Chapter 465 Is this the Grand Commander or the County Commander??
"Here, let me tell you, these are the best seeds sent from the Central Plains. There is no problem with these seeds at all. If you can't grow enough crops, don't blame me for being rude!
"
Xia Houzao pointed to the carriage behind him. Several soldiers were standing beside the carriage. There were people carrying grain and seeds. The legs of the local Li Zheng were trembling.
Are we big men already so wealthy?
Transporting seeds to the countryside requires the Taiwei to do it himself??
There are not many carriages, only a dozen or so, and there are nearly a hundred soldiers guarding the surroundings. Lieutenant Xiahou is standing at the front of these soldiers, directing the people to transport seeds. These seeds are all
It was sent by the temple. It is said that the yield is very high, much higher than the seeds originally planted here.
This was all requested by the king of his family. Currently, the Xiting Kingdom is quite poor. How poor can it be? The more than one hundred soldiers around Xiahou Zao are already a quarter of the military strength of the Xiting Kingdom.
.
The Xiting Kingdom originally had more than 100 soldiers. After Liu Qi succeeded to the throne, through his aggressive military development, the military strength of the Xiting Kingdom increased dramatically, from more than 100 soldiers to 400 soldiers. Of course, if you add
By preparing pawns, an army of two to three thousand can be drawn up.
Liu Qi not only resorted to violence in the military, but also adopted the practices of the Qin State in domestic affairs, banning all entertainment activities. In terms of national policy, he only focused on farming and war.
There are many powerful generals under Liu Qi's command. After becoming the Taiwei, Taiwei Xiahou Zao used troops on a large scale several times and won consecutive battles. He successfully eliminated the bandit forces entrenched in the northern part of Xiting Kingdom and captured forty cattle and sheep, as well as several grains and grass.
, a flag...
The Xiting Kingdom's several huge military operations also made the surrounding vassal states look at it with admiration. In addition to Liu Qi's military achievements, he also made great achievements in domestic affairs. He opened up a large amount of cultivated land, and the craftsmen worked tirelessly to make
Farm tools were based on the military merit system, and the First Emperor would applaud when he saw them.
At this moment, Xiahou Zao looked at these people transporting grain, and then told Li Zheng: "By the way, you must also be wary of strangers. If anything happens, report it to me at any time!"
"only!
"
Li Zheng was very scared. As a commoner from the Central Plains, he never thought that one day he would see the Taiwei and come to deliver food to him.
After explaining the matter, Xiahou Zao mounted his horse and left here.
There are currently six counties in the Xiting Kingdom. Although there are very few county seats, the distance between the county towns is quite far. Moreover, after Liu Qi came to the Xiting Kingdom, he has been thinking of ways to change it. At first, Liu Qi wanted to change the country's name.
Change the name of the country to Yong.
He believed that the so-called Xiting was based on the name of the local Hu people, which was inappropriate. At the same time, he named the county according to the Central Plains method.
Xiahou Zao rode his horse, looked at the team behind him, and sighed.
He was so happy when he first heard that he was going to be a lieutenant. But after he actually took office, he realized that what a lieutenant was, he was not as good as a county lieutenant in the Central Plains.
During the autumn drills, a county captain in the Central Plains could train one or two thousand men, including hundreds of soldiers. As for himself, his military strength in the country was about the same.
There was almost nothing he could do here. At first he could go out and fight a few bandits, but now there are no bandits to fight. Xiahou Zao couldn't find anything to do. Finally, he went to the king and took the initiative to escort grain seeds.
Liu Qi probably also saw the depression in the Taiwei's heart, so he asked him to do this.
Xiahou Zao traveled around in various places and returned to Qiquan City, where he was governed. This place was named so because there were seven ancient springs here. Liu Qi named Qiquan himself and changed the original name.
This capital city is quite shabby among the princes. There are nearly 20,000 people in the city, accounting for one-third of the country's population. Xiahou Zao soon arrived at the palace. This palace is just a small town in the Central Plains.
The rich man's mansion must be in the countryside, and even the rich in the city will look down upon it.
After entering the palace, walked through a small road, turned left, and came to Liu Qi's study.
There wasn't even a soldier in front of the door, so Xiahou Zao walked in directly.
Liu Qizheng was sitting in front of the eucalyptus. When he saw Xiahou Zao coming in, he quickly changed his posture.
"The lieutenant is back? Come on, please sit down!"
Liu Qi was happy. No matter who he was, he would definitely be disappointed when he came to Xiting Kingdom, such as Xiahou Zao, and the officials surnamed Lu who followed Liu Qi. Only Liu Qi, no matter how difficult the situation was, his face did not show the slightest bit of emotion.
The changes are as stable as ever.
Compared with his father, Liu Qi's shortcomings are obvious. He is more irritable, can't control his temper, and doesn't care much about his reputation. However, these shortcomings are also his advantages. His irritable character makes him full of enthusiasm.
Without courage, there is nothing he dares not do, and not paying attention to reputation allows him to accomplish his goals by any means necessary.
"Your Majesty...the seeds have been delivered."
"What about the situation in various places? How is it?"
"What else can we do? It's just like in the past, but there are only a few thousand people. Alas..."
Xiahou Zao sighed and looked sad.
"My lord, what have you done to offend His Majesty to be sent to this place to serve as the king of the vassals... Even in Beiting, there are more than 100,000 people in Beiting, hundreds of thousands in Hexi, and those in Tang and Qi.
They are all big countries with millions of people... How did we get here..."
Liu Qi laughed, "It took several years to govern a country with millions of people, and eventually the population increased by hundreds of thousands. No one will be surprised, but now we have only 60,000 people under our rule.
If we only have a few years, we can turn this number into hundreds of thousands, the world will be shocked!"
"I will become a world-famous virtuous king, and you will also become a virtuous minister like Marquis Wen Zhong! There are many things that can be done here, and there are greater opportunities to gain political achievements. This is a place where we can
How can you sigh in this precious land for displaying your talents?"
When Liu Qi said this, Xiahou Zao felt that what he said was quite reasonable.
"Then how are we going to increase our household registration? Should we go to Beiting Country to rob us? Or force the people to have more children, and if they don't have children, they will be tortured corporally?"
After hearing the Taiwei's good advice, Liu Qi was not angry. He said seriously: "Now is our best opportunity!"
"The Marquis of Huaiyin is fighting in the west, and he has captured a lot of prisoners and supplies. I am writing to Father Zhong, telling him about the poverty of the Xiting Kingdom. If some of Huaiyin Marquis' military exploits can be left behind, it will also be good for the Xiting Kingdom.
It's a great thing, besides... I'm planning to form a caravan and set out from here to trade in the Western Regions..."
Liu Qi said seriously and looked at Xiahou Zao again.
"Lieutenant, you are a famous general in the country. From now on, I will ask you to be responsible for escorting the caravan and transporting supplies for prisoners of war. We can help the temple transport supplies to the Marquis of Huaiyin. Of course, the Marquis of Huaiyin will not treat us badly.
.”
Xiahou Zao was overjoyed and said, "Don't worry, I will lead my Xiting army to the battlefield, so that the Northern Army of Huaiyin Marquis can also see the power of our Xiting army!"
"
Liu Qi laughed. This was the reason why he wanted Xiahou Zao to become a lieutenant for him. There was nothing else but that he was a good man and easy to talk to.
Liu Qi just said a few words, Xiahou Zao's face was full of pride, and he wished he could lead the Xiting Kingdom army to have a fight with the Huns. Regarding this, Liu Qi's suggestion was, don't go. If you go, the Huns will laugh to death.
.
Xiting Kingdom is very crude in all aspects, including the equipment of the soldiers. This is mainly because Liu Qi put all his energy into farming. He recruited all the craftsmen from all over the country and stopped building other things. They concentrated on building agricultural tools and the treasury.
His accumulation has long been used up by him.
In order to increase financial expenditure, Liu Qi developed a new business idea and sent Taiwei to lead an army to rob and rob thieves around.
Sometimes, the lieutenant was asked to help other small countries. There were many foreign kings and small countries in the Western Regions, so Xiahou Zao was often sent to mediate their disputes and so on, so as to earn extra money for his own big country.
Liu Qi also followed Liu Chang's example and kept writing letters to the Central Plains. His letters were not only written to his father-in-law, but also to ministers he had never met, and even local celebrities. Anyway, letters are now written
The expenditure is also an important financial burden for the Xiting Kingdom.
However, Liu Qi's frantic letter writing was not fruitless. The temple increased its assistance to the Xiting Kingdom. The prince did not forget this good brother and transported a lot of good things from the Tang Kingdom, including two
Thousands of sheep.
Even Liu Xun of the Beiting Kingdom also donated a lot of iron tools. Xiang of the Hexi Kingdom was the most arrogant and directly sent more than 7,000 criminals to Liu Qi. These criminals were good things and the Xiting Kingdom was in short supply.
It's population.
The same is true for the other princes and kings. In addition to the princes, the ministers also have personal assistance. Their personal assistance is of great help to the Xiting Kingdom.
"Didn't I send a lot of seeds, carriages, cattle and sheep before? Why did this guy write a letter again?!"
Liu Chang looked at the letter in his hand unhappily.
"His country, Xiting, is poor. The people have no clothes to wear and no food to eat. Then aren't the people in my temple poor? The people in Chang'an are also very poor. There are many people on the river bank who are not fully clothed...
..”
Lu Lu pursed his lips. Do you have to be naked when you go to the river to bathe?
Liu Chang complained a few words, but picked up the pen and wrote for a while before handing it to Lu Lu, "Take it to Feng Jing and ask him to quickly prepare the things and send them to Xiting Kingdom... It's also a bitter experience."
This is ridiculous. The national treasury is so poor that it must be given when it is due."
Lu Lu nodded, "Your Majesty, the King of Xiting said that he would attack the Western Qiang and set up a caravan..."
"No problem, let him do whatever he wants. Even if he attacks Xiqiang with all his strength, he may not be able to win. I think he just wants to capture some prisoners. Let him do it. If this is not allowed,
Then he can only be a county magistrate for the rest of his life!"
"only."
"Zhou Bo came here again today to ask for an audience. Do you still want to drive him away?"
"here we go again?"
Liu Chang curled his lips. During these days, Liu Chang had to do a lot of things, because he had to prepare for this year's plowing. Since promoting agriculture has become the most serious task today, spring plowing has become the first priority for big men.
Everything must make way for spring plowing.
Zhou Bo had been recuperating at home for a long time. During these days, he kept writing letters asking for an interview, hoping to return to Hexi Kingdom, but Liu Chang kept ignoring him and refused to meet him.
At this moment, Liu Chang pondered for a moment, "Okay, let him come in."
Zhou Bo stood waiting at the entrance of the palace. For a general like him, staying at home was the greatest torture. He wanted to go back. Even serving as an ordinary soldier was much better than staying at home. Now he
He is not too old yet and is very strong, so he should not just stay at home like this.
When Zhou Bo thought that he would not see the emperor again today, Attendant Lu finally came out, greeted Zhou Bo with a smile, and led him into the palace.
"His Majesty!"
Zhou Bo bowed to see him, but Liu Chang looked quite rude. He just looked at Zhou Bo sideways and refused to let him sit down. "What are you doing here?"
"Your Majesty, I have been idle at home for many days. I don't expect to return to Hexi Kingdom as a Taiwei. I only ask that Your Majesty will consider me as your general..."
"Oh, I want to return to the Hexi Kingdom... This is easy to handle. I can sell it to you. A soldier needs one household, a captain needs a thousand households, and a general has two thousand households. Well, Jiuqing wants
Four thousand households, Sangong wants 5,000 households, what position do you want?"
Zhou Bo looked troubled and speechless.
"Don't want to sell? Then go back!"
Zhou Bo suddenly raised his head and said resolutely: "I would like to ask your Majesty to remove me from the title of Marquis of Che and take back all my food. I am willing to go to the Hexi Kingdom to serve as a captain and lead the army in battle for your Majesty..."
"Oh, if I do this, won't I cry to death if I win?"
Liu Chang also put away some of his rudeness, "Jianghou, I am not trying to embarrass you. It's just that your previous behavior really displeased me. Even if I dismiss you, it is appropriate."
"It's just that because of your past merits, I have no accountability... You made three mistakes before, and once you made a mistake of 1,000 households, I will reduce your food by 3,000 households, and then go to Hexi to continue to be your Taiwei.
Say it in advance, if you make another mistake, you will not be able to save your title, not to mention your life... Do you understand?"
Zhou Bo suddenly remembered what happened in the prison and nodded seriously.
"Okay, just understand. You see, this is sent by the King of Xiting. They are going to take some prisoners back from Xiqiang. When you return to Hexi Kingdom this time, you must help Beiting and Xiting more.
The country... their national strength is weak, you have to give them appropriate help..."
"Remember, what they want is people, people who can farm the land. If you can't get your heads to farm, don't do beheadings!
!”
"only!
"
After sending this guy away, Liu Chang shook his head helplessly.
I hope this guy can have a long memory and stop misbehaving. If something happens again, then I won't be able to care about Yafu. If I can defeat them, I can only behead him cruelly. At most, I won't implicate these wise men.
Liu Chang got up and walked out of Houde Hall. The weather was not bad today.
He stretched his body and picked up the strong bow.
I heard that there are ferocious beasts infesting the countryside. Isn't this a good time to go and eliminate the harm for the people?
Just as Liu Chang was walking out, he saw a figure hurriedly coming from far away. It was Shen Tujia. Shen Tujia seemed to have seen Liu Chang and hurriedly quickened his pace. Liu Chang's expression changed greatly and he turned around.
Just leave here quickly.
Shen Tujia is too serious about his work. He must have done nothing good by coming here in such a hurry. He also has to impeach a minister or express his dissatisfaction with a certain decree. Liu Chang does not want such things to hinder his hunting plan.
Liu Chang walked faster and faster, almost running, and Shen Tujia also started running.
"His Majesty!
His Majesty!
"
Liu Chang just pretended that he didn't hear anything. Just when the chase started at the entrance of the palace, Liu Chang was still caught. It wasn't that Liu Chang ran too slowly, but that Lu Jia, who also came to the emperor for business, appeared in front of him.
...
Liu Chang sat on the upper seat with a sad and indignant look on his face. Lu Jia and Shen Tujia each sat next to him. Lu Jia was talking seriously about the publication of the newspaper.
"According to your instructions, the circulation of the agricultural newspaper has been customized to be the largest, and all regions are required to publish it first. Tongwen Prefectures in various regions are printing and distributing. The main problem is that there are not enough articles. What is written by farmers
It's still too little, and it can't reach the level of one issue every seven days..."
"As for the technology presented by the local government, we still need to test it again to confirm the effectiveness. In the case of agriculture, the effectiveness is too slow, seriously delaying the distribution of newspapers, and becoming almost useless..."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I plan to let the local government be directly responsible for the monitoring and review of technical results. If there are errors, we will hold the local government accountable and save some time...The other thing is the restrictions on farmers' articles. Can some standards be lowered?"
Liu Chang shook his head, "The requirements cannot be lowered. There are so many agricultural books in the world. If you can't find other people's articles, just copy the techniques recorded in these agricultural books and publish them. The method of this agricultural newspaper is different from other
Different, we want to promote technology, and don’t interfere with the quality of the article, as long as it is useful..."
"For specific matters, you can negotiate with Luan Bu yourself."
While chatting with Lu Jia about important matters, Shen Tujia didn't seem to be in a hurry. He just sat aside calmly. Liu Chang glanced at him from time to time. Seeing that he still had no intention of leaving, he had no choice but to leave Lu Jia first.
Jia gave it away.
"Why are you here?"
"It's not a big deal, I just have something to report to Your Majesty. But why did Your Majesty run away?"
"I was in a hurry to see Mr. Lu to discuss important matters, but I never saw you."
"Just tell me, who are you going to impeach this time?"
"Not for impeachment, Your Majesty gave half of Shanglin Garden to the farmer. Earlier, the farmer reported to the soldiers guarding Shanglin Garden that there were a large number of hares in Shanglin Garden, destroying the farmer's experimental field... He wanted to
We sent people to clear it out. I think your majesty is easy to hunt, so I would like to invite your majesty to go and shoot with the soldiers..."
"Ah?? You came to me to ask me to go hunting??"
"Yes, but His Majesty is busy with everything, so the soldiers must have killed a lot of people by now..."
"Why didn't you tell us about such an important state matter earlier?!"