In less than a day, the Song army, under the command of Niu Gao, had broken this hard bone. At the beginning, no one except Niu Gao could have imagined it, and no one even dared to think about it.
This also made the newly joined tribes understand that today's Song army is by no means the group of drunkards and ricebags they once had. They are very glad that they did not go against the imperial court, otherwise General Li would be their fate.
But having said that, this is actually reasonable. After all, Li Qi has been planning for a whole year to make this move. This day is just the result of this year's hard work. It should be said that it comes naturally.
After Niu Gao settled in Guangyuan Prefecture, he only killed a small number of wealthy people and officials. He did not kill all the soldiers or civilians who surrendered.
Although Li Qi's economic philosophy is to win over the rich and let a small number of people control a large amount of money first, so that he can control and dispatch it conveniently, killing the rich is contrary to Li Qi's philosophy, but Li Qi's policy towards the south is
He plans to reshuffle the cards and allow the imperial court to completely control this place. Therefore, the rich people here will only be an obstacle to him and must be eliminated, because as long as these rich people exist, their power will only become stronger and stronger, which is not conducive to the imperial court taking over this place, and even more
The important thing is that Li Qi wants their property.
Because Guangyuan Prefecture is a garrison in Jiaozhi and an economic zone for trade with the Song Dynasty, the leaders of Guangyuan Prefecture often rob grain and money from Yizhou, Qinzhou and other places, so the reserves inside are very sufficient, including grain.
There are one hundred thousand stones, countless swords and armor, tens of thousands of gold and silver treasures, and even five hundred war horses, which is a lot in the south.
For this poor place in the south, Guangyuan Prefecture is simply a treasure trove!
The harvest is considerable.
General Li never expected that he would be defeated by the Song army so soon, so by the time he woke up and wanted to burn down the granary, it was already too late.
As for the losses, the Song Army suffered more than 2,000 casualties, and the Jiaozhi side was even more disastrous, with more than 4,000 casualties, more than double the Song Army. The Guangyuan Army was almost completely wiped out. However,
There were not many people in the city of Guangyuan Prefecture to begin with, and there were only more than 20,000 soldiers including the soldiers. Now that so many people have died, there are still about 10,000 people left.
However, the Song army soon received reinforcements, that is, all the cave lords headed by Nong Yunqing had surrendered, a total of more than 4,000 people. Although Niu Gao was not qualified for the reward, Li Qi had been prepared for this, and even
The imperial edict has been prepared for him.
Li Qi, informed by Ning Wu, knew that Nong Yunqing was the current leader of the Nong family, and Guangyuan Prefecture was the birthplace of the Nong family, so he hoped to use Nong Yunqing's prestige to help him appease the people of Guangyuan Prefecture.
.So he was awarded the title of Training Envoy of the Guangyuan Prefecture Regiment, and the other cave owners joined the Imperial Army and served as some minor leaders.
Under severe torture, Niu Gao pried open the mouth of an aide next to General Li and learned that about 20,000 Jiaozhi troops were coming to Guangyuan Prefecture for rescue.
This also threw a difficult question for Niu Gao. Should he take the initiative or stick to this hard-won result?
Fortunately, this great victory did not go to Niu Gao's head. After some inquiries, he learned that the further south he went, the worse the environment became, with rugged mountain roads and complex terrain, and his troops were not strong enough.
If we take the initiative to attack, we may be surrounded and annihilated by the enemy. Then the enemy can take advantage of the situation to recapture Guangyuan Prefecture, which will be more than worth the loss.
So Niu Gao still chose a conservative strategy. While appeasing the people of Guangyuan Prefecture, he also stepped up the deployment of defense. Although he was not sure about the attack, he was still very confident when it came to defense.
……．
Yizhou.
Li Qi was not in the mood to care about the fighting on the front line at this time, because the rear area had not been stabilized yet. He carefully read Du Ming's household registration information, frowned, and shook his head: "No,
No, there are almost as many place names as people’s names, how can this develop?”
Du Ming asked curiously: "I wonder what the privy envoy is referring to?"
"Population distribution." Li Qi said simply.
"Population Distribution?"
Li Qi hummed and said: "Although the economic structure is very complex, the economic foundation is very simple, which is population. Without enough population, even if gods are invited to help, the economy will not be able to thrive."
Du Ming said depressedly: "But Guangxi only has a population of over one million."
Zhao Jingyan said thoughtfully: "If these more than one million people could be gathered together, that would be a lot!"
Li Qi nodded and said: "That's right. Although for the entire Guangxi Road, the population of more than one million is indeed very small, but this is based on the vast land of Guangxi. If a county has a population of one million
, would you still say rare?”
"That---of course not." Du Ming seemed to understand as he spoke, "Does the Privy Council want to gather people together?"
Li Qi snorted and said: "According to this information, the people in Guangxi live in ethnic groups, one in the east and one in the west, and many people live in the mountains, resulting in a very small urban population.
This is extremely detrimental to our development in Guangxi, because without sufficient population mobility, it is impossible to drive the economy."
At this point, he sighed and said: "Guangxi is sparsely populated. If you want to fully develop it, it is difficult to do it. If you have money, someone will have to spend it. In this case, we should retreat.
Secondly, first concentrate the population, focus on developing a few large cities, and use these large cities to attract outsiders. When the population increases, they will then spread around these large cities and gradually develop them to drive the development of the entire region.
economy."
His simple words established Guangxi's future development strategy.
Zhao Jingyan smiled and nodded: "You are right. If the people gather together, it will be easier for the court to manage."
Du Ming frowned and said: "Although Privy Council's strategy is good, it may not be feasible. You two don't know. The people here believe in gods very much. They may not be willing to leave their clan and move here."
Come and live in the bustling cities and towns.”
Li Qi shook his head and said: "Prefect Du, you have to understand that just because you don't want to do it doesn't mean you can't. It only means that the price isn't enough and they don't want to, right? Then I'll spend money until they are willing."
"use money?"
Zhao Jingyan asked curiously: "Where did you get the money?"
"I don't have money, but I do have land. Since the population needs to be reorganized, then the land must also be reorganized." Li Qi snorted and said, "As long as anyone is willing to move to this town, I will give you the land."
They farm, and they do it permanently, and I still can’t believe that no one wants to come.”
Zhao Jingyan's eyes lit up and she said, "If that's the case, then you can give it a try."
Li Qi said resolutely: "It's not a try, it's an imperative."
Du Ming still seemed to feel that something was wrong. He said, "But the people here still lack trust in the government. They may not believe it."
Li Qi clicked his tongue and said, "I'm telling you, Magistrate Du, you are really wasting your time reading the books of sages! Haven't you ever heard of Shang Yang's reforms?"
"Shang Yang's reform?" Du Ming said in astonishment: "Of course this official knows."
Zhao Jingyan raised her eyebrows and said, "Are you trying to imitate Shang Yang's example of establishing trust in trees?"
Du Ming suddenly understood, but hesitated: "This---is this possible?"
"Of course it's feasible. The ancients were very reasonable in doing things. Don't be afraid to use a good move a second time." Li Qi said and shook his head again: "But this standing wood belief is a bit outdated, and gold is too tacky. No.
It's suitable for an elegant person like me. The key is that we don't have that much gold. Since we are using land to attract people, we have to start from the ground.
Let's do this. Magistrate Du, you immediately send people to the states and counties on Guangxi South Road to inform the local magistrates and ask them to find more than ten acres of good farmland, and put up notices to tell the people there that whoever plows this land will belong to it.
who."
Zhao Jingyan laughed and said: "This is an interesting trick. I think it might actually have a miraculous effect. Oh, and one more thing, the gold finger from the Warring States Period was made of copper."
"Uh... I don't really want to know this cruel fact. You don't need to tell me." Li Qi said with an embarrassed look.
Du Ming also thought it would be okay to give it a try, so he said, "Yes, does this official know what to do?"
At this time, a guard came in and said: "Please inform the Privy Envoy that General Yue is outside the house asking for an audience."
Zhao Jingyan said subconsciously: "It seems that Guangyuan has achieved results."
"So fast?"
Du Ming said in surprise.
"We'll find out later, right?" Li Qi said, "Please invite General Yue to come in."
"yes."
After a while, Yue Fei walked in, with a happy face, and already told Li Qi and others the results, "Yue Fei has met the Privy Councilor."
"No gift." Li Qi asked hurriedly: "But there is a letter from Niu Gao."
"Exactly."
Yue Fei said hurriedly: "Niugao already captured Guangyuan Prefecture three days ago."
"really?"
Zhao Jingyan stood up suddenly, ecstatic. Being able to win Guangyuan Prefecture meant that they had taken the first step.
Yue Fei affirmed: "This is absolutely true. Our army took less than a day to capture Guangyuan Prefecture and seized a large amount of grain, grass and weapons. The opposing commander, General Li, was unwilling to be humiliated and committed suicide on the spot.
"
Li Qi laughed and said: "Okay! Well done! This stubborn bull finally vented his anger on me. This battle is really a relief."
Zhao Jingyan also smiled and nodded, and said: "In this case, the army should set off as soon as possible. Otherwise, Niu Gao's few troops staying in Guangyuan Prefecture will be in a dilemma and the results will not be expanded."
"That's what the military advisor said." Yue Fei nodded and said, "Jiaozhi probably didn't expect that we would seize Guangyuan Prefecture so easily. They must be ill-prepared. We should take advantage of the victory to pursue it and strike preemptively while the enemy's foothold is not stable."
Li Qi nodded and said: "There is a saying that to capture the thief first, capture the king. Back then, the Jin Kingdom also targeted Kaifeng Mansion. We can follow suit and point our sword at their Shenglong Mansion." Then he asked Yue Fei:
"How are you preparing now?"
Yue Fei said: "As for those tribal armed forces, they have almost been collected. The Fuzhou Navy is on standby, and the food and grass have been assembled. However, there are still medicinal materials that have not been delivered. If we don't wait for those medicinal materials, the troops can be dispatched early the day after tomorrow at the latest.
.”
Li Qi thought for a while and said: "The medicinal materials we have now are enough to last for a while. In order to avoid delaying the fighter plane, we should not wait any longer. Yue Fei, please organize the army immediately and strive to set off as soon as possible. I can't leave yet.
I'll meet you after I finish taking care of the things at hand."
"As commanded."
PS: Today’s third update, double monthly votes, what are you still hesitating about? Hurry and vote for the little chef!!!