Chapter 861: Discussion on Jinyang

Chapter 861: Discussion on Jinyang

Chapter 861: Discussion on Jinyang
When they received the order to stop advancing, hundreds of prisoners couldn't help but cheer.

Zhang Heipi slumped down in the dry grass by the roadside and wiped away his tears.

The army has finally returned, and we no longer have to transport food and fodder!

Their group of ten people set out from Chen County and gathered in Bianliang. When they passed through the three cities of Heyang, one of them died suddenly of an illness.

When passing Tianjing Pass, one person accidentally fell into the valley, and the baggage train did not stop at all. Several escorting soldiers tried to go down to take a look, but returned in vain.

Compared with excessive taxes and levies, frequent corvee labor is more likely to cause families to break up and people to die. I didn’t understand this sentence deeply before, but after fighting so many wars, no one has any doubts about this sentence anymore.

"Get up, get up." The officers of the Xuchang Shibing pulled up the prisoners one by one and ordered, "We must also store the food in Guangwu for future use."

Zhang Heipi stood up swiftly.

It's just delivering grain to Guangwu County, which is very close and not a big deal.

He was too lazy to ask what the grain was going to be used for. Just deliver it to the fields and that was it. Why think so much?
While they were busy, a group of cavalry came galloping from the north and quickly passed by the baggage train.

"I seem to have seen King Liang." A young man murmured.

Zhang Heipi glanced at him and was about to refute, but then he thought that it might be possible.

After sighing, he helped push the cart and turned.

This is the problem with a two-wheeled carriage: it is difficult to turn, requires a long distance, and requires the help of servants.

On the other side, the cavalry that had just passed by at lightning speed slowly stopped.

Shao Xun dismounted, threw the reins to his personal soldiers, and climbed up to look into the distance.

There was a small earthen city in front of us, with a big flag flying on the top of the city, with the five words "Xinkou Longxiang Prefecture" inscribed on it.

It was winter, and a thin layer of snow had accumulated on the ground.

Dirty sheep wandered in the snow, digging with their hooves and gnawing on the dry and nutritious yellow grass. They looked so happy, as if they were eating some delicious food.

Shao Xun didn't want to disturb them, but the Longxiang Mansion discovered them. Soon, the nearest group of people came with weapons, and when they were about to ask questions, the leader knelt down and said, "General Jiang Tai greets the king."

When Shao Xun heard this, he immediately helped him up, looked at him carefully, and said with a smile: "It is you! How about being the Sima of another department?"

"I have brought my wife and children from Hedong." Jiang Tai replied, "I have a house, fields, livestock, troops, and a salary. I could never have imagined this before."

Shao Xun laughed and said, "This is what those who fight for me should do."

After saying that, he looked at the team of soldiers behind Jiang Tai.

To be honest, it didn't look very good, so I asked, "How about you? How are you?"

Everyone was silent for a while, and after a while, a brave man said, "Your Majesty, I just want my family to have enough food. I came late this year, and I only planted winter wheat. I am still eating the grain and beans distributed by Longxiang Mansion. Next year should be better."

"What about you?" Shao Xun looked at the others again.

"I just want to fill my stomach." Everyone said.

Shao Xun turned his head and looked at the guards behind him, pointed at one of them and asked, "Wan Kun, what about you?"

"Ennoble your wife and provide shelter for your son." Wan Kun stepped forward and answered.

Shao Xun smiled.

Matter determines consciousness, and the economic base determines the superstructure. These are truly true sayings.

This is true from individuals to society.

For him, the government soldiers are the "economic foundation" he built himself. Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. When the government soldiers accumulate enough, they can influence and even determine the superstructure.

The situation he faced twenty years ago was just like these new soldiers who just wanted to fill their stomachs.

The current situation is that Wan Kun, a personal soldier who comes from a wealthy family and is skilled in archery and horse riding, has higher aspirations.

"The Wufeng Mountain in the east is planning to build the Wufeng Longxiang Prefecture, which will be the third prefecture in Xinxing County. You may train together in the future." Shao Xun said as he mounted his horse.

Before leaving, he looked at the lush farmland near Xinkou and said, "I have great ambitions, and you must help me."

Having said that, he spurred his horse and rode away.

The imperial guards followed closely behind, stirring up a cloud of flying snow.

Jiang Tai turned around and looked at Shao Xun's gradually receding back.

He didn't understand. The King of Liang was invincible in battle, kept his word, and married the most beautiful woman in the world. What could he be dissatisfied with?
But it doesn’t matter.

After that day at Guangwu City, he sold his life to King Liang. Whatever the old man said was the truth, and he could even kill the emperor.

******
When he arrived in Jinyang, it was the tenth day of the winter month, and Shao Xun inspected the place for several days.

He likes Bingzhou more and more.

As a county under the Liang State, Taiyuan is more pleasing to the eye than Chenliu and other places.

The reason is not complicated. Originally this place was a blank land, but now there are eight Longxiang prefectures and nearly 40,000 military and civilian households.

The eight counties of Taiyuan County had only 56000 households and 22 people.

The voices of the nobles and powerful families here were very weak, and the overall power structure had undergone a very thorough reshuffle, which he had built bit by bit over several years.

Now there are three Longxiang Prefectures in Xinxing County, and Yanmen County is about to establish a Dabao Longxiang Prefecture - the last batch of military rations sent before the cessation of transportation will be used as resettlement expenses.

These white areas are really good for painting!

When he climbed to the top of the city wall and looked out, he was in such a good mood that he almost laughed out loud.

Between the peaks, the pine trees rustled in the wind. Wild deer leaped endlessly, and the knights chased them.

During hunting, they not only became familiar with cooperation, but also practiced riding and archery skills, which will be useful in the future on the battlefield.

There were shouts and yells in the arena.

The young man practiced hard with swords and guns, and the old soldier corrected him again and again.

During the idle days of winter, their skills are constantly being honed and their wills are constantly being strengthened. These are all excellent reserve forces for the government soldiers.

Smoke from cooking fires rises from the village.

The children were driving the cattle and sheep home, the old man was busy feeding the chickens and ducks, and the woman was sitting at the door mending clothes.

The fields are bustling with activity.

The soldiers wielded shovels and pickaxes, dredging the ditch inch by inch.

Crops will thrive in irrigated farmland, but this is not comparable to dry land.

In fact, all of the above are not important, because they can be seen in other places. The most important thing is that these soldiers and civilians have nothing to do with the aristocratic families. They are a force that the government can directly mobilize, and there is no need to send people out to negotiate donations from each family.

The twenty counties of Liang State might be able to implement a fixed taxation system in some areas, which had not been successfully implemented during the Jin Dynasty.

Twenty years! It took him twenty years to get to this point.

In an era without aristocratic families, perhaps everything would be much simpler.

"Your Majesty, if there is no major natural disaster next year, the eight counties of Taiyuan should be able to harvest 6 million hu of grain." Governor Shao Guang came over and said with a smile, "In the past, Yin Hongqiao said that Taiyuan alone enjoyed the benefits of the Fen River, but many people did not believe it. By next year, I am afraid no one will dare to say anything wrong."

Shao Xun laughed heartily and said, "Zhengqing, do you know why Wang Yifu asked me to go back?"

"I don't know." Shao Guang was stunned.

"Yesterday I received a letter. Wang Yan asked me to go back to Pingyang to discuss with scholars." Shao Xun said, "This is the second time he has said this. I refused last time. But some things have to be dealt with once and cannot be avoided. Today, everyone knows that no one can stop me. Wang Yan actually has good intentions. He would reveal the topic in advance during the discussion, but how can I say this——"

Shao Xun patted the wall and said, "He still looks high and mighty. Times have changed. Some things should be made clear to them. Some people should also show themselves. Wang Yifu is still old-fashioned and wants me to rely on them to govern the world. Of course, that's right. I do have to rely on them, but I won't rely on them alone. Since we want to have a conversation, let's find more people."

Shao Guang was puzzled at first, and then a little shocked.

He vaguely guessed that King Liang might want to bring some military generals with him for a "quiet talk".

Maybe more!
What is this? A display of strength? Or a statement of purpose?
"Zhengqing, don't worry, don't think too much. Take care of Taiyuan for me." Shao Xun patted his shoulder and said, "This is our Shao family's foundation, we must not take it lightly."

When the words "our Shao family" came out, Shao Guang was shocked and immediately said, "Don't worry, my king, with me here, Taiyuan will only have the surname Shao."

Shao Xun nodded with satisfaction.

Taiyuan has been an important town since ancient times, but for some reason, its status was not high enough. It was not until the beginning of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the rise of the Tang Dynasty in Taiyuan that it finally began to develop explosively.

In terms of population, Taiyuan during the Later Han Dynasty probably had the smallest population. Not only was it far less than that in the Tang Dynasty, it was also less than that in the Early Han Dynasty when productivity was relatively backward. Even if the number of hidden households was estimated, it was still less than that.

If we look into it in detail, it may be related to a country's policy inclination. When the imperial court pays attention to it, development will take place.

In the Tang Dynasty, Taiyuan (equivalent to Taiyuan County at that time, plus a sparsely populated mountainous Leping County) had a population of nearly 780,000, which was an astonishing number.

Taiyuan County of Liang State still has great potential to be tapped, and its level of development is far from enough.

"Wei Qiu (Shao Jie) has been serving as the magistrate of Ye County for several years, right?" Shao Xun asked again.

"The Divine Turtle left in the second year, so it has been six years." Shao Guang replied.

"How old is he?"

"Twenty-nine."

"You can be the county magistrate now." Shao Xun said, "I want to appoint him as the magistrate of Xinxing Jiuyuan. This place is not far from Taiyuan. You can help take care of it."

"Yes, sir." Shao Guang replied.

"We're family, there's no need to be like this." Shao Xun smiled and patted his cousin on the shoulder.

After hearing this, Shao Guang stopped being so reserved and asked, "How many days will your Majesty stay here? Are there any good places to go..."

"Forget it." Shao Xun said, "Just walk around and wait for the big group. Speaking of a good place - if Wang Yifu wants to have a talk, I want to hold it in Jinyang. Keep this in mind and look for it carefully."

"Okay." Shao Guang agreed, and then said: "This place is either full of Hu people or government soldiers, there are very few noble families, and the Central Plains scholars may not be able to adapt if they come here."

Shao Xun nodded.

Speaking of the Hu people, he thought of Wang again.

He had only suspected it before, but along the way he finally figured it out: he was hooking her, and she was also hooking him.

Damn it, this is the first time I’ve met someone who dares to hook me!
After a man and a woman go to bed, they can now say things with confidence that they didn't dare to say before. They used to say it in a very humble tone, but now it's different. This is a very subtle psychology that only people who have experienced it can understand. Wang has instinctively begun to take advantage of it.

After having children, you can boldly try areas that you previously did not dare to venture into due to fear and worry, because the mentality of both men and women has changed, and men are more tolerant.

Of course, all of this depends on the person, and Shao Xun is just such a person. Wang may not have systematically studied him, she acted completely on instinct, but she always got it right.

Damn it, I have a way to deal with you!

"Your Majesty..." Seeing that Shao Xun was distracted, Shao Guang called softly.

Shao Xun came back to his senses and said, "I've thought about it and maybe we can ask some of the knowledgeable Hu chieftains to come here. You go make the contact in Taiyuan."

"Okay." Shao Guang responded.

(End of this chapter)