Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 370: The Seventh Year of Xiantong

"Crackling..."

As firecrackers exploded in the dark night, New Year's Eve quietly turned into New Year's Day, and the people of the Tang Dynasty also entered the seventh year of Xiantong.

Countless lanterns were hung high in the Xingyuan Mansion, as if illuminating the entire courtyard.

In the corridor, servants from the government office were busy shuttling back and forth, holding gilded wine jugs, celadon bowls, and seasonal fresh fruits brought from the south by express horses.

The sound of stringed instruments came from afar, musicians were playing and singing, and actors were dancing in the courtyard.

Soon, the boxes in the yard were set on fire, and countless sparks shot out from the boxes several feet high. The lamp trees shone with thousands of lights, and seven branches of flowers bloomed.

The officials held their wine glasses, watched the fireworks, and stroked their beards with pride.

"The fire trees and fire-breathing trees on Huainan Road are really beautiful under the night sky. No matter how many times you see them, you will want to be immersed in them."

"It's a pity that they are too expensive. I heard that one box of fire trees costs three strings of cash. If you are happy, you can order dozens of boxes a night, which is equivalent to our annual salary."

The officials talked to each other, while sparks continued to fly out of the box in the yard.

Everyone was watching the fireworks erupting, just enjoying it and not thinking about anything else.

However, even though the Xingyuan government paid for it, they were not able to light many fireworks.

The fireworks lit up in the yard for half an hour. After sixty or seventy boxes were consumed, they were taken away.

The air was filled with the smell of sulfur and saltpeter. Many officials liked the smell and kept breathing it in, but some did not like it and tried hard to endure it.

Facing the people returning to their seats, Wang Shi, who was sitting in the main seat, also raised his glass and said:
"It is already the first watch of the night. Tomorrow the government officials will have a day off. Don't go home until you are drunk tonight!"

"You won't come home until you're drunk..."

Hundreds of officials from Xingyuan Prefecture raised their glasses in return, and then clinked glasses with Wang Shi from a distance.

The annual banquet lasted for three hours. It was not until the late night that many elderly officials left one after another. Only then did Wang Shi return from the main hall to the middle hall.

The servant handed over a hot towel and helped Wang Shi walk into the hall and sit down in the main seat.

Wang Shi wiped his cheeks with a hot towel, drank two sips of Longyou stir-fried tea, and said with satisfaction: "This Longyou Ziyang Maojian is suitable for sobering up and removing greasiness."

Roasted tea has been popular in Longyou for more than ten years. Seeing the profitability, merchants in many tea-producing areas have begun to learn how to make it, so there are more and more varieties of roasted tea.

There were dozens of famous teas in the Tang Dynasty. Although there were many varieties of tea in Longyou, only Ziyang Maojian among the green teas could be considered a famous tea, and the rest of the teas were not outstanding.

It is precisely because of this that famous teas from all over the country have the opportunity to be transformed into roasted tea.

“How does it compare to Mengding tea?”

A man walked into the hall. Wang Shi looked and saw Wang She, who had just returned from seeing off a guest, asking him questions.

Facing Wang She's question, Wang Shi chuckled and said, "Among the famous teas of our dynasty, the first is Mengding tea, followed by Zisun tea from Huzhou and Changzhou."

"Although the Longyou Ziyang Maojian is considered top-grade, it is still slightly inferior to Mengding tea."

When Wang Shi finished speaking, Wang She also sat next to him and continued:
"Father, many officials asked me today whether the court really wants to go to war with Longyou."

"In my opinion, although Liu Jilong has not occupied too much land in recent years, he has many spies in Xichuan, Dongchuan, Shannan West Road, and even in Guanzhong and Guannei."

"I think he has already known that the imperial court will mobilize troops against him."

At this point, Wang She was somewhat puzzled and asked: "Longyou has sufficient money and food, and strong soldiers and horses. Why does the court insist on conquering Longyou?"

"If we use this much money and grain to conquer the three towns in Heshuo, or focus on attacking Wei Bo or Chengde, we might be able to conquer one town."

In Wang She's opinion, Longyou Town did have a lot of money and grain, but it was far less profound than the three towns in Heshuo.

Except for Youzhou Lulong Town, the other two towns in Heshuo have long lost their former glory. Although their weapons are not in disrepair, they are definitely not in good condition either.

If he really sent troops to deal with Wei Bo, with the means prepared by his father and the support of the court, it would not be difficult to take down Wei Bo. There was no need to gnaw on Longyou.

“Although the three towns have grievances, when it comes to a life-and-death moment, the truth that the lips and teeth are cold does not need to be stated explicitly, and they will naturally understand.”

Wang Shi was talking to Wang She, but Wang She said, "Judging from the invasion of foreign invaders this time, if it weren't for Liu Jilong's instructions, I'm afraid they wouldn't be so relaxed."

"In the past, when the foreign bandits plundered, they would just go deep into the area to plunder and then withdraw. If they are determined to occupy the six states, they should take the six states first, and then invade and plunder Xichuan after stabilizing it."

"As long as we repeat this a few times, we will be able to accomplish great things. However, this time, the foreign invaders invaded Xichuan before they even gained a foothold. It took Liu Jilong only three months to recover the six states."

"So many bandits died, just for this result?"

Wang She said this, and Wang Shi nodded and said, "It's good that you can see these."

"But what you can see, the court officials can also see, but why no one in the court stopped Your Majesty? Have you ever thought about it?"

"This..." Wang She hesitated. This was also what he couldn't figure out.

Facing his hesitation, Wang Shi said earnestly: "The situation is unstable and chaos has already emerged."

"The prestige of the imperial court has already been shaken once during Wang Shouwen's rebellion. Now, in order to suppress Wang Xianzhi and Pang Xun, the burden on the people has been increased, resulting in refugees everywhere, and people's minds have changed."

"Liu Jilong saw that people's minds were changing, so he took the initiative to send troops to occupy the six states in order to seize Shuzhong in the future."

"If Liu Jilong's actions are not punished, and other towns follow suit, the prestige of the court will plummet to the bottom."

"If we want to regain the prestige of the imperial court, we have to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and punish Longyou..."

Wang Shi spoke eloquently, but Wang She asked, "If that is the case, why did you stop the imperial court from conquering Longyou?"

According to Wang Shi, the expedition to Longyou would establish the prestige of the imperial court, so he should have tried his best to persuade the imperial court to mobilize all the resources it could to conquer Longyou. Why didn't he support it?

Faced with Wang She's question, Wang Shi didn't know what to say, or he felt he shouldn't tell Wang She.

After a moment's hesitation, he said, "How many years do you think the current imperial court can last even without the Longyou incident?"

"This..." Wang She murmured, "I don't know, but I know that among the Han Dynasty, Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, only the Western Han Dynasty lasted more than 200 years."

"The Tang Dynasty has been established for 248 years, which is the longest in history. I think..."

Wang She never dared to say how many years the Tang Dynasty could last. Wang Shi also saw his concerns, so he interrupted and said, "It is precisely because of this that people's minds have changed..."

"I dissuaded Your Majesty because I knew the court had no other money or food to send to the army."

"Even if we win this battle, the court won't last long. But if we lose... Your Majesty has been kind enough to employ me. I don't want the foundation of the Tang Dynasty to be destroyed in Your Majesty's hands."

Wang Shi was not optimistic about the battle to pacify Longyou, because Liu Jilian was far more vicious than Xue Ju, and there was no second Taizong in the Tang Dynasty.

"I'm tired, please step back..."

He waved his hand, signaling Wang She to leave.

Wang She, feeling sorry for what happened, bowed to him and then slowly left the hall.

After he left, Wang Shi picked up the imperial edict sent by the court that evening.

He sighed, and after careful consideration, he decided to tell the emperor about the difficulty of the matter.

If Longyou is not attacked, the Tang Dynasty will survive and die under the tide of people's change of mind. No one knows how many years it will take.

If we take over Longyou, Li Yu will be the second Emperor Xianzong of Tang, and Liu Jilong of Longyou will be the second Wu Yuanji of Huaixi...

Soon, the memorial was written. Wang Shi handed it to the servant, preparing to deliver it the next day, and then went to rest.

Soon after he rested, the sky gradually brightened and the sound of firecrackers became louder and louder.

"Crackling——"

"On New Year's Day, we received an order from the military commander to give each person in the six states of Xichuan a piece of coarse cloth. Everyone should come to the gate to receive it!"

With the arrival of the New Year, in order to let the immigrants in the six states have a good year, Liu Jilian ordered in advance to take 300,000 pieces of coarse cloth from Longyou to the south. Finally, on the New Year's Day, the cloth was distributed to the people of the six states in Xichuan through the hands of officials.

In front of the gate of Xuan Defang in Shiquan County, there was a crowd of people and constant shouting.

Even though the wind was freezing cold, it could not blow away the joy on the faces of the people. They lined up in a long queue, each of them craned their necks to look forward, fearing that they would miss this rare grace.

Wang in the team rubbed her red, frozen hands and felt happy as she watched the people in front of her receive the cloth one by one.

She remembered that when she was first abducted four months ago, she was wearing only a single layer of clothing and was shivering from the cold.

Now we not only have winter clothes, but we can also get a piece of coarse cloth, which was unimaginable in the past.

"Sixth Lady, do you think that Liu Jieshuai of the Protectorate is the reincarnation of a bodhisattva?"

An old man in the queue at the front turned around, his wrinkles all smiling: "I have lived to this age, and I have never seen the government distribute things to the people. Now that I have been captured and brought here, I have actually obtained farm tools and houses, as well as enough food and clothing."

"That's right!" Wang nodded repeatedly: "I heard from those people in the city that Liu Jieshuai is the reincarnation of the Elephant King. I guess he is the Bodhisattva!"

"Don't push in the back! There's room for everyone!"

The neighborhood official in front couldn't help but shout, but he still couldn't stop the enthusiastic team.

The young man who was queuing nearby heard what the old man said and said with disdain, "This is not robbery at all. We have enough food and clothing every day, and we only need to pay 40% rent for the public land we reclaim. This is much better than when I was a tenant in Qingcheng County."

"The Protectorate provides us with food and clothing and only takes 40% of the rent. The Li family in Qingcheng County wants to take 60%, leaving only 40% for me."

"Yes, yes, this life is much better than being a tenant farmer!" The old man also laughed and agreed, and at the same time sighed:
"That day I said I had no children, and Li Fangli actually said there was an orphanage in the county that would specifically take care of childless old folks like me. What do you think is the difference between this and heaven?"

Seeing the old man say this, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Amid the laughter, many people recalled the days four months ago.

When they were captured, they thought they were going to be in trouble, but who would have thought that the government would not only provide them with food, but also give them clothes.

Although I had to leave the city to reclaim wasteland in the mountains every day, it was much better than the days when I was exploited by the government in Xichuan.

"Next!" The shout of the neighborhood clerk interrupted the thoughts of many people, and they lined up one by one and stepped forward.

Wang saw her and hurried forward: "Gao Fangli, I am Miss Wang Liu. My daughter is too young to come, so I..."

Before Wang finished her words, she saw two pieces of coarse cloth handed to her. She subconsciously hugged the two heavy pieces of cloth.

Although the cloth was rough, it was thick and warm, and felt heavy in my arms, just like holding a hope.

"Next!"

When the clerk's words were heard, Wang immediately stood aside holding the cloth.

She was a widow, and there was only her and her daughter at home. The neighborhood official naturally knew her, so there was no need to check.

Those who received the cloth stood by and waited quietly for the distribution to be completed.

Although today is New Year's Day, they usually go to the mountains outside Shiquan County to open up terraced fields at this time of year, and no one knows what new tasks will be there later.

Time passed, from the hour of Mao to the hour of Chen, the two clerks were busy and finally distributed more than a thousand pieces of coarse cloth.

Looking at all the residents who received the coarse cloth, the young Gao Fangli took the initiative to speak:
"The Protectorate has issued an order that the militia in each county shall have a 30-day holiday and resume reclamation on the first day of February!" the neighborhood official shouted again.

"A holiday?" The crowd was in an uproar. The old man who had been grateful to the Protectorate earlier also widened his eyes and said, "I've lived to this age, and I've never heard of a garrison getting a holiday!"

"If I had known that Longyou was so good, I would have gone there ten years ago. It's all because the government officials described Longyou as hell."

"That's right!" Many young and middle-aged people also took over the conversation after hearing this: "I heard that those who came early now have dozens of acres of land."

"You said that if we didn't listen to the court and came earlier, we might be able to buy some property."

Everyone was talking at once, and as they spoke, they couldn't help feeling sad.

In the past, in order to prevent refugees from fleeing north, the imperial court almost spread the rumor that Longyou was a place where people were eaten without leaving any bones, and many people believed it.

Except for the refugees who could not make a living, other people had no intention of fleeing to Longyou, and had been enduring exploitation by the government in their hometown.

Now it seems that if they had fled to Longyou earlier, they might have owned dozens of acres of arable land.

Many people sighed, but more people were satisfied with the current situation. After all, what is worrying is not the scarcity of wealth but the inequality of wealth. The people in Shiquan County are relatively poor, so there is naturally no comparison.

They came here in fear and trepidation at first, and now even if the Longyou Protectorate drives them away, they are unwilling to leave.

“Haha, this is well done!”

In a carriage not far from Xuandefang, Liu Jilian looked at the people of Xuandefang through the window and naturally heard their discussions.

He couldn't help but cheer, while Gao Jinda beside him said with a smile: "This is also what I learned from you, Marshal Jie, but I never thought it would be so useful."

"The hearts and minds of the 300,000 people in the six states now belong to us, not the imperial court."

Gao Jinda was very happy from the bottom of his heart, but after being happy, he still needed to report to Liu Jilong: "These more than 300,000 people have cultivated terraced fields for more than three months, but they have only cultivated more than 77,000 mu."

"However, during this period, they consumed no less than 300,000 strings of cash, grain, and various supplies."

"This price is about three strings of cash for one mu of terraced fields, and the output of these terraced fields is probably not as good as that of flat land."

The six prefectures of Xichuan have a dangerous terrain. The reason for their danger is that they are located on the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Therefore, there are many rivers and valleys in the territory, and the only type of land that can be developed is terraced fields.

The speed of developing terraces on the mountain is naturally slow, so less than 80,000 acres were reclaimed in three months.

At this rate, the Longyou Protectorate would have to support 300,000 people for nearly ten years before they could cultivate enough land for food and drink.

Gao Jinda was a little worried about the money and food, but Liu Jilong smiled and said:
"Moving them here is only a temporary solution. There will be other places waiting for them in the future."

"Now they are cultivating terraced fields here, and when they migrate in the future, these terraced fields will be left to the people who stay behind, and the people who stay behind will have their food and drink problems solved."

"The reclamation of terraced fields is indeed slow. If we want to reclaim them, we have to go to the Xichuan Plain and the Shizhou River Valley in the south."

Liu Jilong had passed through Xichang in his previous life, and Xichang is today's Shizhou.

The river valley in the central part of Shizhou is large enough to cultivate hundreds of thousands of acres of arable land. That is why Shizhou is home to nearly 150,000 people.

These people were now abducted by Xichuan to Tuodong City, which is Kunming in later generations, to develop the local swamps. There will not be many people left, but the land will not be lost.

If he could take over the entire Jiannan Road in the future, Liu Jilian would definitely recover Yunnan and relocate the population of Xichuan to the local area.

The Tang and Song dynasties failed to conquer Yunnan, which led to the rebellion of Nanzhao and the Mongols attacked the rear via a detour.

History is there, Liu Jilian was able to eliminate many hidden dangers. Moreover, Yunnan is the water tower of Southeast Asia, and taking over Yunnan will also facilitate future control of the Indochina Peninsula.

Historically, it was not easy for the Ming Dynasty to control Yunnan, and the population had to be migrated from the south of the Yangtze River. However, that was because Sichuan had been slaughtered by the Mongols and the population was declining.

If Liu Jilian could further take over Bashu after taking Shuofang and Qinlong, he could naturally expand to the southwest with the population of more than four million in Bashu.

It took three generations of the Ming Dynasty to migrate millions of people from Jiangnan to Yunnan, but he only needed one generation.

But before that, he had to conquer the whole world...

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong looked at the people who were holding cloth and laughing.

"The voices against us in the court are getting louder and louder. What's the situation in Longyou?"

Liu Jilong asked, and Gao Jinda nodded and said, "The troop quotas of the fourteen towns have been filled. A few days ago, Hu Siguang and Deputy Protector General Li sent someone to ask me if you have any idea of setting up towns in the six states of Xichuan."

According to the military town system established by Liu Jilian in the past, one town had 4,500 people. Now that the fourteen towns have been fully filled, they represent 63,000 fully armored elite soldiers.

If you want to go out of the town to fight, you will need to recruit at least 100,000 civilians to serve as escorts.

Although Longyou now has a population of over 1.2 million, it is still difficult to maintain an army of 63,000.

If they broke with the imperial court and the goods along the Silk Road were not able to be circulated, not to mention maintaining 63,000 soldiers, even the official schools and salaries of officials in Longyou would become a problem.

"The fourteen towns are already more than enough, and it is not appropriate to recruit more troops, but the garrisons of each town do need to be modified."

Liu Jilong took a deep breath and raised his hand to close the car window.

"Since the imperial court has decided to send troops to attack us, don't blame us for sending troops to defend ourselves..."

(End of this chapter)