Chapter 544: Compromise
Chapter 544: Compromise
Yang Guang immediately appointed Xiao Cong as the Jianghuai Surveillance Commissioner and sent him to Jiangnan to negotiate with Xiao Xia. At the same time, he ordered the withdrawal of the 200,000 troops from Jiangdu.
Yuwen Shu felt relieved and led his army to retreat northward that night after receiving the imperial edict.
Half a month later, Xiao Cong arrived in Yanling County and was warmly welcomed by Xiao Xia. Xiao Cong first read out the emperor's new decree, revoking the title of King of Liang and restoring Xiao Xia's title of King of Jin. He also named his eldest son Yang Chu the Prince of Jiangdu and named his second son Yang Ren, with the title of Duke of Xuancheng.
This is also a means to ease the relationship. Giving a grandson a name is equivalent to acknowledging that they are father and son.
Xiao Cong sat down in Xiao Xia's official room, and Gao Jiong, Liu Wenjing and others also sat beside him.
Xiao Cong smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness did a good job this time. He did not rebel and did not set up the palace in Jiangning. This was a smart move. It left room for the subsequent peace talks. Otherwise, it would be a life-and-death struggle."
Xiao Xia said calmly: "Perhaps the emperor has forgotten, but I have not forgotten. I am still a warrior of Lingyan Pavilion. I once swore allegiance to the Sui Dynasty in front of the late emperor. I will never rebel against the Sui Dynasty no matter what."
Xiao Cong nodded, "Before I went south this time, the emperor put forward four basic requirements, which means there is no room for negotiation. Your Highness must agree to them, and then we will continue to negotiate based on these four requirements."
"What are the four requests, Prime Minister, please tell me!"
"First, the emperor must appoint a grandson as the crown prince, and Your Highness must not seek to seize the throne."
Xiao Xia laughed, "Even if I agree, will the emperor believe it?"
Xiao Cong smiled bitterly and said, "Who knows what will happen in the future? But at least for the next four or five years, Your Highness should not have any unreasonable thoughts."
Xiao Xia nodded, "I promise the first one. I will be a good uncle who protects the country in the future."
"Then the second rule is that your Highness's territory is bounded by the Yangtze River and you are not allowed to cross the Yangtze River."
Xiao Xia was startled and asked anxiously, "What about Jiangdu? I built so many docks in Jiangdu, and I also have my salt fields. What about the other seven counties?"
Xiao Cong waved his hand and said, "The emperor wants to set up Huainan Road as a buffer zone, not to take away your assets. Your Highness can set up a private business to manage various assets. The governor of Jiangdu is still Cui Fengxian."
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "I can agree to this request, but I want to incorporate the seven counties of Dongting Lake into Jiangnan Road as compensation for the loss of the seven counties of Huainan."
"this."
Xiao Cong was a little embarrassed. He thought for a moment and said, "I need to consult the emperor, so let's put this one aside for now!"
"Please continue, Prime Minister!"
"The third rule of the emperor is that when the imperial court attacks Goguryeo in the future, Your Highness will also send troops to help!"
Xiao Xia frowned, "The emperor is going to attack Goguryeo?"
Xiao Cong nodded, "Your Highness may not know that Goguryeo can mobilize 600,000 troops. Once they collude with the Turks to invade, it will not only be a problem that Yingzhou in Liaodong will be in danger, but also Youzhou and Hebei. The Goguryeo issue will have to be resolved sooner or later."
Xiao Xia sighed and said, "This is all the evil done by the Sima family. They are deeply sinful!"
Why is the Sima family considered the most sinful royal family in history? Not only did they cause the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China, which led to the near extinction of the Han people in the north, leaving only 800,000 people.
Secondly, the Sima family massacred the people of Liaodong, destroyed the Gongsun Yuan family, and withdrew all the Han people from Liaodong, which was tantamount to giving up the Han people's development of Liaodong for thousands of years. The four counties of Liaodong in the Han Dynasty were occupied by the Buyeo Mohe people, who established the Goguryeo Dynasty. Even though the Tang Dynasty later destroyed Goguryeo, it was unable to restore the rule of the Han Dynasty. After the end of Goguryeo, Silla went north to annex land, and then the Khitan rose. After the end of the Khitan, it was the Jurchens, and then the Menggu tribe of the Shiwei people rose. After the Menggu tribe ended, the Jianzhou Jurchens came.
The root of all this was the Sima royal family's decision to abandon Liaodong, which, like Shi Jingtang's betrayal of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, was a sin that brought disaster upon itself for thousands of years.
"How about it, Your Highness, do you agree to the third one?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "I've said it before, I can use the navy to help in the battle!"
Xiao Cong smiled and said, "Then there is the fourth and final rule. Your Highness' total military strength must not exceed the current number, which means it must not exceed 130,000 troops!" "Okay!"
Xiao Xia agreed immediately. His own upper limit was 150,000 troops. 130,000 troops plus 20,000 state soldiers would be exactly 150,000.
Xiao Cong did not expect Xiao Xia to agree so readily. He smiled and asked, "Besides the second point I mentioned earlier, if Your Highness has anything else to add, I will report it to the Emperor."
Xiao Xia nodded, "I have not failed. Now we are just negotiating to solve the problem of reducing the power of the vassal states. In addition to the seven counties of Dongting Lake as compensation for Huainan Province, I also want the power of officials. I will appoint officials in Jiangnan Province, and I also have the power of finance. I want to support 130,000 troops and I want the taxes in Jiangnan Province."
Xiao Cong nodded, "I will report the situation to the emperor and let him decide!"
The negotiations were temporarily suspended, and Xiao Cong returned to the Xiao Mansion in Jiangdu, waiting for the emperor's reply.
Xiao Xia also went to Piling County to inspect the canal construction. The dredging of the Yuhang County section of the canal has been completed. Except for the 50,000 soldiers who were conscripted into the army, the remaining 80,000 prisoners of war were transferred to Wu County to continue the canal construction. By the beginning of next spring, their one-year service period will be over and they can go home.
However, after the dredging of the canal in Yuhang County was completed, the 80,000 prisoners of war had an income of one string of coins per month. In addition to this year's tax exemption, their one string of coins was enough to support their wives and children.
In addition to 80,000 prisoners of war, Gao Jiong recruited another 200,000 people to dredge the canal. The 500-mile-long canal was originally planned to be completed in three years, but now it seems that it can be completed in two years.
Just ten days ago, two thousand elephants were sent from Jian'an County to Wu County. Under the command of elephant slaves, the elephants also joined the team for dredging the canal.
They are responsible for turning over the soil and digging out the silt. Using their powerful strength, they use their noses to roll up bags of silt and send them to the boats nearby.
In addition to inspecting the canal dredging and widening project, Xiao Xia also had another important purpose, which was to inspect the forage project he deployed last year.
Jiangnan is densely covered with rivers, and the banks of the small rivers used to be overgrown with various weeds. Last year, in sync with Jiangdu County, Xiao Xia also required the counties in Jiangnan to plant alfalfa and black beans along the rivers and in the Taihu Lake basin.
In addition, planting black beans can fix nitrogen, which is very beneficial for restoring soil quality. Xiao Xia also requires planting black beans when the land is left fallow for recuperation.
Last year, county governments began to organize farmers to clear weeds and sow grass seeds and bean seeds along the river and Taihu Lake as part of their annual labor.
It is harvest season now, and farmers harvesting grass and black beans can be seen everywhere along the river.
Xiao Xia looked at the busy farmers along the river and said with a smile, "The farmers are very enthusiastic. Why?"
Zhou Mo, the governor of Piling County, smiled and said to Xiao Xia, "Your Highness, you don't know that they mainly use pasture grass and black beans to exchange for horse manure. After working hard for a month, they can exchange for several hundred kilograms of horse manure, which is very beneficial to their land. They are now eager to get horse manure and are working very hard!"
"Why so urgent?"
"Your Highness, in half a month, winter wheat will be planted. Farmers usually spread fertilizer while sowing wheat seeds, and then water them. After the wheat seeds sprout, winter will come. In spring, they will apply fertilizer again. The people in Jiangnan are very hardworking and cultivate carefully. In addition, the land is fertile and there is sufficient water, so the wheat yield per mu is 50% higher than that in Liang County."
"What is the per-acre yield of wheat in Liang County?"
"The upper fields produce more than 200 kilograms! The average here is more than 300 kilograms, and the yield per mu is 100 kilograms more. With 10 mu of land, you can feed a family of three. Liang County needs at least 30 mu of land to feed a family of three."
"Is the gap so big?" Xiao Xia asked in surprise.
Zhou Mo nodded. "The key point is that Liang County has no rice. They plant wheat in spring and corn in summer. The corn yield is only over 100 catties per mu, while the rice yield is 400 to 500 catties per mu. They are totally different!"
No wonder that after the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Jiangnan surpassed Hebei to become the largest grain-producing area and supported the Tang Dynasty for more than a hundred years. It was truly a prosperous place.
Xiao Xia nodded, and asked with a smile: "What if you don't want horse manure?"
"Most families want it, but of course they can choose not to. If they don't want horse manure, they can sell the grass and black beans for money. One catty is five cents, and two hundred catties can be exchanged for one string of money. After working hard for a month, some families can earn ten strings of money."
(End of this chapter)