Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 176 New Year’s Eve
"Crackling..."

On the eve of New Year's Eve, the sound of firecrackers rang out in various districts of Chang'an. Officials in each district ordered people to hang up lanterns and decorations, and the streets in the district were colorful, just like a lantern festival.

Although there were no fireworks to be launched into the sky at this time, people still had their own entertainment activities.

They light candles, set up door gods, post Spring Festival couplets, and hang New Year pictures in front of their homes. They also prepare New Year's money at home to give out when they go out to visit relatives and friends.

Compared with the relatively simple preparations for the New Year's Eve celebration by ordinary people, the palace has to make more preparations.

The actors and musicians went to the palace early to prepare for the Nuo opera, and the officials were also waiting for the "flying notice" from the court.

Flying stickers originated in the Zhenguan period. In those days, Emperor Taizong made greeting cards out of red gold foil and wrote "Celebrate All the World" in his own words to give to his ministers.

This form quickly became popular among the people, but it was impossible for both the common people and officials to use gold foil, so they used plum blossom paper instead.

For officials, flying posts were not only notices sent by the court, but also a symbol of observing the country's strength.

Unfortunately, the Tang Dynasty today is no longer the same as the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan periods, and the content of red gold foil in the flying notes distributed to officials is getting less and less, and is even less valuable than those of high-ranking officials.

Li Chen saw the officials' dissatisfaction with the circular sent by the court. Although he did not say it on the surface, he was very unhappy in his heart.

After finally adjourning the court and returning to the Purple Palace, he saw that Wang Zonghui had submitted another memorial, so he could only open it in annoyance.

"Five thousand armored soldiers?"

Li Chen threw the memorial on the table and snorted, "With three states, you can have nearly 10,000 soldiers, but I am rich as the world, but I can't even afford to pay for the red gold stamping for Fei Tie!"

After complaining, Li Chen quickly adjusted his temper, and at this time Wang Zongshi also walked into the Zicheng Hall cautiously.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Pei requests to see you..."

"Xuan!"

Li Chen sat down in his seat, and Wang Zongshi signaled the eunuchs in the hall to go and summon him.

Soon, Pei Xiu walked into the hall holding a tablet, and then bowed: "I am Pei Xiu, the Minister of the Secretariat, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live a long and healthy life!"

"Stand up." Li Chen nodded to signal him to stand up, then looked at Wang Zongshi and said, "Give Prime Minister Pei a seat."

Wang Zongshi agreed and then sent someone to offer Pei Xiu a seat.

When Pei Xiu took his seat, he immediately reported: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue just reported that the country paid more than 9.25 million strings of cash this year, of which more than 5.5 million strings were taxes, more than 820,000 strings were liquor, and 2.78 million strings were salt."

"If Qingmiao and other items are included, the total should be around 14.2 million guan."

Pei Xiu gave a rough account of the court's expenditure this year, but Li Chen frowned and said, "Although there is a lot of money and grain, it can be consumed even more."

"Indeed." Pei Xiu also admitted this problem, but there was no way to solve it.

After the Anshi Rebellion, many vassal states stopped paying taxes or reduced their taxes, so that the imperial court not only lacked tax sources but also needed to train troops to guard against these vassal states.

Not to mention the local situation, just the military pay of the hundreds of thousands of Shen Ce troops in Guanzhong is enough to give the imperial court a headache.

The treatment of the Shen Ce Army was three times that of ordinary border troops. This meant that the salary of more than 100,000 Shen Ce Army soldiers was equivalent to the salary of 400,000 or 500,000 border troops. This shows how great the financial pressure was.

Of course, the most fatal thing was not the military pay of the Shence Army, but that after the court paid so much military pay, the Shence Army was not worthy of being used.

The Shen Ce Army with more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, plus the more than 60,000 soldiers and horses from Guannei Road, were unable to even wipe out the small Dangxiang tribe. As a result, the imperial court did not dare to use the Shen Ce Army casually, for fear that after the Shen Ce Army was defeated, it would cause contempt from the local governors.

According to common sense, what should be done now is to streamline the Shen Ce Army, but the Shen Ce Army is the lifeblood of the Northern Division. If Li Chen dares to touch the Northern Division, the four noble eunuchs of the Northern Division will definitely have to protect themselves.

Thinking of this, Li Chen glanced at Wang Zongshi's back, and Wang Zongshi turned back as if he had sensed something.

But when he turned around, Li Chen had already moved his gaze to the table.

He picked up Wang Zonghui's memorial and motioned Wang Zongshi to hand it over.

After Wang Zongshi received it, he ordered someone to pass it to Pei Xiu. At the same time, Li Chen also said:

"This is the memorial from Wang Zonghui, the chief eunuch. Prime Minister Pei, please take a look..."

When Li Chen spoke, Pei Xiu had already received the memorial and quickly finished reading it.

After he finished reading it, he quickly said, "Xue Kui, the governor of Qinzhou, also sent a memorial, but I didn't have time to give it to Your Majesty."

"No problem." Li Chen pretended to be generous and then asked:
"Liu Jilong is so powerful, how does Prime Minister Pei think the court should respond?"

Facing the question, Pei Xiu seemed to have already prepared a plan. He said slowly:

"The imperial court has already escorted more than 3,600 prisoners from the interior of the country, the capital, and Shannan to Qinzhou. They will probably arrive around the Lantern Festival."

"There are spies from the imperial court among this group of people. Although their number is small, they can clarify the internal situation of the Longxi Army."

"As long as we understand the situation of the Longxi army, we can come up with a way to defeat them one by one."

"But the court delayed the reward for so long, just to escort more than 3,600 prisoners to guard the border, which is a bit too much for him."

"I think we can reward them with some money and food to appease them, and then use spies to spy on their military situation, and then start to divide them."

In Pei Xiu's view, these 3,000 people and a small amount of money and food were investments made to split up the Longxi Army, and they had to be given.

Although Li Chen felt uncomfortable after hearing this, he nodded in agreement and said, "Let Prime Minister Pei arrange this matter."

After the words fell, Li Chen seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Is there any movement in Hexi?"

Pei Xiu bowed and said, "Zhang Huaishen, the defender of Hexi, has submitted petitions several times, asking the court to transfer Zhang Zhifang, the governor of Liangzhou and the governor of Chishui Army."

"However, his memorials were all evaded by us."

"In addition, Huining Army Jiedushi Suo Xun has increasingly close ties with the imperial court. We only need to wait for the right opportunity to allow Suo Xun to take control of Liangzhou and weaken the Zhang family's power!"

After Pei Xiu finished speaking, he waited quietly for Li Chen to comment.

But he waited for a long while before Li Chen said quietly: "The Zhang family is a righteous army. I feel uneasy to treat them like this..."

"If it weren't for the sake of the world, I wouldn't want to be such a bad person."

Seeing Li Chen say this, Pei Xiu could only remain silent, but his silence made Li Chen slightly unhappy.

If it were Linghu Tao or Cui Xuan, they would definitely say something to comfort him at this moment, but Pei Xiu... that's all.

Li Chen collected his thoughts and then said, "Prime Minister Pei needs to pay attention to the affairs of Longxi."

"I accept your order." Pei Xiu slowly stood up, bowed and said, "In that case, I will take my leave."

"Go." Li Chen nodded, and Pei Xiu slowly left the Zichen Hall.

After he left, Li Chen looked at Wang Zongshi and said quietly:

"Tell your cousin to spy on Longxi's real situation and don't have any other thoughts."

"Yes..." Wang Zongshi agreed, and then left the Zichen Hall.

After he left, Li Chen also ordered people to arrange a sedan chair and went to the Taimiao to watch the New Year...

"More than 300,000 acres of wasteland?"

"Three hundred and sixty-seven thousand five hundred and twenty-five acres to be exact."

When Li Chen went to the Taimiao to stay up all night, Liu Jilian in Longxi County finally saw the maps of four states and ten counties after waiting for more than three months.

"Including Lanzhou and Wuquan County, there are a total of more than 436,000 mu of cultivated land in the four states and ten counties, and more than 367,000 mu of raw and cultivated land has been abandoned."

"Most of these abandoned farmlands were abandoned because of war disasters during the Huichang and Dazhong years and the poor management of Tibetan officials, which led to the silting and collapse of canals."

Inside the government hall, Chen Jingchong reported to Liu Jilian on the conditions of cultivated land in four states and ten counties, and explained the reasons for the abandonment of the land.

"What a pity." Liu Jilong said with regret: "If Shang Yanxin and his men were good at managing the situation, even if there was a drought, there wouldn't be so many people fleeing."

"Fortunately, now that we are here, these abandoned lands should be able to resume production after the spring."

Liu Jilong put down the book, put his hand on a thick book beside him, looked at Chen Jingchong and said:

"I have read all the governance documents sent by the four states and ten counties, and I have made many revisions to them. Later, you will send people to return these documents to the states and counties, and let them govern the counties in their hands according to the regulations."

"By the way...how is the issue of the distribution of land among the people going?"

He thought of distributing land to the people, and Chen Jingchong answered without hesitation:
"Before the maps were handed in, the land was divided. In addition to the additional land for pensions, enlistment, rewards, etc. held by military dependents, which required taxation, the remaining 7,000 households were all subject to the system you set in Hezhou, and the militia was allowed to settle and cultivate the land."

"They are responsible for the 120,000 mu of cultivated land and 360,000 mu of raw and cultivated land. As long as the drought does not expand next year, these 480,000 mu of raw and cultivated land can produce at least 400,000 shi of grain."

"Among the 310,000 military farms, if we collect taxes based on the five-to-one tax method, we can collect at least 50,000 to 60,000 shi."

"Totaling 450,000 to 460,000 dan of grain, after deducting the soldiers' salaries, there should be 350,000 dan left."

Chen Jingchong reported the general financial situation to Liu Jilong, who nodded and said:
"Militia settlement cannot last forever. As we continue to grow, corruption is inevitable."

"The advantage of this system is that it centralizes grain in one place, allowing the people to focus their efforts on one place, reclaim as much arable land as possible, and restore production in a short period of time."

"Once production is restored, we can abolish the militia reclamation system and let the people cultivate the land themselves while the government collects taxes."

"By then, the people will have a better life, and the government will have a stable enough source of tax revenue."

Having said that, he picked up the water cup and took a sip of water to moisten his throat before continuing:
"I have looked through old maps and books. Ten counties, including Wuquan, had 80,000 people a hundred years ago, so they were able to cultivate these 800,000 acres of arable land."

"The number of people has now dropped to more than 60,000, but fortunately we have enough draft horses and oxen." "800,000 mu is the limit of the human and animal power we have at the moment, so there is no need to rush to reclaim new land."

"Let's take a rest next year and wait until we have enough food before we start the war again."

"Mobilize troops?" Chen Jingchong became interested and asked with a smile, "Where are you going to attack?"

Seeing this, Liu Jilong turned around and found the map he had drawn based on books and maps from the desk.

"The maps we had before were the old maps brought by Shang Bibi. The maps after we conquered the three states are the new maps."

"Although Tubo has spared no effort to exploit us over the years, they still did some good things. For example, they built a branch road to Chengzhou based on the official road from Longxi to Zhuangxian."

"Although this road has been abandoned for eight years, it can still be used for marching after being repaired."

"Chengzhou has 20,000 people and has the benefit of well salt. If we take Chengzhou and then Wuzhou, we can recover the remaining five states with ease."

He used his hands to plan the route for attacking Chengzhou and Wuzhou. Chen Jingchong watched carefully and nodded in agreement afterwards:
"Recovering the two states can increase the population by 30,000, and can also prevent the imperial court from advancing to Longnan via Shannan Road. You are worthy of being the governor."

Liu Jilong chuckled, said nothing, and just put away the map.

In fact, in his heart, he wanted to recapture Minzhou first, because in this way he could make gunpowder and use it in mining and military.

But he was worried that if he mobilized troops to retake Minzhou, it would attract the attention of the imperial court.

If the imperial court sent troops from Xingyuan Prefecture (Hanzhong) to attack Wuzhou and Chengzhou, the strategic depth of Longxi would be compressed.

Therefore, he changed his mind and decided to take Cheng and Wu first, and then Min and Tao.

After taking these four states, he went on to recover Die, Dang and Song states. At the same time, he supported Shang Bibi to suppress Lun Kongre and went south to capture Duomai, Gongzhou and other foreign states.

By then, the pressure on the western front of Jiannan Road will increase, and the Jiedushi of Jiannanxichuan will inevitably transfer garrison troops in the south to the western front, leaving the southern front empty.

In the following period of time, all he had to do was wait for Nanzhao and the Tang Dynasty to fall out.

The southern line of Xichuan is empty, and Nanzhao cannot help but fight.

As long as Nanzhao sends troops, he will have the opportunity to replenish the population of Longxi!

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong walked to the door of the main hall, looked at the cold but cloudless sky, and frowned slightly.

Chen Jingchong followed and looked at the blue sky with Liu Jilong and said, "Although there was little snow in the winter last year, at least there was some snow."

"But this year, not only did Longxi not have any snow, but even Lanzhou did not have any snow."

"Next year...I'm afraid it will be even drier than this year..."

He said with difficulty, and then looked at Liu Jilong and said:
"Governor, there has been no news from Chang'an. We only have 2,000 veteran soldiers and over 4,000 new soldiers. Currently, 4,000 of them are in Longxi, and there are only 2,000 in Hezhou, Linzhou, and Lanzhou."

"I'm afraid it's not a solution to drag it on like this."

"I know." Liu Jilong nodded and said, "The imperial court is tough and does not respond to soft words. Now they are dragging us down just to see if we can calmly transfer 4,000 armored soldiers to garrison Longxi."

"The longer we station troops in Longxi, the more benefits we will gain. It all depends on our determination."

"But..." Chen Jingchong opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Liu Jilong glanced at him and said, "Just say whatever you want to say."

"I am worried that Lun Terror's soldiers will attack Hezhou. After all, after this guy went to Mochanchuan, he often attacked Kuozhou, Hezhou, and Taozhou."

"It's been less than four months since we finished a war. Hezhou only has two hundred veterans and eight hundred new soldiers. I'm worried that Ma Cheng can't handle it."

Chen Jingchong expressed his concerns, but before he could continue, Liu Jilong interrupted him:

"Ma Cheng has been in the army for quite some time, and it is impossible for him to invade at this time of year."

"There are still two months before the spring planting in Longxi. At least before the spring planting, the heat wave will not hit Hezhou."

"No matter how long the court delays, it won't be delayed until after the spring planting."

Seeing Liu Jilong say this, Chen Jingchong could only keep his worries to himself.

"Crackling..."

Suddenly, there was a sound of something exploding outside the yamen.

"what sound?"

Liu Jilong looked sideways and asked Chen Jingchong, but he saw Chen Jingchong smiled with relief and said, "It must be the brothers setting off firecrackers."

"Firecrackers? There are bamboos in Longxi?"

Liu Jilong didn't expect that there were bamboos in Longxi. Chen Jingchong nodded and said, "A few days ago, the soldiers found a few acres of bamboo forest and cut them down and brought them back."

Hearing this, Liu Jilong chuckled and said, "Let's go out and take a look."

As he spoke, he walked outside with Chen Jingchong, and soon they saw a dozen soldiers setting off firecrackers at the gate of the yamen.

They placed a brazier in front of the yamen and placed bamboo on it.

As the fire burned, the bamboo made a crackling sound.

"First, take the twelve prefectures of Shanxi, and then the other members will attack the yamen."

"Looking back, I see the Qin Fortress as low as a horse, and gradually I see the Yellow River flowing straight north."

"The might of heaven rolls across the Yellow River, and the soldiers marching across thousands of miles sing the songs of the Han Dynasty..."

They surrounded the fire basin and firecrackers in the middle, each holding the shoulders or leather belt of the person in front of them, happily singing "Dazhen Music" as they marched.

"The governor!"

"The governor is here to sing!"

"Come and sing, Governor!"

Seeing Liu Jilong coming, they warmly invited him.

Faced with the invitation, Liu Jilong smiled and shook his head, picked up the drumsticks in front of the yamen, sat on the steps, and beat the rhythm for them with two drumsticks.

Seeing this, they immediately continued to dance and sing, but changed the tune to "Military Song".

"Don't you see, the army of the Han Dynasty is over, and the weak crowns are tied to the prisoners, please grow tassels."

"Have you not seen, Ban Dingyuan, the light cavalry of the remote region, urging the battle clouds..."

Soon, the people returning from the fields looked at them from a distance, their faces full of longing and envy.

"Stop looking at me, come over here with me!"

"Come on, come on!"

At this moment, the soldiers extended an invitation to the people, and some brave people also joined in.

Even though they couldn't speak Tang dialect, didn't know the "Military Song", and didn't know how to dance... they still learned it clumsily.

Everyone grabbed their own leather and cloth belts, or put their hands on the shoulders of the people in front of them, and sang and danced happily with smiles on their faces.

As time went by and it got darker, more and more fire pots were placed, and the dancing group in front of the yamen became larger and larger.

Hundreds of people gathered around the fire pots in the streets, singing loudly and dancing with their hands and feet.

Standing outside the circle, more and more people were beating the rhythm like Liu Jilong.

Some of them imitated Liu Jilong and used wooden sticks, some used trumpets, and some used small drums. Everyone had a lot of fun.

After nearly a hundred years of slavery, the people of Helong had long forgotten how the Han people celebrated the New Year by staying up all night.

They only know that New Year's Eve is important to them and it is a day when they can rest and play.

Even if there was no wine or meat, just a group of people getting together to sing and dance, it was more wonderful than all the moments in their first half of life.

Liu Jilong's face was illuminated by the firelight and the shadows of people, but he couldn't stop smiling.

His experiences of the past twenty years flashed through his mind, from struggling to survive in the beginning to barely surviving, and then to joining the uprising and solving the problem of food and clothing, until now when he has enough food and clothing and is about to become rich.

He seemed to have almost reached the road to wealth and fame.

The only thing that touched his heart was the simple joy and shared peace between the soldiers and civilians.

"Jing Chong..."

Liu Jilong clapped his hands and called out to Chen Jingchong with a smile.

Chen Jingchong looked at him and saw that his face was full of smiles that could not be concealed.

Ignoring the looks of others, Liu Jilong laughed heartily:

"One day, we will also let the people of the world share peace like them!"

(End of this chapter)