That night, thirteen middle- and lower-ranking generals who were ready to follow Yang Bo were purged, and 1,000 soldiers from the fifth battalion were scattered to the other four battalions.

After purging the internal dissidents, Xue Changshou mobilized the people to put up lanterns to welcome Guo Song's arrival.

After many years, Guo Song returned to Fengzhou again.

Along the way, there were still large fields of wilderness and abandoned ditches, but when they were still one hundred and fifty miles away from Jiuyuan County, they finally saw large wheat fields, and in the distance were scattered villages.

Guo Song remembers very well that when he left Fengzhou, the farmland of Fengzhou had expanded westward to eighty li, but now it has expanded to one hundred and fifty li, which has doubled.

From a population of one or two thousand when he first entered the city, to a population of tens of thousands now, the rapid development of Fengzhou made him feel very emotional.

But obviously, Fengzhou still has great potential, and together with the Hehuang Valley, it can become its two major granaries.

Ten miles away from Jiuyuan County, gongs and drums were beating in front, colorful flags were fluttering, and Xue Changshou personally led a large number of people to come out to welcome Guo Song's arrival.

Guo Song turned over and dismounted, and hugged Xue Changshou and the generals who came to greet him one by one.

hugged Li Ji tightly, both of them couldn't help but shed tears, Guo Song gave Li Ji a punch in the shoulder socket, and said with a smile: "Old man, you are really old." ”

If Guo Song remembers correctly, Li Ji is only in his early forties this year, but his temples are already gray.

Li Ji smiled and said, "As long as you return to Fengzhou, I will be younger and younger!" ”

"Well said, there will be a place for everyone in the future, and I believe that everyone will get younger and younger."

Guo Song turned over his horse and walked towards the city surrounded by everyone, he waved to the people, and thousands of people suddenly burst into cheers, "The envoy is back!" Long live the king! ”

Looking at the excited faces, looking at all the people who welcomed him from the bottom of their hearts, Guo Song's eyes were a little moist, he had poured a lot of effort into this land back then, and all this paid off.

.........

The county town of Jiuyuan has also changed a lot, and the large mud houses near the south gate have disappeared and become houses of different shapes, most of which are mixed with wood and bluestone, and the exterior walls are coated with lime, which looks strong and beautiful.

Xue Changshou explained with a smile: "Now the residential land in Jiuyuan County is not cheap, one acre of land costs fifty yuan, and to build a one-acre house, it costs about two hundred yuan, and most people can't repair it at one time, they are all built slowly in several years." ”

"How's the business of the Western Surrender City?" Guo Song asked.

"It's not bad, it's very prosperous, both the Hui and other grassland tribes are very dependent on the trade of the western surrender city, so it's very safe, basically not affected by the war, there are many merchants there, and the Fengzhou government also gets a lot of commercial tax benefits, and it also makes a profit through transportation and warehousing."

"What do you say about transportation and warehousing profits?" Guo Song was a little puzzled.

Xue Changshou smiled slightly: "You may not know that the shipping in Fengzhou has been opened, and you can go directly to Pujin Pass, there are more than 100 cargo ships in Fengzhou, forming a large freight caravan, transporting Fengzhou's grain to Guanzhong for sale, and transporting oil, salt, cloth and other daily necessities from Guanzhong, and then transporting goods for merchants, and the merchants' goods are transported to Jiuyuan County for storage, and the government provides camel teams and army escorts to send a large number of goods to the west of the surrendered city, and then transport them back from the surrendered city. ”

"Is the grain from Fengzhou also exported to Guanzhong?" Guo Song asked in surprise.

Xue Changshou was silent for a moment and said, "It's a long story here, I'll talk to the envoy later." ”

Guo Song waved to the people who welcomed him along the street, and the people cheered and welcomed his return, and many people looked vaguely familiar.

A group of white-haired old men knelt down in front of Guo Song's war horses, and Guo Song hurriedly helped them up, "Ladies and gentlemen, get up quickly, don't be so polite!" ”

An old man said with tears in his eyes: "We have never worried about food over the years, we have lived a very peaceful and prosperous life in our old age, all of which have been given by the envoy, we can't express our inner gratitude, and God is fortunate that the envoy is back." ”

Guo Song smiled slightly: "It should be said that hard work can allow you to spend your old age in peace, I just created conditions for everyone." ”

Guo Song said goodbye to the old people, then got up and got on the horse, and soon came to the state office, which was the official office of the economic strategy of the year, and Guo Song spent three years here.

The small courtyard where he lived has been empty, and the official room has remained the same, but it has been cleaned up in advance, and the tables and couches have been wiped spotlessly.

Guo Song sat down on the couch in front of him and said with a smile: "I'm used to sitting on the official chair in Hexi, and I'm a little unaccustomed to this kind of couch." ”

Xue Changshou hurriedly said: "Why don't you go and find a few sittings?" ”

Guo Song waved his hand, "No need, you can sit down too!" ”

Xue Changshou sat down and hurriedly asked, "Envoy, what is the situation of the party members now?" ”

"There should be no party to this nation now."

Xue Changshou was taken aback, did the party members actually wipe out the clan?

Guo Song said lightly: "As long as the party members are in Xiazhou for a day, Lingzhou will not be at peace for a day, and the best way is to let them disappear completely." ”

Xue Changshou nodded, "Although it's a little cruel, it's the right thing to do!" ”

"Let's talk about Fengzhou, continue the topic you just had, about Zhu Zhu and Fengzhou."

Xue Changshou sighed, "Just two days ago, we just eliminated a Zhonglang general who advocated surrendering to Zhu Zhu, only to find out that he was appointed by Zhu Zhu as a general, the governor of Hanhai, so you can't think of it!" A small lieutenant general actually obtained such a high official position. ”

Guo Song nodded, "I really can't think of it, what is the reason for this?" ”

"I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I have gathered news from all sides, and I think that Zhu Zhu should have taken a fancy to the grain production in Fengzhou."

"Go on!"

Xue Changshou continued: "The envoy also knows that Fengzhou is rich in grain, and the people's grain is piled up and cannot be sold, and the Fengzhou government cannot afford to buy it, and at the same time, it is not needed, so we organized a fleet to sell Fengzhou's grain to Guanzhong, and as a result, we were warmly welcomed by Guanzhong. ”

Guo Song took a few steps and asked, "Didn't Zhu Jun send an army to respond?" ”

Xue Changshou was stunned for a moment, "I didn't expect this humble position, and we didn't find the corresponding information." ”

Guo Song groaned and said: "It is right to infer from common sense, since the grain production land of Fengzhou is extremely important, Zhu Zhu will definitely control it in his own hands, and will not pin his hopes on a Zhonglang general, I estimate that Zhu Zhu will definitely send troops, I am afraid that it is not far from Fengzhou." ”

Xue Changshou hurriedly said: "If Zhu Jun sends troops, he must come from Yanzhou, go north along the Yellow River, and kill from the east, and he has not received any news from Yulin County in the past two days, I am afraid that Yulin County has been controlled." ”

With his political sensitivity, Guo Song immediately realized that Zhu Zhu was going to attack Fengzhou, and he immediately made a decision, ordering Jiuyuan County to close the city gate, and the army to go to the city to take precautions, while he himself led 10,000 cavalry to the east, and more than 100 scouts went to Yulin County to investigate intelligence first.

........

On the official road about 100 miles west of Yulin County, an army of about 8,000 men was rapidly marching towards Fengzhou.

Although he occupied a large area of land in the Central Plains, the fertile fields in the Central Plains were uneven in drought and flood, and there were many disasters, and the stable production of grain could not be guaranteed, until Fengzhou transported grain to Guanzhong for sale, Zhu Zhu found that Fengzhou was a treasure land, the land was fertile, the irrigation was sufficient, and there were few pests and diseases, which was very easy to take care of, a farmer could plant two hectares of wheat, and Fengzhou was completely developed, and the military rations of hundreds of thousands of soldiers were completely guaranteed.

Zhu Jun was also paying attention to Cui Kuan's every move, and when Cui Kuan was about to unite with the party members to go south, Zhu Jun realized that the time had come, and he immediately sent troops north to seize Fengzhou.

This army was sent by Zhu Zhu, and the general headed by him was called Li Huanshan, one of Zhu Zhu's confidant generals, Zhu Zhu of course could not let a small Zhonglang control Fengzhou in the future, he had to firmly control the grain production in his own hands.

This army was originally half cavalry and half infantry, but after occupying Yulin County, they forcibly requisitioned thousands of livestock from the county seat, so that the infantry also had the strength to walk on their feet, and the troops accelerated their march.

The 8,000 troops marched west along the Yellow River, and on a hill in the distance, several scouts of the Hexi Army spotted the enemy, and they immediately turned their horses and rushed ahead of the enemy along the path.