On the official road east of the Yellow River in Lanzhou, a team of several hundred people was walking quickly. The leader of the team was Zhang Guangsheng who was going to Hexi for negotiations. Although he did not want to take on this task, Zhu Si forced him to do it.
He had no choice but to accept it.
Just as he walked to Yong County, the envoy sent by Zhu Si caught up with him on a fast horse and added an additional clause to the negotiation, requiring the Hexi Army to retreat from Xiaoguan. Only then did Zhang Guangsheng know that Xiaoguan had been captured by the Hexi Army.
.
Zhang Guangsheng had to lament Guo Song's method of seizing a land while leaving an opportunity for the next step. Seizing Xiaoguan, Yuan, Qing, Yan, and Suizhou would undoubtedly be within easy reach, but Guo Song refused to take action, which really made Zhu
The head is big, and heavy troops are sent to guard it. The containment is too great. If we don't send heavy troops, it means that we will give it up.
Zhang Guangsheng has realized that Guo Song is actually the biggest threat to Zhu Si. In comparison, the vassal towns in Hebei and the Central Plains are nothing, not to mention the Southern Tang Dynasty in Bashu. If they were not in danger of mountains and rivers, the Northern Tang army would have been
So he went in. According to the development of the current situation, Zhu Si's army will surely unify the world within five years, and that is without considering the Hexi Army.
For example, if [Ding Dian Novel www.xbooktxt.info] considers the Hexi Army, the world situation will have to be re-evaluated.
Zhang Guangsheng thought about himself again, should he consider leaving a way out?
The group finally arrived at the Yellow River. The group was hungry and thirsty. Zhang Guangsheng saw a food tent not far away, so he ordered his men to buy something to eat and drink before leaving. Unexpectedly, his men came back and said: "General, they don't accept new money or small money.
We only accept Hexi money or gold and silver money.”
"That's unreasonable!"
Zhang Guangsheng was annoyed and urged his horse to the food shed and asked the shopkeeper: "The new money can be used in Chang'an, why can't it be used here?"
Seeing his majestic aura, the shopkeeper didn't dare to refuse with harsh words, so he had to laugh and said: "This man doesn't know something. The circulation of new money in Hexi has been banned from the beginning of the year, and the merchants don't recognize it. You use the new money to pay the bill.
It’s no different than grabbing it in the open.”
"Then what did you use the money for?"
"We accept Hexi money, gold and silver money, and old money. You can pay gold and silver if you want."
Zhang Guangsheng had seen Hexi money, and it was indeed very good, with a high copper content, but he had never seen gold and silver coins. He asked, "What do gold and silver coins look like? Show it to me."
"this......"
The shopkeeper hesitated, then took out two coins from his pocket and handed them to him. Zhang Guangsheng looked at the money and silver coins in his hands, and blurted out, "Sogdian money!"
"Sir, this is not Sogdian money."
Zhang Guangsheng has seen it clearly. It looks very similar to Sogdian gold and silver coins, but it is not. It is Kaiyuan Tongbao made of gold and silver. However, there are three characters "Hexi Cast" at the bottom, which is not very similar to the batch of coins cast during the Tianbao period.
Same.
He weighed it and found that it weighed about one dollar. "How much can I exchange for this?" Zhang Guangsheng asked again.
"Money is a piece of money, and silver money is a hundred cents." The shopkeeper said respectfully.
"Is this kind of gold and silver money abundant in Hexi?"
The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "It was just launched today. It is very popular. The quantity is not large."
Zhang Guangsheng took out a fifty-tael silver ingot and handed it to him, "You can use this!"
"Silver, of course!"
"We want to eat food and herbal tea, and then give me these two gold and silver coins. I will keep it as a souvenir. You can calculate how much you eat."
"I understand, everyone, please take a seat!"
Zhang Guangsheng waved his hand, and his entourage sat down in the tea shed one after another. The waiter carried a big pot of herbal tea and poured tea for them.
"Shopkeeper, come and sit down!" Zhang Guangsheng waved and said with a smile.
The shopkeeper stepped forward and smiled bitterly: "Are you from Chang'an? I'm a nobody and I don't know any top-secret information. It's useless to ask me!"
"Let's just chat casually and talk about some interesting things in public. We won't embarrass you."
Seeing that he was taking care of business, the shopkeeper had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "What do you want to ask me?"
"I heard that more than 600,000 refugees came to Hexi last year?"
"It was the winter of the year before last, and it hadn't snowed yet. Hundreds of thousands of refugees came from Huizhou. We also had a few refugees here, but the number was very small. This matter was over long ago."
“How are the refugees doing now?”
The shopkeeper glanced at Zhang Guangsheng and said seriously: "They are no longer refugees, they are residents of Longyou. Last year, Hehuang had a good wheat harvest, and every family had enough food and clothing. I am doing business here, and I have not seen anyone who wants to go back to his hometown.
An Xin settled in Longyou, and the Longyou government recruited a militia group. Everyone signed up enthusiastically, and every young man was practicing martial arts to defend his homeland."
Zhang Guangsheng nodded. Although Liu Sigu was powerful, his structure was still too small. However, his poisonous plan was turned into an opportunity by Guo Song, which increased the population by more than 600,000. From this, Liu Sigu could only be said to be insidious.
He was vicious, but his strategic vision was still weak, but Zhu Si trusted him so much.
At this time, a soldier ran up and said: "General, someone is looking for you!"
Zhang Guangsheng turned around and saw an official in his thirties walking not far away. He bowed and saluted, "Are you General Zhang?"
Zhang Guangsheng felt that he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before, so he nodded, "I am Zhang Guangsheng, you are..."
"I am Liu Ying, the magistrate of Jincheng County."
This name reminded Zhang Guangsheng, "Are you the magistrate of Yancheng County? You led a group of refugees to flee to Guanzhong, right?"
Liu Ying nodded, "It's my Majesty, Meng Guo's envoy, who favored me and appointed me as the magistrate of Jincheng County."
"You are a virtuous person. Being able to be re-activated shows that Guo Shijun knows how to make good use of people. Congratulations to you."
"Thank you, General. I came to tell the General that there is news from Zhangye that Commander Guo is on his way to Lanzhou. General, please wait for a moment in Jincheng County."
Zhang Guangsheng understood that Guo Song did not intend for him to go to Zhangye and meet directly in Jincheng County. This arrangement was of course the best, as it would avoid the embarrassment of going to Liangzhou. As the former governor of Liangzhou, Zhang Guangsheng really didn't know how to face Liangzhou.
The elders of the state?
"I understand, how should we cross the river?"
"We arranged a big boat to send the general and his men across the river in batches!"
...........
Zhang Guangsheng stood on the bow of the boat with his hands behind his hands and looked at the other side of the Yellow River. He had not returned for many years, which made him feel that things were different and everything was so familiar yet so strange.
At this time, Zhang Guangsheng suddenly saw that there seemed to be shipbuilding on the bank of the Yellow River. There was a half-built ship, and many people were busy beside it. Zhang Guangsheng was stunned.
"Magistrate Liu, are they building ships?" Zhang Guangsheng asked, pointing to the opposite side.
Liu Ying laughed and said: "We are building ferries. The rafts can transport goods, but crossing the Yellow River is still too dangerous, so we decided to build five or six ferries. The boat we are standing on is the new boat."
Zhang Guangsheng suddenly realized, "I see, but... are there shipbuilders in Hexi?" He hesitated and asked again.
Liu Ying smiled slightly and said: "There is no such thing in Hexi, but there are some among the refugees, and there are quite a few of them. Shipbuilders from Yongqiu County in Bianzhou are here."
Zhang Guangsheng was shocked. Thousands of shipwrights who built dragon boats in the Sui Dynasty were finally settled in Yongqiu. There were several townships there that were famous for their shipbuilding for generations, and there were at least several thousand shipwrights.
"Are there thousands of people?"
"Haha! Thousands of people is an exaggeration. There are indeed a lot of people, but we can't use that many for the time being." Liu Ying was vague. The number of shipwrights was important information, and he would not let it slip.
The ship slowly docked and Zhang Guangsheng stepped ashore. Liu Ying waved his hand and said, "I will make arrangements for the entourage that follows. Please come, General!"
Zhang Guangsheng nodded and walked towards the county town with a few negotiators...
Two days later, Guo Song came to Jincheng County with several senior officials from Hexi. Guo Song certainly knew the significance of this negotiation. Both sides had needs. Guo Song needed time, and Zhu Si also needed time, but reaching an agreement was not easy.
Let's see how both sides compromise.
In the morning, Zhang Guangsheng came to the county magistrate, and Guo Song had been waiting for him at the gate of the county government office for a long time.
"I'm really sorry for keeping Mr. Guo waiting for so long."
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Welcome General Zhang to Lanzhou!"
Guo Song introduced to him one by one the two subordinates who participated in the negotiations, Chief Shi Pan Liao and Director Zhang Qiu'an.
Zhang Guangsheng was secretly frightened. One of them was in charge of government affairs and the other was in charge of military affairs. It seemed that Guo Song still valued this negotiation very much.
Guo Song smiled again and said: "General Zhang, let's go in and talk in detail!"
"Please, Mr. Guo!"
The two of them walked into the county government office humbly.