Chapter 24: There was a grandson of one hundred thousand in ancient times, and now there is a king of Meng
This battle is not about numbers, nor is it about playing games.
As long as the army has enough food and fodder, everything will be fine.
The use of military force is politics that affects the whole body.
What is tested is the operation of the entire national institution.
The operation of this national institution does not depend on one person, but on a group of people.
Meng Chang said it simply, adding troops is a matter of just one sentence.
But where did the soldiers come from?
Where does military ration come from?
Where does military pay come from?
Who else will be sent at the same time? Who is willing to go?
Who is responsible for logistics? Who will escort the food and fodder?
All these are problems.
And people who can coordinate all of this appropriately are far more important than fighting on the front lines.
This is also the reason why Xiao He is the number one hero of the Han Dynasty.
At the same time, it was also the reason why Liu Bei dared to abandon everything and conquer Hanzhong to challenge Cao Cao in a harsh environment where the new Shu territory was not stable internally and the chaotic party alliance was holding back each other.
Because the man behind him is called Zhuge Liang.
What Hou Shu lacks is exactly this kind of people.
The current Prime Minister of Later Shu is called Li Hao. This person has excellent writing skills, but he is useless except for his writing skills. However, because of this talent, he served as the Prime Minister of Shu for more than ten years and was highly regarded by Meng Chang.
He held financial power all year round, earned tens of thousands of dollars in property every year, and lived a particularly luxurious life. He kept hundreds of prostitutes and concubines at home, and everyone wore silk as regular clothes.
He once read the "Book of Jin" and read about King Shi's fight for wealth. Shi Chong despised Wang Kai and ridiculed: "It is ridiculous for a poor and frugal beggar to become rich by this."
The two famous rich men in history were like beggars in his heart.
Whenever money is needed, the prime minister's tax is collected first and then distributed.
The monarch is extravagant, the prime minister is extremely corrupt, and the officials below are exploited layer by layer. When the soldiers get into the hands, how much is left?
The Shu Kingdom increased its troops on a large scale to support Baishui Pass and Yangping Pass.
The military pay allocated by the imperial court was reduced by two-thirds before it was sent to the army.
The Shu Kingdom is known as the land of abundance and rarely suffers disasters. The Chengdu Plain and the Hanzhong Plain have had good harvests year after year, so there is no need to worry about food.
However, in order to maintain the luxurious life of the monarchs and ministers of Shu, they issued various tax deduction methods.
Planting peonies can be deducted from taxes, chopping sycamores and nanmu can be deducted from taxes, brocade and fur can also be deducted from taxes, but food is the most mediocre, resulting in the heaviest taxes.
There are more people doing side jobs, and there are fewer people farming.
Food savings are running low.
During this war, the people were turbulent and panicked. Businessmen, seeking profits, began to purchase grain and raise grain prices.
Originally, raising food prices during wartime could lead to beheading.
However, officials and businessmen wear the same pair of trousers without any fear of the law.
Not only were they not punished, they even sold part of the army's rations to merchants.
As a result, there is less and less food, and food prices are getting higher and higher.
The chaotic and riddled logistics completely emptied the Shu Kingdom's treasury.
Meng Chang was helpless, and the group of people who claimed to have Zhuge's talents became mute.
In the end, Li Hao stood up.
The prime minister of Shu was best at surrendering. Wang Yan, the last emperor of former Shu, was attacked by Emperor Zhuangzong of the Tang Dynasty. Li Hao personally wrote a letter asking for surrender.
Historically, when the Song Dynasty sent troops to attack Shu, it was Li Hao who persuaded Meng Chang to surrender and wrote a letter personally asking for surrender.
The Shu people were displeased with what he had done and secretly wrote the words "Shixiu surrenders to the Li family" on the door of his mansion.
Now Li Hao's bad legs and feet have recurred: "Your Majesty, Luo Youdu once said that there is no day in the world. This shows that they are not unwilling to negotiate, but insist on Zhongyuan Zhengshuo. Now that the thieves are unstoppable, it is better to take a step back and follow suit.
In the past, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty retreated the enemy from the Wei River."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zhaoyuan, Zhuge's envoy to the Privy Council, stood up and said confidently: "Your Majesty gives me three years, and I am willing to recover the four states and restore the Central Plains for your Majesty."
Meng Chang had no choice, and said with a bit of decadence: "In this case, it will be as you said."
He consciously suffered great humiliation, and vowed from the bottom of his heart that he would follow Li Shimin's example, work hard to get rid of today's shame.
When the envoy sent by Meng Chang appeared in Fengzhou.
Wang Jing was stunned!
Han Lingkun was stunned!
Luo Youdu was also stunned!
Luo Youdu only knew that Shu's economy was in dire straits, but he didn't know how bad it was.
It was just a tentative push, and the main purpose was to express his loyalty to Guo Rong in the distance by shouting, "There is only the Emperor of Zhou in this world, and there is no Emperor of Shu."
I really didn’t expect that Meng Chang would agree to change his imperial title to the title of Lord of Xishu, and send envoys to honor Zhou Dynasty as Zhengshuo.
Looking at the two envoys in front of him, Luo Youdu suddenly thought of a sentence:
In ancient times, Sun Shiwan sent Zhang Wenyuan to the martial arts temple, and now the leader of the Meng Kingdom praises Luo Youdu and makes him famous everywhere.
When the news that Meng Chang resigned from the imperial title and honored Zhou as Zhengshuo reached Bianjing.
The Emperor Zhou was playing with his son Chai Zongxun in the harem.
Chai Zongxun is less than two years old this year. It is the most interesting time when he knows how to speak but is not wise.
The ignorant little guy is full of curiosity about the new world and wants to learn everything.
Guo Rong was very hands-on and obsessed with government affairs for a long time. This was a rare sight for Empress Fu, who was smiling happily from the sidelines.
In the midst of his busy schedule, Guo Rong glanced at Queen Fu and said, "Why is the Queen smiling?"
Queen Fu said: "I see that Your Majesty is in a happy mood recently, so I am very happy."
Guo Rong nodded and said: "The situation is very good, and it is indeed worthy of joy. The roads in the north of Kaifeng are narrow and overcrowded, but the south of the city is abandoned and ruined due to the war. Previously, refugees gathered, and the south of the city has been cleaned up and repaired. Based on this, the Ministry of Industry re-planned and planned
Before long, Kaifeng will be four times its current size, comparable to Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty."
"The war in the west is also going well. The four states have entered our great Zhou Dynasty, especially Luo Youdu's performance, which far exceeded my expectations. Good news also came from Hedong. Li Jun seized the opportunity and won a small victory, repelling the North
The invasion of Wang Chao, the military governor of the Han Dynasty, really brought good news and good news one after another."
What really made him happy was Luo Youdu's words, "There is only the Emperor of Zhou in this world, and there is no Emperor of Shu."
Being able to say these words in front of the Shu envoys shows his loyalty.
There was no displeasure at all about Luo Youdu's behavior of driving away the envoys.
Guo Rong was full of ambitions and would never allow the emergence of a second emperor in China.
He also hoped that all the people of China would only recognize him as the Emperor of Zhou.
Queen Fu hesitated to speak and thought for a moment: "Mr. Luo is not married yet, right?"
Guo Rong was slightly startled and said, "The Queen wants to promise Qing'er to him?"
Queen Fu said: "Not really, but for some reason, my mother likes him very much."
Guo Rong shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "Mrs. Guo Guo always likes anyone whose children are good. They are similar in age, talented and beautiful, so they are a perfect match. When Mr. Luo returns to Beijing, you can try to ask."
At this moment, the chamberlain came in a hurry, holding an urgent memorial from the council hall.
Queen Fu hurriedly stepped forward to take the child.
Guo Rong opened the memorial and read the news about Meng Chang's departure to the Imperial Palace. His head was buzzing "..."