The Tang army in Yanmen left the border and entered Shuozhou. The news spread quickly. Li Shan, who didn't know that he was in danger of being dragged in, confidently said to Ma Zhou... Believe me, it's true!
You see, after all, Li Gaoqian is a general of the Twelve Guards, how could he be so stupid as to stand still, how could he be as timid as a mouse!
Ma Zhou looked at Li Shan suspiciously, hesitated for a while and then asked tentatively: "In your opinion, how do you think this battle will be won?"
Li Shan was confident, "Brother Du went to Yanmen yesterday and found out clearly that this time it was Yuan Junzhang who led the Turks southward from Yunzhou, with a force of more than 10,000, and they must not be elite Turks."
Du Xiao, who has been staying in Hedong all year round, added: "What Li Langjun said is that Yunzhou was once owned by the Duke of Ning, and most of them were people from the Central Plains. This attack was said to be more than ten thousand people. In fact, the Turkic elite must not be there."
many."
Seeing that Li Shan was a little confused, Ma Zhou explained: "The Duke of Tan, the former general manager of Lingzhou, Li Zihe, raised troops at the end of the previous dynasty and occupied Yulin, Yunzhou and other places. He connected with the Liang division capital in the south and served the Turks in the north.
To vote for Tang, but..."
Halfway through, Ma Zhou stopped talking and gave Li Shan a look.
When Li Shan heard about Yulin, he remembered that the so-called Li Zihe was actually Guo Zihe...another person given a surname by Li Yuan. It is said that he offended a Turkic noble and led his troops to move south.
Then, then...Prince Li Jiancheng led his troops to meet him, and by the way, he ceded Yulin and Yunzhou to the Turks.
The so-called Yunzhou, Li Shan had seen the map. It was probably near what was later called Datong City. Various ethnic groups lived together, but most of them were Han Chinese. Later, the Turks occupied Yunzhou without much thought. A few months ago, Yuan Jun
Zhang was expelled and obtained permission from the Turks to occupy Yunzhou and regain his strength.
"So..." Ma Zhou glanced at Li Shan.
"Although Gao Manzheng in Mayi only had a few thousand troops, Daizhou Sima Liu Gong led his troops to Mayi, and now Jiangxia County Duke led his troops out again..." Li Shan paused, turned around and asked: "How many troops will be sent?"
Du Xiao immediately replied: "Three thousand elite cavalry and three thousand infantry."
Li Shan spread his hands and said, "The strength of the troops is almost the same, and we have two fortresses in Mayi and Yanmen. Even if we cannot win this battle, we should be undefeated."
Ma Zhou was dubious and felt empty in his heart.
Seeing Li Shan and Du Xiao continuing to chat about the war, Ma Zhou quietly walked outside the door and waved to Wang Junhao.
"Mr. Zhou."
"Jun Hao, you must not slack off during these days. The horses need to be taken care of carefully. If the war goes unfavorably and Yanmen falls, we will immediately set off southward."
Wang Junhao was confused and asked in a low voice: "Brother Du just mentioned that Jiangxia County Duke has led troops out of the customs..."
Ma Zhou sighed and said, "Huairen said, this battle cannot be won, nor will it be defeated."
Wang Junhao stiffened, his face was solemn, and he nodded vigorously... Apparently he also remembered the incident of being chased all the way in Shandong last year.
However, the form was better than last time. There were no old, weak, women or children, and even the guards were all able to ride horses. Although Xiaoman couldn't ride a horse, he was petite and Zhou's riding skills were enough for two people to ride.
"If the Turks attack in large numbers and Mayi falls quickly, it will be difficult to say whether the battle will be won or lost. However, the troops that attack this time are not large. Gao Manzheng has recently surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and Liu Shirang has just recovered, so he will definitely fight with force!"
Ma Zhou turned around in embarrassment, and Li Shanzheng was staring at him coldly.
You really thought I was a crow’s mouth!
Li Shan snorted angrily and turned around to leave. Wang Junhao hesitated for a moment, then received the look from Ma Zhou... After thinking about it, he decided to be prepared.
Li Gaoqian led his troops out of the border, and Li Shan temporarily lost his mind and began to think about the mess in Dai County... There was really no place to start.
If they are ordinary officials, they can only encourage farming and build water conservancy. If it is a war or a place of war, they can reorganize their military equipment and save food and grass.
If the population is insufficient...that's easy to handle, just lie down.
But Li Shan wanted to do something, and he even thought about giving Pei Shiju a slap in the face. How could he lie down obediently... Thinking about it now, Pei Shiju, an old fox, really had some tricks up his sleeve. He chose a perfect place for himself, so that he could basically
There is no room for flexing your muscles.
It was as if he had fallen into a puddle of mud. Not to mention his hands and feet were tied, even his body was slowly sinking.
In the ruins behind the post house, Li Shan picked up a big stone and sat down slowly. He ignored the stains on the stone and laughed silently in his heart: "Although Pei Shiju is a famous official in history and has his own means, it is a pity.
Yes, I am the only stranger in this world."
There were footsteps behind him, and Li Shan did not turn around. Now, no matter where he is, there are at least four guards around him. Even if he is lying in bed, the guards will guard the door with knives... So last night, Zhou's first
Rejected Li Shan for the first time...
"Today's Dai County is in ruins." Ma Zhou turned to the front, looked at the stains on the stone with disgust, stood there and said, "What other methods do you have?"
Li Shan's face was as calm as water, and he said softly: "It is indeed a ruin, but it is not completely useless."
"Um?"
"Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the clans of aristocratic families have been rooted in the local area and are intertwined. Even if they are famous officials in the world, it is difficult to control them." Li Shan sighed: "If it were the Han Dynasty, they would be able to use thunderbolt methods, but the clans have been prevalent for nearly a thousand years, even though the saints are sitting on them
There is no way for the world to recover."
Ma Zhou felt a little wrong when he heard this. He thought about it and smiled bitterly: "In the former Han Dynasty, cruel officials killed powerful people like killing a chicken."
The Western Han Dynasty was full of ruthless officials, who would arrest powerful people and destroy clans at every turn... Well, it's comparable to what happened during Wu Zetian's period.
"The Turks broke through the border every year and looted the east of the river. Not to mention the aristocratic families, even the wealthy families in the countryside had to leave their homeland in order to survive." Li Shan said with a smile: "There are few aristocratic families in Daizhou, and the only few families were exterminated by Chen Xiaoyi.
"
"Indeed." Ma Zhou nodded. He knew what Li Shan meant. Although it was difficult now, at least there would be no resistance to his administration.
If you are serving as a county magistrate in Beizhou, you will need to pay homage to countless docks. The Cui family alone has several docks, and there are also the Zhang family, the Fang family, and the Sun family, all of which are aristocratic families that have been passed down for nearly a thousand years.
Even if Li Shan went to Jiexian County according to Li Shan's previous plan, he would still have to visit the dock of the Liu family, a prominent family in Hedong.
Therefore, from this perspective, Li Shan prefers to choose Dai County.
Li Shan said leisurely: "A piece of white paper is easy to draw on."
"Although white paper is easy to draw on, what can I do if the pen is useless and I have no ink and inkstone?" Ma Zhou still didn't understand that at least the problems of population and food and grass were unsolvable.
"Dai County has all kinds of shortcomings, but it has one wonderful thing." Li Shan stood up and patted his clothes casually, "The gateway to Hedong is uniquely endowed by nature."
Ma Zhou sneered and said: "It is precisely because of the Hedong Gate that the Turks invaded every year and it was in ruins."
Li Shan didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "Brother Bin Wang, do you know how Duke Heng of Qi managed to unite the nine princes?"
This is a passage in "The Analects of Confucius". Ma Zhou immediately replied: "Nine combined princes do not use military chariots, Guan Zhong has the power."
Qi Hengggong allied with the princes and dominated the Spring and Autumn Period. He was the leader of the princes, and the one he relied on most was Guan Zhong.
"Guan Zhong once said that if a country has more wealth, those from far away will come; if the land is developed, the people will stay." Li Shan chuckled and said: "This is the way to break the situation."
Ma Zhou was stunned for a long time before he realized that only when a country has more wealth, the people will rely on it, and only if the land is cultivated, the people will stay.
Wealth attracts people, and then uses land to gather people's power. It sounds simple, but in practice it is difficult.
The question is, where does the wealth come from?
Just as he was about to ask, Ma Zhou suddenly remembered that Li Shan had just mentioned that Dai County was not good in many ways, but it was uniquely endowed as the gateway to Hedong.
An idea flashed in his mind, and Ma Zhou blurted out, "Trading with the Turks?"