfully when they saw him.
Li Chengzhi laughed again and again, or said thank you for your hard work, or expressed concern, showing off his polite and virtuous corporal appearance.
As soon as he reached the third floor, Li Chengzhi subconsciously stamped his feet and glanced in the direction of the central hall. He saw bright lights and numerous figures, but the hall door was closed. It was obvious that Zhang Jingzhi was too busy and forgot the time.
He pondered for a moment, sighed secretly, and walked towards the nave.
As the Lord, he is naturally happy to see his subordinates working so hard, and he can understand Zhang Jingzhi's intentions. However, manpower will eventually be exhausted, not to mention that Zhang Jingzhi and Li Shiliang are already in their forties, which is close to this era.
In old age, the body is no longer what it used to be.
If he were to lie down due to fatigue, where would Li Chengzhi find a capable minister he could trust, with such strong experience and ability?
Thinking secretly, he waved his hand twice to signal the guards at the door to be silent, and then opened the hall door.
As expected, Zhang Jingzhi was sitting behind the case writing furiously, while Li Shiliang and several other ministers and deputy chiefs were also busy as usual.
Noticing someone pushing open the door and entering, someone instinctively called out, "My Lord!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then quickly stood up to greet them. There were various titles, all the servants of the Li family were called "Lang Jun", and the others were called "Guo Gong" or "General"!
Li Chengzhi responded with a smile, walked into the hall again, and said warmly: "Just now, my mother sent someone to ask, saying that I have not been home for several days, which is really wrong. I thought that if I could go on duty earlier, it would be a good time for my uncle.
Let me have a few drinks, what do you two think?"
Is there any reason why it should not be done?
Zhang Jingzhi knew immediately that having a drink was a lie, but that Li Chengzhi came to urge him to go to the Yamen was the real thing.
"When the Duke invites you, it's better to be respectful than to obey!"
Zhang Jingzhi respectfully bowed his hands in thanks, and then said to the officials: "In that case, let's leave!"
Everyone agreed in unison and said goodbye to Li Chengzhi. After a while, he was the only three people left in the hall.
Li Chengzhi laughed loudly: "Look, there is wind under everyone's feet, and they are all gone in the blink of an eye. It shows that you are eager to return home. Don't be late again in the future..."
The two responded respectfully, knowing full well that it was not because the officials were eager to return home, but because they saw that Li Chengzhi and he had something to discuss, so they left so quickly.
Li Chengzhi was not joking, but was taking the opportunity to criticize the two of them.
Since there were cronies and assistants to deal with it, the two immediately followed Li Chengzhi out of the government hall.
Li Chengzhi then told Li Cong: "You go back to the house first and ask the cook to set up a hot pot and warm two jars of water and wine. My uncle, uncle, and I will be here later."
Li Cong took the order and left, and Li Chengzhi invited the two of them: "We are just on the way. I will call General Da Xi from the military headquarters to come with me, so that we can have a good time..."
"Just go together!"
Zhang Jingzhi responded smoothly, and when he saw no one around him, he asked in a low voice, "I didn't bother to ask about trivial matters for the moment: How is the detailed work of screening the army?"
Not to mention that it was okay, Li Chengzhi was frightened when he mentioned this incident. It was such a cold day, and there was a faint sweat on his forehead.
Luo Jian was so good that he stewed the plan in the fire, and Li Chengzhi was almost defeated by an army: among the more than 10,000 defeated troops who had returned to the West Sea in the early stage, nearly 5,000 were Luo Jian's army, not
Ordinary town army.
The intention is naturally to fish in troubled waters. When Luo Jian leads his army to invade the West Sea, he will suddenly start an uprising and coordinate internally and externally.
Fortunately, Li Chengzhi was cautious enough. Before entering the country, he ordered Li Shiyu to disarm on the spot by Juyan Lake, and then disrupted and reorganized.
Then he ordered Li Xian to undergo forced reform for several months, which was similar to a labor camp. By some strange combination of circumstances, he asked Da Xi to take charge, and then used soft tactics to attack his heart.
Especially this last step, it was like a stroke of genius: Da Xi had only been in office for less than ten days, and an old general from the Zhenjun tried to trick him into saying that he could be Da Xi's helper. As long as he gave an order, none of the tens of thousands of young people would dare not disobey him.
Da Xi has a kind-hearted nature, but he is not a fool: under Li Chengzhi's various methods of division, and even the stubborn Li Xian who suppressed him for several months, how can these tens of thousands of town guards be united?
If you don’t check, you won’t know. When you check, you will be shocked: out of a total of 12,000 civilians, more than 9,000 of the defeated troops were defeated, and fully 60% of them came from the Wuchuan Governor’s Mansion?
How could such a coincidence happen?
Upon closer inspection, the truth came to light: although the ordinary soldiers were unaware of it, there were more than a hundred deputy generals, army leaders, brigade leaders, team leaders, etc. who had been given secret orders by Luo Jian and lurked among the people.
As long as the opportunity comes, they can link up with each other to confuse the soldiers, and even the people and Zhuang who have recently surrendered can start a rebellion together.
So thanks to Da Xi, it is a great achievement. Li Chengzhi repaid his kindness and moved Da Xi to be the deputy chief of the military department to thoroughly investigate the matter...
Li Chengzhi breathed out slowly: "It's almost over, the culprit will be killed soon, and the soldiers will be reorganized..."
That's good!
Zhang Jingzhi and Li Shixian breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Nowadays, the West Sea is in a state of turmoil. Having one more soldier means more power to protect oneself, so these two people are so cautious.
Regardless of the rest, these five thousand are Luo Jian's central army. They are all elite soldiers from hundreds of battles. In terms of combat strength, they are several times stronger than the surrendered soldiers from the Qin and Liang states.
If they don't hold firearms, even the old White Armor troops may not dare to defeat them. If they can be subdued, they will naturally be even more powerful.
Of course, they will definitely not dare to reuse them in a short period of time. These soldiers are all carefully selected villagers, and they are usually treated well, and their families have also benefited a lot. It can be said that Luo Jian has been given a favor and a sense of belonging
Not low.
But if Luo Jian is defeated or surrendered, it will naturally not be a problem. With a little training, he will be able to strengthen his army and guard...
Li Shiliang added: "In my opinion, when the fields are slack in winter, it is better to recruit some more soldiers and train them carefully for two or three months. Even if they cannot go out to kill the enemy, they can at least serve as rear troops, transport food and grass, and build buildings."
Digging trenches..."
conscription?
Li Chengzhi pondered for a while and finally shook his head.
If these 10,000 town troops are organized into various guards, Xihai's military strength will already exceed 50,000. And with the newly recruited townspeople, the number of households can only reach 150,000.
Based on this calculation, basically one person in every three households is a soldier, almost to the extent that the entire population is a soldier.
And this is under the premise that there is no land to cultivate in the West Sea and there is a lot of surplus grain.
But now nearly half of the households have been moved to the two counties of Pyoye and Linze. The two counties alone can cultivate tens of thousands of hectares of farmland. After the spring, the fields will definitely be cultivated and cultivated again. At least 30% of the herdsmen will have to be relocated.
Heading to Shandan Racecourse, not to mention conscription, it is estimated that 40% of the soldiers may have to be disarmed and return to the fields.
Li Shiliang's worry was also based on his lack of knowledge about firearms, and he still stayed on the basis of "discussing the number of troops before fighting". He believed that no matter how good Li Song and Li Liang were at fighting, they would still be unable to defeat Yuan Zhi and Luo Jian.
More than 100,000 troops.
But Li Chengzhi was confident: Luo Jian was hard to say, but there would be no problem in killing Yuan Zhi. At that time, it would be a matter of one thing or another, and at least tens of thousands of troops could be captured.
If they had better luck and Li Liang and Li Feng could defeat Luo Jian again, they would probably be able to double their 10,000 yuan.
And by that time, with Chaoyan's current stretched situation, even if he wants to conquer the west, he may be powerless. And if he takes a step back, Gao Zhao has already expressed his intention to surrender and wants to join the imperial court, and Chaoyan also intends to be completely shameless.
If you want to make peace with Rouran or Nanliang, it will never be achieved overnight.
Li Chengzhi estimated that as long as he survives this winter and defeats Luo Jian and Yuan Zhi, at least there will be no war next year, so there is no need to rush to recruit troops now.
However, it was difficult for him to explain: after all, for Li Shiliang, it was too frightening to defeat Luo Jian and Yuan Zhi's army of hundreds of thousands with a mere 30,000 troops.
While he was thinking about it, he was about to say a few perfunctory words when he suddenly heard an urgent cry from behind him: "My lord, good news..."