Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 110
On the third day of February in the third year of Zhonghe, a large amount of military supplies and fodder arrived in Chang'an, and most of them went to the [-] troops camped in the northeast.Shao Shude sent people to ask for it, but they also got tens of thousands of arrows and some military supplies.

In fact, he doesn't value goods very much now.After all, they have captured too much, Chao Jun and Tang Jun basically have the same virtue, they have to pay rewards and see real objects in battle, as long as they capture the enemy's luggage, there is never a lack of this aspect.There is not a shortage of arrows, and a lot of them have been seized, but there is never too much food.

Xia Suijun spent more than 80 hu on food a year.Last year, Suizhou only produced more than 40 dendrobiums of grain, Yinzhou produced [-] to [-] dendrobiums of grain, and Xiazhou produced a little over [-] dendrobiums of grain. Youzhou was negligible, and they paid [-] to [-] cattle and sheep to the shogunate every year. Green salt, leather, camel hair, and ox horn are considered good
This is less than 70 hu of grain. Under normal circumstances, the people in the town consume 50 million hu of grain a year. Even if their living standards are lowered and they are allowed to eat bran and swallowed vegetables for half a year, they can only squeeze out 30 hu of grain at most. To the shogunate.There is still a shortfall of about 50 hu. In the past, it was subsidized by the imperial court, but now it has to figure out its own way.

This is just raising the army, excluding other food expenditures, the gap is actually quite large.

Now there are more than [-] sergeants camping in the north and they still have food and grass for several months. Brother Wang Chongrong sent another [-] dendrobium rations and [-] bundles of firewood. From the bottom of his heart, Shao Shude is still very grateful.Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongying, you can make more friends in the future and maintain a good relationship.

"Commander, the scouts are reporting back. Huang Chao sent people to lead more than [-] soldiers to the south, as if heading towards Lantian County. This is to prepare himself for a retreat." Chen Cheng walked in suddenly and reported.

"Judge Chen has been working hard recently." Shao Shude said, taking a look at the unshaven Chen Cheng.Although he had a lot of contacts with officials and gentry in the eight counties of Fuping, and even received many gifts and beauties from them, as far as his work was concerned, he was still very dedicated.When the water is clear, there will be no fish. What I want is loyalty. As long as my subordinates don't go too far, they can tolerate it now.

"Has the news been confirmed?" Wei Boqiu automatically spread out the map, and Shao Shude asked with his fingers gesticulating in the area south of Chang'an.

"It has been confirmed. There are more than [-] people with bright armor. They should be old thieves. They are walking on the post road. Even the local people have seen it." Chen Cheng said.

"Well, the nest thief seems to be timid."

However, Shao Shude still disagrees with Huang Chao's decision after changing places.If you want to leave, just be more straightforward. Like now, you obviously want to struggle again, but don't you know the morality of your army?Does it have to be a fiasco to wake up?You have to be defeated and the food is almost gone before you can make up your mind?

"Judge Chen, our army must be prepared." Shao Shude said: "In case the crowd escapes, our army can't stop them, but we can hit their tails, and we can make a little money."

Chen Cheng hesitated when he heard the words.In fact, in his opinion, when the Chao people evacuated, most of them resettled their luggage to the central army. The rear army should not have much luggage, and the gains were limited, so it was not worth the risk.But then it occurred to him that his lord might still want to acquire the population. The four prefectures of Xia and Sui cannot be trusted. The more people there are in China, the more tenable they will be.

Increase the food burden again!

"Tomorrow a certain will send Qiang Quansheng to take a thousand auxiliary soldiers, take [-] hu of military rations to Fuping, and then bring the more than [-] people back to Suizhou. There will also be a group of soldiers' rewards, and they will also take them back. This will be the weather It hasn't fully warmed up yet, but when they arrived at Fufang, it should have been March, and they could barely pass the carriage." Shao Shude said.

Suizhou can continue to be opened for another year or two, and it is time to put the development of the four counties of Yinzhou on the agenda.These two prefectures have the best agricultural conditions. There are many rivers, and they are also close to the Yellow River. Compared with Xiazhou, the rainfall is more. There are also a lot of flat land in the west. As long as you make great efforts to rectify them, you can still surprise yourself—— —The Chao people have plenty of strength, so don't feel bad.

"By the way, Judge Chen, what would happen if someone stopped the war horses that were paid tribute to the imperial court?" Shao Shude suddenly remembered this matter, so he asked.

Yinzhou has a large-scale pasture, and the annual tribute is [-] war horses. How much is this?Damn, co-author Xia Sui didn't actually earn much from the court.Shao Shude knew before that, except for reasons such as war or epidemics, the Yinchuan Ranch has been steadily delivering war horses to the imperial court, donating [-] horses in the young years, and tens of thousands in the many times.

These horses are indeed worthless in Yinzhou, they are very cheap, but if they are sold in Guanzhong, Shuzhong, and Henan, how much are they worth?The imperial court bought horses from the Uighurs, and the price they gave was forty bolts of silk.Of course, there are factors that make Uighurs good friends, but the Uighurs don't give all good horses. The tributes on the Yinchuan Ranch are war horses!
In any case, the wholesale price of forty horses should be doable, or even higher.As for where the middlemen sell and how you make the difference, I don't care, and I can't control it.It's just that I don't know what the consequences of stopping the tribute horse will be...

Chen Cheng obviously didn't know how the court would react.

"Master, how about—try?"

"Just try it. Anyway, the Yinchuan Ranch has not sent horses to Guanzhong in the past two years of war. Old General Pei has money."

"The commander-in-chief is the overseer of Yinchuan, and those horses are only under the temporary supervision of General Pei."

"That's right. Later, you can ask other towns if there is any need for war horses. There is really not enough food."

******
In the third year of February [-]th.

Although Shao Shude's side was ready to fight, Huang Chao obviously still went north to find the camp in the northeast for a decisive battle.In fact, it is understandable. The deep trenches and high fortresses here are famous for their ability to fight. How long will it take you to attack?How many people will be killed or injured?In case of delay for a long time, the rest of the armies will surround them and they will be unable to leave.

The same principle applies to camping in the west.5 to [-] horses, one fortress after another, it is clear that you will be exhausted, hold you back, and then surround you on all sides to completely annihilate them.

To put it bluntly, Li Changyan and Zhuge Shuang are both flanking the battlefield, and Wang Shizhong's troops with more than [-] troops are the front.Only by defeating the main official army can Huang Chao continue to stay in Chang'an.And Wang Duo's willingness to fight in the field is exactly what Huang Chao wanted.

So he went to Wang Duo for a decisive battle.

In the past two months of camping in the northeast, more than [-] bandit troops have been wiped out. The record is brilliant and the morale is at its peak.

On February 10th, Huang Chao dispatched more than 9 troops.Wang Duo also sent the whole army to fight, a total of [-] people.The two sides were in the south of the Wei River, and fought three times a day, and the Chao army was defeated.After Huang Chao led the elite to break through, he fought desperately, and finally returned to Chang'an, but only [-] or [-] people.Huang Kui, Huang Ye's younger brother, was beheaded by the crow's army, which greatly demoralized him.

On February 27, Huang Chao led his army to fight again, and this time it was also unfavorable.The [-] people with a large number of recruits, fought for only a moment, and were defeated twice in a row.Li Ke led the cavalry to attack, and the Zhongwu Army, Hezhong Army, and Yiwu Army took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill them. More than ten thousand people were captured and beheaded. The Chao Army was defeated and rushed back to Chang'an.

After these two disastrous defeats, Huang Chao should have completely lost confidence.The west road could not break through, and the east road was also defeated, with more than [-] soldiers lost, and even his brother Huang Ye was killed.

Originally, they had hoped for a decisive battle with the main force, but as long as Wang Duo's troops were defeated, the troops of Li Changyan and Zhuge Shuang would naturally flee.But his last hope was shattered, if he didn't leave now, let alone when.

On the tenth night of the third lunar month, Huang Chao burned the palace and led the crowd to flee.

But he did much better than Huang Ye.After being emperor for two years, even though he was in a state of embarrassment and fleeing, there are still people who are willing to cut off his heir for him.During the day, there were thieves and generals who led their troops to fight. They were defeated by the officers and soldiers, and they chased all the way to the city, fighting desperately.At night, there were more than ten thousand bandit troops defending the city, and the officers and soldiers wanted to enter Chang'an to plunder with red eyes, and there was another bloody battle between the two sides.

It was night when Shao Shude heard the news.At that time, Chang'an was full of flames, and they didn't even need scouts to report, they all knew that Huang Chao was about to escape.

"Marshal, Huang Chao is about to escape." Looking at Chang'an, who was so red, Chen Cheng said.

"Tomorrow prepare the soldiers and horses, and after the Chao brigade has passed, we will attack the rear. At this time, most of the ministries are still looting Chang'an, so be careful." Shao Shude said.

"There is no doubt that Chang'an was robbed." Chen Cheng said.

There is no doubt about this matter, and Wang Shizhong can't restrain it.At this time, no one will listen to you. If you are sensible, you will get a share of the treasures obtained after the looting. If you are not sensible, you will be placed under house arrest.

"Will the commander-in-chief be willing to lead the army east to chase down the nest thief?"

"Not very willing." Shao Shude shook his head.The soldiers have been away from home for more than two years, and if they don't go home again, even with the strict military discipline of the Tielin Army, the soldiers will feel resentful.If you are willing to indulge them in burning, killing and looting, that's fine, it can release negative emotions, but Shao Shude doesn't want to, so what can I do?
Chen Cheng sighed.If he leads the army eastward and successfully kills Huang Chao, the imperial court may give the Shuofang army the territory.What a pity indeed!

It should be known that the current pattern of feudal vassals and towns in the world is unlikely to change.Among the generals under Wang Duo who have made great contributions, is Wang Chongrong's contribution really less than that of Li Keyong?After defeating Huang Ye, defeating Zhu Wen repeatedly, and even recruiting Zhu Wen, the two brothers tried their best to search for money and food to supply military supplies.In the decisive battle, although the cavalry used by Li Keyong was more dazzling, wouldn't it be necessary for the infantry of Wang Chongrong and others to shake the Nest Army's position first, otherwise how would Li Keyong charge?
But Wang Chongrong, it is impossible to move the town of Hedong, at most he can be named a county king.Otherwise, Li Keyong would be the first to refuse. After all, the imperial court had already promised him the Hedong Jiedu envoy in exchange for sending troops, and had given the Xindai Erzhou a "deposit" in advance. At this time, the imperial court had no strength to break the promise.If you don't give it, they will take it for themselves.People in other towns are not willing to go, even the wealthy Huainan and Jiannan, they only want the east of the house, if they don't give it to them, they will rebel, the court can figure it out.

The court doesn't want to be troublesome!

Of course, these two people are not bad.The other tens of thousands of troops under Wang Duo's tent, such as the Hedong Army, Zhongwu Army, Yiwu Army, Heyang Army, etc., also gained a lot in the decisive battle a few days ago, but if they survived, they were rewarded with a little money.

Heyang Jiedu envoy Luo Yuangao also personally led troops to serve under Wang Duo's tent, and also made a lot of contributions, but you said that the three cities of Heyang live in cramped places, and if they want to move the town, the court has to think about it and see who is easy to talk to , to make room for you.If you are not easy to speak, and have rebellious tendencies, the imperial court does not want to provoke them now, so you can wait slowly.

Zhu Wen was even worse. Before the war, he decided to go to Xuanwu Town. At that time, he didn't have any credit, so he could only go to this poor place.The prefectures and counties are dilapidated, uninhabited, rioting soldiers are everywhere, and cannibals are rampant.It is even more impossible to move your position now, the imperial court originally wanted you to fight with the thieves to consume each other.

The pattern of the world is basically set.

That's why Chen Cheng sighed a little at this time.After regaining Chang'an, there will be another round of rewards. Most likely, the imperial court will only give Shao Shude the title of Duke or County King.

"Don't think too much." Shao Shude said with a smile: "In this state, the imperial court has no power to restrain the towns. What can be controlled is Guanzhong and Shuzhong, and the eight towns in the northwest of Beijing can also be affected. But Henan, Hebei, The towns in Hedong and Jiangnan will mostly talk to themselves in the future. If the imperial court wants to replace someone of their own as the commander-in-chief of the festival, they have to do it quite cleverly. Moreover, if the imperial court sends someone to a distant place, such as Jiangnan, I don’t want to go either. If I go there, I just want to provide for the elderly and grow old, which is not my ambition.”

"Shuofang, let's take it ourselves from now on." Looking at Chang'an, which was on fire, Shao Shude said, "The imperial court is like this."

"It's just a maintenance meeting. If it can't last, it will be disbanded." Shao Shude thought.

(End of this chapter)