On the top of the tower of Boping City, Zhao Xun is inspecting the repair work of the city wall. According to the predetermined plan, the first thing to do was to increase the height and thickness of the city wall, and then build a small acropolis on each side of the north side of Boping City, and garrison soldiers to protect the safety of Boping City.

"The general wants to measure the acres of land, check the population, reduce rents and taxes, compile households, and unify commercial taxes?" Ling Weizhong, who was officially appointed by Zhao Xun as the commander of Shanyang Prefecture, said after listening to what Zhao Xun said.

Zhao Xun nodded and said, "That's right, the actions of our army behind enemy lines, you must also know." The most fundamental reason why the victory was able to win and make the bandits grow stronger was that the people were miserable. Wealthy families in various places privately occupy countless fields, privately raise family soldiers, and regard the Tang Military Officers' Mansion as nothing. ”

"This time, we moved more than 80,000 people from Siyang County, plus nearly 90,000 people who flowed in from the land of the Tang Army. I plan to leave 10,000 people in Boping County, even if it is a place to run Boping, I can't let Boping even be unable to support himself. ”

"But......" Wei Zhong was about to say something, but was interrupted by Zhao Xun.

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "Boping has been besieged by the Tang army for more than half a month, and the surrounding towns, towns, villages, and towns have all been destroyed. Except for the land where there is a lord, the rest are all owned by the government and agreed to be distributed. Township forts in all localities are not allowed to raise private soldiers without permission. Even if there is, it needs to be supervised by the Governor's Office. If anyone refuses to accept it, they will be punished as colluding with the enemy! ”

"Well, since General Li said so, Xia Guan will definitely be able to do it. To be honest, for these township clans, the lower officials do not have a good impression of them. Boping has no big problem implementing this policy. But looking at the general's intentions, it seems that he is still ready to implement it in Siyang County? Wei Zhong said with a smile.

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "For the sake of the people, I have to do it, I have to do it." No matter how much I have to do for myself, I have to do it! ”

"By the way, Shanyang Mansion will send nearly 100 young officials, they have a certain theoretical foundation and basic governance experience for dealing with various things, and arrange them everywhere. To implement a new policy, you need to use people who dare to do it. ”

"The subordinate commands! When the general said so, the subordinate was relieved. After half a month of war, there are very few officials in Boping County. Wei Zhong said in a deep voice.

Seeing Wei Zhong say this, Zhao Xun asked lightly: "I remember that Lord Wei should also be a big family, in Boping, in addition to the family wealth, there are also thousands of acres of fertile land, although because of the Tang army's southern invasion, and the guide zhì is temporarily barren, but now that the Tang army has retreated, these good fields can still be recovered." In addition, the Wei family in Zilin Town, west of the city, has more than 500 village warriors, all of whom are elite people. Lord Wei is willing to carry out the military order issued to Shanyang Mansion? ”

Wei Zhong saw that there was no one else around except Zhao Xun and the dozen guards around him, and said with a chuckle: "General Li is not from Shanyang Mansion either, right?" In addition, now the lord of Sanyang Mansion, Lord Fengzi Mingfeng, is afraid that he is also following General Li's wishes, right? ”

Zhao Xun smiled faintly, turned sideways, looked at the busy people in the distance, and said casually: "Oh? What does Lord Wei mean by this? ”

Wei Zhong saw that Zhao Xun was not angry and wary, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and said: "I see that the policies of the general are basically the same as those in the north. ”

This does not mean anything, and now, in order to develop their strength and consolidate their localities, all forces are following each other's advantages. What is so special about me following the example of the North? Zhao Xun said with a smile.

Wei Zhong glanced at the soldiers beside Zhao Xun and said, "But General Li's way of leading troops is also very special, especially after the officers under his command reorganize the army, the first thing to do is not to continue training and improve combat effectiveness. Rather, like the north, it tells about military regulations, military discipline, and military columns. Although other armies have followed suit, there are very few who can hold on and let the soldiers around them stand still for half an hour, just like the guards around the general. ”

"There are not a few people who implement the new policy by various forces, but there are not many who can be ruthless and directly attack the big households. Although they are all eager to get rid of these big families and clan forces, they don't want to affect the turmoil in their sphere of influence and make these big clans fall into the enemy's side, so they won't do it directly. ”

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "In this way, Lord Wei should take refuge in this kind of force, under them, you can get faster room for improvement." ”

Seeing Zhao Xun say this, Wei Zhong was overjoyed, which showed that the other party was from the north as he expected.

"On the surface, it is true that as General Li said, it may be faster to ascend by taking refuge in them. But Boping has no one else except for the Tang army, the Yanzhou army in the south and the Xuzhou army in the east. And these three forces, compared with the north, are far behind. In addition, after the battle to defend the city, the fertile fields outside our city have been destroyed, and the tenant farmers have become displaced people, doubting and dying. Don't talk about collecting rent, that is, tenant farmers want to rent seeds, but they are afraid that there is nothing to use. In the short term, it can climb very quickly, but it is also possible that it will be annihilated overnight. Isn't the Tang Army now using the hands of bandits to understand the local clans? ”

"In addition, because of the attack of the Tang Army, there are not many villagers left in our clan, but I am afraid that now they have been absorbed by the general, or given an independent household registration, and they are no longer as prosperous as they used to be. The only thing that didn't lose was the shop in the city. Although the war was not well managed because of the war, as long as the war was armistic, coupled with the unified commercial tax of the general, it would soon flourish. In addition, among the family, the elders are optimistic about the Shanyang Army, not the Tang Army and the Yanzhou Mansion Army. ”

Zhao Xun smiled and didn't say anything, he knew that most of what the other party said was true, and it was not himself who was optimistic, but the Xiaoguo army in the north. In addition, they are more afraid that if they don't cooperate now, soon a new county order will come to office and wipe out all of them. If you want to say that the places under the command of the Shanyang Army are best cleaned, it is not Boping, after all, after a big war, the power of the big clan is almost exhausted. Of course, this refers to the forces and networks in your hands that dare to work against the government, not money.

Wei Zhong knew very well that the nearly 100 officials sent by the other party were afraid that they were really in control of the county's government affairs.

"Master Wei, if you want to be recognized, you have to be practical. We only look at political achievements, not status. However, I remember the sincerity of Master Wei. Zhao Xun said lightly. When Wei Zhong said this, he was showing himself that he was willing to take the lead in supporting the rules set by Zhao Xun, and he would also govern in Boping according to Zhao Xun's rules.

Zhao Xun stayed in Boping for two days, leaving Zuodu behind, leaving Wei Dong as Boping's guard, responsible for the defense of Boping County, and at the same time, also cooperating with Wei Zhong to implement the new policy. In order to defend against the Tang army, Zhao Xun also left a thousand horses and Zuodu with the war horses in his hands. Subsequently, he took the third capital and returned to Juye County.

"The lord is in the south of Liangzhou Mansion this time, it can be said that he is a great shock, leading more than 3,000 remnants of the army, killing into the rear of the Tang army, looting property, armor and equipment, and taking the enemy Siyang County twice, and his ability to lead the troops is admired by his subordinates."

"Feng Ziming, Lord Feng, when did you start to learn to pat on the back?" Zhao Xun said with a smile.

"It's not that his subordinates are patting on the back, and it is precisely because of the actions of the adults that Xu Jie does not dare to take any military action against the adjacent Shanyang Mansion. By the way, the lord also stole back 80,000 people from Siyang County. Tsk, that's right! Feng Ziming said with a laugh.

The wind sounded like this, and Zhao Xun also shook his head.

"By the way, how many officials came with the Jizhou caravan this time? How's it going? Zhao Xun thought of the nearly 100 young officials sent to Boping, and couldn't help asking.

"There are more than 500 people from Youzhou, and now except for more than 50 people who stay in Juye County, the rest have been sent to various counties, and Boping has the most, sending more than 80 people." Feng Ziming put away his smile and said seriously.

"Five hundred? It seems like a lot! ”

"Yes, my subordinates didn't expect that the lord would train so many young officials, although they are small officials, but they are the authority that really determines a place. These people seem to have some experience in governance, my lord, are they drawn from the rule of the Xiaoguo army? ”

Zhao Xun shook his head and said, "No, it was selected from the Young Guards." ”

It turned out that because of the unification of the Governor's Office, the Interior Affairs Office adopted orphans, and they were of different ages and physiques. Zhao Xun divided them into two categories: the army and the officials, and the army was naturally the Young Guards and the Young Guards. Among them, those who are quick in thinking can continue to study in the military academy, and when they come out, they will become low-level officers, or even higher. The officials were formed after the former court officials who were dismissed by Zhao Xun as Western seats, taught, and followed the local government after a period of internship.

If you want to implement the new policy at the local level, if you want to completely control the local power, you can't do it without your own people. In addition to these officers, there are also soldiers of the Young Guard, who are also secretly coming here. The Young Guards are young people between the ages of sixteen and twenty who, after systematic training, are more like professional soldiers than these provincial soldiers.

"The lord wants to implement a new policy in the entire territory of Shanyang Mansion?"

"That's right, what's the matter, it's so difficult?" Zhao Xun asked rhetorically.

Feng Ziming shook his head and said: "That's not it, the less the territory, the earlier the implementation, the less difficult it is." In the battle of Yanzhou Mansion, the enemy Tang Army in the north is again, and unless they want to seek death, they will definitely cooperate. In addition, according to the Lord's command, we are also moderate in our administration, and there will be no problem of powerlessness to resist. It's just that because of the Yanzhou Mansion War, if we are busy implementing the new policy at this time and dragging the army back, then we want to seek benefits in this war, but I am afraid it will be more difficult. ”

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "It is certain to seek benefits, but it is not possible in the short term. We can only wait for the three armies to fight hard to exhaust themselves, so as not to encounter a strong counterattack from the other side. In addition, we also need to look at the king's response in order to make the most correct decision. ”

Zhao Xun made up his mind, and Feng Ziming no longer continued to dwell on this issue, and he also knew that Zhao Xun was reasonable.

Situ Lei didn't move, and he gave Murong Cheng an army as soon as he moved. I don't know how Murong Cheng will deal with it? ”

Zhao Xun frowned slightly, and said, "This Situ Lei is really a schemist. It is completely framed together by Xu Jie, Xuzhou Jun, Wu Weijun, and Murong. Forget it, don't think about it, it's Murong Cheng who should be worried about now, not us. Sit back and watch the storm and wait for them to fight. It's up to you, it's been a long time since I've been out of the Northlands, and it's time to go back. ”

…………

Zhao Xun wanted to return to Youzhou, in addition to being away from home for a long time, because the caravan sailing back to the sea. In any case, this can be regarded as opening up a maritime trade route, and it is time for a new plan. These complex things, relying on information transmission, naturally do not work. In addition, leaving for too long is also detrimental to stabilizing one's own rights.

It's not very troublesome to go back, but it's not very easy, you have to go west to Yanzhou Mansion, cross the Yellow River, enter Jizhou, and then it's your own territory. When Zhao Xun passed by Yanzhou Mansion, he found that because of the war, the people of Yanzhou Mansion also began to stay away. I have to say that because of the reputation of the Xiaoguo Army for preferential treatment of the people, many people crossed the Yellow River to erase Jizhou, hoping to live under the rule of the Xiaoguo Army.

For these, Zhao Xun is naturally satisfied. After all, there are far fewer people in the north than in the south. Although he has been absorbing refugees in the past few years, he is still not as good as the southern states. That is, it is better than Liangzhou and Ningzhou, but now the average population of Jizhou, Qingzhou and Youzhou has surpassed that of Yongzhou. There is no way to do this, who has let the drought in the west in recent years, several consecutive years, make the Yongliang land lack of food, and the people have to get out to survive.

It wasn't until he notified Youzhou and arrived at Jizhou City that Zhao Xun made his flag clear, and under the escort of the army, he patrolled all the way and rushed back to Youzhou City without stopping.

When Zhao Xun entered Youzhou City, it was already a crescent moon rising into the sky, but it was close to fifteen, and the moonlight was also bright.

When the governor returned to the city, the civil and military officials in the city had already greeted each other at the city gate, and by the moonlight, they saw Xu Qinlian, Su Ran, Li Xinyan, Su Ziyan, Ruyu, Asli and Asli standing outside the city gate looking at their own side. The civil and military officials were on both sides, waiting behind them.

Because the cavalry reciprocated, they naturally waited here for a long time.

It's been half a year, and every time a messenger comes, there will be letters from the women and some handmade gifts, but Zhao Xun has too many affairs, and there are back and forth, and he only occasionally writes a letter, bringing everyone's names, and letting the messenger bring it back. Thinking that they had been fighting abroad for half a year, they were also frightened for half a year in Youzhou City.

When Zhao Xun got closer, the girls suppressed their excitement, lowered their eyebrows, and hid their lovesickness in Yingying. However, Asli and Asli had no scruples, and they were not as reserved as the Han people, looking at themselves with teary eyes.

The land around the city gate is full of strict generals, personal guard battalions, and the second government army, which are close to the surrounding guards. The internal guards of the governor's palace also appeared under the city gate, beside the women.

The daughters have all kinds of lovesickness, but in front of outsiders, especially in front of many subordinates, she also bows first: "The concubine Xu has seen her husband!" The ladies followed suit and bowed.

"I've seen Daddy!"

"My subordinates have seen my lord!"

"You've worked hard!" Zhao Xun, who turned over and dismounted, whispered to the girls, and then said to the children: "Go back and wait to receive the gifts!" Finally, he said loudly: "You have worked hard! Return! Go to the Governor's Mansion and drink together! ”

"Roar...... Roar...... Roar ......"

Three roars in a row, needless to say, these are the three lawless tigers of the Grand Governor's Mansion. Under normal circumstances, the three tigers are specially raised, and they will not hurt humans and animals lightly.

"It's so big! Grow so fast! Looking at the hair, which was the same size as his parents, Zhao Xun touched his head and couldn't help sighing.

Obviously, Mao Mao, a big guy who has become bigger, still recognizes the owner who has been with him for several months, stretched out his big tongue and licked Zhao Xun's hand, and rubbed it a few times on his body to show affection.

Naturally, there is no need to elaborate on the night of drinking with the ministers, and the next thing is just to go back to the inner mansion to talk about the pain of lovesickness with the ladies. Zhao Xun also told his actions in the land of Yanzhou to the women, and talked about it overnight, in which the friendship was profound, and it was naturally more difficult to express.

After Zhao Xun first dealt with the government affairs of Xiaoguo Army, he met with maritime businessmen Zhang Yunqi and Gu Fei, who were also from the Baiyu Firm and the Internal Affairs Office, and were also the pathfinders of this maritime trade. After the narration of the two, Zhao Xun also had a certain understanding of maritime trade.

It has to be said that the attractiveness of interests cannot be underestimated. In India, Persia, Sri Lanka, Arabia and other places, there have long been Yangzhou and Jiaozhou maritime merchants, vertical and horizontal, and business is very hot. Even, in Guangzhou and the southeast coastal areas. There are many big food merchants who come from the sea. They set up special settlements. It is called "Fanfang", which has a great influence in the local area.

Of course, the risks of maritime trade are very large, and sea navigation is different from inland rivers, with uncertain winds and waves, and the lives of people are always in danger. If you are not familiar with sea navigation, it is very likely that there are no bones left. Even Zhang Yunqi and Gu Fei encountered strong winds and waves many times this time and almost died. However, the huge profits still stimulated many businessmen to take risks. According to the capacity of the two people's large ships, they can earn at least tens of thousands of silver coins every year. Silver, this is real silver, who doesn't blush?

Hearing about the development of maritime trade in Jiaozhou, Zhao Xun couldn't help but sigh and said: "Alas...... Isn't it too late! ”

Zhang Yunqi and Gu Fei also felt the same way, Zhang Yunqi said: "This is also a helpless thing, after all, with Nanyang Maritime Trade, we do not have the convenience of Yangzhou, Jiangzhou and Jiaozhou." At the beginning, the land of Jiaozhou was just a barren land, even before the previous dynasty flourished in maritime trade, it was still just a barren land. In the past, there were only more than 200,000 people in Guangzhou, but now? It is enough to compare with the Central Plains Mansion, or even more. It is precisely because of this that the governor of Jiaozhou also has the heart to compete with the king of Qi who occupies Jing, Jiang, Yang, and Yuzhou to the north. Of course, in addition to trading with the south by sea, we can also trade with Yiju and the Silla Peninsula in the east. ”

Zhao Xun sighed secretly, this geographical gap could not be made up at that time. When maritime trade flourished, the shipbuilding industry naturally developed, which was extremely beneficial for the navy and navy. Of course, more importantly, the higher the tax revenue, the more prosperous the economy. Otherwise, how could Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, give up fighting with Situ Lei in the court, and instead go to Yangzhou in person to preside over the recovery of Jiangzhou? It's not because this place is important to him.

"Have you been intercepted by the Yangzhou Navy?" Zhao Xun thought of another question and asked urgently. In the Xiaoguo Army, the navy and the navy have been officially separated, and their respective natures are different.

"Never! We have not docked in Jiangzhou or Yangzhou, and even if we replenish fresh water and food, we have done so in Jiaozhou. However, when passing through the sea off Yangzhou, it also encountered the Yangzhou Navy. However, the other party only made a simple inspection and collected some money, but did not intercept the northbound sea vessels. ”

Zhao Xun nodded secretly, so he was relieved. After all, he did not intercept the sea ships from Yangzhou, Jiangzhou, or even Xuzhou to Japan and the Silla Peninsula in the north, as long as they could not be destroyed, they were allowed to sail, even if they docked to replenish food and water. Even, Zhao Xun also gave a military order to the Qingzhou Navy on patrol, and on the way to the inspection, he encountered a ship in distress, whether it was Xuzhou or Yangzhou, and he was rescued. Among them, he has rescued dozens of ships that have been attacked by storms and pirates.

For Zhao Xun, they are just businessmen, and as long as they don't sell weapons to the hostile forces they are fighting with, they are allowed. Like the last time the Qingzhou Wuwei Army was attacked, that is, when the Tang Army blockaded the sea area and forbade the southern sea ships to transport supplies to the Wuwei Army, it was also a notice and warning in advance, allowing them to dock at their own seaports, sell goods or leave. In the case of ineffective persuasion, they will be punished. Of course, if the transported materials are armor and equipment, they will be confiscated directly.

Come to think of it, it is precisely because of this that the merchant ships heading south were not intercepted. After all, normal business is beneficial to both parties.