Compared with Luoyang, the scenery of Yuzhou is indeed very different.
If the imperial power in Luoyang suppressed the influence of many aristocratic families and made them more restrained under the emperor's feet, the situation in Yuzhou was different. Here, aristocratic families gathered together, with farms, courtyards, and fortresses everywhere, forming separate military and political entities.
, sharing power with officials at the third level of counties and counties in Greater Jinzhou.
Shao Xun led more than a thousand Tu generals, 500 brave cavalry troops, a total of more than 4,000 horses, mules and donkeys, carrying food, water and horse feed for seven days. Along the way, he saw this situation.
The Jin Dynasty once conducted a census, and after the destruction of Wu, the number was around 22 million. But all fools know that aristocratic families hide a large number of people, so how much do they really know?
Later scholars generally believe that when the Eight Kings Rebellion first broke out, the actual population of the Western Jin Dynasty was around 35 million. In other words, a large number of people in the country were hidden by aristocratic families and were not reported at all.
There are no other 13 million people in the imperial household register. However, these populations will not be left unattended. The imperial court cannot manage them. Rich families and local powerful people will manage them.
Of course, the 13 million nobles and powerful people are not the only ones. The 22 million people listed in the household registers are also protected and driven by them in large numbers. The population that can be used by the court is getting smaller and smaller year by year, and the tax base is getting smaller and smaller year by year.
One year is so small that now when transporting money and food to Beijing, you have to bargain with the wealthy families - this is the meaning of Wang Yan's existence.
As the Eight Kings Rebellion deepens, the shape of this country is accelerating, accelerating and accelerating again...
"Kuxian County..." On the night of September 18th, Shao Xun, who was searching eastward, sat on a field ridge somewhere on the outskirts of Kuxian County, drawing a map based on his impressions by dim candlelight.
Gao Yi, Zhang Jin, and Duan Liang lost interest after watching it for a while, and each sat down to wipe their weapons.
Gao Yi can barely be regarded as Shao Xun's old man, and he will be there when the Kingdom disembarks.
Zhang Jin is the person assigned to him after the reorganization of the Forbidden Army. He can be said to be the leader of the building or a general, because he has an official status.
Duan Liang was from Xianbei.
This is normal within the Luoyang Central Army, because during the Cao and Wei Dynasties, a large number of Hu cavalry were recruited. At least half of the Youzhou Cavalry Governor in the Jin Dynasty were Xianbei and Wuhuan, and many of the other cavalry officers and soldiers in the guards were Xianbei.
, Wuhuan, Huns.
You are all serving as a soldier to eat food and fight, but who should you serve as a soldier? If you serve as a soldier for the emperor, you may make more money, and your family can move here and become Luoyang people.
"The name Ku County sounds familiar." Shao Xun muttered.
He felt that this place seemed to be related to Wang Yifu, but he couldn't remember it, so he had to give it up.
"General, if you can't find the enemy again, you have to go back for supplies." Gao Yi lowered his head and wiped his saber and said.
"Don't go back in a hurry. If you really can't, borrow food from the people." Shao Xun waved his hand and said.
It is said that it is borrowed food, but most of the time it will not be paid. It may be more appropriate to use food requisition.
In all the counties in the world, there are not many "free" people who are not yet attached to manors. By apportioning money to the people, he is actually accelerating the process of manorization, allowing more people to donate their fields and become villagers out of safety concerns.
They have indeed been searching for enemy troops these days.
The battlefield is foggy.
After inquiring about information and analyzing intelligence, he could only know the approximate location of the enemy. The specific location was not clear, so he could only search by himself.
Likewise, the enemy does not know their location, or even whether they are coming.
At present, there are only two things that Shao Xun can grasp: first, Liu Qiao is in Pei State; second, he sent people to the surrounding areas to collect food and grass in the past few days.
That's all.
"General." A messenger hurried over and reported: "There is news from the Qiao Kingdom. Two days ago, Liu Qiao's troops were there to collect food and grass. Yesterday, they went eastward. I don't know where they are going."
Shao Xun, Gao Yi and others looked at each other and were all overjoyed.
As long as you catch the whereabouts, you can follow the clues and find Liu Qiao's whereabouts.
"One more thing." The messenger hesitated.
Gao Yi and Duan Liang decided to leave.
The messenger waited for a while and then said: "General, there is news from Yushanwu that a convoy has not returned. They sent people to search along the road and found blood stains, broken spears, and nothing else. Not even the bodies were found.
Already."
"Bang!" Shao Xun punched the field ridge.
After thinking about it for a moment, you will understand that this is someone who has taken advantage of you. And there are only a few families in Yingchuan that have this kind of ability, such as the Xun family, the Chen family, the Yu family, etc.
A transport team consists of about two hundred dock residents, plus thirty to fifty long sword sergeants. Although this strength is not strong, it is not something that thieves and bandits can handle.
At least those dozens of long sword warriors can only be dealt with by the elite troops cultivated by the family. As for the fort residents, their combat effectiveness is average. If they pull out a thousand troops from the family manor, coupled with a hundred and eighty cavalry, they can really do it.
Surround them and annihilate them.
In this world, the biggest enemy is indeed not the refugee army, the official army, or the barbarians, but these local snakes who control a private army ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands.
"Where are the people from Yunzhongwu?" Shao Xun asked.
"The Lord of the Golden Building has brought more than 200 soldiers and 400 men, and there are still two days' journey from Yushanwu. The chariots and horses have to go further, and there are still three or four days to get there."
"The light troops marched all the way, and the equipment was not complete, right?" Shao Xun said: "Let them prepare all the equipment at Yushanwu and escort the iron armor back to Yunzhongwu. No more mistakes can be made. Let Chen Yougen personally be responsible for transporting the Xuchang arsenal.
.”
"No." The messenger waited for a while, and after seeing that Shao Xun had no other instructions, he bowed and left in a hurry.
Shao Xun organized his thoughts and decided to put the matter aside for the time being. The war was urgent.
"Send the order and advance eastwards overnight." He called Duan Liang and Gao Yi and gave instructions.
"promise."
****
The countryside at night is quiet and charming.
When the breeze picked up, mixed with the fragrance of the earth, a different kind of lingering feeling arose in the hearts of the fighting men who had been away from home for a long time.
How's it going at home?
The thatch on the roof needs to be reinforced, otherwise it may be blown away by strong winds in winter.
The rope on the well's windlass was broken, and the second brother asked someone to find someone to re-tie it, but he didn't know if it was done.
My children have been clamoring for rice with rice and beans on October 1st. I think they should eat it, right?
Will the mother-in-law sell those fat sheep she raised in advance? They must wait until mid-winter to sell them.
That's all, the fight shouldn't last long, and I can go home in more than a month at most. If the prodigal woman really sells the sheep in advance, she must be taken care of.
“Boom…” The rapid sound of horse hoofbeats sounded, shocking many people’s dreams.
Liu You opened the tent and looked around with surprise.
The night was dark and it was hard to see clearly.
The sound of horse hooves is getting closer and closer.
After a while, hundreds of riders rushed forward, circled around them, and dropped arrows from time to time, creating a large amount of chaos.
The baggage and grain transport trucks formed a circle, and the cavalry could not rush in directly, but they could still drop arrows from a distance. These grain transport soldiers were not prepared at all, and they suffered a big loss immediately.
"Where did the thieves come from?" Liu You was a little surprised.
Xuzhou Shibing has been completely defeated, and it is impossible for there to be any enemies within a few hundred miles.
No, strictly speaking there is.
The names of several aristocratic families suddenly popped up in Liu You's mind. It would not be troublesome to raise more than a hundred or even hundreds of horses in a large manor. After all, their own children and nephews also have to practice riding and shooting skills. , some of the guests were serious cavalrymen, but they had always been on good terms with their father, so it was hard to believe that they would send troops to attack.
So where did this come from? Could it be King Fan Yang's soldiers?
My father had an old friend in the Gui Mansion, and news came secretly that after King Fan Yang learned that his father had defeated Sikong, he immediately led his troops back to support him. But most of them were infantry, how could they be so fast?
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" No one answered him, only arrows kept shooting through the air.
Shooting at night was not accurate, but the camp was so crowded that it still caused considerable damage.
There was also the sound of dense footsteps in the distance in the night.
The footsteps are getting closer and closer.
Soon, a vague figure appeared in sight.
"Kill!" The night breeze sent a murderous cry, making Liu You's heart tremble subconsciously.
The pace suddenly accelerated, and the sound of the collision of beetle leaves seemed to be close to my ears.
"Ah!" The first spear hit the guard on the baggage train.
The soldiers sent by the night wind jumped up and boarded the carriage, stabbing and slashing, killing without stopping.
The defenders were rushed and scattered.
The soldiers jumped off their vehicles one after another, rushed into the camp and started killing people.
Although the number of the defenders was large, they were attacked in a hurry and could not react at all. For a while, ghosts cried and wolves howled, and wolves rushed.
Liu You did not hesitate at all, and immediately asked people to open the gap in the baggage train formation. With dozens of hastily assembled cavalry, he rushed towards the enemy troops who were climbing the train formation, trying to cut them off and give the defenders a chance to breathe.
But someone had already noticed his whereabouts in the night.
Shao Xun, with fifty cavalry, galloped forward and faced him.
The cavalry charge was very cruel.
Brave and fearless, timid, highly skilled, and low-level, no matter what kind of person you are, when you charge head-on, there is not much room to move around, and you have to face the enemy's spear, horse spear, and long spear. halberd.
If you are not careful, you will fall off the horse and die on the spot.
A total of more than a hundred horses from both sides quickly passed each other, instantly creating a large number of unowned horses running for free.
Shao Xunle turned the horse's head, holding the still bleeding horse's trunk, and shouted: "Liu You!"
Liu You also turned his horse around, looked at Shao Xun a hundred steps away, and said, "Who are you?"
"Ha, I cheated, it turned out to be you!" Shao Xun laughed loudly, and rode his horse straight up. Tang Jian hurriedly patted the horse, and led several riders to guard the left and right.
Shao Xun kept urging the horse, and the speed was extremely fast.
Seeing the opponent's indomitable momentum, Liu You was a little surprised and wondered if he should temporarily avoid the sharp edge, dodge his charge, then ride his horse to a distance and shoot him with an arrow.
"Death!" Liu You couldn't think any more. Shao Xun rushed forward in an instant, and his thick horse head went straight to his chest.
Liu You subconsciously lay down on the saddle to avoid the fierce blow. When he was about to get up, he saw a sharp ring-headed knife falling from the sky.
There was a "click" and blood spurted out.
Liu You's body swayed on the horse and suddenly fell to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.
Chapter completed!