The Yellow River flows through the river section outside Bianjing City. In the seventh year of Taixing (Taixing is the reign name used by Emperor Taizu of Liang Dynasty, which is equivalent to the seventh year of God's blessing) in early autumn, the banks burst. The torrent rushed from the breach to the east of Bianjing City, causing disaster.
They almost destroyed the east wall of Bianjing City.
Although the government quickly requisitioned tens of thousands of civilians to fill the gap and even built a section of stone embankments for reinforcement, the fields and houses in the flooded area were washed away and the river mud silted up, leaving behind a series of large and small lakes and ponds.
At that time, Liang Taizu moved the victims to another place and designated this area as an imperial garden, named Zeyuan. He built some pavilions one after another, raised some elk, foxes, wild boars and other animals, and occasionally lived there.
hunting.
After Liang Emperor Zhu Yu succeeded to the throne, he also liked to go to Zeyuan to handle state affairs, but he mainly used Zeyuan as a garrison for the newly formed Forbidden Army. He preferred to personally supervise the training of the Forbidden Army in Zeyuan.
In April, it was already the second year that Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty raised troops in Bianjing and ascended the throne. The fence made of willows outside Zeyuan had grown to a certain size.
A large number of new watchtower sentries were set up along the fence to strictly prohibit nearby villagers from intruding at will.
Through the fence, you can see the open space in the Zeyuan from a distance, and there are many new structures that look like sails.
When you get closer, you can see that each structure has six large sails held up by vertical poles, spinning around in the open space, driving the rotating shaft to make the heavy stone mill below also rotate.
If the elders of Yandangji Manor were here, they would definitely recognize that these structures were Han Qian's earliest vertical-sail windmills that used wind to mill rice or drive hammers for forging in Yandangji Manor.
Since there are many mountains and streams in Xuzhou, the topography ensures sufficient water resources, and the interior of the valley is blocked by the mountains of Sicai, so the wind is weak. After Han Qian arrived in Xuzhou, he focused on building hydraulic equipment, and the locals were very happy.
It is rare to see such a vertical sail windmill.
In the Zeyuan, in the garden around the vertical sail windmill, we spent a lot of money to collect and plant exotic flowers and plants from all over the country in the early years. We either selected some particularly rare ones and transplanted them to other places, or they simply eradicated them.
Shidu changed to a crop with thicker stems, and new leaves are developing vigorously.
This is the cotton formerly known as Baidiezi.
Cotton has been grown in Bianjing in the past, and it can be found in Zeyuan, but it was mostly used for ornamental purposes and was rarely planted.
After the cotton seeds mature, they split open and appear like snowy cotton wadding, which looks like white velvet brocade flowers, which is pleasing to the eye.
Shelling cotton seeds to remove impurities is too complicated, it is cheaper than silk, but not as exquisite as silk, and it does not appeal to wealth, so there are very few cotton spinners around Bianjing.
However, when spring came, Zeyuan set aside three to four thousand acres of open space to plant cotton. Apparently, Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang Dynasty did not plant it in his interest and planted it for viewing.
Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty even issued an edict requiring counties and states to donate cotton and seeds grown in their areas to compare the quality of cotton seeds in various places.
Jing Zhen led people through the gate and rushed into a palace in Zeyuan. He saw a large open space on the east side of the hall, where several iron-making furnaces more than ten feet high had been built. At this time, a fire was burning in the furnace, and black smoke columns rose.
It came here, and it really spoiled the originally pleasant scenery in the garden after spring, and even turned the east gable of the main hall black.
Zhu Yuzheng was wearing short-breasted casual clothes and was squatting in front of the stove with several sweating craftsmen discussing something. Jing Zhen turned over and jumped off his horse. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help shaking his head, thinking that the emperor would not rush to Yingzhou in person to supervise the war.
It is enough to annihilate the remnants of the Bo Wang Zhu Gui and stay in Bianjing to handle state affairs. But what is going on hanging out with the Ministry of Works and the craftsmen who will serve as supervisors all day long?
Although the stinging tiger lurking next to Han Daoxun felt guilty for Han Daoxun and committed suicide in front of Han Qian shortly after escorting Han Daoxun's coffin back to Xuzhou, he still thought of Daliang's homeland and His Majesty's kindness to him. Before returning to Xuzhou, he sent two volumes of "Book of Heavenly Craftsmen" to Bianjing through secret channels.
However, in Jing Zhen's opinion, it is enough that Zhou Daoyuan, a doctor in the Ministry of Industry, and Shen Tang, the general supervisor, are responsible for organizing the craftsmen's verification. The emperor must personally intervene in these chores?
"Jing Zhen, you came here just in time. We have finally tried the double-furnace method introduced in Xuzhou. This method of making iron is really wonderful. Compared with the old method, it only needs three people to make it. The same iron material comes out, and the quality is even much better!" Zhu Yu saw Jing Zhen bringing people over, and happily called him over, "I have specially ordered Zhou Daoyuan, a doctor from the Ministry of Industry, to rush to Luocheng to collect water from the south stream of Luocheng. Ze Chu selected a place and personally presided over the construction of the foundry. If the water forging method can be achieved, I can use 20,000 to 30,000 less men to cast iron and armor in Daliang..."
"Really so powerful?" No matter how dissatisfied Jing Zhen was with Zhu Yu's neglect of his job, his expression perked up when he heard the news and he asked rather suspiciously.
Daliang is located in the center of the Central Plains. The north can resist the invasion of the Jin army. The northwest is occasionally approached by the iron hooves of the Mongol people. The south suppresses the Chu army. The southwest makes the Shu army dare not act rashly. In addition to the wars in the south and north in recent years, Daliang In addition to tempering a large number of elite generals, he also attached great importance to the casting of soldiers and armor.
Smelting high-quality iron materials, casting soldiers and armor, and recruiting tens of thousands of elite officials and slaves to do their jobs.
If the double-furnace method and the water-forging method were used to make iron and cast armor so easily, it would mean that they could spare an additional 20,000 to 30,000 men to fight in the army without increasing money and food.
"Can I still lie to you?" Zhu Yu asked with a deliberately serious face.
"Wei Chen is too happy," Jing Zhen said hurriedly.
"The Chengtian Si Duwei Mansion wants to cite Zhao Kuo, the stinging tiger, for his great achievements. If he is gone, his son will attack him!" Zhu Yu said.
"Yes!" Jing Zhen said.
Zhu Yu was very happy to tell Jing Zhen about his latest experience in studying "The Book of Heavenly Craftsmen" during this period. He talked for a while with great interest, but was not annoyed when he saw that Jing Zhen was lacking in excitement.
After all, he had just arrived at Tianxian Shu, although he attached great importance to it, but he only handed it over to the Ministry of Works for supervision, and he was busy settling the situation in Daliang.
It was only after he returned to Bianjing after the annihilation of Feng Yan'e in Suiyang, Songzhou, that he asked Zhao Shuzhao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, about the research on "The Book of Tianxianxian Shu". Master craftsman, craftsman, only two officials named Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Tang, who are very inconspicuous, have really studied the two "Books of Heavenly Craftsmen" thoroughly in a few months. Others still treat "Book of Heavenly Craftsmen" as It's just a fancy skill and not enough attention is paid to it.
Zhu Yu immediately promoted Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Tang to fifth-grade doctors and officials, but he did not blame others for being ignorant. After all, the inertia of thinking formed over thousands of years is extremely difficult to change.
Even he had to summon Zhou Daoyuan and Shen Tang to ask for advice, and after listening to their detailed explanations, he realized what kind of changes the two volumes of "Tian Craftsman's Book" could bring to Daliang.
At this time, he also smiled with Jing Zhen and said: "Why are I telling you this? I'll talk to Shen Tang! By the way, although it is not possible to send Hidden Tiger directly to Han Qian at this time. Big, but Chengtiansi still has to send people to keep an eye on Xuzhou's every move, especially if Xuzhou is different from other places in terms of people's livelihood, military affairs, etc., they must record it in detail and report it back to Bianjing as soon as possible! If possible, you'd better go to Xuzhou and have a look in person..."
Jing Zhen thought to himself, he was so busy at Chengtiansi Duwei's house that his butt was smoking, so why did he go to that remote place in Xuzhou when he had nothing to do?
Jing Zhen wanted to think about it, but he nodded hurriedly in response.
"After Han Qian returned to Xuzhou, apart from conferring favors on the humble, setting up two new counties, and setting up rural officials, has he made any other big moves recently?" Zhu Yu asked.
"With Jiming Village as the center, Chenzhong County was newly established on both sides of the upper reaches of Chenshui River. The Fan people who originally belonged to the Xi clan of Chenzhou were almost all expelled during the war to eliminate the feudal vassal. Even if some Fan people were left behind, their families were still intact.
There is no young and strong labor force, which makes Xuzhou run Chenzhong without any resistance. In mid-to-early March, Han Qian successively resettled eight to nine thousand households, more than 4,000 people who moved westward from Guangde Prefecture, to Chenzhong County, and added
With the three to four hundred Xi clan members before him, Han Qian was able to stabilize his control over Chenzhong County. Xiying, the governor of Chenzhou, must have accepted his fate - and after Yang Yuanpu successfully won Jinling and ascended the throne, he completely controlled the east and south of the Yangtze River.
After conquering all the prefectures and counties and conferring the title of Marquis of Qianyang on Han Qian, the forces outside Xuzhou also believed that Han Qian would become more law-abiding after swallowing up the land in the Chenshui River, and their vigilance towards Xuzhou was relieved. As Wang Yong of Yuzhou
The capture of the last Fanzhai of the Wu Liao people on both sides of the Qianjiang River opened the last obstacle to Sizhou in the south. Sichuan salt and other goods produced in Shu were able to enter Sizhou. Yang Xingfeng, the governor of Sizhou, sent his son Yang Hu to Syria.
When Zhou met Han Qian, on the one hand he wanted to transfer the Sichuan and Sichuan salt goods to Xuzhou via Sizhou, and on the other hand he wanted to send a group of village slaves who had been interrupted before to work in Xuzhou in exchange for money and grain..."
Jing Zhen was not very interested in "The Book of Craftsmen of Heaven", mainly because the content contained in the Book of Craftsmen of Heaven was unfamiliar to him, and he would get a severe headache after reading it twice more. However, he was very interested in collecting information about Han Qian and Xuzhou.
Not being careless, I immediately talked about the information about Xuzhou that Chengtiansi had compiled in the past few days.
"At this time, Han Qian seems to be more concerned about the smooth flow of Xuzhou's goods through Chenzhou, Yezhou, Sizhou and other places to the farther outlying prefectures and counties or Panyi lands, and he is more concerned about the smoothness of trade routes. If there is any
What big movement there was, it was mainly to conquer Shengfan south along the canals, aiming to strengthen his control over the interior of Xuzhou. Two small-scale battles broke out in mid-to-early March, and almost thousands of Shengfan were captured.
Ordered to move from the deep mountains and old forests to the river valley area to reclaim wasteland..."
"What a complicated person."
Zhu Yu sighed slightly.
Jing Zhen was slightly startled and secretly wondered why His Majesty said Han Qian was complicated.
At this time, Zhu Yu seemed to remember that Jing Zhen had rushed over. It was not he who sent someone to summon him, and asked: "By the way, you are leaving the city to come to Zeyuan. What is the urgent matter?"
Jing Zhen thought to himself, it's really hard for you to think of something serious to ask, so he hurriedly said:
"Jinling just came back with a cable report - when Han Qian left Fanchang, he left a letter to Chu Emperor Yang Yuanpu to tell Shen Yang that Wang Lin might be a secret agent of Chu Xin Wang Yang Yuanyan's secret sect. Later, although Chu Emperor Yang Yuanpu did not say
The matter was pursued, but Shen Yang and Wang Lin both resigned because of illness in order to avoid suspicion. The last one went to Jiangzhou to serve as chief minister, and the other to Guangde as magistrate. The latest news said that Wang Lin committed suicide in Jiangzhou and left a letter
Since I was sent by Wang Wenqian to lurk around Chu Emperor Yang Yuanpu, I deeply felt the kindness of Chu Emperor Yang Yuanpu, and blamed Shen Yang for being implicated by him and not being innocent. I felt ashamed every day, and I only died with regret. After getting Wang Lin's suicide note, Chu
Emperor Yang Yuanpu couldn't wait to draft an edict to summon Shen Yang back to the center of the Chu Kingdom and grant him the title of Ping Zhangshi to preside over state affairs. In addition, in addition to conferring the title of Marquis of Qianyang on Han Qian, Emperor Yang Yuanpu of Chu would also select Han Daoming's daughter and Zheng Hui's sister.
, the daughter of Huang Hua, the governor of Huzhou, entered the palace and was ranked as a noble concubine with Princess Qingyang, the daughter of Wang Jian, the lord of Shu."
Lei Jiuyuan walked out of the hall at this time. Hearing Jing Zhen talk about many things that had happened in Jinling recently, he couldn't help but sigh: "The new emperor of the Chu Kingdom is a powerful figure - I was still thinking about what he would do next. With Shen Yang, I didn't expect that there is a 'suicide note' plan available."
"He acted too hastily. He is only nineteen years old and has more time than anyone else. If he can wait two years and transfer Shen Yang back to the center, I have to admit that he is a not weak opponent. Now, he still has to be weak. Please use some heat." Zhu Yu did not agree with Lei Jiuyuan's opinion and said with his hands behind his hands.
"Why does Your Majesty say this?" Jing Zhen asked.
"The Emperor of Chu was so anxious to recall Shen Yang to his side to lead the affairs of the country. Firstly, he had no one he could trust, and secondly, he probably couldn't bear the thought of people going around him to inform the Empress Dowager Liang. Are you interfering in political affairs?" Zhu Yu frowned slightly and guessed.
"The Emperor of Chu used Shen Yang to lead the ministers and preside over the affairs of the country, so he mainly concentrated the power to discuss politics except for himself and the Queen Mother of Chu into the hands of Shen Yang. No matter how bad it was, it also prevented other ministers from bypassing Shen Yang at will. It is possible that the Queen Mother of Chu passed the news; Emperor Chu also selected Han Daoming's daughter, Zheng Hui's sister, and Huang Hua's daughter into the harem as concubines, and used them to divide the Zheng family and the Han-Li alliance. I think Emperor Chu's This time can indeed put an end to the Queen Mother's visit to the court." Jing Zhen said.
"It's great to be able to do something without doing it,"
Zhu Yu smiled and said,
"The Emperor of Chu seized Jinling and succeeded to the throne. Before that, Han Qian and Shou succeeded in retreating from the Liang Dynasty and reducing the vassal state. It can be said that the prestige in Chu State is so important that it cannot be questioned by the three or five ministers. So why worry about a woman who can To tie his hands and feet? The Emperor of Chu captured Jinling and recruited a large number of soldiers from various states and counties, including slaves and maidservants sent by aristocratic clans to make up for their numbers. He could have rewarded the military merits greatly and bestowed the good with the humble. However, with Jinling A large number of confiscated fields nearby were used to house the slaves who had been given good gifts. After all these things were completed in two or three years, Shen Yang was transferred back to the center and asked the woman to stay in Cishou Palace and enjoy peace and happiness. It can truly be called a solid foundation! At this time, he was eager to recall Shen Yang to lead the ministers. Although he could formally prevent other ministers from running to inform the woman at will, this would also force Li Pu and Zheng Yu to , Yang Zhitang and others will not compromise easily on other matters! He chose Han Daoming's daughter, Zheng Hui's sister, and Huang Hua's daughter as his concubines. He can ask the Han family, Zheng family, and Huang family to be loyal to him, but he wants The Zheng family, the Huang family, and the Han family handed over their own slaves and the small and medium-sized aristocratic clans who were attached to them. Probably no one was really willing to hand over the slaves, right? At this time, Emperor Chu desperately wanted the woman to be at ease with Ci. In the Shougong Palace, everything must always be compromised, and if Shen Yang is not in charge of Guangde Mansion, no one else can control Guangde Mansion, and many hidden dangers will soon be exposed. Of course, Emperor Chu may not be able to control Guangde Mansion at all. I didn’t think of this. After all, Han Qian probably didn’t teach him the real practical skills of managing the world! Others see Han Qian as good at using tactics and dangerous tactics, but they don’t understand the tactics and dangerous tactics..."
Lei Jiuyuan and Jing Zhen thought for a long time before asking:
"How should we respond to the latest changes in Chu State, or should we just sit back and watch the changes?"
"The Emperor of Chu is an eager person. He wants the woman to live in Cishou Palace, and he will definitely be eager to further establish his illustrious martial arts and show his ability to monopolize military and political affairs. Then he may not wait until autumn, and he will probably Will they arrange troops to clear out Anning Palace and the remnants of Empress Xu?" Zhu Yu said, "Even if we want to sit back and watch what happens, we should recapture Yingzhou before this autumn to be qualified to sit back and watch what happens. "
After Feng Yan'e was annihilated in the Battle of Songzhou, Bo Wang Zhu Gui and his remaining troops did not dare to defend Chenzhou, but fled to Yingzhou in the south across the Huaihe River from Huozhou under the jurisdiction of the Shouzhou Jiedushi Mansion.
At this time, it was decided to completely regain Yingzhou, which was to annihilate the remnants of Bo King Zhu Gui. At that time, the soldiers and horses of Daliang could directly drink from the north bank of Huaihe River. If there was any trouble in Shouzhou, it would really change randomly...
Jing Zhen was most concerned about this matter and said excitedly:
"Yes, it's time to capture King Bo back to Bianjing."
"King Bo, it doesn't matter whether he returns to Bian Kyoto or not." Zhu Yu's voice became extremely cold again.
Jing Zhen and Lei Jiuyuan were slightly startled, and then responded with understanding: "Yes, I understand what to do."