Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 815 Heyang and Rouzhou

On June [-]th of the fourth year of Qianning, on the Yellow River, "grain ships and merchant ships looked at each other back and forth, sailing unimpeded."

Song Le, the Heyang Jiedu envoy, recently discovered something. The frequency of Liang Jun's navy dispatches has been greatly reduced, and he is not willing to move.During the few demonstrations in the three cities of Heyang, anyone who was careful could see that Liang Jun's ships seemed to be poorly maintained and a little tattered.

Navy is a unit that costs money to maintain every year.Ship planks and sail cables need to be regularly repaired or replaced, and the hull needs to be maintained and painted.If it is a sea-going ship, it even has to be pulled into the dock regularly, scraped the bottom of the ship, and then coated with anti-sea maggots, each of which will cost money.

What is certain is that Liang people had financial problems, which led to poor maintenance of naval ships and greatly reduced the frequency of dispatches.

This situation naturally provides great convenience for water transport between the four towns of Shaanxi, Hezhong, Dongdu, and Heyang.

On June [-]th, ten ships set off from Mengzhou, loaded with corn and beans, arrived at Luokou, and returned the same day.

On the [-]th, [-] ships carrying [-] dendrobium, millet and wheat arrived at Biankou, and returned on the same day.

Today, more than [-] ships loaded with grain, beans, hay, dried meat, and wine arrived at Biankou.

The continuous successful transportation has greatly encouraged the Xia army, because it means that the transportation cost has been greatly reduced, it can reduce the recruitment of grain transporters, and it can pile up more troops on the front line.

The river is bustling with activity, and the countryside is also in full swing.

The summer harvest has entered the mid-market and is even nearing the end.

The Tutuan villagers who once rode horses and held bows to Zheng, Bian, and Hua made a big fuss took up their sickles, and despite the scorching sun, they worked hard to harvest the wheat in the field.

God is very kind, after the golden wheat grains were slapped down, there was a strong wind again.The farmers were tired, but beaming, they swept the valleys with the wind, blowing away the shriveled grains and grass clippings.The hen and her chicks happily chased the shriveled valley, pecking at it non-stop.The old cow was locked in the cowshed, staring at the grains with big innocent eyes, chewing non-stop.

The farmers who harvested first have even finished drying the wheat grains.They carefully put away the wheat, and then looked at the full barn, feeling particularly at ease.

Well, the Zelu next door has just finished harvesting, but it seems that there is not enough to eat.Li Hanzhi's troops were ready to move, as if they were going south to plunder.They even thought about the reason: Heyang Jiedu envoy Song Le lured the people of Zelu, and most of the people in the sixteen counties of the two prefectures fled to the south. Two counties.

Admittedly, this is the truth.Just like Sergeant Li, the people of Shangdang really can't stand them, and fleeing is normal.Song Le took in all the people who had fled, and resettled them in batches in Heyang (the part south of the Yellow River), Sishui, and Heyin counties. They basically didn't cover them up much, and they were not afraid at all. What can you do to me?
Seeing this, Li Hanzhi and the others gritted their teeth.But after thinking about it, I really dare not make mistakes.Especially after the Chen-Xu war ended, the news of the destruction of the [-] Liang army shocked the world. Li Hanzhi himself was a little cautious, so he never made a move.

It is better to rob Wei Bo than to rob Heyang!
On this day, Shao Shude and Song Le sat and drank wine under the green shade of the sandbar where Zhongyi City in Heyang was located.At that time, the river breeze was blowing gently, sweeping away the heat, Duandi was very comfortable.

"Your Majesty, if you look at the Liangren Navy, you will know that the arrogant soldiers will fall, and they will no longer have the vigor of the past, and it will be easy to break." Song Le is over fifty, but in good spirits. At this time, he talked with Shao Shude about the news that the Liangren Navy was "destroyed". , There is a lot of sarcasm in the words.

"Last year's flood did not cause serious damage." Shao Shude looked at the reconstructed Heyang Pass (Zhonglu City) and said with emotion, "The city was washed away, not many trees survived, and the vegetable beds and orchards were flooded. , the raised fish also ran away..."

Of course, the biggest loss was the pontoon bridge, which had to be rebuilt.Moreover, the quality of the rebuilt bridge is not as good as before, because those ships were built after emergency logging. First, the sources of wood are different. Some wood is not suitable for shipbuilding, but it is also used at critical moments; second, the wood has not been dried in the shade or dried. It will be damaged in a short time, and its lifespan is very short, and it will be replaced one after another, which is very troublesome-the boat used in the original pontoon bridge was manufactured in Hongzhou, Jiangxi, and then transported to Heyang.

"Your Majesty, fortunately, Meng and Huai have not suffered any catastrophe, and the embankment is still stable. This year, the two prefectures are Daren, and the people are in peace." Song Le smiled and said: "If your Majesty wants to eat fish, just send someone to catch some. Trouble."

The Yellow River embankment, as long as you don't mess around, is generally not that fragile.

Shao Shude remembered that during the last emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty, he had to climb the embankment of the Yellow River once, and finally cheated himself.The original intention of paving the Yellow River was to prevent the cavalry of the Jin army from going south to harass, but when Li Cunxu attacked Bianliang unexpectedly, his main force was unable to quickly return to aid because of the blockage of the Yellow flooded area, and it was not good.

"Meng Huai has developed for four years, right?" Shao Shude asked suddenly.

Song Le was startled, and understood Shao Shude's intention.

To be honest, he has been in Hanoi for several years in Zhenmeng.As the saying goes, a piece of white paper is easy to paint, and he works comfortably in Hanoi, and it is adjacent to the core area of ​​the Central Plains, which is quite different from Shengzhou, where he devoted a lot of energy.

King Xia probably meant that taxes would be collected in Heyang, and Song Le knew it very well.

"It was acquired in the fifth year of Dashun. In the second half of the year, they immigrated for reclamation. Before the winter solstice, they recorded more than [-] households and more than [-] people." He said: "Since the first year of Qianning, immigrants have continued to reclaim wasteland, and the household registration has increased sharply. The wealth produced in the two prefectures and ten counties is mostly used for resettlement. Moreover, Heyang Nancheng, Sishui County, and Heyin County are newly built and dilapidated. The people still need relief. The rivers, post roads, ponds, and irrigation canals still need to be repaired. The pasture has added [-] horses this year. There are many shortages of manpower and fodder, and it is necessary to open up fields to plant millet and wheat for the horses to survive the winter. The villagers are educated , is also a big expense..."

What Song Le said is true.

Heyang's achievements are outstanding, but there are also many problems. He has just passed the most difficult stage, and it's really not time to pick the fruit.Besides, Meng Huaixiang fought bravely every year and sacrificed a lot of his life. The combat effectiveness of Huazhou immigrants who were despised by the generals in the past has also been greatly improved. Isn't this a contribution?
The people of Heyang are suffering too much, it is best to delay for two years.

Seeing Song Le like that, Shao Shude smiled and said, "Sir, don't worry. This year's summer harvest and autumn harvest will not be subject to household tax, only land tax will be levied. Next year's summer harvest will start to levy two taxes. How about it?"

"Alright." Song Le knew that this was the best condition he could get for the people of Heyang, so he immediately agreed.

Seeing that Song Le agreed so quickly, Shao Shude felt a little regretful, and asked unwillingly, "Sir, give me the bottom line. If heavy taxes are imposed and the people are not forced to live, how much food can Heyang collect in a year?"

"There are still 80 Dendrobium." Song Le replied.

This is land tax, not grain production, and generally speaking, such a heavy tax is not charged.Shao Shude just wanted to know how much merit Heyang could provide under the extreme "bitter and bitter" situation.

Moreover, the three-crop crop rotation system in Heyang has not been fully promoted because of the lack of livestock.After gradual and in-depth promotion later on, the total grain output will not be greatly improved, because a considerable part of the farmland planted with grain will be converted to pasture. This impact cannot be ignored, unless the frantic immigration continues, but it is obviously unlikely, and some people are also Priority will be given to Henan Prefecture and Ruzhou.

"Not bad." Shao Shude said.

The Wuwei Army, which is still being reorganized, has 60 infantry and [-] cavalry. If they fight for a year, they will eat [-] grains and beans.Heyang has already been able to support the food consumption of a "Forbidden Army", and if more hay is collected, it may be more.

The Wuwei Army was the first unit in the entire army to start reorganization, but because the Jishi Army had not yet arrived, they still had to wait.

The reorganization of the Iron Forest Army has been completed, and it is practicing in Ruzhou.

The reorganization of the army cannot be completed in a few days.After the reorganization is completed, it is not immediately possible to participate in the battle.Because the original organizational structure and staffing have undergone great changes, it will take time to get familiar with and restore combat effectiveness.After the reorganization of the Tielin Army was completed, they practiced in Ruzhou for some time, and then they could be transferred to other directions to practice while fighting.

The troops in the Huaizhou camp fought with the Wei people for a year, and there were actually a lot of casualties.At present, there are still more than 7000 people in the Heyuan Army, more than 3000 in the Yumen Army, and more than [-] in the Baoyi Army, a total of more than [-] people.

Shao Shude planned to let them reorganize with the Tianxiong Army. The army currently has 9000 people, and another [-] Liang troops will be transferred to make up [-] troops.If the cavalry is not enough, some of the red-haired soldiers of the Yumen Army will be changed to cavalry. Anyway, there are many of them who can ride and fight, but they don’t have horses. Fifteen thousand soldiers surrendered, digesting nearly half of them.

"Your Majesty, there is a military report." Yeli Kecheng came to the shade of the tree and reported.

Shao Shude glanced at him, the young man was out of breath, trotting all the way here, he was not as light as Li Zhong in handling things.

Open the box and check the seal of each military newspaper, and then review it slowly.

"Yang Yue has arrived in Rouzhou." Shao Shude casually said to Song Le: "I don't know how Li Keyong will react."

Old man Yang received the order at the end of the first ten days of March, and waited for more than a month for recruiting and gathering from various ministries.In fact, this is also normal. In the season when the grass has not yet turned green, the hay of each tribe is very tight, and it takes a lot of trouble to prepare it.What's more, the grass in the north of Yinshan Mountain doesn't turn green until May, and it doesn't grow very high, so the horses won't be able to eat it if they go early.

All the knights gathered to Ling, Sheng, and Feng, and trained separately for a month, and the originally noisy tribal soldiers became a little disciplined.

At the beginning of June, the whole army marched to Johor State in batches, and carried out a second round of rectification of the tribe's strong men.Following the old system of Tubo, the left, middle and right wings are divided into three wings. The wing chief governs ten thousand households, one thousand households, one hundred households, and several young generals. The generals raised their horsepower in the Rouzhou grassland, and then divided their troops and marched eastward.

Shao Shude looked at the date of signature: June [-]th.

Calculating the time, it's almost time for the battle. The Albus family is not sure if they are ready.

(End of this chapter)