Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 604 Conversation
Winter came very early this year.

It was only mid-October, and the first snow fell, and the ground was covered in silver, which was extraordinarily enchanting.

When Zhe Zongben returned from hunting, he felt powerless.

When he was young, he ate ice and slept on snow, and risked his life to fight for his official position.After serving as a general of the Zhenwu Army, he went out with the army many times, blowing the bitter cold wind on the grassland and eating the bitter yellow sand in the desert.

Outside the Yin Mountain, he was chasing the Uighur without sleep, and he was there.

He was there in the unrelenting battle against Tubo by the Yellow River.

He was also present in Hengshan, where he searched through mountains and through forests to conquer the party.

All the five towns along the river know soldiers and horse envoys. Is it so easy to get them?
To make those warriors who are above the top willingly obey, and to make the brave and skilled athletes in the family follow sincerely, the price to pay is too high.

The army only asks about ability, no ability, but a background?go away!

The clan also depends on the ability, if the ability is not enough, everyone is the son of the Zhe clan, and the throne is naturally occupied by those who can.The rich families in the frontier can't afford the price of an incompetent being in power, that would be death and family extinction.

In the era when low-level warriors could reach the sky in one step, only I knew what price I had to pay during it.

"Take care of this pheasant." Zhe Zongben sighed: "I'm old! Ten years ago, I could hunt tigers and leopards for several days, but now I can't."

The soldiers went down to work one after another.

Zhao Kuanglin, who came from Suizhou, also sighed a little, the hero is late, that's what he said.

"Ling Gong can still repel Yang Shihou's son, why are you old?" He was sitting opposite Zhe Zongben, someone was already making tea with snow water, which was quite interesting.

"Master Yang has only a few soldiers, less than [-]. In fact, he is very powerful. He uses troops quickly, bravely, and somewhat cunningly." Zhe Zongben smiled and said, "I am old, and it is difficult to deal with such a vigorous person." , I often can’t keep up with him, I don’t know what he is thinking. If my son-in-law uses the military method, everything is on the surface, and relying on the general situation to overwhelm others, I can go a few rounds.”

Zhao Kuanglin smiled awkwardly but politely.

Zhezong could have made a joke about the king, but he dared not.

"The art of war of 1 men is naturally different from the art of war of 10 men." Zhao Kuanglin thought that the opposite was King Xia's father-in-law, so he had to show his loyalty, and said: "The king uses soldiers with strict rigor, like Wang Jian's style. .”

Zhe Zongben laughed: "You are also a cunning."

After laughing, he said again: "But one thing is true. When you command 20 or [-] people, you have to fight like Wang Jian. You can't afford to lose."

"Master Yang, he is a general. If you say he is handsome, I don't think so." Zhe Zongben grabbed the wine bag, took a sip, and sighed: "Good wine."

Well, the son-in-law sent it to the old man.Xiazhou specialty, highly distilled wine.

Now the two towns of Shuofang and Hexi are slowly starting to promote distilled wine.The by-products are used to feed the cows to increase milk production, and the spirits can be sold to the people in the grasslands, which is very interesting.

This kind of thing does not need to be enforced by the shogunate or the royal family. The common people see that there are real benefits, so they find a way to learn it.The trouble is that not everyone can afford distillation equipment, so production is still very small.

"Ling Gong, you have been fighting with the Bian army for so long, among the generals of the Bian army, who do you think is the first?" Zhao Kuanglin took the wine bag from Zhe Zongben, thanked him repeatedly, and asked again.

"Ding Hui is a handsome talent." Zhe Zongben said: "Zhu Zhen, Pang Shigu, and Zhu Yougong who have never met face to face are counted. I heard that Zhu Zhen is the most powerful among them, but it is a pity that they have never fought. Yang Shihou can only be regarded as General talent, Ge Congzhou is one of the most outstanding general talents. It's a pity that he has never presided over the overall situation, and always leads partial teachers. The old man thinks he is a handsome talent, but he just has no chance."

For a head of a military and political group, there can be many talents, but handsome talents are undoubtedly the most valuable and most valued.

The Kansai Samurai Group, Li Tangbin, Zhe Zongben, and Gao Renhou are the three handsome talents on the bright side. Now it seems that their abilities are qualified.But Zhezong is already old, Gao Renhou is not too young, and Li Tangbin is in his best years. Who can stand up in the future, there is probably still a wave of investigations.

"The Bian thieves are poor on the left and right. These people have the talents of generals. If they are willing to come and surrender, the big thing will be settled." Zhao Kuanglin took a sip of his wine and sighed comfortably.

Zhe Zongben nodded.

He has been fighting against the Bian army for a long time, and he has a very strange feeling that if Zhu Quanzhong is at the end of his life and is about to perish, his subordinates are more likely to surrender than those of Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin, Luo Hongxin, Wang Rong, and Li Ke. possibility is high.

It sounds unreliable, but he thinks it is the truth.

To some extent, the Xuanwu Army is very similar to the Shuofang Army. Zhu Quanzhong, like his son-in-law, likes to hold most of the power in his hands and does not like to "divide up" generals.

The generals have no territory in their hands, no so-called foundation, and surrender is nothing more than changing a serving lord, and the cost is not particularly high.But if it is other feudal towns, all of them are generals and governors, then the possibility of surrender is very low.

Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin have been beaten for so many years, and there is almost no hope for their subordinates. How many generals will surrender here?Still stubbornly resisting.You can say that they are ignorant of current affairs, but they are fighting for their own interests, either for Jiedushi or for themselves.Before you are completely desperate, you have to be stubborn.

Li Keyong, Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin, Luo Hongxin, Wang Rong, Li Maozhen, Yang Xingmi, etc. all like to entrust their confidant generals and adopted sons, and engage in indirect vassal rule. Zhu Quanzhong and Shao Shude are two outliers.

"After the first month, Zhao Kuangning may have to do something." Zhe Zongben said: "We will have to rely on ourselves then."

Zhao Kuanglin felt a little bitter when he heard the words.

After the one-year war, they were mainly on the defensive, and the local area was devastated. A large number of people were looted by Bian thieves.

If the money and food in Xiang, Ying, and Fu were lost, this day would be even more sad.Not only did he have to support the army, but he also had to help the people. If the fight continued, he was worried that someone in Suizhou would surrender.

"Ling Gong, I heard that King Xia immigrated to Heyang on a large scale. Can you ask some people to come?" Zhao Kuanglin asked: "There are not many people in Xiangyang, and most of the land is barren. Why don't you ask Zhao Kuangning for some abandoned land to resettle the people and produce Money and food. Some places in Dengzhou are relatively safe, and the people can be relocated for farming. Forget about Tangzhou and Suizhou, it is not easy to face the Bian bandits."

"I'm afraid not many people can move here. Even if they come, what do you support? There is nothing for the first year." Speaking of this, Zhe Zongben was also a little annoyed.

The son-in-law didn't give face, and would rather immigrate to Meng, Huai, and Shao states than send it to Tang and Deng Sui.Although I was worried that they would not be able to support them, or that they would be robbed by Bian thieves when they were sent over, but I didn't see any of them, which was too much.When the son-in-law comes over next year, he has to be trained well—discuss it.

"Speaking of people, money and food, it's better to go to Du Hong's territory and rob it." Zhe Zongben took another sip of wine and sneered, "When did you ever have enough money when you fought on the grassland back then? Didn't you just rely on robbing! Du Hong, an actor, is being watched by Zhao Kuangning in the west and Yang Xingmi invading in the east, Zhu Quanzhong has no way to save him, he is just a dead dog, and he will be wiped out sooner or later."

"Ling Gong, I heard that Du Hong intends to surrender." Zhao Kuanglin also knew that the news was unreliable and unconfirmed, and the last time he tried to persuade him to surrender also ended in failure, but he still said: "Du Hong is now only in control of Hubei Province." The two prefectures of An, An, Yue, and Qi are called their subordinates, but they are actually allied. If there is no Yang Xingmi to force them, they can fight on their own. As for the two states of Huang and Shen, one belongs to Xingmi, the other to Quanzhong, and the other belongs to Quanzhong. He has nothing to do with it. Du Hong can't support the current situation, so what if he doesn't surrender?"

Of course, the surrender mentioned here means vassalage, not the complete surrender of the territory or the army.

Zhe Zongben also fell into deep thought when he heard the words, Zhao Kuanglin bowed his head and drank.In fact, he still has some connections in Ezhou, and he can inquire about some high-level information that is difficult for ordinary people to get in touch with.

"Du Hong will not surrender Yang Xingmi." Zhe Zongben said decisively.

Yang Xingmi's work is too extreme, as long as he takes refuge in the past, he will have nothing, and his life may be lost.Every time he enters and occupies a place, he likes to clean up. The high-level people are wiped out, replaced by his own people, and the middle and low-level people are greatly wooed.After his circle was formed, it was difficult for outsiders to climb up. It seemed that the whole was somewhat xenophobic, and he was not polite to outsiders.

Compared with Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong, these two people have no discrimination against descendants, as long as they have the ability, they can be promoted.

Therefore, there is no need for Du Hong to surrender to Yang Xingmi, and there is no good fruit to eat if he surrenders.

"Du Hong really won't vote for Yang. The matter of Huangzhou Inspector Wu Dou is close at hand, how can he not learn from it?" Zhao Kuanglin agreed.

"He must be very disappointed with Zhu Quanzhong now." Zhe Zongben said again: "It's a pity that we fought the battle too passively, otherwise we might have succeeded in persuading him to surrender last time."

"In fact, it can't be said that it was completely unsuccessful." Zhao Kuanglin said: "In the battle of Heyang, Pang Shigu's army of more than [-] was aggressive, but he lost his troops and returned without success. The King Xia is so powerful, even if he is far away in Jianghan, Du Hongying also has it. I have heard it. Furthermore, why is Zhu Quanzhong powerless to save him? Du Hong will definitely think about this question. Either the troops are insufficient, or there is some fear, in short, hands are tied."

"Is it possible for Du Hong to seek rescue from Jiangling Li Kan?" Zhe Zongben asked.

"Li Kan was ill a while ago, I'm afraid he was powerless." Zhao Kuanglin said, as if thinking of something, he smiled and said: "There are rumors in the Jiangling Mansion that after hearing that His Highness was promoted to King Xia, Li Kan was furious and furious. Coupled with the fact that the southern expedition to Langzhou was not going well, he suddenly fell ill."

"Li Kan!" Zhe Zongben also smiled: "In the past, when he left the town of Kuixia, the soldiers who started his family were recruited in the northwest. This kind of person is not good for others."

Li Kan's territory is basically along the Yangtze River, and one person is also the Jiedushi of Kuixia and Jingnan.Over the years, he has been sweeping the territory to segregate the hills, and then distribute them to his parents and adopted sons.Now there are still Lang and Li prefectures left, so they should have no intention of interfering with other towns.

"Alas!" Zhe Zongben got up suddenly, and said, "Why is my son-in-law still staying in the capital? I have to write a letter, and I can't wait until next year. It's best to go south as soon as possible, otherwise things will change later. The saint concubine in Chang'an is so reluctant." Is it? It's just nonsense!"

Zhao Kuanglin was a little dumbfounded.

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(End of this chapter)