The western sun in July is calm. The pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info farmers are not busy, except for spending half a day every day to inspect the fields, they are participating in a certain amount of military training in the form of armor protection at the request of Li Sheng.

To organize the people and control the people with Baojia was a decision made by Li Sheng after the public trial meeting. It is basically the same as the armor protection formulated in later history, but there is one thing that is flexible, that is, the degree of freedom of armor protection: as long as an outsider can find someone who is willing to accept you into insurance, you can enter the insurance; If a local resident wants to go to another place, he or she can surrender the insurance and leave without anyone stopping him. Although it is a bit troublesome, it avoids the matter of firmly binding the people to the land, which is a good thing for the people and a good thing for Li Sheng's future development. Coming from modern times, he may not know much about other things, but he is very clear about the general trend of the development of the whole history. It is necessary to vigorously develop industry and commerce and stabilize agriculture, and this is Li Sheng's attitude toward future internal affairs.

Because of his long-term education, even some of Li Sheng's subordinates don't quite understand the reason why he attaches so much importance to industry and commerce. They also raised objections to Li Sheng because of this. But Li Sheng never refuted these opinions, he just said: "If the things in the books can make us stronger, then it is okay for us to do according to the books." If the things in the books don't help us to be strong, then we have to figure it out ourselves. The world thinks that industry and commerce are useless, and only agriculture wins. But I think business is also very important, and if you don't believe it, then wait until you see the results. Only the result is what matters. ”

Hearing their sovereign insistence, everyone's mouths were temporarily closed. They all went to complete the plan formulated by Li Sheng and the staff. Under the control of the "military law" formulated by Li Sheng for them, no one dares to be lazy. After all, bloody things have just happened. Although it was not aimed at them, it also made them feel a little awe-inspiring.

Everything went in an orderly manner according to Li Sheng's expectations. Because the group of people under Li Sheng saw that the government affairs personnel trained by Li Sheng had some ability to handle general affairs, which was very beneficial to reducing their burden, they also learned from Li Sheng and continued to run the "officials" training class. It's just that unlike Li Sheng's picking, they are all young students who are attracted by them or Li Sheng's fame. These people have a certain cultural foundation and do not need more long-term training at all. When Li Sheng came back, there would be several batches of students from this "official" training class. They enriched all corners of the four northern counties of Jiangxia, and together with those people left behind by Li Sheng, they basically completed the administrative structure of the entire northern four counties. In this structure, Li Sheng and his direct staff are undoubtedly at the top. They are not responsible for specific matters, but rather guide the entire administrative programme at a broad level.

Adhering to the concepts that Li Sheng told them, the structure of the four counties in the north of Jiangxia is meticulous, and more rights are divided into more departments:

Under the name of Li Sheng's direct subordinates, six parts were divided, the government hall under the control of Liao Li, the finance department under the control of Shi Tao, the official office under the control of Cui Hao, the military department under the control of Li Sheng himself, the law department under the control of Ma Liang, and the supervision office under the control of Luo Zhao. Although there is no public explanation, it is already an indistinguishable fact that the four counties in the north of Jiangxia are Li Sheng's territory. Li Sheng has the right to carry out his own operations on this land.

There are smaller divisions under the six divisions. Under Liao Li's political hall, there are the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Industry and Commerce, the Department of Water Conservancy, and the Department of Education; Under Shi Tao's Finance Department, there are budget departments and verification departments; Under Shi Tao's official hall, there are assessment divisions and promotion divisions; Under Li Sheng's military hall, there are staff departments, field divisions, garrison departments, and military propaganda departments; Under Ma Liang's law office, there are litigation departments and inspection departments; Under Luo Zhao's Supervision Department, there are Wind Catching Divisions and Fine-tuning Divisions.

The six halls and sixteen divisions constitute the ruling body of Li Sheng's entire territory at present. Externally, this claimed to be a temporary integrated body, but internally, as Li Sheng's direct staff, they all understood that such a delicate organization was actually an experiment in the construction of the entire political power in the future. Although Li Sheng is still a long way from that step at the moment, all the staff, including Li Sheng, are confident that they can reach that point through their own efforts.

They are all the younger generation of Jingzhou, and they all understand that with the current situation in Jingzhou, there is no future under Liu Biao's continued rule. Jingzhou is very likely to become the target of other forces, and to change this, it is necessary to change the master. In the vague praise of Sima Hui and Pang Degong, Li Sheng, who owns the four counties in the north of Jiangxia, has undoubtedly become another choice for these young people. This is a point that Li Sheng himself does not know much.

Of course, such ignorance does not affect Li Sheng anything. As far as Li Sheng is concerned, he is very busy at the moment, and he can't wait to have two days a day. Not only himself, but also the people around him. Under Li Sheng's order, several new department chiefs gathered in a small building closely surrounded by soldiers in the Yali of Xiyang County, and secretly held a meeting to decide on a set of rules to be implemented in Xiyang at the present stage. These are all written in words, and although no one says that it is the Fa because it is overstepping the system, its role in the four northern counties is similar to that of the Fa.

This rule is adapted from the Han law, and it is mainly to add some things according to Li Sheng's meaning. For example, taxation has expanded the scope of taxation, and everyone in Xiyang, including Li Sheng, must pay a fixed tax of one-twentieth of his income according to his monthly income, that is, twenty taxes one; and change the agricultural tax from 10 taxes to 15 taxes, and tax the amount of farmland owned by the head of the household; The five taxes of the commercial tax were changed to ten taxes and one of the ten taxes, and the number of goods sold by the merchants in Xiyang was taxed, and all the checkpoints in the four counties in the north of Jiangxia were abolished, and only this part of the commercial tax was levied uniformly; No longer levy labor tax and poll tax, encourage the establishment of handicraft workshops, encourage foreign population to settle in Xiyang, and so on...... Because there were many things to discuss, everyone honestly stayed in that small building for five days and five nights, and even the expenses for eating, drinking, and Lazar were sent in from outside. When the crowd finally came out, they were already very weak and powerless—they were all exhausted.

It's mid-June since the rules were made. For Li Sheng, everything that should be busy has been completed, and it is time to take a break. When the summer heat wave has arrived, Li Sheng, who is not a very competent husband, finally has the opportunity to accompany his little wife to have a good time. Although there may not be any good scenery to see in this Xiyang place, as long as the husband and wife are reunited, it will be basically perfect, except that there are Zhao Yun's brothers and sisters behind them.

Li Sheng originally wanted to use this opportunity to visit all over his territory, but a news came, so he had to quickly return to Xiyang - Pang Degong came, accompanied by Pang Tong and Kong Ming.

"Mr. Lao Degong has been waiting for a long time, my Zixu is really a sin." Starry Night rushed back to Xiyang, leaving his wife behind for the time being, Li Sheng casually wiped a cold water face and hurriedly came to the guest room of the county government to see Pang Degong and others, as soon as he saw them, he first came to them to accuse. After all, Pang Degong is Li Sheng's elder and a person with the same name as his teacher Sima Hui, he can be casual with his two brothers, Pang Tong and Kong Ming, but he doesn't dare to have even the slightest rudeness to this famous elder.

"It's not too much to wait, we're in a hurry." Pang Degong stroked his already gray beard, and his face was full of a loving smile: "Zixu, every time I see you, it seems that you have grown a lot more than before." There are many differences between the current temperament and what I saw a month ago. ”

"Really? I don't know. Li Sheng smiled, stretched out his hand to invite the three of them to sit down, and ordered someone to serve tea.

The four of them sat down, Li Sheng took the main seat, Pang Degong sat opposite Li Sheng, and Pang Tong and Kong Ming sat on the left and right of Li Sheng. After sitting down, Li Sheng opened his mouth and asked, "I don't know what is going on with Mr. Degong?" He understood that this elder was fond of seclusion, which was a personal habit, and he couldn't help it. Although he has a good relationship with him and their family, there is nothing important, and he will not come to him. Therefore, something important must be happening right now.

"Lord Liu Biao sent troops a month ago." Pang Degong said the news: "The target is Jingnan. Changsha Taishou Zhang Xian died of illness, although his subordinates supported his son Zhang Yi, but still could not compete with Lord Liu Biao, the four counties of Jingnan have been leveled, and Lord Liu Biao is preparing for the class. ”

"I know that." Li Sheng nodded, feeling a little strange in his heart: "Why did Mr. Degong say this to me?" It was normal for Lord Liu Biao to march towards Jingnan. After all, Lord Liu Biao's hope is to put it on the reunification of Jingzhou. I didn't do it before because I was afraid of Cao Cao, and now that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are facing off in Guandu, they naturally don't have the time to pay attention to their ally in Jingzhou. There is nothing wrong with Lord Liu Biao seizing this opportunity to completely solve the thorn in his back. If it were me, I would do the same. Mr. Degong said this, could it be that what is the intention? Thinking that Pang Degong was not a person who talked nonsense, Li Sheng suddenly became serious and listened attentively.

"It's boring. I thought it would be a great fight! I don't want to be so shabby. On the Jingnan side, except for Changsha City, which resisted a little, the others were effortless. Pang Degong said.

"Wouldn't that be great? It didn't take much effort to lay down a huge territory, and Lord Liu Biao's did not lose anything in the attack, which had no impact on his own forces. In this war, he can be regarded as earning, and has become a powerful force that owns thousands of miles of land and gathers more than 100,000 troops, which may be able to compete with the north. Li Sheng said with a smile, "As long as Master Liu Biao has further courage." He made this footnote to his last sentence. After all, the current situation is very good for Jingzhou - Liu Biao has solved the trouble behind him, but Cao Cao is still confronting Yuan Shao.

"I'm afraid it's hard, huh?" Pang Degong smiled: "You are too embarrassed for Lord Liu Biao." His personality is very similar to that hero of Ruyang! ”

"The heroes of Ruyang?" Li Sheng didn't realize it all of a sudden.

"Mr. Degong is right, Yuan Shao." Zhuge Liang said with a smile.

"The so-called similarity means that Yuan Shao and our Lord Liu Biao are both scheming and indecisive people. The two of them are more similar than alike. Pang Tong explained calmly. He was a very calm man, a little slow to move, and was often seen as reckless. But Li Sheng and Kong Ming, who were friends with him, saw that under his seemingly "reckless" appearance, there was a head that thought quickly. "Think a lot, but say little, every time you say something, there must be a reason." This is what Li Sheng and Zhuge Liang think of him.

"On the outside, he seems to be very tolerant, but on the inside, he is quite suspicious, and he likes to pay attention to strategy, but he lacks decisiveness...... Well, they are indeed similar to the forbidden. Not only that, but many people from famous families have this kind of personality. Li Sheng nodded in agreement. He immediately entered into thought: "Why do people from famous families have this kind of personality?" Is it because of the environment, or something else. If I build a new nation, then I and the descendants of the bureaucrats around me may also become new celebrities, and how can we avoid that? He was distracted, and thought far away at once, so that for the next period of time, he did not hear what Pang Degong said at all.

"Zixu, what do you think of the Battle of Guandu?" It wasn't until Kong Ming asked such a question that he pulled his thoughts back.

"In October, Cao Gong will inevitably break Yuan Shao." was suddenly asked, Li Sheng was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously said the original memory in his mind.

"Why are you so sure?" Kong Ming thought it was strange, "Although Mr. Degong also thinks that there will be a result before winter, it can't be as precise as you." How exactly did you come to that conclusion? Kong Ming is very interested in this. Not only him, but even Pang Tong, who has always been calm, involuntarily revealed the essence of exploration.

"I have information." Li Sheng, who realized that he had leaked his mouth, quickly remedied it with such a reason.

"What information?" Kong Ming asked.

"Information about the military rations of the Yuan and Cao families." Li Sheng's mind spun quickly, and he immediately found an explanation: "It is said that whether it is Cao Cao or Yuan Shao, the food for his army is running out. Yuan Shao's grain was slightly better, with about four months' worth left, while Cao Cao's grain was basically only three months left. ”

"What does this have to do with Cao Cao's victory over Yuan Shao in October?" Neither Kong Ming nor Pang Tong understood this.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao confronted each other in Guandu, forming a tug-of-war. When both sides have food in their hands, this confrontation is basically not broken. After all, it's best to be able to stay safe, and no one wants to take a casual risk. However, once Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's food were a little nervous, then things would change: judging by Yuan Shao's personality and strength, when there was a problem with the grain, the first thing he thought of was to send someone back to urge the grain. Hebei has a lot of grain, so he can naturally collect some more. Cao Cao, on the other hand, could only find a way to do it from other places. Unlike Yuan Shao's Hebei, which had already recuperated for several years, Cao Cao's Central Plains had only been slightly pacified for less than a year, and naturally there was not so much grain for him to collect. At this moment, he can be said to be in an embarrassing and desperate situation. Under such circumstances, Cao Cao is very likely to make a decision-like decision. Li Sheng explained calmly.

"What would be the choice?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"Do you think there is any way to make the enemy's army chaotic without a fight in the short term?" Li Sheng did not directly say the answer, but enlightened Kong Ming.

"Isn't it cutting off people's food?" Kong Ming replied tentatively, he thought fast and answered quickly.

"Cutting off food routes won't solve this problem. You know, Yuan Shao's grain can be more than Cao Cao's for a month. Pang Tong shook his head gently, he thought about something more than Kong Ming: "I think that only by directly burning Yuan Shao's grain and grass hoarding land can it be done." ”

"How is this possible? Although Yuan Shao was not as good as Cao Cao in terms of strategy, he still knew the importance of military rations, how could he casually let Cao Cao know about this location? Kong Ming quickly retorted.

"He couldn't say it, but his men could." Pang Tong didn't think it was a problem: "Yuan Shao likes celebrities but can't use them, so that the people under him resented each other and disagreed with each other. If someone is dissatisfied with Yuan Shao, the lord, at this time, and wants to take refuge in Cao Cao, then Yuan Shao's grain and grass hoarding land will become his promotion. This is not an accident, but a very likely thing. ”

"Is that so?" Kong Ming was still a little unsure. He does not believe in the so-called inferences until there is conclusive evidence, and this is where he is cautious.

"That's right." Li Sheng nodded lightly: "Not only will this kind of thing happen, but even the name of that betrayer, we can guess it." ”

"Huh? Who's that? Kong Ming looked at Li Sheng.

"Xu You, the guy who was rated as greedy and unwise by Xun Yu." Li Sheng said with a smile.

"Is that him?" Kong Ming and Pang Tong were a little surprised to see that Li Sheng could really say a name, and then they were a little puzzled: "Why him?" ”

"Because, among all the people under Yuan Shao, only he has the best friendship with Cao Cao, and only he is the most likely to make a mistake - he is too greedy." Li Sheng said with a smile.

"Indeed!" Hearing Li Sheng's explanation, everyone combined with all kinds of rumors about Xu Yu and his person, and nodded very approvingly: "If it's Xu You......"

"So Zixu thinks that the peace in our Jingzhou can only be maintained until that time?" Pang Degong began to teach Li Sheng.

"No, it should be a few more years old." Li Sheng shook his head and said affirmatively.

"Why?" Pang Degong asked again.

"Because of Yuan Shao's strength." Li Sheng explained with a smile: "It is true that Yuan Shao may lose the battle this time, but even so, with the ability of the four states of Hebei, it can also provide strength for his rise again." Whether a power can be completely annexed by another force is not a victory in one or two battles, but a comparison of the whole between the two forces: such as population, region, economy, etc., which can be called national strength. And the failure of Guandu is just a failure for Yuan Shao, the national strength of his four states is still there, and Cao Cao needs to spend energy to break through one by one, which will probably consume Cao Cao about five years, and Cao Cao is unlikely to come to Jingzhou before this. Generally speaking, Cao Cao was a person who thought highly of himself, and he had an account in his heart for all the heroes in the world. He looked up to Yuan Shao, because the reputation of the Yuan family was there; He looked up to Liu Bei because Liu Bei's ability scared him; But he looked down on Lord Liu Biao. For him, as long as he wants Jingzhou, he can go south at any time and kill him. Therefore, he will spend time concentrating on solving the Yuan family, and it is impossible for him to let the Yuan family have a chance to turn around. ”

"So do you think the world will eventually fall to Cao Cao?" Pang Tong asked.

"No, it won't." Li Sheng denied with a smile, "If the world finally belongs to him, then what else do we need to work on now?" Cao Cao thought that Jingzhou was within reach, mainly because the lord of Jingzhou was Lord Liu Biao. But if Lord Liu Biao has a situation, what if Jingzhou has another monarch? This can be regarded as a rebellious word, but Li Sheng said it very naturally in front of Pang Degong, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong. Because he knew that they would never betray themselves, but that they would help themselves.

"The world can't fall into the hands of people like Cao Cao!" Putting aside Pang Degong, who wanted to be a hermit, as far as Kong Ming and Pang Tong were concerned, they more or less had such thoughts.

"Zixu really has a heart." Pang Degong smiled and whispered to Li Sheng the news: "I heard that Liu Bei's envoy has come to Jingzhou. ”

"Oh!" Li Sheng was slightly stunned for a moment, and finally understood the purpose of Pang Degong's hurried visit: "He just wanted to tell me the news." ”

Because Li Sheng did not tell them about the matter between himself and Liu Bei, they did not know that Liu Bei was invited to Jingzhou by himself. For them, Liu Bei, who came here, was undoubtedly an opponent who threatened them. They hurriedly came to Xiyang to tell themselves the news, that is, they wanted to take precautions against Liu Bei.

"You really care about me." Li Sheng was moved, and he decided to tell the truth of the matter to the three of them - this was originally unnecessary, but in order not to worry the people who cared about him, he still decided to say: "Actually, I asked Liu Bei to come to Jingzhou." ”

"What? Why? Don't you know that Liu Bei will fight for Jingzhou with us? Kong Ming couldn't help but be shocked, he was nervous about Li Sheng's decision.

"I can't understand ......" Pang Tong also shook his head vigorously.

"Maybe Zixu has his own reasons." Pang Degong was still calm and calm, and said lightly: "Maybe Zixu saw something we couldn't see." ”

"What's that?" Kong Ming and Pang Tong invariably turned their eyes to Li Sheng's body, and they stared at him tightly, with the posture that we will see you if you don't say it.

"Uh......!" Under the continuous pressure of the eyes of the two, Li Sheng couldn't help but be a little scared. To him, that gaze was a little scary. Under such a gaze, he gave in: "Liu Bei will indeed become our competitor, but with such a great reputation, he will also attract the attention of Lord Liu Biao, this is my purpose." Between me and Lord Liu Biao, I need a shield, and Liu Bei is undoubtedly the best candidate for this shield. He is indeed very capable, but in the process of dominating the world, it is not enough for the lord to have the ability, if he wants to develop in Jingzhou, he must have the support of local talents in Jingzhou. And now that the best in Jingzhou are on my side, what do I have to worry about? As long as you pay more attention to him and find something that can make him contradict Lord Liu Biao, will he still be able to develop? Lord Liu Biao doesn't want his foundation to be swallowed up. ”

"That's right......" Kong Ming nodded: "But Zixu, you still have to be careful." He was still worried.

"I know." Li Sheng nodded heavily.

Then everyone chatted a little more, and Li Sheng invited them to lunch—everyone chatted for so long, and the sun rose high in the sky early.

Pang Degong and his entourage stayed in Xiyang for three days. During these three days, at Li Sheng's request, they gave three lectures to the people of the Xiyang "officials" training class, all of which were practical things such as political strategy and strategy. Don't look at the fact that none of them have been officials and have been in contact with political affairs, and think that they are not good. In fact, due to the amount of things they have read, although their actual operational ability is still unknown, they can explain it to the top of the story. The incisive analysis of the general trend of the world, coupled with the call of their own fame, made the "officials" of Xiyang fascinated.

Soon three days passed, Pang Degong and they set off to return to Xiangyang, and Li Sheng also accompanied his wife again, and embarked on a journey with Zhao Yun's brother and sister.

Two horses, one car. Listening to the heavy laughter coming from the car behind him, Li Sheng couldn't help but wipe the hot sweat on his head. It's June now, and the sun in the world is hot, which has already made Li Sheng sweat. If there is no Zhao Yun, then Li Sheng can hide in the car and directly with his wife Qingqing and me, and take a little heat by the way. Although this is a very untemperamental move in the eyes of others, Li Sheng will not care about this.

However, Zhao Yun was there. For this "little girl" who always thinks about her eyes and wants to follow for some reason, Li Sheng really has no way. Although she was only a year younger than herself, and two years older than her wife, she was as innocent as a child, to a terrible extent.

She is very willful, very eccentric, and loves to cry. Just like right now, she told Li Sheng not to get into the car, so Li Sheng had to stay outside. If Li Sheng wanted to "forcibly" come to such a set, he was afraid that as soon as he showed his face, he would quickly see Zhao Yun's tearful face. At this point, I'm afraid that my wife will not give me a good look.

"Trouble!" Li Sheng sighed secretly in his heart, turned his head to look at Zhao Yun who looked comfortable next to him, looked at his very "comfortable" appearance, and couldn't help but feel sad: "People are compared to people, why can't they be compared?" He was helpless.

The re-launch tour lasted two months. When the green leaves on the trees turned slightly yellow and the monstrous heat wave passed, Li Sheng returned to Xiyang with his wife and two "bodyguards" full of exhaustion. This time, he was not like a diligent lord who quickly gathered his people together to discuss a series of matters. Instead, like the "faint king", he hid in his backyard leisurely and rested for more than ten days again. For his reason, he was too tired to go out and walk, and he needed to recover. said that it was a recovery, but everyone understood that Li Sheng was with his own wife again and was lazy.

There was such a busy man who was dark and couldn't see anyone for a few months when he was idle, and everyone didn't say much while sighing that he was a hard worker. After all, everything is on track at the moment, and many things no longer need to be handled by Li Sheng personally. As long as he carries it in his own home uprightly, it is enough for people to see his calm and comfortable appearance at any time, so that everyone can be stable. As far as ordinary subordinates are concerned, perhaps this is the only way that a monarch should behave.

And so the days passed, and in the usual calm came to October. In this month, two shocking news came: one was that Cao Cao set fire to Yuan Shao's grain and grass in Wuchao, and broke Yuan Shao's army in Guandu; The other is......

"Exian Zhang Wu and Chen Sun rebelled?" Li Sheng stared at the information that had just been passed on to his hand, and a hint of an intriguing smile rose on the corner of his mouth.