The state city of Chuzhou (now Huai'an), although it is still somewhat dilapidated, has been greatly improved, which has a lot to do with Ying Chunzhi's governance.

The so-called times create heroes, and Ying Chun is one of them. When the situation in the Song and Jin dynasties was constantly changing, he started as a local official like the "Hongzhou New Master Book", and was promoted step by step to the military department's squire, Zhichu Prefecture and Jingdong Jingjing's envoy, and became a military and political officer in the important town of Banggi in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with Ying Chunzhi's ability and the change of the Song court's policy towards Jin.

Now, Ying Chunzhi was entrusted with the important task of being the Taishou of Chuzhou when the imperial court openly "selected capable ministers", and he had just arrived.

After coming to Chuzhou, Ying Chunzhi found that the huge Chuzhou was almost an empty city.

It turned out that the local people could not bear the constant attacks of the Jin soldiers, and many of them had already left their hometowns and moved south to avoid chaos, and those who stayed behind were easily afraid to go out to make a living, resulting in abandoned farmland and cold markets. Facing a devastated and ruined situation.

In order to change this situation, Ying Chunzhi first personally led his subordinates to renovate a dilapidated temple into a Confucian school building, and calmed the people's hearts by worshipping Confucianism and building schools.

The second is to build and strengthen the city wall, set up observation posts and beacon towers at key points, and widen and dig deep moats.

Ying Chunzhi also planned to mobilize the military and civilians to dig a "housekeeper lake" and set up a Doumen sluice gate in view of the flat terrain in the northeast of Chuzhou and the difficulty of deploying defenses.

When the "Butler Lake" is completed, Ying Chunzhi also hopes to use this lake to teach boaters.

In addition to these measures, Ying Chunzhi also supervised the formation of militia groups in various prefectures and counties, which were busy farming, and when they were not working, they practiced military and martial arts, echoing each other to resist small-scale Jin soldiers' attacks.

However, most of these measures are still only planned, and it will not be difficult to complete them in two or three years.

The reason is simple, there is not enough labor. There are many people in Chuzhou who have fled the war, and if the environment does not change, who will dare to move back?

However, the shortage of labor is not an unsolvable difficulty, and the war in Shandong has caused a large number of refugees to cross the Huaishui River to the south to avoid the chaos, and these will undoubtedly be good labor.

It's just that the Song court was afraid of the Jin people, and they were suspicious and afraid of the northerners, and their policies were repeated and could not be consistent. It was not until the spring and summer of this year that the northerners were allowed to cross the Huaishui, and the local officials could be placed and accepted as appropriate.

The Red Turban Army, Liu Erzu, Peng Yibin and other rebels jointly attacked Haizhou, Yizhou and other places, which also caused heavy losses to the Jin army and was unable to harass the Song-Jin border.

Therefore, in the past few months, Ying Chunzhi's plan has been implemented very quickly. The resettlement of displaced people from the south, the construction of cities, the digging of lakes, and the organization of militia groups are all gradually on the right track.

As an important border minister, Ying Chunzhi knew that the relationship between Song and Jin was weak, and the peace treaty would not last. Moreover, he also realized that the border defense of the Song Dynasty was quite weak, so he actively promoted the work of building cities and consolidating the borders.

After the Jin State moved its capital, Ying Chunzhi also saw that the Jin State was declining and was going downhill. Therefore, while building cities and strengthening the borders to strengthen defenses, Ying Chunzhi, who has always had the ambition to recover the Central Plains, paid closer attention to the changes in the situation.

Especially after Haizhou was occupied by the Red Turban Army, it was only separated from the Song Dynasty by Huaishui, and Ying Chunzhi had to pay attention to and pay attention to what the trend was.

It was also at this time that Liu You and Ji Xian came to Chuzhou with Meng Jiucheng's secret letter and gifts. After several requests to see, he was finally summoned by Ying Chunzhi.

"Grass people Liu You and Ji Xian, meet Lord Taishou." Liu You and Ji Xian paid their respects.

"Excuse me, take a seat." Ying Chunzhi's shelf is not big, and he often runs around, he has a hands-on style, he looks up and smiles and speaks, which looks very kind.

Liu You and Ji Xian sat down respectfully, without beating around the bush, briefly explained the situation, and presented Meng Jiucheng's handwritten letter.

When he heard that the Red Turban Army intended to vote for Song, Ying Chunzhi was calm, but his heart was churning. The Red Turban Army has now occupied the land of Sanzhou, and if it is returned to the Song Dynasty, it will suddenly make the Song Dynasty have more three states.

Moreover, the victory or defeat of the Red Turban Army is also related to the change of the situation in Chuzhou and other borders. With the Red Turban Army contained, the Jin people will not be able to attack, and a stable environment is very beneficial to building cities and fortifying borders.

But Ying Chunzhi thought so, but he also knew that his power was limited and he could not be the master of this great thing.

Unfolding the letter, after Ying Chunzhi read it, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, and felt a little impressed by this Meng Jiucheng.

"Do you think Meng Jiucheng really has the intention of returning to the Song Dynasty?" Ying Chunzhi asked.

Liu You hurriedly gave up his hand and said: "The grass people feel that the northerners are brave, and they may be able to help fight against gold. And Meng Jiucheng is different from other Red Jacket Army, he has never heard of anything like robbing homes and destroying heaven and reason. ”

Ying Chunzhi nodded slightly, although the Northland Righteous Army resisted Jin, they also robbed homes and robbed counties. Although he also thinks that it may be possible to join forces to fight gold, there is no suitable strategy for how to proceed and how to deal with it.

Ji Xian continued to say that the big deal should be Chunzhi not acceptable, but it is impossible to reduce the guilt.

He arched his hand upwards and said, "The grass people see that Meng Jiucheng is quite loyal, and he is not like that ordinary grass coward. ”

Ying Chunzhi lowered his eyelids slightly, thought about it, and did not answer immediately.

At that time, during the critical period of changes in the relationship between Song and Jin, it was not only the imperial court that decided the relevant policies, but also the local officials played a very important role.

Although Ying Chunzhi is also a local magistrate, but the court has no will, how dare he make a decision lightly?

Of course, Meng Jiucheng also knew this, and expressed his views and ideas in the letter, and did not force Ying Chunzhi to agree to all of them. But if you give some convenience in terms of money and food, the Red Turban Army can support it, and it is also beneficial to correspond to the pure.

As for Ji Xian, who is recorded in history, persuaded Ying Chunzhi to recruit the northerners to form a loyal army, Meng Jiucheng believes that it is due to the situation, not how powerful Ji Xian is and how wise Ying Chunzhi is.

If it weren't for the acquiescence of the Song court, how could Ying Chunzhi have so much courage, how could he have so much power, and he wouldn't have so much money and food to support the loyal army.

In other words, how to bloom the lotus flower now is of little use, but it can only let Ying Chunzhi know that Meng Jiucheng is interested in this. And Ying Chunzhi is not a short-sighted person who rests on his laurels, once the situation changes, he will naturally choose to use the northerners to try to recover.

After thinking about it for a long time, Ying Chunzhi did not make a decision, but smiled faintly and said: "If they have a loyal heart, the court will take measures. However, the border defense is still weak, and the combat preparations are not abundant, but it will take some time. ”

Many people saw the decline of the Jin Kingdom, and the hardliners in the Song court raised their heads, and Ying Chunzhi knew about it. He expected that the imperial court's policy might change, and he was in a border town, so it was good to make some preparations in advance.

"As for the grain-" Ying Chunzhi looked at Liu You and Ji Xian, and said slowly: "Since he buys it at the price, the official will give it some convenience, which can be regarded as a compliment to the loyal and righteous people." Also......."

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