Wow!

On the official road in Lantian, more than 20 two-horse carriages galloped by, and the front and back of the convoy were several miles long.

"This is Chang'an?"

On the third carriage, a peerless beauty looked at the scenery along the way through the lattice window without blinking, and asked with a smile.

Li Li raised his eyes and glanced out the window, and chuckled: "No, this place is Lantian, and it is still hundreds of miles away from Chang'an City!" ”

"The official road is so wide, the scenery along the way is also beautiful, and this carriage, it is very comfortable to sit in, and you can hardly feel the bumps. Husband, you are amazing! ”

Obviously, the peerless beauty who spoke at this time was Li Li's concubine Xiao Qiao.

Hearing Xiao Qiao praise himself in front of Zhou Yu, Guo Jia, Lu Su and Da Qiao, Li Lijun blushed slightly, smiled and said: "These are not my own credits, but they were built by the people of Xiliang and the officials of Lantian, and they are really amazing people." In the past two years, I have only been here three times, the first time was to hunt down Lu Bu, the second time was to patrol here last fall, and this third time is now. The scenery here is beautiful all year round, the new willows in spring and flowers in summer, the maple leaves in autumn and green in winter, it is indeed beautiful. Hehehe! ”

"The lord is too modest. Just by waiting for this peculiar carriage under our seats, we know that the theory of Xiliang Dazhi is by no means groundless, but true. Zhou Yu answered.

Indeed, Zhou Yu sat in the car and did not deliberately look at the scenery outside the car, but looked at the spacious and comfortable carriage with great interest, and his eyes were full of appreciation.

The carriage was much wider than the average carriage, spacious enough for seven or eight people to sit in, and in the middle there was a table with some fruits, pastries, and wine jars. The table case is exquisitely made and has a long shape. The edges are edged to prevent the fruit on the table from rolling off. The seats are close to the body, and there are soft and comfortable seats on three sides, except for the doors, and there is almost no oscillating bumps in a horse-drawn carriage.

Seeing that Zhou Yu was more curious about the carriage, Li Li smiled and said: "This carriage is the same as other carriages in the post station, the only difference is that this is a new carriage, and we are the first passengers." There was not much novelty in the carriage, only minor alterations in the frame. Five layers of cork are added to the mat interface, three of which are planks, leather pads on both sides, and that's it. In addition, as long as the road is still flat and wide. Every day, people regularly clean and pick up debris such as rubble and branches. That's how it can be unimpeded. ”

Zhou Yu was thoughtful after hearing this. At this time, Lu Su asked with a smile: "Listening to what my brother said, is it possible that there will be others in this carriage after me?" ”

"Hehehe!" Li Li smiled heartily when he heard this, nodded and said, "Of course! We had hired a total of twenty-eight carriages, all of which had been leased in the name of the Lung Champ Li Mansion, and by the evening someone had come to claim the carriages back. And there is also a lot of rent charged. Therefore, these carriages will not belong to us at that time, and if we want to sit in the future, we will have to go to the post station to rent them. Other words. This is a public means of transportation, anyone can ride as long as they pay, there is no distinction between high and low. Of course, if you meet a wealthy person who charters the whole carriage, it will naturally be for him to ride alone or as a family, and others cannot force themselves to get on the carriage. If someone picks quarrels and provokes trouble, the driver of the car is a soldier of the county government, and they will arrest the person and then hand him over to the next post station to be detained, and the local county government will be responsible for handling it. ”

"Oh? That's a novelty! After Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Guo Jia heard this, they looked at each other and exclaimed in unison.

Li Li smiled and asked, "What, don't you think it's unreasonable, or is it not feasible?" ”

"No, no, no, we don't mean that!" Zhou Yu and the three of them shook their heads in denial.

Zhou Yu smiled and said: "On the contrary, we think this approach is too reasonable!" However, because it is so reasonable, it makes us a little unbelievable. The lord should know that this carriage is not for everyone to sit in, not to mention ordinary people for the time being, and even ordinary officials' families may not be able to afford to sit in the carriage. You must know that the cost of a carriage is not small, horses, carriage maintenance and coachmen have to be expensed, in addition, many cities also have to levy carriages into the city to pay taxes, far less convenient than riding horses, at least riding into the city, horses do not have to pay.

On the other hand, under the rule of the lord, such a comfortable carriage was taken out for public use, but as long as the money was paid, it could be ridden, and after arriving at the destination, the carriage was returned to the nearest post station. In this way, it is indeed a lot more convenient, if the price is a little cheaper, then ordinary people can also afford to sit in a carriage, and travel becomes simple, fast and safe. ”

Speaking of this, Zhou Yu asked curiously: "I don't know who dedicated this method to the lord?" ”

Li Li was shocked when he heard this, and said, "What does Gong Jin mean by this? Is there anything wrong? ”

Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "No, not only is there nothing wrong, but it has opened our eyes." The person who offered this advice should really be a great political talent, quick thinking, and eclectic in action, and should be reused! ”

"Well、、、 is this really as good as you say?" Li Li hesitated with a strange expression.

Zhou Yu affirmed: "There is nothing more than that." In fact, the carriage was usually a symbol of status for the nobles and wealthy families, or the female dependents of large families chose to ride the carriage when traveling, and it was not often used. Now, under the rule of the lord, he has found a different way, and actually used the carriage as a public tool, so that the use value of the carriage can be fully excavated, and its value will skyrocket countless times. Therefore, the person who came up with such a good plan was not a mediocre person, but a great and virtuous man with a broad heart! ”

Li Li chuckled when he heard this, and said frankly: "Some small skills have been praised so highly by Gong Jin, Li is really ashamed!" ”

"Ugh! Lord, what are you 、、、、、、、" Zhou Yu was stunned, so surprised that he didn't know what to say.

"Hahaha!" After being stunned for a moment, Zhou Yu and Li Li glanced at each other, and then the six people in the car laughed.

After laughing, Li Li said with feeling: "To tell the truth, this idea is really forced. I'm not afraid of your jokes, after the pacification of Xiliang, the treasury of the prefectures and counties was empty, and even the royal treasury in Chang'an City did not have much savings, and the entire Xiliang army was poor. But the hundreds of thousands of Xiliang troops are still waiting for payment and food, and the average amount of grain and grass that people eat every day is not a small amount, and the generals of each battalion run to me twice in three days to ask for food, but the treasury is empty, what do I give to them? Plus. The few grains and salaries in the treasury of the county and county governments were also distributed to the people to resume production and vigorously develop agriculture. So I was forced to dare not see people all day long, lest the first thing they say when they see me is to ask for food and grass.

As the saying goes, if you are poor, you change, and if you change, you will be successful. The counties and counties of Xiliang are all in ruins, and there is indeed not much food in the treasury, but our army is the only one who does not lack war horses, and there are many dwarf horses and horses in the homes of ordinary people. In view of this, I came up with such a way, the war horses eliminated from the generals and the ponies and horses in the hands of the common people were bought back, and then the post station was built. Then the captives from the battalions were summoned to build the road. As long as the roads are smooth and the people are convenient to travel, they can take the vegetables or mountain goods at home to the market and sell them; Naturally, caravans can also be brought to and from more quickly, speeding up the flow of goods. At the same time, the inn relied on horse-drawn carriages, horses for transportation, and inn accommodation income. Not only can it provide rations for the prisoners of war, but it can also save a considerable amount of income. Replenish the treasury. Why not do such a thing? ”

Speaking of which. Li Li's voice paused for a while, and after taking a slow breath, he continued: "For more than two years, this seemingly ineffective helpless move has added a lot of money and grain to my Xiliang Mansion Treasury, and then from Chang'an Sanfu to Liangzhou and even Yongzhou counties and counties, all official roads have been built. Opened a post station. Up to now, although the two states of Yongliang do not dare to say that they extend in all directions, the official roads have been connected to all counties, and even extended to various towns. It's very easy to get around. In the past, it took two or three days to go from Chang'an to Liangzhou Thorn Mansion, but now it only takes a day to arrive at the fast horse, and there are not only dwarf horses and horses along the way, but also war horses for sentry horses to transfer.

At the same time, many prisoners of war have now settled down on both sides of the official road and have become our Han people. As a result, there are no prisoners of war in Xiliang today, and those who continue to build roads are criminals or idle outlaws, as long as they serve their sentences or perform well, they will soon be able to regain their freedom. Therefore, the security in my Xiliang is very good, and there have been almost no incidents of grass bandits and robbers in the past two years. ”

Having said this, Li Li couldn't help but shake his head and said solemnly: "It's a pity that this time the Fuluo army invaded the territory, and the people will be more or less affected by the war, and if necessary, they have to recruit young people to transport grain, grass and ordnance. In this way, the present days of peace and stability will be gone forever, and it will inevitably lead to a series of wars. ”

"Don't worry, my lord." Guo Jia then comforted: "Although Yu Fuluo's army is large, it is not enough to pose a threat to our army, as long as our army is dispatched, we can exterminate the barbarian army within two months!" ”

Zhou Yu happily agreed: "What Feng Xiao said is extremely true. The stability of the whole territory of Xiliang was not easy to come by, but it coincided with troubled times, and war could not be avoided. Relatively speaking, at present, our army has sufficient money and food, which is enough to support an unprecedented war. At this time, Yu Fuluo's army was the first to hit the muzzle of the gun, so we don't have to be polite, we will directly wave our army to the north, level the southern Xiongnu tribes in one fell swoop, recover the land of Hetao, and eliminate all evil. If the war goes well, our army may take advantage of the situation to take advantage of the situation and annex the state. Even if it is unable to occupy the entire territory of the state, it is necessary to seize most of the counties and counties, laying the foundation for the future capture of the entire territory of the state! ”

Li Li really hated this sudden war very much, and felt sorry for the current hard-won good situation, but the original intention of this regret was to worry about the suffering of the people, but it did not mean that he was timid and did not dare to fight. In fact, as Zhou Yu said, the Xiliang Army is not short of money and food at the moment, and it is enough to fight a big war. And this is based on the fact that there is no need to collect taxes. In other words, the recuperation strategy in Xiliang will continue and will not be greatly affected. And the people who really suffer are mainly concentrated in the war-torn places, and at the moment it is mainly the people of Northland County, which is difficult to avoid, after all, Northland County is currently at the forefront of the war.

At this moment, after hearing Zhou Yu's words, Li Lilang laughed loudly: "Gongjin has good ambitions, and he is heroic!" Hahaha! ”

Zhou Yu smiled silently, and Guo Jia, who was sitting next to him, continued: "This is not impossible. In view of the current situation of our army, it is imperative to capture and annex states, and the sooner we attack, the better, and the later we will change. At present, we are all over the western region, but the borders between the north and east are unstable. Not to mention the east, it is bordering the princes of the Central Plains, and it is definitely not something that can be solved overnight.

But the northern frontier is now an opportunity, as long as our army can defeat the Yuvluo army as much as possible, and then attack the Hetao in one fell swoop, sweeping the southern Xiongnu tribes. Then it was logical to march eastward and capture Yunzhong, Yanmen and other counties in Bingzhou, because these counties were originally in the hands of the Southern Huns. After the capture of these counties. Then wave the army south to capture the entire annexed state.

If the war goes well, it is estimated that the war will be over before winter. If the war does not go well, or if there are changes on the way, then our army must also capture the Hetao Plain this time, and drive all the Southern Huns to the hinterland of Saiwai or Bingzhou, so as to win the opportunity for us to capture the Hezhou in the future. ”

"Well, I'll talk about this later." Li Li bowed slightly, and after seeing the slightly tired look of Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao's two daughters, he said softly: "We will rest in the Lantian camp at noon, and then go to Chang'an City tomorrow morning." I don't know what happened to Gongjin and Fengxiao? ”

"We have no objections. A qiē is subject to the arrangement of the lord. Zhou Yu, Guo Jia and Lu Su were all human spirits, and after noticing Li Li's eyes, they naturally gladly agreed.

"Hmm." Li Li smiled, immediately opened the curtains, and instructed Yang Qiu, the military guard who was following the carriage, "Go to the Lantian camp." Send a fast horse to report. Remember, don't give away your whereabouts. There is no need to work hard to go out to the camp to respond. Just prepare the military tent and food! ”

"No, the last general will take the order!" Yang Qiu responded when he heard this, and then recruited his own soldiers to go to the Lantian camp to give orders.

—————————————————————

Before you know it, the sun is setting, and the sky is full of red sunset.

Lantian camp, rear army tent.

Li Li, who had rested for an afternoon, got up and dressed gently. After kissing the forehead of Xiao Qiao, who was sleeping soundly, he walked out of the inner room.

It is true that in recent days, there has been a continuous rush, especially the section from Wuguan to Qinling. It was very bumpy. Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao are both weak women, and their physique cannot be compared with Li Li and others, where can they stand such a day and night journey, so they are already exhausted before entering Lantian. Then they learned that Chang'an City was in front of them, and they finally couldn't support it and fell asleep on the carriage, so Li Li and his party had to stay in the camp to rest for a day.

However, what Li Li didn't expect was that after arriving at the camp at noon, Xiao Qiao actually pulled him to bathe together. As a result, bathing turned into a mandarin duck playing in the water, which evolved into a hearty hand-to-hand fight.

At this moment, Li Li woke up refreshed, while Xiao Qiao was still in a deep sleep. She was so tired that if no one disturbed her, she would probably be able to sleep until tomorrow morning.

"My lord, the end is coming." Seeing Li Li walking out of the military tent, Li Zhi, who came outside the military tent at some point, stepped forward and bowed.

"Zicheng, you're here so soon?" Seeing Li Zhi appear in front of him, Li Li asked in surprise.

Li Zhi followed Li Li lightly to the lord's tent, and said as he walked: "Five days ago, the last general received a message from Yuan Zhong, and that night, the last general rushed to Chang'an from the Assassin's Mansion to ask Yuan Zhong about the specific whereabouts of the lord, and learned that the lord would take a few days to return. In the morning, Yuan Zhong found the last general and asked me to hand over this secret letter to the lord, two hours ago I met with General Yang Qiu, who had returned to Wuguan, and learned that the lord had arrived at the Lantian camp, and immediately rushed here. ”

While speaking, Li Zhi took out the secret letter and handed it to Li Li, then stood aside and looked around.

The moment he opened the letter, Li Lihu's eyes widened slightly, his sword eyebrows were raised, and a strong look of displeasure appeared on his face.

However, when he read the letter, the expression on his face was calm as usual, looking up at the many clouds in the sky, and the red sunset.

In this regard, Li Xuan elaborated on the reason in the letter, expressed his resolute support for Li Wei's attitude in handling this matter, and advised Li Li not to show up for the time being, and to return to Chang'an with the baggage team that followed six days later, and accept the welcome ceremony of the civil and military officials and the people. In addition, Li Xuan repeatedly reiterated that this matter is very important, and strongly advised Li Li not to refuse, because Li Xuan believes that this matter is beneficial to Li Li and not harmful.

After pondering for a while, Li Li casually handed over the secret letter to Li Zhi and instructed: "After you read the superstition, go to Zhou Yu, Guo Jia and Lu Su, and burn it immediately after they read the secret letter, as for what to do, listen to their opinions." If they agree with what Yuan Zhongxin said, then you and Gongjin will return to Wuguan, wait for the arrival of the baggage team, and then take care of the corresponding matters. If they don't agree, or if they are silent, the matter will be stopped, and Li Xuan will be ordered to dissuade my uncle from stopping immediately, saying that this is my order, and no one shall disobey it! Go ahead and do it quickly! ”

Just as Li Li was speaking, Li Zhi had already finished reading the contents of the letter. After Li Li's voice fell, Li Zhi asked in a low voice: "The last general is stupid, I don't know why the lord wants to leave this matter to Zhou Yu, Guo Jia and others to decide?" The last general felt that what Yuan Zhong said was reasonable, this move was beneficial and harmless, and had a great impact, and if he missed this opportunity, I am afraid that there will be no such once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the future. Please think twice! ”

After Li Li heard the sound, his body did not move at all, he still looked up at the sky, his eyes were deep and solemn, and he said in a low voice: "You are right, this matter does look very tempting, and it is difficult to refuse. Some ambitious princes thought about this kind of good thing in the twilight, and it can be said that they were eager to see through it, but it was a pity that they could not reach it. However, nothing exists in isolation, there are advantages and disadvantages, and things that have benefits and no harm do not exist at all.

Destiny sounds very good, but in fact it is just a false name, a pretext. After all, the struggle for hegemony in troubled times has to rely on its own strength, relying on a group of civil servants and military generals, without these people doing their best to assist, it will be difficult to achieve great things after all. Zhou Yu, Guo Jia, and Lu Su are all people who can help me succeed, and if they are dissatisfied with me because of this, what is the use of me asking for such a false name? ”

After speaking, Li Li didn't say much, Gu Zi walked into the big tent, and Li Zhi watched Li Li leave, and then walked quickly to the military tent of Guo Jia and others.

———————————— (To be continued)(To be continued......