As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses are moved, food and grass go first. In addition to food, grass and baggage, there is one thing that Yang Anxuan attaches great importance to, and that is intelligence.
"Sun Tzu's Art of War" describes intelligence work in terms of "temple calculations", "Yong Jian", "Enemy Techniques", etc., and the earliest records tracing its origins are from the Xia Dynasty (1).
During the Battle of Guandu during the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao discovered that someone in the army had connections with Yuan Shao, so he appointed school officials to act as eyes and ears to monitor rebel activities (2). Sun Quan followed suit and appointed school officials to act as eyes and ears to monitor military and civilian activities (3).
As a time traveler, Yang Anxuan paid more attention to the collection of intelligence than anyone else. When he was in Tangyi, he opened a noodle shop and sent Miao Lan and others to Jingkou to open a Jiaolan Yuan, all in an attempt to build an intelligence network. But later on, he moved to other places and had no chance to deal with this matter specifically.
After becoming the governor of Yongzhou, Yang Anxuan specifically discussed matters with everyone. Wang Zhene, Hu Fan and others advised him to act with caution.
Yang Anxuan understands everyone's concerns. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao and Sun Quan used school officials to cast a shadow on the scholars. In later generations, institutions such as the Jinyiwei, Dongxi Factory, Guangan Department, and Military Command all left a bad name. This is a double-edged sword. sword. If used well, it can stabilize the regime, stabilize the country, and steal and convey military information. On the contrary, it can easily stimulate conflicts and create terror. .
Zhang Feng promptly received news from Jiankang, and took the initiative to stay in Beijing to inquire about the news, making Yang Anxuan very clear about the situation in the capital.
Knowing that Huanxuan's army was raising grain and grass, and that Sun En's landing again would be a disaster, Yang Anxuan judged that Huanxuan would not be able to attack Yongzhou for a while, so he could safely and boldly recruit troops, cultivate fields, and cast troops.
Zhang Feng played a huge role in strengthening his belief in building an intelligence organization. After careful consideration, Yang Anxuan found Ding Quan and Huang Xi.
Ding Quan joined the army with Meng Longfu, and Huang Xi was Yu Fei's subordinate. One of them was a market ranger, the other was a water thief, and they came from humble backgrounds.
Yang Anxuan likes the two of them to be agile and flexible, and entrusts them with external liaison more often. Both of them can complete it smoothly. Both of them are now seventh-grade school captains.
Ding Xiaoqi and Huang Xi were surprised and happy to learn that Yang Anxuan wanted them to form an intelligence organization. Although the two of them didn't read much, they both knew that the leader of the intelligence organization was regarded as a confidant, which showed that Yang Anxuan valued them.
The two of them looked at each other, knelt down on one knee, and said with hands, "Both servants are willing to go through fire and water for the lord, no matter what."
"You are smart and cautious, and Yu trusts you very much." Yang Anxuan helped the two of them up and said, "Yu named the organization Dark Guard. When Dark Guard is founded, it will be up to you two to decide how to select people and run it. You will report to Yu afterwards. That’s all.”
Pointing to the two baggage on the case, Yang Anxuan said: "One hundred gold per person is considered as the start-up cost. Additional expenses will be added in the future."
There was joy in their eyes. They were both powerful and wealthy, and trusted by their lord. They were very excited.
In his previous life, Yang Anxuan was very interested in movies such as Bond and Tom Cruise. He knew the great role of spies. Let’s not mention the Battle of Feishui. If Zhu Xu hadn’t been in the Qin camp, maybe the Eastern Jin Dynasty would have been over. No longer exists.
Yang Anxuan enthusiastically discussed with Ding Quan and Huang Xi how to obtain intelligence, deliver news, carry out psychological warfare and public opinion warfare, win over and assassinate opponents, how to transmit intelligence confidentially, what tools can be used, etc.
The three of them became more and more excited as they talked, and all kinds of fantastic ideas emerged one after another. As for the specific details of how to recruit manpower and set up institutions, Yang Anxuan did not intend to interfere, and would only wait for the two people to report afterwards.
Thinking of the situation in which Huan Xuan put Huan Qian and Bian Fanzhi in charge of government affairs in Jiankang, which led to the instability of government orders, Yang Anxuan decided to let the two of them work together, saying: "Ding Quan, you are familiar with the market. It is your responsibility to inquire about information and spread rumors; Huang Xi, you have traveled to many places, know various dialects, and are familiar with water. You are mainly responsible for delivering information."
The two of them bowed in response.
In view of the current situation, Yang Anxuan gave the first order to the two of them.
"Ding Quan, take people to the capital as soon as possible to find Zhang Feng, help him find out Liu Zhong's whereabouts, and call him back to Xiangyang; find out about Huan Xuan's army, find out the date and route of his army; and spread Huan everywhere. The news that Xuan bullies the king and intends to usurp the throne has aroused dissatisfaction among the nobles and the people; be careful to recruit good people in the world to prepare for emergencies."
Ding Quan responded: "I understand the humble position.
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Yang Anxuan looked at Huang Xi and said, "You should set up water stacks along the river as soon as possible to facilitate the transmission of news and transport refugees to Yongzhou."
Picking up tea to moisten his throat, Yang Anxuan continued: "After Liu Lao's death, Liu Jingxuan, Sima Xiuzhi and others also fled to Guangling to join Gao Yazhi. Yu estimated that Huanxuan would soon use troops against Guangling, and Guangling had few major generals. It’s hard to resist, so sneak nearby and see if you can invite Beifu soldiers to come to Yongzhou.”
Huang Xi took the order.
Yang Anxuan explained: "In the early years, I opened noodle shops in various cities for temporary emergency use. However, the noodle shops have been known to Huan Xuan. Huang Xi has found a way to turn the noodle shops into darkness and turn them into food shops and restaurants. They will be opened in various places." Restaurants, teahouses and brothels were opened everywhere, spreading the news widely."
These things cannot be accomplished in a short time. Yang Anxuan's meaning was still unclear: "Everything is difficult at the beginning. You don't have to be impatient. Take your time and plan for results to be achieved in five years. By the way, don't make any announcement about the establishment of the secret guard. Act secretly. Pay attention. Keep it secret."
Immediately afterwards, Yang Anxuan sent envoys to various places and wrote to Mao Chu, the governor of Yizhou, Mao Fan, the governor of Ningzhou, Liu Gui, the governor of Jizhou, Liu Gai, the governor of Qingzhou, and Gao Yazhi, the prime minister of Guangling, uniting all forces to fight against Huan Xuan, but they all Not rewarded.
In May, rumors spread all over the capital and inside and outside the capital, saying that Huan Xuan "bullied the monarch, was greedy, arrogant and extravagant, and wanted to follow Dong Zhuo's story".
Huanxuan was very angry when he heard the report. He replaced the court captain Xunshi and ordered Yin Bianfanzhi of Danyang to hunt down those who spread rumors in Beijing and find out where the rumors came from.
Five days later, Bian Fanzhi reported to Huan Xuan that the rumor came from Guangling and was secretly spread by Sima Xiuzhi, Liu Jingxuan and others.
Huan Xuan was furious and ordered Sun Wuzhong, the former general of the Beifu Army to assist the state, to lead his army to attack Guangling.
Sun Wuzhong led the Beifu Army, and Guangling Gaoya also led the Beifu Army. After Liu Lao died, the Beifu Army began to fight among themselves.
Gao Yazhi and others were defeated and retreated to Huaibei. Liu Gui, the former general of Beifu and the governor of Jizhou, contacted Liu Jingxuan and others and asked them to recruit troops in the Hangou and Huaihe areas to fight against Huanxuan.
Huanxuan appointed Sun Wuzhong as the governor of Jizhou to attack Liu Gui and others. Sun Wuzhong defended Shanyang, and Liu Gui and others led an army to attack. A fierce battle was going on between the two sides.
Wang Yu, the internal historian of Kuaiji, reported that there was a famine in the land of Sanwu, and even wealthy households starved to death at home. He asked the court to provide relief.
The Yangtze River Basin was the granary of the imperial court. Yangzhou was in ruins and Jiangbei suffered from wars. Only Jing and Jiang states still had grain reserves. These two states were Huanxuan's base areas. Of course, Huanxuan would not use his own money to provide disaster relief.
So Huan Xuan had an idea and proposed "use grain and silk for waste money", abolishing the use of metal currency and turning to using grain and cloth for barter transactions. Huan Xuan believed that this would allow the people to return to farming and solve the problem of famine.
Kong Linzhi, a wine worshiper in the West Pavilion, argued that "the way to get rich is really money." Without "money" as an intermediary, economic development will be hindered, and it will easily lead to people who have money but no food, and become hungry.
During the court meeting, most people agreed with Kong Linzhi's idea, because waste money meant that the wealth accumulated by the family would be greatly reduced, and Huanxuan, who held grain in his hands, could plunder the wealth of the family by trading grain and silk.
Naturally, the noble clan saw Huan Xuan's intentions and vigorously opposed the matter. Huan Xuan saw that the noble clan members were firmly opposed, so he had to give up.
The dispute over waste money in the court was actually a secret fight between Huan Xuan and the clans. None of these nobles who controlled the government and the fate of the people really thought about the people who were dying of hunger.
In June, Liu Zhong led the Yuzhou Navy to arrive. Zhang Feng and Huang Xi came with the ship, which also carried nearly 3,000 refugees.
The Yuzhou Navy and the Yanling Navy, which had arrived in Xiangyang first, merged to form the Yongzhou Navy, with nearly a hundred large and small warships and 2,000 naval troops.
Xiangyang is surrounded by water on three sides, and Yongzhou is crisscrossed by rivers. Yang Anxuan attached great importance to the navy. He appointed Liu Zhong as the naval commander and the fifth-grade Dingyuan general. Chen Yu and Qian Lei were the navy deputy governors and guerrilla generals to assist Liu Zhong.
As for Yu Fei, Yang Anxuan took him as General Ningyuan and selected thousands of people who were good at shooting from the army to form a shooting camp.
Yang Anxuan entrusted the lieutenant generals of the army in the name of Yongzhou Governor and General Longxiang. Yang Anyuan, Meng Longfu, Kuai En, Yin Ji, Hu Fan, Cen Minghu and others were all fifth-rank generals, followed by Pei Qiang, Qi Ke and Ying Kang; As for Yang Siping, Yang Zijing, Zhao Tian and others, they are fourth-level generals.
To confer the rank of general requires appointment by the Imperial Military Department, but Huanxuan was in power, and Yongzhou and the Imperial Court were in the same situation, so no one took the imperial edict to heart.
Yang Anxuan strictly controlled the army, but did not make major changes in internal affairs. He recruited a group of gentry children to serve as officials, which appeased the hearts of the Yongzhou gentry.
In June, Ding Quan reported that Peng Quan, the prefect of Yiyang, was colluding with the Later Qin Dynasty. Yang Anxuan ordered people to arrest him and find out the correspondence between Peng Quan and the Later Qin Dynasty.
Yang Anxuan announced Peng Quan's crime and expelled him. He recommended Feng Li as the governor of Yiyang, and appointed his eldest brother Yang Anshen as the chief administrator.
In July, Yongzhou has a good summer grain harvest.
The harvest of grain from eight places was 1.4 million dan. Including the taxes and taxes from each county, Yang Anxuan estimated that Yongzhou's grain reserves would exceed 10 million dan. At the beginning of the year, he promoted Yang Jiali, lent grain to cultivate cattle, encouraged land reclamation, and absorbed refugees to farm, etc. Policies are inseparable.
With food in hand and no panic in his heart, Yang Anxuan ordered the expansion of the granary. In order to prevent the low price of grain from hurting farmers, Yang Anxuan ordered the original tax to be reduced from "seven dans" to "five dans". At the same time, the government purchased corn for 180 qian.
The people got benefits and cheered, and Governor Yang's reputation was at its peak. As for the court's appointment of Feng Gai as Governor of Yongzhou, no one paid attention to it.
Taking advantage of the surplus food in the hands of the people, Yang Anxuan prepared to build religious schools across the state. This matter required the help of a highly respected scholar, and Yang Anxuan thought of Kong Yi.
In a letter to Kong Yi, Yang Anxuan said, "... sow a grain of millet in spring and harvest ten thousand dans of grain in autumn. It takes a hundred years to cultivate people, and you should teach young children... If the government continues, Confucianism will flourish..."
Yang Anxuan did not send the letter directly to Kong Yi, but asked Zhang Feng to go to Xuchang to find Kong Xian, the literary agent of Yingchuan, and ask him to come forward and make an appointment with his father Kong Yi to come to Xiangyang to preside over the promotion of Confucianism.
When I think of Kong Xian, I can't help but think of Kong Miao. I was discharged in March this year. I originally promised that Kong Miao would recover when the flowers bloomed. However, due to the fact that Huan Xuan's army might come to attack Xiangyang at any time, I had no intention of worrying about their son and daughter's love. I feel guilty.
Putting down his pen, Yang Anxuan put his hands behind his back and thought for a while. Yang Li gave birth to a son in Luoyang in April. After the birth, his mother wrote a letter mentioning that his second brother Yang Anyuan had made a marriage arrangement with the Cen family and that the marriage would be completed in October.
In the letter, my mother talked about her marriage to Qiu'er, and many nobles came to propose marriage. Yuan knew that Yang Anxuan was very independent and let him make his own decision, but she also told him not to delay for too long, and asked him to pay attention to the talented people around him and find a suitable husband for his sister Yang Qiu.
The face of his wife from his previous life appeared in his mind. That face had become blurry, and Yang Anxuan felt sad in his heart. It was time to start over.
For me, it is impossible to fall in love as freely as in my previous life. Most of my marriages are inseparable from the orders of my parents and the words of a matchmaker.
There are three women who have left imprints on Yang Anxuan's heart, Yin Huizhen, Miao Lan and Kong Miao. For him, Kong Miao is the most suitable.
Returning to the case, Yang Anxuan took up his pen and wrote on the paper: The chrysanthemums on the threshold are sad about the smoke or the orchids are weeping, the curtains are light and cold, and the swallows fly away. The bright moon does not know the pain of separation and hatred, and the slanting light penetrates Zhuhu at dawn. Last night, the west wind withered the green trees. I climbed up to the tall building alone and looked across the road to the end of the world. If you want to send colorful notes and rulers, where can you tell if the mountains are long and the rivers are vast?
