Chapter 573: Classic Two‑Against‑One

Autumn is a good season for turning the soil. After the autumn harvest, the farmers cannot rest; they must turn the soil. This allows the earth to weather enough during winter, which benefits sowing for the next year.

Early that morning, Fang Chongyong led a few trusted aides and the local Inspector of Bianzhou and other senior officials to the fields to observe the farmers turning the soil. Then he noticed a "peculiar" phenomenon.

Vast areas of fallow land, alongside intensive cultivation of other plots.

The waterways near the Bianzhou Canal have all been equipped with irrigation systems. In other places, a "rotational rest" method swaps land with ponds.

Land would rather lie fallow than be cultivated.

Bianzhou's economy has not suffered large‑scale war devastation. Its agricultural ecology remains as it was, illustrating many fundamental issues.

Of course, the situation here is completely different from the early Tang "Zu Yong Diao" system.

"How much fallow land is there in Bianzhou?"

Fang Chongyong asked Yuan Jie.

"Much."

Yuan Jie replied succinctly.

Some matters are inconvenient to speak of, such as certain things he knows. Before the world fell into chaos, many officials had already bought land outside Luoyang to retire.

But they purchased vast tracts yet hired only dozens of tenant farmers to manage them, leaving much land simply fallow.

This also necessitates the land‑rotation practice.

An extensive peasant‑farmer economy and the widely fallow small‑estate economy coexisted without conflict in the Tang.

Fang Chongyong began to understand where so many displaced people came from. He had previously thought that once a peasant lost his land, he would naturally become a tenant farmer, and as long as the landlord was not harsh, why would they flee?

Now it appears the situation is far more complicated.

Here the production model involves aristocratic families' exclusive "intensive cultivation" and large‑scale fallow land.

In other words, the great aristocratic estates concentrate labor to intensively farm the limited arable land for better yields, then leave the surplus fields fallow to build fertility.

Television dramas and folk tales often show the emperor uttering a few words to bring universal peace, but Fang Chongyong felt none of that while walking the fields.

Suddenly, Fang Chongyong saw, to his right, a farmer whipping an old yellow ox while plowing; the ox suddenly could not move!

The farmer shouted angrily at the ox, yet was helpless.

"Jiedushi, let him raise the rear plow directly."

While everyone stared at each other, Da Congming behind Fang Chongyong suddenly spoke up.

"Eh? Really?"

Fang Chongyong asked, puzzled.

"Yes, Jiedushi, this straight‑yuan plow sinks deeper the more it is used, so the ox eventually cannot pull it.

The farmer is slacking; there should be two workers, with the other holding the straight‑yuan plow to control depth.

They probably had never handled such equipment before, having just started work for the landlord, so they are still unskilled."

Da Congming grew bold, and his speech became much more coherent.

The Bohai Kingdom values agriculture far more than the Tang. Because arable land is scarce, only the aristocracy can afford rice. Their emphasis on farming techniques is therefore unsurprising.

"Makes sense!"

Fang Chongyong clapped his hands, stepped into the field, and lifted the straight‑yuan plow upward.

The old yellow ox glanced back at him, as if understanding, then continued forward smoothly.

"Stupid as a pig, even the lead ox is smarter than you!"

Fang Chongyong raised the riding whip at his waist and lightly tapped the farmer's head.

He strode onto the ridge, pointed at the nearby straight‑yuan plow, and said to the crowd, "This thing doesn't work well; is there anywhere we can get a curved‑yuan plow?"

"Yangzhou has it; Jia Sijie's *Qi Min Yao Shu* mentions it. It's called the long curved‑yuan plow, and Yangzhou also produced a short curved‑yuan plow."

Liu Yan replied directly.

"Eh? You still know that?"

Fang Chongyong was startled; he had been planning to 'invent' a curved‑yuan plow himself, not realizing it already existed.

"Yangzhou sent this as tribute to the court, but it's not very useful in Guanzhong, so they just stored it in the warehouses."

Liu Yan shrugged indifferently.

The curved‑yuan plow is fine, but it suits paddy fields and land reclamation, not large‑scale dryland. In other words, it's essential in rice regions but of limited use in non‑rice areas, especially wheat plains.

"Can we buy one now?"

Fang Chongyong asked.

"Probably, Yangzhou has workshops that specialize in it."

Fang Chongyong nodded; although the North is now more prosperous, Yangzhou's craftsmanship remains among the best in the Tang.

"Commission a batch, then replicate and promote it in Bianzhou."

Fang Chongyong instructed Liu Yan.

The curved‑yuan plow's greatest innovation is that it provides a tillage tool for small plots and complex‑terrain paddies. With it, previously idle corner lands can also be turned.

Thus many claim the curved‑yuan plow changed the fundamental ecology of Chinese agriculture.

"Understood."

Liu Yan took out paper and brush and recorded the order.

"Donkeys, stone mills, stone mortars and large‑size farm implements must be prepared by every prefecture and county. They should be leased to provide convenience for peasants with little land. Using a donkey costs money, but stone mills and the like are free. Developing production is the most important task, even more than commerce."

Fang Chongyong warned Yuan Jie and the others.

A Jiedushi, no matter how idle, only has to manage warfare.

Then why does Fang Chongyong concern himself with agriculture?

Because it's a required lesson for an "emperor"! It may not be needed now, but it will certainly be needed later.

Because this is a required course for being an 'emperor'! It's not useful now, but it will definitely be useful in the future.

Rebellion need not be spoken of; just gradually master the emperor's essential lessons one by one.

Only by caring about agriculture can one grasp the changes in this era's productive forces and relations of production, and avoid the joke of a silver coin for an egg.

Only on the premise of understanding agricultural production can reasonable land policies be formulated.

And land policy concerns the rise and fall of the nation!

Fang Chongyong for now does not intend to play the "Equal Field" card, but wishes to focus on farm tools.

Because his research has shown that with the same people and the same land, output differs completely depending on whether farm tools are used.

When a great aristocratic clan settles somewhere, they immediately equip themselves with the necessary farm tools. Coupled with their hereditary farming techniques, they quickly stand out locally.

For example, with the same wheat, dehulled wheat porridge and wheat cakes made from milled, fermented flour have completely different textures and fetch completely different prices.

The former is coarse fare, the latter is a noble specialty.

Landlords often need only "food reprocessing" to reap huge profits from agricultural products.

In other words, the same weight of wheat porridge and wheat cake may differ in price by more than fivefold!

Thus, farm tools—especially large, immovable ones—are often extremely important means of production, sometimes even more crucial than land itself.

The government may not easily implement Equal Field, but it can offer farm tool leasing, smoothing out the scissor gap caused by food reprocessing at the root.

In this way, social tensions are subtly eased.

"Jiedushi, if the quantity gets large, it will require a lot of money."

Liu Yan whispered.

"If the money is insufficient, ask the local virtuous families to contribute for the elders and villagers. What use is so much money that you cannot bring it in life or take it out in death?"

Fang Chongyong patted Liu Yan's shoulder and said meaningfully.

What does "virtuous families" mean?

Liu Yan had no concept of it, but he knew that families not cooperating with the government must be bad people.

Yuan Jie glanced at Fang Chongyong, feeling as if he had become a different person.

One could also think so; when the Great Tang's officials followed the book, there was a clear set of rules. What to do and what not to do were laid out plainly.

Everyone seemed similar.

Now the Great Tang is fragmented, and officials' standards seem unclear.

Some want to ignore everything; others meddle excessively, clearly beyond the scope of their position.

Just as Fang Chongyong was briefing the crowd on how to develop agriculture, He Changqi rode in on horseback in a hurry.

He arrived on the main road near Fang Chongyong, dismounted with a swift turn, and bowed forward, saying: "Jiedushi, people have arrived from Chang'an; it's Yan Zhenqing's clan brother Yan Gaoqing!"

Eh?

He's here!

Fang Chongyong gave a slight nod and said, "Everyone, disperse. I have some business now, I must take my leave."

After bowing his farewell to the crowd, he left together with He Changqi.

Why didn't Yan Zhenqing have Li Bai report back?

Because Li Bai seemed very frivolous, Yan Zhenqing dared not entrust such an important matter to him.

He sent his clan brother Yan Gaoqing to Bianzhou for negotiations, striving for absolute certainty.

He also settled the details of deploying troops, such as each side's strength, departure time, and respective responsibilities.

It could be said that the importance was taken to the extreme.

For such a crucial mission, how could a guy like Li Bai, who only writes poetry, possibly handle it!

Back then Li Bai wrote poems and flattered Ji Ge, and Yan Zhenqing was a central official; how could he not know Li Bai's character?

Precisely because he knew him too well, he couldn't overthink it.

"Jiedushi, I heard Li Yi came that night…"

He Changqi leaned in and whispered.

"So? What exactly are you trying to say?"

Fang Chongyong, his expression displeased, questioned, seeming instantly irritated.

He Changqi, tongue‑tied, dared not speak; he had originally wanted to ask how Li Heng's daughter tasted, whether she was seductive in bed, and so on. Li Yi's beauty was truly different—not that the concubines beside Fang Chongyong were unattractive, but they lacked that natural "nobility".

At that moment, seeing Fang Chongyong's stern face, He Changqi realized that nothing must have happened that night.

No, it might even have been quite unpleasant.

Since the Yuwen clan was seized by Fang Chongyong's men and given to He Changqi as a wife, this simpleton now believes his relationship with Fang Chongyong is "complicated", so he dares to ask any question.

"The Eternal King's second son has already arranged a marriage with a young widow from Zheng Shuqing's family; you can now live your life in peace, the Yuwen matter is settled."

Fang Chongyong let out a long sigh and said.

The more he thought, the more he felt that in this era, the powerful truly could do as they pleased.

"So quickly?"

He Changqi was startled; he had been proud, thinking the Yuwen woman, with her myriad charms in bed, had been completely conquered by his brute.

He didn't expect that the former husband, in the blink of an eye, would take another from among the five surnames and seven families.

Even though she's a widow, she's from a great aristocratic family!

"Back then Xiao Che was right; that's the virtue of a great family. You, don't think about all that nonsense; everything must be fought for with the sword in your hand. Understand?"

"Since the beautiful lady can come, if you can't protect her in the future, she will leave."

Fang Chongyong earnestly admonished He Changqi.

"Alas, I understand."

He Laohu said with great disappointment.

Such natural suppression from a high‑born household, even a fierce fellow like He Changqi, feels suffocating.

And competing with those aristocratic scions for fame, competing for women, are all meaningless things.

The only thing warriors can rely on is their own two hands.

Fang Chongyong was actually warning He Changqi: you will never be a member of the aristocracy; you can only become their dog.

The two arrived at the main hall of the Bianzhou prefectural office and saw Yan Gaoqing, dressed in a purple official robe, already waiting for a while.

"Yan, no need for excessive courtesy; we can talk more at the office."

Fang Chongyong looked at Yan Gaoqing and said, knowing that he was now the Vice Minister of War of the court.

After he brought Yan Gaoqing to sit down in the prefectural office's study, he ordered He Changqi to guard the door.

"I won't stand on ceremony, Yan, just tell me what you mean."

His expression was calm, appearing imposing without anger.

Yan Gaoqing had met Fang Chongyong before, and now he felt that this Jiedushi Fang's dignity grew day by day.

What this attitude signifies need not be said. What kind of person Li Lin is, not only Yan Zhenqing knows in detail, but Yan Gaoqing also knows what sort of prince this is.

If he could establish himself in Bianzhou, it would be only if the sun rose from the west.

Therefore, without a doubt, the Jiedushi of the Xuanwu Army, Fang Chongyong, is the true "behind-the-scenes ruler".

In other words, Li Lin is merely a puppet!

Yan Gaoqing, as an impartial observer, sees everything clearly.

"The court is willing to dispatch troops, coordinating with the Xuanwu Army's forces. I, Yan, have come to Bianzhou this time to determine the unit designations and numbers for this expedition, the deployment time, etc."

Yan Gaoqing said this without humility or arrogance.

"I will personally lead the troops, making a grand show near Xingyang to feign an advance on Luoyang, luring Li Baochen to lead his main force eastward."

The troops of Guanzhong only need to take advantage of the opening and capture the three cities of Hanyang.

Then Li Baochen will surely return his army to Luoyang, and our forces will follow up and strike him hard.

As for the specific strategy, I will coordinate with your army's commander when the time comes. The rest is not convenient to disclose, because it's hard to say whether the court has any ulterior motives.

Fang Chongyong put forward his plan without going into too much detail.

Although he said a lot, essentially it's just "strategic tugging," causing Li Baochen's troops to reveal weaknesses in their back-and-forth movements.

If Li Baochen splits his forces, he will inevitably weaken his strength and be defeated piecemeal.

If Li Baochen focuses all his effort on attacking Henan, then Luoyang cannot be held.

If Li Baochen returns his army to Luoyang, his formation will surely fall into disorder, making him vulnerable to pursuit.

If, during the pursuit, Li Baochen again turns back with full force, the Bianzhou troops can gradually retreat, even setting up an ambush in advance.

In any case, Li Baochen can only attend to one front at a time.

This is the classic "two against one" of the cold-weapon era; a commander of Li Baochen's caliber still has no good solution to break the situation.

Fang Youde is considered a god of warfare because, when facing Royal Prince Huangfu Weiming, he confronted a similar "two against one" situation, employing the tactics of defeating them one by one, large-scale troop transfers, and finally a rear ambush.

How many commanders in the entire Tang dynasty are capable of executing such a tactic?

Fang Chongyong feels that this time victory is almost certain.

Of course, this supposition presupposes that the Guanzhong troops will not let us down.

If the Guanzhong troops falter, then it becomes very dangerous.