Chapter 54: The Department of Military Intelligence
It was the last day of February in the third year of Zhongping.
News from the Beihai side came that Guan Yu's front line was tight and the war was currently in an anxious state.
The two sides are in a temporary stalemate and it is difficult to decide on a decisive battle as soon as possible.
Donglai and Beihai counties are located in the central and eastern part of Qingzhou and belong to the peninsula area.
The geographical location of later generations was actually the triangle formed by Weifang, Qingdao, and Yantai, which was a remote area in the Han Dynasty.
Qingzhou Yellow Turbans are mainly concentrated in these two places.
It was not until the third year of Chuping, that is, 192, that the Yellow Turbans here could no longer stay in Qingzhou, and the Yellow Turbans here would move westward. They were eventually defeated by Cao Cao in Yanzhou and became Cao Cao's Qingzhou soldiers.
Therefore, the main force of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans is far from being damaged and is scattered in the two counties. Even when Kong Rong was the Prime Minister of Beihai, he was hung up and beaten by the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans.
In fact, the reason why Kong Rong became the Prime Minister of Beihai was because the Yellow Turbans were rampant in Beihai, and Dong Zhuo wanted to use the Yellow Turbans to kill him.
According to the "Book of the Later Han·Biography of Kong Rong": "Hui Dong Zhuo abolished the throne, and Rong often made rectifications because of his answers. He disobeyed Zhuo's decree and became Yilang. At that time, the Yellow Turban bandits invaded several states, and Beihai was the most violent.
Zhuo Nai satirized the three palaces and merged them into Beihai Prime Minister."
It can be seen from here that the place with the most Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou is actually the Beihai Kingdom. According to historical records, the entire Beihai Kingdom has a population of more than one million, and more than half of them are Yellow Turban soldiers.
Guan Yu led 50,000 troops into Beihai. One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the Yellow Turbans gathered in Beihai. In the blink of an eye, there were 200,000 to 300,000 people. You can imagine how much pressure Guan Yu was under.
Marching and fighting in ancient times were not like today where the outcome can be decided in a short period of time. A battle could last a year or two.
In order to prepare for a battle, the various preliminary preparations from planning to implementation may even take three to five years.
Before Chen Mu traveled through time, he had read some online novels.
The time-travelers in many books are so invincible that they pacified the world in just a few years. They conquered the earth in more than ten years, and their troops were as fast as a joke. The population and food seemed to have no growth cycle.
Straight out of the ground.
But what was the real war fought like?
It is financial resources, morale, military strength, food and grass, weapons and equipment.
An army of 50,000 consumes as much as 6,000 baht of food every day, which is 162 tons when converted into modern measurement units. Taking into account the logistics supply team, horses and livestock, and craftsmen and auxiliary troops, the daily cost is calculated as five baht, which is about 2 million.
About 60 million yuan is spent every month, and the real money is like running water.
If he had not just plundered a large amount of wealth from many powerful clansmen in Qi State, coupled with the strong support of his big brother Liu Bei, who only supported Guan Yu to fight in Beihai, Chen Mu might have gone bankrupt on the spot and withdrew his troops in despair.
Qi State.
Therefore, in order to resolve the battle as soon as possible, Chen Mu planned to borrow Ju Shue and Zhang Fei from Liu Bei to help Guan Yu. Ju Shuo would be the military advisor, Zhang Fei would lead the charge, Guan Yu would be the commander, and Chen Mu would maintain the logistics.
After sending this important letter out, footsteps were heard outside the door. Shiyi walked in, cupped his hands and said, "Prince, the matter has been settled."
"Um."
Chen Mu nodded, motioned for him to sit down, and asked, "How are you preparing for this year's spring plowing?"
Shiyi knelt down and sat aside, taking some time to relax and said: "Many Cao Shi have been sent to the countryside and counties to urge pavilion chiefs and village elders to pay close attention to spring plowing and encourage farmers to teach mulberry farming. At the same time, all the people who were hidden by the powerful have been identified. According to the
According to reports from various counties, the total population of Qi State should be more than 800,000. Of course, Sun Zhao and other powerful people have not yet found out clearly."
According to the national census during the Han Dynasty, Qingzhou Qi's total population was more than 600,000. Abandoning the population concealed by the powerful, it should be about 800,000. Chen Mu was mentally prepared for this.
Shiyi handled things in an orderly manner in a short period of time. It seems that she has good internal affairs skills and should be cultivated in this area in the future.
Thinking of this, Chen Mu said: "Now that the state of Qi has barely stabilized, the only thing left is to replenish officials from various places and send officials to maintain the royal rule of the court. Shiyi, you have performed well recently. I plan to recommend you to the court. Why?
How about that? Where do you want to be a county magistrate?"
County magistrate?
Is this the beginning of a six-hundred-stone official career?
Shiyi was ecstatic inside.
He was born in the third year of Yanxi, and is twenty-six years old this year. Without any background, he might have been able to be a low-level official all his life. Now that he has become a mid-level official like the county magistrate, of course he is very happy, so he has no intention of doing so.
Without hesitation he said: "It all depends on the orders of the governor."
Chen Mu thought for a while and said: "The most stable areas in Qi State are Linzi and Dong'anping, and the most dangerous areas are Banyang and Changguo. Of course, these two places have not been returned to the imperial court, so it is naturally impossible for me to send you there.
.The most complicated ones are Guangrao and Nanfeng. The conflicts between the interests of the villagers there are sharp and difficult to deal with. Do you want to stay in Linzi or go to Guangrao and Nanfeng?"
Shiyi said without thinking: "Guangrao Nanfeng."
"good."
Chen Mu put his hands on his hands and said happily: "Then I will immediately recommend you to the court as the magistrate of Guangrao County. You can bring a few hundred soldiers there. If you can handle it well and achieve results, I will not be stingy with promotions in the future."
"Thank you, Governor."
Shiyi was overjoyed, stood up and saluted with his hands in hand.
Chen Mu smiled and waved his hand, motioning for him to sit down.
After Shiyi sat down, he suddenly remembered something and said: "Provincial Governor, speaking of Guangrao, I recently discovered that people in Guangrao and Nanfeng are purchasing large quantities of local fields. Not only are they spending a lot of money, but they are also buying a lot of land
.I guess it’s probably the many powerful people in Linzi City.”
"oh?"
Chen Mu frowned.
Now the powerful people in Qi State have been purged, and those who surrendered have surrendered. Even the group of people who surrendered have been severely damaged. They have been squeezed out of a lot by Chen Mu, and there is almost no extra financial resources to purchase land.
After excluding the outsiders, such as the wealthy businessmen from Le'an County north of Guangrao Nanfeng who came to purchase land, only the dozen or so families in Linzi City who first took refuge with Chen Mu remained.
This group of people, led by Sun Zhao, the most powerful head of the Sun family, strongly supported Chen Mu's early military operations and contributed many people. Now there are more than 10,000 people in Guan Yu's army who are the original slaves and slaves of these powerful men.
Hidden population.
But as the state of Qi stabilized, they gradually expanded, made a lot of war fortune, and became more powerful. From the beginning, they were powerful in Linzi, and they have developed into a powerful county like Qi State, and their assets have more than doubled.
certainly.
This phenomenon is within the scope allowed by Chen Mu.
After all, this is an earlier promise. It is reasonable for you to contribute money and effort and I will share the spoils with you.
Moreover, Chen Mu also needs a group of people to maintain the normal operation of business and maintain the flow of goods. As long as they are more honest, it is not impossible to become a wealthy man in the state like Mi Zhu in the future.
But if Chen Mu wants to touch the cake, that is something that cannot be tolerated.
They used delaying tactics to keep them quiet for a month, but now they must have seen Chen Mu's intention, and they secretly started to buy the most fertile land in Qi State.
The appetite of these people is really getting bigger and bigger.
You must know that Guangrao County and Nanfeng County are very close to each other. The reason why they are located in two counties is because they are located due north and south of Judian Lake respectively.
Judian Lake in the Han Dynasty was not as small as Judian Lake in later generations. At that time, Judian Lake was very large, with the Zi River crossing the lake. Chickens and ducks could be raised on the shores of the lake. The lake was rich in fish and shrimp, and it was surrounded by Zi River.
With water and tens of thousands of acres of good farmland, it can be said to be a land of plenty.
This is the grain production area determined by Chen Mu early on.
Not only the Judian Lake in Qi State, but also the Duchang Xiami area in the North Sea, the south bank of the Yellow River in Jinan, and the plain northwest area of Shandong, it is the most fertile area in Qingzhou, and it is also where Chen Mu plans to farm in the future.
As a major agricultural province in later generations, Shandong has many plains and many places suitable for farming. Among them, the best and main grain-producing areas naturally have to be controlled by oneself.
These are the foundations for future hegemony in the world.
Chen Mu has no habit of giving up good places to others.
Sitting in the government affairs hall of the governor's office, he thought carefully and tapped the table with his right index finger, making a slight "dong dong dong" sound.
"By the way, the dozens of powerful people in Linzi City are not clean at all."
Chen Mu suddenly turned around and asked Shiyi.
Shiyi's heart trembled and she said in a deep voice: "That's true, but after the governor vigorously cracked down on them, they all voluntarily handed over their relatives and relatives who were harboring criminals. I'm afraid there is no evidence to take action against them now."
Chen Mu chuckled: "Evidence? What kind of evidence do you want? These people are a little clever, thinking that I won't do anything to them if they don't have a handle, but they don't know that they are already richer and have more land than before, or...
So greedy and still so ugly when eating, aren't you afraid of choking to death if you eat too much?
"this......"
Shiyi hesitated and said: "Does the governor want to take action against them? During this period, they have been doing their best. If there is no evidence and they take action directly, it may be difficult to convince the public."
"Well, you're right."
Chen Mu thought: "In this way, before the appointment of the court is issued, you can help me collect the evidence of this group of people's previous crimes. The clearer the better. In addition, try to be as public as possible and don't worry about being known by them. The more they let them know
If they know it, the more afraid they will be and the easier it will be to expose the truth."
Shiyi got the mission, stood up solemnly, and said seriously: "Wei!"
Watching him go out, Chen Mu slowly let out a breath.
Not to mention internal and external troubles, there are many ways to deal with these chores in his own way, the only difference is which one is more beneficial to him.
But he doesn't want to touch Sun Zhao and the others now.
Because Qi State needs internal stability for the time being, it is not appropriate for turmoil to occur.
So he asked Shiyi to conduct a large-scale investigation, which actually meant to shake the mountain and shake the tiger.
If Sun Zhao and his gang were smarter and knew how to restrain themselves, everything would be easier to say.
If they weren't smart...
Thinking of this, Chen Mu knocked on the table, and a figure walked out of the shadows on the side.
"Si Ming."
"Have the manpower been deployed in all the powerful houses in Linzi?"
"Some people have been hired in the past few days."
"Well, I understand."
Chen Mu nodded: "Go down and set up strongholds in each county and start activities. Within two months, I will have people from the Military Intelligence Department everywhere in Qi State."
"only."
The spies from the Military Intelligence Department took the order and left.
Under the abbot of Hou Xu, the Military Intelligence Department has begun to develop in Jinan.
Now the tentacles have finally reached Qi State.
When Chen Mu pacifies the entire Qingzhou in the future, the sphere of influence of the Military Intelligence Department will also become larger and larger, becoming an important force that cannot be ignored in troubled times!