Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 561 Planning and Breaking the Game
The military situation changed several times a day, but Shao Shude was not too anxious.

On the second day of May, he left Longchi Palace with his own soldiers and the Tielin Army, accompanied by dozens of civil servants such as Song Le, Lu Siye, Du Guangyi, Chen Cheng, Zhao Guangfeng, etc. - the Feng'an Army stayed behind in Anyi.

The two sons also followed and studied along the way.

On this day, the army camped in the mountains west of Yuanxian County, while Shao Shude and his son lived in the post station.

"See you, Commander." Gao Luo outside the station, the post general bowed to salute.

"You are..." Shao Shude subconsciously felt that this person looked familiar, and after thinking about it, he said, "Could it be Liu Dayou?"

"The commander-in-chief still remembers me?" Liu Dayou was a little excited.

"On the first day of Wende's first year, I went to see Huang Silang's house, and I met you and others. There is another named Jin San?" Shao Shude thought for a while, and then remembered these two people.

"Jin San belongs to the Wuwei Army, and he is a post general at the Yuancheng station." Liu Dayou said again and again: "The commander is really convincing, he still remembers me after six years."

"Of course I remember, they all fought for me." Shao Shu pulled Liu Dayou to sit down and invited him to drink Mengding tea together.

"How did you become a postman?"

"After joining the team, I was injured when begging Wang Ke, and I couldn't get better, so I retreated."

Shao Shude sighed and said, "Where's Jin San?"

"He lost an arm in Liaowu, so he can no longer draw a bow and shoot arrows." Liu Dayou said, "But I am disabled, so I can receive a grain of hu every month, so there is no need to worry about expenses."

"Can the food be distributed on time?"

"Posted."

"I want to see."

Shao Shude got up and entered the room, Liu Dayou pointed to a bag of light yellow "wheat" in the warehouse and said, "That's all."

Shao Shude grabbed a handful of "wheat grains", smelled them carefully, and said, "Is this barley?"

Liu Dayou had an expression of admiration on his face, and said, "It's the barley."

"It looks pretty good." Shao Shude said, "It was sent directly by the county?"

"Yes. Rizheng personally delivered it."

"Who is Li Zheng?"

"It's also Paoze in the army. He is forty years old this year. He said that he has fought for the commander-in-chief for more than ten years, and he can't do it anymore. Wu Fu put his head on his head and worked hard. It doesn't matter where he goes. After beheading Wang Ke, he became a prisoner in the village. Li Zheng."

Shao Shude nodded.

Several counties in Shaozhou were established almost from scratch.The system of roads, prefectures, counties, townships, and villages in the country requires a large number of local managers with many positions.

Although Yuan County has existed for a long time, the countryside is dilapidated and uninhabited, and it is not much different from the newly established one.Strictly speaking, officials at the township and village levels are not officials appointed by the imperial court, and are appointed by local wealthy families according to the national court regulations.But where did the wealthy family come from in the dilapidated Yuan County?The shogunate probably didn't make a difference, so they simply used the retired warriors to take up these positions. Anyway, their loyalty is there, so let's make do with it.

"The people of Dubo in the countryside don't understand the language, so it's probably not easy to manage?" Shao Shude asked, and smiled again after asking, isn't this obvious?

"There are always a few who can speak official language." Liu Dayou said: "There is a person in my station who doesn't want to farm the land, so he came to cut the meat for me."

"How many acres does the post field have?"

"150 mu, and [-] mu of sloping land, I asked the Tibetans to beg some donkey hi bean seeds, and planted them."

"Can it be planted?"

"Large planting and low harvest, what you reap counts." Liu Dayou said: "I have raised six horses, and the county also supplements fodder and beans every year."

"Compared to the time in the army, how much can you earn?"

"There are many troops coming and going to Zhongpaoze, so I won't make things too difficult for me. A few days ago, a horse was lame, and the county replaced it. After the lame horse was slaughtered, the horse skin was taken away, and the meat was left for the station." Liu Da Someone said: "If the civil servants who live in the accommodation are not high enough, they will be paid for food and drink. These awls don't dare to mess with us."

Shao Shude laughed out loud.

When generals and officials communicate, they must live in post stations.But unless you are on a business trip, you will have to pay.Even if they are on business, the treatment of officials of each rank is different, and the meals and rooms beyond the regulations are also paid.For example, someone wants to drink and eat meat instead of just eating corn and rice. Of course, the station will provide it, but you have to pay for it.

As for personal contacts, it must not be free.

Zhiguan Road, connecting Hezhong and Heyang, is a very important traffic route.This will be a time of war, and you may not be able to make much money, but if it is a peaceful time, you can still make some money.The post general is hereditary, which is a foundation that can be passed down to the family.

But then again, if the peace goes on for a long time, officials with private contacts may also want to take advantage of the post station and provide free board and lodging.But after the hardships, in order to reduce expenses, Guochao's post stations gradually turned to private ownership, and the postmen could not make concessions without a bottom line, unless the government increased subsidies, otherwise they would not be able to continue.

"I'm relieved when your livelihood is settled." Shao Shude said, suddenly thinking of the dissatisfaction in the army caused by the move, he was still a little depressed.

Liu Dayou went to the back kitchen to prepare food soon, and Shao Shude took his son to the field to have a look.

Under the setting sun, the long river sets, and the mountains and rivers are magnificent.

It has been more than a year since Yuan County was rebuilt, and [-] Tibetan households have settled here, and basically all of them have harvested a crop of grain, or barley, millet, wheat, or soybeans.

After the Spring Festival, spring sowing started one after another, and most people planted wheat or highland barley.The green wheat seedlings burst out of the ground, which is very gratifying to look at.

There are still many wastelands in the wild, and most of them are hilly and mountainous.

Shao Shude held the hands of Chengjie and Siwu, and watched casually in the afterglow of the setting sun.

"This is Burnet." Shao Shude pointed to some kind of flowers and plants on the ground, and said, "Sheep like to eat it, but it can't enrich the field. The one over there is Donkey's Xidou, which should be brought over by the Tibetans, and it doesn't have the effect of enriching the field." , but it can grow on mountains with very bad soil. Just as people are different, soil is also different. Some lands cannot grow grain, beans, or even some pastures, but donkeys like Beans can grow, and the yield is large, and livestock like to eat them. After a while, I will let people from the agricultural sciences come to give you a class, so don’t let people deceive you in the future. For the same [-] mu of land, the yields of the upper field, the middle field, and the lower field are very different. In addition, if someone tells you that there is little arable land in a certain county, and there is too much useless wasteland, you have to be careful. Look at that rotten land, where alfalfa cannot grow, but there are patches of Burnet and donkey hibiscus, It was obviously planted by humans, and they were cut off to feed livestock."

"Grandpa, are you saying that someone will lie and deceive you?" Shao Chengjie thought thoughtfully.

"Not only that." Shao Shude stroked his son's shoulders lightly, and said, "Under my father's rule, it is actually different from other feudal towns in the Central Plains. People often ridicule me as half-Hu half-Han, why? The farmland is used to grow grass and raise so many livestock? They don’t drink milk, cheese, or physalis, which is very different from my customs. But how many children in Lingzhou have never drunk milk or goat milk? What the Father wants to say is actually more important than you being lied to."

"He Ye?" Shao Siwu asked first.

"Don't be prejudiced." Shao Shude said: "In this world, there are many countries and many city-states. We are one step ahead in the land of China, but we must not look down on foreigners. They plundered the land and captured many craftsmen. The equipment they made was very different from the Tang Dynasty in terms of technique and style, but the quality was very good, not inferior to the armor and swords and spears of the Central Plains. Sogdian people are good at business, and the Long family is good at caring for horses. , raising horses, the Uighurs raise very good sheep, the Persians have good musical instruments, and the big cannibal has translated a lot of math books, which is the kind taught to you by Master Mani. The world is very big, there are hundreds of people, of all kinds, There are also talented and outstanding people in foreign countries, and the heroes of the world must not be underestimated. It is the donkey like beans, which are not available in the Central Plains, but there are many in the old country of Kangju. They grow on the barren mountainous land, and the yield is not inferior to Dawan alfalfa, but Dawan alfalfa needs good fields to cultivate, but donkey Xidou does not."

"The pasture is the same, and the people are the same." Shao Shude said: "The Tibetans have outstanding talents, and they can be appointed. You can't be prejudiced against them just because An Lushan rebelled. Li Guangbi, the first hero to quell the chaos, is a Khitan. , Pugu Huai'en, Bai Xiaode, Li Baoyu, etc. are not Han Chinese. An Lushan's confidants Gao Shang, Yan Zhuang, Zhang Tongru, etc. are Han Chinese, and generals Cui Qianyou, Wu Lingxun, Tian Chengsi, Li Guiren, etc. are also Han Chinese. The most important thing is why An Lushan was given the opportunity to rebel. If he was not given the opportunity, would Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi be famous border guards? Different systems, good people can become bad people, and bad people can become good people. Hexi, Longyou There are so many soldiers and generals in the three armies of Shuofang, some people don’t even become kings, and they came all the way to fight and suppress the rebellion for the Tang Dynasty. In order to suppress the rebellion, Pu Gu Huai’en was forced to marry his two daughters to the Uighurs to get married, and borrowed soldiers and horses , 46 members of the whole family died in the king's affairs, it can be said that the family is full of loyalty, why were they forced to rebel in the end?"

"Why did Grandpa suddenly become sentimental?" Shao Chengjie asked with a grin.

"Crack!" Shao Shude rewarded him with a slap in the ear, and scolded with a smile: "Grandpa is thirty-seven this year, and there are many things he wants to do, but now even Zhu Quanzhong has not been punished. If he is lucky enough to rule the world in the future, it may take a long time." There is not much more, and many things depend on you to complete. What Grandpa wants to say is, don’t be complacent, arrogant, or closed to the outside world. Grandpa wants to rule an empire, not a small feudal kingdom. A king must be open-minded, first Sheng Yun said, "Threesomes must have my teacher", don't the Tibetans have nothing worth learning? Pride and prejudice will only make Huaxia catch up step by step, and eventually fall behind. We must learn from the good things of the Tibetans. Don’t have sectarianism, feel embarrassed, learn it and it’s your own. The arithmetic that Master Mani taught you—no, it’s not arithmetic, it’s mathematics is a good example.”

The father and son chatted as they walked.

"Grandpa, why are there so many households in this place with continuous mountains?" Shao Siwu asked suddenly when he walked to the wheat field in the valley.

"You must understand some common sense." Shao Shude said: "During the Kaiyuan period, the imperial court established Zhengcang, Yicang, and Changpingcang in various provinces and prefectures to store grain, grass, and equipment. When using troops against Khitan, Henan and Hedong can allocate some grain and grass. , but the big head must be from Hebei. When using troops against Tubo, Guanzhong can support a little grain and grass, but the big head has to be sent from Hexi and Longyou. Now that my father is sending troops to Henan, Lingxia can certainly ship part of the grain and grass, but the big head is still Hezhong, Shanguo, and Huazhou. Once troops are deployed to the Western Regions, the food and grass in Hezhong and Shanguo will be useless. At this time, Lingxia, Liangzhou, and Helan will have to come out. On the other hand, if Zhu Quanzhong If he wants to attack Lingxia, his money and food from Henan will be useless, he has to go to Hedong and Guanzhong to find a way."

"In the counties of Shaozhou, 60 households of Tibetans were organized for my father, and they opened up nearly [-] hectares of land. In time, they can collect [-] dendrobium grains and beans in land taxes a year, as well as a large amount of hay, leather, and cloth." Shao Shude said: " In this battle of Heqing, my father seized the opportunity to rush to transport the food and grass before the Bian army navy, and also seized a large amount of Bian army food in the Baiya warehouse, so he was able to support the army in the battle. Now there is no such opportunity. It can only be transshipped by land. Do you think it is better to transport grain from Hezhong Prefecture, or Yuan County and Wangwu County?"

"Yuan and Wangwu are closer." The two replied together.

"If I occupy Heyang in the future, I will definitely immigrate to the eight counties in Hebei. I will farm and graze, save money and food, and then send troops south to attack Luo, Hua, and Zhengzhou. The people in these eight counties will also stock up on horses to support the war." Shao Shude said patiently: "Unless I can grab a big granary in Henan like this time. But I can't pin my hopes on this kind of thing. Everything is planned before moving. I have food in my hands and I am in an invincible position first." , and then go to see if there are any surprises, understand?"

"understood."

"This time you two will go east with me, and stay in Wangwu first to feel the tense atmosphere of the war." Shao Shude said: "Let's live in Jinxian—the county government office, and learn how to handle government affairs by the way."

Hearing this, Chengjie and Siwu winked at each other.

Shao Chengjie leaned into Siwu's ear and said in a low voice, "Aniang said that the Golden Immortal Temple is a place where filth is hidden."

Shao Siwu was overjoyed when he heard that, and the two snickered together.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Shao Shude asked a little strangely.

"We are saying that Grandpa is right."

……

On the ninth day of May, the army arrived in Wangwu County. Shao Shude arrived at Baiyacang in the evening with his own soldiers and [-] cavalry without stopping.

Gao Renhou was in command of the battle in Heqing County, so he didn't come, but Shao Shude still knew the battle well.

With the Bian army constantly digging trenches, the northwest camp is already half surrounded.

But the so-called semi-encirclement actually means no encirclement.

Their connection with Heqing County was cut off, but Bai Yacang City could still send troops to directly assist them.

After more than ten days, Bianjun's progress has not been much.This may be related to the fact that Pang Shigu did not attack regardless of casualties. His strategy was the same as when he besieged Xuzhou, encircling and dividing, but the effect was not very good.

"Pang Shigu is so slow, is he going to fight with me? Can he hold on?" Shao Shude found the battlefield situation map drawn by his staff with some strangeness.

The trenches dug and the camps built by the Bian Army are clearly marked on it, followed by a brief record of the last few battles.

In more than ten days, the two sides fought seven or eight times. The Bian army probably lost more than [-] people, Heqing County lost more than [-] Tibetan soldiers, and the newly stationed Tiande Army infantry in the northwest camp lost more than [-] people.The periphery of the camp was basically filled up. The Bian army relied on a large number of soldiers and built more than ten earthen platforms on the periphery. They were condescending and shot with strong bows and crossbows day and night.

"This man fought like a storm. I didn't expect him to be so precise." Shao Shude put down the map and admired Pang Shigu. He was able to fight the war step by step according to his own ideas under pressure. This kind of temperament is good.

Digging trenches to limit the traffic between Heqing County and the Northwest camp, building villages and stationing troops everywhere to support them, and then laying soil to build multiple high platforms to suppress the defenders in the camp from a long distance.

Since the end of the Later Han Dynasty, digging trenches and building high platforms to shoot at each other have been the two magic weapons for besieging the city.

Shao Shude deduced it carefully. According to the current situation, if the camps of the Bian army cannot be eliminated, and then the earth platforms built by them are overthrown, and they shoot at each other for a long time, the Bian army with five or six times the strength of the Xia army will have the upper hand. A large number of Tiande soldiers must have been injured by arrows, and their morale was affected.

And after pulling out this camp, the Bian army can be stationed here, and then what should we do?Perhaps it is to attack Liaowu, take advantage of the navy's advantage, attack from both sides, and then pull out this stronghold.

The northwest camp and Liaowu are like the left and right arms of Heqing County. Cutting one can open the situation, and capturing two will completely isolate Heqing County. Except for Baiyacang City, the westernmost stronghold, the Bian Army can even once again In the same way, dig trenches to isolate the county town, prevent the defenders in the city from rushing out, and then calmly formulate an attack plan-the defenders cannot completely shrink in the city, and most of them will not be able to defend it.

However, this process will inevitably produce a large number of casualties and take a long time.Under repeated competition, it may even take several months. Where did Pang Shigu have so much time?

After throwing down the map, Shao Shude climbed up to the highest point of Baiyacang City and looked at the battlefield situation in the east.

A battle between the two sides had just ended, and thousands of people were dispatched from Heqing County to take advantage of the unpreparedness of the Bian army and burn down a small village where they were stationed.

But looking at the entire battlefield, there is still a long east-west "scar" between Heqing County and the camp.

There are deep and wide ditches, and stockades set up at intervals. Behind the ditches, there are a large number of grain carts, which travel between the camp and the battlefield in formation, transporting grain, equipment and soldiers.

On the more than ten towering earthen platforms, there was the buzzing sound of powerful crossbow shooting from time to time. The crossbow arrows fell inside the Xia army's camp, and the casualties were unknown.

Of course, there are high platforms in the Xia army camp, but there are only four of them, which is quite disadvantageous for shooting against each other.

"It's a safe way to play with the least casualties, but it's also a time-consuming way to play." Shao Shude thought for a while, maybe it's time to put some pressure on the Bian army, and they can't be so arrogant.

"Here's an order to transfer the [-]-step cavalry from the Yinshan tribe, under the command of Gao Renhou. He should understand what I mean." Shao Shude called Zheng Yong and asked him to go to Chen Cheng to transfer troops.

"Obey!" Zheng Yong quickly left.

Shao Shude then looked in the direction of Liaowu.Everything was calm there, and Bianjun navy warships could occasionally be seen on the river, but they were all small scouting fast boats, and the real big guys were not dispatched.

"This battle!" Shao Shude lost his temper and went downstairs.

In this war, the frontal part is advancing slowly, and it can be said that it is in a stalemate. Maybe the situation will be broken?
The four thousand cavalry infantry who retreated from the northwest camp should change places!
"Let Yang Liang come to see me!" he shouted.

(End of this chapter)