Liaodong in spring is not very beautiful.
Because the trees on the road had long been cut down and were bare. On the hills in the distance, a dividing line can be clearly seen. It's empty below, while the green shadows are dimming above and the peach blossoms are overflowing, all of which are used up for keeping warm during the winter.
But Liaodong in spring is pretty beautiful. Because the spring breeze blows, carrying the fragrance of the earth's vegetation, children run wildly and play, and the fields are full of people farming as far as the eye can see. The people are working, and the joy of autumn is planted in the spring, which is naturally beautiful.
On the widened and reinforced straight road, there was a sound of intensive footsteps in the distance, and the smoke and dust was blown high by the wind. Immediately afterwards, dozens of sergeants were seen, wearing light armor and carrying weapons on their backs. Some were carrying large pots for making rice, and others were carrying large packages. At a glance, they knew they were bags containing food. They were soaked to the skin, dripping with sweat, and panting like cattle, but their speed did not slow down. They moved their legs mechanically and ran forward desperately.
Not long after they passed, hundreds more people came running over. No one said anything. They were all extremely tired.
Zhen Sheng rode on his horse and moved forward slowly with the general. Looking at the sparse team that stretched out for at least three miles, he really didn't know what to say for a moment.
When the brigade headquarters passed by and the smoke dissipated, only a few, dozens, or even a single soldier ran forward, he raised his hand and said, "General, I'm afraid it will be difficult to have combat effectiveness when marching like this. .”
"Meng Guang is mistaken. I am deploying troops to Suizhong, not to attack, but to defend. I don't want the yellow turban people to be deceived by mediocrity and risk their lives. Marching like this is actually training troops. Sun Tzu said, it is as fast as the wind and as slow as the forest. , invades and plunders like fire, is motionless like a mountain, is difficult to know like darkness, and moves like thunder. I deeply believe that the way of war lies in observation, understanding, and movement.
If we attack there, our army will move quickly and the enemy will not be able to detect it, then our army will surely win. If we cannot win, our army is so fast that we can retreat in circles to conserve our strength and look for another good opportunity. If you are invincible today, you may not be able to win tomorrow. With the army in hand, the world can be conquered. "
"This is the way to build a country."
Wang Yan smiled, turned to look at the last two soldiers of the Zhenwu Guard who had finally run in front of him, snapped the riding whip in his hand, and shouted: "Zhang Xi, Liu Da, you two are lagging behind again. If you can't catch up with the brothers in front, you two will be hungry today, why don't you run away quickly?"
After hearing what the general said, the two men's expressions turned bitter, and they didn't say anything. They ran forward with desperate expressions on their faces. They couldn't do it if they were hungry.
The quality of the current military is actually not high. His men who are the best at fighting and have the highest average quality are the Mighty Guards and the Xiaoqi Battalion. The former has fought the most and trained the hardest, while the latter has been struggling outside for a whole winter and cannot even think about how powerful they are.
The Zhenwu Guards were newly formed into a military formation. Although they had received militia training before, the training requirements compared to the actual assembled militia were much lower, so this sparse situation occurred. Moreover, the majority of the people here are Wuhuan people. Their organizational discipline is overall much poorer. This Zhang Xi and Liu Da were from Wuhuan, and they were named by Wang Yan.
Of course, the main reason is that the current Zhenwu Guard training time is too short and they are busy farming. Military law, military regulations, and military discipline are not yet in place. When the spring plowing is completed, they will deeply feel what it means to be an army, and they will be forced to look like one.
There was no talking all the way, Zhenwuwei marched 250 miles in two days, it was really a run to death. Wang Yan rode a horse, and it took him four days to get there. The main purpose was to inspect the people's farming conditions and living conditions along the way.
In the process, the Yellow Turban defeated troops also arrived five miles south of Suizhong, waiting for Wang Yan's arrival.
On the fifth day, General Wang sent his men to report to the other side. He wore a dark green outer shirt, an eight-sided Han sword tied to his waist, black cloth boots on his feet, and rode a red-maned horse. He led his guards, Zhen Sheng and others on the horse and rode forward.
The scene at this time was quite spectacular. The people in front were all soldiers, wearing coarse linen clothes. Their weapons were thrown aside. They were all sitting there with sallow faces and thin muscles, chatting in small groups. After all, they came here to take refuge. Besides, they didn't have enough to eat. After waiting for a few days, they still had the strength to fight again.
After the soldiers, there were family members, all women, children and children, each of whom was in even worse condition. Wang Yan looked far into the distance and didn't see an old man.
This is normal. After all, after the Yellow Turbans were defeated last winter, they became rogue bandits. The first ones to come must be the Yellow Turbans from the Youji area. Youzhou was looted by Wang Yan and all the houses were empty. Jizhou was reduced to a pot of porridge. The farmers were either involved in the Yellow Turban team or hid to save their lives. The food was long gone.
Let them go to Wubao. The further south they go, the bigger the family will be, and the higher the fighting power of Wubao will be. They are so crowded that they can indeed eliminate several families, but the death of so many people does not match the food taken back. Although no one cares about human life, if you die too much, your memory will be long and your enthusiasm for fighting will be affected.
Furthermore, it is possible to rob a caravan once or twice, but it becomes difficult after a long time. Firstly, people can go around it, but if they can't, they don't have to come. Secondly, they have robbed the rich people, and local officials will come to suppress them.
Therefore, they had a miserable life in the past winter, and many people died. Under such circumstances, the old man would definitely have no chance of survival.
Wang Yan dismounted and sat on the saddle brought by his bodyguard, holding his arms. What stood out was that it was cool and casual. He definitely doesn't care about etiquette. He will do whatever makes him feel comfortable.
Some rituals are useful, and some rituals are useless. Many rituals are the rules of the clan, but they are not civilized and polite rituals.
After a while, two big-bodied men came to Wang Yan, raised their hands and saluted: "Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang pay their respects to the Lord. We are going north all the way. It is not easy. Please take us in. From now on, we will work to the death in front of us and behind the horse." "
Zhou Cang is no stranger to him. In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he gave Guan Yu a sword fight. Although there is not much description of his combat power, Zhao Yun killed Pei Yuanshao instantly. Zhou Cang was able to fight Zhao Yun in two moves. He fought more or less back and forth for a while, and he was still able to escape. Level. not bad.
As for Pei Yuanshao, this is the background board. After robbing Zhao Yun's horse, he was stabbed to death.
There are only a few celebrities in the Yellow Turban Army, including Zhou Cang, Liao Hua, Guan Hai, and Zhang Kai.
Guan Hai led tens of thousands of Yellow Turban troops, besieged Kong Rong to borrow grain, and fought with Guan Yu for dozens of times, but was killed by Guan Yu's sword. As a member of the top team of the Three Kingdoms, it is rare to be able to fight Guan Yu for dozens of rounds.
As for Zhang Kai, it's simple. He killed Lao Cao's biological father and robbed Lao Cao's family of a lot of wealth. It caused the Xuzhou War, made Tao Qian ask for help, and allowed Liu Bei to take control of Xuzhou, which was the pinnacle of Liu Bei's early career.
General Wang waved his hand: "No need to be polite, tell me about your situation."
Zhou Cang spoke first: "Master Huifu, after Zhang Bao's defeat, we gathered the remaining soldiers, hid in the mountains and plundered for a living. However, Paoze's family was so large that it was difficult to survive. After barely surviving the winter, we heard that the general was doing great things in Liaodong. We and others They all came from the Yellow Turbans, and heard that the general treated the soldiers and people under his rule well, so they came north to join them. Along the way, they gathered refugees and a small group of remaining soldiers ended up here.
We have a total of 23,523 people, with 7,000 soldiers. The rest are women and children, and there are only less than 500 old and weak. There are still two thousand stones of grain and grass, more than two hundred horses, one thousand bows, and twenty thousand arrows. We have no weapons left. We sincerely surrender and Lord Wanwang Mansion will take them under his wing. "
This opening revealed the status of the two of them. It's normal to think that Zhou Cang is more powerful and decent-looking. He can speak clearly when he listens to his words, tell everything about his family background, and even make a few remarks. No wonder Guan Yu is willing to let him resist the sword.
"If you want to surrender to my rule, your army must be dispersed. Today is the spring plowing time, there is no war, and there should not be too many soldiers. Moreover, your soldiers are yellow, hungry and thin, and they must be well cultivated to be able to fight. Therefore, you It's hard for the two of you to get a high position, but you can have peace of mind. If you want to get a high position, you have to make military achievements. What do you think?"
Wang Yan has a very good attitude and talks with a smile. But in fact, Zhou Cang and others have no choice.
They struggled and walked thousands of miles until they reached Liaodong. If Liaodong did not harvest, they would have no choice but to die and there would be no way back. Because there was no food and it was the time of spring plowing, they would be finished waiting for death.
Of course, it is impossible to let go of the human resources obtained. Although Wang Yan also relied on imported grain and relied on overall management to survive, now there are books, which can not only harvest the books collected by wealthy families, but also cut more grain than glass. And in two months, the Pingguo Salt Field will have output. Not only can it produce large grains of salt to supply the government, but it can also produce fine salt, and then harvest the leeks of the family.
Now that the world is relatively stable and food production is guaranteed, he can definitely cope with the past. When the world is in chaos, he should be able to be self-sufficient. After all, it would be a joke to guard the huge Northeast Plains and not be able to grow food to feed ourselves.
In fact, looking at the pattern of the Three Kingdoms' Dingding, it is not difficult to find that the basis for their Dingding was to occupy the land. Although their finances have been ruined and their populations have dropped sharply due to a series of wars, the land is still there.
Cao Wei occupied the North China and Guanzhong Plains, Sun Wu occupied the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plains, Shu Han occupied the Chengdu Plain of the Kingdom of Abundance, Zhuge Liang longzhong faced Youyun, Yizhou was dangerous and fertile, with thousands of miles of fertile fields, and the land of Abundance, Emperor Gaozu used it to become an emperor. It can be seen that Sichuan and Chongqing are very different.
This is also the reason why General Wang is obsessed with his hometown. Otherwise, at that time last year, there was no other choice but to hide in the mountains and become bandits. It is impossible to promote filial piety and honesty. If you want to separate the country and attack from all sides, if you want to gain a foothold, it will consume too much time and energy, and it is not cost-effective...
So what does he mean by what he said to Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao now? Just to see if he is an ambitious person. If so, then kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. If not, naturally everyone will be happy.
So don't look at the general's smiling face. No matter what these two people say, the more than 20,000 people behind will definitely not be able to leave. If they say something wrong, they will still die.
But fortunately, they didn't waste any time and knelt down and prostrated: "Lord, I'll just wait and see what you're sent to do!"
"Call me general." Wang Yan corrected him with a happy smile. He didn't like the title lord very much. The title general was not as powerful. It reminded him all the time that he was a great warlord.
"Yes, General!"
"Okay, okay." The general said hello three times and arranged: "From now on, the people have nothing to do with you and I will make my own arrangements. You two don't have to be impatient. The rules under my rule are different from those of the Han Dynasty. I The army behind you is the newly formed militia. You two will be small pawns first and become familiar with my rules and laws. After the autumn harvest, you will make your own arrangements. What do you wish?"
"But it depends on the general's dispatch."
It took a lot of effort, and Wang Yan said it clearly. They also recognized their lord and knelt down and kowtowed. It must be what the general said and what they did.
"Get up. You don't have to be so polite from now on. I don't like kneeling and worshiping under my rule. You must remember that people should stand upright to the sky and the earth."
"Yes, general, stand upright!" The two shouted in unison, shouting vigorously.
Both of them are leaders, and with more than 20,000 people under their control, they will definitely have enough to eat. A capable person, no matter whether it is good or bad, can always have enough to eat. This is the law of survival. If not, the two of them wouldn't be so big and round.
The situation was the same as during the Song and Ming Dynasties. The generals at this time were all big, thick and tall. For example, Liu Guanzhang and Gongsun Zan, who had fought against each other before, were not less than 1.8 meters tall. They were quite powerful when wearing armor. The same is true for Zhou Cang at the moment. Pei Yuanshao is a little shorter, but he is still about 178, and he is just like playing around with the little soldiers.
"Come here, collect the weapons, food, grass, baggage and horses, march the troops, make arrangements for going to the toilet, cook porridge and fish soup in a big pot in the cook camp, and wait until the weather cools down in the afternoon before moving north to Tai'an. Another civilian officer will be dispatched to follow, rowing Divide the land for houses, build new brick kilns, and transport beams and wood. Before the houses are built, divide them into large military tents to protect them from wind and rain. Cultivation of fields must be done as quickly as possible, so as not to miss the season."
He waved his hands and asked the two men to retreat. The general issued a series of orders, and the guards took the orders and returned to the rear army formation to deliver the orders. Soon, the soldiers who had put away their weapons came forward and organized the Yellow Turban refugees in a mighty manner. Regarding matters, others returned to Suizhong to dispatch supplies, food, grass and other matters.
Wang Yan explained some general directions, some urgent matters, and many things that have not yet been arranged. These are matters for civil officials and marching commanders. Today's civilian officials are all surviving officials and those who later performed well and were promoted to generals. The same is true for marching commanders. The first thing they had to do was to learn to read and write. After many initial mistakes, they are now able to do their jobs, which can be said to be conscientious.
What he didn't explain, such as picking out the craftsmen and finding a place to produce according to the collective plan. Find those who are literate and let them take on some basic tasks and assist in management. Finding a wife for a man, a man for a woman, and so on, are both small things and big things. Civil officers and marching commanders can do these things very well. They have previous experience. When not fighting, these are their main tasks.
"There are many talented people under the general's command." Seeing that various resettlement activities were carried out in an orderly manner, Zhen Sheng naturally cheered.
"Meng Guang has a heavy responsibility." Wang Yan shook his head and smiled, patting Zhen Sheng on the shoulder, "You said that there are one hundred thousand refugees going north, and the beams in our treasury will definitely not be enough. We must pay close attention to selling books, but if we have food, we can just transport it. Come on, I'll deal with you at a high price."
"General, don't worry. In less than two months, the caravans will gather here."
"Let's go."
Wang Yan nodded with a smile, waved his hand, and Zhen Sheng went to do his own thing...
When Zhou Cang and others came to surrender, it was as if a switch was turned on. Just as Zhen Sheng said, in the next two months, 130,000 Yellow Turban troops and refugees came to Liaodong. These people have been arranged to the central Liaoning area and the Liaodong Plain, and they have begun to take shape.
The number of people under the rule of General Wang has officially exceeded 500,000, reaching more than 510,000.
It's just that because they traveled far and arrived late, they already missed the spring plowing after settling in. But it doesn't matter. Except for children who have trouble walking, there is no idle person. There is too much work to do.
If you can't grow food, you can open up land and grow rapeseed. The harvest in the next two months can replenish precious oil. You can also plant rice and plant a crop of winter wheat in August. You can grind flour, although you can't realize the freedom of Liaodong pasta. , but it will definitely benefit the people and provide them with a few mouthfuls of fine food.
This is the work of farming, building houses, digging coal and cutting down trees to store fuel for winter. It will never be finished.
Taking advantage of this surge in population, Wang Yan also began to carry out large-scale downsizing of the army, eliminating those over thirty-two years old in the army, and followed the old routine, creating a "police lieutenant" The department is the police. This is the resettlement of veterans and the establishment of a police system.
The police officers under him certainly cannot have as much power as a county lieutenant, but their duties are to handle minor disputes, arrest thieves, and maintain local security. The judicial system cannot be established so quickly. It requires enough talent to be used.
However, there is no conflict among the people under the rule now, because the overall distribution of supplies and no open market means that everyone has the same food and clothing. Only when everyone starts to be self-reliant will there be more conflicts.
Therefore, the current police lieutenants have nothing to do. They just assist the civilian officials, deal with those who are lazy and do not work, collect various data, and coordinate various matters. Another important task is to have children.
This is of course not what Wang Yan taught them, but they feel that if their lives are good now, they should have more children to make their lives better. Anyway, no matter you are poor or rich, you just want to have more children, especially more boys, because boys represent the labor force and the family's force. This is a very simple idea, and of course it is what Wang Yan is happy to see.
It's just that on the issue of favoring boys over girls, he shouted out the slogan "women can hold half of the sky" across the ages. In fact, women have always been able to do this. Except for wealthy families, all the daughters of ordinary people are working, and the work is not light. It is necessary to fully stimulate women's subjective initiative and release more productive forces as soon as possible.
Of course, it is impossible for women to serve as soldiers. That is to provide warmth to the enemy, and it is impossible to be a high-ranking official. However, we must start from a small place and gradually improve the status of women, such as female civil servants, female teachers, female doctors, etc. etc. There are always talented women who continue to break the upper limit of women. Just let this process take its course.
During this process, Wang Yan also screened the cotton seeds early, and Yu Pingguo found a piece of land and planted them first. This is the guarantee of living in Liaodong, with cotton clothes, cotton pants, cotton shoes and quilts, and you will have no worries from now on. More and more people are able to work in winter. But now that there is too little cotton, we must first ensure that the army is the main force, whether in war or production, and then we can benefit the people.
The defeated Yellow Turban soldiers and refugees who came to the north to surrender were still coming, but they were not as big as before, they were all in small groups.
The problem of grain and grass has also been solved. Zhen Sheng is reliable and has people selling things everywhere. He takes orders and wealthy families transport massive amounts of grain to the north, relying only on papermaking and printing. At this time, this is dimensionality reduction and cutting leeks.
As a result, Wang Yan harvested tens of thousands of bamboo slips in the first batch. At the same time, Zhen Sheng bribed the ten regular servants and sold books written by secretaries and supervisors. Thousands of bamboo slips were also shipped to Liaodong.
Wang Yan found a large piece of land outside Tuhe City, personally designed a library for the boss, and has already started construction. However, the construction speed is quite slow. After all, many people under his rule have not settled down well. How could he carry out large-scale construction on his own and occupy human resources. It just took dozens of people and worked on it bit by bit.
Just in the midst of the busyness, time came to August, which is the harvest season.
Cai Yong, whom the general had been waiting for for more than half a year, finally arrived...
I would like to express my daily gratitude to the good brothers who vote monthly for their support.
Thank you to all the brothers who recommended me for your support,
Thanks to the big brothers who read silently for their support.
