Outside the window, the setting sun is like blood.
It was this plan, called "covering one's ears and stealing the bell" by later generations of historians, that successfully deceived the Luobei people's intelligence system and caused the Luobei people's decision-makers to make wrong decisions. That is, this wrong decision gave Wu Feng had a whole year of breathing space, which gave Wu Feng the opportunity to successfully strengthen his army during this year, laying the foundation for the Second Northwest War. Ling Tianfang also relied on this deception The plan began to take shape in the military circles of the Eastern Continent. Some people in later generations also said that if the Luobei people had boldly launched an attack on Qingyang and strangled Wufeng's power in the cradle, there might not have been a glorious empire in the future. But there are no ifs in history. Li Wufeng won time and also won victory.
Although the hot summer is over, the immigration wave continues to slowly heat up. Thanks to the good weather this year, except for a few places on the entire continent, most areas have good weather and good harvests. The Qingyang Prefecture adopted a three-year tax exemption policy, which allowed the newly arrived immigrants to taste the sweetness of the early spring harvest. Coupled with the publicity of caring people, in June, July and August, an average of nearly a thousand people arrived every day. Immigrants poured into Qingyang Prefecture, and even some poor nomadic herdsmen moved to the northwest corner of Qingyang Prefecture to engage in herding. Wu Feng was very excited. It seemed that good policies could even transcend ethnic groups and eliminate hatred. It is irresistible to all those who long for a happy life. Under the deliberate adjustment of the Agriculture and Water Resources Department, the farming area has gradually developed from the east and south of Qingyang Province to the north and west, and has gradually become more rationally planned.
With the influx of a large number of laborers, the investment and real estate investment of merchants from other parts of the empire gradually tilted towards Qingyang. New workshops and shops are constantly opening in Qingyang City, and a small number of small workshops have also appeared in some larger market towns in the territory. The entire Qingyang presents a vibrant scene.
With Wu Feng's approval, the army recruited more troops again, adding each garrison division to about 18,000 people. The entire Qingyang Prefecture's army has reached about 38,000 people. The military expansion plan has also been strongly criticized by government officials headed by Xiao Tang. Xiao Tang pointed out that the total population of Qingyang Mansion is less than 350,000, while the number of troops is close to 40,000, and the ratio of soldiers to civilians has actually reached 1 :9 ratio, which is simply unheard of. The expansion of the army is actually a disguised competition for labor force with handicraft industry, agriculture, and commerce. If things go on like this, this will seriously affect the potential of Qingyang's economic development.
For this reason, Wu Feng specially introduced the current severe situation to Xiao Tang and others, and promised not to increase the number of troops in the near future. This barely calmed the dissatisfaction of the government. After all, the army also needs a lot of time to digest and absorb. of recruits.
With the large number of immigrants coming in, the required loan funds have also doubled. The two sums of money Wufeng received from the central government of the empire have become somewhat stretched. Fortunately, in addition to Datong Bank and Wanfeng Bank, the second largest bank in the Jiangnan region - Jinling Bank also opened a branch in Qingyang. Wufeng also successfully reached an agreement with Jinling Bank on the government guarantee for new immigrants to obtain small loans. In order to ensure the normal operation of the administrative agency, the Qingyang Finance Bureau then The Finance Department has stopped providing direct loans to immigrants. Fortunately, there are three financial institutions that are sufficient to meet the normal needs of immigrants.
Entering September, a good harvest is in sight. Looking at the golden fields will make anyone feel happy. But Wu Feng's heart was heavy. Although there was currently no sign that the Luobi people would invade Qingyang, and there was also intelligence that the Luobi people had reduced their military strength and abandoned attacks in several other directions in order to prepare for the war with the Chidi people. Invasion plan. However, the current situation is changing, and there is no guarantee that the Luobei people are not deliberately spreading the news in order to paralyze their own side. Especially when facing an old fox like Tu Da, no one will dare to take this guarantee before November.
In order to strengthen intelligence and information work, Wufeng also specially approved a fund for the Intelligence Bureau and the Security Bureau to investigate the collection of Luobei army activities. After all, this is related to the fate of the entire Qingyang Mansion, and we cannot be negligent at all. , on average every three days there is a dedicated person transmitting information from the Luo Bei people to Wu Feng.
Another piece of information also came out. The "Iron Cavalry Club" of horse thieves who had never shown up has finally appeared in Guide Prefecture, and according to intelligence reports, their home base is estimated to have moved to the area at the junction of Guide Prefecture and Yinchuan Prefecture. It seems that this Iron Cavalry Club The leader of the association is quite aware of current affairs. Wu Feng also breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that his intelligence department had never found any trace of the "Cavalry Club" and always felt that it was a hidden danger to Qingyang's economic development. Now that they are in Guide Prefecture, let Guide Prefecture Let the local officials have a headache.
What is comforting is that the city wall defense system of Qingyang Fucheng has finally been completed. It is said that it is initially completed because due to time reasons, many auxiliary facilities have not yet been fully completed. Only the entire city wall has been completed. This is also the result of tens of thousands of people's hard work day and night. Worried about the uncertainty of Luobei invasion, Wu Feng strictly ordered Su Minshun to list this project as the No. 1 project, and all other construction projects must give way to this project. Otherwise, once the Luobei invaded, Qingyang Mansion's existing The army's strength is simply not enough to resist. If there are no solid fortifications, it will be like a beautiful woman stripping off her clothes and posing, allowing robbers to rape her.
Su Minshun also understood the reason. For this purpose, he concentrated two-thirds of the recruited migrant workers and gave them generous rewards. They worked overtime day and night. The migrant workers also worked in turns. Su Minshun even asked Wu Feng to let the army allocate manpower to participate in the construction. However, considering that the army's combat effectiveness now needs a lot of time for training to improve, Wu Feng thought again and again but still did not agree. He just asked Xiao Tang to allocate a certain amount of additional funds to Su Minshun to recruit more migrant workers. Because Wu Feng required that many of the original city walls that were not strong enough be demolished and rebuilt, and the scale was expanded several times, the amount of the project was very huge. Even though so much manpower and material resources were invested, it still took eight months. The basic facilities of this project have only been completed, and the remaining auxiliary facilities will take nearly a month to be gradually improved.
Wufeng was very satisfied with this. After all, he was no longer defenseless. It would only take another twenty days for the city defense project to be completely completed. By then, if the Luobi people wanted to capture Qingyang, they would have no choice but to That's impossible at a certain price.
Time passed day by day under Wu Feng's close attention. On September 27, 692 in the continental calendar, the war between the Chidi people and the Luobi people finally broke out. In order to consolidate their dominant position in the West Tengger Grassland and establish a strong image for other nomadic peoples in the West Tengger Grassland, the Chidi people gave up their original practice of invading south and west every year, and concentrated an army of 600,000 people into three groups. A battle group launched an attack on the territory of the Luobi people. The Luobi people, led by the general of the Western Expedition, Wu Le, gathered 500,000 people from the main army of the Western and Southern Expeditions. They fought with the Chidi army on the Tengger Grassland. Fierce fighting broke out in Benma Plains, Saima Plains and Fertile Plains near the dividing line between the traditional forces of east and west nomads in central China.
On October 3, the famous Chidi general Chaqin led an army of 200,000 to forcefully break through the Luobi people's defense line in the western part of the expedition in the Fertile Plains on the southern front. The 150,000 Luobi army on the southern front was forced to retreat.
On the night of October 7, Chachin took advantage of the retreat of the Luobi army and the unsteady footing. He crossed the Darba River and raided the Luobi camp. In one fell swoop, he defeated the 150,000 Luobi army on the southern front and captured five Luobi soldiers. There were more than 10,000 people, and the remaining troops retreated for more than 300 miles. Only then did they get a foothold, and the whole Luobei area was shaken. Fortunately, Kurdo, who led an army of 100,000 troops from the east, arrived in time, collected the remaining more than 60,000 remaining soldiers, and stationed them in Huangyangyuan to contain the Red Di people's advance.
On October 14, a fierce battle broke out between the Chidi army and the Luo Bei army on the northern front in Benmayuan, with both sides suffering injuries. On October 16, the Chidi Army and the Luo Bei Army on the center line held a battle in Saimahara. Since the terrain here was quite flat and there were no obstacles, both sides unanimously chose their main cavalry to fight. The fierce battle lasted for half a day. Both sides suffered heavy losses and were eventually forced to withdraw from the battle.
After the two sides were in a stalemate on the three fronts for more than ten days, on October 26, the Chidi army on the southern front, led by Chachin, once again launched a fierce attack on the Luobi army led by Kurdo. Due to the difference in military strength of nearly 50,000, the Chidi army Di Fang's fighting spirit was high, but the fighting spirit of Luo Bei's remaining soldiers in the west had been severely weakened. In order to preserve his strength, Kurdo was forced to lead his army to retreat after making slight resistance.
On October 27, the Red Di Army and the Luo Bei Army on the northern front fought again at Benmahara. The two sides used light and heavy cavalry and infantry to fight in all directions. The war lasted for a day. In the end, the Luo Bei Army withdrew from the battle first, and the Chi Di Army also suffered losses. Not small, no pursuit was made.
On October 29, the special envoys of the An'ou people arrived at the city of Sala of the Chidis and the city of Barona of the Luobi respectively to persuade the two sides to negotiate peace. On November 11, under the witness of the special envoy of the Anou people, negotiators from both sides began negotiations in a temporary tent on the horse racing plain. After three days of marathon negotiations, the two sides finally reached a compromise on a series of issues such as the withdrawal of troops and the redemption of prisoners of war.
On November 22, the armies of both sides withdrew to their respective territories. On November 27, the exchange of prisoners of war between the two sides was completed, and the Red Army received a ransom of 1,000,000 gold coins and 100,000 slaves. Historically, it was called the "Seventh Tengger War" with the Red Army. The Di people won, but the Luo Bei people's vitality was not damaged. This just planted the seeds for the next war.
"This An'ou man is so fucking hateful. It's none of his business to fight between the Red Di and Luo Bei people. Why should he mediate inside?" Wu Feng looked at the war between the Red Di and Luo Bei people. report on the situation, while cursing the Anou people. Although the invasion of the Luobei people may have completely disappeared, Wu Feng's originally very good mood became extremely unhappy when he saw that the two sides, which had not suffered many casualties, had stopped fighting and made peace with the support of the An'ou people.
"The An'ou people live in the central and northern part of the Tengger Grassland, sandwiched between the Chidi and Luobei people. Although their strength cannot be compared with these two giants, they cannot be underestimated. They have always maintained their position against both of them. He has an impartial attitude and often acts as a peacemaker for both sides. The current chief Jibai is also a very talented leader. Under his leadership, the strength of the An'ou tribe has developed greatly." Ling Tianfang said to the grassland The situation of the nomads is familiar.
"Then why didn't he let the Red Di and Luo Bei people fight and lose both sides, so that he could take the opportunity to develop and grow?" Wufeng asked his own question.
Ling Tianfang shook his head and explained, "Sir, the situation is not that simple. There are several powerful nomadic tribes around the An'ou people. Once the Red Di and Luo Bei people are weakened, the Tengger Grassland will The balance of power in the world will be broken, and other ethnic groups that have ambitions for the Anou people will have no scruples and may attack the Anou people. The Anou people are also because of their differences with the Chidi and Luobi people. People have maintained a good relationship and gained a lot of benefits from it. At the same time, they also thought that the two were restraining each other, giving it an opportunity to develop. It also hoped that this situation could last longer, so that it could gain benefits. More time to strengthen ourselves. From a certain perspective, it seems to be somewhat similar to the strategy we adopted. This is probably what Kibber planned."
Since it was already December and the weather was getting colder, after confirming that it was impossible for the Luobi people to launch an attack on Qingyang, Wu Feng and all the government officials felt relieved and could finally concentrate on solving the problem. Other questions.
Because of the great harvest in spring, almost everyone is smiling. The houses of every farmer's house are filled with harvested grain. The farmers are also calculating how much to keep for the family's consumption and seeds for next year. How much they can sell for the remainder and how much they can repay the loan, looking forward to living a happy and prosperous life. We are celebrating the Spring Festival and looking forward to a better life next year. Merchants are also working hard to prepare their products for the upcoming Spring Festival shopping season.
Only the army has not changed. It continues its training plan without relaxing at all because the threat in front of them has temporarily disappeared. They know that what should come will come sooner or later. Only by being more fully prepared will the opportunity be greater. It is impossible to rely on avoidance. possible final victory.
As of the end of December, in the months of August, September, October, Eleven, and Twelve, an immigration wave broke out, and a full 200,000 people poured into Qingyang. There are more than a thousand immigrants. Especially after the spring grain harvest in October, as many as two thousand people come to settle in Qingyang Prefecture every day, and their origins are more dispersed. Workers, scholars, technicians, craftsmen, and small businessmen come here. The proportion has also increased significantly. The population of Qingyang Mansion is close to 550,000, close to the highest level in history.
Businessmen who sensed business opportunities also came in large numbers. Various workshops, factories, and shops opened almost every day, absorbing a large amount of idle labor. Large-scale farmland water conservancy infrastructure and road transportation construction in Qingyang Prefecture have been officially launched. The construction of these three roads from Qingyang Prefecture to Jinzhou Prefecture, Qingyang Prefecture to Gaochang State, and Qingyang Prefecture to the Grand Duchy of Luzon has been given top priority. Location. In Su Minshun's words, the completion of these three roads will greatly improve the traffic situation in Qingyang Prefecture, attract more caravans to come to Qingyang and transit through Qingyang, which will also create a good environment for increasing tax revenue. condition.
The massive influx of population put the work of the entire government agency into overload, and various departments requested to increase manpower. However, Xiao Tang only approved the report requesting additional personnel from the Administrative Department and the Agriculture and Water Conservancy Department, which caused Molun to curse. Xiao Tang couldn't stand his "chubby" figure, and deliberately wanted to become as thin as Su Minshun.
Wu Feng also vetoed the army's request to expand the army again and demanded that the army should focus all its energy on improving the combat effectiveness of existing personnel rather than recruiting new soldiers. But Wu Feng also said that as the population of Qingyang Prefecture continues to grow, recruitment of new soldiers can be considered after the Spring Festival, but only if the existing army's combat effectiveness reaches a satisfactory level.
Walking through the streets of Qingyang, let the heavy snow in the sky wet your hair. The streets and alleys are full of people who are busy buying new year goods to celebrate the Spring Festival. Small businessmen are shouting and selling their products enthusiastically, and children are also walking in the streets and alleys. Building snowmen carefreely, watching all this, Wu Feng felt a sense of pride in his heart. In just one year, he built a depressed and dilapidated town into the vibrant one it is now. Image, why don’t you feel proud? This also made Wu Feng's determination to defend the city in front of him that he had made with his own efforts even stronger.