Looking at the vast snow-covered land and the frozen Yellow River not far away, Wang Pu said to Du Zhongxiao: "Jingluo, is this place?" I've been here before, and the water and plants are abundant. In addition to the fact that there is more salt and alkali and the water is bitter, this is a good place. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is it." You're right, it's a bit of a ranch here, it's a good pasture. The Jinglusi wanted to set up a village here for herding, and the area near the Yellow River would be used for grazing. If you bring your people here, they will help you build houses, roads, and bridges. Set aside enough land for you to graze your cattle, sheep and horses. Of course, tax servitude is unavoidable. ”

Wang Pudao: "In Zhenwu County before, could we be exempted from tax and servitude? When Jing Luo was in the Volcano Army, most of the people who went to farm had a good life, and they were much stronger than before. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, very satisfied with Wang Pu. He is somewhat similar to the incense cloth before, he is not contaminated with the atmosphere of plundering everywhere, and only thinks about living a good life. Compared with the incense cloth, he is more willing to take responsibility and more courageous. When Xiangbu arrived in the Volcano Army, he soon became a rich man in the countryside, and the tribe lived separately, and within a few years a tribe was dispersed.

Wang Pu is willing to take the tribe to make money for himself and share the benefits for others. Of course, the cohesion is too high, which Du Zhongxiao doesn't like, but now he needs to set an example and let the rest of the Tibetan tribe take a look, Wang Pu is more suitable than Xiangbu.

I talked with Wang Pu that day, and Du Zhongxiao casually asked if he was allowed to move to Dongsheng Prefecture with his clansmen, and agreed to disagree. Originally, Du Zhongxiao just asked casually, but he didn't expect Wang Pu to agree. They are nomadic tribes, and as long as there is water and grass, they can make their home. Dongshengzhou is located in the plains, close to the Yellow River, and is much stronger than the hilly area of Zhenwu. Not to mention that Zhenwu is remote, and it is convenient to move to Dongshengzhou to do business.

This area has a long history of development, and after the Tang Dynasty, most of the nomadic people moved in. In the late Tang Dynasty, there were many warlords, constantly attacking, and the population decreased on a large scale. By the time the Khitan occupied the area, the population was already small. For more than 100 years, except for the Khitan near a few big cities, the Han people moved to the tuntian, and the rest of the places became pastureland.

The people living in this area are mainly party members, such as Wang Pu's Tibetan talents, who are actually also party members. After the founding of the party, Yuan Hao once recruited a large number of people, and the Khitan conquered the party for several consecutive years, and the population shrank again in recent years. As big as Dongshengzhou, there are now only more than 500 Han households farming, more than 20 Tibetan departments, and more than 1,000 accounts.

Hundreds of miles from Dongshengzhou to Fengzhou, there are less than 2,000 Han people, and less than 5,000 accounts. Among them, the Han people were moved from Youzhou by the Khitan, and the army retreated north urgently, so these people were not taken away. Recently, because of the involvement in a major case, Du Zhongxiao's killing was too heavy, and there was another wave of people fleeing. By the time the matter was over, it was not known how many people would be left in Hequ Road.

When I got here, I knew why the Khitan didn't count the merits of the battle by the first level when they fought with the party. For them, population is wealth, living people are valuable, and the head is useless. A large open space, someone can create wealth.

Du Zhongxiao wanted to camp in the field, and naturally chose to form a population gathering area around the big city. This is different from Jingxi Road, out of the state city, there is a large area of idle fields outside, and there is no need to go to a remote place at all. In some strategic places, such as Zhenwu and Kaide, there is no need to camp fields, and it is sufficient to directly garrison troops. Now no more than before, there are railways to transport supplies, and the army does not need to be self-sufficient in food.

Wang Pu agreed, and Du Zhongxiao took him to see the selected camping place. It is located on the bank of the Yellow River, an alluvial plain, although the salinity is heavier, as long as the water of the Yellow River is drawn, it can grow grain. The village of Dingmu is on the periphery, and the village is agricultural on the inside.

After picking up the snow in several places, Wang Pu came back and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Jingluo, this is a very good place!" If the court helps, the small one is willing to bring the people to move here and be the people under the rule of the state. Although we are grazing, we can still build bridges and pave roads, and we will not rely too much on the imperial court. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's good for you to come." I also camped in the Volcano Army when I was in the Volcano Army, and as you know, I will not be disadvantaged. ”

After speaking, Du Zhongxiao pointed to the north and said, "There is another advantage to choosing this place." Twenty miles to the north, coal is abundant and easily mined. In the future, if the railway is opened, it will rely on the coal there to burn the train, and this place will surely prosper in the future. ”

Wang Pudao: "The little one also heard that there is a kind of train in the Great Song Dynasty, which runs on the iron-paved road, and it is extremely fast. You can travel thousands of miles in a day and night, and you don't need forage or rest. It's a pity that such a miraculous thing is just heard about, but I don't have the opportunity to see it. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It won't be long before you can see it." With the train, the materials of the Central Plains can be easily transported here, and your cattle and sheep can also be easily sold to the Central Plains, so you don't have to go to Tanglong Town anymore. ”

Wang Pu was a little fascinated when he heard it, and he couldn't imagine what kind of scene it was. After a while, he asked, "Jingluo, will this place be the same as the Central Plains in the future?" I heard that the Central Plains is very prosperous, and the Venerable Master is waiting for him to shoulder to shoulder, and everything is sold on the market. In the past, although Tanglong Town was prosperous, it was nothing together with the Central Plains, and it could only be regarded as a small city. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "After the train, this is an important place, of course, it is much more lively than Tanglong Town." ”

The geographical conditions here are limited, and it cannot support too many people, and of course it cannot be compared with the Central Plains. But there is water and land, and there is still no problem with several big cities. During the Qin and Han dynasties, it was once as prosperous as Guanzhong, and it was not a bitter cold place.

With the railway, there is little need for large-scale land reclamation here, and it is good to transport grain from the Central Plains. Farmland is cultivated mainly in places where water sources are convenient. Taking advantage of the current small population, a variety of trees and grasses are raised to restore the ecology. The two advantageous industries, one of which is naturally wool, can be developed on a large scale with the perfect industrial chain of the Volcano Army. The other, of course, is coal.

After arriving, Du Zhongxiao made a rough investigation. Not far from here, there are a large number of open-pit coal mines, but the area is deserted and undeveloped. Dongshengju was developed, and coal could be mined from there as an important coal base.

In more than a month, the Economic Strategy Division basically grasped the local situation, and the number of people far exceeded Du Zhongxiao's expectations. The population of this area is less than one-tenth of that of the Qin and Han dynasties, and a large inflow of population is very necessary for development. It was not easy to move the Han people from the Central Plains, and even if there was a unified organization of the imperial court, it was difficult to find a large number of households who were willing to move. In the camp on Jingxi Road, Du Zhongxiao used the cut box army, where to find it now?

Although the population of Fanhu is not large, it is better than nothing, as long as you are willing to make up a household, you can also enter the camp and field work.

On the way back, when he reached the Yellow River, Wang Pu stopped his horse and said, "Two hundred years ago, my ancestors moved from the west, and now there are several generations. I heard that the place where I came from is also called the river meander, but I don't know where it is. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The meanders you moved to are in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and now the Tubo people live. During the Tang Dynasty, Tubo was strong, and your party and Tuyuhun tribes were attacked by the Tubo people, and the Tang Dynasty moved you here to settle down. Don't learn from the Tuoba family of the Xia Kingdom in the west, when you are in danger, the Central Plains Dynasty will give you land and build a new home. As soon as the Central Plains declined, they turned against the guest and plotted against the Central Plains. If you can't even stand here, I'm afraid there will be no place to put it in the future. Live with peace of mind and serve the court with a good life, so that you can last a long time. ”

When Dang Xiang and Tuyuhun were driven homeless by Tubo, they were moved here by the Tang Dynasty. In the late Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains declined, and these people became the heroes of one side, and even rebelled against the country. When the iron cavalry of the north swept across the Central Plains and its surroundings, these ethnic groups disappeared into the long river of history. They didn't belong here in the first place, and the wind blew through it, so naturally they couldn't leave a trace. Crazy as Li Yuanhao, but it was short-lived. If you are loyal to the Yang family, you can pass it on for thousands of years.