Zhang Ying could not have walked more than ten miles out of the east gate when he suddenly heard the sound of gongs and countless men and horses came out from both sides. The first person holding a three-pointed two-edged sword was none other than Yuan Shu's general Ji Ling. Zhang Ying knew that he was no match for Ji Ling.
, did not dare to face him head-on, and fled away. Ji Ling led his army to kill them from behind, then withdrew his troops and went back to Yinling to celebrate his victory.
Three days later, Ji Ling led an army to appear at the foot of Shouchun City. However, Shouchun was far from comparable to Yinling. The city wall was nearly half as high as Yinling. There were also 20,000 defenders in the city, and there were also soldiers from all around.
There are many strong people recruited from the county. Moreover, this is Liu Yao's last stronghold, and he will not give up easily. Even if he adopts the siege method of surrounding three and missing one, it is impossible for Liu Yao to abandon the city.
Ji Ling, Lei Bo, Chen Lan and Liu Bei surrounded Shouchun City and attacked the four gates. This battle was much more difficult than the attack on Yinling. It lasted for half a month and took turns day and night, causing damage to the city.
With tens of thousands of horses and horses, Shouchun City still stood tall and motionless.
Spring is warm, the flowers are blooming, the wind is sunny, it is a good time for outings and outings. On the vast Taihu Lake, a huge building boat floats slowly on the lake, without any destination, just floating like this casually. The building boat
In the cabin on the top floor, Liu Xin was lying on a special wooden chair with a smile on his face, enjoying the brisk dance in front of him, and beating the beat in his hands from time to time, as leisurely as the high-rise ship he was riding on.
Liu Xin indeed has the qualification to be leisurely. Although he is in troubled times, he has a lot of talents under his command. He only needs to set a general strategy and direction for everything, and there will be a group of civil and military personnel to take care of the specific affairs.
Zhang Liao and Gao Shun were in charge of Xiapi and Guangling counties in Xuzhou. Neither Cao Cao nor Yuan Shu dared to act rashly. However, with a large amount of money and food confiscated from the wealthy families in Xuzhou city, Chen Gui and his son Chen Gui and his son were able to control the situation.
Reasonable, the public sentiment in these two counties has been completely stabilized. Dan
The battle in Yang County had long since subsided. Gan Ning and Zhou Tai each led a fleet to block the Yangzhou navy in the water stronghold. Liu Yao only had an isolated city of Wanling left in Danyang, although Zhang He laid siege but did not attack it.
Under the pressure, Yu Mi still didn't even dare to open the city gate. Everything seemed to be under Liu Xin's control.
At this time, the dance in the middle of the cabin had ended. The little dancing figure happily jumped in front of Liu Xin and asked with a smile: "Godfather, how did Ling'er dance?"
Liu Xin touched Lu Qiling's little head, nodded and praised: "Yes, it is true that famous teachers make great disciples. In time, your dancing skills will probably surpass your master's."
Lu Qiling received Liu Xin's praise and couldn't help but smile. Diao Chan was also full of joy as a master. When she turned her head, she saw Liu Xin's brows wrinkled slightly and a trace of worry flashed in her eyes. She couldn't help but ask: "Master, do you have anything?"
What's on your mind?"
Liu Xin smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's a bit boring in this cabin. You guys sit here while I go for a walk outside."
As Liu Xin's pillow person, Diao Chan could clearly feel that Liu Xin had been a little preoccupied recently. She would often fall silently in trance while lying in bed in the middle of the night. She must have encountered some difficulties in military and political matters. But Diao Chan
Understand, even Ma Yun has begun to stay away from military and political affairs intentionally or unintentionally, and these things are not something she can interfere with. Therefore, hearing Liu Xin's prevarication, Diao Chan stopped asking questions, and instead signaled Lanier to offer Liu Xin a drink
Fragrant tea.
Diao Chan had heard Liu Xin say long ago that tea can relieve fire, reduce dryness, and refresh the mind, which seems to be exactly what Liu Xin is doing now. And the fragrant tea that Lanier brewed was fried by Yu Fan according to the method taught by Liu Xin.
The new tea made by the tea leaves a fragrant fragrance on the lips and teeth. Even Diao Chan himself likes to drink it.
Liu Xin took the tea bowl from Lan Nier and knew that she had been a little out of control these days, and Diao Chan could see her thoughts. She couldn't help but be touched by Diao Chan's carefulness and consideration. Liu Xin waved her hand.
, Jean Lanier
He retreated and stood alone on the deck looking at the hazy Gusu Mountain in the distance. He slowly relaxed. However, when he opened the lid of the bowl and smelled the tangy fragrance, his eyes were filled with thick tears.
His eyebrows gradually tightened again.
It has been more than two months since he left Xiangyang. According to the latest news, the ice and snow in the north has begun to melt, and the road to the Western Regions that was blocked by heavy snow is gradually opening up. However, he is still dragged here in the south of the Yangtze River.
He couldn't move. Of course, no one insisted that he stay here and not leave. However, Liu Xin knew very well that so far he
The real enemies are still the two powerful princes, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. As long as the Cao and Yuan families do not go to war, he cannot safely handle the affairs of the Western Regions. Although the Western Regions are far away, they are related to Liu Xin's money bag. Without opening up the silk
road, then the mass-produced silk, porcelain, and tea in the future will not be able to be exchanged for large amounts of real gold, silver, or even grain from the West.
Silk has been an important commodity in China's foreign trade since ancient times. Now Liu Xin is vigorously promoting mulberry planting and sericulture in the three counties south of the Yangtze River. This year's silk production will definitely increase exponentially. Since last winter, the porcelain production base in the western suburbs of Xiangyang has
It has begun to gradually move to Yuzhang. There are cheaper and more suitable raw materials for making porcelain. It can produce more, cheaper and better quality porcelain. Silk and porcelain must be compared this year.
Good way out.
Because the output is limited, there is no need to worry about the sales of tea. The tea Liu Xin drinks now is collected from wild tea trees in the mountains. Although Yu Fan has built a large number of tea trees in some areas in the south of the Yangtze River that are suitable for the growth of tea trees according to Liu Xin's arrangements.
Tea garden, but it can be foreseen, today and tomorrow
The tea production in two years will not be too much. However, in another two or three years, the situation will be completely different. Everything must be prepared for a rainy day. Liu Xin wanted to advertise tea as early as possible, just like he did to the Huns.
In this way, tea can be promoted to the West before mass production.
To promote these products to the West, we must go through the Silk Road, and the Western Regions are an important node on the Silk Road. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the imperial court established the Western Regions Protectorate, but over the hundreds of years, it was in disuse and construction.
Until a few years ago, the Western Region Protectorate had
The scriptures existed in name only. The two big countries in the Western Regions, Wusun and Dawan, had completely separated from the Western Regions Protectorate two hundred years ago. Recently, their influence has extended to other small countries in the Western Regions, making the Han Dynasty rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate.
It has never been more difficult.
In order to ensure that the products of the Han Dynasty can be sold smoothly to the West, Liu Xin, the Protectorate of the Western Regions, must be rebuilt. However, in the process of rebuilding the Protectorate of the Western Regions, some conflicts will inevitably occur between the Han Dynasty and other forces in the Western Regions.
, and even the outbreak of a war of medium or larger scale is very likely. Today, the Han Dynasty itself is still in a state of fragmentation and separatism. At this time, rebuilding the Western Region Protectorate naturally requires a stable and stable rear area.
Originally, Liu Xin's plan was to force Yuan Shu to expand northward and have a fierce war with Cao Cao. In this case, Yuan Shao would definitely think that he had an opportunity, so he would send his troops south and sneak attack Cao Cao's rear. With Cao Cao's
Strength, Yuan Shuyi
If you can't get it right, you will most likely be eaten by Cao Cao. At this time, a protracted war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao will be inevitable, and Liu Xin can take advantage of the heated fight between the two of them to resolve it.
Problems in the Western Regions.
"Before the soldiers and horses move, food and fodder go first." Everyone knows this sentence, but no one understands it more deeply than Liu Xin. In Liu Xin's eyes, the food and grass here do not only refer to the food and fodder that are directly involved in the war, but also the food and fodder that are directly involved in the war.
Various military supplies such as clothing and equipment, as well as a large amount of money, food and materials needed for relief and reconstruction in the aftermath of the war. In other words, war is ultimately about money.
After solving the problem of the Western Regions and opening up the Silk Road, Liu Xin will be able to obtain a stable source of wealth. With money, it will be easy to deal with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, who both lost in the fight.
But what Liu Xin didn't expect was that Yuan Shu would be unable to attack a small Jiujiang for a long time. Now Yuan Shu's army was dragged tightly under Shouchun City, and was in a dilemma. If this war continues, even if Yuan Shu can conquer Jiujiang
, his vitality will also be severely damaged, and he will not be able to challenge Cao Cao in a short period of time. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao have many wise men, and they will not let Cao Cao and Yuan Shao easily commit the "snipe and clam fight, the fisherman wins"
"Profit" is wrong.
Although Liu Xin had a two-year peace agreement with Cao Cao, and he would try his best to abide by the agreement, he did not believe that Cao Cao would truly abide by the agreement. If his progress in the Western Regions did not go well
, it is possible that his hands and feet will be tied up. Who can guarantee that Cao Cao will not attack like last time?
Will Xiangyang put on another good show? Especially the two counties of Xiapi and Guangling are isolated in a corner, which is convenient for Cao Cao to attack. But Liu Xin was asked to take the initiative to give up these two counties, shrink the defense line to the south of the Yangtze River, and use the natural defense line of the Yangtze River, but
This is not Liu Xin's style of life and work. It is precisely because of this that Liu Xin frowns.
Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps on the gangway. Jushu walked over and said with joy on his face: "My lord, there is news from the front."
Liu Xin was also overjoyed and said: "What? Yuan Shu defeated Shouchun?"
Jushuo was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said: "It's not Shouchun's news, it's that the Yangzhou navy has surrendered."
This is good news, but not surprising. The Yangzhou navy was huddled in the water fort, and the river was full of warships of the Han navy patrolling day and night. The retreat was cut off by Zhang Ren's troops on the shore. In this case,
They couldn't even get supplies, so how could they hold on? It was not easy for the soldiers of the Yangzhou Navy to raise the flag and surrender after so many days.
Liu Xin felt a little disappointed and said calmly: "Whether or not they surrender now does not matter to the overall situation. Send the order and let them all disarm and return to their fields."
Jushu understood what Liu Xin was struggling with now. He had been racking his brains and thinking hard about this matter these past few days. When he saw Liu Xin frowning, he couldn't help but cup his hands and said: "Master, if it doesn't work, let us lurk in Shou."