Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 324
The atmosphere of the "bonfire party" by the salt pond was warm.

A huge gazelle was directly set up for barbecue after finishing cleaning.

This prey was captured by a warrior with a silver gun. Shao Shude asked about it and learned that he shot three arrows in a row today and hit three hares.Immediately called people to the front, asked the name, and learned that it was Pijia, so he rewarded him with five pieces of Korean brocade and promoted him to be the leader of the team.

The other one who hunted and offered a leopard was also rewarded with five pieces of brocade and promoted to be the leader of the team.

The silver guns are all newly built, and there are many vacancies.Shao Dashuai is also an old politician, of course he knows what to do at this time, and he has promoted many people in the past two days.

Prairie warriors are not fools, aren't they the same as any sweat?It’s fine for the new Khan to be generous, but the key is to understand their grassland people, their customs are clear, and their behavior, demeanor, and speech look like they grew up in the grassland.

This kind of intimacy is difficult for other Han Jiedu envoys to have.

The guards sprinkled the grilled meat with salt and pepper, and brought it to Shao Shude.

While cutting the meat with a knife, Shao Shude chatted happily with Zhang Huaishen and Long Jiu.

"In the past, when you asked for captives, it was really blind. I didn't even have a map. I didn't know which way to go, which way was not easy to go, and I didn't know which tribe was grazing. If it wasn't for the Yue family to send guides to guide the way, the first I'm afraid I'm going to make a fool of myself once I go to battle." Shao Shude was in a good mood while eating meat and drinking.

There is no problem with Zhang's appointment marriage.Even, Zhang Huaishen still had a happy expression on his face, and let out a long breath.It seems that the pressure Zhang Huaiding's family has brought to him is really not small.

Of course, Shaw Brothers also benefited.Once the Guiyi army was stabilized, the western section of the Hexi Corridor was stabilized. The Long family in Suzhou was caught in the middle, and they paid tribute to the Zhang family in Shazhou all the year round. Naturally, they could only surrender.

There are pros and cons in this world.You have taken some benefits, but you also have to bear the possible disadvantages.In Liang and Ganzhou, there are many warriors, and the cattle and sheep are wild. If you occupy it, you have to guard against internal rebellion and foreign invasion.With the Guiyi Army gang supporting the west, most of the hidden dangers of foreign enemies have gone.Next, as long as the troops are stationed in important locations, such as Zendan Ridge, etc., and then deliberately cultivate some friendly tribes, the internal situation can almost be stabilized.

It may not be possible to be stable for a lifetime, but if there are 20 years of peace, it is already a big profit, and it will be rectified slowly in the future.

"It's really amazing to see Shuofang's powerful soldiers today. It should be no worse than the Hexi armies in Tianbao's reign." Zhang Huaishen raised his wine bowl, toasted from a distance, and said with a smile.

Shao Shude also picked up the wine bowl and drank it down in one gulp.

In the tenth quarter of Tianbao's reign, there were already some mercenaries under its command.Because of the corruption of the land equalization system and the exhaustion of government soldiers, this has to be done.

A typical example is Fanyang Town, where there are a large number of family members of sergeants in the city, many of them are Hu people, and they all live on the food and salaries obtained by their family members as soldiers.

More than a hundred years have passed, and more and more bankrupt farmers are now basically dominated by mercenaries.In terms of combat power alone, it should be no worse than Tianbao Nian, or even stronger.But there are many bad habits, such as being extremely brave when protecting the town, everyone pretending to be dead when going out to fight in the town, and often making troubles, killing generals and driving commanders at every turn, not as obedient as soldiers in Tianbao years.

The Shuofang army under Shao Shude's rule had fewer bad habits in this regard, but it can't be said that they didn't exist at all.But Zhang Huaishen's compliment at this moment also made him smile a little more.

"Marshal, someone has sent someone back to Jiuquan. The commander-in-chief will definitely not dare to delay." Xu Shi felt the coldness, so Long found an opportunity and interjected.

It's not wrong to call him "big handsome".Shao Shude is the Hexi Observer, so he can justifiably intervene in Suzhou affairs, even Zhang Huaishen is not good at talking about it.

What's more, people don't care at all.At nightfall, Zhang Huaishen had just sent someone to deliver a gift list: [-] green wild horses, [-] ermine skins, [-] sand fox skins, [-] pairs of antelope horns, [-] horses, and [-] camels.

Everyone has offered gifts, and the political signal is quite obvious.The life and death of Suzhou is no longer important.

"If Long Cishi can accomplish this, it will be a great achievement. A certain meeting will be reported to the imperial court, and Long Cishi will be appointed Deputy Envoy of Hexi Observation and Yumen Military Envoy." Shao Shude raised his wine bowl again, and Chaolong said.

Strictly speaking, Long Jiu's governor of Suzhou is self-appointed.When they retreated all the way from Ganzhou and occupied Suzhou, the imperial court was too lazy to do anything and just acquiesced.

The governors of Ganzhou and Suzhou are generally also deputy envoys of Hexi Jiedu.Shao Shude recommended him as the Deputy Envoy of Hexi Inspection, which is in line with the practice of the country and the court.At the same time, the Yumen military envoy was also concurrently served by the governor of Suzhou until the fall of Hexi to Tibet. County is abolished.

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief for your kindness." As soon as Long was elated, he immediately got up from the table, bowed and saluted, and almost knelt down.

Shao Shude's words finally made him feel relieved.

In fact, he has no ambitions, he just wants to live on the three-acre land in Suzhou.As for the expansion of the territory, then you look up to him, Suzhou has not been integrated yet, a bunch of tribes who are obedient and obedient.Especially among the [-] Uighurs, many of them came directly to Kongtong Mountain to pay their respects to Shao Shude, completely ignoring the dragon.

Even when Long met these people, he just pretended not to see them.

Commander Shao now seems to be the co-lord of the Uyghur tribes in Liang, Gansu, and Suzhou. If he appeases the Uyghur tribe in Shaqi, it will be very powerful. Give it to Shao Dashuai.

Seeing the dragon acting like this, Shao Shude also got up and helped him back to his seat.

After all, the Long family has actually controlled Ganzhou and Suzhou for many years, and also half-controlled Liangzhou, so they still have some old foundations.Long is just this person, and it doesn't look like a big deal. Let him send a proton to Xiazhou, and if there is some bleeding, Suzhou is still handed over to the Long family.

The three major factions, Gamo, Uyghur, and Long family, restrained each other, and gradually cleaned up small tribes such as Tuyuhun, Tubo, Tatar, Sogdian, and Qiang by themselves. After ten or eight years, the situation was almost stable.

Of course, there must also be a garrison here, and that is the Chishui Army that will be formed soon.

The scale of the Chishui Army is relatively large, and the total number of infantry and cavalry may be close to [-].As for where the soldiers come from, Shao Shude has already made a preliminary conclusion—Cheng Zongchu, the number one loyal minister in Guanzhong and Jingyuan Jiedu envoy, is seriously ill. Once he dies, who will inherit the power of Jingyuan Town? .

In fact, Jingyuan soldiers can still fight, and they are all old soldiers.The reason why it looks more decadent is because the food and salary are not in place.You pay them enough, and then train them strictly, and when they go to the battlefield in the future, the combat power they explode will surprise you.

Shao Shude has inquired about it, and there are currently 8000 people in the Yajun in the Jing, Yuan, and Wu prefectures.If it can be incorporated, the old foundation of the Chishui Army will be established.

The newly formed Chishui Army, like the Tianxiong Army, will slowly fill in a large number of martial arts graduates as grassroots officers, changing blood step by step.It is not an exaggeration for these two troops to be called the "Martial Arts Department" in the future, um, the principal—ah no, the direct line of the commander-in-chief.

Well, the horoscope has not been written yet.How to handle the matter of Jingyuan Town requires a lot of thought.The imperial court should not give up so easily, there will definitely be some open competition, and then it will depend on each individual's ability.

"Long Cishi, there is one more thing..." After eating a piece of meat, Shao Shude said again.

Long Jiu's heart ached, and Zhang Huaishen also took a look in surprise.

"The Central Plains has a huge demand for Tibetan goods. Jewelry, coral, jadeite, ivory, frankincense, woody fragrance, amber, pistil cloth, dragon salt, brocade, Venus stone, mercury, resting chicken tongue incense, beetroot powder, pigment, musk , armor, gold and silverware, leather, livestock, etc., all of which are not needed.” Shao Shude said: “The Hu merchants also have a great demand for silk, coins, porcelain, gold and silverware from the Central Plains. This way of getting money, Have a good business."

Only then did Long feel relieved.It turned out to be a business, which is great!In the past, when the Ganzhou Uighurs did not rob trade routes, Hu merchants sold more than 3 catties of frankincense to Chang'an every year. This alone was enough to make people earn a lot of money.

What's more, there are other things to buy such as silk.

When the Uyghur Khanate did not collapse, the imperial court offered its horses a price of forty pieces of silk per horse.In the beginning, it was a mutually beneficial business, but the Uyghur people saw the business opportunities, so they began to buy and sell by force. The Uyghur horses sent here were "tens of thousands", sometimes more than [-], and they came every year.The imperial court coaxed them to help deal with Tubo and bought them all. For this reason, they exported millions of bolts of silk to the Uighurs every year.

In the first year of Jianzhong, he even owed 180 million bolts of silk to the Uighurs.But as soon as the payment was settled, the Uyghurs came again and wanted to sell the horses again. They could only default on the payment until the Uyghur Khanate collapsed and the Uyghur Wujie Khan was defeated by the German army during the reign of Wu Zong Huichang. The transaction is considered terminated.

The Uyghurs wanted so much silk, so of course they didn't use it for themselves, and they couldn't digest it either.More than [-]% were resold to Hu merchants for huge profits.

Isn't the scale of this business scary?

"During the Taiping period of the Guo Dynasty, Hu merchants went out from Chang'an, and went to Hexi and Longyou to go out of Yumen Pass. After the Anshi Rebellion, Helong fell into Tibet. If you want to go to Anxi and Beiting, you have to take the grassland Uighur road." Shao Shude said: "This book is expedient. Plan. Now that the Uyghurs in Ganzhou, which obstructed the commercial route, have been destroyed, the Uyghurs in Gaochang have always valued business travel and will not harm them, so the Hexi Road can be passed through.”

After Tubo occupied the land of Helong, the Silk Road moved to the north.That is to say, after the Hu merchants arrived at the territory of the Uighurs in Gaochang, they walked through the grasslands to the Yinshan area and entered the Central Plains in several lines.

Shao Shude governed the four roads in Guanbei well, with a wealthy household registration and increasing wealth.In the past few years, Ketun City, which was once prosperous a hundred years ago, has become prosperous again, so much so that he wants to take it back and station troops there to collect taxes.

Jiyuquan has now also become a gathering place for Hu merchants.

According to the report of the inspector of the shogunate Zhidu Division, when he went to inspect the Jiyuquan, the Dangxiang Zhuanglang clan behind the mountain had already built an earthen city there.Many artisans lived in the city, most of whom were Hu people from the Western Regions. They made bronze wares and processed rosin, and the handicraft industry was quite developed.

And outside the city, a lot of farmland was reclaimed, water was diverted for irrigation, and the food, fruits and vegetables planted were supplied to business travelers.

For the time being, Shao Shude is too embarrassed to cut off the wealth of the Zhuanglang and Hun clans, so he might as well rebuild the Hexi trade route and divert some business travelers.If the business is done well, even most Hu merchants will be attracted here, and the profits here are quite large, enough to support tens of thousands of troops.

"Zhang Pushe, Long Cishi, you might as well take action, let's open up this business route together. You know the benefits better than me." Shao Shude said.

"You must obey the orders of the king of Lingwu County." If there are good things, the two of them have nothing to do.

Shao Shude was also very satisfied.

The source of war horses has been expanded, there are many more Dingkou, the security situation in the rear has been consolidated, and the benefits of the Silk Road have increased.

And after finishing these first and last, it's almost time for the class teacher.

When I return to the army, I will naturally not go the same way, although it is relatively close.

What Shao Shude meant was to go to Longyou this time, make a circle and then return to Lingzhou.

As for why he went like this, the reason is also very simple, deterrence!

In the land of Longyou, there are also many Tubo and Qiang tribes, even the Gamo who descended to the Tang Dynasty with Shang Yanxin back then, but they are scattered in various states and are not very eye-catching.

From Ganzhou to the south, through Dadouba Valley, to Shanzhou.Then go eastward, take Fenglin Pass, pass through Linzhou and Weizhou, then go north to Huizhou, and finally return to Lingzhou.

The focus of this road is Shanzhou.

Shao Shude planned to meet the tribes of Tubo in Shanzhou.These Tibetans, if you don’t lead a large army around in front of them from time to time, they won’t have a long memory, and they might rebel when their brains twitch.

Marshal Shao intends to impress them, so not only his troops will go south, but Liangzhou Gamo, Ganzhou Uighurs, Suzhou Longjia and even Guiyi Army will also go south.

After the alliance with the Tubo and Qiang tribes in Shan and Kuo prefectures is completed, they can return on their own.

The Tubie tribes in Shan and Kuo prefectures are ignorant and ignorant, and it is useless to talk about big principles.However, after seeing that Commander Shao can command so many forces in Hexi and Longyou, any tribal leader who is sane should know what to do.

If you want to rob, go and rob your own people.If you want to plunder Lanzhou and Hezhou, you must first think about the consequences.It doesn't hurt to add a few more to the list of tribes that Shao Papi slaughtered.

(End of this chapter)