Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 180 Entering Chang'an ([-])
On the tenth day of November in the first year of Guangqi, Jingyuan Jiedu envoy Cheng Zongchu led his troops into Chang'an.

Shao Shude reminded that the court tried its best to collect a batch of goods and sent them to the Jingyuan Army in advance.So the six thousand troops were stationed outside the city without entering the city.

As soon as Cheng Zongchufu entered the city, he came to the Dingnan Army Jinzuo Academy as agreed to meet Shao Shude.

"Marshal Shao made a big scene. Many households in the city were taken away by soldiers. Where are they going?" Cheng Zongchu asked unceremoniously as soon as he entered.

"There are frequent wars in Guanzhong, and these are all the people who voluntarily went to Lingzhou." Shao Shude said without changing his expression, "Lingzhou is the gateway to the west and north.

"Lingzhou is a rare fertile land in the northwest of Beijing. Now it is in the hands of Lingwu County King. The picture is not small."

"Cheng Shuai was joking, Shuofang Jiedu envoy is Li Shuai, this matter is also at Li Shuai's request."

Seeing Shao Shude's thick skin, Cheng Zongchu was too lazy to talk nonsense, so he asked, "I don't know why Shao Shuai invited someone here?"

"Naturally, they came here to resist Li Keyong. Shatuo's soldiers and horses are brutal. If they are allowed to enter Chang'an, they may disturb the holy driver."

"I heard that there are many Qiang soldiers under Shao Shuai's tent. Will this generation stop disturbing the people?"

"Cheng Shuai can go and inquire. There are more than [-] soldiers in the Yi Congjun Army who are stationed outside the city. They abide by military discipline and have never disturbed the people. If there is, tell someone and kill them immediately."

Cheng Zongchu was suffocated when he heard the words.He has just arrived, so how can he know whether the discipline of the volunteer army is good or bad?However, he didn't intend to dwell on this issue anymore, and asked straightforwardly, "What does Marshal Shao want to do when he comes to Beijing this time?"

"On the side of the Qing emperor, the world of Tang Dynasty will be bright and bright."

"After cleaning up?" Cheng Zongchu continued to ask.

"Go back to Xiazhou and guard the frontier for the country."

"Why don't you leave now?"

"Wang Chongrong and Li Ke are rushing to Chang'an with an army of tens of thousands. In order to prevent the lives of the people in the capital from being looted, it is natural to persuade them to retreat before leaving."

There was some truth to this, but Cheng Zongchu was still skeptical, always worried that Shao Shude would abolish the emperor and follow the story of Cao Cao.But seeing that he didn't even change the palace guards next to the emperor, and he didn't want to be a court official, it seems that there is a bit of sincerity in his words, let's see first.In this year and month, no other requirements are mentioned, as long as the Datang Sheji can be preserved, it will be done.

"If Cheng Shuai is worried, he can set up troops in Chang'an to see what he wants to do. If soldiers from the east of the river come in another day, they can also contain one or two." Seeing Cheng Zongchu thinking, Shao Shude said again.

"Alright." Cheng Zongchu made some calculations, and the Dingnan Army, Binning Army, and Jingyuan Army joined forces, and there were more than 5 people at this time.Wang Chongrong probably didn't have much ambition, he just wanted to keep the foundation in Hezhong, but Li Keyong was hard to say.It is really not appropriate to let the Dingnan army withdraw now, what if the Hedong army robs Chang'an?
Seeing that Cheng Zongchu agreed, Shao Shude also smiled.It is true that Cheng has no ambitions, and what is even rarer is loyalty.It should be noted that among the three hundred states in the Tang Dynasty, only dozens of states are still paying tribute on a daily basis and sending troops to Beijing for duty.The rest of the states, either cut off the transshipment route, or became domineering, and gave some goods during the festivals to show a little respect.

Cheng Zongchu, as the Jiedu envoy of Jingyuan, may be the only one among the nine towns in the northwest of Beijing who is willing to respond to the imperial court's call.Zhu Mei also counted before, but Shao Shude felt that his ambition had begun to grow and he might no longer be loyal to the court after getting in touch with him.

Even, Zhu's loyalty may not be as good as Huainan and Jiangnan states.The reason why those states did not make offerings was not because of arrogance, but because the road to making offerings was cut off.Or there are rebels in the territory, and they can't take care of themselves, such as Jingnan, which is being attacked by Qin Zongquan's subordinates.They were so far away, and when Guanzhong was begging for Huangchao, five thousand soldiers were sent over, under Wang Duo's command. This loyalty is indeed not bad.

Of course, Marshal Shao considered himself the most loyal minister of the towns in the northwest of Beijing.If anyone wants to abolish the establishment of the emperor and overthrow the court, he will be the first to refuse, and he will definitely launch a crusade.

After sending Cheng Zongchu away, Shao Shude sent someone to find Ximen Chongsui again, and asked the court to give him more honorary titles.Loyal ministers, they just like these things, which make Lao Cheng happy, and will be able to stand firmer when facing the Hedong army in the future.

"Marshal, Pei Tong is here." Just as he was about to take a break, the soldiers came to report, and Pei Tong, the general manager of the horse shop, asked to see him.

"Let him in." Shao Shude said.

Pei Tong sneaked into the capital a while ago, mainly to contact the Ximen family and visit the shipbuilders by the way.

"President Pei, what's the matter with the shipbuilders?"

"Commander, with the help of Ximen's family, we have found out." Pei Tong replied: "There are a group of shipbuilders near the wharf in Weiqiao Town, a group in Weiqiao Warehouse, and a group outside Chang'an City. There are more than five hundred craftsmen in total. Hu, Yi Congjun Yelijun envoys have sent people to gather."

"Okay!" Shao Shude clapped the table and said happily: "When the artisans in Chang'an City are almost gathered together, they will be sent to Lingzhou together. Going to Binning Town, I have already negotiated with Zhu Shuai, and let Yeli Yulue send someone Escort. Donations will be sent from Xianyang and Liquan counties for expenses along the way.”

Shipbuilding craftsmen are very important to the Hetao area.From Lingzhou to Suizhou, more than a thousand miles away, if it is all transported by land, the cost will be too high.But if we can use the Yellow River water transportation of more than 2000 miles up and down, the cost can be reduced to one-tenth, and the long-term economic benefits are simply incalculable.

An important item of war potential is the ability to organize and transport materials.Without advanced means of transportation, a large amount of materials will be deposited in various places, lost in the road, useless, and the mobility of soldiers will also be limited.

Isn't water transportation an advanced mode of transportation in this era?Not only is it helpful for wars, it is also of great benefit to business exchanges in peacetime.

As a typical place with a large area and few people, the first step for Lingxia business to become active is to reduce costs, mainly including public security costs, tax costs and transportation costs.The commercial tax of Guochao is actually very low. Even if there are hidden costs for food and cards, it is still not high. Most of the cost of merchants is actually spent on self-raised guards and crossing states and counties.

The six prefectures are hard to come by, there are no looters, and the law and order on Tongyi Avenue is not bad. Unless you go deep into Hengshan or the grasslands, you don't need to recruit a large group of guards who are skilled in bows and horses.However, if it is transported by water instead, it only needs to load and unload goods near a few cities along the way, and spend the rest of the time on the river, and bandits and others cannot threaten them. This really saves a lot of security costs.

Not to mention the transportation cost, it has fallen off a cliff.After these craftsmen bring apprentices and the overall scale of shipbuilding technicians expands, the private water transport industry should also slowly develop.This is a positive cycle, transportation costs decrease - commodity prices fall - people can afford more things - demand for commodities increases - industrial and agricultural production capacity begins to increase - more job opportunities are created - more consumers...

If you want to get rich, build roads first. This sentence is not wrong no matter what era it is placed in.Let the people of Lingxia live better, and the legitimacy of their own rule will be stronger, so we should work hard for this goal!
"Marshal, I have another report." Pei Tong continued: "In Guangming, Huang Ye and Zhu Wen led tens of thousands of people to attack the river, and thousands of sailors were among them. After more investigations, there were only a thousand people, all of whom were near the Weihe River, and there was no supply of food and wages. They were willing to go to Lingzhou with the commander after a little talk. Including their families, there were a total of 5000 people."

"Very good!" Shao Shude was overjoyed when he heard that, and said, "If the warship can't be taken away, we will take away the people. All the people from these thousand families will be sent to Lingzhou. If they form a navy in the future, they will be the seeds. "

In fact, the combat power of the warship at this time is not strong.Compared with ordinary ships used for transportation, they are thicker and have a unique design. The main attack method is actually to rely on the sailors on the ship to fight, which is commonly known as gang warfare.But how to put it, after all, professional sailors are definitely better than the army in manipulating ships and fighting gangs. They may also know a lot of hydrology and weather knowledge, and they are more professional in the details of sailing.

With them as guides, the Lingzhou Navy can display its combat effectiveness faster.At that time, if the big river is controlled, the situation of winning the Six States will be more stable.

"Send the shipbuilders and sailors away as soon as possible, the sooner the better." Shao Shude stood up and said, "I will leave in a few days, without waiting for the craftsmen in Chang'an. Going west, the Yi Congjun will send 500 men—no, send [-] elite soldiers Escorts along the way must reach Lingzhou safely, these are all treasures, even more precious than the hundreds of carts of treasures that Tian Lingzi brought back from Sichuan!"

Let you, Li Ke, come early!Shao refused to be disrespectful, and first recruited a group of talents.But then again, Li Keyong probably wouldn't care about these shipwrights and sailors.In his eyes, these fifteen hundred technicians and sailors may not be as valuable as fifteen hundred horses.

This is the difference in philosophy between Shao and Li.

It's just a joke to say that Commander Shao is the Khan of Yinchuan and the Khan of Guanbei. The prairie barbarians will not realize the importance of the navy until the 21st century. Even if they do, they will only be given to seven people.

Like the identity of a martial artist, the identity of Shao Dashuai as a khan is also fake. He is just a politician-type warlord who has a vision of the 21st century and has been deeply assimilated by the times.

"Marshal, Yongle ordered Xiao Yun (qú) to visit." Just as Feng Yin was asked to send Pei Tong away, Li Renfu came to report again.

Damn, it's more tiring than fighting!Seeing people every day, all kinds of intrigues and secret operations.

"Who is this?" Shao Shude asked.

"The magistrate of Yongle County in Hezhong Prefecture, the younger brother of Prime Minister Xiao Yu (gòu)." Li Renfu replied.

"Oh?" Shao Shude sat up straight, which is interesting.

It is not surprising that Xiao Yun is the prime minister, and his younger brother Xiao Yun is the county magistrate in Hezhong.As for the big family, bet on multiple parties and spread the branches. As long as one of them succeeds, the family business can be continued.

Why did Tianshui Zhao, Hezhong Feng, and Xihe Song bet on themselves?Not optimistic about their own future.Wang Chongrong won the title of King of Langya County, controlled a prefecture, four prefectures and 37 counties, and had the advantage of Yanchi. Is it strange that the Lanling Xiao clan bet on him?

It's just that he ran all the way from the Hezhong mansion, what did he ask for himself?
(End of this chapter)