Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 602 Situation
"The thief Shao is still in Chang'an?" In Caozhou City, Zhu Quanzhong had just sent away a group of guests.

The guests came from Hebei, including people from Chengde Wang Rong and envoys from Youzhou warlords.

Li Keyong's conquest of Youzhou was not thorough. Ying and Mo prefectures had a population of one million and were powerful, but in order to quickly stabilize the situation, they actually focused on recruiting security.

It is conceivable that such appeasement comes at a price.

Lu Wenjin and Liu Rengong are fools on the wall and may betray Li Keyong at any time, while Shan Keji is a reckless man who is not convinced.Even the three brothers of the Gao family in Youzhou may not be willing to surrender for a long time. Once something happens, it is almost inevitable to jump back.

The consequences of rapid expansion are like this, and Li Keyong will be able to taste it immediately.

"The Shao bandits quelled the rebellion of Ting Zan and Li Kuangwei, planted people in the court, and treated the emperor like a puppet. In a few days, it may be necessary to abolish the establishment." Li Zhen said: "Your Majesty, it is better to move All the towns say that the Shao bandits sleep on the dragon bed at night, rape their concubines, and kill the kings. They are traitors and traitors.

Zhu Quanzhong sat down, as if weighing carefully.

It is very difficult, or even impossible, for all the towns to attack the Shao bandits together.But it is still possible to ruin the reputation of Shao thief, make people of insight all over the world resent him, stop running to Chang'an wholeheartedly, and the commanders of the vassals no longer make confessions to the court.

Who asked you to surround Jingzhao Mansion?Something happened to Chang'an, do you want to take care of it?You take care of it, but the yellow mud falls into the crotch, and you can't tell why.

There are advantages to controlling the Chang'an court, but there are definitely disadvantages. It is impossible to have the best of both worlds.

"This matter is feasible." Zhu Quanzhong said: "It can be transferred to the towns, whether it is successful or not."

Anyway, you don't need to pay any capital, but you can discredit Shao thief's reputation, so why not do it?

Of course, Shao Bandit can turn around and smear this side, but it's not a big problem. Lao Zhu is not afraid of losing face, and others may not believe it. Anyway, it is certain that Shao Bandit will enter Chang'an.

Jing Xiang didn't take it seriously.

Li Zhen is very keen on such indecent methods, but to be honest, he doesn't think it will have any effect.

"Your Majesty, you still have to keep an eye on Hebei." Jing Xiang stepped forward and said, "Wang Rong has already dispatched troops, and General Zhang has already crossed Hebei. If we can repel Li Keyong in Weibo, there will be great benefits."

"General Zhang" is of course not Zhang Shensi, but Zhang Cunjing.He brought 2 people north into Weibo to assist Luo Hongxin in resisting Li Keyong.

In addition, Ge Congzhou led ten thousand people to return from Ruzhou to the north and is currently crossing the river.

With these 6 people, plus Wei Bo's army, which has expanded to more than [-], Li Keyong only brought [-] to [-] people, so the chances of winning are not great.

Faced with Li Keyong's aggressive posture, Wang Rong of Zhenzhou was terrified. He sent [-] horsemen to Zhao and Ji, and was about to launch an offensive to flank Li Keyong's army.

In addition, this famous "Scattering Wealth Boy" also sent an envoy to Bianzhou, offering 20 coins, 40 pieces of silk, and [-] horses, and invited the Bian army to attack together.

Wang Rong is sincere in eliminating Li Keyong’s forces that have harmed Hebei, and he will not hesitate to pay any price for this—if Li Keyong cannot be eliminated even after paying a heavy price, well, Wang Rong will decisively take refuge in Li Keyong.

With an army of 16, favorable geographical location, popular support, and sufficient logistical supplies, if Li Ke can't play with the less than 6 horses that Li Ke used, then there's no need to play.

According to the information obtained, in Li Ke's army, there were only [-] Jin soldiers, less than [-] Yan soldiers, [-] Hezhong soldiers, and [-] miscellaneous Hu soldiers from the grassland.In addition, Li Han's road is also several thousand, but they are going in another direction.

"Weizhen's people were originally scattered, and the generals had their own thoughts. However, when the Jin soldiers came, they might have to help each other. It's not a big problem." Zhu Quanzhong said: "What I worry about is not in the north, not in the east, or in the south, but in the north. West."

The threat from the north seems to be great, both Xia and Jin, but Li Keyong is not paying attention, Wei Bo's strength is also strong enough, he is not yet capable of taking it.Hedong is just that size, and now he is froze after devouring Youzhou, and is still digesting slowly, how could he be able to eat Wei Bo.

According to Zhu Quanzhong's thinking, Li Ke's attack on Wei Bo was completely impulsive, wasting time and troops, which is very unwise.

In comparison, Xia Jun, who occupied most of Heyang, threatened more directly.

But they also have difficulties, that is, a large number of people migrated here, including both Han and Han, and it seems that the total number is more than [-].

Raising more than [-] people is not an easy job.They have to be raised this year, before the autumn harvest next year, and even after the autumn harvest.

In the first year of reclamation, the land that has been abandoned for a long time always has problems of one kind or another. Coupled with the shortage of farm tools, seeds, and livestock, and the damage of water conservancy facilities, there will definitely not be too much farmland that can be used for sowing.

Migrating to Meng and Huai prefectures is a big deal, but it will undoubtedly consume a lot of Xia Bandit's financial resources.

This is what Shao Shude likes to do. He has always liked to do this kind of big-ticket. Zhu Quanzhong has been studying him for so many years, and he has already seen it.

It is true that once the Xia thief takes root in Heyang, the farmland harvests a large amount of millet, wheat and pasture, and the number of cattle, sheep and livestock also increases significantly, then it will be the turn of the Bian army to suffer later.Mengzhou and Huaizhou can be called fertile soil, and there is no shortage of water. As long as they are well managed, they can indeed be used as a base for money and food.

But it takes time.

Not to mention the threat to the east.

Zhu Quanzhong came to Caozhou with Tingzidu and the Zhusheng army to inspect Caozhou. The main reason was that Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin became active.

Zhu Xuan overestimated his strength and led his army out of Puzhou, but was repelled, but in fact the gains were not great, only more than [-] people were captured and beheaded, including [-] Tibetan cavalry.The unexpected joy was that the Yan army was defeated by the bank of Jishui. Zhu Jin hurried to rescue Puzhou, but was ambushed. The Bian army beheaded [-] ranks and captured more than [-] people.

When is it, do you still dare to fight in the field?
But after suffering this dull loss, brothers Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin should calm down a lot.They still have to face the pressure of Qingzhou Wang Shifan. It is not a problem that Qizhou has been occupying it all the time, not to mention the corruption of Erzhu's military discipline, which is deeply hated by the people of Qizhou.

"Your Majesty, Yang Xingmi must also pay attention to it." Jingxiang said with some concern: "Xingmi hated Du Hong and fought many times. Now he has captured Huangzhou and returned to Qi and Hubei. Du Hong is afraid that he will not be able to support him. Figure out a way."

In fact, there is another hidden worry.Zhao Kuangning in Xiangyang is likely to continue attacking Du Hong next year after resting for a period of time.

Under attack from both sides, how long can Du Hong last?

Judging from the current situation, it can be regarded as half giving up Du Hong as a vassal force.In desperation, will people directly rely on Zhe Zongben?

It is impossible to take refuge in Yang Xingmi, because Yang likes to kill generals, that is, every time he captures a place, he openly recruits middle and lower-level officials and sergeants, but high-ranking officials and generals are often killed, and Du Hong is mostly unwilling to take refuge.

Fortunately, Zhe Zongben was suppressed now, and his momentum was not strong enough, otherwise it would be really dangerous.

"It was reported earlier that the general and school of Chuzhou seemed to have changed, and he might seek refuge in secret." Zhu Quanzhong said, the expression on his face looked very calm, and there was no sign of anger at all.

Li Zhen, Jing Xiang, Wei Zhao, and Pei Di who were present knew that Chuzhou might be used as a bargaining chip to coordinate the relationship with Yang Xingmi.

There are not many secret soldiers, with [-] "Northern Returnees" (Sun Ru's remnants) as the main force, and Heiyun Longjian is the pro-army, which is the core force he directly controls.Zhu Yanshou, Tian Kai, An Renyi and other generals each have thousands to more than ten thousand soldiers, but they are the leaders of the army, and Yang Xingmi may not trust them, or they may rebel.

But even so, if Yang Xingmi goes north, 4 or [-] people can still be drawn.Although not afraid, it is always a trouble.If you can get it right, that's even better.

The six states of Chu, Si, Shou, Hao, Guang, and Shen along the Huaihe River, Chu, Si, Hao, and Shou are the most important for travel secrets.Zhang Jian, the governor of Sizhou, has surrendered, and he is still appointed as governor by Xingmi. Hao and Shouzhou are slowly cleaning up and rectifying. Pei Di often runs there recently, and the results are outstanding, but Chuzhou has not yet rectified. As for Whether it was intentional or not, everyone has their own opinions.

Maybe it's a way to use Chuzhou Yu's secret line to make a good relationship, at least to stabilize him first, and then make a fuss later?But no one can guarantee it, and no one dares to make this suggestion.

Guang and Shenzhou are now under the rule of Zhang Quanyi.In the great chaos, Fang Ping, Quan Yi worked tirelessly, traveled all over the villages, encouraged the people to re-cultivate the farmland, and gave rewards to the farmers whose wheat seedlings grew well in the fields, so that the people felt safe.

Zhang Quanyi, the Jiedu envoy, does not have military power, and is more like the governor of the three states in one person.He also transferred many officials from Luoyang to the south to Shen, Guang, and Cai. They are all good at managing civil affairs.

Zhang Quanyi should not betray.There are rumors in Bianzhou that his eldest son, Zhang Jiye, was killed by a Shao thief, and he pretended to die of illness. It's hard to say whether this kind of thing will affect Zhang Quanyi, and he doesn't seem to care about such face-saving things.

"Forget it, the matter of Chuzhou will be discussed after the envoy returns from Yangzhou." Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Quanzhong was a little annoyed, and said, "Now the focus is still in Luoyang. After the great river freezes in the twelfth lunar month, the Shao thief will definitely send his cavalry south. , get ready, and try to let the Shao bandits suffer in Henan. It is not a small courage to send cavalry south!"

The situation is such a situation, in fact, quite difficult.Luoyang's first-line troops were not sufficient. After Ge Congzhou went north, there were only Yang Shihou and Dinghui in the direction of Ruzhou. Although they could suppress the Xia bandits, their aggressiveness was a little insufficient, and they no longer had the absolute advantage of the past.

"Where will Thief Shao go next?" Zhu Quanzhong asked suddenly.

"Or Shuzhong." Jing Xiang replied.

"There have been many years of war in central Shu, how many household registrations do you still have?"

"During the Tianbao period, there were more than [-] households in Sichuan. Since the Chaos, Sanchuan has exported all its wealth and goods to Guanzhong. The taxes and burdens are extremely heavy, and the people have fled. There is also the chaos of grass bandits, and the officers and soldiers killed good people and pretended to be meritorious. Chaos After the peace, Chen Jingxuan's generation attacked and killed each other, and Zhu Mei, Li Maozhen, Man Cun, Li Ting, Wang Xingyu, Wang Xingyue, and Zhao Jian fought endlessly nearby. There should be only more than [-] households of refugees now." Jingxiang replied: "Your Majesty, I think that the Shao bandits will not enter Shu. Wait for a few more years, and wait until his son-in-law grows up before he can conquest the land of Shu."

Zhu Quanzhong nodded.

Unknowingly, Shu has been in chaos for more than ten years.The biggest value of the East and West Rivers is actually silk. There are more than 15 households, which can be taxed for one million pieces of silk and 4 coins.Judging from the rewards of soldiers in Shuofang, Xuanwu and other towns during the war, each person had to have about ten coins and ten pieces of silk every year, so this household tax could maintain the annual rewards of more than [-] Yamen.

Food is not counted, it depends on where your army is stationed.If you are stationed in Shu, you can use the grain and grass in Shu for daily consumption, but the food is distributed to the sergeant's family, will their family follow to Shu?If you don't go, then the food in Shu will not be used.There will be fewer troops that can be supported, perhaps less than 3, only more than [-].

But after occupying all of Shu, you must garrison troops, at least 3 people.

That is to say, when the Shao bandits attacked Shu, the land tax (grain) collected could not be used, and the household tax was only enough to maintain the local garrison, so there was not much financial benefit—the land tax was the bulk of the town's income.

The localization of the garrison is a solution, and it can even support [-] troops.The premise is to move the families of the sergeants to Shuzhong and let them settle down there, dare you?
Shu people are not used for conscription. Shao bandits like to recruit Guanbei and Helong athletes, so what's the point?

Perhaps local talents can be utilized, and some commercial taxes can also be collected, but these are small caps, which are insignificant compared with household tax and land tax.

Compared with the huge investment required to clear the land of Shu, and the dilemma of almost no tax revenue in the past few years, Shao thief is not stupid.

The only value of the Shu land should be to establish prestige for his eldest son, build a team, and set up an army. It has little benefit to the current battle of the world, and even has disadvantages.Unless you spend 20 years working hard to restore the land of Shu slowly, you can provide additional money and silk.Or, simply extort and extort money, then a lot of money can be squeezed out now, but most of the Shao thieves are unwilling to do so.

"Keep an eye on Shao's movements. If he enters Shu, he will definitely have to conscript himself. It is impossible to appoint a general. He will probably have to transfer sergeants from Heyang and Heluo. Then we will have a chance." Zhu Quanzhong said with a smile: "At that time, my whole army will go south. Uproot Tang Deng Sui and cut off one of his arms. Well, first move the townships, and say that the Shao thief wants to depose the establishment. He is really a national traitor, and everyone in the world can punish him."

(End of this chapter)