On the third day of February in the third year of Zhonghe, a large amount of military supplies and food supplies arrived in Chang'an, and most of them were returned to the 100,000-strong army camped in the northeast. Shao Shude sent people to ask for them, but they also received tens of thousands of arrows and some military supplies and supplies.
In fact, he no longer attaches great importance to property. After all, too much has been seized. Chao Jun and Tang Jun basically have the same moral character. In battles, rewards must be given, and real objects must be seen. As long as the enemy's baggage is captured, there is never a shortage of arrows in this regard.
There was no shortage of arrows, and there were also many seizures, but there was never too much food.
Xia Suijun's annual expenditure on grain was more than 800,000 hu of dendrobium. Last year, Suizhou only produced more than 400,000 hu of grain, Yinzhou produced 150,000 to 600,000 hu of grain, and Xiazhou produced just over 100,000 hu of grain.
Youzhou is ignored. They pay tribute to the shogunate one or two thousand cattle and sheep every year, plus some green salt, leather, camel hair, and horns, which is considered good.
This is less than 700,000 hu of grain. Under normal circumstances, the people in the town consume 400,000 to 500,000 hu of dendrobium a year. Even if they lower their living standards and let them eat glutinous rice for half a year, they can only squeeze out 300,000 hu of grain at most.
The grain of dendrobium is provided to the shogunate. There is still a shortfall of about 500,000 dendrobium. In the past, it was subsidized by the court, but now we have to find a way on our own.
This is only to support the army, not counting other food expenditures. The gap is actually quite large.
Now there are more than 30,000 soldiers camped in the north and there are still several months of food and grass. Brother Wang Chongrong has sent another 100,000 hu of military rations and 80,000 bundles of firewood. From his true heart, Shao Shude is still very grateful. Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongying can make more friends in the future and maintain them.
A good relationship.
“Commander, the scouts have reported that Huang Chao has sent more than 30,000 sergeants out south, and seems to be heading towards Lantian County. This is preparing a way out for himself.” Chen Cheng suddenly walked in and reported.
"Judge Chen has been working hard recently." Shao Shude glanced at the unshaven Chen Cheng and said. Although he had a lot of contacts with officials and gentry in the eight counties of Fuping, and even received many gifts from others, Meiji, but as far as his job is concerned,
In general, he is still very dedicated. If the water is clear, there will be no fish. What he wants is loyalty. As long as his subordinates don't go too far, they can tolerate it now.
“Has the news been confirmed?” Wei Boqiu automatically spread out the map, and Shao Shude traced the area south of Chang’an with his fingers and asked.
"It has been confirmed that there are more than 30,000 people with bright armor. They should be old thieves. They are taking the post road. Even the local people have seen it." Chen Cheng said.
“Well, the nest thief seems to be timid.”
However, in a different place, Shao Shude still disagrees with Huang Chao's decision. If you want to leave, just leave. Like now, you obviously want to struggle again, but don't you know the morality of your troops? Do you have to come?
Can you wake up after a disastrous defeat? You have to be defeated and almost run out of food before you can make up your mind?
"Judge Chen, our army must be well prepared." Shao Shude said: "In case the Chao people escape, our army cannot block its front, but we can attack its tail. If we can make a profit, we will do it."
Chen Cheng was a little hesitant when he heard this. In fact, in his opinion, when the Chao people withdrew, they probably transferred the baggage to the central army. The baggage of the rear army should not be much, and the gains would be limited, so it was not worth the risk. But then he thought that his lord might
I still want to gain population. In the four states of Xia and Sui, the party cannot be trusted. The more people there are in China, the more tenable it will be.
The food burden will increase again!
"Tomorrow, I will send Qiang Quansheng with a thousand auxiliary troops and 70,000 hu of army rations to Fuping, and then bring the more than 10,000 soldiers back to Suizhou. There will also be a group of sergeants' rewards brought back along the way. What's the weather like now?
It hasn't completely warmed up yet, but by the time they reached Yifang, it would have been March and they could barely pass the carriages and horses," Shao Shude said.
Suizhou can continue to operate for another year or two, and then the development of the four counties of Yinzhou should be put on the agenda. These two states have the best agricultural conditions, with many rivers, and they are also connected to the Yellow River, which provides rainfall.
Compared to Xiazhou, there are many flat areas to the west. As long as you put in a lot of efforts to organize them, you can still surprise yourself - the Chao people have enough strength, so there is no need to feel bad.
“By the way, Judge Chen, what would happen if someone stopped the war horse that was going to pay tribute to the court?” Shao Shude suddenly remembered this matter, so he asked.
Yinzhou has a large-scale ranch, with an annual tribute of 10,000 war horses. How much does it cost? Damn, co-author Xia Sui actually didn’t earn much from the court. Shao Shude had learned before that, except for reasons such as war or epidemics,
Yinchuan Ranch has been steadily delivering war horses to the imperial court, with 7,000 horses being donated in the few years and tens of thousands in the years.
These horses are indeed worthless in Yinzhou, they are very cheap, but how much would they be worth if sold to Guanzhong, Shuzhong, and Henan? The imperial court bought horses from the Uighurs, and the price given was forty pieces of silk. Of course there are
The factor of making good friends with the Uighurs is included, but not all the horses the Uighurs give are good horses. The ones from Yinchuan Ranch are war horses!
In any case, the wholesale price of forty horses should be achievable, or even higher. As for where the middlemen sell it and how you make the difference, I don’t care and I can’t control it. I just don’t know what will happen to the tribute war horses.
as a result of……
Chen Cheng obviously didn't know how the court would react.
“Commander, how about—try it?”
“Just give it a try. Anyway, there has been war in the past two years, and Yinchuan Ranch has not sent horses to Guanzhong. General Pei has money.”
"The commander-in-chief is the governor of Yinchuan, and those horses are only under the temporary control of General Pei."
“Same. You can ask other towns later if they need war horses. The food is really not enough.”
******
February 20th of the third year of Zhonghe.
Although Shao Shude was well prepared, Huang Chao obviously still went north to find the army camped in the northeast for a decisive battle. In fact, it is understandable that this place has deep ditches and high fortifications, and is famous for its ability to fight. If you come to attack, how long will it take to capture it? How many casualties will it take?
?If the move continues for a long time, the other armies will surround us and we will be unable to escape.
The same principle applies to the camp in the west. Forty to fifty thousand troops, with forts one after another, are designed to drain your energy, hold you back, and then surround you on all sides and completely annihilate you.
To put it bluntly, Li Changyan and Zhuge Shuang are both flanking battlefields, and Wang Shizhong's army with more than 100,000 troops is the front. Only by defeating the main army can Huang Chao continue to stay in Chang'an. Moreover, Wang Duo
They are willing to fight in the wild, which is exactly what Huang Chao wants.
So he went to Wang Duo for a decisive battle.
In the past two months of camp in the northeast, more than 20,000 rebel troops have been wiped out. The results are brilliant and the morale is high.
On February 20th, Huang Chao sent out more than 100,000 troops. Wang Duo also sent his entire army to fight, totaling 100,000 people. The two sides fought three battles a day south of the Wei River, and both Chao's troops were defeated. Huang Chao led his elite troops to cut off the rear and fought to the death.
, only 10,000 people returned to Chang'an in the end. Huang Ye's younger brother Huang Kui was killed by Ya'er's army, which greatly reduced morale.
On February 27th, Huang Chao led his army to fight again, but this time it was also unfavorable. He brought a large number of new soldiers with 100,000 people, and they fought for only a moment before being defeated in two battles. Li Keyong led the cavalry to attack, Zhongwu Army, Hezhong Army,
The Yiwu army took advantage of the situation and captured and killed more than 10,000 people. The Chao army was defeated and rushed back to Chang'an.
After experiencing these two disastrous defeats, Huang Chao must have completely lost confidence. The west route could not be broken through, and the east route was also defeated, with more than 20,000 soldiers lost, and even his brother Huang Ye was killed.
Originally he had placed his hope in a decisive battle with the main force. As long as Wang Duo's troops and Li Changyan were defeated, Zhuge Shuang's troops would naturally flee. But his last hope was shattered. If he didn't leave now, he would wait until later.
On the tenth night of the third lunar month, Huang Chao burned down the palace and fled with his people.
But he did much better than Huang Ye. After two years as emperor, although he was in a state of panic and fleeing, there were still people who were willing to cut off the throne for him. During the day, a thief general led his army to fight, but was defeated by the army and chased all the way to the city.
, still fighting desperately. At night, there were more than 10,000 thieves defending the city. The officers and soldiers were red-eyed and wanted to enter Chang'an to plunder. The two sides were engaged in another bloody battle.
It was night when Shao Shude learned the news. At that time, Chang'an was blazing with fire. In fact, no scouts were needed to report it, and they knew that Huang Chao was about to escape.
“Commander, Huang Chao is running away.” Chen Cheng said, looking at Chang’an where the sky was red.
“Prepare your troops and horses tomorrow, and after the Chao army has passed, we will attack the rear army. At this time, most of the troops are still looting Chang’an, so you need to be careful.” Shao Shude said.
“There is no doubt that they are plundering Chang’an,” Chen Cheng said.
There is no doubt about this matter, and Wang Shizhong can't restrain it. No one will listen to you at this time. If you know the truth, I can give you a share of the treasures obtained after the robbery. If you don't know the truth, you will be put under house arrest. Don't stop us from getting rich.
.
“Is the commander-in-chief willing to lead his army eastward to pursue and suppress the nest bandits?”
"Not willing." Shao Shude shook his head. The soldiers have been away from home for more than two years. If they don't return home, even with the strict military discipline of the Tielin Army, the soldiers will feel resentful. If they are willing to let them burn, kill, and loot, that's all.
Can release negative emotions, but Shao Shude doesn't want to, what can he do?
Chen Cheng sighed. If he could lead his army eastward and successfully kill Huang Chao, the court might give Shuofang's army their territory. This would indeed be a pity!
It should be noted that the current structure of vassal towns is unlikely to change. Among the generals under Wang Duo who have made great contributions, is Wang Chongrong really less successful than Li Keyong? He defeated Huang Ye, defeated Zhu Wen repeatedly, and even
Zhu Wen was also recruited and surrendered, and the two brothers tried their best to collect money and food to supply military supplies. During the decisive battle, although Li Keyong's cavalry was more dazzling in rushing into the formation and beheading generals, didn't they need the infantry of Wang Chongrong and others to shake the Chao army's position first?
, Otherwise, how can Li Keyong rush?
But it is impossible for Wang Chongrong to move to Hedong. At most, he can be granted the title of county prince. Otherwise, Li Keyong would be the first to refuse. After all, the court had promised to give him the military governor of Hedong in exchange for sending troops, and had given Xin in advance.
Make a "deposit" on behalf of Erzhou. At this time, the court no longer has the strength to break the promise. If you don't give it, they will take it themselves. People in other towns would not be willing to go, even to the wealthy Huainan and Jiannan, and they would just
As long as Hedong is at your doorstep, if you don't give it, you will rebel, and the court will take care of it.
The imperial court does not want to cause trouble!
Of course, these two people are considered good. The tens of thousands of other troops under Wang Duo's account, such as the Hedong Army, the Zhongwu Army, the Yiwu Army, the Heyang Army, etc., also gained a lot in the decisive battles a few days ago, but they were just a little bit tired.
It's just a financial reward.
Luo Yuangao, the governor of Heyang, also personally led troops to serve under Wang Duo, and also made a lot of achievements. But you said that the three cities of Heyang are cramped, and if you want to move the town, the court has to think about it and see who is easy to talk to.
, can make room for you. If you are difficult to talk to and have rebellious tendencies, the court does not want to provoke you now, so you can wait slowly.
Zhu Wen was even worse. He decided to go to Xuanwu Town before the war. At that time, he had not made any achievements, so he could only go to this miserable place. The prefectures and counties were dilapidated, desolate, insurgents were everywhere, and cannibals were rampant. Now if he wants to move, there is no way.
Perhaps, the imperial court originally intended for you to fight to the death with the thieves to consume each other.
The pattern of the world has basically been decided.
That's why Chen Cheng was a little sighing at this time. There will be another round of rewards after regaining Chang'an, and the court will probably only give Shao Shude the title of Duke or County King. If Shuofang's territory can be given at this time, it will really save a lot of trouble in the future.
"Don't think too much." Shao Shude smiled and said: "The way things are now, the imperial court has no power to control the towns. What it can control is Guanzhong and Shuzhong, and it can also affect the eight towns northwest of Beijing. But Henan, Hebei,
The towns in Hedong and Jiangnan will most likely be left to their own devices from now on. If the court wants to replace one of its own as commander-in-chief, it will have to do it very cleverly. Furthermore, if the court wants someone to go to a distant place, such as Jiangnan,
I don’t want to go either. If I go, I will just take care of my old age, and my twilight will gradually grow. This is not my ambition.”
"Shuofang, we will take it ourselves from now on." Looking at Chang'an, which was burning with fire, Shao Shude said, "This is what the imperial court is like."
"It's just a maintenance meeting. If it can't maintain it any longer, it will disband." Shao Shude thought to himself.