Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Caiyang City is located on the east bank of the Xianshui River, nearly ten miles away from the river, and is connected to the Xianshui River through a horizontal canal.

As a result, large ships traveling on the Han River cannot reach Caiyang City directly even if they turn into the Xianshui River. They must either abandon the ship and go ashore, or transfer to a small boat to reach Caiyang City.

It is essential to be on guard against others, and you can have the intention to harm others. Li Tai ordered the construction of Caiyang City nominally to provide assistance to Xiangyang nearby, but in fact it was also to monitor and spy, and to carry out some necessary military operations when conditions were ripe. action.

But Xiangyang is, after all, an important town in Jianghan, with a population of more than 100,000 or 200,000 soldiers and civilians gathered in the area. The defensive city of Caiyang only has more than 2,000 infantry and cavalry troops stationed there. If you are not careful and undefended, the sharp knife stuck under Xiangyang's nose may become a weapon in your mouth in any minute. A piece of fat.

Therefore, the location of the city must be some distance away from the main shipping road to ensure that it will not be directly attacked by the navy from the south. Various defenses can be set up along this distance along the river.

In the past year, there have been various construction tasks in Jingzhou, including land reclamation and land reclamation. The manpower has been used to the extreme, and there are not many hard-working craftsmen coming south to build the new city. Therefore, the construction of Caiyang City mainly relied on local Han barbarian manpower. Xiangyang also organized many Ding servants to come to help before building this new city.

When Li Tai arrived, Liang Shiyan, Li Quji and other generals were already waiting outside the city. After a brief greeting, they entered the city together.

Li Tai first sent someone to Xiangyang to inform Xiao Jin of his arrival, and then asked about what new changes had occurred in the Handong area recently.

"After Liu Zhongli led his troops to the east, no foreign soldiers came to the counties and counties under his rule to make up for the defense. Only the powerful clans of the state defended their territory with their tribes. After the servant received the order, he arranged for rangers to patrol the south. , on my journey I saw rural soldiers gathered in various places in Qiaojin..."

Liang Shiyan carefully reported to Li Tai the information about Han Dong that he had recently obtained. Every detail was omitted. At the end, he said: "Although there are many officers and soldiers from the Liang people here, they are still on guard. Although their countrymen are We are not yet an elite army, but seeing that the order of the village is so strict, I am afraid that it is not a good opportunity to enter the army now. "

Li Tai couldn't help but sigh secretly after hearing these situations. He had made a lot of noise in the more than a year since he came to Jingzhou, and the impact was not limited to Jingzhou. Needless to say, the Xiangyang area was the first to be affected. His reputation and deeds were also spread throughout the eastern Han Dynasty.

Before Li Tai's arrival, although there were many local tycoons in Suilu's realms, these powerful tribes were mainly engaged in various production activities and rarely conducted military organizations and activities.

But this time Liu Zhongli had just led the troops from the territory to leave, and the powerful tribes took over the defense of the Handong area seamlessly, leaving no loopholes or opportunities to exploit.

It can also be seen that these rich people are also well aware of the principle of "fear of thieves". Although he has not yet taken action, he has already raised the alert level for Jingzhou to the highest level. This feeling of being taken seriously made him not know whether to laugh or cry for a moment.

However, there is always a reason to be a thief for a thousand days, but there is no reason to guard against a thief for a thousand days. After all, these local tycoons in the Handong area are not real military forces. It is nothing to be vigilant and defensive for a while, but it is difficult to persist for a long time.

Perhaps they still imagined that Liu Zhongli, a fierce Jianghan man, would be able to defeat Hou Jing's rebel army soon after leading his army eastward, and then return to the town. But this idea is undoubtedly a dream. Not to mention that Liu Zhongli failed to solve Hou Jing, even if he solved it this time, it would be easy for him to leave, but it would be difficult for him to come back.

The drama has just begun, and the impact on the situation in Jianghan is not big yet. It is normal for the powerful people in Lu to still keep their guard to their own affairs.

Li Tai rested in Caiyang Fangcheng that night. Early the next morning, Yueyang King Xiao Jin rushed over impatiently.

"Hou Jing has crossed the river!"

As soon as they met, Xiao Qing, who was ashen-faced, dropped a piece of news that might be a bombshell for Shiliu, but Li Tai had already expected it.

Although he was not very surprised in his heart, Li Tai still glared and said, "Isn't this possible? Hou Jing's command can only be defeated by a group of remnants. Even if he can capture some lawless thugs in Shouyang, he will definitely not be a capable one." Army, how could it be possible to break through the great river and natural chasm so easily?”

"Oh, what a misfortune for the family and the country! If it had not been for the repeated connivance of the imperial court, how could the thieves have caused such a catastrophe? I am now an old man, and it is difficult to see things clearly. The people in power in the government are only ambitious and talented, jealous of the wise and capable, and the innocent children in the household are thieves and lead them to The wolves in the north of the Yangtze River are really hateful! The river is surging. How could Su Jun have crossed the river if Yu Liang hadn't been there to lure him?"

When King Yueyang said this, he looked indignant again. Listening to his words, he obviously blamed all the mistakes on the prince in the court.

This matter is inherently mysterious and complicated. It is difficult to say who is specifically responsible. Even those involved are still at a loss. As for those who are far upstream in Jianghan and only know about the matter through hearsay, of course they rely on hearsay. Feeling guessing is to blame. From what King Yueyang said, it can be seen that their brothers have been really unhappy with Prince Xiao Gang for a long time.

However, after hearing his words, Li Tai couldn't help but think about it. How many times did the northern army go south between the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties? If the last time was Su Jun during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it would have been more than two hundred years ago.

King Yueyang was obviously very angry. After the meeting, he babbled and cursed on this matter for more than a quarter of an hour.

Although he was unhappy with many people in the Jiankang court, he was a Liang person after all. The Yangtze River, which was a natural defense line, was crossed by the chaotic army like a picnic. No matter how you look at it, it was a bit embarrassing. Of course, he was very angry and couldn't help cursing at those rubbish in Jiankang City.

After venting for a long time, King Yueyang restrained his emotions a little and said to Li Tai: "It is best to stop the goods coming from upstream in the near future. Even if this turmoil is over, there will be aftermath. I am afraid that the market will not improve in a short time, and it may not be safe to store goods in Xiangyang..."

It is okay to suspend trading, after all, Li Tai does not rely on only this trade route. Although the sales have been rapid and the profits have been considerable during this period, he has long foreseen the situation in Southern Liang, so it is okay to stop.

But when he heard Xiao Zha take the initiative to say that the situation in Xiangyang City was not safe enough, he quickly took the opportunity to say: "Does the king have any worries? You may as well tell me. If I can help, I will do my best to help!" "Alas, I do have worries, but they are also mostly related to the ugliness of the family, which is really hard to talk about." King Yueyang sighed first, and then said: "Boshan, you should know that my family is out of order. Even if my brothers are relieved and no longer care about it, others may not think so. Although Hou Jing is a clown, he has given some people with ulterior motives the opportunity to gather power!" At this point, King Yueyang's expression and tone changed. "My brother has detained Zhang Zun for several months, but the court has not issued an order to revoke Zhang Zun's appointment. It can be seen that he is determined to replace me. But the current prosperity of Yongfu was created by me, how can I hand it over to others?

The traitor finally got the chance. Liu Zhongli went to quell the rebellion and led many of my Yongfu's elite away. These wealthy families benefited a lot from their own treatment, but they abandoned me when they were tested! In addition to quelling the rebellion and eliminating the thieves, I am afraid they also secretly wanted to support me..."

When Li Tai heard this, his mind was a little confused for a while, thinking to himself, buddy, are you suffering from paranoia? Liu Zhongli couldn't even deal with the clown you mentioned, let alone support me. Of course, there was support, but it was not done by this guy!

However, seeing that Prince Yueyang frowned and had a serious expression on his face, it was obvious that this was not just a casual remark, but that he was very confident in his judgment and was full of a sense of crisis.

The so-called guilty conscience is probably this situation. From the perspective of Prince Yueyang Xiao Zha, Hou Jing is not a big threat at present, but Liu Zhongli, as the prince's confidant, led the army to the east, which is likely to lead to a situation that he does not want to see.

Moreover, Liu Zhongli took many powerful troops from Yongzhou with him when he went east, which further increased Xiao Zha's sense of crisis. It turned out that the interest alliance he formed during this period by selling Western Regions goods was ultimately not as good as the popularity and appeal accumulated by the Hedong Liu family in Xiangyang for many years.

No matter what kind of mentality Xiao Zha had, his current state of suspicion is undoubtedly beneficial to Li Tai.

So he frowned and said, "We really have to be prepared for this situation. It's better to be prepared. What kind of preparations do you want to make?"

After hearing this, King Yueyang turned around and looked at the fortress hall, and then said, "This fortress is well built and can accommodate more soldiers. I wonder if it's convenient for you, Boshan, to increase the garrison here?"

After hearing this, Li Tai was about to agree, but his heart suddenly moved, and he changed to a more embarrassed expression and said, "Well, since the king asked, I won't hide it. Two thousand soldiers are the limit of current personnel expenses.

Your Majesty should know that our Taiyuan Duke Wang Sizheng is still trapped in Yingchuan by the Eastern Bandits. Although he is known for his good defense, the gap between the enemy and us is huge. I have worked with General Wang for a long time, and the towns we govern are also neighbors. We need to keep some troops in the town for changes..."

"Alas, yes, I shouldn't have bothered Boshan with my own difficulties. I'm really sorry."

After hearing this, King Yueyang also sighed, but in Li Tai's opinion, he seemed a little relieved. It seems that this so-called request is indeed a bit of a test.