Yang Hao rushed all the way to the middle hall. Thinking of the grievances between Tang Yanyan and Zhe Ziyu, he always felt uneasy. It was just a quarrel between the two people. He was afraid that Yanyan's nature was like a raging fire.
If the flower hall was turned into a full martial arts hall, then this section of the Commander's Mansion would be really lively. As he walked to the corridor of the central hall, he saw Xiao Yuan's girl coming. Yang Hao quickly waved her over and said: "Xiao Yuan,
A female guest has come to the mansion, now in the flower hall. You ask Er Niang to entertain her."
Xiao Yuan agreed and turned back. Yang Hao then straightened his clothes and walked into the hall.
The nave was the place where he met important guests. It was spacious and luxurious. Originally, this was also where Li Guangrui met important guests, so the entire nave was originally decorated according to the nomadic people's felt tent layout habits, with pure sheepskin mattresses and wolf
There are leather cushions, leather stools and brocade piers, long tables, and animal bone decorations hung on the walls.
After Yang Hao took over Xiazhou, he completely changed this. Whether it was interior decoration or furnishings of tables and chairs, they were all replaced by things that were in line with the cultural tastes of the Central Plains and official status, such as embroidered screen calligraphy and painting, square tables with rolled ears, and pear blossoms.
The wooden seats are beautifully and elegantly arranged, rich and grand.
After seeing Yang Haozhongtang's magnificence with his own eyes, many of the officials he met followed his example and re-decorated their mansions in this Han style after returning.
In the northwest nomadic areas, advocating the Central Plains culture has a very solid foundation. In the original history, when Li Yuanhao, the grandson of Li Jiqian, established the Xixia Kingdom to compete with the Song Dynasty, he spent a lot of time in order to "de-Sinicize".
Completely maintaining the customs and habits of the Dangxiang Qiang people and distinguishing them from the Han people, he used both soft and hard tactics and tried all means, just to get the tribesmen to change their hairstyles into the Qiang style hairstyle with bald middle and left hair around the sides.
A tough directive similar to "keep your head but not your hair" slowed down the tendency of people in the Western Regions to yearn for and integrate into the culture of the Central Plains.
Now Yang Hao is the Lord of Xiazhou, controlling the eight clans of Dangxiang, and has close ties with some tribes of Tubo and Uighur. With his position, he not only has the intention to promote the culture of the Central Plains, but also has many cultural and educational ministers under his command.
He is a learned man from the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains, and he has naturally played an immeasurable role in promoting the momentum of Sinicization. The tribal nobles who originally yearned for the culture of the Central Plains are even more eager for Sinicization. From top to bottom, he is quietly moving.
It effectively bridges the gaps and differences between various ethnic groups.
When Yang Hao walked into the middle hall, he saw Wa'er sitting on the main seat chatting and laughing with Zhe Yuxun, and couldn't help but secretly complain. Then he remembered that Wa'er was now Xu Xuan's deputy, responsible for culture, education and foreign affairs.
Wawa is very knowledgeable and talented. When she was in Bianliang, all her friends were famous Confucian scholars. At that time, she was also known as the "Master of Qingyin Xiaozhu". She knew everything from poetry and articles to music, chess, calligraphy and painting. With her talent and learning,
Engaging in cultural, educational and foreign affairs work is just what she deserves, and now she has become Xu Xuan's right-hand assistant. It is her duty to entertain Zhe Yuxun when she is not in the house. Since she is here, over there in the flower hall, I really don't know what to do.
Will the two tigresses cause trouble? But at this time it was too late to look back. Yang Hao had no choice but to step forward and said with a smile: "Brother, you are here."
Not only Wu Wa'er and Zhe Yuxun were sitting in the middle hall, but Ding Chengzong and Fan Siqi were also sitting there chatting and laughing. The four of them were talking about something. When they saw Yang Hao coming in, they immediately stood up to greet him. Yang Hao hurriedly said: "Sit down. , we are all sitting here, we are all family members, no need to be polite, what are you talking about, the interest is so high."
Zhe Yuxun sat down and said with a smile: "My younger brother and sister are telling me about the benefits of promoting culture and education. Third brother, you are indeed more discerning than me. I never thought that a person who values culture and education and translates and prints books would be so good." Big benefit.”
"oh?"
Yang Hao sat down on the main seat and glanced at Wa'er. Wa'er explained with a smile: "I am explaining to Commander Zhe about our Luzhou Press. We not only print Buddhist scriptures and Confucian scriptures, but also He has printed agricultural books, pastoral books, Dharma scriptures, military strategies, etc. and distributed them everywhere, which has had a great influence. Now he is planning to print tabloids on a regular basis. Commander Zhe is very curious about this."
Yang Hao smiled with relief and said: "So that's it, haha, in fact, this tabloid is just a copy of the Di newspaper, an imitation of the side newspaper. The Di newspaper mostly records military and national events, while the side newspaper mostly records military and political developments in the border areas. These rumors Newspapers have always been read only by officials and dignitaries, but when the Tang Dynasty was at its most prosperous, there was once a miscellaneous newspaper that covered public and private matters, as well as folk anecdotes, anecdotes about the government and the public, and was printed and sold in the market.
Now, I plan to imitate the 'Kaiyuan Miscellaneous News', regularly compile various developments and news in my jurisdiction into newspapers, and publish them in various cities and tribal nobles. This is just the beginning, and it is limited by the current cities in the northwest region. The scale and cultural dissemination conditions will not make it very big, but it is better than nothing. This thing will be quite helpful for me to convey my voice among the noble leaders of various northwest tribes, unify the tone, and promote Sinology."
Zhe Yuxun shook his head and sighed: "You are only talking about the immediate benefits. What I really admire you is the long-term influence of your popular culture and education. You are just a translator and publisher of scriptures, and you respect Buddhism, and you have transformed the Western Regions All the living Buddhas have drawn to your side. With the help of these living Buddha temple masters, you can issue orders and implement governance, and everything will be beneficial.
There is also such a big culture and education industry, alas! It’s not that it can’t be done, it’s just that I didn’t expect it. Li Guangrui and I fight and kill each other, and we fight and kill each other with Tubo and Uighur. The only thing we value is farming, and the only thing we are willing to spend money on is farming. The place is the army, who is willing to spend money to print some books and regulations and take those scholars and scholars seriously, but you, Yang Hao, are independent and special."
Zhe Yuxun said with envy: "What's even more unexpected is that this has such a great effect. Not only many scholars and talents who have failed in the Central Plains came to look for the wind, but many famous scholars in the Western Regions also joined your sect. Shazhou ( Lu Wuhen (Dunhuang), whose family had great influence in Shazhou, and he himself was not only a learned scholar, but also proficient in astronomy, geography, and the customs of the Western Regions. He opened lectures in Shazhou and taught many students. More than seven hundred people.
There are more than 700 people. How can a poor family afford to study? Most of his disciples have a certain family background. If they can get his support, they can get 7800 people from well-off families and a certain status in the Western Regions. Support me, hey! I remember that I sent Ren Qingshu to Shazhou with a lot of money in order to hire him to work in our prefecture, but he dismissed it, but now he is willing to work for you because of your promotion of culture and education."
Yang Hao smiled and said: "Old Lu has devoted his life to learning, and his official career and wealth are naturally not in his eyes."
Ding Chengzong smiled and said: "Not only Zheshuai didn't expect it, but I also didn't expect that Xingwen Church would get such strong support from the northwest gentry. Haha, and the movable type printing invented by Taiwei was far better than woodblock printing, and it was very important to Dali.
The promotion of culture and education is really of great help. What is funny is that after someone introduced this technology to the Central Plains, some scholars and celebrities were quite disdainful."
Yang Hao smiled brightly and said: "Those so-called celebrities talk too much and abandon reality. They are not people who really value culture and education. Those scholars and celebrities think that the engraving and printing work is exquisite, and the characters are copied and engraved by celebrities.
Every word is exquisite calligraphy, and when a book is printed, it is a masterpiece. However, in movable type printing, the fonts are the same and shoddy, which is a blasphemy to learning.
Haha, it’s ridiculous. These celebrities are simply paying for their money and forgetting the fundamental meaning of the existence of books. On the contrary, it is extremely difficult for scholars to have books to read in remote areas.
No one cares about these things. Great scholars from the Western Regions like Lu Wuhen went through hardships from generation to generation and passed on the essence of Sinology to future generations orally in the most difficult environment. Only then did they understand that letterpress printing greatly reduced the cost of printing books, which was very important for
Just look at how important it is to popularize books and spread knowledge. Sooner or later, movable type printing will replace woodblock printing and become the mainstream in the Central Plains."
Speaking of this, he was silent for a moment, and then sighed softly: "Since the decline of the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo occupation of the Hexi Corridor, the Huihe and Tuoba clans have ruled here, which has cut off millions of Han people in the Western Regions from the Central Plains.
However, there is still a continuous culture and education there. Many Confucian disciples with profound knowledge are working hard to spread the Sinology of the Central Plains in a place where war is everywhere, killing everywhere, and only using force. It has been two hundred years and the fire is endless, which is really commendable.
"
"Brother, the great scholars from the Western Regions such as Lu Wuhen came to join me, and it was not part of my plan. The reason why I value literature and education is because even in troubled times, literature cannot be separated. To govern a country and bring peace to the world, literature governs martial arts, both of which are indispensable.
If you focus on literature but abandon martial arts, you will tend to be weak and allow others to bully you. If you focus on martial arts and abandon literature, even if you rely on tyrannical force to show off your power for a while, you will still be able to establish but not rule, and wars will continue.
Even though force is more important during the development period, the person who makes the overall plans and plans the overall situation must stand at a higher point separate from force, rather than someone who fights for the sake of war. Martial arts are skills, and civil administration is the way. Only
Only by using the art of Taoism and imperialism, and using both civil and military skills, can we expect great things. This is the fundamental reason why I attach great importance to literature and education. As for the celebrities from the Western Regions vying to join me, it is an unexpected joy. Even I did not expect it in advance."
Zhe Yuxun nodded silently, smiled solemnly, and said softly: "This is where Zhongwen and I are inferior to you. It is precisely because you can see further than us that you can conquer this world with your bare hands, and we, even though we have inherited the inheritance of our ancestors,
, but... talking about pioneering, it means maintaining the status quo, hey! I feel like I have more than enough ambition but not enough strength."
Ding Chengzong and Wu Wa'er looked at each other. Wu Wa'er stood up and said sweetly: "Zheshuai, I'm going to tell you to prepare some exquisite food and wine. Zheshuai and my master haven't seen each other for a long time. I must have a drink today."
It’s better to be happy.”
Ding Chengzong also smiled and said: "I still have some things at hand that need to be dealt with. Zhe Shuai and my Taiwei are sitting down to enjoy tea. Chengzong went to deal with a few things at hand. When the banquet is ready, I will come and have a few more drinks. Haha,
Farewell."
The two found an excuse to say goodbye. Suddenly, only Yang Hao and Zhe Yuxun were left in the hall. Yang Hao then suppressed his smile, leaned forward and said, "Brother seems to have a lot of worries when he comes here. Could it be that he is in Fuzhou?"
What difficulties did you encounter?"
Zhe Yuxun has troubles to speak, but he stops talking when he wants to.
He did encounter something difficult, but it was something Yang Hao couldn't talk about. After eradicating his arch-rival Li Guangrui, there was no war outside the prefecture, and he felt at peace for a while, and there was some hope of prosperity. But because of the peace,
However, the development opportunities obtained are far less than those of Yang Hao, who is also in peace but vigorously innovates.
Yang Hao promotes industry and commerce, emphasizes culture and education, and supports agriculture and animal husbandry, creating a large number of profit opportunities for all walks of life. Businessmen pursue profits, which makes various social resources inevitably flow to his jurisdiction. Correspondingly, the nearby prefectures compete
With insufficient resources, it became the source of resource outflow. Fuzhou only has one state and several counties, and its foundation for farming and animal husbandry is very weak. Commercial taxes are an important part of his income. However, Yang Hao won Linzhou, which made him
Income from this area has also dropped sharply.
Because of the exchanges of merchants, many types of taxes could only be paid once within the jurisdiction of a ruler, and would not be paid repeatedly in every city. In this way, Linzhou became Yang Hao's jurisdiction, and merchants from the Western Regions
After paying the tax in Xiazhou, they would choose Linzhou as the entrance and exit to the Khitan in the north or the Song Dynasty in the south, instead of having to go to Fuzhou to pay the tax again. Merchants from the Khitan and the Central Plains would naturally choose the same.
The merchants gained benefits and prospered the local economy in the area where they operated and circulated. However, the prefectures with independent political power suffered heavy economic losses as a result. This was something no one expected in advance. What could Zhe Yuxun do to Yang Hao?
Say? Yang Hao did not use any unfair means of competition, and he had no intention of threatening the prefecture. It is just that when a large area becomes a political and economic community, a certain autonomous region surrounded by it must be like this
Which of the local rulers at the time had the foresight of an economist?
Zhe Yuxun couldn't tell Yang Hao that he had to cancel various overlapping taxes with Yang Hao's jurisdiction to strengthen his own competitiveness. Therefore, Yang Hao had to share the tax control rights with him. Even if they are brothers, two independent people
There is no such absurd profit distribution plan among political powers.
Zhe Yuxun thought about it again and again. He really couldn't tell Yang Hao about his difficulties. Even if he told Yang Hao, it would be impossible for Yang Hao to come up with a solution. He had no choice but to shake his head and asked about another thing: "Lao San
, after two years of recuperation and accumulation of strength, you have now become the most powerful prince in the entire northwest, both in terms of territory and force..."
He frowned slightly and said: "But..., you have never slackened in training in the past two years. First, you reorganized the troops from Yinzhou and Xiazhou and then transferred them to Luzhou for training. Then you continued to expand the army and train them.
The soldiers have also been transferred to Xiazhou. Recently... the garrisons in Yinzhou, Linzhou, and Luzhou have also been reduced, and a large number of troops have been transferred to Xiazhou...
Third brother, I don’t want to interfere in your affairs, I just want to remind you not to forget that there is a Zhao Guan family to the east of us. You have been recharging your energy in the past two years, and the Zhao Guan family has not been idle in the past two years.
In the middle of the court, he promoted a large number of new officials in two years. The civil servants were headed by Zhang Jie, and the military generals were led by Luo Kedi. Although these new civil servants and young generals could not completely replace Cao Bin, Pan Mei, etc.
The veterans of the previous dynasty, however, at least had the ability to compete with them. With the support of these civil servants and generals whom he personally promoted, Zhao Guan's family has completely controlled the government, and there is no need to worry about being constrained by the veterans, let alone the instability of the throne.
Externally, he completely put down the rebellion in Jiangnan and strengthened his control over southern Fujian, Jiangnan, and Jinghu. The rebels in Shu also suffered several defeats. More than 100,000 rebels have now retreated to the mountainous areas bordering Tubo to lie in wait.
He now has the conditions to use large-scale troops abroad. The third child, Zhao Guangyi, is ambitious and has always wanted to surpass his elder brother and establish a great achievement. Now that he has freed up his hands, in my opinion, he either wants to go north or go north.
If you want to go west, before you can figure out his movements, you transfer a large number of troops to Xiazhou. The defense line on the side of Song Dynasty will become empty. If Song Dynasty finds a reason to attack suddenly, won't you be caught off guard?
"
Yang Hao smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry about this. You have a lot of eyes and ears in the Song Dynasty. Similarly, my younger brother also has many eyes and ears there. How can he not make any noise when he wants to mobilize the army? As long as he gets the news in advance,
Are you still afraid that you won’t be able to prepare in time?”
Zhe Yuxun said hesitantly: "But what do you intend to do by gathering a large number of troops to Xiazhou?"
Yang Hao stood up and walked to the wall. There was a huge picture of rich peonies hanging on the wall. Yang Hao stretched out his hand and pulled a string on the wall. The whole picture rolled up, revealing a huge picture below.
A map.
"Brother, look, how much land there is if you go west from here to Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Guazhou, Yumenguan, and up to the Tianshan Mountains? From here to the south, you will see Qingzhou, Yuanzhou, Weizhou, and so on.
Liupan Mountain, passing through Gongzhou, Xizhou, Lanzhou, Huangzhou, Qinghai Lake, Kuncang Mountain... What a huge land it is? To the west, Tubo, Uighur, and Li Guangrui's remaining forces are intertwined, and to the south
, a large area of territory was now under the rule of the Tubo people."
"Brother, if I can't conquer these places one by one, then when the Song army really attacks in the future, unless we surrender to the Khitan, will we really have the strength to protect ourselves? It has been more than a hundred years since Tubo was subjugated, but the King of Tubo
There are also four generations of descendants from this line, and the territory they control is larger than ours. As long as they elect a Zanpu from among the royal descendants and re-establish their political power, a ball of loose sand will form an iron fist, and our advantage will be
Nothing remains. What should we do then?”
Yang Hao turned around and said loudly: "Tianshan Mountain is ours! Kuncang Mountain is ours! I want to develop industry and commerce, strengthen agriculture and animal husbandry, emphasize culture and education, train soldiers and horses, recuperate and accumulate strength, just to conquer these places.
Take it down. If those Tubo tribes are willing to surrender to me, I will treat them equally and let them live a peaceful and prosperous life. If they are not willing..."
Yang Hao smiled coldly: "If they don't want to, I will rebuild the Beiting Protector's Palace and the Anxi Protector's Palace there! If not, how can I be worthy of the post of Generalissimo of the Hexi Longyou Army given to me by the Zhao Guan family?"