Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 135 Development
The imperial court was slow in everything it did, including suppressing bandits.

Wang Gong ordered Wang Xin to withdraw his troops several times, and tried to persuade him with emotion and reason, but Wang Xin remained unmoved. He was determined and headed straight for Jingkou.

On the contrary, Guangling in Jiangbei is extremely quiet.

However, in the counties of Guangling, the plague has already begun to show signs.

Out of sight, out of mind. Liu Daogui said hello to Yuan He and took a boat north to Lanling to prepare for this year's spring plowing.

A rebellion broke out in the Three Wus, involving tens of thousands of people. Large tracts of farmland were left barren. Coupled with the plague, food would only become more and more expensive in the future.

In fact, there are already signs of this happening in Guangling now, with food prices rising rapidly.

A dou of bran could be sold for a hundred coins, and a dou of rice could be sold for eight hundred coins...

If the people have nothing to eat, chaos is imminent.

Liu Daogui rushed to Lanling and immediately ordered that all the wasteland in Lanling be reclaimed, including the newly occupied Zouxian and Pingyang, both of which were south of the Si River and had fertile land.

They were originally fertile fields, but were abandoned due to the chaos in the north.

"If the Dingling people go south to plunder, won't all our efforts be in vain?" Cao Ji disagreed with this.

"Zhai Wei is now in a difficult situation, unable to protect himself, and has no time to rob us." Before coming, Liu Daogui paid attention to the situation in the north.

Zhai Liao died of illness, and as soon as his son Zhai Zhao came to power, he assembled a large army to attack Yecheng, hoping to use war to support the war.

However, his ambition was as high as the sky, but his life was as fragile as paper, and he was defeated by Murong Nong, the King of Liaoxi of Yan State.

On the fifth day of February this year, Murong Chui led his army south from Lukou to inspect Hejian, Bohai and Pingyuan. Zhai Zhao also sent his general Zhai Du to plunder Guantao and stationed at Su Kanglei.

Murong Chui was furious and personally led his army to attack Su Kanglei.

Zhai Du was frightened and retreated to Huatai.

Zhai Zhao's various suicidal behaviors successfully attracted the attention of Murong Chui, who personally led 60,000 infantry and cavalry to station in Liyang, preparing to cross the river and destroy Zhai Wei.

If Liu Daogui was not so weak, he would have led his troops north to get a share of the pie.

Liu Zhong said, "I suggest planting beans. They can be harvested in two months and eaten by humans, horses, and livestock."

When Jie Zhao was fighting against Former Yan, Shi Hu stored 20 million hu of beans in Jicheng and assembled a 400,000-man army by land and sea to attack Longcheng. Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by Murong Ke's 2,000 cavalrymen and were defeated.

Later, Ji City was captured by Murong Chui, and this batch of grain fell into the hands of Former Yan. The Yan army destroyed Jie Zhao and Ran Wei with lightning speed and unified Hebei.

"Yes, as long as it's food, it's fine! Don't waste any of the fields in the five counties of Lanling. Plant them all."

Liu Daogui remembered that he had more than 900 war horses, so he could form a cavalry of 500 people. However, raising one war horse was equivalent to raising five soldiers.

War horses not only need to eat fine feed, but also salt, which is better than what humans eat.

Lanling was originally a small county consisting of five counties, with no grasslands around it, so it could only be raised in this way.

Although most of the high-quality farmland is concentrated in the hands of the powerful, other wastelands can also be used. In the past, there was a shortage of manpower, but now there are more than 10,000 people in the eight buildings and more than 1,800 slaves.

You can open up wasteland everywhere.

Liu Daogui looked up at the sky. It was February, with the east wind blowing and a slight warmth on his face. Spring had arrived as promised. This year was the third year of land reclamation. As long as God blessed the land with good weather, this year should be a good harvest.

The salt field on Liu Muzhi's side has already started production. As long as this year is over, Liu Daogui's strength will take a small step forward.

With one order to reclaim land, all eight buildings became busy.

The fields were full of people, men, women, young and old, all joining the battle.

The eight-building system is particularly suitable for the early development of small forces. It is extremely efficient whether in fighting or production.

It is recorded in the "Biographies of Merchants" in the Records of the Grand Historian: My management of production is like the strategies of Yi Yin and Lu Shang, the use of troops by Sun Wu, and the implementation of laws by Shang Yang.

War and development are essentially the same thing.

Our ancestors had already figured it out and recorded it in books.

Every new thing is full of vitality, and the Eight Buildings is no exception.

Liu Daogui personally went to the fields. There was no distinction between high and low among the eight tribes, and there were no various malpractices in the military headquarters. The tribe owners and garrison commanders ate, drank, defecated and urinated together with the ordinary tribe residents and soldiers.

Whenever something happens, they discuss it on the ridges of the fields and resolve it on the same day. There aren’t so many rules, and there’s no dragging things out or passing the buck.

Everyone saw it, even the new slaves worked hard, and they were satisfied as long as they were guaranteed two meals a day.

Meat wasn't guaranteed, but salted fish soup mixed with fresh wild vegetables was readily available. There was no harm without comparison; they had rarely eaten these things before in Zhai Wei's place.

In any era and any place, life will not be easy for those at the bottom of society. They are almost like slaves in Zhai Wei, and they can only have a few full meals a year, let alone fish soup.

The Eight Clan explicitly stipulated that after ten years, slaves could be converted into Clan citizens.

Liu Daogui gave them hope, so naturally everyone worked hard and was enthusiastic.

While working, everyone's minds and strength are focused on the same thing, and the eight buildings are becoming more and more united.

"My husband is a soldier, why should he do everything himself? Just leave it to others." Cao Sifei felt distressed and washed Liu Daogui's feet personally every night.

"Lanling has a lot of work to do. If I don't take the lead, who will really put in the effort? It's good to be busy. It's just like exercising my muscles. Besides, I'm not that delicate."

Cao Sifei suddenly said, "Husband, why don't you take in a few more concubines?"

"Why do you say this?"

As a man, I felt happy when I heard her say that.

But Cao Sifei looked dejected. "We've been married for a year, and there's still no sign of pregnancy..."

Liu Daogui had been very close to her this year, but for some reason she had not gotten pregnant.

My mother, Xiao Wenshou, sent people to deliver medicine several times. I guess she felt the pressure too.

"Don't think too much. We are still young and have a long way to go." Liu Daogui pulled her into his arms and comforted her softly.

Only then did she laugh.

It’s strange to say, my brother Liu Yu was also very close to his sister-in-law, but she also didn’t get pregnant. He must have taken the medicine... Could there be something wrong with the medicine?
My cousin Liu Juanzi is good at treating superficial symptoms such as wounds and carbuncles, rather than internal symptoms.

Liu Daogui planned to find a time to go back and ask in person, otherwise, since the old man of the Liu family couldn't give birth to an heir, everyone would feel uncomfortable and outsiders would laugh at him.

These days, the prosperity of a family is determined by the number of descendants it has...

On the second day, Liu Daogui did not go to the fields, but inspected other counties. Among the five counties of Lanling, Qi, Hexiang and Changliu, only Qi and Hexiang counties were truly under his control, while the others were in the hands of powerful people.

They pay a sum of money and grain every year to maintain a non-interference situation.

They are called powerful families, but in fact they are just some larger clans.

The Xiao family of Lanling and the Zhao family of Changliu have already moved closer to Liu Daogui. The other Sun, Wang, and Xun families have close ties with the south, so Liu Daogui cannot touch them for a while.

I also don't want to develop southward because the resistance in the south is too great.

On the contrary, Zhai Wei in the north is on the verge of death and is fighting with Murong Chui. It may not survive this year.

"Since Zhai Wei and Yan are at war, and we have cavalry, why not plunder the Yan and Qing counties? We can accumulate food and fodder, train our cavalry, and spy on the north."

Mao Dezuo actually had the same idea as Liu Daogui.

I didn't dare to go north before because I didn't have enough strength. Now I have a cavalry unit, and it's idle anyway, so I might as well send it out...

"Then select the Tiger Guards, those who are good at riding and shooting, and go to the north to rob and pacify the people!"

As a poor family, I don’t have many resources at my disposal, so there is no need to be restricted.

Mao Dezu picked up a dry branch and traced the terrain north of Mount Niqiu in a few strokes. He pointed to a curved line and said, "If we can capture Kru County, great things will be accomplished!"

Lucheng is located south of the Si River, west of Mount Meng, and north of Zoucheng.

By taking this place, the layout of Bazhuang will be opened up. With the help of Sishui River, we can stop the cavalry of Xianbei and Dingling people and manage the vast area south of Sishui River with peace of mind. It is much stronger than Lanling.

Last year, Mao Dezuo and Wang Yuande tried to capture this place, but they were not strong enough and the people in the city resisted with all their might.

At present, Zhai Wei is fighting a fierce battle with the State of Yan. As long as we grasp the opportunity to attack, we can easily defeat them.

In the south, Wang Gong and Sima Daozi were also wrestling with each other. The Wang family of Langya and the Huan family of Jingzhou had ulterior motives, and the Tianshi Dao was ready to make a move. It would be difficult to determine the winner in a short period of time, and more forces would be involved.

On the surface, it was a dispute between Wang Gong and Sima Daozi, but in reality, various forces were gearing up to redistribute benefits...

Both the north and the south were having a meat banquet, and Liu Daogui certainly wanted to sit at the table. The south was not eligible for a share of the meat, but the north had a chance.

Bazhuang is squeezed in the land of three counties: Hexiang, Zou, and Hexiang. There is no more arable land, and its development has entered a bottleneck period.

"If we don't conquer Lucheng, we will be trapped to death in Lanling." Liu Daogui drew out his ring-handled sword and inserted it on the word "Lu".

(End of this chapter)