Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 390 What is the crime of common people (3)

"Song has suffered a great loss this time," General Chen Qianli handed the report to Zhao Xingde, shaking his head and said, "There are only [-] forbidden troops in the Hedong camp, and most of the others are Xiang troops. Yang Yanqing's army captured Yunzhou in the Northern Expedition. Unexpectedly The Mierbo people were able to bypass Yunzhou and divide their troops to plunder southward, but the Song army left behind couldn't stop them. The Mierbo people burned, killed and looted everywhere, and there were rumors everywhere between Yanmen, Guanshiling Pass and Yunzhou The common people are in constant panic." He closed his eyes slightly, and said in a deep voice, "The Mierbo tribe in Mobei has the bravery and hunger and thirst of the barbarians, and is restrained by the art of war. Like overgrown weeds, if we don’t weed them early, we’re afraid of developing future troubles.”

Zhao Xingde frowned, the military newspaper said very briefly, but Zhao Xingde had gone through the battle of Liaodong, and Chen Qianli had just returned from Mobei, so he could naturally imagine the devastation of the looted villages.He sighed, and put the general newspaper on the table, feeling powerless.The preparation and training of the Fire Gun Battalion went quite smoothly. Some Dragon Tooth Army sergeants have already served as centurion training regiment training, and the Thunder Throwing Hands Battalion that Zhao Xingde placed great hopes on is also very good.Chen Qianli followed Zhao Xingde to watch the drills of the firecracker battalion several times, and was very shocked by the few rounds of mine throwing before the final impact. He said that if so many grenades exploded in the air, it would be difficult for the elite cavalry to control their horses.

"Why is the Huguo Mansion willing to send troops to attack Liao?" Zhao Xingde frowned.

"Unless the Liao army invades Hedong," Chen Qianli closed the file and stood up, "Hedong and Guanzhong are close to each other, and they have a condescending position to control the three sides. The Huguo Mansion will never let the Liao army get to Hedong. Those big and small foxes are the most scheming, I bet they are watching Kanto every day. Now they are watching the Liao and Song Dynasties fighting in Kyushu behind the mountains, and then we will send troops to clean up the situation. Don't worry," he patted Zhao Xingde smiled and said, "Come with me to the scholar's mansion. Last time Ruan Changling talked with you about the technique of measurement, and then sent someone to take you there every day. If you don't show up again, my threshold will be blocked by Ruan Changshi. The messenger broke through."

Zhao Xingde was also on a whim last time. When it came to the manufacture of automatic firearms, the weighing and measuring tools used by Xia Guo were not accurate enough, and the tolerance control of the manufacturing process was not strict. If we can start with the manufacture of precision measuring instruments, Establish a set of strict error control system.Although it is difficult to do this at first, once it is successful, it can greatly improve the accuracy of making various utensils.Once the precision system is established, in the past it could only rely on the exquisite utensils made by skilled craftsmen, and ordinary craftsmen can also complete them.In a moment of enthusiasm, he compared and drew with both hands, and roughly described the shapes of various precision measuring tools to Ruan Changling. Ruan Changling listened with great interest, and repeatedly asked Zhao Xingde to come to the scholar's mansion next time.Unexpectedly, after Zhao Xingde went back, he was busy with the drills of the Longya Army's firecracker battalion, so he forgot about it.

Chang'an is the residence of relatives and dignitaries of the imperial court, and there are quite a few people who know Chen Qianli himself. Others show affection to him openly and secretly, but Ruan Changling, the deputy envoy of the scholar's residence, can be regarded as an elder respected by the emperor, but repeatedly asks himself to take Zhao Xingde there Visiting, thinking of this, Chen Qianli felt secretly amused, and could not help but pull Zhao Xingde away.

In desperation, Zhao Xingde had no choice but to stop a young man on the street and give him a penny to report a letter to his family.Chen Qianli's wife, Mrs. Zhang, and Li Ruoxue are also acquainted, and the two families often come and go. Li Ruoxue also knows that the two of them go out together, and they will not go in and out of those places in the Qin Lou Chu Pavilion.

Chang'an Scholars Mansion is located in the southwest of the city. It is rebuilt from the remnants of the palace in Tang Dynasty. By the Qujiang Pool, facing the sky and green lotus, in the Furong Garden, the flowers and trees are shady, just like a paradise.The mansion of Ruan Changling, deputy envoy of the scholar's office, is deserted, without even a student.Across the fence, he could see many huge iron or wooden instruments placed in the courtyard. Zhao Xingde was watching from the door. The structure and purpose of some of the instruments were clear at a glance. They were probably used to verify the theorems of mechanics, and he could also see some of the instruments. do not understand.

He secretly sighed in his heart, the mechanism designed by Ruan Changling is ingenious, he can really be called a master of a generation.Chen Qianli stopped others to ask questions, only to find out that Ruan Changling had taken his students to climb Mount Hua. "What a joke," Chen Qianli said with a smile, "It is mentioned in the ancient book that the weight of all things is caused by the attraction of the earth, and the weight is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the object and the center of the earth. According to the ancestors, there has never been Poor. Master Ruan insisted on trying to verify this fact. The last time he climbed Lishan Mountain, he could not tell the difference between the weight of the iron ball on Lishan Mountain and the weight on the ground. Now he has to climb the higher Huashan Mountain To weigh the iron ball. If he hadn't been proficient in mechanics and created many needed utensils, the Huguofu would really not want to waste money in vain. However, if he really measured the weight difference, it would be a It is a good way to measure the height of mountains and rivers, and it will be more accurate for the marching division to draw maps."

Zhao Xingde's heart moved, and he asked with a smile: "Brother Chen said that the ancestors' wonderful books, can I borrow Zhao to read them?" He suppressed the pounding heartbeat in his chest, and the answer to a long-standing guess seemed to be within reach.Chen Qianli said with a smile: "Why not, I can borrow books from the library of the scholar's mansion, and I have a set at home, but the meaning of this strange book is difficult, and it is not widely circulated in Kanto." He looked up at the sky, and said , "Don't make a trip in vain, let's just walk around the scholar's mansion."

Zhao Xingde had this intention and nodded in agreement.There used to be a lot of scholars from the Dongren Club in the scholar's mansion, but now because the Neo Confucian Society is very popular in the Song Dynasty, most of these scholars have returned to the Song Dynasty, and Xia Guo is also happy to have a group of scholars who are close to Kansai in the Song Dynasty court.But by the Qujiang Pool, scholars in twos and threes can still be seen from time to time. Some are reading books on the ground by the pool, some are wandering with their heads bowed in thought, and some are blushing and loudly refuting.

There is a breeze on Qujiang Pond, with the fragrance of lotus leaves. Although it is July weather, walking by the pool does not feel hot and dry, but just feels refreshing.Chen Qianli walked by the pool with his hands behind his back, leisurely and in a good mood. He smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, how is my courtship compared to Guandong?" But he saw that his face was different, and said with a smile: "I am sincerely asking for advice, Brother Zhao, don't bully me, don't be sloppy."

Zhao Xingde didn't expect it. Looking at the scholars in twos and threes in the distance, he said with emotion: "What is a scholar? What's the use of raising them? The so-called theory of raising scholars can only raise chicks who eat money in cages, but not swans who can help the world. And those who are kept by people, birds, insects and fish, are like charming and charming courtiers, flying eagles and vicious dogs, and most of them are violent officials offered by the disabled people. Why? That is to say, today’s suffering will lead to prosperity in the future. If you are lucky enough to be a Jinshi, you will think that yesterday’s suffering is the capital invested in business, and today you can get the interest. As a result, the imperial court originally intended to 'raise scholars', but it turned out to be real scholars. But there are fewer and fewer. There are only more and more sycophants, and there are frustrated scholars who want to be sycophants."

When Zhao Xingde spoke, Chen Qianli's face was cloudy and cloudy. After a long time, he sighed and said, "If it wasn't for Brother Zhao, I would have been so wrong." He turned his head to look at Zhao Xingde, as if from As if he didn't know him, he asked in a deep voice: "If the supporters are not suitable, how can we make the country toast?" When he asked this question, there was no joke on his face, but a very serious one.

Zhao Xingde pondered for a while, then replied: "The common people have both talents and virtues, and those who are able to do things will be scholars. We only need to treat the people kindly to appreciate their talents, and educate the customs to emphasize their morality. The country naturally has many scholars, and then the scholars will be selected Yes. People’s elections, high-ranking scholars’ recommendation, court examinations, these methods of selecting scholars, the Xia Kingdom already has.”

Chen Qianli nodded, without speaking, looking at the goldfish swimming in the clear water under the clumps of lotus leaves and lotus flowers in Qujiang Pond.He secretly said in his heart: "If I hadn't rushed back from the Anbei Military Division, I happened to be working together, and I almost missed it. The so-called pro-virtuous minister, Yuan Xiaoren..." He raised his head and smiled slightly: "Brother Zhao is right. Pastoral farming is also interesting, I will take you to see it again."

Chen Qianli and Zhao Xingde came to a farmland by the Qujiang Pool, and saw that the young soybean seedlings were lush and lush, already exceeding the height of wheat stubble.Zhao Xingde is a person who does not discriminate between five grains, but he also learned from the sergeants nearby that Guanzhong has a lot of people and little land, and it is prevalent that winter wheat and summer soybeans are harvested twice a year.Apart from the fact that there is a piece of farmland in the scholar's mansion, which makes him feel quite strange, he can't see where the "interesting" Chen Qianli said is.Chen Qianli, however, squatted on the ground with great interest and carefully observed it. From time to time, he poked the ground with a branch. He stood up and said to Zhao Xingde: "Xu Xueshi uses the method of replanting wheat beans, which can produce two crops a year. It is really good to protect the land without losing power. If it is generalized, Guanzhong will have a large area of ​​land out of thin air, and save a million labors."

Zhao Xingde felt a little strange, Chen Qianli is the training envoy of the Chang'an Regiment, how could he care about farming?He was bored at this moment, when he suddenly heard someone shouting: "What about the Song people?" He couldn't help looking up, and saw a dozen people walking along the bank of Qujiang Pool, seeming to be arguing about something, and stopped not far away When he got down, the person who spoke had a slightly dark face. He looked about thirty, dressed in a thin silk robe, and hung a jasper pendant on his waist. Where is the State of Song? I have been in charge of the people, practiced wars for generations, and traveled far to the poor and desolate to have the current national power, so what have I to do with the Song people? If the world is unified, why should the Song people share my great Xia? benefit."

Among the few people nearby, some clapped their hands and praised: "Brother Changyan is absolutely right!" Some shook their heads and said: "The court of the Song Dynasty is stupid, and the people are stupid and cowardly. How can they treat the scholars and people of our court equally!" : "The Kanto region should be treated like Ross's old place." Another human said: "The people of the Kanto region will be governed by us, the scholars and the people, and it will take at least a hundred years."

Some people also retorted: "Song people are of the same origin and race as our dynasty, how can they be treated like barbarians."

"Otherwise," Shi Er said with a sneer, "there are more than 6000 million people in the Kanto region. If we treat them equally, the Huguo Mansion and the Zhu State Mansion are all from the Kanto people. Then did I take over the Kanto, or did the Kanto annex us? Someone next to him questioned: "If you don't let the people from the Guandong enter the five mansions, can you live in peace?" Zhang Bocheng shook his head and said, "People in the Guandong are not enough. If so, the people from the Guandong will make trouble first. Brother Changyan's plan is really not feasible."

Shangguan Cheng shook his head and said: "Then this dynasty will be full of the hearts of the people in the Guandong. Throughout the ages, those who win the hearts of the people win the world. I have never heard of it. If the people in the country can't treat everyone equally, how can there be long-term peace and stability?"

"Why is there no precedent?" Shi Er laughed instead, "Zhou took the remnants of the Yin and Shang dynasties and enshrined the clansmen of the Zhou family as princes. Are the officials of the princes not Zhou people, but Yin people? This is equal treatment?" He shook his head. Dao said, "Even if it never existed in ancient times, can't it be done? The Qin Dynasty won the world, so the second generation died, it was to rule the world with a single husband. If my dynasty wins the world, it will be ruled by the five houses. Five The mansion is the five mansions of our Xia people, how can we allow the cowardly people from the Kanto to get involved. Besides, we don’t treat the Kanto people as slaves like Khitan did, we just collect taxes and restrict them from entering the Zhuguo Mansion and the Huguo Mansion to discuss matters. Seeing that Zhang Bocheng seemed to be about to speak, he laughed first and said, "Brother Zhang is the descendant of the Duke of the State, and the Guandong people occupy a few positions in Zhu Guofu, so naturally he doesn't care about it. Brother Shangguan's family is rich and rich, and there are 38 jade shops. Guandong has made a lot of money. I am afraid I don’t care too much about this little benefit. What I am thinking about is the thousands of ordinary soldiers and people in our Xia Kingdom. Blood, sweat and taxation wasted countless times. After the war, they insisted on hypocritically treating the people of the Kanto region as equals. Could it be that the people in the five houses were all bought by the merchants of the Kanto region? In my opinion, this approach is not as good as that of the Liao court, at least Yelu Dashi knows who is his countryman."

Shangguan Cheng, Zhang Bocheng, and Shi Er fought red-facedly. Shi Er was one against two, but he was not at a disadvantage. Although there were a few people beside him who couldn't talk, they obviously agreed with him.At this moment, the crowd dispersed a bit, and Director Li saw Zhao Xingde in the middle of the crowd, his face changed slightly, and he said with a sneer: "The matter about Ross just now is so good, why did it get involved in the Kanto." Shi Er laughed and said, "Shangguan Cheng insisted on saying that the people of Song Dynasty were different, and I was just responding to the challenge."

Everyone also noticed Zhao Xingde, and Director Li had no choice but to introduce to everyone: "This is Lieutenant Zhao De of the Jiaojun Army." He then introduced to Zhao Xingde: "Iron Skeleton Army Centurion Shi Er. Zhang Bocheng, the third son of the Duke of Chu The eldest son of the Shangguan line, Shangguan Cheng." Then he introduced several others.

Zhao Xingde handed over to everyone separately, he knew that Shi Er was just discussing the matter, and he didn't have much ill feeling towards him.At this moment, Chen Qianli also came over from behind. He couldn't help being taken aback, and asked with a smile: "Jingchu, when did you come to Chang'an, and you didn't come to sit at home?" His wife, Mrs. Zhang, was Zhang Bocheng's second sister. Zhang Bocheng was still in his teens when Chen Qianli accompanied his wife back to her natal home to visit relatives. Now, although he is a few years older, his appearance has not changed, so Chen Qianli recognized him at a glance.

Zhang Bocheng was a little nervous, and reported: "Sister, brother, little brother arrived in Chang'an yesterday. Brother Li hosted a banquet today to introduce some friends. He planned to go to the house to visit after he settled down." Except for Director Li, the others People are a little strange, Zhang Bocheng was born in the north country, and his temperament is bold enough, why he suddenly became gentle.The Duke of Chu’s fiefdom is near Xibao, Shishan Town. Over the past 100 years, the soldiers and civilians who settled in Shishan have fought countless battles with the nomads in the southern grasslands and the Ross people in the west of Shishan. It can be said that every inch of land was exchanged for blood.Zhang Bocheng grew up there, so he is naturally not a cautious person.Just now it was Zhang Bocheng who mentioned that there was a faint tendency of instability in Ross's hometown, and some princes secretly colluded with the western barbarian countries in an attempt to drive out the forces of Xia.After everyone discussed, this brought up the issue of how to govern if a large area of ​​Kanto was conquered in the future.

"Okay," Chen Qianli patted him on the shoulder and said, "come home for dinner tomorrow."

"Yes." Zhang Bocheng bowed.Shi Er and the others knew that he was the training envoy of the Chang'an Regiment, so they also came up to say hello.Chen Qianli said with a smile: "Xu Xueshi painstakingly studied this method of farming, and the ingenuity is exhausted." He sighed and said, "If I am still a captain, I will definitely ask the Huguo Mansion to praise Xu Pu, Compared with the 10 manpower saved by this method, what a feudal marquis is worth!" Thinking of this, Chen Qianli's eyes lit up, and he said to Zhao Xingde: "If Brother Zhao goes to the Huguo Mansion to discuss matters, you can ask Xueshi Xu Lord?"

The field by the Qujiang Pond was cultivated by the bachelor Xu Fang and a group of students himself.Xu Fang is a master of farming in Guanzhong. He mainly uses wheat, and has tried interplanting millet, millet, soybeans, red beams, alfalfa, clover, naked oats, etc., and can make wheat and soybeans replanted twice a year. , and can not only save manpower, but also protect the ground without losing strength.Xu Fang advocated that after farmers harvest wheat, instead of cutting off the straw and burning it, it is better to let it rot in the field, and not to plow and turn the soil excessively, so as not to damage the structure of the soil itself, and only use dead leaves and various fertilizers to rot. Covering the surface, in this way, compared with the original, the soil will not only not degenerate, but also become more and more fat.Xu Fang is still one of the rare masters who have studied the "nature" of things deeply. He pointed out that the growth of crops absorbs various substances in the land. If the demand is excessive, the land will degenerate.Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Guanzhong has been fully cultivated, but the problem of geographical degradation is common.Therefore, Xu Fang suggested that if the soil fertility is to be restored, it is like treating a patient. The cause must first be 'touched', and then "fertilization is like using 'medicine'" to restore soil fertility.Under Xu Fang's guidance, many lands in Guanzhong recovered their fertility.Every time Xu Fang and even his students went to a place, the local scholars and common people clapped their foreheads and celebrated.

While Chen Qianli said, Zhao Xingde nodded and said yes, Zhang Bocheng was even more stunned, and lost his voice: "I didn't expect my brother to pay so much attention to farming." Chen Qianli shook his head and said with a smile: "Farming is the foundation of the country, how can it be ignored?" Shi Er After everyone nodded in agreement, Shangguan Cheng sighed: "Master Chen's words touched my heart. If it wasn't for Guanzhong not to allow the sale of farmland, I would definitely buy a large piece of land and spend a lot of money to ask Xueshi Xu to give advice." Shi Er laughed and said: "You Didn't my family buy land in Kanto?" Shangguan Cheng shook his head and said, "My family is from Guanzhong, and it is enough to walk around in Kanto and open shops, why would I buy land and land?"

Shi Er nodded and said: "Without our Daxia army guarding the place, what's the use of buying land? Just look at the states behind the mountain." Zhuzhou wantonly plundered, murdered and burned villages.While everyone sighed, they nodded in agreement.But Zhao Xingde's heart became more and more heavy, and there was a layer of gloom between his brows.

"Yang Dutou, they are coming up again, what should we do?"

Yang Huilong looked out through the arrow holes in the wooden fence, and saw that the Mierbo cavalry drove a large group of people over, most of them were old, weak, women and children in ragged clothes, with firewood piled up on their backs, and they were facing the direction with fear. Yingyan village rushed over.The Mierbo cavalry stopped short of the Song army's arrow range.The faces of the people were full of pleading, but the Mierbo people remained indifferent. They bent their bows and set arrows on their horses, forcing the people to move on, asking them to pile up firewood under the Yingyan stronghold and set fire to it.Yingyan village is a half-stone and half-wood camp. If the wooden fence is burned, the Song army will have no cover for shooting arrows, and it will be much easier for the Mierbo people to capture it.

"Fire arrows!"

Yang Huilong's face was livid, and he ordered through gritted teeth.Behind Yingyan Village is Hedong, and these devil-like barbarians must not be allowed to enter Hedong, even if the people behind the mountain are unarmed, Yang Huilong will not let them approach the village.

More than 500 archers of the East Chamber Army bent their bows and set up arrows, and shot out random arrows one after another.The people carrying firewood fell down one after another, and some just begged for mercy: "Don't kill me!" They were shot down mercilessly by arrows, and some turned around to run for their lives, but were released by the Mierbo people. Arrows were shot, and it didn't take long for hundreds of people behind the mountain to fall into a pool of blood. The dark red blood flowed down the mountain road. Pointing at the Song army camp and taunting loudly.