"This news was sent very timely, giving us time to respond without being caught off guard." Xu Jin returned to his seat and looked at the people in front of him: "But how to respond, according to the commander-in-chief's wishes, please invite a few more Let’s discuss and decide.”
Guo Ning gave himself a few days off. Official matters could not be left unattended. He had already discussed it with his ministers. For trivial matters, please ask the officials in charge to work harder. If there are major matters, a few people in the inner circle will make the decision first, and then fly. Report to Guo Ning.
At that time, the people of Jing'an said: "Recently, Caozhou, Guide and other places have been on fire. There were no less than 50,000 troops under Suiwang's army and Yang An'er's army. Each of them was in a dangerous position. They fought against each other one after another and the country was completely red. We estimate that As for the movements on both sides, the balance of power will continue into this autumn and winter, and there must be big changes. As for the affairs in Liaodong, across the vast sea, I have never asked about it. According to the military newspaper, the Khitans and Jurchens there We are going to fight together, I don’t know, will this hinder us? I don’t know who is the enemy and who is the friend among those people.”
Jing Anmin's attitude was very tactful, meaning that his attention should always be on the changes in the war situation in Shandong and the Central Plains, so as to seize benefits at any time. As for Liaodong, it is separated from Shandong by the sea. Even if the Khitans and Jurchens are stupid, they can ignore it. Anyway, at the end of the day, there is always business to be done.
In other words, he is not willing to cause trouble.
And Yi La Chucai responded: "There are obstacles, and the obstacles are not small."
"how to say?"
"Since last year, Shandong has suffered repeated wars. Houses have been destroyed, and cities and towns have been ruined. We have tried our best to restore people's livelihood and collect household registrations. Before the summer harvest, we have also opened up salt fields, mines, roads, bridges, cities, water conservancy, etc. Many constructions... Everyone, the food and materials we seized from the Mongols and from the powerful families of Denglai are consumed too quickly. Especially the more than 12,000 military households and the more than 86,000 shady households. , they want military training and have to bear the labor force, we will definitely give them preferential treatment; among the military households, there are many old, weak, women and children left after the sacrifice of the family head, so we need extra treatment."
This is true. Jing'anmin and other generals led their own troops, and they all watched as their monthly grain, rice, and salary were flowing out. All the money, rice, silk and cloth that should be given were given to everyone and every household in a down-to-earth manner. The Ding Navy is not a Mongolian army. It has hundreds of thousands of mouths and cannot be fed by just fighting and looting.
After a pause, Yi Ji Chucai continued: "In the past six months, 20% of the food that supports the military government has been smuggled in through the Southern Song Dynasty. It is expected that the military government will have to stock up on additional food before the autumn harvest. It is estimated that more than 200,000 stones will be obtained from the Song Dynasty..."
"Could it be..."
"No, no, there is no problem in the summer and autumn harvests in the three prefectures. Every mu of wheat and millet is worth one stone. The benefits of fishing, salt and the output of the mines are also increasing. But after the autumn harvest, we will probably develop to the entire Shandong. At that time, the consumption of military rations will inevitably be huge, and so will the money. Therefore, it is better to keep more on hand."
Wang Shixian chuckled softly: "Fortunately, the people who paid for the food were wealthy merchants from Zhongdu. We are in the business of intercepting money."
This is true.
"We collected money from wealthy businessmen to buy grain, and then deducted more than half of each payment for our own use. The problem was that the amount of grain we needed was too large, and even if the merchants had someone on top of them, they would We have to explain it to the higher authorities. In the past two months, several powerful maritime merchants have suggested that gold and silver alone are not enough. They want corresponding goods... The furs are very good, but horses are best."
"Liaodong is the hinterland of Jinyuan. The weather is cold and bitter, the land is sparsely populated, and foreign races are rampant. That land is of no use to us. The people in that land... are just tribes who drink blood from their hair. To govern that place, we must It requires a huge investment, and it is like a bottomless pit for Ding Haijun in front of us. Therefore, Ding Haijun has not reached out at all. The people responsible for operating there have always been Li Yun and others under Qun Mu."
Yi La Chucai looked around at the crowd: "However, in order to seize the entire Shandong, we need to prepare for a war. We need to stock up on food, medicinal materials, weapons, and war horses, and Liaodong is the source of war horses. We can also exchange for a large number of war horses. Food, medicine and weapons. In these few months, everyone, we need the benefits from Liaodong."
Jing Anmin frowned and said nothing.
Wang Shixian pondered: "So, Brother Anmin is right. We don't have to care about the chaos in Liaodong. But Jin Qing also understands what he means. Liaodong represents real interests for us, and in recent years These interests are quite important to us during the month.”
"That's right."
"However, how much force do we need to invest in safeguarding our interests in Liaodong? And what should we do? If we do something, will the gain outweigh the loss? Will we be stuck there and unable to escape? When the time comes to fight on two fronts, both ends will be Is it difficult to do your best?"
Wang Shixian hesitated: "What we have now is this military report. To be honest, it is a bit confusing and I can't even understand it. The one who fought with Pu Xianwannu was Brother Yeluliu. Behind Brother Yeluliu It's Mongolian, so that's fine. But why was Li Yun captured by Pu Xianwannu again? Why is this guy hostile to us? What does he want to do?"
Having said this, he glared at Xu Jin: "Old Xu, do you have someone in your Recording Department in Liaodong? How come there is no news sent back in time?"
Xu Yan opened his mouth.
He was about to explain that the military report that everyone saw was delivered using the fast boats and horses of the Recording Department, but Wang Shixian did not pay attention to it, and instead sighed: "After all, across the sea, we were in trouble for a while. Not sure..."
While these people were discussing, Monk Luo looked bored and listened. When Wang Shixian complained, he laughed, stood up and stretched.
He is Guo Ning's best friend in life and death, and his position in the army is of great importance. As soon as he got up, Wang Shixian asked quickly: "Monk, why are you laughing?"
"It's such a simple thing, why do you need to think so much about it?"
Yi La Chucai asked: "What does Master Huifeng mean?"
"Our Commander-in-Chief is in Fuzhou at the moment. He knows the situation in Liaodong best and it is up to him to decide how to deal with it. Why should we worry about it?" Monk Luo waved his big hand like a cattail leaf fan: "Listen to Guo Liulang , isn’t that enough?”
"Ahem, monk, even if Commander Ji makes any decision, he still has to send a message back before we can act on it. The clipper has to go from Fuzhou to Penglai and then transfer to Ye County, at least..."
Halfway through Wang Shixian's words, Monk Luo stared, waved his hand and said in a loud voice: "What kind of person do you think Guo Liulang is? With his temperament, he always takes the initiative and can solve problems with a knife. , I will never use my mouth! I dare to bet you two sheep, no matter what the situation in Liaodong is, we just send a few groups of soldiers to Guo Liulang, and we will definitely make no mistake!"
"this……"
Monk Luo added: "No matter what happens, Guo Liulang has soldiers in his hands, so we are not worried about him suffering a loss, right?"
Wang Shixian pondered for a moment and patted his thigh: "That's indeed the truth!"
Jing Anmin laughed bitterly: "That's so right."
Xu Jin raised his thumb: "Master, you are very clever!"
All four of them went to see Yi La Chu Cai.
Yi La Chucai lowered his head and thought for a moment: "It will take some time to organize and reorganize a large-scale fleet. Zhao Jue has hundreds of cavalry. We might as well mobilize a group and go to Sanshan Port today. I have a powerful leader. Liang Jushi was there, and the baggage was ready. Thirty clippers loaded with 300 cavalry went ahead. They arrived in Liaodong two days later, and together with Zhang Qian's subordinates and the people originally accompanying Commander Jie, there were thousands People are available in emergencies."
Everyone nodded.
Monk Luo said: "Li Ting's two thousand men are elite soldiers who are ready for war at any time, not to mention that the general is in Liaodong and his command is as expected. Let them also go to Sanshan Port to stand by and follow the next fleet. Then, I, Lao Wang and Guo Zhongyuan all prepared their troops, and then notified Han Xuan and Qiu Huiluo. It will take five days to prepare this group of troops. By then, the fleet should also be vacated. The commander-in-chief has a follow-up military order. , we can just act as ordered."
"That's very good."
These five people did not hesitate. Now that they have decided on the strategy, everything that follows will be straightforward.
Less than half a moment later, more than a dozen messengers galloped out on horseback. Half an hour later, the gate of the military camp adjacent to the Commander's Mansion opened, and iron hoofs thundered. Zhao Jue took the three hundred elite cavalry directly under Guo Ning, took their bows and lost them, and swept out of the city like a whirlwind.
After several months of operation, although I dare not say how prosperous Ye County is, it has regained some vitality and has a large number of residents. At this time, the streets in the city were bustling with people coming and going. Suddenly seeing the generals dispatching troops, although some looked suspicious, most people were not frightened and watched the knights' heroic appearance along the street and praised them repeatedly.
