The Legend of the Condor Heroes: I became one of the Five Great Masters by drawing cards

Chapter 172 The general trend of the world
"Young Master Gu bravely rescued Mr. Jiang and really helped the Red Coat Army!"

When talking about the current situation of the Red Turban Army, Lu Youjiao couldn't help but praise it.

"This Young Master Jiang is truly a great talent. Not only has he managed the Red Coat Army in perfect order, but even the refugees are full of praise for our rebel army."

Li Sheng also echoed: "We also learned this method of providing porridge relief from Master Jiang!"

Huang Rong was puzzled. "Elder Li, that's a bit exaggerated. Setting up a porridge distribution center has been a tradition since ancient times. What's so strange about that?"

"Boss Huang, you don't know that there are some tricks to distributing porridge."

Li Sheng shook his head with a smile and explained proudly.

"In every dynasty, when disaster struck and granaries were opened to provide relief, there was always chaos, fighting and looting. But when you passed by today, did you see anyone fighting for things?"

Guo Jing tilted his head and thought for a moment: "I don't think I saw it."

Lu Youjiao nodded and asked again, "Not only that, Gang Leader Huang, think again, is there something strange about that team?"

After his reminder, Huang Rong suddenly understood.

"Now that you mention it, it seems that the people in front of the porridge stalls are either elderly people or women with children, but rarely middle-aged men."

"The leader has a keen eye!" Li Sheng praised. "Young Master Jiang said that instead of letting those grown men compete with the elderly, weak, women and children for food and drink, it would be better to find another way out for them."

"What way out?"

"Just let them help with things like repairing the city defenses, forging weapons, and reclaiming wasteland. They'll get a lot more food every day, so naturally they won't have to fight for porridge anymore."

"It's called something like 'Work-for-Relief'!"

Gu Ping'an nodded secretly after hearing this. Jiang Wanli was indeed worthy of being the prime minister.

The method of using work as a substitute for relief has existed since the Spring and Autumn Period, but it was truly developed in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was recorded by Shen Kuo in "Mengxi Bitan" and has been passed down to later generations since then.

In the past, Fan Zhongyan built a lot of buildings in western Zhejiang and used work as relief. Now Jiang Lin is using it to resettle refugees from the war, which is really useful.

Guo Jing seemed to understand, but he could tell that this method would benefit the people, and he couldn't help but admire Jiang Lin even more.

"Young Master Jiang is truly a formidable man. If the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty had made use of him, how could he have ended up in such a state?"

Gu Ping'an glanced at him and shook his head slightly.

"Zhao Song's illness is deep-rooted. Jiang Lin alone cannot save him. It's like a house eaten away by insects and ants. It can't be repaired, so it can only be torn down and rebuilt."

“Tear it down and rebuild it.”

Guo Jing nodded thoughtfully, and Li Sheng beside him said again.

"Speaking of the Song court, the emperor heard some time ago that the fourth lady had fought all the way from Shandong to Huaibei, and he even sent someone to confer an official title on her, naming her something like the Governor of Jingdong Road."

"Oh? Did the Fourth Lady accept?"

"How can it be!"

Lu Youjiao became angry whenever he mentioned the emperor, and his voice unconsciously became a few notes higher.

"That eunuch with the hoarse voice is so shameless! He didn't mention a word about food, wages, or weapons, but instead started talking about sending a high-ranking official to supervise us. He even looks down on us, the brothers of the Beggars' Sect."

"and after?"

"Later, after hearing what he said, the Fourth Lady called in dozens of Beggars' Sect disciples, stripped the envoys of their belongings, and dressed them in rags."

At this point, Lu Youjiao could hardly hold back the smile on his face.

"Some brothers came back to report that they were penniless and had been looked down upon along the way. In the end, they had to beg for alms to return to Song territory."

"This Fourth Lady is truly a wonderful person!" Huang Rong felt greatly relieved. "People like them should be made to live as beggars for the rest of their lives."

Gu Ping'an also smiled and nodded, then asked, "Fourth Lady is as brave as a man, I'm not worried about her, but what's the situation in the northwest now?"

"There was some chaos originally. Chief Niu and his men were good at fighting, but they had trouble governing the people. Fortunately, it wasn't just us who came this time, but Young Master Jiang and Old Wolf as well."

"Where are they?" "Fengxiang Prefecture City."

The four of them stayed in Fufeng for one night and then headed west. Everything they saw along the way was in good order.

Fengxiang is not a prosperous place, and although the war is still going on, it is somewhat more stable than the ancient capital Chang'an.

Jiang Lin's talent is not exaggerated. He has achieved such success in just two or three months.

Upon hearing the news of the Mongolian withdrawal, Niu Han and others were mixed with joy and worry.

The good news is that the risk of a head-on confrontation with the Mongolian cavalry in the future has been avoided, but the worry is that the Jin Kingdom has had a chance to catch its breath, and I am afraid that the battle will become more and more difficult.

Fortunately, the wars in the past two years have almost drained the financial resources of the financial sponsors. Hundreds of thousands of troops have been killed and wounded, with only less than 100,000 left.

By then, it would only be a matter of time before the Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the Red Turban Army from Shandong.

"Nephew Gu, we are planning to attack Chang'an. Do you have any good ideas?"

"Chang'an."

Gu Ping'an looked at the huge feng shui map spread out on the table, pondered for a moment, and shook his head slightly.

"Attacking Chang'an at this time may not be the best option."

Everyone was puzzled, only Mu Nianci guessed what he was thinking.

"Chang'an now has a well-equipped army and abundant food and fodder. It would be better to wait a little longer."

"Wait?" Pang Bin was even more puzzled. "Now that the Mongols are withdrawing, won't it be more difficult to fight if the battle is delayed?"

"Of course not." Gu Ping'an explained, "Temujin withdrew his troops, and the Jin army did not dare to pursue him, but they still had to send troops to recover the lost territory."

"My dear nephew, what I mean is..."

"The withdrawal was sudden, and the Jin people were confused as to why. Naturally, they had to guard against the Mongols luring them into a counterattack. They could only tear down the east wall to repair the west wall, and piece together troops from all over."

Old Wolf suddenly realized: "Young Master Gu is right. We should wait until Chang'an is under defense and then send our troops to attack. It will naturally be more effective."

"After three days of absence, Brother Wolf has even learned idioms?" Gu Ping'an couldn't help but smile and looked at him in surprise.

"It's all thanks to the good teachings of Fourth Lady and Young Master Jiang."

Lao Lang's face turned red, and he said something modest and quickly changed the subject.

"There are more and more refugees now. If we don't attack Chang'an, where will we go?"

Gu Ping'an stretched out a finger and lightly tapped the picture.

"The troops marched out of Dasan Pass and headed straight for Hanzhong, the Heavenly Capital."

"Xingyuan Prefecture?! But that's Song territory!"

"It's okay." Gu Ping'an shook his head. "Shi Miyuan died, and the Lin'an court was busy fighting for power. The emperor was far away in Xingyuan Prefecture, so they couldn't take care of this place."

The Hanzhong Plain is located at the source of the Han River, with the Qinling Mountains to the north and the Bashan Mountains to the south. It is unaffected by war and chaos, and is a prosperous area in the south of the Yangtze River amidst the mountains.

Once we take Hanzhong and establish ourselves as a base, we won't have to worry about resettling refugees. It's like we're strangling the throat of Shu, allowing us to attack when we advance and defend when we retreat.

After some thought, Pang Bin and his generals all agreed that this was the wisest choice at the moment.

Soon the rebel army marched south and attacked Fengzhou by surprise. The defenders were caught off guard and the city was captured in one day. Nine hundred enemies were killed and four thousand were captured, without harming the civilians at all.

Guo Jing was the first to ascend the battlefield and kill the general, making great contributions.

When the news reached Xingyuan Prefecture, the Jiedushi thought that the Jin army was attacking, so he fled with his family and personal soldiers overnight and disappeared from view since then.

The next day, the city gates were opened wide, and the people looked on in confusion as the army entered the city. It was not until the flags on the city walls changed that they realized the city had changed hands.

　Next chapter is coming soon, please
　　
　
(End of this chapter)