Fu Song

Chapter 587 Difficulties
Compared with more than ten years ago, Xingqing Mansion has undergone earth-shaking changes.

When Li Xu first occupied Xingqing, there were no more than [-] households in Xingqing, or tens of thousands of people.

In more than ten years, Xingqing Mansion now has more than [-] Ding households and more than [-] Dingkou.

Heshuo is controlled in the north, and Qingliang is cited in the south. According to the upper reaches of the roads, Xingqing Mansion, which is the key point in the west, is quite developed in agriculture and animal husbandry.

Thanks to the stable water diversion and irrigation in the Yellow River Basin, the agricultural development is stable, which can provide a stable food supply for the army and civilians of Xingqing Prefecture. After Xiao Ding took full control of the li, Zhang Yuan presided over the construction of the alluvial plain at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain. Haowangqu is more than two hundred miles long.

The successful construction of Haowang Canal brought the agriculture and animal husbandry around Xingqing Mansion to a new level.

It also made it the food base and important pasture for the entire Western Army.

What puzzled everyone was that Xiao Ding hadn't started to build the city.

Even the city walls left over from Li Xu's era have been completely demolished now, and all the bricks and tiles obtained have been used to build residential houses.

Xiao Ding does not build cities.

In his words, if the enemy gets here, the Western Army will have been completely defeated. Even if there is a city wall, how long can they struggle?

Not using civil engineering as a city, but using people as a city is Xiao Ding's rhetoric.

And for more than ten years, the settlement policy of the entire Xingqing Mansion has been firmly practicing this principle.

Not everyone can settle in Xingqing Mansion and its surrounding areas.

In the old city, all the high-ranking civil and military officials of the Western Army lived, and then expanded outward layer by layer according to their status in the Western Army.

Even the ordinary people in the outermost periphery are mostly soldiers and their families who have retired from the Western Army.

The Western Army stipulates that those who exceed the number of soldiers in the army, who are over forty years old and have not entered the ranks of the generals, will retire.And these retired soldiers will be given priority to settle in Xingqing Mansion.

Or work, or farm, or as a grassroots official, and so on.

When these people retire, except for the armor and crossbow, all other weapons can be taken away.This made almost every household in Xingqing Mansion own weapons.

The Western Army benefited from this by stationing only [-] Bazi in addition to the [-] iron kites in Xingqing Mansion.

As long as there is a need, with a call, every household here can basically carry their own weapons and quickly organize into experienced troops.

It is basically impossible for outsiders to settle in Xingqing Mansion, unless you have made great contributions to the Western Army.

Therefore, the people here are the most loyal to Xiao Ding, because in essence, they are the beneficiaries of benefits. Only by working hard to maintain the current ruling model can they continue to gain benefits.

As for merchants, no matter how rich they are, it is difficult to obtain a household loan from Xingqing Mansion, and most of these people are concentrated in Xingping Mansion, another important town of the Western Army.

Xingqing Mansion is the political center and military center, while Xingping Mansion is the economic center. The rich people who gather in Xingping Mansion are really a lot of people.

Xingping Prefecture has developed industry and commerce.

The Xingqing Mansion is dominated by agriculture, animal husbandry and a large number of military workshops.

It's been a rough year.

The two big battles fought with the Liao Kingdom in Xuanleizhai and Heishan, both ended with the victory of the Western Army, but we know the bitterness, these two battles caused heavy losses to the Western Army.

What is even more irritating is that the rebellion in Xizhou cut off the commercial route to the west and lost another important source of taxation.

Up to now, the Xizhou Rebellion and the Tubo Rebellion are still restraining the energy of the Western Army all the time, spending a lot of money every moment.

If the army does not move, it needs a lot of money and food to support it. When the army moves, the expenses will immediately roll up.

"The grain harvest is actually good this year!" Zhang Yuan looked a little older, and his back seemed a little rickety. He presided over the entire political affairs of the Western Army, and Xiao Ding did not interfere at all.

Xiao Ding's energy is basically still on the military.

"But the burden of war and rebellion is too heavy for us." Zhang Yuan flipped through the account book compiled by the first accountant Cao just now, and sighed: "The two battles with the Liao people have thrown all our savings for many years into it." , although this year's autumn grain has been put into storage, compared to previous years, half of the storage is still empty."

"Have the pensions for the war dead and the disabled been distributed?" Xiao Ding asked: "No matter how difficult it is, this matter cannot be delayed any longer. There was no money at the beginning, but it was distributed immediately after the autumn harvest was promised. .”

"Of course we have prepared for this, but manager, can we use land to pay for it!" Zhang Yuandao: "We don't have anything else, but we have a lot of land! Money is really tight, but because we won both battles, we have to cultivate land , the ranch is more than enough."

"There is still enough land around Xingqing Mansion and Xingping Mansion?" Having said that, Xiao Ding reacted: "You mean the Black Mountain and Black Water?"

Zhang Yuan nodded.

"I'm afraid they don't want to. In the past, the rewards and pensions were all around Xingping Mansion in Xingqing Mansion."

"Double the land, or even quadruple it!" Zhang Yuan hesitated, "Even, we can allow them to have slaves to help with farming, the steward, the Xizhou rebellion, and the Tubo rebellion have captured a lot of people. These people are not as good as... ..."

"No!" Xiao Ding flatly rejected it. "This hole must not be opened. Once it is opened, the consequences will be disastrous. Have you ever thought about it? Today, you originally wanted to have enough labor for the families of the disabled or war dead, but this policy will eventually only make the rich, The right to have more slaves to create wealth for them, today is just a captive on the battlefield, the people of the enemy country in the conquered land, but when these are poor? Will our own people become slaves ? Absolutely not!”

"Actually, slaves were very common in this area in the past. Even in some remote areas under our rule, this kind of thing still exists, and everyone's love is still acceptable."

"But we have been cracking down on this kind of thing. You can exist as a helper or a hired worker, but you must not be a slave who is free forever! Chang Shi, there is nothing to discuss about this matter. You can't turn history back because of our immediate predicament. Ha, who can say that? By the way, the second brother, the second brother said it!"

"If this is the case, I'm afraid few people are willing to go to the frontier. They are all heroes, and they cannot be forced!" Zhang Yuan was a little distressed.

"You told me before that Erlang set up a joint bank in the southwest, issued some Jiaozi, and some bonds. It seems that he used this thing to alleviate the economic crisis. Can we use it?"

"Boss, we only know one thing, but we don't know the other thing. We don't know the pros and cons of it deeply, and we dare not imitate it. In economic matters, if we make a wrong step, it will cause big problems."

"Send someone to Jiangning City, and invite a group of experts from the second child!" Xiao Ding laughed.

Zhang Yuan was silent for a moment, then said: "Boss, it's always inappropriate to hand over major economic matters to outsiders."

Xiao Ding glanced at Zhang Yuan, smiled and said: "Get the people here first, it's not like we don't have economic talents, do we, let them learn first!"

"Yes!" Zhang Yuan nodded and said: "It always takes time to come and go, and it is difficult to solve the urgent need."

Xiao Ding stood up, walked a few steps in the room, and said: "Since that's the case, let's borrow money first. Starting from me, each person will lend money according to their level to solve the immediate difficulties. Merchants, forget it, let’s borrow it too! What kind of franchise do we have to sell? As long as it doesn’t involve life and death, we will sell everything. Chang Shi is good to plan!”

"Boss, you really should think about that matter." Zhang Yuan put away the account book in front of him, and said, "The things Jing'er brought back from the Xiping Army Division also showed the wishes of the next few days. The same things began to be sent from all over the place, and this one cannot be suppressed, so don't try to block it, you can only sparse it."

"One by one, they are all thinking about the merits of support and promotion!" Xiao Ding was a little annoyed: "Chang Shi, why don't I promote myself to a higher level, claiming to be a co-signer of the Privy Council, this is a gentleman."

Zhang Yuan said in dismay: "Director, do you still want to ask the young emperor of Jiangning Mansion to send you an imperial decree for confirmation? You admit it, but do the eight major military divisions under the Western Army recognize it? Millions of sons Do the people recognize it? Does Nan Renzhong recognize it? Do the Tuoba clan recognize it? Generals and officials of other ethnic groups, do they recognize it? How can we say that we are still involved with them, so it’s fine if you don’t want to go further, what is that Song Ting in Jiangning now? Why should we bend our knees?”

Xiao Ding let out a heavy breath, "Chang Shi, you think I'm really the emperor, so I won't say anything about eternal life. I just ask you, can it be passed on to the second generation?"

Without waiting for Zhang Yuan to answer, Xiao Ding continued: "In this way, I am afraid who will be the first to turn against us? Li Chun from Qinfenglu. Moreover, we and the Xin Song Dynasty in Jiangning Mansion will no longer be able to maintain the alliance. If this is the case, who is the happiest? People from the Liao Kingdom! Who is our biggest enemy now? People from the Liao Kingdom, or the new Song Dynasty court in Jiangning Prefecture?"

"But chief, if the wishes of the soldiers inside are not satisfied, disasters will happen over time. The army is the foundation of our foothold, and our army has a complex structure. Han people account for only [-]%, and other ethnic groups follow us. Do you really care how much you want to die with the Liao people? Isn't what those people want is to get promoted and get rich?" Zhang Yuan said.

"Think about this matter again! Let's see if there is a way to get the best of both worlds!" Xiao Ding stood up and patted Zhang Yuan on the shoulder: "Chang Shi, who sits south and faces north, calls himself a widow, but actually has a deep heart." I also thought about it. But I always have to think about it further. If I did it today, how will it end in the future? Although the Xinsong court in Jiangning Mansion is still very weak, they have already established a firm foothold! As long as Xiangyang and Xuzhou can be defended, with the wealth of the south of the Yangtze River and the ability of the second brother, I am afraid that it will not take many years to create a powerful army that is not inferior to our Guangrui army back then."

"How can the people of Liao Kingdom just sit back and watch them grow and develop?" Zhang Yuan shook his head: "It will inevitably drive Liu Yu, Qu Zhen and others to attack the south of the Yangtze River continuously. Son, in a few years, the internal disputes will be completely suppressed by her, with the current size of the Liao Kingdom, how can Jiangning's New Song court stand up to it?"

"Why do you think Liao Kingdom will definitely attack Jiangning first?" Xiao Ding looked at him, "In my opinion, I'm afraid Xiao Qi will attack me first."

"how come?"

"I will!" Xiao Ding said indifferently: "My youngest sister, I have been in awe of his second brother since I was a child. For me, there is only respect. She wants to compete with her second brother. It is necessary to get rid of my possible obstacle first. So I think she will hit me first. Chang Shi, if you say that if I become emperor and have a complete face with Jiang Ning, will my third sister laugh very much? Happy? At that time, the Liao army will send troops to attack me, even if the second brother wants to rescue me, will the civil and military officials below agree? With the strength of our western army, can we alone resist the Liao people?"

Zhang Yuan was a bit stupid, he considered the issue from a political point of view, while Xiao Ding considered the issue from the character of his third sister.

I have to say, there is really such a possibility.

After all, the Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao Kingdom now monopolizes the power, and there is no one who can contend with it.

"I think Yelumin's appointment as the governor of Northwest Road recruiting envoy is her first step." Xiao Ding took a deep breath.

"Jing'an Division is working hard to prove the real strategic purpose of the Liao Kingdom on this matter." Zhang Yuandao: "Maybe we will have an answer soon, right?"

"Regardless of whether Yelumin is going to fight Heihan or Huacizimo, he will eventually have a direct conflict with us in the Western Regions, and there will be continuous wars in the West!" Xiao Ding said: "So at this time, we need the support from Jiangning Mansion. Both Qinfeng Road and Yizhou Road can give us practical help. In the past, we could waver, but now, we can only unite the weak against the strong. At this time, everyone is playing a trick of persuading us to move our entire West. The army is dragging into the abyss, Chang Shi, you should see this, but your mind has been deceived!"

Zhang Yuan's mood was a little agitated, and he wanted to defend himself, but after thinking about it, he finally didn't say anything.

"Convene all the generals above the command envoy, and all the officials above the seventh rank, to gather in Xingqing Mansion. If you don't explain these things clearly, as you said, there will be problems. Then everyone come together to have a discussion and talk about it. Say, make it clear, so that everyone's scattered thoughts will be reunited. Don't think how strong we are now. Zhao Song was very strong in our eyes before, but in less than half a year, the country fell Even the emperor has been taken captive. If we are not careful and walk on thin ice, the next one will be us!" Xiao Ding said angrily.

(End of this chapter)