Although Tao Chun promised to disband 20,000 soldiers and move them to Shouzhou as garrison troops, after Tao Chun left, Dong Yuan still frowned and was worried.
Chen Jingrong, an aide, came in. He was sitting behind a screen and listening to the conversation just now. Seeing Dong Yuan frowning, he said: "Tao Chun and your Excellency were both born in the Eastern Fujian Army. We have old feelings and spend more time.
I can finally conquer it for my own use..."
"Chen Xiyan is an old treacherous person. He recommended me to go out to control Huaixi and made the Huai army under my control. How could he just sit back and watch Tao Chun subdue me?" Dong Yuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "If Tao Chun were allowed to stand alongside me,
Old feelings may be useful. Previously, Tao Chun was one of the four towns and retreated to Huaixi, but he succumbed to me. How could Tao Chun have no idea in his heart? Maybe he thought that he should guard Huaixi.
How can he obey me?"
When Dong Yuan came to know Wei Yang, Chen Jinrong was his staff, and he stayed with him all these years.
When Dong Yuan left Hangzhou, he took a dozen of his confidants and more than 200 soldiers with him, and came to Huaixi to take up his post almost with nothing. In comparison, many of the mountains under his control, such as Lin Tingli in Dongyang, Lin Zonghai and Lin Fu, the Duke of Pengcheng County,
Even though they were from the same clan, they didn’t buy into his account at all. Dong Yuan could not mobilize a single soldier or money from Dongyang. Yue Lengqiu had always followed the lead of Luzhou’s birthday celebrations. Yue Lengqiu came to Jiangzhou to supervise the war, and Jiangzhou was only separated from Luzhou.
The presence of a river also gave Xie Dan the confidence to obey and disobey Dong Yuan's orders; Xiao Kui'an was a direct descendant of Liu Tingzhou, and Tao Chun had the strongest troops. However, when he was guarding Daliang, he was a single-handed general, but when he retreated, he had to
After accepting the control of Huaixi, he was full of resentment. How could this kind of psychological change make Tao Chun surrender to mediocrity and Dong Yuan?
Dong Yuan suspected that Chen Xiyan and other treacherous people took into account Tao Chun's change in mentality and finally made the Changhuai army withdraw to Huaixi to be controlled by Huaixi, right?
"In the final analysis, there is still no one in your hands, which makes the generals feel contemptuous." Chen Jingrong said.
"Alas!" Dong Yuan sighed lightly. He naturally knew this truth. He could still use the prestige of the court to control the generals and deploy the defense of Huaixi. Moreover, the supply of grain, fodder, money, and wages in Huaixi was actually controlled by Liu Tingzhou.
, making Dong Yuan even less able to control the generals.
Dong Yuan initially thought that when the situation in eastern Zhejiang eased and the military pressure on northern Zhejiang was not so great, he could transfer some of his elite troops in northern Zhejiang to Huaixi for emergency response. No matter how good the plan is, it is difficult to stop it.
The subtle development of the situation.
After the She family's troops entered Jiangxi and captured Yuzhang, the She family's threat to Jiangning moved from the east to the west. Huaidong also took the opportunity to write to Jiangning, suggesting that troops be transferred from Hanghu and Huinan to follow Yue Lengqiu into Jiangzhou.
Strengthen combat readiness on the Western Front.
Meng Yishan pushed the boat smoothly and threw all the 20,000 troops and horses that Dong Yuan had left behind to Yue Lengqiu.
The 20,000 soldiers and horses left behind by Dong Yuan were considered elite, but the soldiers were grouped together and could not be integrated with the original Ninghai line generals. Meng Yishan naturally had to find a way to kick these people out.
If Jiangzhou hadn't been in a hurry, these soldiers and horses would probably have been transferred to Huaixi to be controlled by Dong Yuan.
Yue Lengqiu is also a master who eats meat without spitting out bones. With these soldiers and horses in his pocket, Dong Yuan does not have much hope of getting them back. It seems that everything in Huaixi will have to start all over again. Thinking of the difficulties, Dong Yuan
I sighed in my heart.
At this time, the concierge came in and announced: "Master Ding is here..."
"Ah, please come in, Master Ding!" Dong Yuan hurriedly stood up and walked out of the hall with Chen Jingrong to greet Ding Zhiru.
When Dong Yuan came to know Weiyang, Ding Zhiru came to know Baisha County, a county under Weiyang. He was his subordinate. He was a talented official and had a good personal relationship with Dong Yuan.
Dong Yuan wanted to guard Huaixi, but he didn't have a few capable generals, so he recommended Ding Zhiru to go to Shouzhou to help him take charge of the government affairs in Huaixi.
Huaixi governs the five prefectures of Dongyang, Luzhou, Haozhou, Shouzhou, Xinyang and the Woyang Defense Area on the north bank of the Huaihe River.
The two prefectures of Dongyang and Luzhou were damaged by the war and had the highest taxes, but Dong Yuan could not get involved in the affairs of these two prefectures. The Guoyang area on the north bank of the Huaihe River was used as the outer perimeter of the defense line. To implement the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country, they were temporarily controlled by
Tao Chunlai was in charge of the military affairs, and Dong Yuaneng was in charge of the three prefectures of Haozhou, Shouzhou and Xinyang.
Prior to this, Liu Tingzhou also took charge of Haozhou and moved the former Woyang Army Xiao Kui'an's generals to the Haosi area for resettlement, which enabled the production of Haozhou to recover to a certain extent. However, the degree of recovery was also quite limited. Only the population
It is a little denser, and most people have no relief, and even their livelihood is a problem. Even if Haozhou can collect taxes, it will be in Liu Tingzhou's hands.
In comparison, Shouzhou and Xinyang were almost in ruins. Dong Yuan asked Ding Zhiru to come over to clean up Shouzhou and Xinyang for him.
Dong Yuan and Chen Jingrong went to the gate of the camp to greet Ding Zhiru in person. Seeing a carriage parked outside the gate, he was surprised and said, "I thought Zhiru would come over in a few days, but I didn't expect you to arrive today..."
"I went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to receive the seal. I didn't delay. I hired a carriage to come here. I hope I didn't delay your important business." Ding Zhiru said politely.
"No delay, no delay," Dong Yuan took Ding Zhiru's arm affectionately and invited him to enter the house with him. He pointed to the four walls of the street where all the Huaixi armies were commanding, and said with a smile, "It's just that the conditions here are too
It's hard, I'm afraid I'll wrong you, Zhiru! When I recommended the letter to the court, I hesitated again and again, but there is really a shortage of capable officials like you, Zhiru, around me!"
"I don't deserve the honor of being a great scholar!" Ding Zhiru said movedly. Remembering something, he took out a letter from his arms and said, "Master Shen has a letter and asked me to hand it to Mr. Dong in person."
After Dong Yuan left Weiyang, Ding Zhiru became the official magistrate and partnered with Shen Rong to govern Weiyang.
Dong Yuan didn't have much contact with Shen Rong, but he knew that Shen Rong had been at loggerheads with the Lin family when he was in Dongyang Mansion. Now that Huaidong is powerful and has strong penetration into Weiyang Mansion, Shen Rong should be the first one who doesn't want to see it.
People who continue to grow in power in Huaidong.
Dong Yuan took the letter from Shen Rong and Ding Zhiru, stood in the courtyard, opened it, read it, and said, "Okay, Zhiru and Master Shen are really timely!"
Ding Zhiru smiled and said: "When I received the letter from your Excellency in Weiyang, I was thinking about the problems of Shouzhou and Xinyang. The money and food that Jiangning can allocate is limited, and Huaidong relies on the many banks in Huaidong to raise military resources. I thought of your Majesty's governance.
We must learn from the experience of Huaixi and Huaidong. In the early years, there was a saying, "There are only two rich merchants in the world, Weiyangju". This is not nonsense. Relying on the power of salt, the wealth of Weiyang merchants is the best in the world, and only Jiangning can compare with it.
One or two. Mr. Shen was willing to pull the strings, and soon raised five hundred thousand taels of silver from the salt merchants. As long as Mr. Dong sends someone to take the pledge letter, the silver can be shipped to Shouzhou!"
"Xuzhou used taxes as a mortgage to borrow money from Huaidong banks to restore people's livelihood; I will use the taxes of the five Huaixi governments as a mortgage. Whoever lends money to Huaixi today, I will never forget this friendship. He will Even if I sell iron, I will pay back the money!" Dong Yuan said.
"When your Excellency governed Weiyang, your reputation spread far and wide. When disasters ravaged Huaisi, it was only Your Excellency who guarded Weiyang and kept Weiyang intact and ensured peace and peace. The people of Weiyang are still unforgettable to this day. That was why this happened so easily." Ding Zhiru said.
Chen Jingrong thought to himself: It should still be affected by the horse service case.
Weiyang salt merchants are almost inseparable from illicit salt sales. Huai'an's big salt merchant Ma Fu offended Lin Fu and was convicted of illicit salt sales. His family was confiscated and his family was exterminated. This method was extremely harsh, but the salt merchants in Weiyang could not help but be saddened by the death of a rabbit or a fox. Feeling that the power of Huaidong was growing day by day, the Weiyang salt merchants who were nearby were naturally having trouble sleeping and eating. They finally saw Dong Yuan coming out to control Huaixi to fight against Huaidong, and there were Shen Rong and Ding Zhiru inciting them. Naturally, swarms of swarms came to support the "old master".
The imperial court made nearly two million taels of silver from salt profits from Huaiyang every year. Huaiyang salt merchants accumulated it for more than ten generations, and it is not nonsense to say that they are the richest in the world.
If Huaixi can get the support of Weiyang salt merchants, it will indeed have great potential.
Dong Yuan was worried that Shouzhou was poor and had nothing to do, and he had no way to use his skills. When Ding Zhiru came over, he brought him an extra sum of money, amounting to five hundred thousand taels. How could he not be excited?
If you have money, you can buy grain, ironware, and cattle from Dongyang, Luzhou, Jiangning, Weiyang and other places, and you can recruit refugees and camp in the fields. Only when people's livelihood in Shouzhou, Xinyang and other places recovers can the Huaixi defense line be truly stabilized.
At this time, Liu Tingzhou learned that Ding Zhiru had arrived in Shouzhou and rushed to meet him. He was very excited to learn that before Ding Zhiru came, he and Shen Rong, the prefect of Weiyang, had raised a large sum of money from the salt merchants.
Dong Yuan specially sent people to the Chu Palace to invite Yuan Hancheng and Huaixi officials and generals in Shouzhou City to help Ding Zhiru. At the banquet, Tao Chun learned that Dong Yuan had the support of Weiyang salt merchants. He also kept silent about Dong Yuan's previous request to divide his troops and move them to Shouzhou as garrison troops.
King Yuan Hancheng of Chu was sitting with Dong Yuan at the banquet. Hearing about borrowing money from Weiyang Salt Merchant, he said: "This is indeed a wonderful way to solve the urgent need. The palace still has hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, so take it all out." Lending money to Huaixi to restore people's livelihood can be considered a good deed..."
Ma Fu, a big salt merchant from Huai'an who died under the sword of Huaidong, was the son-in-law of the King of Chu. Such a statement by the King of Chu would only encourage Weiyang salt merchants to devote themselves to Huaixi. Dong Yuan handed over his hand and said: "Your Majesty is wise. Dong Yuan is here to represent Huaixi." The people thank you for your righteousness..."
"Money alone is not enough, you need talents," Yuan Hancheng said with a smile. "In the Xuzhou War, hundreds of generals in the guard camp guarded the palace, and they cooperated with the Huaidong Army to capture the East City, and finally won the Xuzhou War." Victory. These meritorious generals cannot be promoted in the guard camp, which is frustrating for them. I would like to recommend them to Lord Dong for use..."
"Dong Yuan is here to thank the prince even more..." Dong Yuan stood up and saluted and thanked him, as if Yuan Hancheng deserved more gratitude for sending people to the Huaixi army than for borrowing hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
Chen Jingrong frowned secretly: What does King Chu want to do?