Holding the small clay pot, he first came up and took a deep sniff, looking intoxicated. Then he raised his head and stretched out his hand to Zhou Hong. Zhou Hong subconsciously handed over the small wooden spoon in his hand.

He took the small wooden spoon, took a spoonful and put it into his mouth. He stirred it with his tongue and his teeth were filled with saliva.

"It's delicious!" The young official smacked his lips and praised loudly. His family originally made spices, so he was sure that this fish sauce did not add any spices. It was really incredible that it could have such a taste.

.

"How is this done?" he asked curiously.

"It's made with small fish and shrimps in the river ditch and some wild vegetables picked by my customers!" Zhou Hong was a little nervous.

"What kind of wild vegetables are they?" The people next to me were also knowledgeable and knew the key to this thing. I'm afraid it was more than just those wild vegetables, so they asked immediately.

Zhou Hong hesitated a little, and his guests were huddled in the shack and did not show up.

It's not that he didn't want to say it, but he really didn't know. Just when he was about to turn around and call the guests out, the young official smiled and said: "This is someone's business secret, how can it be made public? In the future, he will look for a small store in the city."

, relying on this, I can support my family in Hukou! This is a good thing, a good thing! Is there any more?"

Zhou Hong shook his head: "When I escaped, my mother-in-law only brought this small jar with her, but it was gone."

"Can you sell it to me?" the young official raised the small clay pot in his hand and asked with a smile on his face.

"Ah?" Zhou Hong was stunned, but he immediately responded: "If Shangguan likes it, just take it, it's not worth anything."

"That's not okay!" The young official shook his head repeatedly and put his hand into his arms, as if he wanted to take out the money, but his hands were frozen in his arms and his face was a little embarrassed. He had never carried money with him for many years.

When a middle-aged man accompanying him saw this, he quickly took out a few silver anklets from his arms, stuffed them into Zhou Hong's hand, and said, "Here are these for you!"

Looking at Silver Ankle, Zhou Hong was a little dazed. Before he could figure out the situation, those people walked straight forward again.

After walking a few steps, the young man turned back and laughed loudly: "Open a shop specializing in selling these things, you can make a fortune!"

Zhou Hong naturally had no idea that the kind young man in front of him was Xiao Cheng and Xiao Chongwen, the chief assistant of the New Song Dynasty in Jiangning and the first person under the emperor.

Without any relevant news from the outside world, Xiao Cheng arrived in Bozhou from Jiangning quietly.

Accompanying him was Xie Hong and Xie Boying, the governor of Liangjiang who had just taken office.

As a son of an aristocratic family, Xie Hong has always regarded his ancestor Xie An as his goal. In the turbulent years last year, he made the boldest and most risky decision in his life, which was to persuade

His friend Liu Jun, the magistrate of Haozhou, joined forces with him to attack Xuzhou, which was under the control of Liu Yu, the puppet state of Qi.

After capturing Xuzhou in one fell swoop, they struggled to support the reinforcements sent by Xiao Cheng, and then captured Dangshan, Xiapi and other places, completing their control of key cities in the Huaihe River Basin and completely stabilizing the shape of the Huaihe River Basin.

Xie Hong bet his fortune and life on the gambling table, and after his success, he also received huge rewards.

Governor of Liangjiang, this is Xiao Cheng's reward for him.

Liangjiang not only included the original Huainan East Road and Huainan West Road, but Xiao Cheng also included a large area of ​​Jiangnan Road under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Liangjiang.

More importantly, the New Song Dynasty designated the Stone City of Jiangning Prefecture as the temporary residence of the emperor, and Jiangning Prefecture was also under the rule of Liangjiang.

Xie Hong, a local magistrate, suddenly became the most popular and powerful official in the New Song Dynasty.

As for another Bozhou magistrate, Liu Jun and Liu Liangchen, who participated in this matter, Xiao Cheng did not treat him badly, but arranged for him to go to Fujian and Zhejiang to serve as the transshipment envoy for the Min and Zhejiang areas.

This is also a mission with great power. The Fujian and Zhejiang regions not only have a developed economy, but also have Quanzhou, the first foreign trade port of the Song Dynasty. Now the foreign trade tax revenue here has become an extremely important source of finance and taxation for the new dynasty.

Xiao Cheng's thoughts on using these two newcomers can be seen at a glance.

Of course Xiao Cheng must reuse these two people.

First of all, these two people have an enterprising spirit. Unlike many officials in Jiangnan areas who have been in their comfort zone for many years without any thought of progress, they are greedy for leisure and work, do not want to change, and just want to maintain the status quo. They want to climb up and start over.

His desire to realize the glory of his family is not hidden at all. Now, of course, Xiao Cheng must reuse such people.

Change is what Xiao Cheng values ​​most now.

Without change, how can we reshape the country's economy? Even though Jiangnan is said to be not rich, the government really doesn't have much money. The rich ones belong to the families of the gentry, while ordinary people can only support their families.

If we don't change, how can we build a mighty army for the Northern Expedition?

If we don't change, our future confrontation with the Liao Kingdom will inevitably end in a complete defeat.

Xiao Cheng knew very well what his third sister was doing in Liao Kingdom right now.

What is different from me is that Sanmei's methods are more straightforward and decisive. Those who obey will prosper, those who disobey will perish, and those who don't obey will die.

But the means that Xiao Chuo can use, Xiao Cheng cannot use. Because Xiao Chuo has now become the number one person in the Liao Kingdom, not in name, but in fact. Moreover, the political system of the Liao Kingdom is also different from that of the Song Dynasty.

There is a big difference, so Xiao Chuo can accomplish his expected goals without any scruples, but Xiao Cheng can only find a balance among all the forces and accomplish what he wants to do within this balance.

things.

If he really wants to imitate Xiao Chuo in wielding a knife, he is afraid that all the places south of the Yangtze River will immediately fall into civil war.

Trying every means to unite all those who can be united and establish a united front to resist the Liao Dynasty is what Xiao Cheng can do.

Therefore, local gentry like Xie Boying and Liu Liangchen, who controlled a large amount of resources, relied on him without hesitation. Although their purpose was clear, they were also people Xiao Cheng would use without hesitation.

Secondly, of course, it is also because although these two people are from aristocratic families, they have been in political decline for a long time. They are alone in the core layer. If they want to make a voice, they must rely on themselves. Once they leave themselves,

They are very likely to be isolated or even suppressed by others.

Of course, in order to use it properly, there should be no shortage of means.

Separating the two is the first step.

If the two are put together, it is very likely that the two rivers will become their territory of influence. Now Liu Jun has gone to Fujian and Zhejiang, which is the traditional sphere of influence of the old-school forces. As a transfer agent, his status is second only to the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Therefore, if Liu Jun wanted to break through the many obstacles there and complete the task assigned to him by Xiao Cheng, he had to hold Xiao Cheng's thigh tightly.

Next, Xiao Cheng will continue to expand the contradiction between these new forces and the old forces, so that he can be in the middle and better control the situation.

The two of them walked slowly in this newly built refugee camp.

Although it was just a straw shed and the conditions were very simple, Xiao Cheng walked around and found that this camp for refugees not only had boiling water supply, but also dug several toilets, which was very rare.

The flow of refugees has started since the beginning of winter. It is not just here, but people are fleeing from the east, west, and south roads of Beijing to the area under actual control in the south.

"The Point Guard Is Here"

Resettlement of refugees has always been a big issue.

Their influx will definitely affect the lives of the local people. These people have fled and have nothing, so they are bound to commit petty thefts and even commit crimes. This makes the local people disgust and even hate them.

In the past month, there have been several fights between refugees and locals, all of which have been brought to Xiao Cheng's head. This shows that the impact of the incident has been considerable.

But in Haozhou Qiao County, it was so well-organized. The locals built refugee camps first to centrally manage the fleeing people. The government provided the most basic living conditions and then arranged the refugees to different places according to their different situations.

, exchanging skills for money, exchanging labor for money, and even exchanging work for relief and other forms.

"Magistrate Lu is indeed a capable person, Governor Xie. I think we can organize the people under Liangjiang to come here to see how Magistrate Lu resettles the refugees." Xiao Cheng pointed at a man with a mustache who was one step behind on the left.

Middle-aged humanity.

"I don't dare. I have carefully studied the chief minister's comments on the resettlement of refugees, and I have the strong support of Governor Xie to achieve the current situation." Lu Wan, the magistrate of Qiao County, handed over his hand and said humbly.

Xie Hong smiled and nodded: "They should indeed come and take a look. These refugees are also our comrades and subjects of the imperial court. They are unwilling to be ruled by the puppet regime and have overcome all difficulties and dangers to come to us. They are doing us a disservice."

With their affirmation and recognition, how can we treat them as outsiders and bad people?"

Of course Xie Hong is happy. This Lu Wan, he recommended, is an out-and-out member of his own family. Now he has done a good job and has become a role model. Of course, he also has a good reputation.

As for giving advice, he really didn't have it, but because Lu Wan was one of his own, he was still very comfortable in terms of money and food.

"Is corn porridge so thick every day?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile.

Lu Wan was stunned for a moment, and said very sincerely: "Looking back, today is especially thick because you are coming. But usually it can make people half full. I feel that they can't be too full.

, otherwise I wouldn’t want to leave here to make a living, it would be too easy, and I wouldn’t cherish it.”

Xiao Cheng laughed: "You are sincere. Is this why you only put some thatch in the shack?"

"Yes." Lu Wandao: "People must have good intentions to work harder."

"Well said!" Xiao Cheng nodded repeatedly: "But when they first arrived, the locals must have rejected them, so the government has to think a lot about how to place them. To us, these people are not only horse bones, but also human beings.

An important force in the future Northern Expedition."

"What the Chief Assistant said is absolutely true!" Xie Hong agreed.

As they talked, everyone had left the refugee camp. Not far ahead, there was the Dongsha River. It was the dry season now, and a large area of ​​the river bed was exposed. Standing on the river embankment, Xiao Cheng said with a smile: "

Governor Xie, when you led everyone to attack Xuzhou, why were everyone willing to follow you?"

Xie Hong was a little embarrassed: "Looking back, the main force in the attack on Xuzhou was actually the servants and tenants of Liu Jun and I. The other recruits were promised huge sums of money. And in Xuzhou City, I even

Therefore, a large amount of money was used to bribe some internal agents such as beautiful women and farmers. Of course, this is also related to the fact that after Liu Yu became the puppet king of Qi at that time, he unscrupulously exploited and suppressed the locals, which was unpopular!"

Xiao Cheng smiled slightly, the so-called servants and tenants were actually Xie Hong's private soldiers. This situation is very common in the southern places.

The original Imperial Guard's combat effectiveness was low, and its officers were corrupted and degraded. The Xiang Army, as a reserve force for the Imperial Guard, was reduced to servants of the officials. Instead, it was the private army of the gentry, and its combat effectiveness was really unmatched.

This kind of situation is unlikely in the north. The north is a place where the imperial court focuses its attention. If you dare to amass private soldiers, they will label you as a rebel and destroy you in a matter of minutes.

Although the Song Dynasty always said that they would not kill scholar-bureaucrats, if you wear the label of rebellion, you have to say goodbye to your head.

And this is the reason why Xiao Cheng can only discuss with everyone, after the new imperial court is established, a large number of positions will be needed to satisfy many elders in the south.

It’s not just that you have raised the chess piece and have chips in your hand, and everyone is willing to follow you.

Without sufficient benefits and rights protection, why should people support you?
To be continued...