Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 377 Bargaining
The battle is over.

On the post road between Chang'an and Shanzhou, there are troops retreating hastily everywhere.

Baggage vehicles were thrown into a mess.

Corn and wheat spilled all over the ground, grass clippings danced in the wind.

In the semi-dry pond beside the road, a luxuriously decorated high-rise car leaned over in the mud.

The carriage boards were full of arrows, the draft horse was dead, and the blood soaked the blue-black mud.

Opposite the pond is a sparse forest.

There are shrubs mixed with the withered grass, and the sun shines on them, giving off a dazzling golden color.

Under the light, there are dense corpses.

They are like thatch that has been cut down by the strong wind, and they all lie down.

The pursuing cavalry flashed by.

Along the flat post road, they chased past Lishan Mountain, the ancient city of Yinpan, and Xinfeng Pavilion...

"Crack!" The saint slapped the table hard.

Ximen Zhongsui remained expressionless, as if he had expected it.

"How dare Hao Zhenwei be so domineering?" The saint's anger could hardly be suppressed, and his lips trembled unconsciously.If you look into his eyes carefully, there may be flashes of panic, regret and other complex emotions.

The Jingyuan army was in chaos, and they fought all the way to the capital.Hao Zhenwei, the governor of Tongzhou, and Wang Bian, the governor of Huazhou, each sent more than [-] soldiers to help, but Hao Zhenwei changed his course halfway and attacked King Qin's Huazhou army.

Wang Bian was unprepared.The sergeants put their spears and armor on the baggage vehicles, and their bows were not stringed. They were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. The whole army was defeated and retreated to Huazhou.

The soldiers of the same state did not work hard for the king anymore. They chased all the way along the two capital post roads, and went straight to Huazhou.

The four roads worked hard for the king's soldiers and horses, and the two roads were abolished in this way!

The gold merchant Li Xiang has not made any moves so far, and Xia Bing is the only one he can count on.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to talk about who is right and who is wrong." Ximen Zhongsui sat opposite the saint, and while he was slowly arranging the cuffs embroidered with animal patterns, he said: "Now we can send envoys here to grant Hao Zhenwei Zhen Guojun Day." The envoy, please comfort him, and then let him rein in his troops to the west and join the capital to help the capital. Furthermore, if there is any disagreement, if the sage makes a tour of the east, he can also be ordered to protect the king."

The saint was taken aback.

This time he was indeed reckless.

Unexpectedly, after the tiger skin of the Shence Army was stripped off, even the princes in Guanzhong would not obey orders.

Why do you have to work hard to get the Jiedushi of the Zhenguo Army?I wiped out another family, all in Tongzhou and Huazhou. Doesn't the court have to hold its nose and admit it?
unwise!

The saint is really regretful.

But of course the sage is not wrong, he can only blame the warrior for being domineering and having no king, everyone deserves to die.But the sage is merciful, thinking of his hard work and meritorious deeds, he is unwilling to pursue it.

"Ximen palace supervisor, how about sending a capable member from the Beisi to be sent to Tongzhou to grant Hao Qing the national army's envoy?" the saint asked hesitantly.

Obviously, he has lost confidence now, he is doubting himself, and he no longer has the kind of arbitrariness that he said before he said that he would go to the west.

"Your Majesty, you must have an important minister."

"Who can take on this great task?"

"The deputy envoy of the Privy Council, Luo Quanguan, is capable and talented, and he can be sent away with the imperial edict."

"Then it's settled like this." The saint sighed slightly, his brows almost wrinkled.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing." Ximen Zhongsui said again.

The saint raised his heart: "What's the matter?"

"The only one we can count on now is Xia Bing." Ximen Zhongsui said: "Shao Shude is not profitable, and if he wants Xia Bing to enter Beijing as soon as possible, he must give him a reward."

"What reward?"

"Jingyuan Town is also available."

The saint breathed a sigh of relief, which was acceptable to him.

If you count Tonghua, there are three towns in Guanzhong that are not Shao Shude's henchmen. Now that you have gone to Jingyuan, the strength of the gold merchants is a little weaker, and the Zhen Guojun is a big town, so you can keep it in check.

How did the state affairs come to this point?
Seeing the relieved expression on the saint's face, Ximen Chong secretly sighed, he was not that optimistic.

Tongzhou and Huazhou, the gateway to Jingdong, are also large counties with dense population.

Although Hao Zhenwei and Wang Bian are domineering, they know how to manage the place and encourage production. The strength they have accumulated in the past few years is quite considerable.

Especially Huazhou, which was originally known as the first state in Jingdong, was known as the wealthy state.

Chao Chao experienced military disasters, but after Wang Bian took office, he continued to absorb refugees from the Kanto, cleared ditches, drained swamps, reclaimed farmland and orchards, and now he has a good reputation.

Moreover, it is located at the center of commercial routes, with Shangluo in Nantong, Shannan Dongdao and even Jingnan, Tongzhou, Hezhong, and Fufang in the north, Jingzhaofu and Chang'an in the west, and Shanguo and Luoyang in the east. The annual commercial tax is huge.

The self-produced tea is exported to Guanzhong, Lingxia, Fufang, and Hedong, and the goods are abundant.

Hao and Wang, no matter who actually takes the post of Jiedushi of the Zhen Guojun, with a household registration of 80, a good rice and wheat harvest, and a large amount of commercial taxes, they will inevitably become a powerful military commander.

Ximen Chong then suspected that the strength of Hezhong Town was not much stronger than that of Zhen Guojun.The two prefectures of Jin and Jiang were repeatedly attacked by Li Han, the fields were barren, and the people were displaced. Although the core Hezhong Mansion was still stable, its overall strength must have declined significantly.

No wonder Hao Zhenwei took the opportunity to attack.

Let Wang Bian continue to develop, absorb more refugees, and collect more commercial taxes. Over time, the strength gap between the two sides will become larger. At that time, it will be Huazhou annexing Tongzhou, not Tongzhou annexing Huazhou.

Does Shao Shude also covet Tong and Huazhou?

No, Ximen Zhongsui can be sure that Shao Shude has always wanted to swallow this piece of fat.

But the saint didn't want to give it, and Ximen Zhongsui actually didn't want to give it either.If it is really given, there is only one Jingzhao Mansion left on hand, with less than 200 million people, isn't it the fish on someone else's chopping board?

Perhaps, it is time for the sage to make friends with Li Keyong and Zhu Quanzhong.To deal with the behemoths in the north, only Hedong and Henan, which are also behemoths, can contend.

The Iron Forest Army is on its way to Yijun County.

Shao Shude let Chen Cheng and Zhao Guangfeng get into the carriage to discuss the war in Hedong.

"Marshal, there is no reason to be a thief for a thousand days, and there is no reason to guard against a thief." Zhao Guangfeng said: "For Hedong, Datong Town is close at hand, and it will arrive in no time. Once the main force of our army is not in Guanbei, Li Ke Yong is ready to fight at any time. He also has staff who can see the situation clearly. Some people feel that Li Keyong has already figured out that we will not really fight. He will make rapid progress and accept it when he sees it. The commander may wish to think about it carefully. If Li Keyong occupies Yunzhou, what will you do? Do you want to launch a crusade, or hold your nose and admit it?"

"Both will lose in the crusade against the army, and Zhu Quanzhong will take advantage of it. Holding his nose and admitting that he is not happy, he will lose a lot of grassland interests." Shao Shude sighed.

If Zhu Quanzhong hadn't been by his side, his mother would have fought Li Keyong to the death!

Forget it, it's useless to say such harsh words, you look like a bitch, there are no ifs in the world.

"Li Keyong's passive situation between Shuofang and Xuanwu has been played out by him." Shao Shude smiled and said: "It is said that Li Keyong is greedy, he wants to fight this way, he wants to fight that too , In fact, I am the same. But nine out of ten unsatisfactory things in the world, how can every place take advantage of it. I count on Zhu Quanzhong and Li Ke to fight together, and Zhu Quanzhong counts on me to fight with Li Ke. The situation of righteous brother seems dangerous If you are tired of eggs, it is actually as stable as Mount Tai."

Of course, it may not be appropriate to say that it is as stable as Mount Tai.Sandwiched between the two powerhouses, Hedong is extremely passive strategically. Anyone with a discerning eye can see this. This is a fact.

But Hedong itself is strong and difficult to fight, especially from north to south.

Li Ke used Shao Shude and Zhu Quanzhong's mentality to move around, trying to gain benefits as much as possible and strengthen his strength.From the standpoint of Hedong, it is indeed good.

"Isn't this the handiwork of my righteous brother, or is it a building? It doesn't look like it either." Shao Shude said to himself.

"Commander, I heard that Mrs. Liu, the wife of the King of Longxi County, has always been very wise. When Li Keyong went out to fight, he often accompanied him and served as a military counselor. This may be her handwriting." Zhao Guangfeng said.

Chen Cheng remained silent.

He was a little embarrassed.Because he strongly advocated aiding the Datong Army at the beginning, but now it seems that it has no effect, and he only got a Shuozhou and took in some tribes, which may not be able to last for a long time.

"I have figured out what Zhu Quanzhong and I are thinking, my sister-in-law is a capable person." Shao Shude said with a smile: "But she only has this chance. Send an order to Deputy Envoy Song to contact Helian Duo, and send him a batch of grain, grass, Cattle and sheep. Order the Xinquan Army Yang Jun to reinforce the city of Shuozhou and properly prepare for the defense."

He has seen Yunzhou City before, the city is high and the pond is deep, so it is not easy to fight.Historically, Li Keyong didn't take it down, but blocked it for a long time. Helianduo himself tried to die, and recruited many people from the grassland. There was not enough food, and he finally abandoned the city and left.

But once the Yunzhou City, a stronghold to breathe, was gone, Helianduo, who had fled to the grassland, could not resist the attack of the Hedong Army at all, and eventually ended in destruction.

"Let's not worry about the situation in the north, and now we have to deal with the affairs of Guanzhong. Will the imperial court respond to the matter of setting up the town in Weibei?"

"Back to Commander, never." Zhao Guangfeng replied: "The last time the Chinese envoy came, but he urged our troops to go south as soon as possible."

"Today, I'm not as easy-talking as the late Emperor. I have a strong heart to cheer him up. I still have to endure him. Do you two have a good plan?"

"Marshal, maybe you can let the Jinzuo Academy spread the word that Zhang Jun wants to enter Chang'an, abolish the emperor, and support King Ji as the new king. Besides, the army of Shuofang King Qin is not well supplied, winter clothes are insufficient, and the soldiers are hungry and cold. They all blame the imperial court for not being sympathetic to us, so it is better to rush into Chang'an and establish King Ji as the new king, and there will be rich rewards." Chen Cheng, who had been silent for a long time, finally came up with a plan.

This strategy is still so-so, and it is more in line with people's impression of Wu Fu.

Since the Anshi Rebellion, the status change between the rebel army and the peace rebel army has been extremely random.I don't know how many times the court's coquettish operations have turned the counter-insurgency army into rebels.

In short, this strategy conforms to people's cognition and has high "credibility".

Even if the sage sees through that this is an act of pressure by Shao Shude, but the throne and life are at stake, do you dare to bet?What if it really ruins you?

"Where is the Jingyuan army?"

"I was stopped at Liquan by Prime Minister Du Rangneng. But this group of people can't satisfy their desires, and the reward of a mere [-] bolts of silk is already impossible to satisfy. They not only want wealth, but also women. Our army just left Fangzhou. There are more than four hundred miles in Chang'an, and for them, time is enough." Chen Cheng replied: "If the prime minister can't persuade the rebellious army, the emperor will have to relocate."

"Wang Bian of Huazhou is so close, why hasn't he arrived in Chang'an yet?"

Chen Cheng was also a little surprised, maybe something happened, but it was not a bad thing.

(End of this chapter)