Luancheng is just a small county, with less than a thousand households and less than ten thousand people. If some refugees hadn't been relocated here, it would be even rarer. As for the county seat, it is more like a small town surrounded by earth walls than a city. In comparison, it is not as comfortable as a landlord's house in the countryside.
There are only two large households in the entire county, one with the surname Su and the other with the surname Zhang. These two households own most of the cultivated land in the county, and are still expanding. Land annexation occurs at any time. The field where Liu Chengyou stayed previously belonged to the local Zhang Yuanwai. Upon hearing Liu Chengyou's arrival, he volunteered his house for him to rest.
Zhangjia Manor is a garden-style courtyard. It occupies not a large area, but the layout is very exquisite. Everywhere looks quaint and even a little deliberately shabby.
It is understandable, in this world, if you dare to show off your wealth, you are really seeking death. However, to be able to protect himself in this situation where bandits are rampant and soldiers and thieves are in power, and even to avoid being exploited by the Khitans, the master of this family should have some means.
Zhang Yuanwai is a middle-aged man, dressed simply, with a rugged appearance, a fierce look, and a strong body, but his legs are a little lame. He does not look like a rich man, but like a mountain king. But in front of Liu Chengyou, he behaved like a kitten.
I heard that this man was a bandit when he was young, and was later recruited into the army. He worked hard in the Forbidden Army of the Later Tang Dynasty. In his early years, he was a member of the Qizhou regiment because of his meritorious service. However, he was injured in the war later and returned to his hometown to buy some land. , and also organized a rural army. Ten years passed in a flash, and his family business grew bigger and bigger, becoming one of the most powerful men in Luan City. He must have done a lot of illegal things secretly.
Although he looks ugly, he has two daughters at his knees. They are both beautiful and beautiful, and I don’t know if they are green. This guy seems to be a bit ambitious. He actually intends to dedicate his two daughters to Liu Chengyou, but he seems to have no self-awareness. How could Liu Chengyou be attracted by this little bit of female beauty? When her beauty cannot transcend the limitations of her status, it is not worth taking a second look at Liu Chengyou.
Liu Chengyou didn't stay in Zhang House for long, and left without any hesitation, planning to walk along the Jianshui River to the countryside of Zhaozhou in the south to see what was going on there. To his surprise, Liu Chengxun also came.
"Brother, why are you here too?"
Dismounting and looking around at Liu Chengyou's simple clothes, Liu Chengxun showed a very gentle smile as usual: "I learned that Erlang worked hard and went to the countryside to inspect the summer harvest in person. Nothing happened, so I came to see him. Look at the fun."
Probably because the sun was too dazzling, Liu Chengyou blinked his eyes. Under the warm sun, his expression was not gloomy at all, and he responded casually: "I'm about to go to Zhaozhou, so let's come together!"
"good!"
Within the jurisdiction of Zhaozhou, there is obviously more land suitable for farming than in Zhenzhou. Although it was also affected by the Khitan army's return route to the north, the grain output was much higher than that of Zhenzhou.
What dissatisfied Liu Chengyou was that after walking around Pingji and Gaoyi, he found that the progress of the summer harvest was very slow, and the government did not seem to be doing much. He didn't get angry, he just ordered people to send orders to all states to speed up the action.
I stayed in Pingji County for a night, met with some Zhaozhou generals, and encouraged me. It was not until the afternoon of the second day that I returned to my true self.
Liu Chengyou seemed to be in a very good mood. After walking around the countryside and seeing the wastes waiting to be renovated and the hardship of the people after the civil war, Liu Chengxun became inexplicably determined to support Liu Chengyou in launching a campaign in Youyan to ease the pressure on the border defense in northern Xinjiang.
...
In the hall, Liu Chengyou was once again immersed in the official documents of the case. The various trivial matters under Chengde Jiedu had already made him a little tired. Fortunately, with the help of Wei Renpu and others, the reports from various states were sorted out, and then passed by him Instructions, if this were not the case, he would be paralyzed from exhaustion.
"Your Highness, Yingzhou Defense Envoy He Fujin sent an envoy to report, requesting Zhending to allocate some more grain and equipment!" Wei Renpu took the official document from Yingzhou and handed it to Liu Chengyou.
During this period, the focus is on summer grain issues. He had just finished reading the progress in Jizhou reported by Zhang Tinghan, and after twisting his sore neck, Liu Chengyou took over from Wei Renpu and started reading.
There are no redundant words, it is simple and direct. We need food, money, soldiers, and weapons. Anyway, we need everything. This is not the first time.
Previously, Liu Chengyou sent He Fu to Yingzhou, but he did not have much support. He basically asked He Fujin to take office with a hundred famous soldiers. And this veteran, obviously still very capable, just killed the officials appointed by the Khitans, established a firm foothold in Hejian City, and even pulled up a team to initially build a defense line.
And when Mozhou was invaded by Hu Qi and the refugees fled, they gathered many people. After that, he asked Liu Chengyou for support every few days.
"What a blessing! The summer grain from all the states has not yet been put into the warehouse, and he came here to ask for it again. He chose a good time..." Putting down the official document, Liu Chengyou made a small complaint.
"Your Highness, how do you reply?" Wei Renpu asked.
Liu Chengyou thought for a while and said: "It's not easy in Yingzhou, so we need some support as appropriate!"
"yes!"
"How is the progress with Zhang Yanwei?" Liu Chengyou suddenly asked.
Wei Renpu shook his head, but seeing the worry on Liu Chengyou's face, he calmly persuaded him: "Your Highness, don't worry too much. General Zhang just led his troops to intercept, and with the cooperation of the Hebei Rebel Army, the problem should not be big!"
Five days ago, it was discovered that Xiao Han's Hu people were heading north through Bozhou and entered Beizhou. Liu Chengyou immediately decided to send troops to intercept. It was originally planned to let Murong Yanzhao go, but Zhang Yanwei took the initiative to ask for the job. Unable to displease the veteran, Liu Chengyou agreed, but let Murong Yanzhao be his deputy.
The army was sent out, but Liu Chengyou inevitably had some scruples in his heart. According to Xiao Hanjun's movements, he should be planning to take the route from Dezhou to Cangzhou. He was obviously worried about Liu Chengyou in Zhenzhou and deliberately avoided it. The distance was so great that Liu Chengyou couldn't help but miss him.
"As soon as there is news, notify me immediately!" Taking a deep breath, Liu Chengyou warned.
"yes!"
Not long after, Guo Rong came to see him.
"Your Highness, the selection of Yan soldiers has been completed!" As soon as he opened his mouth, he reported another thing that Liu Chengyou was most concerned about.
In the end, the Yan soldiers who survived totaled more than 17,000 people. It was always troublesome to get together. Under Liu Chengyou's constant bribery and instigation of divisions, he finally broke up completely. Some were appointed as generals in prefectures, counties and towns, some were garrisoned by Liu Chengyou, and most of the rest stayed in Zhending.
As for the remaining people, Liu Chengyou still did not let go and asked Guo Rong to collaborate with Ma Quanyi and Xiang Xun to conduct another selection and screening. Not all Yan soldiers are from Youyan, but these people are what Liu Chengyou intends to keep and use for his own use.
A brief look at the report showed that there were 7,000 horse infantry and Yan soldiers. This was probably the largest military support Liu Chengyou could give Zhao Yanshou. As for giving him all the surrendered Yan soldiers, Liu Chengyou never thought about it from the beginning.
After thinking for a while, Liu Chengyou said to Guo Rong: "The Yan troops stationed in Qizhou will be transferred to Yingzhou and handed over to He Fujin to command. Well, go there in person and see the situation in the north!"
