Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 931 Northern Tour
In mid-August, Weizhou entered the busy harvest season.

This year, the Weizhou shogunate has not had time to collect the summer tax, and the King of Xia has exempted the autumn tax. For the people of Weizhou, it is undoubtedly a great joy.

But the wife who should be given still got it.

The two-year three-crop system of millet, wheat, and beans has an advantage, that is, some people harvest in autumn this year, while others harvest in summer, and the time is staggered.At any time, there are always some masters who can confiscate and transfer materials.

On August [-]th, Shao Shude led the left wing of General Tu and more than [-] Xiaojie troops to the east.

The route of the East Tour was carefully planned.Starting from Jixian County, Weizhou, passing Chaoge Ancient City and Qimen Town, we arrived at Weixian County on the evening of the [-]th.

There should be town soldiers in Xinxiang, Qimen, and Liyangjin.

A lot of Xinxiang town soldiers were transferred away, and only a thousand people remained, which have been wiped out.

Qimen town soldiers were transferred away a few months ago.

Liyangjin soldiers have gone to Weizhou.

Including the 4000 soldiers from Gongcheng County and Weizhou who were wiped out, the land of the five counties is empty, leaving only the three armies of Tujiang, Tianxiong, and Xiaojie, and the Weizhou soldiers who are being formed.

From a military point of view, this place has already changed hands, and it will take time for the people's hearts to return.

On the 92th, the army received a batch of grain and grass transported by the Yellow River in the east of Wei County, then suddenly turned northward, marched [-] miles in a row, arrived at the south bank of Dangshui via Yigou, and headed straight for Tang Yin County - This is already a county under Xiangzhou.

The Xiaojie army envoy Huo Liangsi led soldiers and horses carrying a simple ladder, and after two consecutive attacks, he conquered the county and beheaded more than a hundred levels.

"Very brave." Shao Shude watched from afar and praised.

The soldiers of the sudden generals nearby were a little unconvinced after hearing this.A few months ago, King Xia still "loved" us very much, and he would call us "my sudden generals and warriors". Why is he now praising this group of incompetent people?
Shao Shude keenly sensed the subtle atmosphere, laughed loudly, and said, "If I choose the guards to be on duty at night, the sudden generals and warriors are the most reliable."

Everyone immediately straightened their chests, His Highness did not trust those bastards after all.

"Your Highness, Tangyin County has been conquered, do you want to cross Dangshui and go straight to Anyang?" Huo Liangsi trotted all the way over, knelt down on one knee, and asked for instructions.

Shao Shude asked him to stand up, looked at the Xiaojie soldiers lined up in the distance, and asked, "Your troops have nearly [-] people, right?"

"More than [-] people." Huo Liangsi replied.

"After arriving in Xiangzhou, you can continue to recruit soldiers." Shao Shude looked at Huo Liangsi and the soldiers and generals behind him, and said: "There is only one thing, the family members of the newly recruited soldiers must move to Tangzhou. The counties of Biyang are extremely empty. Placement was no problem."

Being far away from home is definitely not happy for ordinary people.But there are hundreds of people of all kinds, let alone tens of thousands of people. There are always some people who are willing to win wealth and honor to join the Xiaojie Army.Shao Shude didn't need to force them. They knew this condition in advance, so they were naturally willing to persuade their family members, and they wouldn't apply if they refused.

In addition, there are people who are "forced to the top" and have no way out. This is how the first soldiers of the Xiaojie Army came.They have a bad reputation in Weizhou, and their fellow countrymen can kill them. Isn't this madness?Even if King Xia is the Allah of this world, everyone is willing to obey, but the Xiaojiejun who should be scolded will still scold him.

In such a situation, it is the best, the most worry-free, and the safest to move the family away.

The 3000 people were under the hostility of the common people in Weibo, and their family members all went to Tangzhou. In a sense, they had no retreat and could do things freely. They were more active in fighting and more brutal.

"Everyone, how about being a martial artist in Weibo? How about being a martial artist under me?" Shao Shude asked suddenly.

Everyone was a little surprised, but they dared not speak.

"There's nothing you can't say." Shao Shude said with a smile: "Yes, as a martial artist, everyone wants to stay in this town and get money comfortably. That would be great. But today is different from the past, so I just ask, that is If I don’t come and stay in Kansai, will Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong leave Wei Bo alone? How many times has Li Hanzhi robbed Wei Bo? Even Zhu Quanzhong came to beat him, and you still have to give him Tribute, can't you see the change in the situation?"

Everyone bowed their heads in thought.From the bottom of my heart, as long as I am not too dull, I can feel this wave of change.But understanding is one thing, acceptance is another.

It is a very painful process for one person to lose all the benefits of the past and accept the gap in reality.Sometimes this process will be very long, and it will last for several generations, until everyone lowers their expectations, feels that the current life can still make do, and no longer thinks about the good old days, so that it can be completely stabilized.

"Many of my sudden generals, Erlang, descended from Yunzhou. For several generations, they were not willing to leave the town to fight. The imperial court ordered troops to be dispatched, and the middle-ranking officials had to bring money and silk to reward them, or the generals had to pay. They were willing to move." Shao Shude said: "But they have now realized that the old days are gone. Zhu Quanzhong will come to bully them, and Wei people will also come to bully them. The good old days are doomed to never come back. Come on, I might not be able to keep my life now, not even my family."

"They serve as soldiers for me now, and they are willing to fight everywhere, and the days are not too bad. The rewards they receive every year may not be less. If they win, there will be more rewards. The most important thing is that they can win battles and keep their families. Don't be robbed by outsiders, don't be bullied by outsiders. Wouldn't it be fun in this world?"

"Other feudal towns, I want to clean them up one by one. The happy and carefree days of those feudal townsmen will come to an end one after another. You will get rewards and even a title for your meritorious service."

"Even the lowest townsman has a hundred households, isn't it better than being a gangster all day long?"

According to the preliminary plan drawn up by Zhao Guangfeng and others, the new dynasty has a total of ten ranks of titles: Prince, County King, State Duke, County Duke, County Duke, County Marquis, County Boss, County Son, County Man, and Township Man.Among them, the prince is the first rank, and [-] households are sealed for food, and each descends one level.

Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, this title system has basically been used, and it was easier for people to understand.

After the official founding of the country, there must be the most county men and town men, and they will also eat the largest share of the nobility.Those county kings and dukes at the top can't consume much food seals at all, and the plethora of low-level titles are the ones that consume the most.

There were [-] titles in the Qin and Han Dynasties.

In the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty, each had more than a dozen ranks of titles, from the first rank to the ninth rank.Even if a small soldier has made meritorious service, it is possible to get an eighth or ninth-rank small title, which greatly stimulates the combat effectiveness.After the Northern Dynasties, titles basically had nothing to do with small soldiers, and they were all exclusive to princes and generals. It is a fantasy to get food as a low-level soldier.

Shao Shude even felt that the current system of titles is too small, so let's add a few more levels and extend it to rank nine.

A title from the ninth rank, even if it lasts as long as the body, or if I die in battle, it is a huge temptation to confer it to his son and receive a salary for one generation.The low-level soldiers and small military officers didn't think about being Jiedushi, they only had the money to guarantee their income from droughts and floods.

Even the lowest titles are not awarded, and there are still official positions such as post general, Lizheng, township head, and township assistant, which can be arranged to benefit as many people as possible.

In today's ethos of a martial arts country, don't think about saving money.Since the Northern Dynasties, there have been so many ranks of titles, not because they are stupid, but because of practical reasons.

"You guys like to pass on the land to your descendants, isn't it because of the money? The days of lying down and receiving money are gone, and you have a title, and you have everything. Xiangzhou is there, and you can attack it for me. Those who have military exploits are not just the one Receiving a reward of wealth and goods once may benefit the descendants, and the founding of the country is not just passed down to one generation." Shao Shude said: "How? Are there any brave men who dare to go?"

"Your Highness." Seeing that none of the subordinates spoke, Huo Liangsi stood up and said, "I am waiting for the current situation, and I don't want more. If there is a title, it will benefit the descendants, who else will rebel? The battle of attacking Xiangzhou, follow the example Jiejun is willing to be the vanguard."

What Huo Liangsi said was true.With the title of the new dynasty, even if it is the lowest, there is no food, and only an extra salary, which is also an official, status, and money.Once rebellion, there will be nothing, which really increases the cost of rebellion.

Now all the generals have not called Zhi Jianguo, they can't confer titles, they can only give rewards to the sergeants.But reward this kind of thing, who can't give it?The binding force is indeed not as good as the title, and not having an official status is the biggest flaw.

"Okay! I'll wait for the good news." Shao Shude said with a smile.

******
On August 3000, [-] Xiaojie troops crossed Dangshui, defeated more than a thousand Xiangzhou state soldiers and township braves who had hastily assembled in yǒu, and beheaded [-].

On the [-]th, at Chousigang, [-] miles southwest of Anyang County, Xiangzhou Lisuo, another [-] state soldiers and Tutuan were destroyed, [-] were beheaded, and [-] were captured.

On the [-]th, at the city of Xiangzhou, Xiangbing went out to fight, and was defeated again, with five hundred dead.

Three battles and three victories, morale is completely up.It can also be seen from this that there are really few soldiers in Xiangzhou, and the town soldiers have been transferred on a large scale, leaving them extremely empty.

On the [-]th, Shao Shude came to Xiangzhou City.

"Because Li Hanzhi went south to plunder several times, Xiangren set up a stronghold in Caoqiao and stationed thousands of soldiers in the state."

"There are six thousand soldiers in Ye County. The town general Yang Baoyu is guarding against Jin soldiers. He is stationed in Yecheng and Zimo."

"Zimo is five miles to the northwest of the county. It's the main road. Twenty miles away is Cizhou Lisuo Fuyang County."

"There are thousands of yellow armored soldiers in front of the hall in Cizhou, and they are not elite. If thieves come, they can be hit hard."

The staff and generals no longer took Xiangzhou seriously, and began to think about the situation further north.

Obviously, the deployment of soldiers and horses in Xiangzhou is a configuration in which the north is heavy and the south is light. The focus is on guarding against the Jin people.The Xiaojie army has encountered all the way since it went north, and it is estimated that it was urgently dispatched to the south to stop it.

"The Xiaojie army crossed the Huan River in the north and arrived at the village at the foot of Hanling Mountain." Shao Shude issued an order: "Don't cut off the Anyang Bridge. I don't think there are more than a thousand defenders in the city. Let them escape."

"Send someone to win over Yang Baoyu, and you must not let him vote for the people of Jin."

"If the expectations are not bad, Li Kening, who is in charge of the military affairs of the five prefectures of Zhaoyi, should make a decision. Should we just sit back and watch our army occupy all the prefectures?"

"If Jin soldiers dare to go south, they will be wiped out on the spot, and there is no need to report."

"Of order." All the generals responded one after another.

Shao Shude glanced at the north again, Xingmingci Sanzhou, separated from Zelu by the Taihang Mountains, is like an enclave.Will Li Kening get nervous and make a misjudgment?

(End of this chapter)