Great Han Empire

Chapter 293
After Yelao led the cavalry around Chaona City, in order to conceal their whereabouts, they slowed down, and several Qiang people who were familiar with the route led them through the mountains and fields.

The scouts of the Han army spotted them immediately.

After Zheng Xin received the report from the scouts, he ordered the troops to speed up the march, and at the same time quickly sent the news to Chaona City.

Li Hong and his subordinates were very surprised when they heard that the Xianbei people had secretly attacked Fanting Mountain.

"I was too careless." Li Hong said with lingering fear, "If the Xianbei people use 3 to [-] people to go directly to Mount Fanting, we will be surrounded. I am too careless."

"Xianbei people should consider that we will defend Fanting Mountain with heavy troops to ensure the safety of Guanzhong." Li Wei said, "How do they know that there are no defensive troops on Fanting Mountain? Did the news leak?"

"Probably we retreated too fast." Qu Yi said, "We didn't even defend Gaoping City, so we just gave up. It gave the Xianbei people the feeling that we had no better way to meet the enemy except to run away. .”

"The Xianbei people probably think that our reinforcements have not yet arrived. At present, there are only [-] cavalry of Mr. Qu, so they thought of sending a surprise army to occupy Fanting Mountain." Yan Rou pointed to the map and said, "Occupy Fanting Mountain, the Xianbei people blocked it. We have no escape route, we have only one dead end."

"If Yushi and Gao Lan's army arrives at Mount Fanting today, we'll be fine." Li Hong shook his head and said, "I should be more on the safe side and stay at the third pass for one more day."

Hua Xiong said with a smile: "Your Excellency seems to be overthinking. The Xianbei people only sent 1 people to attack Fanting Mountain. It can be seen that they have doubts and are not decisive in using troops. They do not have full confidence in occupying Fanting Mountain. In addition, Your Excellency asked Zheng Xin Your scout battalion and Zhang Yun's five thousand infantry arrived at Fanting Mountain first, and it was originally intended to let them stick to the throat, and my lord did not make a mistake on this point."

"I think that with Zheng Xin and Zhang Yun's thousands of troops, taking advantage of the terrain and condescending, it is not a problem at all to face Xianbei's [-] cavalry."

Li Hong thought for a while, and said to Hengji: "You take Fengyun cavalry, fight out from the north gate, and then fight back through the east gate, don't love to fight, just go to the camp."

"After Fengyun cavalry rushes to the camp, it will definitely attract the attention of the Xianbei people." Li Hong looked at Yan Rou, Xian Yuyin and Hua Xiong and said, "The three of you led your troops out of the city from the west gate and rushed to Fanting Mountain overnight to support."

Heng Ji, Yan Rou and others bowed to accept orders.

"Ling Ming, you, Hu Ding, and Qi Shen took the Black Panther Yi Cong, and followed Master Yan to Guandai Mountain." Li Hong glanced at Pang De, and said with a smile, "When I came, I was right you said before……"

"Follow your lord's order." Pound smiled knowingly, and went out.

===

The soldiers of the Wild Wolf Tribe arrived at the north gate of Chaona City in the middle of the night. Everyone was very tired and did not set up camp.

Although the Xianbei soldiers had no time to meet the enemy, they got on their horses and fled very quickly. Everyone scattered and rushed into the darkness in a blink of an eye.

The Fengyun iron cavalry followed the deserters, pursued them relentlessly, and immediately rushed into the Helian army outside the east gate.

Outside the city of Chaona, the sound of trumpets rang out all over the sky, and the sound of killing was everywhere.

Tuoba Feng and Lu Ri deduced that Li Hong led people to attack the camp, and hurriedly assembled a large army to meet the enemy.Seeing that the Xianbei people were gradually stabilizing their position, Heng Ji immediately commanded the army to rush across, turned around and returned to the city.

"This beast, don't be in such a hurry if you want to die, don't you want someone to sleep?" Yan Liyou rode on a horse with his upper body naked, seeing He Lian laughing so hard that he couldn't even straighten his back, he was so angry that he couldn't stand up. Swear.

=====================

In the early morning, Fanting Mountain is bathed in light mist, just like a fairyland.

Ye Lao commanded the army to move quickly up the mountain.Xiaoshuai Mutao led 2000 people through the woods and galloped along the gentle hillside.

The sound of galloping horseshoes became more and more violent, and the shouts of soldiers became louder and louder.

The birds in the woods were frightened and flew into the air in panic, scurrying around.

"Boys, speed up, speed up, go to the top, go to the top..."

Mutao looked excited, holding up the shield in one hand and the sword in the other, and shouted wildly as he looked back frequently.

===

Suddenly, dense war drums sounded from the woods ahead. The sound of the drums was mighty and wild, resounding through the mountains.

The Xianbei people were horrified and looked up, but they saw long arrows coming from the sky, and they could no longer see the blue sky.

At this time, there is no way to advance or retreat, only to charge and kill.

"Brothers, go up, follow me..." Mu Tao raised her shield high and shouted wildly, "Hoo...ho..."

The Xianbei soldiers showed no fear, and echoed in unison: "Huho...huho..."

"Quickly...quickly rush in..." Mu Tao hoarse, as if crazy, galloped the horse.

"kill……"

===

"Hey...hehe...hehe..."

Countless long arrows screamed thrillingly, descending from the sky with a bloody murderous aura, and immediately shot down a large area of ​​Xianbei people who were speeding towards them like rain.

The howls, shouts, neighing of war horses, the impact of long arrows nailing into tree trunks, and the tearing of arrow clusters piercing into the flesh suddenly rang out, noisy and shrill.

Mu Tao's sitting horse was hit by several arrows, hissed a few times, and then hit a tree and fell to the ground dead.Mu Tao got up in a panic, and hid behind the tree to avoid the sudden rain of arrows.

Seeing his subordinates falling to the ground one by one, seeing corpses strewn across the woods, blood flowing into rivers, Mu Tao roared with anger, and tried to rush out to rescue the wounded soldiers several times, but they were all shot by the dense arrow rain. back.

"Who said there is no Han army here? Who said that? I'm going to kill him alive!"

"Get off the horse, get off the horse, don't rush..."

The Xianbei people who followed up couldn't hear Mutao's cry at all. They saw the tragic battlefield and the comrades who fell to the ground and died, and they rushed even more frantically.

"Kill... ah..."

The long arrows were howling, the cavalry was rushing to kill, the death continued, and the blood flowed in the cold wind along with the disappearing lives one by one.

=====================

Ye Lao stood on the hilltop in the distance, with a serious expression on his face.

"Shuai Hao, is there an ambush in Fanting Mountain?" Shuai Muli is Mu Tao's twin brother. Seeing his brother in danger, he jumped up and down anxiously, wishing he could rush up to help immediately, "Shuai Hao , Hurry up and order, I want to go up, I want to go up..."

Ye Lao hesitated.He didn't know how many Han troops were on Mount Fanting, and he didn't dare to joke about the lives of his soldiers.Once there are tens of thousands of Han troops in the woods, if he rushes in rashly with the remaining few thousand people, the whole army will definitely be wiped out as a result.Now that the king's army is under the city, as long as I send someone back to report the news, the supporting army will arrive immediately, so I don't need to take such a big risk to attack Fanting Mountain.

However, there are very few troops left by the Han army north of Liupan Mountain. At the same time, there is no news that the reinforcements of the Han army have arrived here. Does the enemy army in front of us only have a team of troops?

"Hao Shuai, hurry up and order, hurry up."

"Okay, take someone to try again." Ye Lao waved his hand back and said loudly, "If there are too many enemies, withdraw immediately."

===

Mu Li led a second charge with two thousand cavalry.

They learned the lesson of the first charge. After reaching the woods, they dismounted immediately, relying on the shield and the cover of the woods, they quickly approached the bloody battlefield.

The first batch of 200 cavalry who rushed into the woods were almost all shot to death, and the remaining [-] people followed behind Mu Tao Mu Li and continued to charge forward aggressively.

Rushing out of the woods, it is an open area with a distance of more than 50 steps.In the woods on the opposite side, rows of heavily armed Han soldiers suddenly stood.

Anger broke out in an instant.

"Kill, kill..."

The Xianbei soldiers were like a pack of irritated wolves. They stared at their blood-red eyes, roared loudly, and ran wildly.

"Blow the horn, blow the horn, tell Hao Shuai that we have found the Han army..."

===

"shoot……"

Following Zhang Yun's order, the arrows shot like locusts, and the Xianbei people were once again submerged in the dense arrow rain.

===

When Ye Lao heard the sound of the horn in the woods ahead, a cruel sneer appeared on his face.

"Let's go, let's kill..."

He kicked the horse's belly hard and started first.

Six thousand iron cavalry followed closely behind, roaring like mountains and seas amidst the sound of low-pitched horns.

===

Forty steps... thirty steps... twenty steps...

Huzi raised his saber, knocked on the iron helmet on his head, and then exhausted all his strength, let out a loud roar: "Brothers, kill... ah..."

"kill……"

In an instant, the roar was like a tide, and the swordsmen of the Han army rushed over the archers, the shield soldiers, and rushed towards the Xianbei people like a tide.

The two sides fought hand in hand, and immediately started a bloody fight.

The sound of fierce killing suddenly soared into the sky.

======================
A round of red sun spewed out.

Li Hong led [-] iron cavalry and galloped through the mountains and fields. He Lian and Tuoba Feng led [-] iron cavalry and chased after them. The distance between the two sides was about one mile.Lü Ri Deyan and Yan Li You followed behind with the Hu allied forces unhurriedly.

Pang De, Hu Ding, and Qi Shen stood on the high place of Guandai Mountain, looking at the dust covering the sky and the sun in the distance, secretly horrified.

"The momentum of the Xianbei people is like a rainbow. If they pour down, Chang'an will be in danger." Pang De said in a low voice, "Although my lord intends to lure the enemy into deep, but facing such a powerful enemy army, I am afraid that I have more than enough heart but not enough strength."

"No, my lord must have a solution." Qi Shen sniffed a few breaths of fresh air, and said with a smile, "The scenery here is beautiful, you can take a look, you won't be able to see it later."

Pang De looked at them, and suddenly asked: "Does Yan Liyou of the Wild Wolf Tribe know that you are still alive?"

"He knows." Hu Ding said with a smile, "Back then, the Lord wanted to let us go back. Hundreds of us brothers were grateful for the grace of the Lord not to be killed, and voluntarily stayed. Only more than 100 members of the wild wolf clan went back."

"Aren't you from the wild wolf clan?" Pound asked in surprise.

"We are not." Qi Shen said with a dark face, "After our tribe was defeated by Yan Liyou, it has long since disappeared."

Pound gave them a sympathetic look, but said nothing.The tribes on the prairie are like this, the weak prey on the strong, this is the law of survival of the prairie people.

"Here we come, my lord is here." Hu Ding clamped his horse's belly and rushed down the mountain.

===

Li Hong tightened his grip on the panther, stopped its galloping body, and asked loudly, "Hu Ding, are you all ready?"

"Just wait for the army to pass, and immediately ignite the Guandai Mountain." Hu Ding said with a smile, "Does your lord still remember the fire in the Moon Burial Forest?"

Li Hong wiped the sweat from his forehead, pointed at him and said with a smile: "The fire burned too much, and I will be punished by God in the future. This time the fire should not be too big, just stop the enemy's pursuit."

"My lord is too late." Hu Ding said embarrassedly, "We have been busy in the middle of the night, and we just plan to burn the entire Guandai mountain to clean."

Li Hong shook his head and said with a helpless smile: "If I am punished by God in the future, I will definitely take you guys with me."

======================
He Lian stared dumbfoundedly at the crown belt mountain that was bursting into flames, and shook his head in disbelief.

"Your Majesty, Leopard is already prepared." Tuoba Feng stopped his horse panting and stopped next to him, panting heavily, "Old Ye is over now."

"Is there no other way?" He Lian asked gritted his teeth with a pale face, "Is there any other way?"

Several subordinates and attendants following Helian looked at each other in blank dismay.

"I said it, I said it..." Tuoba Feng said angrily, "I said it a long time ago..."

"Stop talking." He Lian blushed and raised his hands angrily and shouted, "I asked you to send more people, why didn't you do it?"

"My lord, so what if there are 2 people?" Tuoba Feng pointed at the raging fire ahead, and said angrily, "This fire will burn for at least four or five days. After four or five days, they will all be dead. "

"How do you know?" He Lian shouted at the top of his voice, "2 people beat 2 people, how could they die?"

"Could it be that their reinforcements are all dead?" Tuoba Feng said angrily, "Four or five days later, there will be at least [-] to [-] Han troops on Fanting Mountain. Of course they are all dead."

"I don't believe it, I just don't believe it." He Lian shouted, "Call Xu Gui, go and call Xu Gui, there must be a way."

===

"We need to race against time." He Lian paced back and forth restlessly, "We tried our best and used all our troops to attack thousands of miles of border at the same time to seize such an opportunity, but now we have let the leopards It burned down."

"Because the leopards voluntarily abandoned the three passes and two cities, and did not fight in the first battle, the Han army north of Liupan Mountain did not suffer any losses, and their strength was well preserved, while the Han army south of Liupan Mountain is now rushing forward. It is estimated that we will be able to reach Liupan Mountain in a few days." Pointing to the fire in the distance, Helian said angrily, "The fire of the leopards just blocked our way, but it gave them time to assemble their army."

"A few days later, when we arrive at Mount Fanting, we will face the resistance of [-] Han troops. In this way, not only will we lose our chance, but our strategy to attack Chang'an City will also be greatly hindered."

He Lian glared at everyone, patted the map angrily and said, "If you all listen to me and send a large army to occupy Fanting Mountain first, and then attack the city overnight to trap the leopards, how could this situation happen?"

Tuoba Feng lowered his head and sneered.He Lian embarrassed him in public, which made him very unhappy.One of Lü Ri Deyan and Yan Li You looked at the fire engulfing the crown belt mountain, and the other touched his bare head, with a serious expression on his face.Mu Gaiting frowned in thought, not knowing what he was thinking.Xu Gui kept touching the knife handle at his waist, expressionless.

The fire on Guandai Mountain really caught everyone off guard.

"If you want to take down Chang'an, you must take down Mount Fanting first. If you want to take down Mount Fanting, the best chance is to take advantage of the fact that the Leopard's army has not yet assembled and there are not enough people to fight against us. If we This opportunity was lost in vain, everyone can go home empty-handed now, what are you doing here? Let the Han people laugh at our incompetence?" He Lian shouted sharply.

"The leopard ignited the entire Guandai Mountain, and the fire lasted for more than ten miles. It is basically impossible to expect it to be extinguished within four or five days." He Lian said bitterly, "If we want to continue to attack the Han army and capture Chang'an, we must Find another way to reach Mount Fanting."

He Lian looked at Xu Gui, tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart, and asked in a calm tone: "Is there still a way?"

"There is a road, but it's not easy to walk." Xu Gui thought for a while and said, "They are all small roads, and there are a few streams along the way. The cavalry can pass, but it will be very troublesome for the hundreds of thousands of livestock behind us. "

"Let the soldiers bring more dry food." He Lian immediately turned his anger into joy when he heard this, and said loudly, "Quick, quick, let's go!"

======================
After the Xianbei iron cavalry rushed through the arrow formation in embarrassment, they were about to start a killing spree, but found that the Han soldiers who were fighting fiercely in the open area suddenly turned around and fled into the dense woods.

Ye Boss was overjoyed, thinking that the Han army fled in fear when they saw the cavalry coming, and immediately chased after them, but when they went deep into the woods, they were shot more violently.

The Xianbei people rode war horses back and forth in the woods to clash, not only was it inconvenient to move, but the target was also very obvious, and the casualties became more and more serious.

At this moment, the Han army beat the drums to charge, tens of thousands of soldiers came out of the woods, and the bloody battle began.

===

Ye Lao led his personal guards to fight all the way, and stumbled out of the encirclement.

Under his leadership, nearly a thousand Xianbei soldiers escaped from Fanting Mountain in embarrassment, but unfortunately, they encountered Yan Rou's army.

A group of people were immediately surrounded, and after a little resistance, they were tied up one by one.

===

Li Hong was very happy to hear that Fanting Mountain was safe and that the Xianbei people had been wiped out.

"We originally expected the Xianbei people to attack at night, so we can pick a bargain." Zheng Xin said with a smile, "I didn't expect the Xianbei people to be very cunning. After sleeping at the foot of the mountain for midnight, they only started attacking in the morning, making us wait in the middle of the night for nothing. "

"Did we lose a lot?" Li Hong asked with concern.

"Fortunately, we killed more than 2000 soldiers, but killed more than 8000 of them." Zheng Xin said, "This time, the Xianbei people suffered from the long arrows. They were stuck in the woods, unable to advance or retreat, so they had to watch Watching myself being shot through by a long arrow."

Li Hong nodded appreciatively.

"My lord lit another fire?"

"Yes, I lit another fire." Li Hong smiled wryly, "It's a pity that it was too big, and it was a bit counterproductive. Originally, I hoped to stop them for a while, but now it seems that this fire will not be extinguished in seven or eight days." After the fire is extinguished, the Xianbei people may not cross Liupan Mountain again."

"But it's not a bad thing." Zheng Xin said with a smile, "When General Dong cuts off the Xianbei people's retreat and the Xianbei people turn around and retreat, we will see if we have a chance to wipe out the enemy."

Li Hong smiled, feeling lost.

=====================

Li Hong's memorial was sent to Luoyang Beigong with a fast ride of eight hundred miles.

After Huangfusong and Lu Zhi finished watching, they were both happy and worried.The joy is that Li Hong's strategy has a good chance of winning, but the worry is that His Majesty will agree?

After the emperor heard the news, he was really furious.

"How dare he dare to abandon the three passes and Liupan Mountain without permission. How can he guarantee that he can defeat the Xianbei people? Can his head compensate Chang'an City? Can his head compensate my ancestors' cemetery?" The emperor was furious. He cried out, "I told him to stick to the three gates, but he didn't listen, and even proposed such a strategy to subjugate the country. I think he wants to die."

"Huangfusong, go to Anding immediately to replace Li Hong, and send someone to bring him back to me by the way."

Huangfusong bowed his head to remonstrate, "Your Majesty, Helian and Tuobafeng's [-] troops have already appeared at Muxia Pass just as we speculated."

"Who said that?" The emperor was surprised and asked loudly, "Really?"

"Isn't Li Zhonglang written in the memorial?" Lu Zhi said, "Facing 12 iron cavalry, Ren Li Zhonglang has great abilities, and he can't defend the three passes."

"Your Majesty, abandoning the three passes is really a helpless move. Li Zhonglang's army currently has only [-] cavalry north of Liupan Mountain, and it is impossible to resist the crazy attack of the Xianbei people." Huangfusong said, "Abandoning the three passes is the last At least you can save your strength temporarily. If you wipe out all the troops and lose the three passes, then the gain will not be worth the loss."

The emperor's anger subsided a little, and he asked in a little panic: "The people of Xianbei became 12 in a blink of an eye. Do the two lovers have a plan to retreat from the enemy?"

"There are two ways." Huangfusong said, "One is to adopt Li Zhonglang's suggestion, abandon Liupan Mountain, and concentrate the main force to wipe out the enemy south of Liupan Mountain."

"No, no, this plan is absolutely impossible. Once Li Zhonglang makes a mistake in his command and lets 12 Xianbei people march into Chang'an and destroy the cemetery of their ancestors, how will I face the people of the world? How will I face the ancestors?" He waved his hands hesitantly, resolutely vetoing it, "What's the other way? Say it quickly, say it quickly."

"Let Li Zhonglang concentrate his main force, stick to Liupan Mountain, and defend the last barrier in the pass." Huangfusong said, "If Li Zhonglang's troops march day and night, in two days, they will resist Liupan Mountain one after another."

"But defending Liupan Mountain cannot defeat the enemy, nor can it drive the enemy out of Anding and Beidi counties." Lu Zhi said, "Only by destroying the invading army of the Xianbei can the two counties be retaken."

"Isn't there still Dong Zhuo?" said the Son of Heaven, "Didn't you say that as long as Dong Zhuo captures Lingzhou and cuts off the Xianbei people's retreat, the Xianbei people can be driven out?"

"At that time, we did not estimate that the third pass would be lost, nor did we expect that the army of Helian and Tuobafeng would rush to the third pass quickly, and attack the third pass with 12 people at the same time." Lu Zhi explained: "According to our past It is estimated that Helian and Tuobafeng may not be able to reach the third pass in a short time, but Li Zhonglang can calmly gather 10 people to defend the third pass. In this case, the Xianbei people must have fought for a long time without success. There is no choice but to withdraw and leave.”

"But now because Li Zhonglang's army has been unable to gather for a long time, and the Xianbei people have seized the opportunity, there has been a huge disparity in the strength of the two sides. In order to preserve his strength, Li Zhonglang was forced to abandon the three passes in desperation. The Xianbei people Therefore, all the passes and cities north of Liupan Mountain can be quickly occupied in a short period of time."

"The Xianbei people have an army of 12, and there are three dangers, so they can attack when they advance, and they can defend when they retreat. Even if General Dong occupies Lingzhou, the Xianbei people can calmly divide their troops and attack Lingzhou."

The emperor was dizzy and dumbfounded, "So, even if we have Li Hong and Dong Zhuo, even if we have an army of 13, we will not be able to take back the two counties of Anding and Beidi?"

"Your Majesty, we will definitely not be able to take back the large tracts of land on the north and south banks of the Yellow River in the short term." Huangfusong said worriedly, "Although the Xianbei people brought hundreds of thousands of livestock, there will be a day when they finish eating. After they finish eating, they still have to eat it." Back to the north bank of the Yellow River, but it will take at least three to four months or even longer, and at that time..."

Huangfusong sighed and did not continue.

"Why didn't Aiqing finish the sentence?" The emperor frowned and asked, "How was it then?"

"Your Majesty, we don't have any money to pay for the soldiers on the front lines now." Lu Zhi said with his head bowed, "Due to successive years of wars, especially in the western borders, the armaments in the Chang'an Arsenal and the Border County Arsenal have long been exhausted. Now we even There are no knives, swords, spears, halberds, arrowheads, and armor for Li Zhonglang's army."

The emperor was startled, and asked again: "Aiqing, you haven't told me yet, what will happen then?"

"Without military pay, we can owe it, but without weapons, how can our soldiers fight?" Lu Zhi said excitedly, "Your Majesty, if this battle continues for a long time, Liupan Mountain will fall and Chang'an will fall."

The emperor was horrified, "Where is the Luoyang arsenal?"

Huangfusong glanced at the emperor, and a trace of sadness suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"The ordnance in the Luoyang arsenal is only enough for the northern and southern armies now." Huangfusong said, "Because the Luoyang arsenal and the Chang'an arsenal belong to the imperial court, the cost of making their ordnance is provided by Da Si Nong. Your Majesty, you also know that the national treasury Year after year, it has been short-lived, and military funds have to be supplemented by borrowing from princes and rich people or reducing official salaries, not to mention spending money on making weapons and replenishing arsenals."

The emperor probably didn't realize that the problem was so serious, he walked back and forth in the room for two steps with his hands behind his back, glanced at the two dejected ministers quietly, and asked in a low voice, "How long can we last at most?"

"According to the letter from Mr. Jing Zhao Yingai, although he did his best, he only prepared two batches of weapons and supplies for Li Zhonglang. That is to say, if 10 people fight, only one battle can be guaranteed." Lu Zhi returned Said, "Lord Gai was afraid of affecting the morale of the frontline soldiers, so he didn't tell Li Zhonglang about the situation."

"A battle?" The Son of Heaven stared at him, speechless for a long time, "I am a big Han country, but there is only one weapon for battle?"

"The matter of the Western Border War should be resolved quickly." Lu Zhi said, "If you want to resolve the battle quickly, you must take risks. I believe that Li Zhonglang's strategy of abandoning Liupan Mountain and luring the enemy to go deeper is completely acceptable."

"No." The emperor said unwaveringly, "absolutely not."

"Immediately issue an order to Li Hong, ordering him to guard Liupan Mountain to the death. If any Xianbei crosses Liupan Mountain, he will be executed from Li Hong up to the military lords of all tribes!"

"Pass the decree and ask Da Si Nong to come to Shangshutai quickly."

=====================

Da Sinonong Wang Han walked into the Shangshutai with a sad face.

"Aiqing, why don't the soldiers have military pay? Why are there no weapons in the Chang'an arsenal?" The emperor asked coldly, "You borrowed a lot of money from me, what did you use the money for?"

Wang Han was stunned for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, didn't I write all the details on the memorial yesterday? Didn't Your Majesty read it?"

The emperor waved his hand angrily and said: "I am busy fighting in the western Xinjiang every day, so I don't have time to read the memorials you wrote. Tell me, what are the taxes and taxes collected every year by the Han Dynasty? Why are the weapons in the arsenal continuously Haven't supplemented it for many years?"

"Your Majesty, I'm about to tell you about this, but Da Sinong really doesn't have the money to buy armaments." Wang Han sorted out his thoughts a little and said, "It starts with taxes."

Taxes in this dynasty can be roughly divided into three categories—rent, tax, and tax.Rent refers to land rent, which is a land tax, collecting grain and drafts; Fu refers to various Fu, which is collected on a per-person or household basis, in the form of currency; both of these are in charge of the Da Si Nong and belong to the state.Taxes generally refer to miscellaneous taxes levied by industry or region, mainly in the form of currency, which are in charge of the Shaofu and belong to the royal family.Among these three sources of income, the various Fus in charge of Da Si Nong provided the military expenditure of the dynasty.

The Fu of this dynasty, from its establishment, collection to use, is related to the country's military expenditure needs.Among them, the poll tax-calculated tax and part of the money, used for the expenditure of ordnance and military horses, supplying military equipment; The cost of supplying war when war breaks out.During the hundreds of years of this dynasty, the main part of the country's military expenditure was provided by various taxes collected on a per-person and household basis.If the taxes are not collected, the imperial court often resorts to borrowing from princes and rich people and reducing official salaries to supplement military expenditures.

Counting Fu refers to the head tax of people aged 15 to 56. The main purpose of the money is to supply ordnance and military horses.Most of the taxes collected by the states and counties were handed over to Dasinong, and some were retained by the states and counties for repairing the ordnance in the arsenal.

"Because of the frequent invasions of various species of Hu tribes abroad in recent years, the continuous rebellion of Yellow Turban Ant Bandits and Xiliang bandits in China, coupled with the frequent droughts and floods and locust disasters on both sides of the Yellow River in recent years, a large number of fields in various states and counties have been barren. , the people were displaced, the refugees filled the city walls, and the taxes were cut and reduced. Among them, due to the war and the increasing number of refugees, the income from the tax was reduced sharply, and the current income is not enough to repair ordnance.”

"In the best year of this dynasty, the tax revenue used to be as high as more than 60 billion yuan, but now we have exhausted all kinds of methods, but we can only put in about 20 billion yuan, which is less than one-third of the past. Your Majesty, the national treasury is now exhausted. , The deficit is serious, not to mention the production of ordnance, it is difficult to maintain the continuous flames of war." After Wang Han said, his eyes were slightly red, and he was about to cry.

===

"No money?" The Son of Heaven shouted angrily, "There are only weapons for one battle left in the arsenal. Is my country of Han so poor?"

"Yes, Your Majesty is right, our Great Han Kingdom is indeed not so poor." Wang Han replied, "Now, the arsenal of Yanzhou, the arsenal of Yuzhou, the arsenal of Jingzhou, the arsenal of Yizhou, and even the arsenal of Nanyang County There are still a large number of ordnance, and there are even a large number of military vehicles such as rushing carts, iron carts, rushing carts, strong crossbow carts, continuous crossbow carts, and Wugang continuous crossbow carts that are urgently needed on the front line of western Xinjiang."

The emperor looked at him suspiciously, then at Huangfusong and Lu Zhi, and asked, "Is what Aiqing said true?"

"Of course." Wang Han said.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you immediately issue an order for recruitment?" the emperor asked loudly.

Huangfusong and Lu Zhi looked at Wang Han and smiled wryly.

"Your Majesty, the armory in the inner county arsenal has not been repaired and maintained for many years. We don't know whether it can be used or not." Huangfusong said, "In addition, transporting these weapons and supplies requires a lot of civilians, carriages and money. , but Da Sinong already has nothing but Mr. Wang."

Wang Han suddenly pulled up his clothes and knelt down, kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, for the sake of the country and society of our Great Han Kingdom, I implore Your Majesty to lend another billion to Da Sinong to relieve the urgent need."

The Son of Heaven sneered, and said with a heartache: "Aiqing, if you don't tear down my Wanjin Hall, it seems that you will not give up."

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Protecting Qiang Zhonglang's general Li Hong abandoned the three gates, which caused a shock in Luoyang. The impeachment memorial and the call for Li Hong's replacement became louder and louder.

At the same time, rumors about the collusion between Zongzheng Liu Yu and Xianbei Murongfeng were also rumored in Luoyang.Under pressure, Liu Yu pleaded guilty and asked to be resigned from office and return to his hometown.The emperor was very angry and called Liu Yu to the North Palace to scold him.The emperor said: "I originally intended to make you a captain, but someone in the court obstructed you and deliberately spread rumors to frame you. Aiqing is loyal to the country. I know that and I believe Aiqing is innocent."

The emperor rejected Liu Yu's plea, and still appointed him Zongzheng.

Sikong Xuxiang, Yushi doctor Yang Qin, Zhongchang attendant Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and others wrote to the emperor one after another, asking the general to lead the northern army to Chang'an to guard the important areas of Gyeonggi, and at the same time replace Li Hong with chariot general He Miao , quickly went to Liupanshan to defend against the enemy.

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(End of this chapter)