@@After the Battle of Longhuazhou, Governor Helian led the army to retreat and held a stalemate with the Northern Xinjiang Army in Cangzhou and Yanzhou.
Duke Guo of Qin withdrew his troops, but who the defender of Longhua Prefecture was was not only concerned by Northern Xinjiang, but also by Northern Liao.
Who the defender is will determine Qin Guogong’s subsequent posture towards Bei Liao.
This is very important.
Bei Liao prayed that it was Cao Ying or someone else.
Cao Ying faced off with Tanzhou in Yanbeicheng, and gradually figured out some tactics of war. She dug holes several times to attack the Tanzhou army. Although the losses were not much, the casualties were considerable despite the numerous attacks.
But Cao Ying has rules for fighting, which can be roughly guessed.
Moreover, the old gentleman has been driven to Yanbeicheng by Yang Xuan for a long time. According to his status, it is time for him to return, right?
A caravan was walking slowly on the official road.
This is a caravan from Bei Liao. Even if Bei Liao and Bei Xinjiang fight, it still does not affect the merchants' business.
No, the caravan brought much needed cloth from northern Xinjiang.
“I don’t know who the governor will be!”
The businessman said lazily on the carriage.
"Someone in Cangzhou opened the game and asked who the bet would be." The clerk laughed.
The businessman asked: "Who has the most?"
"Cao Ying."
"If it's Cao Ying, that's fine."
The merchant leaned on the goods, "Cao Ying is in charge of Longhua Prefecture, which means that the Duke of Qin is wary of Chang'an and is preparing to cultivate and recuperate. Our smuggling business can last for a long time. By the way, remember to remind me when you go back to place a bet on Cao Ying."
All the way to the checkpoint, more than ten sergeants were checking the passing travelers.
"The big car pulls over."
Someone shouted loudly.
"Someone is coming."
Hundreds of riders galloped ahead.
"Pull off the horse!"
But hundreds of riders took the initiative to slow down.
The leading man was wearing an official uniform and looked calm and intimidating.
The veteran who led the team to intercept saluted, "I've met Mr. Zhen!"
The man nodded and handed over the document, "I have been ordered to go to Longhua Prefecture."
The old soldier said in surprise: "Is Longhua Prefecture guarded by Lord Zhen?"
The man nodded, then turned away from the horse and led the cavalry away.
When the old soldier arrived in front of the motorcade, he saw the businessman's face turned pale and sneered, "But there are drawbacks to love!"
The businessman quickly said: "No."
"Then why are you so pale?"
"Zhen Shijun went to Longhua Prefecture. I'm afraid Cangzhou may be in trouble."
"Recently, there is a trend in Northern Xinjiang. The officials are saying that it is time to recuperate, and even the literati are also shouting, saying that this is enough."
Liu Qing held the water glass and felt warm and comfortable.
Song Zhen said: "The Duke of Guo ordered Zhen Siwen to guard Longhua Prefecture, which is giving these people a chance. Hey! Old Liu, can you tell me what the Duke's next step is?"
Luo Cai huddled beside the charcoal basin to warm himself up. Hearing this, he put down his Chinese language and said: "Governor Helian led his army and stayed in Cangzhou without retreating. This was a sign of caution. Zhen Siwen went to Longhuazhou. I saw
Looking at his resume, what was the name of the bandit he got last time in Chang'an... Northern Xinjiang ruthless bandit? When he went to Longhua Prefecture, the Duke's intention was that he would not stop."
Song Zhen sighed: "If we go further, the state of Northern Liao will be shaken."
"What are you afraid of?" Liu Qing said hard, but his expression was solemn.
"At a critical moment, if we cheer up after a day in the north, we can assemble hundreds of thousands of heavenly troops." Song Zhen scratched his head, "To be honest, even if there are hundreds of thousands of heads, it will be difficult for us to kill them all."
"Hey!" Luo Cai said dissatisfied: "Where are we now! Why is it in your mouth that Beiliao seems to be destroyed?"
Liu Qing said with a smile: "The Northern Liao Dynasty was peaceful for hundreds of years, until this time it was painfully stabbed by the prince. Last time someone said that Ning Xing started recruiting warriors, which was to expand the army."
"Bei Liao still has a lot of heritage, which should not be underestimated." Song Zhen said: "To be honest, if it were not for Lin Ya and others to contain it, it would be difficult for Bei Xin to achieve the situation it is in today!"
Liu Qing said calmly: "If it weren't for Chang'an's containment, I guess the army would have already arrived at Ningxing City!"
Song Zhen pointed at him, "The next step is to see what happens in Northern Liao. If hundreds of thousands of troops are really gathering, then the only thing we can do in Northern Xinjiang is to shrink."
"
"Chang'an will take advantage of the situation and rob it." Luo Cai sneered: "Haven't you heard that your Majesty and the abbot are now as good as wearing a pair of trousers? Why? It's Northern Xinjiang!"
The three of them talked for a while, and when they were about to prepare for the meeting, an official came to see them.
"Big news!"
"oh!"
"Zhang Chumao colluded with the rebels in southern Xinjiang to assassinate Shi Zhongtang, but the incident failed. Who would have thought that the rebels would assassinate him as well, and with one successful blow, Zhang Chumao died."
Liu Qing was stunned, "Zhang Chumao colluded with the traitors?"
"This is power tactics!" Luo Cai thought for a while, "I really can't explain this matter."
"The Duke is here!" Yang Xuan came.
He took off his cloak and entered the check-in room, "I just got the news. There is something about Zhang Chumao's death that puzzles me."
"My lord." The clerk came over and took over the cloak. Yang Xuan sat down and said, "If Zhang Chumao wants to assassinate Shi Zhongtang, he should not be in Qinghe City."
"The Duke is saying..." Song Zhen thought of something.
"Arrows are flying everywhere on the battlefield, who knows!" Yang Xuan said frightening words and took a sip of hot tea. "Shi Zhongtang took over southern Xinjiang. Who will benefit the most?"
Song Zhen said: "Your Majesty!"
"Yes, he will benefit the most." Yang Xuan said: "Southern Xinjiang has been talking about rebels. Without the support of Southern Zhou Dynasty, how can the rebels dare to attack states and counties with great fanfare?"
Luo Cai asked: "Is the situation in Southern Zhou bad?"
Liu Qing nodded, "The so-called New Party and the Old Party were fighting in various places in the court. In the past, political disputes in the Southern Zhou Dynasty did not involve human lives, but this time the New Party shouted the slogan of killing the rebels.
Not to be outdone, the old party said that Sun Shi had deceived the king and corrupted the government, so he should be punished by his clan.
The two sides were having a heated argument, but Nian Xu was silent."
"This is hesitation." Luo Cai said: "Once he retreats and the old party gains power, someone will inevitably be killed. Who can Nian Xu do? The only way is to throw Sun Shi out."
Song Zhen lamented: "Innovation has always been about licking blood on the edge of a knife. The initiator often cannot escape the fate of being ruined."
Yang Xuan thought of the stubborn Sun Shi, and somehow, Nian Ziyue appeared in his mind.
"The Southern Zhou Dynasty is currently in internal chaos. How can we dare to support the rebels for fear that the Southern Xinjiang Army will invade?" Yang Xuan said: "The rebels assassinated Zhang Chumao and Shi Zhongtang just to create chaos.
But there was no news that the rebels launched a large-scale attack after Zhang Chumao's death. This shows that they were not prepared. So, this matter is worth discussing. And..."
Yang Xuan thought for a while, "It is said that after assassinating Zhang Chumao, the assassin and his accomplices were trapped in the Zhang family. In desperation, they massacred the Zhang family. I am a little curious. The Zhang family has a lot of guards, and Zhang Chumao's
The guards were pretty good, how could they be killed so easily?"
"What the Duke means..."
"If you can't do it, you will be slaughtered by Shi Zhongtang!" Yang Xuan said: "I had dealings with Shi Zhongtang back then. He seemed to be a real person, but in fact he was cunning and ruthless.
The emperor wanted him to take control of southern Xinjiang, but he would not let him kill Zhang Chumao. After all, he was his brother-in-law, and he had to give face to the father-in-law.
"What did Shi Zhongtang do privately?" Song Zhen was startled, "Just drive him away, why kill people?"
"I don't know either!" Yang Xuan's inference was stuck here, "It stands to reason that he could just drive Zhang Chumao away, but why he killed... is unknown.
However, southern Xinjiang is controlled by Shi Zhongtang Tang. If necessary, the emperor can mobilize the southern Xinjiang army to go north and attack our northern Xinjiang with Northern Liao."
"Shi Zhongtang's loyalty to the emperor..." Liu Qing rubbed the jade pendant around his waist.
"His only support is the emperor." Song Zhen said: "Whether he is loyal or not, he cannot betray him."
"Take sides!" Luo Cai obviously thought of taking sides in the officialdom.
Some people say that I don’t have to take sides. Yes, that’s right. It’s okay if you don’t take sides. But why?
It's because you are insignificant, and you are nothing if not you.
Others will dislike you if you take sides.
Yang Xuan thought about Shi Zhongtang and said, "The Southern Xinjiang Army is quite sharp. I will have the Jinyi Guards keep an eye on it."
When Jin Yiwei was mentioned, the three bosses were a little uncomfortable.
Especially Rowan.
Only an emperor can have such a secret spy office that is like a domestic slave. Yang Xuan is overstepping his bounds.
Liu Zheng and Song Zhen obviously thought about whether they were under the surveillance of Jin Yiwei.
No one likes to be monitored, it feels terrible.
"I'm going out on a patrol."
Yang Xuan got up and ran away.
When Liu Qing was alone, he was treated like an ox and horse. After Song Zhen came, life became much easier.
Liu Qing, Song Zhen, and Li Bi sent Luo Cai again, and the troika was in place, liberating Yang Xuan. Yang Xuan was going home to take A Liang to hunt, which was what A Liang had agreed to before going to bed last night.
Liu Qing saw a document and his eyes were slightly cold, "My lord."
"Chang'an is arresting salt dealers..."
Liu Qing's face slightly condensed.
There is little salt in northern Xinjiang, and it used to be mainly distributed by the Ministry of Revenue. After the fall, the Ministry of Revenue cut off the supply, mainly relying on smuggling.
If you raise the price, those wealthy merchants will take the initiative to clear the checkpoints along the way and deliver the salt to northern Xinjiang.
Now that Chang'an is strictly cracking down on salt smuggling, Northern Xinjiang is in trouble.
"Where's Beiliao?" Yang Xuan asked, standing inside the door.
"Similarly, I got the news the day before yesterday. I thought that there would be smuggling in Datang, but I didn't expect it!" Liu Qing said sarcastically.
"Chang'an!" Luo Cai's cheeks suddenly bulged, and then he sighed, "Did you actually join forces with Beiliao?"
Chang'an actually teamed up with Beiliao to strangle salt smugglers, in order to drive out all the salt smugglers.
"Big trouble will happen if people don't eat salt!" Song Zhen looked solemn, "Chang'an wants to suppress Northern Xinjiang, shouting and killing for no reason, and strangling salt... This is a silent method. We can't fight back yet."
Song Zhen said: "Maybe the Bei Liao side is trying hard?"
It's funny to say that after being cut off from salt smuggling, the first thing the big guys in the Jiedushi Mansion thought of was not the interior of the Tang Dynasty, but the Northern Liao Dynasty.
"After Governor Helian came, he started to strictly investigate the smuggling of salt." Liu Qing said: "And this person knew not to offend the wealthy merchants too much. He only blocked the smuggling of salt, but he still turned a blind eye to the smuggling of cloth and so on."
"This matter is urgent." Song Zhen squinted his eyes, "I thought that sending troops..."
"It's useless." Liu Qing shook his head, "Even if we conquer the city, the stored salt will only be a drop in the bucket for us in Northern Xinjiang."
Luo Cai said: "This is a big issue related to the life and death of our northern border! My lord, we must find a way to solve it immediately." "I know."
Northern Xinjiang lacks many supplies, such as salt. Yang Xuan has made many preparations, but still failed to prevent Chang'an and Ning Xing from joining forces.
"I know that Li Mi acts unscrupulously and has no shame. But can he join forces with Bei Liao and the important officials in the court turn a blind eye?"
Yang Xuan sneered.
Luo Cai sighed: "Yang Songcheng is so powerful that he joins forces with His Majesty and is supplemented by Liang Jing and his group. There is no second voice in the court."
This was the emperor's plan, and after many years it finally came to fruition.
"My lord, the powerful people in northern Xinjiang, including the spies, have been extremely quiet recently. I thought at first that I was intimidated, but now it seems that I am just waiting and watching.
"Liu Qing gritted his teeth and said: "Otherwise, the army will go south!"
Song Zhen snorted coldly, "Then the Duke will become the public enemy of the world!"
Yang Xuan smiled and said, "Let me think about it."
He left the Jiedu Envoy's Mansion and went to Jinyiwei.
"I've met the Duke."
He Lianrong was getting ready to go out.
"Deliberation."
Yang Xuan entered the lobby.
"The Duke."
He Lianyan was discussing matters with his subordinates. When he saw him coming in, he hurriedly gave up his position.
Yang Xuan sat down, and He Lianyan sat on the right side.
"Chang'an and Ningxing teamed up to intercept salt smuggling. People can't survive without salt, so the only way is to find salt wells. Jin Yiwei regards this as a top priority."
"Tsk!" He Lianrong covered his forehead, "What a cruel method!"
He Lianyan asked: "How long can our inventory last?"
"Three months!"
This is the strategic reserve advocated by Yang Xuan.
The population in northern Xinjiang is increasing, and an alarming amount of salt is consumed every day.
He Lianyan immediately asked someone to inquire.
When Jin Yiwei goes out to investigate, he will pass on all kinds of news.
Important news is recorded and announced.
Unimportant news will be buried in the pile of old papers until someone thinks of it one day.
There is no way to ask the junior officials to help with this matter, otherwise Jin Yiwei's secrets will be leaked.
There are only a few literate people in Jinyiwei, and even though they are all looking for information from the past, it is not enough.
"In the future! We have to pay close attention to literacy!" Yang Xuan looked at a group of sticks working as coolies nearby, and occasionally looked at the documents with a blank look on his face, feeling a little annoyed that iron could not become steel.
"They all refused to learn." He Lianyan smiled bitterly, "They said they gave me a headache just reading those words."
“If you don’t learn, your salary will be deducted; if you don’t learn well, your salary will be deducted!”
Boss Yang was angry.
Continuing to search here, Yang Xuan went to summon more than ten wealthy merchants from Northern Liao and Datang in northern Xinjiang.
"Salt? My lord, those checkpoints are very strict now!" A fat-bellied businessman looked shocked. "The money will still be collected, and other things will be smuggled. But once the salt is found, it will be taken immediately. More than ten people have been taken away this time.
The businessman and the main criminal were killed, and the whole family was exiled... No one dared to do it."
Damn it!
This is a desperate plan!
Yang Xuan can raise the stakes. Money can make all the difference! But if the price is too high, there will be financial problems.
Nowadays, money is being spent everywhere in Northern Xinjiang. Liu Qing smiled bitterly and said that his hair is falling out every day, and if it keeps falling off again, he won't even need hairpins anymore.
"Is there no other way?" Yang Xuan asked.
The businessmen shook their heads.
The atmosphere is a little weird.
Gradually, some disturbing remarks began to appear in the outside world.
"No salt!"
"Chang'an and Beiliao joined forces to cut off the salt supply."
Immediately, there was a wave of panic buying in the market.