Wang Shao had a gloomy face all the way, but when he faced Liu Xishi's question, he responded with a heavy hum.
Zhang Yue saw that something was wrong and quickly pushed Wang Shao away.
Now Liu Xishi and Zhang Yue kept talking.
As a walking horse and the emperor's eyes and ears, Liu Xishi was also doing his duty.
He was a little emotional, but Zhang Yue still comforted him.
Liu Xishi is not a fool.
Obviously, it is easy to see that the terrain from Ya'er Gorge to Yongning Village is dominated by Mao. Of course, it is not impossible to farm, but the consequences of farming are that the gains outweigh the losses.
In the Weishui River Valley from Yongningzhai to Chengji, there is no wasteland. When Ouyang Xiu's father-in-law Xue Kui learned about Qinzhou, he carried out large-scale farming in Qinzhou.
The original text of Wang Shao's letter to the emperor was that from Chengji to the ancient Weizhai, there were more than 300 miles of Weishui River Valley, and there were tens of thousands of hectares of arable land. However, Zhang Yue and his companions traveled more than 200 miles and there was no wasteland to cultivate.
We are almost reaching Guwei, where are the vast hectares of fertile land?
Li Shizhong was not blind. Although he was at odds with Wang Shao, he would not make up false claims to criticize him.
Dou Shunqing, and later Li Ruoyu and Wang Kechen did not dare to risk the crime of deceiving the emperor.
Now that he saw the truth, Liu Xishi was excited.
However, Zhang Yue repeatedly advised Liu Xishi to be patient. He is coordinating the relationship between Liu Xishi and Wang Shao.
There is often a question, what is human relations and sophistication?
It's not about flattering others, it's about being humane and sophisticated. The true human nature is about team cooperation, personal patience, and coordination to achieve the goal.
Zhang Yue could not let Liu Xishi expose and impeach Wang Shao at this time.
Before sending troops, there must be no internal chaos.
The next day everyone approached the ancient Weizhai.
The sky here is very high and blue, the river water is clearer, and lush water plants can be seen everywhere.
Although the wind was stronger, Zhang Yue's mood improved, because Zhang Yue finally found several traces of farmland by the river, but according to a rough calculation, it was about dozens of hectares.
Zhang Yue explained to Liu Xishi: "It is true that there are not many arable rivers in the Weishui River below the ancient Weizhai, but there is a section from the north of Yaerxia Village to the ancient Weizhai that seems to be suitable for farming!"
Liu Xishi glanced at Wang Shao on the side, but said: "Even so, it is difficult to say that there are thousands of hectares of land."
Wang Shao raised his whip and pointed to the west: "It is sixty miles from the ancient Wei Village to the west of Weiyuan Castle. The river valley there is richer in water and grass than here."
"Now as long as the Weiyuan Fort is built, we can farm in this sixty-mile valley, with at least five to six thousand hectares of land."
After listening to Wang Shao's words, Zhang Yue finally figured it out.
What is the truth? The truth is that you say one part, I say another part, and you combine the two sides to get the truth.
Did Li Shizhong and the others tell lies? No, but there are some untruths.
Did Wang Shao tell lies? There are lies, but there is also truth.
Once you pass the Ya'er Gorge, you are no longer in the middle and lower reaches of the Wei River. There are indeed places where large-scale farming can be done in the upper reaches of the Wei River.
Especially the sixty miles from Weiyuan to ancient Wei Village.
It's just that the Weishui River Valley, which Wang Shao said was 360 miles long, was shortened to only 100 miles.
Can you blame Wang Shao?
Without exaggerating, he would not be able to secure resources and get the court to support his plan to open up wasteland in Hehuang.
Just like the house seller who told you a lot of lies more than ten years ago to get you to buy a house, but you really have to thank him properly after buying the house.
Without farming, grain and grass must be transported from the rear. The longer the supply line, the higher the cost of transportation, and the place captured cannot be defended.
Therefore, farming is the basis for opening up the border, and other aspects must be pushed aside.
Wang Shao's words about the valley of hundreds of miles moved the emperor. If he said it was a hundred miles, it would be discounted.
But Liu Xishi was also a meticulous person, so he asked: "Isn't Weiyuan Fort not yet repaired? How can we farm?"
Wang Shao remained silent.
Zhang Yue understood that Wang Shao's farmland was still a painting.
When Li Ruoyu asked Wang Shao how much farmland he had, where was it? Wang Shao couldn't answer a word.
Why is there good land not farmed?
Faced with Liu Xishi's question, Wang Shao held back for a long time and said: "The sixty-mile valley in Weiyuan is too close to the Xixia people and they cannot be stationed there."
There was a large amount of uncultivated land on the border between Xia and Song Dynasties, especially in the Hengshan area.
Why is it called two-no farming? It means that the people of Xixia can't farm, and the people of Song Dynasty can't farm either.
The Xixia people would station troops on the territory every spring, so that the Song army and the people did not dare to farm. Come again in autumn. If the wheat is ripe, we will harvest it for you for free. If you can't take it away, we will burn it.
The Xixia people also understood the weakness of the Song army's farming people and continued to harass the Song army by invading and disturbing the fields, making it impossible for the Song army's frontier troops to farm.
Even when the relationship between the Song Dynasty and Xixia was at its best, the Xixia people never gave up the strategy of invading and disturbing farming.
This is why Wang Shao started building Weiyuan Fort before he had a firm foothold in ancient Wei, just to cover the Song army's rear farming.
Therefore, the current situation of Guwei is that those who can farm cannot.
Wang Shao got off his horse and grabbed a handful of fertile river valley soil and said: "As long as the Xixia people give me Wang three years, no, as long as two years, I can..."
Liu Xishi's face was uncertain.
Zhang Yue glanced at Wang Shao, raised his riding whip and pointed towards the north, saying: "If you want to farm, why bother farming here? If you want to farm, just go to Lanzhou. Wouldn't it be fun to drink from the Yellow River!"
Liu Xishi was shocked when he heard this: "Drinking from the Yellow River?"
Zhang Yue nodded and said: "Yes, now my father-in-law knows the truth about Gu Wei. Either you can return to Beijing and truthfully report the truth about the farming to the officials."
"Either you wait, wait until Wang Fugou and I get out of the Binglan Meeting and go straight to the bandit's lair before reporting!"
"Why do you want to send troops to Lanzhou and Huizhou?" Liu Xishi's expression changed.
Zhang Yue nodded and said: "Of course!"
As soon as Liu Xishi heard about the fight, he wanted to turn around and run away: "Our family...do you want to accompany me?"
Zhang Yue grabbed the reins on Liu Xishi's horse and said, "Of course, father-in-law, if you think about it, if our army is defeated, nothing will happen. You can say whatever you want, father-in-law. But if our army wins, you can go back to Bianjing." Report the truth to the officials about the farming and concealment, and instead of praising you, the officials will blame you."
"As long as my father-in-law stays in Guwei, Wang Fugou and I will report your meritorious service to the military governor! At that time, the officials will definitely reward you heavily."
Liu Xishu was a little moved when he heard this. At this moment, he suddenly saw Zhang Yue's confidant Han Tong, who had brought more than a dozen cavalry. He was looking at him with a knife in his hand. On the other side was Wang Shao, Wang Hou and his son who had brought cavalry. They all looked bad. .
Farther away was a group of hundreds of Fan cavalry, moving forward in the river valley, with several leading Fans looking at themselves.
Although Liu Xishi was accompanied by more than a dozen elite cavalrymen of the Forbidden Army, if the enemy really wanted to kill them in the valley on the upper reaches of the Wei River, no one would be able to escape alive.
Liu Xishi thought to himself, could Zhang Yue and Wang Shao really dare to rob and kill the imperial envoy?
That's right, why did Zhang Yue comfort him all the way, and only then did he find out when he was lured to the ancient Weizhai!
Liu Xishi's face turned pale and he forced himself to laugh and said: "Okay, this is a great contribution. We can get a share of the pie for free. Thank you for your support."
