Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 188 Zhao Zhe
On the first day of December in the first year of Guangqi, the main force of the Volunteer Army led the last batch of more than a thousand craftsmen, carpenters, painters, musicians, etc. to the west.They have already sent out two thousand soldiers and two thousand auxiliary soldiers before, and there are still close to 9000 people at this time, who will go with the army.

Five days later, the Jinglue Army escorted a large amount of goods, grain and grass and set off.For this reason, a large number of masters from the four counties of Chang'an, Wannian, Zhaoying, and Hu were enlisted to accompany the army and help transport supplies.

On December [-]th, Shao Shude personally led the Tielin Army and the Iron Cavalry Army to the west, also bringing a large amount of food and grass, and the masters of Jingyang, Xianyang, and Lantian counties accompanied the army.

Although the people in Guanzhong can keep their peace, money, food and labor are inevitable.Marshal Shao even distributed the winter solstice, new year's day, and spring club rewards in advance, and the people in Guanzhong paid the bill.

From Chang'an to Shuofang Army, there are three roads in total, two passing through Binning Town and one passing through Jingyuan Town.The Qinggangchuan Avenue that the Dingnan Army took passed through the three prefectures of Bin, Ning and Qing.

Because it was not during the war, the army moved quickly. After crossing the river from Chang'an to the north, it marched northwest along the Jingshui River, passing through Jingyang, Yunyang, Chexiangban, and Ganquan Palace, and arrived at Xinping County, Lisuo, Binzhou in twelve days. Down.

Zhu Mei has already taken her troops to Fengxiang to take up her post. There are only [-] yamen and [-] state soldiers in the city of Binzhou, so it is reasonable to say that the city gate does not need to be opened.But why bother?Zhe Zong was already appointed by the imperial court as the Binning Jiedu envoy, and he is estimated to be here soon, why bother to hate the old man and his son-in-law?So he opened the city directly to welcome the King of Lingwu County into the city.

Shao Shude waited in the city for three days, and Zhao Jian arrived with his own soldiers.

"I have met the King of Lingwu County." Zhao Jian saluted as soon as he came up, with a respectful expression.

"General Zhao, why do you need to be so polite? You are a relative by marriage, so you should be a close relative. Please sit down quickly." Shao Shude greeted him.

Shao Shude was polite, but Zhao Jian didn't dare to call him nephew and son-in-law with a shy face.Don't you know the reason why you can go to Dragon Sword as a Jiedu envoy?
"Thanks to King Lingwu for recommending the Dragon Sword." Zhao Jian saluted solemnly again and said.

Shao Shude observed Zhao Jian for a while.

He looks about 40 years old, tall and powerful, and his face is more weathered. It is probably caused by the poor life of guarding the military city for many years.

If such a warrior who is used to hard work goes to a rich place like Central Sichuan, will he indulge in pleasure and quickly degenerate?Binning Town is not very rich. Although the life of the soldiers is pretty good in the local area, what if they go to the middle of Shu?

That's all, it's enough to be able to stabilize the position of power before the first generation of sergeants fall.The [-] frontier troops under him can still fight. If he recruits some hard-working party members and gathers [-] to [-] people, and with the righteousness of the court, he should be able to subdue the local snakes in the four states of Longjian.

"How many soldiers does General Zhao plan to bring to the post?" Shao Shude asked.

"The Shence Army will send thousands of people to escort them, all of them are Shu soldiers. A certain plan will bring another 2000 people from the town army to Longzhou together."

"Not enough." Shao Shude shook his head and said, "Eight counties in Jianzhou, two counties in Longzhou, five counties in Lizhou, and nine counties in Langzhou. The territory is vast and there are many dangerous passes. Only these 3000 people are not enough."

"However, Longjian's household registration is not as prosperous as that in the south. If you bring more soldiers, you may not be able to support them." Zhao Jian replied.

Do you want me to teach you this?Shao Shude glanced at him, and said: "Go to the Dongshan Party Headquarters to recruit 2000 people, challenge the brave and fearless, gather [-] soldiers, and then go to the post."

Shao Shude's words were unquestionable, Zhao Jian was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Forget it, just recruit 2000 people. At worst, when Chen Jingxuan is crusaded in the future, I will go to another town for food."

That's right.Wufu in the Northwest, who doesn't know how to use food for the enemy?There are [-] headquarters, plus the local state soldiers. I dare not say how much territory I have laid down. It is no problem to cooperate with others, watch and help each other, and protect myself.Until Chen Jingxuan, the common enemy, fell, the towns were generally able to maintain peace.

"If there is a shortage of ordnance, a certain army has seized a lot of Fengxiang Army's equipment. I dare not say that there are too many. There is still no shortage of leather armor, long spears, horizontal knives, shields, and infantry bows for 2000 people." Shao Shude said again.

"How dare you let the king of Lingwu County spend the money. When I arrive in the town, I will send people to offer money, silk and tea." Zhao Jian said with some emotion: "This time I can hold the Jielong Sword, and I have already received the great favor of the king of Lingwu County. How dare you try anything else."

This depends on your understanding, and it is also a test.

After having lunch with Zhao Jian, he left in a hurry and went to Hengshan to recruit soldiers.

Shao Shude celebrated the New Year in Binzhou City, and the soldiers received the rewards ahead of time, and they were also beaming. They spent a lot in the city, which brought a wave of economy.

Zhezong originally arrived in Binzhou on the day of the Shangyuan Festival, and he brought a full three thousand soldiers from the Zhe family.

Binning Town originally had 6000 soldiers.In the years of fighting for Huangchao in Guanzhong, some were consumed. Later, due to insufficient rewards, several military riots were suppressed and some were lost. Now there are only 2000 people.

Zhu Mei went to Fengxiang to take up her post, and took away a full four thousand soldiers. Zhao Jian was about to take two thousand soldiers away, leaving only six thousand soldiers for Zhe Zongben.The children of the three thousand Zhe family he brought with him were a solution to the urgent need, otherwise the huge three provinces of Binning and Ningxia would be extremely empty.

"King of Lingwu County."

"Granduncle, today I only talk about family friendship." Shao Shude stepped forward and said.

Zhe Zongben is actually not very old, he is only in his 40s this year.It's just that in ancient times there was a lack of medical care and medicine, and life expectancy was not long. Many people called themselves old men after they passed forty a year.But judging by Zhe Zongben's physical condition, it is quite possible to live to be 60 years old.

"I never imagined that at this age, I could still be awarded the Marshal of the Great Town." Zhe Zongben looked at the festive streets of Binzhou, and said with a smile: "It's all due to loving my son-in-law."

"Uncle also has meritorious service." Shao Shude said: "There is a good wife in the family, and everything is well-organized. Xiaolang is very brave and has made many military exploits. Uncle even went to battle in person to help me break the Pingxia party. There are so many Thank you so much.”

What Shao Shude said was sincere.When is the hardest time for a person?It's hardest when starting out.

Guanzhong asked for Huangchao, and Zhe Siyu brought more than 400 Zhe family children to vote, so that he had his first cavalry unit.Now these people have taken up the positions of middle-level officers one after another, and Zhe Siyu is even serving as an cavalry envoy.

It would not be so easy to conquer the Hetao Grassland in the north without the help of Zhejia.Zhejia's help is needed to plan the marching route, find water sources, and find tribal nomadic lands.What's more, they sent troops directly. On the night of the surprise attack on Dijinze, at least half of the cavalry were brought by them.

His main wife is also very virtuous, so that he has no worries and can fight outside.

Shao Shude sometimes wondered, is there any reason for his wariness towards Zhejia?They have really helped me a lot, and my current attitude is very firm, and I have always stood by my side.

But being a politician involves complex interests, and some things go bad.Brothers can turn against each other for inheritance, and politicians and warlords can also fight each other because of interests.I hope that I can grasp the degree of it well, and the Zhe family knows how to advance and retreat, and everyone can share the wealth together.

"It's all a family, why should we separate each other?" Zhe Zongben said with a smile: "The hard work today is not all for the sake of enjoying wealth and honor in the future. On the way from Linzhou, the old man went to Xiazhou to have a look. Lovely man. If my son-in-law is sent out in the future, let’s put it bluntly, the two families of Shao and Zhe are originally one.”

When Zhe Zongben said this, he did not forget to mention his grandson, the implication was self-explanatory.

More and more people went to Xiazhou to seek refuge, and Zhejia felt a sense of crisis.

The two entered the government office while they were talking.The children of the Zhe family naturally replaced the original guards, and some servants of the Zhe family who followed from Linzhou also started to tidy up the room and make tea and food.

This is to move half of the foundation here.

But it's normal when you think about it. The Zhe family has been working hard since the Zhenguan period, until the previous generation became a general, and Zhe Zongben's generation was considered a general. Now that he has been conferred a high position, he is naturally overjoyed. It's safe if the whole family doesn't move here.

"Your son-in-law wants to attack Huizhou?" After chatting for a while, the two talked about the two counties of Huizhou that had been occupied by Tubo for many years.

"Yes. Huizhou has convenient transportation, there are boats for water transport, and Hu merchants come here from time to time, so there is great profit." Shao Shude replied.

Huizhou governs two counties, namely Huining County and Wulan County. Huining was governed, and Tubo was occupied in the middle Tang Dynasty.Originally, there were only about [-] Han people in the area, but after so many years, I don't know how many are left.Or even if there is, has it been assimilated by Tubo?
Huining County is located in the area of ​​Dou Castle in Pingchuan District, Baiyin City, Gansu Province, on the east bank of the Yellow River.Go northwest to the post road for 180 miles and the straight road for 140 miles to reach Huining Pass, which is a ferry on the south bank of the Yellow River.Originally named Ulanjin, it had a shipping fleet in the early years of the Kingdom. There is Ulan Pass across the river, and the two pass cities face each other across the river.

This ferry is mainly for the 10,000+ soldiers and horses under the jurisdiction of Hexi and Longyou.It's a pity that after the Anshi Rebellion, the troops were transferred eastward, and this place was occupied by Tubo, and Guandu was abandoned.The Tubo people once built a pontoon bridge on the Yellow River near Huining Pass to facilitate the attack on Lingzhou, but it has disappeared now.

A hundred years passed in a hurry, and the world has changed with time. Now, Shao wants to recover Huizhou and make it a base for going west and south.

"My son-in-law, can you tell me what's going on in Huizhou?" Zhe Zongben asked.

"I learned about it in Lingzhou before. At that time, Lingzhou was just broken, the enemy's situation was unknown, and the food and grass were insufficient, so I didn't dare to move lightly. Now I have a look at the generals in the Binning army who are familiar with Huizhou affairs. I probably know a lot." Shao Shude replied.

"Huizhou is not difficult to fight. However, does your son-in-law understand what is going on in Tubo? If Huizhou is captured, will enemy reinforcements come?"

Shao Shude murmured, "Tubo must be dying, but try to fight."

Of course he knew that Tubo was dead, but to what extent?Will a larger army come to retaliate because the local nomadic tribe was beaten by the Dingnan army?No one dared to answer this question.

But the location of Huizhou is really very important, and it is impossible not to fight.

Now, I can only try it. If it doesn't work, I will withdraw and find another opportunity later.

To be honest, this is a somewhat risky military decision, and it does not conform to Marshal Shao's principles of using troops.The reason is that Guochao's understanding of Tubo is too little, and we have to find a way to change it in the future.

(End of this chapter)