Chapter 460 Intelligence

Chapter 460 Intelligence

Chapter 460 Intelligence
Jingu Garden has become the command center.

In the past two months, more and more people have been entering and leaving the house, and their status has been getting higher and higher.

The Zhongwu Army had slowly grown to more than 4,000 people. The extra ones were the sons and followers of powerful families from various counties and kingdoms in Henan Province. They were dispersed and incorporated into various teams and trained together.

The 6,000 men of the Silver Spear Right Camp were also stationed near the Jingu Garden and conducted regular drills.

Ten days ago, five thousand soldiers from Xuchang arrived.

Five days ago, five thousand garrison troops arrived.

Three days ago, the Zhongwu Army, led by Shao Shen, left Jingu Garden and returned to Yiyang to continue training.

By this time, the number of troops remaining in Jingu Garden had dropped to 16,000. When they were dispatched, the true outcome of this war would be revealed.

But at least so far, Shao Xun doesn't seem to have any intention of making a large-scale move.

Perhaps it was because the troops were deployed to guard the four warring areas everywhere and there were not enough soldiers.

Perhaps the enemy has not been fully mobilized and the timing is not ripe.

Maybe he has other plans.

In short, he lay leisurely in the bamboo forest of Jingu Garden, practicing martial arts, reading, handling official business, and by the way, micro-managing the front line.

Occasionally, he would meet with outsiders.

"For the newly settled people, each family should be given 30 mu of land, and at least one horse for me." Shao Xun used a branch to draw a few squares on the ground to represent the land, and said: "The people only need to use part of the land to grow legumes, which is more than enough to raise a horse. The rest can be planted whatever they want, I don't care, and I won't ask them to pay taxes."

After drawing the squares, Shao Xun drew a horse in it.

Well, it's not so much a horse as it is a cartoon version of a donkey. Also, when he was drawing the horse, he was thinking about raising cattle, so he subconsciously drew two horns on the horse's head.

There was a "puff" sound from the other side.

The green skirt dragged on the ground, shaking slightly with the owner's laughter.

There are a few beautiful flowers embroidered on the bottom of the skirt, which is particularly attractive.

Shao Xun put down the branch and smiled awkwardly.

He also noticed that Wang Huifeng seemed to have changed his clothes.

When I saw her before, she was always wearing plain clothes without any decorations.

This time when she came for the meeting, her dress was a lot more "lively".

What does this mean? Shao Xun seemed to be thinking about something, as if he had an epiphany.

But he pretended not to see it. After he finished laughing, he showed a look of deep regret and said, "In fact, one acre of land on the grassland can't support many livestock, but in Henan, where the soil is fertile everywhere, one acre of land is planted with leguminous grass and carefully managed, and the annual hay harvest is several times that of the grassland. Even if they use ten acres of land to grow grass, it is enough to raise two horses. Now they only need one horse, and the rest can be used to raise a cow and a few sheep. In this way, the people's lives will not only not be too tight, but will be improved."

In fact, there is a loophole in what he said.

Normal execution is not a big problem, but what if the horse dies? What should we do?
Theoretically speaking, this is a horse that the government has fostered in the homes of ordinary people. The ownership belongs to the government. Should the government compensate if it dies?

Of course you have to pay for it. That's not a small burden, and there's no insurance these days.

Of course, if we ignore the blood and tears of individual civilian families and look at the overall situation, this policy can indeed be implemented. After all, the vast majority of horses will not die of illness, and most families will still benefit from it.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, with the encouragement of the government, many households raised horses. The former were tax-exempt, while the latter were purchased by the government at high prices. Both families raised large herds of horses in the Central Plains.

Especially in the Tang Dynasty, there was a post station every thirty miles, a density higher than since the Han and Jin Dynasties, which required a large number of horses.

The country also maintained about 160,000 cavalry or mounted infantry, which was also the largest number among all dynasties.

At its peak, the tribe had 700,000 to 800,000 horses, which made the grassland tribes feel ashamed of themselves.

In fact, it all depends on policy and execution.

The reason why ordinary households in the Northern Song Dynasty could not continue to raise horses was simply because the government did not treat the people as human beings. The people in the Northern Song Dynasty were much poorer than those in the Han and Tang Dynasties. After all, the price of salt was more than ten times that of the Tang Dynasty, and the tax burden continued to increase on the basis of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

"Ma Zheng's matter is not that simple, is it?" Wang Huifeng thought for a moment and asked.

"It's not that simple, so you have to help me." Shao Xun said sincerely: "After I have horses, I can wipe out the Xiongnu and restore peace to the world. After the war is over, the people will live in peace, families will have surplus food, the elderly will be well cared for, and children will grow up strong. That's all I want."

Wang Huifeng was a little distracted as he listened.

"I have to fight, I don't have that much energy to take care of the rear." Shao Xun observed his expression and continued: "If you don't help me, then the big thing is over."

Wang Huifeng did not answer, but only asked: "How can I, a woman, be worthy of such a big thing?"

"If you are not worthy of it, what will those people who are just sitting there doing nothing say?" Shao Xun looked into Wang Huifeng's eyes and said, "Over the years, I have not seen any woman as smart as you."

Wang Huifeng looked away from him and changed the subject, "My father sent me here to tell you some news about Bingzhou."

After that, she took out a stack of papers, looked at the top one, and said, "For the past few months, the situation in Guanzhong and Bingzhou has been here."

"Really?" Shao Xun said happily.

Wang Huifeng nodded, then took out the paper and was about to hand it over.

Shao Xun seemed not to notice her actions, his eyes were completely attracted by the paper. He frowned, stood up and sat next to Wang Huifeng, naturally took the paper and started reading.

Wang Huifeng's body froze, and he was about to move to the other side of the stone bench when he heard Shao Xun ask, "How did you get the inside story of the battle of Huangbai City? Is it true?"

Wang Huifeng calmed down, stopped what she was doing, turned her head and looked over, and said, "These are all mentioned in the correspondence between my father and his friends, students, and old colleagues. I verified them and extracted them from them. There is no problem with what can be written here."

Wang Yan had many students, former officials, friends and acquaintances all over the world, and they had a lot of correspondence.

Wang Huifeng picked out useful information from his father's letters and verified them with each other. Those that could be cross-verified were listed separately as reliable information.

Those that are somewhat contradictory are listed separately. She then combines various pieces of information, makes her own inferences, and writes down the results of her inferences on the side.

The ability to extract intelligence is really strong, and the source of intelligence is also very powerful. A lot of inside information cannot be collected by sending caravans or opening shops because the levels are not high enough.

Lao Deng is really powerful, famous enough, and has a strong ability to obtain intelligence.

"I see." Shao Xun nodded and continued watching.

Wang Huifeng calmed down and handed him another piece of paper when he finished reading.

"Your handwriting is really good." Shao Xun praised: "If you have time, can you teach me how to practice calligraphy?"

"I'm not good at regular script." Wang Huifeng shook her head.

Not good at it? Not necessarily. I just subconsciously avoid suspicion.

"Oh." Shao Xun nodded disappointedly.

Wang Huifeng saw his expression and felt complicated, and was somewhat conflicted for a moment.

"Do you think the Xiongnu and Xianbei are fighting again?" Shao Xun suddenly asked.

Wang Huifeng suddenly woke up, and after calming down, he explained: "Liu Cong withdrew more than 10,000 troops from Guanzhong, recruited 30,000 from Hedong and Pingyang, and mobilized more than 40,000 Hu cavalry from Hexi (Hetao grassland), but did not send troops to Henei and Hebei. Obviously, they went to Jinyang. In fact, this was written in June. In early July, my father wrote to an old acquaintance of Yang from Hongnong, and it was confirmed that Liu Cong went north to Xihe."

Awesome, awesome! Shao Xun couldn't help but admire him.

At the same time, he thought, did his staff also communicate with relatives, friends, and students from other parties through letters, revealing inside information? It was almost inevitable, right?

The relationships among aristocratic families are complicated, with intermarriages among several generations. Friends, relatives, and former students and officials are all employed in different places. They don't need to reveal anything deliberately. A word spoken unconsciously in a letter can often be interpreted by someone with a purpose and obtain useful information.

This is exactly what Wang Huifeng did.

Wang Yan is a famous scholar in the world, and his sources of information are incomparable to others. But this old Deng was actually on guard against me and didn't tell me a lot of information.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Wang Huifeng, but Wang Huifeng was also looking at him...

Shao Xun seemed to be unaware as he continued to look at the intelligence and said, "No wonder Liu Han has not sent a large army south. It turns out that they have a lot of problems. It seems that the time is ripe to send troops."

Wang Huifeng was in a state of confusion. When he heard the word "dispatching troops", he was startled and subconsciously said, "Isn't this a bit risky?"

"War is a risky business." Shao Xun shook his head and said, "Besides, the army from all camps will gather together, and the food for the people and horses is not a small amount. Every day of delay will consume thousands of bushels of food and grass, which is very expensive."

"Besides, in order to pacify the world and let the people live and work in peace, why should I hesitate to risk my life?"

"You can help me, which greatly increases my chances of winning. When the people of the world hear about it, they will also praise your virtue."

Wang Huifeng remained silent.

In the past, she liked to talk with Shao Xun about how the people's lives were after peace was restored to the world, but today she was a little silent.

Shao Xun looked up at the sky and said in surprise, "It's already the evening hour without me noticing."

After saying that, he looked at Wang Huifeng and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work today. I will go to the garden to pick some vegetables and make you a delicious meal as a reward."

Wang Huifeng suddenly raised her head and said, "No need to do that. I will take my leave now. If you have any questions, please send someone to Luoyang to deliver a letter and I will answer them."

"That's fine." Shao Xun forced a smile and said, "It's just a pity. I only have a few thousand soldiers. If I run into Shi Le's tens of thousands of cavalry, my whole army will be wiped out. I'm afraid I won't have the chance to repay you."

"I don't need any reward." Wang Huifeng shook her head first, then looked at Shao Xun and said seriously: "Ming Gong has an important responsibility and should not lead the army in person again."

"The Silver Spear Right Camp is not as good as the Left Camp. Their skills are okay, but they lack experience in battle. I have to lead them myself to boost their morale. Once they are trained, I can hand them over to others." Shao Xun said, "Besides, for the sake of the great cause of the country and the people's well-being, the soldiers are fighting hard, how can I sit back and wait? Killing one more thief can help us clean up the world faster and restore it to the way it should be."

Wang Huifeng was speechless.

Shao Xun looked at her face and asked quietly, "Do you remember the poem I wrote for the community day?"

"When the wine is ready, every village will celebrate the New Year." Wang Huifeng said softly, "Will there be such a day?"

"It will happen." Shao Xun affirmed, "You have to help me. We will see that day together."

Wang Huifeng lowered his head.

"By the way, I heard that you are well-versed in geography. Why don't you explain to me in detail whether it is better to build a city in Fangtou or in Liyang." Shao Xun said as if he suddenly remembered this.

Wang Huifeng hesitated to speak.

In fact, through previous conversations and reading some official correspondence from the Xuchang Shogunate, she knew very well where Mr. Chen would build the city.

However, she seemed to prefer not to know.

She felt even more panicked. She felt that she had stepped on the edge of the swamp. If she took another step forward, she would slowly sink in and be swallowed up without realizing it.

"This is an urgent matter." Shao Xun said seriously, "Eat first, and then explain it to me after dinner."

Wang Huifeng was silent for a long time, then responded softly: "Yeah."

As the sun sets, the bright red sunset glows on her face, which is very moving.

"Fangtou faces Puyang across the river, and is less than 200 miles away from Yecheng. If we build a city here, it will be very useful." Shao Xun's voice continued to come: "But Liyang is also very important, I really can't decide..."

Listening to Shao Xun's clumsy words, Wang Huifeng suddenly wanted to laugh for some reason.

However, her steps became much lighter, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Of course we have to build a city in Fangtou. What else is there to say?
(End of this chapter)