Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 624

If there hadn't been this drought, forces like Yao Chang and Fu Luo would have come easily.

But these people can't make a big difference.

Fu Luo was so crazy that he took the initiative to attack Liang Guo. Yao Chang was just good at conspiracy and conspiracy, and neither of them had a sense of the overall situation.

The biting dog doesn't bark, but Liangzhou Fuya is a bit difficult to deal with.

First, this person has a high reputation, is kind and loving, and is supported by his subordinates.

Secondly, after the demise of Di Qin, a large number of forces loyal to Di Qin fled to Liangzhou.

Thirdly, Liangzhou has a large population, and after generations of Zhang family’s painstaking management, it has huge potential.

Liangzhou has all the conditions for its rise, but Fu Ya is surprisingly calm, not wanting Fu Luo and Yao Chang to jump like this.

This kind of talent is the most difficult to deal with.

If Li Yue wants to attack Liangzhou, he must first kill Yao Chang in Longyou and Fu Luo in Hetao. Therefore, geographically, Yao Chang and Fu Luo have become Fu Ya's barrier.

As for Hanzhong Fu Fang, there is nothing to worry about.

There are no important people and no food. After this drought is over, Xu Cheng can directly advance from Shangyong and march straight in to capture Hanzhong.

"Since ancient times, a country has been prosperous through hardships. After this severe drought and locust plague, our Daliang will definitely be more prosperous." Wang Meng thought that Li Yue's silence was because of the drought and locust plague, so he spoke to comfort him.

"There is no road ahead, and the drought locusts will eventually pass." Li Yue put away his thoughts and focused on the present.

These people have become local separatist forces and are not enough to be respected in front of Daliang.

Wang Meng's General Zhengxi Mansion has many talented people and is extremely efficient. With the help of the Black Cloud Army, they can recruit [-] to [-] young men in ten days.

Digging canals to kill locusts is a very busy time.

But a more serious problem followed. With the Wei River cut off, drinking water in Guanzhong became a big problem.

In the past, wells could still bring up some water, but now there are fewer and fewer.

The army and civilians were given daily rations of water.

As for taking a bath, it was a luxury. Everywhere smelled so bad that even Li Yue looked disheveled and felt a little desperate.

If you don't eat for three days, you can survive, but if you don't drink water for three days, you will die of thirst.

"Move the people in batches to Lantian and Shangluo. If that doesn't work, go south from Wuguan to Nanyang." Li Yue's lips were cracked and he didn't know when the drought would end.

Lantian and Shangluo are close to the Qinling Mountains, and there are still several mountain streams that have not dried up.

The Qinling Mountains are the watershed of China. To the north of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River, the weather is severely cold and rainfall decreases sharply. To the south of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River, the climate is mild and the rainfall increases.

Just like this severe drought, Hanzhong, which is just around the corner, was not greatly affected.

"Your Majesty, good news, the locust plague in Guandong has been quelled, and harvesting is already underway in the lower reaches of the river and north and south of the Huai River." Lu Qing came to report happily.

Li Yue felt a stone fall in his heart and asked curiously: "How did the locust plague in Guandong be quelled?"

Lu Qing hurriedly presented a thick pile of memorials to the Chancellor's desk, which were about droughts and locust plagues from various states and counties.

Li Yue browsed carefully.

The locust plague in Guandong is slightly lighter than that in Guanzhong. Daliang has open mountains and lakes, and people raise more poultry and livestock. Chickens, ducks and geese are the nemesis of locusts. A chicken can eat fifty or sixty locusts a day, and a duck can eat more than two hundred locusts a day. Only, geese have a tricky appetite and eat almost as much as chickens.

For example, in Yanzhou, every household raises chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs. Chickens, ducks, and pigs are kept free in the mountains and swamps. Not much food is wasted, and dogs can be used for hunting together.

Coupled with the large population in Guandong, local governments mobilized the people to take action, and the locust plague was contained.

Li Yue slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered that later countries exported ducks to help neighboring countries quell locust plagues.

Of course, the fact that the locust plague in Guanzhong was quelled was related to Li Yue's national policy of opening up the mountains and rivers and levying light corvees and low taxes. If the food in Guandong is preserved, the problem will not be big.

Li Yue continued to read the memorial, and suddenly turned to an article about Taoist priest Dongfang Chen. This man attracted many believers in Pingyuan, Qinghe and other places. Tianshi Tao developed rapidly. He went to the court and said that he watched the sky for three consecutive months. This severe drought will subside on the first day of winter, when rain will fall from the sky.

Whenever there are natural or man-made disasters, these ascetics will take over.

At present, it seems that this person's approach is quite similar to that of Zhang Jiao.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion also emerged due to natural and man-made disasters in the late Han Dynasty.

However, more than thirty key members of the school affairs office have already sneaked into it, secretly monitoring Tianshi Dao's every move.

Fortunately, this person was just preaching, and did not do anything extraordinary. His main purpose was to persuade people to be kind, to be pure, and to be free from desires, in order to return to their original nature.

As for his statement that the drought would subside at the beginning of winter, Li Yue didn't take it seriously.

The drought soon reached its peak, and water could not be drawn from the wells. Many cattle and horses died of thirst, and some people also died of thirst. The people moved to Nanyang to escape the chaos.

Chang'an couldn't stay any longer. Only Wei Shan's thousand black cloud troops were left to garrison the huge Chang'an.

Li Yue looked at the spider web-like land, sighed, and could only lead his troops back east.

Counting the time, winter is about to begin, and in many places it has not rained for a whole year.

We’ve gotten through this year, but what about next year?
  In ancient times, severe droughts frequently occurred for three years. As soon as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to power, Donghai County experienced a severe drought for three years...

In the first year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the war against the Xiongnu began. A severe drought covering Guanzhong, Yuzhou, and Bingzhou lasted for another three years. Fortunately, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty left him with a rich enough family fortune...

During the fourth to fifth year of Jin Taishi in the Western Jin Dynasty (268-269), there was a severe drought in Yongliang. Hundreds of thousands of people were crying for help. Sima Yan appointed Hu Lie as the governor of Qinzhou. Hu Lie was brutal and the conflicts between the various ethnic groups deepened. It triggered a nine-year-long bald tree functional chaos and gave the Western Jin Dynasty a sap...

If this severe drought lasts for two or three years and Liang is weak, Tuoba Shi Yijian, Yao Chang, Fu Luo, Fu Ya and others can take the opportunity to rise, and it will be even more difficult to destroy them in the future.

Huan Wen in the south might make another Northern Expedition...

Things are so hard.

Although Di Qin was destroyed, the mess was even bigger.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry too much. There is no perfect path, and the drought will definitely pass." Wang Meng consoled him.

The conditions in Guanzhong did not allow so many people to be stationed. Li Yue returned eastward, Wang Meng gathered thousands of troops at Tongguan, and the others were transferred to Puban.

"I hope so." Li Yue could only do this.

Then he said goodbye to Wang Meng and led his army back to Yecheng from Xiaohan Road.

On the whole, the drought in Guandong is less severe than that in Guanzhong. As soon as you leave the Guandong Pass, you can still see some green mountains and green waters.

At least the soldiers had no problem drinking water. The Yellow River had stopped flowing, but other rivers were still meandering.

Li Yue did not go from Hedong just to see with his own eyes whether Luoyang could become the imperial capital of Daliang.

Along the way, there were dangerous fortresses everywhere. From a military perspective, Luoyang's eight-door golden lock pattern was far stronger than that of Yecheng.

Yecheng is located on a large plain and relies entirely on solid city defense.

As long as Liang is strong, there won't be much of a problem, but in the long run, once it weakens, the problem will be very big. Bingzhou in the west, Daizhou and Youzhou in the north all form a condescending trend towards Yecheng.

There are too many places to defend.

Fukou, Xiangguo, Julu, Liyang, Fangtou, Shangdang...

Sometimes it is the troops stationed in these places that cause problems.

However, Luoyang does not need so many garrison troops. It has the dangers of mountains and rivers, and at the same time has the advantages of canals, so that it will not be blocked.

(End of this chapter)