"You have also seen the situation in Yunzhong City. It is depressed and dilapidated. Such a scene is really sad. I have sent people to check the other prefectures, counties and towns in Shanyang Road, including Yingzhou, which was conquered early and suffered losses. It's smaller, but it's not much better!" Facing Song Qi, Liu Chengyou sighed: "It's a difficult task to keep the people in peace, resume farming, and rebuild the city walls!"
"Your Majesty is very aware of everything and knows the sufferings of the people, and you are setting an example for your Majesty!" Song Qi licked it first, and then said in a serious tone: "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I came all the way, and what I passed along the way was indeed desolate and devastated. The house is empty, especially in Huai'an, which is even more deserted. The situation is really not optimistic!"
"If you don't accumulate small steps, you can't reach a thousand miles. How do you plan to take this first step in governing Shanyang?" Liu Chengyou asked.
Song Qi had obviously thought about this point for a long time. When faced with the emperor's question, she answered without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I believe that the first thing is to recruit refugees, appease the people, make them return to their fields, and distribute grain for cultivation. Tools, colonize some late grains, and rehabilitate the land. However, this requires giving Shanyang a stable environment..."
"If you have anything to say, just say it without hesitation!" In fact, Liu Chengyou doesn't like this kind of half-said words that leave people guessing, but there are always people who like to do this.
Seeing this, Song Qi hurriedly said: "Shanyang is a border state after all, bordering Khitan. In this battle, the Han and Liao sides forged a deep hatred. The Liao people suffered heavy casualties, and they will seek revenge sooner or later. If there are long-term wars in the future, the war will continue. , even if you want to maintain peace and order, you can’t do it!”
Song Qi's words mentioned a key issue, which is the handling of the relationship with the Liao Kingdom. This is also the most special place of Shanyang Road. As the northern border defense area that bears the brunt, this is something that the chief of the road must consider. matter.
Nodding slightly, Liu Chengyou felt more and more that Song Qi was the right choice. Seeing hesitation on his face, Liu Chengyou comforted him and said: "You can rest assured about the threat of the Khitan for the time being. Now that the Khitan is in civil strife, they have no intention of caring about him, and even if they pacify it, After the rebellion, with its current strength, it would not dare to go south easily without resting for ten years or even longer.
Privy Council Chai and I have built a new line of defense around Datong Mansion, with two generals Wang Yanchao and Guo Chongwei in charge. They are both veteran generals in the army with outstanding abilities and military strategies, which are enough to resist the enemy.
Although I dare not say that it is impregnable, a small group of enemy troops can attack and annihilate it, and a large number of Liao troops can also resist the invasion and wait for reinforcements!"
Hearing what the emperor said, Song Qi felt a little relieved. She glanced at him and said tentatively: "May I ask, Your Majesty, who will provide the supplies for the Northern Garrison Army?"
Noticing Song Qi's careful look, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but smile and said: "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you in this regard. Before the people's livelihood is restored, the Ministry of War will deploy and directly supply it. Locally, it will be supported by Hedong's salary!"
Immediately she breathed a sigh of relief. Song Qi thought to herself that the emperor was indeed very wise. After glancing at him, Liu Chengyou turned sideways with a warm smile on his face: "I am waiting for you in the clouds because I just want to talk to you. Regarding the governance of Shanyang Road, if you have any difficulties, conditions, or policies needed, feel free to mention them!"
After saying this, Song Qi's eyes suddenly lit up and her spirits were lifted up a lot. The fatigue from the long days of traveling seemed to have dissipated all of a sudden. However, she still remained cautious and asked: "Is it okay for me to mention it?"
"Of course, as long as it's reasonable, I won't allow it!" Liu Chengyou said.
Although the emperor promised so, Song Qi did not make a request rashly. Instead, she thought about it seriously and said: "Your Majesty, I think that if you want to restore and rebuild, the most important thing is food and food. I heard that Yun Zhongkong is exhausted, I also hope that the population can migrate to fill the clouds!"
"When King Wei went north, he rescued a group of people, nearly 16,000 of them. Although they were old, weak, women and children, they were all locals in Yunzhong. I have ordered people to call them back. Guo Chongwei and Shi Shouxin After leaving the fortress, we also rescued more than 2,000 young Han people in the area, plus thousands of Tuguhun people in the east of the river. I will leave them all to you.
As for the rest, how to attract people and attract the population depends on your methods. I will not stand in the way. The imperial court will also conduct immigration appropriately in the future, but it will not be forced. In the future, criminals who migrate to the imperial court will first be Send it to you!" Liu Chengyou said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Song Qi was already a little excited. As long as there are people, anything will happen. Song Qi was very clear about this.
"The livestock captured by the army out of the fortress include one thousand cattle, two thousand sheep, one thousand horses of various types, and one hundred thousand coins." Liu Chengyou looked very generous.
In fact, it is really generous. It is a huge wealth for Yun Zhong who needs to rebuild from the ruins.
"As for food, I will give you 50,000 dan from the army rations!" Liu Chengyou said again.
Previously, because it was difficult to predict how long the war in Yunzhong would last, the logistics were based on the food consumption of the 250,000-strong army in March. Before and after, Li Chuyun transferred a total of nearly 400,000 stone grains and noodles to Yunzhong.
After the consumption of the battle, and the rations for the soldiers and civilians who had returned with the withdrawal, there were still about 200,000 shi left in the cloud, which could be used to supply military rations to several defensive frontier armies. After all, it was not easy to transport the troops to the cloud because there was no shipping. The losses and waste among them are even more serious. Liu Chengyou directly allocated a quarter of it to Song Qi for administrative purposes, which shows his support.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Song Qi thanked him profusely.
"Don't be too busy thanking me. If you can manage and restore Shanyang well, it will be the best thank you to me. If you need anything else, just tell him!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand to stop him.
"Yes!" Song Qi calmed down and was not polite. She said calmly: "Shanyang Prefecture, counties and towns are in urgent need of recuperation after such decline. I hope that the imperial court can exempt taxes for five years and benefit the people. "
"allow!"
Song Qi smiled happily. He was already secretly planning to take advantage of the tax exemption opportunity to attract some people to speed up Yunzhong's recovery.
"Under one government and three states, the Liao system is no longer sufficient. Like Huai'an County, it is almost empty. I thought it could be properly abandoned and consolidated!"
"Okay!" Liu Chengyou nodded: "You can make adjustments based on the actual situation of the county and town and report to Tokyo for approval!"
"The governance of Shanyang is difficult to achieve by relying on one minister. We also ask the imperial court to dispatch some capable officials who are familiar with the Han system to enrich the prefectures and counties!" Song Qi said again.
"I have also considered this point and have already sent a letter to Tokyo for the selection of officials!" Looking at Song Qi, Liu Chengyou said: "I can reveal some news to you. Those who are officials in Shanyang will be promoted in the future. Move up a level!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Song Qi immediately praised, as if he was in awe.
"In addition!" Song Qi glanced at Liu Chengyou again and said a little cautiously: "I hope that we can reopen the market at the border and the profits will be used for reconstruction..."
Hearing something unusual, Liu Chengyou frowned slightly: "Please be more detailed!"
Noticing the emperor's extremely serious look, Song Qi was slightly nervous, but with a calm face, he expressed his thoughts: "Since the conflict between Han and Liao last year, the trade in border markets has been depressed, and the market has been closed down. This For our dynasty, it is not important, but for the Hu people, it is a matter of interest. Let’s not mention the other goods for the moment, but salt and tea are necessary for their survival.
I believe that although the Liao Kingdom is now at odds with each other, the merchants and merchants have the potential to develop. Especially for the ordinary people of the Liao Kingdom, they have not received salt tea from the Han for a long time. Once an opening is opened, it will be like Floods that burst their banks can bring huge profits.
Moreover, I believe that if you want to conquer the Liao Kingdom, military battles alone are far from enough. Today, the situation between Han and Liao has changed greatly, and the strong and weak are changing with each other. If we can communicate with each other through merchant trade, we can win over some Liao Kingdoms. If the tribes take refuge with the Han, they may not be able to disintegrate the Khitan regime through internal means in the future..."
Song Qi's words once again made Liu Chengyou take a high look at him. This person was not treated for nothing under the Liao Kingdom's system. In terms of knowledge, he was far more knowledgeable than other Han officials, and he knew him better. Moreover, He is a practical person.
However, Liu Chengyou thought a little about his request and said: "The market can be reopened, transactions can be carried out, and tribes can be wooed, but the salt and tea matters have to be coordinated by the three salt and iron envoys. Can the specifics be as follows? If you implement what you said, I should listen to the opinions of the Third Division!"
Liu Chengyou spoke calmly, but his tone was firm. Seeing this, Song Qi was reluctant to accept the invitation, but she was inevitably disappointed.
Liu Chengyou saw different things depending on where he was. According to Song Qi, this was seizing the power of the three divisions. To put it more broadly, it was a struggle for power between the local government and central agencies.
According to Song Qi's opinion, it is convenient and trouble-free for Shanyang Dao to take the lead in this matter. Although it seems to be a mutually beneficial matter, he is not willing to open this hole lightly.
