Wu Feng also had a certain understanding of Jinzhou. During his stay in Qingyang, he had a long conversation with Lu Yunshan, a wealthy businessman in the medicinal materials industry in Jinzhou. Lu Yunshan also gave a detailed introduction to the current situation in Jinzhou Prefecture. To say that he was right It is a lie that Jinzhou Prefecture is not interested. Wu Feng is not only interested in Jinzhou, but also covets Guide and Bonan Prefecture. The question is how to get these pieces of land in a logical way without It will arouse opposition from the central government of the empire. The best way is to become the military and political envoy of the northwest county. That would be justifiable. However, according to the current situation, it is not realistic to achieve this goal in a short time. Even becoming the head of the northwest county is very difficult. The empire already feels that it has two military and political envoys to deal with, and it will definitely not easily appoint another military and political envoy unless it turns it into a fait accompli.
But to turn it into a fact, you need to have the right excuse and timing, and avoid giving people falsehoods. Moreover, the current military strength of Qingyang Mansion is not enough to take down Jinzhou Mansion. Although Jinzhou Mansion is not strong, and a large part of its troops are restrained by the armed forces of the Gaoyue tribe, Qingyang's current Even if the army can capture Jinzhou, it will probably suffer heavy losses, not to mention that the central government of the empire will never agree to randomly attack neighboring state capitals without sufficient reasons.
Seeing Wu Feng lost in thought again, Ling Tianfang also knew that Wu Feng was thinking about how to untie the knot. On the one hand, strong external enemies were sharpening their swords, time was tight, and his own strength was not enough to withstand another large-scale enemy attack. After an invasion, it is really difficult to quickly grow oneself, and it is limited by time and other objective conditions. It is impossible to do it overnight.
"Mr. Ling, how does the strength of the Chidi people on the West Tengri Prairie compare with the Luobi people?" Ling Tianfang heard Wu Feng suddenly ask such a question that seemed to have nothing to do with the topic just discussed. , was stunned for a moment, but he reacted immediately, his eyes lit up, and his dark eyes flashed, "Well, you can give it a try. At the very least, it can have some restraint effect. Anyway, there is no loss to us." It sounds like. It seems that the answer is not what the question was asked, but it is actually an evaluation of Wu Feng's intention. "The strength of the Chidi people is second to none on the Western Tengger Grassland. For decades, they have been engaged in a continuous war with the Luobi people for hegemony on the grassland. The two ethnic groups are feuding, but in recent years, the Chidi people have It seems that the target has been changed, and the main attack direction has been turned to the countries of the Western Continent to the south and west, while the Luobi people have taken a defensive position. In the past few wars, the Luobi people have had an advantage against the Chidi people."
Wu Feng also admired Ling Tianfang's reaction. He understood everything at once and could accurately judge his own intentions. He had obviously considered all aspects. "Then do you think who is stronger between the Chidi people and the Luobi people?"
"It should be between brothers. The reason why the Chidi people turned their main forces to the south and south is because the countries in the Western Continent are currently fighting endlessly. They took the opportunity to attack these countries that were busy in the melee and had a large number of military forces restrained. The benefits obtained were outweighed by the The Luobi people's war is more cost-effective, but the Luobi people's attacks in recent years have definitely had an impact on their status in the Western Tengger Grassland. Those other ethnic minorities who originally submitted to them saw that they were disadvantageous to the Luobi people's war. There will definitely be two minds, and the Chidi people will not be clear about this, so I judge that the Chidi people must also be looking for opportunities to attack the Luobi people to ensure their dominance in the West Tengger Prairie." Ling Tian Answer in a positive tone.
"Then we can have a good talk with the Chidi people. We will benefit from cooperation. I believe they will be interested." An incomprehensible smile appeared on Wu Feng's face again.
"In addition, we can also contact the countries in the Western Regions and the Indian Kingdom. They are forced to pay a large amount of grain and livestock to the Luobi people every year. I believe they are not willing in their hearts. They are just forced by the strong military power of the Luobi people." Ling Tianfang drew an analogy.
"Of course, even people like the Mote and Tubu people can contact us. Last time they sent representatives, they just wanted to observe the situation. Who wants to live a life of relying on others." Wu Feng also clicked. Nodding in agreement, "However, these guys shouldn't place too much hope. After all, their strength is limited. They also have to consider their own gains and losses. They just hope they can buy us some time."
After more than ten days of long journey, Wu Feng and his party finally entered the territory of Qingyang Mansion. Along the way, Wu Feng and Ling Tianfang also discussed the current situation and next plan many times. Wu Feng found that Ling Tianfang had analyzed the current situation quite thoroughly and had insightful views on various aspects, especially He is better at military affairs. Compared with Xiao Tang, he can be said to have his own strengths. He is an extremely rare staff talent. Ling Tianfang also bluntly told Wu Feng that he was more suitable as a staff officer and that actually leading troops into battle was not his strength. Wu Feng was even more impressed by Ling Tianfang's ability to understand himself so clearly. There are many capable people in this world, but not many can correctly understand their own strengths and weaknesses. Wu Feng is very impressed by the talent of such a person. I feel even more proud to be used by myself.
Entering Qingyang, Wu Feng felt something new. What was once a barren farmland can now be seen from time to time, with twos and threes of farmers preparing the land for spring plowing and production. There are also scattered houses being built nearby. This is obviously the first time immigrants have arrived and started building houses to prepare for farming. It seems that Xiao Tang's work is still very effective. In just over a month, such gratifying changes have already occurred. In some places close to Qingyang Fucheng, you can even see individual local grassroots officials beginning to organize young and middle-aged labor to repair the irrigation system and lay a solid foundation for the development of agriculture. Seeing all this, Wu Feng felt very relieved. Now it can be said that he must race against time to compete with the enemy and strengthen himself before the enemy launches an attack on Qingyang. Only when he is strong can he be invincible.
Originally, Wu Feng was a little worried about the social security of Qingyang Mansion, because Wu Feng had heard about caravans being attacked many times in Bonan. Perhaps due to good luck, Wu Feng and his party passed through Bonan safely. within the territory. During the journey in Qingyang, Wu Feng had not heard about any public security problems that had occurred in Qingyang Mansion recently. Most of the business travelers traveling from south to north talked about the unstable social security and rampant bandits in Guide and Bonan. It seemed that Liang Chongxin and Cui Wenxiu had done a good job, and Wu Feng breathed a sigh of relief. However, after returning, we must intensify the crackdown on these bandits and horse thieves. The promise given to the merchants in the imperial capital to solve the security problem within three months must be fulfilled as scheduled. If people do not trust, they will not stand, otherwise it will have negative consequences for Qingyang's economic development. Big negative impact.
On February 13, 692 in the Continental Calendar, Wu Feng completed his first trip to the imperial capital and returned safely to Qingyang, where he had been away for more than a month. He was warmly welcomed by Xiao Tang, Liang Chongxin and other major military and political officials who stayed behind. After a short rest, Wu Feng immediately organized all the backbones to hold a meeting in the City Guards Mansion. Wu Feng was eager to understand the progress of Qingyang Mansion's work and the difficulties encountered during his absence. At the same time, he also He wanted to tell everyone what he had gained from his trip to the imperial capital. Finally, he had to make some practical arrangements for the next work plan. In addition, he also formally introduced Ling Tianfang to his confidants.
First, Wu Feng introduced Ling Tianfang to everyone and announced that Ling Tian was letting his military staff go. Immediately afterwards, Wu Feng asked Xiao Tang, Mo Lun and Su Minshun to report on the work of the departments they were responsible for. The three of them spoke one after another, giving detailed accounts of Wu Feng's work during his absence.
As of February 10, Qingyang Prefecture has received 2,025 households with 9,675 immigrants, including 1,749 households with 7,896 people working in agriculture. The rest are workers in handicrafts, technicians, and people in the commercial and service industries and their families. A total of 224,381 imperial gold coins were issued as loans and 345,662 imperial gold coins were secured as loans, mainly used for immigrants to build houses and purchase production materials. Grassroots agencies have also been established in 24 towns across the government, but there are still far insufficient personnel in some places. The finances are currently running well, but only if the funding issues are resolved in a timely manner.
In terms of economic development, three large workshops and seven medium-sized workshops have now moved back to Qingyang (according to the imperial classification: those employing less than 50 workers are called small workshops, those employing 50 to 200 workers are called medium-sized workshops, and those employing 50 to 200 workers are called medium-sized workshops, and those employing 200 to 200 workers are called medium-sized workshops. Those with 500 workers are called large workshops, and those with more than 500 workers are called large factories.), the construction industry is very prosperous, and some service and entertainment industries are also opening one after another, but no one has entered the financial industry. In terms of municipal construction, all city walls that need to be re-visited have been demolished, new projects have been designed and construction has begun, and the streets in the city have also been re-planned, and are initially divided into industrial areas, commercial areas, entertainment areas and residential areas based on actual conditions. district. Some agricultural irrigation canals have begun to be repaired, but the problem of labor shortage has not been fundamentally solved, so progress is very slow. Road construction and renovation have not yet started.
In terms of internal affairs, the public security situation has basically improved, gradually forming a virtuous circle, and the work of several other departments is also proceeding smoothly. The Pamela case has been closed and is only awaiting final processing. In view of the fact that the case involves national security, he himself said that he would He has performed meritorious service and atones for his crime, so it has not been dealt with for the time being.
After listening to the report of the three people, Wu Feng motioned with his eyes to Liang, Cui, Lu and others to continue the report. Liang Chongxin, Cui Wenxiu, and Lu Man also reported on the military defense situation.
As of February 10, the two garrison divisions had annihilated five groups of small-scale armed bandits, killed 689 bandits, and captured 2,175 people. Among them, 1,977 were recruited after surrendering, 176 were released through education, and 22 were executed in accordance with the law. Due to concerns about the movements of the Yinchuan Prefecture army in the north, coupled with the lack of accurate bandit intelligence, and especially the sudden disappearance of several large organizations, no other military operations have been carried out in the near future. The shortage of soldiers is still the biggest problem, and some of the army's equipment also needs to be updated and replenished.
After listening to the reports from the political and military leaders, Wu Feng first affirmed everyone's work, then gave a brief introduction to his trip to the imperial capital. Finally, he made arrangements for the next step of work based on all aspects of the situation: "Time is running out now. Autumn is only seven months away. There is a high possibility that the Luobi people will make a comeback at that time. Now everyone knows our strength. If we want to repel the well-prepared Luobi people, we need to light up We will definitely not be able to rely on our current strength. We will do our best to avoid this situation, but we must also prepare for the worst. Only by accelerating development and strengthening ourselves will we have more chances of winning."
After a pause, Wu Feng talked about his views on the work that needs to be carried out immediately: "I think we need to do the following tasks immediately. First, the military must cooperate with the Intelligence Bureau, Police Station, and Security Bureau, and adopt various methods. , find clues in the shortest time, ensure that the banditry is eliminated within three months, and at the same time actively strengthen the training of new recruits, and strive to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible; secondly, do a good job in resettlement and publicity for new immigrants, and can do more to encourage them to join the army publicity work; the third municipal construction must give top priority to urban defense construction, and funds and manpower must be absolutely guaranteed. Other tasks must also be carried out according to the established goals without any slack. Time waits for no one, and the future is bright. The road is tortuous, it depends on how we work hard."