As time went by, a large amount of snow continued to melt, soaking the earth, and a large number of corpses turned into spring mud, which allowed the growth of weeds to thrive.
A large number of wild animals roam around without fear of humans, and wolves can be seen intermittently in groups of three or five.
Riding on his horse, looking at the scene of the first melting winter snow, which looked like a grassland, Zhu Yixi couldn't help but sigh: "Zhongzhou, a land of thousands of miles of fertile land, has become a horse breeding land."
Wild people advance and people retreat.
At this time, Zhu Yixi did not feel any joy about the restoration of the environment, but instead felt absurd and sad.
In troubled times, the land of Henan is often the hardest hit.
However, he felt sorry for a moment and then regained his composure.
In Xiangcheng, the army stopped temporarily, and King Yu personally ordered:
"Chen Yongfu is stationed in Ruzhou and supervises Luoyang from a high position. Do not attack at will. If necessary, retreat to Xiangcheng."
"Yes!" Chen Yongfu hurriedly responded, and then said: "Your Highness is worried about Hong Chengchou?"
"That's right!"
Zhu Yixi immediately agreed and said with some worry: "The Hong thieves are more hateful than Jian Nu. He has been supervising the Central Plains for many years and can be said to know himself and the enemy."
"Our army must be cautious and not attack rashly. Defending the current territory is the greatest achievement."
"You Shiwei, you are stationed in Xiangcheng. This area of Yuzhou (Xia Road in Fangcheng) is the gateway to Nanyang. You must not be careless."
"You will never act rashly in your humble position!" You Shiwei responded hurriedly: "Old thief Hong has always been treacherous, Chen Tongzhi should be careful."
"It's natural!"
Chen Yongfu chuckled and said: "The Hong thieves know us very well, so don't be careful. After all, he has been in charge of Shaanxi for several years. Who in our army is not familiar with him?"
Zhu Yixi didn't care when she saw that the two of them were a bit different.
Chen Yongfu is cautious but courageous, has a tenacious personality and is good at defensive counterattacks.
You Shiwei, on the other hand, is rough and bold, without fear. He can be described as a brave general. He has fought for decades, has rich combat experience, and appears to be sophisticated and cunning.
Among the generals under his command, he is outstanding.
"Ruzhou and Xiangcheng are like two sharp blades rushing into Henan. They cooperate with each other to never let the Hong thieves get an advantage."
King Yu said in a deep voice, looking at the two of them.
"I obey the king's order!" Chen and You both looked serious and hurriedly agreed.
Seeing this, Zhu Yixi reluctantly let go of his thoughts and immediately led the army through the summer road of Fangcheng lined with fortresses and entered Nanyang Mansion.
Nowadays, Nanyang has spent more than a year of peace, and with the people who have been migrating from Henan for so many days, the household registration is gradually full.
On both sides of the official road, three to five miles away, you can see a village. Although the population is sparse, the winter wheat is growing, the weeds have been cleared, and the children are walking around with their bare buttocks.
The crowing of cocks continued, the barking of dogs, and from time to time, merchants on the road could be seen, as well as farmers in short and brown clothes, picking up the excrement of mules and horses.
The fruit trees that used to be fruitful along the roadside were cut down from time to time and became farmers' houses.
"Governing by doing nothing will make the people happy."
Seeing this, Zhu Yixi couldn't help but sigh.
The so-called inaction means don't mess around, reduce the corvee, collect taxes, and the people will naturally be happy.
To be fair, he occupied the Huguang area for only a year, and he implemented the military-first policy.
The so-called military-first policy is not just talk.
First of all, most of the fiscal revenue is used to support the army.
According to Zhu Yixi's understanding, the monthly commercial taxes, salt, iron, tea, etc., amounting to about five to six hundred thousand taels of silver, 80% of which were invested in the war.
For example, this time he marched north to Luoyang, with 50,000 infantry and cavalry, and the monthly cost was 300,000 taels.
In other words, Huguang's bureaucrats, guards, and the 50,000 people will share the remaining two to three hundred thousand taels.
The Qin army fought almost every month, and civil affairs such as building bridges and roads, building embankments, etc. were almost not involved.
Not to mention, standardizing the market's normal positions.
Only Xiangyang Prefecture has used its heart, but it is basically a rule of inaction.
His military government is only more active in collecting taxes. After all, it has also set up a special transshipment department.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yixi couldn't help but laugh at himself: "If the army is defeated, whether it is the bandits or the Manchus, as long as Qiu does not commit any crimes, I am afraid the people of Huguang will obey!"
This is the people, obedient and obedient.
As long as it can give them peace, I don't really care about braids or anything like that. Anyway, it's just a new exploitative ruler.
However, in these troubled times, it is necessary to win over the army. Whether it is sufficient military pay or field rewards, it will help the army form a fighting force and is indispensable.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yixi felt that even Li Zicheng was thinking about changing, and she had to pay more attention to civil matters.
When he arrived at Nanyang City, he seemed to have returned from the grassland to the prosperous Central Plains.
There are many pedestrians, many mules and horses, the sound of hawkers is endless, and the noise is full of people.
"Zhu Meng, from now on you will be stationed in Nanyang and guard Wuguan."
Sitting in the government office, Prince Yu personally ordered: "Your main task is to provide Chen Yongfu and You Shiwei with sufficient logistics and military and political control."
"Yes!" Zhu Meng nodded, with a troubled expression on his face: "Your Highness, why don't you let me go to Ruzhou to deal with civil affairs and so on? It's so annoying."
"That's a matter for the Nanyang magistrate."
Zhu Yixi smiled and said: "You are just supervising, don't let them prey on the common people."
The army stayed in Nanyang for several days. After replenishing supplies, they headed south again. Soon they saw the Han River.
Xiangyang is right in front of you.
The surging Han River is completely free of ice, and the water is as turbulent as ever.
"Your Highness, Ruzhou and Xiangcheng are the first line of defense, Fangcheng Xia Road is the second line of defense, and Xiangyang is the third line!"
When Feng Xianzong saw Xiangyang's steep terrain surrounded by water on three sides, he couldn't help but be startled and sighed.
"That's right!"
Zhu Yixi nodded and said: "There is both the Han River and the moat. Even if Jiannu goes south, if there are no ships, even if there are red cannons, there will be nothing he can do."
In order to win Xiangyang, Zhu Yixi spent a lot of effort to save others by himself. It was not that easy for the Qing Dynasty to win.
"The king set up the shogunate in Xiangyang instead of Wuchang, in order to facilitate the army's advance and have both offensive and defensive capabilities."
After arranging the garrisoning of various armies, the King of Yu entered Xiangyang.
Three months after leaving the city, Xiangyang became increasingly prosperous.
Feng Xianzong was also eye-opening.
The streets are clean, the buildings are in order, the people are relaxed, there is not much fear on people's faces, there are few beggars, and everything seems orderly.
"It's like the scene during the Wanli period!"
Feng Xianzong murmured that this was almost like the legendary peaceful and prosperous Wanli Era, leaping from paper into reality.
"I never thought that His Highness's skills in governing the people are quite impressive."
"It's just a fake hand!"
Zhu Yixi shook his head and said: "We are fighting every day, how can we come here in person?"
"That's why His Highness is good at understanding people and making good use of them!" Feng Xianzong praised hurriedly.