Late Tang

Huang Chao set off a bloody storm in Chang'an, and the sky was waiting to step on his bones.

But after killing people, life has to go on.Zhao Zhang, the servant and Tongping Zhangshi, entered the palace and reported: "Chang'an city alone, the ministers and others are estimated to need 600 million shi of grain a year. Just to supply Chang'an soldiers, at least 300 million shi will be needed. In addition, there are military family members. , and the people in Chang’an City. Now there are less than 50 stones in the warehouse, and they can last for a month at most.”

Huang Chao frowned, "I searched Chang'an, and only got this little food?"

Zhao Zhang bowed his head and remained silent. In fact, no matter how empty Chang'an City was, it was impossible that there would be no food.The soldiers of the Qi army searched and robbed the city for several months. The food they found must have been worth two or three million shi, but in fact, most of the food they robbed was hidden by the soldiers and brought out Most of the offerings to Emperor Qi were silk brocades, gold, silver and copper coins, but only a little food was given.

"What is your best solution?" Huang Chao was not ignorant of this, but although the generals of the Qi army were all his subjects, they all held heavy soldiers. Even if Huang Chao knew about some things, he could do nothing about them.

"For the current plan, there is no other way. The generals of the armies can be ordered to go out to dig grass and valleys to collect food and grass. The heavy troops gathered in Chang'an are sent to the states and counties. First, let them guard the prefectures and counties, and second, let them keep Food local, solve the problem of food and grass by ourselves.”

"It's feasible." Huang Chao nodded. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Chang'an, and eating was a huge problem.It's better to keep your cronies and elite troops in Chang'an, and send other troops to the states and counties. First, let them take the opportunity to expand their territory, and second, let them solve the food problem in various places.

"Also, the people of Chang'an should let them fend for themselves, and the imperial court will no longer withdraw food." Zhao Zhang said again.

Huang Chao hesitated for a moment. At present, only the Qi army has food in Chang'an. If the Qi army no longer sells and provides relief to the people, then the remaining hundreds of thousands of people in Chang'an will probably run away.But thinking about it carefully, now that Qi Jun has nothing to eat, how can he care about these people, so he nodded in agreement immediately.

Zhao Zhang thought about it and continued: "Furthermore, use gold, silver, silk and silk to buy food from the surrounding feudal towns."

"At this time, food is the most precious. Who would sell our food? Besides, even if we sell it, the price will be extremely high. We don't have much money." In times of war, food is life.This is also one of the important reasons why the emperor favored Li Jing so much when Li Jing sent food and money to the emperor every year. In just a few years, he continued to add officials to Li Jing.Li Jing is good at fighting and governing the people, but if he hadn't provided the emperor with a lot of money and food, how could he be where he is today.

Huang Chao occupied Luoyang and Chang'an, and indeed got a lot of money, but most of it was distributed to his soldiers.Now in Guanzhong and Henan, the price of grain has already risen to tens of thousands of dollars per meter.And often there is money but no place to buy, there is a price but no market.

"Although money and silk are heavy, they are not as useful as food right now. No matter how expensive food is, as long as someone sells it, you can buy it. If your majesty is worried about the lack of money and silk, I have a plan to solve it."

"Say!"

"Have you ever heard, Your Majesty, that at the end of the Han Dynasty, when Cao Cao conquered the world, he set up the post of General Qiu Zhonglang and Lieutenant Mojin?" Zhao Zhang said with a smile.

"Digging the grave?" Huang Chao was a little surprised.In any case, digging people's graves is an unethical tactic after all.Although Huang Chao used to be a salt dealer and a rebel, he is now the king of a country anyway. Going to dig a grave feels like losing his status after all.

Zhao Zhang said beside him, "Your Majesty, Wei Wu is also a hero of the generation, but he has done this before."

Huang Chao thought for a long time, and finally nodded: "Okay. But since we have to dig, we should dig a big one. Aren't the people in Chang'an City just idle, so take them all to dig the tomb. In my opinion, let's take Fengtian first. Let’s dig up the Qianling Mausoleum. The other imperial tombs of the Li family have also been dug up. In addition, those famous families in Guanzhong are not willing to serve me as officials. Well, let’s just dig up their ancestral graves.”

Qianling Mausoleum is a super large tomb, and it is also the only mausoleum in history where two emperors were buried together. It is Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Empress Wu Zetian who are buried here.Zhao Zhang also didn't expect that Huang Chao was still hesitating just now, but now he is silent, and he is a blockbuster.Not only agreed to dig the tomb for gold, but actually wanted to dig the imperial tomb.Digging the imperial mausoleum is not counted, but the biggest one must be dug first, and even the ancestral graves of those famous families, wealthy merchants, etc. in Guanzhong are not spared.

Ruthless, indeed ruthless!

Killing people is nothing more than nodding their heads. How can there be more ruthless and ruthless digging up people's ancestral graves.

"Well, why don't you just send people to the vassals and towns of Daqi to send food to Chang'an. Since you are my ministers and the emperor has something to do, how can I sit idly by!" Huang Chao thought of those named Fufu, but actually still The feudal town, which has been holding troops to wait and see, and its attitude is uncertain, feels unhappy.Originally, if things hadn't come to this point, Huang Chao didn't intend to send someone to ask for food, but now, he can't control so much.

On the same day, dozens of envoys from Chang'an City rode out of the city and rushed to various towns.

Fengxiang, Qizhou was established in the early Tang Dynasty, and it was changed to Fufeng County in the first year of Tianbao.In the second year of Zhide, Emperor Suzong was fortunate to come to Fufeng County. In the same year, he regained Chang'an and Luoyang. In December, he set up Fengxiang Mansion, named Xijing, and together with Chengdu, Jingzhao, Henan, and Taiyuan, he was called Wujing.In the Tang Dynasty, the place where the emperor stayed was generally renamed Fu, which was one level higher than the state.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Xingping Jiedushi was set up, and at the beginning of Kangtai, Fengxiang Jiedushi was set up. It belonged to Guannei Road, governed Fengxiang County, and led the five prefectures of Qi, Long, Jin, Shang, and Qin. It was located in the west of Chang'an, so it was Called Jingxi Jiedushi.

Among the towns in Guanzhong, Fengxiang Town is extremely important. It is not only the Xijing of Tang Wujing, but also guards the west of Beijing.In addition, Fengxiang Town also controls Wuguan, an important gateway to the southwest of Chang'an.But not long after, the imperial court divided Jin and Shang and set up Jinshang Jiedushi to control Wuguan and guard the southwestern gate of Chang'an.In the two prefectures of Qi and Long, Fengxiang Jiedu envoys were set up to defend the west of Beijing.In addition, Qin, He, and Wei prefectures were used to set up Tianxiong Army Jiedushi.

Although Fengxiang Army's territory was divided into three towns, Fengxiang Town, which is close to the west of Chang'an, is still very important.

The current Jiedu Envoy of Fengxiang Town is the former Prime Minister Zheng Tian, ​​a loyal minister loyal to Li Tang.

Zheng Tian, ​​courtesy name Taiwen, was born in the Zheng family of Xingyang, a famous family in the Tang Dynasty.His father, Zheng Ya, was well-known for his talent and learning, and was highly regarded by Li Deyu, a famous official in the late Tang Dynasty, and was cited as his confidant.Zheng Tian himself, known in history as "beautiful and graceful, as beautiful as jade", is a handsome man with outstanding image, and his talent is even more outstanding than that of his father.During the Huichang period of Emperor Wuzong, it was the golden age when Li Deyu dominated the political arena. The young Zheng Tian was awarded the rank of Jinshi, setting a record for the youngest Jinshi in the Li and Tang Dynasties.A successful young man with a bright future!

However, the good times didn't last long. With the death of Emperor Wuzong, Li Deyu lost power. Zheng Ya, Zheng Tian and his son were included in Li Deyu's party by the upstarts of the Xuanzong Dynasty, Bai Minzhong, Linghuyu and others, so they were also unlucky.So Zheng Ya was demoted to death in Xunzhou, and Zheng Tian went to the place to sit on the bench for more than 20 years.In the Yizong Dynasty, he was favored by his direct minister Liu Zhan and transferred to the central government again, but he was soon convicted of Liu Zhan's outspoken words, and he was implicated and relegated to the distant governor of Wuzhou.

When Emperor Xizong ascended the throne, the 51-year-old Zheng Tian was finally transferred to the court. He first served as the Minister of the Ministry of War, and then moved to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials.

However, Zheng Tian's ability to become the Prime Minister was not entirely due to his talent. He was able to recover because he had an important ally in the palace, that is, Shence Youjun Lieutenant Ximen Sigong, who was second only to Tian Lingzi in the Qianfu Dynasty. Great eunuch.The relationship between Ximen Sigong and Zheng Tian's father is very good. Zheng Tian and Ximen Sigong are like father and son, and they call him uncle.

But even though he, like his cousin Lu Xie, relied on the eunuchs in the palace to finally become the Prime Minister, but one relied on Tian Lingzi and the other relied on Simon Sigong.Tian Lingzi and Simon Sigong were the No. [-] and No. [-] eunuchs in the palace, and Lu Xie and Zheng Tian became the two highest ranked among the prime ministers.And just as the two eunuchs have always been hostile, the two cousins ​​have always been enemies in the officialdom.

But in the end, during the struggle between Zheng Tian and Lu Xie, he was dismissed at the same time, but Lu Xie's backer, Tian Lingzi, was tougher, so he was reinstated later, but Zheng Tian was demoted to Fengxiang all the time, and became Fengxiang's envoy.

Up to now, Lu Xie has become Tian Lingzi's scapegoat for Huang Chao's rebellion, and finally committed suicide at home when Huang Chao entered Chang'an.But Zheng Tian stayed at Fengxiang.

But no matter how Zheng Ting became Prime Minister, he can definitely be regarded as an out-and-out loyal minister of Datang.No matter whether he is in the high temple or far away in the rivers and lakes, he has been doing his best.

After being demoted to Fengxiang Town, Zheng Tian not only managed Fengxiang Town in an orderly manner in a short period of time, but also strengthened military affairs, and worked hard to train soldiers and horses in case of disaster.When Luoyang fell, he also took the initiative to ask to send troops to serve the king. In order to boost morale, he rewarded the army with his family wealth and asked his old wife to sew the uniforms for the soldiers in person.

It's a pity that in the end, Chang'an still fell, and the emperor followed Tian Lingzi to hunt west.

After the emperor went west, Zheng Tian once summoned the generals to discuss matters, hoping to lead the army to attack the rebels and recover the two capitals.

But the Fengxiang army saw that the emperor had run away, who would still be willing to counterattack Chang'an.

Li Changyan, the commander of the army, said bluntly: "Now that the bandits are in full swing, we don't want to force ourselves out. It's best to wait until the other feudal towns have sent troops and King Qin's army gathers before discussing the plan to recover the two capitals in detail."

Li Changyan was the Marching Sima of the Fengxiang Army, and was actually the most prestigious leader of the Fengxiang Army. His words represented the opinions of most Fengxiang generals.

At that time, Zheng Tian felt sad after hearing this, and was so out of breath that he fainted.

As a result, while he was recuperating, Li Changyan and Yuan Jinrou, the military supervisor, met Huang Chao's envoy, accepted Huang Chao's reward, and led the Fengxiang army to join Huang Chao.Zheng Tian just happened to be a little bit, and he vomited blood several times after hearing the news, and his condition worsened.

However, Li Changyan and others were not easy. Although he agreed to join Huang Chao, it was only a verbal agreement. In fact, Fengxiang Town has remained the same for several months, and the banner has not even been changed.Obviously, Li Changyan and other Fengxiang generals didn't really surrender, but they didn't want to offend Huang Chao, so they just swayed on both sides of the wall.Even Zheng Tian, ​​who would never surrender, is still living in the Shuai Mansion to recuperate at this time, and no one bothers him.

After several months of recuperation, Zheng Tian finally recovered.But the spirit is still not good, crying to his wife and saying: "The world is in chaos, and the heroes are fighting together. There are chaos outside the town, and eunuchs monopolize power inside. Now there are rebels rebelling, the emperor is forced to hunt west, Luoyang Chang'an and the two capitals fall .I am a minister of the Tang Dynasty. I can't secure the country at the top, and can't protect the people at the bottom. I am ashamed of the world, and I will have no face to see my ancestors after death!"

Mrs. Zheng said: "all the ministers and soldiers in the world are all true to Tang Lu, and there is no one who can save the country?"

Zheng Tian sighed and said: "In today's world, there is only one person who can turn the tide from the collapse and help the building from the collapse."

"Who can take on this great job?"

"Naturally it is Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses, Envoy Jijie, Fake Huangyue, Shang Shuling, General Commander of the World's Soldiers and Horses, Daxingtai Shangshuling of the Northeast Road, and Qin Wang Li Jing!" Zheng Tian's voice was full Said complicatedly.

Before he finished speaking, a person came in from the outside and said, "Old Mr. Zheng has given you peace of mind, and I'm here to bring you some good news." Zheng Tian looked around, but found that it was the aide who had followed him for many years. He couldn't help but said in surprise: " What's the good news?"

The staff member took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it forward, "Mr. Ling, please read this letter first, then you will be clear about it."

Zheng Tian took the letter, opened it, and what caught his eyes was a beautiful thin gold font. After reading it hastily, Zheng Tian's face changed constantly, full of shock.After reading the name at the end of the letter, he raised his head, his eyes were piercing, and he stared at the staff who had been with him for many years. His voice seemed calm, but he couldn't hide the shock in it, "I didn't expect that sir, I have been with me for so many years. , and now they come here with a letter from the King of Qin."

The staff member smiled: "I don't know what to say, I don't know how you feel now after reading the letter?"

"Very good, very good, the old man just wants to scream up to the sky, sing about wine, and dance swords to cheer up." Zheng Tian said, "Hahaha, have a good time, madam, prepare wine for me, I really want to drink two glasses now .”

Mrs. Zheng was a little confused, but when she heard the two talking about King Qin just now, she guessed that the matter was most likely related to Li Jing.Moreover, the husband was so excited and happy after reading the letter. It has been many years since I saw her husband. Thinking about the fact that the husband was still worrying about the heart of the country, saying that only the King of Qin can save the world today. Could it be that the King of Qin sent troops to take back the two capitals?

After Zheng Tian laughed out loud, he felt much better.

After his wife left, Zheng Tian took the hand of his staff and sat down in the study.

He stared straight at the staff, "Sir, you have been following X for more than ten years, right?"

"It's been 18 years!" The grey-haired staff member was about the same age as Zheng Ting, and they were both in their sixties.The two have known each other for many years and are considered old friends.

Knowing the meaning of Zheng Tian's words, the staff said calmly: "Actually, I also met a few friends recently."

"This friend is from the King of Qin."

"En!" The staff member nodded without saying anything.

Zheng Tian was silent for a while, and then chuckled, "From now on, my old friend will arrange for the contact between the old man and King Qin." (To be continued.)