April in Chilechuan is unpredictable, April in western Qin is in its thriving, but April in northern desert is dead silent.

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Qinxi experienced a rare war after the late Tang Dynasty last year, and local production suffered considerable damage - even the Khitan, Shi Jin and Mengshu army did not invade Qinzhou, but the situation was critical at that time. The males in the entire area were driven to the battlefield, and those who could not fight had to bear the transfer of military rations, guard and defend against thieves and other services, which was a waste of the farming season. However, for the lowest-level farmers, this year would not be too sad, because Zhang Mai ordered a large-scale tax exemption policy for the ten prefectures in Qinxi, which was not only tax exemption, but also ordered all landlords to reduce rent by redemption.

Under this policy, self-cultivated farmers can naturally get the benefits of complete tax exemption this year, and tenants can only pay one-tenth of the landlords. As for the difference owed, the Tiance regime will issue bonds to make up for it. Landlords can use the bonds to collect money and grain from the county government in three years.

This is a mandatory policy, which is subject to specific implementation by the government and supervised by the National People's Congress. In order to ensure the implementation of the policy, Yang Dingguo asked the storyteller team and the correctional station to be responsible for it, and went deep into each township to promote it. It is necessary to let the vast majority of farmers know the news and not be bullied by the gentry. In the past, during the heyday of the Han and Tang Dynasties, even if the court exempted land tax, its help was a drop in the bucket for the farmers - because the biggest burden on the farmers was not the land tax, but the exploitation of the gentry group.

In ancient times, there were many "hidden fields" in various forms, and there were many "hidden households". These land that were not reported in the yamen did not have to pay taxes. However, the gentry's own tax was concealed by the court, and the tenants' land rent could not be escaped. However, even the land rent was forcibly reduced. Even the poorest families could survive the disaster after the army.

Once this policy was promulgated, the praises of the entire Qinxi region were immediately filled with the ears. The ones who benefited the greatest benefit were naturally the lowest-level farmers. Although the short-term interests of the landlords were damaged, they did not dare to openly resist under the power of the Tiance Tang army. What's more, the yamen also issued bonds. Although most of the gentry in Qinxi were skeptical about whether the bond could be fulfilled in three years, at least the court was not uncompensated for exploitation. Some gentry with more political vision were burned in public after receiving the bonds, expressing their willingness to overcome difficulties with the Tiance court. Even if this action was a show, it still had a positive effect at the moment, making the situation in Qinxi stable day by day, because although these enlightened gentry were fewer, their influence was greater. The people with the largest number of people felt that they had met the wise ruler and had an unprecedented civil spirit.

"We met a good emperor!" I wonder how many farmers were grateful after hearing the news. Zhang Mai wanted to say national justice, but these people may not understand it, but Zhang Mai exempted the land tax, and even the big head of the land rent helped them pay. This is a real benefit. Even if the farmers are illiterate, they know how to calculate the calculations!

The storyteller made it clear: calculate the land rent he deserved, and then report the amount when the correction censor goes to the countryside to issue bonds. The correction censor will help him calculate the amount clearly and issue him a bond. When the landlord collects the rent, he only needs to pay one-tenth of the land's grain, and the rest can be offset with this bond. If a landlord dares not to collect it, he will directly turn to the county review station!

According to Guo Wei, "If we have enough food at this time, as long as the marshal gives the order, Qinzhou, which has the best implemented policy, can be the whole countrymen in Qinzhou!"

It is unnecessary for all farmers to be soldiers. In the past few months, Zhang Mai even pulled the farmland to farm with his newly trained Modao and Battle Axe. However, from Guo Wei's words, we can imagine what the people's hearts in Qinxi were like. The Tiance regime issued a batch of bonds, took on a delayed debt, but bought the people's hearts in Qinxi. Even many Central Plains scholars, such as Wang Pu, who still stayed in Qinzhou, admired Zhang Mai even more because of this.

Of course, in the implementation of this policy, not all positive news. The high-IQ gentry who will resolutely burn off bonds is a minority. There are still quite a few gentry landlords who are still calculating how to get benefits from this policy. The most common practice is to encourage their own landlords to make a profit, and those who are conservative will raise 20% to 30%, while those who are bold will dare to report 70% to 8 times!

People's hearts are profitable. Because this policy is directly beneficial to them, high-end gentry is planning to use this rent reduction and tax exemption to seek political benefits, while the local tyrants and bad gentry feel that they can benefit from it. It is precisely because of the three aspects that this policy is more beneficial than disadvantages, so this policy can be implemented extremely smoothly.

But when all the bonds in Qinxi gathered to the center, Wei Renpu's eyes were so angry that he almost vomited blood when he saw the huge number! That was four times that of Qinxi's previous years!

"This group of local tyrants and evil gentry who should be killed!" Wei Renpu said: "Li Congke's pseudo-Tang Dynasty and Shi Jingtang's Jin court, the land tax was not low at all, and the land rent collected by these gentry was actually four times that of the court's land tax? This is not considered a self-cultivated farmer! Such a heavy pressure, I really don't know how the people live!"

"There are other possibilities," Zheng Wei started his business. He was not as angry as Wei Renpu, but his mind was more flexible: "Maybe someone deliberately exaggerated his land rent. After all, this is not the first time we have issued this bond. As long as the bonds issued in previous years are due, even if they sell mines, they will definitely try to repay them. The credit is very strong! So as long as people with a better knowledge, they will know that the bonds issued by our Tiance Tang Jun are just a piece of paper, but they are real money."

Wei Renpu is also a very delicate person. He understood it after a second thought and hummed, "Then these people deserve to be killed!"

Yang Dingguo was also angry and suppressed his anger and said, "Although this money is not small, we can still afford it in three years. Now we should focus on the overall situation of Yanyun Mobei. For the sake of current stability, let these evil gentry make a comeback!"

Zheng Wei smiled and said, "No, good, you should put the overall situation first. Don't worry about these unnecessary leisure time in life."

Wei Renpu also agreed with Yang Dingguo's statement, but he was angry, but his reaction to Zheng Wei was a little strange, because Zheng Wei not only didn't look angry after seeing this number, but even a joking smile appeared in his eyes. Wei Renpu couldn't help asking, "Zheng Xiang, do you have a way to deal with it?"

Zheng Wei smiled and said, "There is nothing to deal with. At that time, if they come to ask for money, we can just pay them the money. But how much money is given. This number must be well registered. We will not suffer any losses in this business."

"Don't you suffer a loss?"

"Of course, there is no loss." Zheng Wei smiled and said, "Farmers need to collect the land rent from the bond report, not only report how much rent they have to pay over the years, but also report the proportion of land rent paid by one acre of land."

Wei Renpu said: "So what?"

Zhang Mai, who had been listening, couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. Although Wei Renpu was also a wise man, his mind was clumsy and he was not as good as Zheng Wei, who was a businessman, and he was not as good as Zheng Wei, who was born as a businessman, and he didn't spit out his bones.

Zheng Weidao: "According to the numbers and proportions given by the farmers, we can inversely introduce how much land the landlord has."

Wei Renpu said: "That's like..."

This time he didn't say the word "He" after all. He suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "So that's it! So that's it!" He looked at Zheng Wei, with a little awe in his eyes, and said, "Zheng Xiang is so calculating!"

Zheng Wei smiled and said, "It's not a big plan. I didn't set up such a situation on purpose at the beginning. However, after the situation stabilized, it is imperative to further investigate the hidden land and hidden houses. Those who praised the news were blinded by the word greed and only cared about the front of them. But they didn't know that they were just digging a hole for themselves."

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Zhang Mai did not interfere too much in these internal affairs. He just waited for the end of the matter and said: "How are I preparing for the matter of going to northern Shanxi?"

Zheng Wei said: "You must go? Although Qin Xi has stabilized now, you are in charge. If you leave, I am afraid that something will happen."

"What kind of trouble can happen!" Zhang Mai said: "Meng Shu is afraid of being beaten by us. We don't go to trouble them. They have already burned incense and worshipped Buddha, and they have no courage to commit crimes in the north! Liu Zhiyuan has to deal with him. I asked Guo Wei, and he is confident that he can keep the East Front safe. As for the inside of Qinxi, look at the current civil spirit of Qinxi, you can know why I dared to leave. As long as we have good news on the front line frequently, there will be no trouble in the rear!"

He paused and said, "In addition, Guo Wei gave me an idea. When I went north, I would also bring the unhonest local tyrants to Chilechuan to make meritorious contributions."

Zheng Wei's eyes lit up, and he kept saying a trick, and said with a smile: "If you use this move, it will be of great help to govern Qinxi. But don't make things too big. What I said to you is still valid now: within two years, Ganlong will not have the strength to support the war."

Zhang Mai said: "The core of the people I brought this time is the 10th Battalion of the Modao and Battle Axe. Yang Guangyuan dispatched 2,000 light cavalry to accompany him, and then from Hehuang, Jianbei and Qinxi, the 5th Battalion of the Fan Cavalry, the 5th Battalion of the Han infantry, and the 10th Battalion of the Long-range Shooting Team. There are another thousand auxiliary soldiers, totaling 12,000 people. The route is to go north to the Yellow River. When I arrive by the Yellow River, I will order wood to be cut into rafts, and then go downstream to Chilechuan to replenish supplies on site. So you don't have to worry about any burden."

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When Zhang Mai was planning to go north, Yang Yi had already received the news that the road was thawed and transferred from the rear of Luntai. The stability of the Gansu-Long area made Yang Yi feel much more at ease. Yang Hua did not arrive at the banks of the Luju River before the army set off, but this did not hinder Yang Yi's actions. From the beginning of his decision to attack Mobei, Yang Yi left all his personal affairs behind.

He rectified his troops, took the Yingyang Army as the central army, the Longxiang Army as the rear army, and the tribes in the north of Mo to follow. When the army set off, he ordered the three vanguard teams in front - Yelu Antuan's Ghost Face Army, Guo Zhang's Right Arrow Camp, and Wei Fei's Left Arrow Camp to fight!

Last winter, tribes in Mobei continued to escape from Yilashan and accept the reorganization of the Tiance Tang army. At this time, the number of three vanguards had exceeded 10,000 cavalry - the number of people in the tribe had far exceeded the number of people in the team.

The ghost-faced army led by Yelu Antuan was the first to break into the Huangshui River Basin.

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The Huangshui River Basin is in the territory of Inner Mongolia today. Since the middle of the Tang Dynasty, it was an important settlement for the Khitans. The Khitan Diela tribe belonging to Yelu Abaoji used this as its nest. The Huangshui River Basin is connected to the desert in the north and the Donghu in the east, which determines that the Khitan tribe has the ethnic characteristics of the northern and the Donghu in the east. This place is connected to Yanyun in the south, so it is easily influenced by the Han area.

Although the Khitan was a nomadic people, after Yelu Abaoji founded the country, he established a capital in this area, called the "Imperial Capital". He also accepted the influence of Han culture and built palaces and ancestral temples, and even in the imperial capital. The construction of Confucius Temples, Buddhist temples and Taoist temples, and the establishment of the imperial capital was mostly made by the Han minister Kang Moji, and the irrigation of farmland outside the city was mostly related to Han Yanhui. Later, Yelu Deguang changed the imperial capital to Shangjing, which was the capital of the Khitan.

Since the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitans have long been deeply rooted in this area, and Yelu Abaoji established his country here. Now it has been nearly forty years! During the forty years, Abaoji fought eastward and westward, gathering a large amount of the plundered wealth here, especially when he went south several times to plunder a large number of Han people. He followed the advice of the two Han and one Kang (Han Zhigu Han Yanhui Kangmo Records) and governed the Han Dynasty with the Han Dynasty, allowing them to engage in farming that they were best at. After decades of development, the Huangshui River Basin turned into fertile soil on the block. There were more than 40,000 Han people alone, with cattle and sheep in herds. The fertile land was endless.

But all this has become a thing of the past. At the end of last year, the Ghost Face Army broke into the Huangshui River Basin, burned, killed, robbed, raped, and plundered, and almost everything was used. Yelu Antuan himself was a Khitan. He was familiar with the geography of the Huangshui River Basin and attacked the weak points of this area. He came and went like the wind and did not keep his troops. A fire destroyed tens of thousands of acres of farmland. He burned down hundreds of ranches run by the Khitan and turned a rich Huangshui River Basin into ashes. Last year, Yelu Deguang was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot when he saw the scene after the disaster here.

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Spring and summer in Mobei came late, but now spring is over. When the ghost army stepped onto the Huangshui River Basin, it was still a terrible scene along the way!

Last winter, countless old and weak areas in this area were frozen to death and starved to death. Under the threat of the Tang army, their bodies were not even buried properly in the cold and cold, and half of the ice, snow and half mud were covered.

Now that the ice and snow have melted, the wild dogs have dragged out some corpses. As the Ghost Face Army travels south, they will constantly see fragmented limbs and broken legs. The journey south is desolate and sad.

It was also winter, Shi Jingtang was drunk and dreaming in Luoyang because he lost hope at that time; Zhang Mai was working hard in Qinxi because he still had a lot of futures; and Yelu Deguang's side actually allowed Linhuang Mansion to be deserted, let Linhuang Mansion be cold, and let Linhuang Mansion continue to be a hell on earth.

It’s not that Yelu Deguang didn’t want to restore all this here, but he knew that he couldn’t. What’s more, everyone knew that after the cold winter, Yang Yi might go south at any time. At that time, Linhuang Mansion would definitely become the final battlefield of decisive battle. Since that’s the case, what else can I spend?

After passing Yila Mountain, there is no more natural danger in the Huangshui River Basin.

Yelu Deguang did not arrange any obstruction along the way, so he let the ghost-faced army break into the capital!

It was extremely strange. After walking through the gap between Yilashan and Yong'anshan, Yelu Antuan didn't even see anyone!

Before setting off, Yelu Antuan made a promise to plunder his subordinates, but when he got here, he found that there was no way to plunder and no way to plunder.

Last winter, he burned everything he could burn, and he took everything he could take away, but the Huangshui River Basin was not small after all, and Yelu Antuan only had only half a month, after all, he still left a lot of things - especially in Shangjing City.

But now, the entire Huangshui River Basin is just a piece of white paper except for the capital! Yelu Deguang destroyed all the things that Yelu Antuan had no time to destroy!

Has this really become hell?

Even if the Khitans want to strengthen their walls and clear the country, they will be too clean.

So Yelu Antuan walked along the way without any resistance, but he became more and more panicked!

The troops drove to the capital of Shangjing before they saw him, who was familiar and unfamiliar with the Khitan capital!

It is said that it is because Yelu Antuan grew up here, and it is because the entire terrain of this capital has changed! The original dozens of irrigation ditches were filled with potholes, and all the things that could help the enemy were destroyed. Even the trees that might be used as siege equipment were destroyed!

How determined did Yelu Deguang make to do such a thing!

Just seeing all this, Yelu Antuan knew that his former master had made the determination to fight back!

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After all, the Khitan is the Khitan, and even at the most downturn, he will still not be a coward trapped in the city.

Seeing the ghost-faced army approaching, the gate of the capital opened and a cavalry drove out.

The cavalry was not large, only two thousand. With a wave of Yelu Antuan's hand, six thousand tribal cavalry affiliated with him rushed over from both wings, forming a crescent shape, forming a semi-encirclement situation for the two thousand cavalry coming out of the city.

Seeing that if this cavalry did not retreat into the city, it would fall into the encirclement, but once he retreated, the Ghost Face Army could block the city gate, Yelu Antuan had made up his mind that he would not be nervous as long as the city gate was sealed. You can wait for Guo Zhang and Wei Fei to arrive and then siege the city. It would be best to wait until Yang Yi's army arrived and give the Khitan a finale.

Last year, he killed all the way, and expressed all the loyalty he should show and the credit he should make. Of course, it is not ruled out that the experiences along the way made him feel a little panic deep in his heart. These scenes made Yelu Antuan feel that Yelu Deguang really planned to fight to the death!

The dog is anxious and jumps over the wall, let alone a great country in Wancheng that has been swallowed thousands of miles, and a powerful clan that once overwhelmed China! Such an enemy's dying blow is terrible. Even if he cannot defeat Yang Yi, it is not difficult to drag at least one or two famous generals into hell!

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It was about to fall into the encirclement, but the cavalry still did not retreat. Instead, they chose to continue moving towards the depths of the encirclement. Their horses did not go very fast. They were not even running horses, but walking slowly. Finally, the two wings of the Ghost Face Army changed from stretching to closing, and the Khitan cavalry was surrounded!

At this moment, all the Khitan cavalry suddenly stopped - they did not walk fast, so they stopped naturally.

Then everyone dismounted. Only one general was left sitting firmly on the horse, leaving the list and shouting: "I, Yelu Pode, who will be here? Sign up!"

Yelu Antuan felt a stern in his heart. He knew that Yelu Pode was a Khitan general. Hu was named Wugu neighbor. He became the Pishi Army Zuo Xiangwen as early as Yelu Abaoji period. He was deeply trusted by Abaoji. After Yelu Deguang succeeded to the throne, he respected him very much. This time, the Khitan invaded Ganlong in the south, so he kept him in guarding Shangjing. Although no one thought that Shangjing would be attacked at that time, he could become the left-behind of his old nest. Yelu Pode's qualifications and prestige can be imagined.

Yelu Antuan waved his hand and signaled that the two wings, which were already ready to attack, stopped at the command. The attack did not proceed immediately, but the siege continued.

Yelu Antuan urged the horse to walk to the front of the formation, and when he could hear each other's distance, he had two shields guarding him to prevent cold arrows. Yelu Antuan shouted, "Hello General Wugulin!"

Although Yelu Pode was old, his eyes were very nice. He saw Yelu Antuan's ruined face from a distance and exclaimed: "Antuan, it's you!" He then shouted in grief and anger: "It's you! Are you the leader of this ghost-faced army?"

Yelu Antuan said: "Yes!"

Yelu Pode screamed: "Okay, okay! I didn't expect that the one who killed me the most ruthlessly was not a Han person, but a Khitan!"

Yelu Antuan said: "Last winter, I rode a horse in Linhuang Mansion. I heard that General Wugulin was in the imperial capital, so I did not invade. However, my good luck last year would not have landed in Shangjing for the second time. General Wugulin, the Khitan was out of the way. You might as well abandon the darkness and turn to the light with me. I can, as long as you follow me to the Yingyang flag, there will definitely be a general in the Tiance Tang army!"

Yelu Pode smiled bitterly, then screamed and said loudly: "No invasion? You dare not come! Forget it, I won't talk nonsense to you. Today I'm leaving the city to pass on a word to you!"

"What's the matter?"

"The Sweat-Blooded Cavalry Regiment will not come. Your Majesty bought Shi Jingtang to attack Tiance at the cost of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. Now the Han people are killing each other, and the Yingyang Army has now become an isolated army."

Yelu Antuan felt a stern when he heard this, and it was difficult to distinguish between true and false. It was common for the two armies to make up lies to attack the morale of the other party. However, Yelu Pode's sentence "At the cost of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, he bought Shi Jingtang to attack Tiance" was too convincing. Yelu Antuan was a wise general of the Khitan. He was familiar with the affairs of the Hu and Han Dynasty and figured out Shi Jingtang's character. He felt that the possibility of Shi Jingtang fighting with Zhang Mai for this was really great, so he could not tell the truth or falsehood of this sentence.

Yelu Pode said again: "You destroyed half of this Linhuang Mansion last year. At the beginning of this year, Your Majesty ordered the other half to be destroyed. Do you know why?"

"Do you want to strengthen the walls and clear the fields?"

"Strengthen the walls and clear the fields?" Yelu Pode sneered: "That's the Han people's thing! Your Majesty completely destroyed Linhuang Mansion and asked it to be buried with Yang Yi! The eagle spread its wings and swept across the northern part of the Mobei. Yang Yi is a famous general among the Han people. He deserves this funeral! I have said that. As for whether you can bring this sentence to Yang Yi alive, it depends on your luck!"
Chapter completed!