A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 272
"The sand in front of Huilefeng is like snow, and the moon is like frost outside the surrendered city. I don't know how to play the reed pipe, and all the recruits can look forward to the hometown overnight."

Lingzhou government office, back to Lecheng.

This is the south of the Yangtze River, and it is recognized as the key to controlling Hetao. Although after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he voluntarily gave up Fengzhou, Shengzhou and other Dongtao areas to avoid the Turkic edge, but he refused to give in to Lingzhou in Xitao. .

From the establishment of Lingzhou in the Western Han Dynasty to Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, it has a history of 800 years.

Huaiyu and his staff climbed up to the high tower of Qinglong Temple, and they had a panoramic view of the whole city.

This Qinglong Temple was built in the 20th year of Emperor Kaihuang of the Sui Dynasty, and has a history of nearly 30 years. It has witnessed the prosperity and decline of a dynasty and the establishment of a new dynasty.

When the Sui Dynasty was strong and prosperous, the Eastern and Western Turks bowed their heads and proclaimed their vassals. The Sui army often went on expeditions outside the Great Wall, beating the disobedient Turkic Khan and fleeing in panic. Lingzhou was also very prosperous. The benefit is the prosperity of trade in the border market.

Qinglong Temple was built in Huile City on the South Bank of the Yellow River, and Xuanwu Temple was built in Lingwu City on the North Bank of the Yellow River.

There are two Lingzhou cities and two temples across the Yellow River.

Wu Huaiyu recited a poem, which attracted praise from all the staff and subordinates.

A Guanzhong mansion soldier who hadn't read many books asked the staff recruited locally, "We met Hui Lefeng when we came, and there is still a surrendered city in Lingzhou?"

There is no one in Lingzhou who does not know the surrendered city, but the surrendered city is not in Lingzhou.

Cao Weiwen, a soldier in Yanzhou Prefecture, deserves to be a descendant of the famous family in Hedong, immediately said, "The city of surrender in the poem of the military envoy should be borrowed from the city of surrender in Han Dynasty, referring to Lingzhou.

During the Han Dynasty, Uwe Shanyu died, and his son Chanyu succeeded him. However, it was snowing heavily, and the livestock froze to death due to hunger and cold. The Han Dynasty sent Gongsun Ao to build a surrendered city outside the Great Wall north of Gaoque Pass in Shuofang, and stationed troops to respond...

Wu Shijun is ordered to envoy Chijie to guard Yanzhou, and he will surely suppress the rebellion. At that time, there will be many people who know the current affairs in the puppet Liang and the Turks. Anyway, please surrender..."

The children of the noble family who read a lot are different. They can even flatter them very well.

In contrast, Niu Jianwu only knows what to say, Mr. Wu is so powerful, and he can make poems out of his mouth, which is awesome.

Xu Er, who was born in the countryside, could only say, "Dang!"

Niu Jianwu and the others asked curiously, "Did the Han Dynasty build a surrendered city, and what happened afterwards?"

Huaiyu replied, "After Gongsun Ao built the surrendered city, the Han Dynasty suspected that the surrendered city was still too far away from the Xiongnu, so they sent General Zhao Ponu to lead more than [-] riders out of Shuofang County to Mobei to meet Captain Zuo.

Unfortunately, Captain Zuo was killed by Er Shanyu. The Xiongnu sent troops to attack Zhao Poonu. Zhao Poonu fought back and retreated to the south. Captured, his army lost his commander and feared that he would return and be dealt with, so they all surrendered to the Huns.

Er Shanyu took advantage of the victory to attack the Han and surrendered the city, but the city was strong and the soldiers were brave, and could not attack for a long time, so he went to the border to plunder and return. "

The surrendered city of the Han Dynasty was built in response to the surrender of the Huns, but in the end it took more than 2 cavalry of its own. The Xiongnu headed by Hu Hanxie Shanyu led his troops back to Shanyuting, and the internal troubles of the Xiongnu were pacified. After that, the Xiongnu proclaimed their vassals to the Han for generations, and the surrendered city stopped fighting endlessly.

Historically, after Wu Zetian, the Eastern Turks returned to the country and continued to invade the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty sent troops to conquer, but they were defeated and returned. The situation on the frontier was critical. Three castles were built on the north bank of the Yellow River, called the Sanshoucheng, connected end to end, to prevent the Turkic invasion from the south.

Zhang Renyuan's strategic plan was very successful and made great contributions to resisting the Turks. Later, Zhang Renyuan became a pilgrimage minister because of it.

These three surrendered cities are located in the area of ​​Fengzhou and Shengzhou, that is, the front and back areas of Dongtao, which are far away from Lingzhou.

It is also far away from the Surrendered City in the Han Dynasty, in the south of it.

The Taotao Yellow River flows by, the river is wide and the water flows gently, and the Helan Mountain on the opposite bank stands tall. The mountains and the river jointly open a piece of the south of the Yangtze River.

From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, this place has always been an important place in the northwest frontier. Using the water of the Yellow River, it has also reclaimed and irrigated a large number of farmland.

As long as Lingzhou is not lost, not only Chang'an is safe, but also has a very good restrictive effect on the nomads outside the Great Wall, who can advance, attack and retreat.

Datang is firmly occupying Lingzhou and Liangzhou, all-powerful to keep the north of Chang'an safe. Although Liang Shidu has been separated from Xiasui for many years, but Lingzhou and Yanzhou are not lost, he can only be trapped in the north of Hengshan. climate.

Wu Huaiyu came to Lingzhou and wandered around the city for a few days, preparing to go to Yanzhou, and found that it was really lively here.

Although it is the front line of the frontier, it is much more lively than Longyou.

Lingzhou, an important military town, brought a great sense of security to the people and traders. The Yellow River here also has good shipping conditions, which drives the trade of salt, grain, cloth, livestock, etc., and it is very prosperous.

The fields connected by rice paddies outside the city are also amazing. One side of the water and soil nourishes the other side, but the Yellow River irrigates countless good fields in Hetao.

Here, Wu Huaiyu even seems to have returned to the Sanyuan of Weibei, where the canals are crisscrossed, the fields are flat and fertile, and there are villages one after another in the fields.

It's hard to imagine that this is actually the frontier of Datang's current frontier. Last year, there were even several battles here. Li Jing fought the Turkic army in Xiashi not far from here from morning to night.

Last year, on the endless grain fields here, Turkic people and horses ran everywhere, and even Turkic people drove cattle and horses to gnaw on the crops of the Tang people.

Now there are no traces of those wars here.

In the fields outside the city, the common people are busy starting the spring plowing, and the vendors on the road are driving carts and horses to sell goods in an endless stream, a thriving scene.

But in spring, the wind and sand are really big.

The strong wind could not stop for several days and nights, and the sky was full of yellow sand and dust. Although the ecology of the Ningxia Plain was better at this time, the wind and sand was still amazing.

Such a good place, but it is a pity that it is on the frontier, and the Turkic people often come to harass it.

And even so, Wu Huaiyu is not an official here, he has to go to Yanzhou to take up the post, which is barren compared to the south of the Yangtze River.

Yanzhou is more of a Gobi desert and a salt lake.

There are only two counties in total.

Grain from Lingzhou, salt from Yanzhou, cattle and sheep from Saibei, and silk and cloth from Chang'an gathered here.

The city of Lingzhou is very majestic and magnificent, and it is also tall and strong. The Turks invaded the south several times, but they could only look at the tall Lingzhou city and sigh, and there was nothing they could do.

This city was very important to the Tang Dynasty. It was so important that after the Anshi Rebellion, Li Longji abandoned Chang'an and fled to Chengdu, but Prince Li Heng came here with the support of the generals, and proclaimed himself emperor here, following Li Longji's As the Supreme Emperor, under the leadership of ZTE's famous generals Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, the Tang army took Lingzhou as its base camp, and gradually recovered Guanlong, regained the world, and rebuilt the Tang Dynasty.

And Dangxiang Qiang, who followed the Tang army to suppress the rebellion, later became a warlord in the late Tang Dynasty, controlling Yansui. Later, the Song Dynasty unified the Central Plains, and Dangxiang Qiang even separated Shuofang and established Xixia. After they captured Lingzhou, they used it as their capital. , The Song Dynasty fought with them all their lives, but they couldn't do anything to Xixia.

Later, 30 Song troops attacked Xixia, and the five-way army besieged Lingwu. They only saw the Lingwu city wall, but they were defeated in the end.

It's a pity that the governor of Lingzhou was not Li Jing last year. Li Jing was only the commander of the army. At that time, there were too few soldiers, otherwise Jieli might not have been able to pass Lingzhou, let alone go to Longyou and go to Guanzhong.

Now the teacher Li Jing is transferred from the governor of Anzhou to the central secretary of the Ministry of Punishment and the left guard of the prince. Huaiyu thinks that Li Jing should actually guard the border, such as the governor of Youzhou, the governor of Bingzhou, the governor of Lingzhou, and the governor of Liangzhou. It is really a waste to be the minister of the Ministry of punishment.

After staying in Lingzhou for a few days, the Lord of Lingzhou came.

Li Daozong, the king of Rencheng, returned to Lingzhou and was re-appointed as the governor of Lingzhou.

As soon as the prince came, he immediately sent someone to invite Wu Huaiyu to the banquet, in order to fulfill the friendship of the landlord.

Huaiyu happily went, and Flying Snake Li Wujie took his carriage and reported some information about the prince to Wu Huaiyu in the car.

Li Daozong is very young, one year younger than today's emperor, and he has a very good relationship with the emperor, and he has won the emperor's trust.

Li Daozong fought many battles, but he always followed Li Shimin. In the past, he didn't have many chances to rule alone, so his reputation was not obvious, but Huaiyu remembered that Li Shimin said later that Li Daozong, Xue Wanche and Li Ji were the two famous generals at that time. Half of the famous generals, the other half is Xue Wanche, because Xue Wanche's use of troops is either a big victory or a big defeat, which is not stable enough, while Li Ji and Li Daozong are neither big victories nor big defeats, they are as stable as old dogs.

Li Daozong was actually able to rank alongside Li Ji as a famous general at that time, so we can see that he was very good.

The year before last year when the Turks invaded, at least he was able to defend Lingzhou firmly, and seeing the current prosperity of Lingzhou, he also knew that Li Daozong was not only capable of leading troops to fight, but also capable of calming the people and governing the land.

"Ren Chengwang came out of Lingzhou in the fifth year of Wude. As soon as he took office, Liang Shidu sent his brother Liang Luoren to lead tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers to besiege Lingzhou. Li Daozong, who had just taken office, first defended the city, and then After waiting for the enemy to relax, he suddenly led his troops to attack and defeated the enemy with a few blows.

Later, Liang Shidu led Yu She to occupy the old place of Yanzhou, Rencheng Wang also personally led troops to repel him, and built and stationed in Wucheng and other fortress castles to garrison troops..."

Li Daozong has been in Lingzhou for five years, and he has fought against Master Liang, and even set up a fight with Yu She, and has never been defeated. Even if Jieli went south twice, he can't do anything about Lingzhou.

This young clan and county king, with these achievements alone, has indeed become a famous general, but because the Tang Dynasty did not really decide to start a full-scale war with the Turks before, Li Daozong was always passive in the strategy of Lingzhou, fighting back and forth. Shidu has never been killed, and the Yanxia lands are always repeated.

But this is not Li Daozong's problem at all.

"What are the hobbies of King Ren Cheng?" Huaiyu asked Li Wujie.

"Although the king of Rencheng is young, he admires the sages, never bullies others, governs the army benevolently and bravely, loves soldiers like sons, and guarding one side is also loved by the people."

Huaiyu smiled, "Isn't it possible that there are no flaws at all? People are not sages, and King Ren Cheng is considered a sage, but after all, at such a young age, he should have some hobbies, love money, love sex, or love power?"

Li Wujie admired this boss.

"This virtuous king does not love beauties and is not too keen on power. He only loves Caier. He has guarded here for five years and has hundreds of hectares of fertile land in Lingzhou. In addition, this virtuous king has been trading with Turkic people. Lingzhou Most of the cargo ships on the Yellow River and the camel caravans on land belong to this virtuous king, or he participates in it.”

"Another point is that King Rencheng has deep personal grievances with Changsun Wuji, the right servant of the new prime minister, which cannot be resolved. Before King Rencheng was recalled to Beijing to serve as Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, it is said that Changsun Wuji expressed his gratitude to the saint. admonishing, "

"Why the grudge?"

One is the emperor's uncle and the other is the emperor's cousin, both of whom are the emperor's confidantes. Why do they have unresolved grievances?
"It is said that they all fought with the emperor at the beginning. One led the army and the other was the staff of the shogunate. Later, they were ordered to lead the army to conquer all the way. However, due to disagreements, Li Daozong insisted on leading the army to attack, but Changsun Wuji refused. He died in battle, although Li Daozong escaped, almost all his troops were wiped out, and the two sides became enemies because of this..."

This made Wu Huaiyu think of Qin Qiong's elder brother, Huaiyang King Li Daoxuan, who had a quarrel with his subordinate Shi Wanbao. As a result, Li Daoxuan led the cavalry to rush into the enemy's line, but Shi Wanbao stayed put and let the general Li Daoxuan die in battle.

Unexpectedly, Changsun Wuji had done such a thing to Li Daozong before, no one would be able to bear it.

"Ren Chengwang really occupies tens of thousands of acres of land in Lingzhou?"

"Well, some are directly under his name, and some are not directly under his name. There are dozens of hectares under his name, but they all add up to hundreds of hectares."

This made Wu Huaiyu unexpected, such a young and virtuous king, who doesn't love power or beauty, why is he so rich?

Not only occupied tens of thousands of acres of land under the rule, but also deeply involved in Shuofang's business and trade, and even secretly smuggled?
Li Daozong is only in his twenties, but the Li family used to be a wealthy family in Guanlong. Li Daozong's father was also an official to the governor in the Sui Dynasty, not to mention that he was only a teenager when the Tang Dynasty was founded. .

Could it be said that Li Xiaogong is good at wine and beauty, and Li Daozong is good at money, but in fact, it is just a means of deliberate self-defilement?

After all, people have to have some flaws, and the emperor has to catch them, so that the emperor can rest assured. If you are really virtuous, without any flaws, like a saint, then the emperor will have to think about what you are planning.

If you don't want money, beauty, or power, then you want to plot the world?

Li Daozong is not only the royal family, but also the core representative of the Guanlong military aristocratic group. He has been guarding Lingzhou for five years, and he can go out of the town again, which shows that he has the emperor's trust.

Wu Huaiyu believed that Li Shimin must be very clear about Li Daozong's occupation of land, smuggling, and trade in Lingzhou.

Lingzhou is very rich and has a lot of fields. Affected by the war, Lingzhou is far from recovering to the prosperity of the Sui Dynasty. There is a lot of population loss here. Generally speaking, there are few people in the fields. Many good fields in the past have even been abandoned. not come.

After all, Turkic people often come here, and they have to be arrested every time they come. Year after year, there is a natural loss of population. The mainland of the Central Plains has just stabilized, and there will not be too many people migrating out for a while.

Li Daozong occupies tens of thousands of acres of land here, which is not a big deal. Even if Zhang Shigui and many other military upstarts are serving as governors and governors in the interior, whoever has the opportunity to occupy dozens of acres of land.

For the emperor, if it's just a normal merger and acquisition, don't go too far and grab it by force, just turn a blind eye and close your eyes.

Smuggling trade, as long as there is no smuggling of ordnance and armor, it is not a big deal.

Of course, this is a stain, and it will be recorded in the little black book. When the emperor really wants to liquidate you, he will list them one by one.

"Ren Chengwang occupies hundreds of hectares of land, how can he get so many people to cultivate it?"

"Slaves, King Rencheng has a lot of slaves, and he also took in many refugees, who fled and became tenants of his family. Also, the hundreds of hectares of land are not all grown for grain, and many of them are used to herd sheep and raise horses... ·”

Huaiyu nodded, "Okay, I know everything, go ahead."

Sitting alone in the carriage, Huaiyu is quite envious of Li Daozong, how much money he has to make this year, but since he knows that Li Daozong loves money, regardless of true love or fake love, the interests of the four major salt ponds in Yanzhou must be reserved for him first. a big serving.

Although my governor of Yanzhou is under the supervision of the governor of Xiazhou, in order to develop Yanzhou in the future, and even to make money, I still cannot do without Lingzhou, a transportation hub and a big trading city.

(End of this chapter)