In the first year of Taixing in the Jin Dynasty (328), the second year of Kaiping in Daliang, and the 18th year of Yuheng in Dacheng, it was a dark night on April 12th.
Outside Guzang City, a camp is being built overnight.
The messengers were running back and forth, panting.
Sometimes people come out of the city to mobilize troops; sometimes people come from far away to report various situations.
There has never been a day when Guzangcheng seemed so nervous, not even when Zhang Gui suffered a stroke and was bedridden.
The name of a person, the shadow of a tree, Shao Thief is not a good man and a believer. When his army comes to kill, there will be blood, and it will definitely cause huge changes in the existing structure of Liangzhou.
In Guzang City, intense troop mobilization is also taking place.
Han Pu, the Right Sima of the shogunate, was appointed at the critical moment and assumed the important task of commanding the city's defense.
He was also a veteran general. After a rough estimate of the strength of the troops, he immediately suggested abandoning the garrison outside the city, leaving only a small number of troops for surveillance, and withdrawing the main force to the central city, north city, and south city.
This suggestion caused huge controversy, but Han Pu was very insistent, because Guzang City was very big, very big, and it could be called an important city even in the Central Plains.
The original Guzang City was built by the Xiongnu, with an area of ​​three miles from east to west and seven miles from north to south.
Now known as "Midtown", the overall shape is rectangular, with wing-shaped ends at the north and south ends.
In the fourteenth year of Zhang Gui's reign, he expanded Guzang City and built "North City" to the north of the Zhongcheng City as his office and residence.
After Zhang Gui's death, Zhang Shi succeeded to the throne and ruled for six years. During this period, he only accumulated strength and developed production, but did not carry out any major construction projects.
After Zhang Shi, Zhang Mao succeeded to the throne. In the short four years of his reign, he did not want to waste people and money, so he only proposed to rebuild the city defense completely and build Lingjun Tower, the commanding heights in the north city.
The former was agreed, and the latter was dissuaded by the group of officials. However, as the Xiongnu's intention to advance westward became more and more obvious,
Finally, Lingjun Terrace was built five years ago, with the function of "the prince sets up danger and the warrior closes it".
Obviously, this is an imitation of the Tongque Santai in Yecheng. Considering that Zhang Mao himself lives in Lingjun Terrace and has his daily office here, it is even more obvious.
Zhang Jun succeeded to the throne four years ago. He is a man who likes to carry out large-scale construction projects.
It happened that Zhang Gui, Zhang was, Zhang Mao spent 24 years gathering refugees, appeasing the tribes, and developing production to lay a considerable material foundation, so he began to build Nancheng.
Nancheng mainly existed as a palace city. Although the country was not officially established, Zhang Mao once accepted the title of "King of Liang" from the Huns. After the defeat of the Huns, Zhang Jun ignored the external world and called himself "King of Liang" internally.
At present, the city wall in Nancheng has only been encircled and the foundation of the palace has been laid.
In Zhang Jun's plan, Qianguang Hall (also called "Mingde Hall") is the place where he works and manages government affairs. It is located in the center, but he does not live here.
Qianguang Hall has Zhengxing White Hall in the west, Zhuyang Red Hall in the south, Yiyang Green Hall in the east, and Xuanwu Black Hall in the north. It is the palace of the four seasons. Each palace is occupied for three months according to the seasons.
In addition to these five palaces, there are actually many more palaces. Zhang Jun personally planned and named them, but because he only took office four years ago, there was no time to build them.
In addition to the three cities in the south, north, and middle, a small city will be built on each side as a peripheral barrier for Guzang. This has been completed, because it is very small, with only a thousand steps around the city (less than 400 meters on a side)
.
Various planting gardens in the city also serve as military training grounds for small-scale military training.
Four small cities and three large cities formed the prototype of the Seven Cities of Liangzhou.
How can we defend such a complex and large city? It requires a huge number of troops.
Han Pu felt that either he should give up defending the city and directly fight the invading enemies on the periphery; or he could shrink across the board, withdraw every ounce of his troops, abandon some less important urban areas, and use all his strength to defend the core areas, such as the central city.
and Beicheng.
But whether his suggestion can be accepted depends on the outcome of discussions between Zhang Jun and his staff****
Xianyu Hall in Zhongcheng is now Zhang Jun’s main residence.
After Han Pu inspected the city defense, he was ordered to go to Xianyu Hall.
There is Xianyu Pool in front of the hall. There are five bronze dragons in the pool, with teeth and claws showing, majestic.
Han Pu sighed after looking at it.
If these five huge copper dragons were made into coins, I don't know how much reward they would be given.
The Zhang family has some talent, but they like to enjoy it too much. They started building palaces during the Zhang Gui era, and to this day, three generations of their ancestors have "never changed their original intention."
After passing through the wooden corridor across the pool, Han Pu quickly arrived in front of the hall.
The sergeant searched him and let him in.
The meeting has begun, and the atmosphere is a little tense.
After seeing Han Pu, Zhang Jun, who was sitting at the top, nodded and motioned for him to take his seat quickly.
Han Pu bowed and sat opposite Chang Shi Paoyi.
The one who is speaking now is Liangzhou Biejia Yinjian: "My servant came from the west during the day and was chased by Jia's powerful cavalry, but fortunately he escaped. My lord, Jia has a different intention, so we should get rid of him."
Han Pu felt a little disgusted after hearing this. Who wouldn't be dissatisfied now?
The Jia family of Wuwei is the descendant of Jia Yi.
In the past, Zhang Zhen, the prefect of Jiuquan, and others hooked up with Jia Gong, the governor of Qinzhou, and wanted to conquer Liangzhou.
Later, Zhang's brother-in-law, Jia Fang, conquered the West. I don't know which day, suddenly appeared in Liangzhou.
"Picture Liangzhou" nursery rhyme, Zhang Mao deceived him and killed him.
After this incident, Zhang Mao was very proud, saying, "With a trace of your power, your majesty spreads throughout the Liang region." This is a very good saying, and all the big families in Liangzhou suddenly restrained themselves, so that Zhang Mao's majesty spread throughout the territory.
But you just killed one Jia Mo, and the Jia family's power is still there. How could you know that they are disappointed in you and ignore you?
He was very humble when he first came here, and used his in-law relationship to win over the Jia family. After he succeeded, he turned his back and refused to recognize anyone. That's not how it happened.
At this moment, after the prisoner finished speaking, General Jia Qian trembled all over and immediately said, "Lord, this must be a misunderstanding."
Han Pu felt a little pity for him, he was implicated by his family, but he couldn't help it.
Zhang Jun had a gloomy face and ignored Jia Qian. He only looked at the underworld prison and asked, "Is Jia trying to intercept the messenger?"
"I don't know, maybe it exists." The prisoner said.
Zhang Jun's face turned even more ugly.
Just now his subordinates came to report that he had joined the army to protect his family and had fled. Thinking of this, he looked at Jia Qian, could you do the same?
The Zhang family feels too insecure——
"Send more messengers." Zhang Jun thought for a while and said: "Gaochang, the West Sea is too far, forget it. Dunhuang,
Soldiers from Jinchang, Jiuquan, Zhangye, Wuxing, and the six counties in the West must be summoned as soon as possible."
Liangzhou has people and soldiers, but the problem is that they need to be summoned.
If they do not take the initiative to attack others, then these people are usually scattered in various counties to farm. After all, maintaining an army of tens of thousands for a long time is very expensive.
But once you are raided, you will be in big trouble. Considering the nightmare-like terrain of the Hexi Corridor,
Recruiting people takes time.
Wuwei and Wuxing counties are close by and have the largest population. They can gather about 20,000 soldiers and horses.
If we gather another 20,000 people, we will have greater certainty.
"Lord." Someone stood up beside Han Pu, but it was Zuo Sima Yin Yuan. He only heard him say: "I heard that General Dong is still in Hongchi. Ten thousand people in his army are all capable men. It is appropriate to recall him now. The ancients said
"The city is so big that it is difficult to defend it." The seven cities in Guzang now only have more than ten thousand soldiers. It is really difficult to defend them. I hope your lord will learn from this."
"I have ordered the recruitment of young men. As for Dong Guangyi—"
Zhang Jun said: "Before dark, he sent people to attack Xinxuan, defeated him, beheaded hundreds of people, and captured Qingsi City. After thinking about it, I might want to see the results of this battle."
When Han Pu heard this, he was greatly disappointed.
His opinion was the same as that of Yin Yuan. At this time, he should concentrate his forces and wait for the opportunity.
Just now Zhang Jun said that the West Sea is too far, but he disagreed.
The governor of Xihai, General Jianwei Zhang Su, is the younger brother of Zhang Gui. He has many Xianbei and Xiongnu under his control. Due to long-term campaigns, he is a powerful force. At this time, it is time to stick to Wuwei and wait for Zhang Su to gather reinforcements from Xihai, Dunhuang, Jiuquan and other counties.
.
Yin Yuan feels the same way.
Seeing that Zhang Jun refused to listen, he had nothing to say. This is the foundation of your Zhang family. You make the decision, I don't care.
"Why didn't Chang Shi say a word?" Zhang Jun looked at Yi again, wondering.
Huiyi had no choice but to say: "After the Xin clan's rebellion, Lingnan fell. Jin Zhun crossed the river from Quaiyin again, and Lu Shuihu and other tribes surrendered. It is hard to say what happened to the counties west of Wuwei. I thought I should send an envoy to pay him a visit.
Chang'an, make peace with Emperor Liang."
When the governor Li Liang heard this, he immediately scolded him: "You are an elder in the state, why do you say such depressing words?"
After saying that, he looked at Zhang Jun and said sincerely: "My lord, I am not a talented servant. I am willing to lead the army eastward to defeat the Xiongnu and relieve the dangers along the way."
"Ji Zi has such a spirit, how magnificent!" Zhang Jun praised.
However, he did not respond to Li Liang's request to lead his army to fight.
The man who was engaged in the work, Lang Yin, observed Zhang Jun's emotions and understood Zhang Jun's entangled heart, so he reported: "My lord, negotiating for peace may not be a true peace. If you don't want peace, but just send envoys to make false promises, you can also delay the time until the soldiers and horses from all the counties have gathered.
.”
The forward guard Yin Yu also reported: "My lord, I heard that Emperor Liang Shao Xun was very beautiful. There are beauties from the Western Regions in the guest palace today. I can offer you one or two. I am very happy with Xun, and maybe I can take it a little longer."
"Absurd!" General Yang Lie Song Ji said angrily: "It is shameful to rely on women to handle important national affairs?
I would rather die in battle than grovel like this."
Being treated like this, Yin Yu couldn't help but open her mouth, but she had no words to reply.
Zhang Jun was silent for a long time.
Not long ago, due to the establishment of Gaochang County and the vigorous management of Li Bai, the chief official of the Western Regions, Wang Yuanli of Shanshan was a little afraid, so he chose to give away the beauty of the clan.
When King Yanqi heard about it, he also sent the beauty as a gift.
Zhang Jun has seen them, and they are all carefully selected beautiful women.
He thought for a while, he couldn't give a used gift, so he could only choose the daughter of Yuan Li, who had not been used yet.
But this matter is really embarrassing. We can't do it openly. We have to deal with it privately after the meeting.
At this point, his idea is actually very clear: wait for changes and wait for reinforcements.
What Yin said is right, it is just a peace negotiation, it is not really necessary to make peace, it is just a tactic to delay the war.
Liang Bing came too quickly. He was obviously still sending envoys and wrangling negotiations with him in the second half of last year, so why did he suddenly fall out? In addition, Xin Yan, the cancer, was about to be squeezed out during the era of his uncle Zhang Mao, and in the end he was gone.
dare.
After he used it, he also wanted to conquer it, but he failed in the end.
Today, Xin Yan gave him a hard blow that made him dizzy, and he was at the gate of Wuwei in an instant.
"Everyone." Seeing the crowd's discussion gradually subsided, Zhang Jun stood up and said, "As of now, the only thing we can do is fight.
It’s just two ways. I have made up my mind and we will pursue both strategies simultaneously.”
"The strategy for negotiating peace is to use Zhongzhong and engage in Yindan as an envoy to go to Chang'an to see what Emperor Liang wants."
"The strategy of war and defense is to take Yang Lie General Song Ji as the general and march eastward with three thousand horses, recruiting Xianbei and Xiongnu people along the way to ward off Jin Zhun."
"Take Weiyuan General Song Yi and lead 2,000 infantry and cavalry to go south, reinforce Hongchi, and defeat Xin Yan as soon as possible."
"Let Sima Han Pu, the right commander, lead 6,000 infantry and cavalry to stay in Guzang, and recruit the powerful tribes as soon as possible. Ding Zhuang, within ten days I will see an army of 20,000."
"I have sent envoys back to the Lingnan counties. I don't believe there are no loyal and brave people there. If you are interested in serving someone from the shogunate, you can give them official posts by correspondence and ask them to raise troops to conquer the rebels."
Chapter completed!