Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 658
At the time of Frost's Descent, Xuzhou had just finished harvesting grain.

It’s a bit late, but there’s no way around it. This spring, a large number of masters have been conscripted outside, either as peasants from the Tutuan, or as laborers. The family can only rely on the old and weak women and children to plow the fields. The efficiency is a bit low. Plowing is over.

The common people are very afraid of Wufu, but they have to go out to collect grain, otherwise the grain will rot in the ground, and they will die sooner or later.

Qi Bizhang sat on a tree stump, watching the soldiers go from house to house to collect grain.

There are still people in the field who are making the final harvest.

A ragged woman walked slowly, holding a child in her left hand, a bamboo basket in her hand, and a handful of wheat ears in her right hand.

From the looks of it, the man in the family died or fled away, and lost the mainstay. The mother and son had no food or clothing, so they could barely survive by picking up the wheat ears left by others in the field.

There are still people crying not far away. Xuzhou has not been stable for a long time. Shi Shucong has just collected taxes.
Qi Bizhang has no expression on his face, he spent half his life fighting and killing, and even beheaded his nephew Ba Yegu for being unfavorable in battle.

Xuzhou counties, in his view, are more difficult.

The first was the seven-year Liang-Xu War, in which a large number of people in Xuzhou died or fled.They have returned one after another in the past two years, but the population is only over [-].

This time they were raided again, and the loss of personnel was very small, but the loss of local food and goods was huge.

The Flying Dragon Army has more than [-] soldiers and [-] horses, mules and donkeys. With such a big appetite, even if they don't kill people indiscriminately, just walking from county to county to collect food to meet their own consumption will not cause any damage to the local area. is huge.

There are already many people who are selling their belongings, farming cattle, and fields, and then dragging their families with them and fleeing south to Su, Si, Hao, Shou, Chu and other states.

Zhu Quanzhong painstakingly renovated Xuzhou's water conservancy, roads, and warehouses for two years, and it seems that their effectiveness has been greatly reduced.Without the people, all this would be in vain!

"Military envoy, the recruits have all been recruited. There are a total of [-] recruits, all of whom are strong and strong." A staff member came to report.

"Understood." Qi Bizhang waved his hand to show that he heard it.

It was his idea to recruit recruits in Xuzhou.

Xuzhou has a good source of soldiers, and martial arts practice is very popular.When Pang Xun returned to Xuzhou, many silver knives hidden in the countryside were defeated and bandits joined in, which greatly boosted his momentum.

Not long after Zhu Quanzhong ruled Xuzhou, his influence had not penetrated into every corner of Xuzhou.Zhang Tingfan, the Jiedu he appointed, was a good hand in resuming production, but he was a literati after all, and he did not clean up and deter the local area well. In addition, a large number of local garrisons were transferred to Shouzhou to fight the war, so the local instability is understandable.

There was the sound of clattering armor leaves, and Zhu Jin, who was wearing a helmet and wearing armor, came over and urged, "General Qibi, it's time to move."

"Zhu Shuai sit down, the old man has something to say to you." Qi Bizhang asked someone to bring a futon, pointed and said with a smile.

Zhu Jin was a little puzzled and asked, "What's the matter?"

"I wonder what Zhu Shuai thinks of King Xia?" Qi Bizhang asked.

"Not bad." Zhu Jin said lightly.

Qi Bizhang laughed loudly and said: "Zhu Shuai is really a hero, but under the general situation, manpower is irreparable?"

Zhu Jin's expression changed.

"Brother Ling doesn't want to fight with Zhu Quanzhong anymore, or he may have negotiated a peace in private. I also saw that Zhu Shuai is still willing to fight with the Liang thief, so I persuaded him with good words and said some heartfelt words." Qi Bizhang said: "Back then, I was only a chieftain in Yinshan Mountain. I had meritorious service in conquering Li Guochang and his son, so I was in charge of the military army. I don't like to command one side, but I am self-defeating? No. In fact, if the situation is like this, I have to bow my head in order to protect the family. His son and grandson Mouye. Zhu Shuai, the king of Xia has more than a dozen towns and 50 troops, and the whole loyalty can be destroyed overnight. If you take this opportunity and vote for the king of Xia, you will not lose your wealth."

Zhu Jin snorted coldly, and said: "Since the hardships, there have been many feudal towns, and the emperor ordered the generals to guard one side and pass the land on to his descendants. It has been 40 and [-] years. King Xia wants to be an enemy of all warriors in the world?"

Qi Bizhang smiled again, and said: "Well, everyone has their own ambitions. Zhu Shuai has fought side by side with me these days and killed many thieves. He also provided food, grass, wound medicine, arrows and equipment, and searched for horses and mules. It is a great achievement. King Xia's grievances It is clear that it is the future... Well, just this one effort can preserve the family's wealth."

Zhu Jin's expression changed when he heard this, but he still sneered and said, "Warrior, you should speak with the knife in your hand. If I kill Liang people, I can also kill Xia people. How much more can I say?"

Qi Bizhang felt a little bored after being choked up by Zhu Jin, so he asked, "Collect food and grass today and restore horsepower. Shi Shucong has been mobilized. I want to go straight to Suzhou tomorrow. Are you going?"

Zhu Jin hesitated for a moment, but said, "Why don't you dare?"

He brought more than 2000 cavalry out, and the states of the Taining Army were guarded by relatives and brothers, so it was expected that there would be no serious problems.The more they stir up trouble in the hinterland of the Liang people, the less Liang people will be able to deal with Yanzhou with all their strength, and he will still settle the score.

Qi Bizhang laughed out loud.

Are you still fighting for King Xia?Zhu Jin was more than brave and ruthless, but overall he was not as good as his cousin Zhu Xuan.

This person is nothing to worry about!
……

Du Guangyi hurried to Puzhou.

He was dressed like a scholar, his face was tired, and the horse on his crotch was also panting.

There are several attendants behind him, all of whom are experts in Tingwangsi or Datong Maxing, but they are also exhausted.

Wei Boluo Hongxin is quite interesting.

He resolutely does not allow Xia Jun to cross the border, but he opens his eyes and closes his eyes to private contacts and does not stop him.

This kind of grass-like operation is in line with Wei Bo's temperament of jumping up and down repeatedly.In the cracks between the three major forces, just to survive, not shabby, face counts as fart!

After entering the city, they were not in a hurry to contact Shao Lun's people. Instead, they found a restaurant to eat and drink.

After reading the "Letter from Home", Shao Lun, who was over forty years old, immediately blushed and said with a smile: "Dr. How about this, I will send someone to set up a banquet, find some prostitutes to accompany, and everyone will have fun together."

"Thank you, Ambassador Shao, for your kindness." Du Guangyi and Liu Sandou thanked together.

Du Guangyi has a post, but no rank. The standard for his salary is to be a Sanjie Chaosan doctor under the fifth rank.

Liu Sandou's status is even more shady, he also has the status of a military official, that is, Deputy Lieutenant Zhaowu under the sixth rank.

Shao Lun found his confidant servants, and after whispering, everyone moved to the secret room of the study.

"Mr. Shao, before the departure, the king had a few words." After taking his seat, Du Guangyi said.

"Please speak." Shao Lun straightened his face and listened attentively.

Now that he has made up his mind to seek refuge and doesn't want to stay on Zhu Xuan's broken ship, Shao Lun also knows that his autonomy is quite small, so his attitude is very respectful.

"Your Majesty said that soldiers and horses in Puzhou must hold hands tightly." Du Guangyi said.

"Father's words are right." Shao Lun said, "There are more than [-] soldiers from the prefecture and county. I can make a decision with one word. Only the [-]-plus men from He Gui's Department of the Ya Army stationed in Lei Ze and fought against Liang General Liu Zhijun's Department. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to use."

Shao Lun is telling the truth.He is the governor, but he can't control the army sent by Jiedushi.It is estimated that the local state and county soldiers in the hometown can command one or two, which is also his greatest value.

"The second thing is not to fight wildly, guard the door, preserve strength for future use." Du Guangyi said again.

"I would like to obey my father's order." Shao Lun replied.

Du Guangyi nodded: "Three of them, you can make an appointment with Zhu Xuanxu, so as not to be attacked by him."

"As ordered."

"Fourth, if the Flying Dragon Army envoy Qi Bizhang leads his troops northward, he can take over one or two and provide supplies."

"As ordered."

"Fifth, if you make new achievements, the king is willing to record the name of the envoy into the genealogy."

Shao Lun was a little surprised.

Adopting a adopted son these days, the name may not necessarily be included in the genealogy.Because this is a very serious matter, involving the inheritance of family property and power.In short, the adopted son entered in the genealogy has the right to inherit, although people generally prefer to let the adopted son inherit.

"He Gui..." Shao Lun pondered for a moment, slapped his thigh, and said, "Maybe we can win him over."

"Oh?" Du Guangyi was also a little surprised, and asked: "I heard that there are only three generals in Zhu Xuan's tent, the most heroic is He Gui, the second is Liu Cun, and the second is Zhang Congchu. If you can say that He Gui is surrendered, it will be a great achievement." .”

Shao Lun said with a smile: "I have always known that He Gui's ambition is extremely lofty. Compared with my father, Zhu Xuan is as powerful as a firefly and a bright moon competing for glory. It is not worth mentioning. The situation in Yunzhou is poor. Exhausted, morale is low. If He Gui wants to show off his ambitions, he can only vote for Father."

Du Guangyi nodded slightly, but he felt that Shao Lun might be too optimistic.

If he is willing to give He Gui the seat of Zhouzhou County, he also believes that He Gui is very likely to vote.If you can't, why should people vote for you before there is no knife and ax to come?
People are different.Shao Lun came to vote in order to keep his power and wealth, but He Gui didn't even have a land, so would it be beneficial to vote?Is it possible to give him a piece of land?
"Mr. Shao, please don't startle the snake, so as not to let things out." After thinking for a while, Du Guangyi said: "After I ask the king for instructions, I will make a fuss about it."

"This... alright." Shao Lun said helplessly.

He is now in a very eager mood, and he is focused on making meritorious deeds.In case King Xia wins the world in the future, then he——

You have to wake up with a smile in your dreams!
I have to make a contribution, where can I find the credit?Shao Lun was lost in thought.

Du Guangyi and Liu Sandou quietly looked at each other, and they understood.

Shao Lun is also a greedy person.Seeing that Zhu Xuan was not doing well, he jumped ship in a hurry.As for why they jumped on the ship of King Xia, one is that King Xia is the most powerful, and his strength seems to surpass Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong.

Of course Zhu Quanzhong wanted to accept Zhu Jian as his adopted son, why didn't he accept Li Fan?Because Zhu Jian's surname is Zhu, it's not too embarrassing to be Quan Zhong's adoptive son, it's as simple as that.

This side of Puzhou is a great gift from heaven, and it needs to be well maintained to become another threat to Zhu Quanzhong's east side.

Du Guangyi had a hunch that he might have to stay here for a long time.

In fact, it's nothing, as long as it comes, it will be safe.My father is a Jiedu envoy in Liangzhou, but can this Jiedu envoy be hereditary?cannot!If you can't, then you have to work harder, otherwise the status of the Du family will be worrying in the future.It's not very reliable to rely on your younger sister's female sex to get to the top after all. In King Xia's pepper house and golden house, there are countless talented women. It must be your turn to the Du family?
Puzhou, how should we proceed?Du Guangyi stroked his chin and began to think.

(End of this chapter)