Chun Yubu, the guard general of Yu Pass, had just celebrated his fortieth birthday a few months ago, and Long Ruijun had not yet left the Pass at that time.
After Emperor Wuzong conquered the Bohai Kingdom on his eastern expedition, he left an elite army to guard the Northeast. This army was the predecessor of the Liaodong Army today. A group of generals among them also formed a special class in the Northeast and became a reality.
Liaodong Military Group.
Although the Liaodong Army was left to guard the four northeastern counties, the environment they were in was not good.
When Emperor Wuzong, the first generation of British rulers, stationed soldiers and horses, he considered that if the four counties were guarded by local soldiers and horses from the Northeast, it would probably cause local disasters, so he left a force of soldiers and horses who were entirely from within the pass to guard them.
Because of this, the Liaodong Army has always been an outsider in the eyes of the four northeastern counties.
But it was precisely because they were regarded as outsiders that the Liaodong Army united together and became an independent military group. When they were regarded as outsiders by the four northeastern counties, they never regarded the four northeastern counties as outsiders.
My own family.
The Liaodong Army knew very well that if it wanted to gain a long-term foothold in the Northeast, if it could not gain the support of the people, it would have to firmly control military and financial power.
Therefore, almost all the troops and generals in the four northeastern counties are from the Liaodong Army. Even if they are not directly transferred from the Liaodong Army, they must have an inseparable relationship with the Liaodong Army behind them. Based on this, the Liaodong Army completely controls the military power in the Northeast.
.
The taxation of the Northeast was managed by the Anton Protectorate. The Anton Protectorate was integrated with the Liaodong Army, so it also held financial power in its hands.
Chunyu Bu was a pure member of the Liaodong Army, but now he does not belong to the Liaodong Army in name only.
His ancestors were also generals who followed Emperor Wuzong in the Eastern Expedition and stayed in the Northeast to become a member of the Liaodong Military Group. When Wang Xingchao competed for the position of General Andong, Chunyu Bu's father also supported him, so Chunyu and his son also won the trust of Wang Xingchao.
The former Wang Xing Dynasty even handed over Yuguan to Chunyu Bu to guard it, which shows the trust and respect for Chunyu Bu.
Although the garrison at Yuguan is nominally affiliated to the Andong Protectorate and is not under the control of the Liaodong Army, this is naturally just a superficial effort. Chunyubu, who was born in the Liaodong Army, controls Yuguan, which is equivalent to the fact that Yuguan has always been
It is controlled by the Liaodong Army.
Normally, a pass does not seem to matter. After all, it is within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and Yuguan is not a border fortress.
However, both the imperial court and the Liaodong Army knew the importance of Yuguan.
The Liaodong Army has long been a ringworm in the Northeast, and in fact once had the ability to cede territory and stand on its own. Although the four northeastern counties still nominally belong to the Tang Dynasty, if the imperial decree is not approved by the Liaodong Army, then it can only be
A piece of waste paper.
Both the imperial court and the Liaodong Army were still wary of each other and did not want to completely break up. They maintained peace on the surface, but they were always wary of each other.
The senior generals of the Liaodong Army knew very well that in order to ensure their own interests in the Northeast, they must control the military and financial power in the Northeast. But the more this happens, the more they will be feared by the court. After all, once any army occupies land
, controlling military power and financial power, it also has the conditions to separate one party from another. This is of course something that the imperial court will never allow.
The Liaodong Army has reached this day and it is no longer possible to give up the interests in its hands, and it is destined that the conflict with the imperial court will only become deeper and deeper.
As early as many years ago, the Liaodong Army was worried that the imperial court would free up its hands to deal with the Northeast. Because of this, Yuguan became more and more important. At least in the eyes of the Liaodong Army, once the imperial court was ready to deal with itself, then Yuguan would of course be the border pass.
fortress.
Such a fortress must of course be in your own hands.
If one day the Tang Army and the Liaodong Army really meet each other, Yuguan will become an important barrier. Even if the pass cannot be defended in the end, Yuguan can be used to buy time for the Liaodong Army. Even if it only takes three or five days, it can still allow the Liaodong Army to gain time.
The Liaodong Army was prepared as much as possible to avoid being caught off guard by the Tang Army.
Therefore, the Liaodong Army has always attached great importance to Yuguan, and the generals stationed to guard Yuguan are also brave generals in the Liaodong Army.
Chunyu Bu was not only very loyal to Wang Xingchao, but he was indeed a famous and brave general in the Liaodong Army.
The position of Yuguan guard is not only important, but also a lucrative job.
The military pay for the soldiers guarding Yuguan was naturally much higher than that of other soldiers and horses in the Northeast, but the biggest benefit was actually the tariffs to and from Yuguan.
The trade between the four northeastern counties and Guan Nei has always been smooth. As Yuguan is the only way to enter the four northeastern counties, there are so many merchants coming and going, and naturally a lot of tariffs are generated every month. Although these tariffs are all from the Anton capital.
The Protectorate sent personnel to collect, but as a general guarding the gate, 10% of the tariff was directly allocated to Chunyu Bu every year. Apart from distributing some benefits to the soldiers guarding the gate, at least 50% of this 10% tariff fell directly into Chunyu Bu's hands.
It is easy to get tens of thousands of taels of silver in a year.
Chunyu Bu has been guarding Yuguan for more than four years. The soldiers at Yuguan are also loyal to him. After all, Chunyu Bu spends generously and never treats his soldiers badly. Money can make all the difference. Chunyu Bu distributes it to everyone every year.
The customs silver is enough to gain the full support of the customs guards.
Although Chunyu Bu was a rough and brave warrior, his requirements for food were not low.
His favorite dish is steamed lamb.
The belly of a living ewe was cut open, and the fetus was taken out. The coat of the unseen fetus was gently cut open with a knife, the amniotic fluid was released, the fetus was washed with clean water, the belly of the fetus was cut open, the internal organs were removed, and the
Clean the milk wool of the lamb fetus, add seasonings and steam it in a cage, and you will have a first-class steamed lamb dish.
Liaoxi County has always been responsible for supplying Yuguan's logistical supplies, and then reports to the Andong Protectorate.
The location of Yuguan was important, coupled with Chunyu Bu's background. Although the total number of Yuguan defenders was less than a thousand, their treatment was always very high, and Chunyu Bu's preferences were naturally satisfied.
Guangning City will send grain and grass to Yuguan every two months, and the army and horse supplies will be replenished.
It has long been a common practice to replenish food and grass every two months. The reason is that in order to firmly control the pass, the Liaodong Army mastered the supply of food and grass for the Yuguan defenders, and also controlled and controlled the officers and soldiers guarding the pass.
It is equivalent to holding the pass in one's hands.
After all, Guangning City is less than two hundred miles away from Yuguan. It only takes two days at most to reach the pass from Guangning City, so the logistics supply of Yuguan will not be any problem.
In addition, ewes usually give birth within five to six months of pregnancy, so the ewes sent to Yuguan should not be pregnant for more than two months. According to Chunyubu's habit of steaming a lamb in three days, the grain delivery team will
Twenty ewes less than two months pregnant were brought in.
Chunyu Bu is also very particular about the source of ewes. They must be high-quality sheep bought from the northern grasslands. After all, the quality of a sheep's meat is directly related to the forage it eats. The water and grass in the northern grasslands are rich, and after eating the ewes
, the lamb meat in the belly is naturally more delicious.
Steaming a lamb for three days has become an indispensable part of Chunyu Bu.
But today, General Chunyu Lang was furious.
According to custom, there should be steamed lamb on the dining table tonight, but he never saw the cook bring the steamed lamb. After all the twelve meat and six vegetarian side dishes were served, Chunyu Bu finally slapped the lamb on the table.
On the table.
"boom!"
Immediately, there was a crackle of ping pong, and Chun Yulang knocked the table over with one palm, causing the dishes on the table to shatter on the floor.
The two cooks who were serving the food had fallen to their knees in horror and remained silent.
"I am easy-going by nature and don't like to be angry with others." Chunyu Bu's face was gloomy and he clenched his fists and said: "I have been here in Yuguan for more than four years, and you two have been here for four years. In these four years, have I ever treated you badly?
Pass you?"
The two cooks said in unison: "General Lang treats us with great kindness and never treats us badly."
"In this case, why can't I prepare even my little hobby?" Chunyu Bu sighed: "I don't have too strict requirements for you. Even if there are some negligence in the food and drinks on weekdays, I will not pursue it. You also know
, I only have such a hobby, why do I still make mistakes? If you can't explain clearly what is going on, I really can't forgive you today."
A cook raised his head and wondered: "General, it's not that we don't prepare for you, it's really... It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice. The steamed lamb three days ago was the last one, and now there is no lamb available in the pen.
Already."
Chunyu Bu's face became even more ugly, and he said sternly: "Guangning didn't send any lambs?"
"Not only the lambs, but also other grains and grasses have not been delivered." The cook said: "According to the prescribed days, they should have delivered the grains and grasses four days ago. In the past, they often delivered them in advance, but...
But this time the food delivery team never showed up."
"Didn't you send someone to ask questions?" Chunyu Bu's face became even more ugly: "Why didn't you report it in time?"
The cook said: "Colonel Huang is in charge of the warehouse. Yesterday he said that there is enough food in the warehouse for three days. The grain team will definitely arrive within three days." He looked up at Chunyu Bu and said cautiously: "Colonel
The captain also said that General Lang has not been in a good mood these days, and we should not disturb him with such trivial matters. So we did not dare to talk too much. We originally thought that even if the two teams were delayed, they should arrive yesterday before today. As long as today
When we arrived, we still had time for General Lang to steam the lamb, but... But when the sun went down, there was no sign of the food delivery team."
Chunyu Bu said angrily: "Go and call Huang Fan over."
Huang Fan is a captain in Yuguan, and he is regarded as a confidant of Chunyu Bu. He is responsible for managing the warehouse of the pass. The grain, grass and weapons in the warehouse can only be withdrawn with Huang Fan's order. In this Yuguan, he is also second only to the chief guard of the pass, Chunyu.
the existence of cloth.
When he arrived at Chunyu's tent, cold sweat was already breaking out on his forehead.