Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 288 Direction
Magnificent cities rise from the ground.

At the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, many gardens of different shapes are lined up one after another.After a little inquiring, they knew that this was the mansion built by the generals of the Dingnan Army.

As for the mansion of the King of Lingwu County, there is no sign of it.It was rumored that the King of Lingwu County wanted to purchase precious materials in large quantities, choose a beautiful mountainside, and build a large-scale palace.But some people said that the king of Lingwu County cherished feathers and didn't want to be accused behind his back of being greedy for enjoyment. In short, there are different opinions and no consensus.

"My lord, the fact that the generals of the Dingnan Army bought property at the foot of Helan Mountain means that they have no ambitions and plan to separate themselves from one side?" Xie Yanzhang asked in a low voice while leaning against a tree.

It's been a bit unbelievable along the way.For a while, the grassland, for a while, for the sandy land, for a while, for the forest, and for a while, the mountains, the scenery of this land of spiritual summer has changed too much.

I heard that there is a desert to the west of Helan Mountain. If it weren't for this mountain stretching hundreds of miles from north to south and the vast forest nearby, the sand would invade the farmland, and Lingzhou wouldn't be able to develop, right?
No wonder!Xie Yanzhang could see the way. Rows of logs were put down from the upper reaches. It is said that they were all chopped in the snow-capped mountains and transported to Huaiyuan County to build houses and make household items.

Xie Yanzhang didn't know where the snow mountain was, and he didn't bother to care, but it was a fact that Lingwu County King didn't want to cut down the lush forest near Helan Mountain.This handsome man is different from ordinary warriors!
"Setting down at the foot of Mount Helan doesn't explain anything." Xie Tong shook his head and asked, "Does General Xie know about the Yamen of the Six Cities Water Transport Envoy?"

"I don't know." Xie Yanzhang shook his head.

"Look at that ship." Xie Tong pointed away.

On the river in the distance, a sailboat slowly went north along the river.The ship should be fully loaded, the draft is very deep, and I don't know what is loaded.It may be food, or it may be ordnance, or even bricks and stones.

"Following the big river from Lingzhou, you can reach the vicinity of Zhenwu Army City in [-] days. If you send troops to the east of the river, it will be several times faster than marching by land. Even if you send troops to the river, you can take a boat from Lingzhou and travel [-] miles by water. , It is also slightly faster than sending troops from Xiazhou by land. I am a southerner, and I know that water transportation is convenient and fast, and the cost is only eleven times that of land. The big river has helped the Dingnan army a lot. Shengmin Laizhi, Conquest depends on it, and business also depends on it." Xie Tong said.

There is also a wooden raft behind the sailboat side.Tents are set up on the ground, which can transport thousands of catties of goods, and some even build fences, which can transport cattle and sheep donated by the Tibetan tribe.

This kind of wooden raft is generally completed on the bank of the upstream river.There are two upper and lower layers of wood, and the width can be adjusted according to the water potential.Nail crossbars on it for reinforcement, and then tie them firmly with thick ropes.When loading the cargo and going down the river, the raftman controls the direction and speed with the long rudder and the pole.After arriving at the destination, the goods are transported away and the rafts are disassembled on the spot.

The land of Lingxia really relies on this river.

After the ship docked, the people on the pier got busy and began to unload the cargo.

The vicinity of the wharf is very prosperous and there are many businesses, which indicates the vigorous vitality of Huaiyuan, the new capital.

"It turned out to be a military weapon!" Xie Yanzhang's sharp eyes saw it immediately.

There are rifles, horizontal knives, long-handled axes, armor, and all kinds of equipment.There are also a few wooden boxes with a big "Wei" written on them with a brush, which should be the name of the military workshop.

"Lingxia, there should be more than one workshop. When I was in Lingzhou before, there was one workshop with hundreds of craftsmen, right?" Xie Tong said, keeping it in mind.

"There are five to six hundred people. The courtyard in Huaiyuan County that I saw in the morning seems to have more than a thousand people. I heard that there are also people who send cattle, sheep, fruits and vegetables to the courtyard in Xincheng for the craftsmen to enjoy. There should be people in Huaiyuan County." Two colleges." Xie Yanzhang said: "Mr. Xie, do you still remember that barbarian woman who came to buy silk yesterday?"

"The Sogdian woman?"

"Exactly." Xie Yanzhang said, "It must be a craftsman of Hu, I don't know where it came from."

Xie Tong was stunned, and said with a smile: "General Xie has a good look. The Dingnan army attacked Hewei and captured countless Tubo craftsmen. These craftsmen were captured by Tubo from the Western Regions and even Kangju Kingdom decades ago. "

"The Dingnan Army likes to take people everywhere." Xie Yanzhang was a little angry, seeing these large-scale military weapons workshops, he was full of irritability, and he didn't know why.

The two watched for a while, then closed the stall and left with a group of followers.The Bianzhou businessmen who came together were a little bit reluctant and wanted to continue selling goods near the pier, but seeing Er Xie's face was not good, they also packed up their things and left.

Walking and walking, we soon arrived at the old town and countryside of Huaiyuan.In a newly established village, more than [-] people are building houses.

"Are you from Henan?" Xie Yanzhang heard the familiar accent, so he stepped forward and asked.

"They are from Ruzhou." After hearing that they were businessmen from Bianzhou, these people were very happy and asked, "What kind of goods from your hometown can you bring?"

"There is Henan white porcelain." Xie Tong said with a smile: "How did you come to this land of Lingxia? It's two thousand miles away."

"It's not because of the endless wars in Henan." The people sighed: "Qin Zongquan's people are robbing and robbing, everyone is afraid. Zhu Quanzhong is not a good guy, he is recruiting husbands and Latins everywhere, and the taxes are so heavy that people can't breathe."

Xie Yanzhang's face froze.Xie Tong remained calm and continued to ask: "How is this place? Are you still used to it?"

"The advantage lies in stability, and the land is also good. If you get some river sand, it's no problem to harvest a bushel of four or five buckets of wheat per mu, which is higher than the harvest in Henan."

"You don't raise cattle?"

"It's too expensive, and the government doesn't have enough cattle. After my family, Yaolang, comes back from the army, he might be able to buy a few."

"Your son is in the army? Don't you want to go back to Henan?"

"Henan is a gang of killers, and the generals are all cheap. I heard from the newcomers that Zhu Quanzhong is fighting Qin Zongquan. Okay, dog eats dog, it's best for both of them to finish fighting."

Xie Tong's face couldn't hold back anymore, and after a quick chat, he left with Xie Yanzhang.

The two looked at each other.Finally, Xie Tong sighed and said, "Have you seen these days?"

Xie Yanzhang nodded.

"Shao Shude's foundation is more stable than Li Ke's. There are also rules in management, and the prestige among the village and the countryside is very high. It doesn't matter if you lose a few times, this kind of person is not easy to deal with." Xie Tong sighed: "Go back Let’s tell the truth and make it clear to King Wuxing.”

"Exactly."

******
In the newly built mansion in Huaiyuan New City, Shao Shude had just sent Chen Cheng away.

The situation in Henan became clearer day by day, which made him a little worried.

Zhu Quanzhong's army attacked the southern city of Caizhou after paying heavy casualties.So far, the three cities of Caizhou have broken the second, and Qin Zongquan's power is declining day by day.

Li Hanzhi was ordered by Li Keyong to lead troops south to invade Heyang, but was repelled by Ding Hui who was stationed there.

Unexpected things.

Li Hanzhi has only a few soldiers, how can he attack Heyang?Li Keyong either didn't fight, or sent the main force to the south, and finally sent Li Hanzhi, a miscellaneous vassal, to the south. Is it useful?

Shao Shude sighed and soaked in the pool under the service of the maid.

This pool was built by him. It is very large and can accommodate dozens of people to bathe at the same time.

The weather in September is already getting colder. Taking a hot bath at this time is indeed the highest enjoyment in the world.

Zhao Shu gently took off the clothes on her body, stepped into the pool, and scrubbed Shao Shude.

The other three girls looked at me and I looked at you, and they also took off their clothes together and entered the pool.

The Zhuge family, the daughter of Zhuge Zhongbao, had originally made a marriage contract with the son of Zhang Xia, the governor of Bizhou, but now she was brought back to Lingzhou by Shao Shude as a family member of the crime general.Well, whether to offend the general or not, isn't Marshal Shao the final say?Tuoba Sijing used to be a criminal general, and now he has started business in Suizhou, his daughter Tuoba Pu, who dares to say that he is a criminal general's family?

The other two girls were presented by Kang Fujin, Sogdians, and they were born in the Kang family and the Cao family in Dunhuang respectively.Young and graceful, with a beautiful appearance, black hair and blue eyes, with an exotic style.

The four acted as maidservants in this new mansion, serving the master.

Feeling the girl's soft and slender hands, Shao Shude felt that the pores all over his body were loosened.At this time, the thinking becomes more and more clear, and it is time to hurry up!
In two days, he planned to send Li Hang to Liangzhou to find out the situation there.If possible, send an army to garrison the area.

On the whole, the Yanmo people are quite submissive to Datang.

In the second year of Xiantong, after three years of fighting, Zhang Yichao led more than [-] Han soldiers to occupy Liangzhou.In the third year of Xiantong, Yanmo of Liangzhou sent envoys to Chang'an to pay tribute.In the first year of Qianfu, Gao Pian served as the Jiedu envoy of Xichuan, the leader of Liangzhou at the end of the year, Lu Yue (nòu) month, and the envoy of Youyi, the capital of Hewei, Shang Yanxin led the army to Xichuan to fight Nanzhao, forcing Nanzhao to give up the attack. Shu, and turned to attack Annan.

At the end of Liangzhou, he should be hesitating now.He intends to stand on his own feet, but the prestige of the Tang Dynasty still remains a bit, and he is worried that once he loses the canonized name of the Tang court, he will be attacked by other tribes or vassal towns who pay tribute to the court.Therefore, the strength of Liangzhou Town is obviously very weak, and it is only around Liangzhou City that can be controlled, but at the end of the day, he dare not completely annex it, and has always allowed this outrageously weak town to exist.

But with the passage of time, Yan Mo should gradually be unable to bear it, and wants to annex Liangzhou, right?

There is no longer any delay, we must immediately send troops to "help defend" Liangzhou!Shao Shude exerted force subconsciously, and a cry of pain came from his ear.Looking again, the young girl Zhuge's snow-white skin has a few red marks looming, tears are about to flow down.

Shao Shude waved his hand, and Zhuge swam aside as if he had been pardoned.

Holding Hu Ji Cao Shi in his arms, while playing with it carefully, he thought about Guiyi Army.

Central Asia and West Asia are somewhat chaotic, but business can still be done.The Silk Road at this time mainly took the northern route, that is, passing through the grasslands, and then entering Guanzhong and the Central Plains.One of the branches even went as far as Bohai.

One of the beneficiaries of the Grassland Silk Road is the Yinshan Fanbu, but this benefit does not fall into his own hands.If possible, it is still necessary to expand the line of the Western Regions, so the Guiyi Army will play a great role.

This is also a small feudal town, with not many troops and relatively weak strength, usually only a few thousand soldiers, and when there is a war, there are more than ten thousand soldiers who are closely related to them.

But there is no need to use force against them, the distance is too far, the cost is too high, just make friends with them, slowly draw them in and nibble away.

Next year, almost all of these things will be covered, and this is where we can work hard in the short term.If it succeeds, the tribes dominated by the descendants of Tianbao survivors at the end of the year can be recruited slowly, and there will be a large source of military force, and the commercial interests of the Hexi Corridor can also be gradually revealed. The requirements are not high, and a profit of [-] yuan a year is enough. Yes, take your time.

However, too many troops cannot be invested in these places, and we have to deal with changes in the situation in the Central Plains.

Yang Xingmi in Huainan was beaten like a dog by Sun Ru, and fled to the west with the defeated generals, where he bullied the Zhao brothers in Xuanzhou and Chizhou.

Shao Shude was a little skeptical, why is Yang Xingmi so useless?Can it still occupy Huainan and fight against Zhu Quanzhong as it did in history?At least there is no sign of this at present, unless Sun Ru is dead.

Zhu Quanzhong also led the Huainan Jiedu envoy. If he defeated Qin Zongquan, he might not have beaten Sun Ru and Yang Xingmi.It is time to find out Zhu Quanzhong's background and see what kind of strategy he has.Well, I'll find Xiao Mao tomorrow and see if there's anything I can do.

Xiao Shi, since you have taken refuge here, don't even think about betting on both sides of the mouse.Well, the Xiao family seems to have a little beauty too!Thinking of this, Shao Shude's heart felt hot.

Hu Ji Cao looked at him with a blushing face.Shao Shude was taken aback, how did this little girl know what she was thinking?Then he laughed and realized what the problem was.

He stood up, gently placed Cao Shi in the pool, and then hugged Zhuge Shi who hid in the distance, it was time to rest.

(End of this chapter)