Late Tang

In the second year of Zhonghe, the first month, the Shangyuan Festival.

Due to the good weather last year, the two seasons of Huaisi in Shandong and Liaodong in Hebei were ripe.Except for the use of troops in the Bohai Sea, the imperial court ceased fighting in other places. The horses were sent to Nanshan, and the auxiliary soldiers were disarmed and returned to the fields. In addition, the imperial court vigorously cultivated the land and increased fishing and hunting efforts. Moreover, the provinces of the Qin Dynasty banned grain from leaving the domain and uniformly purchased grain. In addition, Yang Xingmi from Huaixi, Qianyu from Zhejiang Province, Zhang Rui from Fujian, Yugui from Guangzhou, Yuqiu from Annan, and Yuqiu from Tianping brought millions of shi of grain from all over the country, and there was a spring famine for two consecutive years. The provinces of Hebei, Beiping, Shanxi, and Rehe finally had abundant grain depots, and the grain supply of the people returned to the level of the previous few years.

The people of Yanjing City finally had a long-lost smile on their faces during the New Year of the second year of Zhonghe.

During the New Year, Yanjing City Jinwu couldn't help it, and the people were happy. This year's Shangyuan Festival is getting hotter, and the lanterns are extremely prosperous during the three-day festival.

Even Li Jing in the Forbidden Palace became interested, walked out of the palace, put on a long gown, and pretended to be going to Beijing to participate in this year's civil and military scientific examination, and went around the city in a white dragon fish suit to watch the excitement.

This year, Qin Fan's situation has improved, and the lights of the Lantern Festival are also extraordinarily lively.

Teams of lions, dragon lanterns, stilts, and jugglers walk through the bustling city, storytellers, opera singers, and peddlers.Li Jing led a small group of dressed guards through the bustling crowd until they arrived at Zhengyang Gate.I saw a large group of women crowded to touch the big copper nail cap on the Zhengyang Gate.

Those who touched it smiled openly, and those who couldn't squeeze in sighed.

For a while, adults yelled, children cried, laughter, cursing, calling, and noise all merged into one mass.In this nightless day of fiery trees and silver flowers, it became more and more noisy.Li Jing looked at it for a long time but didn't understand it. He couldn't figure out what it meant that a group of women were rushing to touch the copper nails on the door.This is not a golden incense stick from a Buddha statue, nor is it a superstar hero, so why are you fighting for it?

Seeing Li Jing's doubts, Zhao Jiang turned to ask an old man next to him.

"Old man, these ladies and gentlemen, what are you trying to squeeze here?"

"Hehe, you came from another place to take the exam, right? No wonder you don't know. This has only happened in the past two years. Ever since the big front gate was built, there has been such a custom for some reason. It is said that it is during the Lantern Festival on the first lunar month. If you can touch six copper nail caps, then the whole family will be able to achieve six-six-six year round. If you can touch seven copper nail caps, you can be safe and sound all year round. If you can touch nine copper nail caps, then The whole family is long-lasting and harmonious all year round. Sixteen, it is to be smooth, eighteen, to be released, 99, the whole family lives to 99, if you can touch 160, it is all the way! If you can Touch nine hundred and ninety-nine, that means the whole family will be well-off, and the generations will be smooth and long-lasting.”

Li Jing couldn't help being surprised and amused at the same time. He really didn't expect that an ordinary city gate was endowed with such a magical effect.The cold, round and smooth copper nail hat is more powerful than Buddha statues.But thinking about it, it’s just a sustenance and expectation. These women, rushing to come here, are also praying for their parents, husband, and children. This piety is touching.

The old man just smiled when he saw Li Jing and the others, knowing that they didn't believe it, he said a little unhappy at the moment: "Don't you believe it, do you know the origin of Zhengyangmen?"

Li Jing smiled slightly but remained silent, neither shaking his head nor nodding.

The old man was also a talkative person, and immediately felt that as a commoner at the foot of the royal city, he had the obligation to introduce the foreign officials.Immediately, he introduced it eloquently. This Zhengyang Gate was also newly built when Qin Fan expanded Yanjing, and it was one of the nine gates in the inner city.

Zhengyang Gate was officially completed three years ago. Its architectural form is a brick fortress-style gate tower. The city platform is nine feet high. The gate of the cave.Moreover, the gates of this city are exclusively used for the jade chariot of the King of Qin. Usually, the three gates in the middle are closed, and the officials and common people only use the two gates on the side.The archery tower has double eaves on the top of the mountain, with gray tiles and green glazed edges.There are nine floors up and down. There are nine layers of arrow holes on the arrow tower, each layer has eighteen holes, and there are also nine layers of arrow holes on the east and west, each layer has eighteen holes, which are specially used for defensive archery.

This tall and majestic archery tower is made of reinforced concrete and cast, with double doors. The front is a hanging gate, and the back is a gate with iron leaves and copper nails.

Between the Zhengyangmen tower and the archery tower, there is also a huge urn city. The southern end is curved and the archery tower is located at the top. The urn city is 36 feet long from north to south and 28 feet wide from east to west.On the Zhengyang Gate, there are also cement flat seat barriers and arc-shaped eaves for arrow windows, and many embossed flower decorations are added to the section of the moon wall.

The entire Zhengyangmen is also called Daqianmen by the people. This area is also where the inner and outer cities meet, and there is the busiest market.

Especially because of the incomparably tall city gate tower and archery tower, especially the gate in the middle of the five-door cave, which only the King of Qin can usually enter and leave. When the King of Qin got married, Princess Yu of Qin entered there once.Every year in the Civil and Military Competition, the champion, the second place, and the top three in the national examination of both civil and military subjects can walk out of this door once.Usually, ministers of civil and military affairs go in and out of the left door, and princes and princes go in and out of the right door.The left and right gates are not open at ordinary times, and only when Qin Fan holds a grand ceremony, all civil and military officials enter and exit through the two gates.

In Yanjing City, Zhengyangmen, the big front, is slightly lower in size than the Wufeng Tower at the Meridian Gate in the palace city of the Forbidden Palace.But although Wufeng Tower is more majestic and solemn than Zhengyang Gate, it is too far away from the people, and it is rare to see it in a lifetime. In their hearts, Daqianmen is the most majestic and sacred gate tower in their eyes.And the door in the middle of the big front door is even more extraordinary.Therefore, every year during the Lantern Festival, it is quite a feat to be able to touch the big copper nail cap on the door in the middle.Usually, there is no chance to touch the middle door at any time.

After listening for a long time, Li Jing finally understood, it turned out that it was because he was the only one who could go to this door, or the top picks, second places, and third-round picks. For ordinary people, this is quite sacred.To touch it is to pray for peace and prosperity.

"Old man, there's no need to be so crowded, come one by one, otherwise, even if there are three days in the Lantern Festival, you can't finish it like this."

"Why don't you say that you are a foreigner, and I don't know the situation at the foot of the royal city. In the past, everyone lined up to touch it one by one, just like going to burn incense. But this year is different. I heard that today we are waiting for the mission from Chengde Town If we are going to enter the city from here and go to see the King of Qin, martial law will be enforced along the way, so we won’t be able to do it today, so whoever you say is not in a hurry.”

Li Jing nodded slightly, as soon as Cheng Dezhen begged for peace a few years ago, Li Jing agreed.But these days, although Li Jing ordered the attacking soldiers to stop, the troops on the border also stopped advancing, and the follow-up auxiliary soldiers and civilians began to return home one after another, but Li Jing was not in a hurry to let them come over immediately.Instead, they had already arranged the prefectures, counties and garrisons along the way, and led the missions from Chengde Town to visit the assembly and training of the prefectures and counties garrisons and township militias along the way, so that they could see the might of the Qin army.

Walking in this way, they kept watching the Qin army garrison gathering and inspecting troops along the way, and it took a lot of time on the road. From Zhenzhou to Yanjing, they walked for almost half a month on the road, and Li Jing even took them into the city on purpose. The time was arranged for the Shangyuan Festival, just to let them see the bustling and affluent situation during the Yanjing Festival, and completely shock Chengde Town.

"Chengde Town is here to surrender, right? I heard that the Commander of Chengde Festival, Wang Rong, came to see the King of Qin in person?" A man next to him also said, judging by his attire, he seemed to be a petty official who knew more about these things than others some.

"Oh, is that so?" The old man got excited when he heard it, "But we ordinary people don't know about these things. I heard that Chengdejie handsome Wang Rong is only ten years old."

"Well, there's a kid. Chengde is now in charge of his two uncles, Wang Jingyin and Wang Jingbin. Maybe Wang Rong doesn't want to come, but his two uncles took the opportunity to kick him because they didn't like him. Yanjing him, they just happen to be in power." Another person joined in.

Li Jing was listening, but didn't speak.The mission in Chengde Town has been on the road for so long. In addition to Li Jing specially arranging for them to visit the military appearance of the Qin army, in fact, Li Jing also sent Li Zhenzao to go south. actual judgment.After talking for more than half a month, Qin Fan and Cheng De have almost reached an agreement.

Chengde Town was formally attached to the Qin Army, and Wang Rong, commander of Chengde Festival, had to enter Yanjing City and stay in Yanjing as an official, in fact, as a hostage.Besides Wang Rong, brothers Wang Jingyin and Wang Jingbin each had to send a son to Yanjing as a hostage.In addition, Wang Rong surrendered his title from Changshan County King to Changshan County Duke, and still retained the position of Chengde Jieshuai.Qin Fan will not send military supervisors to Chengde Town, nor will it send prefectural and county civil servants. At the same time, Qin Fan will also withdraw the invaded soldiers and horses from Hebei and Shenzhou, and return the captured seven cities.But in contrast, Chengde Town had to withdraw from Dingzhou completely, and ceded the five counties of Dingzhou that the Qin army had captured, and the remaining six counties that had not been captured to the Qin army.Here, Chengde Town will still retain the four prefectures of Zhen, Shen, Zhao, and Ji, and Li Jing admits the control of the Wang family over the four prefectures of Chengde.However, Chengde Town can only maintain a maximum of [-] soldiers and horses in the future, and if the number exceeds, it must be disbanded.At the same time, Chengde Town will have to hand over [-]% of its tax revenue to Qin Fan every year.The appointment and dismissal of civil and military officials in Chengde Town is decided by Chengde Town itself, but it must be reported to Li Jing for approval.

This attachment condition was discussed for a long time, but finally an agreement was reached.

This time, the Qin army attacked Chengde and captured twelve counties. In the end, the Qin army reorganized these scattered territories. Chengde preserved the four prefectures of Shenzhao Town and Hebei that they traditionally controlled, but Dingzhou, which they had spent a lot of effort to swallow in the past few years, was forced to spit it out again.

In addition, Chengdezhen's biggest bargaining chip was to send Wang Rong and several other Wang's children to Yanjing as hostages.But for this one, Li Jing actually thinks that both parties are mutually beneficial.Because the sons sent by the Wang Jingyin brothers were only sons of concubines, and they were all young children under the age of ten. They would not feel heartbroken if they sent a few of such hostages.As for sending Wang Rong as a hostage, for Li Jing, Wang Rong was the commander-in-chief of Chengde Jie in name, and he stayed in Yanjing as a hostage, which had a great effect on the momentum of the Qin army.But for Wang Jingyin, they are very annoying this nephew now.

He was only ten years old, but he had already begun to disobey their arrangements.For this surrender to Qin Fan, Wang Rong was very opposed to it, and even secretly communicated with Li Ke through letters, intending to use Shatuo's hand to kill them from their brothers.Such a thing cannot be tolerated no matter what, Li Keyong is a hungry wolf, if he comes, will the brothers still have a foothold?Therefore, after seeing the powerful and elite soldiers of the Qin army along the way, and hearing Li Zhen's proposal that Wang Rong be sent to Yanjing as a hostage, Wang Jingyi only pretended to be difficult on the surface, but in fact he quickly communicated with his brother Wang Jingyin and agreed. this deal.In the end, they still managed to exchange Wang Rong for several favorable conditions, and Li Zhen agreed not to send a supervisor or officials, but the two sides exchanged a few pieces of land occupied by the Qin army, and finally made this peace agreement.

In short, in the end, Li Jing got Chengde Town's superficial obedience and submission, but in fact he got the territory of Dingzhou, and also got Wang Rong into Yanjing as a hostage by the way.

In Chengde Town, the Wang Jingyin brothers finally reached an agreement with Qin Fan that Li Jing would no longer use troops against Chengde.On the surface, they surrendered and attached to Li Jing, but in fact they still listened to the tune and did not listen to the announcement. They continued to hold the Chengde army and controlled the city of the four states.Moreover, they threw their disobedient nephew Wang Rong to Qin Fan.

Their biggest loss is that they have to pay 5% of taxes, money and food to Li Jing every year in the future, and at the same time, the number of soldiers and horses should not exceed [-].

Wang Jingyin felt that this condition was not bad, at least they kept the four prefectures of Chengde Town. As for Dingzhou being swallowed up, there was no other way.As for whether Li Jing will continue to turn his face after swallowing Dingzhou, that is a matter for the future.

In fact, if Li Jing was a little tougher, he would definitely be able to squeeze out some benefits.However, Li Jing's purpose this time is not to deal with Chengde, but to cooperate with the plan to send troops to the Northeast. Therefore, he is already very satisfied at this point.No matter how greedy he is, he is afraid of making things too complicated. If Li Keyong and other wolves are attracted, it will be troublesome at that time.

Just thinking about the arrival of Wang Rong and Wang Jingbin for a while, this matter will be considered as a perfect conclusion.At this time, there was a commotion in the crowd, and two women were knocked out from under the front door.One of them was still very young, and she was clearly just a [-]-year-old Xiaojiabiyu. She cried and shouted: "You shameless thing, grandma, I will fight with you today, let everyone see what you are!" continued.)