The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 427 Halfway home

Before Zhu Xiu went south to Jiangning, he never thought that he would spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in the first year of Guangshun in an unknown mountain village within the jurisdiction of Suzhou.

There are no new mooncakes launched by Guanghe shops, there is no pot of sweet and fragrant authentic wine from the Western Regions, and there is no time to chat about life with a beautiful woman under the moonlight when the wine is in full swing.

Pan Mei and Hu Guangyue led people to hunt some wild pheasants in the wild forest near the village. They also bought some rice noodles and dug some wild vegetables with the villagers. Everyone worked together to make a table of rich but bland dishes. .

With half a bucket of mash wine bought from Muramasa's house at a high price, we had a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

Early in the morning of the second day, everyone set out on the road and left the small village quietly.

Wu Youdi's fever subsided a few days ago, but she keeps coughing, feels tired, and is still weak.

Zhu Wu thought that the old lady's illness was almost recovered, and her body was already in the recovery stage.

According to common sense at the time, the most dangerous stage for chills and fever caused by falling into the water is in the early stages, when the high fever persists.

The vast majority of people with this disease cannot survive this period and die.

As long as the fever subsides, recovery is only a matter of time.

Yang Qiaolian and the two dolls were very happy, and Zhou Xian was also happy that he had come to take care of Wu Youdi for several days.

Wu Youdi herself believed that she had survived the most difficult test and that God had blessed her to escape death.

Zhu Xiu saw this and couldn't bear to reveal the truth, so he could only smile bitterly.

Wu Youdi's high fever has indeed subsided, but her lungs must have suffered irreversible damage, otherwise she would not have a cough attack, and it will not improve in half a month.

Her body became visibly thinner, and several times when she coughed up phlegm, Zhu Xiu could clearly see blood streaks in the phlegm.

The cold and evil air caused by falling into the water permeates the lungs, and the symptoms caused are not just as simple as high fever.

Diseases of the internal organs are equivalent to chronic death in this era.

Zhu Xiu eagerly wanted to return to Kaifeng and asked Mr. Yuan Jingrun, a sage-hand Chinese doctor, to provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment to his mother.

However, before returning to Kaifeng, he must first return to Suzhou, then report to the court and obtain permission to enter Beijing.

Naturally, the doctors in Suzhou were not as good as those in Kaifeng, but it was still possible to find someone to take my mother's pulse and grab two pairs of medicines to stabilize her condition. Zhu Xiu was going to write to Li Chongjin and ask him to arrange a doctor in advance.

In the carriage compartment, Zhu Xiu was writing at his desk. Under a turbulence and shaking, he finished the letter with difficulty and handed it to Hu Guangyue, asking him to send someone to Suzhou City first.

Zhou Xian was sitting on a small table, studying ink at one end of the low table.

Zhu Xiu picked up his pen and meditated, writing a few strokes quickly from time to time, as if he was recording something.

Zhou Xian inadvertently glanced at it and saw several titles written on the paper: "Abstracts of Political Governance in the Southern Tang Dynasty", "Current Situation of Jiangning Court Factions", "Study on the Facts and Facts of the Jianghuai Defense Line", and "Jiangnan Financial and Tax List".
Zhou Xian was a little curious and wanted to find out. Seeing Zhu Xiu looking towards her, he hurriedly sat upright and pretended to study ink seriously.

Zhu Xiu glanced at her, the bruises on this girl's forehead had healed up a lot, but she had been on the road for several days, and the food was a little bad, she still inevitably lost some points, and her slightly pale face was a little haggard.

Zhu Xiu said nothing and continued to concentrate on writing at his desk.

This is not an intelligence summary written for Wang Lingwen, but a summary that only he can read. It contains his thoughts on what he saw and heard during his trip to Jiangning, and some thoughts it triggered.

A good memory is not as good as a bad pen. If these things are not written down, Zhu Xiu is worried that he will forget them all soon.

In general, the ills of the Southern Tang Dynasty originated from the top down. The policies pursued by the great ancestor Li Min during the period of cessation of troops to support the people, good neighborliness and friendship, and focusing on accumulating national power and competing with the Central Plains dynasty for the world. By the few years of Li Jing's reign, they had become Dumped clean.

Li Jing is a guy who can't keep his temper and is very happy with his achievements.

They destroyed the Min Kingdom, conquered Wu and Yue, and conquered Southern Chu. There were many wars launched in recent years, and they were fought vigorously.

At first glance, the Southern Tang Dynasty expanded thousands of miles under Li Jing's rule and recruited millions of people. However, in fact, the national power did not increase much, and the treasury and military forces were consumed a lot.

At the beginning of the founding of the country when Li Min inherited the Southern Wu Emperor's rule, there were many warlords, large and small, in the surrounding areas. Li Min advocated destroying the small ones and leaving the big ones. Don't confront the established small countries such as the Ma family of Hunan, the Qian family of Wuyue, and the Wang family of Fujian for the time being. , can do business exchanges, and maintain the overall peace and stability in the south of the Yangtze River.

These small countries could not pose a devastating threat to the Southern Tang Dynasty. Only the Central Plains Dynasty in the north was the ultimate enemy of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Li Min had a clear understanding of this and implemented the policy policy unswervingly.

It's a pity that Li Min liked to take elixirs and eventually died of poisoning.

After Li Jing succeeded to the throne, he received a rich family fortune that his father had saved for him for many years. He thought that the treasury was abundant and the troops were strong. He was so high-spirited that he did not hesitate to launch a series of foreign wars based on the principle that he would not allow others to sleep soundly on the side of the bed.

After several years of fighting, the Min Kingdom was destroyed, leaving behind a Qingyuan Jiedu envoy in Quanzhou who listened to the instructions but not the propaganda.

They fought repeatedly with Wu and Yue in the Taihu Lake Basin in Suzhou, and finally took Wuxi as the boundary, occupying one-third of the territory north of Taihu Lake.

Now the Tang army took advantage of the Ma family's civil strife to invade Hunan. With Zhu Xiu and Wang Lingwen secretly interfering, Changsha fell, and Bian Hao retreated to Liling. The Tang army was helpless in Hunan.

Even if Zha Wenhui led his army to assist, the chaos in Hunan would be enough for the Tang army to drink. Within two or three years, Hunan would not be stable.

Li Jing's attack on Hunan was a strategic decision error. The Tang army fell into a quagmire and wasted money and food. It was equivalent to a small puncture in the Tang court, and the blood continued to flow.

Wang Lingwen directed the Changsha Chaos to tear this hole open and cause more blood to flow to the Tang court.So far, the results are good. If Zha Wenhui is not rescued in time, Bian Hao will be buried in Hunan sooner or later.

After this battle, the soldiers and people of Hunan deeply hated the Tang Dynasty, and the warlords under Ma's command would no longer trust Li Jing.

The nail of Hunan was permanently nailed to the western border of the Tang Dynasty.

As long as the Tang army could not completely pacify the entire territory of Hunan, Li Jing would have to dispatch heavy troops to station in Hongzhou and Yuanzhou to guard against the Chu army's attack.

Hunan in the west and Jianghuai in the north required heavy military garrison on the two fronts, which was a huge burden on the Tang court.

For Dazhou, this is undoubtedly good news.

In addition, Zhu Xiu also recorded some thoughts on eradicating Jiangnan clan politics, reforming the tax system, and reducing the burden on the people at the bottom.

These reform measures will never be realized with Xu Xuan's passion, but one day, when Zhou soldiers invade Jiangning, unify Jiangnan, and unify the dynasty, they will be able to initiate a complete change.

"Oops~"

While thinking, Zhou Xian exclaimed, interrupting Zhu Xiu's thoughts.

The carriage jolted, and the ink from the inkstone splashed onto her skirt, making it a black stain.

Zhu Xiu put down the pen, gathered the paper, and said with a smile: "I won't write anymore, just put away the inkstone."

Zhou Xian carefully put away the stationery and wiped the ink on the table.

Seeing that she looked worried and didn't say anything, Zhu Xiu sat on the carriage board and closed her eyes to rest.

After a while, Zhou Xian was heard whispering: "Do we have to wait until the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Great Tang Dynasty go to war before we can set foot on the land of Huainan again?"

Zhu Xiu opened her eyes and smiled: "Why do you ask?"

Zhou Xian bit his lip lightly, "What you wrote is meant to be dedicated to the Lord of Zhou, so as to help Zhou's army conquer the Tang Dynasty!"

Zhu Xiu said lightly: "The information letter submitted to my master has already been delivered to Kaifeng. These are just some of my personal thoughts on the situation in Jiangnan."

Zhou Xian couldn't help but said: "Dad said that Xu Shangshu tried his best to appeal to the court to improve people's livelihood and public administration, but unfortunately the response was mediocre and it was difficult to support him alone.

Since you are a friend of Xu Shangshu, and they helped you generously when you were in Jiangning, why don't you give these reform measures and suggestions to Xu Shangshu?
If His Majesty can adopt it, I believe the people in Jiangnan will have a much better life. "

Zhu Xiu shook his head: "With Mr. Xu alone, it is impossible to implement reforms. Giving him these things will harm him.

The conservative forces in Jiangnan are huge and stubborn, and it is difficult to shake them even with the appeal of a few knowledgeable people.

This is why your father secretly supports reform but dare not express his position openly. "

Zhou Xian muttered angrily: "Excuse! You are from the Zhou Dynasty, so of course you are speaking to the Zhou Kingdom. You are worried that the Tang Dynasty will become stronger and it will be difficult for Zhou soldiers to invade Jiangnan in the future!"

Zhu Xiu looked at her with a smile: "Huang E married to Kaifeng, and he is considered a Zhou native. He must stand firm and not go towards Qin Muchu."

Zhou Xianfen's face turned red and she stared at him in embarrassment.

A pair of apricot eyes filled with resentment, sparkling with water, slightly moist and slender lips opening to reveal heat, her pretty face indescribably arousing sympathy, Zhu Xiu was stunned and couldn't help but put her palm on her cheek. Stretch out.

Zhou Xian was so embarrassed that he hurriedly retreated.

"Ehuang." Zhu Xiu made a growling sound from deep in his throat, and his eyes became more and more fiery.

"Master Hou!~"

Outside the carriage, Pan Mei's gong sounded like thunder, "There are soldiers coming from the front!"

Zhu Xiu trembled with fright, all her charming thoughts disappeared, she opened the window and stuck her head out, glaring at Pan Mei fiercely.

"Uh~" Pan Mei didn't know why, and pointed to a high hill a few miles ahead, where a sergeant from the Fifth Capital City waved a red cloth head:
"There is a warning from a spy horse!"

Although there were only a dozen people in this group, Zhu Xiu still strictly followed the marching standards and sent scout horses five miles ahead to explore the road and stay alert.

Thieves are rampant in the Huaibei area. Although after Uncle Guo came to the throne, he promulgated the peace book and the order to suppress thieves, and the policy of adding sweet dates with big sticks has improved the security of the states in Huaibei, there are still many people who dominate the barren mountains and ridges. Green forest bandit.

When they first arrived in Suzhou, these thieves were the favorites in the eyes of Zhu Xiu and Li Chongjin. It was best to use them to train soldiers and let the new recruits see blood.

The two guys led a group of new recruits from the Huai Suppression Army, and screamed all over Suzhou in search of bandits. In less than a month, the banditry in the entire Suzhou territory was cleared.

Uncle Guo also issued a special order to praise the two of them.

Neighboring prefectures and counties followed suit and launched a massive bandit suppression operation in Huaibei.

It stands to reason that when entering the territory of Suzhou, there cannot be any established bandits, and there are even fewer people who dare to block the road and rob, so Zhu Xiu was surprised. He didn't know where soldiers and horses would block the road in this wilderness.

(End of this chapter)