Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 480 Lobbyist (addition for leader Xiaolong V)

"Why are you running? Can't you see the crops are about to be harvested? Go back, don't worry!" In the field of Xiangyang County, a Xia Jun primary school stopped the farmers who were about to escape by boat, and said, "Warriors fight wars, and it's even your fault." What? Go home and stay."

On the big post road, more than [-] Weisheng Army infantry are marching rapidly.

They looked at the rice that was about to be harvested in the field from the corner of their eyes, which was very magical.

Lingxia also has rice, but very little.The rice distributed to everyone in the army is usually corn.The so-called "rice" price posted by the grain bank also refers to the price of corn.

In the land of eight states in the east of Shannan, the rice-wheat rotation is the main crop, with wheat harvested in summer and rice harvested in autumn, and the harvest is relatively abundant.

Among these states and counties, Xiang, Tang, and Deng prefectures are probably the most developed.

In Tangzhou, there is "Ma Renpi, in the north of the county (Biyang County), which can irrigate tens of thousands of hectares."——To be able to irrigate tens of thousands of hectares of fields, the amount of water must be sufficient. A canal in Xiazhou can only irrigate hundreds of hectares or more than a thousand hectares Hehe, the amount of water is not enough, there is no way.

There is a long canal in Xiangzhou, "the water from Yanyan is used to irrigate the fields, and the fields are all fertile soil."

The mountainous areas are relatively backward. Like Jin and Shang, Junzhou has a high proportion of slash-and-burn farming, and the farming technology is very backward. It is similar to the Banan prefectures in Shannan West Road. There are many barbarians and beasts. The people believe in witches and ghosts. The difference is not small.

Ying, Fu and other prefectures are also well developed.But the potential has not been realized at all, for no other reason, the population is too small.

However, there is a lot of land and abundant water. It only needs to clear up a small area and irrigate ten thousand hectares of land to feed the people of the whole prefecture.

What a great place!
Zhe Zongben is riding on a war horse. Based on his experience in handling government affairs, the potential for development here is huge, but it will take a lot of effort to develop and straighten it out.

I consulted the staff before and learned that "the counties in the southern Han Dynasty are often plagued by rivers, and every time they drift away, the towns will be in danger."

But that was a hundred years ago, and now it seems that the situation is much better.Water conservancy facilities have been completed in at least some places. If we continue to develop, how can we know that it is not a place where food is important for one yuan?
After the number of household registrations increased, we continued to develop outward, and the number of villages in the village gradually increased, and I felt that it had a better future than Guanzhong.

But it's still an old problem. There are too few people in the south, not as dense as Guanzhong, Henan, and Hebei.

"Has the envoy sent to Yicheng County come back?" Zhe Zongben turned his head and asked.

Gu Chengling Jingdao clamped the horse's belly, and the horse galloped out quickly, his face turned pale with fright, and he yelled.

The sergeants roared with laughter.

The two riders chased after him, one left and one right, and after some busy work, they came back holding the reins of Jingdao's horse.

"Huai Zhe Shuai." Jing Dao took a breath, his face was full of fear, and he only heard him say: "I haven't come back yet."

The envoy was sent by him. He respects the old servants and often participates in confidential matters.

"In this land of Jianghan, the speed of galloping horses is far less than that of Guanbei." Zhe Zongben sighed.

The water network is densely covered, there are many swamps, old forests can be seen everywhere, the post roads are dilapidated, and there are very few, and travel is mostly by water.Zhe Zongben has fought all his life, so he has seen it well.

If we attack the south in the future, we still have to rely on infantry to win.A navy may be needed, and there is one in Xiangyang, but Zhu Quanzhong's navy is the largest in the north.

My son-in-law built a so-called navy many years ago, but so far there are only two ships, so it can only catch businessmen who evade taxes, which is not of great use.

"Magistrate Jing, would you like to go to Tangzhou with me? I promise you the post of Biyang Commander." Zhe Zongben asked suddenly.

"I can't ask for it." Jing Daoxi descended from the sky, and naturally agreed repeatedly.

Gucheng has already opened the door to welcome the surrender. Although it is unusual in this era, it still makes the superiors feel unhappy.Biyang is the first county in Tangzhou, so it is better to be an official there than to stay in Gucheng.

But why Tangzhou?
Jing Dao rolled his eyes in a circle, constantly savoring the meaning of this sentence in his heart.

"Bianzhou Jingxiang, does it have anything to do with you?" Zhe Zongben asked again abruptly.

"Of course not." If it wasn't for his poor equestrian skills, Jing Dao would have sworn to God: "Jing Xiang claimed to be after King Jinghui of Pingyang County, but most of them were pretending. The genealogy of Hedong Jing's family does not have this person's name."

Zhe Zongben nodded: "Old slave of the Zhu family, it is expected that he is not the empress of a famous minister."

Jing Xiang is a bit too diligent in his work.He often couldn't sleep at night, and was very busy until very late. Zhu Quanzhong advised him to rest, and Jing Xiang said that he could take a short rest while on the horse.

It is even more commonplace to forget to eat for official business.

Zhu Quanzhong often loses his temper, and others dare not persuade him.Jingxiang did not persuade directly, but enlightened in a roundabout way, starting from irrelevant trivial matters, so that Zhu Quanzhong could wake up by himself.

To do things like this is astonishing.

If this kind of person is his subordinate, of course it is very good.But Zhu Quanzhong was his son-in-law's enemy, Zhe Zongben was naturally displeased, and calling him "Zhu's old slave" clearly showed his inner opinion.

"If the matter in Xiangyang goes well, I will go to Biyang." Zhe Zongben sighed: "It's hard work."

Tang Deng Sui Jiedushi, hehe, is this Jiedushi so easy to be?
I'm afraid that as soon as he took office, the land of the three states would be raging with war, there will be no moon without war, no sun without attack, and how many of the children of the family will live to the end to enjoy the wealth and honor?

"What happened in Xiangyang?" Jingdao looked up at the tall city wall in the distance, and began to brainstorm wildly.

Zhe Zong didn't bother to care what he was thinking, his current target was Zhao Kuangning.

Seventeen thousand people were captured in the battle of Xiaojiangkou.Zhe Zongben sent back the peasants who were temporarily recruited among them, but they were of no use at all. They were all field husbands trained during the slack season.The level of spear and archery is very average, and he doesn't like it at all.

The rest have been reorganized. At present, the Weisheng army has expanded to 2 people, including [-] infantry and [-] cavalry.

The number of people has greatly expanded, but the combat effectiveness has fallen off a cliff.It is not only the lack of skills of the troops surrendered in Shannan Dongdao itself, but also the influence of unsteady people's hearts, which still needs time to rectify.

"When you arrive at the city of Xiangyang, set up camp immediately." Zhe Zongben gave the order.

……

"Queer, do you still dare to come to see me?" Zhao Kuangning, in the Zhao Mansion in Xiangyang, was furious when she saw Zhao Cen coming alone. Over you? Even your wife was brought up with the help of my late father, how dare you surrender?"

"The building is about to fall, and it cannot be restored by human power." Zhao Cen looked ashamed, but he still said: "Uncle, when I entered the city, I saw that there were few people in the city and all businesses were dying. The dignitaries have already gone out of the city in big carts and small carts to escape. Why does uncle condone such a disturbing act? Is it unwilling? Or can't?"

Zhao Kuangning was at a loss for words.

After returning from Xiaojiangkou's disastrous defeat, he should have immediately summoned troops to bring in food and grass from outside the city, evacuate the people, do a move to fortify the walls and clear the wilderness, and then close the city gates tightly, guarding them wholeheartedly, waiting for the enemy to retreat.

But he couldn't do either.It was only after learning that Xia Zei's cavalry appeared near Xiangyang that they reluctantly closed the city gate, which caused dissatisfaction among many people.

Anyone with a little influence in the city basically ran out to take shelter on the day they heard the news.They knew that Xia Bandit didn't kill people indiscriminately, so they distributed donations everywhere and lost some property, which was a trivial matter.

On the contrary, if you stay in the city, once the army besieges the city and attacks day and night, God knows what will happen.

The defenders don't care what your status is, maybe they will rush into your house to rape and plunder, can the officers stop it?not necessarily.

After the city is broken, what if Xia Bandit has suffered too many casualties and wants to take revenge?
Many people are unwilling to stay in the city and die.

But their fleeing out of the city will obviously affect the morale of the defenders. Zhao Kuangning can't even stop this, or he doesn't want to stop it, which is obviously a sign of incompetence.

"Uncle, I don't lie, the four counties of Suizhou have surrendered, today I'm here to be a lobbyist." Zhao Cen said very bachelorly: "I think uncle also knows that it's impossible to do without some blood. Don't mention the matter of money and silk, it's useless, and people don't care about it. In the seven counties of Xiangzhou, rice is everywhere, and Zhezong didn't attack the city, but sent people to harvest the rice, so that the army could Sufficient food. Dengcheng, Gucheng, Yicheng and other counties have asked to surrender, and there is no shortage of money and silk. The owner of my uncle is nothing more than the isolated city of Xiangyang, plus a little bit of people's hearts."

"Zhao Fan of Dengzhou and Zhao Fan of Tangzhou may still be thinking about the kindness of the uncle's cultivation and promotion back then. The soldiers may still remember the old love of the uncle leading them into Xiangyang, everyone married wives and had children, and lived and worked in peace and contentment. It’s my uncle’s heart.” Zhao Cen said: “However, kindness is fragile and people’s hearts are changeable. There are many people in this world who are wolf-hearted and don’t miss old love. Time has dragged on for a long time, and people can see Uncle’s weakness. Then no one will be obedient, and the hearts of the people will be in vain.”

The people's hearts mentioned by Zhao Cen can be the feudal town or the imperial court.

Before the imperial tiger's skin was stripped off, everyone was very obedient.Those who have benefited are also very grateful, and they don't stop making offerings.

But after the tiger's skin was stripped off, everyone sighed that the court had come to this point.

At this time, people's hearts will start to lose, but not all at once, because the change of people's thinking needs a process.But in any case, this is a trend, and over time, loyalty will inevitably decrease.This can be seen from the fact that the number of vassal towns offering offerings is decreasing every year, and the imperial court is slowly losing the hearts of the world.

After Xiaojiangkou's disastrous defeat, the Zhao family's rule in Shannan Dongdao encountered a huge crisis.

If it weren't for the governors and generals stationed in various places, who were either members of the Zhao clan or old people promoted by the Zhao clan, if their cohesion was relatively high, they would have fallen apart long ago.

Zhao Kuangning carefully chewed these words.

Are Zhao Fan and Zhao Fan still obedient?Maybe you can still listen to it now, but what about the future?The longer the time drags on, the more people plan for themselves.There is no right or wrong in the world, it is normal.

"Maybe my uncle wants to ask for help from Bianzhou. But who is Zhu Quanzhong? Xiong is suspicious, lenient on the outside and jealous on the inside, and throwing him is his own death. Don't uncle know how An Shiru and Guo Fan died?" Zhao Cen Without giving Zhao Kuangning time to think, she pressed her step by step.

"However, Quanzhong may allow me to continue to sit in Xiangyang." Zhao Kuangning said, her momentum was not as strong as before, it seems that Zhao Cen's words just now had some effect after all.

In fact, Zhu Quanzhong attacked Shannan Dongdao for the first time in history, and Zhao Kuangning was defeated.

This time it was his luck.Because when Zhu Quanzhong attacked the three prefectures of Zhaoyi in Hebei where Li Keyong was based, although Ge Congzhou led his army to defeat Li Sizhao and Zhou Dewei, Li Keyong continued to increase his troops, and the war did not stop.

Luo Hongxin, the envoy of Weibo Jiedu, is facing a sensitive transfer of power.

Wang Ke and Wang Gong competed for the position of commander in the middle of the river, and Wang Gong led the Bian army into the middle of the river.

With so many major events happening, Zhu Quanzhong didn't have the energy to take care of Shannan Dongdao, which allowed him to escape by luck.

Otherwise, the outcome is unpredictable.

"Shu De also wishes that my uncle will continue to serve as an envoy of the loyal army." Zhao Cen said.

"Oh? Are you serious?" Zhao Kuangning cheered up, but still hesitated.

"Uncle." Zhao Cen looked at his words and said again: "Do you still remember what happened to Zhuge Zhongfang on the Shannan West Road? Zhuge Shuang died of illness, Zhongbao and Zhongfang fought for the throne, Shude raised his troops to Xingyuan, stabilized the situation, and did not Corruption and occupation of prefectures and counties in the west of Shannan. He has always been trustworthy in his words, generous and benevolent, he will not kill surrenders, and will not kill prisoners. If you surrender to him, you will have no worries."

Zhao Kuangning's expression became more lively, and she asked, "Shu De is true to his word, I believe it, but what is his plan?"

"The King of Lingwu County sent an envoy named Pei Yuan to give him full powers. He said that uncle can be appointed as the envoy of the Loyalty Army to lead the three prefectures of Xiang, Ying, and Fu." Zhao Cen said.

"What?" Zhao Kuangning turned pale with shock, and said, "Now I still have Xiang, Ying, Tang, Deng, and Fang in my hands, but Ann only gives me three states? Fuzhou is also in the hands of that actor."

"Uncle." Zhao Cen raised his voice and said, "Fangzhou is hanging out alone, and it will fall sooner or later. The seven counties of Xiangzhou, how many counties are still in hand now? Yingzhou is empty, and I am afraid it will be blown down. Another , Zhezong has sent his cavalry north to Tangzhou to contact Zhao Fan, if Zhao Fan comes to surrender on his own initiative, what else can uncle rely on?"

"Tangzhou will not surrender." Zhao Kuangning shook his head and said, "Even if Zhao Fan surrendered, he can only surrender alone. Tangzhou soldiers will not surrender."

"Even if Tangzhou does not surrender, my uncle only has the three states of Xiang, Tang, and Deng. Zhezong is recruiting and accepting rebels, and his army has reached [-]. As long as it takes a little time, Tangzhou may not be invincible." Zhao Cen said: "Uncle , the kindness left by my uncle will become less and less in the future, and it can be sold for a little price at this time, but no one will want it later."

What Zhao Cen said was harsh, but it was the truth, and Zhao Kuangning fell into a dilemma again.

Zhao Cen didn't rush him, and sat there quietly, giving him time to think.

　Ask for a monthly ticket, thank you very much.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)