Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 325 You can obviously grab it directly

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the climate in Guanzhong was still quite humid, and there was a lot of rain every early summer.

Although the Jingshui River is the main river in the Guanzhong area, it is not a big river, but comes from a rich source, composed of a large number of mountain springs and small tributaries.

It can be said that the Jingshui River accumulates from a small amount to a large amount, and it is also a gathering of mountain springs. Therefore, the river water is clear, which is very different from the turbid Weishui River. In the northeast of Chang'an, where two rivers converge, there will be a wonderful situation where one river is clear and the other is turbid, so that it can be distinguished at a glance.

The idiom calls it "clear distinction between Jing and Wei".

Since the source of Jingshui is quite "explosive", the amount of mountain spring water flowing in is closely related to rainfall! Therefore, every time there are heavy rains or high water seasons, the height of the Jingshui River will vary greatly, and flash floods are commonplace.

After being scolded by Ji Ge, Fang Youde had to lead five thousand Shence Army infantry to the north of Jingyang County where the Jingshui River exits the valley mouth. At the end of the Warring States Period, a canal for irrigation in Guanzhong was built here by the Korean spy Zheng Guo.

Also called Zheng Guoqu.

In the second year of Taishi in the Western Han Dynasty, Bai Gong, the official of Zhao Zhong, suggested building a new canal on the basis of the Zhengguo Canal to divert the Jingshui River eastward to Yueyang (northeast of Lintong County) and flow into the Weishui River, named Zhengbai Canal. Zhengbai Canal has three main canals, namely Taibai Canal, Zhongbai Canal and Nanbai Canal, also known as Sanbai Canal.

This is the core area of ​​Guanzhong irrigation!

Gao Shi said with excitement, the opportunity came too suddenly and caught him off guard.

"In this case, just talk about it in private. If it spreads, it will be a capital crime."

Is it okay for you to lead the troops here? "

Fang Youde sighed and said, looking helpless.

In this section, the commander led his troops to take a detour to the northwest of Liquan County. There is a valley at the mouth called Jianzigou. From there, there is a trail into the mountains without worrying about flash floods.

It has to be said that this order was so bizarre that Gao Shi, the military supervisor who was in charge of supervision, couldn't help but privately pull Fang You into a temporary military tent and withdraw his soldiers. expressed his opinion on the latter.

After the situation calms down, it will not be too late to replenish the Shence Army soldiers.

Even the officials in Chang'an may not know that this road exists, let alone the rebels.

To put it simply, Brother Ji is a hothead who can only talk on paper. Following his command, you don't even know how to die.

The rebels may have a plan, but there is no need to overestimate their strength.

"General, the saint does not know the situation in the army, nor does he understand astronomy, geography, the direction of mountains and rivers, nor the art of war!

It is you who are leading the troops, not the saints! If you lose, the saint will punish you! "

"General Fang, there has been too much rain recently, so we cannot use bows and arrows. The roads are rugged and prone to flash floods. It may not be a good idea to attack Pizhou in such a hasty manner!

The camp was placed where the Jing River flows out of the valley. If the rebels in Pizhou upstream dammed the river, and there were heavy rains, the river embankments would be destroyed.

If any prince calls on the border troops to stand up and "clear the emperor's side", then the world will really be in chaos!

Only by decisively resolving the Khitan slave rebellion in Pizhou through this battle can the political balance in Guanzhong be maintained.

When you encounter trouble, just face it head on. There is nothing to be afraid of.

Just a cover-up?

Gao Shi was overjoyed, and his heart fell to the ground.

Fang Youde helped Gao Shi up, patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him: "You are right, these are my general's tactics. The camp is set up here for those Khitan slaves to attack by water. If we want to defeat them, Pizhou, my general has another clever plan."

The person who leads the army must lead his men to victory, using all the resources at hand, no matter the cost, no matter what.

The rain sometimes fell in torrents, and sometimes it was just a rush. As soon as they arrived north of Jingyang, Fang Youde ordered his soldiers to cut down trees and build rafts, and prepare a waterway to go north to Pizhou along the Jing River. At the same time, some people were separated to establish a new camp at the starting point of Zheng Guo Canal.

That's it.

When the overwhelming Jing River water flows downstream and rushes straight into the camp, wouldn't it be a big deal? "

There must be capable people organizing behind the Khitan slaves, otherwise it would be impossible to seize Pizhou. However, after they captured Pizhou, they did not take the opportunity to expand their scale and territory, which showed that they were not united internally, had limited organizational capabilities, and were even less popular.

“It doesn’t hurt to tell you.

"The saint urgently ordered us to go to war, and we had to do it as a last resort."

War is all about taking risks. No one dares to say that he is 100% sure. As long as there is a war, there is a possibility of failure.

The Khitan slaves were not natives of Guanzhong, so there was no way they were familiar with this road! The place where coal is dug is near Sanshui County on the other side of Jingshui River. It is estimated that these people have not even figured out where the entrance to the mountain road is.

Pizhou is about a hundred miles away from where they camped. This section of the road is all in valley terrain, and the riverbed of Jingshui River is very narrow. At the exit of the valley, the river bed suddenly widens, and the water coming from the heights carries great kinetic energy and plunges thousands of miles!

Which army can handle it? How can man defeat heaven?

"General Fang, what's the plan?

Brother Ji thought that Taizong had defeated the enemy at the shallow source of Jingshui River, and now he could repeat his victory. This seemed unreasonable to Fang Youde. From ancient times to the present, no two battles are exactly the same. Wouldn't it be absurd to follow the same routine?

After following Brother Ji for decades, Fang Youde knew very well that Brother Ji had no military talent at all. He was a pure war novice and had not inherited even a little bit of his ancestors' ability to lead troops.

The humble duty is to be curious and know the rules of the army. "

Gao Shi whispered, lowering his head and not daring to look at Fang Youde. Although he was worried that he would be punished, he still argued hard.

The "backyard" he refers to is the farmland group of Pizhou, which is where the capital city of the state is located near the Jingshui River. It is a farmland surrounded by mountains in the southwest valley. This is also the main grain-producing area of ​​Pizhou. Because it is surrounded by mountains, it is not an official road. On weekdays, only mountain people who go to the southwest to collect medicines use it.

Before coming to Liquan, Fang Youde had already estimated the battle situation in his mind. Of course, if you play according to Brother Ji's style, you will be overturned no matter how you play.

Here you can go directly to the valley surrounded by mountains in the backyard of Pizhou Prefecture, and attack Pizhou from behind.

Gao Shi asked Fang Youde, crossing his hands and saluting.

Gao Shi knelt down directly and kowtowed to Fang Youde, kneeling on the ground unable to get up.

He is extremely politically sensitive, how could he not see that this war is related to the political situation in Guanzhong, Tang Dynasty! If Fang Youde is defeated, the troops loyal to Ji Ge will be unable to control the situation in Chang'an. At that time, all kinds of monsters and monsters will jump out.

"General Fang, you can do a humble job... you can do a humble job!"

Gao Shi didn't believe that Fang Youde couldn't see things that he could see.

However, Fang Youde only walked through it in the last life. That would be the era when the Shence Army would be separated from the control of the Chang'an court, so it cannot be ruled out that this narrow path has not been walked out yet.

Fang Youde looked at Gao Shi intently and asked, his tone solemn and serious.

Let's do this. You take five hundred people, plant flags in the camp, build rafts, and make a posture of heading north by water to attack Pizhou.

"Send a few people to the upper reaches of Jingshui River to watch. If there is a flash flood, they will put sheepskin rafts into the water.

On the Jingshui shore outside the camp, send someone to watch to see if there are any sheepskin rafts rushing down. If so, put down everything in your hands and run away! "

Fang Youde warned patiently.

He estimated that the enemy would most likely attack by water.

Especially when these people find out that the Shence Army is building a raft at the exit of the Jingshui Valley, they may be unable to hold back. Once the water attacks, those people will forget everything and think that the main force of the Shence Army has been washed away by the flood, and their side can "expand the results."

"I understand that I will definitely make a big splash in the camp to confuse those Khitan slaves."

Gao Shi assured him by patting his chest.

"My general is only using you because you understand the situation. If you use someone else, they may look down on the rebels and rush in to attack Pizhou along the Jingshui River. You must not let me down." .”

Fang Youde took out a silver fish charm from his waist, handed it to Gao Shi and continued:

"This army of five hundred people is handed over to you. You may be drowned by the flood at any time. Although there will be no fighting, it will definitely not be very safe. So you must be vigilant and don't lose your life in vain. Don't If someone asks about leaking secrets, they will say that the general led his troops back to Liquan."

"Order!"

Gao Shi carefully took the fish charm and put it away. He seemed to be able to see that he had stepped on the ladder of promotion in the official career.

If he can survive this hurdle, and even save these divine soldiers from the flood, then it will only be a matter of time before he can use this as a foundation to become an important minister of the imperial court or even a close minister of the emperor.

……

In Daze, north of Jinchang City, the capital of Hexi Guazhou, the Anxi Expeditionary Army specially circled a site and hung up a huge wooden sign.

It says "Silk for Camel".

Daze is the last stop of the Mingshui River. It has many water birds and beautiful scenery. It is a place where merchants from Hexi gather. Of course, the Yumen Pass of the Tang Dynasty was located here, and all large-scale transactions were actually conducted under the supervision of the Tang army.

This is the last stop on the northern line from Hexi to the Western Region (Northern Xinjiang). Official trade generally takes this route. The next transfer station is Yizhou (Hami), the important town of Beiting Protectorate.

Next is Xizhou, the base camp leading to the "non-actually controlled area by the Tang Army" in the Western Regions, which is also the hometown of Gaochang Kingdom. This area was the core area of ​​the Western Region controlled by the Tang Army, and was also where Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Province, was located in Fang Chongyong's previous life.

To put it bluntly, this road was the official road from the Tang Dynasty to the Western Regions, the main road.

From Shazhou to the northern route of the Western Region, you need to pass through an inaccessible desert. This road is usually used by merchants from the Western Region, and it is a high-risk area for killing and stealing goods. The only advantage is that one less tariff is charged!

If you take the southern route of the Western Region (Southern Xinjiang) from Shazhou, you have to pass through the abandoned ancient Loulan Kingdom and Lop Nur. The natural conditions of this route are very harsh, and the supply areas along the route are very small and cannot accommodate large-scale caravans.

Datang officials have now given up on this line. The people who are still leaving are all "good people" who are both businessmen and thieves.

The current route that the Anxi Expeditionary Force can take is obviously the northern route, which does not require the purchase of camels in large quantities. The natural conditions for marching along the route are not as harsh as one might imagine, and there are many pedestrians and merchants coming and going.

However, if one considers that the Anxi Expeditionary Force's strategic goal is the countries west of Congling, including Xiaobolu, then one has to consider the situation that supplies cannot keep up.

When fighting in the Western Region, traveling thousands of miles is the norm. In the Western Region, where the desert is full of Gobi deserts, how can we travel long distances without camels?

"Fang Jieshuai, with such good silk, how can we just trade camels with these Hu merchants? Isn't it better to use Jiaozi?"

I feel so bad at the end! "

He Changqi looked at the box after box of fine silk that came from Guanzhong and was happily carried away by Hu Shang's servants, and asked with some reluctance.

Fang Chongyong was too lazy to pay attention to him, and just kept urging Yang Yan beside him to settle the accounts carefully and not to make a mistake in calculating the accounts. In the end, the Jiaozi standard gold in Hexi was not enough.

The operating rules of the standard gold system are that the standard currency used for exchange must be sufficient to prevent runs. To prepare camels for this expedition, we can only buy them from Hu merchants. It is useless to use Jiaozi to fool these people.

Because Jiaozi, which currently flows smoothly in Hexi, cannot flow completely smoothly in the Western Region. Even in places like Yizhou and Xizhou, many merchants don’t recognize it!

The Western Region is also quite far away from Hexi, so the cost of traveling there is not small. Even if it is okay to exchange money in Hexi with Jiaozi, no businessman is willing to take the risk of losing his wealth and use his own products to exchange for things that are too hard to wipe his butt.

Of course, if silk could be freely exchanged in Yizhou and Xizhou, that would be a different matter.

Fang Chongyong sees this clearly. Respecting other people's IQ means respecting your own emotional intelligence!

"Fang Jieshuai, these silks have been shipped away and there is not enough in the treasury. How can we pay for them?"

He Changqi couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

"Can you please stop making noise here?

Even if the Hu merchants have transported all this silk to the Western Regions, won’t it still be ours when we arrive?

Finally, you save on shipping costs, so why not? "

Fang Chongyong impatiently took off the official hat on He Changqi's head and put it in his hand, and couldn't help scolding him.

"General He, Commander Ji has already made arrangements, so you don't have to worry about it.

How to play in Liangzhou, how to play in Yizhou and Xizhou. Those silks will eventually be confiscated, exchanged for deals, and put into storage. "

Yang Yan, who had been taking notes, smiled and explained.

What the hell!

He Changqi suddenly realized it! Fang Chongyong’s skill was so slippery!

Now, Hu Shang exchanged the camels that were not in short supply in Hexi Province for the silk that was in short supply in the Western Regions. On the surface, he made a profit. However, after Fang Chongyong leads the expeditionary force to a place in the Western Region, he will collect all the local silk as "standard gold" and issue equal amounts of Jiaozi at the same time.

This saves you from transporting silk to the Western Regions yourself, and saves the freight and transportation capacity. These silks went around and around, and finally changed their form and returned to the hands of the Tang Dynasty officials. It was still Fang Chongyong who used Jiaozi to buy camels.

This is much more polite than going to Hu Shangqiang to buy camels with Jiaozi now. Maintained local business stability in Hexi!

If the rabbit doesn't even eat the grass beside its nest, how can Hexi Jiedushi be shameless enough to buy and sell by force? In business, of course you have to pay attention to credibility, and it would be wrong to use a knife at every turn.

As for places like the Western Regions, after all, the market environment there is very chaotic, so it's not surprising anything happens, right?

If you don't exchange the silk for Jiaozi, there's nothing you can do about it. I have no choice but to rob Jiaozi without even giving it to you.

Who asked my subordinate Qiu Baduo? They all have to eat. It makes sense for the eldest brother to protect the younger brother and crack down on "illegal traders" in the chaotic market place.

It's human nature.

At this moment, He Changqi was moved by Fang Chongyong.

In order to make these Hu businessmen feel comfortable, Fang Chongyong actually went through so many detours. He is worthy of being the governor of Hexi Province!

Fang Jieshuai could obviously grab it directly, but he still gave Hu Shang an equal amount of Jiaozi, which can be said to be a childish act.

He is so kind, I cried to death!

He Changqi felt that he had learned another trick.

"Jiaozi must seize the time to seal it. Yizhou and Xizhou are quite prosperous and have prosperous commerce. There is a huge demand for Jiaozi there.

If we print another batch afterwards, I'm afraid there won't be enough time in the short term. "

Fang Chongyong confessed to Yang Yan.

"Don't worry, Commander, everything is under plan."

Yang Yan has already recorded the details of today's transaction. It has to be said that silk is really hard currency in the Western Regions. As soon as a sign is hung, Hu merchants will queue up and lead camels to trade.

At this moment, there was a commotion in the distance. Several camels were fighting in teams, spitting at each other and kicking wildly with their hooves. They were very irritable.

Smoke and dust filled the fence, causing many people to stay away.

"These camels are not very good at fighting, but they have quite a temper. They are a bit like a small country in the Western Regions."

Fang Chongyong crossed his arms and said thoughtfully.

"Hey, if you're dishonest, go up and give him a stick and you'll be honest."

He Changqi said with a smirk from the side.

(End of this chapter)