Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 902 thoughts of all parties

"Crack!" Li Ke waved his whip vigorously, bursting into anger.

The brocade robe has been smashed to pieces, and fresh blood oozes from the scabbed wound.Li Siben straightened his body and remained motionless.

"Your Majesty..." Gai Yu said softly.

"Master and disciple, if you still have the face to come back, you are the one who beat you!" Li Keyong kicked his feet again, before he said: "You don't need to lead the Yierjun, go back and think about it."

Li Siben bowed and walked away in despair.

He was originally an envoy of the vanguard army, but later the envoys of various armies were exchanged, so he became the righteous army.Now that the position of Yier Army Envoy has been withdrawn, the Vanguard Army will definitely not be able to go back.But think about it the other way around, it's already good if you don't get killed, don't ask too much.

"Your Majesty, I have to think about a countermeasure. Ma Ke sent his nephew back to Dezhou with more than ten riders. Shao's move is to shake the morale of our army." Gai Yu said.

Shao Shude released Li Siben, and also asked Yiwu Army and Chengde Army to send people back to report.The men of the Chengde army went back directly, and the men of the Yiwu army rushed to the river, where the main force of the Jin army was stationed.

The respective performances of the two sides highlighted the distance between the two towns and Hedong.

"What if I continue to attack Dizhou and don't agree to Shao thief?" Li Keyong asked.

"The townspeople may be very disappointed. Although it is not impossible to send troops in the future, there must be greater resistance." Gai Yu said: "Also, although the Dingren will not say anything, they must have opinions in their hearts."

"Nonsense!" Li Keyong reprimanded: "If someone is captured every time, won't he be controlled by others every time?"

"Release the captives, it has been done in ancient times." Gai Yu said: "If the king doesn't want to, just ignore it. But the thief Shao is pretentious, so we have to deal with it well. Just now - General Li shouldn't be whipped."

"Hmph!" Li Ke walked up and down restlessly.

If all the prisoners are soldiers and horses from the east of the river, it's nothing, just ignore it, and the soldiers can't make a big wave.Those who eat Wu Fu's rice bowl work hard for money, and no one is sorry for anyone.It has never been said that those who are captured have to be redeemed.

The bad thing this time was that there were still prisoners from Chengde and Yiding towns.It would be fine if they were all dead, once it's over, don't worry.However, more than [-] people were captured. If Wang Rong and Wang Gao asked for help in retrieving these prisoners, Li Keyong could certainly refuse. The problem is not very big, but it is a hidden danger after all.

This group of guys who have done more than succeed but failed!Li Ke sighed. According to Li Siben, this time he was completely cheated by the scouts. It would be better if he didn't have them. He might have played better.

But Chengde is such a large feudal town and so rich, with more than 5 elite infantry and cavalry, it is easy to send more than [-] elite soldiers out of the town to fight.The four prefectures of Zhenji still need a lot of effort to win over. After all, more than [-] horses were mobilized in a single war. Who would dare to ignore it?

Yi Ding also has [-] to [-] paces. Although he has always been obedient and a hard-core ally, it can't make them too chilling.

"The army continues to march towards Dizhou." Li Keyong made a decision, saying: "I have made up my mind, so there is no need to say more. Whether to fight or not, how to fight, small or big, we will talk about it at that time."

Gai Yu didn't dare to say anything more.King Jin's mind was in a mess, he was obviously blind, and he didn't know what to do.

In fact, he also felt that this matter was very difficult, and it was not appropriate to do it.If he had to come up with a strategy, he felt that it would be better to agree to Shao thief's conditions and stop fighting separately.Anyway, this meeting will not cross the Yellow River, so what's the use of venting anger with a small Dizhou?
But the matter has come to this point, King Jin has made a decision, and can only take one step at a time.

******
Ma Xin, Ma Ke's nephew, rushed back to Zhenzhou and reported what he saw and heard.After Wang Rong learned about it, he immediately summoned his cronies and generals to discuss.

Liang Gongru, the head of the shogunate, led the governor of Jizhou.

Zhang Honggui was somewhat related to the Wang family. His uncle Zhang Shouhong once married Jiedu envoy Wang Yuankui and the eldest daughter of Princess Shou'an.

Zhao Liang, the commander of Zhuifeng Capital, and a close friend promoted by Wang Rong after he took office.

There are five or six other generals, most of whom are relatives of the Wang family.

The feudal town of Chengde is a typical family town model.From a historical point of view, most of the generals at all levels and the governors of the states were relatives or relatives of the Wang family, at least half of them were like this.

On the surface, it is easy to anger Wu Fu.But in fact, the Wang family paid great attention to propriety, and there were a lot of benefits that should be given. The warriors were bribed so well that they were given too much, so they had no intention of rebelling.

The cautious family tradition of the Wang family actually originated from the Wang Tingcou mutiny.

In the past, Chengde Jiedu envoy Tian Hongzheng used the wealth in the town to reward his family and cronies, which immediately aroused opposition.For example, Tian Hongzheng's brothers and nephews spend a lot of money in Chang'an and Luoyang, spending 20 yuan a day, all relying on Tian Hongzheng's relief, and Chengde's sergeant was dissatisfied, so the government general Wang Tingcou gathered warriors to rebel and killed Tian Hongzheng-to be honest, Tian Hongzheng Hongzheng is a little bit desperate, embezzling public funds in the town to spend time with his relatives, without restraint, if he is not slaughtered by the warriors, he will be a ghost.

After Wang Tingcouu, Wang Yuankui, Wang Shaoding, Wang Shaoyi, Wang Jingchong and Wang Rong have always paid attention to buying warriors.The power is in the hands of the Wang family, everyone spends the money together, the Wang family takes more, and the rewards from the warriors are not too shabby, so they have been living in peace.

The Wang family also paid great attention to weaving a network of relationships.The brave generals in the town will give more favors, or directly marry, and be drawn into the ranks of senior generals and become a member of the ruling class.Over time, the relationship network became more and more stable, and the entire Chengde Town was like an iron barrel, almost becoming an independent kingdom.

If Weibo is a military republic, then Chengde is somewhat similar to a constitutional monarchy, that is, the Wang family is the "monarch" of Chengde Town, and the generals are "members". Everyone governs together and shares wealth, so the whole is relatively stable. Mutiny was rare.

But in Wang Rong's generation, the situation has changed.

Wang Jingchongying died young, and his two older brothers, Wang Jingyin and Wang Jingru, were also short-lived and passed away one after another in recent years.The fourth brother, Wang Jing, is also not in good health, so he can't help him - poor health means that he can't be a martial artist, then he is useless, and he can't enter the core circle of power, even if you are a "relative of the emperor".

Immediate family members are no good, so what about collateral relatives?There are many people, but there are really no outstanding ones, which is very embarrassing.

A large piece of the foundation of Wang's rule has collapsed.

Wang Rong was not aware of this problem at this time, and he was still worrying about the war: "The scouts fought bloody battles in Yunzhou, unfortunately failed, and thousands of soldiers were captured. Please tell me, how to deal with this matter?"

"Wang Chuzhi, that bastard, really deceives people." Zhang Honggui said in a loud voice, "He escaped before the battle and deceived our soldiers in Zhenzhou. I really want to cut him alive."

According to Ma Xin, the Jian Kou all fought against the Yiwu Army and the Jin Army, with high morale and bloody battles.But at the critical moment, the Yiwu Army fled without a fight, implicating them, and finally the whole army was defeated, losing nearly half of its troops.

Liang Gongru was noncommittal after hearing this, and said: "Your Majesty, the town is not peaceful now, maybe you can send someone to negotiate with the King of Jin and bring him back. If the soldiers make trouble and people's hearts are disturbed, it will be another troublesome matter."

"If King Jin doesn't allow it, what should we do if we anger our town?" Wang Rong asked.

He was scared of being beaten.After Li Keyong conquered the Xingmingci states in Zhaoyi Town, he raised troops to attack Hebei again and again, causing the whole town to be annoyed, and finally came to spend money to buy peace.

Li Ke's use of this person is really a donkey's temper. Wang Rong is not sure what his attitude is, so he dare not make a decision lightly.

"Your Majesty, although the Jin soldiers are strong, they may not be able to take over our towns and Hebei provinces." Liang Gongru said, "It doesn't hurt to send envoys to ask questions."

"Alright." Wang Rong sighed, and said, "Nowadays the feudal towns are encroaching, and the towns in Hebei are no longer the glory of the past. If you want to follow the story of Heshuo, you have to look at the faces of outsiders. But you still have to coax and support Li Keyong, gentlemen. , the story of Heshuo is the foundation of our standing and should not be neglected. If Jin Town is here, it will not be able to defeat the Xia people, and Shao Shude will also treat us softly, and will not swallow it in one gulp. chance of survival. Remember, remember."

The four words "Story of Heshuo" are probably the main pursuit of the four Hebei towns of Weibo, Chengde, Cangjing, and Yiding today. .

Unless it is absolutely necessary, they will not give up this core interest.All their diplomatic and military actions are based on this core interest.

In short, using Hedong as a screen and following the stories of Heshuo, everything is for profit.

******
Lu Yanwei actually got the news earlier than Wang Rong, because he led troops to Dezhou again.

"Alas! The feudal clans and towns are attacking each other, and the imperial court no longer distinguishes the right from the wrong. They are devouring each other, and they can only rely on their strength. This world is going to end!" When he heard that Shao Shude led his army to Qizhou again, and wanted to attack Ziqing, Lu Yanwei sighed. Again and again.

Of course, he may have forgotten that he was also preparing to attack Dizhou, which was also an act of encroachment by the feudal town.

Man, it's such a double standard.

"Commander, the people of Xia are powerful, and the alliance of the three towns in Hebei is inevitable..." said the staff member.

Lu Yanwei sighed again and nodded.

It's actually a bit complicated.

Lao Lu didn't think he was a careerist.When Huang Chao entered Chang'an in the past, he was ordered by the Jiedu envoy to lead an army into Guanzhong to suppress the rebellion, and returned after victory.

To the imperial court, he still has some inexplicable nostalgia.

Lu Yanwei believes that the ideal state is that the Tang court is still there, and there is no problem with the feudal town.From time to time, the feudal towns donated some goods, the court sent troops to help when it was in trouble, and the court came forward to mediate when there were conflicts between the feudal towns.If any feudal town is too ambitious and too powerful, the imperial court will come forward and organize the towns to send troops to encircle and suppress them. For example, Ziqing Town, which besieged Li Shidao back then, was divided into three after the war.

This is the perfect state of the central and local power balance.

Unfortunately, the balance was broken.Although Huang Chao was defeated, the impact was too far-reaching, and it has developed so far that it is out of control.

"Will Li Keyong make peace with the bandits Shao and stop the troops and return to Taiyuan?" Lu Yanwei asked Gao Jiao, the chief aide and guest of the shogunate.

Gao Hui was born in the Gao family in Bohai. He was average in martial arts but good in intelligence. Lu Yanwei was appointed as a member of his staff and he was very trustworthy.

"Marshal, with King Jin's temper, I'm afraid he won't agree." Gao Hui said: "But now that the Shao bandits are powerful and the King Jin can't stand alone, he must unite with the towns in Hebei. He may be afraid of Chengde and Yiwu. The heart of the two townspeople is hesitant."

The towns in Hebei have strong strength.

Weibo has a population of more than three million and eighty thousand warriors.

Chengde has less than 200 million people and more than 5 soldiers.

There are 150 million people in Cangjing, and there are more than [-] people.

Yi Ding had a population of 70 and raised [-] to [-] soldiers.

Coupled with the 10,000+ army used by Li Ke, this is barely able to compete with the Shao thief.If any party is lost, I am afraid that they will be defeated one by one.

If the [-] or so Yamen in Yan and Qi Er Towns could be saved, the battle would still have to be fought.

"From your point of view, how will King Jin make a choice?" Lu Yanwei asked.

"Generally speaking, the King of Jin probably doesn't care about it and continues to fight the Xia people." Gao Hui said: "Unless there is something wrong."

"What happened?" Lu Yanwei asked.

Gao Hui looked to the north and said, "One is in the northwest, and the other is in the northeast."

I annoy you half-talkers the most!Lu Yanwei glared at him, thought about it carefully, and finally figured it out.

In the northwest, it should be said that the Xia people will send troops from the Zhenwu Army to attack Yunzhou.

Northeast, probably refers to the Khitan people.

But now the grassland is empty, the grass has not yet grown, no one has the ability to use troops on a large scale, and the logistics supply is not enough.

"Let's see if Wang Rong is coming." He sighed, "If you want to follow the story of Heshuo, you can't do it without shrinking your head. Let's stay in Dezhou first and wait and see. If King Jin comes to urge you, stop it first."

(End of this chapter)