"This road is in good condition, much better than when I went on an expedition a few years ago." On the post road between Wuding River Valley, Shao Shude was riding a horse, looking at the yellow wheat fields on both sides of the river, and he was in a good mood.
The journey from Longquan to Suide is a hundred miles, first along the Wuding River Valley, and then along some tributary river valleys or canyons. The road is not very wide, but after several years of repairs, it is fairly smooth.
This mountain valley area has much more rainfall than the plains to the west. In previous years, a lot of land here was abandoned due to party issues, but now it has become part of a military-affiliated farm and is leased to newly established Guanzhong households for farming.
The crop they plant is spring wheat, and the harvest has begun one after another. After harvesting, they usually plant some beans according to the weather and harvest them before it snows, so as to subsidize the household income to some extent.
Shao Shude vaguely remembered that many border ministers in the later Northern Song Dynasty were from the south, such as Fan Zhongyan and his son, Shen Kuo, Lu Huiqing, Xia Song, etc. who served as military envoys on the Yanyan Road. They introduced rice cultivation to northern Shaanxi and chose areas with relatively open terrain.
Planting in the Luoshui River Valley. At that time, I even thought that after defeating Xixia, I would plant rice in the Wuding River Basin with more open terrain. Unfortunately, this idea did not come true.
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, "Yansui Town Chronicles" recorded that rice was planted in the area of Shenmu (i.e. Linzhou) in later generations. "Yulin Prefecture Chronicles" of the Qing Dynasty also recorded that a large amount of rice was planted in the Wuding River Valley in Yulin and Huaiyuan counties.
Considering that the temperature in China did not reach its lowest until the late Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, rice could be grown at that time, and North Korean farmers had not yet developed cold-resistant rice seeds, so the temperature was not a problem. The Tang Dynasty was a warm and humid season!
In the Qing Dynasty, Yulin County was located in the northeast of Xiazhou, and Huaiyuan County was in the east of Xiazhou. They planted rice when the temperature and precipitation were not as good as in the Tang Dynasty. Can you try it yourself? It is probably impossible to spread it over a large area, because
Rice requires a lot of water for irrigation, but it should still be feasible to open some rice fields along the river and increase the yield of some fields.
Military farms have just been opened in Xiazhou this year. They are pastures along the Wushui and Wuding Rivers that were previously occupied by the imperial court because of their rich water and grass. The total area is about 500 hectares, distributed in Shuofang and Dejing counties.
Next year, we should be able to use some of it for experiments, and select those who know how to grow rice from Chaozhong and Guanzhong immigrants, and let them try planting and see what the results are.
If the planting is successful, then they will benefit. If it is not successful, the shogunate will give them some livestock as subsidies. In short, it will not let you lose money.
"Commander, Suizhou has a bumper harvest of grain and wheat this year. According to people in the state, it will not be a problem for the five counties combined to harvest more than 700,000 dendrobium of corn. After the commander-in-chief has been in charge of Suizhou for five years, the changes have been really great.
"Guo Xiao, the judge of the Wuwei Army, was riding on his horse, looking at the endless wheat fields on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and said with emotion.
"Is it possible that Judge Guo still knows about farming? I, Lao Lu, have farmed before. When I was still young, I helped my parents, brother and sister-in-law farm. When I got a little older, I joined the army and never touched a sickle again.
It's a knife." Lu Huaizhong came back from the front on horseback and joked.
There is no similarity between Lu and Guo in terms of appearance and personality. One is quiet and elegant, like flowing clouds and flowing water; the other is rough and unruly, like thunder and lightning. But it just so happens that these two people can work together very well. Guo
Lu Huaizhong was extremely talented and thoughtful, and managed all the chores in the army in an orderly manner; Lu Huaizhong was skilled in martial arts and extremely courageous, and drilled six to seven thousand large soldiers to such an extent that the Wuwei Army recently added a thousand prairie warriors, and the number of cavalry was expanded to two thousand.
.
"I didn't understand it at first. In the past few years, there has been peace and quiet in the town, so I have learned a bit." Guo Xiao smiled and said: "The commander-in-chief is benevolent and righteous, and attaches great importance to farming and mulberry. How can we, our subordinates, not understand this?"
"What Judge Guo said is not entirely true. There are specialties in martial arts. General Lu is proficient in bow and horse, and is extremely brave. Naturally, he will continue to use his strength on the horizontal sword instead of the sickle." Shao Shude laughed and said: "Now the world is full of chaos, attacking and killing everywhere.
, How can we maintain peace in Xiazhou? It’s not by relying on the horizontal sword in our hands! If the horizontal sword is not good, this Baichengzi will belong to others."
“The commander is wise and wise.” Guo Qiusurong said.
Lu Huaizhong was stunned for a while and then stammered: "The commander is wise."
This shows that he is no longer good at flattering, both Shao Shude and Guo Xiao laughed.
On July 15th, Shao Shude arrived in Suide County with thousands of Wuwei troops. Li Xiaochang had arrived two days in advance.
"Li Shuai! We say goodbye to Chang'an. We haven't seen each other for a year, right? Shao still remembers the scene of killing the enemy side by side with Li Shuai and chasing the thieves to Lantian Pass." Shao Shude dismounted from a distance and pulled Li up with a smile on his face.
Xiaochang's hands seemed to be really happy.
Li Xiaochang certainly knew that the Baosai Army was in a weak position in front of the Difficult Army. Shao Shude was so enthusiastic, whether it was sincere or pretended, at least the face was given, which made Li Xiaochang very happy.
"In the past, I followed Shao Shuai and made some modest achievements. Otherwise, I'm afraid Yan Erzhou wouldn't be able to get even the elixir." Li Xiaochang said: "Speaking of which, I have never suffered a loss in fighting with Shao Shuai.
"
At this point, he whispered again: "I heard that Shao Shuai wants to win over Ye Lishi?"
"To be honest with Li Shuai, someone is also cutting vassals in the town. The first one is Tuoba Sigong of Youzhou. I am worried that Hengshan Party Xiang will help this guy, so I want to win over the wild power, hide the other tribes, and cut off their wings." Shao Shude.
He also whispered.
The two generals subconsciously expanded the scope of protection to prevent the confidential conversation between the two generals from being heard by unrelated people.
"The Yeli tribe is in Yan and Dan prefectures. They are quite obedient and pay tribute of cattle, sheep, millet and wheat. Why does Shao Shuai need to go to war? A certain envoy informs him and he can draw a clear line between him and the Tuoba clan." Li
Xiaochang said.
Shao Shude smiled and said nothing.
Li Xiaochang is bragging a bit. The Bulgarian Army is certainly stronger than the Yeli tribe, but the Yeli headquarters can draw seven or eight thousand soldiers, but there are still many vassal tribes, so it is still possible to scare people with 20,000 soldiers.
. If they hold on to the fortress, the Bulgarian Army will also have a headache. It is impossible to send an envoy over and scare people out of their wits.
Seeing that Shao Shude didn't speak, Li Xiaochang also felt that the big talk was too much and was a little embarrassed, so he laughed and said: "Is it possible that Shao Shuade has fallen in love with Yeli Jingchen's daughter? Oh, I heard that she is quite beautiful, and many warriors in Yeli tribe almost
Grab your head."
“Li Shuai was joking, Shao already had one wife and three concubines, and it was very difficult to cope with it.” After saying that, he made an expression that all men would understand.
Li Xiaochang understood and laughed loudly and said: "Shao Shuai is only over 20 years old. It is the time when dragons and tigers are fierce. Unlike Li, he has more than ten wives and concubines at home, which is really a headache."
"However, if you want to win over the Yeli family, marrying his daughter is indeed the best way." After laughing for a while, Li Xiaochang straightened his face and said: "Since Shao Shuai married the daughter of the Linzhou Zhe family, he should know that this wife
The family is also a big help.”
“Li Shuai is really an open-minded person.” Shao Shude looked at Li Xiaochang and said.
Eighty percent of the Yeli clan's territory is in Yan and Dan prefectures, and only about 20% is in Suizhou. I am trying to win over the Yeli clan, and if I change to a more normal commander, I am afraid that he will have been vigilant or even counterattacked.
"Li's success today is all thanks to Shao Shuai." Li Xiaochang said: "Now there are tigers and wolves all over the place. He has no friendship with me on the east side of the river or on the other side of the river, and he doesn't want to make friends. If something happens to Danyan in the future, he will have to rely on Shao Shuai.
."
"The eight towns in the northwest of Beijing should be united." Shao Shude said naturally: "With our many years of friendship, Li Shuai only needs to inform him, and Xiazhou soldiers are here."
"By the way, Shao Shuai, I also heard news. The Hunzhou Chuanmu Zang clan recently married the Tuoba clan. Li Renfu, the son of Sigong's younger brother Sijing, married the daughter of Mu Zang Qingxiang. The two clans should be inseparable.
Our hearts are together." Li Xiaochang said again.
After all, he is an old local snake in Hengshan. There should be many local informants in the four prefectures of Yifang, so it is very convenient to obtain information.
“Oh, there’s this other thing?” Shao Shude said, “How many children does Sigong have?”
"The eldest son Renyou has passed away, leaving behind his eldest grandson Yichang. The second son Renqing is a general in Youzhou. The others are all young, and only Renqing is an adult." Li Xiaochang said: "Sigong rebuilt the eldest son for Tuoba. There are several younger brothers, namely Si Xiao, Si Jian, Si Jing, Si Zhong and Si Yao."
In fact, Shao Shude could vaguely see that Li Xiaochang actually had some friendship with the Tuoba family. But if the situation was like this, even if Li Xiaochang and Tuoba Sigong were brothers, they would not be able to help him anymore. What's more, the two There is no apparent relationship between the two, so Li Xiaochang can be trusted.
The two of them talked again, and Li Yixian came to report: Nori Nobuomi has arrived.
Shao Shude looked around and saw that several people were stopped by the soldiers. After some searching, they were released.
Nori Nobuomi looked at the thousands of soldiers of the Wuwei Army arrayed on his side with a complex expression.
Shao Shude and Li Xiaochang had been talking for about half an hour, and the sergeants just stood there without any signs of impatience. People from their tribe would have been whispering to each other or even sitting on the ground to rest. Look again. Looking at the iron armor and leather armor on these people, the horizontal swords on their waists, the walking bows, and the long spears in their hands, Nori Sussex sighed secretly and stepped forward quickly.
“Ye Li Jingchen has met Marshal Li and Marshal Shao.”
"Clan Chief Yeli has a majestic appearance. He is a loyal and brave man at first glance. Please get up quickly." Shao Shude said with a smile.
"Thank you, Marshal Shao, Marshal Li." Ye Lijingchen and his entourage stood up one after another and stood aside respectfully.
“What’s going on with Chief Yeli?” Shao Shude asked knowingly.
Ye Li Jingchen only hesitated for a moment and then said: "Send the dog to meet the enemy and lead a thousand troops to help the commander in the expedition against Tuoba Sigong."
“Okay! Okay!” Shao Shude laughed and said, “Chief Yeli is so sensible, I am overjoyed. Now there is a reward for Li Yixian!”
Li Yixian quickly sent people to bring hundreds of pieces of brocade and gave them to Ye Li Jingchen.
Nori Nori's expression improved slightly and he said, "Nori nobu also has tributes to offer."
“Okay, let Guo Jun take over. How can we not have a banquet when we meet the Yeli clan leader today?” Shao Shude smiled and said, “Let’s eat and chat.”
"It's time to prepare a banquet with wine." Li Xiaochang also said with a smile: "One is congratulations for the help of the warriors of the Yeli tribe, the other is congratulations for the good harvest of grains and wheat in Xia Sui, and the third is congratulations for the imminent destruction of the Tuoba clan. With these three congratulations, I should drink a lot. "
“It’s so good, it’s so good, it’s time to drink hard.”