Late Tang Dynasty: I

Chapter 56
"I want to use Yang Shihou, but I am afraid that his banditry will be hard to get rid of. Raising a tiger will hurt the tiger. Why did Aiqing teach me?"

In actual history, after Zhu Wen's death, Yang Shihou did separatize Wei Bo, and the tail was too big to lose, and it was difficult for the Later Liang court to check and balance.

Jingxiang is not good at employing people, and he doesn't know much about Yang Shihou.

But Zhu Wen understands, Zhu Wenwen and Yang Shihou have stirred the horse spoon together in the Huang Chao army, so they know the basics.

Jingxiang remembered that when Zhu Wen discussed Yang Shihou with him, he also said: "Shihou has been wandering for half his life. He has passed away and has no wife and children. This handsome man regards himself as the beauty of a man."

Jing Xiang also admires Lao Zhu's ability to employ people. Over the years, Zhu Wen has promoted many generals, all of whom are extremely loyal and brave. Based on this point, Zhu Wen dared to entrust Master Yang with a heavy responsibility, and there must be a reason for it. .

After thinking about it, Jingxiang said: "Your Majesty, the ancients said that there are three unfilial piety, the greatest is to have no descendants, and the teacher is half-lifeless and has no children. Why don't you show kindness to your subordinates and wait for him to give birth to heirs, and keep Chang'an as a pledge, which will surely make the teacher happy. I am grateful and loyal to Your Majesty."

Li Ye said: "Does Master Yang have any other family members?"

Jing Xiang shook his head and said: "I heard that Yang Shihou's parents, wife and daughter were all slaughtered, no one survived."

Li Ye nodded, even so, he still had to have a backup, and he had a general idea of ​​how to use Yang Shihou.

Yang Shihou can't guard one side, away from the control of the imperial court, he can only put it in front of his eyes, but in the forbidden army, build another army, imitating the tiger and leopard cavalry of Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms, and the Xuanjia army of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, as the elite of the forbidden army, charging into the battle.

The imperial treasury is in short supply, and it happens that there is no money sent by Zhu Wen. To train this soldier, the number cannot exceed 3000, otherwise it will be difficult to check and balance. You can first recruit [-] horse and infantry, build three capitals for infantry, [-] people, and four capitals for cavalry with [-] people ride.

Some of Yushan's personal guards were secretly mixed among the soldiers. If there is any change, they can know the news at the first time and deal with it calmly.

Train this army with the method of "drawing the sword and chopping" used by Zhu Wen, and the rest of the forbidden army will continue as usual. Although "drawing the sword and chopping" is extremely severe, it has many disadvantages, and Li Ye is unwilling to use the whole army to follow this method.

For the time being, the matter of Yang Shihou is still here, and he still has to do it now. If the emperor wants to use him, he must kill him first.

As for Zhaoyi.

Li Ye had never been there, and he only learned about the situation in Zhaoyi's five prefectures from topography and memorials. The imperial court's household registration and field records have not been taken care of for many years, and the civil affairs of the feudal towns are even more out of control.

Even judging from the limited information at hand, His Majesty the Emperor knew that the place where Zhaoyi fought four times must have been destroyed by the flames of war.

Jing Xiang said: "Zezhou is under the control of Li Hanzhi. Li Hanzhi is also a bandit. He does not engage in production. All military supplies are obtained from looting. The whole state is destroyed. Many people flee and the fields are barren and uninhabited."

Jingxiang is very clear about Zezhou. Half a month ago, he entered the river from the west of Zezhou. In Zezhou now, there are no people on the way, and the bandits he occasionally encounters are also hungry and skinny. People are gone, and the bandits can't grab food.

"As for Luzhou, Zhaoyi's prefecture was originally very prosperous, but after Li Keyong looted, only [-]% of the population and farmland remained. The three prefectures of Xing, Ming, and Ci have been in war for many years, and the fields are barren and the population is withered. "

Li Ye nodded. Zhaoyi has suffered many wars, and now it is almost in ruins, but even so, it cannot be used by Li Ke. Once Zhaoyi is lost, the door of Henan will be opened. If Li Keyong wins, he can take it directly. In Shandong and Huainan, by that time, the imperial court will have difficulty checking and balancing Li Keyong.

Li Ye said: "Li Ke surrounded Xingzhou with troops, and the situation is dangerous. What does Aiqing think the court should do?"

"Li Keyong sent troops to show righteousness?" Jing Xiang thought it was expected, Li Keyong must not want to repeat the same mistakes, and first eliminate future troubles.

"Your Majesty, in the past, if the imperial court wanted to dissuade ministers, they would send important officials in the court as envoys, and the Jiedu envoys of each feudal town would serve as deputy envoys. The imperial court would coordinate the towns and march together."

Du Rangneng also said what Jing Xiang said, and Li Ye refused without even thinking about it. At this time, he didn't want to waste the forbidden army that he had saved so hard in the battle of the feudal town, but he just wanted to use Li Ke's hands to weaken the army. It would be even better if Zhu Wen's strength can be leveled in one fell swoop, but since Jing Xiang brought it up, Li Ye must naturally pay attention to it and think about the possibility of sending troops.

"Ai Qing thinks that the imperial court should send troops to take the opportunity to take back Zhaoyi?"

is it possible?Li Ye never thought about it.

Jingxiang said: "Your Majesty, it is not Zhaoyi, but it is actually Luzhou. Luzhou has Jiangshui in the west, Zhangshui in the south, and dangerous passes in the east and north. It separates the north and the south, protects Chang'an in the east, and the imperial court wins Luzhou. Li Keyong Can't go south, this is the place that the court must fight for.

The imperial court can send important ministers to send a large army to Luzhou. After that, they will actually send troops to occupy the dangerous passes of Luzhou. "

Li Ye said: "It's easy to send out troops, but how can we keep food and military equipment?"

It must be beneficial for the imperial court to occupy the enclave of Luzhou, which is equivalent to sealing Li Keyong's difficult hole, but whether it can be held is definitely a problem. The supplement of food, grass and military equipment cannot be transported from Chang'an!

Jing Xiang said: "One depends on the tribute from the various vassals, and the other is that although Luzhou is withered, it is also productive. It is not a barren place. The three parties rely on the imperial court for supplies."

Li Ye nodded, this must be an opportunity for the court.

Jingxiang said: "Li Keyong's attack on Zhaoyi has become a fact. Your Majesty, the imperial court can order Li Keyong to cut off the tribute and let him attack Meng Fangyi. Hedong must be grateful for the court's kindness, and Luzhou's affairs are also easy to deal with. In the future, the imperial court will urge the payment of taxes, and the feudal towns will not dare to refuse at will."

Li Ye took it very seriously, since he couldn't refuse, he agreed, and the court maintained a little dignity.

In this case, Li Keyong became the court's thug, and could also deter the feudal lords.

So here comes the problem, who to send and how many soldiers is appropriate?
Although the imperial army has [-] troops, Fengxiang and Pingning must also defend them. Besides the pass and city defenses in Chang'an, there are actually less than [-] troops available for deployment.

In Li Ye's plan, after flattening Guanzhong, he would flatten Hanzhong and Western Shu, stabilize the rear, and then enter the Central Plains.

And Luzhou was not in the plan.

Hearing what Jingxiang said, Li Ye also agreed that the purpose of occupying Luzhou was to restrict Li Keyong, so as to avoid the trend that the Hedong family would dominate and never lose.

However, the imperial court can only send out 1 horses. If it is not enough, it can only be recruited locally. The strategy of focusing on Guanzhong, Hanzhong, and Xishu cannot be changed.

Jingxiang thought for a while, and then said: "Your Majesty, Huazhou is close to Chang'an, and it is located in the dangerous pass of Tongguan. Why didn't the imperial court accept it as a subordinate?"

Li Ye shook his head and said, "Ai Qing must have seen it too. Huazhou is rich and the people live and work in peace and contentment. I can't bear Huazhou to be caught in the flames of war again."

Jing Xiang solemnly said: "Your Majesty misses the people, you are truly a benevolent king through the ages, and this is the blessing of the people."

Li Ye said with a smile: "I don't like compliments, I love you and tell the truth."

Jing Xiang said: "Your Majesty, this is the opportunity to conquer Huazhou!"

Li Ye was shocked, and hurriedly got up and said, "Can you subdue Huazhou without bloodshed? What is Aiqing's strategy?"

(End of this chapter)