Over the years, if the Song Dynasty wanted to do something very seriously, something would probably go wrong. The same is true for official administration, the same is true for finance, and the same is true for border military affairs.
After the opening of the Jubilee Festival, the Song and Jin Dynasties renewed the peace treaty, and there was no incident in the Jianghuai River for the past ten years. With the civil strife in Daikin, the situation is about to be divided into two parts.
These two Jin countries are mortal enemies of each other, and they don't know how many more fights they will have to fight against each other in the future. Ding Haijun, who controlled Zhongdu, had always relied on maritime trade as its largest source of revenue. Sui Wang's line, which controlled Kaifeng Mansion, had to fully absorb the force of the four Guanzhong forces, which would incur huge expenses.
Therefore, Jia She always felt that in terms of military affairs in Huaidong, he only needed to go all out to build the city and secure the border without any special actions. The greater energy should be put on maintaining the north-south trade route. This is all because the more prosperous the commerce is, the more dependent the Eastern and Western Jin Kingdoms are on the Song Dynasty. At this time, the Song Dynasty did not need to take any measures on the border. It could move freely between the two Jin Kingdoms in the east and west by relying on the financial resources of the south, always taking the initiative.
So when it comes to military and political strategies, Jia She agrees with Cui Yu's opinions.
It's a pity that Cui Yu was not favored by Shi Xiang, and he got too close to him, which greatly hindered his own career.
As for Li Jue and Ying Chunzhi, they are generally active in the battle and plotting recovery. They have many ideas and outstanding methods. But what Jia She has been worried about is that to the north of Huaidong is Shandong, and Shandong is the base where the powerful minister Guo Ning started his career.
If Li Jue and Ying Chunzhi achieve anything, there will be people in the reporting line who will advocate for them in the future. But if these operations cause Guo Ning to become furious and raise troops, how can they get anything done?
In the final analysis, Shi Xiang and most of the scholar-bureaucrats who lived in Lin'an wanted not only success but also stability. Achievements in the frontier are just a reason for promotion and wealth, while the stability of the frontier is related to life and the fate of the country. In the eyes of the imperial court, the biggest truth always lies in the six words "No country can be established without harmony." Anyone who dares to cause a war on the border is a traitor to the country.
Jia She didn't even need to think about it, he knew that this time the Beiren launched troops, no matter what the outcome of this battle was, it would definitely alarm everyone. However, after investigation by the prime minister, Li Jue and Ying Chunzhi were definitely not at odds with each other. The trouble is, Jia She has done a lot of things for these two people, and these two people will inevitably put a lot of responsibility on the little magistrate of Baoying County.
So, don't say anything, leave Huaidong behind and leave quickly. We still have to take care of things before we get back to the business, so we can’t delay!
Jia She and his companions rode along the road on the west bank of the canal and quickly left Chuzhou City behind.
About ten miles away from the city, they passed by Liu Wangcheng's military camp. This abandoned ancient city is said to have been built by Liu Bi, King of Wu during the Han Dynasty. It is now used as a military camp for the new army organized by Li Jue and Ying Chunzhi.
As Jia She rode by, he saw soldiers starting to run and line up in the military camp, and their footsteps sounded like muffled thunder. Their red uniforms and helmets were dancing up and down, like red lake water beginning to pour outside the military camp, accompanied by the flash of large axes and mazha knives. It was obvious that they were all well-trained soldiers and their actions were fast and efficient. They were much better than the hundreds of soldiers stationed in Chuzhou City.
This is a troop that Ying Chunzhi was personally responsible for recruiting in Chuzhou. Most of its soldiers came from the reformed people who crossed to the south, and they also included many remnants of the Shandong Red Coat Army. I heard that Li Jue also provided military rations for 15,000 soldiers and horses according to the example of Wu Dingjun in Huaixi Province, which was called "loyalty rations".
It is a pity that although this army has taken shape, it has not been used by Ying Chunzhi as a basis to defend the city.
Jia She bets that when they rush to Chuzhou City and plan to enter the city to help in the battle, they will be stopped by the defenders. At that time, there will naturally be another fun. I am afraid that the internal strife of the Song army will be much more intense than the advance of the Jin army from the north.
But Jia She couldn't control this.
He rode for ten miles, his horse's muzzle making a clanging sound, and his four hooves treading the ground like wind. This is a sign that the horse has lost its temper and rushed back to Baoying in one go.
He has been doing a lot of things for various parties these days, and they are too many and too complicated. Although the big shots above him value him very much and have some overt and covert safety guarantees, Jia She will not put his life and fortune on him. On top of other people's guarantees.
This time I followed Cui Yu to inspect Chuzhou. Others rode in sedans and carriages, but he and his subordinates rode horses, and each of them had at least two horses.
These horses are all high-quality horses, and the average price is more than 300 guilds. Now is the time when autumn is high and horses are getting fat. Every horse is fat and strong, its legs are long and strong, and it is full of energy. A group of four or five people exchanged ten horses to save horsepower and fled in a straight line along the canal. On the way, they only had to make a slight detour on the west bank of Xinkai Lake to cross a ferry.
The whole journey is 120 miles, and it only takes more than an hour to return to Baoying County, and then switch to a fast boat or a motorcade.
Even this route was carefully planned by Jia She. Almost all the Shanshui Villages and Zhuangding Folk Communities they passed along the way had friendships with Jia She, and there was absolutely no risk of them being stopped halfway.
In order to ensure the safety of his home, he also worked hard and practiced equestrian!
At dusk, Jia She and his party waded across the Huangpu River and returned to Baoying County before the city gate closed.
Because he was a capable county magistrate, the people in the county generally lived a good life. In the past two months, the city wall was built and repaired, and the county government did not give less money. At this moment, there was fragrance everywhere on both sides of the North Street of the city. People were starting to cook. In the lanes on both sides of the road, you could see dots of lights burning.
Jia She's son returned to his familiar territory, and his spirit suddenly became relaxed. The leader of Meng Cong had to remind his subordinates: "Cheer up! We have to travel all night!"
According to Jia She's previous arrangements, he would indeed have to travel overnight. When we returned to the backyard of the county government office, we had to move money and materials quickly, which was really hard.
But after the leader Meng Cong finished warning his men, he turned around and saw Jia She suddenly reining in his horse.
There was a confused look on his face, and he raised his head and scanned the streets repeatedly. When an old man passed by tremblingly, he leaned down and asked in the local dialect: "Have you had a good day today?"
The old man recognized Jia She. When he heard this, he looked up, his wrinkled face full of smiles: "An Xian, Xian Xian. Master Jia, do you want to try the newly bought wine grains?"
"Haha, no need. Dad, you can enjoy it yourself."
Jia She straightened up and murmured to himself with a blank look on his face: "How can you be at ease?"
The expressions of the servants suddenly became strange, and they all suddenly realized... The entire Baoying County was too peaceful, and there was no sense of tension at all about the impending war.
When Jia She ran out of Chuzhou City, military reports from the north were arriving in droves. No less than a dozen messengers said that the Jin army might use large forces to cross the Huaihe River and go south at any time, and then go straight to Chuzhou. Chuzhou blocks the Huai Pinghai Sea and is the first gateway to the northeast of the Song Dynasty. If there is an attack here, it is not a trivial matter, and all military states must be reported immediately.
Jia She galloped on horseback, which was certainly much faster than rushing to prepare troops, but in any case it was impossible to go faster than the beacon signal sent from Chuzhou. Although the beacon system in the Jianghuai area had been ups and downs several times, it had been rebuilt at this time. It was one of Cui Yu's political achievements, and Jia She also played a role in it.
But what about the beacon signal?
Baoying County is so peaceful and peaceful, so it is obvious that no beacon signal has been received at all.
From Chuzhou to Baoying, there are only two beacon towers in such a small distance. Could it be that these two beacon towers were destroyed? No, even if there is a problem with this communication line, what about the directions such as Huaiyin, Yancheng, Xuyi and so on? Could it be that there were some earth-shaking changes in Chuzhou, and the beacon signal was not sent out from Chuzhou?
Many questions suddenly popped up in Jia She's mind, so much so that he couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.
He frowned and tried his best to figure out the reason. At the same time, he subconsciously shook the reins and arrived at the county government office.
When the magistrate is away, the gate of the county government office is closed. Seeing Jia She's distraught appearance, Men Cong went up to him and called the door open, leading Jia She to ride his horse inside.
After entering the county government office, Jia She felt that the lights in front of him were too bright, and he was suddenly shaken out of his deep thoughts.
Are there so many big lights and candles free of charge?
He raised his left hand to cover his eyebrows, and was about to scold the people below him for not knowing how to save money, when suddenly he heard a loud "bang" and someone re-closed the main entrance of the county government office behind his back.
In the lobby of the county government, surrounded by lamps and candles, someone smiled and said: "I just said, as long as there is a slight disturbance on the Chuzhou front line, smart people like County Master Jia will be the first to come back and collect the gold and silver. "
