On the Guanzhong Ancient Road, a team with a clear flag is slowly moving westward.

The first person, riding a white horse, heroic and mighty, is the new Ministry of Rites Langzhong Lin Zhao!

It was only a short stay in Luoyang, and as for the dinner, those "shocking" remarks have almost been forgotten. Lin Zhao's purpose was not to write books and become masters or saints, but to influence Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao brothers in his own way, so that they could use their special status and ideas to indirectly influence the ideological trend in the next thousand years.

Lin Zhao didn't know if it would work, he just tried his best! On the contrary, the conversation with Sima Guang is more meaningful! As for the rest, he completely left it behind.

If you want to end the mission itinerary in Tubo before the harsh winter, you must speed up and rush to Hehuang Qingtang City as soon as possible.

After Luoyang, after Tongguan, you will enter the land of Guanzhong. This is the royal capital of the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties, and it was originally so rich and splendid.

But after the destruction of the war at the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was already dilapidated, and it no longer had lost its glory.

Since the beginning of the Five Dynasties, the capital of the Central Plains Dynasty has moved to the area of Luoyang and Bianjing, and Guanzhong, where eight rivers surround Chang'an, is no longer the first choice.

First, the war was devastating, the city was greatly damaged, and the population was also greatly reduced. Second, the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River have been seriously damaged, and the ecological conditions and richness of Guanzhong are no longer as good as they were back then.

And then there is the most important issue, which is transportation. After the continuous destruction of the Yellow River Basin, agriculture has become much less developed than before, and food production has also declined, making it impossible to feed the huge population of the capital. So I had to rely on the grain in the south of the Yangtze River.

This is a fact that began in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Why did Emperor Yang of Sui insist on digging the Grand Canal, was it just for convenience?

It's a pity that he was too eager for quick success, and finally cheapened the Li family's father and son. The prosperity of the Li Tang Dynasty was largely inseparable from the canal. Jianghuai and Jiangnan, important surnames for the Central Plains regime in the north are increasing.

In ancient times, when transportation was inaccessible, how to transport became a big problem. The canal connecting the north and the south was the most important transportation artery, and the dynasty's dependence on canal water transportation also increased.

From Chang'an to Luoyang, the canal is getting closer and closer, and Bianjing, which is located along the canal, is undoubtedly the most convenient place.

Changes in the geographical environment and water conditions of the Yellow River and the Cao Canal made it difficult for ships to enter Luoyang westward, and it was even more difficult to reach Chang'an directly as in the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, the national strength of the Song Dynasty was not as good as that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and the border defense line also changed a lot. The area of Guanzhong, where Chang'an is located, is threatened by the Western Xia and Liao, and is not so safe and not suitable for the founding of the country.

Therefore, Chang'an was abandoned, and its status and influence in the Song Dynasty gradually began to decline.

However, Chang'an is still the largest city in the west, because of its long history, it stands on the land of Guanzhong and the bank of Weishui. After the 100 years of recuperation of the Song Dynasty, it has also recovered. However, because of the long-term relationship with the Western Xia, the situation of the entire Shaanxi/Western Road was not so good.

Lin Zhao had no time to look for the relics of the past in this ancient city, feeling the vicissitudes of history, but continued to move forward with the mission.

After Chang'an, along the Weishui straight to the upstream Guanzhong gateway Dasan Pass.

Guanzhong has always been said to be a place of four stops, and Dasanguan is actually the western gateway of Guanzhong, and its location is very important.

Before that, the Weiping Plains that passed by, whether it was the road or safety, did not have to worry, and it was quite comfortable. Earlier in Hangzhou, Su Shi once mentioned the experience of serving as Fengxiang's judge, and introduced the situation in Guanzhong, and Lin Zhao was somewhat familiar.

"Bozhou, you see that there are large areas of farmland along the Weishui River, and the country of Qinchuan Tianfu for eight hundred miles is really true, it is really rich in products!" Lin Zhao looked at the large areas of crops along the way that were ripe and waiting to be harvested, and sighed with a smile, very happy.

Unexpectedly, Su An beside him had a solemn face, and there was no smile on his face.

Lin Zhao immediately noticed the abnormality and asked, "What's wrong?" What's wrong? ”

"Childe, a bumper harvest on farmland is good, but it has to be divided into places, if it is all farmland here, I'm afraid it will be a little bad!" Su An's expression was very serious when he spoke, and it seemed to be a very serious matter.

"How?" Lin Zhao was still a little puzzled, and even a little confused.

Su An said: "This place is close to the Dasan Pass, and further ahead is Huanqing Road, which is the front line of the enemy against Western Xia. Gongzi should know that to defend Western Xia, cavalry is very important. ”

Lin Zhao fully understood this, after all, they went to Hehuang and Tubo this time, just for the horses.

In addition to purchasing war horses from Sichuan, Yunnan and Tubo, the imperial court also implemented horse husbandry supervision in various places and opened up pastures to raise horses. The Shaanxi/West Road adjacent to the Western Xia front line should be the focus, especially the place near Dasanguan, which should be a pasture for raising war horses, why is it a large area of farmland? ”

In order to solve the problem of lack of war horses, the Song Dynasty once asked some people to raise horses to supply horse needs. However, the folk method of captive breeding is costly and difficult, and the quality of the horses is much worse. If you want to supply the needs of the army, you still need horses raised in pastures.

However, the land north of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun was lost, and the Western Xia was entrenched in the northwest, and the Song Dynasty seriously lacked grassland horse breeding land. Therefore, the cavalry was also very lacking, and it was always at a disadvantage in the war between the Liao State and the Western Xia.

In order to change this trend, the Song Dynasty set up horse herding supervisors in the northern parts near the front line, and set aside land for pasture and horse breeding.

For example, the Hebei Road, as well as the Shaanxi/West Road that defended the Western Xia front, all opened up horse farms to breed horses.

For this reason, during the reign of Renzong, there were disputes and discussions in the imperial court, and Wang Anshi also participated in them, and supported Xue Xiang, the deputy envoy of Shaanxi Road Transport, to dispose of the horse herding supervisor in the entire north.

Xue Xiang also lived up to expectations, at least the situation on the entire Shaanxi Road was very good, and a lot of pastures were opened. But over time, various situations have also arisen.

At first, there were sporadic people who secretly opened up pastures to cultivate, and later there were officials who managed pastures, from top to bottom, turned a blind eye and even personally participated in it, and reclaimed a large area of pasture land. Grain production has indeed increased, but the number of horses kept is decreasing.

Emperor Zhao Ji was also very angry about this, and the reason why he attached so much importance to Lin Zhao's proposal to communicate about the tea horse ceremony was also a very important reason. The only difference may be that the emperor simply thought that the number of horses was declining, but was unaware of the change in the land use of the pastures.

Lin Zhao, the horse herding supervisor, knew about it, but he didn't know the specific situation of the ranch. But Su An is different, before entering the forbidden army, Su An had been in the Western Army and was very familiar with these things. Therefore, I traveled all the way west along the Wei River, and soon discovered these problems.

Lin Zhao shook his head and said: "There are policies above, and there are countermeasures below!" "This is true for horse herding, and the same is true for the Seedlings Law, in fact, the original intention or regulation of many things themselves is very good. The problem often lies in the subsequent implementation, which is counterproductive. If this problem cannot be solved, then many good ideas and good policies will not help in the end, and they will not get the actual effect they should have.

The issue of the ranch is already the first to be seen, and the emperor will know it sooner or later, and he can also mention it slightly with the emperor when he returns to Bianjing. However, seeing Su An beside him, Lin Zhao felt that he was completely overdone.

Out of the Dasan Pass and then to the west, you have to pass through the land of Longyou, rub the territory of the Western Xia Kingdom, and then go directly to Hehuang Qingtang City.

Before that, he had traveled to a rich and peaceful place, and he was also taken care of by the magistrates of the Great Song Dynasty along the way, which was convenient and safe, but then he had to face many unpredictable difficulties and obstacles. Although the relationship between the Song Dynasty and Tibet was good, after all, most of the people who passed through were deserted and not very peaceful, so there was no need to talk about horse bandits and thieves, and the natural conditions alone were enough to bear.

It is precisely for this reason that Lin Zhao decided to stop and rest in Dasanguan for two days, one is to add some useful items, and the other is to relieve people's fatigue, recuperate, and overcome the difficulties later.

So the brigade stopped at Dasanguan, took a short rest, and then got ready to go.

As a major pass, Dasanguan is of great significance for military defense, and relatively speaking, things in business and life are not so perfect.

The mission, of more than 500 people, with the cooperation of the local garrison, temporarily had a place to settle down. After that, Lin Zhao took Su An and several personal guards out of the camp and went to the market town where Dasanguan was located to eat. More importantly, Lin Zhao wanted to take advantage of this to learn about the northwest folk customs of the Song Dynasty, as well as some relevant information.

Anyuan Inn is very famous in the area of Dasanguan, and most of the merchants who go out of the customs to Longyou, Hehuang, Hexi, and even the Western Regions live here. First, because the conditions are good, and secondly, it is to get a "safe out" lottery, so the business is very good!

Lin Zhao came out to eat and saw that there were the most people here, so he chose this place. In particular, there are many merchants who come and go, so he is more interested, and he can get a lot of information from these merchants, which will be of great help to his mission.

"Childe, sit down, the bitter cold land in the northwest is not as good as the Central Plains, and eating is relatively simple!"

In the hall of the Anyuan Inn, the guy delivered several signature dishes, which are said to be famous local delicacies. Lin Zhao just glanced at it, and only felt that it was ten million times worse than the food in Jiangnanju.

However, these are the northwest, and naturally they cannot be compared with Bianjing. What's more, the northwest is known for its arrogance and rudeness, and the natural conditions are much worse, so it is not easy to eat fresh vegetables. Therefore, there is a lot of meat on the table, which looks good and is quite attractive.

Lin Zhao knew that it might always be like this for a while in the future, so he had to learn to adapt. Therefore, he smiled: "Bo Zhou said that it is good to be so rich." ”

"Childe will use some, although it is not as exquisite as the dishes of the Central Plains and Jiangnan, but it also has a different flavor."

"Good!" While enjoying the food, Lin Zhao asked, "By the way, what kind of system and what is the situation in the northwest now, especially on Shaanxi Road, to defend Western Xia?" ”

Traveling to the northwest, Lin Zhao was more interested in the offensive and defensive situation between the Song army and the Western Xia, and some military matters. After all, he was also a police academy student in his previous life, and he was also half a soldier, so he had a kind of innate curiosity and sensitivity.

Su An said: "Western Xia has been dominating the northwest for a hundred years, and our Great Song Dynasty has fought with them for many years, although there are also many victories. However, it can't change the current situation, and it has always shaken the existence of Western Xia so much, so we can only use a more passive defense.

In the first year of Renzong's Qing calendar, Fan Wenzheng passed through the northwest, and divided Shaanxi Road into Qinfeng, Jingyuan, Huanqing, and Yanyan four roads along the border of Shaanxi. There are also Yongxing Army and Security Army in the northwest, which is a good deterrent to Western Xia.

At that time, Fan Wenzhenggong built many fortresses and determined such a strategy for defending Western Xia, which made the party cavalry sigh many times. Of course, it is inseparable from the defense of many generals to keep Bianjing safe and sound. ”

"Yes, with such a scourge as Western Xia, where can there be peace?" Lin Zhao sighed lightly, in fact, in history, the greatest threat to the Song Dynasty was always the Western Xia. Although the Liao State was also strong, and there were sometimes voices of war and war with the Song Dynasty, the harm caused to the Song Dynasty was not as great as imagined.

And Western Xia is different, because nominally it was once the territory of the Song Dynasty, and it will be difficult for the five states! And every time a border trouble occurs, the damage caused to the Song Dynasty is immeasurable.

Therefore, the Great Song Dynasty paid special attention to the Western Xia, beware! Several roads along the border are heavily armed, on the one hand, it is a defense, and at the same time it is a deterrent!

"I heard that there are many famous families in the Western Army, and I am very interested."

Su An explained: "Yes, for example, the previous Linzhou Yang family, as well as the Fuzhou Zhejia. Qingjian City is a heavy family, and thanks to these people, otherwise the situation in the northwest may not be able to be suppressed for a long time. ”

Yang Jiajiang, She (folded) Taijun, Xiaojing is slightly like a public teacher, these are all well-known characters, Lin Zhao knows them, and when they say their names, they are all thunderous.

Su An continued: "The Yang family is not prosperous, although it is still famous, but it is not as good as before. Nowadays, the northwest has been prosperous for a long time, and it is the Fuzhou family and Qingjian City planters. They are all talented and prosperous. Especially the Zhi family, who is a descendant of the Xianbei Zhelan King, so there is also a faint Hu Feng on his body.

The whole family is a good man, most of the men are in the army, and even the daughters of the Zhi family are heroic, and the women are not allowed to shave their eyebrows. ”

In fact, in the Song Dynasty, the really famous should be the Zhe family general, relatively speaking, the Yang family general seems to be a bit of a flash in the pan.

While he was talking, there was a commotion at the door, and a group of dozens of horses stopped at the door, and at the same time a large group of people walked in...... (To be continued.) )