The river thieves could not succeed on the river, so we had to go further and build forts at the waterways where the three prefectures of Qi, An, and Huang entered the river, and sealed off all their ways out. ”

In accordance with Gao Yue's instructions, Yan Zhen and Luhuan crossed the river respectively, and began to send troops to cut down trees and erect fences in important places such as Caishan, Qikou, Huanggang, and Huangpi, and then in the dry season of winter, let the soldiers burn grass every day, and the whole section of Jiangbei was filled with fireworks, the purpose was to make the river thieves have nowhere to stay.

One after another, a small group of river thieves laid down their arms and came to surrender with their families.

Gao Yue instructed in time: From now on, there are river thieves and mountain sheds who are willing to reform themselves, and they must not be humiliated and killed, and the fields will be allocated on the spot, and they will be loaned cattle, medicine and seeds to plough for them, let them grab the grain, and then form a baojia, but those who dare to coerce the government to give them gifts and then join the thieves will not only slaughter their families, but also practice the law of joint sitting.

It's a very powerful method.

In fact, they were just peasants begging for food, and as long as the conditions were acceptable, they could still return to farming with peace of mind;

And there is a reason why Gao Yue is rationed the fields nearby, after that, this field, this cow, this house and village are yours, and the river thieves and mountain sheds come to loot again, you are the first victim, you have to defend your family property, protect your family: it has always been Gao Yue's proud skill to provoke the bandits who have reformed themselves and fight the evil bandits.

The encirclement and suppression of the officers and soldiers was not impatient or impatient, and they were steadily advancing.

By the time of the winter solstice, the original river thieves were crisscrossing several states, and they were gradually compressed into several disconnected areas, and the nests of the river thieves in Qihuang were the most scattered, and only Yunmengze was left in Anzhou, which was also not a climate.

Even if a small group of river thieves were lucky enough to grab one or two single cargo ships, they found that the times had changed now, and the merchants did not bring cash, not even cloth and silk, only stacks of coins were exchanged—the river thieves sat on the deck, holding these beautifully printed things in their hands, crying and laughing, not knowing what these banknotes could be exchanged for? Ruthlessly, they can only be thrown in the cold wind one after another.

This goods, is wood and porcelain, eat is definitely not edible, it is impossible to sell the goods, the original backer Huaixi Town has been destroyed, Shenguang Cai Anqi Huang Shuzhou, all implement the village armor protection system, plus Gao Yue before the ruthless extermination of Caizhou Saga Township, which dared to assist the thieves against the official army, killing chickens and monkeys, so no one dared to take over and sell these goods.

Eventually, the thieves decided to take a risk, and they decided to drag the goods in small boats to the villages they knew well, and exchange them for rice, wine and meat at a low price, and they and their families were starving.

As soon as he landed on the shore, he was seen by the people of the village, and the sound of gongs and drums rang out, "There are river thieves!" The shouts were in all directions, not only the village, but also the strong men who guarded the armor around them, all came over with bows and arrows, hand-held guns and boring palladium, women were encouraging and helping, and the armor heads waved flags and shouted there, "Go and report to the army, come and catch the river thieves, you all come forward to expel together, kill the head, and the government will have a reward!" ”

"Whoa!"

Arrows flew, guns and bullets flew, mixed with people shouting and dogs barking, the river thieves were desperate, and several were killed immediately, and the others ran into the grass of the river, and ran away in the boat, and did not dare to turn their heads back.

When the garrison arrived, the guards cut off the heads of several river thieves, and recaptured most of the goods and handed them over to the town generals for credit.

The town general was very happy, and according to the rules of the reward, he gave a part to the village, and kept a part for himself.

Because they also have "performance" regulations.

It's snowing, and the days of the river thieves and the mountain sheds are even harder.

Originally, they could rob merchant ships, but the ships that did not pass by sailed ashore, looted and burned the streets and wells of the market town, and there were Huaixi stolen goods behind them.

But now they can't rob and rob, no one dares to take the stolen goods, the water and land are tightly sealed, all the materials of life can't come in, and the corpses that freeze to death and starve to death, including women and children, abound, some are lying in the grass on the riverbank, and some are floating among the flickering ice rivers, which is extremely miserable.

Soon, more than eighty percent of the thieves surrendered or were exterminated.

The rest were like insects in the winter, frozen to death and starved to death, and under the invitation of the government, they also began to surrender one after another.

Although the scope of authority of the Gwangju Branch Patrol Office was not along the river, since the beginning of winter, there have been many mountain sheds that could not survive, and they began to plunder the villages and towns under his jurisdiction.

In the face of such a cruel side in the eunuch journey, Liu Zongyuan's heart endurance has also been strengthened.

He slowly began to understand that this world is not only Luoyang, Chang'an, nor just the study and elegant garden, but also in this town and township where money and flesh and blood are circulating all the time.

"When the spring flowers bloom, there will be no way for the bandits to survive in the entire Huaixi area, and it will be replaced by the royal road of Gao Weigong!" Liu Zongyuan thought so.

And that's exactly what happened.

At the beginning of spring, the people along the roads in Caizhou and Gwangju, with the roar of the spring thunder, were all beaming, running to spread the good news: Wei Guogong is willing to give us land, and rent and tax exemption for three years!

Gao Yue set up a plan to fulfill his promise, that is, to allocate one-third of the fields left by the indigenous heroes and soldiers who died in the Pinghuai West War in Caizhou and Gwangju, and distribute them to the people for Yongye fields free of charge, and all of them were drawn into the anvil book, and then they would be taxed three years later.

After the river thieves were exterminated, the merchants of various provinces also became active, and began to use the fields of Gaoyue to pay off debts along the land and waterway, and began to hire local people to burn soil and make bricks, and build mansions and shops: in addition to farming, the people could also get a short-term salary, and they were all happy. The people of Caizhou and Gwangju were in ecstasy almost overnight, and they were all ecstatic and chanting about the kindness of Wei Guogong to them, and now Gao Yue is in Huainan, and everyone calls him "Gao Bodhisattva", and Li Xilie and Er Wu are all scolded.

Therefore, the implementation of the meridian law in these areas, including Shouzhou and Luzhou, has been very smooth.

The books of the state and county after the average tax have also been drawn up one after another.

After Liu Zongyuan was busy, he felt that his career was successful, and he suddenly felt empowered.

After a day of rest, he and his colleagues and subordinates accompanied, on the mountains outside the city to play, and when he climbed the green hill after the snow melted, looking at the countryside and market towns around, he found that the peasants were full of vitality, as if releasing the power that they did not have before, they were at the head of the newly obtained fields, and they vigorously laid a stone monument and began to grow food happily.

Liu Zongyuan really felt that when Wu Shaocheng and Wu Shaoyang were divided, the bones of Cai Kou had turned into dirt, and their walls had been ploughed into fields, and their reputation would be remembered for 10,000 years.

The old Huaixi has been completely annihilated.

The new Huaixi, inexorably striding forward on its ruins!