Hengzhou, Pingcheng.
The spring breeze blows slowly, and the city is dotted with green.
Zu Jue rode a tall horse and looked at Wang Lin beside him from time to time, with a rather proud expression on his face.
Zu Jue has gone back and forth in this way, and Beidi has moved from the late autumn when he left to the beginning of the new year.
In the past few months, many changes have occurred in the Northland.
The ship docked in Youzhou and then rushed all the way to Pingcheng. The scenery along the way made Wang Lin marvel and couldn't believe it.
Along the way, what they saw was an orderly society. Everyone had their own division of labor. The people they saw along the way seemed to be very busy, and the places from Youzhou to Hengzhou had long been owned by Liu Taozi.
, so it has already shown preliminary prosperity, with a dense population, continuous cultivated land, groups of merchants, and new villages appearing one by one. There is no place that is too desolate along the road.
In fact, you can tell the situation of a place just by looking at the expressions of the people. If the people are all thin, pale, and staggering when they walk, it means there is something wrong here. And the people's livelihood situation in the south is probably
so.
What you can see the most in the south are huge forts and tenants who are dying and walking like corpses.
In Hebei, most of the farmers Wang Lin saw were healthy, and disabled people were rare. They had rosy faces, wore complete clothes, and had bright eyes.
The closer you get to the core area, the stronger the contrast with the south becomes.
Zu Jue said proudly: "Your Majesty, this is the purpose for which I persuaded you to come."
"My great king does not use the old methods to govern Hebei."
"In the past, when temples were managed, they would just pretend to send a few people around to inspect and walk around, and then the management was completed."
Zu Jue said disdainfully: "At that time, everyone was vying for the position of patrolling the place. After patrolling like this, there was no change in the place. On the contrary, the property of the people who patrolled increased a lot."
"Northland is different from other places. It is very clean here."
"From the governor to the county magistrate, they are all carefully selected by Xingtai. There may be hidden villains among them, but there will not be a single incompetent person!"
"The forts and temples along the road have all been bulldozed, so they can reach the current level."
Zu Jue showed off his thoroughness here. Wang Lin was not a simple general. He had also been a prince and fought against Chen Baxian in the Southern Kingdom.
He had managed the place before, so he could understand what Zu Jue said.
Wang Lin murmured: "I was in the south in the past, and I heard that the general destroyed Wu Lei and forced the monks to return to secular life. I thought it was just a means of making money for the purpose of enriching the national treasury."
"I just found out today that the general has deeper considerations."
Zu Jue laughed.
He looked at Wang Lin, "Isn't this destiny?"
"My general has made great achievements on his own. He has repeatedly defeated the Puppet Zhou Dynasty. He rode his horse in Chang'an and surrounded himself with generals. He has risen from humble beginnings. No matter what kind of system he wants to implement or who he wants to kill, no one can stop him.
It’s something that neither of those two countries can do!”
"At present, among the three kingdoms, my lord is the cleanest. No one else can match this."
Before Wang Lin arrived, she had heard many rumors about Liu Taozi.
Liu Taozi is currently a hot topic all over the world and has a great reputation. However, in other places, she usually has a bad reputation.
Say he is a Qihu, say he is a cannibal, say he is barbaric, say he uses Qin's methods tyrannically, and say that the people under his rule are living in dire straits.
Anyway, Wang Lin had never heard a positive comment. The only positive comment she heard was from Lou Rui. Lou Rui once told him that at the moment, the only people in Qi who can be named as famous generals as Duan Shao are Liu Taozi and himself.
The Three Heroes mentioned by Lou Rui are obviously different from others.
Although Wang Lin would not be superstitious about the rumors outside, she only regarded Liu Taozi as a powerful military leader, such as the original Tianzhu General Er Zhurong.
The great general back then had a greater notoriety than Liu Taozi, and his reputation was exactly the same.
Qihu, cannibal, savage, violent. Can fight!
Moreover, that one did much more thoroughly than Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi only allowed his subordinates to destroy Wu Fort, while Er Zhurong directly led the troops to massacre hundreds of officials and killed all the officials in the court. Looking at the front
Chao, that can be regarded as a shocking feat!
When the Wuhu started to wreak havoc, they had never massacred all the officials of the imperial court like this.
Er Zhurong was also very good at fighting. Among the many famous generals who competed in the Three Kingdoms later, twenty out of ten came from Er Zhurong.
If he hadn't made a small mistake of "entering the palace alone", it would be difficult to discuss the ownership of the world.
Therefore, Wang Lin has always regarded Liu Taozi as a weakened version of Er Zhurong.
But after arriving in Beidi, Wang Lin realized that Liu Taozi and Er Zhurong were not the same thing at all. Er Zhurong committed massacres to make money and eliminate political opponents, while Liu Taozi did so for the sake of governance.
Wang Lin has not seen such a prosperous scene in many years.
The countless ships moored at Youzhou Pier reminded him of the Jiankang days when the Bodhisattva was in power.
And that sense of order was something Wang Lin had never felt before.
In these years, the north was chaotic and the south was unorganized.
But here, even the staff at the inn are very strict, without any fuss or perfunctory behavior.
This kind of shock can only be felt by those who have personally experienced many years of chaos.
Looking at Wang Lin who was full of admiration, Zu Jue cleared his throat, cupped his hands and said, "Prince, there is actually something I have hidden from you."
Wang Lin said with a smile: "The general never thought of summoning me. It was my grandfather who tricked me into leaving the south for the purpose of making a fortune, right?"
Zu Jue was particularly surprised, and then smiled, "I underestimated the prince. What the prince said was right and wrong."
"It is true that the general did not send me to summon you. I went to see you on my own initiative. However, the purpose was not for any plan to make a fortune. It was because I felt that you are someone who can truly serve my king, so I went to see you."
Zu Jue asked again: "But how did the prince know about this?"
Wang Lin said calmly: "Before Grandfather arrived, the patrolling naval forces under my command had just detained several merchant ships. Nan Monk on the ship said: Our things are to be delivered to the Qi General Liu Taozi."
"I arrested them all and seized the goods."
"It wasn't long before my grandfather came and invited me to go to the north."
Zu Jue laughed loudly, "That's it."
"Then why are you still willing to come with me?"
Wang Lin looked at the distance and whispered: "Just as Grandfather said, I have nowhere to go."
"Emperor Xiaozhao gave me military pay and asked me to form a naval army. Since his death, I have not received military pay. The reason why I detained those southern merchant ships is only because of the scarcity of food and grass."
"If this continues, in less than two years, I will have to disperse my army and become a civil servant in the city, waiting for any enemy to come and claim my life."
Zu Jue nodded, deeply convinced.
"That's exactly what it means."
Pingcheng in the distance became clearer and clearer, and the city gate was extremely crowded.
There were two long queues for those going into and out of the city.
The sergeants hurried out, and under the organization of the city gate officials, they quickly cleared the way for pedestrians. Zu Jue and Wang Lin passed among them. Wang Lin saw that the common people saw the sergeants, petty officials, and even herself.
The 'noble man' didn't have much fear, and he couldn't help but be amazed again.
There are actually some weird things happening under this general's command.
The people are no longer afraid of the army and officials!
Once inside the city, there are even more strange places.
Outside the market, there were actually merchants who dared to go to the streets to sell their goods, but the patrolling soldiers around them seemed not to notice them.
Wang Lin's eyes widened and she looked at Zu Jue beside her.
Zu Jue explained with a smile: "Our commercial tax is not collected when entering the market, it is levied based on the transaction volume. As you have read books, you should know the transaction vouchers from the Han Dynasty."
"I see."
When they walked through the city and came to the entrance of the General's Mansion, Wang Lin saw a burly man standing at the door. The strong man was in his twenties, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, slightly dark complexion, and was wearing a military uniform.
Wearing a black cloak, there are two tigers embroidered on the cloak, roaring at each other. A jade belt is tied around his waist, and an antique long sword hangs on it.
Zu Jue hurriedly dismounted, followed closely by Wang Lin.
"Lord!!"
Zu Jue bowed to see him, his face was very respectful.
Wang Lin did not dare to look down upon him and hurriedly went together to worship him.
Liu Taozi glanced at Zu Jue, and then looked at Wang Lin.
He reached out his hand and helped Wang Lin up.
Wang Lin was pulled up without even reacting.
"I was originally going to go out of the city to greet you, but I never thought that you would arrive a few days early, so I could only greet you here."
"How dare you trouble a general who is a defeated general and a lowly man?"
Liu Taozi shook his head, "I read Zu Jue's memorial. He said that you do not join in the troubles with the officials in the south, that you are serious and rigorous in your work, that you are brave and good at fighting, and that you are good at training troops."
"Such a person cannot be said to be despicable. As for success or failure, it is only temporary."
Liu Taozi was not a very good at small talk, so he led a few people into the house.
Lu Qubing was standing at the door, smiled and saluted several people, and then hurriedly followed Zu Jue.
The two of them walked at the end, and Lu Qubing couldn't help but say: "Grandpa, you are really very capable!"
"Everyone in the government and the public knows that you went out this time and brought back a navy general, along with more than 70 large and small warships, and more than 2,000 sailors!"
"Everyone was shocked. Even Wei Gong praised you!"
It was difficult for Lu Qubing to stop when he opened his mouth, but Zu Jue listened with great interest.
At the front, Liu Taozi and Wang Lin were also talking.
"Your Majesty, I still don't have a navy under my command."
"In the past, there were naval soldiers in several states and counties near the sea, but they were dismissed after I captured these states and counties."
"These shipmen have become porters for local wealthy families, helping them transport trade."
"Now that the prince has arrived, it has made up for the shortcomings of the north. I intend to use the prince as the commander to train the navy. I wonder what the prince wants?"
Wang Lin glanced at Liu Taozi again. This general was quite straightforward and never said any unnecessary words.
When they arrived at the lobby, they both sat down, and Wang Lin also expressed her views.
"General, the training of ship soldiers is completely different from the training of other soldiers."
"First of all, it is the most important warship. There are many different types of warships, which bear different responsibilities in the war. Each one is indispensable, just like the army needs scouts, cavalry, and crossbowmen.
, the same goes for warships.”
"Besides, warships cost a lot of money and take a long time. When I was in Hunan and Ying, I built a four-story warship, which took three years."
As Wang Lin spoke, a trace of sadness flashed across her face.
He quickly put these thoughts out of his mind and continued: "That was the result of my careful preparation by convening hundreds of shipbuilders."
"Xu Shipu, I wonder if the general has heard of it?"
"Never heard of it."
"This man is a general from the Southern Kingdom. He is very good at building ships. The warships he built are all top-notch. I was defeated by the warship he built."
"In the South, there are many people like him who are good at building warships, but in the North, it's hard to find a few who can match them."
After hearing Wang Lin's words, Zu Jue, who was sitting below and listening to Lu Qubing's words, couldn't sit still.
"Raja!"
"That's wrong. There are no people in the north who can build ships?"
"The eldest father in my clan once invented a car and a boat!"
Wang Lin looked at Zu Jue and couldn't help but shake her head, "Are you talking about Zu Chong's grandfather?"
"He is a Jiankang man"
"Nonsense! In terms of seniority, he is the same generation as my eldest father and is from Fanyang. How can he be said to be from the south?!"
Wang Lin did not continue to compete with Zu Jue for the birthplace of his parents. He looked at Liu Taozi calmly and said, "General, this is what I want to say. Even people from the north can only build warships in the south."
"The north lacks such craftsmen and technology."
"If the general wants to build a navy that can rival the Southern Kingdom, it will take at least ten years, and maybe even ten years is not enough."
"Shipbuilding alone cannot be completed within a period of time."
Wang Lin also introduced several other needs of the navy, including lakes where the navy can conduct exercises, special wood for shipbuilding, and even auxiliary troops on warships. There are many requirements.
The northerners here all listened to Wang Lin's story and felt that they had gained a lot of knowledge.
According to Wang Lin's story, building a naval army is simply not something that can be achieved in the short term, especially in the north. It may take a longer time. The Lianghuai area is better, both in terms of
Shipbuilders or sailors who are familiar with water are easy to recruit.
Lu Qubing also frowned at this moment and began to think deeply.
So difficult?
Doesn't it mean that only after capturing the Huaihe River in the future can we start building warships?
Zu Jue suddenly laughed at this moment, "In fact, things are far from as difficult as the prince said."
Everyone was stunned, and Wang Lin looked at Zu Jue again. His expression was very helpless. This man was good at everything, but he just liked to be stubborn and insisted on fighting for meaningless things.
Zu Jue ignored everyone and looked at Liu Taozi.
"Lord, I have a way to solve these things."
"oh?"
Zu Jue said confidently: "Let's talk about the shipwrights and sailors first. The prince has been in the South for a long time. Maybe he doesn't know that we also have a large shipbuilding factory in Daqi, not in Lianghuai, but in Guangzhou today."
"The Southern Ship is not in favor of the Northern Ship, each has its own strengths."
"The shipbuilders that the prince mentioned, sailors who are familiar with water, and the like are not at all scarce in Gwangju."
"Lord, we should send troops to capture Guangzhou. The location here is strategic, the land is fertile, the population is huge, and the navy can be trained here."
"I went to Gwangju this time and discovered many things."
Zu Jue said solemnly: "Li Zuxun, the governor of Guangzhou, was greedy and incompetent. He indulged the officials and preyed on the people. His wife was the one who took charge of major affairs in the state. Guangzhou was a wealthy and big state, but the people lived in extreme hardship. After the emperor went to Jinyang
, Li Zuxun was even more unscrupulous. He dismissed all the officials who were impeached and opposed him, appointed his relatives and wives as officials, and took the lead in amassing money, making the people of Guangzhou miserable."
"Although Guangzhou is large, it does not have much military strength. The county soldiers have been without food and pay for years. The people responsible for leading the troops are all relatives of Li Zuxun. They have no talents and only rely on their relatives' status to get to the position."
"With only a few thousand troops, we can easily capture Gwangju."
Zu Jue's trip was indeed not in vain. He quickly took out a thick memorial letter from his arms and handed it to Liu Taozi respectfully.
"This is what I saw when I traveled to Guangzhou. There are also corresponding topographic maps. Your lord can take a look."
Liu Taozi immediately flipped through it to check.
Guangzhou is the former Donglai County and Jiaodong Kingdom, plus many cities in Dianqi County.
It is indeed a large and wealthy state in the Central Plains.
However, looking at these manuscripts written by Zu Jue, we can see that this governor was not really a decent person.
In the past, when the temple was in Ye, he could restrain himself a little and not dare to go too far. But after Liu Taozi's uprising, he completely let himself go, and his methods of amassing money were astonishing.
He began to collect taxes on his own, set up new taxes privately, and levied repeated taxes, which pushed the people to death. He not only forced the farmers, he even asked the officials to pay gifts to him, and to pay the government money to do things for the government. This was all of a sudden
He returned to the middle period of the previous dynasty. Of course, merchants were also one of the targets of his persecution. The merchants he forced did not dare to dock at the original port.
The more Liu Taozi looked at her, the colder her face became. The corner of her left eye suddenly twitched, and a trace of ferocity flashed in her eyes.
He accepted this document.
"Well, I understand."
"What do you think, prince?"
Wang Lin was a little surprised at this moment. Didn't you talk about the naval army? Why did she talk about going to Guangzhou while chatting?
He replied: "General, what my grandfather said makes some sense. However, as I just said, even if Guangzhou can meet many conditions, it will take a long, long time to build a warship. If we capture Guangzhou, at most
The purpose is to shorten this time. If the general thinks it is possible, then I am willing to handle this matter. If the general is anxious to see results."
Zu Jue interrupted him for the second time, "Prince, actually I can still solve the warship issue."
Wang Lin couldn't help it this time, "Is Grandpa planning to conjure a warship out of thin air?"
"My lord, please do not be angry."
"It's really troublesome to build this warship, but we can just buy it ready-made."
"purchase???"
"Grandpa? Where do you plan to buy the warship from??"
"You dare to buy whoever you dare to sell!!"
Chapter completed!