Chapter 45: The scenery is different in autumn (2)
Walking on this road again, Shao Shude felt a lot of emotion.
In the fifth year of Qianfu's reign, the Tiande Army knew that Hao Zhenwei, the military envoy, led more than 4,000 troops eastward to conquer Li Guochang and his son. At that time, Shao was still hanging around with Qiu Weidao, the envoy in charge of the army, in front of a guard.
Intrigue with Guan Kairun.
Now eight years have passed, and he is no longer the leader of a small team, but a big warlord with 40,000 troops. Wherever the horsewhip points, everyone obeys, and wherever the iron hoof tramples, everyone is discouraged.
The Tibetan people in Huizhou were trembling with fear, and the reputation of King Lingwu was broadcast to the old land of Shuofang.
"This road is much more dilapidated than it was eight years ago." Looking at the bumpy post road, Shao Shude sneered: "The Tiande Army and the Zhenwu Army have no intention of repairing the post road, which shows that the poverty is extreme."
"Commander, the imperial court has cut off its food and salary, so what more needs to be done on the post road." Chen Cheng also came to Yinshan for the first time. No matter how he looked at it, he found it novel. After hearing the commander's complaint, he said: "In the past few years, the Tiande Army has only contributed to the imperial court every year."
A little brown cloth, livestock, and salt. The Zhenwu Army also provided only millet, wheat, cattle and sheep, and a few skins. The quantity was scarce and dispensable. There were more than 10,000 people in both armies, and the rewards were often insufficient. The armies complained that this was a gift from God.
A great opportunity for a great commander.”
"Do you know what Wang Bian is thinking?" Shao Shude asked.
At this time, the west wind suddenly picked up, and the grass was falling all over the sky. Coupled with the dilapidated road, it felt desolate.
"Commander, Qi Banzhang was driven away by the sergeants because of insufficient rewards. Wang Bian went out to suppress the Zhenwu Army. It is said that he brought some silk from the capital, but how many were there? Now a day has passed.
Years have passed, and the dissatisfaction among the sergeants has been accumulating, and Wang Bian must be helpless." Chen Cheng said.
"Senior Zhao, what do you think?"
"Commander, what Judge Chen said is correct." Zhao Guangfeng replied: "The two armies are poor, and the commander may be able to conquer them without using weapons."
Shao Shude nodded.
In fact, when he first became commander of Xia Suijie, even if he had money, he might not be able to conquer the Tiande Army and Zhenwu Army. But this time it was different. The number of soldiers and horses increased from 20,000 to 40,000, and the party was destroyed.
There are also Austrian aids in Shuofang, Kehuizhou, and the DPRK. Their prestige is unparalleled. As long as Tiande Army and Zhenwu Army do not want to die, they will not dare to raise any objections.
As for attracting foreign enemies to consolidate, that is difficult. I have just divided the sphere of influence with Li Keyong. With Li's temper and character, even if the Zhenwu Army digs out mountains of gold and silver, they will probably not come over.
My sworn brother is such a proud person and loves face. It will probably take more than ten or twenty years for his character to change, after he is taught how to behave by society.
"Commander, there is no response yet. Li followed the envoy to Xicheng. After Li Liang died of illness, Sun Ba became the military envoy of Xicheng. Sun Ba was very friendly to the commander and expressed his willingness to respect military orders." Chen Cheng replied.
"If possible, I don't want to fight with the Tiande Army, and the same goes for the Zhenwu Army." Shao Shude sighed.
I was born in the Tiande Army, and I have feelings for this army that has guarded the border for more than a hundred years. Although it has always only had more than 4,000 infantry and cavalry, it suppressed the Tibetan tribes and resisted the grassland herdsmen moving south. Sometimes they had to cross the river and join forces with the Shuofang Army to suppress the Hexi party items.
, a great contribution. The most important thing is that the combat effectiveness is not bad. As a former member of the Tiande Army, Marshal Shao naturally knows it very well.
As for whether the Zhenwu Army can fight, let alone say more. The thousands of soldiers Li Guochang brought to Datong, and the imperial court mobilized soldiers and horses from many towns in Hedong, Henan, Hebei, and Hexi to encircle and suppress them, of course they can fight.
These two armies are the precious vitality of the country, and Mr. Shao does not want them to be damaged.
"Where are the cavalry troops?"
"Commander, he should be on the grassland of Fanbu on the other side of Kujiesha. He will go north at any time." Chen Cheng replied.
Kujiesha is the Kubuqi Desert. However, in the late Tang Dynasty, it was not so exaggerated. The water and grass were quite abundant, and many Tibetan tribes belonging to the Tiande Army were nomadic here.
After conquering Lingzhou last spring, the army returned, sent a partial division to Kujiesha, and subdued the local tribes. Now they are all paying tribute to Xiazhou.
I didn't have much time to spend with Hao Zhenwei and Wang Bian.
Li Keyong was still attacking Zhaoyi, because the towns in Hebei Province assisted Meng Fang in setting up military supplies, equipment, money and silk, and the people in the three states of Hebei Province hated Li Keyong. In the end, they only occupied part of the area, and after a large plunder, they retreated.
There was civil strife in Xuzhou's reforming army. Yamen generals Zhang Xiong and Feng Hongduo gathered a crowd of three hundred people, crossed the Yangtze River and ran south, and attacked Suzhou. Zhang Xiong claimed to be the governor, recruited 50,000 troops and more than a thousand warships, and called himself the Tiancheng Army.
Fuck, Suzhou is so rich? The population is so prosperous? Three hundred people fought and occupied it, and then gathered 50,000 soldiers. No novel would dare to write this.
Li Hanzhi, Zhang Quanyi and others were still in Henan, dealing with Qin Zongquan's people, which was very difficult.
Qian Liu also began to conquer cities and territories in eastern Zhejiang.
The war between the two rivers in the east and west has already officially begun. Chen Jingxuan and Gao Renhou turned against each other and fought endlessly. The nails planted by the court were also put in place one after another, and the whole of Shu gradually became chaotic until a new master was decided.
The situation in the world began to slowly collapse. Careers appeared everywhere, attacking cities and territories. He had to defeat the Tiande Army and the Zhenwu Army as soon as possible, subdue many Tibetan tribes in the two places, and then lead his troops south to conquer Lanzhou in the west.
Another point that needs to be noted is that the Tiande Army and the Zhenwu Army are important links in building the northern defense system. Relying on the Yinshan Mountains as a barrier, they built forts at important tunnels and stationed troops for garrison. To the north of the Yinshan Mountains, some Jifan tribes served as the perimeter.
The defensive line can ensure that the north is safe for a while.
My focus cannot be placed in the north, and there cannot be chaos here.
"Send an order to Zhe Siyu and Liu Zijing, and the cavalry army will go north to force Hao Zhenwei. Then notify the parties in Fengzhou to gather troops at Yongqingzha. If anyone dares not to come, his tribe will be slaughtered!"
"As you command!"
******
The river flows quietly. Under the sunlight, it looks like a jade belt.
The boundless grassland stretches into the distance, and even with all your eyesight, you can't see its edge. In the barren meadow, deer are scattered in all directions, and pheasants are flying.
Farther away, there are the distant songs of herdsmen, and herds of cattle and sheep are strolling in the grassland, leisurely and comfortable.
On the other side of the river, there are rows of neat fields and villages with smoke rising from their cooking stoves.
The children were playing and playing without distinction. The men were exchanging food without any barriers.
This is a Han township and a Hu community. Han and Hu people have lived together for hundreds of years.
When the Central Plains was strong and prosperous, the frontier military states were often able to maintain stability and even maintain a reasonable standard of living due to trade. However, once the Central Plains weakened and grassland forces rose, this stable and peaceful situation would be immediately broken.
The situation at the end of the Tang Dynasty was a bit strange. The Central Plains was divided into four parts, fighting each other. The grasslands were also scattered and there were no heroes. In addition, the military force in the border towns was not abandoned. They were able to maintain a relatively stable environment and even vassalized many tribes.
It's an anomaly.
Youzhou Town made good friends with the Xi people and won over some Khitan tribes. Hedong Town got along well with the five tribes in the north and even did a lot of business. On the land of Hetao, someone from Shao even married various tribes and grassland miscellaneous tribes.
From Helan Mountain to Yanshan, the thousands of miles of border remain eerily calm.
Hao Zhenwei enjoyed this peaceful environment, and so did the more than 30,000 Tang people near Tiande Military City. They were all families of soldiers, farming and reclaiming wasteland. They had orchards at home and large pastures outside for grazing cattle and sheep, as long as there was no war.
, life is pretty good.
Hao Zhenwei was particularly reluctant to let go of this piece of property. He had gained it by going to Hedong to conquer Li Guochang and his sons. There was no reason to give it to outsiders, especially a team-level officer who was so small that he could not stand in front of him.
The villain succeeds!
The sun was gradually setting in the west, and Hao Zhenwei had no intention of hunting. He looked back at the soldiers and saw that they were also worried. Recently, news about the northern inspection of Lingwu County Prince had been very popular, and he refused to go to Woye Town. People in the town were panicked.
They were all worried about being besieged by the army.
Hao Zhenwei asked the generals for their opinions, and he was pleased that some supported him, while others remained silent, which made him feel a little cold. The world was like this, and he couldn't be too harsh, as it would be bad if it caused military chaos.
But he asked himself to go see Shao Shude like a subordinate, but he was unwilling to do so! Why?
The sound of rapid horse hooves sounded in the east, one after another, heading straight to the north.
Hao Zhenwei was startled and wanted to find a high ground to see who he was and where he came from. As a result, there was flat ground everywhere, and the grass was half a man high, so he couldn't see clearly. In his eagerness, he climbed up with the help of his own soldiers.
Looking around a tree, I saw a large group of silver cavalry riding towards the north.
Judging from their attire, they don't look like grassland herdsmen, so they are probably cavalry from the disaster relief army. They should be cavalry troops, right? The famous cavalry troops in the Hetao area have repeatedly defeated powerful enemies.
"Let's go back!" Hao Zhenwei said hello, jumped off the tree, got on his horse, and headed towards the German Army City.
When passing Yongqingzha, the gate of the pasture was closed. There were many tents outside, and the Tibetan people lit bonfires and killed cattle and sheep.
Hao Zhenwei took a quick glance and saw that Shannan Dangxiang has it, Heishan Dangxiang has it, Heshan Dangxiang has it, Turks have it, Uighurs have it, and Tuyuhun people have it too! And it seems that not everyone has arrived yet.
It is estimated that more people will come in a few days.
What are these Tibetan people doing?
Hao Zhenwei rode directly over, caught one person and asked, "Who asked you to come to Yongqingzha?"
The man seemed to be a Uighur. He couldn't speak Chinese well and couldn't understand what Hao Zhenwei was talking about.
Hao Zhenwei was so angry that he whipped him, then called for another person and asked angrily: "Who asked you to come? Do you want to rebel?"
This man could understand Chinese, so he didn't want to talk to him, and he wanted to barbecue. But when he saw that the person asking the question was so aggressive, and there were a large group of warriors around him, he suddenly felt a little scared, and muttered: "The leader asked me to come here."
"Which tribe are you from?"
"Hidden Talent Department."
"Is Wang Xie going to rebel? Gathering so many people to Yongqingzha to grab the pasture?" Hao Zhenwei asked angrily.
The Fan couldn't answer, so he broke free and ran away.
"Commander, it's time to return to the city now." The soldier stepped forward to remind him.
"That's right. Let's go back to the city!" Hao Zhenwei ignored the Tibetan people, mounted his horse and headed northeast.
Tiande Military City is less than ten miles away from Yongqingzha and can be reached in a short time.
It was already a little dark when we arrived at the city gate, and the south gate of the Tiande Army City was closed tightly.
Hao Zhenwei sent his soldiers to call the door. After a moment of burning incense, someone on the tower looked down, but soon left again.
Hao Zhenwei waited for more than half an hour, and the city gate was always closed and motionless.
"Let's go to the north gate and have a look." Hao Zhenwei's voice was a little anxious, and the soldiers were also anxious.
After riding the horse to the north gate, it was still tightly closed. After calling for a long time, no one came out to see it. It was obvious that they did not intend to open the door.