Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1143 Liaoyang and Jian'an

The most complete building in Liaoyang City is a temple.

According to the captive Khitan people, after the Tang army withdrew in the past, the monks in the temple continued to live here for more than ten years, and only packed up their things and left when they couldn’t hold on anymore. There are no facilities for production such as temples.

As for why the Tang army withdrew, the captives couldn't tell, because they were not the first comers, and they only knew a general idea, that is, the bloody strife and power struggle in Youzhou made the outer town generals abandon the capital of Andong Dufu. City.

Liu Wei agreed with this. After all, Youzhou has always had the tradition of generals from other towns bringing troops into the city to "go to the funeral" for the former Jiedu envoy.Whoever brings many people to the funeral and can fight, then he will be the empress of Youzhou, and just wait for the imperial court to straighten him up.

Liaoyang was probably abandoned in that era—unfortunately, Chang'an also lacks detailed records.

After the Tang army withdrew, the Bohai people waited for several years before coming to occupy it.After all, the prestige of Youzhou Town is still there. The Bohai Kingdom, which originated between the white mountains and the black waters, has only [-] to [-] troops. Facing the Wufu of Youzhou, there is no certainty of victory until it is confirmed again and again that they are really gone, and even the people are taken away together. , and finally sent someone to receive it.

Then came the war between Khitan and Bohai.The Bohai Sea was gradually lost, and the west of Liaoning was lost.If Xia Jun hadn't gone northward, then Liaodong would also be lost. A few years later, Abaoji would break into Nanjing and go fishing by the Yalu River.

"... Taoists use morality to make people uneasy, and it is the harmony between heaven and earth... the general is the age of the tortoise and the crane, the salary is renewed every day, and he grows up to be the minister of the country... the north gate of the town, the screen of the country... Dajue in the West, 寔Said the saint..."

Liu Po ​​squatted down, gently wiped the dust and raindrops on a stone tablet, and carefully identified it.

This should be part of a certain Buddhist stone scripture collectively written by local generals in Liaoyang.Once upon a time, this place was also full of incense, just like this city.

"The Protectorate of Andong, retreated again and again, retreated to Liaoyang, did you finally give up?" Liu Wei sighed softly, feeling a little melancholy.

When he was a general in the feudal town, he spent his days battling dogs and dogs, fighting for power and profit with others, thinking about how to get to the top, not only guarding against the suppression of the superiors, but also worrying about the noise of the subordinates.In this situation, he can't think about that much at all, and he has no ideals and ambitions, that's too extravagant.

After Ziqing Town was destroyed, some troubles suddenly disappeared.Now he doesn't have to worry about the sergeant making trouble, and there is no suspicious Jiedu envoy above him who wants to punish him, so he can do something different.

Do you think he doesn't want to do things like recovering lost land?It's just that there was no chance before, and now that I can do this, Liu Wei is inexplicably happy.

Will the history books of later generations record that I fought for hundreds of miles, went all the way north, defeated Khitan in fear, and regained Liaoyang?

"Clean up the ruins and repair the gaps in the city wall." Liu Wei ordered.

Liaoyang City is actually not big, and it is considered to be below average among the state cities.But a small city also has the advantage of being small, saving troops defending the city.

He didn't even have four thousand soldiers at hand, and it was really difficult to defend the city when it was big. Besides, the city was so dilapidated and there were many gaps, it was even more difficult.

"After nightfall, secretly send people out to contact An City and Jian'an City." After reading the Buddhist scriptures, Liu Po ​​wandered aimlessly in the city and ordered casually.

"Military envoy, the Khitan has not yet retreated. It may not be easy to go out of the city at this time, even at night. It is better to wait a few more days, and try to contact the rear after the Khitan thieves can't hold on to leave." A staff member suggested.

"No, we still need to get in touch as soon as possible." Liu Wei insisted: "After leaving Anshi and heading north, I lost contact with the rear. Over time, it may cause uneasiness."

"Of order." The staff reluctantly agreed.

Liu Po ​​continued to wander around the city.

There are obviously many residential style houses in the city.After pushing open the half-fallen wooden door, the weeds in the courtyard grew half the height of a person.The hare flashed past and got into the hole, and the bird soared into the sky and disappeared in the drizzle like smoke.

Among the dense grass, there are a lot of white porcelain pieces left.

Mushrooms even grew on the decaying door panels.

Behind the red plaque, a mouse poked its head, and it seemed that it was not afraid of people at all.

There are household belongings all over the floor, and it seems that many things that were not taken away were thrown away when they retreated.

"The Khitan people have occupied it for so long, they only know how to graze outside, and they don't clean up." When he said this, Liu Wei paused, because there were still some obviously occupied houses in the city—perhaps they were Khitan people. It can only be them, but at this time the building is already empty.

"Oh, it's taken up your place. But Liaoyang is the place where the Anton Mansion is located, the old place of the former Tang Dynasty, and the new land of the Great Xia." Liu Yan said with a smile: "Besides, it's a pity to leave such a good place to you. If you don’t know how to manage it, let me take it back on behalf of the court.”

In the afternoon, after lunch, Liu Po ​​cautiously climbed up half of the city wall on the moss-covered stone steps.

On the top of the city wall, the once solid and dense rammed earth was occupied by weed seeds floating from nowhere.The weeds survived tenaciously, doing everything possible to absorb the moisture of the rain, and grow vigorously.

On the outer edge of the city wall, there are mountains, rivers, and the endless grassland—it may have been farmland once.

The land of Liao is relatively evil. Some grass grows almost as tall as a person, and almost as tall as half a person. It is dense and dense, dancing with the wind.It is conceivable how much nutrients these grasses have absorbed from the soil before they finally grow into this appearance.

What a shepherd's paradise!
The grassland on the Yinshan Mountain looks like a grassland from a distance, but a sandy land when viewed up close.The pasture also looks malnourished, and there are few types of grass, which is incomparable with Liao land.

Sure enough, the old saying is still confirmed, if the Central Plains is turned into a pasture, then there is no grassland comparable to them, and the natural endowment will be far behind.

The grassland is a grassland because nothing else can grow at all.But the land in the Central Plains is suitable for herding and farming, and the Liao land is almost the same.

In the distance, the sound of horseshoes and drums and horns sounded one after another.

Liu Po ​​collected himself and observed carefully.I saw the Khitan ministries began to retreat one by one, slowly blending into the mountains, rivers and forests, away from the battlefield - after suffering a big loss, their performance was much stronger this time.

It sounds like a good thing for the Khitan people to ebb and flow.But Liu Po ​​knew that this was probably a scam.The main force of the Khitan may not have really left, or they may have found a place to graze and hid.

Based on this cognition, Liu Po ​​also deeply realized: Liaoyang will be the front line of Xia Jun's confrontation with Khitan for a long time to come, and it is very unwise to settle nearby.Don't think about farming and grazing. It would be great if you can save the lives of the whole family and not be taken away as slaves-it is not suitable to send immigrants to cultivate wasteland for the time being.

Khitan will not give up easily.

******
Xia Jun's tentacles extended to Liaoyang, so some cities in the rear could be used to attract refugees and immigrants to cultivate wasteland, such as Jian'an County-this will be the sixth county under the jurisdiction of Andong Prefecture.

Looking at the natives who were working hard in the fields and planting short-growing bean crops, Jing Xiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Gao Youqing is honest.He didn't know from which corner he captured more than a dozen people, and he couldn't even speak Chinese, and he didn't know whether they were from Goguryeo, Mohe or Khitan.Ragged, skinny, with a numb face, they can do whatever they are asked to do, without any sign of resistance.

Jing Xiang knew at a glance that it was the common people who were not far from the walking dead and whose eyes had been wiped out by the cruel world.Once upon a time, there were many such people on the land of Henan where Qin Zongquan was raging. In the end, King Liang gave them hope of life and made their eyes glow with life again.

Anton also has poor people.

"Mr. Liu." Gao Youqing led the horse to the head of the village, his trousers were covered with mud, and a human head was hanging under the saddle. He was very energetic and energetic.

"Where did General Gao come from?" Jing Xiang asked, putting down the melon and vegetable seeds he was picking.

"Just killed a wave of Khitan thieves." Gao Youqing tied the horse under a tree and said with a smile, "I don't know where they came from. There are a total of [-] riders. It's rainy and slippery, and it's hard to walk. I caught up with you." After that, they were killed and scattered. You said, is Liu Wei dead? He brought thousands of people north, and there is no news at all."

Jing Xiang thought for a while and said, "General Liu should still be there."

"Why do you say that?" Gao Youqing wondered.

"If General Liu's army dies, it will not be a small group of bandits, but tens of thousands of horses." Jing Xiang said.

"It also makes sense." Gao Youqing found a Maza to sit down and said, "Then do you think he can reach Liaoyang smoothly?"

"The elite Khitan soldiers were taken away by A Baoji. Although we don't know who led the troops to march south, it's hard for a clever woman to survive without rice. Those local peasants alone should not be able to eat General Liu's troops." Jing Xiang said.

"Hearing what you said, I want to lead the army to the north to make a battle." Gao Youqing rolled his eyes, as if he was really thinking about this matter.

Jing Xiang shook his head, and said: "The king's capital will have more than ten thousand people, escorting the supplies and supplies to Anshi, but he ordered the general to guard Jian'an and entrust the way forward, the general must not ignore it. You and the king's capital will be..."

"One prospers all, one loses all." Gao Youqing laughed and said, "Okay, I'll stop thinking about it. Are the Wei people in the village still peaceful?"

"I'm not convinced, but it's good to be able to do this. Some are family members of Yabing soldiers, and hatred is not so easy to disappear." Jing Xiang said: "However, Anton Mansion is full of devastation and desolation. They have nowhere to escape, and now all I'm growing beans at home."

Gao Youqing laughed.The sky is big and the earth is big, and the food is the biggest.The imperial court can give you rations, and it can also cut off your rations. How can you live without food?
They came too late to grow food this year.We can only barely clear some open space and sow beans.Beans grow fast, planted in July, and can barely be harvested before snowfall.Although the output must be very impressive, but more or less it is a harvest, and this harvest is entirely his own. If the court doesn't ask, can it not be active?
Most of the immigrants in Anton Mansion came here in this way.Reclaiming wasteland little by little, planting millet and wheat after clearing up, clearing some open space around the house, planting melons, beans and vegetables, is also a harvest.

As long as you live in such a stable way for a few years, you will basically survive.

There is no conflict between people and land here, a lot of wasteland is undeveloped, and the grass grows extremely high.As long as you work hard and have the strength, you can definitely save a legacy that can be passed on to future generations.

I heard that next year the imperial court will select agronomy students from Guannei, Guanbei, Longyou, and Zhili to become officials in Andong Mansion and guide agricultural production. This is even better.

"I think Mr. is very knowledgeable. Jian'an County is newly established, and there are many official vacancies. Do you want to become an official? I'll talk to someone about it, and I'm sure it will work." Gao Youqing asked suddenly.

Jing Xiang was startled, and said calmly: "The old man is like a wild crane, and has no interest in official career."

"Forget it. People have their own aspirations, so I didn't say anything about it." Gao Youqing asked someone to bring a table, spread out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and said, "Mr., you can start. What characters are you learning today?"

Jingxiang took the pen, pondered for a while, and wrote: "In the king's house, if he is guarding overseas, he must establish a feudal chief to calm down the wilderness. Zier, the former son of the prince of Bohai County, Da Qinmao, inherited Xuye on his behalf. Talent... is to use your life to be the king of Bohai County. You will go to Qin! You will always be a fan screen, always keep your loyalty, follow the example of the dynasty, and be a model of the vulgar. It is not beautiful."

"This is the canon of the Bohai Kingdom in the former Tang Dynasty." Jing Xiang said: "It should be in accordance with the time and the situation. General Gao, please listen to the old man's detailed explanation."

Gao Youqing was sitting upright, holding a brush with the hand that held the knife all the year round, looking really ridiculous.

Not far away, a large-scale train team ran over the mud-splashed post road and headed northward with difficulty.

Gao Youqing knew those people, state soldiers from Yanzhou.

There are more and more troops gathered in Anton Mansion.

(End of this chapter)