The gate of Jeju finally opened, but the people who fled did not rush to the city. Some young and middle-aged people stopped between the city gate and the plain to maintain order, while the old, young, women and children raised their heads and looked at the soldiers and horses unfolding on both sides, as well as the princeling who came out by car.
Prince Ling is twenty-seven years old this year, and his face is like that of his mother, who is from Yue. His eyes are beautiful, his long hair is fluttering, he is wearing a Yue robe, and a white jade hairpin is stuck on his head. When he looks at the hundreds of thousands of people, his eyes are full of sympathy.
"I have to take care of the people of Zheng State," Prince Ling said to the refugees with begging eyes, "I can't let you into the city unless the court has a good solution for resettlement."
Everyone stared at Prince Ling, but no one answered. In the end, the hungry people gave way, and Jiang Heng walked out.
"You will soon face the invasion of the Yong Kingdom," Jiang Heng said. "Just when people are needed, Zheng Jun has only 120,000 troops at his disposal, of which 30,000 must stay in Yuedi and Xunshui."
"Once Juicong leaves the Yubi Pass, Liang Guo is breached, and Laoshan is in an emergency. How long can you resist the 90,000 people you have?"
This remark was in the middle of the prince's mental illness. He and Jiang Heng looked at each other from a distance, thinking who is this person
Jiang Heng turned around, and the young man brought a reed roll. Jiang Heng said, "I have calculated the number of refugees outside the city, their household registration, and divided them into 40,000 households. Forty thousand new recruits have been added."
"Stop!" the guard yelled.
However, Prince Ling raised his hand, indicating that he might as well. Jiang Heng was not afraid at all. He came to the prince's hearse with a reed roll in his hand, and said, "You can take a look. These people have scattered relatives, their families are broken, but most of them are willing to temporarily register as a household with people they have never met. There are a total of 41,152 households. The old people and women are willing to farm for the country of Zheng, and the young and middle-aged people are willing to fight for the country of Zheng. With the grain of the country of Zheng, there are 405,000 stone left in the first year. We can get through this difficult time. With the new army and the resettlement of the displaced people, Jeju has more new blood, killing three birds with one stone, why not do it?”
Prince Ling just unfolded the reed roll and put it aside.
"What if I don't accept them?" Prince Ling said.
"Then, we have to leave," Jiang Heng smiled and said, "Choose a place to stay temporarily. In another month, everyone will come to steal your wheat, don't blame me for not reminding you."
Prince Ling suddenly laughed, feeling that the person in front of him was very interesting.
"Let's talk about entering the city." Prince Ling said casually, ordering Zhou Jia to return to the palace.
That night, the city defense troops came out and held torches. According to the list submitted by Jiang Heng, they began to count the number of people and entered the city in batches.
"My Healing Game"
Prince Ling once again convened a group of ministers, from the Grand Historian to the Minister of the Left and Right, to all the officials of the court and the Chinese, and wanted to classify all the refugees into the city. Jiang Heng, an uninvited young man with dirty clothes but a handsome face, sat in the hall, calm and composed.
"Impossible!" Feng Han snarled angrily, almost roaring, "120,000 people! Boy, who are you? Do you know what scale this is?"
Jiang Heng said: "I only know that if the ordinary people riot and grab your food outside the city, the situation will be more troublesome."
"You are threatening me, Dazheng." Right Prime Minister Tian Ling said coldly, "Dare to do such a robbery in broad daylight, the Zheng army will not sit idly by! Is this not a matter of heaven?!"
"He is not alarmist." A general replied, "The battle situation is urgent before Yubi Pass, and the national army will go out soon. They are not making trouble now, they just gather in the wilderness, waiting for the army in the DPRK to come out and guard. If they start looting the country, they really can't control these many people."
Jiang Heng said: "So, my lords, do you still want to kill people first and prevent future troubles? They don't even have a place to live, so they can run away naturally, but I'm afraid you won't be able to catch them."
"Then I'll kill you first." Tian Ling said.
Jiang Heng said with a smile: "Now they still feel hopeful, and wait peacefully outside the city. If I die, there will be a riot. If you adults think it is appropriate to slaughter the people, please do it."
"This little gentleman, what do you see?" Prince Ling said coldly.
"Spend the military expenses of this year's recruitment on the refugees, and all the young and middle-aged among the refugees will join the army." Jiang Heng said, "I have completed the list of people who are suitable for joining the army, and I will give it to His Highness. The rest of the old and young will be supported by the army. , to survive this winter, Jeju will increase 40,000 households and recruit 40,000 new soldiers next year. Young people in your fiefs will no longer have to do corvée service, and Liang people will fight for you, and you can save some military salaries. Why not do it? "
After a moment of silence in the hall, Prince Ling said, "My lords, please take a look at this list first."
"So," when the roosters croaked, the ministers dispersed, Jiang Heng finally breathed a sigh of relief in the face of Prince Ling, "There are more than 41,000 people in the barracks, and the rest, let them stay on the spot in the north of the city. If you live there, you can set up the official land after the autumn harvest, and plant it in the spring of the following year, and then you will be settled down.”
In the early morning when the sun shines into the palace, Prince Ling looked at Jiang Heng and asked, "I haven't asked you, what's your name?"
Jiang Heng smiled and said, "No name, no surname, a duckweed wandering around the world."
Prince Ling also laughed, and Jiang Heng got up and said, "I thank the people who have fled for Liang Guo, thank your Highness for your kindness."
Jiang Heng was about to bow down to Prince Ling, but Prince Ling said: "Sir, please get up, it's not a secret, I have something to support you, I haven't said it before, but I don't want to coerce."
Jiang Heng was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Prince Ling really had the conditions to settle the common people and serve as army and corvée. Although it increased the population of Zheng Kingdom, the meat eaters in the court did not care at all. The common people are like the wheat in the field. When the time comes, it will naturally grow. It can't be cut or burned. What is a few wars
Prince Ling accepted Jiang Heng's suggestion, and he was also under great pressure. He must also have conditions. Now, this condition has come.
"What's the matter?" Jiang Heng said with a dashing smile, "Please don't say anything."
Prince Ling thought for a while, sighed, Jiang Heng saw it, and simply said, "Your Highness didn't think about it himself?"
Prince Ling said happily: "Yes, that's exactly what it is, let me think about it again."
Jiang Heng said, "I owe you a favor. I'll just wait for your order."
At this moment, a military general entered the hall and saluted Prince Ling, but his eyes fell on Jiang Heng.
"This is General Long Yu," Prince Ling turned around and introduced Jiang Heng, "I am General Zheng Guo."
Jiang Heng took his seat and bowed slightly. Long Yudao: "Yueren Long's family. Where do the children come from?"
Jiang Heng smiled and replied, "I'm from Jiangzhou."
Long Yu looked at the curling sword that Jiang Heng was wearing, and joked: "Oh? So King Ying has been looking for a gentleman for decades, is it in his own capital? Want to come to King Ying so obsessed with collecting magical weapons, if Knowing that it is on you, I will never let you take it north."
Jiang Heng: "!!!"
Long Yu didn't talk any more. After pointing out the origin of the magic weapon, he just smiled lightly.
As early as when he was in Haige, Jiang Heng knew about it, and he heard a lot along the way—the court of the Zheng Kingdom, now headed by the future emperor and princeling, and the decadent King Zheng, who almost didn't ask about it five years ago. politics. Now the military power in the DPRK is in the hands of General Long. The prime minister is held by Feng Han.
The most fortunate thing is that both the general and the prime minister sincerely support the princeling. At this point, there is no danger of party disputes in the court. This is one of the reasons why Jiang Heng chose the princeling. After all, after years of internal friction, right As far as a country is concerned, it is like a cancer, and it will drag down its national strength in an instant.
"Would you like to stay in Jeju for a while?" Prince Ling asked casually.
"It depends on the situation." Jiang Heng replied with a casual smile, "His Royal Highness is full of talented people here, Zhang, Feng, Long, and Tian are full of young talents, as well as Wu Yue and other foreign scholars, I am afraid that I will not be able to help. What are you busy with?"
Prince Ling said with a smile: "Little gentleman is joking, there can never be too many talents."
Jiang Heng said humbly: "There is only one advantage for the younger generation. Young people are not as good as the old people, but they are also more energetic. It is always possible to help with some hard work."
Most of the factions in Zheng and opposition are based on the deeply rooted scholar-bureaucrats in the court.
They are ambitious and control the government, and if they don't agree with each other, they are called sick. King Zheng succeeded in winning the throne 40 years ago, and all the old people here were the great heroes who supported the new king in the first place.
Even the children of the nobles around him are young people selected by the Feng family, Tian family and other gentry to enter the dynasty. Even the matter of taking refugees in Kaesong was difficult for Prince Ling to push. Once he hardened his heart and pushed forward forcibly, he would be besieged by the court officials.
Fortunately, he still tried his best to balance the situation of the government and opposition, and carefully promoted the rise of Zheng Guo's national power.
After Prince Ling took over the government, he planned to take sufficient time to gradually weaken the power of the scholar-officials and replace them one by one.
So he needed fresh blood, and the uninvited person in front of him seemed to know Zheng Guo better than him.
This is a very surprising point for Prince Ling, as if a counselor appeared out of thin air under the sky, and the purpose is quite clear - he really came for himself, and obviously he had done enough homework before coming.
Leaving where Jiang Heng stayed, Prince Ling and Long Yu faced each other in the bedroom.
"On his sword, there is an inscription from Cangshan Xuanwu Hall."
The military general Long Yu stood in front of the window into the sunlight, looking at the dim sky outside the Zheng Palace.
"When I saw him for the first time," Prince Ling murmured, "Looking at that demeanor very much like an assassin, I couldn't tell why. I always felt that it should be this person. No one is more suitable than him."
"He should be the apprentice of Ghost Master Yan." Long Yu turned his head and said to Prince Ling, "If you learn the kung fu of Mr. Ghost, it is indeed very suitable."
"Who?" Prince Ling obviously had never heard of this name.
Long Yu added: "Seventeen years ago, I was in Yuedi by chance, and I met Mr. Ghost and asked him to instruct him on three tricks. All my martial arts in this life came from this."
There was a look of surprise in Prince Ling's eyes, and he looked up at Long Yu. Long Yu thought for a long time, and then said: "I don't know if Your Highness has heard of Cangshan and Haige."
"No." Prince Ling replied simply and neatly.
"Does Your Highness still remember Young Master State?" Long Yu said again, "He is Mr. Ghost's abandoned disciple."
Prince Ling thought of the masked guest.
"You should remember," said Prince Ling, "Five years ago, outside Luoyang, the killer who came to assassinate me. I said that day, if this killer is under my command, why not sell this plan?"
Long Yu said: "Although Gongzizhou is highly skilled, he is not suitable. Let him pretend, and it doesn't look like it. Besides, he is old, and Juicong won't believe it."
"However, the red sword used by Gongzizhou is closely related to this man named 'Luo Heng'. The world was silent, and suddenly an assassin with a magical weapon appeared. His Highness has never heard of it. I've never heard of this guy, and he's a great candidate."
Prince Ling hesitated to examine Long Yu. According to his seniority, he should call this general Zheng Guo "uncle", but he and Long Yu have known each other for a long time. Due to the age difference, Long Yu is more like his brother.
In addition, the head of the court military commander has another identity - the male favorite of his father, King Zheng. He was supposed to be at odds with Long Yu, and all the officials in the court thought so too, but for some reason, facing Long Yushi, Prince Ling had an inexplicable intimacy. It was as if he had become the only link between him and his father.
His bodyguards were dead soldiers trained by Long Yu himself, and the military generals in the imperial court were also drawn by Long Yu himself. Zuo Prime Minister Fenghan repeatedly reminded Crown Prince Ling that the old King Zheng had a short time and was stunned and did not know the world. On the day he died, Long Yu would launch a coup d'etat to replace the Zhao family and become the new monarch.
"Besides that, I have another question. What is the purpose of Mr. Ghost's apprentice coming to Jeju?" Prince Ling said casually.
"It is rumored that when Cangshanhaige is in the Great War in the Central Plains, people will be sent to join the WTO." Long Yu said, "The disciples of Gui Shiyan will be the top assassins in the world. They want to support the new emperor and rule China. With all due respect. , this does not mean that they chose you, maybe it is just a test, or even to assassinate you. If you want to use this person, Your Highness must be very cautious."
Prince Ling sighed and frowned deeply: "How many people are there in this sea pavilion? If there are hundreds or thousands of people, the world will be in chaos."
Long Yu was unable to answer, and after a moment of silence between the two, he said again: "The danger of Yubi Pass depends on your own strength. General Cha will fight for me, and His Highness can trust him. It's very stable."
"Where are you going?" Prince Ling was not surprised by this. He knew what he had to face, and it was finally here. Long Yu was ordered by his father and king to hand over the military power after a few years of transition. In the hands of Prince Ling, it will be returned to the royal family. How to retire the Yong army this time has become an early test for his succession to the throne.
"Return to Yuedi, and serve the king." Long Yu replied, walking past Prince Ling, and put the tiger talisman on the desk, "Make good use of all the people you can use, it is not difficult to retreat from the Yong soldiers, the difficult thing is... "
Prince Ling interrupted him and said solemnly: "I understand, the difficulty is that this is just the beginning of more dangerous things to come. Maybe we will encounter unprecedented failures."
This is really just the beginning, but Yongguo has started three times, and each time, he was strangled in the first step by the Guanzhong Siguo. This time, Prince Ling is as confident as he can stop Juicong from going south, but what will he do in the future? There will be more and more problems.