The spring breeze blew across the earth and ruffled the gurgling river water.
On the distant ridge, wild geese have been flying across the ocean.
In the dense jungle at the foot of the mountain, foxes and rabbits chased each other across streams and grass.
Rows of wooden houses have been built, nestled among green trees and red flowers, very beautiful.
Farther away, the waves hit the shore and the tide surged.
Waves coming from the depths of the sea hit the cliff over and over again.
The cliff bank remains motionless, blocking out the most ferocious tides and letting in the relatively gentle seawater.
There are many masts in the harbor, and more than 20 ships are ready to set off.
Summer is about to enter, and the wind direction is about to change. If you want to go south and return to Dengzhou, you will have to go through a lot of troubles. It is not that it is impossible to reach, but the journey is actually tortuous. You have to follow the direction of the ocean current and go round and round, and the speed is still very slow.
, very troublesome.
"Let's go!" Bells rang on the pier.
Taking the Ping Navy's two warships as the lead, more than twenty transport ships followed. The cabins were filled with stones and seawater, and they pulled anchors one by one and left the port.
Shao Siwu climbed to the high platform and overlooked the sea and sky outside.
The ships arranged their formation in the outer sea for a while, then turned around and headed south, slowly disappearing into the distance. Originally, there were thousands of Longwu Army soldiers who wanted to follow the fleet, but they were all unwilling to stay in Andong Mansion.
The martial artist who got married and established a career had no choice but to return to his hometown. Now that the situation has changed, he naturally had no choice but to stay.
But after the war, they had to leave after all.
The fate of the future will either be to replenish the soldiers of various states or to be dismissed. Only a few outstanding ones, after passing many screenings, can be selected into the Forbidden Army to make up for the losses in the war.
The history of the Longwu Army as an independent force may have quietly disappeared, just like many of its "predecessors".
Gao Xinggui also stood on the high platform, staring wide-eyed at the fleet disappearing into the skyline. The hull disappeared first, then the ship building, and finally the mast...
How could this be? Could it be that the sea is round?
"General Gao has also been here for a few days. What do you think of Anton Mansion?" Shao Siwu asked.
"There are villages and fireworks, which are much more pleasing to the eye than before." Gao Xinggui replied.
"General Gao, are you willing to serve me?" Shao Siwu asked again.
"The Gao family is loyal to the court. As long as the sage can convey his virtue, what's wrong?" Gao Xinggui replied.
Shao Siwu smiled slightly awkwardly.
I have just realized that this is not the way to recruit talents. Avoid arrogance and impetuosity, stay calm, and think about how your father did these things with ease and ease. Remember! Remember!
"How many households are there in Khitan?" Shao Siwu asked as he stepped off the high platform and wandered on the black soil covered with green grass and wild flowers.
"I'm afraid even the Khitan Khan doesn't know." Gao Xinggui said with a wry smile: "Yelu Shilu of the Diela tribe once estimated that the eight Khitan tribes should have regular men and more than 100,000 slaves, less than 800,000. This is a few
There were a lot of losses in 2005, probably only more than 700,000. There were also more than ten dependent Tatar, Shiwei, and Uighur tribes. These were not slaves, but allies, or vassals. Bohai Prefecture and County were also attacked by them.
There were quite a few, some 100,000 people were killed. In addition, there were some Chinese captives, Goguryeo survivors, Tatar escapees, etc., totaling tens of thousands.”…
"How many soldiers can we get by recruiting all the soldiers?"
"Three hundred thousand." Gao Xinggui said: "If we also bring in the Han people, Bohai people, Goguryeo people and allied tribes, we can have more than 400,000 troops at most. But this is very difficult to achieve unless we are desperate and use all our strength.
for."
Dispatching 400,000 troops at a time was not easy for the Central Plains, which had a high level of productivity. It was certainly difficult for the Khitans, who had a low level of productivity.
It may be possible to collect the materials and food needed for the expedition, but what is the cost? Under normal circumstances, hundreds of thousands of horsemen are dispatched from the grassland to go south to the Central Plains with the purpose of grabbing back the capital. If they can't get it, the finances will be
If you go up, your vitality will be severely damaged, and the prestige of the chief who is in charge of recruiting people will also plummet, often sowing the seeds of civil strife.
"General Gao is here to report the news. I have sent people back to the Central Plains to spread the news. The saint will be delighted when he hears it. Gao
The merits of our family will not be buried here." Shao Siwu said this a bit old-fashioned, but Gao Xinggui took it as a matter of course, wasn't he just for this promise?
"Thank you, Your Highness." Gao Xinggui said happily.
Shao Siwu waved his hand and asked Gao Xinggui to leave.
After Gao left, he continued to wander on the grass full of spring breath.
The mother is old and the father has many children. Although he is very good to each child and tries his best to help them grow up and make them independent, but————
Not thinking about those things anymore, Shao Siwu sighed. My father could call him back with just an edict, and everything he did would be in vain."
Let’s think about how to deal with the Khitans. The war is imminent, and even if my father doesn’t say anything, the Anton Mansion still needs to take some action. It’s not a big deal for 20,000 people to do, but it can still be done by restraining and harassing the Khitans and allowing the Khitans to distract themselves.
Arrived.
Anton Prefecture has a post road leading to the core area of Bohai Sea. Maybe they can communicate well and the two sides can act together to achieve certain results.
****
On the first day of May, a large number of ships docked at the port of Penglai Town one after another.
Huang County Lieutenant Shao Mianren has just captured a group of thieves and taken them to Dengzhou.
The delivery process went very smoothly. The officials in the state did not dare to offend this man at all, and accompanied Smiley Face all the way to complete the matter. They were still complaining in their hearts that the princes and princes were brought down to serve as officials, so it was just the Northern Dynasties who messed around.
However, or perhaps he was a demoted nobleman from Tianhuang. In short, the people below him were in a very difficult position, and they had no idea how to get along with them.
Those gangsters in Huang County use the prince as a shield all day long, making it difficult for the state to do anything to them. They also have to help them in the evaluation. They are really lucky.
In the afternoon, Zhu Liang, the military envoy of the Ping Dynasty who was stationed in Penglai, was chatting with Shao Mianren when he suddenly saw his deputy Zhao Zonghui walking in in a hurry.
"Why are you so panicked?" Zhu Liang looked at Zhao Zonghui, who kept winking outside, and sat motionless.
"General Zhu has important matters, so I will take my leave now." Seeing this, Shao Mianren stood up and left knowingly.
"Yeah... that's fine." Zhu Liang stood up and sent it off with an apologetic look on his face.
He recently heard some rumors that the third son of the emperor, King Shao Mianren of Wei, will be transferred to the army to familiarize himself with military affairs after getting familiar with local government affairs, so as to cultivate their qualifications in both civil and military affairs. And the place where King Wei will go is probably Ping Haijun...
The navy master is more dangerous than the land master. The saint is really cruel in tempering the child.
After Shao Mianren disappeared, Zhu Liang returned to the hall and asked, "What can't be said later?"
"An urgent report from Anton Mansion to Luoyang." Zhao Zonghui took out a letter from the wooden box and said.
Zhu Liang took it and saw that it was "Express". He immediately put it back and asked, "Have you seen it?"
"No! The general knows the rules, how dare you." Zhao Zonghui said.
"That's good." Zhu Liang said, "Send it to Dengzhou. You need to escort it in person, as soon as possible."
"As ordered." Zhao Zonghui responded immediately and left in a hurry.
"An Dong Mansion..." Zhu Liang muttered to himself, and then called his general: "I will give the order to all ships, large and small, to leave their berths and assemble in Penglai. For the sergeants returning home on leave, immediately
There must be no mistakes when returning to camp."
"The ships belonging to each battalion will be inspected again. If they are unable to move during the expedition, they will be killed without mercy."
"Each warehouse supervisor will check the supplies again. If there is any shortage, no one can save him."
"As ordered." The general repeated the order to make sure it was correct, and then immediately went down to deliver the order.
After Dengzhou received the urgent report from Andong Prefecture, they did not dare to neglect it and immediately sent a courier, riding the fastest horse, to Luoyang, the eastern capital, at a speed of five hundred miles.
A few days later, Shao Shude, who was inspecting the sewers, received the news. He immediately summoned all the prime ministers, privy envoys and the six chief officials for discussion.
"The Khitans are recruiting troops on a large scale, and they seem to have a plan. Tuoba Jin has gone to Zhu, and no news of the king's merger has come back. You can wait for a discussion. How credible is this matter?" In the Lichun Hall, Shao Shude stood on the ground.
In front of the picture, I crossed my fingers back and forth and asked.
Tuoba Jin is the eunuch of Xianyou Palace.
This palace eunuch is different from the palace eunuchs in Luoyang. It is a real key position. He leads one of Shao Shude's several slave ministries and holds a high position of power.
King Xi went to Zhuzai to graze his cattle near Yuyi Town. He suffered heavy losses, but now he has somewhat recovered his strength and is also a well-known figure on the Yanbei grassland.
Wang He is the new Sanquan inspector and the leader of the Zangcai party, who moved from Mulashan. In the past year, he has fought many battles with the Khitan and is the largest single tribal force in the Yanbei grassland.
They are quite influential in the nearby area, but they have not received the news, so the credibility of the news is questionable.
"Does your Majesty have any plans to send troops to the Khitan this year?" Chen Cheng stood up first and asked.
"No." Shao Shude said: "We don't have enough troops. We can't be sure of victory just by relying on the Yinshan tribes and the Feilong Army."
"Your Majesty, in that case, it is better to transfer the Silver Spear Army to Rouzhou." Chen Cheng suggested: "The army is resting at the Huaizhou Ranch. You can order Guozhou, Shayuan and other ranches to prepare fodder, and Guan Nei and Guan North Road will provide it.
Assist and quickly go to Johor for reinforcements."
Shao Shude thought for a while and did not make a decision immediately.
The Silver Spear Army had just finished the war in Weibo. After being transferred, there was no organized light cavalry unit in the Central Plains.
"That's all, transfer them over." Shao Shude said: "Silver Spear, Feilong Second Army, the first town of Yinshan, and the second town are all under the control of Rouzhou camp commander Liang Hanzhuan. Feng, how is the reform of the army in Sheng being carried out?
?」
"Still in progress."
"We won't need them this time." Shao Shude said: "The Yinshan tribes began to recruit soldiers, with a limit of 50,000 people."
"As ordered." The two privy envoys from Beiya responded together.
Shao Shude made some calculations. The Feilong and Silver Spear armies have 30,000 people, and the five Yinshan tribes have 50,000 men. If King Xi goes to Zhu, the Xianyou Palace tribe can also produce more than 10,000 men, plus some of the soldiers and troops. This is
One hundred thousand people.
It should be enough to deal with the Khitan, but if Hedong joins the battle group, it may not be enough.
"The Tibetan soldiers must be recruited from Hexi Province, with a limit of 30,000."
"The Hetao Weicai tribe has 5,000 men, and the Hengshan party has 10,000 men."
"The Kwanboku Province Army mobilized 20,000 people to march eastward."
"Ping Haijun was temporarily assigned to Andong to conduct camp control, Xu Shao Siwu, Fu Cunshen acted expediently."
Shao Shude issued a series of orders.*
The officials involved in the Nanya Privy Council, Beiya Privy Council, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Household Affairs came out one after another to receive their respective tasks.
Even the secretaries and supervisors of the Hanlin Academy had tasks, and they had to write messages to conquer the enemy.
The entire imperial court's war machine was turning again. This time it involved more departments and was more complex. It was also a drill for the future large-scale use of troops on the grassland.