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Text Chapter 919: Crushing

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    In late March, Zheng Lang went to the suburbs again.

    This year is the second year of planting miscellaneous grains. The area is much larger than last year, but it is still used as seeds, so we can explore the best planting methods.  It won't be promoted until next year. Under the leadership of Zheng Lang, the big guys in North Korea and China often come to check. In fact, this is an attitude.

    Historically, cotton extended to the Fujian area in the Song Dynasty. Because no one paid attention or moved it to the north, cotton was never promoted in the Song Dynasty. It can even be traced back to earlier times. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Tang soldiers stationed in the Western Regions planted it.  Grass cottonseed is cotton, but no one thought of bringing it to Longyou area, so no one planted cotton in Lanzhou and other areas.  In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang personally issued an edict to encourage the cultivation of cotton.  Cotton was promoted across the country, which allowed many people to wear clothes and no longer fear the cold winter. The Ming army could officially station in Liaodong, not to mention it created a developed economy in the southeast.

    ??????????????????????? But there are ultimately few talented and strategic people. Later, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were inferior to each other. Various miscellaneous grains appeared one after another in the Ming Dynasty, but because no one encouraged the promotion of research and development, they never played their role.  It¡¯s not that grains can make people tired of eating them. Don¡¯t talk about ancient times, let¡¯s talk about the current Song Dynasty. One meter and two beans are the most expensive staple food. It would be best if you eat water chestnut rice every day, but it is impossible. One is seasonal, and the other is too expensive.  expensive.  Wheat food is not bad either. Although there is a lot of wheat bran in wheat noodles, for the majority of northern people, they still have to eat millet and sorghum as their staple food. Some people in water towns even eat watermelon as their staple food, which is fried as a vegetable.  It's good for stir-frying, but can it be used as a staple food?  Not only that, the economy is far better than before, and now there are still some poor people who have to dig wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger when spring comes.  As for the Jurchens, it was even worse. They spent half the time half hungry and hunting.  Planting, fishing, nomadic, in order to survive, I don¡¯t know how many tragic stories happened.

    Therefore, it is not enough to have seeds. The court must pay attention to it. Only by paying attention can it be promoted quickly.

    There are many crops brought back, including flowers and fruits.  There are vegetables, and the most important cereals nowadays, which actually include some taro, peanuts, pumpkins, etc., which can also be used as cereals to satisfy hunger.

    These grains will bring many changes to the present.

    Zheng Lang is looking forward to how many changes will occur, watching the lush growth of various grains.

    After reading it, I gave a few words of advice.  Zheng Lang returned to the capital.

    As soon as I got home, the concierge informed me that someone from Hehuang came to see me.

    Under Zhang Kai's force, some uncooperative tribes had to send troops to help.  Zhang Kai immediately organized them into the army and sent them to the front line immediately.  It is the frontline. Xixia cannot sit back and watch the Song Dynasty get the Hexi Corridor and send troops to counterattack.

    The soldiers of these tribes were originally forced to come.  Morale was low, there was no training, and military discipline was lax.  After the two armies fought, Xixia miraculously discovered that in the battle with the Song army, they had won less and lost more than before, but now they won more and lost less.

    This made Liang see the light.

    But this is what Zhang Kai wants to see. Anyway, there is a tall city wall behind it. Xixia is not good at attacking cities, so it has to give Liang the illusion. No matter Xixia wins less and loses more, or wins more and loses less, but every game  After the battle, there will be sacrifices, money and silk will be wasted, and the burden on the people will be increased.

    The two armies were depleted, the Xixia people suffered casualties, and the Song Dynasty also suffered casualties, but the casualties were the disobedient subordinates of the Hou Hou.  Why not use the Xixia people's hands to weaken their power?

    It¡¯s clear, it¡¯s weakening.  When the war actually came, Zhang Kai did not dare to use them because of this contradiction and slight hatred. Apart from anything else, he still knew that Gao Xianzhi was defeated by Dashi. Without the help of the Geluolu people,  Betrayal, how could Gao Xianzhi lose so miserably.

    Therefore, the Song Dynasty has now turned Huizhou, Liangzhou, and Lanzhou into a huge meat grinder, not only to grind away the Xixia soldiers and wealth, but also to grind away these disobedient subordinates.

    Seeing this situation, the various tribes sat on pins and needles, but did not dare to resist. It happened that spring was blooming, and the roads in Hehuang were being overhauled. The roads were far more developed than before, so they met and quickly came to the capital.  Feeling guilty as a thief, he did not dare to see Zhao Xu immediately, and was also afraid that he would not be able to see him.

    So we found Zheng Lang first.

    Zheng Lang met.

    More than twenty envoys came, and half of them had attended the Fan Hou Conference, including powerful races such as Dong, Xi, Pa'er, Chuan, and Xinmou. Of course, if they were not strong, they would not dare to produce  Bad thoughts are not qualified to go against Song Chaoyang.

    However, each has his or her own reasons. The Xi tribe sat back and watched because the Song Dynasty did not completely hand over Xige City to Xibawen, but instead used it as a military city for the Jishi Army.  The Pa'er people were brutally killed by Wang Shao. It would be a good thing not to rebel, let alone expect them to be loyal to the Song Dynasty.  The same thing happened to the Zhu people, who were killed by Guo Cheng.?.  As for the Dong and Xinmu tribes following Dong Felt, there was no surprise.  Moreover, Zheng Lang was very suspicious of one thing. Guizhang entered Taozhou many times in history and turned Taozhou upside down. Dong Feang did not interfere with his face, but the Guozhuang tribe was in the south of Kuozhou and the north of Jishi Army. He wanted to  To enter Taozhou, the Xi tribe must be driven away, but there is still a way ahead, either along the Dajishi Mountain, following the Mubo tribe to enter Taozhou, or entering Taozhou from the Dong tribe.  Zheng Lang estimated that when Gui Zhang caused chaos in Taozhou, it was probably the Dong clan who opened the way and secretly supported them.

    But it is not necessarily the case that all the feudal lords in Huangzhou have acted in a positive and negative manner. For example, the two brothers of the Wen family of the Yaran clan, and the powerful clan lords such as Chuizhe, Mizang, and Miaolong all have tens of thousands or tens of thousands of warriors under their banners. They all actively cooperated this time.  Song Dynasty conscription.

    In short, there are three reasons for disobeying Song Dynasty Yang. One is that Wang Shao killed him ruthlessly, which caused some resentment. The other is that he was loyal to Dong Xiang's major clans. He saw that Dong Xiang had not moved last year, so he learned from it.  The third is dissatisfaction with some of the Song Dynasty's treatment, such as the Xi tribe.  But there is one common characteristic. These tribes are all very large, and they have a little capital to resist the Song Dynasty.

    Zheng Lang asked them to sit down.

    These people began to complain.

    Zheng Lang asked: "What did the oath say at the beginning?"

    In order to govern Hehuang, and even the Hexi Corridor and Xixia in the future, what was implemented was not the policy of the Song Dynasty, but the feudal system, such as taxation based on the number of people. Don¡¯t take this tax seriously, it is not as good as the three-cent dividend that the eunuchs give to the feudal lords.  One, but levying taxes means that the court can truly govern this place.  On the west side of Xiangchiling, people cried and begged the Song Dynasty to collect this Ding tax, but the Song Dynasty would not collect it.  And the number of Ding is small.  It means that each state has a say in its ranking according to its military affairs, and the supervisory shares are awarded according to the number of dings.  This is enjoyment, but it also requires sacrifice.  The number of Ding is equal to the amount of military service.

    In fact, the so-called military service is the battle of conquering Xia.

    It is impossible that the Tubo soldiers can be brought to Hebei after retaking the Sixteenth Prefecture of Youyun. That is impossible. The Tubo people are fierce on the plateau, and they stop eating in the plains.

    But now.  Is it possible to only enjoy rights without paying obligations?

    There was no mention of cutting off Xia at the alliance meeting.  But he talked about conscription.

    This is a blood alliance. Zheng Lang himself cut his finger, bled it into the wine, and swore to drink the blood wine with all the tribes.

    The Song Dynasty implemented it, and it actually did a good job. Even the money and silk used for the basic construction of Tubo exceeded the number he said at the alliance meeting.  Hehuang has indeed undergone earth-shaking changes in recent years.  But now these twenty-odd tribes have not done what the alliance said.

    There is a reason for everything.

    Zheng Lang only said one sentence, but he was at a loss for words and could only admit his mistake.

    Zheng Lang added: "Actually, I ordered Zhang Zhifu. If you continue to disobey the order, the third step is to reduce or obtain information about your supervisory share deeds, and treat these share deeds as rewards and distribute them to other candidates. If you continue to disobey orders,  Listen. The fourth step is to exterminate! I believe there will be many nobles who are willing to cooperate with the court to see your demise, get your people, and get your supervisory shares."

    But Zheng Lang still gave them a chance.  He went to Xifu to ask for a warrant, allowing them to go to Liangzhou and inform Zhang Kai to stop.

    However, there is no need to consume it at this time.  And at this time, less than 20% of the subordinates of each tribe were left.

    These people left the capital and hurried back to the northwest with the warrant.

    The imperial court officially ordered that soldiers from various armies in Hebei and Hedong be transferred to the capital. It did not say that they would attack Xia, but that they would come to the capital to perform military parades.

    There are a total of 110,000 people, and the members are a bit mixed, mostly rural soldiers, there are also a few Baoding, strong men and some militiamen from the bow and arrow societies.

    This part of the army is not the main force. In the early stage, it was used as civilians to escort grain and supplies. In this name, it entered the northwest to avoid awakening the Khitan prematurely.  There are also forbidden soldiers, whose number is not large, only 250,000. Most of them are already in Hehuang, Shaanxi Province. There are not many forbidden soldiers deployed this time. Firstly, it confuses Xixia and Khitan. Secondly, the number of forbidden soldiers itself is declining.  .

    Xining's restructuring included political economy and military. There were many aspects of military restructuring. One change was the gradual reduction of banned soldiers and the increase of rural soldiers.  After the restructuring, the number of forbidden troops has been maintained at around 600,000. To this day, including those who have died, the number is only 580,000.  The reduction of the forbidden troops is not too drastic. The most powerful ones are the Xiang soldiers. The tasks of the Xiang soldiers were clearly stipulated in the Song Dynasty and were to serve hundreds of soldiers.  For example, the Zhuangcheng Army builds the city, the Zuoyuan Army is used to make weapons, the Bridge Army is used to build roads and bridges, the Shipyard Army is used to build ships, the Heqing Army is used to control the river, the Mounting Army is used for transportation, and the forbidden soldiers who are lazy are punished by banning them from entering the carriage and guarding them.  Prison city, etc.

    ??It was not originally set up for war. When there was a disaster, the victims were incorporated into the army to raise them for labor and to provide compensation to the victims. The intention was good, but the money for raising the soldiers still came from the people, so itIt became one of the heavy expenses of the Song Dynasty.

    Under the leadership of Zheng Lang, the goal of using workers to provide relief during disasters and pacifying the victims has been lost. As for construction services in various places, large-scale construction was also done by the victims in the year of the disaster, or the government directly allocated funds for the work.  The meaning is also further weakened.  Therefore, after the restructuring, Zheng Lang reduced the number to 270,000. Later, security guards appeared, and many squares and river crossings were auctioned off. Township soldiers and Baoding were added to jointly prevent theft, which further weakened the role of Xiang soldiers.  If it didn't have some effect, the formation of Xiangbing could be eliminated directly.

    After successive reductions, there were only 170,000 soldiers left.

    There were only 700,000 or so soldiers left in the banxiang. If there were no rural soldiers and Baoding, even Zhao Xu would not be too relieved, so he increased the number of rural soldiers. After the restructuring, the number of rural soldiers increased from 190,000 to 250,000.  .  This is a restructuring with positive significance. First of all, the cost. The cost of raising one forbidden soldier is equivalent to raising two rural soldiers, which saves a lot of military expenses.  Secondly, the cost of raising the soldiers themselves is high, but the prices in the capital are high, and the families of the soldiers may not have enough food and clothing. But as rural soldiers, their families have to live in the capital, where prices are high, and there are some camp fields in each garrison.  , allowing them to increase their income and reduce court expenses, but as soldiers themselves, the family has less to worry about, and it also reduces the pain of family separation caused by the ban on military rotation.  The third is indirect costs. There are camps and fields everywhere, but will the soldiers be able to farm?  Therefore, most of these camp fields were rented to local people for farming, causing various conflicts.  The rural soldiers did not have this problem. When food was produced in the front, the food supply in the rear was reduced, which was equivalent to saving a lot of money for the court.  Fourth, the rural soldiers live in the local area and are familiar with the local environment and climate, especially the mountainous areas in the south, and are more useful than the forbidden army.  Fifth, the rural soldiers were formally established, reducing local military service and allowing the people to relax.

    However, under the Song Dynasty system, Zheng Lang did not dare to excessively reduce the number of forbidden soldiers, maintaining it at 600,000, and he did not dare to excessively increase the number of rural soldiers, that is, weapons. He also gave priority to the supply of forbidden soldiers, and then to rural soldiers and Tibetan soldiers.  soldiers.

    It was precisely this situation that the Song Dynasty established forty armies, which only included more than 200,000 forbidden troops. Others included the 110,000 troops from Hebei and Hedong, as well as rural soldiers from Shaanxi and a small number of Tibetan soldiers, but they were far from the forty armies.  , although 250,000 forbidden troops were dispatched this time, there are still.  All 90,000 soldiers from Shaanxi Province participated in the battle, as well as 100,000 Fan soldiers from Shaanxi and Hehuang.  It is clear that the number of troops participating in the war reached 550,000.  Not only that, once the Xia is conquered, Zhang Kai will also mobilize tens of thousands of Tibetan and Uighur troops from the four states of Gansu and Liang.  This does not include more than 200,000 civilians.

    This will be the largest troop mobilization in the history of the Song Dynasty. Not only will more than 800,000 soldiers and civilians be engaged in battle or logistics transportation, there will also be 5,000 artillery pieces, 200,000 divine arm polo and horse-yellow bows, and new armor  , and other weapons.  Before the war alone, the imperial court spent 110 million yuan to prepare a large amount of grain, grass, weapons, armor, and various other supplies.

    "But after Xixia lost the Hexi Corridor, the whole country mobilized to help, but the military strength could not exceed 500,000, and the finances were in a mess.

    ??If compared with factors such as the morale of the people, as well as finance, military and weapons, the Song Dynasty's expedition to Xia was almost a massacre.

    What's even more frightening is that the Song Dynasty has other back-up players. As Zheng Lang is about to go to the front line, with such a huge advantage, he still has a trembling mentality, fearing that the story of the five-pronged failure in the history of the Song Dynasty will happen again, and even in order to maintain the rear  Support and get rid of Wang Gui.

    The weather is getting warmer day by day, and the rural soldiers from Hebei and Hedong are gradually arriving.  (To be continued)
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