Chapter 817 Pulling

Chapter 817 Pulling

Chapter 817 Pulling
When the wheat and millet were golden, Wen Qiao arrived in Jiyang.

He crossed the river from Henei, first arrived in Xingyang, then went through Chenliu, and finally arrived at Yuanju County, Jiyang.

Along the way, he had many thoughts and recorded a lot of things. This was the task assigned to him by Military Commander Wang Yan.

The two counties of Henei and Xingyang were basically built on a blank slate. There were local noble families, such as the Shan family's manor in Henei, the strongholds of the Gou and Guo families, and the Jing, Zheng, and Pan families in Xingyang, but overall, the power of the noble families was not significant.

There are few forts in the area, but many villages, and even some farming and pastoral Hu tribes - they are relatively small in scale and rarely migrate, because the water and soil conditions in Henei County are really good.

In Henei and Xingyang counties, the authority of the government was quite high, because powerful officials such as prefects and county magistrates were less constrained. Wen Qiao even believed that it was entirely possible to employ officials who were not from aristocratic families in these places - in fact, King Liang also did so, he liked to employ his own disciples.

But after entering Chenliu, the situation was very different.

After several years of farming, there are still many forts and manors in the local area, and the wealthy families can still shake the earth with just a stomp of their feet in the countryside. And this is the situation after a major rectification. Wen Qiao doesn't know what the situation was like before, but he has a rough idea.

He arrived in Yuanju County on the sixth day of September.

Since the time of the previous emperor, this place has not been affected by war.

From the perspective of a scholar, it is truly a paradise on earth!

Bamboo gardens and woods covering several hectares are necessary. Scholars cannot live without them, otherwise they will feel that life is boring.

There are also orchards and vegetable plots to provide meals for the morning and evening.

Shepherding sheep and making cheese, waiting for the expenses of the summer and summer holidays.

The ponds are sufficient for fishing, and the spring tax is sufficient to replace farming.

There are also hemp fields and mulberry forests, which can be used to make clothes and can also be used as money.

In short, the main purpose is to be free and easy.

The Bian family of Jiyin, a noble family, could indeed be described as "free and easy".

"The old dog is here!" When Bian Tao, who was still drunk, heard the doorman's report, he yawned, stretched lazily, walked out of the door, and muttered.

"You have no respect for your elders." Wen Qiao scolded with a smile.

After saying that, he pushed Bian Tao away and walked in like the owner.

Bian Tao did not take it as an offense. He just laughed and followed him, then led him directly to the back house where he lived.

The concubine was still lying on the bed with her clothes revealing. When she saw Bian Tao and Wen Qiao coming in, she didn't avoid them, but covered her mouth and chuckled.

"You're so brave! The prohibition on alcohol is useless." Wen Qiao saw the remaining wine on the table and shook his head.

Bian Tao chuckled and said, "Once the door is closed, everything from birth to death is complete. No matter what happens outside. Even if thieves come, we still have the soldiers and servants we keep."

Wen Qiao was too lazy to refute.

Of course, a few hundred or a few thousand bandits could be resisted, but what if there were tens of thousands? Like Wang Mi, who led more than 100,000 people, he also broke through many forts and manors - in fact, Wang Mi probably didn't even know how many "soldiers" he had.

"Are you here to ask for food again this time?" Bian Tao sat down, picked up the remaining wine, drank it all, burped, and asked.

"Is there?" Wen Qiao asked without saying anything more.

"It was delayed for two years, of course there is." Bian Tao said, "But King Liang is so ruthless and tyrannical, isn't he afraid of forcing the scholars of the world to revolt?"

"This farm of mine has been in our family for generations. I have been measuring the land for several months, and a group of county officials sit on the farm every day. They dare not leave even if I beat and scold them. They just say it is the military order of King Liang and they dare not disobey. Well, my family will give in and go to Jiyin to find a way to buy land and houses. Yuanju will regard this as a gift to him, but in the end he still wants to collect grain. It's unreasonable."

"My family's food didn't come from the wind! Before my father and grandfather entered officialdom, they worked hard to develop the industry. They sold the fruits of the lush forests, bamboo, cypress, medicinal herbs, grain, silk, cattle and sheep one by one, and accumulated money. They always held a tooth and calculated day and night, and it always seemed that there was not enough, until today."

"Since Shao Xun came, the number of servants, farmhands and farmhands on the household register has been decreasing year by year." At this point, Bian Tao pointed to a pile of bamboo slips in the corner of the room and said, "I was still counting last night. There are only 4,000 guests in Jiyin and Jiyang combined. How can we still live like this?"

Wen Qiao was speechless.

Most of their family's businesses in Taiyuan were destroyed, not to mention four thousand households, not even a thousand. Wen Qiao suspected that he was cursing.

"Your father is the military advisor, and he has his own difficulties." Wen Qiao said, "Before I left, I mentioned this to your father. I still have to make some contribution, but not now, next spring is fine. You are not young anymore, it's time for you to enter the government, maybe you can take this opportunity to become a military commander."

"No hurry." Bian Tao sneered and said, "I want to be an official now. I can be a magistrate at any time. If the King of Liang doesn't want me, who else can he want? I can't leave my family now, so I'll talk about it when I want to be an official."

Wen Qiao glanced at him.

Bian Tao has been in the manor for too long and is not as sensitive to the outside world. Now many people are competing for official positions, but they are still clinging to the old calendar.

"Yingzhi, have you heard about what happened in Lijiawu, Bianliang?" Wen Qiao asked, tapping the table lightly.

Bian Tao was stunned when he heard this and said, "King Liang won't go to such lengths, will he? If we scholars support him, he is King Shao. If we don't support him, he is the Shao thief."

"Yingzhi, do you like gambling?" Wen Qiao asked.

"bet?"

"I lose nine times out of ten when I gamble, so I don't dare to gamble anymore." Wen Qiao said, "Do you know what King Liang is doing now?"

"doing what?"

"He gathered a large group of warriors and assorted people to hunt and train soldiers."

"What's the point of training troops?"

"He is a warrior. He speaks rudely and kills people when he is angry. Do you want to bet with him?" Wen Qiao said this, pointed to his head, and said, "Warriors have some problems. If they become violent, you can't stand it. King Liang has been able to restrain himself. Once he lets out the evil spirit in his heart-"

Wen Qiao pointed at the concubine on the high couch and said, "If you let the soldiers play with you, you might end up being drowned in the Yellow River."

Bian Tao was angry when he heard this, but only for a short while.

He thought about it carefully.

King Liang always treats people with a gentle image, but it seems that he is not quite normal. "Your manor has three harvests in two years, and there is a lot of surplus grain in the granary. Give a little. King Liang has not pushed you to a desperate situation. You should not push King Liang to a desperate situation. This murderous man who rolled out of a pile of dead bodies, just coax him. After the world is at peace, all problems will be solved. Then won't you be at ease?" Wen Qiao first used intimidation to make Bian Tao confused, and then changed his tone and persuaded him step by step.

After this series of moves, Bian Tao's expression was indeed relaxed, and he sighed: "If it weren't for the disaster relief every year and the great epidemic, it wouldn't have come to this."

Wen Qiao smiled secretly, it’s settled.

In fact, everything in this world is about knowing when to stop.

Asking for money is a science. Asking for too much may offend others, while asking for too little will be of no use. Asking for just the right amount of money is a real skill.

However, whoever wants to do this shit can do it in the future. He is really fed up with it.

You have to talk to every household and use different methods for different people. It is laborious and tiring.

If it weren't for the fact that Jinyang was facing a direct threat from the Xianbei, he really would not be willing to accept the order.

******
Shao Xun sent four "working groups" consisting of Wen Qiao, Yuan Neng, Yang Kai and Chen Gui to Henan. No working group was sent to Hedong and Pingyang, but they quickly delivered the new grain, which was then transported by land and water to Jinyang.

Not only that, the burden also lay on providing food supplies for the 20-day "military training" of tens of thousands of people in Pingyang West.

In the mountains, the flags suddenly changed, and the soldiers who were expanding to both wings stopped immediately, then changed from columns to horizontal columns and pushed forward in a straight line.

The wild beasts were running ahead in panic.

The soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder, holding swords and shields, spears and bows, and advanced in a wall formation at a steady pace.

Every fifty steps, they would pause for a moment, organize their ranks according to the signals of drums, gongs and flags, and then continue forward.

Amid the long horn sounds, some cavalrymen rode forward, circled the flanks, each selected their prey, drew their bows and arrows, and shot continuously, just like attacking the enemy from the side on the battlefield.

The Mule Army also came up.

Gradually their number expanded to two thousand, they rode on horses and mules, stood out from the crowd, and when they quickly rushed to the area where prey was most concentrated, they immediately dismounted and worked in groups of ten, holding various tools, to hunt and kill prey, just like heavily armored warriors who maneuvered quickly on the battlefield, dismounted and defeated the enemy after reaching the edge of the field.

The drums roared and the horns sounded continuously.

In the end, the four armies from the east, west, south and north drove all the prey to the flat treeless area, and then patiently narrowed the encirclement, gradually consuming the prey's physical strength and spirit until they were all strangled to death.

"Beasts are like humans, and humans are like beasts. After four years, the Yellow Head Army finally has some shape." Shao Xun stood on the top of the mountain, quietly looking at his army.

"With 50,000 men like these, we can attack the city and capture the stronghold. Who can defeat us?" He looked at the officials again, laughed, and went down the mountain.

Yu Chen, Wang Yan, Pan Tao, Pei Miao, Yin Xian, Yang Chen and others remained standing where they were.

The sun is shining brightly today, and the autumn weather is crisp and clear, making it an excellent day for hunting.

This soldier can hunt animals as well as humans. The warrior's speech is really unsophisticated and too straightforward.

"How is Guangning?" After a moment, Pan Tao broke the silence and asked.

"Zhai Shu was defeated for a while and fled." You Sima Yang Chen said: "Shi Ben clan went straight to Sanggan River, and Wang Feng led his army to stop them. The two sides faced each other across the river for more than half a month. There was a big rebellion of Wuhuan tribe in the county, and Wang Feng fled and went to Dai County."

"Zhai Shu should not fight to the death." Pan Tao said.

Yang Chen shook his head and laughed, saying, "How can such people be willing to fight to the death? They are considered loyal and brave if they can just pretend to do the job. Now the Shiben cavalry has penetrated deep into Dai County to plunder, and the Wuhuan rebels are besieging Dai County. Guangning may also be a little unstable. Each family has its own calculations. After all, the Qi family is powerful, and they are under the banner of the New Party, so they are very good at recruiting surrenders and accepting rebels. If the king does not intervene, the Wang family will surely fail."

When the last sentence was said, the smiles on everyone's faces disappeared.

"Daijun, Guangning, Yanmen and even Xingbei counties are all former territories of the Central Dynasty. How can we abandon them?" Pei Miao said, "We have to fight, otherwise Bingzhou and Jizhou will never have peace."

"If we stop here, it's not that we can't fight." After a long time, Yu Chen sighed.

He felt that he had lost too many points recently. After so much trouble, it would be a waste of time to drag it on.

There are some regrets in my heart.

Was he fighting for the interests of Henan scholars? Not entirely.

He was also consolidating the position of King Liang.

If you continue like this, how will others view you? How will history write about you?

I can speak frankly about the parts that I could have hidden for you.

The parts that could have been praised were just glossed over.

Even your trusted civil officials and trusted generals will be belittled, even if they are very capable.

But he doesn't seem to care much about it.

As for Yuzhou, he had to send people to investigate to make sure that no one surrendered to the enemy in anger, otherwise he would be the one to be blamed.

Of course, there are two other important reasons:

First, Wang Yan seemed to change direction quickly. This old man is so soft!

Secondly, after Lu Zhi resigned from the Right Army Commander, this position has been vacant. Yesterday, King Liang granted this position to Pei Shao, the Left Chief Clerk, on the grounds that he is "a man of both civil and military talents," and hoped that he would "be my most trusted and trusted person."

This made Yu Chen feel pressured.

Forget it, since he doesn’t understand my good intentions, I’ll just let him go.

Suddenly, loud cheers were heard in the valley.

When they looked, they saw King Liang riding his horse among the thousands of soldiers, gazing at the mountains in the distance.

It seems like a demonstration!
(End of this chapter)