The war is over.
Returning to Ju'er Bay at the source of the Huangshui River, the people cheered and welcomed the triumphant army on both sides of the Huangshui River, but Liu Chengzong was in a heavy mood.
Along the way eastward, he saw many large canals and branch canals built on both sides of the Huangshui River, which could irrigate thousands of hectares of fields, but the cultivated fields in Xining Prefecture were far less than that.
But there were many people around. Mongolian old men and Western women in ragged clothes could be seen everywhere. Even the Han people were very poor in their clothing. It suddenly seemed like they were back in northern Shaanxi, where they were suffering from hunger and cold.
The messy refugee tents on both sides of Huangshui River can be seen almost everywhere. There is no planning and construction at all. This is very different from what he imagined as the richest place in Xining Prefecture.
When he looked at his brother and Li Wanqing with doubtful eyes, Liu Chengzu, who was riding with him, said: "Lazun sent 37,000 old and weak women and children before escaping. The Huangnan tribe also took refuge north due to the war, and more than 50,000 people flocked to it. After entering Xining, the imperial court sent troops to Lanzhou, so my father had no choice but to move all the people to Juerwan."
After saying that, Liu Chengzu said helplessly: "That's why I said that the more than 30,000 people you brought with you can only stay in Haixi and Haibei. Juer Bay can't accommodate people."
Liu Chengzong's heart sank a little, and he frowned: "Lazun sent 37,000 people?"
He didn't consider the more than 50,000 people when he surrendered at Nanshan Fort.
"It's okay. You don't have to worry about the crowds. If there are too many lice, don't bite them. Anyway, Xining Mansion only has 40,000 registered residents. To be honest, there is not much difference between 50,000 more and 80,000 more."
After Liu Chengzu finished speaking, Li Wanqing also nodded in agreement. He took a very open view on the matter and pointed to the east and said: "In the past two years, four hundred hectares of land have been opened to the west of Xining, and more than 200 hectares of land have been opened to the north and south of Xining. You are going to fight Triumphant, take a good rest when you come back, we can survive this."
Liu Chengzong calculated left and right, and figured out that with more than 600 hectares of land, he could harvest 70,000 shi of grain until he died. He really didn't know where his brother and Li Wanqing had the confidence to survive, so he asked: "What is father's plan?"
"Xining City has grain reserves. It can last until next summer if it is tight. Use the savings to buy grain in the Hehuang Valley. There are people this year. We will build canals and cultivate land..."
Liu Chengzu spoke eloquently, but he could not help but feel worried: "I'm just afraid that I won't be able to survive the autumn harvest."
"As long as it lasts until summer, it will be autumn if it lasts."
Liu Chengzong didn't believe what he said, and said with a wry smile: "If you can get through it, get over it. If you can't get through it, attack Lanzhou."
The elder brother laughed out loud when he heard this, and said as if the Lanzhou War could be stopped: "Hey, don't think about fighting Lanzhou. Tens of thousands of Gansu border troops who are waiting for food surrender to you. Isn't it scary? It's better than that. Beat Hami.”
After saying that, Liu Chengzu shook his head and said: "Money and food are all trivial matters. There must be a way for the car to reach the mountain. I am waiting to ask you about big things in Ju'erwan."
"What's the big deal?"
"You'll know when you get there. Let me ask you first." Liu Chengzu suddenly said seriously: "Where can I find that Mongolian aunt?"
"Ah?" Liu Chengzong was confused by his brother's sudden change of subject: "What Mongolian aunt?"
Liu Chengzu stared and said, "Now you can recruit 50,000 Mongolians without any money. Didn't you ask me if I have any plans to find you a Mongolian sister-in-law? Where is the Mongolian sister-in-law?"
Liu Chengzong suddenly realized it and laughed: "So that's what I'm talking about. I'm surrounded by defeated generals. It's hard to find someone who is worthy of my brother!"
In fact, his idea at the time was to marry his eldest brother to the daughter of a Mongol leader in Qinghai, but now both Baoyan and Lazun have gone to Uzang, and there are no people of suitable age in Baoyan's family. Lazun...Lazun is full of points. If you run away, your genes are unreliable.
"Why don't I send someone to ask Hu Duntu if he has a suitable girl?"
Liu Chengzong pondered for a moment, then shook his head to confirm whether he had lost it, and said: "It's not good. Chuo Ke Rabbit wants to drag him into Qinghai. I will send someone to ask him now. I feel very strange in my heart, as if I want to send my brother to get married."
Li Wanqing smiled tightly, and Liu Chengzu laughed loudly: "That's just a man coming to marry you. Why do you still want me to be your son-in-law?"
"Why don't you ask Wa, wait a minute!" Liu Chengzong was mid-sentence, and suddenly the smile on his face solidified: "Brother, you just said that you are waiting to ask me about important matters in Juerwan, could it be..."
Li Wanqing couldn't stand it any longer, and looked at Liu Chengzong. The two burst into laughter and said to Liu Chengzong, "This is a life-long event!"
not good!
I'm about to be forced to get married.
With the complicated mood of being urged to get married, Liu Chengzong led the convoy to slowly approach the Bay of Curve. When they were thirty miles away, the scene in the river valley finally stopped deteriorating. The surrounding area changed from desolate to harvested fields, mixed with the earthen wooden houses of the common people. There are even cave dwellings built on the mountains on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
If you get closer, you can see endless workshops and markets, as well as the newly built city walls.
It was not a big one. Liu Chengzu said that it was where the military training camp and academy were in the past. After the news of the victory in the Southern Expedition came back, his father thought that Xining needed to build a marshal's palace, so he took advantage of the surrounding canals to quarry and build several. The brick kiln was used to plan the city wall, burn bricks and ram the earth, build the Qinghai Marshal's Office inside, and build low and thick city walls outside.
After Lazun fled, a large number of Huangnan Mongolian people who were without food took refuge in Xining. Considering that they were without food, my father used work as a substitute for poverty, built several brick kilns, and covered the walls of the Marshal's Mansion with blue bricks.
Liu Chengzong wondered: "I think that's an earthen wall. Am I wrong?"
"That's right, they haven't been finished yet. All the green bricks that were fired were used to build the warehouse and the academy." Li Wanqing said with a smile: "The imperial court sent troops to Lanzhou, and then they put down the bricks that were first wrapped from the east of the city and built the whole building. It’ll be better than next year.”
After Li Wanqing finished speaking, he sighed and said: "Ever since the news of the General's nine battles and nine victories at the source of the Yellow River came back, the old man had expected that the population of Xining Prefecture would skyrocket after the battle. Later, he stopped rushing to lay bricks and built a big building. There is a pickling market and a noodle market where whole heads of pigs, cattle and sheep are marinated, and noodles are stir-fried in hundreds of pots.”
The closer he got to the Marshal's Mansion, the better Liu Chengzu's mood became.
Food rations were a big issue that Liu Chengzong was not mentally prepared for, but for everyone in Xining Mansion, they were already prepared for everything.
All the stored grain has been taken out, and almost all the grain, oil and livestock that can be purchased from the east of Xining have been bought. Even a lot of fodder has been prepared. All that is left is to buy some vegetables.
Apart from planning the next war, there is nothing they can do regardless of whether the surrendered population is 80,000 or 800,000.
But even planning a war was very helpless. The only one they could fight was Lanzhou, but when attacking Lanzhou they had to consider the Gansu border troops. They could win if they fought hard enough, but they couldn't get enough food and grass to surrender, which would only further increase the chance of collapse.
Hami is actually an unrealistic direction. Although the distance is about the same as the expedition to Nangqian, the Mongols provided supplies along the way, and the Nangqian chieftain's tribe was there to support them. Now they have nothing. Not to mention starving to death on the way, even if you can survive to fight, you will still lose.
After considering all the possibilities, Liu Chengzu had given up thinking about these things. He took it one step at a time. Compared with the crisis that would come next year, the lion came back to share the same difficulties with him. Being forced to get married together was obviously the most joyful thing for him recently. thing.
If given the choice, Liu Chengzu would rather go to the south to conquer the country by himself, and let the lion stay with his parents and be forced to marry.
After all, for most people in the Lion Army, if they only have food for half a year, can it still be called a food crisis?
Liu Chengzu couldn't solve his current food ration dilemma, but he hoped that the lion could help him solve his marriage dilemma.
Liu Chengzong was just the opposite.
Ten miles outside the city, Xining officials, students from the academy, and generals and soldiers lined the road to greet them. Liu Chengzong saw his father and mother standing in the middle of the road from a distance. The anxiety in his heart suddenly disappeared without a trace.
He patted his horse and ran more than ten steps ahead, when he saw his father and many officials raising their hands and saying in unison: "Welcome the marshal to return victoriously!"
Liu Chengzong reined up his horse and circled around, clasped his fists on the horse and returned the salute to everyone. Then he turned over and dismounted. A guard took the reins. He walked forward and looked at his father who was smiling slightly through clenched teeth and his mother who had red eyes. He obediently bowed down and saluted: "Mother, my son is back!"
Mrs. Cai was about to cry, but she burst into tears and smiled. She stepped forward to help him and said, "Mom thought you would be dark and thin. Why are you still fat?"
Liu Chengzong had a smile on his face, but he had mixed feelings in his heart. He just said: "Don't worry, mother, how can I let myself suffer."
In fact, he didn't suffer much. Just running from Dajianlu back to Nangqian, riding 1,400 miles in 13 days, made him lose a lot of meat.
But I got back the two months I spent waiting in the Heka Grassland to attack Bajiao City.
Liu Xiangyu's second son was very pleased that he had not lost weight. He nodded and said, "Let's take a look at your Marshal City."
Everyone then walked into the city. The city gate was in the southwest corner. Entering was a rammed earth urn city. The city gate inside opened to the south. The city's structure was not large. It was generally similar to the Bajiao City. Today, the city still looks very empty, except for the academy. The Marshal's Mansion and several houses are in the distance.
The Marshal's Mansion is quite well built, occupying almost one-tenth of the center of the city. It has four courtyards facing north and south, and two cross-courtyards to the east and west. Four gaps are formed at the four corners of the mansion, and walls and watchtowers are built, which is obviously Used to station troops.
The entire mansion has more than seventy rooms. The architectural style gave Liu Chengzong a very familiar feeling. The decoration and regulations were like those of Prince Han's Mansion, and the feeling of entering was like entering a large government office.
He even looked left and right as soon as he entered the gate, and his face was clear. Sure enough, his father had arranged six rooms in the yard as soon as he entered. After asking carefully, he found that neither his parents nor his elder brother lived here. His parents' house was nearby, and his elder brother's temporary residence was Come and live there, mainly in Xining City.
Liu Chengzong thought that his father's method of urging marriage was quite unique, so he directly built a palace for him, hoping that he would realize that this palace lacked popularity.
However, what he didn't expect was that a meal had already been prepared in the back hall. The family was sitting around for a dinner. No one mentioned the marriage until the end of the dinner. They just talked about their experiences in the Southern Expedition until he and his father were the only ones left at the table.
Liu Xiangyu smoked his pipe gently, drank a glass of thick wine, and looked at Liu Chengzong with a slight frown and said nothing for a long time.
Liu Chengzong was a little flustered when his father saw him, and asked, "Da, what's wrong?"
Liu Xiangyu put down his pipe, sighed deeply, and then said: "Shi Zi, it's a big deal."
"You can tell me."
"Don't go to Kangning Mansion anymore. Leave the affairs there to you, Mr. Yang, and ask Chengyun to come back."
"This..." Liu Chengzong never expected that this was what his father was talking about. He was stunned for a moment and asked: "Why?"
"Why else?"
Liu Xiangyu picked up his pipe again, frowned at him for a moment, and then sighed: "Shiba, I haven't had time to ask you, what are you going to do next?"
Liu Chengzong said this in his heart, and he felt much more relaxed when his father asked him about it.
"The Ordnance Bureau was expanded in Cowan. When I came, I saw that they were all workshops. We need to merge the workshops and establish a large factory with a clearer division of labor. We can make hydraulic and lifting tools, and mass-produce guns, armor, and gunpowder. ; Establish a complete recruitment and training system... push the army to the mouth of the Lanzhou River, fully occupy the Hehuang Valley, and solve the food and grass problem."
Liu Xiangyu kept listening, nodded slowly, and waited for him to finish: "Da Ye is planning to push the army to the mouth of the river. We can't support Gansu by attacking Lanzhou, and we can't bear the huge amount of baggage by attacking Hami, but it is imperative to occupy the Hehuang Valley." , but that’s not what I want to ask.”
Mr. Liu leaned forward slightly, stared at Liu Chengzong and said: "Do you want to be king in the northwest and southwest, or do you want to fight for the world in the east?"
Liu Chengzong did not hesitate: "The imperial court is about to run out of energy and compete for the world."
He seemed to hear the sound of a huge rock falling to the ground in Liu Xiangyu's heart.
Master Liu looked around and saw that there was no one else in the hall at this time. He said slowly: "Since you want to fight for the world, you can no longer go to Kangning. There are countless people over there who want to kill you. A gentleman will not build a dangerous wall. You know it?" You are good at martial arts, but it is difficult to defend against hidden arrows."
Liu Chengzong wanted to say something, but in the end he did not speak. It was not that he felt that he would be in danger in Kangning Mansion, but he felt that there was no need to return to Kangning in a short time, so he nodded and said: "Da, I understand. "
Mr. Liu said firmly: "You don't know."
"If you want to stop here and become the king, you will have to rely on your strength and two brothers to be able to hold up the position here; but if you want to compete for the world."
Liu Xiangyu slowly shook his head: "We are not from a powerful clan. We are afraid that time will not wait for us. You and the other three brothers must get married as soon as possible. There are no rules and regulations. You can marry whoever you like and as many as you can... Then, in two or three years, When your eldest brother has a few babies, transfer Mr. Yang back to Xining."
Liu Chengzong's mouth froze involuntarily. This was not at all like what he knew his father said.
Liu Xiangyu turned his hand to himself: "After a few years of operation and taking over Xining, you can march into Xi'an; your elder brother and I will march into Kangning, go straight to Sichuan, and attack Hanzhong, and we can seize half of the country."
Liu Chengzong's mind almost recalled the two-pronged march route mentioned by his father. He shook his head and said: "Da, it is difficult to enter Sichuan from Dajianlu."
That road is much more difficult than the northern route to continuously attack big cities and towns.
Unexpectedly, my father shook his head and said: "It is not difficult to incite rebellion, and it is difficult. Without delaying your marriage and having children, if it is not you and your brother who join Sichuan, then no one should join Sichuan."
Liu Chengzong knew what his father meant. He nodded heavily and said, "Don't worry, father, the child knows."
Seeing that he agreed, the father's expression was no longer so serious, and he said with a smile: "I heard from your brother that you want him to find a Mongolian aunt. Where can you find one?"
"Wala, if Hu Duntu is capable, he won't be beaten to the point of defeat."
Mr. Liu did not comment on this, but he leisurely picked up his pipe and took a sip, and said with a smile: "We sent people to try it... When my father was in Mizhi, he never thought that his eldest son would be a Wala Tabu Nang. .”
