Late Tang

In the governor's mansion of Dengzhou, Li Jing was watching a piece of information that Li Weigang sent.The information was sent from Changyuan. This is the result of Li Jing asking Li Wei to arrange a group of scouts disguised as businessmen to lurk in Changyuan County after hearing that Wang Xianzhi had robbed Mr. Shang.

At the beginning, Li Wei felt a little baffled by Li Jing asking him to arrange people to go to Changyuan. Changyuan was in Huazhou of the Yicheng Army. A state, such a small county, suddenly something special?

Now the scouts below finally sent back a report. He had already read the content first. It was the salt dealer who was captured by the Lord and a group of Changyuan County who had rebelled and captured Changyuan County.Thinking of the last time, when Li Jing suddenly sent the salt dealer Mr. Shang, who came to buy salt, to Dengzhou, Li Wei couldn't help but feel that this incident was a bit weird.

Li Jing didn't pay attention to Li Wei's thoughts, he was looking at the grass army report sent with the report.

The call to action was copied from the notice posted by the spies in Changyuan County, "Since the ancestor Jinyang raised troops, it was passed down to Emperor Taizong, who appointed Wei Zheng and other sages, and the social economy developed rapidly, so there was the rule of Zhenguan. However, in the late Xuanzong period, appointed Eunuchs, controlling the government, rejecting and framing Zhongliang, social turmoil, and people's misery are this crime; since Yizong, they have been constantly using troops, paying heavy taxes, and the states and counties have not reported disasters, so that the people have nowhere to sue. These two crimes; the court rewards and punishes Injustice, meritorious deeds are not rewarded, and crimes are not punished, these are the three crimes; officials are cruel to the extreme, selling officials and nobles can be seen everywhere, the court ignores them, leading to corrupt officials, these are the four crimes; Sins. Here, we only list some of the crimes committed by the court. However, the crimes committed by the court are too numerous to list. Although we are not sages and capable people, we know that we should take care of the affairs of the world. Today I am waiting to attack the Tang Dynasty, and the court deserves what it deserves. , I hope all heroes will respond to it."

It is said that Huang Chao has some literary talents, but looking at this notice, the writing is relatively ordinary. Compared with Chen Lin's crusade against Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms, and the crusade against Wu Zetian in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it is far worse, but it is also written in a common way I can understand.

"How is the movement of the grass army?" Li Jing asked.

"Returning to the Lord, this Wang Xianzhi heard that Du Kei, the governor of the Yicheng Army, led his troops to crusade, so he fled into the territory of Caozhou under the jurisdiction of the Tianping Army in a desperate manner. Du Ke's troops stayed in Changyuan County for three days, and then returned. It's Huazhou." Li Wei's tone was full of disdain for Wang Xianzhi and other grassroots soldiers. In his opinion, Wang Xianzhi and others immediately ran away when they heard about the military crusade. They were simply a group of bandits and bandits.

Li Jing didn't think much of it, he had already seen Huang Chao's name in the report.Huang Chao actually hanged a deputy general of Tianbuping and deputy capital commanders of domestic heroes, which shows that Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi have merged, and the two biggest rebels in the late Tang Dynasty have united together.But now, Huang Chao was not in Wang Xianzhi's retreat into Caozhou's army. Thinking of the historical situation, Li Jing had already concluded in his heart that Huang Chao must have returned to his hometown to start another rebellion.

On the contrary, he guessed from this that the Cao army did not flee into Caozhou out of fright, but turned into it in a planned way.This grass army should not be underestimated. They have fully considered the relative independence of the various feudal towns.Entering Caozhou from Changyuan, although the distance is only a short distance, but this crossing, the Yicheng Army Du Ke who had already chased behind had no choice but to retreat.

Because if you continue to chase, it will be the territory of the Tianping Army.It is a big taboo to cross the border to suppress bandits, and if it is not done well, it will easily lead to war.Moreover, the thinking of many feudal towns is similar, that is, to sweep the snow in front of their own doors, and not to care about the frost on others.As long as the bandit goes out of his own territory, he will be ignored.

In history, Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao were able to run rampant all over the world. The big reason was not that the officers and soldiers were not good enough, but that the various feudal towns were unwilling to contribute their own efforts. The effort is just for show.As a result, the rebel army seized this most deadly flaw, wandered among the crusades in various feudal towns, and even defeated the officers and soldiers one by one.

"My lord, it's just a group of private salt dealers making trouble. Why do you care so much? Even if they are rampant, they are still in the territory of the Yicheng Army. Even if they fled into Caozhou, they are still in the territory of the Tianping Army, separated from us It's thousands of miles away." Li Wei said.

Li Jing nodded helplessly. If he could do something now, it would be the best time to attack the Cao army.They haven't yet become powerful, and they can just be destroyed with one blow.But Li Jing knew that such a great opportunity was in front of him, but it was impossible to realize it.Even if he told Xue Chong, the governor of the Heavenly Army, how harmful these grass troops were, he probably wouldn't pay attention to Li Jing.That's his own business, and Li Jing can't get involved.

Not to mention that Li Jing led the army to cross the border but suppressed the bandits, that would only be regarded by Xue Chong as Li Jing's invasion, maybe at that time Xue Chong would leave the grass army behind and fight Li Jing first.The world is so strange, knowing that the Cao army will disturb Datang's peace, and will completely pierce the already leaking Datang, but they can only do nothing.

"Continue to pay attention to the grass thief's movements, and report back as soon as there is any new news." Li Jing had no other good way, so he had to arrange this for Li Wei.

After Li Wei went out, Li Jing thought it over and wrote a letter to Song Wei.Tell Song Fengcao's army has entered Caozhou, and may even move to Jeju, and finally join Wang Jingwu.Li Jing proposed in the letter that he was willing to lead the Zhendong Army to send troops to Qizhou to completely wipe out Wang Jingwu's rebels in order to stabilize the situation in Ziqing.He also mentioned that he hoped that Song Wei could propose to Xue Chong that as long as the Tianping Army needed it, Li Jing would be willing to lead the Zhendong Army to help the Tianping Army wipe out the grass bandits. "After the letter was sent, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, and there was no more movement. Instead, Cui Yunqing sent another letter to Li Jing. In the letter, he euphemistically mentioned that Qingzhou was short of food. After hearing that Dengzhou had recently accepted a large number of refugees, Cui Yunqing praised Li Jing's benevolence and justice, but also suggested that Li Jing should not be too benevolent as a woman. The food of the people in the Zhendong Army and Dengzhou should be preserved. As for the refugees from outside, it is already a great charity to open a porridge shed. I also asked Li Jing if there is still food, I hope I can lend some of it to Qingzhou temporarily."

Cui Yunqing used borrowed words in her letter, but she didn't say it was Song Wei's meaning.And it didn't say the quantity, only a part of it was borrowed.But Li Jing thought about it, and now there are more than 5 soldiers, horses, and civilians gathered in Zizhou, and there are more people in Qingzhou than Dengzhou, with more than 50 people. If you also count the newly recovered Zizhou , and Laizhou, Cui Yunqing now has millions of people to manage, the food gap must be huge, ten thousand or twenty thousand shi is definitely not enough.

"This is a dissatisfied mouth." Li Jing sighed.Give, reluctantly, food is precious.But don't give it, Cui Yunqing has already talked about it.

Li Zhen just brought in an official document, seeing Li Jing's perplexed look, he asked aloud.After Li Jing talked about the embarrassing things, Li Zhen thought for a while and said: "Since the general thinks so, I feel that I should borrow some. But it can't be borrowed for nothing. It's better to let the commander-in-chief's mansion take money to buy it." , or in exchange for ore, Zhe wood for making armor and armor, horns, leather, and tendons."

There is no shortage of grain in Dengzhou now, and under the operation of the crazy commodity exchange grain, the grain storage in Dengzhou continues to increase.It is also possible to lend some to Qingzhou, but as Li Zhen said, it cannot be borrowed for nothing.Weapons are produced in large quantities at the Ordnance Workshop, and the supply of materials has been insufficient, so Qingzhou just sent some materials over.The weapons produced in this way can also be exchanged for food.

"Well, it's decided like this. Grain can be borrowed. We can lend Qingzhou less than 50 shi of grain, but we have to exchange it for materials." Li Jing felt that it was not worthwhile to spend money on this method.In these days, the purchasing power of money is getting weaker and weaker, and many things can now be bartered.

After Li Jing's reply was sent to Qingzhou, Cui Yunqing immediately came to Dengzhou in person, bringing hundreds of carts of various materials.There are not only iron materials, but also high-quality Zhe wood for making bows, high-quality wooden poles for spears and guns, and a large number of materials for making armor weapons.These things are considered good when they come, converted according to market prices, you can buy a million stones of grain.

It was originally said that only 50 stones would be exchanged, but Cui Yunqing personally came forward and brought all the things, and it was impossible for Li Jing not to exchange them.In desperation, Li Jing had no choice but to give Cui Yunqing this face.However, 100 million shi of grain is not a small number, even if it is transported, it will take a lot of manpower and material resources.In the end, Li Jing made an appointment with Cui Yunqing that the grain would be transported by Qingzhou itself, and Li Jing would not be responsible for transporting it.When will they finish shipping, until they run out.

Li Jing's bold performance made Cui Yunqing very satisfied, and they took Li Jing's hand and returned to the governor's mansion cordially.Entering the governor's mansion, Cui Yunqing was also full of emotion.A year ago, he was still the owner of this place. At that time, Li Jing was just a piece of good jade that he found in the dust with his discerning eyes.Although it is good material, it has not been polished after all.Unexpectedly, in just one year, the young farmer had already taken his original position.And he has more control than when he was in Dengzhou.

All the way to Dengzhou, passing through many places in Qingzhou and Laizhou, what I saw was a bleak scene.But as soon as he entered Dengzhou, it seemed like a different world.Although the field was barren, there were no refugees along the way, let alone the starving bones on the side of the road. The villages were also inhabited, and there was no such thing as several empty villages in a row. .In the field, there was a fire, and the digging of ditches and wells was busy.

Especially when entering Dengzhou City, there was not a single beggar on the street.

"Actually, it's nothing. All beggars and young people were sent to work in the mines to earn food with their strength. Those orphans and old people were sent to orphanages and nursing homes, and they usually do what they can. , The rations are provided by the government, and some volunteers help take care of the elderly and children. The government helps the elderly to die, and the orphans are sent to raise them." Orphanages and nursing homes are newly established.Since Dengzhou even takes in refugees from outside, there is no reason to ignore those lonely old people on its own territory.

Not only orphans and widows, but also those fools and disabled people will find ways to arrange it.However, those who have good hands and feet but are unwilling to work will be forced to be sent to Liaodong for labor reform.

Cui Yunqing sighed very much: "This is really a world of great harmony, which is unbelievable. You have done a good job, an act of benevolence and righteousness, and I am proud of you as a teacher."

Li Jing is also a little proud, this can be regarded as the special thinking of a modern person.After all, although later generations also have ** and so on, many ancestral associations do different things in terms of welfare.At the beginning, Li Jing only raised the young and old for those soldiers who died in battle, but now it is gradually implemented to these orphans and widows throughout Dengzhou.Although a large sum of money is required, the fame and popularity gained are extremely high.

"I plan to open some schools in Dengzhou and Liaodong after the famine is over. There will be at least one elementary school in each township, at least one elementary school in each county, and a large academy in the city. The children in the school will be exempted from tuition fees, and those with excellent grades will be given subsidies and bonuses. To make more people literate, each child must study for at least a few years, and be able to read, write, and count!"

Cui Yunqing listened to Li Jing's description and saw the brilliance revealed in his eyes, and couldn't help but tremble all over.He had never seen that Li Jing had such a side.So simple, yet so innocent.It is impossible to tell that he is not only the governor of Dengzhou, but also the military envoy of the Zhendong Army with 5000 troops, an immediate warrior who has been invincible so far!

"Take your time, don't be too hasty, and don't blindly pursue those long-awaited and unattainable goals. You have done a good job now, and the moon will wax and wane. You don't have to be perfect in everything, and it's too late." Cui Yunqing kindly reminded.

After a pause, he said, "You mentioned in your last letter that you were willing to send troops to destroy Wang Jingwu. Marshal Song brought it up in the military discussion, but it was rejected by everyone. Let me tell you about this matter, and you don't have any other ideas. It's just that Tens of thousands of you are gathered in Zizhou, if you are invited to go out like this, it will inevitably make the generals feel ashamed. Right now the commander is reorganizing the Pinglu army, and at this time, the morale of the army is also very important."

Hearing this result, Li Jing was only slightly disappointed.Anyway, he didn't have any ambitions, this time he really wanted to help Song Wei.Since he has other ideas, that's all.

"Did the commander-in-chief talk to Xue Shuai about Cao thief and grass thief?"

"I said it, but Xue Shuai rejected your kindness. He said that the Tianping Army can settle the mere grass thief, and you don't need your kindness." Cui Yunqing looked a little strange when he spoke. He couldn't understand why Li Jing was so enthusiastic now. up.For a while, they wanted to send troops to help eliminate Wang Jingwu, and after a while, they proposed to send troops to help eliminate the grasshoppers.Could it be that this proud student has not fought for a long time, and his hands are itchy?

(To be continued)