Mianyang is located at the western end of Hanzhong Basin, close to Jinniu Road, Baoxie Road and Chencang Road. It is located in a strategic and dangerous location. Mianyang County is located on the north bank of Mianyang River. On Zoumaling to the west of the city is Yangping Pass, the largest pass in Hanzhong, which is the gateway to the west of Hanzhong Basin.
Therefore, Mianyang's geographical location is very important. From a defensive point of view, it can not only guard Jinniu Road to prevent enemies from central Shu from invading, but also intercept enemies from the north that invade from Chencang Road.
From an offensive point of view, the army starting from Mianyang can either attack from Chencang Road or take the Baoxie Road to the north. Even if the army wants to bypass the undulating mountains of the Qinling Mountains, it can also leave west of Mianyang and take the Qishan Avenue to attack Longxi north. .
Therefore, given that Mianyang is located in an important offensive and defensive location, Prime Minister Zhuge chose Mianyang as the place where the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Northern Expedition army will be stationed in the future. The role here will be greater than that of the county in governing Nanzheng.
Not long after Yang Xi, the magistrate of Mianyang County, took office, he immediately started building garrison sites for the Northern Expedition army and officials of the Prime Minister's Office. The locations of the army camps were quickly selected, mainly in Shima and Yangping. .
Shima is also called White Horse. Xiao He, the famous prime minister in the early Han Dynasty, built his camp here. There are still ruins left here, so Yang Xi plans to rebuild the camp based on the old site of Baima Village.
Yangping actually refers to Yangping Pass, but Zhuge Liang plans to move the original Yangping Pass on Zouma Ridge to the valley below the ridge to rebuild the pass. In this way, moving the new Yangping Pass to the plain will not only facilitate supplies, but also can accommodate Ten thousand troops are stationed there, so the west of Mianyang will become the core of the entire Han Dynasty.
Now Yang Xi has recruited tens of thousands of people to build camps in Yangping and Shima. He has been staying in the camp day and night to focus on this matter. He has not returned to the city for many days.
For such a large project, Mianyang alone cannot supply tens of thousands of people. Baocheng, Nanzheng, Nanxiang and other places also contributed a lot of manpower. Therefore, although Mianyang County is mainly responsible for building the camp, the county is indispensable. support. On this day, Yang Qing also came to Mianyang to personally supervise the construction of the camp.
"See Fu Jun." On the messy construction site, Yang Xi bowed his hands to Yang Qing who came over.
Yang Qing waved his hand and said with a smile: "That's all. Wen Ran, how many civilians have been recruited now?"
"Reporting to the Lord, there are currently more than 17,000 civilians in Yangping and Shima. They are probably divided into two shifts and are working non-stop day and night."
Yang Qing nodded and said, "Well, can it be completed this year?"
"It should be possible." Yang Xi pondered for a moment and then said: "Shima already has an old fortress, and building a camp on its old site can be said to be twice the result with half the effort. And because the new Yangping Pass is on flat land, it is very easy to build, so Xi Dare We guarantee that the two camps will be completed on time by the end of this year.”
"Okay." Yang Qing said happily: "Although the construction difficulty is not great, you must be careful to ensure that the two camps are strong and solid. You must know that Prime Minister Zhuge and the Northern Expedition Army will be stationed here next year. In this way, these two camps I am afraid that the camp will become the location of the main force of our Han army in the next few years."
"Yes, I understand. Please rest assured, Mr. Xi, Xi will personally monitor the construction and ensure the quality of the camp." Yang Xi bowed and replied.
Yang Qing pointed to the civilian workers who were under construction in the distance and said: "I can rest assured that you are doing the work. Although the construction period is a bit tight, we must ensure the food, housing and safety of the civilian workers. We must not use civilian resources to meet the construction deadline."
"Don't worry, Mr. Fu. The play has been telling the officials below that they must cherish the power of the people. Not only will the government provide food and clothing for the common people when they work, but the government will also give them wages to ensure that they will not miss out on farming because of work, and everyone will get paid. .”
Yang Qing nodded and said: "That's good. You know I've always been disgusted with the kind of corvee work that requires people to bring their own dry food and work for free. This kind of taxation that allocates costs to the people seems to save government expenses. In fact, The loss of people's power is extremely serious, and it will definitely lead to people's misery in the long run."
The reason why Yang Qing was disgusted with this type of corvee was because people often went bankrupt not because they could not afford the taxes, but because the corvee at their own expense for several months every year brought an extremely serious burden to each family. People were often poor because of the heavy corvee rather than the taxes. is too big.
Therefore, when Yang Qing took charge of Yuexi in Nanzhong, he abandoned the previous practice of free corvee collection and distribution by the government.
Whether it was work-for-relief or conscription of civilian labor, the Yuexun County government at that time provided subsidies to the people, either money or food. In short, the burden would not be passed on to the people.
Of course, such an approach would place a very heavy burden on the government. However, during the Vietnam War, Yang Qing often made unexpected plans, and because the government controlled all resources during the war, the government could still afford the work-for-relief approach. .
The reason why Hanzhong was able to implement paid corvee collection was because Hanzhong was already wealthy. After seven years of recuperation, the Hanzhong government had accumulated a lot of wealth and could fully afford the work of tens of thousands of people.
So when Yang Qing asked about this matter, Yang Xi replied confidently: "Don't worry, Mr. Fu. Since he took office in Yuexun, Xi has been fully aware of Mr. Fu's construction strategy of cherishing the people's power. Therefore, after coming to Mianyang, he has paid close attention to the following people." People repeatedly ordered them to ensure that the money and food provided to the people were fully distributed."
Yang Qingdao: "We still need to pay more attention to this matter. After all, you and I have only been in Hanzhong for a short time, and everyone is unfamiliar with everything. It is inevitable that the people below will deceive the superiors and conceal the inferiors. When trouble arises, you My gain and loss are small, but the damage to Prime Minister Zhuge's reputation is big."
"I understand my humble position, and I will personally check it to prevent corruption." Yang Xi replied with his hand in hand.
Yang Qing patted him on the shoulder and said, "You don't have to be too nervous. Just follow the old methods in Yuexi. I will be in front of you in everything. You just have to do things boldly."
"yes."
The two of them walked to the mouth of the valley at the foot of Zoumaling Mountain, climbed up a high slope, and looked into the valley. They saw crowds of people inside and a busy scene everywhere.
Yang Qing looked towards the mountains to the west and saw the vague appearance of a pass on the mountains in the distance, so he pointed to the mountains and said, "Wen Ran, that's Laoyangping Pass right there?"
"Exactly." Yang Xi nodded and replied.
"How many people are still guarding Lao Yangping Pass?"
Yang Xi said: "There were originally three thousand people in the pass. A few days ago, the Hanzhong Governor's Office sent an order to withdraw two thousand people from the pass, leaving only a thousand people to stay in Laoguan."
"That's how it is." Yang Qing sighed with emotion: "I didn't expect that the ancient pass would wither away!"
Yangping Pass on Zouma Ridge has experienced many major battles. In the 20th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao led an army to attack Hanzhong, but Zhang Lu's brother Zhang Wei led an army to block it with this pass. Cao Cao could not attack for a long time and wanted to retreat, but fortunately the elk rushed into the pass. This caused the defenders to rebel, and Cao Cao's army was lucky enough to break through the pass, and finally Cao Cao successfully captured Hanzhong.
In the 24th year of Jian'an, the late emperor Liu Bei also led an army to attack Yangping Pass, but was still blocked by Xia Houyuan, Zhang He and others. Fortunately, the late emperor changed his tactics and crossed the Han River south to seize Dingjun Mountain, which turned the tide of the war in one fell swoop. .
Therefore, Yang Qing felt a lot when looking at Laoyang Ping Pass, and his thoughts seemed to return to the previous battlefield. This pass was once related to the rise and fall of Ji Han. Although it has been moved to the foot of the mountain, it cannot be easily forgotten.
"I hope the new Yangping Pass can bring new hope to the Han Dynasty!" Under the setting sun, Yang Qing couldn't help but sigh as he looked up and down the mountain.
