Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 768

After the Spring Society Festival on February [-], Zhu Xuan left Yunzhou and headed west with two thousand horses.

Yunzhou is not far from Puzhou.Departing from Lisuo Xuchang County, passing through Shouzhang County and Fan County, it only takes 170 miles to reach Lisuojuan City in Puzhou.

"Marshal, there are only three thousand soldiers in Pu's army, and only five thousand under General He's army. Isn't it too risky for us to go?" Ya general Liu Cun chased after him, and asked worriedly.

"Why do you say there are few soldiers?" Zhu Xuan laughed, and said: "The people of Puzhou have resisted the bandits for ten years, and they have practiced martial arts a lot. When I go to the city and raise their arms, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses are easily available, so why worry?"

Liu Cun calm down.

The war between the towns of Bian and Yun lasted for many years, and Yunzhou was the attacked side. The flames of war almost all unfolded on the boundaries of Pu, Cao, and Yun. The people were often confiscated, and the quality of the battle was still good, not at first sight. Weak people who flee from the enemy.On the contrary, there are many people who practice martial arts among the people, and there are many people who join the army. If the atmosphere is like this, there is really no need to worry too much.

Zhu Xuan glanced at Liu Cun, saw that he was still a little worried, and asked with a smile, "Could it be that he thought Shao Lun was incapable? Yes, he was indeed timid and average in martial arts, but back then when the Wei people came to kill me, I led the army to fight. Jie Shuai, Shao Lun was supported by the first few. These years, he has also tried his best to raise food and grass, and the tribute has been constant. With this ability, it is enough. There is no shortage of him in the battle. These days, there are no loyal people. It's easy to find."

Liu Cun nodded in agreement.

Since the hardships, the feudal towns have been separated, and the warriors have been rebellious.Shao Lun was very submissive, especially in the past year.He is still very good at business, many people have received gifts from him, Liu Cun also received a dancer, this person is indeed exquisite, somewhat similar to Zhang Quanyi from Henan.

"Commander, the last general heard that the Liang people were besieging Yingzhou, and the fighting was extremely fierce. The Xia soldiers are progressing very quickly, and they have killed the hinterland of Bianliang." Liu Cun said: "I received another news yesterday that Qi Bizhang was in Bozhou , Even breaking the two counties of Chengfu and Yongcheng, the momentum is huge. The final general didn't expect them to fight so fast, and the land of Liang is really too empty."

"This is a matter of serious concern." Zhu Xuan said, "It seems that Zhu Quanzhong has nothing to do. If the fight continues like this, let alone turning defeat into victory, it will be fine if you don't die quickly."

Liu Cun thought so.After the Chaos Chaos, the world was in chaos, and the towns invaded each other. The competition to this day, Shao Shude who quickly integrated Kansai has already gained a great advantage.Originally, Zhu Quanzhong, the strongest in the Central Plains, launched a fierce offensive and defensive battle with him. After six or seven years, he could no longer hold on.

Liu Cun couldn't figure out why Kansai, where singing and dancing had been peaceful and military equipment gradually weakened since the Mu Zong Dynasty, was suddenly able to fight?It's not that they look down on them. They want money but no money, no one who wants people, no craftsmen who want craftsmen, and the Central Plains is rich and constantly tempered by wars. How can they be beaten like this?

It should be absolutely impossible for Kansai to rise in this troubled world.This is not the early years of the Kingdom, times have changed, Kanto is far more than Kansai, whether it is wealth or the combat effectiveness of the army, how can this be so?
"Wei Boluo Hongxin provided a lot of money and food last year, and this year it may increase its efforts. Will it send troops to help?" Liu Cun asked again.

"It's unlikely, it wasn't decades ago." Zhu Xuan said: "The towns in Hebei have been fighting against the imperial court for many years, and it has become instinctive. Now Shao Shude is the imperial court, and there were 18 Shence troops in the Yuanhe period of Emperor Xianzong. Shude now has more than 6000 soldiers, which is no worse than the Shence Army back then, or even stronger. It is normal for Wei Bo to be wary of it. But Wei Bo is not what it used to be. Instinct, that's right, but over the past few decades, the sergeants have become more and more rebellious, and the Jiedushi can no longer decide everything. Wei Bowufu may be happy to provide money, food, horses, and equipment to support Bianzhou, but sending troops is another matter , unless Zhu Quanzhong is about to be defeated."

In fact, it's not just the Hebei feudal town that is fighting against the imperial court?Since the hardships, it has become the instinct of the northern towns to bargain with the imperial court and maintain their independent or semi-independent status.The imperial court sent troops several times to conquer the arrogant and rebellious feudal clans. Every time they saw that these feudal towns were about to be beaten to death, the other feudal towns that followed the imperial court sent troops did not work hard. Stuffed with raw rice, he couldn't even beat it, the court squeezed his nose to beg for peace.

Basically, all the feudal towns are united in the same spirit, and they have a tacit understanding with each other, and whoever is strong will fight.In the past, the imperial court was the strongest, so unite against the imperial court.When Zhu Quanzhong was strong, he attacked the Tianping Army and the Taining Army. There was nothing wrong with Shi Pu, so he jumped out to rescue the two towns.

Li Keyong had plans for Hebei, and towns such as Youzhou, Chengde, and Cangjing united to put aside their previous grievances and unite to deal with Li Keyong. After more than 100 years, this technique of combining vertical and horizontal has become instinctive.

The three towns of Weibo, Xuanwu, and Huainan are now fighting against Shao Shude as an imperial court, but Zhu Xuan feels that the effect may not be as good as it was decades ago.Wei Bo's warriors are too unruly, and it is very difficult to be a Jiedushi.

On the evening of the fourth day of February, Zhu Xuan arrived in Puzhou with two thousand cavalry, and the governor Shao Lun went out of the city three miles to meet him.

After entering the city together, Shao Lun set up a banquet at Yongding Post, and Zhu Xuan happily went there. Naturally, there was a lot of wine and wine, and there was endless singing and dancing.

The [-] soldiers who came with Zhu Xuan also had food and wine to comfort them, but they were at the barracks.

"I'm going to inspect the state soldiers tomorrow, so prepare yourself well." Inside Yongding Station, Zhu Xuan got drunk and smiled, "Also, call Liang Hanyong to Juancheng, and I want to ask him when he will leave. If you don’t leave now, you must have a plan.”

"With the commander-in-chief Huwei here, what would Liang Hanyong dare to do?" Shao Lun laughed and persuaded him again.

Zhu Xuan also laughed, picked up the wine bottle and drank it down in one gulp, saying: "It's not as good as back then, alas, that would be a real struggle."

During the Zhonghe period, Wei Bo Jiedu sent Han Jian to lead his troops across the Yellow River and attack Yunzhou.At that time, Wei's soldiers were numerous and well-equipped. Cao Cunshi, the governor of the Tianping Army, still disdained to defend the city and led his army in a field battle. As a result, he was defeated and died, and Yunzhou was besieged.

At this critical time when the dragons were leaderless, Zhu Xuan stepped forward and led the crowd to defend the city. The Wei army failed to attack the city for half a year, and then escaped.

Zhu Xuan at that time was bold and brave, completely different from this meeting.

But Zhu Xuan did not learn the lesson of Cao Cunshi.Later, when he fought with Liang Jun, he also did not defend the city, and repeatedly led his troops into battle, trying to defeat the strong with the weak and defeat the enemy in field battles, but the results always disappointed him.

The courage to dare to fight in the field is commendable, but one should be soberly aware of the gap in strength.Zhu Xuan realized it later, but the main force had been wiped out, so there was nothing he could do.

This time I came to Puzhou, did I make an old mistake again?These warriors who are not afraid of death!

"Why do you belittle yourself, Commander?" Shao Lun poured another full glass for Zhu Xuan, and said with a smile, "Now the whole town is counting on the Commander to prop up the sky in Yunzhou. Please have another drink."

"You!" Zhu Xuan was in a good mood, and said with a smile: "If you don't have two brushes in war, you will pick up nice words. If it weren't for the embarrassment of Quan Zhong, who has no strength to go east, I still don't trust you to hand over this Puzhou .”

Shao Lun laughed twice, and said: "The servant has no other skills, so he leads the horse and stirrups for the commander, and he is willing."

"Okay!" Zhu Xuan gulped it down, blushing, and said, "Don't worry, the wealth and honor of your descendants will rest on me. As long as Zhu Quanzhong resists, the world will remain the same, even if the emperor changes." Same."

Although this was Zhu Xuan's drinking talk, it really made him say it very closely.

In the five dynasties in history, the emperor was just the biggest warlord, and there were a bunch of small warlords underneath, none of which were truly unified.Even in the later Tang Dynasty with the largest territory, the territory actually controlled by the emperor was not as large as imagined.It's not that they don't want to, in fact, starting from Zhu Wen of the Later Liang Dynasty, cutting down the feudal clan has been the emperor's top priority.

Zhu Wen killed so many veterans, not because he was crazy, but more likely because he felt that his time was running out, his health was not good, and his son was not very capable, so he had to do it as a last resort.As a result, internal dissension, morale was low, and the combat effectiveness of the army plummeted, allowing the revived Hedong to take advantage of it.

The courts of the Five Dynasties, each generation was cutting down the vassal, each generation was trying to kill the foundation of the warlord's separatist regime, and each generation was trying to change the people's hearts. For this reason, there should not be too many emperors who played themselves to death. In the end, in the Northern Song Dynasty, the last Cut the military power once, and finally succeeded.

Zhu Xuan also saw that Li Tang's world was not doing well, and he was likely to be replaced by Shao Shude.But his ideal world is that the Shaw family proclaims themselves the emperor and becomes the emperor and sage, but the area is still divided into many feudal towns, and everyone passes the land on to their descendants, so they can continue to live happily.

It's not just Zhu Xuan who thinks this way, maybe this is Wu Fu's mainstream thinking.They are all ruthless people who will not cry without seeing the coffin. No one tries to hand over the power they enjoy before they are afraid of being killed.

What they pursue is not only wealth, but also things that guarantee their wealth, such as force.Without the guarantee of force, wealth is a matter of the emperor's words, and it will be taken back as soon as it is said, there is no way to do it.

After the feast was over, Zhu Xuan, who was already too drunk to look good, rested in Yongding Post.

Shao Lun was also a little dizzy, and left with the help of his own soldiers.When walking halfway, he saw He Gui who also attended the banquet.

He Gui's eyes were clear, and he didn't seem too drunk.He nodded to Shao Lun imperceptibly, and left.

Shao Lun understood, and when he returned to the mansion, he immediately had a basin of cold water poured on him. After washing his face, he became much more awake.He found his confidant servant and whispered a few words, the servant quickly left the house and disappeared into the vast night.

Time passed by, Shao Lun did not feel sleepy, and waited quietly.

At the beginning of the ugly time, the north gate of Puzhou slowly opened, and a large group of soldiers, armed with weapons wrapped in black cloth, quietly entered the city and went straight to kill Yongding post.

For more than a hundred years, it has been staged frequently in various towns, and the reserved drama that the low-level warriors love to see has opened again in Puzhou.

(End of this chapter)