My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 451 Three Years

Yuanxing seven years.

Winter turns to spring and it’s still a good year.

Feiyun Port is noisy and lively. Several willow trees planted at the ferry last year have sprouted new buds. Officials from the Shipping Department are holding account books and checking the quantity of goods one by one with their soap boots. Occasionally, they check a few boxes, and then mark a circle on the book.

"The small boats outside the ferry bridge quickly move away. A sea-going ship is coming back." Several figures walked out of the ship division office, and a clerk waved in front and shouted to his colleagues on the other side of the bridge.

Among the people, the leading official was of medium build, with a beard hanging neatly on his chest. He was looking at the ferry bridge in the distance with his hands behind his back. Amidst the bustle and noise around him, the outline of a sea ship appeared from the sea level, carrying the wind and waves. The surrounding seabirds are heading this way.

"Look which ship it is!" The figure named Lu Su smiled and gave instructions to the clerk beside him.

The leaving officer ran to the sentry tower in the distance. The man watching above put down his long tube and turned around and shouted: "It's the Huya Sea Ship!"

"General Gan, you came back quickly." Lu Su withdrew his hands behind his back, shook his wide sleeves and walked to cross the bridge with a smile, where he stood a little ten feet high and seven feet wide, pushing the waves of the water. Slowly enter the harbor.

On the bow of the ship, a man stood with one foot on the guardrail, a sword hanging on his waist, dressed in brocade and jade robes, his head wrapped in red brocade with copper coins, grinning at Lu Su below.

After reefing the sails and lowering the anchor, before the ship could stop, the bow guardrail creaked. Gan Ning turned over from mid-air and landed firmly on the ground. He cupped his hands toward Lu Su and stepped on the ground, which meant that he was down to earth.

"Xingba, how do you feel about leaving Zhaogui now?" Lu Su returned the courtesy with a smile and asked smoothly.

"A bunch of swarthy people, darker than Yuchi Jingde. If you don't open your mouth, you won't be able to see where they are during the day!" Gan Ning took the drink handed by the clerk next to him and took a sip. "But over there There’s still a lot of good stuff.”

"What good stuff?"

"You'll find out later."

Gan Ning turned around with a smile and proudly raised his chin towards his Huya warship. One side of the hull was opened from top to bottom. Inside the cabin was a pile of wooden boxes neatly stacked. A rough count showed that there were more than a hundred boxes. , all of which were obtained from trading in a small island country called Jiagui this time.

The goods began to be loaded and unloaded, and when they arrived at the dock, Lu Su asked someone to pry open a box. Inside were oval plants, with green leaves wrapped upwards, and some long wadding exposed at the front. After tearing open the outer leaves, there were individual The yellow-orange and plump particles are arranged in an orderly manner.

"What is this?"

"I don't know what the local name is, but it's edible anyway, so I bought a dozen boxes and handed it over to Da Si Nong to cultivate it."

Gan Ning looked nonchalant, but he carefully took the crop from Lu Su's hand, put it back in the box and had it shipped to Yanjing.

At dusk in the afternoon when they arrived, Feiyungang became lively. Two carriages came from outside. Gan Ning and Lu Su came out of the yamen and greeted them at the door. After a while, the carriage stopped, and a young eunuch helped a eunuch wearing Qingsu Feiyu suit to leave. After getting off the chariot, the person who came was none other than Zheng He. He heard that he had found something good and came over to take a look.

"Our family is still a little late and we haven't seen the treasure that was transported this time."

Zheng He returned the salute to the two people opposite him and said jokingly: "General Gan can't move slower, but it doesn't matter. We've seen a lot of good things, so it's not surprising."

The yellowish sunlight reflected the shadows of the three of them as they walked into the shipbuilding department's office. Looking at the big tree in the front yard of the office, Zheng He couldn't help but sigh: "Last time I came here, it wasn't this big. What's happening now?" It’s almost a giant tree.”

"The last time Governor Zheng came here was two years ago. This poplar tree grows very fast."

"Two years? That's really fast."

"Yes, it's really fast." Gan Ning agreed with a smile. He remembered that when he came here, Wu and Yue were not yet destroyed, and three years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately for him, Zhou Yu and Lu Su, the first batch of Chinese generals to come, have been here for six or seven years.

Listening to the two people's emotions, Lu Su, who was gentle on the outside and strong on the inside, smiled and did not participate in the discussion. Anyway, when he came here, the six countries were already unified, so he could only read the earlier batch of books from the past books. How the Chinese civil and military forces achieved unification step by step.

He looked at the civil servants coming and going in the yamen and smiled: "Actually, it's a good life like this. There is no need to fight or kill."

The three of them walked into several rooms in the side yard that were dedicated to handling maritime affairs. A clerk came over to serve tea, then respectfully left and closed the door.

"Everyone wants good days, but these good days will not last long."

Zheng He sat down at the main seat and looked through the account books on the shipping. After flipping through them for a while, he put the account books aside and took a sip of tea.

"The coast of Wuzhou has been a bit unstable recently. Japanese boats appear frequently and their shadows can be seen from the coast."

Gan Ning did not touch the tea. He took off the wine bag from his waist and took a sip of the strong wine inside. He nodded and agreed with Zheng He's words.

Then he talked about Zhou Yu and Lu Meng.

"Captain Zhou and Lu Ziming originally came back with me, but they heard that there were Japanese ships coming and going over there, so they diverted there. I don't know what to do now."

He patted the table and added.

"The Japanese are cunning. If you can't fight them, just run away!" The wind blew through the western clouds, and the old trees in the courtyard rustled softly.

Three years have passed since Su Chen ended the division of the Six Kingdoms.

During the past three years, the states implemented a strategy of recuperation. Xun Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Di Renjie, who were good at logistics and grand strategy, flexed their muscles to make Qiliang, Wuyue, and Wuyue, which had been suffering from war, gradually prosper.

Land planning and land tax adjustments were all aimed at reducing the burden on the people, as well as Su Chen's suggestions on marriage, teaching, and medicine to vigorously promote population growth.

In three years, Yanzhou in the north alone has added 350,000 people. The Central Plains has fertile land and a prosperous population. It is the place where the population has increased the most among other states, with a total of 460,000.

In the seventh year since the arrival of the Six Prefectures in Yuanxing, the registered household population has reached nearly 40 million.

If some foreign criminals from other countries are included, the number may exceed 40 million.

In addition to some of the governance strategies mentioned above, the promotion of the military system has also reached its peak. Li Jing and Hou Junji, who was later recruited by Su Chen, helped adjust and preside over it. It has been rolled out in six states, but the most concentrated one is In the Central Plains, Jiangdong and Yanzhou in the north, Liangzhou and Bingzhou in the northwest, and Yuezhou in the south, there are more mountains or poor land, so few soldiers are willing to divide their fields among these three states.

After that, the report was reported to Su Chen. He held Zhuge Liang, Xun Yu, and Di Renjie to discuss for half a day and decided to establish special areas in these three states based on local products.

For example, there are many minerals in Yuezhou. Minerals and forging will be concentrated there, and the mountain people of Yuezhou will also be recruited as a source of troops for mountain warfare. The northwest is rich in mountains, forests and hills, and the folk customs are fierce. The Qiang tribes are good at archery, so they are recruited as archers in the army. The two areas are also rich in furs and northwest war horses.

As for the military-centered Yanjing, the city has been expanded in the past three years, and large fixed military camps have been built outside the city. They are no longer the wooden fences and tents of the past.

Instead, there were masonry walls, general offices, and collective houses for soldiers. There was even a family area planned. Soldiers who got married could bring their families there. This measure won the support of the soldiers as soon as it was promulgated. After all, the biggest obstacle to the military is the longing for their loved ones at home. With family buildings, many soldiers can train and go on duty with peace of mind.

After all, the conquest has not stopped.

In the past three years, there has been no major battle, but small-scale battles have occurred from time to time. This is to prevent the soldiers from slacking off. Therefore, when the strategy of recuperation was finalized three years ago, Su Chen had already deployed a deterrent against the Western Regions.

In the second year after surrendering the Yue Kingdom, Su Dingfang set out to conquer the seventy-two countries in the Western Regions. Huo Qubing, the governor of the Xirong Grassland, also received military orders from Yanjing. In the spring of the second year, he led the Yulin Cavalry and the Xirong Cavalry each with five thousand troops. , cooperating with Su Dingfang's 15,000 people to march westward to threaten the countries in the Western Regions.

There are many deserts in the Western Region and the territory is huge, but the seventy-two countries are uneven. Some small countries are like a small county in Qizhou. There is no need to fight at all. When the soldiers come over, they directly surrender their cities and submit to the Xia Kingdom in the east.

Among the seventy-two countries, there are naturally some countries with considerable strength. For example, the small country named Yeche has a population as large as a large county, nearly half a million people, and an army of 50,000. With its advantages in geography and people, it is not afraid of Su Dingfang at all. .

However, in this battle, 50,000 people from the Yeche Kingdom were wiped out, and 30,000 people were beheaded to establish the Jingguan. After this battle to establish their power, nearly 24 of the 72 countries chose to surrender.

However, many countries in the north of the Western Region still chose to resist. Su Dingfang relied on the supplies on the grassland and chose to attack continuously. Sometimes Huo Qubing and Ma Chao also joined in. In three years, thirty-one countries were destroyed, and all those who resisted were beheaded, shocking the surroundings. country.

The battles in the west were successful, but the sea to the east was troublesome. Naval battles were no better than land battles, and more people could not play a decisive role.

After the unification of the Six Kingdoms, Japanese ships sailed far to the southern seas and robbed merchant ships from other countries coming to Wuzhou. Xia's ships out to sea were also frequently robbed. What's worse, all the people on board were killed, including the cargo. The ship was hijacked.

In the past three years, Su Chen has been sending sea ships to escort and at the same time urging the shipyards in Yanzhou and Wuzhou to rush to build sea ships. These ships have turrets on their hulls to facilitate the new iron cannons being tested.

Although it does not meet the standards of later generations, the rapid iron bullets hit the opponent's hull and create a hole in one hit, which is extremely beneficial for naval battles.

As the sun sets, two war horses are slowly walking back in the northern suburbs outside Yanjing City. In the dim light, a huge furry figure walks slowly and leisurely with heavy steps, rolling up its long nose from time to time and extending it to the top of its head. , on the broad back, the ferocious giant stretched out his hand and stroked his furry nose.

Xu Chu on the side looked up at him with an unconvinced expression.

"Tch...what's the big deal."

Xu Chuweng muttered angrily, and when he looked at the horse under him, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

In front of the two of them is the emperor riding a horse, together with Xiang Yu, Zhang Liao, Lu Bu, Guan Yu, and Zhao Yun. "The sea has been unstable recently. I feel that these Japanese people may become more and more unruly."

"Your Majesty, do you mean they will come to the shore to fight?" Zhao Yun said with a smile on his white horse, "If this is the case, Zhou Cang and Guan Ping in Wuzhou will be happy."

"I'm afraid they won't be happy."

Xiang Yu is extremely tall and powerful, and has a keen intuition about military affairs: "From the actions we have taken against the Japanese over the years, they will not come in large numbers. A small group of people will come to burn, kill and loot. Before our soldiers and horses pass by, they will not come in large numbers." The ship escaped and then moved to another place to continue attacking coastal areas and other places."

"The beacon tower doesn't work?" Lu Bu turned his head and looked at them.

"...It has some effect." Su Chen walked into the workshop on horseback, was silent for a moment, tilted his head and said: "The coastline is too long, and we can't take care of every inch..."

While he was talking, a fast horse was galloping on the official road in the direction of Yanjing.

(End of this chapter)