end song

Chapter 886
Time is fast and fast, and time is slow.The new year has just passed, and the first month will be over in a blink of an eye.

On the morning of the 27th of the first lunar month, in the middle of the corner, the sun shines through the paper windows into the meeting hall, and occasionally the warbler cries from the willow trees in the courtyard.

The weather is just right.

The tables and chairs in the meeting hall are old, but there are two rows of officials sitting there, regardless of age, all of them are straight and energetic.

King Qin's foundation was established at a time when it was full of vitality.

"Draw the Wei River through the canal, start from Chang'an and go down the Nanshan Mountain, to the Yellow River for more than 850 miles, and then control the abandoned weirs and camp 25 farms, with a total of [-] four hectares of land, and about [-] stones will be harvested this autumn..."

Xi Jihu was still reading the booklet with both hands, talking about the number of acres of fields this year's spring plowing from Guanzhong to Hexi.

"It is appropriate to build a town in ancient Liangzhou to prepare for the captives. Please set up farmland around the city, open up 3000 hectares of land, place [-] troops, and [-] cattle to cultivate it, and then set up a fortress to make it Separate. If there are no invaders, we will farm, and when invaders come, we will fight..."

He's talking about numbers.

The guards standing at the four corners of the meeting hall were so sleepy that they knocked their heads down many times.

Li Xia, who was sitting at the top, didn't feel bored at all, and listened carefully while memorizing, in order to be aware of these things.

In fact, it is precisely because he, the king of Qin, has always been diligent and upright, and acts like a leader, that makes his subordinates look like they are doing things seriously.

Some people can laugh and laugh, live out of themselves, and get distracted when they hear these numbers are boring, as Sun Deyu said, "Tao follows nature and is unrestrained."Li Xia can't, as long as he wants to fight against Mongolia in this troubled world, he must do what ordinary people can't do.

As for "unrestrained" is not a luxury for him, it is a concept that does not exist at all.

Li Xia has such a self-consciousness, and the officials in the hall are also very satisfied with him.

Han Chengxu, who was sitting at the top, looked at him and was filled with emotion. Li Xia, who was always scarred in the past, is now graceful and elegant, with neatly combed hair and a robe that is not luxurious, but shows his majesty.

One side was still talking, while Guan De walked in from behind lightly.Try to put an official document on Li Xia's desk without worrying you.

The only document that can be sent in during the discussion is the "Military Intelligence Department will send it as soon as it has information" that Li Xia explained.

Looking at it, there are two letters, the sealing wax is intact, one is Lin Zi's information, and the other is Li Zengbo's reply.

Li Xia raised his hand and stopped Xi Jihu's report, because he would continue to listen later.

He opened the two letters and read them. He glanced around the hall, handed the letter to Han Chengxu, and said, "Let's take a look...According to the investigation of the Military Intelligence Department and the judgment of the Hexi Jinglue Mansion, the Mongolian army is in Jiuyuan City. There is no [-] troops, Xingqing Mansion can fight."

As soon as he said this, everyone in the hall became a little nervous.

Han Chengxu first exchanged glances with Yang Guo, and handed over the information in his hand.

Behind Han Qi'an, Li Ye, Wu Pu, Xi Jihu, Lu Xiufu, Dong Wenyong and others, although they haven't read the letter yet, they all look like they have something to say...

Speaking of which, it has not been a day or two since Li Xia wanted to attack Xingqing Mansion.As early as the year before last, when Li Fen's rebellion had not yet been quelled, he and Li Zengbo sent troops to the Hexi Corridor, but had to stop when Kublai Khan turned around and attacked Guanzhong when attacking Xingqing Mansion.

After the Battle of Guanzhong ended, Li Xia breathed a sigh of relief, and Li Xia sent the Military Intelligence Department to find out how many troops Kublai Khan had left in Hetao, in order to continue to attack Xingqing Mansion.

These, everyone knew beforehand, there are two things that they are nervous about, one is that the scale of the war should not be too large, and it is time to rest with the people;

Since the beginning of the new year, Li Xia has gone out of the city from time to time to personally train the selection camp. If it is said that King Qin is good at martial arts and has kept a little hobby, everyone can accept it.

But if it is for the purpose of conquest of Xingqing Mansion, absolutely not...

All of a sudden, everyone bowed to Li Xia.

"Kings!"

"It seems that everyone wants to speak enthusiastically." Li Xia said: "Old Han, let's talk first."

Han Chengxu twirled his gray beard, pondered for a while, and didn't talk about strategy, but the issue of food and grass.

"Since the six years of Xingchang, Sichuan and Shu have fought against Mongolia every year until March last year. In other words, before last year, no matter how much Sichuan and Shu captured or harvested, they were basically consumed in this war. Pensions, rewards..."

He spoke very slowly, and the meaning in his words could be expressed in one word—poor.

Then he talked about the situation under Li Xia's rule.

Dali did not say that it lost money, but without 20 years of interest, it is basically impossible to provide much taxation, or it is not enough to transport some poor money and grass from Dali to cover the consumption on the road.Song Taizu's jade ax waved away this place, not without reason.

Fortunately, Sichuan and Shu, including Hanzhong, had a bumper harvest last year.

Although it is impossible to achieve the fruit of supplying 1000 million shi of rations like 30 years ago after 150 million people were killed by the Mongolian army, Li Xia still confiscated nearly 30 shi of grain.

This can be called a miraculous output, and it is also the first time since he took office that he has accumulated it.

But if Kublai Khan hadn't turned around to fight Brother Ali, 30 shi of food would not be enough to continue the war. Counting the loss on the road, it might be wiped out in two or three months.

If you are not lucky, why carry it?

If you are lucky enough to save this little money and food, you need to repair water conservancy, build city defenses, increase armaments, build bridges and build roads, and accumulate food and grass to deal with Mongolia's national offensive in the future...

How much can I take to fight Xingqing Mansion?

After Han Chengxu expressed this meaning, his tone became more and more solemn.

"How much does it cost to attack Xingqing Mansion now? How much money and food will you get in two or three years if you take down Xingqing Mansion? Will it help the king resist the offensive of the Mongolian Yuan army?"

Li Xia said: "If we want to settle this account, it must be a loss. Not to mention two or three years, if we occupy Xingqing Mansion, we will have to spend more money and food to guard this place and maintain its status within five or ten years. Order, this battle is definitely not worthwhile."

More land is by no means better.

Including Dali and Xixia, it's not that the Song army can't fight, but it's not cost-effective.

Why even negotiate a peace after winning a battle?Behind this seemingly absurd situation is the trade-off considerations of the princes in Song Chengping.

The food grown in these places is far less than the food consumed to occupy it.

The Mongolian army's solution to this problem is much simpler.

massacre.

When a city is captured, it is slaughtered, gold, grain, jewelry, food and supplies are looted, and everyone is killed.Therefore, the Mongolian army became stronger as it fought, and no country could compete with it.

Li Xia looked very stupid. Over the years, he occupied too much land, but he never had enough troops and money to defend it.So stretched and difficult...

"But war can't just be cost-effective. We have to fight the Xingqing Mansion before we can fight the Hetao. Occupying the Hetao can be regarded as seizing the springboard for the Hulu to go south. What we need is this strategic position, so it is worthwhile to consume money and food What's more, the main force of the Mongolian army is not in the Central Plains right now, so we can afford this battle."

Han Chengxu's original intention was not to oppose the attack on the Xingqing Mansion, but to remind Li Xia how much money and food he had available.

Since Li Xia knew it well, he stopped and looked at Dong Wenyong.

Dong Wenyong had finished reading the two letters, and pondered: "Last year Hao Tianyi found out that Hedan led a [-]-strong army to station in Jiuyuan City. Now there are successive reports that Taiyuan is empty. Is it possible that Meng Yuan wants to lure us?" ?”

It is very natural for him to say "Mengyuan" and "we" now.

"Since the Military Intelligence Department and Hexi Jinglue Mansion both believe that Jiuyuan City is empty, this matter can be confirmed." Li Xia knocked on the table and emphasized: "Don't forget, for Kublai Khan, the grassland is more important than the Central Plains ,This is for sure."

Everyone was silent for a while.

They were all afraid that Li Xia would say that he wanted to conquer Xingqing Mansion himself.

There are too many reasons, not only worrying about Li Xia's safety, thinking that it is no longer necessary to go to the battlefield in person as King Qin, but also fearing that the battle will be expanded because of Li Xia's personal conquest.

Moreover, although Li Xia often listens to other people's suggestions, he has always had his own opinions. Once he has made up his mind, no one will be able to persuade him.

At this time, seeing that Li Xia had got up and was about to give an order, everyone became more and more nervous.

Lu Xiufu unconsciously took a step forward, ready to persuade him.

Fortunately, Li Xia only said: "Then, at the request of Hexi Jinglue Mansion, Li Zengbo is allowed to send troops to attack Xingqing Mansion, and send [-] shi of grain and grass to support Hexi. What do you guys think?"

Regardless of whether they felt sorry for this batch of food and grass, everyone breathed a sigh of relief...

~~
After discussing the matter, the Han family father and son returned to the study at home, and Han Qi'an said: "A while ago, I saw that the king was always asking about Mongolian news every day, and he also compiled and practiced the selection camp. I felt that he couldn't hold back."

Han Chengxu sat down on the chair slowly, and also spoke slowly, saying: "The king's hard work is deep in his bones, but he wants to use up any spare energy, he doesn't want to stop, he doesn't want to rest... But no matter where you want to fight this year, all you can get out is the [-] stones of food and grass, and if you run out, you won’t have to worry about it.”

This sentence reveals his understanding of Li Xia, a little helpless and a little relieved.

In short, this little family fortune was spent, and Li Zengbo went to fight Xingqing Mansion. Li Xia could only be safe if he didn't want to be safe.

"Yeah, since the beginning of the new year, I have always been thinking about the matter between Brother Alibu and Kublai Khan, and how much the war five thousand miles away has to do with Guanzhong..."

(End of this chapter)