Guannai Road, Feng'anjun, this place is located on the bank of the Yellow River, with extremely convenient transportation.
Because the Yellow River flows through it, there is no shortage of water sources for irrigation, and the groundwater is rich. Apart from the Lingzhou area, it is the most important fruit and grain production area under the jurisdiction of Shuofang Jiedushi.
Before Zhang Xichong arrived, part of the food and grass supply for the Lingzhou Lingwu Army was transferred from the Feng'an Army.
Feng'an Army was an important military town before Kaiyuan, with a total of 8,000 troops.
But by this time, after hundreds of years of war in the Central Plains, the national power and household registration had dropped sharply, and the Feng'an Army was even abandoned for a time.
During the reign of Emperor Mingzong of the later Tang Dynasty, the imperial government's finances were restored after some improvement. Currently, there are more than 300 troops stationed there, and there are about several thousand Dangxiang herdsmen in the surrounding area.
When Zhang Zhao arrived, a general from Feng'an Army had already been waiting on his knees outside the military fort.
Although the Feng'an Army is not under the jurisdiction of Hexi, this is not surprising at all, because the good times of the Feng'an Army in recent years were brought about by Zhang Zhao.
In the one year since Zhang Zhao took charge of Hexi Longyou, the entire situation in Hexi Longyou has undergone earth-shaking changes.
Even before the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, it was difficult to find an ambassador from Hexi Longyou Jiedu who could compare with Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Zhao has been working non-stop this year, and has traveled almost all the main areas in Hexi.
He built water conservancy projects, encouraged farming and mulberry cultivation, lightened corvee and reduced taxes, and cracked down on lawlessness, which made Hexi society stable. It can be said that the main roads were open at night.
The original contradiction between man and land in Hexi was also greatly resolved in the hands of Zhang Zhao.
Because of the contradiction between man and land in Hexi, it seems that big families and tribes occupy a large amount of land and exploit the poor people like cattle and horses. The contradiction between more people and less land is very prominent.
But in fact, as long as you understand a set of numbers, you will know that this is complete nonsense.
Zhang Zhao's territory at this time was approximately equal to 95% of Gansu in later generations, plus eastern Qinghai including Xining and a small part of Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Shaanxi.
You know, the area of Gansu alone was 425,000 square kilometers in later generations. When including other areas, Zhang Zhao controlled 500,000 square kilometers.
This is almost the same area as France. Even though there are many places with harsh natural conditions, it is more than enough to support more than two million people.
The reason why there are more people and less land is because the society in Hexi was unstable in the past.
The Han people, the various tribes of the Momo, the Longjia, the Uyghurs, the Qiang, the Shatuo, the Dangxiang and even other tribes of all sizes and strangeness attacked each other. For a long time, they were in a situation where if you didn't kill someone, others would kill you.
In this chaotic situation, ordinary people are destined to be unable to survive without their families and tribes. Even a small tribe of one or two hundred people is not safe, so people have to join forces to survive.
When people gather together, there will naturally be more people and less land. Rich families and tribes with big surnames will take the opportunity to annex land and control the population.
But as soon as Zhang Zhao arrived, the situation immediately changed.
He doesn't need to force the tycoons from various places to hand over the land and people they have seized. He only needs to improve public security, and then follow the old method in Liangzhou and spend money on infrastructure.
At the beginning, we asked the local powerful men to provide some manpower and create a small scene. When the laborers who got benefits came back to spread the word, the poor people of the entire tribe were unstoppable and their enthusiasm to serve the officials was very high.
As soon as they finished their hard labor, they found that the outside environment was better, and they got some wages while they were doing hard labor.
So we could either rely on the Silk Road to do some work, or rent the land opened by the government, or even open up wasteland ourselves.
Once all the people are gone, the land in the hands of the powerful becomes worthless in an instant. Most smart people will choose to compromise with official uniforms.
As for those stupid people, there is a shortage of ore slaves in Mirror Iron Mountain!
For example, the local tycoons of Hezhou, who were the only ones who surrendered without much experience of swordsmanship, came to test the law by themselves. They detained and concealed a large number of people and gathered people to fight.
Zhang Zhao, who was worried that he could not find a chicken to scare the monkeys, enthusiastically sent troops to suppress them and fought around Shimen Mountain where the powerful men of Hezhou were entrenched for half a month.
In the end, more than 2,000 people were killed and executed, and tens of thousands of people became slaves in the mines. In an instant, people everywhere became honest.
In one year, Zhang Zhao presided over the reclamation of nearly 300,000 acres of wasteland in Longyou, Hexi Province, and built hundreds of new water conservancy sites.
In particular, the development of Lanzhou Guangwu, Lintao, Liangzhou Minqin, and Weizhou Longxi has attracted more than 200,000 people to come down from the mountains and settle down.
....
Two Yellow River carp, the smaller one is made into baked carp noodles, and the larger one is made into grilled fish with dried dogwood, shallots (onions), bay leaves and other spices.
A roasted lamb, a few seasonal vegetables, a few melons and fruits, and a large vat of ice-cold purple wine were all the dishes Zhang Zhao used to entertain his guests.
There was a sound of horse hoofbeats, and Zhang Zhao didn't even raise his head. Li Cunhui led hundreds of cavalrymen over. After a while, two figures appeared in front of Zhang Zhao.
Pei Yuan was even thinner than before, and his fair skin, belonging to a child of an aristocratic family, had turned into a yellow-black color like old ginger, and he was no different from an old Shuofang farmer.
Although those eyes still make people wary, in terms of temperament, Pei Yuan has undergone earth-shaking changes.
From the past, although he was very talented and resourceful, he always felt a little floating in the sky, he has become the calm and down-to-earth person he is today.
Zhang Zhao could see that Pei Yuan was transforming from Ma Su, who could only serve as an adviser, to a capable minister in governing the world.
"Yuying! Come here quickly! I haven't seen you for more than a year. Wouldn't it be better to try some of your craftsmanship?"
Zhang Zhao laughed and threw away the bristle brush he was using to brush dogwood oil on the grilled fish, and walked quickly towards Pei Yuan.
"Your Majesty! Meet the King!" Pei Yuan bowed down on the beach by the Yellow River after only a dozen steps.
"I am in Tokyo, making my own opinions, and yet I was coerced to go to Lingzhou. I have failed the king's entrustment, and I really have no face to see you!"
From Pei Yuan's point of view, he is indeed ashamed of Zhang Zhao.
Although it facilitated Zhang Zhao's entry into Guanzhong to quell the chaos, he also successfully obtained the ambassadorship of Longyou Jiedu in Hexi Province, allowing Zhang Zhao to stand out on the world stage.
But in actual operation, he took the initiative to guarantee 1 million yuan of military expenses for Shi Jingtang, and actually left Zhang Zhao and went to Shuofang.
No matter what the reason is, a person who makes independent decisions and refuses to return will never escape.
Seeing Pei Yuan acting like this, Zhang Zhao quickly stepped forward and helped Pei Yuan up.
"Yuying has done a great job for me and made the athletes from Longyou, Hexi Province famous all over the world. How can I say that I have no face to see you? The situation is complex and urgent, and it changes according to the time. This is the natural principle."
After helping Pei Yuan up, Zhang Zhao looked at the old man next to Pei Yuan who was wearing a moon-white robe and a simple bun on his head.
This man has a slender figure, sharp eyes, and elegant manners. He has the demeanor of a famous minister, but there is always an air of depression between his eyebrows.
"But Lingwu Festival commander Zhang Taiwei is in person?" Zhang Zhao asked, cupping his hands. This should be Zhang Xichong.
"I have always heard that the king of Han in Hexi treated the virtuous and virtuous corporal lightly, but valued talents. His reputation is well-deserved!"
Zhang Zhao did not ask Zhang Xichong immediately, but instead took care of Pei Yuan first. This somewhat rude behavior made Zhang Xichong more satisfied.
Pei Yuan took the blame for Zhang Zhao, and his wife, children, and children are still detained in Tokyo by Shi Jingtang. If Zhang Zhao came to ask Zhang Xichong first, he would not be able to turn around and leave based on his temper.
The three of them sat down, but Zhang Zhao drove everyone away, leaving only Murong Nobunaga and Li Cunhui as guards.
Zhang Xichong watched Zhang Zhao pour dishes and wine for the two of them. Murong Nobunaga was turning the iron rack a little far away, roasting a fat sheep until it was golden. Li Cunhui was carefully cutting the ice cubes into thin pieces with a dagger.
Binghua's depressed brows seemed to relax a little.
"The man who cut the ice on his side was the flying general who single-handedly killed hundreds of people in Xie Dan?" Zhang Xichong looked at Li Cunhui and asked.
Now Li Cunhui also has a famous battle. Of course, it was in Jiedan a few years ago, when he protected Zhang Zhao alone and killed dozens of Uighurs on horseback.
"Cun Hui'er, what is Commander-in-Chief asking you?" Zhang Zhao smiled and called Li Cunhui.
Li Cunhui smiled shyly, "It's just more than forty Uighur cavalry. Killing a hundred people on one horse is just a lie!"
"Good!" Zhang Xichong clapped his hands and praised, "You are so young and you are so proud of your achievements. The young general will definitely be a hero like Duke Xing in the future!"
"Captain Zhang, aren't you going to praise me? If you treat one favorably than the other, you won't be able to eat the fat lamb that Princess Yongle's consort has roasted with his own hands!"
Murong Nobunaga grew a little moustache and was not as sharp as before, but he was still as competitive.
"Hahaha!" Zhang Xichong laughed even happier.
"You boy, when I returned to the south in the past, Princess Yongle even served a bowl of wine to a certain person at the banquet. She was smart, polite and well-versed in poetry and calligraphy. I still remember it now. I didn't expect to take advantage of you!"
However, although he smiled happily, Murong Nobunaga, who was obviously more famous than Li Cunhui, still did not receive praise from Zhang Xichong. Instead, as an elder, he just laughed and passed.
Grilled lamb and fish with distinct flavors, plus fruits, vegetables and ice-cold wine, the five of them enjoyed the scenery by the Yellow River and had a great time eating.
With such beautiful scenery and delicious food, no one said anything else, just waiting for everyone to be full of wine and food, and a little tipsy.
Zhang Zhaocai looked at the big river in front of him, the green fields and the yellow sand and mountains in the distance, and said with emotion.
"Such great rivers and mountains! They were all obtained by our ancestors through hundreds of battles. The pre-Qin Dynasty broke the Yi Canal to get here, and the pre-Han Dynasty Wei Huo fought bloody battles all his life to defend it.
In the past thousands of years, countless heroes and heroes have been sacrificed by the common people with their sweat and tears. If we lose them now, we will all be sinners!"
"Does King Han really think so? Do you think that no one in this world will remember this anymore?
Everyone betrays their country and seeks glory. For the sake of glory and wealth, they will do any shameless thing!
Shuofang is the cornerstone of the country. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are gone. Without Shuofang, sooner or later the world will fall!"
Zhang Xichong had a heavy face, and Zhang Zhao nodded sympathetically. No one could understand better than him what it would be like to lose both Shuo Fang and Yan Yun.
Without Yan Yun, the cavalry of the grassland peoples could easily appear on the Hebei Plain, coming and leaving whenever they wanted.
More importantly, the land of Yanyun and western Liaoning have been Hanized for thousands of years, and their farming and iron production technologies are the same as those in the Central Plains.
When the nomads have these two lands, they are no longer a simple grassland empire, but a terrifying war machine integrating grassland farming. The Han land, which is purely farming, can no longer stop it.
Without Shuofang, Guanzhong's natural danger becomes an empty talk.
A Xixia that was crooked from its roots would cause the Northern Song Dynasty endless pain. More money and food were thrown away in Shaanxi every year than in Hebei. It was a wound that would never heal.
If it were not for Xixia, the Northern Song Dynasty would have killed the Liao Kingdom even by throwing money at it!
People say that after the Tianbao Year, the character of the Chinese people was changed, and it is not without reason.
Because if you lose these two places, you will always be in the awkward position of being beaten and unable to fight back.
Being beaten arbitrarily all year round, beaten too much, and the skin is bruised. If you have a mace and I have a Tianling Gai, won't that change your personality?
If Zhu Hongwu had not emerged four hundred years later to recapture Yanyun and Heshuo, the decline of Chinese culture would have been unimaginable.
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhao looked directly at Zhang Xichong, the old hero who risked his life and returned south.
"The old man is ambitious for thousands of miles, and the martyr is always ambitious in his old age. Is Zhang Weng willing to work with a certain person to make up for the sky in Heshuo?"