Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 156 Fu Jian goes south

Huan Xi took over Liangzhou, just like exchanging shotguns for cannons, preparing to eliminate inferior troops and horses.

As for how to arrange the eliminated military horses, it is a question.

Quan Yi spoke to Huan Xi:

"There is a shortage of horses in the south. Why don't my lord use those horses to exchange for the population with the Duke of Linhe (Huan Wen)."

At first, Huan Xi used 15,000 troops and horses to recruit 30,000 households from Huan Wen.

However, Huan Xi was not prepared to adopt Quan Yi's opinion this time. He shook his head and said:

"I have already planned to sell the retired military horses to the private sector to increase my income."

With the popularization and use of the curved shaft plow, farming methods have undergone earth-shaking changes. Fields that once required two oxen and three people now only require one ox and one person.

This also meant that a large number of laborers were liberated from farmland, and Huanxi's desire for population was no longer as urgent as before.

The liberation of the labor force also means that more people can take part in handicrafts, commerce and other activities.

The booming development of handicraft industry and commerce is also a matter of course.

Traveling merchants traveled north and south, so they naturally needed livestock to transport goods.

Selling obsolete military horses to the private sector can increase fiscal revenue and is in short-term interests.

It can also promote the circulation of commodities, thereby further promoting the development of handicraft industry and commerce, and is also in line with Huan Xi's long-term interests.

At the same time, if people are to be relocated from Jingzhou, not to mention whether Huan Wen is willing to do this deal, with the current financial situation of Guanlong, there is no spare capacity to resettle the immigrants.

After Huan Xi captured Liangzhou, he expanded his army by 15,000 soldiers, including 10,000 cavalry.

Although these troops are stationed in Liangzhou, Liangzhou's tax revenue will definitely not be able to support these off-duty soldiers. They must be subsidized by Guanlong, which also makes Guanlong's newly improved financial situation become tense again.

Quan Yi saw that Huan Xi had already made up his mind and did not insist on his opinion anymore.

After talking about the issue of troops and horses, Huan Xi discussed personnel arrangements and military arrangements with Quan Yi, and finally decided that Zhao Ju would be the governor of Liang Governor Shi, Wuwei, and Jincheng counties and stay in Guzang.

He also appointed Yang An as the Sima of Liangzhou and the prefect of Xiping, and moved the seat of Xiping County to Wuhan (now Linxia, ​​Gansu).

Since Zhang Yaoling, the governor of Liangzhou, will live in Chang'an for a long time, it is equivalent to letting Yang An and Zhao take charge of Liangzhou's military and political affairs in different places.

The newly recruited 10,000 Liangzhou elite cavalry were divided into three thousand to be stationed in Wuwei, three thousand to be stationed in Jincheng, and four thousand to be stationed in Xiping. Once Huan Xi was summoned, Yang An would lead them out eastward.

As for the five thousand infantry, after careful consideration, Huan Xi decided to station them in Dunhuang to intimidate other countries in the Western Regions, and appointed Du Yu's brother Du Zhou as the governor of Dunhuang.

Xie Ai's Western Expedition, in addition to recruiting the counties in western Liangzhou, also had an important mission, which was to recruit Li Bai, the former chief of the western region of Liang, and Suofu, the captain of Yiwu, and others.

Of the five counties in the west of Liangzhou, Huan Xi would only place his trusted followers in Dunhuang County, and the other four prefects of Xijun, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Xihai would be retained if they could return in time.

As for the governor of Dunhuang, Huan Xi will arrange a county for him in the Guanlong area and continue to serve as the governor.

Huan Xi wanted to develop business and control the Western Regions, and Dunhuang County was crucial.

When he returns to Chang'an, he will also organize an official caravan to carry out foreign trade via the Silk Road.

This time Zhao Ju left Yinchuan and came to Liangzhou to take up a post. Shan Yutai will be in charge of Suo Xia, an old minister of the former Liang, who will be responsible for managing Xiongnu affairs.

When Huan Xi left and Zhao Ju did not arrive, Quan Yi would temporarily stay in Liangzhou to take charge of government affairs, waiting for Zhao Ju to come and take over, and then return east.

After arranging these things, Huan Xi did not have time to make an alliance with the Hu people from various tribes in Hexi. On the 354th day of the first lunar month in the th year of Yonghe (AD ), he led Jin and Hungarian infantry and cavalry in a hurry from Xidu County.

As for the alliance affairs, they will be arranged after Zhao Ju takes office. Huan Xi will bring only his spears and cavalry in the summer and visit Hexi again.

And let the infantry stay in Guanzhong to guard against possible invasion by Yu State.

Qinzhou, Didao County, Didao County.

Li Yuan received the news of Huan Xi's return in advance and was already waiting outside the city gate.

She had occasionally caught a cold and was left by Huan Xi in Didao to recuperate. Fortunately, she was not seriously ill and her body had already recovered.

The reason why he stayed in Didao was that Huan Xi felt that she was recovering from illness and was not suitable for traveling, so he did not let her go to Liangzhou to meet him.

The cavalrymen leading the way caught Li Yuan's sight first, and soon after, the familiar four-wheeled carriage came slowly from the distance.

When Huan Xi got off the carriage, Li Yuan could not help but feel happy inside and saluted:

"I pay my respects to the general. Is the general okay?"

Huan Xi held her hand and smiled:

"Nothing's wrong. I was just worried about your condition. Later I found out that you had recovered, and I finally felt relieved."

With that said, Huan Xi asked someone to bring Zhang Yu'er from another carriage. Of course, he would not ride with Zhang Yu'er along the way.

Zhang Yu'er first paid homage to Li Yuan. She was Zhang Chonghua's daughter, so she was of high status.

But Li Yuan was also a princess of Chenghan, and there is no such thing as being overshadowed by Zhang Yuer in terms of status.

Li Yuan smiled and returned the gift, calling Zhang Yu'er sisters.

The three of them entered the city together, and Huanxi stayed overnight in Didao.

The next day, just as the army was preparing to set off again, the Tuyuhun envoy finally gave chase. Huan Xi personally came to receive him.

After the envoy saluted, he directly stated his intention:

"My king is willing to donate another five thousand fine horses in order to be enthroned in the Jin Dynasty."

Huan Xi promised in public that he would definitely go to the court and ask Tuyuhun to be crowned King Tuyuhun.

After all, you can get 5,000 good horses with just one watch. Who wouldn't do this kind of business?

Since he said he was a good horse, if Tugu Hunsuixi dared to pass it off as a good horse, Huan Xi would definitely not give up.

Everyone was very happy. After the envoy left, Huan Xi immediately added a memorial.

He had previously reported his victory to the court, and at the same time asked Zhang Yaoling to be appointed governor of Liangzhou, Zhao Ju to be the prefect of Wuwei and Jincheng counties, Yang An to be the prefect of Xiping, and Du Zhou to be the prefect of Dunhuang.

As for the reward memorials for meritorious generals, especially when Huan Xi seeks rewards for himself, they will be sent to Jiankang after discussing with Wang Meng after returning to Chang'an.

After destroying Qianliang and taking over Liangzhou, Huanxi also hoped that with such great achievements, he could take a further step in the official ranks.

At this time, Wang Meng was bidding farewell to Deng Qiang outside Chang'an City.

After learning of Shen Jin's urgent report, Wang Meng mobilized 20,000 state and county troops in Guanzhong, led by Deng Qiang, and rushed to Hedong to support Puban and Gaowang City.

Although Huan Xi allowed Wang Meng to mobilize hundreds of thousands of state and county troops in Guanzhong, this was only done in a critical situation.

It is the spring plowing season at this time. Even if the Quyuan plow is used to change the farming method, all the young people in Guanzhong will be mobilized, which will still have an impact on agricultural production.

Moreover, recruiting too many state and county soldiers is also a burden on the finances.

Qinzhou has not shipped rice cloth to Chang'an for two consecutive years, and it has been left in Tianshui as military rations for Huanxi's western expedition.

At the same time, Huan Xi had already discussed with Wang Meng the idea of ​​expanding his army again after taking Liangzhou before he went on the expedition.

After Huan Xi captured Guzang, he sent someone to inform Wang Meng of the news in a three-hundred-mile rush.

Although Wang Meng was also happy about Huan Xi's victory in the Western Expedition, as Huan Xi's steward, he had to be careful about everything.

Moreover, Shen Jin had five thousand soldiers and one thousand soldiers under his command. In Wang Meng's opinion, it should be enough for defense. Let Deng Qiang take away 20,000 state and county soldiers for support. It was just a safe move, just in case.

If Huan Xi had left behind Deng Qiang, Wang Meng might have personally led reinforcements, but when it came to discerning people, Wang Meng was no worse than Huan Xi.

Deng Qiang's military talents were deeply appreciated by Wang Meng. With him leading the troops to reinforce Puban, Wang Meng could sit in Chang'an with peace of mind and control the overall situation.

This is also the reason why Huan Xi wanted to keep Deng Qiang in Guanzhong.

The battle on the front line is important, but when Fu attacks, staying in Chang'an and stabilizing the situation in Guanzhong cannot be neglected.

When Deng Qiang led 20,000 state and county soldiers to cross the Wei River north, Fu Jian left Prime Minister Fu Xiong to assist Prince Fu Sheng to supervise the country. He personally led 50,000 troops south. At this time, he was not too far from Gaowang City.

In the tenth year of Yonghe (AD 354), on the third day of February, Fu Jian led an army of people southward along the Fenshui River Valley and took the lead in arriving outside Gaowang City.

Looking at Gao Wangcheng in front of him, Fu Jian's face was as white as paper.

Lu Polou, the governor of Hedong Province in Yu State, mentioned in his memorials more than once that Gaowang City was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Fu Jian had been mentally prepared before going south, but what he saw with his own eyes today was that the steep terrain of Gaowang City was beyond Fu Jian's expectation.

Gaowang City is located on the north side of Fennan Gaoyuan in the lower reaches of Fen River.

Fennan Gaoyuan is more than 400 meters above sea level. It is bordered by Fenshui River in the north and surrounded by Sushui River on the east and south sides. Due to the erosion and erosion of flowing water, steep cliffs and gullies up to 50 meters high have been formed.

Gaowang City is surrounded by deep ditches on three sides and a barrier on one side. The terrain is abrupt and steep.

More importantly, because of the special terrain of Gaowang City, it was difficult for the siege troops to deploy outside the city.

In the original time and space, Wei Xiaokuan defended with thousands of troops. Under the attack of Gao Huan's army of more than 50, he held out for more than days, resulting in Gao Huan's casualties of more than , and ultimately failed to capture the jade. In the end, Gao Wang He died of depression.

Fu Jian didn't know Gao Huan's story, but looking at the fortified city in front of him, he couldn't help but sigh to himself:

‘Is this a city that can be conquered by manpower? ’

But if you want to attack Guanzhong from Puban, you can't avoid the Gaowang City in front of you, otherwise Gao Huan would not be determined to capture the jade, and the jade city was touched twice.

Now that Huan Xi's main force is no longer in Guanzhong, now is the best time to drive him out of Hedong completely, and Fu Jian is not willing to miss it.

From the tower in the north of Gaowang City, Shen Jin looked at the 50,000 Yu troops under the high wall in Fennan, with their banners covering the sky, but he was not alarmed by this.

Since he followed Huan Xi into the Pass in 349 AD and supervised the construction of Gaowang City, this is his sixth year of guarding this place.

After years of management, Gaowang City not only has a steep terrain, but the city is also towering and solid, enough to make people sigh when looking at the city.

　There are still 1 words left. I may not be able to write tonight. I haven’t had a good rest for two consecutive days and I feel like I’m losing shape. I’ll adjust my schedule tonight and make up for it by sending out 2W each for the next two days.

　　Really Sorry.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)