Chapter 570: Governor
In the early morning mist, the high-pitched rooster crow sounded.
The person on the bed muttered a few words in a daze, turned over, and continued to sleep.
The other person gradually woke up, yawned, and quietly savored the tranquility of the morning.
The creaking sound of a firewood leaf being pushed open sounded outside.
A woman got up, opened the chicken coop, and called for the chickens to come and eat.
The chickens rushed out, occasionally accompanied by the sound of flapping wings and cooing sounds as they competed for food.
The big yellow dog lay under the fence, barked twice, and soon began to whimper in pain and stopped barking.
There was an uninterrupted "crackling" sound in the kitchen separated by a wall. The smoke from the kitchen was flying down the chimney. When it rose to the treetops, it was blown by the wind and came in through the gap in the window.
The old man sleeping inside sat up, sniffed lightly, and said with a smile: "There is porridge to eat."
The man's body is still lying outside. After being woken up by the old man, he even murmured dissatisfaction and reached out to touch his forehead and temples, showing a hint of pain between his brows. This looks like what a hangover headache looks like.
The old man stood up by himself. After getting dressed, he opened the door of the main room and looked outside.
The courtyard was very noisy.
When the farmers and soldiers saw it, they all saluted and then continued to do the things at hand.
The old man strolled out of the courtyard gate and walked under the willow tree beside the road. He looked at the calm river and admired the verdant flowers and plants. After a long time, he sighed with satisfaction: "If I could live in seclusion here, The place is not without its wild charm.”
“Ji Gong is ridiculous.” Another man staggered out of the fence gate, looked around, and said, “Look at these farmhouses before daylight. I have to leave home with a hoe and return at dusk. I can’t bear the physical exertion.”
“You are still young,” Ji Zhan said with a smile. At my age, my mood and thoughts are different. Is it not good to plant garden vegetables in the spring, plant melons and beans in the summer, and eat turnips in the winter? "Xie Kun shook his head simply.
A woman carrying a bamboo basket appeared not far away. She was a little dark, but her chest was bulging, and she had a big butt that was good for fertility. Xie Kun couldn't help but his eyes lit up and he blew Whistle.
"Hiss——" failed, it was a bit leaky.
Ji Zhan laughed.
Xie Kun was a little embarrassed, but it was just a little bit. He was particularly thick-skinned when dealing with women. With his family status and outstanding talents, he often made women stunned and took advantage of him.
"Youyu, what do you think of this place?" Ji Zhan asked.
Xie Kun put away his sultry expression and took a closer look.
At this time, the mist had dissipated. He simply walked around the yard and said: "The land is vast and flat, with many ponds, which is beneficial for farmland irrigation."
"Looking at the japonica rice from a distance, it looks like it's growing very well. It's obviously been carefully taken care of."
"Every house has a pond in front of the house and a river behind the house. There are mulberry trees beside the pond, and taro is planted in the water. There are also fish in the pond, which are very plump when caught in winter. "
"There are cattails and reeds by the river, which can be cut down to make mats."
"There is a bamboo forest behind the house, where bamboo shoots can be harvested. , can make bamboo utensils."
"The river extends in all directions, Ji Gong, please see that the river behind the village is connected to the rivers to the west and east of the village. It may not be able to carry large boats, but we can get some small boats to carry grain and meat. Fruits and vegetables, equipment and armor, are they not better than bullock carts? ”
"There are mountains a hundred miles away to the west. There are mountain products in the mountains, and tea can also be grown."
"Ji Gong, I look around and I just feel that it is a treasure land."
Ji Zhanting He nodded slightly, then sighed again and said: "It's a pity that there is no one."
Since the beginning of the Eight Kings Rebellion, people from the north have been moving southward. In total, there are more than 300,000 people in ten years. There are always people.
These people brought knowledge, technology, and culture to the South, which is of great significance.
But there is still a shortage of people.
With sufficient manpower, Jiangnan can develop more land, produce more money, grain, livestock, and armor, build more warships and vehicles, and train more land and sea soldiers.
Of course, Jiangnan's bigger problem than the lack of people is its lack of ambition and its preference to settle in a corner.
It’s okay to be in a corner, and Ji Zhan doesn’t think it’s a big problem. But the prerequisite for being safe is that you have enough ability to hinder the enemy and protect the land south of the Yangtze River.
King Langya has been going south for many years. After many years of management, with the support of Nandu scholars and relatively enlightened southern wealthy families like them, he has basically established a firm foothold.
Even the Jiangdong natives who were dissatisfied with King Langya would not openly oppose it now - except for a rebellion that broke out at the end of last year, it had been stable for many years. To put it bluntly, even at Soochow, Jiangdong still needs a leader. This leader could be a member of the Sun clan or a descendant of the Sima clan, it didn't matter, as long as it could ensure the interests of their local people.
There are definitely conflicts, but with the active mediation and paper work of Director Wang and others, they are generally within a controllable range.
Over the years, Jiangdong gradually formed a political situation with Sima Rui as the co-leader, and the Nandu scholars and Jiangdong wealthy families tried their best to make peace.
Such a system is destined to be loose, inefficient, and at the same time partial to one corner.
As far as the wealthy families in Jiangdong are concerned, they hope that Sima Rui will break away from the Luoyang court and stop getting involved in the war in the north. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to live their own lives behind closed doors?
Strictly speaking, you take out the emperor's secret decree and appoint this and that, which are all problematic, but don't we all admit it? The most important thing in the world is harmony.
Wouldn’t it be better to let Shao Xun and the Xiongnu fight each other so that both sides would lose? If the Luoyang court is gone, we support you to supervise the country and even go further. If the Luoyang court is still there, then maintain the status quo.
The Jin Dynasty has been played by the Xiongnu and Shao Xun and has no prestige. Why are you still lingering? Incomprehensible.
This is the mental state of the Koto scholars - it may differ from person to person, after all, everyone's personality and values are different, but the overall consciousness is like this.
Ji Zhan is very clear about this. He generally agrees with it, but there are differences on the details.
He believed that in order to maintain the situation in Jiangnan, the Huai River line was crucial - in fact, this was also the consensus and bottom line of the Soochow era. The competition between Wei and Wu in the Shouchun area was fierce.
Fortunately, his opinion was supported by the Nandu scholars headed by Wang Dao. Therefore, he quickly took office: "Commander of the military affairs in Yangzhou and Jiangbei", governing Shouchun, and governor of Yangzhou and Jiangbei. defense.
This meeting is on the way to take office.
"Commander, thank Sima, the porridge is ready." A soldier came over to remind him.
"Okay." Ji Zhan nodded, and returned to the private courtyard with Xie Kun to eat japonica rice porridge.
No one spoke during the meal, but they were all thinking silently.
There are already soldiers and horses on the road outside the hospital starting to rush.
The number is not large, just over ten thousand. Most of them are private soldiers of Jiangdong wealthy families, and a small number are refugees from the south and tribes of northern gentry.
As Shao Xun made great progress in Hebei, Jianye also became nervous inside and outside, and began a slow mobilization - if you are not nervous or take action at this time, you will be a fool.
The primary goal of mobilization is to stabilize the defense line along the Huai River, which is the lifeblood of Jiangnan and the top priority.
Ji Zhan is responsible for the Shouchun front line.
"Youyu." After eating the porridge, Ji Zhan stood up and said, "The Xie family is a famous family in Chen County. Is there any news?"
"Yes." Xie Kun said: "Ruyin and Chen counties are extremely empty. If we use the navy warship to go up the water, we can go straight to Shao Xun's lair."
Ji Zhan waved his hand and said: "The king has not allowed the start of the war without permission. , let’s wait.”
“There is news from Pengcheng that an envoy from Shao Xun has arrived, asking for some provisions, medicine, and equipment. The army will be here soon,” Xie Kun said, “It’s like this. "The king is still hesitating?"
"It is easy to fight, but it is not so easy to stop." Ji Zhan said: "After arriving in Shouchun, please do your own thing first. "Sang, repair the city defense, train the navy, and reorganize the army. If you do these well, you can adapt to changes."
Xie Kun probably understands.
In terms of their true nature, Jiangdong scholars are generally reluctant to conflict with Shao Xun, even if now is a good opportunity: with the navy going north, there is no need to leave the river and go deep into the hinterland to directly destroy Farmland and villages near the river will suffice, and this is precisely the densely populated area where Shao Xun resettled the refugees.
How confused!
Xuzhou might start fighting one day, but Jianye was still looking forward and backward, which was really confusing.
“However.” Ji Zhan added: “Sometimes if you want to achieve your goal, you don’t necessarily need to take action directly.”
“Ji Gong said...” Xie Kun seemed to have thought of something. , asked subconsciously.
“Yes.” Ji Zhan nodded and said, “The boat master entered the Huai River and stationed himself near Yingkou and Wukou for training. What do you think will happen?”
“The boat master When the situation is big, Ruyin and Qiaopei will be shaken. "Xie Kun said: "There are policemen in the rear that Shao Xun has worked hard for, and he is attacked from both sides."
"This is the difficulty of the Fourth War in Henan." Zhan said: "Thousands of miles of fertile land, food and soldiers, what's the point if the four fortresses are regarded as the country? How can all the good things be taken away by Shao Xun?"
"Let's go and get to Shouchun as soon as possible, I We need to inspect the counties." Ji Zhan patted Xie Kun on the shoulder and said, "I don't know what's going on in the west."
"Du Tao was almost wiped out, so Wang Chuzhong requested to attack Wancheng and build Ye Na. Bian most likely disagrees..." The two of them gradually moved away, and their voices gradually became less audible.
(End of this chapter)