Liu Yu nodded: "So, many of these people were forced by the demon thieves to eat the flesh of court officials and soldiers who died in battle. In addition, the Beifu Army killed many people who were threatened by the demon thieves in the name of counterinsurgency in Wudi. , many of them dare not come back now, for fear of being liquidated. I have traveled all over the mountains and forests of Wuxing recently, and I only found these people. If they were not dying of hunger, I am afraid they would not return to the city now. "
Yuan Song sighed: "Unexpectedly, the people of Jin Dynasty dare not even return to their homes where they have lived for generations. This war destroyed eight counties in Wudi, but what is more terrible than these casualties is the relationship between the court and the people." The trusting relationship is gone. Healing the wounds after the war and recovering the lost hearts are probably more urgent matters than eliminating the demon thieves."
Liu Yu's expression was serious: "Yes, Xianzhi, you have also seen that Wuzhuang is already the location of Wudi's large grain depot. The grain of the three northern counties of Wuxing, Wujun and Yixing, including the seeds for this spring's plowing, are all Here, but you have also seen the grain storage here. After the Beifu army left last month, the grain storage was less than 50,000 dan, and they were all seeds for next spring plowing. In other words, this disaster destroyed all the grain storage in the official warehouse. No more. If we don’t bring the people back to farm now, I’m afraid that by this time next year, we won’t even be able to eat the last bit of stored grain.”
Xu Xianzhi gritted his teeth: "Yes, this time the Beifu Army and the Suwei Army dispatched nearly 100,000 troops and ate up all the grain reserves in Jiangbei and even Jiankang. Even the King of Kuaiji and his son ordered the people to ban wine making in order to save money. There is no food. There are more than 100,000 scholars, family members, and guests who have accompanied them to Jiankang City. This is more than 100,000 mouths. The court really does not have food but does not have food, but that there is really no food. It’s ready for use.”
Yuan Song frowned: "How could this happen? There are more than 100,000 people, and the 100,000 troops are dispatched, and the grain reserves of our Jin Dynasty for more than ten years have been eaten up?"
Liu Yu nodded: "Yes, because the six counties of Jiangbei in the Jin Dynasty are battlefields, with little land and poor people, while places like Yuzhou and Sizhou are the front lines. They are constantly fighting against the Hu people. In addition, the Beifu Army has been stationed for a long time. It has always been There is no surplus grain, so we have to rely on food support from Jiankang. The original grain-producing areas of the Jin Dynasty are only two places, one is the eight counties of Wudi, and the other is Jingzhou and Bashu. For many years, the grain of the eight counties of Wudi has been withheld in Dajin The manor of aristocratic families, such as this Wuzhuang, is a large grain depot. Even the original manor owner Xu family, a local tycoon in Wu, saved grain and refused to give it to the court. Therefore, the court had no money to supply large-scale grain to the central army. Even the Su Wei troops brought by Xie Yan this time, half of them are his old troops when he was the governor of Xuzhou."
Xu Xianzhi echoed: "Yes, originally when Huan Chong was there, Jingzhou was still obedient to the imperial court and had supplied the grain and grass set by taxes for many years. But now Huan Xuan and Yin Zhongkan control Jingzhou, and Huan Xuan is a god damn guy. , last time he wanted to lead troops into Jiankang and seize power under the pretext of quelling the Sun En Rebellion. His ambition was well known to everyone, so Wang Xun, the Minister of Public Affairs, rejected him. In the end, he actually ordered not to allow a grain and rice ship. Going east along the river, the navy was also sent to patrol along the river. Even the water transport ships from Bashu and Liangzhou to Jiankang were all impounded. Also, Yang Quanqi's convoy that paid grain taxes from Yongzhou to Jiankang by land was also impounded. He will be detained and the grain and rice will be given to him as military rations to prepare for the next rebellion!"
Yuan Songyuan opened his eyes: "This bastard, does he want to starve the court and the people of Jiangdong to death? What does Yin Zhongkan do? He is the governor of Jingzhou, why doesn't he care about Huan Xuan?!"
Liu Yu sighed: "Don't be angry, Mr. Yuan. Jingzhou has been managed by the Huan family for decades. From the civil and military officials in the governor's office to the small Li Zheng in each township and village, they are all disciples and former officials of the Huan family. They only obey the orders of the Huan family." Orders, officials sent by the court, even the governor, cannot give orders outside the governor's office in Jiangling. The last time Huan Xuan came back from the grassland alone, he could make the entire Jingzhou army listen to him without using any military symbols or court officials. He went north to the Central Plains. From that time on, Jingzhou was no longer the territory of the imperial court. It was nothing more than a state within a state under the banner of the Jin Dynasty. Yin Zhongkan was a standard scholar. Although he was generous, he was unable to control Jingzhou. Yang Quanqi was loyal and loyal. However, since he was in Yongzhou, Huanxuan could not supply the imperial court across the road. The same was true for Bashu and Hanzhong. Now Daozi's party sent Sima Shangzhi to garrison in Yuzhou and Wang Yu in Jiangzhou to guard against Huanxuan. The Beifu army quickly returned to Guangling, Jingkou, to prevent Huan Xuan from taking the opportunity to raid Jiankang and carry out Wang Dun's deeds!"
Yuan Song sighed: "The country is unlucky, with internal and external troubles, strong barbarians outside, and demon thieves and Huan Xuan causing trouble one after another. Yuan has lived in the court for a long time. On weekdays, he sees official documents from all over the country, and they are full of sea feasts and rivers. However, he did not expect that the real Something went wrong and it got out of hand!"
Liu Yu said seriously: "The officials below reported it just to report that they were safe. Sun En's rebellion completely destroyed the true foundation of the Jin Dynasty, which was the land of the Three Wus. It is said that one hair can affect the whole body. In the past, the Jin Dynasty The reason why the Northern Expedition cannot be carried out in full force is that the money and food in the Wu region are given to the aristocratic families and are controlled by the mafia behind the aristocratic families. The soldiers and horses of Jingzhou in the middle and upper reaches are an independent kingdom and will seize power down the river at any time. Therefore, the The Jin Dynasty has never been able to mobilize the power of the country and concentrate the resources of the entire south for the Northern Expedition. If not, how could it have struggled for hundreds of years and failed to regain the lost land in the north?"
Yuan Song nodded: "The matter has come to this, and it is useless to say more. Since we are living on the national salary and serving as parents and officials here, we must save the people here. Liu Canjun, tomorrow I will go with you to Xishan in the Jinling area to appease the people. Well, you just came back from your inspection and said that there are more than 5,000 households in the mountains and they dare not come out. If I, the history of Wu Dynasty, go there in person, they should feel relieved."
Liu Yu shook his head: "I said just now that these people were coerced by demon thieves during the Sun En Rebellion. Under the leadership of some leading local tycoons, they joined the demon thieves. They not only followed the demons of Tianshi Dao to attack states and counties, but also even They shared the flesh and blood of the imperial officials, the children of the aristocratic families, and the soldiers who defended the city. When the royal master just came back, many of them surrendered voluntarily and wanted to come back, but they were killed by the Su Wei Army and the Beifu Army. Many of them, like Xishan's The people of these more than five thousand households are afraid of being killed and dare not come out. I am afraid that even if Yuan Gong comes in person, he will not be able to persuade them all to come out and return to Wuxing County. There are more than five thousand households, that is twenty or thirty thousand people. I only have four to five hundred sergeants, and I have to guard the grain depot, so I can't force them out of the mountains. I can't even guarantee the safety of Duke Yuan when he goes to comfort him. After all, I can't rule out that there are still monsters and thieves among these people. Spread rumors and even lurk again to cause chaos."
