AWB Chapter 910 It can take anywhere from one year to half a year!
Chapter 910 It can take anywhere from one year to half a year!
The sun sets, and the moon rises.
Yang Zheng and his group did not linger outside the city. After witnessing the harvest of Fugui wheat and learning about its yield per mu, Yang Zheng and Tang Qing's group returned to Yongliang County before it got completely dark.
"You may all go back now. Mr. Tang may stay."
"As ordered."
The other officials glanced enviously at Tang Qing, who was left alone, greeted Yang Zheng, and then left.
As Yang Zheng walked toward the temporary residence, he said with great excitement, "Mr. Tang, after this autumn harvest, Liangzhou and Qingzhou will no longer have to worry about food shortages, and the food shortage predicament in Youzhou and Mingzhou will also be somewhat alleviated. I wonder if it is time to send troops to Jingzhou?"
Yang Zheng's ambitions never stopped at the four states; his ambitions were always for the whole world.
The world has been in chaos for too long, and the people have suffered for too long. Yang Zheng is eager to end this chaotic world and allow the people to recuperate.
And if we want to end this chaotic world, Jingzhou is an unavoidable problem.
Since ancient times, Jingzhou has been the center of the Nine Provinces. Every dynasty in history has established its capital in Jingzhou. Over thousands of years, Jingzhou has long been recognized as the center of the Nine Provinces in people's minds.
Therefore, at the end of a dynasty, the rebel forces occupying the capital city tend to gain more public support and attract more ambitious individuals to join them, thus rapidly growing stronger and eventually unifying the nine provinces and establishing a new dynasty.
Since Yang Zheng aspires to unify the nine provinces, he will naturally not ignore Jingzhou.
In fact, none of the rebel armies in any of the states wanted to miss out on taking Jingzhou.
Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Although the imperial court was weak and feeble, it did not mean that Jingzhou was a place that could be easily conquered.
Jingzhou was the political and economic center of the Nine Provinces. The Xia Dynasty, which ruled the Nine Provinces for three hundred years, always adhered to the national policy of "strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches".
Simply put, it's about draining the resources of the other eight states to nourish Jingzhou, making Jingzhou powerful enough to suppress the other eight states.
The national policy of strengthening the central government and weakening local powers, which lasted for three hundred years, made Jingzhou incredibly wealthy, and the major Jingzhou families located in the capital became extremely rich, far surpassing the families of the other eight states in strength.
The reason why the rebels from various states, including Yang Zheng, dared not send troops to Youzhou was precisely because they were wary of these powerful families from Jingzhou.
While the other eight states rebelled, the powerful families of Jingzhou remained indifferent because it did not affect their own interests.
However, if they invade Jingzhou, they will infringe upon the core interests of these Jingzhou aristocratic families. They will definitely not sit idly by and wait for their doom, but will fight back with all their might!
These aristocratic families of Jingzhou have existed for hundreds or even thousands of years. The wealth and military strength within these families are unimaginable. Once they unite as one and fight back, even powerful rebel groups like the White Lotus Sect or the Yang Family Army might not be able to withstand them.
This is the fundamental reason why the various rebel armies in Kyushu, including Yang Zheng, coveted Jingzhou but never dared to launch an attack on it. Ultimately, they were wary of the power of the Jingzhou aristocratic families and feared that a fierce counterattack from them would cause them significant losses.
However, times have changed. Yang Zheng's power was weak in the past, so he naturally dared not touch Jingzhou. But now the Yang family army is powerful enough!
At the beginning of the year, when planning to use troops against Youzhou, the Yang family army expanded its forces, increasing the original 20 troops to 50!
Moreover, these 500,000 are regular troops. If we include the reserves and civilian laborers who assist in wartime, the total strength of the Yang family army exceeds one million!
With a million-strong army as his backing, Yang Zheng was not afraid of the counterattack from the Jingzhou aristocratic families.
Therefore, Yang Zheng inevitably had the idea of using troops to attack Jingzhou and end the chaos as soon as possible.
However, Tang Qing gave a negative answer to Yang Zheng's question: "In my opinion, now is not the best time to send troops."
"Why?"
Yang Zheng didn't seem surprised by Tang Qing's answer, but instead asked the question seriously.
Tang Qing pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, "The King of Liang should know that war is never just about the eliteness of the soldiers. Logistics such as provisions, weapons, and armor are equally important. While the soldiers under the King of Liang's command are indeed brave, if we were to attack Jingzhou, the King of Liang would need to deploy at least 500,000 troops. Does the King of Liang think that the output of Qingzhou, Liangzhou, Youzhou, and Mingzhou is sufficient to support an army of 500,000 for a long period of time?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Zheng fell into deep thought.
Is the output of the four provinces enough to support an army of 500,000 for a long period of time?
The answer to this question is just a matter of a little thought.
Yang Zheng appears to control four states, but in reality, only Qingzhou is truly productive. Liangzhou's output is barely enough to meet its own needs. As for Youzhou and Mingzhou...
These two states are now a wasteland, not only unable to meet their own needs in terms of output, but also requiring the transfer of resources from Qingzhou and Liangzhou to subsidize them.
In other words, only the produce of Qingzhou, one of the territories under Yang Zheng's rule, could supply the army for combat.
It is clearly impossible to support an army of 500,000 with the resources of a single province.
Thinking of this, a look of frustration flashed across Yang Zheng's face, and he asked, "Even if we include the output of the rich wheat, it's still not enough?"
"not enough!"
Tang Qing shook his head and said, "Although the yield of Fugui wheat is high, it is currently only being cultivated in Taicang County and Liangshan County. The output from these two counties may be able to solve the food shortage problem in Liangzhou, but it is definitely not enough to supply hundreds of thousands of troops for battle."
At this point, Tang Qing paused, then continued, "Not to mention, the King of Liang also needs to mobilize some of the harvested wheat to be transported to Youzhou and Mingzhou to alleviate the famine there."
"Mr. Tang truly understands me!"
Yang Zheng couldn't help but sigh, as Tang Qing, who had taught him to read, knew him very well.
Tang Qing knew that he would not stand idly by while Youzhou and Mingzhou suffered famine, and thus guessed that he planned to send some grain to Youzhou and Mingzhou for disaster relief.
"Then, Mr. Tang, how much longer do you think I should wait before I can launch a military campaign against Jingzhou?"
After a moment of reflection, Yang Zheng continued to inquire.
"It can take anywhere from a year to half a year."
"Half a year?"
Yang Zheng's eyes lit up, and he pressed on, "So, in such a short time, I can launch a military campaign against Jingzhou?"
"Exactly!"
Tang Qing nodded emphatically, and then said, "The King of Liang has been to Chenjia Village, so he should know that there is a variety of wheat in Chenjia Village called ice wheat, which can be grown in icy and snowy conditions?"
Yang Zheng nodded.
Upon hearing this, Tang Qing continued, "As far as I know, the counties of Taicang Prefecture have already planted ice wheat once, and the yield per mu was very pleasing. Even the ice wheat planted in the worst fields can yield more than a thousand catties per mu."