The candles were beeping and Han Qian was thinking wildly. The hall was extremely quiet, so quiet that he could faintly hear his heartbeat. Shen He thought to himself that he had never seen such a depressing scene in so many years by His Majesty's side. Second-rate.
Shen He was also secretly shocked to see that Han Qian could remain calm under His Majesty's fierce gaze.
After a long time, Yang Mi stared at Han Qian unwillingly and asked:
"Xuzhou is in the southwest of Tanzhou. Everyone regards Tanzhou as a worry. Don't you have any panic in your heart?"
Han Qian's scalp numbed when he saw old man Yang Mi changing the topic to Xuzhou, and he suddenly became vigilant and said: "What your Majesty is thinking about is the ten thousand-year-old foundation of Chu, and Xuzhou should be in this turmoil." Where to go, Your Majesty has your own considerations. The humble ministers are stupid and all they know is Your Majesty. Your Highness is looking forward to it, and there is no need to panic in your heart."
"Shen He, you said that at a young age, what you do and what you say are impeccable. You have decades of skill!" Yang Mi stepped aside, glanced at Shen He and said.
"This old slave has been with His Majesty for all these years. He has no skills. He can only say nice things to make His Majesty feel comfortable. Your Majesty, please stop laughing at me." Shen He replied with a smile.
Yang Mi's words only lingered on Shen He for a while, then he turned to stare at Han Qian and asked: "After Xuzhou released the land ban, more than 2,000 soldiers from Tanzhou disguised themselves as refugees and entered the Xuzhou siege. Tian Zhuzhai, to say that you and your son are so shrewd, it is impossible not to notice it, but to say that you and your son have already noticed it, how can you not be alarmed at this time? "
Han Qian didn't raise his head, but he could still feel that God You's eyes were as sharp as knives. He felt a chill running up from his tailbone. He kowtowed and said, "Tanzhou soldiers secretly entered Xuzhou. Not only did I notice it, I He even suggested that my father was deliberately conniving. Firstly, if the goods from Xuzhou were to enter Jinling, they had to go to Tanzhou, and Tanzhou could not be harmed. Secondly, Xuzhou was strong and its neighbors were weak. The former governor, Wang Yu, was actually poisoned by the local tycoons. My father did not tell me everything. Otherwise, it is difficult to even gain a foothold, so we can only risk the strategy of driving away tigers and devouring wolves. However, my father and son and Tanzhou Xu and Snake are really wholeheartedly thinking about His Highness and the great Chu State, and have absolutely no intention of colluding with Tanzhou. I hope your Majesty will understand clearly."
Yang Yuanpu thought that Han Qian would blame this matter on him. He sat aside and made up excuses, but he didn't expect that Han Qian would take over all this matter.
Yang Yuanpu was secretly shocked. He didn't know why Han Qian said this. Could it be that the crime of colluding with Tanzhou in private was something he could explain clearly in a few words in front of his father?
Shen He saw the third prince's reaction in his eyes and smiled inwardly. How young is the third prince? No matter how young he is, he is the most vulnerable to being deceived. How can he know all the thoughts of a minister?
Shen He turned his attention to Han Qian again, thinking that this boy probably wouldn't kowtow twice. Is the matter of his father and son colluding with Tanzhou just over?
"The territory of Xuzhou is so big, even if you, the Han family, are the governor of Xuzhou, you can do it, but you need to know that Xuzhou cannot become the imperial court's obstacle to solving the Tanzhou problem!" Yang Mi went around in circles for a long time, and also Losing patience, he directly revealed his cards and said.
Hearing what His Majesty said, Shen He almost dropped the fly whisk in his hand to the ground again.
What?
Did you hear it wrong? Your Majesty will not investigate the collusion between the Han family and his son in Tanzhou, but will reward Xuzhou to Han Daoxun, Han Qian and his son?
Even if it is tabooed that Han Daoxun is in Xuzhou, how can Han Daoxun, Han Qian and his son be so virtuous that they dare to receive the hereditary reward of the governor of Xuzhou?
"Wei Chen will never dare to have such a delusion." Han Qian cursed in his heart to buy a horse, but he was worried that God You might cut off his head if his suspicion grew, so he kowtowed his head "bang bang bang" to express his loyalty.
"There are no more than ten thousand Ding households in Xuzhou, and the four surnames of the indigenous people are hereditary. Not to mention the founding of Chu, even the previous dynasties were unable to obtain a single grain from Xuzhou. And Xuzhou goes west. , all to the south is Jizuo Prefecture, and the governors and other positions are all hereditary, and they are only nominally subordinate to the imperial court. If Xuzhou can be ruled by people who are trusted by our great Chu, why not?" Yang Mi said, " I can still tell clearly which one is more important, Xuzhou or Tanzhou."
Shen He couldn't help but look at His Majesty in surprise. He couldn't tell that His Majesty's words meant to test Han Qian. He thought to himself that His Majesty was really crazy and wanted to give Xuzhou to the Han family and his son?
But when Shen He thought about it, His Majesty's words made sense.
The three states of Tanlangyue occupy the elite areas along the Dongting Lake. At the end of the previous dynasty, they had a population of more than 200,000 households. However, as the war destroyed the Jingxiang area, a large number of people fled south across the Yangtze River. The population of Tanzhou at this time was only More or less.
The total number of native and foreign residents in Xuzhou is more than 12,000 households, which is only one-twentieth of the population of the three Tanlangyue prefectures.
A more critical point is that for a long time, Xuzhou and even Chenzhou, which is closer to the Dongting Lake area to the north of Xuzhou, have been hereditary controlled by local large families; going upstream from Xuzhou along the Yuan River is the ancient city of central Guizhou The counties, Jizhou counties, and prefectures and counties were all inherited by local wealthy families and had never been truly controlled by the central government.
Not to mention Qianzhong Prefecture County, Feng Changyu and others dared to poison the former governor Wang Yu, even though they ruled only 10,000 to 20,000 people, and even tried to start a state prison riot to kill the new governor and massacre the Hakka forces in Qianyang City on a large scale. This shows how weak their reverence for the Chu court was.
Xuzhou is a barren land with poor mountains and harsh rivers, dangerous roads, and barbaric land. If Xuzhou is exchanged for the imperial court's absolute control over the three states of Tanlang Mountain and other Dongting Lake areas, it will naturally be a lucrative deal.
Can the problem of Tanzhou be successfully solved by just handing over Xuzhou to the Han family? Shen He was deeply doubtful about this, and at this time he was not sure what his majesty was thinking.
At this point, Han Qian had understood God You's thoughts clearly, and he called his head and said:
"Wei Chen will never dare to have such delusions. If your majesty thinks that Xuzhou can be used to contain Tanzhou, I will boldly ask your majesty to grant the vassal status of Xuzhou to His Highness. Wei Chen is willing to go to Xuzhou and plan for His Highness!"
At this time, Shen He saw a glimmer of light in His Majesty's eyes, and was shocked. Could it be that this is what His Majesty was thinking?
"It is unrealistic to grant the capital of Xuzhou to Pu'er. Are those native-registered households willing to hand over their land and Dingkou?" Yang Mi shook his head lightly and said with disdain.
"Please ask your Majesty Xu Weichen to plan for His Highness!" Han Qian felt clearly about the context of God Bless the old man, and his mind relaxed, and he knelt down and straightened up a little and said.
"Say it." Yang Mi did not offer another seat, but asked Han Qian to kneel on the ground and said.
"With pen and ink, Wei Chen can speak more clearly." Han Qian said.
Yang Mi glanced at Shen He. Shen He understood, took the pen and ink from the imperial desk, and spread a piece of white rice paper on the brick floor in front of Han Qian.
Han Qian knelt on the map, and with a few strokes he briefly outlined Xuzhou and Chenzhou, as well as Xuefeng Mountain, Wuling Mountain and the direction of the Yuanshui River. He also outlined the bottom of the zigzag shape of the Yuanshui River in Xuzhou. Said: "At this time, Xuzhou only had three counties: Qianyang, Langxi, and Tanyang. Among them, Qianyang has the easiest terrain. It stands on the Yuan River and has fertile soil for hundreds of miles. It is also the most elite place in Xuzhou. It was originally a native place. The Feng family and the Xi family were controlled by the powerful families. After the Feng family defeated the Xi family, they were afraid of the three surnames of Yang. They only expelled the Xi family members, but did not take the Xi family's land and allowed it to become deserted. As a result, the northern part of Qianyang County became more prominent. It is desolate and sparsely populated. If Your Majesty feels that it is a bit hasty to grant the vassal capital of Xuzhou to His Highness, you can separate the northern part of Qianyang and establish a new county as your Highness's vassal county!"
"What's so special about the barren mountains and ridges here?" Yang Mi asked noncommittally.
Han Qian said: "This is Longya Mountain, where the old Xi Village is located. Longya Mountain borders Chenyang County of Chenzhou to the north and Qianyang to the south. It is actually the center point of Chenxu Prefecture. The Yuan River is within the boundaries of Xuchen Prefecture. Forced by the mountains and many twists and turns, the previous dynasty once opened a post road through Longya Mountain, fifty miles from south to north, and could mortgage the Yuanshui River. The north of Longya Mountain belongs to Chenyang County, Chenzhou. Not to mention, the south of Longya Mountain, formerly known as Yushu Bay, has never been well developed. At this time, most of it is an unclaimed desert beach. Even if there are dozens of small villages standing in the forest, they will never dare to resist. Your Majesty's imperial edict. Your Highness will take it, build canals, build embankments, and channel the streams. In three to five years, you will be able to obtain two to three thousand hectares of fertile and fertile land, which can be the foundation of the county. At that time, Your Highness will command the elite Longque Army. With a high position and a commanding view of the pond, Ma and his son can be captured without raising any troops and presented before His Majesty's case!"
"Under the pressure of the high mountains, only one corner of Xuzhou can cultivate two to three thousand hectares of grain fields. Then it is not possible that no one has cultivated it in the past?" Yang Mi asked with interest.
Shen He was also slightly surprised.
One hectare is one hundred acres, two or three thousand hectares is two to three hundred thousand acres.
The spies currently sent by the Internal Affairs Bureau have learned about all aspects of Xuzhou's situation, but the information collected does not mention the southern part of Longya Mountain, that is, the large bay at the bottom of the zigzag shape of Yuan River, which can be reclaimed so much. of grain fields.
Junzhou also has more mountains and less land, but it is a state after all, and it is located on the edge of the Nanyang Basin. It plans to cultivate 500,000-600,000 acres of grain fields in Danjiang and Hanshui, and there is no problem in housing tens of thousands of soldiers. .
At this time, Han Qian said that 200,000 to 300,000 acres of grain fields could be cultivated in a corner of Xuzhou, where the terrain is more dangerous than Junzhou. Shen He didn't quite believe it, and thought to himself, if it was really that easy, the three or four previous dynasties For hundreds of years, we have actively promoted the relocation of people to Xuzhou, but we have never been able to completely bring Xuzhou under our rule. Isn't it too stupid and incompetent?
"Longya Mountain is the old village of the Xi family. When the Xi family occupied it, they were closed and self-defended, and the refugees were not allowed to live at the foot of the mountain. This is one of the reasons. The streams and rivers here are special, except for the Yuan River, which rises extremely high in summer and autumn. Large, there are two large streams on each side of Longya Mountain that merge into the Yuan River to the south. These two large streams are actually suspended above the bay. Especially at the Wuliu River where Xuefeng Mountain and Longya Mountain intersect, compared to the bay The low-lying area is 30 to 40 meters high. In summer and autumn, the water level rises slightly, and the river overflows the river channel. The forty to fifty miles of barren beaches in the bay are affected, resulting in huge floods in Yushu Bay, making it difficult for humans and animals to survive. If the Wuliu River can be tamed, the bay will be wiped out. For grain fields." Han Qian said.
"You have only been to Xuzhou once, and you know a lot about it!" Yang Mi said with emotion.
"Wei Chen went to Xuzhou with his father and got a slave girl who was the daughter of the Xi family. After Han Qian took her under his command, he secretly gathered the Xi family members who had been dispersed by the Feng family in order to resist the powerful four surnames in Xuzhou, so he We know more about the situation in Longya Mountain." Han Qian thought that even God Bless knew that Tanzhou secretly sent soldiers to infiltrate Xuzhou, so the secret recruitment of Xi clan members should not be hidden from him, so he simply admitted it.
"So it seems that it is indeed possible to reclaim 200,000 to 300,000 acres of grain fields in that place?" Yang Mi asked, "It's just that I can't wait for three to five years, and I can't do anything to scare the snake, and Xuzhou is here South of Tanzhou, if I use you, how should I plan for it?"
Shen He glanced at Han Qian and thought that if a corner of Xuzhou could cultivate 200,000 to 300,000 acres of new grain fields, it would be able to accommodate five to six thousand military households, and the total number of native-born residents in Xuzhou would only be six. With more than a thousand households, such a force can not only intimidate the local surnames in Xuchen and Chenzhou from their loyalty, but when it comes time to use troops against Tanzhou, this group of soldiers and horses will attack Tanzhou from the upper reaches of the Yuanshui River. This made Tanzhou extremely uncomfortable, thus greatly reducing the pressure to attack Tanzhou from the northern front.
However, Tanzhou is not a fool. It is impossible for Han Qian to take five to six thousand households and thirty to forty thousand people to borrow a road from Tanzhou and take root in Xuzhou, especially in Xuzhou, which has attracted three or four people. In the situation of tens of thousands of refugees.
"Your Majesty can use a stratagem to hide the truth and demote the Feng clan to Xuzhou. As long as Xuzhou can secretly gather two to three thousand elites within a year, the ministers can send troops from Xuzhou to help your majesty contain Tanzhou..." Han Qian wanted to die. If you want to take a risk, speak boldly.
