That night, thirteen middle- and low-level generals who were preparing to follow Yang Bo to do something big were purged, and a thousand soldiers of the fifth battalion were dispersed to the other four battalions.
After purging the internal dissidents, Xue Changshou mobilized the people to decorate with lanterns and colors to welcome Guo Song's arrival.
After many years, Guo Song returned to Fengzhou again.
There were still large areas of wilderness and abandoned ditches along the way, but when we were still 150 miles away from Jiuyuan County, we finally saw large areas of wheat fields, and in the distance were scattered villages.
Guo Song remembered clearly that when he left Fengzhou, the farmland in Fengzhou expanded to the west to 80 miles, but now it has expanded to 150 miles, which has doubled.
He was deeply moved by the rapid development of Fengzhou from a population of one or two thousand when he first settled in the city to tens of thousands now.
But obviously, Fengzhou still has huge potential and can become its two major granaries together with Hehuang Valley.
Ten miles away from Jiuyuan County, with gongs and drums beating and colorful flags flying, Xue Changshou personally led a large number of people out to welcome Guo Song.
Guo Song got off his horse and hugged Xue Changshou and the generals who came to greet him one by one.
He hugged Li Ji tightly, both of them couldn't help but shed tears. Guo Song punched Li Ji on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Old man, you are really old."
If Guo Song remembered correctly, Li Ji was only in his early forties, but his temples were already gray.
Li Ji smiled and said: "As long as you return to Fengzhou, I will become younger and younger!"
"Well said, there will be room for everyone to play in the future, I believe everyone will become younger and younger."
Guo Song got on his horse and headed towards the city surrounded by people. He waved to the people, and thousands of people suddenly cheered, "The envoy is back! Long live the envoy!"
Looking at the excited faces and all the people who welcomed him from the bottom of their hearts, Guo Song's eyes were a little moist. He had put a lot of effort into this land, and it all paid off.
.........
Jiuyuan County has also changed a lot. The large mud houses near the south gate have disappeared and turned into houses of different shapes. Most of them are built with a mixture of wood and bluestone, and the exterior walls are painted with lime, which makes them look strong and beautiful.
.
Xue Changshou explained with a smile: "Residence land in Jiuyuan County is not cheap now. One acre of land costs fifty guan, and building a one-acre house costs about 200 guan. Most families
It cannot be repaired at once, it is built slowly over several years."
"How is the business in Xishoujiang City?" Guo Song asked.
"It's not bad, it's very prosperous. Both the Uighurs and other grassland tribes are very dependent on the trade of Xishou Jiangcheng, so it's very safe and basically not affected by war. There are many merchants there, and the Fengzhou government also gets a lot of business tax benefits. In addition, there are also
Profit from shipping and warehousing.”
"How do you say profits from transportation and warehousing?" Guo Song was a little confused.
Xue Changshou smiled slightly and said: "You may not know that Fengzhou's shipping has been opened and can go directly to Pujin Pass. There are more than a hundred cargo ships in Fengzhou, forming a large freight caravan to transport Fengzhou's grain."
It was transported to Guanzhong for sale, and oil, salt, cloth and other daily necessities were transported from Guanzhong, and then the goods were transported for merchants. The merchants' goods were transported to Jiuyuan County for storage. The government then provided camel teams and military escorts to transport large quantities of goods.
Go to Xishoujiang City and bring them back from Shujiang City."
"Is the food from Fengzhou also exported to Guanzhong?" Guo Song asked in surprise.
Xue Changshou was silent for a moment and said: "It's a long story here, I'll tell you in detail later."
Guo Song waved to the people who welcomed him along the street. The people cheered and welcomed his return. Many of them looked vaguely familiar.
A group of gray-haired old men knelt down in front of Guo Song's war horse. Guo Song quickly helped them up, "Everyone, get up quickly, don't be so polite!"
An old man said with tears: "We have never worried about food in these years. We have lived a peaceful and prosperous life in our later years. It is all given by the envoy. We cannot express our inner gratitude. Fortunately, the envoy is back."
"
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "It should be said that it is hard work that allows you to spend your old age peacefully. I just created conditions for everyone."
Guo Song said goodbye to all the old people, then got up and mounted his horse, and soon came to Zhouya, which was the official government office of the State Council at that time. Guo Song spent three years here.
The small courtyard where he lives has been kept empty, and the official room has remained the same, but it has been tidied up in advance, and the tables and couches have been wiped spotless.
Guo Song sat down on the couch where he used to sit and said with a smile: "I am used to sitting on official chairs in Hexi, but I am not used to sitting on this kind of couch."
Xue Changshou hurriedly said: "Why don't you humble yourself and find a few people to sit on?"
Guo Song waved his hand, "No, you should sit down too!"
Xue Changshou sat down and asked quickly: "Your Majesty, how is the situation of the Dangxiang people now?"
"There should be no such nation as Dangxiang now."
Xue Changshou was shocked. Did the Dangxiang people actually exterminate their clan?
Guo Song said calmly: "As long as the Dangxiang people are in Xiazhou, there will be no peace in Lingzhou. The best way is to let them disappear completely."
Xue Changshou nodded, "Although it's a little cruel, I made you do the right thing!"
"Let's talk about Fengzhou. Continue the topic you just talked about, about Zhu Si and Fengzhou."
Xue Changshou sighed, "Just two days ago, we just eliminated a Zhonglang general who advocated surrender to Zhu Si, and then we found out that he was appointed by Zhu Si as a general and the governor of Hanhai. You can't think of it! A small little
General Zhonglang actually obtained such a high official position."
Guo Song nodded, "I really can't think of it. What's the reason for this?"
"Beizhi thought about it for a long time and gathered information from all sides. Beizhi believes that Zhu Si should have taken a fancy to Fengzhou's grain production."
"go on!"
Xue Changshou continued: "Your Majesty also knows that Fengzhou is rich in grain, and the people's grain is piled up in mountains and cannot be sold. The Fengzhou government cannot buy it, and it does not need it, so we organized a fleet to sell Fengzhou's grain.
We went to Guanzhong and received a warm welcome from Guanzhong. We heard that even Zhu Si personally met with officials selling grain. We didn't take this matter seriously. It wasn't until the Zhonglang General incident happened that we realized that Zhu Si
Si has set his sights on Fengzhou."
Guo Song took a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked again: "Didn't Zhu Si send troops to respond?"
Xue Changshou was stunned for a moment, "I didn't expect this humble position, and we didn't find the corresponding information."
Guo Song pondered for a while and said: "It can be inferred from common sense. Since the grain-producing land of Fengzhou is extremely important, Zhu Si will definitely control it in his own hands and will not place his hopes on a Zhonglang general. I guess
Zhu Si must have sent troops, I'm afraid he's not far from Fengzhou."
Xue Changshou said quickly: "If Zhu Si sends troops, they must come from Yanzhou, go north along the Yellow River, and come from the east. I have not received news from Yulin County in the past two days. I am afraid that Yulin County has been controlled.
"
With his political sensitivity, Guo Song immediately realized that Zhu Si was going to attack Fengzhou. He immediately made a decision and ordered Jiuyuan County to close the city gates and send troops to the city to guard against it. He himself led 10,000 cavalry to rush eastward.
Before leaving, more than a hundred scouts went to Yulin County to investigate intelligence.
........
On the official road about a hundred miles west of Yulin County, an army of about 8,000 people was rapidly marching towards Fengzhou.
After a big leak occurred in the Guangtong warehouse, the grain stock dropped sharply, which forced Zhu Si to start paying attention to grain. Although he occupied a large area of land in the Central Plains, the fertile fields in the Central Plains were unevenly flooded and drought-prone, and there were many disasters. He could not guarantee stable grain production until the harvest.
Fengzhou transported grain to Guanzhong for sale. Only then did Zhu Si discover that Fengzhou was a treasure land. The land was fertile, with sufficient irrigation and few pests and diseases. It was very easy to take care of. A farmer could plant two hectares of wheat. Fengzhou was fully developed.
The food supply for 100,000 soldiers is completely guaranteed.
Zhu Si was also paying attention to Cui Kuan's every move. When Cui Kuan was preparing to unite with the party members to go south, Zhu Si realized that the time had come, and he immediately sent troops north to capture Fengzhou.
This army was sent by Zhu Si. The leader of the general was Li Huanshan, one of Zhu Si's closest generals. Of course, Zhu Si could not let a small lieutenant control Fengzhou in the future. He had to secure the important grain-producing area.
It's in your own hands.
This army was originally composed of half cavalry and half infantry. After occupying Yulin County, they forcibly requisitioned thousands of livestock from the county seat, so that the infantry also had the foot power to move, and the team accelerated their march.
Eight thousand troops marched westward along the Yellow River. On a hill in the distance, several Hexi Army scouts discovered the enemy. They immediately turned their horses and followed the path to get in front of the enemy.