Da Wei Chun

Chapter 676 Why Worry
Yuan Shen secretly thought about Yang Shu's intentions, while Yang Shu stared intently at Ding Zu who was mixing the concrete under the wall, as if he wanted to write down the formula.

Liu Fangzhi was not here, but looked around, looking at the soldiers and civilians who built the city.

After seeing a few large carts coming here, they saw several wooden barrels on the carts, which were still emitting heat, and it was obvious that they were food for the soldiers and the strong.

Liu Fang looked up at the sun that had already reached the mid-heaven, and asked in puzzlement, "Why are you eating at this time?"

Li Liang was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Shang Shu thought it was a court meal? No, it's a lunch..."

Lunch?

Doesn't it mean that I have already eaten one meal in the morning, and this is the second meal?
"In this way, is there still dinner?"

"Of course there is!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fang became even more curious: "There are also civilian husbands?"

Li Liang smiled slightly, "I'm not afraid that the minister of the temple will laugh at me: after Lang Junyu defeated Nanliang three years ago, the population of Qingshui County has dropped sharply, and now there are less than [-] households. Even if there are six households per household, it is only more than ten thousand. Support There are only more than ten thousand people, for me, Xihai, it is not difficult..."

It's not the same thing at all.

Why did the population of Qingshui County drop sharply after the Battle of Chencang?

Naturally, it was stolen by Li Chengzhi and smuggled to the West Sea.The public case has long since come to light, which is why Li Liang said that he is not afraid of being laughed at by the minister.

It is true that there are at least ten thousand residents in Qingshui County, but this is a county.And in the huge Longxi, there are three prefectures and three towns, and there are not two hundred counties like Qingshui, but there are also hundreds and fifty.

If calculated in this way, there are at least 20 private households.

20 people, if everything is like clear water, only one catty of food per person per day, 20 catties of grain per day, what about one month, one year?

According to Cui Guang's judgment, if it is not bad, the food in the West Sea can barely make ends meet, one season follows the other, and it is undoubtedly a joke to say how much is surplus.

Therefore, even if what Li Liang said is true, it can only be true for Qing Shui.As for the people of other states, towns, counties, and counties, they can only let themselves go.

What's more, Li Liang may not be telling the truth.

Liu Fang pondered for a while, pointed to the men who were receiving the food, and then clasped her fists at Li Liang: "I would like to ask the general for your convenience, can I ask you a question or two?"

A few old farmers just eat for one meal, so there is nothing to ask.Could it be that as Li Xiaozhang said, Liu Fang was really curious about the people's livelihood in Qingshui City?

Suspicious in his heart, Li Liang replied with a smile: "Shangshu, please go ahead!"

Liu Fang didn't avoid him either, and walked straight to the car.

He was wearing court clothes and a three-beam crown, even Min Zhuang knew that he was a high-ranking official no matter how inexperienced he was.Seeing this, they threw down the porcelain pots and soup urns, knelt down and bowed their heads.

But Ru Xihai's pawns just moved to the sides and looked at him curiously.

Liu Fang went to the front of the car first and glanced into the two barrels.

One of the barrels contained cakes, corn mixed with wheat grains, bean beans, and many vegetable leaves.It should be steamed in the morning, and it is already cool at this time.The soldier in charge of distribution holds a shovel in his hand, and can cut out a piece in two or three strokes.

Not too big, not too small, about two inches thick and about the size of a palm.And it is so thick, even if you can't eat enough, you can at least eat seven or eight percent full.

Wheat and bean are naturally common. They are often used as horse food in the army, and they are also used as rations for poor families.

But the vegetable leaves mixed in the cake are rare, not bean or artemisia, but very green.

Suspicious in her heart, Liu Fang actually asked for a piece from the leader of the gang, took it into her mouth and tasted it.

There is plenty of salt in it, and it's delicious.Liu Fang touched it and asked, "What is a green leaf?"

The leader of the gang replied respectfully: "Bingshang envoy, only alfalfa ears!"

Alfalfa?

Liu Fang was taken aback for a moment: When did this thing get to Longxi?

I just remember that there are many plants in Hualin Garden, and when the flowers bloom in midsummer, they are like a sea of ​​gold.

I only thought that it was spread in Longxi and was treated as a wild vegetable. Liu Fang didn't investigate further, and glanced at another bucket.

Seeing a thick layer of oil flakes floating on the surface of the soup, and meat could be seen under the soup, Liu Fang's heart skipped a beat.

Broth, and so fatty?
Suspicious in his heart, he suddenly raised his head, and carefully looked at the eating patterns of the soldiers and the people: neither rush nor slow, neither rush nor slow, he did not gobble up food like a voracious eater, and he seemed to be used to it for a long time, and it was by no means only in the past few days. There is such a treatment, but it has already been...

Isn't it, even if there is no meat in every meal, at least there should be one meal every day.Otherwise, Xihai's soldiers are fine, and Qingshui's husband will never take it so lightly.

And no matter how surplus the imperial court was, there was absolutely no time for soldiers and civilians to eat meat every day.What's more, Xihai is not generally short of food now, and it is not bad to be able to provide enough rations for soldiers.

He came in a hurry, and he went to the city on a whim. Li Liang didn't have the time and no need to make arrangements in advance to fool himself.But I will never be wrong, there are indeed oily spots on the soup, and there are pieces of meat and bones in the bowls of Minfu and Ding Zhuang.

Could it be vegetables and meat?
Liu Fang's heart shrank suddenly, her face sank immediately, and she snatched the long spoon from the soldier's hand.

He resisted vomiting, put it under his nose and smelled it.

Well, it's a little fishy, ​​a little smelly...it seems to be mutton.

He took another sip...

Is it really lamb?

There is also enough salt, and the taste is quite delicious... It's also because Liu Fang is old and sad, running around non-stop for more than ten days without taking off her clothes.Just because he was so preoccupied and anxious, he didn't even know he caught the cold and lost his sense of smell.

Otherwise, it was so close, he should have smelled it long ago.

But it shouldn't be... Even if Tuyuhun and Rouran were defeated in a row, Xihai seized a lot of livestock, but it would never be so rich, right?
Liu Fang turned her head in disbelief, and looked at Li Liang in a daze: "Sheep soup?"

Isn't it mutton soup?

Li Liang was startled, then heard Liu Fang ask: "Could it be like this every day?"

He suddenly burst out laughing.

No wonder Liu Fang was surprised: small households, there are only a handful of days in a year when you can see meat, just like the end of the year, the beginning of the year, the third festival, and the fourth solstice.

Those from better off families can eat three or two meals a week at most.Who dares to say that they can eat meat every day if they are not from a wealthy family?

Xihai is rich in livestock, and Li Chengzhi loves soldiers like a son, and he would never dare to be so extravagant.It was just a coincidence today that Liu Fang bumped into him just in time for Sanshi Hun.

The reason why the folks in Qingshui County are indifferent is that they are used to two meals a day, and suddenly changed to three meals a day.

After Li Liang explained this, Liu Fang understood better, but she still asked curiously: "If the old man's prediction is correct, there is no surplus food in Xihai. Now it's not the time of war, why don't you see the general limit the food?"

Li Liang wanted to limit it, but Li Chengzhi refused.

I want the horse to run, but I don't give the horse grass... There is no such thing as cheap in the world, let alone people?
Today's Xihai has grabbed enough land and captured enough cities.Although the people did not rob many people, only 30 million people in the three prefectures and three towns of Longxi, but compared with the entire volume of Xihai, it has fully doubled.

Therefore, the main strategic goal at this stage is to put the benefits of the snatched hands into the bag, and find a way to digest the swallowed ones as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether it is a land or a city, people must be planted and guarded.Therefore, the focus of Xihai has changed from expanding the territory to stabilizing people's hearts and developing people's livelihood, and people have naturally become the top priority.

Therefore, places that should not be saved must not be saved.When it's time to win people's hearts, you must definitely do your best.

Naturally, Li Liang only obeyed Li Chengzhi's order, and he would never discount it: just like when he was attacking a city, he could persuade him to surrender, but Li Liang would never attack unless he had to.

After entering the city, not to mention looting, Li Liang would push even the offerings sent by officials, gentry and wealthy households to buy peace.

Regardless of how difficult the imperial court has become, where is the prosperity of the people in Longxi, where Cui Yanbo and Chen Bing lived?
The worst place is Qingshui County, because it is the closest to Longshan, the last to withdraw, and the soldiers are the Chinese army under Cui Yanbo's command.

When the officers and soldiers withdrew from Qingshui County, they almost robbed the people of all their food, and even burned the millet and millet that would be ripe in two months to ashes.

Fortunately, not everywhere is like clear water. Officers and soldiers can take it easy, and they can fortify the walls and clear the fields.And most counties and counties are collapsing, not retreating.

Don't say that the general took away the food and burned the young crops. Nine of the ten armies threw away their helmets and armor and fled in panic.Not only did they leave a lot of food, grass and war horses, but even the people did not suffer from the war.

This is cheap. Li Liang: Naturally, all the food and grass for the officers and soldiers are taken with a smile. If there are aristocrats, aristocratic families, etc., who have not been exploited too much and have surplus, Li Liang will buy some.

It is said that soldiers are like bandits, and to meet such a reasonable person, both the gentry and the common people would not be grateful, at least they would not dare to obey and disobey.

What's more, what they give is real money.

Or goods such as gold and silk, or iron farm tools, or livestock such as cattle and sheep, and even war horses, knives and guns.

As long as you come to exchange, the price is negotiable, anyway, it will never be higher than the market price, no deception.Including the peasants who worked under the city and the farmers who plowed the fields outside the city, regardless of gender, old or weak, they were all hired rather than forced.

In ancient times, there was a tree standing at the gate of Shang Yang, and now there is Li Liang's daughter selling horse bones, and the effect is as natural as immediate results.

It's not even a month, and no matter if it's true or false, within the ten counties of Fanlongxi, there are already rumors that "Xihai is the master of the king" has spread in eight counties.

At least the people are grateful to Dade from the bottom of their hearts: never heard that building the city wall not only manages food, but also pays wages?

As for the shortage of food in the West Sea mentioned by Liu Fang, it is indeed lacking, but it is not to the extent that it is imminent.

One is that Dunhuang is rich and rich. Although there are more than [-] households in the town army and townspeople, they are more than enough for self-sufficiency.What's more, there are still a lot of surplus food in the official warehouses and town people's homes.

So Li Chengzhi sent millions of cattle and sheep to Li Song in order to exchange food with the townspeople of Dunhuang, and then feed them back to Hexi and Longxi.

But the livestock plundered from Tuyuhun and Rouran amounted to millions.If it is a last resort, it can last for three to two months by slaughtering all of them.

This is only second, the key point is that all the food and grass promised to Tuyuhun and Rouran by the imperial court for borrowing troops have been robbed by Li Chengzhi.

It was just snatched from these two Hu tribes. There are more than 20 carts nearby, and nearly 3000 stones, which are more than [-] million catties.

In addition to the grain stored in the West Sea and the surplus grain in the hands of the households, it would be no problem to maintain it for two years.

Therefore, the lack of food is only a relative term. If the imperial court can really strike a truce, it only needs to give Xihai two years, and the grain produced in Longxi alone can support nearly 70 million households in Xihai and the needs of an army of [-].

Therefore, from time to time, the imperial court only thought that Xihai had cut off the trade route of exchanging food with Nanliang, and it was imminent.In fact, Li Chengzhi no longer has to worry about food for at least two years.

This is a military situation, so it is naturally a secret among secrets. How could Li Liang tell Liu Fang that he knew: "I want to limit food, but my lord won't allow it, so what can I do?"

"Why didn't he allow it?"

Li Liang laughed: "I'm just a retainer, how dare I question my lord? Just obey the order... It's only about a thousand miles away. When the minister of the temple arrives in Zhenyi and sees you, you will know..."

As soon as I heard it, I knew that Li Liang was not telling the truth, but the two countries are now enemies rather than friends, and it is only natural for Li Liang to be like this.

Even if he met Li Chengzhi, he would never want to ask the truth.

Liu Fang sighed lightly: "The old man is reckless!"

Li Liang even said he didn't dare, and accompanied Liu Fang around the city.

After asking Min Zhuang, and knowing that the folks who came here to build the city were not forced to recruit, but hired, Liu Fang suddenly realized: Li Chengzhi spent so much money, money and food, just to buy people's hearts?

After thinking about this point, Liu Fang has always been in the city like a mountain, but he still couldn't help showing hesitation.

Before leaving Beijing, the Empress Dowager confessed everything, but there was only one Long Mountain, which was really too thin.Moreover, Li Chengzhi has already occupied Qinzhou and Bogulu, and he can bypass Longshan anytime and anywhere, or enter Gaoping from the north, or attack Chencang from the south, and can invade Guanzhong.

So no matter what, the land of Longxi must be recovered, and Li Chengzhi must retreat to the west of Dahe.The Queen Mother even made it clear: Whether Li Chengzhi wants food, important people, or even divides Dangchang (now Wudu, Gansu, a vassal state in Yuan and Wei Dynasties) to him, it is all right.

But now it seems that Li Chengzhi is determined to occupy Longxi by force, otherwise it would be impossible to spend such a high price to stabilize the people's hearts.

It is also impossible for the imperial court to come up with something that makes Li Chengzhi's heart move. If it is stalemate for this, or even falls apart, it will inevitably fight again.

In this way, the South Conquest Army will have to be adjusted if it is not adjusted...

Liu Fang felt melancholy all of a sudden, how could she have the desire to watch?Li Liang invited him to the county government office on the pretext of being old and sad and wanted to take a break.

The food was ready, and after a few quick bites, Liu Fang was about to go on the road.

Li Liang didn't force him, and sent him out of the county respectfully.

The convoy set off again and headed west in a mighty way.

Still traveling westward along the Wei River, it was Shen time ([-]:[-] p.m.), which was the hottest time.Liu Fang couldn't bear the stuffiness in the car, so she simply sat on the rear of the car.

Yuan Yuan was in charge of the military affairs of this trip, so he did not ride in a chariot, but rode a horse.Seeing Liu Fang's sad face, he rode his horse and leaned over.

"Why is the minister worried?"

(End of this chapter)