Expanding the army does not happen overnight. After Li Yue decided on the framework, he led his guards to Yuncheng.
The reason why Shi Min was forced away in this battle was naturally due to the bravery and skill of the soldiers of Heiyun, and the other half was due to Liu Qi's surrender at the critical moment.
Otherwise, Li Yue would definitely have to spend more thought and energy.
And if Liu Qi defected to Shi Min, the two core areas of Chenliu and Xingyang would be seriously threatened.
This battle will continue for a long time, and it is still unclear who will win or lose.
Dongjun has not suffered from the war, and the villages and farms along the way are full of vitality.
Zhou Qian and Cao Kan's two thousand black cloud troops defended Baima Jin. Shi Min's cavalry retreated in disgrace before crossing the river, thus preserving the tranquility of Dongjun and Chenliu.
The wheat seedlings in the field are green and tall, with no end as far as the eye can see, as if they are connected to the blue sky. With the summer wind, the waves of wheat rise and fall.
Many Heiyun soldiers were also stunned.
In troubled times, food is everything!
When the people saw the black clouds and red flags, they were surprisingly not panicked. Passing by the county town, some people came to show their condolences by killing pigs and sheep.
If you really think about it, the military discipline of the Black Cloud Army is not very strict, it just doesn't rob or kill the people.
But compared to other armies, it is already a world of difference.
Under the leadership of Shi Hu, the Zhao army massacred the city and killed them at every turn. Shi Bin slaughtered Chen Liu for fun. Li Nong killed the refugees in revenge. Shi Min did not hesitate to give in. He trapped and killed the soldiers and forced the young men and soldiers of the prefecture and county to go down the river. Nearly ten thousand people drowned...
"You must remember that the strongest point of our Black Cloud Army is not the battlefield, but the people's hearts! If the people's hearts are there, even if we fail, there is still a chance to come back. If the people's hearts are gone, we will be like Li Nong, who was fired in the middle of the night. The city gate..." This battle made Li Yue fully realize the importance of people's hearts.
He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, which is correct in most cases.
"I'll keep this in mind!" The surrounding generals and soldiers all handed over their hands.
Li Yue refused to accept any gifts of condolence, but offered kind words to comfort the people along the way.
When they arrived at Yuncheng, Cui Jin led a group of Yanzhou generals out of the city to greet him. One of them had a wide robe and broad sleeves, about fifty years old, with a unique temperament. Standing next to Cui Jin, it was not difficult to guess who this person was.
"The sinner Liu Qi pays homage to the envoy!"
"Liu Gong understands the righteousness well and saved the elders of Yanzhou from the disaster of swords and weapons. He has done a great job. How can he be called a sinner? Since ancient times, good ministers have only been like this!" Li Yue said sincerely.
These words instantly heightened the enthusiasm on both sides.
Someone next to him immediately praised him: "You are so heroic and brave, and you use your troops like a god. It's like Wei Wu was resurrected!"
Although I knew it was a compliment, I still felt a little happy in my heart, but I just listened to it.
"This is the seal ribbon and household registration of Yanzhou, now delivered to the envoy!" Liu Qi took a box from his side and offered it with both hands.
Naturally, Li Yue would not accept it, "What is Mr. Liu doing? Yue has little knowledge and only wields swords and guns. From now on, the people of Yanzhou will have to show more respect to Mr. Liu!"
Liu Qi was a simple civil servant, good at governance but not good at military affairs. He was highly respected in Yanzhou and was exactly the talent Li Yue urgently needed.
On the other hand, with him sitting in the position of governor, the people of Yanzhou can quickly settle down.
Governing a state is different from governing Heiyun Mountain. The states and counties have a ready-made system. After Liu Qi left, it would take Li Yue a long time to find the way.
Although the local counties surrendered, whether they listened or not was another matter. Just like Chen Liu, when the black cloud army arrived, flags were lowered everywhere, but when the news of Chu Pei's Northern Expedition came, people's hearts were shaken.
"Your Majesty..." Liu Qi was excited.
Sitting on the position of governor in his fifties is an age with great potential.
"Jiehu has not been exterminated, and the rivers and mountains have not been restored. As a scholar, how can Liu Gong slack off?" Li Yue encouraged.
The surrounding suddenly became quiet.
The Yanzhou generals all looked over with a little more respect.
Cui Jin said: "My long-cherished wish in Heiyun Mountain is to drive out the Jienu and restore the country. Mr. Liu is the descendant of the Han sect. How can he stay out of this extraordinary matter?"
The Liu family of Zhongshan was the queen of King Jing of Zhongshan in the Han Dynasty, and Liu Qi had the blood of the Han family in his body.
"China is declining, but the sky will not abandon it, and will send you an envoy to this world!" Liu Qi bowed his hands in a salute, and the long beard under his chin was trembling.
"Mr. Liu is so complimentary."
Entering the city, people were standing along the street, it was like a sea of people.
After so many expeditions from east to west, ruins and ruins were everywhere, corpses and bones were exposed in the wild, and only a trace of popularity and vitality was seen in Yuncheng.
Liu Qi and Cui Jing had already sorted out various documents from Yanzhou and showed them to Li Yue.
The entire Yanzhou governs 46,300 households with a population of more than 237,000.
A large state in the richest area of the Central Plains did not have as many people as a small county in the late Han Dynasty.
Among the 230,000 people, there are also 30,000 to 40,000 Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuhuan and other Hu tribes...
Of course, this is only the population controlled by the Yanzhou government. It is not clear how many people the powerful people have. Added together, it will definitely not be less than the government.
There are also some thieves and refugees hiding in the mountains, forests and swamps.
Li Yue felt sad for a while. Yanzhou was the place where Chinese people had lived and thrived for generations, but it was withered like this.
Including the tribesmen in Heiyun Mountain, the Southern troops and their families from various places, and the more than 140,000 people who had just been forcibly moved back from Lu County, Li Yue had a population of about 578,000.
Cui Jin sighed: "The Rebellion of the Eight Kings deeply affected Yanzhou. During the Yongjia disaster, the people of Yanzhou followed the gentry southward, losing seven out of ten. The Xiongnu and Jie people stole the artifacts, and they continued to kill them for forty or fifty years. Shi Hu was in power. , arbitrarily recruited civilians and forcibly moved the people to Hebei. It was extremely difficult for Yanzhou to survive 230,000 people. The former Chu Pei went on an expedition to the north, and people from all over the country flocked to the south, making Yanzhou even worse."
In fact, this is almost the case everywhere south of the Yellow River, and some areas are even worse than Yanzhou.
With nearly 600,000 people, it is already a very large force if you look around.
When Shi Hu went on an expedition, he would often draw two out of five and two out of four. He also had to prepare his own food and grass and hand over his carriages and horses. If he failed to hand over his horses, he would be punished with death.
It is not too difficult for 600,000 people to support 30,000 Black Cloud Army.
The Southern Army cultivated the fields themselves, and the Yanzhou Army also farmed and fought.
"The war in Yanzhou is over, and the chaos in Hebei has begun. The top priority now is to cultivate and reserve land. If there is another chaos in Hebei in the future, refugees will go south. My subordinates have been operating in Yanzhou for many years and have some financial resources." Liu Qi handed over another bamboo slip. come over.
Li Yue spread it out and recorded all the family wealth in the treasury.
Looking at the population makes me feel discouraged, but when I see the numbers on the bamboo slips, I finally feel better.
1.17 million shi of grain, 7,000 pieces of cloth, 2,000 war horses, 20,000 cattle, sheep, donkeys and mules, 930,000 gold, silver, coins, and silk. In addition, there are 1,100 sets of armor. There are 3,400 sets of leather armors, more than 8,000 other weapons, and more.
It doesn't matter anything else. The key is that the more than one million stones of food are too timely.
Only with food can Yanzhou operate normally.
But Liu Qi brought more surprises than that. "The weather has been good this year. When the autumn harvest comes, the territory of Dongjun will be able to harvest another 700,000 to 800,000 shi of grain."
(End of chapter)
