King of Song

Chapter 211 The Long Westward Journey

On the Guanzhong Ancient Road, a team with a clear banner is slowly heading west.

The first person, riding a white horse, is heroic and mighty, and it is Lin Zhao, the newly appointed doctor of the Ministry of Rites!
It was only a short stay in Luoyang. As for the dinner party, those "shocking" remarks have almost been forgotten.Lin Zhao’s goal is not to write books and become a master or a saint, but to influence Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao brothers in his own way, let them use their special status and ideas to indirectly influence the ideological trend of the next millennium .

Whether it will work or not, Lin Zhao doesn't know, he just tried his best!On the contrary, the conversation with Sima Guang was more practical!As for the others, he completely forgot about them.

If you want to end the mission of Tubo before the severe winter, you must speed up your journey and arrive at Hehuang Qingtang City earlier.

After passing Luoyang, passing through Tongguan, it entered the land of Guanzhong.This is the capital of the Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties, and it was originally rich and brilliant.

However, after experiencing the destruction of the war at the end of Tang Dynasty, it was dilapidated and the glory of the past was no longer seen.

Since the beginning of the Five Dynasties, the capital of the Central Plains Dynasty has been moved to Luoyang and Bianjing. Guanzhong, where eight waters surround Chang'an, is no longer the first choice.

Firstly, the damage caused by the war was serious, the city was greatly damaged, and the population also dropped a lot.The second reason is that the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River have been severely damaged, and the ecological conditions and richness of Guanzhong are no longer what they used to be.

Furthermore, the most important issue is transportation.After the Yellow River Basin was continuously destroyed, the level of agricultural development has been greatly reduced, and the grain production has also declined. It is impossible to feed the huge population of the capital.So we have to rely on food from the south of the Yangtze River.

This point has been a fact since the Sui and Tang Dynasties.Why did Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty insist on digging the Grand Canal? Is it just for the convenience of playing?

It's a pity that they were too eager for quick success, and finally benefited the Li family and his son.The prosperity of the Li and Tang Dynasty was largely inseparable from the canal.The importance of Jianghuai and Jiangnan to the northern Central Plains regime continued to increase.

In ancient times when transportation was inconvenient, how to transport became a big problem.The canal connecting the north and the south is the most important traffic artery, and the dynasty's dependence on canal water transportation is also increasing.

From Chang'an to Luoyang, the canal was getting closer and closer, and Bianjing, which was later located along the canal, was undoubtedly the most convenient place.

The changes in the geographical environment and water conditions of the Yellow River and the Canal made it difficult for ships to go west to Luoyang, and it was even more difficult to go directly to Chang'an like in the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, the national strength of the Song Dynasty was not as good as that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and the border defense lines have also undergone great changes.The Guanzhong area where Chang'an is located is threatened by Xixia and Liao, so it is not so safe and not suitable for building a capital.

So Chang'an was abandoned in this way, and its status and influence in the Song Dynasty gradually began to decline.

However, Chang'an is still the largest city in the west, because of its long history, it stands on the land of Guanzhong, beside the Wei River.After a hundred years of rest and recuperation since the founding of the Song Dynasty, it has also recovered.But because of the long-term battle with Xixia, the situation on the entire Shaanxi/West Road is not so good.

Lin Zhao had no time to search for the relics of the past in this ancient city, feeling the vicissitudes of history, but continued to move forward with the mission.

After passing Chang'an, go straight up the Weishui River to Dasan Pass, the gateway of Guanzhong.

Guanzhong has always been said to be a land of four fortresses, and Dashan Pass is actually the western gateway of Guanzhong, and its location is very important.

Before that, there was no need to worry about roads or safety in the Weishui Plain, and it was quite comfortable.Earlier in Hangzhou, Su Shi once mentioned his experience as Fengxiang's signing judge. He introduced a lot about the situation in Guanzhong, and Lin Zhao was more or less familiar with it.

"Bozhou, look at the large tracts of farmland along the banks of the Wei River. Qinchuan's Land of Abundance is indeed true for eight hundred miles, and it is really rich in products!" Lin Zhao sighed with a smile as he looked at the large tracts of ripe crops waiting to be harvested along the way. , very happy.

Unexpectedly, Su An beside him had a solemn face, without a smile on his face.

Lin Zhao immediately noticed the strangeness, and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

"Son, it's good to have a good harvest, but we need to divide the area. If this place is all farmland, it will be a bit bad!" Su An's expression was very serious when he spoke, as if it was a very serious matter.

"Why?" Lin Zhao was still a little puzzled, and even a little confused.

Su An said: "This place is close to Dasan Pass, and further ahead is Huanqing Road, which is the front line against Xixia. You should know that cavalry is very important to defend Xixia."

Lin Zhao fully understood this. After all, they went to Hehuang Tubo this time for the purpose of horses.

"In addition to purchasing war horses from Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tubo, the imperial court also implemented horse herding supervision in various places, and opened up pastures to raise horses. The Shaanxi/West Road adjacent to the Xixia front line should be the focus, especially the place near Dashan Pass. The pasture of war horses is, why is it a large area of ​​farmland?"

In order to solve the problem of lack of war horses, the Song Dynasty once asked some people to raise horses to supply horses.However, the folk method of captive breeding is costly and difficult, and the quality of the horses is also much worse.If you want to supply the needs of the army, you still need horses raised on pastures.

But lost the land to the north of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, Xixia occupied the northwest again, and the Song Dynasty was seriously short of grasslands for raising horses.Therefore, cavalry is also very scarce, and they are always at a disadvantage in the war between Liao and Xixia.

In order to change this trend, the Song Dynasty set up horse herding supervisors in various places in the north near the front line, and specially set aside land as pastures for horse breeding.

For example, Hebei Road and Shaanxi/Xi Road, which defend the front line of Xixia, have specially opened up horse farms for horse breeding.

For this reason, during the reign of Renzong, there were disputes and discussions in the imperial court, and Wang Anshi also participated in it, and he fully supported Xue Xiang, the deputy envoy of Shaanxi Road Transit, to dispose of the entire northern horse herding prison.

Xue Xiang also lived up to expectations, at least the situation on the entire Shaanxi Road is very good, and a lot of pastures have been opened up.But with the passage of time, various situations have emerged.

In the beginning, there were sporadic people who secretly opened up pastures and cultivated them. Later, officials who managed the pastures turned a blind eye from top to bottom, and even participated in it personally, reclaiming large tracts of pasture land.Food production did increase, but the number of horses kept decreased.

Emperor Zhao Xu was also very annoyed by this, and this was also an important reason why he attached so much importance to Lin Zhao's suggestion of communicating the tea-horse road.The only difference might be that the emperor thought that the number of horses was declining, not that land use for pastures had changed.

Lin Zhao, the horse herding supervisor, knew about it, but he didn't know the specific situation of the ranch.But Su An was different. Before entering the Forbidden Army, Su An had been in the Western Army and was very familiar with these things.Therefore, traveling westward along the Weihe River, these problems were soon discovered.

Lin Zhao shook his head and said, "There are policies at the top, and countermeasures at the bottom!" This is true for horse herding, and the same is true for the young crop law. In fact, the original intentions or regulations of many things are very good.The problem often lies in the subsequent implementation, putting the cart before the horse, which is exactly the opposite.If this problem cannot be solved, then many good ideas and good policies will be of no avail in the end, and will not achieve the desired effect at all.

The question about the ranch is already beginning to emerge, and the emperor will know about it sooner or later, and he can definitely raise it with the emperor when he returns to Bianjing.But seeing Su An beside him, Lin Zhao felt that he was completely unnecessary.

Going west after leaving Dasan Pass, you have to pass through the land of Longyou, wipe the territory of Xixia Kingdom, and then go straight to Qingtang City in Hehuang.

All the places I have traveled before are rich and peaceful, and there are local officials in Song Dynasty to take care of me along the way, which is convenient and safe, but I have to face many unpredictable difficulties and obstacles in the future.Although the relationship between the Song Dynasty and Tubo was good, after all, most of them passed through desolate and uninhabited situations, not to mention horse bandits and thieves, and the natural conditions alone were enough.

It was precisely because of this that Lin Zhao decided to stop and rest for two days at Dasan Pass. Firstly, it was to buy some expendable items, and secondly, it was to help people recover from fatigue, recharge their batteries, and overcome later difficulties.

So the brigade stopped at Dasanguan, took a little rest, and then got ready to go.

As a major pass, Dasan Pass is of great significance for military defense. Relatively speaking, things in terms of business and life are not so perfect.

With the cooperation of the local garrison, the mission of more than 500 people temporarily found a place to settle down.Afterwards, Lin Zhao took Su An and several personal guards out of the camp, and went to the market town where Dasan Pass was located for dinner.More importantly, Lin Zhao wanted to take this opportunity to learn about the folk customs of the Northwest in the Song Dynasty and some related information.

Anyuan Inn is very famous in the area of ​​Dasan Pass, and most of the businessmen who leave the pass to Longyou, Hehuang, Hexi, and even the Western Regions live here.Firstly, it was because the conditions were good, and secondly, it was because of the prize of "traveling safely", so the business was very good!

When Lin Zhao went out to eat, he saw the most people here, so he chose this place.In particular, there are many merchants who come and go here, which makes him more interested, and he can get a lot of information he wants from these merchants, which will be of great help to him this time.

"Young master, sit down, the bitter cold place in the northwest is not as good as the Central Plains, and the food is relatively simple!"

In the lobby of Anyuan Inn, the staff delivered several signature dishes, which are said to be famous local delicacies.Lin Zhao just glanced at it, and felt that it was ten million times worse than Jiangnanju's food.

But these are the Northwest and naturally cannot be compared with Bianjing.What's more, the Northwest is famous for being bold and unrestrained, and the natural conditions are much worse. It is not easy to eat fresh vegetables.Therefore, there are mostly meat on the table, which looks good and quite attractive.

Lin Zhao knew that this might continue to be the case for some time to come, so he had to learn to adapt.So he said with a smile: "Bo Zhou was joking, it would be nice to be so rich."

"My lord, let's use some of them. Although they are not as exquisite as the dishes in the Central Plains and Jiangnan, they still have a special flavor."

"Okay!" Lin Zhao asked while enjoying the food, "By the way, what kind of system and situation is there to defend against Xixia in the northwest, especially on Shaanxi Road?"

During his mission to the northwest, Lin Zhao was more interested in the offensive and defensive situation between the Song army and Xixia, as well as some military matters.After all, he was also a student of the police school in his previous life, and he was considered a half-soldier, so he had an innate curiosity and sensitivity.

Su An said: "Xixia has dominated the Northwest for a hundred years. Our Song Dynasty has fought against them for many years. Although we have won many victories, we can't change the current situation. It has always shaken the existence of Xixia, so we can only adopt a more passive defense. .

In the first year of Emperor Renzong's Qingli reign, Duke Fan Wenzheng traveled to the northwest and divided Shaanxi Road into four roads along the border of Shaanxi, Qinfeng, Jingyuan, Huanqing, and Yanyan.There are also the Yongxing Army and the Security Army sitting in the northwest, which is a good deterrent to Xixia.

At that time, Fan Wenzheng built many fortresses, and determined such a defense strategy for Xixia, which made the Dangxiang cavalry look forward to it many times.Of course, it is also inseparable from the guarding of many generals to keep Bianjing safe and sound. "

"That's right, with Xixia as a scourge, how can there be peace?" Lin Zhao sighed softly. In fact, in history, Xixia was always the greatest threat to the Song Dynasty.Although the Liao Kingdom is also powerful, and sometimes there are voices of fighting with the Song Dynasty, but the damage to the Song Dynasty is not as great as imagined.

But Xixia is different, because it was once the territory of the Song Dynasty in name, and it must be difficult for the five states!Moreover, every time a border trouble occurs, the damage caused to the Song Dynasty is immeasurable.

That's why the Song Dynasty paid special attention to Xixia, beware!Several roads along the border are heavily armed, on the one hand for defense, but also as a deterrent!
"I heard that there are many famous families in the Western Army. I am very interested."

Su An explained: "Yes, for example, the Yang family in Linzhou before, and the Zhe family in Fuzhou. The Chong family in Qingjian City is also thanks to these people, otherwise the situation in the northwest may not be able to be suppressed long ago."

Yang Family General, She (Zhe) Taijun, Xiao Jinglue and Gongzhong teacher, these are all well-known figures, and Lin Zhao knows them all, and the names of each one are like thunder.

Su An continued: "The Yang family is not very prosperous. Although the reputation is still there, it is not as good as before. Now the Northwest has been prosperous for a long time. It is the Fuzhou family and the Qingjiancheng family. They are both talented and prosperous. Especially Zhejia, who is a descendant of King Zhelan of Xianbei, so he also has a faint Hu Feng on him.

The Zhe family is full of good men, most of the men join the army, and even the daughters of the Zhe family are heroic and heroic. "

In fact, in the Song Dynasty, the Zhe family generals should be the ones who were really famous. Relatively speaking, the Yang family generals seemed to be a bit short-lived.

While talking, there was a noise at the door, a group of dozens of horses stopped at the door, and a large group of people came in at the same time...

(End of this chapter)