Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 620
On February 24th of the second year of Qianning, it was overcast.

Outside Huoqiu County, Shouzhou, the wheat seedlings are green.

Shao Shude rode on the horse and carefully observed the marching troops.

These new recruits have to keep an eye on them, otherwise they can walk in the wheat field for you and trample the good wheat seedlings to pieces.

But not destroying crops doesn't mean they don't ask for anything.In fact, the operation of requisition and apportionment started almost from the beginning.

The lack of food is the biggest threat to the tens of thousands of Xia troops in Nanyang and Huaishui.

The four prefectures of gold and merchants are already searching for their property, and Xiangyang is also temporarily raising taxes. The governor of Anzhou, Wu Yu, was forced to negotiate with local tyrants for food. Du Hong pinched his nose and gave some. very little.

The biggest gain was after they invaded Caizhou, they obtained more than [-] hu of grain, and sporadic seizures of Xinxi, Zhenyang, and Baoxin.

Such a large effort to raise food only pushed the time when the food ran out from the original April and May to the end of July and early August.It seems that there is still a little time before the harvest of the new grain, but fortunately, more than [-] people from Shi Zan's subordinates have already escorted the grain and grass from Guanzhong, so they should be able to barely fool them.

But no matter what, these places have overdrawn their original resources this year, and next year they will have to cut taxes and recuperate.Otherwise, the people may starve to death or flee due to exorbitant taxes.

On the distant land, more than a hundred riders are fighting each other.

After discovering that the brigade had entered Shouzhou eastward, Huoqiu County panicked, and the county magistrate immediately surrendered.But outside the city, some people are using the terrain to harass.

Among them, Zhu Jingzhe, with a group of disciples, took advantage of his familiarity with the geography to sneak attack in the forests of Qiuxu, causing dozens of casualties.

It's okay to die, but the injured are the most troublesome.Do you want to take care of it, or do you want to evacuate it?This takes up manpower and troops.

The rangers of the two sides fought for a while, and the Weisheng Army cavalry general Zhe Cong Gu Dalong danced and swept a bandit soldier off his horse.The rest of the crowd couldn't resist the enemy and collapsed one after another.

"Marshal, this guy is Zhu Jing's man." After a while, Li Zhong, the new tenth personal soldier, dragged over a prisoner who had been tortured so badly that he was out of shape, and said.

Shao Shude looked at the prisoner who had suffered a lot, and said, "You should tell me, where is Liang Ren?"

"Back to Commander, according to the captives, the Liang people should still be in Shouzhou. I don't know how many people there are. He also heard others mention it."

"What about the banks of the Huai River?"

"There are ships transporting food and equipment, that's all he knows."

Shao Shude nodded.

He estimated that Shi Shucong would bring at least 3 people here, judging from the number of Xu Su's defenders.But where are the people and what is the composition of the army, it is still difficult to find out.

The only certain facts are: [-]. Liang army appeared in Shouzhou, with both infantry and cavalry, but the number is unknown; [-]. The general in command is Shi Shucong, who is also in Shouzhou;

Of course, this is previous information, and it's hard to say whether it has changed now.This prisoner's status is low, and it's good for him to know so much.

"Who is Zhu Jing?" Shao Shude asked again.

"Shouzhou's local tycoon has a small amount of money, but he is not too rich. In the countryside, he has a reputation for bravery, courage, and boldness. Many people admire him." Li Zhong replied: "Huoqiu is bounded from north to south, where thieves meet. Zhu Jing recruited a group of young men with unique skills to patrol the police everywhere, and the bandits along the Huai River would not dare to commit crimes."

"Find a way to recruit this person." Shao Shude ordered: "When the two armies fight each other, each is the master. He is under the rule of Quan Zhong, and fighting for Quan Zhong is his duty. I don't blame him. If you wish to surrender, you can entrust him As the governor of Shouzhou."

Zhu Jing should be a small local tyrant, not a big influence.However, he is brave and courageous, and his reputation in the local area makes up for his lack of hard power to a certain extent.

And there should be a way to win over people. The young knight-errants all obey him and are willing to die for him. This kind of local snake is worth wooing.Anyway, places like Shen, Guang, and Shou are facing Zhu Quanzhong and Yang Xingmi's soldiers. The situation is extremely complicated. It is inevitable that battles will break out every three days, and they are too far away from Shao Shude's core territory. It is impossible for him to rule directly. Pie became inevitable.

"Of order." Li Zhong replied.

"If he doesn't want to surrender, don't get used to it. In this world, there are many people who can't see the situation clearly, and there is no shortage of him." Shao Shude ordered again: "Continue to march, don't delay."

In fact, Huoqiu County has a lot of food and grass, and Shouzhou is rich and rich, and it seems to be an undoubted fact now.

More than 4 dendrobium grains and beans solved the urgent needs of the army.You must know that for this dispatch of troops, everyone only carried dry food for ten days, and there was no stable logistics supply team.Shao Shude came here as a tester. If he couldn't raise enough military supplies, he would return to Gwangju.Since there is food in Huoqiu County, let's test it further and make him turn upside down - the premise is that his judgment is correct, and the main force of the Liang army cannot come so soon.

What if the question comes?Then run, what is there to worry about?If you expect these recruits from the Cai thieves to fight with the soldiers of the Liang army, you think your life will be long.

After Li Zhong left, Zhe Conggu came again.

"General Zhe played well." Shao Shude praised.

"Your Majesty wants to recruit Zhu Jing?" Zhe Cong said in ancient times: "This thief is treacherous and cunning, hiding in the water, dense forests, and hillsides to attack our army. What's the use of such dirty tricks?"

"General Zhe Ling is brave if he is brave, but he doesn't know that you can't use your emotions when you fight the world." Shao Shude said: "When Duke Zhe Ling was in Guanbei in his early years, didn't he win over hostile tribes?"

Fold from the gunner speechless.

Seeing that he stopped talking, Shao Shude changed his tone again, and said: "General Zhe has made great achievements in the past few years. If you fight hard, you may not have a family background in the future. I don't want to be rewarded with official positions, wealth, and beauties." will be stingy."

If he realized something from ancient times, he replied: "The king has laws in his actions, and I will admire them in the end."

"Lead the cavalry forward quickly, and go to Feishui (pì) to investigate the enemy's situation." Shao Shude looked at his expression again, and seeing that he was sincere, he ordered to attack: "Peishui and Feishui are the east and west sides of Shouzhou. If you encounter an enemy, you may fight and fight, and you will be dedicated to it."

The Pi River originates from the Dabie Mountains and flows northward into the Huai River. It is a natural barrier to the west or south of Shouzhou and Anfeng.

"As ordered."

After Zhe Conggu left, he immediately greeted his subordinates and headed east.

Shao Shude took another look at Huoqiu County in the northwest. The county was already organizing manpower to strengthen the city wall, transfer food and grass, and resettle the wounded.

The three prefectures of Shen, Guang, and Shou are lined up in a row, and they are all sandwiched between mountains and rivers. For him, an external force that came from the west, it is actually not very easy to defend. It is not very cost-effective to station heavy troops.

These three states are very important to Yang Xingmi. If they are divided specifically, from east to west, the importance decreases in descending order.

These three states are somewhat important to Zhu Quanzhong. After all, without these places, he still has the Huaihe line of defense, although this line of defense is not very reliable.

These three states are not very important to Shao Shude, because there are many places where Xuanwu Army can be attacked, and this is just a local battlefield.

But he didn't want to give up what he had won, would Yang Xingmi get involved?This is what he is more worried about.

……

Zhu Jing hid in a small tea garden, surrounded by many people.

"Da Lang, Xia Bandit has released Vajra Slave back." Someone hurried in to report.

"Why let people go so well?" Zhu Jing sneered while boiling tea.

"It's not that Da Lang has the ability, Zhu Quanzhong values ​​it, Yang Xingmi wins him over, and now Shao Shude actually wants to win Da Lang, haha!"

"On the boundary of Shouzhou, there are densely populated hills, ruins and forests. Except for us, who should suffer?"

"This is a good opportunity! Let's sum it up, Zhu Quanzhong, Yang Xingmi, Shao Shude, which one should we vote for?"

"Naturally, whichever one gives more money to invest in whichever one, haha!"

"Idiot! Take money if you live, spend money if you don't, we only vote for the side that can win."

"Gui, is it itchy? Dare I say I'm stupid, go out and make gestures!"

"Enough!" As soon as Zhu Jing slapped the table, everyone shut their mouths and looked at him quietly.

"The jackal slave's saying is true, we vote for whoever wins." Zhu Jing lowered his head to add ingredients to the tea soup, but he didn't stop talking, and continued: "Gui, you have read books and know a lot of people. Do you know what the situation in the north is now?"

Agui is a nimble man, holding a bow tip in his hand. Hearing this, he said: "I heard that Shao Shude fought repeatedly and killed Zhu Quanzhong's head. The concubine and the princess take turns serving the bed after nightfall, even Princess Pingyuan who is only seven years old."

"You've been inquiring about these things all day long?" Zhu Jing glanced at him and said, "Even if I'm sitting in the countryside of Shouzhou, I know that the saint is in Chang'an, not Luoyang. Besides, there hasn't been a queen for so many years in the Tang Dynasty. What news did you inquire about?"

After finishing speaking, he picked up the boots on the side and hit A Gui in the face directly, cursing: "Could it be that you heard the rumors in the brothel?"

A Gui covered his face and ran away.

The Vajra Slave who was released limped in and was a little confused when he saw this.

Zhu Jing got up himself, walked up to Vajra Slave, inspected it carefully, and said, "Fortunately, it's a flesh injury. Brother is suffering. I'm incapable of saving you."

"There's a bowl-sized scar on my head, nothing happened!" When King Kong Nu was arrested, he would do anything, but this time he still pretended to be heroic.

Zhu Jing laughed loudly, pulled King Kong Nu to sit beside him, poured the boiled tea into a bowl, and said, "Let's have a bowl of tea first."

Vajra Slave hesitated to speak.

Zhu Jing smiled proudly and said: "I know what you want to say, it's nothing more than a promise made by the Xia people. Tell me, how much money will the Xia people give me? What official position? Could it be Huo Qiuling?"

Zhu Jing has self-knowledge, and knows that a local tyrant like him is very afraid of the superiors.

Yang Xingmi wooed him, and the price he offered was nothing more than a Huoqiu general.

Perhaps, in Yang Xingmi's eyes, he is just a small shrimp, far less worthy of wooing than people like Anzhou Governor Wu Yu.

Zhu Quanzhong, on the other hand, may not even know him.If there were still people in Feizhou who knew his fame and rewarded him with a batch of silk, and reported it to the deputy envoy of Pixi regiment, he wouldn't bother to come out and fight the Xia thief.

What can Shao Shude give?Shouzhou wasn't even his territory.

"It's the governor of Shouzhou." King Kongnu replied.

"What?" Zhu Jing was a little surprised.

But after thinking about it, Shouzhou is now the territory of the Jiang family, and the Jiang family is Zhu Quanzhong's vassal, Shao Shude is completely generous to others.

But how should I put it, it's a bit too much.

If the Xia people can occupy Shouzhou, maybe it is also an opportunity?
Now there are only a thousand people on hand. If you become the governor of a state, this is a big leap. Is it worth fighting for?

The strength of the Xia people seems to be acceptable now.

Being able to enter Caizhou forced Zhu Quanzhong to mobilize so many soldiers and horses, which already explained the problem.

I heard that they played well in the north. Although they didn't enter Luoyang like what A Gui said, they probably made the Liang people suffer a lot.

I don't know if the ship of the Xuanwu Army can continue to support it.It may be necessary to find a few more back roads.

No one in this world can guarantee what will happen in the future, Yang Xingmi and Shao Shude can both touch it.Shao Shude has a large territory, he is generous with the generosity of others, and is willing to give it to the governor, which is of course very good.Yang Xingmi's territory is small, he is tight-lipped, and he is not even willing to give him a governor. It seems a bit stingy, but this line cannot be broken.

In this world, it is not enough to just rely on being able to fight and dare to work hard, you have to use your brain.

"Gather your people and retreat to Huoshan. Let's wait and see." Zhu Jing made up his mind and said, "Don't go too far, let people see at a glance that we are retreating without a fight."

(End of this chapter)