In the fields, spring plowing has entered the second half, but that doesn’t mean there will be no trouble.
In the past three years, too many people have fled, and the timing of the gang's seizure of the two counties was too good. There was no time to re-grant the land. Even if the army organized more than 100,000 troops to farm, they could only fight in Changhe, Banxian, Pingchang, Le
In places such as Ling that have suffered large-scale wars, farmland is roughly concentrated, and many violent incidents occur due to land disputes... The common people only recognize the land they have cultivated for many years, but the army needs large areas of continuous land.
This is also the reason why many people respect Mrs. Dou more and more. She is very good at handling related disputes.
At first, her battalion, which mostly consisted of military family members, only helped manage and arrange the transfer and distribution of non-ordnance materials to the general county camp. Then Zhang Xing asked her to take charge of the civilian military markets that followed the army. Later, the camp organized specific formal military markets.
The project was also handed over to her.
Although everyone didn't say anything at this time, they all knew that the Hebei military-affiliated organization led by Mrs. Dou or Mrs. Cao had already undertaken certain practical work, and that the group of local rebel military-affiliated soldiers in Hebei had indeed had others take up the specific work.
If the effect is not achieved, there is actually a saying of "Gaojibo Women's Camp".
Later, it was the march after Ma Mian River. At this time, this "battalion" began to take charge of cleaning up the city as the troops advanced, and then naturally took on the responsibility of handling disputes between the army and the local people in Hebei.
The refugees returned to the city and found that their fields and houses were occupied by the army. It is impossible to give them to you. They can only be allocated elsewhere according to the population, but there is no reason not to return the houses... This has a background. For example, Changhe County has suffered from wars.
There are disasters, not to mention ten rooms and nine empty rooms, but there are still three empty rooms and four empty rooms. Soldiers and officers can be replaced without any effort... But there are still situations where people take advantage of the opportunity to extort money, causing public resentment.
When the matter came to a head, Zhang Xing's arrangement at that time was to send Liu Zhouchen to conduct military inspections, but this could only cure the symptoms. Some soldiers were dissatisfied, and the generals were also good and bad. Many soldiers privately vented their anger and wreaked havoc, but no one could do anything about it. The result was a lose-lose situation for both sides.
At that time, Mrs. Dou, who happened to be in Changhe because Changhe was too deserted, handled such matters very well. They were natives of Hebei, and there were even many Changhe people in Gaojibo who had escaped, including military family members and women.
In the past, it was difficult for anyone to get angry with them, who used to cook, deliver food, and mend clothes. Many similar disputes, including adjusting the fields, were easily handled by them.
It is precisely because of this that at Shan Tonghai's request, they quickly followed the troops eastward and participated in the reception work on the Bohai Sea. Shan Tonghai later petitioned them for credit and vindicated the injustice.
Zhang Xing also made up his mind to give Mrs. Dou, Sister-in-law Cao, a leadership position for this reason.
But it wasn't over yet. Before the whole army was ready to hold a meeting, in the middle and late stages of spring plowing, people began to take the initiative to help mediate the fine work of spring plowing.
As mentioned before, the field soldiers occupied large areas of idle land, but at the same time, no one dared to touch the small areas of vacant farmland in many places... First, because seeds are precious and no one dares to waste them; second, because
I am worried that if I occupy the fields other than the allocated fields, the entire land will be taken away by the "officials" in autumn.
Therefore, the people in Hebei would rather remove insects and pick up stones from their own land over and over again than touch the idle land next to them during the late spring plowing period.
At this time, Mrs. Dou, who had already become proficient in operations and had some courage, took the initiative to propose that before the land is re-granted after next autumn, she could rent these lands to these neighbors in the name of the government and get a slightly higher tax rate.
...Zhang Xing naturally approved it immediately, so these people went to the fields again with some seeds to find these idle lands. They asked the retired soldiers who had transferred to the local villages to take the lead, and hastily established a one-year government contract. No matter what, these land
Plant something to replant.
Cui Erlang naturally didn't know about such trivial matters, but that morning, when he rode a horse with a completely different mentality and braved the gloomy weather in late spring, he came to Qinghe again from Pingyuan County.
The difference in spring plowing between the two counties was clearly noticed.
Because at this time, the earliest spring seedlings for cultivation have begun to emerge, and this difference can be detected visually.
The Qinghe area is patchy, while the plains are patchy, and a few patches are also being replanted.
Cui Suchen naturally read a lot, and of course he knew that no matter what the sages were, they would emphasize the importance of agriculture, and even regard it as fundamental. Therefore, on that day, the Tang Emperor inherited the legacy of his ancestors and established his career when he was over seventy years old, ending the hundred years since the White Emperor.
Years of chaotic war, at the end of the history book, only one sentence is used, "There are more seedlings in Longshang", which is enough to make people sigh.
And what about today?
According to Feng Wuyi, who once lived in his family, Huaixi collapsed and Huainan was completely fortified;
According to what Xie Minghe said, Jiangdong and Jiangxi are about to rot;
The Bai family clearly had a plan, and had already occupied Taiyuan and Xiangyang, the two major strategic points in the world, and had its own positions in the Eastern Capital and the Western Capital;
The Zhang family is firmly seated in Hedong; the Sima family controls the military and political affairs of Jiangdu and has a camp in Xuzhou;
There were constant disputes in the Eastern Capital, and Uncle Cao could only hold up the sky with one hand;
Youzhou Daying is complex, with internal and external disputes, insufficient progress, and too much self-preservation;
Although Hejian was defeated, it still held the sacred land of several counties in Hebei;
The governors of various states and counties may be ambitious or wavering;
There are so-called rebel separatist regimes in northern Shanxi, Zishan, and Longxi;
The Seven Guards and Seven Towns of the Northland are obviously going to take advantage of the chaos to cause another commotion;
No one knows what the old lady Madam Feng in Nanling is thinking;
The eastern and central alliance of the Wu clan should have almost completed annexing the fragmented western part at this time, and will soon move south to Guanlong and northern Shanxi;
That is to say, Dongyi was obviously exhausted by the four conquests, so he gritted his teeth and looked to the west...
There is no doubt that this is actually the prelude to the extreme expansion of chaos. The intensity and chaos of the war are actually not enough... In other words, the bald fields in front of us are already a kind of fragile beauty.
Not to mention anything else, if I didn't do a good job on this trip, Qinghe County, where Qinghe's ancestral home is located, will definitely be killed by the army as a warning to the monkeys. Even if the army claims to have strict military discipline, it will be the result of a river of blood.
"Who is this person and why do they come to the border to spy?"
A group of 20 to 30 light-armed sentries from Qinghe County surrounded them at some point, but Cui Suchen, who was riding alone on the ridge of the field, ignored them until the leader of the sentries, a team leader, suddenly came to drink.
"Cui Suchen, the former commander of the Xuzhou camp, was born in the Zhengzhou house of the Cui family in Qinghe. He came to his hometown in Qinghe to visit relatives and friends." Cui Suchen turned around and immediately gave him a serious look.
The captain of the front sentry cavalry was surprised for a moment, and then softened. Regardless of his identity as Sima, the former supervisor of the Xuzhou camp, or his origins in the Cui family of Qinghe, he was a little short of breath.
After hesitating for a moment, the team leader could only bite the bullet and ask: "Cui Sima... Erlang came to visit relatives and went back to Wucheng County and the county town. Why did he wander around the border? There is a war here, and people often lose their lives."
"I came specifically to see your family, Captain Shi." Cui Suchen answered slowly. "I have something to tell him... Could you please lead the way?"
When the team leader heard this, he was relieved. It was better this way, lest the other party was a spy who used Cui's name to fool him and sent him to the captain, so that he would not be responsible for anything.
After thinking about this, the gang leader was polite and just asked the cavalry to protect Cui Erlang. After all, he was rushing to send the man into Zhangnan City before the thunder.
Zhangnan City, as the name suggests, is on the south side of the Qingzhang River, but it is located in the northeast corner of Qinghe County. To the south are Licheng, Gaotang, and Chiping, which are lined up to the river. They form the opposite side of Qinghe County.
Standard line of defense.
Among them, the person guarding Zhangnan City was Shi Huaiming, the official commander of the county. About two months ago, the situation in Hebei changed drastically. He, Cui Erlang, came over from Henan in a hurry and ran around. The two sides had met twice.
When they met again at this time, Shi Huaiming felt a little embarrassed.
Let them all sit down at their own tables in the backyard before apologizing: "Cui Erlang, I'm really sorry, but it was not my intention to block the official road and prevent your family from going to the plains. It was the Lord who gave the order directly. I don't want to
Dare you disobey."
"The current situation is difficult, and everyone is in trouble. How can I blame you?" Cui Erlang's face remained unchanged, and he responded calmly. "It's just that now, we Cui family members, both young and old, are here, and they want to fight.
Come, we have to pay a visit for the sake of family peace... You should also be considerate."
"It's natural to be considerate." Shi Huaiming sighed helplessly. "Just wait for a few days! When Mr. Cao's temper has subsided in the past few days, you can talk again..."
Hearing this, Cui Erlang's expression did not change, but he suddenly asked: "So, it's not you who intercepted and killed my twenty-six and twenty-seven in the southeast corner of Zhangnan?"
Shi Huaiming immediately stood up and was stunned.
"Captain Shi, please sit down." Cui Erlang's expression remained as usual.
Shi Huaiming slowly sat back.
"Captain Shi." Cui Erlang continued. "Twenty-six and twenty-seven wanted to leave from you, but you blocked the road and turned to the south... But in the defense area between you and Deputy Commander Han and Pingyuan County
They were ambushed at the third junction...you said, if I don't come to you, who will I come to?"
Shi Huaiming thought for a while, his scalp was numb, and he lowered his voice and asked seriously: "How are Twenty-sixth Lang and Twenty-seventh Lang? There won't be any accidents, right?"
"Nothing unexpected happened." Cui Erlang still said calmly. "It's just that after this incident, the two of them stopped leaving Jiangling. It seems that they are preparing to be the pioneer of the gang..."
When he heard the first half of the sentence, Captain Shi was just relieved, but the second half felt like a glow in his chest and he stood up again.
"Captain, sit down quickly." Cui Erlang was helpless. "This is also human nature... Even if you didn't do it, it was done by other officers and soldiers. After all, it was Qinghe who was directly planning to kill our Cui family members because of our traveling to the plains.
His life is in danger... In such a situation, the big and small house in Qinghe only wanted to ask for a peace charm at first, but now he has simply lost his heart."
Captain Shi sat down carefully again, and then carefully defended himself: "It can't be a thief who deliberately disturbed your Cui family?"
"Is it necessary?" Cui Erlang asked seriously. "Don't think that Qinghe can really resist it!"
"The court won't ignore it, right?" Captain Shi was helpless. "According to what Mr. Cao said when he came to look for me yesterday, reinforcements from Wu'an, Wuyang, Jijun, and Weijun will definitely arrive, and it is still possible to defend the city."
"I won't tell you these things." Cui Erlang thought for a while and continued to ask. "Now there is no sign of foreign aid, spring plowing is about to end, the army now has more than thirty battalions, and Cui has fallen over again.
, the Wucheng where my uncle is located is right behind you, do you think you can defend it here?"
Shi Duwei was silent for a long time and then asked seriously: "The Cui family of Qinghe is the most powerful family in Hebei. Do you really want to become a thief?"
"Shi Duwei, a clan is a clan, and an individual is an individual." Cui Erlang was good at tempting. "It's just that some clan members decided that Qinghe couldn't stop the gang, and then decided that it was the army that hunted down our clan members.
That’s why I joined the gang... I’m just telling you the result.”
Captain Shi thought for a long time, but just shook his head: "My mind is a little confused."
"Then let me sort it out for you. I will only talk about two things now." Cui Erlang said seriously. "The first is the situation. The situation is that the army is stronger. The so-called reinforcements from the surrounding states and counties are far away, but the Wucheng behind you may
If you are cut off, you have no hope here; the second thing is the stakes, don't think that when the time comes, you can donate the baggage and food in the city, maybe you can get through without drawing lots... If you can't get through, no matter who is the one who intercepted Twenty-six and twenty-seven.
, this matter will definitely be blamed on you afterwards, because it happened on your territory, and you have blocked it before."
"So what do you think of me?" Shi Duwei was anxious.
"Please write a letter of service and I will give it to Zhang Longtou for you." Cui Erlang spoke softly and acted as if nothing happened.
But Shi Huaiming suddenly stood up again and again, dumbfounded.
"Sit down." Cui Erlang couldn't urge him enough.
Shi Huaiming stood there for a moment, then sat back down, and then lowered his voice and asked in disbelief: "You, Zhengzhou Cui, actually voted for it? And you also think it's me?"
"This is the third thing I want to talk about." Cui Erlang said as he took out a brand-new document that had been written long ago and only needed a signature. "As of now, it's just a matter of signing or not signing.
...If you sign it, it’s not you; if you don’t sign it, it’s all your doing.”
Shi Huaiming was cold all over, and he only made one last struggle: "Why do I need to leave my name for something like this? I just signed it, so what if I don't acknowledge it later?"
"The purpose of this document is not to restrain you directly, but to restrain you through Cao Fujun." Cui Erlang said calmly. "Cao Fujun has a strong temperament and regards officials and thieves as incompatible. After the defeat of Ma Lianhe,
He is even more suspicious and acts fiercely... He knows your handwriting, and your subordinates all know that I have come to you before, and I have come to you now. If you dare to go back on your word, I will only entrust this document to Sun Juncheng and give it to Cao Cao.
Mr. Fu, you will have to shed your skin even if you don't die."
Shi Huaiming was silent for a moment and was about to speak again.
Cui Erlang said again: "Don't think about it. If I are imprisoned by you, I will help the Eighth Battalion on the Western Front. I will come here before the follow-up."
"That's not what I meant. I'm not that stupid." Shi Huaiming said feebly. "I want to say that you are right. Mr. Cao has such a fierce temperament. He came to my place yesterday and said he was going to Chiping to kill people today...
…I’ll just sign it.”
Cui Erlang nodded, took a moment, put away the documents, and left straight away, driving south, passing through the hinterland of Qinghe, arriving in Chiping two days later, and then met Chiping's guard, the prime minister of Qinghe County, Wanshou.
After the two parties exchanged their names and family backgrounds, they sat down in their respective halls and excluded others. Cui Erlang handed over the two documents in his arms and told them about the interception and execution of his children.
After listening and reading, Sun Juncheng's expression did not change. He just asked curiously: "How did you persuade Captain Shi to leave the note? He must be a loach."
"Since Duwei Shi is a person who seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages, just talk to him about the situation and discuss the pros and cons." Cui Erlang said. "It's still very simple... For example, Deputy Captain Han is said to be sincere and down-to-earth to the point of being dull.
I didn't go to the point where I was asking for trouble; I even cherished my life and didn't dare to go to people like Xue Wanbi who were arrogant."
"Then who am I? Your Excellency came to the door so openly, and then took out these, and what are you going to tell me?" Sun Juncheng continued to ask.
"I've asked many people, and they all said that Your Excellency is a man of Tongtuo. Because of this, there is no need to talk about reason." Cui Suchen answered seriously. "But they also said that Your Excellency is a person with benevolent intentions and cannot be seen.
Blood flowed three feet, so you only put my life, Cui's Qinghe couple, and Shi Duwei's lives here. It's natural for you to take care of yourself... The current situation is like this, gangs are not allowed to kill, so if you insist on letting innocent people bleed,
Please appeal to Master Cao again."
Sun Juncheng just said "Huh", nodded, and said no more.
