Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 832 Fighting for Credit
"The battle for the throne is so unpredictable!" Lu Zhaolin sighed, "Until the last moment, we don't know who the final winner will be!"

Cao Wenzong hurriedly walked through the water pavilion corridor. When he saw Lu Zhaolin looking worriedly at the remaining lotus on the pond not far away, he quickly stopped.

"Mr. Lu!"

"General Cao!" Lu Zhaolin looked at Cao Wenzong's expression: "Is there something important?"

"Well, it's from Chang'an!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile: "It should be news about Mr. Hu Liang?"

"Oh? Something about quelling the chaos in Shu?" Lu Zhaolin asked.

"Well, according to the messenger, Mr. Hu Liang should have made great contributions in quelling the chaos!" Cao Wenzong's face was full of uncontrollable joy: "When I return to Chang'an this time, I should be awarded the title of General Qianniuwei. Awesome! Seventeen-year-old Zhengsanpin!”

"Really?" Lu Zhaolin's expression was much calmer: "For Mr. Hu Liang, it is only a matter of time before he takes that position. What matters most is his marriage to the emperor's imperial sister. Get married as soon as possible and give birth to a boy as soon as possible. !”

"Mr. Lu is right, but this is a happy event after all!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile: "I will report it to the general first!"

"General Cao, please!" Lu Zhaolin bowed and got out of the way. Looking at Cao Wenzong's retreating figure, the smile on Lu Zhaolin's face disappeared: "Everyone else hopes that their sons will be heroes, but the general is worried that there are too many heroes among his own sons!"

study.

"Li Jingye led his troops to defeat the thieves at the foot of Jianzhou City, and the armored armies were piled up in the mountains. More than 100,000 people were lying on the ground seeking to survive. The leader of the thieves, the 'fake Taoist emperor' Li Hong, and the 'fake prime minister' Fan Changquan led more than 10,000 of their troops to flee in order to protect the good. The young master led the troops to intercept, and the leader of the thieves, Li Hong, died in the battle. Fan Changquan's brothers and descendants were all captured alive. The clothes and property of the tyrant were all captured by the young master. After this battle, many heroes in Shu returned to the young master, and they all credited the young master with Li Jingye. I was quite dissatisfied with this, and wrote to the court one after another to argue my merits and demerits, saying that I had repeatedly defeated the thieves, but the young master only won because of the timing. "

Seeing this, Wang Wenzuo put down the letter: "So, this kid Hu Liang took advantage of Li Jingye this time?"

"You can't say that!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile: "Who told Li Jingye to win the battle without leading the troops to pursue him? In this kind of battle, whoever captures the leader of the bandit will be tough. How can we clearly explain the baggage and prisoners? Who knows whether he is capturing an old thief or a mob?"

"It is estimated that Li Jingye met the main force of thieves. Even though he defeated the soldiers, they were exhausted. In addition, the loot he received was very rich. At that time, he could not drive the soldiers to pursue him. In the end, Hu Liang was taken advantage of!"

"That can only be considered bad luck for him!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile: "Besides, the letter also said that most of the heroes in Sichuan were young masters, and they all praised the young masters for their first merit. Even the local people in Sichuan refused to speak for him. This is not good. Who can you blame?”

Wang Wenzuo smiled. Although Cao Wenzong's words were a bit hooligan, it could not be said to be completely unreasonable. There is a difference between the ancient methods of recording merit for quelling chaos and side merit. The method for calculating side merit is very simple. Whoever has more numbers will get more credit for beheading, capturing, or destroying a city. But for quelling rebellion, it is different. Like the Yellow Turbans and Sun En's Rebellion, The army swept through more than a dozen states and counties, and men, women, old and weak all moved together for two to three hundred thousand, but in fact the combat effectiveness was very average. If military merit was calculated based on the numbers, it would be equivalent to forcing the army to kill good people for merit.

So usually whoever takes the leader of the thief and eliminates the core members around the leader is the first to quell the rebellion. For example, everyone knows that the key figure in defeating the Huangchao Rebellion is Li Keyong, but because he finally captured the leader of the thief, Shang let (Huang Chao was killed by Shang Rang) The person with Huang Chao's head was Shi Pu, the military governor of Xuzhou. Therefore, when the Tang Dynasty finally awarded meritorious service, Shi Pu ranked first in meritorious service. king. For someone like Li Jingye who defeated the enemy's main force, but the leader of the bandits was taken away by others, it can only be judged by who has more people speaking for him and who is the emperor's holy family member. However, Li Jingye is not as good as Hu Liang in these two aspects. , I can only cry out for injustice.

"Forget it, we are all old friends! There is no need to make the relationship too tense because of this matter!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I'd better write a letter to both Hu Liang and Li Jingye, asking Hu Liang to give in. , he has a good wife, so there is no need to compete with Li Jingye for credit!"

"The general is very generous!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile: "But it is not easy for Mr. Hu Liang to do this. He brought four hundred horses into Shu, and he was able to recruit heroes and build a team with just these few people. , after making such a great contribution! In two years, it will become a great thing!”

"Really? Then I'll lend you some good advice!" Wang Wenzuo picked up the pen and paper with a smile, and quickly wrote two short letters, and ordered them to be sent to Chang'an quickly, and then forwarded to Shuzhong: "The matter of the Taoist thieves is finally over. It’s over! Next is the wedding between Hu Liang and the princess. I will definitely go to Chang’an. It’s up to you to arrange the trip. Thank you for your hard work!

"I obey my orders!"

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Chengdu.

The scale of Chengdu is no less than that of Chang'an and Luoyang at the same time. However, this magnificent city does not have a magnificent city wall to protect its wealth and glory. The foreign conquerors of the past generations have intentionally or unintentionally forgotten this matter. After all, they protect Chengdu. The city wall can also be used as a means of separatist rule, and the local residents do not like to bear extra labor. Over time, this matter has been forgotten as a matter of course.

"What? Young master plans to build a city wall in Chengdu?" Zhuge Wen asked.

"Yes!" Hu Liang nodded: "Everyone has seen the Taoist rebellion this time. The people of Chengdu have no city wall to protect them, so they can only sit back and let the Taoist invaders invade. So I plan to build a city wall for Chengdu, and the wealth used will be After taking out the spoils of war and letting the Taoist captives work as laborers, it should be enough in three to five months. What do you think?"

"Young Master, although you have good intentions, I'm afraid things are not that simple!" Cai Dingshan said with a bitter smile: "If Chengdu had a city wall, I'm afraid some people would say that the Young Master has ulterior motives and intends to separatize Shu and establish his own country. King!"

"I will be returning to Chang'an to get married soon. Only a fool would believe that I would separate Shu and become king!" Hu Liang said with a smile.

"Sir, even if you return to Chang'an, these rumors will not stop!" Zhuge Wen said: "Some people will say that you intend to win over the people of Shu, and this time you were indeed a hero in Shu when you put down the Taoist rebellion. Returning to you, the center of Shu is the Western Palace of the Emperor, and this kind of thing is really taboo-" "Mr. Zhuge, you don't have to think about it so much. I only want to ask you one thing. Is building a city wall a good thing for the people of Chengdu?" Hu Liang interrupted Zhuge Wen's persuasion.

"A good thing is a good thing, but——"

"It's enough if it's a good thing, and good things should be done. As for people's hearts, no matter whether I build the city wall or not, I've probably violated a taboo. Since this is the case, it's better to really win over people's hearts, don't you think? "

After hearing Hu Liang's words, both Zhuge Wen and Cai Dingshan felt their hearts light up. Master Hu Liang was thinking more deeply than themselves! Since some people will use this to attack anyway, why not just do it all, and then no one will dare to make irresponsible remarks. Now, does anyone dare to attack General Wang to win over the people of Hebei and attempt to separate one side? Mr. Hu Liang is indeed worthy of being the son of General Wang!

"My subordinates understand! The young master is really smart!"

"You don't need to worry about money matters. After the Taoist Rebellion, as long as someone expresses their intention to build the city wall, the people of Chengdu will definitely be happy to donate. The most important thing right now is Wei Shijun's side. You can clear the road there first. !”

Cai Dingshan and Zhuge Wen were both shrewd and capable people. Once they made up their minds, they immediately came up with plans. One went to raise money and materials, the other to consolidate the momentum of the people, while Hu Liang only had to wait and act. As long as the relationship with the upper level was smoothed out, it was much easier than he expected.

Just as Cai and Zhuge expected, the proposal to build a city wall quickly attracted the support of the people of Chengdu. As the saying goes, the scar heals and the pain is forgotten, but the scars of the people in Chengdu and even in western Sichuan are still bleeding! They have not forgotten the taste of the bandits' knives on their necks, and the military discipline of the Tang army brought by Li Jingye and Hu Liang can only be said to be okay. If there is a city wall, then next time when encountering a similar situation, wouldn't it be necessary to use these foreign soldiers to enter the city, and only need to mobilize the local militia to guard the city? When thinking of this, countless people are eager to contribute money and effort.

Faced with the enthusiastic appeals from the local people, Wei Zhaosheng, the highest official in Shu, was already overwhelmed. Although the Taoist thieves were put down, Li Jingye, who led the troops and horses stationed in the suburbs of Chengdu, was like a sword of Damocles, always hanging on his head. Most of this Tang army were soldiers from Nanzhao. It was said that after the rebellion was suppressed, they should be demobilized and returned to their country to settle matters. But Li Jingye used the excuse that the remnants of the Taoist gang had not been wiped out, and continued to capture this army of about 30,000 people. In fact, everyone knew the reason why he did this. He took it away, unconvinced, and wanted to use the army in his hand as a bargaining chip with the court.

Ordinarily, this is reasonable, but it is painful for Wei Zhaosheng. As the saying goes, if you have soldiers in your hands, you will not be able to explain the truth! These more than 30,000 people eat horse chews, which can cause countless troubles every day. In order to deal with this big trouble, Wei Zhaosheng could only find a way to win over Hu Liang. After all, this guy also had more than 10,000 troops. Although he did not have as many soldiers as Li Jingye, he could at least contain him a little so that Li Jingye would not be unscrupulous. As a result, Wei Zhaosheng, who was a dignified Jiannan branch of the camp, dealt with military and horse management, turned into a meat pie, and was in a dilemma and miserable.

"What? Dozens of rebels rushed into the West Market, looted and set fire to it?" Wei Zhaosheng was shocked. He could ignore the looting by the rebels, but setting fire to it was another matter. Although the West Market was outside the old city , but the houses are also densely packed, and it is not uncommon to burn down half of Chengdu once it starts to burn. As the highest local official, he must be involved.

"Come here, summon the government soldiers quickly, and also ask the governor of Chengdu to send people to fight the rescue as soon as possible!" Wei Zhaosheng shouted loudly. He changed into short clothes, got on his horse and led hundreds of government soldiers towards the west city. go.

Wei Zhaosheng and his party were still half a mile away from the West Market when they were stopped by a checkpoint on the road. After asking, they found out they were soldiers under Hu Liang's command. Wei Zhaosheng breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Where is your young master?"

The leading officer recognized Wei Zhaosheng, and hurriedly asked his subordinates to lift the horse that was blocking the road, and said loudly: "Report to Wei Shijun, my son is supervising the soldiers at the front to put out the fire. In order to prevent thieves from taking advantage of the fire to rob him, I am waiting here to set up a trap." Guard Ka, anyone who takes advantage of the opportunity to commit illegal acts will be executed on the spot!"

Wei Zhaosheng glanced over and saw four or five bloody heads hanging on the trees directly by the road. Although the passers-by were all in a hurry and looked panicked, there was no tragic scene like helping the old and the weak, crying for their fathers and mothers in the usual disasters. He felt happy in his heart and shouted: "Well done, send someone to guide me to meet you. Young Master!"

With someone to guide him, Wei Zhaosheng hurriedly arrived at the gate of the West Market. He saw a two-story teahouse next to the West Market from a distance. The guide pointed to the teahouse and said, "Your Majesty, my young master is in that teahouse."

When Wei Zhaosheng came to the downstairs of the teahouse, someone had already informed the people upstairs that Hu Liang came downstairs: "Wei Shijun, you are polite!"

A few months ago, Wei Zhaosheng would have just blamed Hu Liang for being rude, but this time is different. Firstly, he asked Huliang to maintain order in Chengdu, and secondly, Huliang would immediately take up residence as an official once he returned to Chang'an. On top of that, he didn't dare to treat his subordinates.

"Sir, what's the situation now? How far has the fire spread?"

"Your Majesty, please come up to the second floor and have a look!" Hu Liang asked Wei Zhaosheng to go up to the second floor and pointed at the West Market and said: "Today at noon, I took a group of guards to go out of the city to do something. I happened to encounter some rebels who were robbing the West Market. I sent people to stop them, but I didn’t expect the rebels to start a fire. It was windy at that time, and they set fire to more than a dozen shops nearby. I had to order several houses near the fire scene to be demolished first. Then start putting out the fire, it should be almost done now!”

Wei Zhaosheng looked in the direction of Hu Liang's finger and saw that although the fire was not small, several houses near the fire scene had been knocked down. With the blows from all sides, it was only a matter of time before they were put out. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Thanks to Young Master for what happened this time, thank you for your work!"

"It is Hu Liang's duty to protect the country and the people!" Hu Liang lowered his voice when he said this: "There is one more thing that is a bit troublesome and must be reported to the envoy!"

"what's up?"

"That's what happened!" Hu Liang whispered: "Most of the robbing soldiers took advantage of the chaos to escape, but my people still captured seven or eight people. After asking, I found out that they were General Li's six soldiers. Zhao Bing, I’m afraid there will be trouble next, so please be prepared!”

"Are they Li Jingye's Liuzhao soldiers?" Wei Zhaosheng suddenly felt a headache. The main force under Li Jingye's command was the local soldiers. These soldiers were usually the most arrogant and would cause trouble when nothing happened. Now they have been taken. , will definitely not give up.

　Someone in the discussion forum asked: Is the Northeast really so wealthy? Let’s put it this way, both the Cossacks who arrived in the Amur River Basin and the Shandong people who entered the Guandong region all agreed that the Northeast was the richest place they had ever seen. Beating roe deer with sticks and scooping out fish with spoons refers to the Northeast. Even the meat, eggs, milk, honey, and mushrooms consumed by Siberian farmers in Russia now lag behind the residents of China's first- and second-tier cities. In today's China, residents in the Northeast consume more meat, eggs, and milk than those in the Mainland, and there are more per capita resources.

　　Agriculture is indeed the production method that can feed the largest population per unit area, but the problem is that the quality of life in agricultural society has also dropped significantly. The mouths of large rivers and fish-producing areas can maintain the highest density in a few areas before humans entered agricultural society. A small number of colonists in such an area can achieve the highest quality of life

　　(End of this chapter)