Late Tang

Li Jing likes the iron chairs in the festival hall very much. Although it is not as warm and comfortable as the down cushions, sitting on them can always make people calm and concentrate.After Daxingtai was moved to Yanjing, the original Yacheng became the office of various ministries, and the original Shuai Mansion became Li Jing's Qin Wang Mansion and Grand Marshal Mansion.Daxingtai specially redecorated the Shuai Mansion, and built a statue of Sirius outside the Shuai Mansion, which is the same as Dengzhou, but this Sirius statue is even bigger, nine feet high, majestic on the outside, and even more like a statue on the inside. The hidden military fortress has nine floors on the ground and three floors underground. It is secretly connected to the commander's mansion. Usually, there is a battalion of the Shengjie Army and the Yinjia Army. There are 1000 people on guard at any time. The commander's mansion is closely guarded.

The interior of the commander's mansion has also been remodeled. The new festival hall is bigger and more spacious. Li Jing's throne has also been upgraded. The original iron chair has been transformed into a gorgeous gold-plated chair with a dragon hovering around it.

This gorgeous throne faces south and is located on a small high platform. Li Jing sat on the Iron Throne, overlooking the festival hall, and had the whole festival hall in his eyes.Sitting on the Iron Throne, I suddenly felt aloof and in charge of everything.

All the ministries and offices of Daxingtai in Liaoyang have been moved to Yanjing, and officials from various ministries have also started serving as directors in Yanjing.In the Heavenly Wolf Festival Hall, Qin Fan's civil and military classes gathered together, and the two classes of civil and military classes sat upright according to their ranks, just like a prosperous small imperial court.

Li Jing smiled and said to Lord Mantang, "Recently there are many good news. Our Qin army officers and men worked hard to go to Youzhou first, and then to break Xuzhou. Now Li Ke fled back to Hedong in embarrassment, and Wang Jianchong also returned to Zhenzhou. Right now, the household department It has just been reported that this year, the provinces, states and counties in Daxingtai have completed the autumn harvest, and the harvest is gratifying. The four provinces of Northeast, Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Andong have all enjoyed good harvests. Both the people and the military have harvested a lot of grain. Good thing. Li Shangshu, do we have enough food now?"

Li Rang, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, stood up straight, held up his wat and said: "This year, there is a bumper harvest in various places, and a lot of food has been harvested. In addition, in the past two years, we have vigorously developed livestock breeding, fishing and hunting. With this canned food for storage, there are also many people in the middle of the country. For crops with large yields such as yams and taro, we have enough grain reserves to last until next summer, and even next autumn."

"That's good, that's good." Hearing the news, Li Jing also heaved a sigh of relief.Before the end of this year, the Qin army has nearly doubled its territory, and its population has increased by almost four million.The total population of the entire Tang Dynasty is only about 3000 million. Even if the hidden household slaves, maidservants, monks and Taoists who do not pay taxes are added, it is at most about 500 million.Li Jing's side already has a population of nearly ten million. Although there are also two or three million Hu people from various tribes in Liaodong, it is still quite amazing.In the past few years, it has attracted countless refugees, and its population density far exceeds that of other parts of the world.

The increase in population is a good thing. In times of war, manpower is also a resource. Recruitment of soldiers, production, farming, and business operations all require people.However, the rapid increase in population has also brought many pressures, the biggest of which is food.

Over the years, the food issue has always been the most important issue that weighs on everyone.The persecuted Qin army began to promote a large number of farming, fishing and hunting, and planting high-yield potato medicine and taro.Although potato medicine and taro are not delicious to eat for a long time, eating coarse and fine grains together can at least solve the problem of full stomach.

The chief assistant of the cabinet, Cao Ye Yihu, clapped his hands and praised loudly: "Under the rule of King Qin, in this troubled time, the people can still feed their stomachs, keep their clothes warm, and let the people have food and clothing. This is really a good and benevolent government. No way."

Thanks to the Qin army's strategy of developing the Northeast, the Qin Fan possessed a large amount of land, and was able to redistribute the land to the refugees who had already had no land to cultivate. Desperate people can own their own land and become self-cultivated farmers, so that they can have food and clothing. This is indeed a great thing, and it is a move that wins the hearts of the people.

Moreover, the distribution of land to these people who would have become serfs and tenant farmers of the rich clan also added more taxes to Daxingtai.Although the agricultural tax has been reduced to a very small amount now, it has indirectly hit those powerful families and increased the number of self-cultivating farmers, which is extremely important for the stability of a country.When the land was merged, the common people planted the land for the landlord, but the grain they grew had to be divided [-]-[-] or even [-]-[-]% with the landlord. The landlord accounted for the majority and the common people only a minority.After a year, food and clothing are difficult, and when there is a natural disaster [***], there will be child and daughter sales, and the government has to come forward to help. If the relief is not effective, it may even lead to civil unrest.But now in the development of the Northeast, some land is allocated to those who have no land. The people work hard to cultivate, and the government only collects a small amount of land tax according to the number of acres. The more the better.It is true that those who have permanent property have perseverance. The Chinese people are the most simple. As long as they live a normal life, no one will rebel, but they will support the government that gave them everything.

It is not enough to have a strong military. The Tyrant Qin and the Sui Dynasty were all sharp armored soldiers, but in the end they were defeated by their own people's riots.If the country is strong and the people are not rich, the country cannot last long.

"Cao Shoufu's words make me feel guilty." Li Jing pinched the short mustache on his chin lightly, "Li Shangshu just said that the people have enough food and clothing, but in fact he just means that the people eat twice a day, and they also eat potato medicine and taro. Raw grains such as wild vegetables and wild vegetables are barely enough. Even the people under the rule can’t afford to eat white rice and white noodles every day, so the king’s cooking is not enough.”

What Li Jing said was sincere. He came from modern times. In that era, people no longer had to worry about food and could eat whatever they wanted.Therefore, for Li Jing, as a high-ranking person, the first thing he must do is to feed and clothe people.If you can't even solve this, what else is there to talk about?

But as soon as these words came out, all the civil and military people present in Jietang were shocked.In this era, or from ancient times to the present, even in the so-called governing and prosperous times, how many people can truly make the country rich and the people prosperous, and the people all over the world can eat rice and white noodles?This is simply the ideal prosperity of Datong.It is today's Qin Fan, thanks to the development of the Northeast, there are countless new lands, and the development of industry and commerce, which has attracted a large number of people to work, so that almost everyone under the rule now has fields and jobs, and everyone can Support the family, rely on the old and support the young.Even orphans and widows are supported by the government, and orphans are also raised by the government.Although it is true that many families are still like the king of Qin, with two meals a day and coarse grains, many officials present are already very proud of such a day, and being able to achieve this step is enough to be famous in history up.

"I believe that King Qin has such a heart of benevolence and love for his people, as long as he perseveres, after three to five years, the lives of the people under his rule will surely improve, everyone will not worry about food and clothing, life will be healthy, and the society will be harmonious. "Shangshu Youpushe Li Zhen said very sincerely, no matter what, if Li Jing can say such a thing and has been working so hard, then he believes that Li Zhen is definitely following the right person, following such a benevolent king , He is willing to devote himself to it and die.

"Although the situation is very good, it's not all going well." Li Jing interrupted everyone's praise, frowned and said: "We should also see that the continuous war has already had a great impact on us. Especially this After two years of continuous fighting, our territory has expanded too fast. Three years ago, we only had a corner of Dengzhou, but now, we have occupied half of the eastern mountains and rivers, and owned one-fifth of the world. Militaryly, this is certainly a great deal. One good thing, but on the other hand, the expansion of the territory and the surge in population have also brought many internal affairs problems."

"Military and civil affairs are our two legs. Only when we walk on two legs can we walk quickly and steadily. Now, our military leg is already extremely strong, but our civil government leg is still a little weak. If we If we can’t balance it, if we continue like this, something will happen sooner or later, and it’s very likely that we will fall hard at some point in the future.”

The Taishi, Shangshu Zuopushe, and Cui Yunqing, the Duke of E, were very pleased that their disciples still had such a clear mind at this time, and held up their wats and said: "I agree with King Qin's proposal. Right now we are winning every victory in the military, but After all, the foundation is still shallow, and it will take time to stabilize the newly occupied lands. I think that in the next period of time, when it turns into a stable stage, it will no longer attack, but will train and rectify troops, repair armored soldiers, develop production, and stabilize the place .It will take one to three years to completely digest and stabilize the land we occupy now. By that time, there will be enough food and grass and excellent equipment before the army will sweep the world."

The envoy of the Staff Council, Hou Jingxiang of Sanchuan County, glanced at the faces of Li Jing and Cui Yunqing's master and apprentice, feeling a little puzzled.He didn't know if Cui Yunqing and Li Jing sang together, implying that this was Li Jing's already decided plan.Perhaps what Li Jing said had some truth, but as the envoy of the Qin Army's military under Li Jing and in charge of the Qin Army's military strategy, he considered issues more from a military perspective.

In his view, the Qin army's series of military victories did not reach the peak of its combat capability.With the current situation, the Qin army can continue to fight.Xuzhou in Huaibei has been taken, and the two important opponents in the south, Gao Pian and Huang Chao, have fallen into chaos in the southeast, and Huang Chao has also moved its center of gravity westward and entered Guanzhong.There is no enemy at all in the south. The Qin army can attack or defend in the south. If it wants to attack, it can gather troops to attack Luoyang directly and seize the heart of the Central Plains in one fell swoop.Or, they can directly go south with heavy troops, destroying Gao Pian who has been seriously injured in one fell swoop, and take all the rich and fertile land in Huainan.

And if the king of Qin still intends to go north first and then go south, he can also let Jianghuai go on the defensive.Then in the north, you can take advantage of the heat to strike the iron. Now there are 10,000+ heavy troops in Hebei, who can gather at any time to fight the battle of destroying the feudal clan.Now that the anti-Li alliance has broken down early, and Lu Long's army has been wiped out, it is now possible to swallow Yiwu Town in one fell swoop.Then, continue to attack, nibble away step by step, and wipe out the feudal clans in Hedong and Hebei one by one.As long as he took advantage of this fire to level Hebei and Hedong, and then went south to the Central Plains in one fell swoop, Henan would be pacified immediately, and then he would be able to march westward and capture Chang'an in one fell swoop.

At that time, although only half of the country has been conquered, in fact, the world must have been settled, and the world can be stabilized as long as it is spread.

And it's a pity to brake and stop at this time.Once this great opportunity is missed, the towns may recover soon, and it will not be so easy to fight at that time.

Li Jing listened carefully to Jing Xiang's statement and suggestion, what Jing Xiang said was not unreasonable.This is a big challenge. Qin Jun has already played a rhythm now, and it is completely possible to roll the snowball when the towns are unable to react in time, and the snowball will get bigger and bigger until it flattens the world in one fell swoop.

However, Jingxiang's plan is just a plan.If Li Jing continues to attack according to this plan, the possibility of success is only half, or even half.The benefits are high, but the risks are also high.

And does Li Jing need to take such a risk now?

Li Jing's answer is no need. With the current situation of the Qin army, all that is needed is time. As long as you fight steadily and advance step by step, it will take three years at the earliest or ten years later, and the world can get it.This is a much safer solution, so why take risks?

"My lords, what do you think of the proposal of the envoy of the Staff Council?" Li Jing didn't rush to veto it, but threw the issue to other people for discussion.

Gai Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was also a first-class military adviser. He was the first to speak, "I think it is not suitable to attack from the south at this time. Our army is from the west of Liaoxi to Huainan, and the north and south are thousands of miles long. Although Pian is defeated, we still have the power to fight. If we march south, we will definitely win the final victory, but it is possible for the northern towns to take the opportunity to attack me. In this way, I will be caught in a two-front battle situation, and eventually I will be defeated. It will be the same as last time."

"For the same reason, it is not suitable to attack Luoyang. Right now we are not in conflict with Huangchao, and neither side has any intention of fighting. This is a good thing for Huangchao, and it is also a good thing for us. If we don't solve the problem in Hebei, we can't conquer Huainan Or attack Luoyang."

Gai Yu didn't directly deny Jingxiang's proposal, but once he opened his mouth, he already refuted the plan of using troops in the south.

"Then what about using troops in the north at this time?" Li Jing saw that Jing Xiang also seemed to support stopping the attack, and asked with a smile.

"Someone thinks that it is inappropriate to attack Li Quanzhong at this time. Firstly, although Li Quanzhong is weak now, he is already attached to me. Yiwu Town is very weak, so there is no need to worry about what he has in mind for us. Second, Li Quanzhong, Wang Jingchong and Li Keyong are now It can be described as a life-and-death enmity, and there is no need to worry that they will collude. And we temporarily keep Yiwu Town, which can be used to contain Li Keyong and Wang Jingchong. , Li Quanzhong will finally surrender to us."

"And if we attack Li Quanzhong, the biggest possibility is that Li Quanzhong will either surrender to us, or seek refuge with Wang Jingchong or Li Keyong, or directly join forces with Chengde and Yanmen Towns to resist us. If we really want to push Li Quanzhong to the opposite side again, this It is definitely not a good thing for us. Therefore, regarding Li Quanzhong, a certain person thinks that we just need to sit and watch, Chengde and Yanmen will definitely want to annex Yiwu Town at that time, and Li Quanzhong can only belong to us at that time."

Cui Yunqing nodded with a smile: "That's right, Li Quanzhong, who was caught in the three parties, was either annexed by us or by the other two. Now it depends on who can't help but attack him first, and the most likely result is who will go first If we attack Yiwu Town, Li Quanzhong will most likely be pushed to the opposite side."

Li Quanzhong still controls half of Yizhou, half of Dingzhou, and one of Zhuozhou, and he still has some power in his hands.But if you want to swallow Yiwu Town, Qin Jun, Chengde, and Yanmen can do it.But now that the three families are staring at this place, things are a little more subtle.A move by one family will inevitably lead to a chain reaction.If the Qin army attacked Li Quanzhong, Li Quanzhong might fall to Chengde and Yanmen because of this. If Li Ke used Wang Jingchong to attack Yiwu Town, then Yiwu Town might fall to Li Jing if there was no way out.

Therefore, for Yiwu Town, Qin Jun's best choice is to wait for the opportunity, and it depends on who of the three can't help but do it first.

"If you don't attack Yiwu, you can also attack Li Keyong. Shatuo Huqi is cunning and cruel, so get rid of him early." Jing Xiang said again.

Li Liang, Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Marquis of Nanjun, objected: "It's not right, the Shatuo one-eyed wolf is indeed fierce, but someone thinks that we should go north first, then south, and Hebei first, then Hedong. Even if we want to fight, we must first wipe out Hebei. Hebei is not flat It is not the best policy to rush into the east of the river to fight."

Although Li Jing also has some scruples about Li Keyong's historical reputation, but think about what is the main reason for Li Keyong's historical failure?

The main reason for Li Keyong's historical failure is that Li Keyong was good at fighting wars, but he was not good at managing politics, and he didn't have a long-term strategic plan for fighting. He had beaten them before, but he didn't kill many of them directly. It was like whack-a-mole, one after another, and he was very busy.Moreover, he is not good at employing people, and often the generals he trusts always betray him in the end.As a result, after fighting for a lifetime, he circled around the east of the river.

Hebei hadn't solved it yet, so he went to Hedong to fight Li Keyong. This proposal was rejected by most civil and military forces.

It is not suitable to fight Gao Pian, there is no time to fight Huang Chao, Li Quanzhong can't fight, and Li Keyong has no need to fight.

And if there is no result on Li Quanzhong's side, then it is not suitable to label Chengde and Wei Bo.Therefore, at the end of the discussion, everyone gradually reached an agreement that it is better to temporarily cease the war and enter the development stage.

Of course, the truce does not mean that they will stop fighting completely. At least, there is one Li Jing who has decided to fight, and that is the Khitan that has become rampant again during this period.It's just right now, I can turn around and give the Khitan who is always making trouble in the backyard a good repair.

"Jianghuai and Hebei ministries have strengthened their vigilance and entered the stage of strategic defense. At the same time, we immediately mobilized a few main cavalry troops and another batch of rural soldiers. This time, we will use Khitan people to train troops and directly enter the Khitan Khan tent. Stomp them down!" Li Jing issued a mobilization order in a somewhat aggressive manner. (To be continued.)