Fenghou

Chapter 487 The Village
Chen Qing was still very wary of the Tubo people. He accepted Ah Sang's long kneeling bow, but flatly rejected the invitation to hold a bonfire banquet.

But this seemingly rude refusal of the invitation not only did not make the other party angry, but made them even more awed. After all, the Song Army was especially murderous, and even the most powerful Xihaibu was vulnerable to the Song Army, let alone them. .

Song Jun's powerful fist conquered them, Ah Sang offered to send his son to study in Chengji County, and Chen Qing readily agreed.

From the beginning to the end, Chen Qing did not show brotherly friendship, but looked down on Ah Sang and his entourage with a ruler's attitude. He did not come to visit the Jishi Department, but to inspect his own territory.

In the afternoon of the same day, Chen Qing formally appointed Asang as the training envoy of the Jishi Prefecture regiment on Xihe Road and General Fuyuan, and appointed Yu Xiuming as the general judge of Jishi Prefecture and the county magistrate of Jishi County.

Chen Qing didn't stay in Jishi County for long, and early the next morning, he led two thousand cavalry to leave Jishi County and return to Xining Prefecture.

The most important purpose of Chen Qing's seizure of Huangzhou and Xining Prefecture was to obtain the Hehuang Valley, so that his military rations could be completely guaranteed. The [-] catties of rough silver in Huangzhou back then was also the military expenditure he was determined to obtain.

Since this year, the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Division's military salary has stopped being allocated. He doesn't know the reason, but he must plan ahead to prevent the imperial court from using the military salary to get stuck on his neck. He doesn't want to be the second Wu Jie , was almost suffocated by the civil servants.

Compared with the one-day trip to Jishi Prefecture, Chen Qing spends a lot of time in the Hehuang Valley.

The Hehuang Valley is formed by the alluvial deposits of three big rivers, the Tonghe River in the north, the Huangshui River in the middle and the Yellow River in the south, covering an area of ​​tens of thousands of square kilometers. The valley has an extremely important strategic position both in military and agricultural aspects.

Although the West Sea is surrounded by a vast area, it is a saltwater lake that cannot irrigate farmland, nor is it suitable for humans and animals to drink. To the west is a plateau and mountainous area. Life is difficult. People of all ethnic groups yearn for the Hehuang area with fresh water and aquatic plants.

It can be said that whoever controls the Hehuang area will control the various ethnic groups in the surrounding area and make them submit and obey.

Therefore, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Central Plains Dynasty and Tubo have fiercely competed for the Hehuang Valley, and the large-scale war has continued throughout the Tang Dynasty.

The so-called continuous alliance is actually to use this method to force the other party to admit their legal status of controlling Hehuang.

Although the Song Dynasty was weak, it did not mean that it had no strategic vision. After the War of Wuyue, Tubo split, the weakness of the Qingtang Dynasty and the pro-Song Dynasty made the Song Dynasty see an opportunity. An important part of Wang Anshi's reform was to expand the frontier to the west , Control the Hehuang Valley, and form huge strategic pressure on Xixia from the west.

Chen Qing was undoubtedly lucky. After he defeated Xixia, he faced Hehuang Xiqiang and Tubo forces at the weakest moment in a thousand years. He adopted the method of killing one to warn others, using the salt lake dispute to massacre the Xihai tribe. Other tribes in the Hehuang area.

His top priority now is to seize this opportunity, speed up and increase the development of the Hehuang Valley, and firmly control the Hehuang area as soon as possible.

This morning, Chen Qing led a team of cavalry to Anlong City. This is the intersection of Tongshui and Huangshui, where the most fertile land stretches as far as the eye can see.

Anlong City is a small military city located in the east of Huangzhou, not far from Lanzhou. It has been controlled by Xixia before. Tens of thousands of Han slaves were gathered here by Xixia to farm and grow grain.

Before Chen Qing attacked Huangzhou and passed through here, it was still a deserted large wheat field, but now it is different, white tents can be seen everywhere, often dozens or hundreds of tents gather together, this is actually the prototype of a village.

Nearly [-] people left Lanzhou City and came here with their families. Chen Qing's promise gave them a huge temptation. Each household has [-] acres of land, tax exemption for ten years, and they also got temporary living tents. Say goodbye to the dilapidated slums and come to this rich land to rebuild your home.

The seeds of spring wheat have been sown, and the common people have begun to form mutual aid groups to build houses. Basically, a few or a dozen big families gather to form a new village, and the villages are all located by small rivers.

Chen Qing saw a tent two miles away on the official road, about eighty or ninety tents, and a big tree with luxuriant branches. Passing by the village, the river is full of aquatic plants.

Chen Qing smiled and said to more than a hundred soldiers: "Go and see!"

They turned their horses around, got off a field path, and walked along the path towards the big tree.

The arrival of a troop of cavalry had already alarmed the villagers in the village. More than a dozen old men came out to welcome them. The leader of the old man suddenly recognized Chen Qing, and he was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, "Please refer to Lord Jiedushi!"

Hearing that it was Jiedushi, the other elders knelt down one after another.

Chen Qing said with a smile: "Everyone please stand up, I just came to see you and understand the situation!"

"Jedushi, please sit over the tent!"

"Let me take a look at the houses you built first!"

Chen Qing got off his horse and led a dozen soldiers to the hut under construction surrounded by a large group of old people. Dozens of young and strong men came down from the roof one after another and stood aside.

Chen Qing looked at the wall. It was made of mud mixed with wheat straw and wood as the skeleton. This thatched hut has lasted for thousands of years. The south of the Yangtze River is more prone to rain leakage, but it is not a problem in the northwest region where there is not much rain.

Moreover, the common people have a wealth of life experience, especially Han farmers who have a strong concept of coexistence with nature. For example, there must be a little distance between the house and the river. This is also to prevent the pollution of the river by human and animal feces. In the south, facing the sun.

"Is every house the same?" Chen Qing pointed to the courtyard and asked.

The old man at the head said: "It's all the same. We have discussed it in advance. Each household occupies an area of ​​one mu. Basically, each household has four houses."

"When will everything be fixed?"

"Just another month! The whole village will be formed."

Chen Qing nodded, and asked again: "What's the name of the village?"

"I don't have a name yet! I beg the Jiedushi to give our village a name."

Everyone said one after another: "Jiedu envoy give our village a name!"

Chen Qing smiled and pointed to the small river: "This small river is called Xiaotang River. It is estimated that many villages along the river will be called Xiaotang Village. This will definitely not work. I see that the small river turns south of you and goes east. Then Let’s call it Tangwan Village!”

Everyone was overjoyed, the name Tangwan Village sounds nice.

Several old men invited Chen Qing to rest in the big tent. Chen Qing sat down on a bench in the open space surrounded by villagers.

"Do you have any difficulties? If it can be solved, I will try my best to solve it for everyone."

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay. In fact, there were too many difficulties. They didn't know how to mention it for a while. At this time, the old man in charge said: "Why don't I say a few words first!"

Seeing that the old man was quite prestigious, Chen Qing probably would be the village chief, so he asked with a smile, "May I ask what your name is?"

"Don't dare to be a villain. Your surname is Chen, from Ningzhou, Shaanxi Province."

Chen Qing chuckled, "We are from the same family! Mr. Chen, please tell me."

"The most difficult problem for us now is the problem of fuel. The government said that cutting down trees is strictly prohibited on the plains. If you cut down a tree, you will be fined ten guan. We think that as long as the trunk does not move, it should be no problem to cut some branches!"

Chen Qing nodded, "Everyone is a passer-by in Shaanxi, and they all know the dangers of sparse trees. Like Qinzhou and Gongzhou, the two sides of the Wei River are better. There is no tree around Ganquanbao in the north, and the middle of Gongzhou is the same. , all bare yellow land, few rivers, it is really difficult to survive.

It is rare that the Hehuang Valley is so rich, and you can see patches of woods, like Jiangnan, so officials want to protect the trees here. Everyone should understand that if there are no trees, there will be no Xiaotang River. I hope all the people will love it. Trees, as for fuel, are easy to solve. In the future, everyone will burn coal, and it will be supplied soon. "

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[Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, Lao Gao may not have time to write three updates, only two updates, please forgive me! 】

(End of this chapter)