The proud soldiers from the northwest retreated to the north bank of the Yellow River like a tide. When the last cowhide raft crossed the Yellow River, Yang He, standing on the south bank of the Yellow River, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The turbulent Lanzhou City finally eliminated the military disaster when Mr. Yang entered the enemy camp alone twice, and Lanzhou City returned to peace.
The old head was saved.
But Liu Chengzong was very annoyed. Looking back at the white ruins of Xigu City, Mr. Yang fell into deep thought: Why did Liu Shizi take away the city bricks?
Because the city bricks used in Xigu City are good, they are all large green bricks one foot three inches long, seven inches wide and four inches thick fired in the third year of Wanli.
The defensive performance of big bricks is better than that of small bricks. Small bricks will break as soon as they are shot up. If three or five bricks are broken, they will collapse if they lose support. However, big bricks will only break when shot up and can still provide good support.
.
Just destroying the battlements of Xigu took a lot of effort from Liu Shizi's artillery. It happened that a city was also built in the west. Anyway, the rations of the surrounding people were given to them. If they didn't use them in vain, they were left busy to remove the ones.
The good bricks are shipped to the west and shipped to the carrier for reception.
Liu Chengzong left Song Shouzhen in Shajingyi to build the Dongguan fortress complex. The five acute-angle enemy towers here had been designed, and all that was left was to supervise the construction. The sweet potatoes and potatoes were also left to Song Shouzhen, so that he could plant them nearby, etc.
Breed new fruits and then promote them to the mountains.
In addition, the elder brothers Liu Chengzu and Li Wanqing assisted in guarding the area from Dongguan to the Yellow River ferry, leaving provisions and grass to arrange war and defense strategies, recruiting civilians to build the city, and other matters.
The mission Liu Chengzong gave his brother was not to stick to it. It was actually a bet that the army would not dare to raise troops to the west. If he really wanted to go west, he would not be able to provide much support unless the problem of the two Mongol Khans in the west was resolved.<
/p>
So in essence, Liu Shizi was mentally prepared to suffer a loss. Once the army and the army were planning to go to war in Lanzhou, Liu Chengzu discovered it early and the soldiers took away the food and retreated westward decisively.
Don't fight them.
The Marshal's Mansion received a very sufficient amount of money and food from this war. Not only was it able to solve the problem of lack of food rations, it even had enough energy to help the people of Hehuang.
If the imperial court takes back Hehuang at this time, it will actually reduce the burden on Liu Chengzong. In the inherent territory of the Marshal's Mansion to the west of Xining, the food and grass obtained in this battle will be enough for everyone to live like a fairy for two years.
Liu Chengzong did not leave the transportation in Dongguan because the overall situation of Hehuang needed someone to take charge.
The news from the west is not bad. After Hu Duntu released his wife and children from the tent house into Haibei, Chahar, who was traveling lightly, was able to run around in Qinghai and would not be dead for a while.
However, Hehuang still has complicated finishing work for the war, and smallpox brought by the imperial army is spreading in Hehuang.
Along the way, Liu Shishi observed the people's sentiments and inspected the cultivation of food for the people in various townships. By the way, he also found the reason for the spread of smallpox - weapons and armor.
This is a complete food chain.
The defeat of the official army coincided with the epidemic of smallpox. Thousands of defeated soldiers fled in all directions. Some hid in the mountains and became bandits, while others wandered around and plundered. Sometimes they succeeded in plundering the people, and sometimes they were hunted and killed by the people.
Some people hid in villages and were taken in by the people, while others joined the people in hunting down the defeated soldiers.
Weapons and armor have become the self-protection items that the people urgently need in the face of war. They also bring smallpox to the people. It only takes one month to complete the change of infecting a hundred, and a hundred infecting ten thousand.<
/p>
In Liu Chengzong's eyes, this thing was like a mountain fire. There was no way to put out the fire. Strictly speaking, he didn't have anything to treat smallpox.
There is only one recipe for Three Beans Drink, which is boiled water with red beans, black beans, mung beans and licorice to activate blood circulation and detoxify. It is essentially not suitable for people. Other than that, there is only the old recipe of eating pig skin when you have smallpox.
It can make the pock marks left by smallpox lighter.
But when dealing with wildfires, if you can't put it out, just wait until it is extinguished. His soldiers who are immune to smallpox are the best isolation zone.
Yang Yao was temporarily appointed as the general officer of Hehuang. In the five towns of Hehuang, Shipu, Twenty Township and Erbaibao, two village officers were dispatched to each village to engrave the first edition of "Generalissimo's Famine Relief Decision".
"Epidemic Book" is distributed to protect each other to curb the spread of smallpox.
The book mainly introduces the origin, symptoms, mode of transmission, significance of vaccination, defense methods and precautions of smallpox. There are only three methods in the whole method, one is to vaccinate before the smallpox epidemic, the second is to distribute three bean drinks during the epidemic, and the third is to give out the three-bean drink during the epidemic.
Get some pig skins and pig trotters to eat.
If the disease broke out west of Xining, Liu Chengzong would be helpless except to vaccinate people. But in the traditional agricultural areas east of Xining, whether it is three-bean drink or pig skin and pig trotters, it is easy to say.
When the soldiers who went out to march in the commander's mansion heard that the commander was going to give pig skins to the infected people in Hehuang, they were so happy that they looked at the captives who were scattered around waiting for vaccination and were puzzled.
Later they learned that these veterans who had followed Liu Chengzong for several years were greedy. As expected, Liu Chengyun followed closely and promulgated the general's decree to three hundred miles away from the fifth town of Hehuang, purchasing live pigs at the official price with grain at the official price.<
/p>
Hehuang Previously, when food prices rose, meat prices also rose. However, when food prices nearly doubled, meat prices could no longer rise and began to slowly fall.
According to the current grain price level, using past prices to barter to buy live pigs is not bad for pig farmers.
Chengyun also followed the army to the west, establishing Daguan City in Nianbo and five towns and cities in Hehuang from west to east: Pingrong, Laoya, Jiashun, Binggou and Dongguan.
Liu Chengzong left 100,000 kilograms of grain for Nianbo's official market. These grains will slowly flow into the market later, waiting for merchants who are hoarding goods to jump out and raid their homes, and then bring the Hehuang grain price back to parity in one fell swoop.<
/p>
He wants to tell people that war, hunger and panic are all over, and Hehuang will become better than before.
The purchased pig skins and trotters were sent to villages where smallpox was rampant, while most of the pork was used as victory celebration materials and distributed to each team. The pot-bellied men in the Marshal's Mansion could eliminate any meat in the shortest time.<
/p>
The mission Liu Chengzong assigned to Chengyun was to build these five towns and cities. They all occupied the post cities of the past imperial court, but only one post city was not enough. He needed these places to assume heavier functions.
Fortunately, after three years of construction of the Juerwan Market, the Marshal's Mansion already has a group of professionals who can barely handle this kind of job. The town and city will serve as a combination of post station, barracks, market, and even assume some of the functions of the county office. On the day when the army stopped at Nianbosuo to celebrate the victory, Liu Chengzong told Chengyun his plan: "In addition to the post station, barracks, and market, you will build a county government office in five towns and cities, and all six houses will be equipped.
In addition, a town school that can accommodate 400 people will be built."
Chengyun glared and said, "Brother, that's five counties."
"That's just five counties. There are only 7,000 people in Haixi and Haibei counties. Each of your towns has 24,000 people. This doesn't count the mountain people in the south and north mountains, the people who fled the war. After the war,
After half a year of household registration and population expansion, there may be 40,000 people in each town."
Liu Chengzong laughed and said: "This is still not a county? But this is what I think about the town school. Our requirement is that each province must have a private school teacher, and the social studies department shall be responsible for the enlightenment; each township must have a scholar to teach the students.
If you pass the Five Classics test, you can take the Tongsheng test."
"Then we have Xiningfu Academy, which can give these children who have a good foundation a better learning opportunity, so the town school does not need to offer so many subjects. It is mainly responsible for the local talent gap in Hehuang, and it is for those whose family conditions are not enough.
Children who leave work and enter school."
Liu Chengzong thought carefully about this matter. People who have studied have to be useful, and it is a pity that they cannot continue their studies because of their livelihood, so he said: "In town, I want to open four subjects, agriculture, engineering, arithmetic, and medicine."
, these are talents that towns and cities can use."
"Each town recruits one hundred and twenty people every year, takes care of food and housing, and gives them three coins a month to subsidize their families. They study for three years, and then they are sent to various townships to improve and promote agriculture and craftsmanship, or they can study in the township traditional Chinese medicine center.
, if you want to continue studying, you can pass the imperial examination and enter a government school to continue studying."
Chengyun listened and took notes. After he finished writing, he raised his head and said, "Brother, those five gentlemen from the town school, at least eighty of them, I have to recruit from Xiningfu Academy."
"You can recruit us as much as you want, but when the things in the west are finished, we should set up six departments."
Liu Chengzong looked at Chengyun who put away his notes and said with a smile: "If you can figure out the affairs of these five counties, you will be the Minister of Household Affairs of our small court in Xihai."
Chengyun was stunned when he heard this, then blinked and said, "Brother, are you planning to become king?"
Liu Chengzong wanted to tease him, so he asked: "Why, do you think the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance is not good?"
"No, no, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue...hehe!" Chengyun shook his head, then chuckled twice, and then said: "I just think it is a bit early to become king at this time?"
"Yes!"
Liu Chengzong pointed at Chengyun and laughed, then said: "Being king now does not bring much benefit to us. It is nothing more than recruiting enemy generals to surrender and making wishes, but there are many disadvantages. At least we must eliminate the threat of Gansu border troops.
Only by winning Lanzhou can you become king."
Gansu and Hehuang are separated by the Qilian Mountains, and any one of these two areas would be incomplete. In Liu Chengzong's thinking, only by acquiring the entire Hexi region and capturing Lanzhou Jincheng can he be geographically invincible. p>
"As for the internal desire for promotion and reward, I still have the means to pay the military. As long as the morale of the military is stable, it doesn't matter if people are slightly dissatisfied with the title."
Liu Chengzong smiled, then sighed and said: "But I do need six departments. I must set up a court, otherwise the powers of various places are unclear and their functions are not well run. If that doesn't work, we won't call them six departments, but six departments and six offices."
It doesn’t matter what you call it, the key is to be able to do things.”
"You think, this year alone, three, no, counting Mr. Yang from the imperial court as the fourth wave of envoys, I will deal with them for the other three." Liu Chengzong shook his head and spread his hands: "How can I find my son?
My tired old father has to entertain them every day, so I have to build a hut to house them."
Chengyun was happy when he heard this, and after a while he regained his composure and said doubtfully: "But brother, why do you think these Donglu Tatars sent people to look for you? It's strange, the road is thousands of miles away, but they have the strength to run."<
/p>
"It's not that far. Let me tell you, I can guess pretty much what they want from me." Liu Chengzong raised his finger and said with a fixed gaze: "I guess there are only two things, and they want to work with me to attack them.
But this is unlikely..."
As he spoke, Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "Compared with Hou Jin, the territory we occupy may be about the same size, but they have occupied Nurgan for generations, and their population, financial resources, and military strength are all stronger than mine. This world emphasizes strength, and Mongolia has no strength.
Even if you sweat, no one will take you seriously."
"And it's too far away. If I sent someone here after hearing the news about the defeat of the Five Towns, the news has not reached Shenyang yet. I guess it's probably because of Hu Duntu. Counting the time, I came here from Guihua City.
Not bad."
Cheng Yun was convinced and said with a smile: "Maybe I want to test whether my second brother recognizes their god... What the hell is that?"
"Tian Cong, I guess that's what I mean. It's just a meaningless first contact to test friends and foes." Liu Chengzong shook his head and smiled: "You'll know when you get back."
Cheng Yun was very interested in this topic, because he couldn't go back, so he hurriedly asked: "Second brother, what are your plans to test friends and foes?"
"Carrying and post-financing are our enemies."
Liu Chengzong stopped smiling: "If we want to conquer the world, anyone can be a friend. The imperial court will collapse sooner or later, but Hou Jin is a sworn enemy. Their geographical advantages are very similar to ours. There is no other way to survive except to capture the Central Plains. Even if we win the Central Plains, Hou Jin will still have to fight with us."
I will fight to the death."
When Chengyun slowly nodded in response, Liu Chengzong's expression relaxed and he said: "Actually, I really wanted to make a joint plan with Hou Jin to attack the Ming Dynasty and sell them later, but the Ming Dynasty...sigh."
Liu Shizi was not afraid of Hou Jin at all. Even though his national power was now far inferior to that of Hou Jin, Hou Jin could not reach him. Even if he really worked hard to send troops, he would still be sure to kill any enemy who came from Qinghai or even Gansu. p>
However, the Ming Dynasty's organizational capabilities are now extremely exhausted. Liu Chengzong really cannot believe that a normal army would go on an expedition and abandon half of the plan as soon as the war drums sound. At least half of the plan will be effective.
The Ming Dynasty had a very good plan. Once the war started, half of the planned plan was lost due to the situation, and the other half was thrown away.
Liu Shishi felt that even if he and Hou Jin had a good plan, and Hou Jin really believed his lies and was ready to implement the plan, if he disclosed the news to the court, the court would probably be informed by Hou Jin without knowing it, and the whole thing would be revealed.
Huang Taiji will take advantage of the situation.
As a result, Hou Jin did not carry out the plan according to the plan. After being betrayed, Hou Jin felt that he was not a good person. Daming, who was beaten, would also feel that he was not a good person. If Huang Taiji's very shrewd little brain could not mix things up with Chongzhen,
, it really makes Master Chongzhen turn his head to the west and deal with him with all his strength.
Liu Chengzong even thought up the words, 'Liu Tie wants to be the emperor of the Han Dynasty, we are just Jurchens, but he can really take your throne!'
It is very simple to make a plan, but the candidates to complete the plan must be very reliable, and Emperor Chongzhen and his friends... are the most unreliable candidates in the world.
"I'll go back and see the envoy. You can build the five towns well here, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Amid the hearty laughter of the two brothers, the army finished celebrating and set off again, meandering towards Xining City.