Chapter 209
When Jiaozhou was about to be occupied, Yao Chunnuan sent a letter to General Huo, asking him to take over Liangzhou as soon as possible, and go directly to Sili from Liangzhou, so that the three armies could finally meet in Sili. This hint must have been understood by the other party.
She and Xing Changfeng had a tacit understanding between ruler and subject, needless to say. Yao Chunnuan also believed that General Huo was a veteran warrior, and even without this letter, he would have been able to discern the opportunity. However, Yao Chunnuan's letter was necessary to clarify the mission.
"Tell General Huo to go south without worry. The Western Rong won't dare to do anything." Yao Chunnuan instructed the messenger when delivering the letter.
In reality, whether it was the Northern Rong or the Southern Barbarians, their invasions were purely speculative, trying to take advantage of the situation and carve a piece of Daliang's flesh. In short, they wouldn't resort to serious action easily.
Yao Chunnuan and the new emperor have surprisingly similar views on foreigners.
Yao Chunnuan saw through these foreign tribes. Just as their Yichun Legion had pacified the Northern Di and deterred the Western Rong and Southern Barbarians, now the general had repelled the Southern Barbarians and pacified Jiaozhou, and could similarly deter the Western Rong.
Yao Chunnuan's predictions were correct. During Xing Changfeng's campaign in Jiaozhou, the brutality with which the Yichun Legion dealt with the Nanman sent shudders down the spines of the Western Rong watching from the sidelines. The Yichun Legion was truly ferocious. The Northern Di and Southern Barbarians served as a warning to them. If they dared to intervene, they might end up like them.
As expected, with Jiaozhou secured, General Xing Changfeng marched north, attacking the southern gate of Sili. Immediately afterwards, the Huo family army marched south, attacking the western gate of Sili. Finally, Yao Chunnuan led his army to the northern gate.
The three armies of the Yichun forces were like three sharp blades, pressing against the vital points of Sili.
Only the west gate was unguarded, but the imperial court was completely hesitant to act rashly. Who knew if this was a trick? Surrounding three sides and missing one, or something like that?
In fact, the northwest was left to King Ruyin by Yao Chunnuan, but unfortunately, the other party refused.
Yao Chunnuan had invited him to join the army, but the King of Ruyin had ruthlessly rejected her offer. This woman was incredibly shameless; she had just robbed him of two hundred thousand taels of gold, and now she was inviting him to join the army without even taking it seriously!
However, the King of Ruyin, who refused to send troops, was also secretly preparing to launch a surprise attack on Yao Chunnuan's rear. He did not want anything else but to stab Yao Chunnuan in the back and get his gold back.
However, Sima Xian was not optimistic about his plan, but King Ruyin refused to listen.
The three armies of Yichun were at the gates of the city. The two sides had a total of more than one million troops. The situation was tense and war was imminent.
Everyone thought there was a tough battle to fight.
The 500,000 to 600,000 imperial troops in Sili were actively preparing for war.
However, after setting up the battle formation, Xing Changfeng secretly returned to the Yichun army's camp in Jizhou with several generals, and Yao Chunnuan led the important generals to welcome back their lord.
Several months later, the king and his ministers met, drank a cup of sake, smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.
People from the Huo family army have also arrived, including General Huo himself.
General Huo held Yao Chunnuan in high regard. After all, if she hadn't immediately suppressed Zhu Junlan and others who were planning to cause trouble during Xing Changfeng's disappearance in Jiaozhou, setting an example, the entire faction would have collapsed. She was undoubtedly instrumental in the current situation in Yichun. Furthermore, Yao Chunnuan's character was rare and trustworthy.
As the welcoming banquet was drawing to a close, Yao Chunnuan was feeling a bit exhausted. As Axia was helping her walk out, Xing Changfeng stopped her and said, "Come on, I'll see you off."
Yao Chunnuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."
The subordinates saw that the two masters obviously had something to say, so they all fell behind them.
After a long time, Xing Changfeng said softly, "Do you think I am really qualified to be the master?" There was a hint of confusion in his voice.
Yao Chunnuan was stunned, "Why do you ask?" But alarm bells were ringing in her heart. Did someone spread rumors about the general?
To be honest, he is only one step away from that position, but he can't help but ask himself, can he really take on the responsibility of ruling the world?
Xing Changfeng, reeking of alcohol, recounted his bewilderment. "Look, I'm not as resourceful as you, not as brave as Meng Yi. I have commanding ability, but it's not top-tier. My father-in-law's commanding ability is better than mine. Furthermore, when Zhou Yushu and the others grow up, they won't be weaker than me." Xing Changfeng chuckled self-deprecatingly. He seemed to have no exceptional qualities, so how could he be a monarch? Furthermore, while his previous disappearance was a plot, everything in Youzhou remained normal after his disappearance, as if his presence or absence made little difference.
A gleam of light flashed in Yao Chunnuan's eyes. In fact, it was best that he could say it.
Yao Chunnuan then said with a serious expression, "General, the fact that you can ask such a question proves that you are a qualified monarch. I don't know why you have such doubts and self-doubts, but I think you underestimate yourself. I came from humble beginnings. Back when I was a laborer in the Yichun military camp, it was you who had the foresight to recognize a talent and the courage to employ a woman like me. This alone is more than worth thousands of others. Moreover, in the hearts of the soldiers of our Yichun Corps, you are like the soul of the army."
Seeing that he seemed to have understood, Yao Chunnuan continued, "Looking back at rulers throughout history, how many have been exceptionally skilled in both civil and military tactics? Which one didn't rely on the civil and military talents under their command to unify the world?"
"In my humble opinion, a ruler needs only strong convictions, unyielding ambition, and the heart of a ruler. These qualities include caring for the world, recruiting talented individuals, distinguishing rewards and punishments, and accepting criticism. As for matters of civil and military strategy, we will shoulder the burden. For example, your disappearance this time kept Yichun from chaos, thanks to your discerning eye for talent."
Xing Changfeng smiled and thanked her at last.
After this night, Xing Changfeng returned to normal.
After the gathering, they discussed their next strategy.
Xing Changfeng and General Huo were amazed by Yao Chunnuan's plan. If it succeeded, they wouldn't have to sacrifice so many lives to achieve their goal of unifying the country. Of course, they both wanted to support such a good plan.
Therefore, when everyone was speculating when the Yichun forces would launch a general offensive, the three Yichun armies surrounded the area but did not attack.
Everyone was puzzled and felt that Yichun's actions were incomprehensible.
At this time, the Yichun City Lord's Mansion unexpectedly issued an announcement. The main content of the announcement was to call on the people outside the Yichun sphere of influence to settle in Jizhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Jiaozhou.
Because Youzhou has a relatively large population, this policy is mainly aimed at the other four states.
For individuals who settle in these four prefectures, Yichun will provide housing subsidies based on the number of people, and will also provide partial food rations for the first three months of settlement. Most importantly, land will be distributed to each household, with each individual receiving at least two mu of land.
At present, Youzhou, Jizhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou and Jiaozhou have begun to survey the land.
Most importantly, the Yichun City Lord's Mansion will distribute sweet potato seeds to all residents who move in next year. Each household will receive at least enough sweet potato seeds to plant one mu of land. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow and high-yielding, with yields ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms per mu.
There was no doubt that Youzhou had another bumper sweet potato harvest. After planting in spring and autumn this year, they already had enough sweet potato seeds. This gave Yao Chunnuan the confidence to make such an announcement.
This announcement is an announcement about mainland immigration policy.
When this announcement was released, the new emperor, the regent, the Prince of Ruyin and others were all confused.
For example, the Regent: I don't understand what they're doing. It would have been right to wait until they'd conquered the country before implementing this policy. Why a general amnesty? Of course, it's a favor to the people. This is such a great favor to the people, it would instantly win their hearts, but they're doing it now? Stupid!
Prince Ruyin noticed immediately that Yichun said it would provide housing subsidies to the settled people, subsidies in real money. The first thing he thought of was the 200,000 taels of gold that Yao Chunnuan had taken away from him!
It was obvious now that they were using his gold to buy people's hearts! How abhorrent! King Ruyin was furious.
After Sima Xian pondered for a moment, he slapped his thigh and said, "This is a conspiracy! This is their conspiracy!"
King Ruyin: "What?"
Sima Xian quickly explained to him, "Yichun's move is to attract the people under our rule to their territory." Yichun's strategy is similar to the strategy of fortifying the city and clearing the fields. In this way, they will become a tree without roots.
What good is land? If no one cultivates it, it won't produce food! Moreover, without civilians on their land, they won't be able to collect taxes. How will they support themselves and their army? This move can be described as cutting off the source of funds!
Sima Xian had to admit that the person who came up with this plan was truly talented.
The three policies announced in the Yichun City Lord's Mansion's announcement, which included benefits for the people, were extremely appealing to the common people. The people's attachment to land is well known; besides passing on their family line and providing for their children, land is their most desired possession, bar none. Some people work their entire lives just to accumulate more land to pass on to their descendants.
Moreover, going to these places means surviving, and coupled with the current threat of war, this is extremely attractive to ordinary people who are currently struggling to survive.
When King Ruyin heard this, he became anxious and asked, "Then what should we do?"
Sima Xian thought for a while before saying, "Block it! This announcement must be blocked!"
The minister in charge of taxation in the court also reacted and issued the same order as King Ruyin.
But is it possible to prohibit the people from migrating?
No wonder the three armies of Yichun surrounded the city but didn't attack. It turned out that they were trying to tie down their own forces so that the people's movements could be unrestricted. How treacherous! Now the people could move or not, it was entirely up to them.
Sima Xian realized that Yao Chunnuan had been planning today's plan since she came up with the plan to take over their Qishan gold mine. No, or even earlier... She was always thinking three steps ahead. How amazing!
The imperial court and the Prince of Ruyin, having understood Yichun's intentions and issued a blockade order, then considered other solutions. Ultimately, they found themselves completely helpless. What was the solution to Yichun's tactic? Was there a solution?
Actually, there is, and that is to formulate better policies to benefit the people than Yichun. However, being good to the people requires strength. In Yichun, they provided the people with the magical sweet potato to keep them alive, provided them with real money to help build houses, and distributed land!
How could they benefit the people? Could they distribute money to them? No, because their warehouses were empty. They had no sweet potatoes. Never mind land. The money and food they needed for the war were partly provided by the landlords under their rule. Could they afford to take their land? Even if they were ruthless enough to use it, simply distributing land to the people wouldn't be as good as what Yichun had achieved.
*******
As the saying goes, you have your plans and I have my ways.
The imperial court and the King of Ruyin blocked the inland immigration announcement of the Yichun City Lord's Mansion in the prefectures and counties under their jurisdiction, right?
Then they sent people to the other side's cities, towns, and villages to spread the message to the uninformed people.
Countless people began to take action. These people promoted the immigration policy announced by the Yichun City Lord's Mansion in the court and in the territory of the King of Ruyin, regardless of their own safety and consequences.
Under pressure from the imperial court, countless local officials lowered their noble heads for the first time to retain the people who wanted to leave.
"People are despised when they leave their hometown. Don't believe the lies spread by those people in Yichun! We have also received news that the court will reduce taxes next year." Actually, that wasn't the case, but let's keep the people first.
At this time, the positive image that the Yichun City Lord's Mansion had cultivated over the years played a significant role. Its toughness in dealing with foreigners and its unwavering commitment to its words made the people believe that what it said was true.
The common people didn't argue with him. They said they wouldn't leave, but they turned around and sneaked away, calling out to their fellow villagers as they went, whispering, "Let's go. This Ren has been our local official for several years. Don't we know what kind of person he is? We'd rather trust a sow than him."
When ordinary people want to run away, they really do everything they can, and you really have no way to stop them.
******
After the Yichun City Lord's Mansion announced this immigration policy, Yao Chunnuan and others were extremely busy.
Of the officials in the original four states, except for a few good ones who could still be employed, the rest were abandoned, and even the evil officials were sentenced to death.
Just as everyone was waiting to see how Yichun would handle this mess, the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, like a small imperial court, began to operate frantically. Yichun has always attached great importance to the cultivation of talents, and at this time, these talents came in handy.
All the talented people and officials in Youzhou who were good at governing the local area were recruited to Jizhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Jiaozhou and other places to take up important positions. Many talents who had been trained before also took up relevant positions. Xu Chong went directly to Jiaozhou and became the top leader there. Because he was good at internal affairs and had experience in governing the local area, Huining was doing very well under his governance. Therefore, this time the City Lord's Mansion gave him more responsibilities. After these people took office, they began the resettlement work in full swing.
Beijing, Imperial Palace
The regent summoned the imperial physician again, instructing him to administer acupuncture to the new emperor. He knew the emperor would only have one chance to wake up. He had been reluctant to use this opportunity, but the current situation forced him to do so.
The imperial physician finally warned that if the golden needles were used again, this would be the last time the emperor woke up.
The Regent nodded cruelly and told the imperial physician to do his best.
When the new emperor woke up, his body was as thin as a stick, his eyes were bright, and his face was abnormally flushed.
After he finished listening to the entire immigration policy implemented by the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, he exclaimed in amazement, "Awesome!" He had thought that the court would be defeated, but he did not expect it to be defeated so quickly, and he did not expect it to end in this way.
In response to his brother's question for advice, he simply said, "Just wait."
"Is it all just a matter of waiting?"
"Daliang is dead. Don't harbor any illusions." After saying this, the new emperor laboriously continued, "The other side will come to negotiate with you. Then you can leave. Take the troops who are willing to go with you and take away the wealth you can, but don't be too greedy. The Yichun side will agree. As for the rest, don't do anything else."
The Regent didn't understand why the new emperor was so sure that the other party would talk to him and agree to let the person go?
The new emperor did not want to explain, nor was he able to. He simply said, "After my death, if you wish to succeed me, then you may. Actually, I do not want you to succeed me. I will bear the infamy of being the last emperor of the Daliang Dynasty."
Less than two quarters of an hour after the new emperor finished his instructions, he passed away. This young emperor left this world with his ambitions, which he had never had the chance to realize.
At this time, the funeral bell in the palace rang, and the sound of the bell echoed far away.
The death knell tolled 30,000 times, indicating the emperor's death.
Xing Changfeng, Yao Chunnuan, Prince Ruyin and everyone else stood up involuntarily and looked towards the direction of the imperial city.
Yao Chunnuan sighed. The new emperor was gone after all. Well, for him, this was the most dignified way to leave the world.
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