The World of Yellow Sky

Yuan Xi is really not very good at governing the region, and Youzhou has been exploited many times by Gongsun Zan and looted by the Jizhou army. It is difficult to resume production in many places, and it has gradually recovered in the past year.

Jizhou has been stable since Han Fu took over, and Qingzhou is the same. Most of the wars broke out on the south bank of the Yellow River, and rarely spread to the north bank. Therefore, the economy of Hebei has not been damaged.

In fact, in the Battle of Qingzhou, although Wei Ting was defeated, he still had a great advantage.

It only takes two or three years to keep a low profile, and then you can obtain a large amount of food and soldiers, and at the same time recruit a large number of soldiers to make up for the losses in Qingzhou, and then go south to crusade against the Han court again.

It's just that the officials of the Han court are not just for nothing, they also know their situation, so there is this Northern Expedition that broke the boat.

Xu An put away the last document on the desk, frowning.

The last document was written not about Hebei, nor about Mobei and the Western Regions, but information about the South, which was written by Yinglangwei.

While he was stabilizing Hebei and Mobei, Han Ting recruited many recruits in Yanzhou, and at the same time transferred troops from Yangzhou and Yuzhou to the north.

The battle of Jingzhou has come to an end, and Yiling has not been captured in the end. Although the navy trained by Gan Ning is much stronger than the previous Yizhou navy, there is still a big gap compared to the Jingzhou navy , Yiling's topography also restricted the attack of the Ming army.

On the Nanyang battlefield, Huang Zhong led the main force of the Jingzhou army and the Ming army led by Xu Huang had an encounter in Nanyang County. The encounter ended in the defeat of the Jingzhou army.

After Huang Zhong finally led the cavalry and cut off the crossbowmen, Xu Huang saw that although the Jingzhou soldiers were defeated, their formation was not in disorder, and their retreat was still orderly. In the end, they chose to focus on safety and did not continue to pursue.

In Nanyang County, there was no danger to defend, and the Jingzhou army retreated all the way to Xiangyang, and Xu Huang also pursued to Xiangyang.

Xiangyang and Fancheng are located at the southern end of the Nanyang Basin. They stand against the Xian Mountain and stand between the Han River, connecting Jingyu and controlling the north and south.

Xiangyang City has a relatively high terrain, surrounded by water on three sides and mountains on one side.

The north, east, and south are surrounded by the Han River, the west is Wanshan, and the southwest is Xianshan and a series of more than a dozen large and small hills.

Huang Zhong is experienced and experienced. He deployed defenses along the river, lined up against the mountains, and garrisoned Fancheng.

The more than [-] warships lying across the river, and the [-] Jingzhou army in Fancheng, stopped the Ming army's attack after all.

Although there is a counterweight catapult, there is still no way to conquer Xiangyang City.

The counterweight catapult is invincible on the northern plains, but in the south, it is not acclimatized, and it needs the assistance of infantry and sailors. Without the assistance of infantry and sailors, the counterweight catapult is lethal. No matter how big it is, there is no way to approach the city.

It's hard to do it alone. After receiving the withdrawal of Gan Ning and Zhao Zhi, Xu Huang also withdrew the siege of Xiangyang, and led his troops back to Wuguan.

The ending of the Jingzhou battle did not exceed Xu An's expectation.

The army attacking Jingzhou was originally used as a partial division to support the main attack, and the troops that restrained Jingzhou and Yuzhou could not all go north.

Although Xu Huang led the troops to retreat, when he withdrew again, he took away most of the crops in Nanyang County and transported them back to Wuguan.

The Nanyang Basin had a registered population of more than [-] million before, and the land was extremely fertile. The grain harvested not only made up for the consumption of the Ming army, but also made a lot of wealth.

In the Battle of Jingzhou, the Ming army had already achieved its original goal and gained enough benefits.

The reason why Xu An frowned was not because of the war, but because of the change of the Han army.

The secret report he received reflected that the Han army was wrapping bricks on the city wall.

For the cities on the south bank of the Yellow River, Puyang, Yanjin, Gaotang, Guangcheng Pass, and Xuanmen Pass, the Han army began to use bricks to outsource the city walls.

Although the counterweight catapult is powerful, its destructive power is limited in the face of a thick brick wall.

After several years, Hanting has made progress and thought of countermeasures.

The enemy did not rest on their laurels, but was constantly learning, which also made Xu An feel a sense of crisis.

First, it began to imitate from the army and armaments, from the ring armor to the new riding equipment, and then from the equipment, from the four-wheeled carriage to the catapult.

Once the Han army finished bricking the city wall, the advantages of counterweight catapults would be continuously reduced, and the difficulty of attacking the city would also increase.

Cities such as Zhuyuanguan, Xiangyang, and Yiling all proved that the role of the once invincible counterweight catapults has now begun to be reduced.

During the Battle of Xiangyang in the Yuan Song Dynasty, when the Yuan army with counterweight catapults attacked the Southern Song Dynasty, it still needed to rely on manpower to attack the city forcibly in many cases. The Battle of Xiangyang finally lasted for six full years before the Yuan army was able to capture Xiangyang.

The river network in the south is dense and the terrain is complex. It is difficult for cavalry to exert their full power, and the same is true for equipment.

"I ordered that Zhongzhou Workshop set up a brick factory and start producing bricks, giving priority to supplying Luoyang area, and giving priority to packing bricks for Taigu, Yique, and Luoyang two passes and one city."

"Order Li Heng and Wang Ren to lead the troops and horses of the headquarters to the Luoyang area, build a city guard at the west of the Xuanmen Pass, and also build the outer wall with bricks, so as to block the way for the Yanzhou Han army to enter the Luoyang area."

Xu An took the map that was put aside before, and then said to Hao Zhao who was beside him.

"Let Xu Huang station troops temporarily to monitor Nanyang, Jingzhou."

"Send a message to Zhao Zhi that Zigui and Wu County can abide by the rules, but they can't abide by the rules and retreat to Jiangguan. As long as they guard Jiangguan, it is enough to protect the navy as the director, and don't care about the gains and losses of the city."

It doesn't matter if Yiling cannot be attacked, but the navy must not lose too much.

The army is easy to raise, but the navy is difficult to train.

Attacking Jingzhou and Yangzhou requires a strong navy, and now all hope lies in the Yizhou navy, otherwise the difficulty will increase several times, and the time will be delayed even longer.

"promise."

Hao Zhao made a promise, picked up the brush, and quickly wrote down what Xu An said.

Now that he is brought by Xu An's side to obey orders, he has already taken on the role of the commander of the army.

Although Hao Zhao doesn't have the talent of Chen Sheng to have a vivid memory and is proficient in arithmetic, he is much more capable than the ordinary long history

My own cheap apprentice is useless.

Han Ting is strengthening the defense of the Yellow River, but Xu An can do limited things now, it is impossible to attack Han Ting immediately.

From the original four states to the current four provinces and eight states, it should be twelve provinces to be precise. After all, the provincial system has begun to be implemented.

The original eight states added the word province after the name of the state, such as Bingzhou, and now the official name of the Ming court has become "Bingzhou Xingsheng".

The Western Regions are still the Protectorate, and have not yet been changed to provinces. After all, the Western Regions are somewhat special, not directly controlled areas.

In just five months, under the rule of Taipingdao, the population has nearly doubled, the area has also expanded a lot, and various problems have emerged one after another.

The aristocratic and powerful families in the land of Hebei are not good men and women. The surrender is partly due to the strength of the Ming army, the persuasion of the examination and distribution, and the reason why Xu An promised that the active volunteers can reduce their punishment, so they are a little more honest.

In order to truly bring the land of Hebei under the rule, it is necessary to solve the powerful families in the territory. The public trial has not yet been held, and the internal problems have not yet been resolved. Although the money and food are sufficient, the military strength of the Ming army is stretched. It's not time to go south.

What's more, the problem of the [-] army under Qingzhou Quyi's command has not been completely resolved.

On the third day after the second batch of catapults arrived, the generals on the outskirts of Yijing collapsed, and the city of Yijing also fell on the same day.

Knowing that there was no hope of escape, Gongsun Zan beheaded his wife and children, set himself on fire and died.

The fire ignited in Yi Jing, and it took two full days before it was extinguished. When the Ming army entered Yi Jing, except for those who fled outside the city before, all people and animals in Beijing were wiped out, and life was cut off.

"How much evidence has the trial collected?"

Xu An knocked on the desk, remembering the things he had handed over to the judge before. It has been nearly five months now, and the judge should have almost done the final work.

Hao Zhao paused for a moment, with a thoughtful look on his face, thought about it and then replied.

"Some of the grain and money warehouses of the Zhen family have been dug up, but there should be a lot that have not been dug up. In the rampant township, the evidence of the fish and meat people has been collected almost, and the files submitted by the judges have accumulated a lot. That's enough of a conviction."

"The eagle wolf guards and military capitals in various places have also completed their preparations, and are just waiting for the commander's military order."

Xu An's eyes fell on the nine counties of Jizhou on the map, his eyes were slightly sharp, and he said coldly

"Order, Xu Rong, Yu Du, Liu Shi, Bai Rao, Zhu Jiu, Ma Chao, and Pang De are on standby, ready to suppress the rebellion at any time."

"The decree is issued to order the Eagle Wolf Guards to open public trials in Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Youzhou, with the assistance of the six gates, to investigate and correct the lawbreakers, and to eliminate Hebei."

Chapter 8 and Eight

Weijun, Yecheng.

Between streets, squares and cities, curtains form curtains, and curtains form curtains.

The previous wars did not have much impact on the common people in Yecheng, only the powerful families in Yecheng were affected.

When the news of Fanyang's defeat reached Yecheng, it was at the time when many aristocratic families fled from Yecheng.

These powerful families were intercepted by the cavalry army of Shanggu Camp led by Xu You, all of them were captured, punished and confiscated a lot of money.

The flags on the city wall of Yecheng changed, and the original blue flag became a yellow flag.

After those troops who called themselves the Ming Army entered the city and implemented military control, not only did it not have much impact on the lives of ordinary people, but it even improved the law and order a lot.

Not only because all the rangers and bullies who were rampant in Fangshi were all sent to prison, but also because all the aristocratic and powerful families in Yecheng disappeared during this period of time.

During this period of time, all the powerful families in the land of Hebei rarely acted, and they did not go out if they could not go out.

The eagle wolf guard was like a sharp knife hanging above their heads, and they didn't know what would fall down.

Although Xu An said earlier that those who take the initiative can reduce the guilt, but how much the guilt is reduced depends on the judgment of the eagle wolf guard.

Except for the Shen family and the Qu family, all the powerful families in Hebei were trembling and did not dare to go out of their way in the slightest.

The reason why the Shen family has some confidence is because of the trial and assignment. At any rate, the trial and assignment is now the procurator of Jizhou Province, who is in charge of Jizhou's criminal name.

In addition to Qu Yi's reasons, the Qu family moved from Liangzhou, and they didn't have a firm foothold in Jizhou, and they didn't have much land.

The only land that Yuan Shao rewarded Qu Yi was the only land. The Qu family had just acquired it for only a few years, so naturally they were not talking about fish and meat villagers, and they were rampant.

When the powerful family could no longer influence the people in the city, and after the Ming army took over the various places, the ordinary people had less people who oppressed and exploited them, and naturally they were much more relaxed.

Years of wars caused prices to soar, and the life of the city residents was quite difficult, but after the Ming army took control of Yecheng, prices were quickly suppressed and returned to the peaceful era.

The first order issued by Xu An after all parts of Hebei were attached was to cancel all previous tax laws and regulations, and only need to pay land tax according to the regulations of Taiping Road. This year, he does not even need to pay labor support money.

In order to ensure the stability of Hebei, not only did Xu Rong, Yu Du and others lead the army to guard all sides, Xu An also ordered Fu Zhu to go to various places to preach the simple Ming court law, post notices, and send special personnel to explain its meaning.

The public trial has never been carried out, but the collection work of the Eagle Wolf Guard has not stopped for a moment. As the agency under the jurisdiction of the Six Gates, during this period, a large number of thieves and bandits have been wiped out.

Those aristocratic families have not been punished for the time being, but ordinary bullies and robbers are basically captured by the six doors and beheaded for public display.

The reduction of tax revenue and the improvement of law and order also made the common people in Hebei have a good impression of the Ming army.

The powerful propaganda, as well as practical means, made the Ming army warmly welcomed in all parts of Hebei for a while.

Although the spread of ancient news is much slower than that of later generations, it is not as slow as imagined.

One pass ten, ten pass one hundred, one hundred pass one thousand.

In just two or three months, public opinion in various places has eased.

According to the original propaganda in Wei Ting, the Ming army has always been demonized, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. The Taiping Dao is directly a cult.

When the Ming army first entered Jizhou, the people all over the country were actually panicked and apprehensive, and they didn't even dare to go out. They fled immediately when they saw the yellow flag of the Ming army.

But now all over the world have a certain understanding of the Ming army, and the Ming army's actual actions have made the people in Hebei dispel their wariness.

What Xu An was waiting for was this opportunity.

In the second year of the Ming Dynasty, on November [-], in the early morning.

In Yecheng, the government office of Yinglangwei attracted the attention of the whole city.

It's not because the people in the city were vigilant, but because the Eagle Wolf Guard made too much noise this time.

In the past, the state government of Jizhou was not actually Yecheng, but Gaoyi of Changshan Kingdom.

But Yuan Shao later moved the state government to Yecheng.

Part of the reason for this is that Yecheng is located in the key road area in the northern region, and the roads extend in all directions.

It happens to be in the partial center of the seven prefectures of Ji, Qing, You, Bing, Yan, Henan, and Sili, and radiates outward from the center, making it more convenient for people and materials to come and go and replenish.

As the capital of the Wei State, Yecheng has actually experienced two expansions, and a large number of people have poured into Yecheng.

After Yuan Shao established the country, in order to let the powerful families under his rule follow his wishes and be used by him, he not only gave them a lot of benefits, but also used means to let him move the main clan members to Yecheng. middle.

Swallow

Among them, the mother Ji Zhen's...

……

The Yinglangwei Government Office in Yecheng was rebuilt from the original government office in Yecheng, covering a rather large area.

Since September, this place has been transformed into the government office of the Eagle Wolf Guard, and the surrounding people can often see Tiqi wearing Eagle Wolf uniforms going in and out of it.

Pedestrians will also deliberately avoid the Eagle Wolf Guard Office. After all, there are often Tiqi wearing Eagle Wolf uniforms holding some prisoners with iron ropes, passing by this road, and bringing them into the prison in the Government Office. .

At this time, in the Eagle Wolf Guard Office, the silence was terrifying, even a needle drop could be heard.

Zhang Ji was wearing a purple dress, with his eyes slightly closed, sitting on the seat, the Yanling Saber was placed on the table beside him, not hanging on his waist, he seemed to be waiting for something.

In the lobby, a group of Qianhu officials in red eagle wolf suits were all armed with bows and knives. They also wore a chest armor on top of the eagle wolf suits, standing with their hands down on both sides.

In the courtyard outside the hall, there are eagle wolf guards standing, all wearing ivory white eagle wolf uniforms, and they are all hundred household officials in the eagle wolf guard.

It wasn't until they got out of the courtyard that they saw the eagle wolf guards in blue and black.