Fenghou

But Wanyan Wushu hated this abnormal prosperity extremely. His army needed food and meat, and everyone went to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble. Who would grow the food?Who will raise the sheep?After the fall of Puppet Qi, Wanyan Wushu ruled the Central Plains. The first thing he did was to issue an indefinite curfew. People were not allowed to go to the streets after dark, and shops were not allowed to open. The abnormally prosperous night economy disappeared overnight. live.

Going from one extreme to the other, at night, there is no more singing and dancing, but a deadly darkness.

Many people who make a living at night could not live in Bianliang, so they had to migrate to Yingtianfu, Jeju, Yunzhou and other places. In just one year, the population decreased from more than 35 to less than 30, only 27 .

The prosperous rental economy of the past is gone, and the streets are full of vacant houses without owners, so there is no need to rent a house.

He doesn't care about these Wanyan Wushu, he only cares about how many people farm and how many people raise sheep?To a certain extent, this is also a good thing. More importantly, he does not need to maintain an army of 50 like the puppet Qi. He reduced the puppet Qi army by 35 and sent the soldiers to go home to farm, leaving only an elite army of 15 With his [-] Jurchen army, the total number of troops is only half of that of the puppet Qi army, so there is no need to cruelly oppress the people.

Under the suggestion of Changshi Fan Gong, Wanyan Wushu ordered a [-]% tax cut, and the trend of people fleeing gradually stabilized.

In Prince Liang's mansion, the long history Fan Gong and Sima Zhao Yuan are making a new suggestion to Wanyan Wushu. The suggestion was made by Zhao Yuan. Zhao Yuan is Fan Gong's recommended successor. Fan Gong is already 60 years old and his energy is not as good as before. His body could not bear the heavy pressure of government affairs, so he recommended Zhao Yuan, the prefect of Yingchang, to Wanyan Wushu. The two had a clear division of labor, Fan Gong was in charge of military affairs, and Zhao Yuan was in charge of civil affairs.

Yingchang prefecture was the top grain-producing prefecture for seven consecutive years in the Puppet Qi Dynasty. The reason is that Zhao Yuan, the prefect, attached great importance to agriculture and helped farmers solve practical problems. Therefore, Yingchang prefecture was not only the top grain-producing prefecture, but also the one with the least population fleeing In a state, the people live and work in peace and contentment.

Zhao Yuan bowed and said: "Xiaozhi talked with some businessmen about the agricultural experience in Sichuan and Shaanxi, and they unanimously praised the method of planting grass in streams and rivers vigorously promoted by Chen Qing. My lord, I think this method of animal husbandry is very useful for us!"

Wanyan Wushu is also very interested. Apart from growing food, his main concern is raising sheep. The [-] Jurchen army has to eat mutton every day.

"Be specific!"

"Actually, the method is very simple. It is to plant pastures by the river and stream. Alfalfa is planted in Sichuan and Shaanxi. We can grow other things, such as succulents. Its leaves and roots can raise cattle, horses and sheep. Its beans can be collected to help the hungry people in famine years, so our hometown is called Relief Vegetables, and the biggest advantage is that we have a lot of seeds here, unlike alfalfa, which has to be harvested for several months. Time is running out."

Wanyan Wushu nodded happily, "This method is not bad, where are the seeds of this big nest vegetable?"

"Reporting to the lord, there is one in Yingchang Mansion. I collected 10,000+ catties and planned to use it to save the famine, but I forgot that the big nest vegetable is also a good pasture, which can be used for animal husbandry. Now it happens to be the planting season, and it will be late in April. "

Wanyan Wushu glanced at Fan Gong and asked, "What about Chang Shi's opinion?"

Fan Gong nodded, "I also agree, time is tight now, and it must be implemented immediately, and the prince needs to use military orders to suppress it, otherwise many counties and counties will follow the law and refuse to implement it."

Wanyan Wushu nodded, and said to Zhao Yuan: "I entrust you with the full authority to implement this matter. I will issue a military order. Those who do not implement it will be executed!"

Zhao Yuan nodded, "Because the quantity is only 10,000+ catties, it is impossible to promote it throughout the country. I will send people to get the seeds, and at the same time make a plan to see which counties can be promoted first."

"go a head!"

Zhao Yuanxing saluted and left. At this time, Wanyan Wushu said to Fan Gong again: "Wanyanchang sent Helisa to negotiate with me about the cooperation. Tomorrow, Helisa will arrive in Bianliang. What do you think of this matter, sir?" ?”

Fan Gong thought for a while and said, "I think it should have something to do with the report that Zhe Keqiu sent yesterday!"

"You mean, the Western Army is going to attack the Central Plains on a large scale?"

Fan Gong nodded, "Beizhi has been thinking about this issue. Chen Qing's attack on Hedong Road last year and the year before last, I thought he was attacking Hebei Road at first, but last year he went to Lin'an, and I began to realize that his real goal was to attack Hebei Road. Central Plains, he took Hedongbei Road to ensure the safety of Hedong."

"Why do you think he will attack the Central Plains instead of Hebei? You must know that there are only 10,000 Jurchen troops in Hebei, and the [-]+ signed troops are also poorly trained. It is easier to capture Hebei. I don't understand why he wants to avoid the weak and choose the strong?"

Fan Gong smiled slightly and said, "It's really hard to understand from a military point of view, but if you think about it from a political point of view, this problem can be easily solved. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that those who win the Central Plains win the world, so there are words such as "Central Plains Tu Da" and "Competing for the Central Plains". Chen Qing did not do this, but for the hearts of the people. He wanted to win the hearts of the people in the Central Plains and become the real master of the world.

However, the Song Dynasty’s dislike of the Central Plains was regarded as a burden, and they used the truce agreement with us as an excuse to abandon the Central Plains like a waste of money. The pattern of the two can be seen. Obviously, Chen Qing is politically wiser than the imperial court. "

Wanyan Wushu sneered and said, "It's as if Chen Qing was able to capture the Central Plains. Could it be that we are so vulnerable? This is the Central Plains, not Monk Plains!"

"My lord, I'm just analyzing Chen Qing's attack direction. From a political point of view, let's compare it with the Song Dynasty by the way. As for whether he can capture the Central Plains, that's another matter."

Wanyan Wushu said for a while: "According to Mr., we want to cooperate with Talan?"

Fan Gong nodded, "Together is one heart, and if we divide, we will lose!"

Wanyan Wushu had all his thoughts, and stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, silent for a long time.

……

In the afternoon of the next day, Wanyan Helisa arrived in Bianliang under the escort of [-] cavalry, and Wanyan Wushu personally went outside the city to welcome Wanyan Helisa's arrival.

The two laughed and hugged like brothers, holding hands and entered Bianliang City together in a caravan. That night, Wanyan Wushu held a grand banquet in the square in front of the main hall to welcome Wanyan Drinking Lisa. Spirits, chunks of mutton, hearty laughter.

The sincerity of both parties has been expressed from the bottom of their hearts, and the atmosphere has been enhanced enough, and the next thing is to talk about business.

In the morning, Wanyan Wushu accompanied Yao Lisa and rode slowly on the city wall. Wanyan Wushu pointed to the distant palace with his horsewhip, "There is my Liangwang Palace, which is also the palace of the Song Dynasty. I think it is too extravagant. After dismantling most of it, there are only three hundred acres left, which is just enough for me to use. This palace and the surrounding land, city, and population are our spoils of war, and they are the wealth we leave to our children and grandchildren. We have only acquired it for more than ten years. If there is no heat, is it going to be lost again?"

He Lisa nodded, "Of course we can't lose it, but it's not up to the fourth prince to maintain it alone, but to rely on all of us Jurchens, all of us unite to protect it, and leave this thousand-mile country to our children and grandchildren. Tarlan is this idea, we can no longer be defeated by Chen Qing one by one, he wants to fight, Hebei and Central Plains are battlefields, even Hedong and Guanzhong."

Wanyan Wushu patted him on the back and smiled, "Let's go! Let's talk in detail before going to the map."

The two urged their horses to go down the city...

9 Fifty Chapters of Gold

Jing Zhaoyong Palace, Lu Wei handed over 500 taels of gold to Princess Lu Xiu. The [-] taels of gold was close to [-] catties. Lu Wei used three boxes to pack it, and the three boxes were full, which was very heavy.

He was transported here at night, and the inner guards were in charge of escorting him. This time, Chen Qing was also present.

Lu Wei silently handed the gold to the princess, and Lu Xiu wrote a receipt to him, signed and marked it, and Lu Wei carefully kept the receipt.

Lu Xiu then asked the three female guards to pick up the golden box and followed her back to the inner house. Only Chen Qing and Lu Wei were left in the outer hall.

Lu Wei sighed and said, "I never thought they would actually give me 2000 taels of gold."

Chen Qing smiled faintly: "If Tiehuolei is real, it is far more than 2000 taels of gold!"

"What if they soon find out it's a fake?" Lu Wei worried.

Chen Qing smiled and said: "Don't worry! They won't be able to imitate it in less than three years. The purity and fineness of nitrate powder alone will require them to study for a year or two, not to mention the formula of gunpowder. They know it well." , not at all, and the manufacturing process of the iron shell. The thickness of the iron shell is exactly the same in every place. It is easy to say, but how difficult is it to do it? Our top cast ironsmith scrapped more than 50 An iron shell is the only way to succeed in this one.”

Lu Wei suddenly said, "I understand, if you can't imitate it, then it's not a question of authenticity."

"It's not wrong at all!"

"Then what should I do next?" Lu Wei asked worriedly.

"Continue to flirt with them. You might as well reveal some real secrets to them, but I will tell you what secrets to reveal. My purpose is very simple. There is one lie among the ten truths, and it is the most critical one. If it is true, whether we can win the final victory in the Central Plains War depends on this false statement."

Lu Wei smiled wryly: "My shoulders and skulls are almost broken by this lie."

Chen Qing chuckled, "I believe it won't be too long, I promise you will be free within this year!"

Lu Wei said again: "They are going to invite me to dinner at noon tomorrow. They probably want information. What should I disclose?"

Chen Qing had been prepared for a long time, smiled and said: "Tell them, the Ministry of War is mobilizing warships to the Yellow River, and is still recruiting boatmen who are familiar with the Zhengzhou area."

"Ah! That's true. I'm mobilizing two hundred thousand-stone ships to go to the Yellow River, and I'm indeed recruiting boatmen who are familiar with the Zhengzhou area."

"So let me tell you, one of the ten truths is a lie. Now is the time to tell the truth. As for how much money you want for this information, you decide."

"I can decide what, anyway, the money doesn't belong to me." Lu Wei muttered softly.

"What did you say?" Chen Qing's gaze was suddenly as sharp as a knife, and he fixed on Lu Wei.

Lu Wei's heart trembled, and he was so frightened that he quickly changed his words: "I mean that the other party will probably arrange for people to participate in the recruitment of boatmen."

"You can ask them to arrange one or two, and they just want to test whether your words are true."

Speaking of this, Chen Qing's eyes softened again, and he said to Lu Wei: "I don't let you get the other party's penny, but I am actually protecting you. This is a profound lesson. Back then, one of my civil servants was called Yang Qi. You are in exactly the same situation as you. He also sold true and false information to the Xixia people and got a lot of money. I will leave half of the money for him. The last information is a hundred taels of silver. I gave it all to him. , but I never thought that his heart was corrupted by the money, and later he really became a spy of the Kingdom of Jin, and finally died unexpectedly.

I have learned this lesson and will never let you get the benefit of a penny. I lent you the money you bought the house, so your heart will not be corrupted by this kind of money. In the future, you will have a clear conscience and no fear. People use this to attack you, you understand?Even if you only charge the other party a penny, there will be a stain on your body and it will not be clean. "

Lu Wei was really moved in his heart, he nodded silently and said: "I will never charge the other party a penny!"

……

Lu Wei bid farewell and left, Chen Qing went back to the inner study, and Lu Xiu brought her husband a cup of tea.

"Still worried about your brother?" Chen Qing smiled slightly.

Lu Xiu nodded, "2000 taels of gold, [-] guan, I'm worried that my brother can't bear such a temptation, you know? He used to be a troublemaker, otherwise he wouldn't have such a good relationship with Lu Xian. "

"I know! But I can believe that he will not be tempted by these ill-gotten gains. Sometimes, the debauchery in youth will become tough and rational in adulthood. Although this is a minority, Lu Wei is one of them .”

"My husband thinks so highly of him, hey! It's his luck."

Chen Qing shook his head, "I didn't think highly of him, it was him. How many people can resist the temptation of 2000 taels of gold? But he did it."

Lu Xiu was a little ashamed and said: "I understand, I underestimated my brother."

After a pause, Lu Xiu worried: "But... he is very dangerous. Once he shows his feet, his life will be in danger. Husband, let him have a shorter time! He still has two young children."

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "He will definitely end within this year. I will let the masters of the inner guards protect his safety. I will try my best to be more thoughtful and not let him show his feet."

……

The next morning, Hu Yanlei hurried back from Mengzhou and presented a complete report to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing flipped through the report and asked, "I heard that there are a lot of undercurrents on the river surface in the area of ​​Mengjin, haven't you noticed it?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, we asked the old boatman, and he said that undercurrents do not occur every year. It has something to do with the sand content of the Yellow River. If the sand content is high, undercurrents will come out. Usually in July and August in summer, there will be undercurrents on the Loess Plateau. After a few heavy rains, a large amount of sediment will be washed into the Yellow River, and the water in the Yellow River will become very turbid. With a large amount of sediment, undercurrent vortices will come out one by one. Therefore, it usually appears after July, and rarely before. Spring Basically none."

"Did you see Mengjin Pass?" Chen Qing asked again.

"I went to look at it. The pass is very strong, the bricks are tightly connected, and the surface is very smooth. I think that iron fire mines can't exert their power, but fire oil can be used."

"Why is kerosene okay?" Chen Qing asked again.

"There is a large forest over there, stretching for about ten miles. We can cut down hundreds of trees and pile them under the city wall and burn them. The city will not be able to hold people, and even if it is an iron gate, it will be burned by the fire."

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "We can only wait for the specific battle, which will be decided by the commander in the future. Have you gone to Zhengzhou? Can you go ashore there?"

"We went to Zhengzhou and sailed into the Bianhe River from Biankou. The army can land on the Bianhe River on a large scale, but if the other party sends a large army to block the Bianhe River, it will be more troublesome, and the landing is likely to fail."

Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "Okay! I'll take a good look at your report. Also, what about the refugees in Mengzhou?"

Hu Yanlei scratched his head and said: "I don't know what other people say about the humble position, but according to what the humble position has seen and heard, they are living a good life. Most of them have income. If they have income, we don't need to help them. We only need to help some lonely old people, or Some widows with children have no labor force to mine coal, and most people can buy food and cloth in Changping. I feel that the refugee camp is like a county town, with many shops, taverns, teahouses, and grocery stores. "

Chen Qing said happily: "It seems that substituting work for relief is a good way to reduce our burden, and the people themselves are satisfied. It can be said that everyone is happy. Now you go to Jiang Counselor's side. He is very concerned about the situation in the refugee camp. You put yourself Tell him what you see."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Huyanlei bowed and bowed before leaving.

Chapter 951 Asking price

At noon, Lu Wei came to Juxiang Restaurant as usual. He found that the shopkeeper and staff of Juxiang Restaurant had changed. Lu Wei guessed a little bit that Juxiang Restaurant had been bought by Wang Shuang and became the other party's owner. intelligence points.

This year there was an extra Han Feng at the banquet. Lu Wei had seen him last time. Last time this man came in with 500 taels of gold, Lu Wei knew that this man was a general with high martial arts skills and that he was Wang Shuang's. The right arm and the right arm lead dozens of warriors to hide in Xianyang County.

Now that he appeared at the banquet again, Lu Wei knew that their main force had moved to Jingzhao, and Jingzhao was no longer Wang Shuang and Zhou Hua. This might be the beginning of their functional transformation.

Lu Wei guessed right, Wang Shuang has now been appointed as the Sichuan-Shaanxi intelligence chief, and has also been promoted to Hebei Shangshu Xingtai magistrate, ranking fourth among civil officials, which makes Wang Shuang work harder and earnestly make contributions .

Several people drank a few glasses of wine, Wang Shuang saw that Lu Wei was frowning, and asked with a smile: "Today Lu Sima didn't talk much, did you encounter any troubles again?"

Lu Wei picked up his wine glass and gave a wry smile, "Which day is there nothing to worry about in a lifetime?"

Lu Tang next to him smiled and said: "The house is bought, but there is no money to expand it, of course it is annoying."

Zhou Hua frowned next to him, "Didn't you get [-] guan? It cost [-] to buy a new house, and you still have [-] guan?"

Lu Wei showed embarrassment on his face, Wang Shuang waved his hands to tell Zhou Hua not to ask, but Lu Tang talked too much: "2000 taels of gold have entered the eyes of women, and it is difficult to get them out. It cost 200 taels to buy a house. The remaining 800 taels have been squeezed tightly, and you can ask the woman to take it out and have a look."

Everyone laughed and understood that Lu Sima's house was run by a lady who was in charge of the money, so it was probably another Hedong lion.

Lu Tang took out 20 taels of silver and handed it to Lu Wei, "This is the 20 taels of silver I lent you last time, and I have returned it to you. I told your wife not to make faces at me all day long, as if I didn't pay back the money I borrowed."

Lu Wei laughed dryly and put away the money.

Seeing the opportunity, Wang Shuang leaned forward and laughed in a low voice, "Does Lu Sima want to earn some private money?"

Lu Wei understood what he meant, and immediately showed a somewhat tempted expression. He hesitated for a moment, drank the wine in the glass, and asked, "How much can you give me?"

"Looking at the value of the information, the minimum is 50 taels of silver, and the maximum is 1000 taels of silver. You decide the importance of the information yourself, and then you quote a price yourself. We think the deal is almost done."

Lu Wei thought for a while and said, "I still have a piece of information in my hand. I think it's worth a lot. I want 500 taels."

"Which aspect?" Wang Shuang asked.

"A surprise soldier from the Western Army!"

Wang Shuang glanced at Lu Hang from the corner of his eyes, got up and said, "Let's go to the inner room to talk!"

The two went inside, closed the door together, and talked for a while. Wang Shuang opened the door excitedly and said to Han Feng, "Give Lu Sima a hundred taels of gold."

Han Feng quickly handed a small wooden box to Lu Wei. Lu Wei opened it and took a look, then took the box and left.

Not long after, Lu Jiang also left, and Wang Shuang said to Han Feng: "This information is very, very important, and I have to prove it is true. In the afternoon, you can find two brothers who can sail and go to the Ship Department of the Military Department." If you apply, you must say that they are very familiar with the river section of Zhengzhou, and if the other party accepts the two, it means that the information is true and should be sent to Marshal Du immediately."

Han Feng nodded, "Humble job will arrange it immediately!"

……

Early the next morning, Chen Qing came to the Bashang camp again. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, Bashang has been a major military station. Currently, there are nearly 15 troops stationed in Bashang, which are divided into five camps. There is also another camp outside Jingzhaoxi City. The garrison of 5 people, the garrison of the entire Jingzhao is nearly 20 people, accounting for more than half of the entire Western Army.

The five battalions are Longxiang, Huben, Leopard Shadow, Lang Xiao, and Fengwu. Among them, the Huben Camp is the camp of the Chinese Army, and it is also the army under Chen Qing's direct control. Three commanders command the most elite army of [-].

According to the regulations of the Western Army, the maximum number of commanders for each commander is no more than [-], the normal number of commanders is [-], and the minimum is [-]. Currently, the highest is Zheng Ping, who commands an army of [-]. Ten thousand.