stubborn thief

Chapter 662 Win-win

When Liu Chengzong returned to Xi'an Prefecture, he had only four words to describe this land.

Vast and vast.

As soon as Liu Shizi led his troops to the north bank, he saw that both sides of the Wei River were densely packed with people.

Just then, Gao Yingdeng and Ren Quaner came with two horse teams to greet them. Liu Chengzong raised his whip and asked, "Where did they come from?"

Gao Yingdeng glanced at Ren Quaner, who then stepped forward and said, "Sir, we are all from Xi'an City. We are the surrendered soldiers, the Qin clan, and their servants. The Second Brigade will be in charge of building the camp."

After he finished speaking, Gao Yingdeng followed up and said, "General, at present, the main battalion and the standard battalion of the brigade have climbed up the Xi'an city wall to take over the defense, and there are two battalions of reinforcements stationed outside the city to prevent any accidents."

Liu Chengzong nodded slowly and asked, "Chen Qiyu, have you finished everything?"

"It's done... halfway. As soon as the Marshal left, he asked for help."

Gao Yingdeng laughed and said, "The guard commander stationed in the south of the city is named Cui. He couldn't deal with him, so General Ren sent 500 veterans from the second brigade to attack at night, hoping to kill Commander Cui and be done with it."

"We couldn't control it. The defenders surrendered before we were even touched, and they collapsed as soon as we were touched. The defenders of the four cities were all scared and confused. We had no choice but to open the city gates and let the soldiers in to maintain law and order. Otherwise, they would have burned down the city."

"Please forgive me, sir. I am just a humble person..."

Liu Chengzong waved his hand, signaling Ren Quaner not to say more, and said: "It's okay, it's almost done."

The Xi'an Prefecture was surrounded at the beginning of summer. Now it is winter, with no help from outside and no food from inside, and they have just experienced the chaos of grain seizure and property confiscation.

If he had not been unwilling to provide food to support his troops, the city would have collapsed long ago.

In this situation, let alone a night attack by 500 soldiers, Liu Shizi even felt that even if only one person climbed up the city wall and shouted, the defenders might collapse among themselves.

What's more, Liu Chengzong was also clear about the situation of the Second Brigade. The core soldiers of this brigade were his Yan'an Weiqi Army, and their ability to fight tough battles was weaker than that of the First Brigade.

Now they have become the elite among the elites of the Marshal's Office, and they are full of energy after the reorganization. When the 500 men climbed up the city wall, they saw the enemy fleeing and fighting each other, and it was impossible for them to stay on the city wall.

You must follow the trend and show your power.

This is normal.

Generally speaking, Chen Qiuyu had done a good job in raiding the rich households and capturing clan members. According to Liu Shizi's expectations, he should have entered the Xi'an city.

It's just a matter of a few days.

No one is to blame for this situation.

What's more, the two brigades did a good job in the aftermath.

Thanks to the hard work of these surrendered soldiers and clan members, the two large camps in the north and south of the Weihe River in Xi'an Prefecture were completed ahead of schedule before the freezing weather, which also fulfilled a major concern for Liu Shizi.

After crossing the Wei River floating bridge, Chen Qiuyu was already waiting on the south bank.

The former governor of five provinces surrendered after his defeat, and regarded himself as a prisoner, without the slightest arrogance on his face. When he saw Liu Chengzong coming, he was carried by soldiers with a letter of surrender and stepped forward to salute.

"Chen Qiyu, the guilty general, kowtows to the Grand Marshal."

Liu Chengzong was not polite and walked forward in a relaxed manner, and even greeted Chen Qihuang who was bowing behind Chen Qiuyu.

He took the letter of surrender, looked at it and handed it to the attendant, then looked at Chen Qiyu: "Before, we just stayed in our positions. Now that the general has surrendered, it will save Xi'an from the disaster of war. It is also a good thing. Please stand up."

Chen Qiuyu did not perform any surrender rituals such as riding a white horse in a plain carriage, baring one's body and binding one's face, or holding a jade disk and leading a sheep.

That is an ancient custom of a fallen nation, and as a scholar-official he is not worthy of it.

But even so, Chen Qiuyu was still quite nervous about meeting Liu Chengzong.

After all, based on Liu Chengzong's previous actions against him, no matter how you look at it, he will be severely humiliated today.

However, he didn't expect that Liu Chengzong just said a few words lightly and let him get up.

Liu Shizi didn't have the time to humiliate him. He just glanced at Chen Qiyu, who was still a little confused, and asked, "Have you ever been an official in Shaanxi?"

Chen Qiuyu wanted to resign, and it would be nice to be an ordinary citizen even if he moved to Suide.

But after hearing what Liu Chengzong said, he naturally gave up the idea.

Obviously, they have plans for where to go.

Then he didn't need to say more. Even if he said it, Liu Chengzong would probably not agree, so he might as well not make himself unhappy.

He replied: "Yes, in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, I served as the deputy envoy of Shaanxi and guarded the Guannei Road."

"A good position."

This deputy envoy was in charge of the circuit and was an aide-de-camp to the province. He assisted the governor in supervising the prefectures, counties and districts under his jurisdiction.

Generally speaking, he is in charge of everything, including money, agriculture, examiners, military command, and land defense, but he is basically not responsible for anything. It is indeed a good official position.

Liu Chengzong made a casual compliment and then continued to ask, "How deep is this section of the Wei River?"

Chen Qiyu didn't understand the question, but he knew the answer, so he answered without hesitation: "General, the Wei River in Xi'an Prefecture is about 50 meters deep in summer and autumn, and 40 meters deep in winter and spring."

Liu Chengzong was very satisfied with this answer. He turned around and looked at the exposed riverbed on both sides of the Wei River. He said, "I just had someone measure it. The water depth is two zhang."

It’s not that Chen Qiuyu was wrong, but there was no rain in Guanzhong this summer.

The Wei River irrigates a large amount of farmland in the Guanzhong Plain, but it has not been replenished.

"The situation may be better or worse by the beginning of next spring."

"I intend to appoint you as the governor of the river, with your office in Xi'an, with a second-rank salary, to supervise the repair of the river and water conservancy."

After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he looked at Chen Qiyu and asked, "How is it?"

He didn't have any grudge against Chen Qiuyu. After all, the war was over and he had been beaten up by Chen Qiuyu, so he might as well use him if he surrendered.

The task assigned to him by Liu Chengzong was to develop water conservancy projects.

When Chen Qiyu heard this mission, he was not unhappy at all. Instead, the worry on his face was reduced a little. He bowed down with great joy and said, "Thank you very much, Marshal, for your kindness!"

After expressing his attitude, Chen Qiyu immediately asked Liu Chengzong very cautiously: "May I ask, Grand Marshal, to what extent do you want me to repair the rivers and canals?"

  When Liu Shizi heard this, he turned to look at Chen Qiuyu with a bit of surprise in his eyes: You got into the role quite quickly!

Little did he know that Chen Qiuyu was extremely satisfied with his arrangement.

After surrendering to the Marshal's Office, Chen Qiuyu did not expect to be awarded a high official title, nor did he think of gaining any power.

If he were really appointed as the governor of five provinces and allowed to lead troops to attack Shanxi and Henan, he would have to find a way to escape even if his clan didn't want him.

After all, everyone has their own pursuits. They love what they do. Before surrendering to the Marshal's Office, they think about one thing, but after surrendering and trying to save their lives, they have to consider another thing.

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

If Liu Chengzong appointed him as the governor of five provinces, he would most likely want to kill him.

If he was sincere, it would be even more outrageous. It only shows that Marshal Liu Chengzong is a good fighter but has no ability to judge people.

More importantly, run.

Because the governor is in charge of military, civil and military affairs.

Although Chen Qiuyu did not fight very well in the Shaanxi Campaign, he was confident that there were few people in the world who could do a better job than him in commanding the Ming army.

  But who could lead the Marshal's army better than Liu Chengzong?

What's more, even if Liu Chengzong, the founder of the army, was put aside, Chen Qiuyu would not be able to command the marshal's army.

If you let him lead troops to fight, there's no chance he can win.

Therefore, in Chen Qiuyu's eyes, river management is the best of all good tasks.

Second only to compiling the daily notes for Liu Chengzong.

“To what extent has the renovation been completed?”

Liu Chengzong chuckled, thinking that the question asked by Chen Qiyu was quite interesting, and jokingly said: "Can you not reduce production in Guanzhong next year?"

Chen Qiyu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head decisively. The great marshal was making a wish here.

Since the beginning of spring this year, not a drop of rain has fallen in Guanzhong, and the Wei River is half as shallow as in previous years.

If it snows this winter, the situation will be better. If it doesn’t snow, a reduction in production in Guanzhong next year is inevitable.

Not to mention appointing him as the governor of the river, even if he is appointed as the governor of the universe, the land that should be abandoned must be abandoned, and production that should be reduced must be reduced.

This is not a matter of ability.

However, seeing him shaking his head, Liu Shizi was not anxious, but happy instead.

He just asked casually. As long as Chen Qiyu didn't say that he could guarantee no production cuts, it meant that this person was really considering doing something.

To be honest, when Liu Shizi just crossed the river from the floating bridge and asked someone to measure the water depth, he almost cursed the heavens and the earth.

The floating bridge on the Wei River north of Xi'an is a seasonal bridge. It is usually used as a ferry in spring and summer and is only built in autumn.

This is mainly because of the irrigation in the Guanzhong Plain. Water use peaks in spring and summer, and the Wei River will dry up at irregular intervals, so boats are used when there is water, and there is no need to worry when there is no water.

As a result, it is almost impossible to build a floating bridge this winter.

Liu Shizi didn't know what was going on.

Last year, Guanzhong was doing well, but Hehuang and Lanzhou were suffering from drought. This year, he came out and took over Guanzhong, but it stopped raining in Guanzhong again.

Those who were hit by drought died of drought, and those who were hit by floods died of floods.

Hanzhong is separated from Guanzhong by several hundred miles. There, heavy rains continued for forty days, so flooded that Gao Yingxiang dared not go down the mountain.

It's good for him, not a drop of water fell from the sky.

If it weren't for the Wei River here, Guanzhong would have suffered a disaster this year.

But even so, considering the depth of the Wei River, Liu Shizi estimates that the river will dry up in the spring and summer of next year.

The drying up of the Wei River is not a problem, because for irrigation purposes, it would dry up even without a drought.

But in this year, whether the flow can be replenished if it is cut off is another matter, and this is where the danger lies.

Liu Chengzong said: "Since the reduction in production is inevitable, your job is to do your best. Clear the ditches that need to be cleared and repair those that need to be repaired, plant trees to consolidate the land and conserve water resources. At the same time, do a good job of water distribution and try to let the water flow to where it should go."

"As for the rest, others will do it."

Chen Qiyu nodded in agreement, knowing that this job was probably no easier than being the governor of five provinces.

Because building canals and clearing rivers is easy as long as someone has money and a plan, things can get on track.

The difficult part is water distribution, that is, water use regulations and segmented management.

It is easy to manage a river, but difficult to manage people.

However, after hearing what Liu Chengzong said, Chen Qiuyu felt that in addition to doing their best, the Marshal's Office seemed to have other options.

He was also the officer in charge of military affairs during the drought, and he knew how difficult those times were. The Marshal's Office was able to stand out at this time, so it must have some unique secret.

Thinking of this, Chen Qiyu couldn't hold back his curiosity, so he asked carefully: "Marshal, I guess there are other ways?"

"Oh, what can I do?"

Liu Shizi thought to himself that this was the nature of the environment. If the natural disasters that the Northwest had suffered in recent years were thrown into the hands of any prosperous ancient dynasty, it would have caused it to never recover.

It's just that their Marshal's Office is a small regime that started out in a disaster, so the officials, soldiers and civilians are more optimistic and more resilient.

Liu Chengzong smiled and said, "You do your best, and I will find a way as for destiny."

Chen Qiyu understood clearly: "Pray for rain and offer sacrifice to the heaven?"

This is business.

The fact that it didn't rain means the officials are not sincere.

When it rains, it can greatly improve people's morale and stability.

However, Liu Chengzong's thoughts were obviously different from Chen Qiuyu's.

He shook his head slowly and said, "Rain is hard to come by. My plan is to replace the person in charge with one of our own first."

"The Grand Marshal wants to replace the person in charge... with one of his own?"

Chen Qiuyu didn't understand.

Or maybe you understood it, but it was too shocking.

"I finally understand. Wherever I go, it doesn't rain. This must be because the people in charge are against me. They just want to take advantage of me but don't do anything. Of course they need to be replaced."

"What about the God of Wind and Rain, God of River and Rain, Dragon King and Lake Lord, Mountain God and City God? If it doesn't rain, we will stop offering incense to them and make them all retire. We will enthrone the spirits of the fallen officers and soldiers of the Marshal's Army and bring them to their posts."

Liu Chengzong's words sounded like they should be, and Chen Qiuyu, Chen Qihuang and others were astonished by what they heard.

The two brothers looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes - is Liu Chengzong crazy?

You say he is superstitious, he wants to remove all the gods.

You say he doesn't believe in gods, but he actually confers titles on a bunch of gods himself.

Liu Chengzong ignored their looks and waved his hand, saying, "You don't have to worry about so much. Just do your job well. Stay in the army temporarily and make some rules for the river office."

As for replacing the gods with one's own people, Liu Chengzong's thinking actually has nothing to do with superstition.

When he came across the Wei River floating bridge, he had already realized that next year's harvest might not be very good.

Normally, a worse harvest would not have much impact, but this year is a critical moment for the Marshal's Office.

Entering Xi'an City meant that the Eastern Expedition was a success and the post-war rewards phase would begin.

It also means that he must become king.

Although he himself was extremely reluctant and even a little resistant to this matter, it was indeed time to promote the titles of many meritorious generals in the Marshal's Office.

There is no reason to suppress this matter anymore after returning home.

At this critical moment of proclaiming the king and establishing the system, if there is a shortage of food rations in the local area due to drought next year, it will have a huge impact on the morale of the army and the people.

That's why Liu Chengzong wanted to abolish the gods.

At first, his idea was to pray for rain.

When it was about to rain, officials would go out to offer sacrifices to the heavens and pray for rain, which was very helpful for the morale of the people.

After all, when the vast majority of people believe in something, it is no longer superstition to those in power, but a political means that can be used.

Praying for rain is a response from heaven to human kindness, and people’s morale will soar, and it may even increase a bit of divinity.

It doesn’t matter if the rain doesn’t come, it’s just that the person praying for rain is not sincere.

But Liu Chengzong was obviously not satisfied with this situation.

  Why do you not work and instead blame me for being insincere?

I will ask you all to withdraw first, so that the people will realize that I, Liu Chengzong, am not afraid of anyone, not even gods.

It doesn't matter even if the people think I'm doing something against the law.

I also conferred the title of immortal on all my fallen soldiers, thus gaining a large amount of military support.

Even if it doesn't rain, with a hundred thousand troops at hand, the best thing he can do is lead his soldiers to continue fighting next year and advance into the place where it rains.

  What if it rains?

I, Liu Chengzong, divided the land and proclaimed myself king. Even the gods I enthroned are more useful than the Ming Dynasty!

  Military and public opinion win-win!

good morning!