Fu Song

Chapter 436
In the eyes of Bianliang officials and Dutang, Xiao Cheng is a strange person who is completely elusive and cannot be judged by common sense.

To say that he is rebellious seems to have wronged him.

Because Xiao Cheng has a lot of opportunities to rebel, when Xiao Ding is at war with the imperial court, he can completely cause chaos in the southwest of the imperial court, so as to echo his elder brother.

The imperial army was defeated at Shaanxi Road, and even when the court Taiwei Zhang Chao and Shaanxi Road Duqin Li Du died at the hands of Xiao Ding, Xiao Cheng could take advantage of this opportunity to set up another branch in the southwest, The imperial court simply did not have the ability and energy to manage him.

At that time, the official family and all the halls could be said to be full of buns. Relatively speaking, these Jilin states in the southwest could not handle chopsticks at all.

But Xiao Cheng did not rebel, and he looked like a loyal and filial son of the Song court.

But is he really loyal to the court of the Great Song Dynasty and the official family of Zhao Song Dynasty?

If this is said, people with a little knowledge in the court will not believe it.

Xiao Cheng privately set up an army in the southwest to rule out dissidents. The former magistrate of Qianzhou who claimed to have died of illness, everyone knew at whose hands he died.

Then Tunluo Dianguo and Luoshi Guiguo were exterminated. These were some vassal states of Zhao and Song Dynasties. Xiao Cheng didn't have the imperial court's order, so if they said they would be destroyed, they would be destroyed.

In the end, the imperial court had to pinch its nose and set up a new Guizhou road, so that this guy who couldn't control it at all would be a comfort envoy along the way.

The only disgusting thing is that an enemy of the Xiao family was sent to Guizhou Road as a transshipment envoy.

As Xiao Cheng's power on Guizhou Road became stronger and stronger, the imperial court became more and more uneasy.

A person who can't figure out his mind is the most frightening person.

Because you never know, at that point, he will give you a hard blow, so that you will never turn over.

After all, it was the Xiao couple, who died in the Imperial Prison.

The feud between parents is never shared.

Xiao Cheng has no reason to give up.

Moreover, judging from the way this guy acts, he has never been a generous master.

Look at him dealing with dissidents on Guizhou Road, his methods are quite sophisticated and vicious.

And what about Cen Zhong, the appeasement envoy on Guangnan West Road?

Also an uneasy guy.

At that time, he suspected that he had a connection with the Xiao family, but he was worried that this guy's network of relationships was intricate, and he couldn't catch the obvious mistakes, so he sent him to Guangnan West Road to be an empty recruiter to calm Guangnan West Road. The barbarians rebelled every three days.

The original intention was to let this guy be thoroughly polished into a useless guy in the process of fighting with the barbarians, but he didn't expect that as soon as this guy arrived at Guangnan West Road, he would blink his eyes, turn an old hen into a duck, and turn an old hen into a duck. Recruiting envoys should be fun.

In the end, even Tao Hongyuan, the pacifier of Guangnan West Road, had to obediently give way to him, and even kissed the memorial, strongly recommending Cen Zhong as the pacifier of Guangnan West Road.

In fact, everyone knows the reason behind it. If Tao Hongyuan didn't do this, he would be ruined and suffer a complete social death.

In the end, Cen Zhong became the pacifier of Guangnan West Road under the full recommendation of his past network and Tao Hongyuan and other people.

During this process, Xiao Cheng didn't even say a word.

But Xiao Cheng's attitude is crucial.

The court had to agree.

Because he was afraid of offending Xiao Cheng.

Be it Xiao Cheng or Cen Zhong, Bianliang's current mentality towards these two people is extremely complicated.

They are certainly not loyal ministers.

But you can't say they are traitors.

Moreover, if you really want to talk about it, they can be regarded as having made great contributions to the country!

In the southwest, there are many barbarians, and the imperial court has always implemented a policy of restraint here. As long as there is no rebellion, as long as the Zhao and Song officials are the main family, everything will be fine.

But in fact, the rebellion and wars in these places have never stopped.

It's not that the imperial court didn't want to completely conquer these places, but once the military intervenes, it's like a bottomless pit that can never be filled.

In the end, there was nothing left to do.

But now, these two people have completely conquered these two places.

Zhao Song's territory has been expanded in the southwest direction.

Some barbarian tribes who were separated from the Great Song Dynasty officially became the subjects of the Great Song Dynasty and were borrowed into the book.

Last year, Guizhou Road paid [-] guan in taxes to the imperial court, and Guangnan West Road paid [-] guan in taxes to the imperial court.

It sounds pitifully small!
But considering the past years, let alone paying taxes to the imperial court, these two places have to extend their hands to the imperial court every year. It is either this disaster or the famine. To prevent the barbarians from rebelling.

Now these two places not only have no access to the imperial court, but have paid money to the imperial court.

There is very little money, but the symbolic meaning is extremely extraordinary.

This means that both Xiao Cheng and Cen Zhong still consider themselves servants of the Great Song Dynasty.

This at least gave Du Tang and Zhao Song's official family a little bit of face, so that they would not have no steps to go down.

Of course, whether it was Guizhou Road or Guangnan West Road, Bianliang pretended to be deaf and dumb when he reached out to the imperial court to allocate the so-called forbidden army equipment.

I didn't say yes, and I didn't say I wouldn't give it. Anyway, it's just squeaking. It's not available today, and it will be out of stock tomorrow.

In fact, everyone knows that Bianliang will never be able to send weapons to these two places, so everyone is just acting.

Sometimes, superficial articles still have to be done.

You can't fool a few interested people, but you can still fool the general public who don't know the inside story.

The prosperous Song Dynasty is still blooming like a brocade!
At least many people really think so.

But in fact, it has long been rainy and windy.

"The two armies of Qingyuan and Huaiyuan will be handed over to Wei Wu to lead them to cooperate with you in attacking Dali!" Cen Zhong said with a smile, "The first army, including the reserve team, has [-] soldiers. Am I generous? I will not interfere with how you use them at all."

Xiao Cheng looked constipated.

"My senior brother, Qingyuan and Huaiyuan armies were formed not long ago, so you must have no weapons and armor, right? Are you asking me to fill them up for you? You're not going to pay the bill, are you?"

Cen Zhong laughed triumphantly.

He is not worried about Xiao Cheng's refusal!
Attacking Dali, his side is an important road, not to mention fighting any tough battles, just to contain Dali's army is quite necessary for Xiao Cheng.

Moreover, the general in command of the two armies is Wei Wu, who was born in the Xiao family, and even his wife is Xiao's mother's maid. A few years ago, it was Xiao Cheng who lent Cen Zhong to Guangnan West Road to quell the chaos. Although he is an official on Guangnan West Road, this love for incense is constantly being torn apart.

With Wei Wu leading the army, Xiao Cheng's order will inevitably be executed without any discount.

In the past two years, Wei Wu's military power in Guangnan West Road has actually been greatly weakened.

No matter how good the relationship between Cen Zhong and Xiao Cheng is, he will not tolerate the military power under his command being controlled by Xiao Cheng.

Wei Wu has not been very happy in the past two years in Guangnan West Road.His deputy, Liu Yiguo, is Cen Zhong's serious confidant, and the entire Liu family in Leizhou has become Cen Zhong's pawn.

Taking advantage of the battle against Dali this time, Cen Zhong planned to return Wei Wu to Xiao Cheng, so that they could get together and break up. It would be embarrassing for both sides, so it was naturally the best way.

And after taking Dali, Xiao Cheng also has a place to place Wei Wu, so that Wei Wu's interests will not be damaged.

The two sides are also well aware and understand each other.

Standing in front of the huge blast furnace in Dushan Iron and Steel Refining Workshop, Cen Zhong was a little lost.

Last year, excluding Guizhou Road, the annual steel output of Dasong was [-] million catties.
Last year, Guizhou roads weighed [-] million jin. The key point is that one-third of the [-] million jin was wrought iron.

Pig iron and rough iron have been turned into various agricultural tools and daily necessities. In just three years, not only Guizhou Road, but also Guangnan West Road, there is no shortage of iron tools.

In the past, many people dug the ground and used stone and wooden tools, and the efficiency was low as can be imagined.

Ironware, in these two roads, has been fully popularized.

And the price is still falling step by step.

Several iron and steel smelting workshops on Guangnan West Road were annexed by Dushan Iron and Steel because they could not survive. Now they only produce rough iron, pig iron, and farm tools.

In the past, some good steel and iron could be smelted on Guangnan West Road, but now, it is no longer time-consuming and labor-intensive. Because it is thankless, it is much cheaper to buy it in Dushan.

Dushan does not sell these good things outside, except for Guangnan West Road.

Now, daily-use ironware on both sides has begun to be exported on a large scale. For example, the ironware workshops on Jinghu Road and Guangnan East Road next to them have suffered greatly.

It is estimated that it will not be long before they all go bankrupt one by one.

Then these blacksmiths after bankruptcy are very likely to flow into Guizhou Road and Guangnan West Road to make a living.

For artisans, these two places are always open to visitors.

And craftsmen are also happy to come to these two places, because in these two places, they can earn more money, and they have skills in these two places, so they are very respected.

The surrounding places have introduced one policy after another to strictly prevent their own people, especially craftsmen, from running to Guizhou Road.

If you are caught, you will go to jail.

However, there are policies above and countermeasures below.

You are not allowed to leave clearly, but you can also leave secretly.

On Guizhou Road and Guangnan West Road, there are special organizations planning such things.

For people outside the two places, this is called human abduction.

But Xiao Cheng gave a more elegant statement, saying that this is called talent introduction.

Under the influence of Xiao Cheng, all the people on the road in Guizhou never tire of getting such talents into their territory.

And in order to keep these people on their own territory, it took a lot of thought.

After all, in Guizhou passers-by, the movement of people is free.

Xiao Cheng did not allow his subordinates to use any means to restrict the flow of population.

In this way, more and more people will flow into places that do well, forming a good positive cycle.

Where things are not done well, it will be a bit miserable, and people will run outside.

With more people, more wealth will be created, and more taxes will be collected.

Now Guangnan West Road has set up a special checkpoint to prevent people on their own territory from running to Guizhou Road!
"Whether it's the iron mine or the workshop on Guangnan West Road, I'll make money for you!" Cen Zhong was a little dissatisfied: "Little brother, you should also share some soup and water with us."

"Brother, now the production of farm tools is basically transferred to you." Xiao Cheng laughed.

"How much money can this make!" Cen Zhong snorted coldly: "In your words, they are all low-end industries. Good things, you put them in your arms, armor, simple knives, bows, etc., you But none of them were released."

"Brother, you can't wrong me. We have a division of labor. Don't forget that the Federation invested in the construction of such a large shipyard in Leizhou. Is the first big ship going to be launched this year? When the time comes to run at sea As soon as you run away, you will be advertised immediately, and by then, you will have no money to spend. How many bows and crossbows do I have to build to keep up with the money I can make by building a ship?"

Cen Zhong rolled his eyes, "That's because you don't have a harbor on Guizhou Road, otherwise I guess it won't be my turn!"

"Look at senior brother calling me like a miser!" Xiao Cheng smiled. "Brother, there are some things, some things, must be tightly covered now, and must not be exposed, for example, how to improve the quality of steel. I am not at ease with you now. Although we are not too far ahead A lot, but just this loss is enough for us to form an absolute advantage on the battlefield."

Cen Zhong was a little helpless, Xiao Cheng was right, on Guizhou Road, Xiao Cheng had already formed absolute control, a few opponents could not make waves, and he could not reach this level on Guangnan West Road.

Smelting steel and forging weapons, after all, the threshold is not too high.

Unlike the shipbuilding industry, even if the blueprint is put in front of you, you may not be able to make it.

Just like the Federation's shipyard in Leizhou, if it wasn't for the joining of the Zheng family of Jishi pirates, or the large number of technicians of the Zheng family who had all moved here, even with the blueprint of a big ship, how could they have built such a huge ship? things!

"Elder brother, the reason why we are in this situation, in the final analysis, is because our fists are harder. Only with our fists guaranteeing our status can we effectively exercise our power." Xiao Cheng said: "Wait until our power is not enough When force is completely needed to balance the guarantee, these industries can vigorously expand outward.”

Cen Zhong nodded slightly.

Every time he comes to Dushan, Cen Zhong will be shocked. The tall chimneys here, the billowing smoke, and the smell of fireworks that can be smelled in the air will make his heart ache. Confidence rises one more point.

Not to mention, there is also a big killer that Xiao Cheng has never announced.

gunpowder.

Cen Zhong didn't even ask about this matter.

Some things can be discussed, but some things cannot cross the red line.

He only needs to know that these things belong to his own friendly forces, and it is enough to help him break out of the predicament when needed.

This thing is indeed a little scary.

Cen Zhong was also surprised, gunpowder has been around for a long time, and people in the Bianliang Craftsman Camp have been researching this thing, why can't they produce Xiao Cheng's quality?
It's just that the output is too low!
Xiao Cheng said that after a year, it will not exceed such a good thing as a hundred catties.

(End of this chapter)