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Chapter 929 Strategies for governing the country
As an important border town in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qinzhou was responsible for trade, friendship, and exchanges with various foreign countries.

The governance in Qinzhou is also very different from other inland areas.

When ruling in Qinzhou, the main task was to reconcile the relationships among the various ethnic groups within the territory and to assimilate the foreign ethnic groups within the territory through culture.

Build cities and forts at important passways, strengthen exchanges with various Tibetan tribes outside the territory, and enhance the military defense capabilities of the state capital.

Sheng Changbai was not very interested in participating in these tasks that should have been done by Zhizhou.

The main purpose of coming here is to understand the situation of the foreign tribes in the country. Solving some of the war horse problems is the basis.

The most ideal situation is to develop these people into Dazhou's younger mercenaries.

The administrative seat of Qinzhou is in Chengji County within the territory. After Sheng Changbai arrived, he first reported to the Yamen with his official badge.

I met the magistrate and some of the officials who stayed in the government office and were on duty. They signed letters to judge official affairs, recommended military officials, Cao officials recorded affairs and joined the army, managers joined the army, and sihu joined the army.

Then he went to settle down in the back office of the Tongpan Hall. In the evening, he attended the reception banquet held by the state office and met several military attachés stationed in Qinzhou.

Sheng Changbai officially showed up in Qinzhou.

As the second assistant official who can supervise the prefecture, Tong San's first thing after taking office is to take over the treasury.

Check whether there are any problems with the accounts and whether the materials that should be available in the treasury are complete.

Judging from the national conditions of Dazhou, the difference is not big and is within the tolerance range.

Then Sheng Changbai simply checked the accounts without going into too much detail.

Even though a large part of the taxes of the Great Zhou Dynasty has been provided to the northwest, this place is still short of money.

Military spending on border defense is a bottomless pit that cannot be filled.

It is common here for the treasury to be embezzled.

After taking control of the treasury and doing his duty well, Sheng Changbai did not make any unnecessary moves.

In Qinzhou, it is better to familiarize yourself with the situation first and attend some gatherings of officials, businessmen, landlords, squires, and literati.

After identifying all the important figures in Qinzhou City.

Sheng Changbai left Qinzhou City. The first step was to walk around his own territory and understand the specific situation.

Although Qinzhou is not low-level and belongs to the Jiedu State level, and the place is not small, with an area larger than the average state capital, there are only four counties within its jurisdiction.

The four counties of Chengji, Longcheng, Tianshui and Qingshui, and more places, were built with defensive fortresses.

The construction of these forts in dangerous locations began during the Renzong Dynasty.

It was also during the Renzong Dynasty that Xixia rose to power and established a political power.

Then Xixia invaded Zhou Dynasty and beat Han Zhang to a bloody head.

Zhou Dynasty's strategy in the northwest shifted from active exploration to passive defense mode.

Defense means building fortresses and constructing a complete line of defense.

Anyone who calls it a village is called a stronghold, the big one is nine hundred steps in circumference, and the small one is five hundred steps in circumference. Those called a fortress are called a fortress, the big one is two hundred steps in circumference, and the small one is a hundred steps in circumference.

Anything longer than [-] steps has broken away from the level of a fortress and can be called a city.

It took about 30 years for the Zhou Dynasty to build hundreds of forts for military purposes in the northwest, all over Qinzhou.

Even the smallest fort by standard has a circumference of more than 100 meters.

In the Zhou Dynasty where productivity was insufficient, forts were built on terrain like Qinzhou.

A single fortress cannot be considered a small project, let alone the ones built everywhere in Qinzhou.

Putting aside the cost of the huge garrison, these projects alone represent a huge expenditure.

This is also an important reason why Dazhou's finances are becoming more and more difficult.

Because of the agreement signed between the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, the Great Zhou Dynasty could not build military forces on the northern border.

The northwest region was where the Zhou Dynasty built the most military forces.

Qinzhou is also the place with the most military buildings in the northwest region.

It was actually quite shocking to see these forts built on traffic thoroughfares in dangerous terrain, with people carrying them on their shoulders.

But just from the surface, you can see that the project is as difficult as a miracle, and you can know how much sacrifices were made by the court and the people during the construction process.

The cost is quite high, and the defensive ability is not that good.

Sheng Changbai spent half a month and returned from a brief inspection of Qinzhou. Zhizhou approached Sheng Changbai.

After all, there are two people working on a team, so they always need to communicate first.

"Yushi Sheng, I wonder what your impression is of our Qinzhou folk customs?"

Zhizhou was also called Sheng Changbai's censor, and he was also Sheng Changbai's position as censor, which was not taken back by the new emperor.

The second-in-command of the Central Supervision Department is also Sheng Changbai's most prestigious position.

The new emperor is still interesting enough. He retains his identity as censor. In the northwest, Sheng Changbai has the confidence to be worthy of anyone and do what he wants to do.

"It is definitely different from the folk customs in Bianliang and even the south. The folk customs in the northwest are still much more generous."

Being on the border, it faces threats to the survival of foreign ethnic groups at any time. Han people and foreign ethnic groups live together and influence each other.

Qinzhou can be regarded as the most martial place among the places that Sheng Changbai has experienced in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Not only are the people good at martial arts, but the frontier troops here are also braver than the Forbidden Army in Bianliang.

The Zhou Dynasty's policy of rotating the imperial army to guard the border still had some effect.

The Bianliang Forbidden Army in a peaceful environment was obviously much less powerful than the Forbidden Army on the border.

Of course, there are about 10,000+ troops stationed in the northwest region, that is, the entire Shaanxi Province.

The forbidden troops here actually account for less than half.

In addition to the Xiang army who are responsible for doing chores and handymen, the northwest also has its own military force.

It can be said that most of the Xiangyong are mainly composed of local children.

These rural warriors can also be said to be the most powerful force in the northwest, the famous "Western Army" of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In recent years, the combat power of the Western Army has been no less than that of the ordinary Forbidden Army command.

If the Imperial Guard is not reformed, it will continue to be corrupt and desolate.

It is only a matter of time that these brave warriors from the northwest will surpass the Forbidden Army in combat effectiveness.

"This is a border state after all. The people and the army are always facing the threat of Xixia bandits. It is naturally different from other places."

The magistrate of Qinzhou, whose surname is Wang, is in his 30s and under [-]s, and is considered a key training target of the court.

After all, a place like Qinzhou is an important border town, and the imperial court has always been very cautious in appointing and dismissing officials in Qinzhou.

Han Zhang, who is about to retire to the second line now, also served as the magistrate of Qinzhou.

Among the many civil servants in the Song Dynasty, Wang Zhizhou was considered to be one who knew the military.

After becoming a Jinshi more than ten years ago, he has been working in the northwest region.

He understands military affairs and the northwest, so he can take on the important task of knowing the state of Qinzhou.

Judging from his resume alone, Wang Zhizhou is indeed more suitable to serve as the governor of Qinzhou than Sheng Changbai.This Wang Zhizhou has nothing to do with Sheng Changbai's social circle, has no connection with Uncle Wang's family, and is not an old official of the Hai family.

How good the relationship is depends on Sheng Changbai himself.

"Qinzhou's soldiers are indeed quite elite."

Sheng Changbai said in agreement.

Judging from Sheng Changbai's personal observation, the current military strength in the northwest is not bad at all.

The reason why he was always at a disadvantage in the confrontation with Xixia.

In addition to the absolute advantage of cavalry over infantry, they can still run away if they cannot be beaten.

Dazhou's command of the army was also key.

Every time a small group of Xixia soldiers invaded, it was just the beginning, catching Da Zhou by surprise.

After the Zhou Dynasty reacted, Xixia would not be able to take advantage easily.

In some local areas, it is common for Xixia soldiers to suffer losses.

But when there was a large-scale battle between the two sides, Zhou changed his command, and the army lost its autonomy and was often at a disadvantage.

"Although our Western Army's treatment in all aspects is far inferior to that of the Forbidden Army, its elite level is no less than that of others." After serving as an official in the Northwest for more than ten years, Wang Zhizhou obviously had feelings for the Northwest and regarded himself as a Northwester.

"It's only been half a month since Sheng Yushi arrived in Qinzhou. What do you think about our Qinzhou?" Wang Zhizhou continued.

"Ming Gong has managed Qinzhou well. I'm a newbie here, so I don't have any opinions."

Sheng Changbai couldn't speak directly, so he had to be polite and humble every day.

"When Sheng Yushi was in charge of the trial in Xuzhou, he had outstanding political achievements. I have also heard about some of them. I still hope that Sheng Yushi can use his talents to benefit our soldiers and civilians in Qinzhou."

After all, he was also a civil servant who had won the Jinshi. Although he was in a military town and acted very resolutely, civil servants were still polite, so he followed Sheng Changbai's words.

"Then let me tell you something."

This time Sheng Changbai took it seriously and didn't want to wait until the two of them got to know each other after a while.

Time is quite precious and should not be wasted.

"The first point is that the road from Bianliang to Qinzhou is difficult, the transportation of grain is not easy, and the losses are huge. Qinzhou still needs to develop its own potential. Now there is a kind of improved variety in Bianliang, which is quite suitable for planting in our Qinzhou area. After some time, , good seeds will be sent to you, and I still need Ming Gong’s help for promotion.”

The first thing is to promote potatoes. Qinzhou is intertwined with rivers.

The land is actually considered fertile, and it is a suitable situation for planting.

However, because the territory is crisscrossed with mountains and hills, many terrains are mountains and hills.

Even if the land is good, the conditions for planting are not that good.

In addition, there are many troops stationed in Qinzhou, and people eat horses and chew them, which consumes a lot of money.

In the case of insufficient local food supply, there is still a need to promote high-yielding crops such as potatoes.

"If improved seeds are really effective, I will definitely support it." Wang Zhizhou replied.

"The second thing is that I have some thoughts about the foreign countries that come to Qinzhou to trade. In addition to wanting to trade more horses for Da Zhou, I also hope to conquer these people and use them for Da Zhou."

The second is to recruit some soldiers as mercenaries of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

After all, these people are also nomads and grew up on horseback.

The difference with Xixia soldiers actually lies in weapons and equipment.

Although the current smelting technology of Dazhou is still inferior to that of Xixia.

Even the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty was proud to get a sword produced in Xixia.

But aside from that, the gap between Dazhou's smelting technology and Xixia's is not too big.

Even though the gap is huge, Sheng Changbai is confident that he can catch up with this gap by climbing up the technology tree.

It hadn't been done before because Da Zhou had been busy engaging in internal fighting.

There is no pioneering spirit at all, just improving the smelting technology.

Sharp weapons may only cause more casualties in Dazhou, which is completely unnecessary.

But the situation now is completely different. The new emperor has great ambitions and wants to surpass the achievements of his ancestors and rival the Han Dynasty.

Justify your own lineage and be qualified enough to inherit the throne.

If he is determined and capable, Sheng Changbai can help him by climbing up the weapon technology tree.

There is no need to pursue too high quality, the quality of smelted steel exceeds that of Xixia.

Improve the basic gunpowder ratio and improve Zhou's cannon-building technology.

It is enough to be able to pry open the city walls of Liao Kingdom with the power of artillery.

After listening to Sheng Changbai's words, Wang Zhizhou first flashed with joy, and then with some sadness:
"Yushi Sheng, you have a good idea, but you don't know that the situation in our Qinzhou is a bit complicated. After all, this is a border state, and the situation is different from other state capitals. I, the governor, can't do everything in the state." It’s a deal. We in Qinzhou have always had two attitudes towards Fanbang.”

"Then I wonder who in Qinzhou has a different attitude?"

Wang Zhizhou's attitude was still very obvious, and he was willing to conquer other countries, and Sheng Changbai could clearly see it.

"Some military generals, led by General Xiang, the deputy commander of the army and horses, believe that the foreign countries do not know how to be kings, do not accept education, fear power rather than virtue, and there is no need to recruit them. If they want to conquer them, they can just kill them."

The deputy commander of troops and horses is the deputy to the commander of troops and horses along the way. He is the second person in the military on Qinfeng Road where Qinzhou is located.

It is only stationed in Qinzhou, but it is not completely under the control of Qinzhou.

It is also because of this that in the situation of Zhou Dynasty, where the nobles and military are humble, Xiang Fuduguan can compete with the prefect of Yizhou for some say.

Of course, it is true that he holds real power and has tens of thousands of troops under his command, which gives him the confidence to fight for the deputy capital.

If he is really a short-term general, he is several levels higher.

It is impossible for military generals to dare to talk to civilian officials.

"A proud and powerful general, if the sergeants in his hands are elite enough, the general will naturally be more unruly." Sheng Changbai couldn't say what he thought of the Western Army.

When he didn't understand the situation, Sheng Changbai had a lot of sympathy for the Western Army, but after understanding it, Sheng Changbai also felt that there was a reason for the Western Army's current situation.

Although the Western Army is somewhat pitiful, it receives much worse treatment than the Forbidden Army and does more dangerous things than the Forbidden Army.

According to Sheng Changbai's understanding, soldiers in the Western Army actually had no salary.

The imperial court only gave the northwest the right to summon local braves to fight the enemy and to establish military camps.

The northwest provides its local warriors with a subsidy of two hectares of land for each archer, and those with horses can receive an additional [-] acres of subsidy.

But as soon as he arrived in the northwest, Sheng Changbai clearly realized the reason why the imperial court treated the Western Army poorly.

As a local army, the Western Army was far less obedient to the imperial court than the Central Forbidden Army of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

For the emperor, the Western Army was not his direct descendant at all.

They are not as obedient to their commands as the Forbidden Army, and of course they will not receive such good treatment.

"When I have free time, I will persuade Xiang Du to take care of it."

Sheng Changbai will definitely implement the plan to conquer foreign countries through trade and profit.

(End of this chapter)