"Do you want to deal with the Changle bandits in Xiangfan?" Yuan Hancheng asked.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Donglu were unable to travel south, Huaixi, Nanyang and Jinghu attacked Luo Xiancheng with all their strength and eliminated the hidden dangers in the Xiangfan area. This was also an urgent matter to be solved at the moment.

Liu Tingzhou was much more familiar with military affairs than Yuan Hancheng. He shook his head and said, "It's difficult. How can we deploy a large army without money and food?"

When the army sets off, don't wait for a big fight. It will involve many issues such as garrisoning and logistical supplies, and the consumption will far exceed that of the permanent army. What was agreed upon with Huaidong when Emperor Yongxing returned to Jiangning was the garrison defense zone.

If the soldiers and horses leave the defense zone to fight, Jiangning will need to pay for additional money and food. It is indeed necessary to pay for additional money and food. Huaixi's current reserves of money, food and military supplies simply cannot withstand the consumption of the war.

With the Ministry of Household's finances so tight, how could he spend an extra few million dollars to win over Luo Xiancheng in a short period of time? Even if he had some money, Lin Fu would definitely first restrict the She family from taking root in Jiangxi.

After pacifying Fujian and Jiangxi, even if the Yan captives occupied Xiangfan, they could still rule across the river. After Fujian and Jiangxi were occupied by Jiangning, they would still be a serious problem for Huaidong.

After Yiqi sent the message, Liu Tingzhou and Yuan Hancheng went directly to the Yamen to see Ding Zhiru, asking Ding Zhiru to send someone to chase Dong Yuan and tell Lin Fu about the summons in Luzhou.

After all, Lin Fu was the privy envoy, and when he sent a letter to summon him, Huaixi would have to send someone to deal with it.

Ding Zhiru actually wanted to talk to Liu Tingzhou: "Huaidong is recruiting refugees to serve as soldiers in Xuzhou. I don't know how the news got here. In the past two days, dozens of households in Shouzhou abandoned their land and fled eastward. This incident

We can’t ignore it…”

"Oh!" Liu Tingzhou frowned and felt that this matter was not trivial. He sat down with Yuan Hancheng and asked for details.

Lin Fu had long implemented the new policy of reducing rents and taxes on a large scale in Huaidong. The families of soldiers had more excellent attendants, military exploits, and generous disability pensions. This was also the core guarantee of the Huaidong Army's combat power - Huaixi had no

Under these conditions, you can study in Huaidong.

However, there was little news in the world at that time. Huaidong and Huaixi had their own systems, and the spread of news between them was even slower. If the people here abandoned their land and fled eastward under normal circumstances, it was very likely that Huaidong was causing trouble inside and deliberately sent people

Sneak in to spread news and confuse the people.

"It's better to go to Xuzhou. After all, it's blocked by Hongzepu and the Huaihe River. If Huaidong also recruits refugees on a large scale to farm in Luzhou, and the conditions are much better than those in Huaixi, it will be a bit of a headache." Ding Zhiru said.

Along the Dongfeishui River, there is Luzhou. Luzhou and Shou are only a hundred miles apart. Apart from low hills and mountains, there are no other natural obstacles in between.

At present, Henan is completely disabled. Huaixi has finally gathered a population of 12.3 million, which is the foundation for Huaixi's future. If these people are not satisfied with Huaixi and continue to move south, Huaixi will be even weaker.

.

Ding Zhiru raised a very difficult question and called Liu Tingzhou. Yuan Hancheng sat there with a headache.

Send soldiers to seal the border? Huaidong also happens to be building forts in Luzhou and Dongyang north of Dongyang at the same time. How can Huaixi have the resources to engage in military confrontation with Huaidong now?

"Huaidong can't bully others too much. If it doesn't work, I'll go to Luzhou." Liu Tingzhou said.

Dong Yuan was afraid that if he went to Luzhou he would be detained and it would be difficult to return, but Liu Tingzhou did not have this worry.

"Let's see what the deputy envoy thinks..." Ding Zhiru didn't know what role Liu Tingzhou could play by going to Luzhou. It was the responsibility of local governments to appease the refugees. He couldn't blame Luzhou for providing too good conditions to appease the refugees.

The people in Shouzhou have been attracted, right?

"We really shouldn't have given Luzhou away in the first place," Yuan Hancheng said.

Ding Zhiru smiled bitterly: Everyone knows the importance of Luzhou, but Huaixi insisted on occupying Luzhou at that time, and the consequences would probably be much lighter than leaving Emperor Yongxing in Juchao.

At that time, Huaidong did not want to cause a split between the two emperors, but it did not mean that Huaidong would not have the ability to bite the bullet and continue fighting when the split happened. At that time, Huaidong already had 50,000 water infantry stationed in Luzhou.

Yijiang River on the south bank.

Huaixi never had the confidence or capital to take over Luzhou from the beginning to the end.

On the contrary, in order to welcome Emperor Yongxing back to Jiangning, Huaidong also made many concessions. For example, the reserves of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Works and the Internal Affairs Bureau were all divided between Huaixi and Chizhou. Huaidong also pretended to

I don’t know, things got over. But after all, Huaidong is not easy to bully. Last year, the salt merchants supported Huaixi. Lin Fu first took action on the salt issue, and then blocked the trade routes connecting Huaixi. Next, there will definitely be more in Luzhou.

There are actions targeting Huaixi.

************************

Yinping Mountain, located in the south of Chao City, is located between Yangtze Lake and the Yangtze River. You can enjoy the scenery on both sides by climbing the mountain.

After entering July, the Yangtze River is also at its peak.

The embankments on both sides of the Yangtze River in the Luzhou section have not been repaired over the years and have been washed away by the river water. Only a section of the dike remains standing in the river. When the water is low, the water channel of the Yangtze River in the Luzhou section is only two or three miles wide.

When the sky rises, the north and south shores are so vast that you can't see them in the distance. It's probably nearly a hundred miles away.

In order to manage Luzhou, Lin Fu appointed Chen Huawen as the prefect of Luzhou, merged Luzhou with the newly established Yijiang Prefecture, and transferred Zhang Gou to lead his troops to garrison Luzhou and control key areas such as Juchao and Qianshan on both wings.

.

"Not only does the water of the Yangtze River flow to both sides of the bank, but there are also frequent floods along the Yangtze Lake after summer. The embankments need to be repaired to divert water to facilitate farming," Chen Huawen said, standing beside Lin Fu and accompanying him to the Yinping Mountain to look at the water conditions of the Yangtze River.

"Everything is ready now, and Mr. Zhu is indeed a capable official. We are just waiting for the water to recede in autumn before we start repairing the embankments!"

Lin Fu listened to Chen Huawen's praise of Zhu Ai, glanced at Zhu Ai sideways, and said with a smile: "Managing dikes and farming is just one thing. Whether you can save 30,000 to 50,000 troops for use depends on Zhu Ai."

means!"

"Zhu Ai should live up to your lord's expectations." Zhu Ai responded to Lin Fu sonorously and forcefully.

Lin Fu smiled and chatted about trivial matters related to embankment management.

Luzhou is the key point for Lin Fu to contain Huaixi, Jinghu, and Chizhou. If Luzhou is not controlled, Lin Fu will inevitably station a large number of troops in Jiangning, leaving Jiangning without the necessary

Strategic buffer. Just as the Huaibei Expedition will use Xuzhou as the bridgehead, Lin Fu will control Huaixi, Chizhou, and Jinghu in the future, so the most important thing now is to manage Luzhou into the core place that Huaidong fully controls.

Lin Fu did not promote the New Deal on a large scale because he did not want to cause major turmoil. However, if anyone in the Luzhou government did not like it, he would casually destroy Rong Ruru - suppressing local influence, reducing rents and taxes, and relocating displaced persons.

, with Tian Anmin, this is what Chen Huawen has been doing since he became the prefect of Luzhou.

In addition, Lin Fu did not want to use too many troops to restrain him from moving in Luzhou. A certain number of elite soldiers and horses plus a large number of reserve troops were the reasonable garrison deployment to form a barrier on the western front of Jiangning.
Chapter completed!